Episode 40 Comparison between ourselves and the enemy
On the morning of May 20, Xiang Xiaoqiang summoned all his confidants and held a secret meeting.
At this meeting, he planned to reveal his plans to these senior officials within the People's Guard. That was to plan the Northern Expedition to the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
Those who attended the meeting were: Commander of the Mobile Team Li Gensheng, Commander of the Security Team Du Teng, Deputy Commander of the Security Team Shi Shigege, Snail, Commander of the Political Work Team Song Ruhai, Deputy Commander of the Political Work Team Sun Jiye, Minister of Equipment and Training Wang Hexiang, and Commander of the Imperial Guard Li Changgui.
Qiu Qiu and Xiu Xiu also attended the meeting and served as meeting assistants.
Xiang Xiaoqiang made a gesture, Xiu Xiu pulled the slide rail, and a large map board appeared at the end of the conference room.
That's a map of the entire northern China.
People here can't help but have some small surprises. In the past, military meetings, whether making plans or assigning tasks, usually used detailed pictures of a specific area. For example, when studying the airdrop of Taihang Mountain, a picture of the Zhili and Shanxi areas was drawn.
If you study the details of the Bohai Sea, you will only get a detailed map of the Bohai Sea, the Liaodong Peninsula, and the Beijing-Tianjin area.
However, it seems to be the first time that a whole picture of the Northern Qing Dynasty is suddenly displayed like today.
Several people looked at each other, some smiled slightly, and glanced at Xiuxiu. They all thought that Mrs. Shang, Adjutant Shang, who was always meticulous, and your dearest confidant, finally made a small mistake today.
But Xiang Xiaoqiang's reaction was obviously right. He glanced at the map, turned around and said to everyone:
"Everyone, I want to do something. A big thing. How big is this thing?... Well, it's big."
Several of the old guys below laughed.
Xiang Xiaoqiang took the command stick, drew a circle around the entire Beiqing, knocked twice, and said:
"It's so big."
The people below gradually stopped laughing. Although they didn't understand what was going on, several smart people had some premonitions. There was only one person: Shi Shigege. She sat there with her head lowered and expressionless, but
Seems to be confident.
Qiu Qiu and Xiu Xiu also knew about it. Qiu Qiu was sitting at the conference table and was responsible for taking notes. At this time, he also raised his head and looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang with some worry. But Xiu Xiu stood next to the map with a natural expression and didn't notice at all.
Something strange.
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked around at everyone and continued:
"This matter can be said to be very big, and it may even be shocking. But the people sitting in this conference room today are all my most trustworthy people. You see, even the minutes of the meeting today are not others."
Everyone looked at Qiu Qiu subconsciously. Generally speaking, Qiu Qiu rarely participated in such confidential meetings, and usually only Xiu Xiu participated. But today, Mr. Xiang even used Qiu Qiu to replace the previous meeting record secretary.
A girl.
Xiang Xiaoqiang said:
"I have been brewing this matter for a long time and made some preparations silently in the early stage. But at this time, it is time to take it out and put it on the agenda. In other words, now the stage of brewing it alone should end.
It's time to take it out and share it with you, and ask you to help me... I can't complete this thing by myself, and it can be said that our People's Guard can't complete it either. To do this, His Majesty must be involved.
, bring in the cabinet, bring in the army, bring in the navy. Also, bring in the people of Ming Dynasty. This matter..."
He paused, took a deep breath, and said slowly:
"It means the Northern Expedition to the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the unification of China."
The people below were all stunned, looking at Xiang Xiaoqiang. They were wondering if this was a joke. Then, with a stomachache, they subconsciously turned to look at Shi Shi Ge Ge. Then everyone looked at Shi Shi Ge Ge.
Xiang Xiaoqiang raised his voice and said:
"You don't have to think too much. I have told Princess Liaoyang in advance that Princess Liaoyang is completely on our side."
Fourteenth Gege also smiled at everyone and nodded.
"But..." Stomachache looked at the people on both sides, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say, "But..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"But why? Or is it that we can't do it?"
His stomach hurt and he swallowed, hesitatingly saying:
"But why?"
"Why?" Xiang Xiaoqiang asked rhetorically, "Because the past one or two years have been a very good time. We have already led the Qing Dynasty in terms of air power. In the next year, this gap will gradually widen. If there is a war,
We will have total air supremacy. But the Qing Emperor Guangwu has now learned the lesson and is determined to develop their aviation industry. In two years, or two and a half years, the Qing army's aviation industry may catch up. The air power on both sides
The gap will begin to narrow until the Qing army catches up and we will be at a complete disadvantage again."
Li Gensheng only reacted now and interjected:
"Sir, are you not serious?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang said with a straight face:
"Why not?"
Li Gensheng was usually very careful not to contradict Xiao Qiang. But now he was a little anxious and said directly:
"Sir, is your basis for 'air supremacy'? My lord, winning the war depends on infantry, artillery, tanks, and real weapons... Yes, we have a few more planes than Beiqing, but that
How useful is it? Wars are not won by airplanes.”
"Gensheng, let me tell you, wars are won by airplanes... At least future wars will be won by airplanes. Without air superiority, nothing can be won. The battlefields on the ground are at the mercy of others, and so will the battlefields on the sea.
It is left to its own devices. From now on, it will be an era for aviation and ground and sea forces to cooperate in combat."
Li Gensheng looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang in surprise. Then he looked at the people around him with some hesitation.
He waved to Xiaoqiang and said:
"Gensheng, you don't have to worry. There are no outsiders here. Say everything you want to say. There are other people too. If you have anything to say or objections, please say it. The purpose of this meeting today is
For this, we must first let our internal opinions fully collide. Then we can discuss it with outsiders."
Li Gensheng felt relieved, nodded and said:
"Sir, I know that you are a 'Douhetist' and you admire air control very much. Sir, I have also read Douhet's book "Air Control". To be honest, I partly agree with Douhet's views. But his views are too
He was ahead of his time. He believed that air power alone could win a war and bring a country to its knees. My Lord... I'm not saying what he said is wrong. I mean, that would have to wait at least thirty to fifty years. Now.
In this era, air power can only play a supporting role, and we have to rely on ground forces to fight the war."
Xiang Xiaoqiang closed his eyes, thinking about what to say. Li Gensheng actually misunderstood him as a Duheist, which made him very depressed. What is the concept of Duhei? An Italian military theorist, the earliest proposer of air supremacy, and an expert on air power
A crazy advocate. His main book is "Air Dominance". This monograph was written in the 1920s, and it made many bold predictions about future air warfare. Many predictions he said would be realized in ten or twenty years.
, the result has not been realized until the 21st century.
The most important characteristic of Douhetists is their fanatical admiration for air power, and they believe that war can be won by relying solely on air power. They believe that air power can replace everything, even ground troops. This is indeed crazy.
Although Xiang Xiaoqiang admires air power, he does not consider himself a Duheite. He knows that air power can help ground troops win wars, but he never believes that air power can completely replace ground troops.
In other words, you will definitely not be able to win the war without air supremacy, or to put it further: if the gap in other aspects is not very different, you can win the war with air supremacy. But this does not mean that you can win the war just by relying on air power.
war.
This is the most crucial difference.
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang pondered for a moment and said:
"Okay, I believe that many people have Gensheng's concerns. Let's put it down for now and let's not talk about it for now. I may organize an exercise later, and the theme is to test how air-ground coordinated battles should be fought. I believe that exercise
It can expose many problems, but it can also solve many problems. Now, I will show you the second reason why I advocate the Northern Expedition to the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Your Highness, please tell us about it."
Everyone looked at Fourteen Gege. Fourteen Gege stood up, smiled and nodded, looking very natural. She walked quickly to the map, took the command stick, pointed on the map and said:
"The Manchu Qing Dynasty ruled a huge multi-ethnic area. It had a large population and complex social classes. Manchus, Mongols, Hui, Tibetans, and Han all had their own armed forces. This led to the complexity of the army's hierarchy. Names
The specifications vary, and the original purpose is to organize troops of various specifications to perform various missions. However, the seemingly huge army actually has very few troops that can actually fight.
"The Manchu and Qing Army can be divided into the following levels: Yulin Army, Manchu Eight Banners Division, Mongolian Eight Banners Division, Han and New Military Divisions, Han Army Divisions, Hui and Tibetan National Divisions, Local Garrison Divisions, Shelf Divisions, and National Divisions, which are actually Xiangyong Divisions.
First of all, the Royal Forest Army has five divisions. They are called the forward division, the knight division, the sharp sword division, the good attack division, and the magic division.
"After the Reform Movement of 1898, Emperor Guangxu first expanded the original five battalions of the Royal Guards, namely Xiaoqi, Sharp Sword, Forward, Shanpu, and Shenji, into five Imperial Guard divisions. These five divisions have been maintained until now and have been responsible for
The royal defense and ceremonial work have always been the best-equipped and most loyal troops to the royal family. These five imperial military divisions can be said to be the emperor's personal armed forces. They do not participate in general combat operations at all and are specifically responsible for the defense of the capital.
"These five divisions were deployed separately. The Xiaoqiu Division was deployed in Dagukou, the Forward Division was deployed in Chengde, the Shenji Division was deployed in Miyun, the Shanpu Division was deployed in the Forbidden City, and only the Sharp Sword Division was deployed in Fengtian, the ancestral shrine of the Qing Dynasty.
.In terms of establishment, these five divisions are all disproportionately large establishments, with each division having an average of nearly 30,000 people. But the actual situation is that most of these top divisions are composed of children of lower-level nobles and a little bit.
Although the equipment is well-equipped and the quality of the personnel is higher than other units, I can tell you: First of all, these top divisions are already out-and-out good."
Xiang Xiaoqiang stood aside with satisfaction, looking at his subordinates below with slightly surprised expressions. In the military circles of the Ming Dynasty, and even the intelligence department, they had always known who the five imperial guards divisions of the Qing Dynasty were composed of, and they also knew
They basically don't fight. But because these divisions have always had the most important tasks, the best equipment, and the highest quality personnel, the Ming Army and the Ming Army's intelligence organization still regard them as the elite of the Qing Army.
No matter what, I never dared to regard them as "shelf goods".
But now Shi Shi Ge Ge's words are astonishing. Shi Shi Ge Ge's identity, or "former identity", makes those present dare not doubt what she says. Even the factory director of Dongchang sitting here knows that he is completely unqualified.
I doubt Shirigege’s judgment of the Qing army.
…
Fourteen Gege looked around at everyone, smiled slightly, and continued:
"The next stronger one is the Eight Banners Division. We are familiar with the Eight Banners Division, and our People's Guard fought against it twice. Of course, we won both times.
"The Eight Banners Division is divided into the Manchu Eight Banners Division and the Mongolian Eight Banners Division. The Manchu Eight Banners Division: each of the Eight Banners has three divisions, a total of twenty-four divisions. The establishment of this division is also very large, with nearly 24,000 to 18,000 people.
People can be said to be the most important force in the Qing army. The Eight Banners Division actually existed before the Reform Movement of 1898, but it was not modernized until after the Reform. Since the close exchanges between the Qing Dynasty and Japan in the mid-1920s, the Eight Banners Division
The Qing Empire's most important and most combat-effective armed force began to install a large number of Japanese equipment, appointed Japanese instructors and consultants, and adopted a similar organization system to the Japanese Army.
"Its combat effectiveness can be said to be the highest among the Qing army, and its treatment is also the best among the general armies, second only to the Imperial Guard Division. Not only is it well-equipped, it has sufficient food and salary, but it also has the most generous holidays and residence. Of course,
The richer the place, the easier it is to plunder. The original Eight Banners Division should be composed entirely of Manchus, but now there are also a small number of Han people joining the Eight Banners Division. Because many Manchus are unwilling to join the army. But the officers and senior officers of the Eight Banners Division must be made up of
Manchu people are in charge.
"In addition to the Manchu Eight Banners Division, there are also the Mongolian Eight Banners Divisions. The Mongolian Eight Banners each have four divisions, a total of thirty-two divisions. The Mongolian army is the most important armed force of the Qing Dynasty in addition to the bannermen's own army. It is the same as the Manchu Eight Banners
, they are also the elite of the country. Like the Manchu Eight Banners Division, they also adopt the Japanese training system. Different from the Manchu Eight Banners Division, the ethnic groups of the Meng Eight Banners Division are relatively pure Mongolians.
"However, they, part of the Manchu Eight Banners Division, and some Han troops were deployed to the north. The reason for this is because there is a Soviet Union in the north that seems to be in harmony but has hidden murderous intentions. The Soviet Union has hundreds of thousands of troops on the Soviet-Qing border. Originally, the Qing Dynasty and the Soviet Union
The relationship between the Soviet Union and the Qing Dynasty was still normal, but since Japan and the Qing Dynasty got closer, the relationship between the Soviet Union and the Qing Dynasty has quickly become alienated. The Soviet Union often exported weapons to the Qing Dynasty in the past, but now it has become uncharacteristically cold and hostile. In this way, the Qing Dynasty had to arrange
A large number of troops are in the north, guarding against the Soviet Union."