The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 82: Bright Sword Again
After Teng Yuzhao had a brief briefing with Wei Jinghai, he took Wu Peifu and Li Jinyu with him, and asked someone to call Xue Zhiqian. He refused Li Yaoting's request to bring his guard platoon with him, and only took the original guard squad with him and rode out on horseback to check the construction of the position.

Although Li Dazhu went to the camp school to study, Teng Yuzao was still very confident in the guard squad. After all, they had fought on the battlefield, and Teng Yuzao planned to use the guard squad as his personal guards.

He accepted the guard platoon, but that didn't mean he had to regard these people as his most reliable guard force. What's more, they still needed further investigation by Li Yaoting.

Since the defense position of Xigu had to be pushed forward five kilometers, it was more than ten miles from Teng Yuzao's headquarters to the position. Although walking was not a big deal for Teng Yuzao, it would waste a lot of time, so the guards all rode on horseback.

Teng Yuzhao felt much more comfortable riding the horse this time, probably because he had just traveled through time. Although his mind could keep up, riding a horse was a technical job that required a skilled process. The last time he went to Governor-General Yu Lu's mansion for a meeting, Teng Yuzhao, who had never ridden a horse in his previous life, was shaken badly. Fortunately, Teng Yuzhao in this life not only knew how to ride a horse, but also had great riding skills, which prevented him from being timid when he rode a horse for the first time.

Now that I think about it, it was probably because his reaction and the muscle coordination when riding a horse were not up to par.

Cavalry Captain Xue Zhiqian did not come alone, but brought with him the newly appointed and excited instructor of the camp school Su Xilin, who should be called Assistant Director Su.

Su Xilin was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Although he was not tall, he was very strong.

After asking, I learned that Su Xilin was from Datong. He had been with horses since he was a child. After his parents died, he ran to the capital to live with his uncle. A few years ago, he was brought into the Wuwei Vanguard Army by his uncle. Because of his excellent horsemanship and willingness to learn, he was soon selected to teach in the cavalry department of the Kaiping Suiying School.

On the way to the artillery position, Teng Yuzao smiled and asked Su Xilin who was riding on a horse, "Assistant Su, why do you want to join the cavalry of the vanguard army?"

Su Xilin bowed to Teng Yuzao on his horse with a serious face, "Your Excellency, I just want to follow the cavalry to fight, nothing else."

Su Xilin's words moved Teng Yuzao's heart, and he asked thoughtfully, "Since you want to participate in cavalry warfare, the Wuwei Front Army also has cavalry. Why didn't you stay in the cavalry there when you were in the Front Army, but go to the camp school to teach?"

Speaking of the cavalry of the Wuwei Front Army, Su Xilin couldn't help but sigh and said, "To be honest, sir, since the battle of Baliqiao in the tenth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, the Qing cavalry no longer dared to charge and fight against foreigners, and the cavalry of the Wuwei Front Army was the same, so I asked my uncle to ask someone to transfer me to the school attached to the camp as a teacher."

Teng Yuzhao knew that the monk prince Su Xilin was referring to was Senggelinqin. During the Second Opium War in 1860, Senggelinqin commanded Mongolian cavalry to attack the British and French forces at Baliqiao in Tongzhou. Under the enemy's artillery and volley fire, their army was almost wiped out, while the casualties of the British and French forces were almost negligible.

The tragic and heroic Battle of Baliqiao made the Qing cavalry units feel terrified when facing foreign rifles.

This seemed to be true, because Teng Yuzhao had seen a document in his previous life. It was a report written by a French officer in the Eight-Nation Alliance that invaded China to their country. In the report, it was mentioned that the Qing cavalry they encountered lacked the desire to fight. Whenever they encountered the coalition forces, they would retreat on their own initiative and never attack. On the contrary, the Japanese cavalry riding on ponies had a very strong desire to fight.

Although Teng Yuzhao did not think that there were no cavalry units of the Qing Dynasty at that time that dared to confront the foreigners, cavalry combat was just like hand-to-hand combat with soldiers, which required great courage, high morale, and strong bloodiness. A cavalry unit with psychological shadows, even if it confronted the coalition forces, would have any chance of winning!

"What do you think, Assistant Director Su, if our cavalry fights against foreign infantry, or cavalry fights against foreign cavalry? And how should we fight?" Although Teng Yuzhao believed that cavalry was a declining military branch, he needed a powerful cavalry unit of his own.

Teng Yuzhao's vision went further. There were vast grasslands in the north, which would be a place where the cavalry troops could be of great use for a long time.

However, he did not need a brave man with only courage. What he needed was a wise cavalry commander who understood modern combat methods and had a clear understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of cavalry, or at least had clear thinking and could face objective reality. So he needed to know Su Xilin's views on cavalry combat.

Although it was Teng Yuzao who asked the question, Su Xilin was not afraid and answered without hesitation, "Your Excellency, in my opinion, if our cavalry faced a well-organized foreign infantry unit of more than a thousand people, or even a unit of a few hundred people with Maxim heavy machine guns, we would be subjected to intensive fire from the other side, and the chances of winning would be slim. Even if we win, it would be a victory with a high price."

"For foreign troops that are on the march and haven't had time to deploy their formations, even if they are large groups, our cavalry will cause great damage to the enemy. The most suitable combat method for our cavalry is to pursue the retreating and disbanded enemy."

Su Xilin went on to say, "If we fight against the foreign cavalry, our current cavalry is not good enough. Not only are the foreign cavalrymen trained for a long time and have profound riding skills, but their horses are also taller and stronger than ours, and their horses are also faster than ours. In cavalry battles, speed is a very important point. The side with faster horses and stronger impact will have the advantage."

"However, if we face the Japanese cavalry, our newly formed cavalry can still fight."

Seeing that Teng Yuzao was just listening attentively without saying anything, Su Xilin explained, "Although our cavalry training time is very short, and even many new recruits are only proficient in riding horses, the Japanese war horses are much shorter and smaller than our horses, and their speed is not enough. Our cavalry can use speed and height to make up for some of the shortcomings of insufficient cavalry training."

Overall, Teng Yuzao was satisfied with Su Xilin's answer and nodded to Xue Zhiqian.

"You'an, you heard what Assistant Su said. You need to use your brain more when fighting. This applies to both cavalry and infantry. You need to think more and not only understand the opponent's weaknesses and strengths, but also have a clear understanding of yourself. You must not rely on momentary courage."

Xue Zhiqian nodded quickly and said, "I will follow your instructions, sir. I will take note of it."

Teng Yuzao was worried that Xue Zhiqian would develop a mentality of only fighting when the wind was favorable, and added.

"Of course, when we are forced into a desperate situation, or when our troops are about to suffer heavy losses, even though we know we cannot win, we must have the courage to fight against the powerful infantry and even cavalry of the foreigners. This is like the duel between swordsmen in ancient times. Even though we know we cannot win, we must dare to show our swords and fight to the death with the opponent."

"Not only should your cavalry have this spirit of daring to draw the sword, but all of our vanguard troops should have this courage to draw the sword and fight to the death."

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(End of this chapter)