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Occam's Razor, also known as "Occam's Razor," was proposed by William of Occam, a 14th century logician and Franciscan friar. This principle was called "Do not increase the substance if it is not necessary," or "Simple and Effective Principle." As he said in the Annotated Book of Proverbs, Volume 2, Question 15, "Do not waste more things to do, use less things to do the same thing."
Vézé liked this concept very much. For the Liberation Army, the system established by Vézé seemed to be very complicated. But from Vézé's point of view, he only made the simplest copy of what he knew. Limited by Vézé's memory ability and the current material conditions, there were still a lot of deficiencies in these systems.
For the question of strategic choice in the Military Commission, Vézé finally used Occam's Razor to make a judgment.
What did the Liberation Army lack the most? There were a lot.
What was the biggest objective problem that the Rehabilitation Army could not solve with its current capabilities in these many areas that were lacking? Steel could be smelted, mechanical processing and manufacturing could be gradually improved, but land suitable for farming couldn't fall from the sky.
After this judgment, the final plan still fell to seize the two lakes area south of the Yangtze River to obtain a stable supply of food and fodder.
When this theory and derivation method were explained to the Military Commission, the Military Commission couldn't come up with a reason to refute it. On this basis, everyone had a new understanding of the safety of the United States airline route. A considerable number of comrades believed that after occupying the south of the Huai River, they could stop moving north. While digesting and consolidating the newly liberated areas, they could consider the problem of stabilizing the rice trade between Vietnam and Siam.
Vézé had heard the saying, "Because the strategy is correct, we can win." But he didn't expect that when he put forward the correct theory, it would lead to the strategic consideration of "south or north."
When China was unified, there would always be a debate about continuing south or continuing north. In the vast land of Siberia, the highest temperature in summer might reach 40 degrees, and in winter it would be -60 degrees. In order to endure the temperature difference of 100 degrees in a year, the local pine trees had to shed their leaves. Other pine trees of the same genus are evergreen all year round in the warm south.
The benefits of going south were far greater than going north. Grain, rubber, ores, as long as they controlled the south, they would be able to satisfy China's needs. Compared to that, the investment and output of heading north were not worth it at all.
Of course, this was a matter for the future. In the near future, the only thing that needed to be considered was the traditional friendship between China, Vietnam, and Siam. If they could continue to obtain a large amount of rice, the Liberation Army would need to maintain this friendship.
Would Ceng Guofan lead his troops back? Would the Taiping Rebellion and the Liberation Army fight to the death? From the perspective of Occam's Razor, since these things were bound to happen, then it was better to wait until they really happened to solve them.
In November, the Hunan Military Region was the first to reorganize three corps, each with about 15,000 soldiers. Originally, no one thought too much about how Ceng Guofan's Xiang Army would fight. But the reality made the military very surprised. The Xiang Army made full use of the advantages of the navy and launched joint attacks in Southern Anhui, where rivers crisscrossed, and defeated Yang Fuqing's troops of the Taiping army stationed in Southern Anhui.
In addition to controlling the area north of the Yangtze River, the Huai army also sent troops to attack Yangzhou. Yoshibuwon and Ceng Lichang's troops of the Taiping army resisted bitterly in Yangzhou.
In mid-October, the Xiang Army attacked Wuhu by land and water. After receiving a series of defeats, the Taiping army in Wuhu lost the will to fight and simply withdrew from Wuhu. The Xiang Army and Lin Fengxiang's troops fought a bloody battle against the allied forces of the Xiang Army and the Huai army in East and West Liangshan. Vézé led troops to defend East and West Liangshan. At that time, Yang Xiuqing sent Vézé a river platoon and used the tactic of blocking the river with iron locks. At that time, Shi Dakai won a great victory at the mouth of the river. Vézé did not fight at all in East and West Liangshan.
This time, the Taiping army navy no longer had the strength to do so. The troops north of Changjiang under Lin Fengxiang were defeated first. The Xiang Army's land forces circled behind Lin Fengxiang's troops, intending to cut off Lin Fengxiang's retreat. The navy took advantage of the night to break through the river surface and then transported the Huai army across the river. Lin Fengxiang had no choice but to choose to retreat. After breaking through the pass of East and West Liangshan, the Xiang Army and the Huai army advanced by land and water. Although Lin Fengxiang wanted to stop several times to set up a position, every time he stopped, he faced the situation where the Xiang Army surrounded him from the front and back.
The Xiang Army did not want Lin Fengxiang to be able to retreat to Tianjing in one piece. The chase was getting tighter and tighter. As a veteran general of the Taiping army, Lin Fengxiang suddenly gave the Xiang Army a sudden counterattack. He asked the main force to pretend to retreat while he personally led 6000 troops to attack the pursuing Xiang Army. The Xiang Army originally thought that Lin Fengxiang would continue to retreat. After being attacked head-on, they panicked.
Ceng Guoquan directly led the guards to the frontline to command. Those who retreated were killed. Those who wavered were killed. In front of the steel sabers of the supervising troops, the Xiang Army stabilized their position. They started shooting at Lin Fengxiang. From artillery bombardment to shooting at each other, to the final melee with cold weapons. 6000 elites of the Taiping army and 10,000 elites of the Xiang Army engaged in a fierce battle.
The Xiang Army navy realized that something was wrong and quickly went ashore to participate in the battle. Lin Fengxiang's troops immediately turned back and joined the battle. Lin Fengxiang's 28000 troops and the Xiang Army's 22000 troops were engaged in a fierce battle of 50,000 troops. The battle was earth-shattering. After more than 6000 casualties on both sides, the Xiang Army, which was at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, had to board the ships and leave the battlefield. Lin Fengxiang sent some troops to clean up the battlefield while he led his troops to counterattack Wuhu.
The Qing Army in Wuhu had less than 3000 troops. When they saw nearly 20,000 Taiping army coming, they were caught unprepared and had to abandon Wuhu and flee. This beautiful counterattack had smashed away the arrogance of the Xiang army.
However, Lin Fengxiang could not reverse the situation even though he won all the way. The Xiang Army's famous general Bao Chao led 20,000 troops to fight against Chen Yucheng's 8,000 troops in the south. The combat strength of the two sides was similar, but the difference in military strength was more than double. After Chen Yucheng was forced to retreat, Bao Chao immediately led his troops to the north, intending to cut off Lin Fengxiang's retreat.
Of course, Lin Fengxiang would not let Bao Chao succeed. After he occupied Wuhu, he collected the resources that he did not have time to take away. His troops did not stay for long and immediately retreated. Before the Xiang Army and the Huai Army could outflank them, they rushed out of the encirclement and retreated to the vicinity of Tianjing City and set up camp.
The Xiang Army chased after them and set up camp less than 50 miles away from Tianjing City, confronting Lin Fengxiang's troops. Although the Xiang Army did not dare to attack immediately, the overall encirclement was getting smaller and smaller. Attacking Tianjing City was just around the corner.
On the east side of Zhejiang, Li Xiucheng and Zuo Zongtang's Chu Army were evenly matched. Zuo Zongtang, who called himself Jin Liang, did not achieve any amazing results. He only managed to block Li Xiucheng's army outside Hangzhou. Of course, this was already considered good. Li Xiucheng's inability to take Hangzhou meant that his troops were at their limit. Even if Li Xiucheng could support them in Zhejiang, once Tianjing fell, the Xiang Army and Huai Army could attack Li Xiucheng from behind. At that time, Li Xiucheng, who had 200,000 troops, could only wait to be slaughtered. Of course, Li Xiucheng had another choice, which was to quickly return to Tianjing and defeat the Xiang Army and Huai Army. If he made this choice, Zuo Zongtang could pursue him from behind. The Xiang Army, Huai Army, and Chu Army could join forces and take down Tianjing City together.
On the 11th of November, Vézé officially issued an order to start the northern expedition. The 11th, 12th, and 13th Armies, which had been reorganized from the Fourth Army, were the first to head south. The northern expedition had begun.
The 11th Army set off from Yongxing to Hengyang. The 12th Army stationed in Yongzhou also set off for Hengyang. The 13th Army stationed in Yongzhou also set off for Baoqing. Taking down Baoqing would control the route south of the Yangtze River to Sichuan. After taking down Hengyang, the Liberation Army would be able to officially form the Navy's Yangtze River Detachment.
Coincidentally, on the same day, Li Xiucheng led his troops out of Hangzhou and retreated towards Suzhou. Hong Xiuquan sent messengers several times to request that Li Xiucheng return to defend Tianjing. Zhejiang was already unstable. Li Xiucheng obviously knew that if anything happened to Tianjing, he would be trapped. The best solution now was to shrink the defensive line and gather his troops. If he could deal a fatal blow to one of the Qing Army, the situation could still be salvaged.
Li Xiucheng did not move with the main force. He led his troops back to Tianjing first. On the 20th of November, Lin Fengxiang, Li Xiucheng, Chen Yucheng, Zhang Yingchen, and Yang Fuqing, the five commanders of the Taiping army who were the best at fighting, finally gathered together.
Lin Fengxiang was a determined and calm person. Even though the situation was worsening, he did not despair. Of course, he could not avoid feeling disappointed. If Hong Xiuquan had agreed to establish the General Staff Headquarters three months ago, just as Zhang Yingchen had agreed, the combat ability of the new troops would have returned to normal after the first three months of hardship, just as Zhang Yingchen had agreed. If he had organized the counterattack, he would not have only six thousand elites, but twelve thousand. Ceng Guoquan, who only had ten thousand, would have died there. After killing Ceng Guoquan, Bao Chao's troops would not be able to make a sound alone. At that time, Lin Fengxiang would not have launched a surprise attack on Wuhu. Instead, he would have turned around and attacked Bao Chao with Chen Yucheng. Even if they could not finish off Bao Chao, they would be able to repel Bao Chao's troops. At that time, Tianjing would not have been besieged to this extent.
The opportunity had passed. With Lin Fengxiang's personality, he would not complain. However, Li Xiucheng gave his opinion in the meeting. "Since things have come to this, our army must be unified."
Hearing this reasonable suggestion, Chen Yucheng's beautiful face showed a mocking expression. This was not aimed at Li Xiucheng, but at Hong Xiuquan's actions a few months ago. Originally, when Chen Yucheng saw that Hong Xiuquan was not willing to establish the General Staff Headquarters, he prepared to lead the troops and merge with Lin Fengxiang. Before he could completely convince his subordinates, Hong Xiuquan not only strictly ordered Chen Yucheng to go to Ningguo Fu to help Yang Fuqing with the defense. He also gave two of Chen Yucheng's important subordinates the title of King.
Even if Chen Yucheng imitated the General Staff Headquarters, the system of soldiers as generals could not be changed. Hong Xiuquan gave Chen Yucheng's subordinates the title of King. Now that everyone was a King, who would be commanding who?
Chen Yucheng finally understood after hearing what Hong Xiuquan did. Hong Xiuquan was not opposed to the establishment of the General Staff Headquarters, but he wanted to establish a General Staff Headquarters where Hong Xiuquan alone held power. At the moment, the generals of Heavenly State were very clear about Hong Xiuquan's ability. If he were to command the war, everyone would be waiting for death. Moreover, after listening to the concept of the General Staff Headquarters proposed by Lin Fengxiang, Chen Yucheng really understood the characteristics of the General Staff Headquarters. The General Staff Headquarters was not responsible for a single person. The General Staff Headquarters itself was a transparent system. This system existed to win the war.
If the Taiping Rebellion formed a General Staff Headquarters, the General Staff Headquarters would serve the entire Taiping Rebellion regime, not to let Hong Xiuquan enjoy power alone. Hong Xiuquan himself strongly opposed this order.
Therefore, when he heard Li Xiucheng's suggestion to unify the military, Chen Yucheng instinctively felt that Hong Xiuquan would definitely do something to Li Xiucheng's subordinates. While he couldn't help but show a mocking expression on his face, Chen Yucheng only felt a chill in his heart. He couldn't help but wonder if he had followed the wrong person.
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