Investigation before combat is an essential step, which is one of the reasons why Yuan Su failed to formulate a detailed combat plan immediately. Obviously, the reason why Zhang Zhenfang is said to have no military talent is because he did not even conduct preliminary investigation.
Who knows, the third brigade was actually asked to formulate a combat plan out of thin air.
During the investigation, the remaining two regiments of the Third Brigade and the baggage troops also successively set off from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng.
Jiang Baili told Yuan Su that the Third Brigade was a large force after all. With such a big movement, no matter what kind of civilian army there was in Shangqiu, they would have already received the news. In any case, the pace of the march must be accelerated next, and the army will move more and more.
The sooner you enter the battle, the better you can seize certain opportunities, otherwise it will only make Shangqiu's battle more complicated.
By the afternoon of the 20th, the three regiments of the Third Brigade had completed their assembly in Kaifeng. At the same time, the teaching regiment and a cavalry company of the Second Cavalry Regiment set off to Ningling County and set up the former enemy headquarters here. Ningling County also had Zhang Zhenfang
Part of the division's troops, as the front line closest to Shangqiu, Zhang Zhenfang regarded it as the gateway.
Also later that day, the reconnaissance team sent back the first telegram from Shangqiu, informing them that no traces of the civilian army had been found in the south of Shangqiu, but after some inquiries, they could determine the towns in the north of Shangqiu and the counties and towns further north.
It is true that there is a militia army entrenched again. According to hearsay, the leader of the militia army is named Wang Ze, and he has about 6,000 people.
At night, in the staff room of the General Headquarters of the Dudu Mansion, Zhang Zhenfang, Yuan Su and others discussed the collected information.
Zhang Zhenfang knew Wang Ze. After all, he often fought against the opponent before and had more or less obtained relevant information. However, he told Yuan Su that Wang Ze was not supposed to be the main militia force in Shangqiu. He had previously fought with the Zheng Fu Army.
The main force fighting against the 14th Division is Bai Lang's third-ranking man named Zhou Baolin, and the unit also has a designation. It belongs to the division of Fuhan to fight against Yuan's army. All organizations are organized according to the regular army sequence.
of.
"Zhou Baolin claimed to have two brigades of troops, but at best there were only four regiments with less than 4,000 troops. At that time, the battle with our troops was very fierce, and they even fought against each other in position battles. Previously, our troops tried to attack the east city of Shangqiu,
As a result, Zhou Baolin's troops actually built trenches outside the city to block the attack, causing our troops to suffer a real loss." Li Qian introduced.
"Can you build trenches?" Yuan Su was very surprised. Nowadays, many local armies and even partial divisions of the Beiyang Army do not know how to build trenches. It is really surprising that a peasant uprising army can actually use trench warfare. He then added
He asked, "Who is Zhou Baolin this time?"
"It is said that he had been in the Sixth Town before, but he was just a junior non-commissioned officer. He and Bai Lang were fellow villagers, and he was also the first group of accomplices who accompanied Bai Lang in the rebellion. Later, I heard people talk about it. This week Baolin was still in southern Henan.
I have been a swordsman." Li Qian said.
"What is the relationship between Zhou Baolin and Wang Ze?" Jiang Baili asked.
"Wang Ze was originally a local farmer in Shangqiu. Later, he responded to Bai Lang's uprising and was considered a vassal under Zhou Baolin. Zhou Baolin and Wang Ze occupied Shangqiu together before. Last month, I heard about Zhou Baolin.
I was ordered to attack northern Anhui and northern Henan. I originally ordered Wang Ze to go with him, but Wang Ze didn't seem to want to leave his hometown, so he stayed." Li Qian said in a speculative tone.
Hearing this, Yuan Su could understand the structure of Bai Lang's uprising. Supporting the Han people against Yuan's army was the banner of Bai Lang's troops. As for other peasant armies outside this banner, most of them followed the trend and rose up, nominally claiming to be Bai Lang's.
Centaur actually does not have much direct relationship with Bai Lang's headquarters.
Many peasants have succeeded in rebelling, and after reaping the benefits, they will naturally have other ideas. This is a typical characteristic of the common people in the lower class, and it is also one of the fundamental reasons why peasant uprisings have historically failed to have a beginning or end.
"Before, Zhou Baolin only had more than 4,000 people. Wang Ze actually claimed to have 6,000 people. This is too much." Dai Fengxiang asked with a questioning tone.
"There really shouldn't be that many. Even if there are 6,000 people, there definitely won't be that many weapons and equipment. Not to mention that these miscellaneous militiamen are extremely short of weapons and ammunition. Even Bai Lang's own troops lack regular weapons. The President has already
All arsenals and domestic and foreign arms dealers are strictly ordered to treat themselves as guilty of rebellion if they find someone selling arms privately," Li Qian said.
"In fact, just looking at the current situation in Shangqiu, it is not difficult to guess that the so-called six thousand troops were drowned. If Wang Ze really had such a powerful military force, why did he only huddle in the north of the city and give up all the south of the city?
"Jiang Baili spoke his reasoning unhurriedly.
"Well, that's right, the thief must have been bragging about it." Zhang Zhenfang nodded and said.
"That is to say, the current civilian army in Shangqiu must be less than 6,000, and it is very likely that it is not even 4,000. Even if there are 4,000, there are not enough weapons. After Zhou Baolin's troops withdrew from Shangqiu, in fact,
The hidden dangers in Shangqiu have been reduced by more than half, and this is the best time for us to launch an attack." Yuan Su said encouragingly.
Subsequently, Jiang Baili personally presided over the offensive deployment of the third brigade and Zhang Zhenfang Division.
The plan formulated by Jiang Baili is very simple. In any military operation, the more important military tactics should be simple and easy to implement. This is something that anyone with a little knowledge of military affairs knows. He hopes that Zhang Zhenfang and the Third Brigade Cavalry Regiment will
, pretending to concentrate their forces to attack the southern city of Shangqiu, luring Wang Ze's civilian army to set up defenses in the south or concentrate on retreating.
Hearing this, Li Qian asked with some confusion: "Fortifying or retreating, it seems that this cannot be generalized?"
Jiang Baili nodded and said: "Yes, but my purpose is just to hope that the enemy will focus all their attention on the south. Whether they take the initiative to counterattack or retreat for defense, as long as they think that our main force is in the south."
Zhang Zhenfang asked thoughtfully: "So, the main force is not in the south?"
Jiang Baili expressed his thoughts unhurriedly. He said: "Yes, what the civilian army lacks most is not weapons and equipment. Their weakness is that they do not have sufficient discipline and military literacy. Once they encounter an unexpected incident, they will definitely
The enemy was defeated first. Therefore, the battle plan I formulated this time was very simple, which was to attack the east and attack the west. Governor Zhang's troops were responsible for luring the enemy, and our troops were responsible for the main attack. At that time, they would detour to the north and start from where the civilian army gathered.
Launch a surprise attack from the rear."
Zhang Zhenfang nodded with deep approval and said with admiration: "Baili is indeed a talented person in military science and fighting. He is very good, very good. Then follow Baili's plan."
After the meeting, the commander-in-chief immediately began to assign combat missions to the troops below. Li Qian also left Kaifeng overnight and went to Ningling County to personally command his troops. Of course, Jiang Baili also emphasized that this plan was an overall combat plan, because
The information currently available is still very limited. Whether it needs to be modified at that time will have to wait for further information collected by the reconnaissance team. If there is generally no big change, then take action according to this method.dd