The next day, when the white fish belly had just begun to appear in the east, Xiaotong personally led more than 3,000 people who rushed to help and set off in a mighty manner.
As usual, she made up a white lie.
She told her mother and Mr. Zhou that she was going to the Annan area to do some research on people's livelihood. This was a special instruction from her father before leaving and she must not ignore it.
Upon hearing Qi Yu's order, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law immediately fell silent, or it could be said that they acquiesced.
It's research, and there's no danger, so just go...
Let’s talk about the armaments Xiaotong brought this time.
In addition to small land artillery, flintlock rifles, and pulley crossbows, she also specially carried some iron caltrops and animal traps that may be used in the "mine" array.
This battle is a land battle, and the existing attack warships cannot be put to use. In comparison, those traditional methods appear to be more suitable.
Now that we have the armaments, how should we fight this war?
In other words, how to formulate strategic strategies.
Xiaotong did not formulate it arbitrarily, but first put it into perspective.
She was thinking: What should she do if her father was here?
He often said: Never fight an uncertain battle!
It can be seen that my father's handling method is a little more rigorous or conservative. He will basically not give it a go until he is not sure enough.
Following this line of reasoning, when faced with this situation, he will most likely choose a truce. After the general situation stabilizes, he will then start to settle accounts one by one and gradually defeat them. He will never use a truce at such a juncture.
There are three enemies, use the small to fight the big.
This strategy is the so-called retreat to advance.
However, Xiaotong had her own ideas.
She desperately hoped that the silly boy could take advantage of this opportunity to build a career, or even become famous in one battle. Only in this way could she impress her overly ambitious father, and then...
If he were to retreat in order to advance like his father, he would not be able to demonstrate his ability to surge forward.
Well, this matter still needs careful consideration.
Don't be impatient. Once you understand the actual battle situation, it's not too late to reassess the situation and adapt accordingly.
That’s it for now!
Annan and Qiongzhou Island are only separated by a natural moat and a strip of water, so the distance is really not that far.
In just three days, Qi Xiaotong and his party arrived at their destination.
After arranging the transportation of the baggage, she led her subordinates directly to Hong Tao's military camp without saying a word.
The military situation is so great that we cannot delay it for a moment.
That’s right!
…
In Annan now, the roads have been built very well and the movement is very fast.
After only two days of walking, Qi Xiaotong arrived at the front line.
Hong Tao was surprised to learn of her arrival, and he was overjoyed and led the crowd out to greet her.
Outside the camp gate, I saw a handsome figure in military uniform immediately holding a whip and looking towards the central military tent from a distance.
ah……
Sure enough it was her!
Hong Tao waved his hand and ordered his men to stop, clasped his fists and said: "General, please greet Miss Qi and give me your courtesy."
Since it was a public occasion, Qi Xiaotong had no choice but to treat her with courtesy.
She held it up with her empty hand and said warmly: "General, you are wearing armor, so there is no need to be polite."
This was a set of greetings, and the emphasis was on courtesy and courtesy, but unexpectedly, the silly boy looked at him as if he was losing his composure.
It’s not like I’ve never seen it before, so why are you staring at it like that?
You're out of your mind!
Thinking of this, Xiaotong suddenly glared and scolded him fiercely.
Hong Tao was stunned and lowered his head with a red face.
After coming to his senses, he quickly made an "invite" gesture, signaling everyone to come into the tent to discuss matters.
Shao Qing and relevant senior officials gathered in the Chinese military tent and reported military information to Miss Qi.
The government army is a private army belonging to local forces. Their allegiance is to local officials, not the court. According to unwritten rules, they are obliged to make relevant reports to their masters or their heirs.
What's more, the eldest lady also showed off her representative power seal.
Public is public, private is private!
Hong Tao is very clear about this point.
When discussing official matters, one must be meticulous and not mess around.
"Tell me, what is the enemy's military strength?"
"Miss, the enemy's coalition forces have a total strength of about 100,000, and they are all well-trained. Among them, there are about 5,000 dwarf mule cavalry, several hundred elephant soldiers, and the rest are ordinary
Infantry. As for the equipment, they mainly use spears, supplemented by crossbows. They are not very elite."
what? What?
There are actually 100,000 enemies?
Hearing this, Qi Xiaotong not only frowned.
"Then... what is our military strength?"
"Our army has about 4,000 cavalry, and if you include the infantry that you have sent for reinforcements, the total will be about 15,000. In addition, there are more than 50 small offensive artillery pieces and 15 large defensive artillery pieces."
this……
The disparity in military strength between the enemy and ourselves seems too great, right?
It’s almost five to one!
Seeing that Xiaotong was worried, Hong Tao hurriedly said: "Although the enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered, our military advantage is to crush the opponent. The enemy basically uses cold weapons, and our army
, but they are all firearms and equipment. It can be said that as long as the tactics are used properly, the chances of winning are quite high. The first confrontation was won in this way."
"Then, in the first confrontation, what was the proportion of battle losses between the two sides?"
yes!
This is the key!
If it was as advantageous as Hong Tao said, the first initial confrontation should have severely damaged the enemy.
In fact, is that really the case?
Hong Tao shook his head and said regretfully: "As for the battle losses, the two sides were roughly evenly matched, both losing hundreds of people."
Xiaotong heard this and said curiously: "Looking at it this way, it seems that our army has not gained any big advantage?"
"This... the eldest lady doesn't know that this battlefield is completely in a jungle area. In this kind of terrain, the field of vision is extremely limited, and it is difficult for the attacking musket to give full play to its real advantage. It is even not as convenient as the pulley crossbow.
.It is precisely for this reason that we did not take advantage of the advantages brought by armaments, which are beyond human power." After hearing this, Hong Tao hurriedly explained.
What?
Jungle warfare…
If you look at it this way, wouldn't land-based artillery also lose its use?
No wonder there is no advantage at all!
Don't forget, the opponent's strength is almost five times that of mine. Under such a huge impact, even if there is some advantage in equipment, there will be a big discount.
If it is combined in this way, the existing advantages will basically be lost.
If you lose your advantage, the danger will become even greater!
Tell me, how should we deal with the enemy next?
The more Qi Xiaotong thought about it, the more difficult it became and she felt a lot of pressure.