Chapter 1531: Five hundred thousand Qin and Ming coalition troops
Chapter 1531 Five Hundred Thousand Qin and Ming Combined Army
Chapter 1529: Five Hundred Thousand Qin and Ming Allied Forces
On the surface, the Ming army in Jizhou seems to have great glory. It took away the land of the three counties of Jizhou as soon as the peace came out, and it was able to fight against Zhao and Han with its own strength. However, in fact, the life of the Canming army in Jizhou was not easy. .
Qin Hao naturally knew this. It was only after he actually took charge of the Ming army that he realized how difficult it was for Zhang Liang and Emperor Ming to maintain Can Ming in such a situation.
On the surface, the Ming Dynasty occupied the three counties of Julu, Qinghe, and Changshan in Jizhou, but in fact they only occupied part of it. None of the counties was completely occupied. The county offices and the richest cities were still in Han Xin and Yuan Shao. under control.
Canming also occupies 11 counties in these three counties. The total population of the land occupied is 650,000. Including the nearly 600,000 people hidden in Taihang, the total population is nearly 1.3 million. However, It supports nearly 150,000 troops, and the ratio of soldiers to civilians is even more than ten to one.
You must know that the army of 150,000 is not a small number, it is equivalent to one-fourth of the Qin army, but the resources that Can Ming possesses are less than one-fortieth of the Qin army.
This shows that the military burden of the Jizhou Ming Army is definitely the heaviest among all forces.
In addition, although Qin Hao provided Can Ming with high-yielding grains early, the land available for cultivation in the Taihang Mountains was limited after all.
The Taihang Mountains are boundless, and the Can Ming Dynasty has not yet fully developed them. However, most of them are mountainous and cannot be cultivated. There is actually very little land for the Ming army to plant, so naturally there is not much food grown.
Had it not been for Qin Hao's high-yielding grain crops, Can Ming would have been impossible to raise both troops and people without going out to plunder.
Therefore, the Ming army's food and grass burden has always been heavy. It was not until they sent troops to Jizhou two years ago and captured the land of eighteen counties that the Ming army completely bid farewell to the food and grass crisis. However, with it came the conflict with Zhao and Han The ceaseless conquest.
The Ming army, which has not yet left the Taihang Mountains, can barely maintain an army of 100,000 due to limited food and grass. If it breaks out of the Taihang Mountains, it is very likely that South Korea and Zhao will invade at the same time. Naturally, an army of 100,000 will not be enough to deal with it. of.
So, after occupying three counties and eighteen counties, the Ming army expanded its army many times in order to defend the captured territory.
After that, in the process of resisting South Korea and Zhao, although the Ming army suffered a lot of casualties, the entire army still maintained its strength at 150,000 people.
Let’s put it this way, although the Ming army gained land after fighting out of Taihang and greatly reduced the pressure on food and grass, the two items of army expansion and war also accelerated the consumption of food and grass.
Therefore, although the food pressure of the Ming army is better than before leaving Taihang, it is only a little. It is okay to defend the existing territory, but it does not have the strength to expand its territory and cannot withstand large-scale battles. consumption.
The Ming army did not have enough food and grass, but Qin Hao did. He ordered to rest for two years in order to wait for the merger of Qin and Ming Dynasty, and then use hundreds of thousands of Qin and Ming coalition forces to sweep across Hebei with the force of autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves.
Originally, if Qin Hao wanted to unify Hebei, he had to first pry open the door to Jizhou, and then establish a firm foothold before he could completely let go.
However, Huguan, as the gateway, is now in the hands of the Ming army, and the eighteen counties in western Hebei are also completely in the hands of the Ming army, which can serve as the most solid bridgehead for the Qin army.
So, as long as the Qin army sends troops to Jizhou, there is no need to consider other issues at all. The only things that need to be considered are grain, grass and transportation.
“Originally, the king planned to use 400,000 troops to conquer Hebei, but now it seems that since there are 150,000 soldiers who have submitted to the Ming army, then..."
After Qin Hao thought for a while, he smiled and said: "We only need 350,000 troops, plus 150,000 Ming troops, a total of 500,000 troops, which is more than enough to sweep across Jizhou."
Qin Hao also had his own considerations. Although the Qin army had a large army of 600,000, it was surrounded by enemies on all sides, and there were also many places that needed to be defended.
During Qin Hao's campaign in Hebei, if only a few princes invaded, 200,000 defenders could naturally handle it. However, if all princes from all directions sent troops to invade at the same time, 200,000 defenders would not be enough. .
At this critical moment, if an additional 50,000 troops were deployed for defense, the situation would be completely different. Hearing what Qin Hao said, Zhang Liang said: "The food and grass needed by an army of 500,000 is not a small amount."
"This king has been prepared for this. As early as half a year ago, I ordered the transportation of the grain and grass king Jinyang warehouse in Ningxia warehouse, Yinchuan warehouse and Yinshan warehouse. Now Jinyang warehouse has 15 million shi of grain stored in it, which is enough. To support an army of 500,000 for two years."
The grain production in Hetao accounts for three-quarters of the Qin army, so for the Battle of Hebei, Qin Hao does not need to transfer grain from other places at all. He only needs to transport the grain and grass from Hetao to Jinyang, and then transport it from Jinyang to Jizhou. enough.
Hearing this, Zhang Liang couldn’t help but sigh.
I think that when the Yellow Turbans advanced into Luoyang, they wiped out most of the aristocratic families in the Central Plains and suffered countless infamy, so they only collected 20 million stones of food and grass.
With Qin Hao's announcement of high grain yields, just over three years have passed. Hetao and Bingzhou alone can easily mobilize 15 million grains and grains. The one before and the other is like two eras.
"In this case, there should be no problem with food and grass, but the king still needs to return to Jinyang as soon as possible to spread the news that all 150,000 Ming troops have been surrendered. After all, no matter how blocked and concealed, the news from Taihang It’s destined not to be hidden for long.”
“I know it.”
Qin Hao nodded and said, of course he also knows this, and there is not much time for him to operate, so he must return to Jinyang as soon as possible to make arrangements, and then the Qin and Ming armies will join forces to launch a sudden attack, and try their best to prevent the next attack. Take advantage of the battle.
“Next, I will take the princess, Guo Jia and others back to Jinyang. During my absence, this place will be left to you, Zhang Liang.”
“Liang Ding lives up to the king’s trust.”
On the same day, Qin Hao took Ren Hongchang, Guo Jiafuxi and others back to Jinyang under the **** of Dugu Qiubai, leaving only a few people such as Qin Yijue and Ah Qing.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang's factory guards were disabled in the First World War, there were still a few spies hidden among the Ming army, so Qin Yijue and A Qing were left responsible for completely eliminating them.
On the way back, Qin Hao said to Emperor Ming: "Hong'er, what identity will you show up as in the future? Will it be Zhang Sheng? Or Dongfang Sheng? Or will you return to your real name, Ren Hongchang?"
Emperor Ming thought thoughtfully and then said forcefully: "Although Zhang Sheng, Dongfang Sheng, or the empress are all me, I want to return to my original self, so I will still use the name Ren Hongchang from now on."
As soon as Ren Hongchang finished speaking, Qin Hao had not said anything, but Fuxi on the side said excitedly: "Great, sister, you finally figured it out. For my brother, you should have restored your original name long ago."
“Brother, when will you return to your original surname? You are the only male in our Ren family.” Ren Hongchang said with a smile.
“Well, this…”
Fuxi couldn't help but look troubled, but he quickly said: "When my brother has a child, he will be named Ren."
Qin Hao and Ren Hongchang looked at each other and laughed in unison.
(End of this chapter)