"Only when you leave the country will you know how good it is. Look at the shogunate army, they don't even have a branch! Now that they are going to war, some of the Japanese soldiers are actually afraid of death. If they are afraid of death, they should have said so earlier! "Political Commissar Zhong Danian said unhappily at the party committee meeting.
After Zhou Xinhua announced to the shogunate that he was going to send some gifts to their families, some of them were indeed grateful, but at the same time, some of them were depressed. The war was about to start, but these guys who had no fighting spirit actually sighed while drinking. "This is to tell us that we don't have to think about coming back alive."
This statement was supported by many shogunate soldiers. Of course, there were also some who did not support it. At first, the two sides argued with each other, but when they were drunk, they started to fight.
The Liberation Army paid great attention to the ideological development of the troops. Before any war, they had to carry out ideological mobilization. Of course, the mobilization was not to shout loyalty to Vézé, but to explain the reason and goal of the future war to everyone. The Chinese were very realistic, and the Chinese were also very reasonable. As long as the reason and execution were agreed, the only thing left to do was to tell their comrades to sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in wartime.
Before the war in Japan, China's ideological mobilization was very simple. The country needed to know Japan's movements and capabilities. This was to prepare for the future exchanges between China and Japan. This reason could only be understood by the Chinese commanders and soldiers. Recently, Vézé had strengthened the term "commanders and soldiers" in the army. The army was divided into combatants and commanders, and the original terms of "officers and soldiers" had also begun to fade.
There was no reason to copy the internal structure of the Chinese army to the Japanese army, so everyone was very unhappy with the shogunate. That was why the Chinese were not used to the wavering of the Japanese army before the war.
Zhou Xinhua said helplessly, "Forget it, I don't think the Tobaku army is any stronger than the shogunate. Our mission is to try to build a new Japanese army. I heard that we will return home after the war. By then, the Japanese can fight however they want. "
"It would be great if we could return home. The Japanese army really can't do it! "Zhong Danian said. With him taking the lead, the other comrades expressed almost the same opinion. People would die in war. Everyone was afraid of dying for China, but they just had to fight hard on the battlefield. But to die for the sake of the Japanese was really beyond everyone's tolerance.
However, the war did not change because of personal feelings. The Totem Army attacked the capital. They split into two groups, one attacking Niu Yu, the other attacking Fu Jian. The Shinsengumi of the mixed forces was mainly responsible for maintaining law and order in Fujian, so the mixed forces fought against the enemies who attacked the Fujian area.
After observing through the binoculars, Zhou Xinhua asked doubtfully, "Did the Satsuma Domain only send a few hundred people to fight?"
Since 1853, the Liberation Army had about 20,000 men. Moreover, the troops never had the habit of fighting separately. Vézé's principle of "concentrating forces to annihilate" was fully implemented. By the time Zhou Xinhua and the others entered the battlefield, the Liberation Army could easily engage in battles of 50,000 to 100,000 people. That was why Zhou Xinhua felt that the enemy's 800-strong army was treating the war like child's play. Even if they were shouting about 'annihilating the Korean enemy', they would still have to get a ten-thousand-strong army to fight. The Shogunate had 15,000 men, and it was said that the Tobaku had 5,000 men as well. Zhou Xinhua felt that he could fight one against two. However, he did not expect the enemy to have fewer men than him.
"The enemy's flag belongs to the Satsuma Domain. That's all they have. Let's outflank them and annihilate them!" Zhou Xinhua suggested.
"The Satsuma Domain has occupied the main road. Will they run away?" Political Commissar Zhong Danian was very worried.
"I see that they are wearing straw sandals. Our troops and the Shinsengumi are wearing liberation shoes. They won't be able to outrun us."
"Moreover, the enemy's artillery is behind us. We just need to outflank them."
The party committee of the front line gave their opinions and finally came to a consensus. They would take the initiative to attack and annihilate the enemy.
The area outside the capital had long since been mapped, and there had also been actual surveys of the terrain. The 1,000 troops were divided into three groups. The first group was naturally the riflemen, the middle group was the artillery, and the Shinsengumi followed at the back.
Based on the map and the actual survey of the terrain, this attack would cover a distance of about eight to fifteen kilometers. The reason why their predictions were so inaccurate was because it was difficult to predict how the Totem Army, which was said to have received Western-style training, would respond.
They made use of the terrain to avoid the Satsuma Domain's line of sight. Everyone walked and walked. After walking for five kilometers, the distance between the Shinsengumi was actually widened. It was impossible to get the Shinsengumi to participate in the usual military training. These guys were also responsible for the security of the ambush area and dealing with the reformists who caused trouble everywhere. The ones being drilled were the Japanese.
Now, the troops only brought dry rations and water bottles with them. They did not bring any luggage and moved at a rapid pace. The Shinsengumi, who killed without blinking an eye, could not keep up.
"Should we wait for them?" Political Commissar Zhong Danian suggested.
"Wait for what? The cucumber will be cold if we wait any longer! Continue marching! "Zhou Xinguo replied.
The troops dragged the artillery as they moved forward. They circled to the side of the Satsuma Domain's formation, which was not considered flat. From here, they could see that the Satsuma Domain's troops had occupied a relatively high position and had set up the artillery there.
"Attack formation! Go! "The troops did not even rest and immediately began the next step of the operation. The rapid march had just increased the troops' heart rate. This break would definitely make the troops feel uncomfortable.
The mixed troops sent out a platoon of more than thirty people to attack. Getting close to the battle depended on basic skills. The attacking team, which was made up of all the middle-aged troops, made full use of the uneven terrain to move. If the cover in front was higher, everyone would run with their backs bent. If the cover in front was lower, everyone would crawl on the ground.
Under the leadership of the platoon leader, the troops made full use of every small ditch, every small mound, every tree, and bush that could be used. The distance between them and the Tobaku army quickly shortened from five to six hundred meters to less than a hundred meters.
Zhou Xinguo, who was on the ground outside the formation, saw that the first line of troops was in position. He pointed to the Satsuma Domain's artillery position in the distance and said, "When the battle starts, all of you will attack along the road!"
There were two roads leading to the Satsuma Domain's position. The Liberation Army's vanguard troops completely avoided these two roads. They approached the enemy from areas where it was difficult to move and hid near the enemy. Now, all the shogunate troops needed to do was to attack along these two roads.
When the troops at the front were in position, the attacking troops were also ready. The 200 members of the Shinsengumi finally arrived at the formation, panting.
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