There was a huge shortage of population. The entire population of Myanmar was less than two million. It was impossible to develop too many areas.
Xiao Ruxun didn't want to waste the precious Han people's labor force to do the rough work of opening up the mountains, so she could only set her target on those Donghao survivors who had always been restless. If she didn't exterminate them, it would be like there was someone sleeping beside her. How could she bear it?
However, since ancient times, armies needed a reason to conquer countries. Xiao Ruxun was no exception. He also needed a reason. He did not have one in the past, but now he had one. The missionaries were the reason Xiao Ruxun used.
Before Xiao Ruxun left, he had discussed the full set of countermeasures with Yuan Huang. Yuan Huang only needed to deploy the troops according to Xiao Ruxun's arrangement before he left.
Of course, before that, there was one more thing to do.
"Since all of you are here and know why I summoned you here, I won't say anything more. The Dongwu Country's remnant citizens have rebelled. They killed the Francians we sent over and attacked our border guards. How audacious of them!
Before Marquis Xiao left, he ordered that if the Dongwu survivors rebel, we must wipe them out with all our might. We must not let any of them escape. Now, our army has 30,000 soldiers. 3,000 are stationed in Luzon, and another 3,000 are following Marquis Xiao to the north to fight against the Northern Barbarians. Excluding the navy, our army can only mobilize 20,000 soldiers. It is too few. Therefore, Marquis Xiao ordered that if we do not have enough soldiers, we can incorporate the reserve soldiers into the regular army to expand the army! "
As soon as Yuan Huang gave the order, the generals of the four battalions of the infantry became excited. Once the army expanded, the main target would be the Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise battalions.
In their opinion, the cavalry was limited by the number of horses and the terrain of the Southern Battlefront Army. Three thousand cavalrymen were enough. The two cavalry battalions did not need more soldiers. The artillery battalions were independent and had their own reserve artillery soldiers. They were trained separately from the infantry and cavalry, so there was no need to control them.
Therefore, the expansion was mainly to expand the four battalions of the infantry.
As expected, Yuan Huang gave the order.
"I want the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise battalions to complete the mission of expanding their army to ten thousand men within seven days. In the morning parade seven days later, this old man wants to see forty thousand soldiers who can fight! I want to see if you guys are really diligent in your daily training! "
Under Yuan Huang's command, the eight commanders of the four battalions responded in unison.
"I understands!"
"The Battle Wolf and Wild Lion Battalions will each expand to 2,500 soldiers. By then, this old man will need to see 5,000 cavalrymen!"
The infantry generals were stunned, looking at the four main generals of the cavalry army. Seeing the excited expressions on their faces, it was clear that they had been waiting for this day for a long time.
"Sir, do we have that many warhorses?"
Puzzled, Zhao Hu asked, "Usually, when we ask the cavalry camp for some warhorses, they are always extremely stingy."
Yuan Huang smiled, "At that time, we did not have many warhorses, but now we do. The day before yesterday, the first batch of 2,000 warhorses ordered by Marquis Xiao and the Arab merchants have arrived. There will be more warhorses coming in the future. Marquis Xiao has decided to buy at least ten thousand warhorses to expand the cavalry army."
The infantry generals looked at each other and sucked in a breath of cold air.
Ten thousand warhorses! How much silver would that be?
However, no one understood. Was there a need for so many cavalrymen in a place like Myanmar?
"The Cannon Battalion will follow Marquis Xiao to the north with 1,000 soldiers. The garrison at Luzon will be 1,000. There are still 3,000 left. Within seven days, expand the army to 5,000. No mistakes!"
The deputy commander of the Cannon Battalion, Shi Ke, cupped his fists and accepted the order.
"Yes, sir!"
Alright, the Cannon Battalion had also expanded. This also meant that …
The Southern Battlefront Army had expanded in all aspects and was about to fight a hearty battle.
"We will not expand the army for three years. Even if we expand the army, we cannot wait for three years to have combat power. In the past, I have ordered the generals to train more in reserve. Does everyone remember this?"
The generals cupped their fists.
"We dare not make any mistakes!"
Yuan Huang nodded.
"Good! I don't want to see the military's combat power decrease if we expand our army from 20,000 to 50,000. We're about to face a Dongwu remnant with a force of 100,000 soldiers and a population of millions. The scale of their army won't be smaller than the Dongwu Country's regular army that we dealt with in the past. Our army is also larger than before, but Marquis Xiao can't participate in this battle. Are you all confident in winning this battle? "
The generals cupped their fists and shouted in unison, "Yes!"
"Good! Soldiers are trained for a thousand days to be used in a single day. Daming and Marquis Xiao need you now! You have to be worthy of Daming's pay, worthy of Marquis Xiao's care and training, worthy of the country, worthy of the people who paid taxes to support you! In the morning of seven days, we will have a military parade at the South Peace City's West Parade Ground. Set out! "
"Yes, sir!"
The generals cupped their fists and slowly left the Marquis Zhennan's estate.
Yuan Huang did not worry much as he watched the generals leave.
Although there was no Xiao Ruxun to command this battle, the Myanmar Town's strength had far surpassed the Dongwu remnant. To Yuan Huang, the Dongwu remnant were clowns. Their weapons, armaments, organization, and combat power were far inferior to the well-trained Zhennan Army.
Based on all the circumstances, the Southern Battlefront Army's military power was overwhelming to the Cave Martial Artist Survivors. There was no possibility of them losing. Once the battle broke out, it would be like a hot knife through butter. They would be able to destroy the survivors very quickly.
Moreover, the Southern Battlefront Army had been planning for this battle for a long time. They had studied and analyzed the terrain, their encampment, and the number of troops they could mobilize. They had already considered which troops to attack and which direction could defeat them the fastest. Therefore, they were determined to win this battle.
The only thing they needed to worry about now was the arrangement of the captives after the battle. Although they had already planned how to settle the captives and how to maximize their labor before sending them to their deaths, it would still take some time to actually do it.
However, these were no longer the most important problems. The most important thing was that the battle was already a foregone conclusion. They had to eliminate the Dongwu remnant to eliminate the last hidden danger of the Myanmar Town.
Three years of sharpening his sword, and one day he would shine his sword. Shouldering Xiao Ruxun's unparalleled trust and ambition, Yuan Huang could not allow himself to make any mistakes. He had to grasp and plan everything well.
He even felt that his current situation was similar to Zhuge Liang's. However, Xiao Ruxun was much more powerful than Liu Chan. Now that he was gone, wasn't he Zhuge Liang who was in charge of the military and politics?
He had never thought that he would become someone like Zhuge Wuhou today, commanding tens of thousands of troops to fight against the enemy, realizing his life values and ideals, and fulfilling his promise to the people he trusted.
'It's a very special feeling!'
Yuan Huang quietly opened the box on the table in front of him. The seven jade talismans of the army were neatly arranged in the box. They were the tokens that Xiao Ruxun left for Yuan Huang to mobilize troops. They were the symbol of military power.
'He trusted me so much and entrusted me with such a task, so how can I not serve him to the death?
I'm already 60 years old, and I don't have any other wish in this life. I just want to leave a strong mark in the history books and live up to his trust.
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