This operation against spies was carried out quickly, accurately and ruthlessly, leaving no time for the Eastern Roman Empire and the Mahdi to react.
Before they knew what was going on, all the spies they had installed in the Middle East were eradicated.
Along with the development of espionage operations, the spy network was also uprooted, many people were implicated, and all suspects were arrested, and some rioters hiding deep in the plateau, desert and next door were dug out.
This finally made Zhao Ziliang breathe a sigh of relief.
At least now he didn't have to worry about a fire in the backyard when he started a war with the Mahdi and the Eastern Roman Empire.
Logistics, grain, grass, ordnance and other supplies were constantly transported to Jerusalem from all over the Western Qin Dynasty.
This was the logistics transfer station for the Western Expedition.
There were many garrisons stationed there, which made Zhao Ziliang feel more at ease in terms of safety, even if the enemy wanted to send people for a sneak attack.
We also have to travel thousands of miles deep, which is not an easy thing to do.
Zhao Ziliang was preparing to convene the generals to discuss heading to the Sinai Peninsula to prepare for war against the Mahdi, but Ma Sui's arrival disrupted his plan.
"Your Majesty, I have something important to report to Your Majesty when I come here this time."
Ma Sui hurriedly approached the tent and clasped his fists at Zhao Ziliang.
"Oh, come on, sit down and say, don't be in a hurry."
After Zhao Ziliang finished speaking, he said to the eunuch Cao Yingxiang next to him: "Bring a stool to General Ma."
Ma Sui immediately said: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The chamberlain quickly brought stools and tea.
Ma Sui sat on half of his buttocks, took the tea and put it aside and said to Zhao Ziliang: "Your Majesty, I have two main things to report to Your Majesty this time.
The first thing is here.
During the two years of fighting against the Mahdi, the minister I found that the Cannibals and the Byzantines were both good at learning.
They had already learned some of our tactics and tactics, and had learned to be good at using our way of thinking to direct marching operations.
It was no longer easy for us to use some simple strategies to fool and deceive them. possible , In this regard, I have already suffered a loss in this regard.
In addition, their craftsman skills are very high.
When we retreated several times, we were too late to transport away large siege equipment and had to destroy it on the spot.
Who knew that their craftsmen could destroy it from us?
The rough prototype structure of the entire siege equipment was deduced from the wreckage.
Since there was no casting process for key parts, they could only use their own casting method to cast parts instead.
Although the performance of the siege equipment produced was not as good as ours. , but it can be used."
After hearing this, Zhao Ziliang sighed: "The craftsmen in our army come from various ethnic groups, including large food craftsmen, Persian craftsmen and Byzantine craftsmen.
The craftsmen of each ethnic group always have their own national characteristics and habits when making tools.
Mahdi's It is not difficult for craftsmen to imitate our siege equipment from the wreckage we left behind.
They are all ethnic groups with civilized heritage.
No one is born as an inferior ethnic group.
It seems that we must give our enemies enough attention and respect in the future. " Ma Sui cupped his fists and said, "Your Majesty is so wise and wise, I am impressed by you."
Zhao Ziliang waved his hand: "Stop flattering and talk about the second thing."
"Yes."
Ma Sui clasped his fists in agreement and said, "The second thing is that after several battles with the Mahdi, I discovered that in the past two years, a cavalry composed entirely of camel soldiers appeared in the Mahdi army, with a strength of about five thousand.
People, each of these camel cavalry is equipped with a camel.
The knights are very skilled in riding camels.
These camel cavalry Their weapons and equipment are very light, and they can easily travel long distances across the desert to carry out sneak attacks.
The desert barrier we always thought of is useless in their eyes, because the camels have great fluctuations when running, so knights are not suitable for equipped with bows and arrows.
Generally, they are equipped with bows and arrows.
Equipped with a scimitar, as long as the camel has enough physical strength, even if it encounters a horse Cavalry, they also have certain combat advantages.
Because camels are taller than war horses, camel cavalry has an advantage over light cavalry in charging and slashing.
This advantage is not very obvious to cavalry.
Light cavalry can easily use bows and arrows.
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Defeat them.
What really makes the camel cavalry more powerful than the horse cavalry is in the desert and Gobi.
Among the terrain, camels are obviously much more adaptable than horses.
They are resistant to drought, hunger, and have better physical endurance than horses.
Their ability to travel long distances in the desert and Gobi is significantly better than horses, and they can carry supplies better than horses.
Taken together, this shows that the mobility of the camel cavalry in the Gobi desert is stronger than that of the horse cavalry."
"There have always been camel cavalry in our army, but there has never been a fully-organized camel cavalry, and there is no special training method for camel cavalry.
Several times, I fought with the Mahdi.
When he couldn't fight, he ran away and went deep into the desert.
He ran away, and I sent Qingqi to chase him.
At first, he still refused.
They fought with our army.
By the time they reached deep into the desert, our light cavalry was exhausted.
At this time, they dispatched camel cavalry to attack our light cavalry.
