The three or five thousand Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners may be very strong, but they are not the key force that determines victory or defeat. On this point, the old imperial calendar of the Qing court was wrong.
But when he was about to face a relatively strong enemy, Zhu Yongxing was still very cautious. It was for this reason that he was not very willing for the Zheng army to attack Chaozhou.
Meizhou and Chaozhou are the two key points on the eastern front. They are the horns of each other. They are not only the attack point for attacking Fujian Province, but also the cornerstone of defensive attacks. Let the Zheng family ignore the economic losses and start the war.
, if the Zheng family does not contribute, and there is another drama of abandoning the city and "turning in", Meizhou's flanks will be threatened, and there will be gaps in the southern barrier of Guangzhou.
Judging from the consistent performance of the Zheng family, this possibility is not only possible, but also very high. Joining forces means joining forces, and there is a choice when you and I are almost the same, but such a heavy responsibility must be unreliable.
Taking responsibility from allies is obviously not the best choice.
Zhu Yongxing estimated that Zheng Jing's indecisive character would probably make repeated observations and considerations before attacking Chaozhou, and would try his best to obtain an official position as the governor of Chaozhou. Therefore, he deliberately delayed the time to summon Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan. In the past few days, Nanhai
The fleet, the Yangtze River Navy, and the Marine Corps have been assembled and will set sail today to attack Chaozhou.
The goal of Ruyang Wang Ma Bao's army is Meizhou. It is not very sure to capture Chaozhou with just the navy and the marines. But there is another army on land, which was the one who helped Su Li resist the Qing army in the Hailufeng area.
There are more than 20,000 people in the two regiments, plus Suli's old troops of more than 10,000 recruited after Su Li's death.
Calculated in this way, whether in Meizhou or Chaozhou, the numerical advantage of the Ming army was still maintained. The firearms and equipment also surpassed the Qing army. Although the Qing army at that time was mostly equipped with firearms belonging to the San Francisco dynasty, it was not like the Ming army.
The army is still not equipped with such crazy equipment. In combat, cold weapons are still the mainstay. Although the shotgun is called a sharp weapon. The green camp is not equipped with it, but after all it is a matchlock gun, and its performance is also suspected of being boasted, and it is not as good as a flintlock gun.
The rate of fire and power of the musket.
Zhu Yongxing and the General Staff did not expect to kill both Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong at once. The main reason was the supply of ammunition. Now that the Eastern Expedition has begun, both the navy and the army need to take a rest in order to stockpile supplies.
Ammunition needed for a big war. Fortunately, Zhu Yongxing had sent someone to Macau to make the proper contact. The Macau artillery factory would produce ammunition for the navy of the Ming army, and began manufacturing according to the musket samples provided by the Ming army.
In this way, the pressure on the arsenal can be greatly relieved. Zhu Yongxing calculated that in just one month, the Ming army's ammunition stockpile can meet the initial requirements. And the gun equipment will be available in one month.
About 10,000 more branches will be added within the period. This includes the production of the arsenal, imports from Britain and France, and the production of the Macao Gun Factory.
This is still an estimated number. As long as the finance can keep up, this number will further increase. With the expansion of Wu Sangui and Sun Yanling's smuggling from the inland, and the recovery of Guangdong and Guangxi, taxes on large areas of Guangxi have increased. Government Finance
A continued improvement in the situation is foreseeable.
Use money to build an all-firearms force, and play less strategic tactics. The surest way to win is to crush with strength. This is Zhu Yongxing's fundamental idea, and he is constantly instilling this idea into his subordinates.
And constantly turn ideas into reality.
It is for these various reasons that Zhu Yongxing hoped that the Ming army could take Meizhou and Chaozhou into his hands. He took advantage of Zheng Jing's indecisiveness and the Zheng family's hesitation. He also ridiculed, teased, tempted, and broke the news.
There are many methods, and it is indeed difficult for Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan to make a decision. If it is difficult to make a decision, they can only send someone to ask for instructions, and it may be too late.
He wanted a lot, but he didn't want to exert too much effort; he had a lot of worries, and he didn't have the courage to fight with all his strength. Especially since Zhu Yongxing was in Guangzhou, he was about to break the Zheng family's situation of "I take charge of the affairs in the southeast." The resulting
Being confused and uneasy will be more conducive for the Ming army to take action before the Zheng family.
Looking at Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan's retreating figures, Zhu Yongxing sneered. This summons seemed to have achieved its goal. The final result will depend on the next actions of the Zheng family.
If Zhu Yongxing had some understanding before that the Zheng family insisted on maintaining relative independence under the incompetent Yongli leadership, with the continuous growth of the strength of the southwest Ming army and the smooth progress of the Eastern Expedition, he became more and more selfish towards the Zheng family.
I feel disgusted by the separatist rule.
The failure of the Ming Dynasty, especially from the beginning of Hongguang, was largely caused by the domineering military leaders of the Ming Dynasty and their own affairs. At the end of the dynasty, some were influenced by ambition, or considered for their own wealth, and attacked each other.
, tyrannizing and harming the people, surrendering and selling themselves, and other nasty things are endless in history. It is more accurate to say that they were defeated by the Qing army than they were self-destruction.
Just like the Zheng Group, while talking and fighting with the Qing army, they were also playing tricks on the court. They did not have a firm position and unchanging principles. As an ally to contain the Qing army, they should be regarded as capable of fighting side by side.
friendly forces, the risk is too great.
"Your Highness." Yicheng turned from behind the screen and said, "I wonder if our army can seize Chaozhou before Zheng's army? The Zheng family has begun to be afraid of Your Highness, otherwise they would not ask for the name before sending troops to fight."
"Tiger father and dog son, Zheng Jing sent Wang Yanping far away!" Zhu Yongxing raised the corner of his mouth in disdain and said: "I think I have calculated carefully, but I am hesitant and cautious, and it is difficult to achieve great things. If you are a decisive person, just take it.
After leaving Chaozhou, according to the current situation, can we still fight with each other?"
"The Zheng family has thousands of warships and tens of thousands of elite soldiers, but they only guard the gold in a small area. It is really difficult to achieve great things." Yicheng mostly followed Zhu Yongxing in saying this, but he didn't know much about military matters.
"If you stand guard, you will stand guard. As long as the gold and buildings are not lost, the Qing army in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian will be somewhat contained, and it will be convenient for our army." Zhu Yongxing felt that the Zheng army was stronger in naval warfare, but ineffective in land warfare. However, in history, Guangdong
With such a vast coastline in the four provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian, there were very few cases of surprise landings and attempts to avoid the real and strike at the false, which really puzzled him.
If the technical content of landing operations is very high, then moving along the coast greatly reduces the danger of this tactic. With an undefended distance of thirty miles, the Qing army should be able to obtain information and gather troops in time to build up the landing force.
A foothold. If the speed of the ships is used to continuously pull the Qing army at several points, causing an imbalance in its forces, and thus finding a breakthrough, it will not be very difficult.