Chapter 434 Consumption
Compared with those armies of Yuguo, the Southern Expedition Army of the Ming Dynasty is much more attractive.
Not to mention the 200,000 old troops, many of them have fought against foreign troops, especially when they encountered the invasion of the Jin Kingdom recently, the battles were fought to the death, and the casualty rate before the battle was huge. increase, those who can survive are undoubtedly the elite.
Let's talk about the 300,000 new troops, because the Ming Emperor's improvement policies over the years have made the reputation of the place much better. The life of the common people is not so difficult, at least they can survive.
Therefore, the local people who have obtained these benefits have increased their favor towards the emperor, and unconsciously, their sense of cohesion and identity with the Ming Dynasty has increased day by day.
Needless to say, the loyalty and temperament of the soldiers selected from these people are far from comparable to those of Zhong Yu's soldiers who think they are participating in the rebellion. This is the name of righteousness.
Even if Zhong Yu was not a subordinate of the Ming Dynasty, he raised the banner to rebel early. You can distinguish the difference between Yu Yuguo and Ming Dynasty. And many improvement policies have been made at the local level, which have made the livelihood of the common people much better, and their families have some surplus.
But the local people still don't buy his account, thinking that he is a traitor.
The operation of the Ming Dynasty for thousands of years is not a joke, at least it has been deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people. People in all places recognize their identity as citizens of the Ming Dynasty from the bottom of their hearts.
This has almost formed a kind of traditional culture, which is engraved in the bones and cannot be forgotten.
With an army of 500,000 brave and good at fighting, not very afraid of death, as the southern expedition army, facing a group of enemies whose morale is low, the army is unstable, and some people even want to defect, the war will naturally be unfavorable.
There was a decisive battle between the two sides with 300,000 troops each, but in just three days, it ended with the defeat of the Imperial Kingdom.
Among the 300,000 troops, 100,000 from Yuguo fled back to the rear. After being collected, they were reorganized and reorganized into an army.
Another 100,000 or so troops were captured by the Ming army after being disbanded, and after a little persuasion, they directly changed their flags and changed their flags, and gorgeously became the regular army of the Ming Dynasty, representing the king's division of the freshman.
There are also 50,000 people who turned their backs during the war and laid hands on their companions.
It was precisely because of the betrayal of these people that Yuguo's 300,000 troops were defeated within three days. They couldn't even stop the Ming army at all, and they were extremely incompetent.
Only a mere 50,000 soldiers died on the battlefield. There are 20,000 to 30,000 of these troops that Zhong Yu brought to this world from all walks of life, and there are also 20,000 to 30,000 troops that were trained during this period of time. They have such a sense of belonging and loyalty to Zhong Yu's country that they risked their lives to die. war.
In the entire 300,000 army, more than half of the people were loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and the remaining 100,000 people were vacillating. They were like grass on the wall. Only 50,000 people were reliable, but they all died in battle.
From this, it can be seen how unstable the foundation of Zhong Yu's empire is.
If it takes more than ten or twenty years, Zhong Yu may be able to change the thinking of the people at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty by virtue of his benevolent policy, tough methods, and huge army, and even the high-level people. Can make them truly return to their hearts.
However, this is obviously unrealistic, Zhong Yu doesn't have that much time to rest, and it is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to wait here for so long.
After the defeat of the 300,000 troops on the front line, Zhong Yu's defense line was fully shrunk, and he no longer engaged in a decisive battle with the Ming Dynasty in the field. Instead, he insisted on defending the city according to their respective first interests, intending to slowly consume the Ming Dynasty.
Yuguo tends to be on the defensive in terms of war.
Just when Zhong Yu was about to stick to it, the Ming Dynasty had no intention of stopping the war.
Collected 100,000 surrendered troops, and searched for some money and food in the local area. After transporting them to the rear, the court used them to form a new army. The army was successfully formed and slowly sent to the front line.
About a month after the end of the decisive battle, the money, rations and reinforcements from the rear arrived at the front line, and together with the remnants of the remnant soldiers, the Ming army not only did not decrease, but instead expanded a circle. The line of defense rushed away.
After Zhong Yu lost 200,000 troops in the previous battle, the number of troops deployed on the defense line was only 800,000. He still had a slight advantage in numbers and occupied a good position to defend the city.
However, this did not make Zhong Yu feel at ease, because according to his investigation and estimation, among the 800,000 troops, 200,000 troops from the original Ming Dynasty and 100,000 troops from the 200,000 new troops are basically unreliable.
They all turned to Da Ming in their hearts, and for some unknown reason on the battlefield, they might be able to seek refuge with Da Ming at any time.
The remaining 100,000 defeated soldiers had to be eliminated. Their morale had been drained. If they encountered the defeated Ming Dynasty army on the battlefield, they would definitely collapse at the first touch, causing the entire battle situation to collapse.
In other words, Zhong Yu can really trust only 300,000 direct troops, plus about 100,000 new troops whose loyalty can be guaranteed because of his favor and loyalty.
Relying on these strengths, even if they have a little advantage in geographical location, they want to fight against Momentum Ruhong. The Southern Expeditionary Army of the Ming Dynasty, which was at its peak, was not exhausted, it could only be called barely.
The attacks of the Ming Dynasty started one after another.
All those unstable troops, Zhong Yu, sent direct line guards as the supervising team to persecute anyone who had the idea of fleeing or surrendering, as long as there was a slight sign, he would be killed directly to deter the morale of the army.
Such a high-intensity bombardment also made these grass-roots troops really start to exert their strength. They fought vigorously on the battlefield. Although they often suffered defeats, they were not as collapsed as before, or even turned against each other directly.
However, it is inevitable to lose territory one after another, and Zhong Yu has long been mentally prepared for this.
Now Yuguo's goal is to procrastinate.
Using his own territory and strong military strength, he slowly contained the Ming Dynasty's army on the battlefield, and then bloodletted him through the continuous reinforcements of the Ming Dynasty, thus exhausting the last trace of the Ming Dynasty's heritage.
When Daming's strength is almost exhausted and the finances are about to collapse. It is estimated that the Great Jin Dynasty in the north will also be unable to bear it anymore, and once again send troops south to invade Daming.
At that time, it will be another protracted war. After such a long battle, the Ming Dynasty can cultivate a group of troops capable of conscripting and fighting, but after a long battle, it is definitely not the opponent of the Jin Dynasty who is recuperating. Can't get rid of.
And this process, Zhong Yu estimated that it will take 3 to 4 years.
With Yuguo's current territory and background, this time can be afforded and delayed.