Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 169 Ambitious Combined Forces Battalion (II)

A combined forces brigade of ten battalions?!

When these words were spoken, all the generals present were stunned. The old veterans were shocked that Lu Jin had set up a new organization, while the new generals, such as Xu Da and others, had just become familiar with the current organization, but Lu Jin set up another level.

Originally, each battalion of the Shengwu Army had 850 people. Later, after adding training officers, each battalion became 900 people. The brigade of ten battalions had 9,000 people. This was a new unit equivalent to the original two regiments, larger than a regiment but smaller than a division.

Zhu Shou thought for a moment and asked, "Marshal, if a brigade has ten battalions, is there still a regimental commander level?"

Lu Jin shook his head and said, "Of course not. The word 'synthesized' in 'synthesized brigade' originally meant the combination of multiple arms. The original regiments were basically single arms. The infantry regiment was the infantry regiment. The combat battalion mainly practiced gun formations, and the auxiliary battalion was in charge of carriages and bags, which was not much different from the combat troops.

“But now, in one army, there are musketeers, artillery, cavalry, auxiliary troops, melee soldiers, and grenadiers. These are supposed to be put into a large formation, and a general is needed to coordinate all the arms. If a regiment commander is set up, it would be redundant.

"But you don't have to worry about the rank. Under the brigade-level organization, although the number of soldiers under the command of generals of each branch has decreased, the number of technical soldiers who use muskets and artillery in the Royal Guards is definitely not lower than before."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present looked at each other in bewilderment. Although the Shengwu Army had been established with two teams of civil and military officials, as well as officials such as county magistrates, the rank of each type of official had not yet been determined, especially the rank of military generals.

The organization proposed by Lu Jin had no correspondence with the common organization, so the officers of the Shengwu Army did not know how high their rank was. Since there was no rank system, the actual power was the basis, and whoever had more soldiers under his command would have a higher rank.

According to the current organization, the rank of division commander is undoubtedly higher than that of regimental commander, but Lu Jin has set up a brigade with a size equivalent to two regiments, which will undoubtedly reduce the number of positions for regimental commanders.

There are only so many soldiers in total, and each one has his own position. With each additional regiment, there is one more position for the commander. But with the establishment of a brigade, there is one less position.

But from what Lu Jin said just now, although there are fewer pits, it seems that compensation should be made in terms of rank. This doesn't seem impossible. The battalion officers of the artillery battalion, whom the Marshal values ​​most, should at least be half a level higher than ordinary battalion officers, right?
Of course, although Lu Jin has not yet announced the corresponding grades of military commanders, it is easy to understand from this implication that ordinary combat corps will be worthless in the future, and only officers who understand technology will be more valued.

As the imperial guards directly under Lu Jin's command and the first troops to be reformed, their future prospects are undoubtedly the brightest.

The veteran generals were making their own plans in their minds, but the newcomers didn't have so many concerns. Xu Da, Guo Ying and others only held the honorary title of Trial Captain.

Xu Da ignored the matters of official positions and ranks. He now wanted to understand Lu Jin's new formation, why it was arranged like this, why this kind of organization was used, and what was its significance?
Looking at the formation formed by Lu Jin's soldiers, Xu Da asked immediately.

"General, I see that there are four battalions of musketeers in front of this formation, the artillery is in the center, the baggage camp is in the rear, the trap camp and the grenadier camp are on the left and right of the rear, and the cavalry is on both sides. With this arrangement, won't the artillery hit its own people? Shouldn't the artillery be placed in the front? And if the trap camp is placed in the rear, what's the point of the trap? Shouldn't the trap camp be in the front?"

Lu Jin glanced at him and explained, "This is just an initial formation, used when fighting. If we want to fight, we need to change the formation. How can there be only one formation? Only those who can change the formation flexibly according to the situation on the scene are qualified generals."

Then he fiddled with the soldier models and introduced them.

"The combined forces of the brigade are muskets and artillery. When engaging in battle, if the enemy is still far away, the artillery should be placed at the front to fire at the enemy's main formation from a long distance.

