"Sir Xiang," Xiang Xiaoqiang was going to the toilet. He had just pulled up his pants when an earnest voice came from behind him, "Haha, what a coincidence... the last general... the last general... also came to the toilet..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang was speechless and turned around to see a man in his forties with slightly white temples and wearing a general's uniform. He was speechless and had an unnaturally charming smile on his face.
——Lieutenant General Li Guoliang, commander of the Army Aviation Forces.
The last general?... This is too exaggerated. He and I do not belong to each other, and even if he was just promoted to lieutenant general by His Majesty, he is only on the same level as him. But now he calls himself "the last general" with a flattering look on his face.
…
A good premonition came about. Xiang Xiaoqiang couldn't help feeling ecstatic, but on the surface he nodded calmly, turned on the faucet and washed his hands, saying:
"Well."
Li Guoliang hesitated for a moment, and then came over to wash his hands. Neither of them said anything, and they washed their hands for a long time. Li Guoliang finally couldn't hold it in any longer and whispered:
"My lord, please take good care of me from now on... from now on!"
as expected!
Xiang Xiaoqiang raised his head and stared at the Army Aviation Commander of the Ming Empire.
Xiang Xiaoqiang had a deep impression on him. The first time he met him was at the East Factory meeting. At the meeting, the cabinet ministers were unwilling to send troops for rescue and insisted that the plane had insufficient range. As a result, Li Guoliang
He stood up and refuted it bluntly, without saving any face. He made Foreign Minister Xu Yuanzhen so embarrassed that he even threw boiling water all over him.
But such a general with an upright character, today he bit the bullet and signaled his surrender to his "new star".
The phrase "The last general also comes to use the toilet" is so classic, it is almost as good as the sentence "My lord, you go to the toilet yourself"... Before he could do anything, he just called him the last general, and didn't say anything to Xiaoqiang.
He shouted hurriedly, and in the second sentence he got straight to the point, asking him to "take care of me in the future." Even to Xiaoqiang, a newbie in the officialdom, what he did was too stiff and unskilled.
why?
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"What did Mr. Li say? We are all officials in the same court and should take care of each other."
Li Guoliang was stunned for a moment and looked very disappointed. He hesitated awkwardly for a long time, gritted his teeth, put down his face again and leaned over, laughing softly:
"Master Xiang, in this air raid, I... I have made a great contribution... Hehe, I know that this is all for your care..."
Well, this person is quite knowledgeable. Xiang Xiaoqiang was very satisfied and quickly analyzed Li Guoliang's thoughts in his mind.
If Xiang Xiaoqiang tells all this to Fourteen Gege, Fourteen Gege will make a similar analysis for him. Fourteen Gege is well aware of the character, resume, abilities, etc. of the senior generals of the Ming army. Li Guoliang's position is very important.
He is as important as the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, but he does not have a core position in the General Staff, and his actual status does not match his official position.
At present, the militaries of all countries do not pay enough attention to air power. They either do not have a separate air force, or the air force has the lowest status, below the traditional army and navy. Among the highest levels of the Ming army, except for a few chiefs of staff, the army is the Yangtze River
The three commanders of the defense line, the commander of the capital garrison, the commanders of the strategic reserve armies, and the navy are the commanders of the major fleets. Only after that can we count the commanders of the ground aviation.
However, this operation planned by Xiang Xiaoqiang, using air power on such a large scale, suddenly brought the aviation force to a strategically decisive position. It was also the first time that Li Guoliang felt that he was so important. Most of these aviation generals were Du
Followers of Hei and Mitchell all believed that air power could win the war. Xiang Xiaoqiang discussed technical issues with him several times, which made Li Guoliang feel that Xiang Xiaoqiang valued air power, or that he was simply obsessed with air power.
From this theory, he was able to "control the country's armed forces" and was the only young general that His Majesty fully trusted. Li Guoliang saw an opportunity for his own rise, an opportunity for the Ming Dynasty Air Force to emerge and rise. He struggled with his thoughts again and again and decided to risk it all
, Seize this opportunity. At least let Xiang Xiaoqiang use aviation with confidence and boldness in the next military operation, and know that Li Guoliang is standing with him.
