Chapter 223: Desperate to see through
Chapter 223: Desperate to see through
On the first day of March in the fifth year of the Tongzhi reign, Shao Quanzhong returned to Suzhou, the front line of the Western Expedition.
Tian Xing was injured and withdrew from the command structure. Shao Hengzhong, who had always been Tian Xing's deputy, had enough prestige to command all the generals and manage the Suzhou military camp in an orderly manner.
Of the three brothers who initially swore brotherhood with Shao Quanzhong, Zhang Siwen went to the United States, Tian Xing became an inspector, and only Hai Qing remained in the army, but he was in charge of the military police and discipline and had no combat command authority.
The army has expanded to 80,000, and it is necessary to regularize it. It is no longer enough to rely on brotherhood.
However, Shao Quanzhong would certainly not treat his sworn brothers unfairly. They no longer needed to make meritorious contributions, and they would also be given high positions and generous salaries under the new order led by Shao Quanzhong, and would have a considerable say, but they would no longer have military power.
Shao Hengzhong is also Shao Quanzhong's sworn brother, but his relationship with him is not as close as the first three, and his prestige is not enough to attract other generals to follow him in rebellion. He is the best candidate to be the contemporary commander-in-chief.
As soon as Shao Quanzhong returned to Suzhou, he immediately announced that the General Staff would be strengthened and a staff system would be established for troops at the division and brigade levels and above.
Well, Prussia’s staff system was at the regimental level, and their General Staff had more than 200 staff officers. That’s why Shao Quanzhong sent the second batch of army cadets to Berlin.
Fortunately, the current size of the Huai Army is sufficient with more than fifty staff officers who have returned from studying abroad.
The infantry division, artillery brigade, cavalry brigade, and engineering brigade were each equipped with three staff officers to be responsible for training, reconnaissance, and logistics. Emery led a large number of staff officers to join and form a new general staff. Grant's men suddenly became strong.
Emery was a supporting talent and had no conflict of mission with Grant. Grant, the chief of staff, was more like a traditional Chinese military advisor and a creative commander.
The commander must have a flexible and broad mindset, while the staff officer must be careful and cautious. With the cooperation of the two, Shao Quanzhong felt much more relaxed. The interesting thing is that no matter how powerful the foreign devils were, they could not override Shao Quanzhong. It was impossible for the Han people to follow the foreign devil chief of staff in rebellion...
Shao Quanzhong's three younger brothers were assigned different tasks. Quanxiao followed Emery into the General Staff, while Quanren and Quanyi were sent down to the Infantry Battalion as deputy commanders.
Shao Quanzhong once asked someone to convey his thoughts to the three brothers, telling them that their main task was to win the hearts of the students and that it didn't matter what they had learned.
This sentence stimulated Quanxiao, thinking that his brother did not believe in his ability. As a result, although Quanxiao had ordinary qualifications, he worked several times harder than others and achieved very good results. He had a comprehensive grasp of military knowledge and was admitted to the General Staff.
Quanren and Quanyi were demoted, and Shao Quanzhong said, "They are at the bottom of the class and cannot be qualified as staff officers, so they should do odd jobs."
But their captains didn't think so. They were clearly here to gild their skills and gain battlefield experience. If they don't hold real power in the army in the future, I will stand on my head.
These are minor details. The first thing the reorganized staff showed was its extraordinary map-making ability. The reconnaissance staff personally followed the cavalry scouts to conduct reconnaissance and quickly drew a detailed map of the marching route.
On the map prepared by a qualified staff officer, the location of water sources, road conditions, and enemy distribution are all clearly marked, with distances accurate to within a hundred meters.
After Emory summarized the information, Grant, the chief of staff, finally found the feeling of being a US military commander during the Mexican-American War.
"Sir, with the modern staff system, the Huai Army can now fight against any army in the world. I am confident that I can command this army to complete your plan to defeat the Russian army."
"Don't be impatient, Lao Ge. We have to defeat the small characters like the bandits and the Kokand invaders first. When we fight against the Russians, you will have more bargaining chips in your hands. Come on, let me tell you about the new artillery explosives, new explosive packs, grenade launchers, grenades, mines and other things. You should have an idea of them first..."
Under the leadership of the General Staff, it took 20 days to re-survey the front march route and formulate a new combat plan. During this period, the training and logistics staff were familiar with the situation of the Huai Army. On March 21, spring returned to the earth, and the temperature in the northwest was neither cold nor hot.
Heavy artillery fired blank rounds as the Huai Army swore an oath in Suzhou and officially began the westward expedition to Yili Province. The advance team, Lin Bozai's Mixed Division, was the first to set off.
From Suzhou to Hami, the bandit front line in Ili Province, the main factor limiting the scale of the Huai Army's deployment, apart from logistics, was water resources, so the troops could only advance in batches.
Shao Quanzhong was able to march west so smoothly thanks to the excellent logistical supply organized by Lord Qiao.
In history, when Zuo Gong went on the Western Expedition, he did not have as much money as Shao Quanzhong, and the logistics could not supply so many horses, so he had to move forward in a hurry. He had no idea whether he could defeat the bandits. He truly risked his life for the country and carried his coffin on the Western Expedition.
Shao Quanzhong's side was not as tragic, but it was much more imposing.
Eighty thousand people and more than 200,000 horses set out one after another, endlessly. Hundreds of steam tractors roared as they transported food and fodder, and artillery pieces were also towed forward by the steam tractors, without slowing down the marching speed.
The Huai Army was equipped with breech-loading rifles, powerful artillery, sufficient cavalry, professional engineers, machine guns and rapid-fire cannons.
This is a force with the most advanced equipment, tactical thinking and organization in the world, with sufficient combat experience, well-trained soldiers and food, and high morale.
Shao Quanzhong did not take the bandits from Ili Province and the invaders from Kokand seriously at all. His eyes were on the Russians who were invading Central Asia.
The vanguard Lin Bozai did not rush, but walked 50 miles a day, and 20 days later, the advance division arrived at the outskirts of Hami. Instead of attacking Hami City, they went to Barkol in the north of Hami.
Here, there are 5,000 remnants of the Qing army stationed. Their morale is low, their equipment is outdated, their food and fodder are about to run out, and they are eagerly waiting for reinforcements from the direction of Jiayuguan.
The reason they can still maintain their organization is because they are responsible for guarding the border...
Not all Qing troops were bastards. The Qing troops stationed in Yili Province fought to the bitter end for the country's territorial integrity.
General Mingxu of Yili refused to surrender after the rebel army led by Todelin broke through Yili. More than 200 people from his entire government committed suicide and died for their country. They were all true heroes who defended their country with lofty ideals.
Seeing the mighty imperial soldiers finally coming as the Huai Army scouts had said, the ragged frontier soldiers burst into tears. Several lieutenant generals ran to Bo Zai Ma and knelt down, "General, give us enough food and some guns. We want to be the vanguard and fight our way into Hami!"
Bo Zai dismounted and helped several generals up. "You have suffered. The reason why Ili Province was lost is because the court had previously abandoned Shaanxi and Gansu, and you were isolated and helpless. It's not because you were not brave in fighting. You have tried your best and shed too much blood. Rest well in the future and watch us deal with them. We want to take not only Hami, but also Ili and Kashgar, and even push back to Kokand. Just wait for our victory news!"
At this time, there were no Tartars or Han people. Facing foreigners and bandits, we were all warriors defending our Chinese territory and people.
On April 15, 1869, Shao Quanzhong led his headquarters to finally arrive at Barkol. The 80,000-man army of the Western Expedition crossed the desert and arrived at a place with sufficient water.
Behind them was a steel logistics line composed of steam tractors. An army of 80,000 slowly approached Hami, and a war was about to break out.
(End of this chapter)