Chapter 42 Take Xiangyang First The Southern Expedition Begins

The Yaogang people's southern expedition did not start as originally planned. Before many armies were in place, the Western Front had to start moving.

Because Li Zicheng's determination to withdraw from Xiangyang was made very early, a large-scale retreat began after the Spring Festival. Especially since the Yaogang tugboat fleet joined their transport ranks, they retreated much faster.

Therefore, Qin Peng had just come to Hanzhong, and the brigade had not yet stabilized. Li Zicheng sent people from Xiangyang and informed them to send people to take over Xiangyang and Fancheng, because their last soldiers and horses were about to be withdrawn, and no one to take over would cause chaos.

Qin Peng said to Liu Chenghuang: "General Liu! The family praised you for sending Li Zicheng! Without your courtesy, there would be no courtesy today. ”

"General Qin, you're welcome!" "You would make that decision here." I think we will immediately send people to take over Xiangyang and Fancheng as soon as possible. ”

"Good! However, my opinion is that we will enter Xiangyang and Fancheng in two parts. Qin Peng said, "Some people quietly went in at night to hand over to the Dashun army." Others passed by with great fanfare at dawn. There are a few more shots to fire before entering the city. What do you think? ”

"Oops! It's still General Qin's thoughtfulness, so I'll do as you say. Liu Chenghuang said, "Then our radio station will broadcast and say, 'Our Yaogang People's Army was ordered to suppress the thieves, and after fierce battles, captured Xiangyang and Fancheng. 'Huh! ”

"Huh! The emperor will be very happy to hear this. Qin Peng said, "General Liu, you should have brought the soldiers and horses on the West Road." As you may know, I've been in the General Staff for too long, and we've never brought a new type of army. Mr. Chen and Mr. Ouyang also wanted to give me a chance to come out and exercise. In the future, I will ask General Liu for a lot of help! ”

"You're welcome! General Qin. Why can our army win the battle? It's because everyone is united and has few distractions. Liu Chenghuang said, "I know that the arrangement of the house is well thought out. I don't want to think about it either. I just have to do what I have to do. ”

"Huh! I understand why Mr. Chen and Mr. Ouyang dare to send a novice like me to command the soldiers and horses all the way, because you are General Yu here! Qin Peng said.

"General Qin, you must not be polite. I'll work with you. Liu Chenghuang said.

Qin Peng knew that his qualifications were a cut off from Liu Chenghuang. But Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He let themselves be the commander-in-chief of the West Road, and the leader of Liu Chenghuang was completely for the purpose of training himself. I have been in the staff for too long and I can't understand the situation in the army below. In fact, in this battle of the Southern Expedition, who will fight, as long as it does not mess around, there is no problem. Especially with a general like Liu Chenghuang who has been on the front line for a long time here, there will be no big problems. On the way here, Liu Chenghuang did the thing to send Li Zicheng, it is difficult to say that he can seize the opportunity to make a decision so decisively here. It takes a lot of wisdom and courage. What's even more rare is that Liu Chenghuang did not have any dissatisfaction with being his leader because of a person like him who was not as qualified as him.

However, Qin Peng and Liu Chenghuang both knew that the other two groups were not fully ready yet. Nor can they rush to expand their gains. In fact, their side is not fully prepared.

The newly added First Cavalry Corps and a heavy artillery regiment belonging to Li Wei are still on the way.

This time, Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He originally wanted not to use a large number of cavalry, and they both stayed in the north to maneuver. Later, after analysis, the troops in the north were sufficient. It is better to strengthen them to the south, and the army will not be able to fight without fighting. Besides, their participation in the southern expedition can also speed up the process a little. Therefore, the 1st Cavalry Army was strengthened to the western route. The newly formed Fourth Cavalry Corps strengthened the northern route.

