Yangmakou Fortress. Yangmakou was not a very dangerous place. It was originally just a small market town. Later, as the trade route from the northwest to the Central Plains gradually became busier, the place naturally prospered over time. After Wu Feng took over the control of the northwest, he valued the special geographical location here. It was only sixty miles away from Partridge Pass, the first post in Kansai, and Partridge Pass blocked his throat to the Central Plains. If he If you want to march out of the Central Plains, this will be the most important checkpoint, so the strategic position of Yangmakou will also become important.
The military camp of this fortress is not large. Although it is not too crowded for a division of troops to be stationed in it, the closed life that does not allow them to leave the military camp at will makes a large number of soldiers almost sick. However, in the face of iron discipline , but no one dared to violate this death order.
Nothing unusual can be seen inside and outside the fortress. Except that the vicinity of the military camp is listed as a forbidden area as usual, there is nothing special. The soldiers originally stationed in a regiment were reduced to a large group for unknown reasons. The sparse patrolling soldiers let the passing soldiers pass by. The travelers and caravans had no idea that the nearby Longdong Mansion was already in flames of war. People who went west from the Central Plains couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and take a good rest when they arrived here, because they knew that from then on, going west was the territory of Duke Li Wufeng, the military and political envoy to the northwest of the empire and the governor of Northern Luzon. Although those rebel parties are rampant, they seem to dare not provoke this famous iron-blooded king in the northwest at will. At least they can't see anything related to the Taiping Religion in this area.
Everything seems so calm, but behind this calmness there are many tensions that are difficult for ordinary people to detect.
"Oh, I don't know how long we have to wait? The morale of our brothers will be affected if we keep holding it in like this." The young man who spoke can tell from the military insignia on his arm that he is already the highest-ranking mid-level officer in the empire. He was an admiral, and the thin, dark man next to him didn't look much older than him, but his military badge showed that he was already a senior officer in the empire - a captain.
"Then you have to be patient! Your Excellency has strictly ordered us not to go out. If our hidden strength is exposed and the other party is on guard, we will lose the first move in the attack. But I think we probably won't be able to wait long, as long as The situation at Partridge Pass is dangerous, and we don’t have much to worry about. Even if something goes amiss, there’s nothing we can do about it.” The thin, dark man answered without raising his head, only looking at the map on the desk.
"I hope so. The assault plan has been rehearsed many times and everything is ready. Now we are just waiting for the order." The young man shrugged and said, "I hope this battle can be the first of our independent second mixed division. The majesty of battle.”
"Hey, that's a good idea." A cheerful voice woke up the two people in the room.
The two turned around and immediately spotted the person coming. They were surprised and happy. They quickly stood up straight and performed a standard military salute, "See you, sir!"
Wu Feng, dressed in casual clothes, appeared at the door of the room smartly. He seemed to have heard the conversation between the two and was very satisfied with the adaptability of his two men.
"Well, it seems that everyone has done a solid job in preparation. Is there any problem?" Wu Feng casually walked into the room, but his eyes fell on the large military map on the desk.
"Sir, there is no big problem. It's just that the brothers have been waiting impatiently and are eager to join the battle as soon as possible." The young admiral is naturally Yue Shan, the deputy commander of the Independent Second Mixed Division. "Of course, everything must obey the overall situation."
Wu Feng admired the abilities of this disciple of the ** sect and hoped that he could make contributions to himself in the upcoming eastward campaign. He also had high hopes for the newly established independent second division.
"Well, that's good, everything must obey the overall situation. The situation in Kansai is getting worse day by day, but the central government of the empire has not yet taken effective countermeasures. It is impossible to rely solely on the three army divisions that have been withdrawn from the Five Lakes battlefield. Maybe they will watch our performance to turn the tide." Although Wu Feng spoke with confidence, he knew in his heart that looking at the current situation, the empire's doubts about him were already very deep, and he was in such a dangerous situation. But there was no sign of letting him lead troops to suppress the rebellion. It seemed that His Majesty the Emperor and the people in the General Administration of Military Affairs were deeply wary of his previous actions.
"Sir, my subordinates are thinking that the empire will not be so hands-off with the Taiping Rebellion. Kansai is extremely important and the military cannot do nothing. However, now that the central plains of the empire, especially Kansai and the north, are in danger, the military is also We really don’t have much mobile power to deal with it. We must either use the city guards who have just returned to the imperial capital, or we can only mobilize the army from the Jerok battlefield, but that will have quite serious consequences and need to be considered carefully." That is the thin black man. The commander of the Second Independent Division, Shenei, has just been promoted to Army Commander. He is a man of Chinese mainland origin and has always been fond of thinking.
"Oh?" Wu Feng asked with a smile: "Then do you think the empire will consider letting us send troops to the northwest to quell the chaos?"
After thinking for a while, Shenei said: "I'm afraid it will be difficult, at least in a short period of time. Because according to the current situation, the chaos has reached such a rampant level, but there is still no order from the central government of the empire, which shows that the empire is really serious about us in the northwest. We have a different look. Perhaps in the later stage, we will see whether the rebels can defeat the army that came to suppress the empire. If the situation continues to deteriorate, the empire will be able to consider us. However, my subordinates think that by then it may be too late, regardless of whether it is against us. The empire is still ours. The Taiping rebels have already established a firm foothold. The strategic points in the east have been occupied by the rebels. If we want to take them back, we don’t know how much it will cost. With our current military strength, we really can’t bear it. Such a big loss.”
"Also, if the Kaman people really colluded with the Taiping people, I'm afraid they wouldn't let us stand idly by as we attacked the Kansai Tianping rebels. I'm afraid we have to consider this." Yue Shan, not to be outdone, put forward his own plan. views are supplemented.
After listening to the analysis of the two, Wu Feng was filled with relief. It seemed that his decision to place these two in the special position of Bonan was the right choice. The special geographical location of Bonan Mansion and the special location he gave them later The arduous task assigned not only did not overwhelm the two of them, but actually made them grow. The combat effectiveness of the troops was needless to say. He had already reviewed it when he returned to the northwest from the imperial capital, and the improvement of the two's strategic and tactical thinking as commanders was indispensable. That's what makes Wu Feng the happiest.
"That makes sense, so what do you two think we should do now?" Wu Feng also intends to test the two of them again.
She Nei and Yue Shan exchanged colors with each other before saying: "We believe that we cannot stick to the current situation and strike first to seize Partridge Pass before the Taiping rebels to ensure that our eastward path is unobstructed."
"Then have you considered the consequences of our doing this reaching the ears of the empire?" Wu Feng was very surprised. With the wisdom of the two of them, they would not fail to consider this, and he had already thought of this trick. , but considering that I already have a very bad impression in the eyes of the empire, if I behave like this again, I am afraid that it will be really difficult to gain the trust of the emperor's many courtiers in the future.
The face inside the house was a little strange, and his lips moved, but he didn't say anything for a while. On the other hand, Yue Shan, who was next to him, resolutely said: "The garrison at Partridge Pass only has 3,000 people, and some of the common people inside only have 5,000 or 6,000 people. If we want to If you want to keep secrets, the best way is to ``````''
Yue Shan had a fierce look on his face, and made a beheading motion with his hand, and then continued: "Then he shifted the responsibility to the Taiping rebels, saying that the rebels bloodbathed Partridge Pass, and our army was unable to rescue them in time, so they only had time to recapture the pass. All the defenders have been killed. Anyway, the entire Kansai is in chaos now, and the Taiping rebels are killing people everywhere. No one will notice so much, and they will naturally forget it as time goes by. "
Although they had the courage to speak out this strategy, they didn't know what the coach's reaction would be. Both of them were a little uneasy and their eyes flickered, but in the end they all fell on Wu Feng's face.
As a military commander, this is undoubtedly the best strategy. Not only can he win the coveted Partridge Pass in one fell swoop, but he can also avoid censure from the central government of the empire. He can also take advantage of the situation to blame the Taiping Religion and arouse the hatred of the people. But this strategy is also extremely risky. Once the truth of the matter is leaked, the consequences will be catastrophic. Although you can argue, deny, or even deny it, there will definitely be people who will take the opportunity to make trouble and attack your reputation. The risk for a politician seems to be too great, and it is still not worthwhile compared with the benefits.
Another very important reason is that the Taiping rebels in various places did not go on a killing spree and massacre innocent people as Yue Shan said, and military discipline was not as lax as he initially expected. It seems that the Taiping people The plot is very deep. However, no large groups of Taiping rebels have been found near Partridge Pass. Perhaps the other party is unwilling to provoke them and is trying not to give themselves an excuse to intervene in the situation in Kansai. It seems that they have a very thorough grasp of the psychology of the empire's top brass. .
If I agree to this plan, it will be difficult to hide it from people who are interested, and the Taiping Sect will also make a strong public counterattack. If it really builds a big momentum, big problems will arise.
After thinking about it for a long time, Wu Feng finally gave up on this tempting plan until the last moment when the words came out of his mouth, "Besides this plan, what other ideas do you have?"
Seeing that the coach had no other words, Sheneicai added: "There are still one or two plans, but they are all somewhat difficult. I'm afraid they may not be successful. In terms of success rate, the one just now is the best."
"Oh? Let's not talk about that one, let's talk about other ideas." Wu Feng flatly shook off the previous proposal.
"According to the information we have, there is only an incomplete regiment of the garrison stationed at Partridge Pass. There are about 3,300 people, all infantry. They belong to the Longdong Garrison Division. The commander of the regiment is from the Longdong gentry and is brave. Little coward, intelligence has previously reported that this guy is worried that the road to Longdong Fucheng will be cut off by the Taiping rebels, and has the idea of returning to Shifucheng. But now Longdong Fucheng has fallen, although the flow of civilians and caravans has not been interrupted. , but it is definitely impossible for the army to march, and the Taiping rebels will not attack this isolated fortress, which probably means that it will become a stumbling block to block our way and delay our entry into Kansai." Shenei saw that the coach had already I made up my mind and immediately gave up my original idea.