“But you’ve all seen artillery. It’s really powerful at long range, but if the enemy gets close to it, it’ll be a lamb to be slaughtered, with no power to fight back. So it must be protected by other arms.

“Therefore, the four musket battalions at the front of the formation should be arranged in a vertical column, and the four gun companies of the artillery battalion should also be placed separately, leaving a wide enough passage in the middle of each gun company.

"In battle, before the enemy arrives, let the artillery battalion fire from a distance. When the enemy approaches, the four battalions of musketeers must quickly move forward through the gaps between the artillery batteries to repel the enemy. If the enemy is defeated before reaching the battle line, the cavalry on both wings will move forward to chase and intercept them, while the four battalions of musketeers will move forward through the passages left by the artillery batteries to pursue the enemy.

“The artillery is heavy and requires many horses to pull it, which makes it difficult to maneuver. Once the cavalry and musketeers go out to pursue the enemy, they will need to leave behind three battalions: the auxiliary chariot battalion, the trap camp, and the grenadier battalion to protect the artillery.

"If the enemy sees that our frontal artillery fire is fierce and cannot get close, and chooses to bypass from the two wings or the rear, we need to use the chariot formation and the grenadier battalion to defend. After repelling the enemy, we can send out the trap camp to launch a short counterattack and expand the victory."

Xu Da frowned, watching Lu Jin's battle formation and listening to the explanation, but he still couldn't understand something.

"Then the main offensive force of the Marshal's formation is the four battalions of musketeers and artillery battalions, right? If the rear formation is just for defense, I think one chariot battalion is enough. Putting in a trap camp and a grenadier battalion would be a bit of a waste of manpower.

"Moreover, the two wings of the entire formation are too thin. There are only cavalry on the two wings. If the enemy attacks the flanks, the musketeers will have to protect the artillery camp in the front army, so it will be difficult to support the two wings."

Lu Jin thought about it and it seemed to be true. The artillery was in the front, the musketeers were in the middle, and the chariot camp and melee soldiers were in the back. If all the cavalry were sent out, wouldn't the two wings be directly exposed? What Xu Da said did make some sense.

When Xu Da saw Lu Jin frowning and looking at the formation plate, he knew that Lu Jin had not figured out how to arrange the formation. After all, it was a new type of tactic that had never been seen before, and no one knew how to play it right away. It would be right for everyone to discuss and improve it together.

Seeing Lu Jin frowning and thinking, he raised his own question again.

"Also, there is one thing I don't understand. The commander just said that he would select elite warriors from the entire army to form a trap camp. However, after the formation, this trap camp seems to have nothing to do. It is only responsible for defending the rear of this large formation.

"And they are not the main defensive force. The main ones responsible for defending the rear are the Chariot Battalion and the Grenadier Battalion. The Formation of the Enemy is responsible for waiting for the enemy to retreat and then launching a short pursuit. Isn't this elite Formation of the Enemy a waste? Is it necessary to include it in this unit?
"In addition, I have another question. What kind of troops are these grenadiers? What kind of weapons do they use?"

Lu Jin frowned even deeper when he heard this. He had indeed not expected the problems that Xu Da mentioned. In fact, he incorporated the Xianzhen Camp into the combined camp. The original purpose was very simple, which was to use it for siege. In field battles, putting it in such a team that was almost entirely made up of firearms would indeed not be able to play any role.

There is also the deployment of cavalry on both wings. If the cavalry moves forward, the two wings will be completely exposed, which is indeed a very dangerous thing.

Even if the muskets and artillery could defeat the enemy head-on, and the cavalry could go in to hunt down the defeated enemy soldiers, what if the enemy still had an elite cavalry unit? If they abandoned the main battle formation and used the cavalry to raid their flanks, what would Lu Jin do then?
Xu Da's questions left Lu Jin speechless.

Xu Yong was a veteran who had joined Lu Jin in the early days and had fought with Lu Jin against Kang Maocai. He admired Lu Jin very much and immediately stood up to defend Lu Jin upon seeing this.

"The commander-in-chief has the final say on the deployment of troops. He has fought so many battles and has never been defeated. You are a newcomer who has never led a company of soldiers. You have only read a few military books and you are here to give instructions. What do you know?"

Xu Da was indeed a newcomer, and he had not yet gotten to know these veterans. After being scolded by Xu Yong, he did not dare to retort. He could only bow and salute Xu Yong deeply, and then he was ready to leave without saying anything. But Lu Jin waved his hand and said, "Hey, don't say that. I am not omnipotent. Since ancient times, even famous generals have needed the assistance of wise ministers. As the saying goes, one person's plan is short, ten people's plan is long. It is the duty of a minister to offer advice to the lord. What's wrong with him?

“Furthermore, this army that uses a large number of firearms is a nascent organization. It can be said that there is no precedent for this. Even if Emperor Tang were to be resurrected and Li Jing were still alive, they would not necessarily dare to say that they would be able to use these firearms.

"We are discussing this in class now. If there are any mistakes, we can correct them in time. It is not too late to mend the situation. But if we find mistakes but turn a blind eye to them, then when we go to the battlefield, we will lose our lives.

"It's just a discussion, everyone just speak freely. If you have any ideas, you can say them."

"The Marshal is wise!" Upon seeing this, the generals immediately shouted in unison.

Lu Jin waved his hand again, then stepped forward and spoke.

"I incorporated the Xianzhen Camp into the combined brigade mainly because I wanted to make this brigade a unit that can perform all-around tasks. Muskets and artillery are good, but they can only be used in field battles or to defend cities.

"If you want to use the musket to exert its powerful power, you need to fire in turns continuously and use dense rain of bullets to defeat the enemy. However, siege is different. Siege requires climbing walls and hand-to-hand combat. It is impossible to give musketeers the opportunity to take turns shooting. Therefore, if you want to attack a city, you must have an elite melee soldier.

"It's okay not to include the Xianzhen Camp in it, but this unit can only be used to defend the city and fight in the field. When it comes to attacking the city, other troops will have to be mobilized."

Xu Da heard this and finally understood Lu Jin's plan, so he asked again, "What about the grenadier battalion that the Marshal mentioned?"

Lu Jin explained, "The Grenadiers are also a new type of soldier. I plan to equip them with swords, short guns, and grenades, which are hollow iron shells filled with gunpowder. They can be ignited and thrown by hand into the enemy group to blow up a few people.

"This thing can only be thrown about twenty steps, at most 70 to 80 feet away. In addition, it uses a short gun and a waist knife, so it can be considered a close combat soldier. In combat, it can cooperate with the chariot formation for defense, or cooperate with the musketeers for attack."

The so-called grenadiers, according to Lu Jin's statement, are actually more like combat engineers, armed with short muskets, shotgun shells, and hand grenades. This type of soldier is most useful in trench and fortress warfare, and can also demonstrate their strength in urban street fighting, but it is somewhat inappropriate to place them in a field unit.

Lu Jin also knew this situation, but he trained grenadiers mainly to build a foundation so that it could be promoted in the future. It was an experimental unit.

Xu Da obviously also saw the problem with this grenadier, and after thinking about it, he spoke.

"The Xianzhen Camp that the Marshal mentioned is actually a group of close combat warriors. The weapons they use, except for the iron thunder, seem to be no different from those of the Xianzhen Camp. The only difference is that they have an extra short gun. However, the Xianzhen Camp also has bows and arrows, which seems to have some overlap in combat uses.

"Correspondingly, this troop is so large, almost as large as two regiments, but it only has one auxiliary vehicle battalion and two cavalry battalions. This vehicle battalion has to transport supplies for the infantry and fodder for the cavalry, so it is inevitable that it will not be able to transport enough.

"Why don't you disband the grenadiers battalion and create an auxiliary chariot battalion? As for the weapons used by the grenadiers, why not give them directly to the auxiliary soldiers of the chariot battalion? Equip the auxiliary soldiers with short guns, waist knives and iron mines, so that they can be both grenadiers and auxiliary soldiers.

"This combined brigade has twice as many vehicles, which can not only solve the baggage problem, but also form a chariot formation. If there are enough vehicles, the chariot camp can be placed in the rear and on the left and right wings when deploying troops. In this way, with short guns and iron mines, even if the enemy attacks the flank, it is estimated that it will be difficult to break through.

"If the musketeers and cavalry go forward to pursue the enemy, leaving behind the chariot camp and the artillery camp will be enough to defend themselves, and with the help of the trap camp for a short counterattack, the main camp should be able to be protected."

Lu Jin nodded when he heard this. What Xu Da said did make some sense. The grenadiers were experimental in nature and did not undertake the main attack mission. They could indeed be combined with the auxiliary troops of the chariot battalion, and then a chariot battalion could be expanded to increase transportation capacity.

Especially after the army began to use firearms extensively, the demand for baggage increased exponentially. In the past, when cold weapons were equipped, a big gun was enough to fight, but muskets and cannons were not the same. Without ammunition, these things were just fire sticks.

This is just a flintlock rifle. If it is a bolt-action rifle or a machine gun, the demand for ammunition will be even greater. Of course, Lu Jin can't make that thing now.

In addition, as a melee force that is the first to enter the battle array, the Xianzhen Camp must wear heavy armor. It is impossible for such soldiers to march in heavy armor every day. A set of heavy armor weighs dozens of kilograms, and it is very troublesome to transport it without a vehicle. All these put higher requirements on the transportation capacity.

All in all, the suggestion put forward by Xu Da is very constructive, of course, there are limitations to his thinking.

This is actually a collision between ancient military thinking and modern military thinking. The reason why there are more and more single arms in modern times is actually a product of the industrial model.

A single branch of the military is conducive to training and expansion, reduces the cost of soldiers learning skills, and facilitates mobilization and military expansion, just like industrial products produced on an assembly line.

However, the type of soldier Xu Da mentioned needs to master multiple skills, just like modern special forces. They need to be able to use various weapons, learn combat skills in multiple vehicles and various environments, and be able to drive tanks and parachute. This not only places higher demands on the quality of the soldiers, but also the training cost is not a small amount. It is obviously impossible to promote this to the entire army.

But if we make a compromise, the auxiliary soldiers in the chariot battalion can indeed learn the skills of the grenadiers, such as driving and repairing carts, firing muskets, and throwing grenades. It should not be very complicated, and one branch of the army can be allowed to master all these skills, but the training cost will be higher and the quality requirements for the soldiers will be higher.

But what Lu Jin didn't know was that Xu Da actually had something else to say. He thought that the Xianzhen Camp was actually useless. The musketeers could not climb the city walls, but the auxiliary soldiers of the Chariot Camp could climb the walls after wearing heavy armor. So he might as well use the Chariot Camp to merge with the Xianzhen Camp.

A combined brigade is equipped with four musket battalions, two cavalry battalions, one artillery battalion, and three chariot battalions that also serve as melee troops. Or, there is no need for a trap camp at all, and only two chariot battalions with auxiliary troops, then nine battalions are enough. If you want to attack a city, you can just transfer other troops, but this goes against the idea of ​​Lu Jin's all-round mission brigade.

Besides, he was a newcomer, so he didn't say anything. Lu Jin could give him face and accept his opinion, but he couldn't be too arrogant.

Xu Da is a man with relatively high emotional intelligence. He was just targeted by the veteran Xu Yong. Lu Jin didn't care and spoke for him, but he couldn't make things difficult for Lu Jin again and again.

Just when he was wondering whether Lu Jin would agree with his opinion, he heard Lu Jin say.

"Your idea is good. We can try to organize an extra chariot battalion and have them serve as grenadiers. If there are any problems, we can change it.

"Our combined brigade is a fledgling one, so there will definitely be many problems. Fortunately, we have three other divisions on the periphery to protect us, which will give us about half a year of training time. During this period, everyone should train well. If there are any problems, we will correct them in time."

(End of this chapter)