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Vézé rode on horseback, pulling open his monocular to observe the city walls of Jining City. Beside him were generals such as Wei Changrong. Each of them had a monocular in their hands, and they were all watching the firing of the artillery unit.
With training time, the army could naturally popularize basic mathematics and geometry courses. Although the percentage of people who could pass these exams was low, Vézé's army had greatly increased in number, so naturally, the number of people who could pass was much higher. The size of the artillery unit had increased a lot, and its combat ability had also increased a lot.
The artillery unit of Vézé's 12-pound mountain howitzer consisted of eight people, two more than the six-man artillery unit that was popular in Europe. Although the two extra people seemed to be a waste, it was part of Vézé's ambitious plan to expand the artillery unit. Because he was worried about the leakage of his technology, Vézé had yet to reveal one of his trump cards that he had obtained from the internet, the detonation fuse for artillery shells.
Nowadays, artillery shells were either solid shells, or had a ignition tube installed in the shell to implement a timed explosion. The detonation fuse for artillery shells had yet to appear. Vézé had an impression of this uncomplicated little mechanical device, but Vézé could obviously try to make metal bearings now, but he still refrained from doing so. The worry about the proliferation of technology had caused Vézé to stop at the current level of technology.
Imported bronze cannons, granular gunpowder, fire caps, and even the Migne rifle that Vézé would develop when he had the chance. Even if Vézé did not do these now, it would not be long before the arms dealers would recommend them to the warring powers of China. However, if the bearings and detonation fuse of artillery shells were leaked to Manchu Qing, it would be a disaster for the Taiping army.
Therefore, Vézé watched as his artillery unit skillfully fired artillery shells at Jining City. His mind was full of plans to improve the technology and expand the army in the future, but he did not reveal a single word of his intentions.
In this era, the Qing Army's artillery was completely reliant on experience. In addition, the Qing Army's poor quality artillery didn't have the ability to control the point of impact at all. Vézé's imported cannons were much better. Although the French 1811 12-pound howitzers were far less accurate than the cannons of the 21st century, they could still accurately focus on the target after calibrating the firing parameters.
Therefore, Vézé's artillery unit used 12 cannons. Each cannon only fired four shots, and out of the 48 cannons, around 30 of them hit the top of the city wall. Through his binoculars, Vézé could see that the defenders on the city wall were in a mess, and they seemed to be fleeing without a trace.
At this time, the Qing Army had been completely corrupted. Moreover, the former Hunan Provincial Governor Zhang Liangji, who was in Vézé's army, had once tried to command the Qing Army in Jining. When Vézé besieged Linqing, Zhang Liangji had led 2,000 Qing Army troops to Linqing to provide assistance. As a result, the Qing Army in Jining had basically been taken away. At most, there were less than 400 left.
The imperial army didn't have enough troops, so the local gentry formed regiments to make up the numbers. However, in this short half a month, and it was the busiest half a month in March, the garrison of Jining, including regiments, only had a little more than a thousand people. The people of Shandong were honest. At first, these thousand people really wanted to defend Jining City. However, as soon as they met the 12-pound howitzers, more than a hundred of them were killed and injured.
Although the people of Shandong were honest, they weren't stupid. Facing the seemingly endless enemy below the city wall, perhaps they could bravely climb up the city wall to defend it. However, after personally experiencing the huge difference in fighting ability between the two sides, especially after recognizing the overwhelming superiority of the Taiping army in long-range firepower, both the imperial army and the regiments unanimously chose to give up their duty of defending Jining City. They began to use their own special abilities to find a way to escape.
These people knew very well that no matter how hard they fought, the Qing Army around Jining City had already been wiped out by the Taiping army. No reinforcements would come to their rescue. Since the outcome of fighting to the death was death, the Qing Army naturally chose to save themselves first.
After receiving news that the defenders had escaped from Vézé's city gate, Vézé didn't order his cavalry to give chase. At this time, the Nian Army had separated from the Taiping army, so Vézé didn't plan to kill too many people. Of course, if the Nian Army was still in Vézé's army, then Vézé wouldn't care about letting the Nian Army chase after the Qing Army.
After capturing Jining, the army didn't continue south. Instead, they chose to rest and reorganize in Jining. Not only was water transportation faster than land transportation, but it also consumed a lot less physical strength. Apart from the loss of combat power caused by seasickness, the army could quickly enter combat mode after disembarking.
Even though the Nian Army and the Taiping army had separated from each other, the two northern expeditionary forces still had a total of 30,000 soldiers. Vézé's army didn't suffer many losses. In fact, he even had a significant increase in his cavalry. When they were heading north, Vézé's cavalry numbered less than 700. Now, his cavalry had increased to about 2,000. Cavalry was not as simple as giving horses to infantry. As a type of soldier, cavalry had to go through strict training.
Therefore, Vézé finally realized one thing. The emergence of armored troops was an inevitability in the development of military technology, not a coincidence. Training soldiers who could drive armored vehicles was far more difficult than training cavalry. After losing a leg, a horse was done for. After the armored vehicle was destroyed, Xiuxiu could still be used.
Even in the 21st century, China still had yak cavalry in the highlands and a certain number of cavalry patrolling the borders. However, these were all local measures. The number of yaks and horses could be said to be insignificant when compared to the nearly 10,000 tanks and armored vehicles of the China Army.
However, although Wei Ze was certain that he must develop the concept of armored vehicles, he also attached great importance to cavalry at this time. He had 2,000 cavalry under him, and Lin Fengxiang's Northern Expedition Army also had about 2,000 cavalry. When the two sides joined forces, 4,000 cavalry was a very powerful force.
While resting in Jining, Vézé asked the logistics officer in charge of cavalry what to do first. The veteran soldier in his thirties replied, "Chief of the General Staff, I've already ordered all horses to have their shoes repaired. Before the cavalry moves out, we need to do our best to solve the problem of cracked hooves. If there are enough boats, try to transport the animals with injured hooves. "
These were words that only an experienced soldier could say. Vézé praised the logistics officer and began to plan the next step of the battle.
However, when discussing the strategy, Wei Changrong said, "Chief of the General Staff, I think some of our brothers in the army talked to the Nian Army about a lot of things."
"Huh?" Vézé was stunned.
Wei Changrong told him about Wen Yuewei's strategy of "guarding a river must guard the Huai River." "She's a woman, and she doesn't look like someone who has read any military books. How would she know about the strategy of guarding a river must guard the Huai River?"
"Hehe, guarding a river must guard the Huai River. It's not something that's written in military books, but in history books." Wei Ze corrected him. Wei Changrong's words sounded like the aftereffects of a storyteller who had heard too many stories.
Wei Changrong didn't care at all. He continued, "Although Wen Yuewei looks smart, she hasn't received any formal military training. If someone among us didn't tell her about it, what would she know? "
"Then have you circled any suspicious people?" Vézé asked.
"It must be those in charge of the cavalry. Infantrymen don't have any contact with the Nian Army, so they're the most likely to do this." Wei Changrong seemed to have thought about it for a long time.
Vézé thought for a moment, then slowly said, "I say, Changrong, our army has a military court. Do you still remember what the main points of the military court are?"
Wei Changrong thought about it carefully and confirmed that there was indeed such a thing as a military court. However, this was a military operation, so there was no such thing as a military court. The officers could just use military law to solve the problem. Since this was the attitude of the military court, the main points of the military court were even less likely to enter Wei Changrong's mind.
Wei Ze simply picked up his pen and wrote down a line of words, "Based on the facts, with the law as the criterion." After writing, Vézé let Wei Changrong read through the main points of the military court, then said, "I say, Changrong, I'm not saying that we shouldn't pursue the person who leaked the secret, nor am I saying that we should turn a blind eye to it. But you can't just arrest anyone you think is suspicious. You have to have some evidence, right? "
"How are we supposed to find evidence?" Wei Changrong answered unhappily, "If we're talking about meeting them, there are plenty of people who have met them. You and I have all met them. And what if that woman is smart enough to remember what one of us said casually at that time? Besides, if you ask me, is it possible that the woman overheard me when I was talking to someone else? I can't guarantee it. That's why I say, Fourth Uncle, you're thinking too much. "
"Oh? Then what do you plan to do, Changrong? "Vézé smiled.
Wei Changrong said agitatedly, "I think that we can't tell outsiders what our brothers said. If anyone dares to say it, we can only teach them a lesson. Although we might not be able to catch them this time, we should teach them a lesson first. "
After listening to Wei Changrong's words, Vézé smiled and said, "That's the military's confidentiality rules. Also, Changrong, who are you going to teach a lesson to? "
"Since it's the cavalry who spouted nonsense, we naturally have to teach them a lesson," Wei Changrong said without hesitation.
"Are you going to enforce confidentiality rules, or are you going to establish your authority in the cavalry?" Vézé asked. There were many new recruits in the cavalry. If Wei Changrong were to cause a ruckus in the army, it wouldn't look like anything special. However, Vézé was very opposed to establishing authority. Establishing authority was to establish an individual's influence in the army, and what Vézé was after was not the influence of certain officers in the army. That was a warlord's way of doing things. What Vézé needed was to establish a system and discipline in the army.
Wei Changrong's answer made Vézé happy and worried. "Uncle, if you're worried that the newcomers won't be loyal, why don't you let me teach them a lesson? I can do it a little bit more, and you can show up and give them some benefits. That'll be fine. "
Of course, Vézé could fully feel Wei Changrong's loyalty. With such a hardcore supporter, Vézé could be more at ease. However, Wei Changrong's actions disappointed Vézé. Therefore, Vézé said, "Let's leave it at that for now. Don't say anything else."
However, Vézé wanted to put things off for the time being, but things didn't develop as peacefully as Vézé imagined. During the period of rest and reorganization, there was the work of arranging logistics supplies. Maps were important military supplies, and even if they were damaged, they could be replaced with new ones. This was the rule set by Vézé.
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