Chapter 65: Battle of Beijing-Hankow Line (5)

In the backyard of Yuan Mansion, Yuan Shikai, who was sleeping, suddenly sat up, covered in cold sweat. He had just had a nightmare, dreaming that he was being escorted to the market entrance for questioning. When the executioner raised his knife, Yuan Shikai woke up. After being frightened, he woke up.

He was panting heavily and his face was pale. The fifth aunt beside him, Tai Honghong, was also awakened. When she saw this, she quickly stretched out her hand to help her chest and calm her breath: "Master, what's going on?"

"It's okay, I had a nightmare." Looking at the time, it was already five o'clock in the morning, Yuan Shikai frowned slightly, and after a while he said, "I'm up."

Yuan Shikai had one wife and nine concubines, who took turns to be on duty. Except for the ninth concubine who was too fashionable in her craftsmanship and was rejected halfway, the other wives and concubines could sleep with her according to the rules. Some scholars wrote an article criticizing his fifth concubine for having an affair with a servant.

On the one hand, using this to humiliate Yuan Shikai seems to be a bit of a fabrication.

After getting up, Yuan Shikai's feeling of uneasiness became more intense. After washing up under the care of his fifth concubine, he went straight to the study. Duan Qirui called last night and reported on the adjustments to the battle layout. Yuan Shikai did not comment on this and had the right to deal with the situation at the last moment.

, Yuan Shikai will not give random orders.

Li Yuanhong was awakened by the sound of cannons. After getting up, he put on his clothes and rushed to the window. There were bursts of fire in the sky in the distance, and the sound of cannons was like a series of thunders. Fang Jianxiong finally took action, and Li Yuanhong sat back on his chair with a depressed expression.

My mood is very complicated. No matter who wins or loses, these three towns in Wuhan probably have nothing to do with me.

Song Jiaoren didn't sleep all night. When the cannon sounded, Song Jiaoren was dumbfounded. No matter the outcome this time, the Tongmenghui was a spectator. This was a war that was likely to determine the future and destiny of the country. The Tongmenghui

He is actually a spectator!

Duan Qirui in Xinyang was woken up by Xu Shuzheng who sent a telegram. When he got the telegram, Duan Qirui breathed a sigh of relief. Then he became nervous again. The telegram said: At five o'clock, the enemy bombarded with fierce artillery fire.

There were bullets dropped in Caidian, Sanyanqiao, and Qingshan. The enemy's main attack direction is not yet known.

Duan Qirui pinched the message, with veins on his hands showing. He bit his lip tightly and remained silent. After a while, he asked Xu Shuzheng: "Zheng Zheng, where do you think Fang Jianxiong's main attack direction will be?"

Xu Shuzheng shook his head and smiled bitterly: "It doesn't matter what I think. What matters is what Chen Guangyuan, who is in charge of Xiaogan, thinks. Fang Jianxiong's troops in Hanyang are only four alliances. The combat effectiveness of the Hubei People's Army is at most half that of the Anhui Army. It is impossible for Li Yuanhong to send troops

Reinforce Fang, with the troops Chen Guangyuan has, we should be able to defend Hankou. Fortunately, we sent the reinforcements south in time. Otherwise, we would have been in big trouble."

Inside the Hanyang headquarters, everyone was in a hurry and some were almost trotting. Fang Jianxiong habitually stood in front of the huge sand table and stared at it. Fang Jianxiong's main attack direction this time was Caidian, and concentrated all the Anyi Brigade and one of Wang Jinglue Brigade.

group.

In this battle, the biggest variable was the landing operation of Tian Jiyang's brigade. The navy concentrated a cruiser and thirteen river ships to cover the landing of Tian Jiyang's brigade. If it went smoothly, Hanyang would be the first to be attacked and it would be difficult to take care of both.

In the direction of Caidian, all the 75-caliber guns of the two divisional artillery regiments were concentrated, and the Qing army's first-line positions were shrouded in a sea of ​​fire. The Huncheng 11th Association was defending Caidian. After being defeated twice by the first brigade, they carried out two battles.

With this addition, the combat effectiveness is not as good as before. However, it is still much stronger than the patrol battalion in the direction of the flour mill.

Amid fierce artillery fire, the engineering battalion began to build a bridge on the Han River. The well-prepared engineering battalion quickly set up the civilian boats collected and laid them with wooden planks. Helping to build the bridge were also student suicide squads, led by Yang Xizhang to help transport the preparations.

Good wooden boards with big door panels. Originally, Fang Jianxiong did not allow the student death squads to come up, but Yang Xizhang insisted. Finally, Fang Jianxiong nodded and agreed to the student soldiers to help deliver the wooden boards, so that the student soldiers could also feel the atmosphere of the battlefield.

The artillery preparations this time took an extra long time and lasted until the pontoon bridge was set up.

The Qing army's artillery fire began to return fire, targeting the pontoon bridge that was extending to the other side. The visibility in the early morning was not good, and the Qing army's artillery fire suppression effect was average.

Fang Jianxiong, who stayed in the headquarters, felt more and more about Alexander. This was a battle that determined the future and destiny. Fang Jianxiong felt that it was too uncomfortable to stay in the headquarters and wait for the result. He always felt that there was a mountain pressing on his heart, and there was no command left or right.

Whatever happened to me, I left it entirely to the staff department.

"Hamilton, let me go to the front and take a look. You are responsible for commanding the entire army." Fang Jianxiong said to Hamilton beside him. When he was about to leave, Hamilton stretched out his hand to stop him and said: "Sir, this is your post. Please stick to your position."

post."

"You guy who doesn't know how to adapt!" Fang Jianxiong muttered, angrily returned to his room, and loudly said before entering the door: "I'm going to sleep first, I haven't slept all night."

The sound of gunfire continued. Fang Jianxiong was sleeping somewhere. He was holding a telescope and standing in the window on the second floor to look out. He was muttering in his mouth and he didn't know what he was talking about.

The pontoon bridge has been erected, and God has given me face. Today is a good day in the three towns of Wuhan, which are often filled with thick fog.

On the artillery position, the 75 guns continued to wreak havoc. Many of the artillerymen on the position had already taken off their coats and were running back and forth in this early winter morning, firing out the artillery shells as quickly as possible. After the war, the artillery of these two regiments,

All the gun barrels were replaced, and half of the cannonballs shipped from Wuhu were fired this morning.

Ma Jizeng in the command post had a ferocious look on his face, holding a telescope and staring at the Anhui Greenskin Army that was crossing the river. The 11th Mixed Association has always been the main force in the Beiyang Army, and they lost face in the two battles in Hanyang. As a participant, Ma Jizeng was very interested in

The greenskins gnashed their teeth and hated each other. When the Anhui army started bombarding, Ma Jizeng got up and rushed to the artillery camp without washing up. Ma Jizeng ordered the artillery to counterattack. The 57 artillery guns equipped by the Huncheng Association had a limited range and could not suppress the artillery fire on the opposite side. They could only attack

He fired artillery fire on the pontoon bridge, but had little effect. Worried about retaliation and suppression by the Greenskin artillery, Ma Jizeng ordered the bombardment to stop and waited patiently for the Anhui Greenskin to start crossing the river.

The greenskin army began to cross the river. Ma Jizeng ordered the artillery to fire. The troops marching to the middle of the river were suddenly hit by fierce artillery fire. An Yi responded immediately and notified the artillery to suppress it.

Regardless of the possible suppression of artillery fire, Ma Jizeng ordered the artillery not to cease fire and continued to use the most violent artillery fire to attack the Anhui army that was crossing the river. 57 artillery shells continued to fall, and the water columns on the river rose one after another. One artillery shell fell on the side of the pontoon bridge and exploded.

A supporting pillar was broken, and several Anhui soldiers fell into the river.

When Wang Jizeng saw this scene through his telescope, he couldn't help but smile proudly. But then he couldn't laugh anymore, because those Anhui soldiers didn't fall into the river, but jumped by themselves.

"Jiansheng, you can't bear it!" The student suicide member Li Zongren took the lead to jump into the river. Next to him was fellow villager Bai Jiansheng. The pontoon bridge was blown up, and Li Zongren, who was helping to transport supplies across the river, immediately jumped into the river and used

They lifted up the sloping pontoon with their shoulders. The student suicide squads followed suit one after another, falling into the water like dumplings and holding up the pontoon with their shoulders.

The water in the Han River in December was so cold that Bai Chongxi, a southerner, felt like his bones were frozen. His lips turned blue and he shouted tremblingly: "You can stand it, but you have to stand it even if you can't."

The engineer battalion quickly began to repair the smashed pontoon bridge. An engineer was wielding a mallet to smash the piles. A shell fell next to him. He fell into the water without even grunting and was swept away by the rapids. The comrades reacted immediately and jumped into the water alone.

To save people, the other person silently took the hammer and continued pounding piles.

When the troops crossing the river saw this, they were greatly encouraged and their pace quickened.

"Come over and fuck your mother!" I don't know who shouted this. The soldiers crossing the river collectively shouted in unison: "Fuck your mother!"

When Ma Jizeng saw this in the telescope, his eyes widened. However, he had no time to think about it at this time. He immediately threw down the telescope, came out to call the guards, and rushed to the front line with a battalion of reinforcements.

The Beiyang Army on the front line struggled for a long time under the fierce artillery fire. When the artillery fire weakened, the Beiyang Army's gunshots rang out. Maxim's unique sound was quite harsh. A few soldiers rushing to the front rushed to the ground.

The Anhui army that was attacked immediately sought cover and launched a counterattack on the spot.

The Beiyang Army's 11th Mixed Association, which had suffered losses, has now learned a lot. The machine gun positions are arranged more concealed, almost in the blind spot of direct-fire artillery. However, this trick is not difficult for the Anhui Army to overcome. After discovering the machine gun positions, they mortar

The guns quickly crossed the river and got into position.

Wang Renjie really loved this new large-caliber mortar. It was detachable and two people could carry the barrel and run away. After crossing the river, the machine guns on the Qing army's position became the main target. Because of the technology of using mortars

Best of all, Wang Renjie, who was temporarily promoted to acting artillery company commander, immediately ordered the entire company to set up positions. The reconnaissance squad reported the scale, and the mortar positions were also set up.

A Maxim force was still raging, and another soldier fell on the path of the charge.

"Test fire!" Wang Renjie ordered with red eyes. With a bang, the large-caliber artillery shot out of the chamber and made an unusually loud noise after landing. One shot was missed. After adjusting the scale, nine heavy mortars fired.

A salvo.

Maxim's position on the battlefield clearly saw the machine gun flying, and Wang Renjie grinned.

A special sound of artillery appeared, and Ma Jizeng, who was leading reinforcements, shook his legs. The sound was wrong. It was actually a large caliber.

Soon Ma Jizeng began to feel distressed. The shells from the Anhui Greenskin seemed to be free of charge, and they kept ringing. On the position five hundred meters ahead, smoke columns kept rising, and body parts kept flying.

The 120 mortar that was put into battle for the first time was named Han Yuan style, which means the new era of the Han family. When it was first unveiled, this new type of artillery showed its power, and the fierce artillery fire made the Beiyang army howl like ghosts and wolves. One shell

If it falls, it will be a big pit, and no one within a few meters will be spared. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to (.) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
Chapter completed!