I Build an Aircraft Carrier in the Ming Dynasty

Yangzhou, Wu Changqing also arrived here after the large army successfully crossed the river.

Just like Dorgon, a stubborn man often likes to take his destiny into his own hands.

In this battle of national fortune, Wu Changqing couldn't help but came over to direct it personally.

Of course, this is also a time to build prestige.

If he didn't come in person and won the battle, the biggest credit would be his subordinates, which would be equivalent to establishing prestige for his subordinates.

It's not a good thing for his subordinates to have too much prestige. He doesn't want to kill the hero like Zhu Chongba after he has pacified the world, and he doesn't want anyone whose prestige can be equal to his own. .

And as long as he comes to the front line and sits in person, even if he doesn't say a word, after the war is won, others will think that he is in command, and the biggest credit must go to him.

He was not from a family of emperors, and he had to rely on prestige to get the upper hand, and he couldn't rely on his identity and blood like the Zhu family.

"The 21st Division has arrived in Huai'an and is preparing to attack the city. Our plan is to take Huai'an, and then rely on Huai'an to fight the Qing army in the north of Huai'an......"

Tao Dongcheng explained plans and strategic intentions to Wu Changqing against the map.

Huai'an is very important to them. As long as Huai'an is occupied, even if the decisive battle is lost in the future, they can rely on Huai'an to defend and cover the retreat of the defeated army.

Although it is a decisive battle, the number of soldiers who will die directly on the battlefield is generally not more than 20%, and more soldiers are killed or captured when they are defeated.

Therefore, if you can rely on Huai'an to fight, in case of defeat, you can effectively slow down the speed of the Qing army's pursuit and kill, so as to gather the defeated troops and greatly reduce losses.

Moreover, after occupying Huai'an, materials can be directly transported to the front line to ensure their logistics.

Huai'an is the junction of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Huaihe River. It is a transportation hub on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and its strategic position is very important.

However, Huai'an is still in the hands of the Qing army. If you want to capture it before the Qing army arrives, you need to pay some price, and there is still great uncertainty.

If Huai'an cannot be captured quickly, the Wu army who is sieging the city will be in a dilemma, or it will be attacked by the Qing army's cavalry in the rear.

"If we can't take Huaian before the main force of the Qing army arrives, then we can only put the battlefield in Madian, south of Huai'an. This is somewhat disadvantageous to us, but it is acceptable..."

"Give Tang Guozhen my order, so that he must take Huaian before the arrival of the Qing army. If we fight in Madian, it will be more difficult for us to defeat and achieve a greater victory. We need to eliminate as many as possible. The main force of the Eight Banners of the Qing army has greatly damaged their vitality."

Wu Changqing interrupted Tao Dongcheng's words.

This time, the strategic goal of the Wu army is actually similar to that of the Qing army. It does not mean that it has to occupy any place, but it wants to destroy the main force of the enemy and destroy the living force of the enemy.

The Qing army eliminated the main force of the Wu army, and the next south will be unimpeded.

On the contrary, the Wu army will not have to fight hard in the future. When the main force of the Qing army is lost, other places will definitely look out for the wind. Wu Jun didn't have to fight, they might have already started turmoil inside.

Wu Changqing just expressed his determination, which can make the generals in front work harder. As for the backup plan, in fact, it will continue to be implemented.

Once Huai'an is not captured, the decisive battle can only be fought in Madian Town.

August 6th.

Wu Changqing's main force began to set out from Yangzhou, and at the same time, the Qing court's army set out from Xuzhou.

In Huai'an on the front line, Wu Jun's 21st Division had already started various preparations before the siege.

As a very solid person in theory, Tang Guozhen naturally understood the importance of Huai'an to this decisive battle. Winning Huai'an is equivalent to adding a natural base during the decisive battle.

"The forward of the Qing army is still about thirty miles away from Huai'an. I want to take this Huai'an in one day."

Tang Guozhen said.

If Huai'an can't be captured within a day, and when the Qing army's vanguard arrives, the strength of their division will be a bit insufficient.

"I'm afraid this is not easy. According to the intelligence of the spies, there are more than 10,000 defenders in Huai'an, including 4,000 banner soldiers. Moreover, these people are equipped with a large number of grenades."

A brigade commander frowned.

Finally, they also began to taste the taste of grenades.

If the side defending the city has a grenade, its ability to defend the city can be directly increased several times.

Compared with the traditional defense weapons such as stone, log, and oil, the lethality of the grenade is several times higher. And the grenade is small and easy to use.

It can be said that if there are enough grenades thrown at the city, the ant attacking the city will not work at all.

If there is enough time, they can use cannons to blast Huaian's city wall into a big hole, so that they don't have to carry out a tragic ant attack.

However, now Tang Guozhen has limited the time, requiring it to be within one day.

I'm afraid this time is not enough, because the city walls of Huai'an have been reinforced with cement by the Qing army. Compared with ordinary rammed earth city walls, it is much stronger, and it is also extremely easy to repair.

These are the price Wu Jun paid for to make money. If it weren't for the money, they would not have sold the cement to the north.

"Can those hydrogen balloons be used?"

Tang Guozhen asked.

Under the instructions of Wu Changqing, the people in the university have successfully separated carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the air, and also produced hydrogen by chemical methods.

Among them, hydrogen was used to make hydrogen balloons, forming the first air force in this space and time.

In the past, Zhuge Liang and some other generals also used flying tools such as Kongming lanterns to transmit military information. However, this is the first time to send people to the sky, which is a leap forward.

However, the technology of manned flight is still very immature for the time being. During the experiment and training process, more than a dozen soldiers have died.

Because hydrogen is very unstable, it can easily explode or burn. The power problem, the control of the direction, and the control of the height are all problems that are difficult to solve.

In the event of an accident in the air, it is basically dead.

This time, Tang Guozhen brought the immature air force with him.

Pursuing complete security is a matter for ordinary people, and there is no so-called absolute security when serving in the military. Even soldiers on the ground have a high probability of dying in battle.

Therefore, even if the technology is not yet available, it is still necessary to use it when it should be used.

And now, Tang Guozhen hopes that this air force can achieve a little unexpected effect.

"The bombing mission can be carried out, but this is the first actual combat, and the effect is more difficult to predict."

Ning Xiang, the battalion commander of the Air Force Battalion, replied.

"It can be used, and it will take off when the general attack is going to scare the enemy first."

Tang Guozhen ordered.

The people flying in the sky, this scene will be able to frighten the Qing army.

Not to mention ordinary soldiers of the Qing army, even these officers, who were the first to see the soldiers successfully ascended to the sky, were shocked and speechless.