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In the future, the Liberation Army would have two land routes for the Northern Expedition. One would naturally be the route that the Taiping army would take out of Guangxi through Daozhou and Chenzhou. The other would be the main road that Vézé would take to the south. Ganzhou was a major city in Jiangxi, located on the main road from Guangdong to Jiangxi. Sending troops to Ganzhou was firstly because it was too far from Guangdong and the expenditure was too great. Secondly, it was difficult to grasp the strategic situation. After a discussion with the General Staff Headquarters, they decided not to set up camp in Ganzhou.
Not setting up camp in Ganzhou and abandoning Ganzhou were two different things. The Liberation Army could not accept the Qing Army using Ganzhou as a base to attack Guangdong. Therefore, the Liberation Army adopted a strategy of attacking but not occupying Ganzhou. Up to now, the Liberation Army had attacked Ganzhou three times.
The first time was because the Ganzhou Qing Army had the guts to launch a probing attack on the Guangdong side. The Liberation Army immediately headed north to Ganzhou and easily captured Ganzhou at the cost of eight deaths and eighteen serious injuries. The slogan of the Liberation Army was "Don't hurt the good, but don't let the bad off!"
The Liberation Army did not do anything to the people of Ganzhou. They even helped to treat the civilians who were injured in battle. As for the Manchu Qing forces in Ganzhou, they naturally belonged to the "bad guys". After the city was breached, all the civil and military officials in Ganzhou were beheaded and hung on the city gate. The Liberation Army posted a notice in Ganzhou, informing the future civil and military officials of the Qing Army in Ganzhou that if they dared to attack the Liberation Army again, this group of people would end up like them. This attack didn't just refer to the Qing Army using Ganzhou as a base to attack Guangdong. The Liberation Army's notice clearly stated that if the Qing Army in Ganzhou dared to attack the Liberation Army's personnel in Ganzhou, only death awaited them.
After the Liberation Army retreated, the Qing Army, which had occupied Ganzhou again, still did not change their traitorous nature. They actually dared to interrogate people along the way, "Prevent the Liberation Army traitors from passing through." As a last resort, the Liberation Army could only move out again. This time, the Liberation Army captured Ganzhou at the cost of four deaths and eleven serious injuries. As for the incorrigible Qing Army, the Liberation Army not only killed all the civil and military officers of the Qing Army in Ganzhou, but they also killed all the captive Qing Army soldiers.
After being beaten up twice, the Qing Army finally calmed down a little. Both sides lived in harmony for nearly half a year. As for the Liberation Army's activities in the Ganzhou region, the Qing Army acted as if they didn't see it. Unexpectedly, Ceng Guofan took the wrong medicine and actually sent 800 Xiang Army troops to be stationed in Ganzhou. Moreover, he shouted that he would teach the Liberation Army a lesson.
Faced with the arrogance of the Xiang Army, the Liberation Army had to move out for the third time. It was true that the Xiang Army was better at fighting than the other Qing Army. They had bought a lot of foreign guns and cannons, their training and command were not bad either. After the war with the British, the Liberation Army was also very different from before. The new three-inch forged field artillery was equipped in the army and became the new main artillery weapon. After paying the price of nine deaths and 22 serious injuries to capture Ganzhou, the captured generals of the Xiang Army were still quite stubborn and kept cursing the Liberation Army. He could only peel off the skin and grass of these fellows and kill all of their subordinates.
Like lanterns, the former officers of the Xiang Army hung a row outside the city gate. Around their necks was a sign with the words, "The Consequences of Resisting the Liberation Army" written on it. A notice was also posted in the city. "If the civil and military officers of Ganzhou dare to resist the Liberation Army in Ganzhou again, they will be killed without mercy!"
When Lei Hu talked to Vézé about this matter, he couldn't help but sigh. "They all say that things don't happen more than three times. I don't know if the Qing Army can remember this."
Vézé didn't know how to answer this question. According to the conduct of the Manchu Qing, as long as the Liberation Army didn't attack Ganzhou on a large scale, the ordinary officials and civil and military officers should have long followed the rules of the officialdom and turned a blind eye to the non-military activities of the Liberation Army in Ganzhou. But now it was related to Ceng Guofan. This old man was very stubborn. It was unknown how many times his subordinates would have to be beaten before they learned their lesson.