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang's own analysis is roughly the same. Xiang Xiaoqiang doesn't know much about Li Guoliang's position in the top ranks of the army, but he knows that he is definitely not very ambitious. Xiang Xiaoqiang himself is a rapidly rising star, and he won the title of Emperor in his twenties.
unlimited trust, and also gave huge power. In the eyes of many mature and prudent generals, this must be a blessing and a curse. But in the eyes of some younger generals who are more eager for opportunities, the "Era of Imperial Power" of the Ming Empire has begun.
.Instead of competing with the old men at the top to survive the years, it is better to join the "emperor's close ministers" as early as possible and tie his future. This is undoubtedly a shortcut.
Xiang Xiaoqiang also knows that he is rising rapidly and lacks "party members" around him. Now that such a person has come forward to recommend himself, and he is also an important figure like the Army Aviation Commander, it is really a pillow when he is dozing off. Now his People's Guard can only fight on the ground.
And Xiang Xiaoqiang knows how much air power supports ground operations. To exaggerate, as long as there is absolute air superiority, ground forces can attack and win invincible.
Although he already has the power to "control the national armed forces", including the aviation force and navy, there is still a problem of whether others will listen or not. Xiang Xiaoqiang does not want to first mobilize other people's troops every time.
He had to go to Zhu Yourong to "cry" and then ask Zhu Yourong to issue an order. He knew that until his prestige and power reached a certain level, this power was still on paper.
But now the commander of the Army Aviation Corps has come over. That means that he can easily mobilize Army Aviation aircraft in the future. Even if Li Guoliang's immediate superiors, the old men in the Army Staff Department, disagree, Li Guoliang can still make the arrangements.
Xiang Xiaoqiang can control the country's armed forces. This is officially issued by His Majesty. As a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, can Li Guoliang treat His Majesty's edict as just a family act?
Xiang Xiaoqiang was elated and said with a smile:
"Master Li is too humble... In the end, everyone can win the battle and make meritorious deeds. It doesn't matter who takes care of whom. It's all because of His Majesty's trust!... The army is His Majesty's army, and the aircraft is also His Majesty's aircraft... Haha,
If we all want to make great achievements, we must unite closely around His Majesty. Mr. Li, are you planning to..."
To unite around His Majesty is to unite around Xiang Xiaoqiang.
"Yes, Sir Xiang," Li Guoliang finally understood the hint and said overjoyed, "The general also plans to unite with His Majesty...and Sir Xiang!"
Xiang Xiaoqiang burst into laughter. He originally wanted to ask Li Guoliang if he planned to continue to perform meritorious service, but this straight-headed man immediately poured out everything in his heart. Xiang Xiaoqiang was not very used to it.
But he was very happy. He looked around and laughed softly:
"Master Li is so straightforward. If Xiang Mou continues to act pretentious, that would be too... haha, so you can rest assured that Xiang Mou can rely on Master Li in the future?"
Li Guoliang breathed a sigh of relief. He finally heard the right words and was not rejected. He chuckled excitedly:
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Although the general is not talented, he is still in charge of the entire aviation force of the Imperial Army... It's just to serve Your Majesty!"
Li Guoliang extended his hand to Xiaoqiang, and Li Guoliang greeted him with a high-five. The two held their hands tightly together.
"Master Li, you know," Xiang Xiaoqiang said with a smile, "Xiang always likes to use airplanes when fighting... Master Li, let's work hard together. Sooner or later, Xiang will advise His Majesty to establish the Imperial Air Force!"
Li Guoliang's eyes heated up. This had been his dream for more than ten years! Now this young man opened his mouth and said it softly, and it was about to come true!... He seemed to see the throne of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force waving to him.
He whispered excitedly:
"The final general is willing to help you wholeheartedly and ascend to a high position!"
Xiang Xiaoqiang was shocked: ascending to a high position? What do you mean? He doesn't think he wants to usurp the throne, right?
But looking at Li Guoliang's sincere eyes, Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that he was worrying too much.
No matter what, most of the "air force" has been actually mastered.
…
Today's military operation has ended, and the Ming army inside and outside Nanjing is picking up the pieces.
The defenders of the defense line reoccupied the two gaps in Dinghuai Gate and Zimuzhou, and quickly arranged generators and water pumps to pump water to the incoming defense line, and sent technicians and workers to repair and restore the operation of this defense line.
Then there were a large number of prisoners.
The prisoners of the People's Guard were from the Eight Banners Division, with 4,000. But the prisoners of friendly forces were even more. On the Zimuzhou battlefield, more than 90,000 Qing and Han troops attacked the Capital Garrison, Sixth Army, Tenth Army, and Fourteenth Army.
The army group surrendered.
In comparison, there was a huge disparity, and the People's Guard was beaten. But Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that the comparison could not be like this. The People's Guard first blocked the gap in the defense line, and then directly defended Nanjing. The opponent was the elite Eight Banners Division, and they fought hard.
It’s a tough battle. Of course, that’s not to say that what others are fighting is a “soft battle,” but it’s true that the Zimuzhou battlefield has always been a stalemate. What’s more, the People’s Guard has too few troops, only 10,000 people, while the Capital Garrison and the Sixth Army have
The Tenth Army and the Fourteenth Army combined have a total of 400,000 soldiers.
Moreover, there will probably be more prisoners soon.
Xiang Xiaoqiang comforted himself for a while and then went to attend the military meeting.
There was no red tape at this meeting. As soon as everyone sat down, Zhang Zhaoxian said directly:
"Xiang Xiaoqiang, please tell me your plan to cross the river and annihilate him."
Everyone was startled and looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang in surprise... From their point of view, saving Nanjing was already a great victory. They did not expect that some people wanted to go across the river to fight against the Qing army.
Xiang Xiaoqiang's plan has been discussed with Zhang Zhaoxian, several other top leaders, and of course, Li Guoliang, who has just joined his subordinates. Now it is time to discuss it, and if it is feasible, we must quickly formulate a battle plan.
Xiang Xiaoqiang glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded:
"That's right. I originally advocated crossing the river tonight and attacking Pukou. This way, it would be best if we just bombed it. But it seems that we don't have enough time. It still depends on Master Zhang and all of you to make a joint decision."
It's already past eight o'clock. Xiang Xiaoqiang's plan is to take advantage of the chaos just after the bombing to cross the river from the three pontoons on Zimuzhou, launch a counterattack, and hit the Qing army on the north bank to the greatest extent possible.
Consolidate the victory in the Battle of Nanjing.
But the People's Guard has suffered a lot of casualties now, with only more than 8,000 people left. It is definitely not enough to rely on these few thousand people, and a large number of other troops must be mobilized to participate. But now a big battle has just ended, and there is chaos everywhere.
There are nearly 100,000 prisoners to deal with, and it is impossible to quickly mobilize troops from all over the place. Fighting at night can certainly strike while the iron is hot and will encounter minimal resistance, but it is also very inconvenient for armored troops to move in the dark, which is not conducive to
Take advantage of it. It is better to simply operate during the day and get air support.
Xiang Xiaoqiang asked Xiuxiu to bring a big map and spread it on the table. He stood up and pointed at Zimuzhou and said:
"As you can see, the direction of this section of the Yangtze River is northeast-southwest. Parallel to the Yangtze River is a mountain range. The local name of Pukou is Laoshan. This mountain also runs northeast-southwest and is more than ten kilometers long. There is a mountain range between the Yangtze River and the Laoshan Mountains.
A five-kilometer-wide narrow strip. Opposite the northeastern end of this narrow strip is Mufu Mountain in the north of Nanjing City, the southwest end is opposite Zimuzhou, and Pukou Town is in the middle.
"The general's initial idea is to cross the three pontoon bridges at dawn tomorrow under the cover of a dive bomber formation. He will first occupy and consolidate the ferry with light infantry, and then quickly move the armored troops across the river. Then the troops will be divided into two groups, one on the other.
Guard the southwest exit of the narrow strip, and the other route is mainly composed of mechanized and motorized corps, go around behind the Laoshan Mountains, quickly outflank the northeast, then block the northeast exit of the narrow strip and load in the Qing troops at Pukou."
There was silence in the conference room. The generals were shocked when they heard this. They all stood up and approached, looking at the map seriously. After a while, a general murmured:
"This is at least 200,000 Qing troops."
Tang Yunsheng, Chief of Army General Staff, asked:
"What should I do after I put it in?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang drew a circle around Pukou with his baton:
"Bombing. Continuous bombing. At the same time, both sides quickly advance inward... Of course, the cooperation of various forces is required. For example, the Engineer Arkashi Force must quickly attack the northeastern end of this narrow strip, which is near Shogunate Mountain.
Set up several pontoon bridges so that if the situation goes bad, our troops can quickly withdraw and avoid being trapped in Jiangbei. In addition, our fighter jets must also be sent to the sky in large numbers to prepare for possible incoming Qing aircraft. They
We are unwilling to lose air control and will definitely try to regain it at all costs."
Xiang Xiaoqiang glanced at Li Guoliang as he spoke.
Li Guoliang immediately stood at attention and said resolutely:
"My lords, please rest assured that in the end we can guarantee that at least within 150 kilometers of both sides of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, air control will always be in our hands."
Everyone was a little uncomfortable seeing Li Guoliang, who had never been very communicative, suddenly swearing. But when they thought of the brilliant achievements of the aviation force just now, everyone was relieved. Such a show of results would be impressive. But none of them were
We know that Li Guoliang is full of confidence in his future because he has just joined the imperial family. Moreover, by making this guarantee, he is also expressing his loyalty to Xiang Xiaoqiang.
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"If Mr. Li is so confident, then we will be more confident on the ground... Well, due to the continuous bombing at dusk, the Qing army's artillery position in Pukou has been completely destroyed. Now on both sides of the Yangtze River in the Nanjing section,
It's the first time it's been so quiet since the war started. It's because the Qing army on the other side has no heavy artillery. Well, or basically no heavy artillery. The current state of the Qing army is heavy casualties, low morale, and chaotic organization. By dawn tomorrow, in a few hours
The degree of internal energy recovery is limited, and our opponents should still be in disarray tomorrow morning."
Zhang Zhaoxian already knew Xiang Xiaoqiang’s entire plan in advance. He now prompted:
"Xiang Xiaoqiang, tell me how many troops you are prepared to invest."
Xiang Xiaoqiang said:
"There are very few troops directly used to blockade and attack Pukou. Based on the current combat effectiveness of the 200,000 Qing troops in Pukou, I think that with the armored forces acting as the forward, a maximum of 30,000 to 40,000 troops will be enough. But currently in the entire
In Jiangbei, the Qing army still has an absolute advantage in strength. But if the Qing army reinforces it in time, our army will still be in a very dangerous situation.
"But there is no horizontal railway in the north of the Yangtze River, and the mountains are crisscrossed. The closest Qing army gathering areas to Pukou are on the other side of Zhenjiang and on the other side of Ma'anshan. These two places are 30 kilometers and 50 kilometers away from Pukou respectively. The large army will not arrive within one day, but
Some motorized battalions and regiment units may be deployed to provide reinforcements first. Therefore, we also need some troops to be deployed on both sides of the perimeter for security."
The generals gathered around the map to study it, whispering to each other, and gradually nodded.
Zhang Zhaoxian said again:
"Xiang Xiaoqiang, tell me your determination for this battle."
This is not to ask him to express his determination. "Determination" here is a military term, similar to the meaning of "purpose".
Xiang Xiaoqiang said:
"This plan is still relatively rough, and it is just the general's temporary idea. It will definitely need your adults to check it. The general will first talk about the determination of the plan, please your adults for your reference."
He lit Pukou with his baton and said word by word:
"The first determination is to completely eliminate the 200,000 Qing troops in Pukou... The second determination is to kill or capture the Qing emperor alive."