At this time, Lu Bingyi followed Li Wei's heavy artillery regiment on the Chencang Ancient Road, which had been expanded. This time, Liu Yun organized the expansion of the Chencang Ancient Road, but he made great efforts. Not only the army of Yaogang participated, but also many prisoners of the Dashun army participated. Tens of thousands of people work separately, and it is a pickaxe plus **, as well as reinforced concrete. It turned out that the plank road on the cliff wall was not safe, so they dug a semi-open cave on the rock wall, and built a reinforced concrete bridge in the difficult place. The road can be repaired by two cars.

This time, Lu Bingyi and his party traveled with the heavy artillery regiment in three cars. Heavy artillery regiments also used tracked tractors to tow cannons. They walked along the way with a roaring sky, and a smoke screen filled the air. Along the way, both those from the south and those from the north will automatically make way for them. No one has ever seen such a scary procession. Liu Yun and the others thought very carefully when they built the road, and there were many rest areas built by using open space along the way. There are snack bars and daily necessities shops, as well as inns. If there is a breakdown on the road, the vehicles are dragged to the rest area with steel cables for repairs. This will not affect the passage of others. Originally, the cavalry marched with a loud noise, but compared to the heavy artillery regiment, it was a small thing.

Liu Chenghuang personally led the vanguard team, followed the people sent by the Dashun army, and went down the river in a speedboat. A divisional army followed.

Liu Chenghuang and the others entered Xiangyang City at night and smoothly took over the gates of Xiangyang. Then there was taking over Li Zicheng's palace and various yamen, but these were over, and Liu Chenghuang was in trouble again.

The more than 1,000 Dashun officers and soldiers who stayed in Xiangyang did not want to leave, they wanted to join the Yaogang People's Army. This made Liu Chenghuang embarrassed. Because the army in Yaogang is now very regular, all soldiers must go through strict recruit training before they can be officially incorporated into the team.

Liu Chenghuang explained to them, but they just couldn't understand. They feel that they have taken refuge in the kiln people, and the kiln people should accept them, who is afraid that their army is large. In particular, the head of these people said: "General Liu, we know that you are strict in entering the people. But more than 1,000 of us are elite soldiers. If you look closely, if you have a bad seed, you can not have any of them. ”

There is no way, Liu Chenghuang doesn't want to make things too stiff now, otherwise it will be easy to get into trouble, so he patiently said to him: "I understand everything you said." Let me tell you, our army recruits need to be trained and qualified to join our ranks. As you can see, the weapon we use is this automatic rifle. You can't master these weapons without good training. I think so, we will come tomorrow with a large group of people, and they have a boat to go back. We asked them to send you to the kiln, where they would train the brothers. If the brothers are really elite soldiers as you say, and pass the examination, I will accept you. What do you think? ”

When these people heard that they could still go to the kiln, of course they were elated one by one. They all said, "Okay! Good! Let's go to the kiln. ”

In this way, Liu Chenghuang asked them to cooperate with tomorrow's acting, and there would be no problem.

Since Xiurong has returned to the Yellow River, he is ready to cooperate with the North Road army to march into Luoyang. Now the steel-hulled warships in Yaogang are only Fenzhou and Qinzhou here.

Early the next morning, these two warships came to the river between Xiangyang and Fancheng with a mighty tugboat fleet. After arriving, several cannons of the two warships fired a few cannons. The soldiers of the Dashun army who were guarding the city gate opened the city gate. The soldiers of Yaogang disembarked and landed and entered Xiangyang and Fancheng. Xiangfan is included in the pocket of the kiln gang people. These scenes were recorded on film with cameras by the military reporters in Yaogang.

At noon, the radio station in Yaogang will broadcast important news. The news says: "Important news, now insert important news!" Ladies and gentlemen, Just received the message. After a bloody and fierce battle, our Yaogang People's Army has recovered Xiangyang and Fancheng, the important towns of Huguang that have been occupied by thieves for many years. The so-called Dashun Dynasty of the thieves was recovered, and the thieves were beaten to the ground, and they fled in embarrassment. Due to the sudden attack of our army and the rapid movement, the thieves did not come to carry out large-scale destruction, and the thousand-year-old city was completely recovered. The people poured into the streets to welcome our army into the city and celebrate the liberation! ”

Emperor Chongzhen, eat something. Get ready to listen to the midday news from the kiln and take a nap. Unexpectedly, the people of Yaogang suddenly broadcast important news, and it was important news to recover Xiangyang. Emperor Chongzhen jumped to the ground without wearing his shoes and applauded. He had already received news from all sides, knowing that the kiln gang people had recently made a big military move, and he knew that the kiln gang people were going to make a big move, but he didn't expect the kiln gang people to move so fast, just in early February, the Yellow River loop area had not yet opened the river. The Kiln Gang people will act so quickly. According to the joint estimation of the ministers, the Yaogang people will not be able to start their actions until the river transportation in Kaichun is unblocked. I didn't expect it to be advanced to now. However, Emperor Chongzhen thought about it again, if we judge the kiln people like this, the thief will also judge the kiln people in this way, so the kiln gang people suddenly made a move, and they took down Xiangyang and Fancheng in one morning. It's a pity that the thieves escaped again. But this thief is too difficult to take. He has been cornered many times over the past few decades, and he has been able to escape, and it seems that it is also providence!

Li Zicheng, who had already arrived at Yingtianfu, was also listening to the radio of the Yaogang people. However, he couldn't stop laughing at the drama played by the kiln people. It's been a long time since I've laughed so heartily. After laughing, Li Zicheng felt very happy. Liu Zongmin, who had just finished eating with Li Zicheng, asked puzzledly: "Master! Is this really that funny? ”

"Haha! Zong Min, you don't know, I'm laughing so happily. I laughed at the stupid guy of Emperor Chongzhen, and he would be happy when he heard the news, and the people of Yaogang would also know that I was also listening to their broadcast, and they must know that I was laughing here. And there are not many people in the world who can know the inside story of this important news. The one who can laugh is a few of us. Don't you think it's interesting? ”

"Master, I feel uncomfortable when I hear that Xiangyang is gone!" Liu Zongmin does not hide his emotions.

"I'm not feeling bad anymore." Li Zicheng said, "We are not as good as others, there is nothing to say." Fortunately, you have laid down a large area in the south of the Yangtze River. We have to learn from the kiln gang people and see if we can have some success. ”

"Master!" Liu Zongmin said, "We have no shortage of military generals, and we lack useful ministers. The people of the kiln gang can't rely on our generals. ”

"Military generals also have to learn from the kiln people." Li Zicheng said, "Let's talk about Liu Chenghuang of the kiln." He is also the deputy commander of the West Road in Yaogang, but he dared to make a decision and send their tugboat to send us. Do we have such generals in our army? ”

"This! This can't be found. Liu Zongmin said, "If I am angry, I will kill the hired boat!" ”

"So, neither can our generals. I can't compare with others. Li Zicheng pondered and said, "That Liu Chenghuang is also a coolie on the dock." How did Zhang Zhimu turn them into such generals? ”

Liu Zongmin said: "I heard that this Liu Chenghuang has read books and is literate. It was also heard that the soldiers of their army were also forced to read and write. I don't know what they do, no matter how many books they read, go to the battlefield, and go down with a knife, they will die. ”

"Zong Min! That's the difference. Li Zicheng said, "There is a big difference between those who have read books and those who have not. But we can't! There are not many of our generals who have read books. ”

Zhang Xianzhong, who was hiding in Sichuan, listened to the important news of the Yaogang people and asked the people around him: "The people we sent to Hanzhong should have arrived, right?" ”

"It's time to arrive! The road from here to Hanzhong is too difficult to walk. Let's organize people to repair the road! ”

"Confused! Don't look at the Yaogang people to deal with Li Zicheng now, after dealing with Li Zicheng, we are below. If it weren't for the fact that my old Zhang had been optimistic about Sichuan's move and let Li Zicheng take the lead, we would have nowhere to hide. There is no way here, so we can recuperate. If the road is open, the kiln man will come with cannons. ”

"Your Majesty! Aren't we on good terms with the kiln people? ”

"Good? Hehe! Stupidity. Zhang Xianzhong scolded and didn't say anything more.

Far away in Liaodong, Dolgon, several Shuobeile and Fan Junshi were also listening to this important news.

Those few Schobele danced with joy. Someone said, "Master Fan, now you have nothing to say." Isn't it time for us to go? ”

"That's right! Strategist, you said that we will send troops when the kiln gang people make a move. Someone chimed in.

Fan Junshi shook his head and said, "I don't think it's that simple. It stands to reason that the kiln gang people are not in time to send troops now. He needed to wait for the ice in the Yellow River to melt before he could send his troops. And they won't do it all the way from Xiangyang. Last year they had already captured Hanzhong. Capturing Xiangyang now is not a big deal. But this is not the style of the kiln gang people, they are not small people. Let's see! "Fan Junshi is very calm.

But the Shobels couldn't wait. There was another burst of yelling.

Dolgon stopped them and asked Fan Wencheng, "Strategist, are you too cautious?" Our army and the Mongols are ready, and they are holding their breath. ”

"Regent! The Yaogang people did not need many soldiers and horses to seize this Xiangyang. We don't have accurate information yet, and the Yaogang people have transferred a large number of troops to attack Li Zicheng. The reason why we have to wait for the kiln people to start moving before we attack. I just want them to transfer the team away and attack again. Now the kiln gang people have taken a Xiangyang, which doesn't mean anything. Tell everyone to be at ease! Fan Wencheng was calm. He knew they only had one chance to take advantage of it. Otherwise, there will be no more opportunities.

In fact, Dolgon couldn't wait for a long time, and wanted to go out to the territory of Daming to catch a handful. The brothers who never went out could not stand it, and everyone was very strapped for money. Besides, the rich and oily place of the Ming Dynasty, the money and beauty are like being given for nothing. We must not let Abatai's incident ruin everyone's courage to attack. But Fan Wencheng's analysis was also right, so he felt that he still had to listen to the military advisor and bear with it.

Li Zicheng's entire withdrawal order has already been given. But there are too many things that officials and the military in various places can't let go. Therefore, some retreats are fast, and some are slow.

On February 20, Zhang Zhimu came to the command center, which was the time for the Yaogang people to march south. In addition to the Western Front, the Northern and Eastern Fronts are to act simultaneously today.

The operation on the northern front began on the night of the 19th. Their attack did not start along the ancient road of Hangu Pass. During the night, they suddenly transported a large number of troops lying in ambush on the north bank of the Yellow River across the Yellow River at once. The strength of a regiment blew open the gate of Zhengzhou, occupied Zhengzhou before dawn, and cleared the remnants of the enemy. In fact, there are not many soldiers of the Dashun Army in Zhengzhou City, but there are still some officials. They didn't expect the Yaogang people to come back so quickly, but they were blocked in Zhengzhou by the Yaogang people.

A large group of men and horses gathered at the mouth of the Luo River at the mouth of the Yellow River. At daybreak, the Xiurong was the first to be followed by two fortune boats, followed by a long line of tugboats carrying weapons and infantry, and the cavalry on the shore. Advance along the Luohe River to Luoyang.

The Dashun army did not evacuate cleanly along the way, and basically surrendered without making any resistance.

However, in broad daylight, several warships roared forward on the river, and the defenders who had not withdrawn from several forts on the Yanhe River in front of Luoyang had already received a report that the warships of the Yaogang people had come over. The defenders on these forts immediately took down the armor covered by the red-coated cannons, began to load the shells, and aimed at the river.

The location of the Dashun Army's forts has long been clear to the Yaogang Naval Army. They could see from afar through the binoculars on the lookout on the mast. The six batteries here are already in full swing. The muzzle of the gun has been pointed over. A naval army has long been prepared for this. They drove the ship far away from the battery, and then stopped the ship to stabilize it. Aim with the gun scope, and then when the opponent can't aim, the cannon fires. There were four 130-caliber cannons on the Xiurong, and one 130-caliber cannon on each of the two Fu ships, for a total of six cannons. Li Yan on the Xiurong ordered, "If you aim, you will fire!" ”

For a time, the cannon roared on the Luo River, and only three rounds of artillery fire were fired. The cannons on the six batteries were torn down. The defenders on the turret, who were not dead, also scattered and fled. The Yaogang people approached Luoyang along the Luo River. Those Dashun officers and soldiers who did not flee and the officials of the Dashun Dynasty began to scatter and flee from Luoyang. The Ming army of Yaogang did not stop them, but quickly rushed into the city, taking over all the city gates, and in the afternoon. Li Yan took people into this ancient capital of the Thirteen Dynasties, which was based on the Tiger Prison Pass in the east and Hangu Pass in the west, surrounded by mountains and lined with Xiongguan. Li Yan knew that they would not encounter much resistance, because Li Zicheng had already begun to retreat, but he was also not mentally prepared to take this thousand-year-old city so easily.

After entering the city, the officers and soldiers and cadres of the kiln post announced the peace of the people. The radio truck of Yaogang also went to the street to publicize, informing the people of Luoyang that now the people of Yaogang have officially taken over Luoyang, hoping that the people will live and work in peace and contentment. Because the Dashun army and officials fled in too haste, the streets of Luoyang were littered with garbage and were very chaotic. The next day, the kiln soldiers, police, and officials who entered the city organized themselves to clean the streets and deliver garbage outside the city.

The eastern road commanded by Li Mao was divided into several roads to attack at the same time, all the way out of Hongze Lake and along the Huai River to the west, and at the same time divided the troops to take over Sihong County, Xuyi County, and Si County, approaching the central capital Fengyang; All the way west along the Yangtze River, he seized Hezhou (Ma'anshan and County); All the way to the west to seize Chuzhou.

On the first day, there was no movement on the West Road. However, both the North and East Roads are progressing very well.

Early the next morning, the news program of Yaogang once again reported this important news. The people of Yaogang are naturally happy, although this is what everyone expected, but it is still a happy thing to win the battle.

However, what interested Emperor Chongzhen in the news was the news that the Yaogang army was approaching the central capital Fengyang. Emperor Chongzhen thought that at this rate, the people of Yaogang might enter the central capital Fengyang tomorrow. He immediately sent a decree to reward the Yaogang army. Although he knew that these were not available to the kiln people. But he still has to show the posture of being the emperor.

In the command center, several giants of the kiln gang are here. There is no war that attracts attention.

Liu Yun commanded the staff officers and constantly marked the positions of the various armies. Everyone gathered around the sand table, just like watching a game of chess.

The next day, Zhang Zhimu did not go to the command center. Because according to the plan, there was no big action on the part of the people today. The army had to cooperate with the officials of the kiln post and take over the occupied area. I also don't want to make the offense too fast. This is also to leave some time for Li Zicheng's men to retreat. The Yaogang people estimated that the soldiers and officials of the Dashun Dynasty would not easily retreat cleanly. Because they've been here for a long time after all. The news of such a war spread, and those who were reluctant to leave had to go.

The reason why there was no action on the Western Road today was to ensure that the attacks on all sides should be carried out simultaneously, and it was also to give the officials and soldiers of the Dashun Dynasty in the Hankou area some time to retreat.

Yangchang used a triode to build some adder circuits, and also changed the digital input display circuit made with an electron tube to a triode to redesign. Zhang Zhimu knew that now was a very critical time, and he wanted to let them taste a little sweetness. This will encourage them to carry on with these very boring things. Otherwise, there is no hope, and it is easy for everyone to lose confidence. Zhang Zhimu wants to take a look, and if the conditions are ripe, he will first get a calculator that can do simple calculations. This will greatly motivate everyone.

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Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".