The small steamer hit a mine head-on. With the loud noise, a column of water rose up, and the bow of the ship was lifted up. However, a string of empty oil barrels tied to the bow of the ship withstood the explosion for it. The two barrels were instantly smashed, and one
The barrel flew far away, and the small fire wheel swayed in the waves without slowing down and continued to rush towards the mine array.
The Qing troops on the assault boat behind cheered and began to shout and reorganize their formation, preparing to move forward along the path it opened.
It was like a drop of cold water entering an oil pan, and there were explosions one after another. The small steamer was hit hard one after another. The empty oil drums on the bow of the ship were completely blown away, and the oil drums on both sides were also loose and broken.
Floating. If it were a big sea mine, this kind of small boat could be blown up in one blow. But the current Yangtze River mines are designed to deal with assault boats, and their power is too small. This poor little steamer is like being delayed until the outer shell is damaged.
The ship was riddled with holes, but it was still leaning forward and slowly moving forward. The large number of empty oil barrels in the cabin provided it with enough buoyancy. In the end, the entire belly of the ship was blown open, and a large number of empty oil barrels floated out.
The small steamer rolled and sank.
Immediately afterwards, the Qing army came up from behind with a second and third "minesweeper"...
In fact, the Qing army did not expect that the mine formations on the Yangtze River were so dense before the attack. They did not prepare for artillery fire. They originally wanted to take advantage of the heavy fog to launch a surprise attack. Even though the mines caused hundreds of casualties, most of them could survive the attack.
The Ming army rushed over before they could react. But now the Ming army's mine array can't get through at all. Now it's impossible to retreat to prepare for artillery fire. If the soldiers are forced to fill the road with their lives, they will definitely mutiny. Fortunately,
I prepared some of these "minesweepers" in advance, and they are very useful.
But after all, the offensive front is too wide, and there are too few empty oil barrels. This improvised small steamer can only drive a limited number of channels, and it is very narrow. A large number of assault boats are crowded in the middle, so proceed carefully, for fear that
Hitting the mines on the side makes the attack speed extremely slow.
Scattered small-caliber shells fell all around, raising water columns. The Qing soldiers lay with their heads in the assault boats. At least no boats around them had been hit. As they got closer to the south bank, the sound of machine guns in the distance became clearer and the bullets whizzed.
The blast passed over the top of the head and passed by the ears. Occasionally, a soldier was shot and screamed, but most of them were unharmed. It was obvious that the Ming army machine gunners could not see it at all, and they were just spreading to the general location.
Soldiers who had participated in previous attacks were grateful to the fog. If it hadn't been for the fog, they would never have gotten here alive.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the ears, and a shell in an assault boat was hit by a shell in the fire, and it was lifted into the sky. The experienced veterans knew that something was wrong. A platoon leader shouted:
"Spread out! Spread out, don't crowd together!"
However, the assault boat operators did not listen to his instructions and continued to squeeze forward on the narrow channel. Sure enough, the surrounding shells began to intensify, the sky roared, water columns rose and fell, and there were second and third assault boats.
Shot and exploded.
The flames of the assault boats that were hit marked the position of the Ming army's artillery in the thick fog. Soon the Ming army observers discovered that there were many assault boats gathered here, and the artillery within one kilometer on both sides came to greet them.
What was originally a safe channel suddenly turned into a death alley. The assault boats crowded here began to flee in all directions, and they couldn't care less when they entered the minefield.
…
On the river embankment, every twenty meters or so, there is a circular steel object on the concrete floor, with a radius of more than one meter, flush with the ground, and painted with the color of cement. You can't tell it without touching it with your hands.
Made of steel.
Suddenly, with the roar of the motor below, these steel objects slowly stretched out of the ground, forming a half-meter-high steel round platform. The round platform rotated twice, and two half-meter-long gun barrels protruded from the sides.
This is the trump card of the Yangtze River Defense Line: all-steel lifting turrets. The steel outer walls of these turrets are 200 mm thick and house a twin 40 mm anti-tank gun. The turret is completely closed, except for the observation mirror in the middle of the two gun barrels.
There is no gap. When the enemy is bombarded, it can be lowered to the ground level, and when the enemy rushes up, it can be raised again to attack.
This kind of thing is also deployed in large quantities on the Maginot Line of Defense in Europe, becoming a symbol of the insurmountable defense line.
Under the turret, the gunner hung up the phone and ordered:
"Load incendiary bombs!"
In the ammunition room next door, a basic incendiary bomb was lifted up from the deep underground by an elevator. The delivery hand held the shell and climbed up the iron ladder to the turret above. The loader took it and loaded it into the gun barrel.
"Preparations for launch are complete!"
"put!!!"
The steel turrets on the river embankment fired in a row, and the straight trajectory of the cannons stretched towards the river surface more than a hundred meters away. The river surface in the thick fog immediately burst into flames, rising more than ten meters high, with billowing black smoke.
Forming a wall of death fire.
…
At a height of tens of meters behind the lifting turret, in the reinforced concrete observation fort, a major held a telescope and looked at the fire on the river through the narrow observation opening. His nose almost caught the smell of burning human flesh. He was expressionless and cold.
Said coldly:
"Order the turrets to prepare for a second salvo... extend towards the river... order the fire pumps to prepare."
…
After two rounds of shooting, there was a terrifying scene on the river.
Fire was spreading on the water, and corpses were floating in the water. The exposed parts of the water were still jumping with flames. Some of the wreckage of assault boats were on fire and slowly sinking. The entire river was filled with black smoke, emitting strange chemicals.
Smell and corpse odor.
This kind of military incendiary bomb uses viscous gelled gasoline as fuel, which is quite sticky and difficult to extinguish if it sticks to the body. Magnesium powder is added to it. The ordinary flame burning temperature is several hundred degrees, but after adding magnesium powder, the flame temperature
It would rise to more than a thousand degrees, and even the steel parts of the assault boat, the helmets inside, and the water bottles were burned. Many people were burned to death before they could react.
A large number of assault boats behind the fire were blocked here, crowded and colliding. The Qing soldiers above were dumbfounded at the horrific scene in front of them, and many people were holding on to the boats and vomiting.
The Ming army's machine guns fired aimlessly into the flames, shooting up strings of water splashes from the water. Occasionally, some Qing soldiers were shot and fell down. But most of the bullets still hit the water.
A red signal flare flew up from the north bank behind me. The sound of a loudspeaker echoed on the river:
"Each battalion of the 864th Regiment, a complete company... Each battalion of the 692nd Regiment, a complete company... Each battalion of the 1347th Regiment, a complete company... Withdraw to the north bank for reorganization... Withdraw to the north bank for reorganization..."
The Qing soldiers on the river knew that they had temporarily saved their lives, so a large number of assault boats turned around and sailed back to the north bank.
In an assault boat, a Qing soldier covered in water with his lips deformed by burning leaned on his companion and murmured:
"Why...why..."
"Why for what reason? Are you still not happy about saving your life?"
"Why are we rushing so hard and letting people kill like this?...Why can't we get through such a heavy fog?...Didn't the higher-ups say that we can get through even if there is fog?"
A squad leader sitting in the back sneered:
"Humph, this is already a good fight! If there was no fog on weekdays, we wouldn't be able to get here at all! ...Where is the other side? It's Nanjing! Grandma, our 92nd Army has a good place to spread out. This is the whole place.
The hardest part of Nanming's defense line!"
…
Jiangxinzhou is a large island in the Nanjing section of the Yangtze River. It covers an area of more than ten square kilometers and is shaped like a straw shoe. Like Chongming Island, it was also formed by the impact of sediment. Jiangxinzhou and Nanjing are only separated by a 200-meter-wide waterway.
It is called "Jiajiang", but it is separated from Pukou by more than a thousand meters of river. Because of this geographical factor, Jiangxinzhou has always been controlled by Nanming. Nanming also built a fortification group on it and established the main base of the Yangtze River Fleet.
Located here.
Because the Yangtze River Fleet mainly consists of submarines and small ships, the docks are located on the edge of Jiajiang River, facing Nanjing. It is safe and convenient to enter and exit the main stream of the Yangtze River from Jiajiang River. Submarine caverns are built on the docks with reinforced concrete to prevent
Shelling and bombing the shore to protect submarines.
Jiangxinzhou is an independent island, and the construction of the fortifications on it is relatively simple. There is no complex underground transportation network like the shore, and there is no all-steel lifting turret, which can be said to be a weak link.
There is a tense atmosphere in the Jiangxinzhou base now. The Qing army's artillery shells continue to fall on the island. Some shells hit directly on the submarine cave. The roof of the several-meter-thick reinforced concrete cave trembled, and a lot of dust fell down below.
The loudspeakers in various units and underground fortifications on the island kept echoing:
"Order all female officers and soldiers to immediately go to the base pier to board the ship...regardless of military rank and position, immediately go to the base pier to get on the ship...Order all female officers and soldiers..."
On the pier, rows of female soldiers were lined up with backpacks. Some of them were submarine soldiers and some were female civilian officers on the island. After forming a line, they were led by the commander into a small boat and evacuated to Nanjing.
Whenever a cannonball fell nearby, they would lie down to take cover, then stand up again and continue lining up to board the boat.
In the cave behind them, there were several engineers on each submarine, loading explosives into the submarines and laying fuses so that they could be blown up and sunk when Jiang Xinzhou could not defend them. These girls silently looked at the submarines they spent all day and night with.
Many people cried.
…
Nanjing is currently experiencing the greatest panic since the war.
In the morning in the thick fog, there were people dragging their luggage everywhere. They looked terrified and ran to the train station outside the city. These people were all citizens who had not left during the first evacuation. Originally, after the last major evacuation,
The Qing army was unable to defeat the Yangtze River, and people's confidence in the Yangtze River defense line increased sharply. Those who had shops and businesses in Nanjing made a fortune, and many people who retreated to the south came back because they were distracted.
Now there is a heavy fog. People who had great confidence in the Yangtze River defense line now believe that they cannot hold it. Although the loudspeakers on the street kept broadcasting "We have repelled the first round of Qinglu's attack."
", but everyone with some common sense knows that it is only a matter of time before the Qing army comes. Once the Qing army comes, everyone firmly believes that the absolutely inferior Ming army cannot resist for a few seconds.
Xiang Xiaoqiang's car honked the horn and drove slowly against the flow of people towards the palace. Due to the heavy fog, when I saw the red Meridian Gate, I was almost at the entrance of the palace.
Xiang Xiaoqiang quickly asked the driver to stop on the side of the road, jumped out of the car, strode across the Jinshui Bridge, and was stopped at the gate of the palace.
The front door of the palace is heavily guarded. Hundreds of Imperial Guards wearing steel helmets stand with guns. There seems to be a machine gun set up in the deep doorway. The number of troops has obviously been doubled, and many new faces have not been seen before.
Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't say anything more and took out his ID. After reading the ID, the squad leader on duty was surprised to find that this was the commander of the People's Guard, Colonel Xiang Xiaoqiang, who came to give His Majesty military lessons every day. He quickly saluted the military salute and let Xiang go. Xiaoqiang was very anxious, so he left his gun behind as per the rules, and was led by a Guards officer. The two of them trotted all the way inside.
After passing through the front palace, the officer could no longer go in, so a female officer was replaced to lead Xiang Xiaoqiang into the back palace.
"Where is Your Majesty? What are you doing?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang walked quickly and asked. He went to the palace for classes every day, and was led by this female official several times, and they were all familiar with each other. The female official also looked very panicked, and said tremblingly:
"In the Qianqing Palace, summon the ministers...to my lord, tell me...how long do you think Nanjing can be defended?"
It was obvious that even the palace was in panic now. Xiang Xiaoqiang did not answer the question, but just smiled and said:
"Why are you panicking? If you follow His Majesty closely, you will be safer than anyone else."
After hearing what he said and thinking about it, the female officer's face regained some color.
Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that those in the palace, when life and death were at stake, always regarded every word of senior officers like him as authority. His words could give or take away their hope.
But he himself is not optimistic about whether Nanjing can be defended. However, one thing is certain, the defense line in the Nanjing section is the strongest point in the entire Yangtze River defense line. Even in heavy fog, it will never be the first to be breached. place.
He judged that before Nanjing was actually threatened, news of Qing troops crossing the river elsewhere would definitely come first. In this way, Nanjing would still have time to retreat and would not be caught off guard.
