Chapter 206: Too much ambition but not enough strength
At night, torches stretched out and bonfires burned on the Xin'an Jiangkou Pier. More than 70 large and small ships were all requisitioned by Ye Cheng's Second Battalion. Since most of the brothers in the Second Battalion came from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, there was no language barrier between them. Several big shipowners saw
The revolutionary army had shiny black weapons and machine guns and small cannons, but they didn't dare to utter a word. When they heard the brothers led by Yang Fei, deputy and instructor of the Second Battalion, kindly said that they would pay according to the price, they had no choice but to call the boatman.
Ready to set sail.
Ye Chengqin led the security platoon brothers on a steamboat more than thirty meters long and four meters wide to search a wide area on the river. Under the lights, whether they encountered small shrimp boats or fishing boats, they all were towed back to the dock and repeatedly
After wandering around for an hour and a half to make sure nothing was missed, I finally docked again and found that An Yi and Lao Shen had already arrived at the dock and were smoking and joking with a boat boss.
Ye Cheng jumped onto the pier and came to the bonfire to salute An Yi: "Report to the leader, the ships have been gathered, there are only three steamships, one of which is being repaired and cannot move."
"That's enough. Uncle Jiang said that two steamboats can tow about twenty-five large fishing boats. These two fishing boats usually pull the big net. Only twenty fishing boats can drag our thousand
They were sent to Chun'an County Pier." An Yi said with a beaming smile.
Uncle Jiang was shocked: "Oh, oh... Sir, don't blame those who don't know! I'm so confused. I thought you were a soldier and didn't know you were the leader..."
An Yi laughed and saw that the old man was so frightened that his cigarette butts dropped to the ground. He quickly took out his cigarettes, took out one and handed it to him politely: "Uncle Jiang, our revolutionary army doesn't do that. Boy, I am also from a poor background.
Yes, how could there be so much exquisiteness? Haha... Come, I will light some for you, old man, we have to rely on you old experts for sailing tonight!"
"That's, that's... no no! As long as I am an old guy, you can give me orders if you need them, haha! Let's do this. I'll get the guys and boys to prepare the cables first, otherwise we won't be able to afford the trouble! Sirs
Chat, chat slowly, haha..."
The old man jumped up and ran away. When he reached the shore more than ten meters away, he immediately shouted at the top of his voice. The hundreds of boatmen standing on the shore responded and walked towards the old man and quickly dispersed and started busy.
Ye Cheng smiled and shook his head: "I really have you, I can chat with anyone... What's the news from Huzi?"
"The thirty kilometers to the west from Xiaya Town is very safe. There is probably a small number of garrison surveillance for the next twenty kilometers. It is not a problem for Ding Zhicheng and the others. The model battalion led by Zheng Guang and the first battalion led by Xia Jian are two
We set off half an hour ago and are estimated to be twelve kilometers away. We will rush to the edge of the battlefield around five o'clock tomorrow morning and rest until dawn to launch the attack immediately.
Lao Yang and Lao Qu led the regiment's ministries and five companies of the teaching team to guard Jiande City. Hutou's fourth battalion took over from the model battalion to guard Xiaya Town. As soon as Chen Zhibiao arrived on the east bank of Xiaya Town, he directed his engineer company to build a pontoon bridge.
, I guess it can be connected now. I can't wait to go over with your second battalion and have a look. I met several generals of the second army and it's easier to communicate with each other." An Yi replied in a low voice.
Ye Cheng nodded: "Then let's set off now. In winter, the water level is lower and there are more tidal flats. The boat can't go fast at night. I calculated that it will take about five hours. It is now... eleven ten, which is about the same. The dock and temporary
I have left the logistics and engineer companies to guard the camp."
"Okay, you take charge."
An Yi turned to Xiao Du, the messenger, and told him to stay and take care of the horses. Ye Cheng concentrated on the five company commanders under his command and gave the orders one by one. Four hundred officers and soldiers boarded the wooden ships in an orderly manner, and the machine gun companies boarded two ships respectively.
The officers and soldiers put down their heavy equipment and looked around curiously at the large steamer, showing no signs of nervousness before the battle.
At six o'clock in the morning, the model battalion and the first battalion commanded by regimental deputy Hu Jialin began to move quietly. After an hour and a half of rest and eating, the brothers' physical strength recovered a lot. The usual high-intensity training and sufficient nutrition made the veterans very relaxed.
, the recruits saw that the veterans were doing so well and were not willing to lag behind, so they gritted their teeth and followed closely.
Thanks to Ding Zhicheng's brothers clearing sentries and enemy security points along the way, more than 1,200 officers and soldiers of the two battalions and 150 brothers of the regiment's mortar company were not exposed at all. The brothers of the model battalion were in a
Led by the brothers from the platoon's guard company, they successfully arrived at the west side of Langding Mountain, 2.7 kilometers away from the battlefield, and set up a battle formation; Xia Jian's battalion arrived at the foot of the northern mountain of Wumupo, 2.3 kilometers southeast of the battlefield, and quietly formed
Light and heavy machine guns and mortars were fired; one hundred and fifty brothers from the regiment's artillery company began to adjust the firing posture of the twelve mortars based on the coordinates provided by the guard company on the east side of Yanhu Lake, about three kilometers due east of the battlefield.
; Four sniper teams under Ding Zhicheng began the operation.
At 6:35, several faint explosions were heard from the direction of Chun'an City in the south. Under the dim morning light, the enemy's position that had stopped fighting for half a night immediately became partially panicked. Huzi knew that Ye Cheng's second battalion had already mobilized.
He put away his binoculars, took out his pistol and fired into the air. Twenty-four mortars from the mortar company, the first battalion and the model battalion roared, and rounds of shells flew from three directions to the enemy command post, artillery positions and
A huge explosion roared from the machine gun position, immediately triggering a huge panic among the enemy.
As the mortars fired intensively one after another, the enemy positions were shrouded in thick smoke and fire. The enemies on the positions began to run disorderly and scream, and were compressed at two o'clock by the lake.
The officers and soldiers of the Fourth and Sixth Divisions of the Second Army, who were backed by three kilometers of water, woke up, cheered in unison, and immediately launched a fierce attack on the enemies in front. The battlefield that had been silent for half a night became noisy again.
The commander of the Second Army, Dai Yue, was surprised and loudly asked Xie Yibo, the commander of the regiment who rushed to his side: "Have you seen clearly which part of the reinforcements are?"
"It's clear, it's the same as the instructions in the telegram, the Second Division's Anyi Independent Regiment. Just now my second battalion commander told me that he clearly saw the 'Model Battalion' battle flag in the northeast of the battlefield through the telescope!" Xie Yibo, unshaven
replied excitedly,
Dai Yue punched the edge of the trench with a heavy punch: "This kid An Yi is so interesting! He moves quickly and is good at seizing opportunities. He is a damn hero. No wonder Zhang Tianyi and the brothers of the Fourth Division are full of praise for him. Even the 'model'
He has used all his capital in the camp, which shows that he sincerely helps us out of trouble. We must keep this deep friendship in mind! Inform the brothers in each regiment to launch an attack immediately while the enemy is in chaos. We and the Anyi Independent Regiment
Come and attack with something else!"
"yes--"
Guns roared and smoke billowed.
Under Huzi's order, more than 1,200 brothers from two battalions on the east side of the battlefield charged forward for more than 1,300 meters, then found bunkers and fired fiercely at the enemy positions. Twenty-four mortars moved their positions and fired again.
, all the dense artillery shells were fired at the intersection of the southern flank and the middle part of the enemy's formation. The meaning was very obvious, which was to drive the enemy with the advantage to the north and avoid a head-to-head chaotic fight. Who knew that in less than ten minutes, the enemy was overwhelmingly black?
Unable to withstand the fierce attack of more than 5,000 officers and soldiers from the Fourth and Sixth Divisions of the Second Army, they abandoned their positions and retreated north. As each commander fell inexplicably, the enemy troops who lost their command finally fled at full speed.
Under the extended coverage of mortar shells, they howled desperately and ran northward. The entire three-kilometer-long position was completely out of control. Under the crazy revenge of the red-eyed soldiers of the Second Army of the Revolutionary Army, they howled like ghosts and wolves, and was completely defeated.
On the southern position, more than a thousand remnants of the enemy who were isolated by artillery fire fled like headless flies. Most of them panicked and fled towards Chun'an City, which was mostly controlled by Ye Cheng's Second Battalion. On the way, they heard something coming from the city.
With the intensive gunfire and the explosion of grenades, the stunned enemy troops turned around again, only to find that countless revolutionary troops had already been pursuing them. The loud shouts of killing made most of the exhausted enemies drop their weapons and kneel down to surrender. Only a few of them surrendered.
A few veteran ruffians threw down their weapons and went into the hills, woods and small villages.
Beard, who was riding a white horse, saw a revolutionary army flag moving quickly a few hundred meters to the west. Knowing that it was the commander of the Second Army coming to contact him, he ordered the brothers around him to spread out and be on guard, and then fought with Ding Zhicheng and Dou Fang.
Immediately, they came forward to greet them. When they saw the other two generals dismounting from their horses, Huzi and others did not dare to neglect and dismounted one after another to greet them:
"Report to the general, Hu Jialin, deputy of the independent regiment of the second division of the first army, has been ordered to come to participate in the battle. Please give the general instructions!"
Dai Yue returned the salute, laughed loudly, and quickly came up to shake hands with Hu Hu: "You're so polite, Deputy Hu! He came to save us and said he was participating in the battle. It was too embarrassing for our military brothers, haha! By the way, why is it so rare?
Victory, your department did not launch a pursuit?"
"The order I received before departure was to disperse the enemy troops as much as possible instead of destroying them, so I did not dare to overstep my authority. Please forgive me, General. I also think this order is correct. Our two and a half battalions have a thousand
Several officers and soldiers came all night long, and their physical strength was very high. It was really difficult to launch a charge against an enemy that was ten times our size, so they concentrated all their mortars to bombard us as soon as they came up. Then they all came close and fired to destroy the enemy as much as possible.
There is another point that shouldn't be said. I can only tell the truth for fear that the general will misunderstand. All the officers and soldiers who came with their subordinates for reinforcements were still in Longyou City, a hundred kilometers away to the south, at this time the day before yesterday. They were sleeping fast for two consecutive days and one night.
It took less than eight hours. After arriving at Jiande City, I only rested for more than six hours and then was ordered to come back overnight. Therefore, I am really powerless to pursue the fleeing enemy. Please forgive me, General!"
Hu Hu told the truth about the situation of the department in detail to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
Dai Yue and the generals around him were astonished and moved. Zhang Huizhan, the commander of the Fourth Division, stepped forward and held Hu Hu’s hand tightly, thanked him repeatedly, and finally asked politely:
"Will Commander An Yi lead another unit to attack Chun'an City?"
"Yes, our department received news that the enemy's Fifth Army headquarters is located in Chun'an City, so Commander An personally led the Second Battalion to launch an attack from the waterway. Just now, we saw that the overall situation has been determined. All the officers and soldiers of your army bravely pursued the remnants of the enemy who fled north.
The subordinates also ordered the first battalion of our unit to attack Chun'an City in the south at full speed. After the whole team is completed, the subordinates will rush to Chun'an to join Captain An." Huzi replied very politely.
Dai Yue nodded and sighed sadly: "It's too hard for you! In this battle, our army mistakenly fell into the enemy's siege, resulting in more than 1,700 casualties among officers and soldiers. If it hadn't been for your rapid reinforcements, the enemy's army would have been destroyed today.
If we attack again, we will probably be in trouble. The injured officers and soldiers are in urgent need of medical treatment at this time. Only Chun'an City within a hundred miles has the conditions. Let's rush there now. We have to personally thank Commander An Yi."
Hu Hu nodded and said sorry, turned his horse around and ran to the front of the battle with the brothers in the model camp. He ordered the battalion deputy Li Guang to lead the model camp and artillery company to return to Jiande along the original road to rest, and ordered Ding Zhicheng to lead the guard company to escort them all the way.
He led his adjutant and two guards and rushed to Chun'an with Dai Yue and others.