Watch Fairy Tail Episode 57: The Defensive Position is also a Cage
Episode 57: A defensive position is also a cage
On the morning of the 29th, the secret negotiations between the Ming and Qing Dynasties officially began.
The representative of the Qing side is Yonggui, and the three deputies he brought. The chief representative of the Ming side is Xiang Xiaoqiang, because he has shown great talent and ability in Nanyang negotiations and German negotiations. Especially the Nanyang negotiations, although
It is easier to negotiate when one's own side has the upper hand, but to be able to show the kind of "blackmail genius" that Xiang Xiaoqiang did, and finally negotiate results that no one dared to imagine, really makes the entire Ming Dynasty's diplomats feel ashamed.
Not as good as.
Because the Ming side is the "home court", Xiang Xiaoqiang has more negotiating deputies. The first is Song Ruhai, an old diplomat, and Xiang Xiaoqiang's old partner in Nanyang negotiations and German negotiations. They have worked together for a long time and have a tacit understanding. There are ten more
Si Ge Ge, although she is not engaged in diplomacy
, but she is engaged in intelligence, and she knows the situation in Beiqing better than anyone else. She is also Yonggui’s old boss. She can tell at a glance what tricks Yonggui is playing. Then, there is diplomacy
Several officials from the Ministry and Dongchang. Together, these people formed the Ming side's negotiating team.
Yonggui firmly kept in mind the central spirit of Guangwu. First of all, he tried to stop the Ming army in Shanxi. In the morning of the first day of negotiations, Yonggui did not talk about other issues, but firmly focused on the Shanxi issue, and he must fight hard.
Nanming agreed that both sides should stop advancing at the same time.
This is definitely something that Mingfang cannot accept. No matter how hard Yonggui tries to persuade him or how hard he begs, Mingfang just ignores him.
So, in the afternoon, Yonggui threw out the first piece of cake:
If the Ming army withdraws from Shanxi, the Qing Dynasty will use the Hanzhong Basin, Qinling Mountains, and the entire northern Shaanxi in return.
Before Xiang Xiaoqiang could ask further questions, Yonggui motioned to the side, and another Beiqing official beside him immediately took out a large map and spread it on the table.
"Sir, please take a look," Yonggui smiled and pointed at the map diligently. "As long as your army can withdraw from Shanxi, this area, this area, and this area will all belong to you... Haha.
, Haha, several adults are also experts. I can tell without my having to say that in terms of area, these two areas are larger than the part of Shanxi that your army has already occupied, and they are strategically important areas!
"Haha, sir, please see, now you have controlled southern Shaanxi, but basically the entire Qinling Mountains, as well as the Hanzhong Basin to the south of the Qinling Mountains, are still under the control of our army. This area separates southern Shaanxi and Sichuan
Yes. Such as
If you want to connect southern Shaanxi and Sichuan, you have to control the Qinling Mountains and Hanzhong. But this area is full of high mountains, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack. If your army attacks by force, it may cause heavy casualties, and it will take a long time...
…
"Now, as long as your army withdraws from this small area in the southwestern part of Shanxi, the entire Qinling Mountains, Hanzhong Basin, and northern Shaanxi will all belong to your side. Your side will be connected from Sichuan to northern Shaanxi. Haha,
The Ming Dynasty has a natural barrier of the Mu Us Desert in the north, a natural barrier in the Qinling Mountains in the south, and a natural barrier in the Yellow River in the east. In the future, you will build the building here.
Whether it's railways or building roads, we can run them well without any worries. In this way, our Ming and Qing families can each guard their natural dangers and live in harmony forever, ending the previous relationship of mutual distrust and hostility.
.Hehe, Mr. Xiang, Gege, and a few other adults, what do you think?"
The people in Mingfang smiled at each other, and then Song Ruhai smiled and said:
"That's all?"
"Oh...hehe, yes."
Song Ruhai tapped his fingers on the east side:
"What about the east? What about the east?"
"Eastern?" Yonggui said with a smile, "Oh, what our emperor wants is that the two sides will redraw the border according to the current line of control, oh, it is almost the Huaihe River line..."
The people from Mingfang looked at each other again and laughed.
Xiang Xiaoqiang lowered his face, leaned back in the chair, and said calmly:
"Master Yong, isn't it? You are obviously the defeated party seeking peace, but you still offer such conditions to coax children. You are probably not sincere, right?"
Yonggui said in surprise:
"Sir Xiang, where do you start talking about this? How come we are not sincere? The land area we are willing to exchange now is at least three times the area of Shanxi you have already occupied. How can we say we are not sincere?"
"What you are saying now is tantamount to marrying me to Xiaoqiang's wife..." Xiang Xiaoqiang lowered his head and lit a cigarette and said, "... betrothed me to Xiang Xiaoqiang, and also asked me to accept your favor from Xiaoqiang.
You Yonggui are so sincere..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ming Fang burst into laughter.
He blew out the first puff of smoke towards Xiaoqiang, and then said:
"Master Yong, please tell your conscience whether this is the case."
Yonggui looked ugly and said:
"Sir Xiang, what does this have to do with Madam? Madam, you have already married them into your family, and they are already yours in terms of love and law. Now these pieces of land are still under your control.
In the hands of the Qing Dynasty, if your army comes to snatch the bride, then the bullets in the hands of the Qing Dynasty army will not be spared."
Song Ruhai took several documents handed to him by Shi Shigege, put on his reading glasses, lowered his head and looked at it and said:
"Master Yong, let's talk about the Qinling Mountains first. There are currently two fourth-rate garrison divisions of your army in the Qinling Mountains. The main forces are stationed on Wuguan Road and Dashanguan Road, that is, on the east and west sides. Of course, there are some in other places, so
They are all outposts
.All their logistical supplies must be transported into the mountains from Hanzhong in the south. Let’s talk about Hanzhong again. Now that our army has occupied southern Shaanxi, not to mention the Qinling Mountains, even the Hanzhong Basin has become a lonely part of our army’s control area.
small enclave'.
"Now, the Qing army garrisoned in Hanzhong only has two garrison divisions. After we entered the pass and entered southern Shaanxi, they came to us to negotiate surrender. It is estimated that the result will be within three days, and our army will enter the Hanzhong Plain from Guangyuan.
So, to the north is Guanzhong
The plain, to the south is the Hanzhong Plain, pinched at both ends, how long can those Qing soldiers on the Qinling Mountains in the middle hold out? In a week at most, they will surrender voluntarily like Hanzhong. Then, without your permission, our southern Shaanxi
It can also be connected with Sichuan.
"Let's talk about northern Shaanxi again. There are no natural obstacles between northern Shaanxi and southern Shaanxi. Yes, the Loess Plateau is full of ravines, and the terrain is not as suitable for motorized corps as southern Shaanxi. But there are always at least roads, and
There are not many Qing troops in northern Shaanxi now.
The army has gone to capture Shanxi now, and it is impossible to cross the Yellow River to the west and come to capture northern Shaanxi with us. If we are interested in entering northern Shaanxi, we can march slowly. If we are not interested in entering northern Shaanxi for the time being, that is fine too.
If you put it there, no one will come to snatch it.
"Haha, Mr. Yong, you said that we 'come to snatch the bride', the metaphor is a little bit wrong. What is 'grabbing'? At least one party must have the strength to 'defend', then the other party needs to 'rob'. Now these few
We have basically eaten this piece of land. Not only do you not have the strength to defend it, but we
There is no need to even rob. Even if these areas are not the 'Madam' to the adults, at least they are the 'fiancée'. Wherever our army goes, the people line up to welcome it, and your army rushes to surrender. Originally, it was just two people.
If you are in love, you only need to go to the city hall to get a notarization, so why do you need to 'robbing the bride'?"
Yonggui originally did not expect to use these areas in exchange for the Ming army to withdraw from Shanxi. He still smiled, thought about it for a moment, and then said with a smile:
"Of course what Sir Song said makes sense...but it still takes time, doesn't it? Even if it is exactly as Sir said, the Hanzhong garrison surrendered after a week, wouldn't it still take a week? If Hanzhong surrendered, wouldn't there be Qinling? Even if
The Qinling Mountains are as smooth as Hanzhong, so it will take at least half a month to get the whole piece, right? In this half month, the first batch of supplies for your army may be sent directly from Sichuan along the Dasanguan Highway
It has been transported into Guanzhong!
"Haha, entering Guanzhong directly from the Sichuan Basin is at least better than your army's current supply line - from the Jianghan Plain to the Xiangfan Plain, Nanyang, and then to the Western Henan Plain, then from Zhengzhou to the west to Luoyang, to the west to Hangu Pass, and Tongguan -
Isn’t such a big circle much closer?”
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"It's a bit far, but there is a railway there, my Lord Yong!"
Yonggui did not refute, just said:
"As long as your army can stop in Shanxi now, we can immediately order the defenders of Qinling and Hanzhong to surrender, saving you half a month... This half month is exchanged for your army to immediately attack
Stopping in Shanxi is not too much, right?"
After Yonggui finished speaking, several people on Mingfang's side exchanged glances with each other, which meant: Beiqing finally came up with something useful.
Several people on Mingfang's side whispered to each other and discussed for a few words, then smiled at Xiaoqiang and said:
"Adjourn the meeting temporarily. We really have never thought of Mr. Yong's proposal. Mr. Yong can take a rest first, and we will take this proposal to the headquarters for discussion."
Yonggui suddenly felt happy, but he still stood up calmly and said worriedly:
"Well, please don't delay too long. I will wait for your results."
…
After the meeting was adjourned, Yonggui went back to rest. Xiang Xiaoqiang led the negotiating team to a conference room and first said:
"What do you think?"
The Fourteenth Gege first said:
"We should delay, delay for half an afternoon, and at the same time let Shanxi's troops step up their advance. When we negotiate again, whether we accept the conditions or not, we will not suffer."
She said one sentence and immediately got the approval of most of the negotiating team.
But Song Ruhai didn't speak. Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that he had a different opinion, so he turned to him and asked:
"What do you think, Mr. Hai?... It doesn't matter. We are all our own people here. There is no need to hold anything back at this time."
Song Ruhai smiled and said:
"In this case, the old man will speak frankly. The old man's view is a bit different from that of Her Highness the Princess. The old man thinks that we should not delay too long. If Beiqing is sincere in offering us benefits in exchange for a ceasefire, we might as well reply as soon as possible. We just want to use this stoppage.
Army', in exchange for more good things
Chu Lai. Northern Shaanxi, Qinling and Hanzhong are already meat in our mouths. We cannot let others use them as bargaining chips. We can make a fair request: If we are to stop our troops in Shanxi, your Qing army must stop in the east.
Build a defensive position. During negotiations, stop everyone."
Song Ruhai's words immediately won everyone's unanimous approval. Even Shi Shigege also smiled and agreed.
When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard this, he nodded, made up his mind, and asked someone to bring in a phone to make a call to the Purple Mountain Fortress on the mountain.
…
The top brass of the headquarters were waiting for the Qing's conditions to be delivered. At this time, after hearing Xiang Xiaoqiang's story, Zhang Zhao pondered for a while and asked:
"Yes, logically speaking, the condition proposed by the Qing side cannot be said to be unfair. But the question is... do you think the additional condition that Mr. Song mentioned is appropriate?"
"Is it appropriate?" Xiang Xiaoqiang was startled, "Is it the one who asked the Central Plains Corps of the Qing Army to stop building defensive positions? What Ming Gong meant..."
Zhang Zhaoxian asked:
"Indeed, we originally decided to implement a long-term quiescence of the front line in the east and let the Central Plains Corps of the Qing Army build their positions without disturbing them. What was the purpose?"
"Ah!" Xiang Xiaoqiang suddenly understood and said, "By the way, it is the defensive position that restrains the Central Plains Corps! The stronger and more sophisticated the positions built by the Central Plains Corps, the less willing they are to leave the garrison easily.
The threat on the battlefield will be smaller..."
Zhang Zhaoxian said:
"Yes, it's fair to say that in the first phase of the Jianghuai Campaign, the Qing army suffered all the losses of our armored corps. Now they regard mobile warfare as a matter of death and are not willing to fight with our army without the protection of fixed trench positions.
This is the reason why our army can fight successfully on the left side of the Central Plains Corps. If they are willing to abandon the trenches and dare
If our army comes out to fight with us in the field, then our army's back may be greatly threatened when it attacks western Henan and enters the Pass. Now our army's supply line to Guanzhong is entirely supported by the railway from Zhengzhou to Nanyang. If the Central Plains Corps
A sudden attack to the west at this time would have disastrous consequences. Our army group on the left is very weak now."
"I understand," Xiang Xiaoqiang said, "What Ming Gong means is that instead of asking the Qing army to stop digging trenches, they must dig them properly. The better their positions are built, the safer our supply line to Guanzhong will be.
The safer our left side will be."
Zhang Zhaoxian smiled and said:
"That's what it means."
The more Xiang Xiaoqiang thought about it, the more it made sense, and he continued:
"Ming Gong, students understand, let's not talk nonsense now. Since the Qing side is willing to surrender Qinling and Hanzhong in exchange for our army to stop in Shanxi, then we can agree first. No matter what, we will first surrender Qinling and Hanzhong.
Let’s talk about it after we actually get it. As for Shanxi, we can stop the army first, and when we get the Qinling and Hanzhong, it’s up to us whether we continue to march or negotiate on the spot?”
"Haha, that's what it means."
"By the way," Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled, "as long as we capture Qinling and Hanzhong immediately, we will also capture the other two road supply lines leading to Guanzhong in addition to western Henan - Wuguandao and Dashanguan.
"That way, even if western Henan becomes a battlefield again and the railway line from Zhengzhou to Nanyang is cut off, the Guanzhong army will not immediately lose supplies."
"Haha," Zhang Zhao was startled for a moment, then smiled, "Young man is very enlightened."
To be honest, Zhang Zhaoxian didn't even think of the last thing Xiang Xiaoqiang said.
Although Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't know, he was already very proud: