At three o'clock in the morning on September 3rd, less than fifty-five hours after the first siege was defeated on the evening of September 1st, with the whole army burning with anger, and inspired by the strong morale that had been unmatched since the Northern Expedition, the Northern Expedition Revolution
The military departments once again launched a massive night siege.
However, the siege battle carefully planned by Mr. Li Zongren together with the generals of the various armies ended in only thirty-five minutes. It was shorter than the first forty-minute battle, but the losses almost exceeded the last time.
Double: Under the fierce firepower of the enemy's artillery position at Wangchutai in Snake Mountain, especially under the shrewd command of Chen Jiamo, the commander of the defense of the enemy city, there were endless means to fight against the siege army, and the results were brilliant. Originally full of fighting spirit, the goal was not achieved.
The unyielding siege army abandoned thousands of corpses of their comrades and fled in panic. On the vast battlefield outside the seven or eight city gates, fires were blazing and it was a mess.
Among them, after the Seventh Army's left-wing siege force launched a strong attack, it was suddenly bombarded by seven enemy gunboats traveling upstream. Just Tao Jun's 1st Regiment and Lu Yanxin's 2nd Regiment had more than 3,000 siege officers and soldiers.
All were lost under the fierce artillery fire. Other regiments were also hit by artillery fire in the city, machine guns and large-caliber naval guns on the river. They lost sight of one thing and suffered heavy casualties.
General Li Zongren made emergency arrangements on the river bank in advance. Dozens of heavy machine guns and two machine gun companies protecting the left wing of the main siege force were wiped out. In the end, not even the larger bodies could be found. It was a terrible sight.
The rising sun was rising in the east, and the sky was filled with colorful clouds. The news of the failed siege reached the model camp behind Zhongxiaomen who were still working hard to make a long siege ladder, which immediately caused all the brothers to stop what they were doing.
Hundreds of brothers looked at the finished and semi-finished ladders on the ground, and their hearts were filled with unspeakable pain and a heart-wrenching sense of powerlessness.
Upon seeing this, An Yi immediately ordered his brothers to stop all the work at hand, pack up the guys, and lead each company commander to return to the camp to sleep. After working hard for a day and a night, and then being hit by such bad news, even a hard-working man could not bear the physical and mental damage.
The great torture of fatigue.
In the open space full of sawdust, hemp rope, iron wire, and broken bamboo, Huzi looked at An Yi silently and sighed softly. An Yi looked at Yin Jinan with worry - Yin Jinan's eyes were red at the moment, and tears were shining on his face.
Looking at the thick smoke billowing over Wuchang City, my body remained motionless.
Yin Jinan was extremely sad and lost, extremely depressed and confused. The losses of various armies and departments were not important to him at the moment. What was important was that he never thought that the Seventh Army, which had been reminded repeatedly by An Yi and Hu Hu, would actually
There was no artillery fire to guard the river. This unbelievable but bloody fact finally shattered his inner integrity and good wishes, making this young soldier who was just in his early twenties and full of sincerity hug tightly in his heart.
A piece of pure land, shattered beyond recognition in the blink of an eye... At this moment, he was miserable and helpless, with misty eyes, like a child who couldn't find his way home, shivering in the acrid smoke and suffocating heat.
An Yi and Hu Hu looked at each other and waved to Yin Jinan's orderly Zeng Changgeng to bring the beautiful maroon war horse. Without any explanation, they stepped forward and put Yin Jinan on the horse's back.
At this time, Yin Jinan suddenly fell on the horse, sobbed silently for a moment, and actually fell asleep like this. Yes, he was tired, so sad that he had been working hard for two consecutive days and two nights, but he was not as cruel as this cruel thing in front of him.
After returning to the camp due to the heaviness and fatigue brought by the facts, Yin Jinan was swaying, hot and cold, murmuring, and his childish face and skin all over his body turned red and white, white and red again.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, An Yi and Hu Hu watched the divisional medical officer Lao Ma finish injecting Yin Jinan, accepted the two small bottles of expensive imported pills presented by Lao Ma, and sent him away respectfully with Lao Ma's serious instructions.
When the old horse got on the horse's back, the two guards also came to the front. An Yi quickly took out a gold bar weighing about four taels and stuffed it into the old horse's pocket.
At the old horse's polite refusal, An Yi smiled and slapped the horse he was riding on the butt. The old horse was so frightened that he quickly leaned over and tightened the reins.
Spreading its hooves, the old horse straightened up and turned back, smiled wryly at An Yi and shook his head, and then left under the leadership of the guard who caught up.
An Yi and Huzi returned to the camp. Huzi went to notify the company platoon commander who was sleeping after lunch as planned. An Yi called his new military doctor Xiao Langzhong and whispered:
"Take two brothers from the first row to protect you, and ride together to the small courtyard on the left of the division headquarters. Find Commander Ma just now. He will give you a batch of medicines, gauze, first aid triangle towels and other things when you come back. Remember to ask for
Be respectful, except for Chief Ma, if anyone asks you, just smile and don't say anything, just go and come back."
"I understand, I'll go right away."
Except for his bald forehead, the young man who was quiet and handsome overall ran quickly to Lu Xiong, the leader of the platoon, and under Lu Xiong's arrangement followed two well-equipped and strong brothers to ride out of the camp.
An Yi sat on the edge of the hospital bed, silently watching the orderly Zeng Changgeng change the wet towel on Yin Jinan's forehead.
After smoking a cigarette, An Yi stood up to explain and gently left the room.
Walking out of the main entrance of the small hall, An Yi came to the open space under some big trees 30 meters ahead. At this time, a group of company and platoon leader brothers were skillfully making a sand table model of Wuchang City based on the parameters reported by the second company commander Cai Guangqing.
It was completed in ten minutes.
Under An Yi's gaze, Beard picked up a long and thick stick at random, pointed it at the one-meter-square Wuchang City, briefly told everyone the process and results of the two sieges, and then threw down three arrows to the brothers.
A thought-provoking question: Is our current siege method correct? What if our battalion is assigned the main task of attacking Zhongxiao Gate? In addition to the various storms in the first two times, are there any other ways to siege the city?
After listening to the brothers' discussion for half an hour, An Yi failed to get any desired results. An Yi was disappointed and walked to the deep stable to talk to his little black horse for a while, grooming it to become more and more elegant.
mane.
The little black horse, who had not been able to get along with An Yi for two days, seemed very happy. He kept lowering his head and rubbing An Yi's arms and chest. After teasing for almost half an hour, An Yi clapped his hands and came to the cooking class.
Since the entire battalion was stationed together, the brothers from the cooking class of the three companies and the old brothers from the battalion headquarters' cooking class all mixed together to cook. Although the portions were much larger, because Lao Hantou had a clear division of labor, the cooking speed was also faster.
Quite a few.
Today's four large pots of bone lotus root soup made An Yi very satisfied. He tasted half a bowl and praised it repeatedly. He ordered more portions and more meat for the seven or eight injured people with limited mobility. He was greeted by the cheerful smiles of the two dozen Huotou Army brothers.
We walked towards the brothers who were still discussing the siege.
Halfway through, he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from outside the camp. An Yi didn't dare to neglect and immediately strode forward to greet them. Sure enough, Liu She and Hu Shusen, guarded by brothers from the first class of the secret service company, had already arrived at the gate of the camp.
After Liu She dismounted, he signaled to An Yi, who was saluting, and Hu Zi, who was coming over, to take a break. He pointed to a group of company platoon commanders squatting under a big tree more than 30 meters away on the left, and asked curiously: "What are you doing? Aren't you here again?"
Let’s start gambling together, shall we?”
An Yi laughed and shook his head: "No gambling today. When life is at stake, no one dares to neglect even if they don't gamble. They are all thinking about how to attack the city. By the way, Master,
Chief of Staff, don’t you have to attend the military meeting convened by the principal? Why are you free to patrol the camp?”
"It's still early. I haven't had a single meal in two days. I remembered that the food in your engineer camp is good, so I came here to eat, haha!"
Hu Shusen smiled kindly and said: "Come on, take us to see your sand table simulation. I have heard about it for a long time, but I have never had the chance to see it. I just happened to catch up today."
An Yi and Hu Hu accompanied the two bosses towards the brothers. A group of brothers squatting on the ground arguing endlessly saw Liu She and Hu Shusen and were so frightened that they quickly stood up and saluted.
Liu She signaled that everyone could continue the discussion without being restrained. The two soldiers moved two Taishi chairs at a flying speed and carefully placed them behind Liu She and Hu Shusen. Liu She and Hu Shusen looked at each other and sat down one after another with a slight smile.
A group of lieutenants and sergeants didn't dare act casually in front of the two bosses. They stood upright and didn't even dare to show their anger.
