While immersed in the joy of the Zhang family's walnut cake shop, Director Hong had almost forgotten about this matter - he had a lot of things to do every day. The confidential briefcases that confidential correspondents delivered to the elders every day were called "suitcases" for others.
", he is the "packing box".
At present, the work of the entire joint logistics headquarters is very heavy. At night, Hong Huangnan's desk is still full of various documents and albums. After signing a dozen documents, he yawned and asked the orderly to remove the underside of the five-minute chicken.
The wick of the lamp was lit - inside was the supper he had carefully prepared: he would never do this to others, let alone the maids trained by the general office who looked like donkeys but not donkeys.
"Guangzhou is indeed the capital of my gourmet province. The ingredients are abundant." Hong Huangnan once again looked at the faint flames under the chicken, stood up and stretched, "How is the map drawing going?"
"Chief, we have completed the map of Guangzhou and the maps of most of the counties under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou Prefecture," the secretary busy beside him reported.
"Go and have a look." Hong Huangnan said. He was very anxious about this matter.
He left the office with the guard and walked through the corridor to a room. This room had no partitions and was a large, empty room with a full height.
There are shelves one after another along the walls of the room, filled with slender cowhide buckets and thick loose-leaf albums. In the middle are seven or eight large tables.
On the table are maps pressed with glass plates. These maps include maps of the whole province of Guangdong and maps of various counties in Guangdong - without exception, they are all large-scale maps. Many naturalized residents are busy around the table.
Ten kerosene lamps illuminated the room brightly.
What is going on here is the "correction" work of the map. The naturalized people working here can be called "elites". They are all specially trained "specialists" in surveying and mapping. During more than three years of work and study, basically
Just practice surveying and drawing.
Because large-scale maps involve confidentiality, the Executive Committee failed to obtain military-grade large-scale maps before D-Day despite all efforts, and could only resort to collecting inferior maps. Fortunately, through the North American Branch, in the United States,
I obtained some large-scale county maps of China's coastal and major areas used by the U.S. military for surveying and mapping in the 1940s.
These large-scale maps collected through various channels can be said to be the most valuable property of the Senate and an important guarantee of the Fubo Army's combat effectiveness. Whether it was the Lingao bandit suppression or the subsequent security war in Qiongzhou after the Spring Awakening Campaign, it can be said that they were
It was relying on these maps to ensure that the Fubo Army, who were completely outsiders, would not be confused in the wild and could act according to the battle plan.
Of course, there are still differences between the maps of the 20th century and the real geographical environment of the 17th century. On Hainan Island, such errors are still within the tolerable range: it is just that the settlements and roads do not match, and the errors in topography are not large.
But when it comes to the Pearl River Delta, the situation is different. The Pearl River Delta was originally a shallow bay with many islands, a delta formed by the erosion and siltation of the Xijiang, Beijiang, and Dongjiang rivers from different directions. The west, north, and east river systems enter this area.
After that, they radiated in different directions, forming rivers as dense as spider webs. Low-lying areas were dotted with lakes and swamps. In an area of less than 10,000 square kilometers, there were 10,000 river branches crisscrossing each other. These river branches include natural
It was formed by artificial excavation. The extensive rice cultivation and pond farming in the delta have made this plain, which was originally crisscrossed by rivers, more fragmented. To travelers, the villages are more like islands.
Many places are inaccessible by land.
Hundreds of years of river erosion, soil loss and siltation, and field transformation...these natural and artificial factors have combined to make the gap between the two ridiculously large.
This situation was actually reflected in the Battle of the Pearl River Estuary. After the troops dispersed, they began to find that the map became unreliable. The main method adopted at that time was to use the leading party among the naturalized civilians. At that time, because the troops' combat area was not large
, the purpose of the battle is mainly looting, and the use of guides can get by. But it is far from enough for a comprehensive conquest.
After the Battle of the Pearl River Estuary, the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, under the command of Lin Baiguang, officially took over the intelligence work of the Guangzhou Station. The main task was to collect information on Guangdong's geography, products, resources and people's conditions. From this activity, a large amount of information was accumulated
geographical information. The current map correction work is also based on this information.
"Chief..." A naturalized civilian officer from the General Staff in civilian clothes saw him coming in and came over to salute.
"How's the progress?" Hong Huangnan asked with concern.
"Correction work has been completed in forty-five prefectures and counties." Junjunhui reported, "The amount of correction work in mountainous and inland counties is not large, mainly in the counties in the delta area, which needs a lot of correction. Rivers, canals and roads are almost
Neither is allowed."
Speaking of this, the officer's face showed a look of confusion, because it was the first time he saw such a big error in the senator's map. In the atmosphere of "the Senate knows everything and is always correct", there is actually such a big error.
Something, no wonder he was confused.
