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After wiping out the Xiang Army's troops lying in ambush outside the city and beating up the Xiang Army's troops that came out of the city, the cavalry division surrounded Fuzhou City from all sides. However, the discussion in the division headquarters was not about the victory this time, nor was it about the upcoming siege. The focus of everyone's discussion was on a direction that had nothing to do with the Xiang Army. The question raised by the officers was, "I don't know if we can win with this kind of tactic against the British."
The British lobster soldiers were the recognized strong enemy of the Liberation Army. It could be said that all the combat training and tactical design of the Liberation Army was for the sake of winning the next battle against the British.
However, after some discussion, the troops only reached one consensus, "The Xiang Army is obviously not a good reference." The officers all believed that if the opponent was the British, the Liberation Army would first encounter the fierce damage of the British artillery. Even if the British were attacked horizontally, as long as the British fought with their backs to the city, they would not have to worry about being surrounded and annihilated by the Liberation Army. They would fight to the death no matter what. The failure of the Xiang Army was that when their troops were attacked, they chose to escape. If every soldier of the Xiang Army did not escape, but fought to the death. Even if the Liberation Army had the advantage of the artillery, they would have paid a great price. It would not have been like the battle in the morning, where they only paid the price of eight deaths and 32 injuries to kill two thousand Xiang Army.
The Liberation Army was not an army made up of fanatics. Defeating two thousand Xiang Army was naturally a great achievement. The Liberation Army retreated from the battlefield after the battle under the city and brought back a few wounded soldiers of the Xiang Army. When they defeated the Xiang Army's troops in ambush, they captured more Xiang Army soldiers. After interrogation, the Xiang Army had about six thousand men in the city. To be able to break into Fuzhou City and kill these six thousand people was a great achievement. With this achievement and the fact that Vézé had intended to promote Lei Hu, Lei Hu had completed the task of escorting the cannons. Coupled with the achievement of annihilating the eight thousand Xiang Army, his promotion to corps commander was a sure thing.
Not only could Lei Hu be a commander, but the cavalry division would also be promoted and rewarded. The middle and upper ranks of the cavalry division understood this as well. But no one really cared about it. In the Recovery Army, everyone knew one thing. If they wanted to make the greatest contribution, they had to be able to defeat the British. He didn't want to fight a battle with a casualty ratio of 3: 1 like in Foshan. Instead, he wanted to fight a beautiful battle with his own strength.
Although the tactic of column attack could show great power against the Xiang Army, such a tactic did not have a particularly good effect in the internal maneuvers of the Liberation Army. Based on actual combat, it was just reducing the casualty ratio of 3: 1 to 2: 1. Overall, the troops were unable to suppress the British lobster soldiers. If not for Vézé's suggestion of column attack, this tactic would not have been the focus of research.
Therefore, after discussing the tactic, everyone did not seem to feel the joy of victory. Lei Hu also felt that this was not normal. He changed the topic. "Comrades, it seems that the Xiang Army's field battle standard is only so-so. As long as we can annihilate all the Xiang Army here, they won't be able to send any information about our army back. The Xiang Army will probably suffer a crushing defeat the next time they meet us. Therefore, we have to fight the next battle well and not let the Xiang Army escape. "
With Lei Hu's lead, the atmosphere in the command center finally became joyful. Zhao Di smiled. "The commander-in-chief has mentioned about the dragon cavalry, which is dismounted infantry. Using the mobility of horses to move the troops to the enemy's weak points and using infantry tactics to defeat the enemy might be the direction we should work towards in the future. "
Just as Zhao Di finished speaking, Song Wu sang a different tune. "Cavalry troops rely on charging power and using the speed of horses to chase after the enemy after defeating them. This time, the Xiang Army is fighting with their back to the city, so our cavalry can't chase after them. If we can use the artillery more effectively when we defeat the enemy, the results of the battle should be greater. "
Zhao Di couldn't help but roll his eyes at Song Wu after hearing his suggestion. As soon as the two brigade commanders started the discussion, the officers began to argue. Lei Hu listened for a while and couldn't help but laugh in his heart. Those who supported Song Wu were his subordinates, and those who supported Zhao Di were naturally Zhao Di's subordinates. These two groups of people seemed to be arguing about tactics, but they couldn't rule out the possibility that both sides were eyeing the vacant divisional commander position after Lei Hu was promoted to corps commander. The infantry brigade and cavalry brigade presented their ideas for the future of the troops.
As the division commander, Lei Hu didn't want the troops to have an intense conflict after he left. Therefore, Lei Hu said, "This is all in the future, let's not talk about this today. The most important thing now is to take down Fuzhou. Which brigade is willing to be the main attacker? "
Song Wu immediately said, "Give the cannons to our brigade, and we will definitely be able to take down Fuzhou. Also, our army can use the tactic of surrounding three and missing one. The cavalry will lie in ambush outside the city, and when the Xiang Army escapes, the cavalry will be able to use their mobility advantage and chase after them. At that time, the Xiang Army won't be fighting, and if the cavalry pursues, the results will be great. "
When Zhao Di heard that Song Wu wanted the cavalry brigade to play a supporting role, he immediately became unhappy. "Our best choice now is to completely annihilate the Fuzhou Xiang Army. If we use the tactic of surrounding three and missing one, our army will have to make way. If the Qing Army doesn't have a leader when they escape, their commander will be mixed in with the Xiang Army. After they escape the city, they will split up and break through. I'm afraid the Qing Army's commander will be able to escape. "
"How can four legs not be able to outrun two legs?" Song Wu said with a bit of malicious intent.
Usually, Zhao Di wouldn't be able to resist arguing with Song Wu, but this time, Zhao Di only laughed dryly and said calmly, "Brigade Commander Song, you are a layman when it comes to cavalry. If the Qing Army prioritizes escaping, they will split into four or five groups and start running through the ravines and forests. Cavalry can't do their best in these places. "
He didn't expect Zhao Di to directly criticize Song Wu for not understanding cavalry. Song Wu was momentarily speechless. His eyes widened, and he began to think of a way to counter the "Brigade Commander Song, you are a layman when it comes to cavalry."
Before the two could start arguing, Lei Hu interrupted them. "The cavalry brigade will send some troops to chase after the Xiang Army that might escape. When we besiege Fuzhou, our army will use an equal number of troops, but there will be a priority. Our artillery and infantry will be used to their advantage, and we will move the enemy to attract them. The troops that attack first must create the conditions for the troops that attack last. After taking Fuzhou, our army has no intention of staying here. We will leave after wiping out the Xiang Army. "
Song Wu wasn't satisfied with this plan, and Zhao Di wasn't completely convinced. However, Lei Hu had an overwhelming influence and rallying power in the cavalry division. Also, the military advantage they had was far from being able to easily wipe out the Qing Army in Fuzhou.
With Lei Hu's suggestion as the basis, the cavalry divisions each had their own standpoint and began to seriously discuss how to take Fuzhou.
In Fuzhou, the Xiang army was gloomy and gloomy. The two thousand troops that left the city were almost all killed by the Liberation Army, and they weren't even defeated by the Liberation Army's superior military strength. The Liberation Army only used one thousand people to defeat the Xiang Army's two thousand people. This kind of difference in combat power frightened the Xiang Army. The Liberation Army set up an encirclement, clearly not to take Fuzhou, but to wipe out the Xiang Army in the city.
No one dared to suggest the plan to abandon the city and escape. Even if they did, the Xiang Army couldn't think of a way to escape without paying a small price. If they wanted to escape, they had to make the Liberation Army unable to chase after them. Those who stayed to bring up the rear were not fighting to the death, they were fighting to the death. No one was willing to play the role of dying in battle.
Seeing his subordinates like this, Ceng Guohua encouraged them. "Our top priority is to send people to ask for reinforcements. If we can coordinate from the inside and outside, we should be able to defeat the Liberation Army."
No one agreed with this. If they wanted to defeat the Liberation Army, they had to leave the city to fight. Everyone had seen the result of fighting outside the city. Of course, they could ask for help, but the problem was who to ask for help from.
At such a critical moment, many Xiang Army officers remembered the discussion about how to give the Liberation Army a despicable name not long ago. They also remembered the Qing Army that had been defeated by the Liberation Army. If they had known at that time that the Liberation Army was not to be trifled with, they would have chosen to temporarily give up Fuzhou and avoid the limelight of the Liberation Army. After the Liberation Army moved south, they would retake Fuzhou.
However, Ceng Guohua insisted on his point of view. "When it gets dark, send people out of the city to ask for help."
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