The Seventh Army's siege headquarters is located in the woods about 2.5 kilometers outside the Bohol Gate. In front is a semicircular bunker made of triple solid sandbags two meters high and 30 meters long. Behind it are several low-rise buildings of the villagers.
Wafang. At Hu Zongduo's warm invitation, An Yi and Hu Hu came to watch the game after dinner.
As night fell, following Hu Zongduo's order, thousands of elites from the 13th Regiment and 14th Regiment under the 7th Brigade, as well as more than 4,000 officers and soldiers from the supplementary regiment formed by Hu Zongduo on the way to Hunan, moved quietly, heading straight towards Zhonghe Gate and Baohe.
He opened the door and trotted away looking at the mountain gate.
According to the requirements, each platoon of the forward units was equipped with two long ladders. Therefore, after the officers and soldiers who poured out of dense forests, villages and other hidden places dived a hundred meters, they all carried various long ladders and extended ladders erected on the trenches.
The door panel ran faster and faster, closely following the "brave team" composed of brave officers and soldiers selected in advance from each regiment.
An Yi was lying on the sandbag in front of the bunker, using the faint light to raise his telescope and observing nervously. Under the illumination of the long-spaced torches on the enemy's battlements, the officers and soldiers of the 14th Regiment's "Fighting Team" had successfully succeeded.
A simple wooden bridge was built on the city moat, and more than a thousand officers and soldiers behind them crossed the wooden bridge and successfully reached the bottom of the city almost silently. Various long ladders were nervously erected under the solid city wall more than a hundred meters long.
An Yi worriedly asked the bearded man next to him: "Are the enemies on the city wall really so paralyzed? The nearly two-kilometer-long siege formation of tens of thousands of people was not discovered by them?"
"It's a scam! It's definitely a scam! I guess..."
A "boom" of artillery on the top of the city interrupted Hu Zi's words. The long city wall immediately became blazing with fire, as bright as day. Countless lit torches flew from the top of the city to the bottom of the city, and the enemy's dense machine gunfire suddenly sounded.
, densely packed grenades flew towards the officers and soldiers at the foot of the city wall.
The long ladders were either broken in the middle or overturned in the dense explosions. Strings of siege warriors on the long ladders were blown into the air and fell into pieces between the ditch and the city wall.
In the narrow area, of the hundreds of long ladders erected, only a dozen or so lonely ones are attached to the high city wall. Most of these extremely primitive and simple ladders cannot reach the battlements, but the heroic siege warriors are still fighting against the sky-shattering waves.
Climbing up without fear despite the shouts of death.
Immediately afterwards, barrels of kerosene, vegetable oil, and gasoline rolled down from the city wall, causing a fire that reached the sky. The bottom of the city wall suddenly turned into a long fire belt. The violently burning oil barrels stirred up pillars of fire that were tens of meters high.
Swinging and twisting in the strong wind, whistling straight up.
Groups of siege officers and soldiers, like men on fire, wailed and threw themselves into the deep water of the trench. The scorched warriors were hung on the long poles of the blazing fire, amid the crackling sounds of burning, gunshots and heart-and-lung torn tragedies.
The screams were spasmodic, twisted, and gradually blackened, and the balls fell off. Heart-wrenching screams came one after another, which could be heard clearly from ten miles away.
Thousands of defenders rushed to the battlements at this time, using machine guns to shoot down the siege officers and soldiers who had escaped the trenches, and rifles to kill the surviving officers and soldiers who were desperate and struggling in the narrow area under the city and in the trenches.
The Seventh Army's artillery fire from behind the position began to roar back, violently bombarding the city head. Several accurate artillery shells exploded the enemy's densely guarded walls on the city wall, flying limbs and bloody bodies. However, the enemy's superior artillery placed on Snake Mountain and Wangchu Platform quickly
Fighting back, just a few volleys silenced the two concealed artillery positions of the Seventh Army. Then bursts of fire extended to cover the area, causing the soldiers of the Seventh Army to cry out in confusion. Even Hu Zongduo's headquarters was more than 20 meters behind.
Several houses in the city were also razed to the ground by a few shells that suddenly flew in. The siege operation, which lasted only forty minutes, ended in a disastrous defeat for the attackers.
The sound of gunfire stopped, but the hundreds of meters long wall of blazing fire under the city wall was still burning. The area around An Yi and Hu Xiu was surrounded by blazing fire caused by the explosion.
An Yi and Hu Hu, who were in a heavy mood, walked towards Hu Zongduo, who had a blue face but a determined look on his face. They looked at each other silently for a moment. Hu Zongduo took a few steps forward and whispered a few words to An Yi in the midst of the noise. An Yi nodded and pointed.
In the direction of the river, I whispered something and saw several officers from the Political Department of the Seventh Army approaching with sad faces. They saluted each other and hurriedly said goodbye to the busy Hu Zongduo.
The two rushed back to the hiding place of the second and third companies. All the disgraced and frightened brothers got up from the ground. An Yi finally felt relieved after hearing the report that the two company commanders had no casualties, and immediately ordered the rapid formation of the team.
Return silently.
After returning to the camp and settling in, An Yi and Hu Zi rushed to the Zhongxiaomen rear headquarters where the division was assisting in the battle to report. From the frustrated expressions on the faces of the officers, they knew without asking that the soldiers of the Fourth Army could not escape the same fate as the Seventh Army.
destiny.
Hu Shusen and Liu She saw An Yi and strode over to ask about the reason for their return and the battle situation of the Seventh Army.
An Yi answered truthfully: "Commander Hu Zongduo of the 7th Brigade of the 7th Army and Director Deng of the Political Department have ordered our unit to return to the construction. They also said that there will be no major operations for at least three days. More than half of the 14th Regiment of the 7th Army suffered casualties, and the other two regiments have not yet been
After the statistics are completed, my subordinates will observe that the number of dead and wounded soldiers shall not be less than one-third."
Liu Zhi sighed slightly: "The same is true for the regiments of the 10th Division of the Fourth Army, which are the main attackers. I just received Commander Li's call to retreat. Commander Li was also very sad and ordered us to use the rest time of these two days to sum up the gains and losses.
Think of more ways. Tomorrow at nine o'clock in the morning, you two should come to the division headquarters for a summary meeting. I need to hear the opinions of your engineers."
"Master, I suggest calling Yin Jinan together. He is better than both of us in terms of troop distribution and speed control." An Yi suggested in a low voice, and Liu She immediately agreed.
Returning to his secluded camp, An Yi immediately held a meeting of the platoon commanders and above of the whole battalion and learned that the platoon commanders and above of the second and third companies had come to observe the entire siege process up close.
At the end of the meeting, An Yi nodded with satisfaction, asked everyone to make a summary, and called on the brothers to contribute ideas. The winner would be awarded a hundred oceans.
The brothers left happily. The elf Dong Yao made tea for An Yi and the others. When he served it, An Yi praised him. Dong Yao said shyly: I'm afraid that my eldest brother will send me to study and no one will serve me.
, the brothers are all so careless, I don’t feel at ease.
Dong Yazi's words made An Yi filled with emotion. Hu Hu looked at Dong Yazi appreciatively for a while, then turned to An Yi: "What did you say to Hu Zongduo when you came back?"
An Yi was quite frustrated: "He told me that the result of the disastrous defeat was better than what we expected in the afternoon, but half of the artillery of the Seventh Army in the rear was gone. The whole army was filled with indignation and shouting revenge. It is estimated that they will be prepared to act recklessly again in a day or two.
, he, a foreigner, did not dare to rebel against the generals of the Gui Army. I told him that no matter what, he must pay close attention to the river on the left wing of their Seventh Army, otherwise he would probably suffer heavy losses. I told him not to get involved with this old guy Chen Jiamo.
Of course, don't believe the illusion that all enemy ships are heading downstream.
Sigh... Actually, it would be better if he was ordered to withdraw and rest. He was also injured in tonight's battle. He finally expanded the strength of the 13th and 14th regiments under his command. From Guangxi to here, he fought life and death along the way. It was a hard work.
He reorganized and reorganized the prisoners into a reinforced regiment of 4,000 men. In the battle of He Shengqiao, his Seventh Brigade lost more than 2,000 elite troops. Before he had time to adjust, he was ordered by Commander Li Zongren to serve as the vanguard tonight. The losses in the two fierce battles added up to one
The group is gone, and although he doesn’t care on his face, I can tell from the conversation that he feels bad too!”
Yin Jinan also felt uncomfortable: "During the siege, I quietly went to the direction of Zhongxiao Gate and took a look. The Tenth Division of the Fourth Army suffered heavy casualties. It is estimated that even ten and a half days of supplementary rest would not be enough to relieve the pressure."
Huzi put down his tea cup thoughtfully, lit a cigarette and turned to An Yi: "As far as I know, this thirty-three-year-old Hu Zongduo is from Hubei, just like Tao Jun, the leader of Commander Li's fierce general Li Mingrui's regiment, and
They all graduated from the fourth phase of Baoding Military Academy. The two of them, Huang Shaohong, and General Bai Chongxi were fellow students of Baoding Military Academy. They had joined General Huang Shaohong many years ago. After the Northern Expedition, they started to be highly employed in Changsha, and they continued to participate in the basic battles under Wuchang City.
, the troops led by these two men also expanded the fastest and captured the most among the Gui army. All friendly generals spoke highly of these two men.
However, the relationship between Hu Zongduo and the generals of the Gui Army seems to be very subtle. For example, this time he was asked to lead his troops to attack the city, while several other brigades were watching from behind. Although the battlefield could not accommodate many offensive troops, two brigades were sent to participate in the battle.
, it is absolutely possible to assist each other, and when Hu Zongduo's troops attacked the city, there were no other covering troops to follow. I can't figure it out even after thinking about it."
Yin Jinan said in surprise: "You mean General Li Zongren intends to let Hu Zongduo's brigade conduct a siege test? Impossible! Chief Li is definitely not that kind of person. We have been following the Seventh Army since Tingsi Bridge. No matter what we heard,
What you have seen or seen proves that Chief Li is a kind and just man, and would never do such a stupid thing. Even if he is really worried about Hu Zongduo becoming powerful as you said, he can allocate part of his army.
In line with other brigades.
To take a step back, the commanders of all the regiments and battalions under Hu Zongduo are all Guangxi people. Hu Zongduo, a man as shrewd in fighting, can't fail to see it. What's more, Commander Bai, who serves as the deputy chief of staff of our Northern Expeditionary Army, is looking after him.
."
Beard rolled his eyes at Yin Jinan: "Jinan, there are many things that you and I don't believe or not. There are indeed some bad things that we have to guard against. You know, brother, I usually don't like to talk, but so many years of wandering have made me see and hear
I have seen many mysterious things. Since I entered the escort industry at the age of fifteen, I have seen many things that are difficult to understand. I have been thinking about it for so many years and still have no clue. I only know that this world is different from the past.
People's hearts are separated from each other by the belly! You can't live your whole life thinking that everyone is as honest as you, right?"
Under An Yi's surprised gaze, Huzi, who was quite excited, gave Yin Jinan a rare lesson: "Just take what I just said, even if they are not true, they can still make us brothers think more, right? That's right.
Xiaoyi is good for you and me. Our current status is different from the past. To put it harshly, since we embarked on the Northern Expedition, our heads have been tied to our belts, and there is no room for any negligence on our part.
For example, just now I told you about the nonsense about Gui Jun. I am being polite and said it in such an indifferent way. If you don’t believe me, I will tell you another thought that has been pressing in your heart today. I don’t see how you can bear it.
?Listen to me, kid: If Hu Zongduo is becoming more and more dissatisfied with his situation, especially when he comes to his hometown and his own land, and after thinking about it, he becomes dissatisfied and deliberately asks Commander Li Zongren to take the lead in attacking the city, it will consume his subordinates and
Are you willing to accept that you are not a member of the same army, but you can also show your integrity to Chief Li and the group of Gui Army colleagues, and you can stay out of the increasingly fierce siege battles that will follow?"
Yin Jinan was stunned, and An Yi was also extremely shocked. The more he thought about it, the more terrifying he felt. He turned to Huzi and asked reluctantly: "Huzi, is this just an idea of yours?"
Huzi sighed: "Originally I had no such idea, but before I came back I took a look at the 4,000-man supplementary regiment that Hu Zongduo had retreated from. There were almost no casualties. There were only about 200 people lying on the ground dying or alive. It was simply
The casualties reported by his Hubei regiment commander were more than 30%. And I don’t know if you noticed that Hu Zongduo looked calm when talking to you, and deliberately avoided those fools from the Political Department of the Seventh Army. The more I thought about it when I came back, the more wrong it became, so I slowly
After thinking about it slowly, I came up with the guess I just made... Sigh, I hope what I said is all nonsense."
An Yi's heart was particularly heavy. He looked at the half-cut cigarette butt in his hand, and after a while he sighed leisurely: "If this is just a tentative attack by Chief Li for the next siege, the price will be too high! If Hu Zongduo really looks like this
You said this, who can we three brothers trust in the future..."