There is no doubt that for the Manchus, the temptation to capture Nanjing at the beginning of the war was huge. But the Yangtze River Defense Line was, after all, the result of twenty years of hard work by Nanming, and Nanjing was the top priority of the defense line. , it is definitely not that easy to chew. He has just received the report and knows that the riverside defense line has repelled the first attack of the Qing army. There are no casualties on his side, but the Qing army has suffered heavy casualties, and no one has even stepped onto the beach. .
Even in the thick fog, the defense line lived up to expectations and fought beautifully. However, if the Qing army did not care about death and increased its strength by two or three times, it would be difficult to say. What is even more frightening is that once they take a more realistic route , that is, abandoning Nanjing as a breakthrough point, concentrating troops to break through from other weak areas of the Yangtze River, encircling Nanjing from behind, and cutting off the railway. Not only would it be a loss, but even retreat would be a problem.
Now Zhu Yourong must leave Nanjing as soon as possible. As long as the Queen leaves, the People's Guard, as the Queen's personal army, will definitely follow her. In this way, as the Queen's personal army commander, he can also follow her and will not stay and be buried with her.
He had already asked Qiu Qiu to take a few people home and help Qiu Laohu pack up. It was hard for the old man, given the current situation, and he stayed in the dangerous place with his daughter and son-in-law. But this time, Xiang Xiaoqiang was ready to leave with the whole family. .
…
In the imperial study room, filled with smoke, several ministers were sitting or standing, some smoking cigarettes, some smoking cigars, and some smoking pipes.
In the past, ministers did not dare to smoke in front of the Queen, but once Zhu Yourong was talking to several old ministers in the middle of the night, Zhu Yourong had someone prepare several kinds of cigarettes for them to smoke. This "virtuous policy" was very popular, because many
The ministers are all heavy smokers. After this tradition was developed, the ministers and Zhu Yourong would smoke for a long time when talking to each other. If there were three or five ministers meeting at the same time, the study would become a smoking room. Zhu Yourong had good intentions at the beginning, but now
It's hard to say that you're asking for trouble, so you have to endure it.
Xiang Xiaoqiang can smoke, but he doesn't have a craving for cigarettes. He choked heavily when he first came in. But when he saw Zhu Yourong sitting behind the desk, frowning slightly but still talking calmly, he gave up the idea of covering his nose.
Although Xiang Xiaoqiang was called in, he saw Zhu Yourong talking to the ministers and just quietly sitting on the sofa by the door. Zhu Yourong saw him, greeted him with his eyes, and continued:
"Xiao Qing, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty," the newly appointed Minister of War Xiao Zilong sighed as he smoked a large cigar and puffed out thick mist, "Although we repelled the first attack of the Qing army, there is no number of how many we actually annihilated.
The Qing army may not have been mentally prepared. They were shocked and temporarily retreated. The next step must be to let this division repair, and then bring in fresh troops to fight. They have strong troops, and they don't care about thousands of casualties at a time. Your Majesty, you have received
There are several pieces of information, all of which say that the puppet emperor Guangwu of the Qing Dynasty threatened to go to Nanjing to celebrate the Spring Festival. Your Majesty, please think about the character of the puppet emperor Guangwu. The more frustrated he was, the crazier he became. He will definitely double his troops and attack crazily.
!Although our Yangtze River defense line is strong, the visibility is only a dozen meters now, and the machine guns are simply decorations. If the machine guns are not effective, then the entire defense line is just decorations! Your Majesty, you must think twice, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Yourong frowned, coughed twice, and looked at the other ministers. The other ministers also nodded frequently and echoed.
Zhu Yourong stood up, looked out the window, and let out a painful breath. She was extremely reluctant to leave Nanjing. She knew that once she left Nanjing, it would be equivalent to announcing that Nanjing would give up, and the riverside defenders would no longer be what they are now.
If you fight bravely like this, you may leave with your front foot, and Nanjing will fall with your back foot.
"I..." Zhu Yourong choked up as soon as he said it. Tears welled up in his eyes. He finally controlled it and said, "I still want to listen to Mr. Shen Ge's opinion."
Another person said hurriedly:
"Your Majesty, there is no need to hesitate any longer. Mr. Shen Ge must have the same opinion. This place is only ten kilometers away from the river. Once the Qing army breaks through the Yangtze River, it can arrive in an instant! And the battle situation on the river may change every minute! Your Majesty, even if
Even if Mr. Shen Ge is here, he will not agree to His Majesty staying in Nanjing and risking being captured by the Qing captives!"
Zhu Yourong turned around, looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang by the door, and said in an almost pleading tone:
"What do you think, Xiang Qing?"
Only then did several ministers realize that there was someone sitting at the door. They turned around and found that it was Xiang Xiaoqiang. They were all waiting for his speech. Because these ministers all knew that although Xiang Xiaoqiang had a lower official rank, he had a close relationship with His Majesty, and he was
His Majesty's military teacher can greatly influence His Majesty's decision as long as he says yes or no.
Xiang Xiaoqiang felt ashamed because he couldn't support Zhu Yourong when she needed his support the most. And it was probably for his own benefit.
He avoided Zhu Yourong's gaze and hesitated:
"Your Majesty, I mean the same thing. It's meaningless for you to stay in Nanjing."
The ministers' faces softened, and they all cast appreciative glances at Xiaoqiang. They knew in their hearts that their wealth and lives had been saved. There would be no tragedy in history where the ministers perished along with the city. As the royal family retreated south, the following
The work of the Ming government to withdraw to the south will begin in full swing.
Zhu Yourong had a very disappointed expression on his face. He sat down slowly and covered his face with his hands. After a while, he said softly:
"You guys please step back first, I'll be alone for a while."
The group of people exited the smoke-filled study and came to the courtyard outside. Several old ministers were heartbroken and began to praise Xiang Xiaoqiang with laughter. He was loyal to the emperor and patriotic, had the big picture in mind, cared about the emperor, regardless of personal honor and disgrace, and was selfless...
Although Xiang Xiaoqiang was full of shame and guilt for Zhu Yourong, this favor was not received in vain. He smiled humbly and said many beautiful things, saying that although he was a soldier, he was also a human being.
Comparing one's heart with another's, it's not that you're afraid of death, but that it's worthless. Now that the fog is heavy, the Nanjing defense line is in danger. Only by withdrawing early and leaving useful bodies can we better defend the country against the Qing invaders...
These few words wiped away the remaining sense of shame in the hearts of the ministers. Everyone was happy and took his words seriously. The relationship between Xiang Xiaoqiang and these ministers took a step closer.
At this time, the sound of a car engine was heard in the distance, and then the car door slammed shut.
Someone said:
"Mr. Shen Ge is here."
In the entire Ming Empire, only a few people, including the First Assistant Minister and the Prince of Yanping County, enjoyed the privilege of driving into the palace. It was obvious that the person who came was Shen Rongxuan, the First Assistant Minister.
Shen Rongxuan wore a woolen coat and strode into the courtyard of the Royal Study. Several ministers saluted him and called him "Pavilion Elder". Shen Rongxuan smiled at them and nodded, and looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang one more time.
Xiang Xiaoqiang also greeted him humbly and called him "Mr. Shen." He hadn't seen Shen Rongxuan for a long time. Ever since he took charge of the People's Guard, when he saw the former Dongchang factory director again, there was always some awkwardness in his former allies, and he felt uncomfortable in his heart.
Beware of him, it seems that even his smile is unnatural.
A palace maid came out and said:
"Shen Rongxuan, the Chief Minister of the Xuan Cabinet, is here to meet you!"
Shen Rongxuan took off his hat and went in.
With the arrival of Shen Rongxuan, several ministers felt that they had a backbone. Now His Majesty is almost willing to withdraw to the south. Once Shen Rongxuan goes to discuss it again, the matter will be finalized.
After a while, the palace maid announced everyone in the courtyard to enter.
"My dear friends," Zhu Yourong stood behind the desk, holding his hands on the table, brushing off his sad look, and said with a smile, "I have made up my mind not to evacuate south yet!"
As soon as these words came out, not only several ministers, but also Xiang Xiaoqiang were shocked and speechless. Zhu Yourong continued:
"I, as well as my government, will stay in the Purple Mountain Fortress next to see how the Ming army resists the Qing invaders. To defend Nanjing, I have to ask all my dear friends, especially Xiang Qing, to take care of me."
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at Shen Rongxuan, who was sitting on the sofa next to him with his eyes closed, and couldn't help but be shocked and angry. What kind of medicine did this former boss of Dongchang give to His Majesty?