Early morning on the 28th, Mapo, Pingjiang, Hunan.
"boom--"
A loud noise shook the valley, frightening the faces of Lieutenant General Yang Bin, Major General Xia Jian and a group of captains in the dense forest at the foot of the mountain. Yang Bin and Xia Jian looked at each other, quickly rushed out of the camouflage tent, and stood on the high ridge looking at the stream diagonally below.
Explode
There was smoke after the explosion. What was going on? The mobile brigade colonel and commander Zhang Hao beside him had already rushed down the gentle slope. He exchanged a few nervous words with the commander of the third regiment under his command on the way, and immediately turned around and ran back to Yang Bin and Xia Jian.
Ashamed to report:
"Brothers from the Engineer Company of the Third Regiment were practicing laying landmines. A brother from the second platoon did not follow the regulations and blew up. Four brothers were killed. Fortunately, the technicians from the arsenal and the instructors along with the team practiced strictly in advance according to the regulations at a distance. The nearest one was
The eight brothers in the second and third platoons were only slightly injured...the two technicians accompanying the army were safe and sound, and the others..."
"Shut up! You're only slightly injured? What a bastard. You killed and injured more than a dozen people before the war started. How many days have you been a brigade commander? This place is only twenty-six kilometers away from Pingjiang City and only a few kilometers away from the enemy's peripheral troops.
Seven kilometers away, if the target is exposed and Master Ye Qi escapes, I will definitely shoot you! Chief of Staff..." Xia Jian raised his head and was extremely annoyed.
"arrive!"
Chief of Staff Colonel Yang Libang walked up to Xia Jian and stood at attention.
"Pass me an order: The engineer company commander Xia Wuming will be dismissed from his position and demoted to a first class soldier. The company commander's position will be temporarily held by deputy company commander Lieutenant Zhang Zhisheng; the mobile brigade commander Zhang Hao will be deducted once and his pay will be deducted for three months. Further punishment will be given after the war! In addition,
, please comfort the technicians and instructors accompanying the army, and don’t make them feel uncomfortable.”
Xia Jian looked ugly. After giving the order, he turned around and walked into the tent. Colonel Yang Libang agreed in a low voice and led the two military judges to the explosion point with a sullen face.
Yang Bin stepped forward and patted the regretful Zhang Hao on the arm, whispered a few words of comfort, and got into the tent. He saw Xia Jian measuring the map on the makeshift table, very focused, as if just now
The explosion had no impact on him at all, and I couldn't help but secretly praise Xia Jian for finally becoming mature.
Yang Bin came to Xia Jian and explained in a low voice: "The landmines carried in a hurry this time are equipped and used by our army for the first time. Brothers have a short learning time, so mistakes are inevitable."
Xia Jian immediately retorted: "In the Ming Dynasty, Qi Jiguang's army was able to skillfully use trigger mines, let alone us hundreds of years later? The new mines that were finally recovered this time have safety devices, which are easy to operate and safe to bury. At first glance,
That's all right. If those grandsons in the engineering company hadn't thought they were just messing around, how could anything have happened?"
"Huh? You know a lot, you know a lot. You must have worked hard." Yang Bin was surprised.
Xia Jian threw down his drawing pencil and said angrily: "In order to seize these landmines from the Jinan garrison division, my younger brother stalked me and spent two days in the arsenal. Master Tao couldn't bear it anymore before he allocated the first batch of 500 mines."
Give them to me. If you don’t use them well, how can you show your face to others? This is good. If you don’t blow up the enemy, you’ll be hit first. It’ll be a huge loss of face!”
"Okay, let's not talk about this. We have to send a report to the division commander quickly, asking him to order Jinan's security division to block the north, east, and west sides of the encirclement. Let Zhang Hao lead the mobile brigade and several engineer companies to carry out the attack.
Atone for your sins, I will ask Yang Lie's first brigade to cooperate, and we will direct the encirclement in the remaining areas." Yang Bin suggested with a smile.
Xia Jian laughed, pointed at Yang Bin and said: "Old Yang, you are really considerate of others. In just a few words, you gave Zhang Hao's grandson a chance to excuse himself. No wonder the brothers in the four brigades under your command all call you boss. I
I’m convinced! Okay,
Let's start now. I guess Jinan and Lao Ding are already in place... But I'm a little surprised. With the speed of Lao Ding and Jinan, there shouldn't be a three-hour delay! It can't be the Red Army in the triangle area of Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi.
Is there a fight?"
"No, how many people do the Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi Red Army have? Less than two thousand, and they are scattered in four or five surrounding mountains. Each unit has less than 800 people. How dare they head-on confront the Jinan security division? I guess it is
Their artillery regiment went into battle for the first time, and they had to move covertly.
Army, so it drags down the whole body; and another, their marching route is not as easy as ours, so a three-hour delay is considered a smooth sailing." After speaking, Yang Bin turned to his adjutant and asked him to immediately draft a telegram and send it to An Jiujiang.
Lieutenant General Zhu Shigui, commander of the division, finished arranging the security mission, strode into the headquarters, turned into the spacious conference room in the east wing, glanced at the more than 30 staff officers and four radio stations brought by An Yi, and walked straight to the large map where he stood
Zhu Peide
Beside An Yi, he listened quietly and looked at the large military map four meters wide and two meters high on the wall. He secretly praised the staff officer under An Yi. Zhu Shigui did not have the talent to make such an accurate and large military map.
.
"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, Chief Yang Bin has called."
Colonel Shi Pufang, chief of the confidential section, handed the telegram to Zhu Peide. Zhu Peide smiled and pointed at An Yi. Shi Pufang grinned and handed the telegram to An Yi.
After reading, An Yi reported to Zhu Peide in a low voice, and then ordered Shi Pufang: "Call Lao Yang back and agree to their combat arrangements."
"yes!"
Zhu Peide's head guard stepped in and whispered in Zhu Peide's ear: "General Lu Yong'an has arrived."
"Oh? Why is he here? It can't be that the commander-in-chief asked him to command Zhang Shihou's 18th Division, right?" Zhu Peide looked at An Yi, and An Yi smiled and said, "Don't you know it if you let him in?"
Lu Diping and his adjutants strode up to Zhu Peide and saluted: "My subordinates send their regards to Yi Gong. I came in a hurry and failed to report in advance. Please forgive me, General An!"
Zhu Peide returned the favor and led Lu Diping to sit down at the square table next to him. The orderlies quickly brought tea. An Yi and Zhu Peide's staff general of the First Route Army whispered a few words and came over to sit down.
Lu Diping asked in a low voice: "Yi Gong, brother An, I have a merciless request. I hope you two can help me... This is the commander-in-chief's personal handwriting. The commander-in-chief will also arrive here tomorrow. I'm worried about the two of you."
They attacked fiercely and missed the opportunity, so the general came first."
Zhu Peide took the manuscript and was slightly surprised after reading it. He then handed it to An Yi and asked Lu Diping in a low voice: "What is the relationship between Brother Yong'an and Ye Qi?"
"That's it. In late last month, the three armies of the Gui Clan and He Jian attacked me. It was only because of Ye Qi's timely notification to Zhang Shihou that the Eighteenth Division and its younger brothers escaped. Ye Qi and Ye Cuiwei had already served in the Third Division of the Second Division of the Hunan Army.
When the brigade was the commander of the fifth regiment, he had a close friendship with Zhang Shihou, who was the commander of the fourth brigade at that time. If brother Cuiwei hadn't reported Zhang Shihou urgently before the encirclement, I'm afraid the younger brother and Zhang Shihou would have been doomed.
He Jian is a very deep and ruthless man. He has been grudged against his younger brother for a long time. Xia Wei, the fierce general of the Gui family, has a fiery nature and has long been eyeing our Second Army. It would be unimaginable to be caught by them! Therefore, for
newspaper
Thanks to Brother Cuiwei's life-saving grace, I could only ask the principal to be more lenient. The principal agreed generously and reminded me to come quickly, saying that Brother An was going to launch a general attack tonight. If it was too late, I might not be able to make it in time, so I came here."
After Lu Diping finished speaking, he looked at Zhu Peide and An Yi sincerely.
Zhu Peide and An Yi looked at each other, surprised. Then Zhu Peide shook his head, smiled, and explained kindly: "Brother Yong'an, you can rest assured. Originally, we did not plan to eliminate all Master Ye Qi. We planned to surround him and persuade him to
Surrender, Ye Qi will only launch an offensive if he insists on going his own way. According to conventional analysis, Ye Qi will never take risks, so his personal safety can still be guaranteed."
An Yi knew that Lu Diping was not here to command Zhang Huizan's division and the remnant of Tan Daoyuan's troops in western Hunan, so his guard immediately dropped. He saw Lu Diping's rather suspicious expression and explained in a low voice:
"General Lu, the two regiments of Ye Qi's division are divided into Liuyang. They are already under the overlook of our two brigades. The remaining one brigade and two regiments are stationed inside and outside Pingjiang. They are already in the south of Nanchang Garrison Division Yin Ji's three brigades and Jiangxi
Under the attack of two brigades of General Yang Bin, the deputy commander of the security forces, facing a force twice his own, and having lost the most powerful independent regiment under his command before, General Ye Qi, who still knows nothing about the deployment of our troops, is really worried.
There is no way to save it.
General Lu, please feel free to worry, I will call Generals Yang Bin and Yin Jinan right now to remind them to ensure the safety of General Ye Qi."
Lu Diping stared at An Yi blankly. He never expected that An Yi would mobilize Jiangxi security forces to secretly participate in the war. He was even more surprised by An Yi's cunning and speed. He secretly dispatched heavy troops into Hunan before the central government issued a crusade order.
, and the independent division, which has the most courageous combat power in the entire army, slowly started to move today, and boarded the ship one after another. It was extremely confusing. How could this ruthless move be possible without Commander-in-Chief Chiang’s acquiescence?
Lu Diping only felt a chill in his back. He finally had an intuitive and profound understanding of Commander-in-Chief Chiang's insidiousness and An Yi's cunning. He originally wanted to ask Zhu Peide and An Yi to return Zhang Huizhan's 18th Division to him so that he could command the angry division.
I dare not mention the plan of attacking Changsha to avenge myself.
"Brother Yong'an, please drink tea and let's talk slowly."
The old-fashioned Zhu Peide could see Lu Diping's plan at a glance, pretending not to notice the beads of sweat on Lu Diping's forehead, and smiled easily.
Lu Diping tried his best to squeeze out a smile, nodded, picked up the tea cup and took two sips. Taking this opportunity to think quickly, he put down the tea cup and said to An Yi:
"I've heard for a long time that Brother An uses troops like a god, like a horse flying in the sky without trace. I wonder if Brother An can generously tell me the plan on how to use the Eighteenth Division?"
"You dare to disobey me? Haha, please, General Lu..."
An Yi laughed, then invited Lu Diping to the map, pointed out the position where Zhang Huizhan's 18th Division had arrived, explained, and then told Lu Diping the situation of the four divisions on the southern front:
"General Fan Shisheng's fifth division can go to Chenzhou tonight, rest for one night, and continue to march to Yongzhou to guard against the four garrison regiments of Huang Shaohong's 15th Army in the north of Guangxi, and to cut off General He Jian's one brigade in Hengyang and the Gui Army's one
The group goes south
Road; Wang Jun and Jin Handing's two divisions will attack Chaling and Leiyang respectively tonight, and General Zhang Huizan's 18th Division will attack You County. These counties are all local garrison forces in Hunan and are not under He Jian's jurisdiction.
, nor does it belong to
The Guangxi clique was under the jurisdiction of some local armed forces who relied on themselves to defend themselves against the Red Army and suppress bandits. When General Lu was the governor of Hunan Province, he also issued titles to them. He should be aware of the combat effectiveness of these ragtag groups. Therefore, the 18th Division laid down
After You County, they will go directly to Hengshan Mountain, quickly cut off the Changheng Highway and Railway, and then peek into Changsha. The Jinhan Ding Division captured Hengyang and will attack Shaoyang non-stop and hold on to it. Wang Jun Division occupied the left and right sides of Hengyang to coordinate with Zhang Huizan Division and Jin Han Ding Division.
My younger brother will take a train to Aicheng later, transfer to a speedboat and go directly to Xiushui, and try to reach Pingjiang tomorrow evening. He will lead the Yin Jinan Division to Changsha and attack from the north and south together with the 18th Division, forcing He Jian to send troops to western Hubei as soon as possible. By then,
, I will respect the opinion of General Zhang Shihou. If he is willing to garrison in Changsha, I will order Yin Jinan Division to go to Yueyang and attack the Guangxi Chen Jiayou 12th Army together with General He Jian. It is okay to leave Changsha to the 18th Division.
!”
"No no! Thank you Brother An. Since the Commander-in-Chief has appointed He Jian, it is better for the Eighteenth Division to strictly follow the established plan. Brother Yu is already satisfied with this. However, I don't know where Brother Yiru's brothers who are resting in western Hunan will attack.
Where?"
Lu Diping could not let go of the more than 6,000 troops of Tan Daoyuan's army under his command, for fear that An Yi would take the opportunity to swallow them up.
An Yi smiled slightly and pointed his baton at the map: "Changde, General Tan's troops will attack Changde with all their strength tomorrow morning. There is a regular regiment and a security regiment of Chen Jiayou there. In the surrounding Taoyuan, two garrison regiments of Han Shou have defected to Zhang.
General Tan will not have a hard time with Senior Hongluan's Forty-Fourth Army. As long as Changde is successfully captured, General Tan can grow again and soon become a complete main force. How will General Lu be mobilized after the battle?
My little brother bows his head and obeys orders."
Lu Diping grabbed An Yi's hand gratefully: "Thank you, brother! Brother Yu will definitely repay you in the future!"
"General Lu is so polite. I met Mr. Tan during a meeting in Nanjing. He specially recruited me for this purpose. At that time, I told him the truth and reassured him that he would try his best to make General Zhang Huizhan.
General Tan Daoyuan and his two troops have made great achievements in battle and grown stronger. After all, there are not many old troops of the Northern Expedition starting from Guangzhou together. I know the wishes of Mr. Tan very well and do not dare to be perfunctory. Mr. Tan is also quite pleased." An Yi was polite.
said.
Lu Diping nodded frequently, thought for a moment and smiled at An Yi: "Brother An, how about Brother Yu going to the front line with you for a walk? Brother An's commanding talent is famous throughout the army, and Brother Yu can learn from it!"
"This..." An Yi looked at Zhu Peide with some hesitation.
"Don't worry. Before Brother Yu came to Jiujiang, Commander-in-Chief Chiang ordered Brother Yu to visit Tan Yiru's division if he had the chance. After the battle, he would take him to Wuchang to be on standby and prepare for reorganization." Lu Diping explained.
Zhu Peide came to the two of them with a bright smile: "Okay, then you can go together! Xiaoyi, I will ask them to speed up the three divisions on the southern line. You can command the Changsha and Yueyang lines in the north. If there is any
If necessary, I will ask Huanqi to bring two security brigades to support you. There are security divisions from Shigui here and Cheng Guang's new division divisions from Hukou, which is enough."
"Junior, I obey!"
An Yi nodded and agreed.
Lu Diping was stunned again. He didn't know how Zhu Peide and An Yi came up with two more divisions, and he didn't know that these two local garrison divisions had been included in the main divisions of the Central Army by Commander-in-Chief Chiang three days ago. Although
The name is still the Garrison Division, but military expenditures and mobilization command have been completely handled by the central government.