In addition, the Xiang Army was a guest army. Even if they abandoned the city and fled, they couldn't be held responsible for "losing land." They could have done something in Ganzhou that angered the Liberation Army and left before the Liberation Army sent troops. It would have been quite troublesome at that time.
These were not particularly important matters. One of the reasons why Vézé sent troops this time was to see the combat power of the Xiang Army. He was very concerned about this. He asked Lei Hu, "Is the Xiang Army easy to fight?"
Lei Hu was also full of questions. He immediately said, "Commander-in-chief, the Xiang Army's firing is quite good. They have been training for a long time and have a strong sense of hierarchy. They are also very tolerant in the face of artillery fire. If we hadn't suffered a loss when we fought the British, the troops would have simulated such an enemy after a drill. If we had used the original level of training to attack Ganzhou, which is guarded by the Xiang Army, I'm afraid the casualties would have been in the triple digits. "
Ever since the field artillery was used to fire bullets, the Liberation Army was not willing to fight in a very dense formation. The grapeshot bullets had to be close to be effective. The range of the grapeshot bullets was much longer than the grapeshot bullets. In a dense formation, a few shots would cause the formation to collapse. The last time they fought the British, the Second Regiment sent four rows of infantry to add fuel to the fire because of this worry. Facts proved that this worry was not unnecessary. Nearly half of the British casualties were caused by the artillery. It was just that the Liberation Army's artillery was relatively poor. It was very effective against the dense and slow Qing Army. It was much worse against the British army, which was agile and could actively adjust the infantry lines during a rapid advance.
"This time, our troops used the tactic of advancing quickly in columns and suddenly spreading out horizontally. The effect was good. This tactic also allowed the artillery to better display their power. As long as the attack position is chosen, no matter how fierce the enemy's firepower is, they can only passively take a beating. "Lei Hu introduced excitedly." However, to deal with the British army, we have to expand the battlefield. This way, the troops can display their mobility. Moreover, Commander-in-chief, we have also used the terrain to transfer troops. The Xiang Army's tactics are very inflexible. They only know how to shoot, so we can't see the effect for the time being. "
Lei Hu was one of the rare cautious people in the Liberation Army. In a battle of 500 people in the Liberation Army, Lei Hu was the first to encounter a disadvantageous situation. In 1852, under Changsha City, Zuo Zongtang once tried to encircle and annihilate the Liberation Army with three times the number of troops. The direction that Lei Hu was in charge of was attacked by the Qing Army's cavalry and suffered a setback for a while.
That setback did not make Lei Hu depressed, nor did it make Vézé look down on Lei Hu. After Lei Hu's outstanding military service, he was now the commander of the cavalry division and ranked among the top 20 in the Liberation Army. The commander of the cavalry division was the same as the commander of the artillery division. It was half a rank higher than the commander of an ordinary infantry division.
Because he had suffered a setback, Lei Hu was obviously more cautious and calm than other officers. Lei Hu's own statement was that he did not care since he had lost so much face. Of course, Vézé knew that he was being polite. That defeat only destroyed Lei Hu's arrogance. Whether it was confidence or learning attitude, Lei Hu was stronger than other generals who had won all the way.
In the past, Lei Hu's humility and eagerness to learn ranked first in the Liberation Army. Now, most officers had the same attitude. It was the war with the United Kingdom half a year ago that led to this situation. After the United Kingdom lost nearly 3: 1 to the United Kingdom, the Liberation Army sobered up, let go of their arrogance, and began to conduct more in-depth research and training in the details of combat.
When the Liberation Army did not meet an opponent, when faced with the details that could be spent more or less effort, everyone lazily chose to ignore. They had to expend a lot of energy and strength to improve a little bit, and that little bit of improvement had no substantial impact on the outcome of the war. Only fools would do such useless work.
After fighting with the world's number one lobster soldiers, the Liberation Army was finally willing to bury their heads in hard work. After truly putting in the work, the Liberation Army suddenly discovered that there was actually much more to pay attention to in the war than before. The Liberation Army's military level had actually achieved many breakthroughs.
After discussing tactics for a while, Lei Hu asked, "Commander in Chief, what if the Qing Army still doesn't change?"