Our light cavalry had superb riding and shooting skills, which to a certain extent weakened the mobility of both sides.
There is a gap in ability, although Mahdi does not Although we did not gain any advantage, our army also suffered a lot of losses.
After several such battles, I noticed Mahdi’s camel cavalry.
This is definitely a combat force that cannot be ignored, and Mahdi’s camel cavalry It is still in its preliminary stages and there is no With complete training and specialized combat tactics, I believe it is still too late for us to form a specialized camel cavalry.
This camel cavalry has no advantage over other arms in plains, mountains and plateau areas, but it has advantages in the desert and Gobi.
Obvious advantages” After hearing this, Zhao Ziliang thought for a while and asked: "Do you know how many camel soldiers there are in total in all the legions and units of our army?"
Ma Sui cupped his fists and said: "I sent people to check and found that there are about more than 12,000 people in total.
However, these people are scattered among the garrisons in our country's desert areas.
Our country's desert Gobi covers a vast area.
I want to capture all of these people."
It will take at least two months to gather them together.
In addition, they must be gathered together for specialized camel cavalry tactical training. , it will take at least half a year for them to form combat effectiveness.
I know that His Majesty will soon send his army to the west.
It will definitely be too late in such a long time, but if nothing is done, wait until the Mahdi's camel cavalry tactics As our tactics become more and more mature, our army’s war in the desert will definitely be somewhat constrained and it will be difficult to let go.”
Zhao Ziliang stood up and walked outside the tent.
Ma Sui followed him out.
After walking for a while in the military camp, Zhao Ziliang stopped and said to Ma Sui: "You are right.
It is imperative to form a specialized camel cavalry.
Our country has a large number of desert Gobis and the area is extremely wide.
Whether it is targeting the Mahdi Whether we use it to defend ourselves, a specialized camel cavalry is indispensable.
They must have a complete organization, specialized training methods and combat tactics skills, right?
I will give you a decree, ordering you to form a camel cavalry army.
Later, I will issue an order to transfer camel soldiers from all over the country and hand them over to you.
You will formulate the training plan and execute the training.
In addition, Brahan is in cavalry training and You are very good at commanding.
Gu Bang will assign you as his deputy.
The two of you will work together to build and train Gu Bang's camel army.
In half a year, I will see a brand new camel army.
How about it?"
Ma Sui clasped his fists and said: "I only obey the order.
After all, General Bolehan is a veteran in the army.
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Although he has retired, his prestige is still there.
Let him be my deputy.
I'm afraid it would be too aggrieved.
It's better to let him take charge." , I will be his deputy."
Zhao Ziliang waved his hand and said: "His qualifications in the army are indeed old enough, but after all, he is old and has retired to serve, and his courage is not enough.
This time they are just beggars and want to follow Gu to fight.
Gu really can't lose face."
I just brought them here, so I didn’t plan to let them lead the army alone.
Besides, he only has generals, and you have handsome men.
This is the difference between you.
If you want to develop a set of training methods and combat tactics skills suitable for the camel cavalry, do you think that he can do it with his roughness?
As for you, don’t have any worries, just do whatever you want.”
Ma Sui had no choice but to agree: "Yes, that's the case.
I would be disrespectful to refuse."
Zhao Ziliang remembered something and asked: "How many ports and naval fleets do we have around the Mediterranean?"
Ma Sui is the general manager of the Middle East Marching Road, and of course he knows all about these things.
As soon as Zhao Ziliang asked, he opened his mouth and said: "There are a total of twelve ports.
In the past few years, we captured the coastal areas and drove away the big ones."
The cannibals and Byzantines captured more than 300 warships.
In addition, our own craftsmen have built more than 600 ships over the years.
There were a thousand warships in total, with more than 60,000 naval soldiers and 50,000 ship-operating slaves.
These navies were organized into four fleets, named respectively the First, Second, Third and Fourth Mediterranean Fleets in these two years. , although we have an armistice agreement with the Eastern Roman Empire, there are still small-scale frictions in the Mediterranean, and small incidents often occur.
In large-scale battles, the Eastern Roman Empire is worthy of being a naval power.
It has good maritime combat tactics.
Our army has almost always lost more and won less in previous battles.
During our battle with the Mahdi, the Eastern Roman Empire sent troops to assist the Mahdi every time.
In order not to Give us an excuse.
Every time we participate in the war between the Mahdi and our army as mercenaries, They also disguised themselves as pirates and secretly lurked in our waters to attack our logistics supply lines and food storage locations.
In terms of naval strength and organization, our army has a strong national strength, rich resources, and sufficient financial resources.
Our naval strength and number of ships are greater than those of the Eastern Roman Empire.
There are more, but they have rich combat experience, which we cannot match."
Zhao Ziliang looked toward the northeast where Constantinople was located and said, "It seems that Gu wants to have a good chat with the Queen Mother Irina about how the construction of Gu's castle on Mount Hermon is going."
Ma Sui said: "The castle has been built long ago.
Your Majesty, if you have time, you can go and take a look."