At one o'clock at night, the central command hall of Purple Mountain Fortress.
If the atmosphere here was one of anxiety before, now it has an added flavor of panic.
The officers anxiously made phone calls, asking over and over again to verify the situation, but their statements were quite contradictory, and many calls simply could not get through.
"What? You heard the sound of artillery in the south?... When did it happen?... What about the scale? You can't hear it? Then you estimate it!... You can't estimate it? Well, that's it!"
"Hey, have you got any troops to break up? No?... Okay, I got it."
"I am the headquarters. How are you doing in Jiangning County? Did you find any Qing troops? ... I don't know? Forget it!"
"Ah, there is a rout of troops there? Where are you?...Dongshanqiao Town? I understand, which part of the rout is from? Is it the newly formed 74th Motorized Infantry Division?...How many people are there? More than twenty?
The fight is so scattered? Are the soldiers here? OK, OK, let them answer the phone quickly!"
The last few words silenced the surrounding officers, and everyone's attention was drawn to them. This was because this was the first time in an hour that a broken troop was actually discovered after receiving reports of fighting near Moling Town.
An officer put the phone on speakerphone.
Suddenly, a pitiful voice on the phone rang out in the surrounding area:
"Sir, our new 74th Division is finished..."
When this sentence came out, no one had the intention to make a phone call. They all ended the calls in their hands hastily and came over to listen. Soon the entire hall fell silent, and a group of people gathered around the small speaker.
The officer who answered the phone immediately turned pale, with a big bead of sweat rolling down his face. He swallowed and said:
"Speak slowly, don't rush...what's going on?"
"Sir, as soon as our division arrived south of Moling Town, the Qing army made dumplings on the highway! ... Before we knew what was going on, it exploded, and there were grenades, artillery shells, and...
There was a machine gun, and the car in front of me exploded, and no one got out! My car rolled over to the side of the road, and only three of us in our class climbed out, and I even broke an arm...
…”
"Let's talk about the key points! How much firepower does the opponent have? What's the density like?"
"Density? The density is too high. The mortar bombs are like rain. No one has anywhere to hide. Most of the brothers were killed before they even ran to the roadside. Those who ran down the road were also shot to death by machine guns...
The three of us ran down the road, and after running only a few dozen meters, we were attacked by more than a dozen Qing soldiers, all of whom were very tall. The two brothers were killed by bayonets at that time. I ran fast, but they didn't.
Catch me……"
"How many people are estimated to be in the Qing army?"
"Estimated? It's estimated to be quite a lot, at least 50,000 or 60,000! You think about it, our division didn't have many people escape... Our company commander broke a leg and died on the way. Before he died, he
He said that what we encountered was probably the Eight Banners Division..."
There was dead silence in the hall. The Army Chief of Staff who was listening slowly sat on a chair, took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead, looking up at the garrison commander Wang Hantang, whose face looked like a dead man.
He murmured:
"Commander Wang, what should you do?"
Wang Hantang also sat unsteadily on the chair:
"Humble post...Humble post and transfer Qixia's division south to intercept."
"That's too late."
These ruthless words completely defeated Wang Hantang. Yes, it was too late. The maps were all installed in these people's minds. Qixia is to the north of Nanjing, and Moling Town, where the battle took place, is to the south of Nanjing. If you want to stop this Qing army, you must at least
Go twice as fast as others and cover twice as much distance. This Qing army can march ten kilometers in two or three hours, from the riverside to the Ningyi Highway to ambush. At such a marching speed, even if
The elite capital garrison of the Ming army was also difficult to surpass.
Zhang Zhaoxian, Chief of General Staff of the General Headquarters, sighed:
"Let's mark it on the picture first."
"Then...how much is the bid?"
Zhang Zhao first looked at the big map and muttered:
"This Qing army will not have 50,000 or 60,000 people. If it can cross our military cordon and go deep into the interior, it should not be a large army. The main purpose of this Qing army is very clear, which is to annihilate our advance reinforcements in advance and create a foundation for the Qing Dynasty.