Liu She and Liu She were sitting facing the Zhongxiao Gate where the Second Division was assisting. They carefully looked at the one-meter-square sand table and nodded with satisfaction. They laughed when they saw the nervous look of the twenty-odd people around them, so they ordered An Yi to come.
Host offensive and defensive drills.
An Yi saluted and turned to the brothers: "Everyone, it is rare that the teacher and the chief of staff are here to give guidance today. The brothers must seize the opportunity to perform well. Just as the teacher and the chief of staff hope, don't be restrained and feel free to speak your mind.
If you can't let go, just treat it as our usual routine discussion... Hey, why are you so stupid? Cai Guangqing comes out. The blasting method you just proposed is very insightful. Please report it to the division commander and the chief of staff.
.”
"yes!"
Cai Guangqing, the commander of the second company who came out, nervously took a step into the three-meter-square sandbox, flattened the offensive bunker in the sandbox, and then shrank back in panic. He took the small bamboo stick handed to him by the beard and felt relieved:
"My subordinates... imagined this. After launching the attack, in the early stage of the artillery battle between the enemy and our armies, eight to ten commandos of forty or fifty people were sent to rush to the corners of the city wall to bury explosives. Each team carried forty kilograms of explosives.
Ten packs of explosives were placed at a line of 100 meters and detonated uniformly. The strong shock waves and violent vibrations generated by the explosion will make the defenders on the tower unable to respond normally within three to six minutes. If the main offensive force follows up at this time
If you hurry up, you may be able to successfully reach the city.
This is the experience we have gained in blasting construction in the past, but we have never tried it on such a large scale, and we don’t know whether the follow-up troops can keep up smoothly. We originally planned to ask Staff Yin to make an estimate, but it was a pity that Staff Yin spent several days and nights.
He fell ill without a wink of sleep, so my subordinates are not sure at all..."
Liu She nodded: "This idea looks good, but under the premise of an artillery battle between the two armies, it is almost impossible to launch it, because our army's artillery fire cannot withstand the strong firepower of the defenders and cannot suppress the heavy troops on the defenders' city walls.
Effect. It can be seen that you have used your brains. If this method can be used to attack Huizhou City during the Eastern Expedition, we will reduce a lot of casualties."
Cai Guangqing felt much more relaxed after being praised by Liu She. Then several company platoon leaders also expressed their thoughts one after another. As usual, under the detailed guidance of Liu She and Hu Shusen, they found that it was not feasible, and even methods such as engineer excavation could not be implemented.
, but it also received frequent praise and high evaluation from Liu She and Hu Shusen.
It was dinner time. Liu She and Hu Shusen encouraged the brothers and praised the achievements and hard work of the entire battalion officers and soldiers in the two days of preparations for the siege. They kindly asked everyone to take a break and go back to have dinner. An Yi also thoughtfully
He ordered his subordinates to set up a separate table for a squad brother from the security company.
Sitting around the Eight Immortals table under the big tree were Liu She, An Yi, and Hu Hu. The two bosses liked the few side dishes specially prepared by the cooking team.
Hu Shusen took down two large bowls of rice and drank a large bowl of soup. Then he wiped his mouth with satisfaction and looked across at An Yi who had just put down his rice bowl with half-closed eyes:
"You boy must have your own evil ideas, and so does Hu Jialin. Although you two have pretended to be stupid from the beginning to now, you can't hide it from me and the master. We have already heard the rumors from the top brass of the Seventh Army behind our backs.
There are some comments, saying that the two of you had foreseen the failure at the beginning of the siege, and had warned the Seventh Army early on to pay attention to the Yangtze River enemy ships on the left. This observation and foresight is very valuable.
During the early morning attack this morning, the tools you improved and made to climb the city won high praise from the siege officers and soldiers of the Fourth Army. The officers and soldiers who retreated even said that if you hadn't built a large number of small wooden bridges that can be folded in one direction, they are easy to carry.
, I am afraid that half of the brothers cannot escape from the city, which is enough to see that you have used your brains. Now that there are no outsiders, let’s talk about the attack on the city.”
"Master, Chief of Staff, I really don't have any countermeasures for attacking the city. In my humble opinion, facing such a fortified city, it is better to besiege it rather than attack it, and let the numerous Eighth Army follow up with the two divisions along the Yangtze River.
Going upstream, they first captured Hankou, Hanyang, which had no solid city defenses and few defenders. At the same time, they ordered one unit each of the Seventh Army and the Fourth Army to completely cut off the waterways, roads and railways downstream of Wuchang. In this way, Wuchang was completely turned into an isolated city and surrounded.
Have sex with him for a month or two and see how long he can survive? I don’t believe that old guy Chen Jiamo dares to take his concubine and share it with his subordinates, haha!"
An Yi smiled perfunctorily, and when he saw Liu She bulging his eyes angrily, he could only put away his smile and beg in a low voice: "Okay, Master, Chief of Staff, if what I say later is correct,
If attacking the city is of any use, I kindly ask you to agree to a small request, otherwise I will not dare to say anything."
Hu Shusen and Liu She looked at each other and nodded slightly. Liu She said seriously: "Tell me your request first."
An Yi said in a low voice: "If you adopt the offensive method of your subordinates, please have mercy on the lives of hundreds of brothers in our battalion and do not send our engineer battalion to attack the city, because our battalion has just expanded, and there has not been a real attack."
All your battlefield experience will be in vain if you go up there and die!"
Liu She looked at An Yi in surprise: "Why...are you afraid of death?"
"Afraid! I am really afraid! I am even more afraid of dying like the nearly ten thousand brothers who attacked the city in these two times. If I die like this, I will be a ghost and feel unhappy!"
An Yi showed a frightened look like a rogue in the market, looking very painful and helpless.
Liu She and Hu Shusen couldn't help but laugh. After laughing, they stared at An Yi with indignant anger and shook their heads repeatedly.
Hu Shusen let out a long sigh, thought about it and said happily: "Don't worry, you don't need your engineers to attack the city. Otherwise, where will the faces of so many main troops be? Today, all the armies are furious and eager for revenge. Every troop is eager to attack the city."
Hundreds of letters of invitation to fight were received, especially from the Ye Ting Independent Regiment, which had just been mobilized after resting. The entire regiment of 2,800 soldiers jointly submitted a letter to the headquarters, requesting to serve as a commando to take on the main attack mission. Among them, more than 700 Communist Party members and soldiers were still requesting to fight.
The blood letters were signed one by one, and more than 360 Kuomintang officers and soldiers were not far behind in submitting blood letters and suicide notes.
At the military and political meeting in the afternoon, the principal read out the bloody letters and suicide notes to hundreds of generals. He was moved to tears several times and was speechless. The generals in the hall were all moved to tears and passionate. They asked the principal to order immediately.
Attacking the city, the sound shook the sky, and the momentum was like a rainbow... How can you be like you An Yi, how can you have the fearlessness of a revolutionary? You... I really want to slap you in the face! "
An Yi, who was promised to save his life, didn't care how noble and great you were. He immediately leaned forward and whispered the plan that he had thought of for two days, which was extremely dangerous but very tempting.
After hearing this, Liu She and Hu Shusen were both surprised and unable to make a choice. Hu Shusen whispered a few words in Liu She's ear. Liu She nodded frequently and immediately ordered An Yi and Hu Shu: Never reveal even a word of what they just said to others, otherwise military law
Engage! Then he immediately stood up and gave the order to return, strode out of the camp gate, mounted his horse and galloped away surrounded by a group of guards, probably in a hurry to report to the commander-in-chief.
At the gate of the camp, Beard waved away a wisp of dust coming towards him, and sighed in a low voice: "Xiaoyi, this is a good plan and a desperate one. No wonder you didn't dare to say it for so long. If it succeeds, this plan will take all the credit."
Wei, if we fail, there will be corpses everywhere..."
An Yi shook his head helplessly: "Didn't you see that I was also forced? Besides, I also told you the remedial strategy. Even if you fail, just turn around and run for your life. At worst, you will lose some scraps of metal and hundreds of people. I am most worried
Unfortunately, the brothers in various departments who have been burnt out by blood and brains will not stop and insist on demonstrating their revolutionary heroism. Although I have come up with this plan, I dare not go there even if I die...
Beard, tell me, the principal led an army from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to Fujian, and then from Guangzhou to lead an army of 100,000 people on two expeditions, and with the experience and lessons of two disastrous sieges in three days before him, how can he still inspire revolution in various ministries?
Do you have fighting spirit and want to attack the city? After repeated defeats, could it be that such a wise person as the principal was inspired by a group of brave and foolhardy warriors below? Is there anything worthy of scrutiny in this? "
"You do it knowing you can't do it, but you're probably losing because you're so anxious. Xiaoyi, you've been tired these past few days, don't think so much, just go to bed quickly. I don't want you to fall down from exhaustion..."