On the last day of October, at 9:30 a.m. on the 30th, the Qing army in Hanzhong formally surrendered to the Ming army. The Ming army's convoy drove northward from Guangyuan Pass in Sichuan into the Hanzhong Basin.
Hanzhong is surrounded by mountains, and it is considered an easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack place. Originally, the division commander of Hanzhong wanted to seize the Guangyuan Pass and bargain with the Ming army. The reward of 100,000 Mingyang was certainly a lot, but he wanted more. But
now
When he suddenly received an order from Beijing to surrender, he suddenly felt that the sky was falling and the earth was falling. He was forced to surrender. In this way, let alone bargaining, even the 100,000 Mingyang "voluntarily surrendered"
No more.
But he did not dare not to surrender. This was an imperial decree ordering surrender. The emperor's imperial decree did not elaborate on the reasons, but mentioned the word "peace talks". The commander of the Qing Army in Hanzhong understood that at this time he was just a pawn. If he insisted on bargaining, he did not dare to surrender.
If you don't surrender, you will ruin the good news of the emperor's peace talks. Then all your family members, old and young, are still in the north, so they can't resist this decree.
The Hanzhong area is composed of two basins, one large and one small. The large basin in the west is the Hanzhong Basin, and the center is Hanzhong City. The small basin in the east is the Ankang Basin, and the center is Ankang City. There are dozens of kilometers between the two basins.
It was blocked by mountains and only connected by winding roads between the mountains. By the morning of the 30th, the Ming Army's Sichuan troops had already moved into the Hanzhong Basin, but there was no movement in the Ankang Basin to the east.
Xiang Xiaoqiang tormented Yonggui all night, making him unable to survive or die. He even used mustard. It was only in the morning that he won the Hanzhong Basin. This can be regarded as a substantial result. Yonggui is now
He is also half-dead, and normal means can no longer keep him awake.
If we go on, we will have to use the "criminal investigation method" of hundreds of hours of non-stop interrogation. It is obviously not possible now. You are still a negotiator after all, so you can't go too far. Using mustard sauce can be interpreted as a "well-intentioned prank", but
If we go further, we will have to face each other.
So after receiving the news of the surrender of Hanzhong Basin, Xiang Xiaoqiang reluctantly "let" Yonggui go to sleep.
As for Ankang, Xiang Xiaoqiang began to focus on Yonggui's three assistants. Yonggui's three assistants knew how Xiang Xiaoqiang "cruelly tortured" Yonggui last night, and they were extremely nervous. There was no need to ask Xiaoqiang.
Intimidated, he sent telegrams to Beijing one after another.
, asked about the progress of Ankang. Beijing's replies were "under arrangement" and "under coordination", asking them to ask the Ming Dynasty to be calm. That kind of dispersed garrison cannot be enforced so quickly. The central government of the Qing Dynasty
Efforts are being made to coordinate.
Shi Shigege could tell at a glance that this was Guangwu's delaying tactic. She asked Xiang Xiaoqiang to remind the headquarters that they must not relax and must hold on tight. There is also the Qinling Mountains ahead. If the Ankang Basin is delayed for a whole day,
Two days, then by the time we capture the Qinling Mountains, maybe a week will have passed.
Xiang Xiaoqiang also felt that it made sense and that Guangwu was responsible for such a thing, but he, like the headquarters, felt that there was nothing he could do now. He reminded the headquarters this way, and the old men in the headquarters were easier to talk to than him.
, they were already very satisfied with the current situation, seeing that it only took about ten hours
At that time, they once captured the Hanzhong Basin without using a shot, and they felt that it was good. Moreover, they understood the Beijing government relatively well and believed that Guangwu still kept its promise. After all, comparing their feelings, such a large Hanzhong area cannot be here.
If I say I'll leave it to you, I'll hand it over to you right away, right?
Xiang Xiaoqiang felt helpless, and Fourteen Princesses insisted that Guangwu was playing tricks on Nanjing. But the two of them could not do anything now. The most troublesome thing was that the Beiqing did not blatantly violate the agreement. They were moving the Hanzhong area and
The Qinling area is left to you, but it is just a process.
Xiang Xiaoqiang stayed up all night, and now he couldn't hold it any longer. Seeing that he couldn't do anything, he just told Shi Shigege that his stomach hurt. Xiu Xiu paid close attention to this matter and went to bed.
…
By now, the negotiations between the Ming and Qing Dynasties "cannot contain the fire". Of course, this only refers to the Ming side. Globally speaking, except for the Beiqing, the Soviet Union, Germany, Italy and other closed news areas, all
The world will soon know this news.
The first to react were the reporters accompanying the Shanxi Ming Army.
These military reporters have the most sensitive sense of smell. They have been following the convoy every day for the past few days. Only this morning when I woke up, I found that the troops were not preparing to break camp, but were reinforcing defensive positions, continuing to dig deep trenches and install sandbags for fortifications.
, strengthened the anti-aircraft gun positions, stretched barbed wire fences, occupied nearby commanding heights, arranged machine gun positions, and built frontline airports... as if they were preparing to switch to defense.
They immediately understood that either the main force of the Qing army was ahead, or the strategic deployment of the Ming army had undergone a major change. The reporters accompanying the army were also very clear about the importance of seizing Shanxi. The leading troops of the Ming army were now only 50 kilometers away from Taiyuan.
, the first reaction of reporters accompanying the army was that they thought that they encountered a strong Qing garrison approaching Taiyuan. Now the Ming army is consolidating its position, confronting the Qing army, and preparing for the next stage of the Taiyuan battle.
The reporters immediately went to all the officers they could find, interviewed them, and tried every means to get the inside story from them. But most of the reporters could only find the battalion commanders, regiment commanders, and the higher level division commanders and corps commanders were less likely to be seen.
. Because the advance queue of a division is very long, military reporters are usually in the grassroots units and report on the battlefield at any time. From their station to the division headquarters, the distance of more than ten kilometers is normal.
Occasionally, there are some more "skilled" military reporters who, whether riding the messenger's motorcycle, getting a bicycle, or renting a civilian's donkey, finally found the division headquarters or even the army headquarters. But they were not blocked.
Outside, I was dismissed with a series of "no comments."
This kind of result would definitely not satisfy these dedicated reporters. They used the "media-only radio station" provided by the People's Guard Political Work Team to send the news back to their respective newspapers. Almost immediately, in major newspapers in Nanjing and the Ming Dynasty, it was
We organized articles such as "The King's Division of Shanxi suddenly stopped advancing and stationed in place for unknown reasons" and prepared it for publication in the newspaper of the day.
At the same time, under the winding road leading to the Purple Mountain Fortress, at the entrance of the checkpoint of the "Military Restricted Area", a large group of reporters gathered, seizing every opportunity to interview officers entering and exiting. It's just that these recent Ming "Central" officers were all mouthy.
He became very talkative, basically shaking his head, smiling, saying "no comment", or saying something that everyone already knew. Or when he met a commander with a bad temper, he would ignore the media's face and take advantage of it.
He put on airs and scolded him with raised eyebrows and raised eyebrows.
In addition to the headquarters of the Purple Mountain Fortress, the official residence of the Chief Minister, the Army Department, Dongchang, the Army General Staff, the People's Guard Headquarters, and even the Royal Palace, they have also become places surrounded by the media.
Facing the official "ignorance", Nanjing's media quit. At night, the news was reflected in the radio stations.
Jinling Broadcasting Company is known as the "BBC of the Ming Dynasty". Its stance has always been more official, and it only reported relatively peacefully on the Ming army's suspension in Shanxi and the speculations of the Nanjing media and people. However, another competitor, "Voice of China", was not so polite.
. This is a purely privately invested broadcasting company. It has always been a competitor of Jinling Broadcasting Company. Its words are sharper and its criticisms are more intense.
Bold and better at attracting the public. Sometimes, when Jinling Broadcasting Company tries to put some makeup on the government, Huaxia Broadcasting Company always unceremoniously exposes it and scrapes off the fresh paint. In such a one-on-one situation
In the repeated confrontations between the rebels, the public also had the opportunity to listen and compare. They were able to form their own judgments on many matters and maintained a clear mind.
At this moment, a voice in "Voice of China" is speaking unhurriedly:
"... We pay taxes to support the army, we pay taxes to support the government, we pay taxes to support ministers, we pay taxes to support Mr. Shen Ge, we pay taxes to support Zhang Zhaoxian, we pay taxes to support Xiang Xiaoqiang... Including the current war, every penny spent,
Every bullet shot, every liter of gasoline burned
, we taxpayers are footing the bill...but what? When we taxpayers want to know why they stopped moving forward, and when reporters go to find out for us, what is the reaction of the gentlemen who are supported by us?
What? They raised their nostrils to the sky and said with full official air: No comment!
"...I want to ask, when they said this, did they ever think that our taxpayers were paying for the dinner they were eating?...Those people were eating ours, wearing ours, and spending money.
The wages we pay them, when they face questions from us, can you please... how should I put it, at least not be so arrogant?"
…
This afternoon, the Ming and Qing parties have been coordinating the issue of Ankang's surrender all afternoon, and are now having dinner. As usual, the radio is turned on in the restaurant to listen to the news. Now the representatives of the Ming and Qing parties are eating and listening to "The Voice of China"
The voice of the anchor.
Yonggui is the deputy director of the sticky pole department and stays in Beijing. Beijing cannot receive Nanming's domestic medium wave programs, but can only receive the shortwave programs of the clear broadcast. Originally, the sticky pole department in Jianghuai City was dedicated to listening to Nanming.
Domestic broadcasting departments will record the information on paper after listening to it, analyze and screen out the ones deemed useful, and ship them to Beijing.
However, this was the first time for Yonggui to hear a live voice directly from the radio speaker.
Although he had been mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but feel frightened when he heard it. Although there is a traditional saying that "the king despises the people", but it is just a beautiful word in the book of sages, and it can be ignored. But it seems that in Nanming
Here, people take it seriously. Not only do civilians own newspapers and radio stations, but they can also point their fingers at the court and criticize them in newspapers and radio stations. It is as if they are a
Acting like an "employer"... My God, in our Qing Dynasty, "the court feeds the people" has been so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so natural, because if you have a good court, you can have enough food, but if you have a bad court, you can't.
When it comes to having enough food, whether the common people can have enough food depends on what kind of court is "on the stall". Isn't this a matter of course? In Nanming, the situation was completely reversed...
However, it seems that he is not the only one who feels the same way.
“You’re full,” Xiang Xiaoqiang sneered while drinking juice. “These reporters want to know everything. They want to know our army’s next military plan and then publish it in the newspaper. Then they will feel comfortable.
...If the government is transparent, why does it matter? Such military secrets are easy to disclose casually? Zi Teng, are you right?"
Stomachache glanced at him, then at Yonggui, hesitated, and then smiled:
"Haha... Sir, it's not all true... In this situation, our Shanxi army has arranged reporters to accompany the army to report battlefield trends to the country at any time, so they cannot be regarded as military secrets... Hehe..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang was embarrassed for a while and just didn't know what to say. Hu Jiong came in and quietly said to him:
"Sir, please come here."
Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't know what was going on, but he took the opportunity to escape. When he got outside, Hu Jiong told him two things. The first thing was that for some reason, those reporters actually found out that representatives from the Northern Qing Dynasty were here at Wuwang Villa.
There were already many reporters gathered at the door, and God knows how they found out. The second thing was that a piece of "gold-level" intelligence came from Beijing, and Shi Shigege asked him to go and check it out.
"What information?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang whispered, Hu Jiong obviously didn't know, and just led Xiang Xiaoqiang to the temporary office of Shishigege.
…
After entering the office, Hu Jiong stepped back. When Shi Shigege saw Xiang Xiaoqiang, without saying anything, she came up and whispered excitedly:
"Xiaoqiang, there is a piece of information from Guadexin in Beijing!"
"Guadexin?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang remembered that this was the Qing representative during the Lushun negotiations, the Mr. Gua who was bribed by his two big diamonds, the Minister of Military and Aircraft Gua Dexin.
After Mr. Gua returned to Beijing, he was forced to accept two huge sums of money from People's Guard spies, and his photos and audio recordings were also stolen. Now he has boarded the pirate ship and cannot get off, and the handle is in Nanming's hands.
, I have to do it even if I don’t do it, I can only work as a spy for Nanming. Otherwise, if the emperor finds out, the whole family will not survive.
So far, Guadexin is the highest-ranking spy in the spy network developed by Nanming in Beijing. All the intelligence he provides is generally of a very high level and is very important, and is called "gold-level intelligence."
.
"Let's go," Xiang Xiaoqiang pulled Fourteen Gege out and went out, "Let's talk outside."
Upon hearing such high-level news, Xiang Xiaoqiang's first instinctive reaction was to go outside and speak in an open area. This is not the headquarters of the People's Guard, nor the headquarters. It is just a private residence of a nobleman. The security is very low. In case of any emergency,
It was tampered with, such as having a tape recorder installed by a spy from the Northern Qing Dynasty... Although the possibility is very small, if it were possible, it would be troublesome.
Fourteen Gege grabbed his hand and chuckled:
"Look at you... I'm telling you, the entire villa has been inspected, and this room has been thoroughly inspected. There is nothing wrong... Hey, you are worrying too much..."
But Xiang Xiaoqiang still insisted on holding her waist, dodging the maid all the way, and the two of them came to the courtyard outside, half hugging each other, half serious and half joking.
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked around and saw that there was no one around him, then he laughed in a low voice:
"Okay, let's talk."
Fourteen Gege also looked around, smiled and lay beside his ear, lightly opened her red lips, and uttered a few words: