The central command hall of Nanjing Purple Mountain Fortress echoed the announcer's voice:
"...the leading troops of the Left Army Group have arrived in Nanyang and encountered limited resistance from the Qing defenders... They have not been shot by heavy howitzers, only mortars at present..."
Li Gensheng telegraphed the newspaper and was about to order a direct attack when Xiang Xiaoqiang stopped him:
"Wait a minute, wait a minute."
"Sir," Li Gensheng said anxiously, "We can't wait any longer. It's already past three o'clock. The left offensive must capture Nanyang before dark and enter the Henan Plain tomorrow! The left offensive is now locked up in the small basin of Xiangfan.
Surrounded by mountains, the nights are long and the dreams are many..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang interrupted him and said:
"No, no, wait a minute... let them not rush to attack from the front, but first encircle them from both wings, cut off the entire Nanyang garrison's retreat, and try to annihilate them all."
Li Gensheng was surprised and looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang with a look like "You don't have a fever?" After a while, he finally couldn't help it and said loudly:
"Sir! We are the fastest at the moment, and I don't see any need to sacrifice speed for the sake of total annihilation! I also don't see what the few Qing soldiers in Nanyang deserve to be 'annihilated'! Same as before,
Just chase and fight after being overwhelmed! This way, the time is the shortest and the price is the same.
Minimum! If we pursue total annihilation, we must first spend time encircling both sides and risk being attacked from both sides between Nanyang and Fangcheng! Yes, sir, there are several senior Qing generals in Nanyang City.
But that’s not worth it! The highest person is just a lieutenant general..."
He waved his hands at Xiaoqiang several times, and finally almost slapped the table before he stopped Li Gensheng. He glared and said:
"Gensheng, let me tell you, there is nothing wrong with what you said from a military perspective. When I say encirclement, from a military perspective, it is indeed more gain than loss. But we are the People's Guard and we have to learn to consider issues from a political perspective... This is
In the first real battle of the left army group, we must give the Qing army a deep impression. Their generals were afraid of being held responsible for the loss of Xinye and wanted to
With a tough battle in Nanyang, we can save our wealth and wealth in the future... It is not that cheap, and this trend cannot last long. We must teach all the Qing generals a lesson and let them understand that when they encounter us in the future, they must either run away or run away.
Or you can't run away. Those who want to stay and fight a beautiful battle must be mentally prepared to be prisoners. This will be of great benefit to the overall situation of future wars. Gensheng, do you understand?"
Li Gensheng understood, but he still hesitated:
"Sir, but... where is the Chief of Staff?"
At this time, a staff officer ran over, panted and saluted Xiang Xiaoqiang and said:
"Your Excellency, Mr. Tang ordered the left offensive to encircle Nanyang and requested the People's Guard Armored Division to provide fire support."
Xiang Xiaoqiang glanced at Li Gensheng and said with a smile:
"How about it?"
…
The Ming army launched an offensive on the left. Four People's Guard divisions and eight Army motorized infantry divisions, a total of twelve divisions, braved mortar bombardment and began to attack the two flanks of the Nanyang defenders.
Under the lead bombardment of the Ming Army Army Aviation, the dozens of heavy artillery of the Qing Army defenders were too big to target and had been smashed. The remaining ones were mortars, infantry guns and 37mm anti-aircraft guns that had small targets and could be easily hidden.
The tank has a smaller gun.
In the simple communication trench outside Nanyang City, the Qing artillery crew carried the barrel, chassis, bracket and shells on their backs. They braved the bombing by planes and ran in the trench with their heads down, transporting the mortars to the appropriate location for assembly.
The advantage of mortars is that they are small in size and light in weight, making them easy to transport. The total weight of an 80mm mortar is only a few tens of kilograms, while the weight of ordinary artillery of the same caliber is measured in tons.
In addition to being inferior to ordinary artillery in range and accuracy, mortars are equally powerful and have a much faster rate of fire. Now in this kind of close-range firefight outside the city, the few dozen mortars left by the Qing army have become
Something very powerful.
However, the firepower of the Qing army's defenders was too weak. If the position was not too close to Nanyang City and the Ming army did not intend to use heavy artillery for fear of accidentally injuring civilians, the Qing army in this division would have been blown away by the superior firepower.
At this time, the benefits of the Ming army's dive bombers were revealed. Dozens of dive bombers took turns rushing down, and the heavy bombs shook the Qing army's positions. All the Qing troops huddled in the trenches and were almost destroyed.
The fallen soil was buried, and no one dared to show his head. The mortar team did not care to read the flags of the observers on the top of the city. They just lowered their heads in the trench, aimed in the general direction, and just went into the barrel of the gun.
Just fill the shells.
It is precisely because of this that when the Ming army's tanks, armored vehicles, and cars charge toward the two wings, they will not slip out of the range of the mortars and spend more time making large-radius detours.
Although no Ming army vehicle has been hit by artillery shells, machine gun bullets and shrapnel continue to hit the armored baffles, making the Ming army soldiers inside tremble with fear. The aircraft in the sky can only suppress the clear fire from long distances.
At the military position, where the Ming army charged and approached, the bombing would stop. And those Qing troops in the trenches who still had fighting capacity would be threatened by the commanders with pistols, and they would be picked up and picked up anti-tank guns and machine guns.
Hand grenades to block.
The baffles of light tanks and armored vehicles were constantly penetrated by armor-piercing projectiles, causing casualties among soldiers. However, they still rushed forward quickly, crossing trenches one after another, and closed the encirclement before the Qing army planned to retreat.
The motorized infantry division behind also followed. Unlike the motorized infantry division, they only marched in cars and had to get off their vehicles during combat. They followed closely behind the motorized infantry division, taking advantage of the short-lived firepower from tanks and armored vehicles.
When you have an opening, swarm up, jump into the trenches, and use submachine guns and flamethrowers to clear trenches one by one.
In this way, the Qing army's defenses on both wings were easily broken through. At the same time, the bombers of the other two squadrons suppressed the Qing army in Fangcheng 50 kilometers away, preventing them from coming for reinforcements.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, Nanyang City and the Qing garrison were surrounded by an iron wall by 12 Ming military divisions, and were trapped in an encirclement of 30-40 kilometers in circumference.
…
The Ming army began its final attempt to persuade them to surrender. Planes continued to drop leaflets, and armored vehicles mounted loudspeakers and drove to a distance of several hundred meters, braving the "clinking" bullets and shrapnel, and shouted to the Qing army's positions:
"Brothers of the 115th Division of the Qing Army... Brothers of the 115th Division of the Qing Army... We are all Han Chinese, and all Han people in the world are brothers. Han people do not fight Han people... We must turn our guns together and aim at the evil Manchus
The dignitaries...they are your real enemies...ah? What are you doing? I'm shouting here...ah, sir!"
It turned out that another armored vehicle drove up, and the two vehicles were close to each other. Sun Gaogang, the commander of the Fourth Armored Division, actually came in person. He boarded the armored vehicle and pushed aside the officer of the political work team who was shouting:
"Let's go, let's go! What about your poem recitation? It's useless to shout like this until it gets dark. You're not shouting to the point. Come on, let me shout a few words for you... Listen, cough, cough."
He looked at the Qing army's position with his eyes close to the observation window, picked up the microphone and shouted:
"Brothers of the 115th Division of the Qing Army, you have no other way out. Surrender here, you can't fight... We have thousands of planes, hundreds of tanks, thousands of cannons... What do you have?
?Except for a few mortars, are there any cannons?...You will be defeated if you fight, and you will be defeated if you don't fight. You might as well surrender...
"You officials talk about being rewarded for meritorious service, granting you an official position, and making wishes... Think about it, is it possible? You can't even run away now. After a heavy artillery fire, your brothers will die without any body parts. How can you be rewarded for meritorious service...
As long as you vote here, we will treat everyone equally, apply for a Ming Dynasty ID card for you, and enjoy the Ming Dynasty national treatment... The people here are not bullied by the government and can move anywhere they want. The income of farmers is seven to eight times, more than ten times that of the north, and they can afford to eat every day.
Meat……
"Brothers, come here! As long as you have the ability, everyone here has a bright future! You don't need a family background to be an official here, and you don't need to spend money on gifts! As long as you are virtuous and talented, and pass the exam
, even if you are a child from a poor family, you can still be a high official! As long as you have real ability, you can become an official of any size.
Go!...How about our Chief Minister Shen Ge? One person is less than ten thousand people, and he comes from a poor background...Brothers, it doesn't matter even if you are illiterate! As long as you come here and get a wife here
If you give birth to a child, your son can go to school for free. If he learns well in the future, he may be the next prime minister...
"Brothers, you don't have to worry about your family being implicated. Our Ming army is extremely powerful and will be able to reach your hometown soon..."
…
At the same time, the loudspeaker on the Qing army's position was also shouting:
"Brothers, those are all lies! You are not allowed to listen to them, you are not allowed to spread them, and you are not allowed to believe them! The Ming army likes to bury prisoners alive, and all the prisoners they capture will be buried alive... They say they eat meat every day, that is all lies... They
We suffer from famine every year, and countless people starve to death. Otherwise, why would they invade us?
Those who are too poor can no longer survive, and those who come here to grab food...Brothers, hold on until dark. Their planes will no longer work after dark, and the army from the north will come to reinforce us! Brothers, fight well, be rewarded for your meritorious service, and honor your ancestors.
The imperial court keeps its word!... Once again, you are not allowed to pick up leaflets or listen to rumors..."
On the loudspeaker of the Ming army opposite, Sun Gaogang was shouting again:
"...Brothers, you are no longer children. You all have eyes that can see, and you all have brains that can think...it is obvious which one is a lie...Brothers, think about why you are fighting...are you fighting for those who are fighting all day long?"
Are you fighting for the officers who scold you and drink the blood of your soldiers? Are you fighting for the government bullies in your hometown who bully men and women and prey on the villagers? Are you fighting for the police who arrested your brothers and extorted money from your parents?
And fight?
"...Do you want to protect them so that their descendants can continue to oppress your descendants?...Do you want your descendants to be like you, working for them for life and never get ahead?...You guys
Don’t you all envy those who fled south, but don’t dare to do so yourself?...Now is your chance! Kill your commander, then throw down your gun and run over! You will be the people of the Ming Dynasty! Your descendants will also become the people of the Ming Dynasty.
Got it!"
The officers on the Qing army's position also showed fear in their shouts, but they were still shouting at the top of their lungs:
"...They are all rumors, don't listen to them, don't believe them! They don't tell the truth! Who dares to kill the commander and shoot the whole family! Who dares to go over and shoot the whole family... Don't listen to them, don't believe them! They are all rumors..."
"You're so fucked, Yao! Bang!"
"ah……"
There was a gunshot on the position, and the officer screamed and fell to the ground dead. Then a loud voice shouted:
"You bastard son of a bitch, if you don't kill him, why don't you let your son abuse my son again? Brothers, if you have the guts, join me and join the Ming Dynasty!"
Almost instantly, a shout rang out from the Qing army's position, followed by a series of gunshots. Several officers were killed, and then with a "hurrah", hundreds of Qing soldiers jumped out of the trench and crouched.
Run towards the Ming army.
The Ming army was overjoyed and cheered overwhelmingly. Sun Gaogang in the armored car was also happy from ear to ear, but he did not forget to shout:
"Throw away the guns! Throw away the guns!"
In fact, it’s superfluous to say this. The Qing soldiers also knew that they could run slowly with guns, so they threw away the guns at the beginning. Hundreds of Qing soldiers ran desperately, and the machine gun bullets from the Qing army’s position behind them flew towards them, "
"Whoosh", people kept being shot and fell to the ground. Soon mortars came over, killing several of them with one "bomb". But these hundreds of Qing soldiers still didn't stop and ran away without their lives.
"Suppressive fire! Suppressive fire!"
Sun Gaogang called for fire suppression from his division and asked the aviation force to bombard the enemy.
He was now a few hundred meters away from the Qing army's position, which was undoubtedly equivalent to calling "fire at me". However, he didn't expect that much until the mortars from behind hit him all over the place. After they bombarded the Qing army's position one after another, he
Only then did he realize what he was doing. He broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly squatted down low.
A few minutes later, the dive bombers in the sky also rushed down and strafed and dropped bombs.
The firepower on the Qing army's position was immediately suppressed. After a while, these hundreds of Qing soldiers successfully ran through the nearly two-kilometer middle zone, rolling and crawling to the ground and collapsed in front of the Ming army's position.