The dense footsteps sounded unusually dull in the quiet night. Not a trace of dust was stirred up on the damp dirt road. The dewdrops condensed on the wildflowers on the roadside were shaken off. The wind stirred up by the silent movement of many soldiers blew away the wild grass.
The summer insects that swayed and sang in disorder were frightened by the invisible murderous aura and folded their wings and consciously closed their mouths.
Wangzhuang, located in the south of the vast and vast Gaoyou Lake, is actually just a very small village, with only about 40 households. Guoji, two kilometers away from Wangzhuang, is the most prosperous and lively market for dozens of miles around.
The reason why Gu Zhutong chose to build a defense line here is because there is a six-kilometer-long earth slope from the east of Wangzhuang to the southeast of Cha Lake. This snake-shaped earth slope is only about ten meters high, guarding the
The three roads leading from Gaoyou City in the south to Jiepai Town in the north and Yangzhou City in the south are very good natural blocking positions without heavy artillery attacks. You only need to dig out trenches every 30 meters and put in machine guns, and you can handle them with ease.
The land controls large open areas to the east and north.
Just after five o'clock in the morning, the sky and the earth were pitch black. After four hours of careful sneaking, a brigade of more than 4,000 officers and soldiers led by Qiao Zhensheng finally reached the boundary east of Guoji and stopped advancing.
After taking a short rest, Qiao Zhensheng prepared to launch a sudden attack on the ninth regiment of Gu Zhu's same unit in the Wangzhuang position. Although it is only 18 kilometers from Gaoyou City to Guoji, it has to pass through 11 large and small bridges and three fields that seem to be endless.
It took the entire group four and a half hours to complete the reed swamp. Qiao Zhensheng, who was nervously inspecting his officers and soldiers and preparing for the war, did not know that Gu Zhu and more than 4,000 well-equipped soldiers of the 7th Regiment
More than 120 fishing boats and cargo ships that were urgently requisitioned are slowly sailing to Dongdun Port, two kilometers north of Gaoyou City. At this moment, it is less than six kilometers away from the port. It can be landed within an hour and a half to move towards the defense.
The empty Gaoyou City launched an attack.
Just after six o'clock, the darkest moment before dawn had just passed, Qiao Zhensheng's troops were divided into eight teams and launched a rapid attack on the revolutionary army positions.
The sound of rapid breathing, the clanging of metal and the noisy footsteps scared the domestic dogs that had just been quiet for a while and barked in terror. The sentries of the Third Division guarding the position discovered the black and surging enemy troops, and immediately pulled the bolt of their guns and were about to attack.
He shouted and was knocked down by a hail of flying bullets.
The defenders huddled in the trenches and makeshift huts panicked, yelled, picked up their weapons and hurriedly fired at the enemy. The sound of gunshots and shouts suddenly rang out. Hundreds of fast Qiao Zhen
The officers and soldiers of Shengbu were not afraid of the guns pointed at them. After pulling the trigger, they had no time to load the gun again and started a fierce hand-to-hand fight with the defenders. Roars and screams rang out one after another and spread in all directions.
In front of the Tutu Temple 800 meters behind the position, Wang Wanling, the confident leader of the ninth regiment, saw the enemy coming and calmly issued an order. The bugler immediately blew the retreat trumpet. Wang Wanling and his captain got on their horses and led the troops with full strength.
More than two thousand brothers fled south quickly.
Although hundreds of brothers on the battlefield were mentally prepared, they were still very panicked when they saw that they were abandoned. They fought hard to get rid of the enemy's entanglement, and quickly retreated south to escape. Many people threw away their weapons.
, shouting helplessly, one after another was knocked down by bullets flying from behind, and by the time they reached the Earth Temple, half of them had been lost.
Qiao Zhensheng, who rode up the high slope on horseback, saw thousands of deserters retreating in embarrassment to the south. He burst into laughter and waved his hand, ordering the troops to pursue them at full speed. The morale of his officers and soldiers was greatly boosted, and they rushed down with roars like thunder.
The hillside passed through the narrow passage, screaming and rushing forward.
After chasing for two kilometers, the morale of the pursuing troops gradually disappeared. The commander of the second regiment felt that the situation was different. He quickly turned around and ran to Qiao Zhensheng in the rear team and loudly reported: "Master, the situation is not quite right! Turn around.
In this dense forest, all the fleeing enemies in front have disappeared, I suspect there is an ambush!"
"What?"
Qiao Zhensheng was shocked when he heard this. He raised his head and looked around and quickly ordered: "We have fallen into a trap, retreat quickly! Hurry, blow the trumpet and retreat!"
Before the bugle could blow, the deafening sound of machine guns rang out, and the dense rain of bullets knocked the adjutant beside Qiao Zhensheng and the commander of the second regiment who had just turned around and left, killing Qiao Zhensheng instantly.
The guards of the company next to them were also knocked off their horses one after another. The officers and soldiers of the Ninth Regiment, who had been chased like lost dogs just now, under the leadership of the regiment leader Wang Wanling, shouted "Long Live the Northern Expedition" and turned around to fight. The Eighth Regiment in the woods on the left
More than 3,000 officers and soldiers quickly swarmed out, occupied the commanding heights, set up machine guns and fired fiercely at the enemy troops who were retreating. On the right, the officers and soldiers of the supplementary regiment in Hangou sent out one unit to block the enemy's retreat, leaving half two men.
More than a thousand people fired dense bullets at the densely packed enemy.
More than 4,000 officers and soldiers led by Qiao Zhensheng were completely surrounded within a few minutes, and hundreds of them were knocked down in the blink of an eye. The smart ones quickly got down, raised their weapons and fought back, while the stupid ones ran around and bumped into each other, and then...
His life was taken away by ruthless bullets.
Qiao Zhensheng crawled on the belly of his killed horse, pushed away the body of the guard who was risking his life to protect him, and quickly looked around to plan the direction of the breakout. Just as he was about to turn around and issue an order, a bullet entered from his right temple and entered the chest above his left ear.
The skull flew out from under the skull, and Qiao Zhensheng fell down before he could open his mouth. The red and white substance flowing out of the head that had lost half of his head was mixed with the blood of his beloved horse.
Thousands of officers and soldiers who had lost their commander began to shout for surrender, and then the sounds of begging for mercy became louder, and the intensive gunfire gradually became thinner. A battle that lasted only more than forty minutes came to an end.
The brothers of the Eighth Regiment who set up an ambush had no time to clean up the battlefield, so they quickly assembled under the leadership of the regiment leader Pan Guocong, and then flew towards Gaoyou City. The two battalions of the Ninth Regiment also headed north after a brief reorganization, leaving more than 4,000 brothers in the supplementary regiment.
Celebrating prisoners cleaning the battlefield.
As the sun rose in the east, Gu Zhutong, surrounded by the officers and soldiers of the secret service company and numerous entourage, came riding a tall bay-red horse.
Looking at the dark mass of prisoners, Gu Zhutong said happily: "It was a good fight! There are probably two thousand prisoners, right?"
Li Jilan, the leader of the supplementary group, quickly stepped forward and reported excitedly:
"In this battle, more than 1,280 enemy people were wiped out, and the enemy division commander Qiao Zhensheng and 16 school officers were killed. 2,453 enemies were captured, and more than 3,000 guns of various types and 200 horses were seized.
Yu Pi, the clearing out of scattered enemy fleeing enemies is still in progress, it’s better for the division to wait for the enemy first!”
Gu Zhutong laughed loudly: "It is good to predict the enemy first, but this is not the credit of me alone, but the result of everyone's brainstorming. Before the war, we conducted a detailed study of possible battle situations to be prepared. This habit is very good.
Okay, haha!
It is estimated that more than 4,000 brothers led by Chief of Staff Han and Chen Tie, commander of the Seventh Regiment, have already invaded Gaoyou City. The enemy division commander actually personally led half of his men to attack in a sneak attack. As expected, An Yi's words of courage and bravery were fulfilled.
I thought they would not attack our army, but rush to aid Taizhou from the east of Hudong. Unexpectedly, they tried to defeat our Wangzhuang position, which saved us a lot of trouble. Jilan, lead your troops to bury all the corpses.
After that, escort the prisoners and trophies back to the Yangzhou camp."
"yes!"
Li Jilan saluted and left quickly.
At 11:30 p.m., Gu Zhutong ordered nearly 8,000 soldiers under his command to transport more than 1,600 prisoners, 12 artillery pieces, a large number of guns and ammunition, and more than 60 carts of captured baggage back to Yangzhou. Not a single soldier was left behind in Gaoyou City.
, retreated completely, annihilating more than 2,000 enemies and capturing more than 4,000 enemies in one battle. The soldiers of the Third Division were excited and elated.
Arrive in Yangzhou.
The hungry Gu Zhu entered the division headquarters and had not yet sat down. He suddenly remembered how the battle under An Yi's unit was going. Just as he was about to ask, adjutant Huang Wei came to report:
"Master's seat, the independent division successfully occupied Taizhou at 9:30 this morning. When Taizhou's defender Cui Jinggui took over the Doumen position of Yin Jinan's independent regiment, he immediately led his two brigades with more than 10,000 people, abandoning all their belongings and fled. The model camp was almost
They marched into Taizhou without a fight and captured all fourteen Krupp cannons and a large amount of ammunition that Cui Jinggui had left outside the city.
An Yi's Second Regiment of Chen Zhibiao, First Regiment of Xia Jian, and Third Regiment of Gu Changfeng had already inserted themselves into the enemy's junction in the south of Taizhou City. Almost when Yin Jinan entered Taizhou, they learned that the Taizhou defenders were fleeing wildly and immediately raised dozens of model camp flags.
, turned south and launched a fierce pursuit and encirclement of Duan Chengze's division. Wherever he went, he was invincible and suffered countless defeats.
Duan Chengze escaped from the siege under the desperate protection of his own bodyguards. When Xia Jian's regiment was moving to Taixing in the south, Taixing's defender Du Quanzhong's brigade took the initiative to send people to contact him. Soon after, the two sides quickly reached a surrender agreement. Now,
An Yi is drinking with Du Quanzhong and more than ten generals in Jiangdu City."
"What……"
Gu Zhutong was shocked and sighed loudly. After entering Gaoyou, he sent a telegram to An Yi and was relieved after receiving An Yi's congratulations and the answer of "all goes well". How could he have known that An Yi fought the battle so easily and achieved the result?
Such brilliance was beyond his expectation.
Gu Zhutong ignored the horrified looks of Han Deqin and others around him with their mouths wide open, and stood up and asked Huang Wei: "An Yi is so damn cunning. He has won many battles and captured countless things. The most exaggerated thing is that he has recruited Du Quanzhong's brigade...
…How did he do it?”
Huang Wei shook his head and replied with great sigh: "Boy An Yi is so powerful now! Wherever his flag of the model camp goes, it intimidates the enemy. After careful analysis by my subordinates, I was commanded by Commander He.
The three divisions of the army made rapid progress. After occupying Nantong, they pushed directly towards Rugao. The 21st Division and the 2nd Division turned westward and pressed forward step by step. The enemy defenders on the front line of Jingjiang were unable to retreat to the northeast. In addition, Taizhou was occupied by An Yi's troops.
In Jingjiang and Taixing, the enemy's only retreat has been lost, and the only way to resist is to die. Therefore, the enemy loses all fighting spirit and surrenders to the wind.
In accordance with the order of the division commander, the subordinates led the training team directly under the division headquarters. The engineering battalion was ready to respond to An Yi's department at any time. After receiving An Yi's battle report, the subordinates rushed to Taizhou City. The boy An Yi was happily opening the prison and releasing the prisoners.
Then he toured the city with the gentry and celebrities of Taizhou City, and there were thunderous cheers wherever they went.
His subordinates followed him on a stroll through the streets, and from time to time fast horses brought good news. When he learned that Taixing City's defender Du Quanzhong's peace petition representative had arrived in the south of the city, he immediately apologized to the group of gentry and rode away. His subordinates felt that the battle was over.
There was no suspense, so I said goodbye and returned to Yangzhou."
Gu Zhutong and his generals looked at each other in silence for a moment. Gu Zhutong sighed deeply: "An Yi is indeed a military genius with both wisdom and courage! He has many strategies, is brave and quick, and has the ability to judge the situation and adapt to changes without second thoughts. This is why he has achieved so much."
I don't envy him at all for his brilliant achievements, but admire him! Just imagine, how many people have the courage to move forward like him? Who can lay traps before the war like him and do enough to lure the enemy in?
Weng? His victory did not come lightly, but was full of dangers. But he dared to do it, and he did it. You can't help but admire him... Let's go! Let's rush to Jiangdu together. We will be there in a short time, more than ten kilometers away. I want to
Have a drink with him!"
Nanjing, Xiyuan.
Commander-in-Chief Chiang was so excited that he ran back and forth quickly. Under the gaze of many joyful generals, he suddenly stopped and gave orders to Chief of Staff Ge Jing'en, Deputy Minister of Political Training Liu Wendao and other department officials:
"Immediately telegraph the good news of the great victory in Taizhou and the great victory in Gaoyou to the whole country; the Political Training Department of the General Headquarters and the Military and Political Department jointly inform the entire army and give special awards to An Yi, Gu Zhutong and the independent division and the third division individually and collectively!"
"yes!"
All the generals answered in unison.
"Brother Yongqing..."
Chiang Kai-shek walked up to Liu Wendao and said: "In the name of myself and the General Headquarters, we will vigorously publicize the Taizhou and Gaoyou victories in our major newspapers, send electricity to the whole country, and appoint General Du Quanzhong, who surrendered to the revolution, as the first officer of the National Revolutionary Army."
Lieutenant General Commander of the 16th Independent Division."
"Understood!" Liu Wendao nodded happily.
"Zhanhou..."
Chiang Kai-shek turned to Ge Jingen.
"My subordinate is here!" Ge Jing'en took a step forward.
Chiang Kai-shek looked at the ceiling and calmly ordered: "Secret message to An Yi to send all officers and soldiers of Du Quanzhong's brigade to Zhenjiang; order the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs to urgently send people to Zhenjiang to formally appoint Du Quanzhong's brigade to be stationed in Danyang.
The army went to Danyang to rest and rest. In addition, call Du Qiyun's troops to cross the river and go north immediately, stationed in Yangzhou and Taizhou, and take over the defense as soon as possible. The Zhenjiang Defense Staff Office will assign second-line troops to take over the defense."
"yes!"
After answering, Ge Jing'en asked in a low voice: "Should we order the Third Division and the Independent Division to march to Chuzhou and return them to the control of General Bai Jiansheng's Second Route Army as soon as possible?"
Chiang Kai-shek nodded: "I guess they also need to rest for a while, so I called Gu Zhutong and An Yi and asked them to lead their troops to Chuzhou within three days. They ordered Gu Zhutong and An Yi to return to Nanjing before noon the day after tomorrow.
I want to meet them and give them awards in person!"