"The prisoner-of-war camps are all ready. I even conducted surprise training for a group of aunts who shaved their heads." Yang He said enthusiastically. He spent the entire afternoon discussing with Mei Wan the location and construction of the prisoner-of-war camp.
The date for the start of construction has now been agreed. However, the large number of supporting facilities in the prisoner of war camp require the cooperation of other departments. When it was mentioned that a large number of military prisoners would be captured next, everyone was very excited. Only Dongmen Chuiyu smiled.
Talk. He has participated in several military affairs meetings. How to capture as many prisoners as possible is not so simple. After several war games, the possibility of a defeat is very high.
Once the 20,000 officers and soldiers were defeated, it would be troublesome to gather them up and take them into prisoner-of-war camps. The Fubo army lacked cavalry, the most powerful unit in pursuit battles.
Eliminating Tang Yunwen's navy and occupying Baisha Water Village can certainly cut off the officers and soldiers' retreat route to the mainland, but Hainan Island is a large area and has a lot of room for maneuver. The officers and soldiers can also retreat to Wenchang and other places. The defeated soldiers can easily be put on the spot.
The bandits turned into small groups and caused great harm to the local area. The meeting decided that after defeating the enemy in the land battle, the remnants of the Ming army should be returned to Qianhusuo in Haikou or Qiongshan County as intact as possible to catch turtles in a jar.
It was for this reason that he had people repeatedly rehearse the troops' siege skills these days. After a week of training, the coordination between the infantry and artillery workers had become quite proficient. The earth city was actually saved according to the Qianhu Castle in Haikou.
The scale of the construction was reduced, but the height, thickness and fortification facilities of the city wall were basically one to one, and there was no shrinkage.
After dinner, Dongmen Chuiyu returned to the headquarters. In the evening, there will continue to be a meeting of officers above the field camp.
He Ming convened this meeting due to pressure from the Executive Committee. Wu De, president of the Planning Institute, expressed concern at several coordination meetings: The army is now mobilized, but the economic situation cannot support such wartime operations for a long time. In addition,
Cheng Dong, Ma Qianju and others had all asked what the specific battle plan was. He Ming knew that they all hoped that the battle would start as soon as possible. Some hoped to extend their rule to the entire Hainan as soon as possible, while others were worried that the economy of the Crossing Group would not be able to bear it.
Such consumption. He knows that everyone has their own reasons, and they can all be heard on the table. Moreover, the entire Senate hopes to eliminate the enemy as soon as possible.
Although neither the Senate nor the Executive Committee has the right to interfere with the strategic and tactical decisions of the Minister of War according to law, the 90-day deadline makes He Ming feel very stressed. If he cannot obtain a decisive decision within three months
Victory, when the Senate met to discuss the renewal of the Minister of War, it was difficult for him to get over it.
He Ming knew that a quick decision was the best option now.
However, the members of the special reconnaissance team he dispatched to operate near the Qianhu Station in Haikou and the information transferred from the Foreign Intelligence Bureau showed that no one from the Ming army has yet landed on Hainan Island. Only a few thousand troops have assembled in Guangzhou. As for
Whether they were preparing to assemble the entire army to cross the sea together, or whether they arrived in batches, the intelligence did not explain.
The Ming Dynasty's army has not yet been dispatched, which makes He Ming, who is used to being a modern soldier, find it difficult to understand - for an island landing operation like Hainan Island, the first thing is to seize the opportunity and ensure the safety of the bridgehead on the island for the follow-up troops.
and supplies can be continuously sent to the island.
He and his staff conducted many exercises on the map. Each imaginary Ming army's combat operation started with a small force to reinforce Qianhu, Haikou. Based on the intelligence, the staff believed that the Ming army's sea projection capabilities would
Judging from the speed of troop mobilization and assembly, the Ming army must use a small number and multiple batches to ferry troops. The best port available in the northern part of Hainan Island is Shenying Port in Haikou.
But so far, the reconnaissance team has not found any signs of strengthening the Ming army in Baisha Water Village and Qianhusuo City in Haikou. This surprised him and put his plan in danger of failure.
In order to start the war as soon as possible, he had to change his original prudent plan and decided to take some measures to stimulate the Guangdong government and force the enemy to send troops to Hainan Island as soon as possible.
He Ming was a junior officer, and he didn't have many twists and turns in his stomach. Now that everyone is asked to make suggestions, there is no need to be secretive. He simply stated the situation currently facing the field army:
"...The Executive Committee is in trouble. Our foundation is weak. We currently support more than 10,000 army and navy, as well as more than 2,000 civilians and militiamen. We must fight quickly to make a quick decision. Let's brainstorm how we can give the enemy a little
Pressure them to land on the island early."
The officers all agreed with his battle plan of putting pressure on the enemy and forcing them to enter the island in advance. Some suggested besieging Chengmai, some suggested sending light troops to pretend to attack Qianhusuo City in Haikou, and others suggested sending out the navy to bombard Humen, the gateway to Guangzhou.
And Shajiao...
"I'll take the fourth battalion to besiege Chengmai." You Huhu, the commander of the fourth battalion, said. He was newly appointed as battalion commander and wanted to show off his skills. "I guarantee that the city will be captured in one day."
Dongmen Chuiyu finally said: "These methods are all good, but if we capture Chengmai County too early, the movement will be too big. Now the Senate and the Executive Committee have different opinions on peace and war. We should not capture the county too early, and we must leave room for Wang Zunde."
In addition, the intelligence said that the government believes that we are not good at land warfare. If we take Chengmai County in one fell swoop, we will not only be good at land warfare but also attack cities and strongholds, and the enemy will not be so confident and bold.
Fight with us."
Another officer said: "We are not only going to besiege Chengmai and pretend that the situation in Hainan is urgent, but we are also going to make the officers and soldiers look down upon us and think that we are just dishonest."
"Everyone's opinions are very good." He Ming said, "We will take a multi-pronged approach."
At that moment, he ordered You Huhu to lead some troops to besiege Chengmai.
"Take an infantry company from the fourth battalion and mobilize 200 militiamen to go with you. Bring more gongs and drums and go to the city of Chengmai to feign an attack. You should do a good job and let the magistrate of Chengmai County rush to call for help."
"Yes!" You Laohu stood up and saluted, "I will definitely complete the mission." He continued: "Can you give me one or two cannons? We Kun thieves are famous for their sharp firearms, and it would be different without cannons.
"
"Take two 12-pound mountain grenades with you." Ying Yu said, "They are light and easy to carry, and the effect of shelling the city wall with solid bullets is average."
"Okay, I'll set off early tomorrow morning! Send me some good gunners, and I'll knock down the city towers in Chengmai County..."
"No, I can give you a few more cannons, but as for the gunners, you should bring the trainees from the training team. Bring more ammunition and let the trainees practice more."
Ying Yu knew that He Ming wanted the Ming army to underestimate his own combat capabilities, so he nodded immediately: "That's it."
"You went there with great fanfare and collected food from each village along the way. If there is anyone who refuses to obey, break it first." He Ming gave the instructions face-to-face, "The three major disciplines and eight points of attention are the basic principles. You have to watch the militiamen.
! But if anyone wants to go against us, beat him to pieces. Kill a few more of the landlords, Lao Cai clan leaders! Let a few run away."
"Understood!" You Laohu's dark face turned red with excitement.
"Xiaoye."
"Yes." Ye Mengyan stood up. After He Ming became the Minister of War to form a field army, Bei Wei assigned Ye Mengyan's unit directly to his subordinates.
"You lead a detachment to infiltrate Qianhu Station in Haikou and conduct raids and harassment operations." He Ming said, "Kill a few people with great fanfare and capture a few official prisoners."
"Understood." Ye Mengyan was very excited. He had already carried out several reconnaissance operations to Qiongshan. This time he was able to do it in a big way, which greatly increased his interest.
"Xiao Wei!" He Ming then named Wei Aiwen.
"have!"
"The Senate and the Executive Committee are preparing to take over the various health centers in the county. I will leave this matter to you." He Ming said, "There is no need to mention the little combat power of the health centers. The main thing is to
The key to war is to win people's hearts. You take charge. I'll give you a company. You do it as soon as possible."
"clear!"
"You go back to Bairen first, and meet with Wu De and Ma Qianzhu first. Listen to their opinions on the matter." He Ming said, "In addition, you have to let go of a few leaders and let them rush to Qiongshan.
Urgent."
