Chapter 215: The Yangtze River (Part 2)

Two-thirds of Hunan is under their control—this is the current situation of the Black Flag Army in Hunan. Yet overall, they remain in a highly unfavorable position for defense. The more territory they capture, the more troops are needed for defense, not to mention the losses in battles of all sizes. Liu Yu also has at his disposal forty to fifty mobile regiments ready to attack Hubei, leaving him severely short of troops.

Geographically, they are also at a disadvantage. Hunan is surrounded by Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Guangdong. Fortunately, the Black Flag Army had previously sent the Zhiqiao Battalion from Guizhou, which has now taken control of nearly half of Guizhou, providing some support to Hunan in this regard. Guangdong is largely under the control of the Black Flag Army, but there are still some Qing troops and mixed armed forces lurking along the border between the two provinces. The situation in Sichuan and Hubei is extremely urgent—several Sichuan regiments have been sent to Xiangxi to fight alongside the Qing forces, and Hubei is brimming with troops. If the Black Flag Army does not attack, it will be their turn to be attacked.

Jiangxi was a battleground during the Taiping Rebellion, resulting in the absence of any notable brave regiments. It now lacks the strength to attack Hunan. However, according to intelligence obtained by the Black Flag Army, Jiangxi has not only established new brave regiments but also urgently brought in two battalions of Songwu troops from the north. The Songwu troops are combat-effective local Qing forces that have now allied with the Huai Army and acquired many modern weapons, forcing the Black Flag Army to temporarily maintain peace along the provincial borders. Moreover, there are nearly ten thousand remnants of Qing troops and local militias under the banner of loyalty to the Qing along the border between the two provinces.

Under these circumstances, upon learning that the Black Flag Army might clash with British interference, Liu Yu couldn’t help but shake his head: “Why not give me another half year?”

Currently, the Black Flag Army spans thousands of miles, with a total force that easily exceeds one hundred thousand, and this number increases by over ten thousand each month. More importantly, dealing with the weak Qing forces requires no strenuous fighting like against the French. An older infantry regiment can easily break through the defenses of a Qing infantry battalion, while a newly formed regiment, composed only of the Black Flag Army’s veteran officers, can still hold its own against a Qing battalion in open combat.

This low-intensity warfare serves as an ideal battlefield for the Black Flag Army to train and gain experience. They now possess a complete set of methods to enhance the combat effectiveness of newly formed units. After assembling units of veterans and recruits, they first assign them to maintain order in the rear, tasked with eliminating scattered bandits. Next, they are sent to maintain order in newly occupied areas, facing threats such as bandits, defected soldiers, or small groups of mixed armed forces. With the Black Flag Army’s equipment and training, dealing with these enemies is effortless, allowing the troops to gain experience easily.

After that, they are sent into battle, with old and new regiments fighting together. The style of the older units is used to train the new ones, improving their skills through battles against the Qing forces. One decisive victory after another builds the troops’ confidence.

Some of the new regiments formed after capturing Guilin are now able to pursue the Qing troops everywhere, daring to use a reinforced platoon to sweep away entire Qing battalions alone. They have absolute confidence against the Qing forces and have well inherited the historical traditions of the Black Flag Army. Even some of the new regiments established after advancing into Hunan and Guangxi now have the confidence to defeat the Qing regular troops in field battles.

This is the absolute victory of an advanced military mobilization system over the corrupt Green Standard Army system. The Black Flag Army trained new recruits in half a month and then, within three months, turned them into invincible warriors.

However, Liu Yu was well aware that although these troops were spirited and had absolute confidence in defeating the Qing forces, they might not be able to fully demonstrate their capabilities against a strong opponent like the British intervention forces. He knew that in just half a year, the Black Flag Army would surely have two to three hundred thousand troops, and from Yunnan to Hubei would all become territory under their control. These new troops would be no weaker than any of the colonial forces in the intervention forces. By then, the Black Flag Army could assemble a large force of seventy to eighty thousand men to engage in a decisive battle against the British intervention forces.

But the British choosing to send troops now indeed made it difficult for Liu Yu to make a decision. Liu Suiyun suggested from the side, “A new infantry regiment has arrived in Guangxi recently—it’s an expanded version of an old unit that fought in the war against France. It was originally planned to support Hunan; perhaps it should be deployed in Guangdong instead?”

After some thought, Liu Yu made his decision: “There are four large brigades in Guangdong, with two to three hundred thousand of our troops. How many troops will the British intervention forces have, according to our estimates?”

“Probably the size of an entire British division, with a total strength of around twelve to eighteen thousand men. The staff and I personally think it’s around twelve thousand…”

Liu Yu thought he had already estimated the situation as bad as it could get. With an entire British division in battle, although they might be at a numerical disadvantage, their quality would be much higher than that of the Black Flag Army in Guangdong.

“I estimate it’s more than that…” Liu Yu compared this intervention to the Eight-Nation Alliance that had occurred in history—the great powers would never allow a powerful China to rise. For China to rise, it had to go through a bloody revolution. Liu Yu made a rather pessimistic assessment: “We must prepare for the worst…”

“We need to consider the situation where our forces in Guangdong are on par with the enemy’s. Hmm… we must have a strong reserve force. I order that an additional infantry regiment be sent to Guangdong, along with one million rifle rounds and twenty thousand artillery shells, to prepare for a major battle. Order Guangdong to quickly capture Guangzhou and seize the initiative before the enemy can move…”

Liu Suiyun raised an objection: “Attacking Guangzhou will immediately provoke the enemy’s intervention, won’t it?”

“Only by capturing Guangzhou can we shatter certain people’s illusions. We currently have one hundred thousand troops. Even if we suffer some setbacks in Guangdong, it won’t affect the overall situation.”

“Then do we still need to carry out the second phase of the Hunan-Hubei campaign?”

“Yes!”

At present, the Black Flag Army’s main concern was the movement of the Huai Army in the north and its allied forces. The Huai Army still had seventy to eighty thousand troops, plus its affiliates, totaling over one hundred thousand—this was considered the most combat-effective force among the Qing forces, including outstanding units like the Yi Army.

So far, there are no signs that these hundreds of thousands of well-armed soldiers have been mobilized; they remain concentrated in North China and Zhili. If they are sent south, it will cause considerable trouble for the Black Flag Army, as the Huai Army still has some combat strength, unlike during the Sino-Japanese War when it was largely decayed.
“Drinking from the Yangtze River is our established strategy…”
“As long as we capture Wuhan, even if Guangzhou changes hands, our army will still have room to maneuver!”