On the morning of November 1, in a conference room of the headquarters, Shen Rongxuan, several ministers, and several core military generals held a small meeting on the Soviet Union's possible aid to the Beiqing. Zhu Yourong was in attendance.
This meeting is of a temporary emergency nature. Because the current information about the Soviet Union's aid to the Qing Dynasty only contains the sentence "Molotov arrived in Beijing" and nothing more. The current information is extremely lacking. Before the follow-up information is transmitted back, we can only Just guessing. As for how the Ming Dynasty will respond, politically, several ministers advocated waiting and watching first, keeping an eye on several newspapers in the Soviet Union and the Northern Qing Dynasty, and keeping an eye on their broadcasts to see if they have any new official articles coming out, or if there is anything The big shot speaks, then tries to figure out what it means, and then analyzes the next step in response. For an extremely closed country, if you want to speculate on their domestic situation, apart from using spies, this is the only best way.
Militarily, several generals of the Ming Army believe that the possibility of the Soviet Union directly sending troops on a large scale is almost impossible. However, it may assist some high-tech arms of the Beiqing in the form of "volunteer troops", most likely the air force, followed by the armored force. . It may only be to assist aircraft and tanks, but it is more likely to directly send troops in the form of "Volunteer Air Force", "Volunteer Armored Forces" and the like.
The Soviet air force and armored forces are a generation stronger than the Qing army. This is also the Qing army's weakest point when facing the Ming army. If the Soviet Union really does this, it can really make up for the Qing army's shortcomings to a great extent. It may even be very powerful. Perhaps they outnumbered the Ming army in terms of ground armored forces.
Of course, this will take time. But right now, the Soviet Union can make a move that will achieve immediate results. It is to withdraw a large number of troops from the far eastern border of Su Qing and gain the actual trust of the Beiqing, so that the Beiqing troops deployed on the far eastern border of Su Qing can Elite troops can go south to reinforce the Central Plains.
Several generals agreed that the Qinling Mountains and Hanzhong should be captured as soon as possible, and the Central Plains Campaign would be launched immediately. We could not wait for the Soviet Union to take action. As long as we could capture the south of the Yellow River before the Soviet Union launched aid to the Qing Dynasty, no matter what actions the Soviet Union made , the situation in Ming Dynasty will not be too bad.
Zhu Yourong added two points of opinion, which were what Xiang Xiaoqiang told her yesterday, two diplomatic actions, one overt and one covert. She did not say that Xiang Xiaoqiang told her, but directly "appropriated it as her own". But the effect was Yes, Shen Rongxuan and several ministers all smiled and nodded, admitting that this was indeed what should be done at the moment.
…
Now that the decision has been made, the top priority is to quickly move the silent front.
Negotiations at Wuwang Villa are still continuing. However, due to pressure from the press, the headquarters sent a spokesperson to explain to the press, admitting that negotiations were ongoing with the Beiqing and the suspension of troops in Shanxi was the result of the negotiations. However, Correspondingly, the surrender of the Hanzhong Basin was also the result of negotiations. However, the spokesperson said that it is still inconvenient to disclose more details, and we ask for your understanding.
As soon as the news came out, it immediately confirmed several speculations in the press. Many newspapers published front-page headlines that afternoon, and the two major broadcasters also broadcast this major news.
The Ming Dynasty was secretly negotiating with the Qing Dynasty! This news immediately shocked the whole country. Various opinions in the country immediately aroused. In Xinjiekou Square and on various major roads, various protestors, supporters, civil society organizations, and parties came out to express their opinions. I have my own opinion. Those who are in favor and those who are against are basically half and half. As before, older people, the middle class, and those with higher education levels are mostly in favor of negotiation. In their view, now It’s time to negotiate:
The goals of the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition have almost been achieved. Jianghuai has been obtained, and Nanjing has been freed from the threat of artillery fire; Shaanxi and most of Shanxi have been obtained, and the Ming Dynasty's foundation in the north has been firmly established. The war has basically been going smoothly until now, and the Ming Dynasty
There were no big casualties, and no big price was paid. It was time to call it a day. Just like futures trading,
"Close the position" now is the time to gain the most. If you continue to fight, the logistics will be tight, and with the advent of winter, you will lose the advantage of the initial "raid", and it may not be so smooth. By then, you will have suffered a big loss and then think about a truce.