Of course Wei Aiwen knew the intention. He said happily: "I understand! I will definitely get the matter done within a week."
"The Guard Army has two camps on the edge of Li District, with hundreds of people. They are relatively good at fighting." He Ming said, "After taking over these two camps, don't demobilize them for the time being. Just arrest the officers who are angry with the people.
The county will continue to provide food and wages as usual."
He Ming was worried that if these two camps were cancelled, the people would take the opportunity to launch an uprising, so he asked to keep these two camps temporarily.
"I understand." Wei Aiwen said with regret, "In fact, we can recruit Li and Miao soldiers..."
"We'll talk about this later. You need to take care of the whole thing at the guardhouse first."
Early the next morning, Wei Aiwen led an infantry company back to Bairen. The company commander was Lin Fu. He was originally a villager in Yanchang Village and one of the first indigenous people to join the army. He was the first indigenous person in the army.
Company Commander Wei Aiwen had just left the camp when he saw You Huhu holding a front army sword - Ever since he saw Wen Desi's private collection, You Huhu had always wanted to get such a domineering thing. On this expedition,
He persuaded and borrowed the knife from Wen Desi. At this time, he was walking beside the queue with great power, leading the team that was preparing to besiege Chengmai.
More than 300 militiamen had machetes stuck in their waists and spears in their hands. Some were pushing carts, and some were carrying bows and arrows and old-fashioned muskets. Three mountain howitzers were mixed in the team, each consisting of seven or eight cannons.
It was dragged by a young man. If the infantry company hadn't been well organized, it would have looked like a group of bandits.
"Xiao Wei!" You Laohu saw him and put the big knife on his shoulder, "Are you going to carry out land reform again? This time you are a long-term worker who still wants to earn a living?"
"Are you planning to become bandits with this group of people?" Wei Aiwen was not to be outdone, "Can you use this knife? Don't just carry it all the way to Chengmai."
"This time I went to Chengmai to watch me chop off a few heads and use this knife to cut open the meat." You Laohu said, "Otherwise, it would be useless to Lao Wen as a decoration."
Wei Aiwen led the team back to Bairen, and Wu De had already made various preparations in advance. The planning institute's home search team had been assembled, and militiamen were also mobilized to bring vehicles and prepare to carry supplies.
The official name of the guard station in Lingao is the Hou Qianhu Station under the Inner Guards of Five Thousand Households. There are two camps. One is near Nanbao, which is the official Qianhu Station City, and the other is just outside Gaoshan Ridge.
Not far away. Both are fortified city buildings. Although they are old, due to the long-term threat of Li rebellion in the local area, the settlements in both places have been repaired to a certain extent, and there are sufficient weapons and firearms. Compared with the mainland,
The defense status of the guard station is better.
The crossing group had a clear understanding of the situation in the guard station very early. There were more than 100 military households in Qianhusuo City, and more than 500 men, women, old and children. There were only thirty or forty military households in the other place.
Accepting that there was little resistance in the various guard posts and camps, the military households were not very strong to begin with, and they had not been trained for a long time. They lived in poverty and had no fighting spirit. The Australians had been in Lingao for a long time, and everyone knew that they were benevolent.
Fair enough, not only would one not lose his life if he surrendered in time, he would also be able to live a better life than now. So Wei Aiwen and his men appeared under the walled city and surrendered immediately. The people from the Planning Institute were receiving weapons, supplies and livestock from various places, while
After counting the population, Wei Aiwen only arrested all the officers in the two Zhenli camps, appointed a few prestigious soldiers to act as temporary deputies, and led the soldiers to stay in the local garrison pending reorganization.
However, a small-scale battle broke out in the city of the rear post of the inner guard. When the infantry company led by Wei Aiwen advanced to the wall of the wall, Liu Qianhu of the rear post led a few soldiers to close the gate of the wall first.
Then they forced the entire village to defend the village.
Wei Aiwen did not expect that the guard station would dare to resist. He immediately called an indigenous clerk from the Special Search Team of the Planning Institute who could speak military language to come forward and shout, asking them to open the door and surrender immediately.
Liu Qianhu shouted at the gate of the village: "You and I have never interfered with the water of the river or the well! I have never interfered with your affairs! Don't mess with me either! This is the administrative land of the imperial court, and you are trapped here.
Chu Zhaizi is just rebelling, and the imperial court is going to send a large army to conquer..."
When Wei Aiwen heard this, he was furious and said to the shouter: "Tell the military households in the city to quickly arrest the officials and open the gates of the village to surrender, otherwise the village will be destroyed and no chickens or dogs will be left alive!"
There was a sudden commotion on the wall, and the military households were unwilling to fight - this was not a life-and-death war with the Li people. They usually knew that the Australians were not fond of killing and looting, and were very generous to their subordinates. Even if you lived under their command, you might not necessarily enjoy happiness.
It will not be worse than being at the hands of thousands of households.
"Who dares to move? Who dares to move?" Liu Qianhu shouted, waving his sword, and the soldiers behind him also shouted. Although he is just a small Qianhu, his family has been an official here for generations, and
For the sake of Zhenli, he did not put down his martial arts. His power was still there, and the military households were scolded by him with a straight face, and none of them dared to say a word.
Wei Aiwen couldn't help but get angry when he saw that there was no movement at the top of the city. There were special shooters in his company who could kill Liu Qianhu with one shot. But he secretly held hope in his heart, hoping that someone in the military household would take the initiative to resist, and it would be best to have an armed conflict.
.In this way, it will be much easier to carry out political education in the future. Military households will also be completely disappointed with the government.
"Shout!" Wei Aiwen's face turned livid, "Liu Qianhu has too much time to take care of himself. Let the military households stop working for him and quickly rise up to resist! What good does he gain from being a Qianhu household and an ordinary military household?"
There was a commotion on the wall of the village with shouts. The military households originally did not want to sacrifice their lives, but now under the instigation of Wei Aiwen and others, many people felt that it was not worth their lives to defend the village for the master, and
This village cannot be defended no matter what.
Seeing that the situation was not going well, Liu Qianhu scolded and threatened him, and he had no choice but to shout: "This is the place controlled by the imperial court. The thieves dare not attack! Everyone defended the stronghold with all their strength. Those who did not make noise would be beheaded, and those who did so would be rewarded with silver.
One or two!”
However, this reward could no longer win over people's hearts. Suddenly, someone dropped their swords and guns and ran towards the city. The soldiers who were already distraught suddenly dispersed, each one dropped their weapons and ran towards the city.
run.
The soldiers immediately slashed with knives and beheaded a military household who escaped. However, this was not only ineffective, but also aroused everyone's anger. Some people turned around and attacked them. The soldiers around Qianhu were outnumbered and almost all were killed.
After his death, Qianhu himself was protected by the remaining servants and fled down to the city. The military households immediately started killing each other randomly in the walled city. The usually domineering Baihu, soldiers, servants, and managers were also hunted down.
, the military households pulled out the enemy's family members and chopped off their heads one by one. The female family members were pulled out and tortured, and then killed. The city suddenly became a mess.
Wei Aiwen was very calm and was not in a hurry to enter the village. He guessed that there was a commotion in the city, and he just hoped that the riot would be bigger. The military households killed the court officials, so he had to follow them wholeheartedly. At this time, a group of military households had already
He opened the gate of the village, lowered the suspension bridge and shouted: "Enter the city quickly! Enter the city quickly!"
Lin Fu pulled out his command knife and looked back at Wei Aiwen. Wei Aiwen nodded. He immediately shouted loudly: "All company, attack!" He was the first to rush forward. The trumpeter had no time to blow the trumpet, and the whole company rushed forward.
He galloped forward behind him.
He led the infantry company into the city quickly. Although it was his first time here, the intelligence department had already given him a clear structural diagram of the structure. Lin Fu had already assigned the tasks to each platoon and squad.
When they entered the city, they dispersed according to the planned plan, occupying all the grain depots, stables and important places. On the side, a special person beat the gong to ask the military households to put down their weapons and wait for orders. Some military households became red-eyed and continued to kill.
They were all captured and killed.
Order in the walled city was quickly restored. Wei Aiwen then led other personnel into the city. Bodies could be seen from time to time on the streets and under the corners. Wei Aiwen came to the martial arts hall in the center of the city, where the disarmed military men were sitting
Waiting on the ground to fall.
Lin Fulai reported that the entire city was under control and order had returned to normal. Several fires had also been put out.