At ten o'clock in the morning, the light snow was still falling, and the only beautiful Xianjiang Bridge north of Zhouzhuang had been occupied by officers and soldiers of the Fourth Battalion of the Independent Regiment. Zhouzhuang, Chenjiabang, and Nansha Village on the north and south sides of the bridge,
Longfeng Village and Yunting Port are all under the strict control of Xia Jian No. 1 Battalion. All roads leading to the north, water and land docks, etc. are all blocked by heavily armed soldiers. The eight-kilometer-long wide stretch between Baixi Lake and Dianshan Lake
Both sides of the Yangtze River were monitored by mobile sentries every 500 meters apart. Every household in the villages and towns along the way was strictly ordered to close their doors. No one was allowed to go out for a step, otherwise they would be punished as treason.
On the piers north and south of the Xianjiang Bridge, the large flat-bottomed transport ships were firmly connected with iron chains and horse nails by the brothers of the engineering company. Thick, high-quality shipbuilding planks were carried onto the ship by hundreds of engineers.
, and then they were neatly spliced into two-by-one conjoined boats.
Half an hour later, two 20-meter-long high-horsepower steamboats "chut tug" puffed out thick smoke, each towing a long string of conjoined wooden boats and sailed away from the dock and down the river. Two companies of engineers took up arms to escort them.
Go east, enter Dianshan Lake and turn left towards Baishiji in the southwest.
On land, An Yi and Yang Bin, escorted by dozens of guards, rode their horses to the gate of Hu Mansion on the bustling main street of Zhouzhuang Ancient Town and dismounted. Guard company commander Ding Zhicheng and company deputy Dou Fang quickly stepped forward and saluted.
An Yi and his entourage entered the main hall of the antique, rich and gorgeous mansion.
Under Ding Zhicheng's attentive introduction, An Yi strode forward, bowed his hands, and politely greeted the panicked and sweaty mayor and the local richest man Hu Liangyong.
In the guest position.
A young and beautiful maid with a graceful figure cautiously served hot tea, and she met An Yi's eyes, who turned her head. The fair and clean little maid was suddenly stunned by An Yi's bright smile, and her heart beat wildly.
The carved ebony saucer in his hand almost tipped over.
An Yi quickly stretched out his hand to hold it, took the saucer with a smile, and placed it firmly on the exquisite nanmu table. He politely said thank you to the little maid, which made the helpless little maid blush red and stand uneasy. Yang Bin saw
Zhuang laughed and waved his hand to signal the little maid to retreat.
An Yi drank the rich and mellow taste of the best Longjing, smacked his lips and said happily: "Mayor Hu's famous tea is indeed extraordinary! Haha... Thank you so much, Mayor Hu, if it weren't for your selfless help
, we will definitely not be able to find so many ships, and our cannons will be stuck in the snow in Baishiji, haha! When I think about it carefully, I admire you very much. I don’t know how you managed to get three large steamboats.
Into this Clam River? Both Dianshan Lake and Bai Clam Lake are cut off from external waterways. How did you get here in the first place?"
"Reporting back to the general, the British divided each steamboat into three sections, transported it by train to Kunshan Station, and then transported it by car to Qingshui Bay Port in the northwest of Dianshan Lake, where they welded the hull and installed machines, and finally pushed it into the water and drove it to Laochan.
Come."
More than forty lively servants were all beaten into semi-crippling condition by Ding Zhicheng's soldiers. Hu Liangyong quickly complained, not daring to hide it at all. Although he was sitting more than three meters away from the brazier, he was still sweating with beads of sweat.
It was coming out, so he had to keep wiping the sweat from his fat face while talking.
An Yi nodded, as if suddenly enlightened: "Mayor Hu is so awesome! He actually bribed all the British who dared to fire at our revolutionary soldiers and civilians. What a trick, tsk tsk! I guess the shipping costs of these two steamships are almost the same. You can buy a new boat. Mayor Hu is indeed rich!
I heard that your Hu family has been the mayor of Zhouzhuang for two generations. Half of the property in Zhouzhuang Ancient Town belongs to your Hu family. You are much richer than your ancestor Shen Wansan! Just now I came from the south When I came here on horseback, I happened to pass by the ruins of the Shen family's ancestral house in Shen Wanshan to the west of the town. I felt bad when I thought of the destruction of a large family that was the most powerful and powerful in the Ming Dynasty and was extremely wealthy!"
