The Ming army captured Kaifeng on the morning of the 24th, but in the direction of Luoyang, things were not so smooth.
In other words, the unsatisfactory situation in Luoyang was also expected.
Kaifeng is 50 kilometers east of Zhengzhou. It is still the Henan Plain, with a vast plain and no danger to defend. In addition, the garrison force is weak, so it is very suitable for the Ming Army's armored group to advance quickly. But a few kilometers west of Zhengzhou, it enters the mountains. To the west of Zhengzhou
100 kilometers away from Luoyang, sitting right now
It is surrounded by mountains. Like Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, it is bounded by the Yellow River to the north, but to the east and south are mountains, which are branches of the Qinling Mountains. It is bounded by Song Mountain to the east, Funiu Mountain to the south, and Xiong'er Mountain to the southwest.
, there is no dangerous terrain in the west, until Hangu Pass.
It is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and in the middle is the Luoyang Plain. It is this Luoyang Plain that the Ming army wants to invade.
It is not unreasonable for Luoyang to be the east gate of Hangu Pass and the ancient capital of the Thirteen Dynasties. Like Chang'an, it was chosen as the capital of the Thirteen Dynasties because of its world-dominating momentum. Although Luoyang is not like Chang'an, it is the capital of the Thirteen Dynasties.
The four fortresses in Guanzhong are like staying in a safe. However, after the rulers of the past dynasties took possession of Guanzhong, if they happened to
To rule the world and bring peace to the world, Luoyang will most likely be the capital. Because Luoyang has a very good strategic terrain and is closer to the political and economic center of the Central Plains. If the world changes and the Central Plains becomes a battlefield, Luoyang will be threatened and cannot be defended.
Then you can move into Guanzhong at any time, guard Hangu Pass, sit back and observe the general trend of the world, advance, attack, retreat or defend.
Now the Qing Army's Zhengzhou Corps is in such a situation. Kaifeng has been lost, Luoyang is threatened, and Zhengzhou is also in danger. Chen Wangwu is now spending all his energy on safely withdrawing westward.
Chen Wangwu saw the loss of Kaifeng at noon on the 24th. After knowing the situation he was facing, he had the idea of heading west to Hangu. Then he quickly made up his mind to "take Hangu to order Nanming". One afternoon, he
I'm busy with this matter.
He first made a phone call and ordered the army commander of Luoyang to lead his three divisions to guard several key points entering Luoyang and resist with all their might. Chen Wangwu promised on the phone that no matter who wins or loses the war, he will be guaranteed to leave.
Half life of prosperity and wealth.
Then, Chen Wangwu immediately sent engineers to drive trucks to the Yellow River Bridge to make preparations for blowing up the bridge.
At present, the most ferocious attack by the Ming army is in the direction of Luoyang in the west. Zhengzhou has not yet been directly attacked. This also provides convenience for Chen Wangwu to retreat westward more smoothly. Otherwise, when bombing from the sky and attacking from the ground, he will have a huge problem.
It is impossible to evacuate Zhengzhou's military-organized troops to the west.
…
Luoyang was more difficult to fight than Kaifeng. This was something the Ming Army Headquarters had long prepared for. However, they were trapped in the mountains for more than ten hours from early morning to night, and it was so difficult to advance inch by inch. This was something they did not expect.
As if suddenly, the morale of the Qing troops in Luoyang increased and they were resisting desperately.
Not only were the old men at the headquarters surprised, but Xiang Xiaoqiang was also very surprised.
He stared at the big map and said gloomily:
"If even Luoyang is so difficult to defeat, Hangu Pass will be impossible to defeat... We originally thought that the Zhengzhou Army was all from Shaanxi, so we would have no worries about surrendering. Now it's better, we can protect our homeland and the country!...
…What exactly went wrong?”
Next to her, Xiuxiu didn't speak, but also stared at the big map, thinking with Xiang Xiaoqiang.
Xiang Xiaoqiang is right. If Luoyang is so difficult to enter, then Guanzhong will be impossible to enter.
Although the Luoyang Plain is also bordered by the Yellow River to the north and surrounded by mountains, there are at least three roads that can lead to it.
A road in the northeast is a narrow road between Songshan Mountain and the Yellow River, which is the famous Hulao Pass. It goes west from Hulao Pass, passes through Gong County (later Gongyi City), and enters the Luoyang Plain.
The road due east is a valley between the Song Mountains, going west from Xinmi to Dengfeng, and then entering the Luoyang Plain. This road is also relatively narrow.
The Ming army now chooses the southernmost road: a narrow plain between Songshan Mountain and Funiu Mountain, about 60-70 kilometers long and 20-30 kilometers wide. Ruzhou is in the middle of this plain.
Only through this narrow plain - or large valley - from south to north can you enter the Luoyang Plain.
This road is considered the best of the three. It is the widest, and the bottom of the valley is very flat, so it can be called a "narrow plain". The other two roads can only be called "valleys".
.
Looking at Hangu Pass in the west, although the mountains on both sides of "Hangu" are much lower than those here in Zhengzhou, the key lies in the word "narrow", which is known as "cars do not separate tracks, horses do not saddle up", "one mud"
"Wan Erdong seals Hangu", which means that a single clay pill can seal Hangu Pass.
Luoyang is surrounded by mountains, but after all, there is a lot of room for maneuver and "route selection". Whether it is a big road or a trail in the mountains, the attacker can always find another way, but the defender has too many directions to defend. Hangu Pass
There is only one road, the Yellow River to the north and the Qinling Mountains to the south. The two natural dangers are parallel here.
There is a gap of less than 20 kilometers. And in this gap of less than 20 kilometers, there are two small ridges running from southwest to northeast running side by side, almost completely closing the gap of less than 20 kilometers.
There is only a valley in the middle that is 15 kilometers long, 10 meters wide, and 50-70 meters deep. It is as deep as a pipe, which is called "Han Valley".
The Qinqi Railway (Xi'an-Weihai) and Baoluo Highway (Baoji-Luoyang) run parallel through this valley, which is the only throat from Guanzhong to the Central Plains, leaving no room for detours.
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at the almost stalemate offensive in the south of Luoyang, and then looked at the more perverted Hangu Pass in the west, and suddenly felt that "this life cannot be passed".
"The main force of the Zhengzhou Corps is in the Zhengzhou area," Xiang Xiaoqiang said impatiently. "We originally wanted to capture Kaifeng and Luoyang on both sides and encircle Zhengzhou. We just wanted to block the main force of the Zhengzhou Corps in Zhengzhou and prevent them from escaping westward into Hangu Pass.
Well. Now it seems that Luoyang has become a hard nut to crack, even harder than Zhengzhou itself!...Xiuxiu, who is the leader of the Luoyang army?"
"He is Lieutenant General Bai Jia, commander of the Sixteenth Army. He is affiliated to the Thirteenth Group Army of the Qing Army. He has five divisions, distributed as follows: three divisions on the Luoyang side and two divisions on the Hangu Pass side. Sir, Bai Jia is a Manchu.
"
"Manchus? So what if they are Manchus?"
"Sir," Xiu Xiu frowned and said slowly, "He is a Manchu general, but now he is ranked below Chen Wangwu, a Han general... This year, the Manchu and Han generals in the Qing army have become very divided. Only Manchu generals can command Han generals, and no Han generals can
The commander is full of generals. Now Bai Jia is fighting so hard under the command of Chen Wangwu. This probably shows that... the Zhengzhou Army does not intend to withdraw northward to the Yellow River, but intends to withdraw westward to Hangu Pass."
Xiang Xiaoqiang stared at her and said slowly:
"Are you...sure?"
Xiuxiu bit her lip, frowned again, and shook her head:
"Not sure."
"come over!"
Xiang Xiaoqiang pulled Xiuxiu and walked quickly towards the Chief of General Staff.
…
In front of Zhang Zhaoxian and Tang Yunsheng, Xiang Xiaoqiang asked Xiuxiu to express her thoughts.
However, several high-level officials in the headquarters, including Xiang Xiaoqiang, did not quite understand the purpose of the Zhengzhou Corps' westward withdrawal from Guanzhong. Especially, they did not want to withdraw north despite leaving the Yellow River Bridge, but they wanted to desperately hold on to the "Luoyang Corridor", which was so far away.
Head west to Guanzhong.
"If the Zhengzhou Corps wants to withdraw from Guanzhong to the west," Tang Yunsheng picked up a pointing stick and pointed on the sand table, "it will be easier for them to get in than to get out. Neither Shaanxi nor Shanxi has a longitudinal railway going north. They have to rely on two legs.
We walked nearly 500 kilometers on the Loess Plateau, then crossed the Yellow River eastward at Suide and Liulin, and only then could we take a train in Luliang City on the other side.
"In the whole of Shanxi, only the Lucang Railway (Lüliang-Cangzhou) can lead to the outside and is connected to the North China Railway network in the east. Such a long journey will take nearly two months. In the past two months, this army
It has become a 'marginal army'. In other words, no matter what happens on the eastern battlefield, this army will not be effective."
Army Aviation Commander Li Guoliang interjected:
"Our original analysis was that the Zhengzhou Corps would go directly north from the Yellow River Bridge. The Beijing-South Railway is one of the two north-south trunk lines of the North China Railway Network. They can be transferred to other theaters at any time as needed. As for guarding Hangu Pass, there is no way
We can’t use so many troops. Hangu
Whether we can hold the pass is not a question of the number of troops. If we really plan to hold on, the fortress troops at Hangu Pass are enough now. If the fortress troops at Hangu Pass cannot hold it and we break through into the middle of the pass, then the entire Zhengzhou Army will also
That’s why they were wiped out by us.”
Next to him, Fang Dongcheng, commander of the left army group, said gloomily:
"Commander Li... I am not as optimistic as you. If the Zhengzhou Army retreats into Hangu Pass, it will be much more difficult for us to break through the pass. If we fight hard, we will increase a lot of casualties. Even if we persuade them to surrender, it will only be
We have to persuade a division commander, a corps commander, and now we have to persuade a group army commander... The appetite of such a high-ranking official is absolutely a bottomless pit. If he wants to have troops and natural dangers, we have to kneel down and beg him."
After all, Li Guoliang was the commander of Army Aviation, and he was not very good at land warfare. He rashly interjected a word, but was pushed back lukewarmly. He looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang in a sullen voice.
Xiang Xiaoqiang shook his head and sighed secretly. Li Guoliang was naturally his confidant, but Fang Dongcheng also had a good relationship with him. Fang Dongcheng, commander of the left army group, and Feng Lingcai, commander of the right army group, were among the five armies that followed him to besiege Pukou.
One of the commanders. Now they have all been promoted, and these two have been reused and become army group commanders.
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"The second half of Commander Li's words is certainly inappropriate, but the first half is correct. If the Zhengzhou Corps does not cross the Yellow River north, but marches westward to Hangu, it would indeed be unreasonable in terms of grand strategy. In fact, the second half of Commander Li's words
Although this is too optimistic, it is not without some truth. Qing
The army will not 'freeze' a dozen divisions just for the so-called 'strengthening the defense of Hangu Pass'. This is too exaggerated. But... no matter whether they want to cross the Yellow River north or march westward
Hangu, there is a way that we will know right away."
Several people looked at him.
Xiang Xiaoqiang also picked up a pointing stick, pointed at the sand table and said:
"The People's Guard is south of Zhengzhou, and there are still three mechanized divisions that have not entered the battle. Now, taking advantage of the dusk and not yet darkness, we go north and directly attack Zhengzhou. We originally thought that Zhengzhou was the main force, and Luoyang should be easier to fight, but now it looks like
It will be more difficult to attack Luoyang. In this way, we can simply attack Zhengzhou directly. Zhengzhou is a plain, which is convenient for the mechanized army to advance.
"If the main force of the Zhengzhou Corps is really preparing to withdraw westward, then once we attack from the south, they will be eager to flee westward. We only need to fight a pursuit and annihilation battle. Of course, we may lose the Yellow River Bridge. If they don't
If you plan to cross the river, you will definitely do it
Blow up the bridge. On the contrary, if they plan to withdraw north, or stick to Zhengzhou and Luoyang, our offensive resistance will be greater. But there is a good thing, they may not blow up the bridge at the last moment. We may get a complete
Yellow River Bridge, and then north to Shanxi."
Tang Yunsheng stared at Xiang Xiaoqiang and asked:
"Go directly north to Shanxi? What about Guanzhong and Shaanxi?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang said:
"We can only ignore it for the time being. In this case, we can only take Shanxi first and join our Taihang Mountain column. Of course, if we are lucky and can completely grab one or two Yellow River pontoon bridges, then we can still
You can go west to Shaanxi, and then go south to Guanzhong. Although this takes a big detour and a little trouble, it avoids the brutal and bloody battle at Hangu Pass."
Zhang Zhao first stared at the sand table, pondered for a moment, and said:
"This idea is advisable... Does anyone have any additional opinions? Let's talk. But hurry up, it's going to be dark. We are going to attack Zhengzhou without air cover."
Tang Yunsheng also stared at the sand table for a while and said:
"To the west of Hangu Pass is Tongguan, but Tongguan is close to the Yellow River Embankment. Since the era of hot weapons, the Northern Qing Dynasty has no longer fortified Tongguan in consideration of the safety of the Yellow River Embankment. The Qing army's defense in Guanzhong has been moved eastward to Hangu Pass... Tongguan is close to here
Along the Yellow River, there is Feng Lingdu, where there is a permanent pontoon bridge, which is the distance from Hangu
Guan is the closest. If we successfully attack Zhengzhou and capture the Yellow River Bridge, we can cross the Yellow River north. Then we don’t need to attack Shanxi first. We can first sneak attack on the Fenglingdu Floating Bridge to the west. If we capture the Floating Bridge, we can directly enter Guanzhong.
.After occupying Guanzhong, since we have a pontoon bridge in hand, it will not be too late to turn around and march eastward to Shanxi."
Xiang Xiaoqiang said immediately:
"Tang Gong's plan is better, and the students agree."
Fang Dongcheng, commander of the West Route Army Group, said:
"My lords, when we attack Zhengzhou, we should not relax our attack on Luoyang. What the general means is that Zhengzhou is a plain, so Sir Xiang's five mechanized divisions of the People's Guard will be the main attack, and Commander Li's Army Air Force will take advantage of it.
At dusk, when it was not dark, we cooperated vigorously. On the plains, our army has a comprehensive advantage, so the best time to attack is during the day, when the line of sight is good, and the advantages can be used.
"As for Luoyang, because the offensive route is a long and narrow valley with rolling mountains on both sides... In this environment, the visibility is good during the day, and their machine guns and artillery can give full play to their advantages. Especially when the enemy intends to resist seriously, it can be said
The advantage is on the enemy's side. Then, the night belongs to us, and the advantage returns to our side. The general suggested that we persist in the attack all night and try to enter Luoyang with a night battle."
Xiang Xiaoqiang said immediately:
"The students agree with the suggestions of Ming Gong, Tang Gong, and Master Fang. Attacking Zhengzhou cannot replace attacking Luoyang. The area between Zhengzhou and Luoyang is not a plain, but a mountainous area, and is the Hulao Pass. Even if we take Zhengzhou, if Luoyang guards
If we persist in resisting, we still cannot enter the Luoyang Plain. Therefore, Lord Fang is right, we should fight at night and strive to capture Luoyang tonight."
The senior leaders of the headquarters have unified their opinions. Now, no matter what, they must launch a fierce offensive on Zhengzhou while it is still dark, and strive to penetrate Zhengzhou City in one go and seize the Yellow River Bridge intact.