My life skills in Daming Liver

"Brigadier, is this an order from Nanjing?"

Xiong Kuang walked into the brigade tent set up outside Hanzhong City and asked Lin Deyang hurriedly.

Since the capture of Hanzhong, Xiong Kuang proposed to the brigade headquarters to quickly move south into Sichuan before the fortifications in Sichuan were completed.

However, both brigade commander Lin Deyang and the Grand Governor of Nanjing remained silent regarding Xiong Kuang's suggestion.

Xiong Kuang was a little disappointed, but Lin Deyang also gave him the right to recruit troops in Hanzhong and continued to expand his independent regiment.

Lin Deyang suddenly summoned Xiong Kuang today, but Xiong Kuang was so excited that he immediately rushed to Lin Deyang's brigade commander's tent.

Lin Deyang looked at Xiong Kuang. This boy was a fierce general under his command, and he was also the most mentioned frontline general in Nanjing Military Academy.

His offensive doctrine brought the cavalry, which had been consigned to the garbage heap of history by the musketeers, back to the stage of history. Now the entire Nanjing Military Academy is re-discussing the value of the cavalry.

In particular, several battles in Xiong Kuang, the Battle of Hanyang and several cavalry battles in Hanzhong were all written into detailed combat reports, which were discussed repeatedly by instructors and students at Nanjing Military Academy every day.

Xiong Kuang was in a hurry to attack Sichuan because he was driven crazy by his heavy post-war summary work these days.

The Governor-General personally issued an order to the Fifth Brigade, asking Xiong Kuang to summarize the experience of cavalry combat and record the processes of several battles in detail as materials for discussion and study at the rear military academy.

For this purpose, Xiong Kuang not only needs to formulate multi-faceted reporting materials from the perspective of commanding operations, but also from the perspective of grassroots commanders and soldiers.

But even so, Nanjing continued to send letters asking for details of the Xiong Kuang operation.

For example, do cavalry need to wear armor or not?

Xiong Guang has made a detailed analysis of this problem. When the cavalry wears armor, the ability to maneuver and sustain combat is sacrificed, and the armor cannot withstand fatal injuries caused by close-range musket fire.

In this era, cavalry combat mainly focused on attacking the flanks and rear positions of the musket phalanx. To put it bluntly, they were melee infantry on horseback.

In this case, armor does not have much significance in combat. On the contrary, it is more valuable to gain mobility without wearing heavy armor.

Xiong Kuang also counted the casualties of cavalry in several battles. In a rapid charge, most of the Mingting musketeers would easily fire indiscriminately in panic. As long as a volley cannot be formed, the cavalry can charge to the musketeer square. , that is, the cavalry massacred the musketeers.

However, Xiong Kuang also discovered that the Ming court's musketeer phalanx also began to increase the defense of close combat infantry on the flanks. Some Ming court commanders would even arrange musketeer phalanxes on the flanks, or form a semicircle or square. formation to prevent cavalry from attacking from the flanks.

Xiong Kuang also proposed his own solution to this change on the battlefield.

Xiong Kuang proposed to add long-range weapons to the cavalry, especially firearms.

Xiong Kuang's plan is that each cavalry should be equipped with three grenades, and horse grenade training should be added to daily drills. When facing a square formation of musketeers with infantry defense, grenades can be used to destroy the enemy's camp.

In addition, Xiong Kuang believed that the cavalry should be equipped with the most advanced firearms.

Today's percussion-type short muskets produced by Nanjing Arsenal use spring firing to ignite gunpowder. The short barrel is lighter than a normal musket and can be operated on horseback.

Xiong Kuang also increased the training of horseback musket shooting. He believed that advanced short-fire muskets could allow the cavalry to become an extension of the musketeers' firepower and play a greater role on the battlefield.

In addition to cavalry, Xiong Kuang also proposed increasing the role of artillery, especially field artillery, in combat.

The light artillery used by Yu Zigao in Guangxi is an easy-to-carry artillery that can form fire suppression behind the musketeers' positions and use artillery volleys to hit local musketeers' formations from a distance.

Xiong Kuang believes that this kind of preemptive artillery strike is also in line with his offensive doctrine, which not only uses the offense to cause chaos in the enemy camp, thereby creating opportunities for attack.

This is Xiong Kuang's strategic thinking. Only by launching an attack will the situation change on the battlefield, and those who control the attacking side have the initiative on the battlefield.

Regarding Xiong Kuang's offensive theory, the evaluation of him at the Military Academy in Nanjing is also polarized.

Some people believe that offense is indeed better than defense. Offense can expose weaknesses in a place and thus formulate more favorable tactics.

Others believe that in today's wars, attacking is not a highly profitable thing, especially if the enemy hides in fortifications, then the attack will be meaningless.

These people believe that defense is more important than offense. The most typical example of this is the Daku Fort.

Since the establishment of the Dagu Fort, it has relied on defense to block the most important strategic node in the north, providing huge strategic value to the southeast.

The two sides can be said to have endless arguments, but it still does not prevent Xiong Kuang from becoming an idol worshiped by military school students.

Lin Deyang held a document and said: "The Metropolitan Government has agreed to your idea of ​​armed reconnaissance and allows your independent regiment to try to open a passage south to Sichuan."

"But except for the independent regiment, the other troops of the fifth brigade cannot move. Do you understand?"

Xiong Kuang was ecstatic at first, and then felt depressed. Although the independent regiment had more people than ordinary regiments, it was only at the level of a regiment. It was almost impossible to capture Jiange, which was heavily defended by the Sichuan Ming Army.

Jiang Dongchen, the governor of Sichuan, was not a fool. After the New Southeast Army occupied Hanzhong, he quickly deployed a large army near Jiange, built fortresses, placed artillery, and established a solid defense line.

This is also Lin Deyang's headache. Jiange is an important passage into Shu. Just as the defense theory says, Jiange is a strategic location that must be attacked in a war.

As long as these strategic locations are defended, the local area will have to spend ten or even a hundred times its strength to attack.

The Southeast Army has rarely fought hard battles since its establishment. Lin Deyang was actually not sure whether the Fifth Brigade would collapse if the losses in Jiange were too large.

That's why he supported Xiong Kuang's request for fire reconnaissance and looked for other ways to enter Sichuan.

If Jiange can be bypassed, with the firepower advantage and mobility of the New Southeast Army, Chengdu can be quickly captured and forced to surrender in Shuzhong.

Xiong Kuang thought for a while and said, "Can the brigade commander send troops to Jiange? Contain the Ming army in Jiange."

Lin Deyang thought for a moment and said, "That's okay. After the autumn harvest, our troops will send troops to Jiange to confront the Ming army."

Xiong Kuang then took the order and returned to his regiment headquarters.

Xiong Kuang quickly called a meeting with his subordinates.

"Captain, does the brigade commander agree with us to send troops?"

Xiong Kuang nodded and said: "But only our independent group can move."

The battalion commanders were a little frustrated. Xiong Kuang's independent regiment was different from other regiments. After several additions and expansions, it already had nearly 3,000 people.

But if three thousand people want to attack Jiange, this force is still too few.

In order to defend against the southeastern army, Jiang Dongchen placed 20,000 Ming troops on the front line of Jiange. He also demolished the plank road of Jiange and built bunkers and firepower points on the mountain road.

Jiang Dongchen even moved the Sichuan governor's office from Chengdu to Langzhong, which is closer to Jiange, just to be closer to Jiange to supervise the battle.

Xiong Kuang continued: "The brigade commander will lead troops out of Hanzhong to contain the Ming Dynasty army. We have to find a passage into Shu."

Everyone became excited when they heard that the fifth brigade would contain the Ming court troops in Jiange.

One of the battalion commanders said: "Captain, my hometown is Hanzhong, we can take the Yinping Ancient Road!"

Xiong Kuang raised his head and looked at the battalion commander. His name was Jin Zhan, and he was the first cavalry commander he recruited in Huguang.

Everyone burst into laughter and said, "Battle Commander Jin, aren't you from Huguang? How did you become from Hanzhong?"

Jin Zhan blushed and said, "My ancestors are from Hanzhong! I heard from my grandfather that we moved from Hanzhong to Huguang when Taizu of the Ming Dynasty filled in Huguang!"

Jin Zhan added: "No kidding, when I was a child, I heard my grandfather tell the story of Deng Ai taking the Yinping Ancient Road to enter Shu."

The story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has become very popular. Many people have heard the story of Deng Ai traveling through the Yinping Ancient Road and the magical soldiers descending from the sky.

Lin Deyang also sent people to search for the Yinping Ancient Road. According to ancient books and local legends, the staff of the Fifth Brigade also verified the old story of Deng Ai taking the Yinping Ancient Road.

When Zhong Hui defeated Shu, the main force led by Zhong Hui could not break through for a long time due to the terrain of Sichuan and Hanzhong.

Deng Ai was unable to defeat Jiang Wei's army. Seeing this situation, Zhong Hui had already begun to retreat.

Deng Ai proposed a roundabout plan to Zhong Hui. He led a small number of troops from Yinping across more than 700 miles of no-man's land, and unexpectedly attacked Jiangyou. Divine soldiers descended from the sky, Mianyang defeated Zhuge Zhan, and finally captured Fucheng and marched to Chengdu. , the later master surrendered.

"Three Kingdoms" contains a very vivid description of Deng Ai sneaking across Yinping Road and exterminating the Shu Han Dynasty. It says that Deng Ai "traveled from Yinping Road for more than 700 miles to the uninhabited land, dug mountain passages, and built bridges and pavilions. The mountains are high and the valleys are deep. "It's difficult and dangerous." "The soldiers all climbed up the wooden edge cliff and filed in." It can be seen that the Yinping Road is dangerous.

In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the description is even more vivid. It is said that Deng Ai was marching on the Yinping Ancient Road. After reaching Motian Ridge, there was no way out. Deng Ai wrapped himself in a blanket and took the lead in rolling down the mountain. In this way, he forcibly crossed the Yinping Ancient Road. .

But people living nearby said that the mountain roads nearby were rugged and there was no way to pass the army.

Lin Deyang sent people into the mountains to explore Motian Ridge. Motian Ridge was more than two thousand meters long. If it rolled down from the mountain, it would not reach Jiangyou at all, but would roll directly to the underworld.

Both Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms are vague about the Yinping Ancient Road, and there is no specific route at all.

After Deng Ai, there was no successful case of conquering Shu through the ancient Yinping Road.