"These are all maps from hundreds of years ago, so of course they are inaccurate." Hong Huangnan said the lies without changing his face. "The map of the Pearl River Delta region must be finished as soon as possible. This is a top priority. There must be no delay.
!”
"Yes, chief, we will go all out!" The officer quickly stood at attention, nodding with his heels in the German style.
"It must be completed with quality and quantity." Hong Huangnan urged again. "Especially the hydrological conditions and navigation capabilities of the rivers in the Pearl River Delta must be clearly marked. If anything is unclear, it must be reported immediately to the intelligence team for communication.
of."
The reason why Hong Huangnan paid so much attention to this correction work was for logistical supply considerations. The supply plan he drew up mainly relied on water transportation.
The logistical supply characteristics of the Guangdong Campaign were that the front was long and the troops were scattered. The broken and watery landscape of the Pearl River Delta made it difficult for them to use the combat model of advancing while building roads in the short term, except along the main post roads. The Pearl River Delta
Most villages and towns in the country are not connected by formal land roads, and most people use field ridges and river ponds to trek. Generally, the circulation of people and materials mainly relies on boats.
The reason why Staff Officer Hong quietly gave up his Dongfeng Carriage Company's deployment plan in Guangdong was largely because he saw this miserable road condition report.
Even if food and firewood mainly rely on on-site transportation, the supply of equipment and ammunition is not small. In particular, the Fubo Army also needs to carry heavy support weapons such as artillery and typewriters, further exacerbating the difficulty of marching and supplying. Lack of
Good roads are a real problem.
Although the Foreign Intelligence Bureau estimates that most areas of Guangdong should be able to send messages, the Ming army still maintains thousands of soldiers available in Guangdong: the deputy commander of the Nan'ao Army and the anti-Yao military officer did not participate in the Chengmai Battle, and their combat strength remained basically intact.
.If the rulers are determined to resist, it is possible to mobilize ethnic minority soldiers and local military personnel to fight. The intensity of the battle cannot be underestimated. This is not what the General Staff is most worried about. The existence of the Guangdong Strategy
The warning of the greatest military threat came not only from the Great Library - more than one veteran from Guangdong reminded the General Staff: The conflict between natives and guests in Guangdong is acute. Once the conflict between natives and guests is involved in the battle, it is likely to fall into large-scale riots. Historically,
The mobilization power of these clans is very strong, and they can easily mobilize tens of thousands of people to participate in armed fighting. They are far more difficult opponents to deal with than the Ming army.
Once such a large-scale armed riot is encountered, on-site dispatch cannot be carried out. Supplies must be transported from the security area. In the social and geographical environment of this time and space, the only way to transport large quantities of supplies quickly and cheaply is by water.
From this point of view, Guangdong is uniquely endowed. The provincial capital of Guangzhou is located at the intersection of the three main rivers in Guangdong Province: Beijiang, Dongjiang and Xijiang. The water transportation conditions are very favorable. Fubo Army can easily use the shipping capabilities of these three rivers to transport its troops.
Supplies are delivered to key nodes: along the Xijiang River to Wuzhou, which can block the Ming army's eastward advance from Guangxi; along the Beijiang River to Nanxiongzhou, where the southward route of Dayuling Road can be controlled; along the Dongjiang River, deep into the Chaoshan area, to Languan, that is
Can control the Yueqiling Road leading to Fujian.
By transporting troops and cadres to various places along the river by water transport, the control area can be expanded linearly and area-wide. Even if it cannot cover the entire province, it can quickly control the areas along the Sanjiang River. Through the tributaries of the Sanjiang River, detachments using shallow-draft boats can
Go further into more remote areas and control more areas.
When Staff Officer Hong consulted the hydrological data on Guangdong's inland waterway shipping compiled by the Grand Library, he was quite pleased to find that there are many navigable rivers in the Sanjiang River system. If the size of the ship is not too important, a small ship with a shallow draft of more than ten tons can even be used.
Navigable to quite remote places in the province.
"This is simply a ready-made railway network." Hong Huangnan sighed, "No wonder the General Staff wants to be the first to attack Guangdong. It seems that it is not only the closest relationship to Hainan."
He leaned over a map of Guangdong Province in his office and carefully studied it. He used colored pencils to scribble on the glass plate to draw various diagrams such as military depots and supply lines, thinking about how to set up this supply system.
"Report!" Following the report, the secretary brought in the latest documents, "These are the drawings of several latest river vessels from the Hong Kong shipyard sent by Director Shi. Please review them."
"Put it on the table." Hong Huangnan was drawing and scribbling with red and blue pencils in Foshan Town. This place is really unique. Not only is it the only place for ships from Xijiang and Beijiang to Guangzhou, but there are also ten
The two rivers are connected to various parts of the Pearl River Delta. It can be called the commodity distribution center of the Pearl River Delta. No wonder it has developed into one of the four largest towns in the world. (To be continued.)