Hearing these naked threats, Hu Liangyong was finally frightened and knelt down with a bang, crying and begging with tears streaming down his face:
"General, I beg you, please spare my family! I took over the position of mayor from my father, and I have to pay a tax of 100,000 yuan to the Kunshan County Government and Marshal Sun every year! I, Hu, I have never done anything harmful to nature in my life, General, please let me and my family go..."
An Yi didn't seem to see anything, and didn't show any sign to the Hu family who were kneeling together. He drank a few sips of tea slowly, smacked his lips and tasted it, then put down the teacup and smiled at Yang Bin.
Yang Bin nodded knowingly, said "Oh", and bent down to help Hu Liangyong, whose head was like pounded garlic:
"Mayor Hu, why are you doing this? Get up, we are not unreasonable people, everything is easy to discuss, come on, come on! Let's go inside and talk. General An has urgent military affairs to deal with. I will accompany you. You go in and talk, don't disturb him, my revolutionary army is still following behind, and they will arrive soon. If this matter cannot be solved, you will be in trouble. Several generals from the political department of our revolutionary army will not How easy it is to talk..."
Yang Bin's few words in Jiangsu and Zhejiang scared Hu Liangyong so much that he turned pale and forgot to cry. At the same time, he also saw the hope of living. He quickly grabbed Yang Bin's clothes and cried again. After a while, he stumbled and led an old family. Xiao entered the back hall and grabbed Yang Bin's sleeve from beginning to end and begged for accommodation. He repeatedly expressed his willingness to pay any amount of money to atone for his sins as long as he and his family were not killed. If it weren't for several of Yang Bin's guards shouting loudly, he would probably have died. Hu Liangyong's hands were on Yang Bin's sleeves.
In the main room, Ding Zhicheng glanced at the newly closed wooden door of the back hall, spread out the map, and said with a smile: "Boss, I am convinced, haha..."
An Yi smiled, and when he saw the beard, Xia Jian, Gu Laoer and others came in like a flurry, he waved his hands quickly, and after everyone sat down, he pointed at the map and whispered:
"The artillery company's marching problem has been solved. Together with Lao Ye's second battalion and Chen Zhibiao's third battalion, we took a tugboat from Baishiji Pier to Qingshui Bay Port in the northwest corner of Dianshan Lake. Once we got there, it was easy to go ashore. Kunshan The terrain is basically high in the south and low in the north. Our artillery battery's advance will be very easy, right here... There is only a 14-kilometer waterway from Baishiji in the southwest of the lake to Qingshuiwan Port in the northwest of the lake. The lake surface is calm and the blue waves are vast. It will take at most two and a half hours to arrive safely. After the artillery disembarks, proceed 12 kilometers north along the east road of Bailian Lake, and then the city of Kunshan can be bombarded."
After reading the map, the brothers were overjoyed. Huzi thought for a while and turned around and asked, "Zhicheng, how is the situation in Kunshan?"
Ding Zhicheng replied: "The situation is like this. The distribution of the troops of Duan Chenghuai's mixed brigade has basically been determined. His brigade headquarters and one regiment are set up in Tongfeng Camp in the city, with the Kunshan County Government on the left next to him, and his three regiments are stationed in the northeast.
There are about 1,400 officers and soldiers in Taicang County, which is 13 kilometers away, and they are estimated to have little combat effectiveness; the Second Regiment is stationed at Lujiabang Station, 8.5 kilometers east of the city. This regiment has about 1,800 people, but
Owning an armored train, I heard that two 155-caliber German artillery pieces are installed on the train, is a bit tricky; as for the famous assault company, the unit is stationed alone in the military camp south of Huangyi Mountain, 7.5 kilometers east of Kunshan Station
, the banks of Puppet Lake on the edge are full of brothels and restaurants, which is very prosperous. This is a castle-like military camp with a long history, complete facilities and very strong. There is a pair of stone lions one foot high at the gate of the military camp, which is about 80 meters away from the railway.
From a high position, it guards the Yufeng Bridge to the east, the Rongxin Railway Bridge to the south, and the Yangcheng Lake South Entrance to the west. It can be said that this military camp guards the north-south hub of the east-west transportation hub in western Kunshan. I request that this place be handed over to my security company for settlement!
"
The bearded men looked at each other, and finally looked at An Yi. An Yi nodded slightly and asked softly: "Old Ding, what are you going to do?"
"It's simple, just get in and fight hand-to-hand. No matter how good they are, they are not as fast as my brothers." Ding Zhicheng replied with all his heart.
An Yi waved his hand: "It's not impossible to do this, but the casualties will not be small. Old Ding, you have to know the value of the 106 brothers led by you and Dou Fang. There is really no need to fight with such a group.
It’s not worth it for a foolhardy company to fight fiercely!”
Ding Zhicheng blushed and said with some embarrassment: "Or... I will gather the brothers to discuss it when I go back and formulate a more appropriate plan?"
An Yi smiled and said: "I have a plan here. If you think it is feasible, adopt it and let the mortar company support your attack."
"Boss, please tell me!" Ding Zhicheng looked at An Yi excitedly.
An Yi pointed at Huangyi Mountain behind the military camp on the map. Ding Zhicheng quickly stretched out his head. The bearded men also leaned on the map and listened attentively. An Yi lowered his voice and explained his suggestions in detail, then raised his head and smiled:
"...In this way, as long as the Second Company of Instructors trained by Lao Li cooperates with you, you can easily wipe out all the enemies inside, and their shell guns and flower machine guns will not be able to hit you at all, and you will only be beaten.
However, I have a request, that is, they must be wiped out!"
After hearing this, all the brothers were filled with admiration. Huzi promised Ding Zhicheng: "We will deal with all threats to the east!"
Qu Muchen said confidently: "Leave a battalion of garrison troops at the station to the four companies of my teaching team to deal with it!"
"Let Hutou and I take care of the enemy defenders in the city," Xia Jian said with joy.
An Yi looked at his watch: "It's now 12:10 noon, and the general attack will be launched at 6:30. Beard, you immediately lead a battalion to the Qingshui Bay dock fourteen kilometers northeast to provide support for the artillery battery led by Ji Nan.
Be prepared for the landing of the brothers from the Second Battalion, the Third Battalion and the Sixth Regiment. Anyone you meet along the way must be taken with you. After controlling the dock, block the surrounding villages and intersection docks.
The main battalion sneaked four kilometers north to lurk here to hold this must-pass area for their follow-up troops. The attack tasks in the direction of Lujiabang and Taicang were left to the Sixth Regiment led by the Chief of Staff. Their other tasks
The four battalions arrived here within an hour, and I stayed to arrange for them to go by boat.
Remember, you must not let any news reach Kunshan City in the north. I authorize you to deal with any individuals or organizations who disobey military orders easily!"
"Yes! This is the benefit of being a general, otherwise you would not have the right to issue this order at all, haha! I'm leaving." Huzi said with a smile.
The brothers smiled knowingly, and An Yi turned to Gu Changfeng very seriously: "Hu Tou, gather the team immediately, follow Hu Tou and the others to quickly control Jinxi Town nine kilometers to the north, and seize the time to eat dry food. I will be there in an hour."
Arrive and lead a battalion with you to set off."
"Yes!" Gu Changfeng responded and left.
"Lao Qu, you go and assemble the team. There is no need to guard this area. You concentrate the five companies of the teaching team on the north bank, send the second company of sharpshooters led by instructor Li Fuqiang, and follow Lao Ding's guard company and mortars.
The company sets off together. You lead the remaining four companies to follow the first battalion." An Yi ordered calmly.
"yes!"
Qu Muchen saluted and left in a hurry.
An Yi smiled at Ding Zhicheng, who was left at the end: "Old Ding, don't be anxious after the battle starts. At least half of the enemy must be eliminated before we can enter the barracks. The lives of you and the brothers in the guard company are more valuable than that bullshit assault."
Even gold is valuable."
"Understood! I know how to unfold it." Ding Zhicheng saluted respectfully and strode away.
Yang Bin just walked out of the backyard at this time. When he saw An Yi, he smiled brightly and then whispered in his ear: "This old guy is so damn rich! How much money do you think he has to reward us?"
"Looking at how satisfied you are, you probably have 1.8 million, right?" An Yi said with a smile.
Yang Bin shook his head unkindly: "You underestimate Hu Caidong too much. When he sells gold bars and cash, the total is 1.7 million! Old Chang is leading more than 200 logistics department brothers to pack bags in the backyard, communicating.
The company also went to help, requiring more than 40 pack horses. I gave him a certificate proving that he took the initiative to send nearly a hundred ships, large and small, to support the Second Division of the First Army of the National Revolutionary Army in fighting against Sun Chuanfang's troops. It was a support
The enlightened revolutionary gentry told him that as long as he had this certificate, the revolutionary army that came over would not embarrass them. His family was finally relieved to get the certificate stamped with the seal of the Military and Political Department.
It is estimated that only two-thirds of his cash was taken this time. He also has real estate worth more than five million yuan, jewelry and two pawn shops in Kunshan City, which we cannot get involved in or mention."
"That's enough, that's enough! Don't overdo anything. I just hope he won't follow the warlord again in the future, otherwise this big family property will be at the expense of the brothers in the army." An Yi said with a smile.
"Report: The Chief of Staff is leading four battalions of the Sixth Regiment and is about to march into Zhenxi." The messenger rushed in to report.
An Yi nodded: "Prepare your horses, I'll go to meet you... Lao Yang, you lead the logistics departments and the communications company to set off later. After I saw the chief of staff, I immediately asked him to lead the main force of the Sixth Regiment to Business Tower Town and rush directly to Qingshui Bay.
The ship transporting Ji Nan and the others should return to the pier. Try to board the ship within an hour, and rendezvous with the first two battalions who arrived at Clear Water Bay as soon as possible, and decide on your own how to attack Lujiabang and Taicang City."
"Yes, leave the rear team to me." Yang Bin smiled.
An Yi and Shen Fengdao led their fifty guards on horseback to Zhenxi, one kilometer away. From a distance, they saw Xu Tingyao and Tan Fulie riding horses quickly from the south. An Yi immediately dismounted and stood in silence, waiting with a smile.
"Xiaoyi, you move too fast, haha!"
Xu Tingyao got off his horse and walked up to An Yi. He returned the salute and punched An Yi: "Tell me, how did you get so many ships?"
An Yi quickly explained that this was the strong assistance of the mayor of Zhouzhuang, who supported the revolution, and praised Comrade Hu Liangyong as an enlightened gentleman with far-sightedness. He then suggested to Xu Tingyao that he should rush to the Shangta Town Pier without stopping and take a boat to Qingshui Bay immediately.
Xu Tingyao turned around and asked Tan Fulie if he had any difficulties. Tan Fulie said confidently that there was no problem.
An Yi immediately ordered the orderly Zhang Cheng who had just been transferred to his side to take out the map, spread it on the snow and carefully report the independent regiment's combat plan to Xu Tingyao, and then solemnly made a request to Xu Tingyao and Tan Fulie:
"...I have asked regiment deputy Hu Jialin to suggest that the two main battalions of the Sixth Regiment that arrived early should sneak ten kilometers north and lurk here, about eight kilometers away from Lujiabang Station... After the battle begins, Lujiabang Station must take
Otherwise, the large-caliber artillery on the enemy's armored train is likely to cause us huge casualties."
Tan Fulie nodded excitedly: "It's two and a half now. At three o'clock sharp, our troops can arrive at the dock in Shangta Town, five kilometers away. We have no baggage, so the eight-kilometer waterway, together with the time for boarding and disembarking, takes up to two people."
hours. During these two hours, the officers and soldiers can fully rest and eat. If they can set off from Qingshui Bay before 5:30, using the speed of our regiment's cavalry company, it will only take 40 minutes to reach Lujiabang, three miles south of Lujiabang.
Kilometers of Songhengguan, not to mention the 300 war horses you left behind, nearly 1,500 people from three battalions to a small station are enough, haha! After taking Lujiabang, each battalion also
Once we arrive, we can go straight to Shengjiabang and attack Taicang with the whole regiment. There are only a thousand enemies defending there, so it's easy to handle."
Xu Tingyao nodded: "It's feasible. This is the most direct and simple attack method. The attack is about surprise. The two main battalions of the Sixth Regiment that arrived at Qingshui Bay early have such a long rest time. There is no big problem."
An Yi happily put away the map, stood up and said to Tan Fulie: "Brother, remember to return the war horse to me after the battle."
"Xiaoyi, are you too stingy? I know you gave the Fifth Regiment so many good things, haha! Don't take these horses back. I promise not to share the spoils of Kunshan City with you.
It should be okay, right?" Tan Fulie was extremely happy, and it seemed that he would never return the war horse.
An Yi turned to Xu Tingyao helplessly and said aggrievedly: "Chief of Staff, Taicang is a famous and wealthy town. There is a jingle in Jiangsu and Zhejiang: gold Taicang, silver Jiading, copper Changshu, iron Chongming, tofu Wujiang, beggar Kunshan, paper paste long
Zhou, Kongxin Wuxian. Kunshan, which my subordinates attacked, is a place full of beggars, but now... you seek justice!"
Xu Tingyao laughed loudly: "I didn't hear anything, haha! Tan Fulie——"
"arrive!"
"Set off!"
"Yes...haha! Xiaoyi, see you after we capture Taicang, haha..."