Vézé smiled confidently and said, "Anyway, the purpose of attacking Ganzhou is to train the troops. Even if the Qing Army in Ganzhou is still a dog that can't change its behavior, if we kill them dozens of times, I'm afraid that no Manchu Qing civil and military officials will dare to go to Ganzhou again. The effect will be the same. "
Lei Hu nodded solemnly. The Liberation Army had traveled a long distance to attack. Apart from the fact that Ganzhou was the gateway from Guangdong to Jiangxi, the Liberation Army had to maintain a strong pressure on Ganzhou. Training the troops was also a very important purpose.
After talking about Ganzhou, Lei Hu asked, "Commander in Chief, I heard that Shi Dakai is going on an expedition to the east." Ganzhou was, after all, Jiangxi. Although the Xiang Army officers were stubborn, the other Manchu Qing officials who did not come from the Xiang Army system were willing to say everything they knew in order to survive.
"I know," Vézé replied.
"Can Shi Dakai win?" This was actually what Lei Hu was most concerned about.
Vézé answered frankly, "Shi Dakai wants to play with persimmons and pick on the soft ones. Actually, when the King Of The East was around, he also had this method. But Shi Dakai is completely different from the King Of The East. That's why I don't think he'll win. "
"Why?" Lei Hu asked with great interest.
"When the King Of The East was around, whether it was a soft persimmon or a hard rock, he could pinch and crush them. That's why the King Of The East chose to pinch the soft persimmon first. This was a strategy that would be easy first and difficult later. The Xiang Army and the Taiping army were fighting bitterly in Jiangxi, and neither could defeat the other. Shi Dakai felt that he was suffering unspeakably in the Taiping Rebellion because he didn't have the ability to crush a hard rock. The Taiping army didn't have the ability to win, and the Xiang Army similarly didn't have the ability to defeat the Taiping army. The Jiangxi battlefield was naturally plunged into a long and bitter struggle. Shi Dakai himself probably didn't realize that this unspeakable suffering was due to his own incompetence. Instead, he thought that finding a soft persimmon to pinch would make him invincible. That's a joke. " When he said this, Vézé didn't sound like he was mocking him. On the contrary, there was a hint of sympathy in his tone.
After hearing this, Lei Hu was enlightened. He nodded repeatedly. "Commander in Chief, you want us to send troops to Ganzhou this time because you want to see if we can defeat the Xiang Army?"
Vézé only smiled, but didn't answer directly.
Lei Hu continued excitedly. "If we have the ability to defeat the Qing Army in Ganzhou head-on, then we can choose all kinds of tactics and strategies. Those tactics and strategies are only for the sake of defeating the enemy more efficiently. With these tactics and strategies that make it easier for us to win, we have the ability to use the stupidest method to defeat the enemy. Only by being stupid can we be skillful! "Towards the end, Lei Hu understood some key points and immediately became happy.
Seeing that Lei Hu's understanding was on point, Wei Ze sternly said, "In modern warfare, weapons, training, and everything else have been confirmed. A commander's most valuable quality is firmness. If he can't recognize his own incompetence and still thinks of it as bad luck, then there's no saving him. " Then there's no saving him. "
Lei Hu understood this point and nodded repeatedly.
Vézé continued, "Shi Dakai is a smart man. He's a man of strategy. With a strong central authority to control the overall situation and capable subordinates to complete the tactical arrangements, he can also fight many beautiful battles. But when you ask him to bear the responsibility and face difficulties with an indomitable attitude, he won't be able to take it. I'm not optimistic about Shi Dakai's future, because at this critical moment in the war, when he can't see any hope for the future, Shi Dakai doesn't have the courage to throw caution to the wind. So before he can defeat the enemy, he will first lose to himself. A general who can't defeat himself is fated to be a defeated general. "
Originally, Vézé's impression of Shi Dakai was very ordinary. Shi Dakai was a tragic hero who had a bad fate and was envied by others. But it was precisely because he knew Shi Dakai's ending and saw Shi Dakai's performance that Vézé's impression of Shi Dakai changed greatly. If an ordinary person wasn't determined enough and couldn't defeat himself, then that wasn't a sin. But if a leader wasn't as determined as Shi Dakai, then it would be a disaster for those who followed him.
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