The army's large force will destroy the garrison on the riverside and spread out the troops to buy time. It should be a strengthened Eight Banners Division. It will probably be between 15,000 and 20,000... Let's mark 50 first."
Under the big map, a little female soldier held up a handful of red figures, wiping her tears, and placed them one by one on the map with a pole. The female officer next to her reprimanded her in a low voice:
"Why are you crying? After scaring you like this, you are still a soldier, right? What are you afraid of? Even if the Qing Dynasty invades Nanjing, they will not be able to enter the Purple Mountain Fortress! ...Besides, with this little man in your hand,
There’s no way we can get into Nanjing.”
The little female soldier was sobbing and pretending to be a little figure, and asked in a choked voice:
"Why... why?"
The female officer looked at the officers around her and comforted her in a low voice:
"Tsk, Sir Xiang's People's Guard hasn't moved yet..."
Although the last sentence was not loud, there was a sudden silence, which made it very clear, and many people around heard it.
The junior female officer looked at the generals and marshals around her and looked at her. She was so frightened that she quickly lowered her head and helped to pose as a villain.
All the generals looked at Zhang Zhaoxian again. Zhang Zhao glanced at the female officer first, and then said to everyone:
"What do you think of this?"
There was silence all around.
Zhang Zhaoxian said again:
"The People's Guard is a force that protects Nanjing. It cannot be used for other purposes unless it is absolutely necessary... However, I feel that now is the time of last resort. What do you think?"
As soon as he said this, everyone around him stared at him, and many officers were already nodding.
Zhang Zhaoxian said to the Army Chief of General Staff and the garrison commander:
"Let's go and see His Majesty."
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang and Rommel were not sleepy. They were staring at the map in the war room and chatting wordlessly. Xiang Xiaoqiang arranged for the staff to "read the big picture" in the fortress command hall, and then informed here of every step of the changes by phone.
, the staff here are immediately reflected in the picture.
The two of them suddenly stopped talking at the same time and stared at the map. The staff officer next to the map was placing a large number of red figures not far from the south of Nanjing.
Xiang Xiaoqiang jumped up and ran forward, wanting to make sure that he had seen it correctly. The staff officer with the little figure looked at him nervously and said first:
"Sir, we are asking over there. Details will be over soon."
At this time, the phone rang, and Xiang Xiaoqiang took it. Listening to the frightened voice on the other end of the phone, his heart started beating wildly.
"That's all? Okay. Got it."
He hung up the phone and stared at the map, a feeling of nervousness and excitement spreading throughout his body. He told the staff about the situation and asked for their opinions. Everyone agreed that Nanjing was in danger.
Xiang Xiaoqiang then asked:
"Where's Lieutenant Colonel Rommel?"
"sleeping."
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"Tell him to stop sleeping and get up to fight."
Then he said to his staff:
"Now there are no troops between this Qing army and us. If they go north, they can attack Nanjing. If they go west, they can attack the defenders on the riverside from behind, forming a pincer attack with the main force of the Qing army. No matter which way, Nanjing will be defeated.
It's dangerous! We haven't received the transfer order yet, but we will definitely receive it soon. Because we are the only ones who can save Nanjing! Now I order the People's Guard Mobile Unit to get all the troops on board and get ready to go!"
…
The whole station roared.
Tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, towed artillery, trucks... came out of the warehouse one by one, and the military police wearing armbands directed them to line up out of the gate and onto the road. Various orders were shouted one after another.
Teams of soldiers stood neatly under the lights and ran to the vehicles according to their formation.
Dogs in the surrounding villages were barking wildly, and many villagers also put on their clothes and stood up to take a look. In the heavy fog, they could only see the endless car lights parked on the road in the distance.
There were nine German officers in total, but Xiang Xiaoqiang did not plan to deploy so many foreign staff officers in the first battle, as that would be troublesome. He planned to only take Rommel with him. In such an unpredictable battle, Rommel was simply
That's genius.
Xiang Xiaoqiang stood on the field, watching the cars driving out, listening to the noise of countless engines, and his heart was surging. This was the first battle since the establishment of the People's Guard. His precious command vehicle was parked next to it.
, Rommel, and the staff were working intensively on the battle plan.
Since this was the People's Guard's first battle and it was related to the safety of Nanjing, they could only win but not lose. Xiang Xiaoqiang ordered the People's Guard Mobile Team to go out in full force. He sent a car to take Qiu Qiu and the others to the headquarters in the city.
To prevent the Qing army from taking advantage of the heavy fog to come back.
At this time, a staff officer ran over and breathlessly asked Xiang Xiaoqiang to go to the office to answer the phone. Xiang Xiaoqiang felt excited, knowing that the long-awaited call had finally come.
A weak voice on the receiver:
"Teacher Xiang..."
"His Majesty."
Zhu Yourong's voice was full of shame and regret, and he choked with sobs and said:
"The Qing rebels are coming... the reinforcements have been defeated... the Qing rebels are advancing towards Nanjing, we... we..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang's heart softened. He didn't expect Zhu Yourong to be in this state. But this is exactly what he hoped. The more Zhu Yourong is at this time, the more he has to be like a strong backing, making her feel that he is her most powerful
Protector, making her feel safe.
His voice was very calm:
"Your Majesty, I already know."
Zhu Yourong sobbed and said:
"It's all my fault... If I had listened to you and sent the People's Guard there earlier, the Qing captives might not have been able to get through... That division might not have been destroyed... I feel really bad..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang said firmly
"No, Your Majesty, this is not your fault, it is the Qinglu's fault. If the Qinglu had not launched this war, then all the misfortunes would not have happened."
Zhu Yourong sniffed and asked softly:
"Teacher Xiang, is it still too late? Are you...are you sure?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled slightly and said:
"Listen to yourself."
Then he pushed open the window and raised the microphone to the window.
The roar of the engine outside had become a chorus, the glass was shaken slightly, and the sound of passwords came one after another into the room.
Xiang Xiaoqiang took the receiver back and asked:
"Did you hear that?"
Zhu Yourong was so excited that he choked with sobs, and it took him a long time to say:
"I...heard..."
"Then give the order."
"Okay... I give an order..." Zhu Yourong paused and said with some embarrassment, "This... how should such an order be given?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said into the microphone:
"This is it: I order all officers and soldiers of the People's Guard Mobile Team..."
Zhu Yourong then said:
"I order all officers and soldiers of the People's Guard Mobile Team."
Xiang Xiaoqiang said again:
"Get ready immediately and head to five to ten kilometers south of Nanjing..."
Zhu Yourong then said:
"Get ready immediately and head to five to ten kilometers south of Nanjing."
Xiang Xiaoqiang said:
"Actively, courageously, and tenaciously confront the enemy and prevent the enemy from advancing on Nanjing..."
Zhu Yourong then said:
"Proactively, courageously and tenaciously confront the enemy and prevent the enemy from advancing on Nanjing."
Xiang Xiaoqiang licked his lips and finally made up his mind and said:
"And try our best to divide, encircle, and annihilate them."
Zhu Yourong remained silent for a while. Xiang Xiaoqiang could feel her breathing becoming rapid, as if she couldn't believe that she could "divide, encircle, and annihilate" the Qing army. Finally, her voice became very cheerful and she said loudly:
"And do your best to divide, encircle, and annihilate them!"
Xiang Xiaoqiang also had a rush of blood running through his body at this moment, and said:
"I obey the order!"
He hung up the phone and strode towards the thunderous roar outside.
…
The mighty torrent of steel went south along the ring road. Because it was unlikely to encounter the Qing army at this section, all vehicles turned on their headlights and accelerated, trying to seize a favorable position before the Qing army.
It may be further away from Nanjing.
But Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't want to make the mistake of the newly formed 74th Motorized Infantry Division, so he sent out security forces early. Sidecar motorcycles were sent out far to the south for reconnaissance. In the fields on both sides of the road, they were also spread out far away.
A warning curtain appeared, which was a tracked armored vehicle with a machine gun and strong traffic capacity.
In the armored command vehicle, Xiang Xiaoqiang was studying the battle plan with the regiment commander and staff.
Xiang Xiaoqiang gestured on the map and said:
"Let's calculate the marching speed of the Qing army. The Qing army only captured the Zimuzhou Fortress at six o'clock last night and only landed on the east bank at about seven o'clock. Since then, they have been trying to build pontoon bridges, but due to our Yangtze River Fleet
With heroic obstruction, they did not set up the pontoon bridge until about ten o'clock in the evening. After that, they could transport large equipment such as mountain artillery, army horses, and baggage vehicles. According to the escaped soldiers of the 74th Motorized Infantry Division, this Qing army had these
Equipment. That is to say, they set off from the riverside and headed for the ambush site after ten o'clock at the earliest.
"The defeated troops of the 74th Division said that the fighting took place around 12:30 midnight, near Moling Town, which is about 10 kilometers away from the landing site of the Qing army. The Qing army marched 10 kilometers in two and a half hours.
kilometers, speed 4.1 kilometers per hour. It is already half past one. According to this speed, the leading force of the Qing army should arrive near Dongshanqiao Town by now.
"The Qing army's speed is 4 kilometers per hour, and our current speed is 15 kilometers per hour, which is nearly four times their speed. Therefore, our determination in this battle should be to encircle and annihilate the enemy."
As soon as this sentence was said, everyone in the car was a little shocked, because before that, everyone's mindset was to "repulse the Qing army" and did not dare to think about "encircling and annihilating" the Qing army. Only Rommel was excepted. He listened to Atie
The translator pinched his chin and looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang, with no reaction on his face, as if it was supposed to be like this.
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at his pocket watch and said directly:
"Every minute is precious now. Please hurry up and share your thoughts. We will briefly summarize it and it will be the battle plan."
Rommel looked at the others and said nothing, then raised his index finger. He smiled slightly at Xiaoqiang and thought to himself, this is the Rommel in my mind.
"Lieutenant Colonel Rommel?"
The wrinkles at the corners of Rommel's eyes seemed to be more curved, and the small eyes in his eyes moved, staring at the map, and said:
"I have a little idea..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang stared at his mouth that spoke a string of German words. The teeth under his thin lips were shining white, like the teeth of some kind of beast...
…
At half past two in the night, the Sixth Division of the Eight Banners of the Manchu and Qing Army marched north along the Ningyi Highway.
This time, the Sixth Division of the Eight Banners did not carry motorized transportation, but all used horses. The division commander judged that when fighting in such foggy conditions, the sound of the vehicle's engines would far reveal the location of the troops.
Division Commander Hafen'a rode a tall horse and guided the troops in the division headquarters. Looking at the heavy fog around him and listening to the large troops marching around without much sound, he couldn't help but feel how correct his decision to "go motorized" was.
.
A few hours ago, relying on the quietness of the troops, we had sneaked past the Ming army's defense line without anyone noticing. Now we have to sneak forward as far as possible, all the way to the city of Nanjing, if possible.
inside.
But it is unlikely, because there was a battle in Moling Town more than two hours ago, and the 74th Division of the Ming Army was completely wiped out, so people must have known about their existence.
The only possible opponent is the People's Guard. It is said that it is a division composed of tanks and armored vehicles. But Hafon'a doesn't care at all. The reason is simple. In this kind of visibility, tanks and armored vehicles cannot play any role. Once the opponent can only
If you rely on infantry to fight, you will not be your opponent at all.
…
At the front of the team is the division's vanguard unit, the division reconnaissance battalion.
On the road, there are ten Qing soldiers riding bicycles every fifty meters in front and back. This is the bicycle company of the reconnaissance battalion. They carry rifles on their backs, and behind every few bicycles, they carry a light machine gun, or
Thick anti-tank guns. These scouts were cautious and silent, hunched over and pedaling the car, spraying white mist from their mouths and noses, listening carefully to the silent surroundings, and looking around as hard as they could, but it was too dark and it was too dark.
It was foggy and I could only see less than ten meters away.
Within a radius of more than 100 meters on both sides of the road, Qing soldiers were scattered on horseback. They were the cavalry company of the division's reconnaissance battalion. At this moment, they were pulling the reins and trotting. The horses' hooves turned over the soil in the field, but they made no sound.
.This cavalry company is also equipped with several light machine guns, anti-tank guns, and 50mm mortars.
A few dozen meters behind them is the support company attached to the reconnaissance battalion. There is an anti-tank platoon, equipped with three 37mm anti-tank cannons, and an infantry artillery platoon, equipped with two 57mm mountain guns. Once the light reconnaissance team in front
When the soldiers encounter an attack, the support company can immediately pull up the artillery to fire.
It should be said that such a reconnaissance lineup is still very strong. It is the elite Eight Banners Division. It is difficult for other ordinary infantry divisions to achieve this configuration.
Less than one kilometer behind the reconnaissance battalion is the main force of the Sixth Division of the Eight Banners. Originally, the safety distance should be wider, but now it is night and the visibility is too low, so all distances have to be shortened a lot.
, the entire division’s marching queue became much more compact.
Sudden……
The bicycle at the front suddenly stopped, and the Qing soldier raised his arm and whispered:
"Stop!"
Suddenly, several rows of bicycles in front and behind stopped, orders were whispered to both sides, and the cavalry in the field also reined in their reins and looked around uneasily.
A breeze blew by, and the fog in front seemed to weaken a little, and the silhouette of a tank was vaguely visible.
The commander of the bicycle company hurriedly waved his arms to signal his men to retreat immediately.
Dozens of bicycle soldiers bent back and tiptoed back while pushing their bicycles. Soon, the cavalrymen on both sides also slowly retreated into the distance.
The company commander stayed alone, observing the tank. The tank was parked in the middle of the road, not started, very quiet, and did not notice him.
It should be the People's Guard's security net.
That tank is not too tall, but very wide, and the 37mm gun on the turret is facing me. It should be the Ming Army's Lightning 2 light tank.
He pushed the bicycle nervously, trying not to make a sound, and retreated dozens of meters back.
The company commander waved and a soldier came up:
"Sir!"
"Go," the company commander said, "inform the division headquarters that a Ming army tank was found ahead, but there is only one."
"嗻!"
The soldier got on the car and rode back.
The company commander wiped the sweat from his head and took a breath. Fortunately, he was the one who discovered the enemy first and not the other way around. If the tank had discovered the enemy first, it would have at least resulted in heavy casualties.
He said to those around him:
"We have to kill this tank."
"With an anti-tank gun?"
"No," he shook his head, "one or two shots from the anti-tank gun can't stop it, and we still have to kill people. Now that the tanks haven't noticed us, we have a big advantage. We can be more secure. Call the support company to fire those three anti-tank guns."
Tank guns are pushed up."
"嗻!"
After a while, the support company behind pushed three 37mm cannons up. The three artillery crews held their breath and gently pushed the cannons forward on the road, staring intently at the deadly tanks ahead.
I'm afraid that if a stone or something hits the cannon's tire and makes a noise, I'll be doomed.
A gunner was sweating profusely and asked in a low voice:
"Okay? Do you still want to go forward?"
Even his long hair almost stood on end, but he still whispered:
"Keep pushing, get as close as possible!...Okay, okay, stop here!"
Three small cannons were scattered on the road, with their muzzles pointed at the tank less than ten meters ahead. The tank remained motionless, as if there was no one inside.
The gunners began to slowly shake the handle to push the barrel down. Then the loading hand held a cannonball a little larger than a carrot, carefully opened the barrel, and gently filled the cannonball into it.
At this moment, the tank in front suddenly started to move, its tracks creaked, and it retreated at a high speed of thirty kilometers, and disappeared into the heavy fog in the distance in the blink of an eye.
After more than ten seconds, several gunners got up from the ground in shock, half-kneeling and looking around.
There was no sound at all. The night wind was filled with mist, and there was dead silence in the distance. There was no sound of the engine at all. I don't know if the tank had gone far away, or was hiding somewhere and turned off the engine.
Not only the gunner, but also the bicycle company commander behind felt a chill.
There is a strange atmosphere floating in the heavy fog.
The company commander had an ominous premonition... very ominous.