, it will not be so easy. At that time, you may be "trapped". Once you fall into the quagmire of a long-term war, the people of the whole country will suffer.
However, most young people, especially the passionate young people in their teens and poor people from the lower class, are firmly opposed to negotiating with the Qing Dynasty. In their view, this is tantamount to making a deal with the devil.
All the people are traitors and traitors, and they should all be pulled out and killed. They waved the national flag, sang the national anthem, gathered in front of the "Jiangbei Fall Monument" in Xinjiekou, braved the cold autumn wind, and swore in unison to destroy the country.
Qinglu. They performed loudly
Talk, loudly publicize to passers-by, and encourage everyone that on this occasion of the glorious rejuvenation of the Han nation, everyone should sacrifice their egos. Even if they tighten their belts and go hungry, they must support the Ming Dynasty King's army to conquer the Central Plains and wipe out the Qing Dynasty.
They shed tears and swore loudly that everyone must do their best to be loyal to the country and fight out of the border to bring back the entire Nurgan Mountains until they regain the Xing'an Mountains and Lake Baikal.
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That night, Xiang Xiaoqiang stayed by the radio, listening to Voice of China's live interviews with passionate young people, listening to the national anthem, impassioned slogans and oaths played one after another, and he couldn't help but be infected.
He said to Hu Jiong with emotion:
"Whether we are in war or peace next, these passionate young people are the wealth of our country! They may be a little naive in their thinking now, but their loyalty, bravery and bloody spirit cannot be exchanged for any amount of money."
Hu Jiong was also very emotional and nodded:
"Yes! Sir, I was one of these young people a few years ago!"
Xiang Xiaoqiang turned to look at him and smiled:
"What now? Still now?"
Hu Jiong was startled and then smiled and said:
"Now...well, after all, the edges and corners are a bit less, but the bloodiness is still there. Even if you send your subordinates to fight to kill the enemy, they will just go there with a gun."
…
The next morning, that is, on November 2, there was still no progress in the Ankang Basin at the negotiation table. Yonggui swore that Beijing was actively coordinating to promote the surrender of the Ankang Qing army, but it would take time, and asked the Ming side to continue
The grace period is one and a half days.
Xiang Xiaoqiang and Shi Shigege looked at each other, smiled slightly, and shook their heads. They knew that there was no hope at the negotiating table. It was time to act according to the predetermined plan.
At 10 o'clock in the morning, the engines of the Ming army that had occupied the Hanzhong Basin were started. Light tanks and armored vehicles took the lead, followed by a long queue of military vehicles, and drove up the mountain road towards Ankang.
In two and a half hours, we drove to Shiquan County. Shiquan County is a county between Hanzhong and Ankang, located in the valley between the two basins. Only when we drove here did we encounter several Qing army bunkers on the mountain road.
There is only one outpost of the Qing army here, with no troops at all. There is only an infantry platoon, not even a heavy machine gun or a mortar.
A powerful Ming army suddenly appeared on the highway, and the Qing soldiers in this platoon were completely dumbfounded. They had not received any notification or warning from above at all, and they did not know that Hanzhong had surrendered and was "being captured".
Surrender". In the concept of these Qing soldiers, although their defense area cannot be called a "big rear area", it is at least a "small rear area". In any case, large Ming army troops will not appear without warning!
Like countless scenes that have happened before, this platoon of Qing soldiers stood blankly on the roadside, watching the Ming army's light tanks speeding over. The top cover opened with a "bang", and a tank commander emerged from inside, waving
Holding a submachine gun, he ordered them to put down their weapons and stand aside.
The twenty or so Qing soldiers looked at each other and at the endless Ming army convoy behind them, and immediately made a wise choice.
Ming army convoys passed by this first checkpoint in a steady stream.
An armored vehicle was parked here. The ten Ming military policemen in the vehicle were holding submachine guns and commanding the Qing soldiers in this platoon to gather their weapons together and then escort them to the rear.
At this time, the phone rang in the small bunker.
Several military policemen looked at each other, then the squad leader pulled the submachine gun and tilted his head towards the Qing army platoon leader: