Chapter 338: Southern Expedition and Northern War Three Intelligence and Reorganization
The Ming Dynasty's lack of military strength in Liaodong has been exposed. Nurhachi did not miss this opportunity. He sent out troops to attack the Ming army and looted the population and supplies. Emperor Wanli's inactivity again made it impossible for the Ming Dynasty's central organization to increase troops to the northeast in a timely manner. , in the case where things cannot be done without the imperial power, it is difficult to decide on policies with complex operational procedures. However, taxation is a more convenient way to deal with the crisis. Fang Congzhe had nothing to do. At the Jiuqing Kedao meeting, he proposed to launch a levy " "Liao Pay" to solve the problems of raising pay, food and grass for the decisive battle with Hou Jin in the coming year.
As a result, after the memorial was submitted, Emperor Wanli felt that this policy was a no-brainer and immediately approved it.
The historical Battle of Saarhu had been prepared for almost a year, but now, there is no sign of the Ming Dynasty's army to conquer Hou Jin's army.
... As the Eight Banners soldiers of the Later Jin Dynasty swept across the land of Liaodong like a whirlwind, the hidden stakes and eyelines deployed by the Chinese Company in the Northeast suffered heavy losses. After the sea ban, many of the intelligence personnel of the Chinese Company who finally stayed in the Northeast were captured by the Eight Banners soldiers. Some were unable to establish themselves and fled southward with the refugees.
In fact, the Zhonghua Company and the Jianzhou Jurchens have always maintained a trade relationship. Many of the winter equipment for the northern front troops were supplied by the Jurchen tribe. The Zhonghua Company provided them with some food. When Nurhaci first launched an army to rebel, he still gave preferential treatment to Han merchants and civilians. Generally, mainland businessmen will be released. However, these personnel are agents and their identities cannot be disclosed before receiving orders. Therefore, many captured agents of China Company can only serve as prisoners silently, waiting for opportunities to escape.
However, as a result, the Chinese army's intelligence network in the Northeast was in shambles.
Among Yinfeng's two major intelligence systems, the company's business information department is generally in charge of political, economic and other strategic intelligence, and the Chinese military intelligence department is mainly in charge of military intelligence. There is division of labor and cooperation. Liaodong is remote and the situation is complicated. Only the business information department has always been able to rely on commercial and trade routes. While carrying out the work, Yin Feng issued a strict order and sent Zeng Rui to Jinzhou and Lushun to organize intelligence collection work. Before launching the Nanyang operation, he must make sure that the situation in the Northeast would not change drastically. The Third Regiment of the First Division of the Chinese Army , and the Ryukyu Battalion troops are still stationed in Jinzhou and Lushun; the Northern Fleet's Fei Bao battleship leads fifteen gunboats of the Second Squadron to station in Miaodao and Lushun, which are strategic locations guarding the mouth of the Bohai Bay. Yin Feng no matter what He would not give in. For this reason, at the Zhenjiang negotiation table, Xu Guangqi kept arguing with Zeng Shan, the Chinese military negotiator.
What Yin Feng is worried about is that the situation in Liaodong suddenly deteriorates, and the Battle of Sarhu may not happen. The troops of the Later Jin Dynasty will soon sweep across Liaodong. If they reach the Jinzhou Isthmus area, the Chinese army will have to fight the army of the Later Jin Dynasty. , However, the Chinese army needs time to reorganize, and the results of the anti-sea ban war need to be digested, which all takes time.
…
Liaodong Peninsula, 80 miles north of Jinzhou Guard in southern Liaoning, Pulandian, close to the Bohai Sea, is now the southernmost control area of the government army in southern Liaoning. A garrison from Gaizhou Guard is stationed here with several thousand troops. , to prevent the Chinese army from moving north. In fact, since the beginning of the year, after the government army failed to counterattack the Jinzhou Guard, there has been no fighting here for half a year. By then, there were many caravans coming and going between the areas controlled by the two armies. As long as He gave red envelopes to the officers and soldiers patrolling outside Pulandian Village, but they turned a blind eye to the caravan.
After Nurhachi openly rebelled, the Gaizhou Guards dispatched troops and horses north to rescue Shenyang. Some of the troops and horses in Pulandian were transferred away. Now there are only more than 1,000 people hiding in the fortress with nothing to do. The Gaizhou Guards thought that the battle between the imperial court and the Chinese Army was over. , there was no need to guard against the pirates in the south anymore, so he even reduced the number of patrols to once every ten days, basically giving up monitoring and guarding against the Jinzhou Guard pirates. Of course, in this time of war, The traffic of caravans from various places has basically stopped, and there is no money to be made from patrolling.
Zeng Rui and Northern Intelligence Chief Zeng Qing, escorted by thirty cavalry reconnaissance teams from the Third Regiment of the First Division, approached Nantianmen Ridge in Xiaoheishan, only a few miles away from Pulandian.
Zeng Rui and Zeng Qing both disguised themselves as businessmen, and dozens of cavalrymen drove the carts stacked with cargo packages toward the Pulandian military outpost.
Zeng Qing is a side branch of the Zeng family, and Zeng Rui is a rising star of the Zeng Ke branch of the Zeng family. Although the two are uncles and nephews, their age difference is only a few years, but Zeng Qing does not regard himself as an uncle. Zeng Rui is a bit respectful. Everyone knows that Zeng Rui is actually a child of the Zeng family who grew up with Yin Feng. He was one of the first batch to enter the military academy and was the first to take charge of intelligence in Yin Feng's old camp. He is a low-key person. Until now, there is still almost no one in the outside world. We know him, but within the Chinese Army and the Chinese Company, he is one of Yin Feng's closest confidants, and everyone knows this.
Zeng Rui turned around on his horse and asked, "Uncle Jiu, is there no news from the north these days?"
Zeng Qing, the ninth oldest member of the Zeng family, shook his head: "There has been no caravan traffic for two months. The news in the North has been cut off. We can only get some information through the patrolling officers and soldiers."
"Patrol officers and soldiers,"
"Yes, there has been no fighting here for a long time since the Third Regiment took over the defense in January. The area from Beishiridian to Pulandian is the default border area between the two sides. Here our patrol cavalry and military patrol sentries Everything is fine. Some of the cavalrymen attached to the third regiment are originally from Liaodong. We often chat with fellow villagers there to inquire about the situation. In short, since the fall of Fushun, we have cut off contact with the hidden stakes and internal lines deployed before. Well, the person who was originally responsible for dealing with the Jurchen tribe was Luo Yi, the nephew of Luo Xuri's boss. He was originally in Liaoyang when the Huaxing joint number was banned by the court. He lurked down and communicated with us only through Shopkeeper Jin in Shenyang and the route within the pass. Contact, now there is no news about shopkeeper Jin after the fall of Shenyang. When we go to Liaoyang, we go directly to Luo Yi to inquire about the situation,"
Zeng Rui sighed: "The intelligence here is cut off. Brother Feng is very angry. He strictly ordered me to find out the situation in Liaodong before the north wind blows. Uncle Jiu, I am not here to compete with you. I am really the captain of the ship. Brother Feng is worried." "
Zeng Qing said sternly: "What did you say, my dear nephew? You are the director of the Military Intelligence Department, and I should cooperate with you in doing things. But I think it would be a bit risky for you to go to Liaoyang in person,"
Zeng Rui smiled: "Don't worry, the edict allowing our Zhonghua Company to reopen in various places will be issued soon. Now that we have ceased war with the government and the army, it will not be a big deal even if they discover our identity. After In the battle between Nanjing and Beijing, if those officials want to embarrass us, they have to weigh their abilities."
A cavalryman dressed as a clerk galloped over, reined in his horse in front of the two of them, and said softly: "Pulandian is just ahead..."
Zeng Rui looked up and saw a fort with civil structures suddenly appearing in a plain, beside the road and on the coast of Bohai Sea. On the gate tower directly south of the fort, a guard flag was hanging weakly, and several officers and soldiers were holding arms. Spear poles were stuck on the gate tower, lazily basking in the sun. There were some villages around the fort, with few people, no sound of chickens and dogs, and lifeless.
"Let's go to Liaoyang..."
…
In June, various units of the Chinese Army entered the reorganization stage one after another, and reorganization, training and troop expansion were carried out at the same time.
The mainland of the Ming Dynasty was really too big. After this war, everyone in the Chinese Company felt that to control such a large country, the strength of the Chinese army was far insufficient. Therefore, the board of directors quickly passed a temporary military expenditure budget. Even Han Ping, his son, and Luo Xuri took the initiative to give up part of this year's dividends as military expenditures for the next year. This is the first budget plan for military expenditures on the board of directors of China Company that was not initiated by Yin Feng. In the past, it was all Yin Feng used his own dividends to contribute money to the Chinese Army, and now the Chinese Army does not have to worry about money.
Recruits were mainly recruited from landless farmers, and some Shandong bandits and Liaodong horse bandits joined the cavalry. Xu Hongji once proposed that those fleeing White Lotus sect members join the army, but Yin Feng sternly rejected it. In Yin Feng's view, this kind of influence by the cult Although the believers hated the imperial court, they themselves were dangerous elements and could not become a hidden danger to the Chinese company. Historically, the White Lotus Sect started from the Song and Yuan Dynasties until the end of the Qing Dynasty. For hundreds of years, the White Lotus Sect worked tirelessly and persevered in its cause of opposing the government. No matter which emperor comes to power, they will rebel. Yin Feng believes that such a religion that is dedicated to rebellion has no value at all. Therefore, he issued an order to ban the White Lotus Sect and dispersed the White Lotus Sect refugees rescued from Shandong. In Ryukyu, Taiwan, Hainan Island, Luzon, West Borneo and other companies, various companies are directly affiliated with Tuntian Farm.
The recruitment and training of new recruits and the reorganization of the army have become the main content of Yin Feng's life throughout July and August. He seems to have returned to the company. During the initial establishment of the escort team, he ate, lived and trained with the escort team members, and worked with them every day. The troops go out together, train together, and eat together.
After the First Division added some new recruits, the third batch of graduates from the Command Section of the Military Academy and the Horse and Infantry Section of the Military Academy completed their internships and were gradually assigned to the grassroots level of the army.
Now, the First Division includes the Third Regiment in Lushun, Jinzhou, Liaonan, with a total of four regiments of infantry, one regiment of artillery directly under the division, two sentries of the cavalry reconnaissance team, the Biao Battalion directly under the division commander, as well as intelligence, staff, and logistics , medical and other units, the brigade-level establishment was cancelled, which reduced the command level and made troop mobilization more flexible. The total strength of the entire division was more than 10,000 people. Other division-level troops were basically reorganized according to the establishment of the first division. Yan Siqi’s third division After the Fifth Brigade accepted the new 20th Regiment from the original Northern Front troops, it added some new soldiers and formally established the Fifth Division.
Brigade-level troops still exist: Nanyang Brigade, Hainan Brigade and Ryukyu Brigade. These troops will be converted into garrison troops. From now on, the field infantry troops will mainly be based on five divisions. In the future, the fully demobilized Zhuang Ding Brigade will gradually become garrison troops. The garrison took over, and the Zhuangding team became a semi-off-the-job local militia and reserve force.
The reorganization of the Navy is mainly aimed at combat training. The situation that the Marine Corps is based on sentries as units cannot be changed under the existing technical conditions. However, Yin Feng, Mai Dahai, and the old mercenary Kurt Lei studied for a long time and felt that the melee combat effectiveness of the Marine Corps should not be wasted. It would still be useful in future land battles. Therefore, in addition to training various naval warfare tactics, the Navy also began to conduct some independent combat operations by the Marine Corps. At the same time, the three major fleets established a Marine Operations Department to coordinate and command the Marines scattered on various warships, and began to gather Marines for multi-arm coordination at the regiment and brigade levels. combat training.
In October, after four months of devilish training, the new recruits began to integrate into the Chinese Army. Yin Feng successfully maintained the morale of the soldiers brought by victorious battles through the training.
In October, the Chinese Army Infantry already had five divisions of infantry field troops, one artillery brigade, one cavalry brigade, three garrison brigades and several independent battalions and sentries, excluding the Zhuang Ding Brigade which was being converted into a garrison force. It already has a strength of 78,000 men, and the three major naval fleets have more than 15 main battleships, more than 100 sub-class gunboats, and a total of 55,000 sailors.
The excellent treatment, noble status, and generous security after retirement of the Chinese Army soldiers have made military personnel the most attractive profession within the jurisdiction of the Chinese Company. Moreover, those refugees and refugees on the mainland have received cultural education for the first time. It is in the night school of the army. Military school graduates can immediately enter the army and become grassroots officers, and receive a generous salary of thirty taels of silver per month. Yin Feng has made it clear that the village heads of the farming villages and the village chiefs of the immigrant villages must be in China. Only veterans who have served in the military for more than five years can serve. Those villages formed voluntarily by immigrants do not have Chinese Army soldiers, so the village chief will be appointed by a retired soldier from the town government. This has caused immigrant villages from all over the country to send their children to join the Chinese Army.
After all, Yin Feng is an amateur military history enthusiast. He understands very well that in Chinese society after the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the martial spirit has disappeared. The first way for the military to encourage the martial spirit is to make the military universally respected and cared for. Secondly, One method is to ensure that those who have served the country have priority in waiting for vacancies in government officials, and can even stipulate that certain positions must be filled by those who have served for a certain number of years. This is what European powers began to implement one after another in modern times. Yin Feng did not hesitate to use this method. Scholars who came from the imperial examination can also be officials here, but soldiers can also be officials. This is one of the most different places between the Chinese company and the current imperial court. During the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, The military system of the past often turned ordinary soldiers into farmers and beggars, and officers into civilians. In the historical period of the Age of Discovery and the prevailing law of the jungle, this was a self-defeating practice of martial arts.
Yin Feng publicly announced in the first class of the new class of cadets at the military academy: No matter what system the country implements, as a wise government, its consistent purpose should be: to improve the status of military positions in order to cultivate the residents' sense of glory and heroic spirit , Otherwise, this government may be criticized by future generations, and the country may suffer the fate of the Song Dynasty's subjugation. It is not enough to promote the martial spirit among the residents, but it must also be encouraged in the army. If the army itself does not Such heroic spirit, so even if citizens respect soldiers, and even if the status of military service as a citizen's obligation is improved, how much benefit can it actually bring? In this way, the country's army is likely to become a large but worthless force. police force.
During the vigorous reorganization and training of the army, Yin Feng often returned home every ten days or so. The women and children at home were very resentful, especially his move to bring Mei Xinlan into his house, which angered Li Lihua and made Zeng Qi very angry.