After leveling Liu Cui's parents, Li Ziyuan put more energy on military training. The most important thing in military training is siege and street fighting. After returning from injury, Wang Jun didn't even bother to rest, so he took people to carefully measure the Taiyuan city wall with the cooperation of Liu Lianming.

After completing the basic training, Li Ziyuan took advantage of the opportunity that his troops were now in a period of recuperation. After consulting the corps, the whole division was pulled to a county town in the eastern suburbs, where it practiced street fighting for several days. Li Ziyuan arranged for Zhou Tong to take all the company commanders of the division, as well as several artillery company commanders and an artillery commander reinforced by the corps, to study the problem of coordination of infantry and artillery in street warfare.

According to Li Ziyuan's deployment and requirements, Zhou Tong put a lot of energy into this area. In Li Ziyuan's words, after entering the city, the artillery must be bayoneted, and the infantry must follow there when they hit it. It is necessary to ensure that the infantry can receive fire support at any time, and not to injure innocent civilians.

In fact, Li Ziyuan's request is not low, at least for the current PLA artillery. Although the entire corps was armed with body-barreled artillery, most of them were mountain artillery. Although it is less powerful, it is lighter and more maneuverable.

No matter how light it is, after all, it is a mountain cannon of several hundred kilograms, and the mules and horses that pull the artillery after entering the city may not be able to keep up. The PLA also lacks the self-propelled guns of Western armies, as well as tanks that can be used as direct-aim artillery. Carrying a gun of several hundred kilograms completely by manpower is a test even if it is disassembled into parts.

Unless the gates are breached in a short period of time, it will definitely be a test in a short period of time. Therefore, Zhou Tong spent a lot of energy on Li Ziyuan's order, and specially studied a set of tactics according to the range and power of various artillery pieces in his hands. But for the artillerymen, it was necessary to be able to disassemble and assemble the mountain gun in a short time.

After all, Li Ziyuan's unit was in the army, because most of the time it was fighting against the Jin Sui army. The Jin Sui army, which had its own arsenal and could manufacture mountain artillery in large quantities, was also captured in large numbers on the battlefield despite the large number of artillery. However, the four columns plus the troops of the Jinzhong Military Region and the Luliang Military Region were divided. As well as corps and columns, it is necessary to retain artillery directly under them, and the number of each division is not much.

The fact that the North China Military Region did not transfer one of its only two artillery brigades to the Shanxi battlefield when the fighting in Pingjin was in full swing is enough to show the huge disparity in the firepower of the enemy and us in the Shanxi battlefield. The limited artillery also has to bear the cover of the siege of the troops, so the rhythm of the use is quite tense after the full battle. If you don't hurry up and get in touch, it's easy to get out of touch.

It was when the troops on the Taiyuan front were seizing the last time before the war to hold a large-scale winter military training. With the acceptance of the peaceful reorganization of the enemy army in Beiping, the Pingjin Campaign came to a complete end. With the end of the Pingjin Campaign, the general assault on Nanjing, the last major city in North China, Taiyuan, had cleared all obstacles.

With the end of the Pingjin Campaign, the two major field armies fighting on the front line of Pingjin also freed their hands. The Fourth Field Army, which was reorganized from the Northeast Field Army, which was the most well-equipped in the whole army, had already moved south rapidly to prepare to march to the central and southern parts of the country after completing the reorganization of the troops of the Pingjin Uprising.

The other two corps of the three major corps of the North China Military Region, after completing the reorganization of the rebel troops in the Pingjin Campaign, carried one artillery division each in the Siye and North China Military Regions. In particular, the large-caliber artillery that was most lacking and most urgently needed in the Taiyuan battlefield also rushed to Taiyuan in accordance with the instructions of the Central Military Commission.

The original artillery brigade of the North China Military Region was mainly equipped with mountain artillery. However, the arrival of Siye, an artillery division equipped with Japanese and American-made large-caliber artillery captured in the Liaoshen Campaign, meant that the city walls of Taiyuan and a large number of permanent fortifications throughout the city of Taiyuan were located inside and outside the city. For the PLA siege troops, it is no longer a hard bone to gnaw on.

It turned out that the mountain artillery could not gnaw and could only rely on a large number of * little blasting to take down the strong fortifications, but now it is no longer necessary for the soldiers to send * up with blood. The American-made 155* guns and Japanese-made 150* guns captured in the Liaoshen battlefield can easily raze these strong fortifications to the ground.

Looking at these large-caliber artillery, Li Ziyuan sighed that if so many heavy artillery had already participated in the battle, the Dongshan Battle would not have been so difficult. A fortification that requires casualties and a platoon to be taken down can basically solve the problem with one shot. If these heavy artillery had entered the battle earlier, the casualties of the First Battle of Dongshan would have been reduced by at least one-third.

It's just that emotion is emotion, after all, time has passed. The four fields of the people were also formed and captured after the Liaoshen Campaign. Coupled with the completion of the transformation and the entry of thousands of miles, even if you are tired to death, you can't catch up with the original battle for Dongshan. You must know that before Pingjin was liberated and the railway was not completely opened, these big guys would not be able to rush to the Shanxi battlefield at all.

However, it was fortunate that it was not at the time, but now it is. These large-caliber heavy artillery participated in the battle to minimize casualties for the Taiyuan general offensive. The thick city walls of Taiyuan, as well as the dense group of permanent fortifications inside and outside the city, will no longer be an obstacle that is difficult to break through in front of themselves and their troops.

By March 1949, with the arrival of two fraternal corps and six armies, as well as some of the reorganized insurrectionary troops, the total strength of the Taiyuan front had reached 320,000, and for the first time since the Taiyuan Campaign began, the PLA had an absolute superiority in troops.

With the arrival of Siye and another artillery division of the North China Military Region, the number of mountain artillery plus * guns and mortars has reached 1,300 guns, and it is also the first time that it has an absolute superiority in firepower. Among them, the large-caliber * guns and Japanese-made cannons made the mountain artillery of the Jin Sui Army completely lose its firepower advantage.

It can be said that the time and place have been fully occupied, and they are waiting for the final order of their superiors. During this period, the division commanded by Li Ziyuan was also transferred to the front line after completing the reorganization, replacing a brigade of the local armed forces, and the whole division entered the starting position for the siege, ready to launch a siege operation at any time.

Since March, it has been almost difficult for Li Ziyuan to return home. The whole day is either in a meeting or looking at the terrain in front of you. After the arrival of the two corps of the brother troops, Li Ziyuan's corps was designated to be responsible for operations in the east of the city. This has undoubtedly fundamentally changed the situation of the original thin-skinned encirclement.

It's just that in the current Taiyuan battlefield, the first deputy commander of the North China Military Region and the commander of the First Corps, who were originally in charge of the command, have been completely unable to support their overloaded bodies because of long-term and high-intensity work. The former deputy commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, the current deputy commander-in-chief and commander of the First Field Army, was left behind to take over the command of the Taiyuan operation when he passed through Taiyuan for a meeting and was about to return to the northwest.

The Deputy Commander-in-Chief, who temporarily took over the command, after the last operational meeting. Leaving Li Ziyuan alone, he looked at him and said, "Where have you run away for so many years, why did you avoid me when you became a deputy commander?" Can I still eat you? ”

"Back then, I transferred you to my side as a combat staff officer, but you kid just didn't do it. I want to take you with me when I go to Yan'an, and you will also push back. But fortunately, I didn't take you away at the beginning, otherwise your kid wouldn't have made such a big move in the southeast of Jin. ”

"Good fellow, an independent infantry brigade of the devil has lost most of its troops in your hands. After taking over the Northwest Battlefield, I once thought about transferring you and your regiment to the Northwest Battlefield, but in the end I couldn't do it. This time, how many years have the two of us not seen each other? ”

Looking at Li Ziyuan, who had not been seen in front of him for many years, but looked somewhat old, the boss who was somewhat emotional in his tone said this, but the topic changed: "After so many years of local armed work, I don't know if the brushes of your kid back then can still be wielded." ”

"You are now the youngest military-level cadre in the whole army, I want to see how tiger you were back then, can you take it out again under this Taiyuan City? I heard that your kid is getting married again, so I'll give you a heavy burden this time as your kid's wedding gift. I have decided that your boy's division is the sharp knife unit of your corps. ”

"Whether you can make the first breakthrough depends on how you kid fights this battle. After so many years, whether your kid's ability is lost or not depends on this battle. You don't need a hammer to ring the drum, I'm sure you're still a drum. It can be seen that what is going on, we still have to go to the battlefield to see. ”

Regarding the old chief's agitation, Li Ziyuan saluted and said: "Please rest assured that the General Front Committee, please rest assured that the old chief." My divisions have never been so well-organized, the weapons and equipment have never been so sophisticated, and the reinforced artillery has never been so powerful. ”

"In the past, when we fought Linfen, there was not a single cannon in the whole brigade, didn't it take it down the same? Now my troops are not short of anything, and there are large-caliber heavy artillery attached to the superiors, if I can't fight well, what kind of main force is it? I guarantee that my division will be the first to ascend to the head of Taiyuan City, and I will be the first to storm Taiyuan City. ”

Li Ziyuan's assurance, the deputy commander-in-chief, who has always been short-tempered, just smiled and said: "Don't brag to me here, you kid don't brag to me here, you don't know until you get to the battlefield with a mule or a horse." Linfen is Linfen, and Taiyuan City is Taiyuan City. Neither in terms of the fortification of the walls, nor in the strength and firepower of the defenders, there is no comparison between the two. ”

"If it were the same, the central government would not have mobilized so many troops and organized such a powerful firepower to participate in the war. Three artillery divisions, and all of them were guns of a hundred mm or more. In the Liaoshen Campaign, only two of the four heavy artillery regiments directly under the Nanjing side were captured, and this artillery division had one. ”

"The rest of the artillery is also Japanese-made 100 grenades and American-made 100 grenades, as well as many powerful Japanese-made 90 field guns. This time, the central authorities made a great determination to transfer this powerful artillery division to the Taiyuan front at the stage when the battle of crossing the river was about to begin. ”

"If Taiyuan is as easy to conquer as you think, there is no need for the Military Commission to go to great lengths to mobilize so many artillery pieces to participate in the war. Therefore, we should think of the difficulties ahead and think more about how to liberate Taiyuan at the minimum cost without destroying the Taiyuan factory. ”

"Taiyuan's industry, especially the military industry, is very important to our future development. Our artillerymen are absolutely not allowed to fire a single shell there. Therefore, in terms of deployment, you must take into account the safety of various factories in Taiyuan. Prevent the enemy from withdrawing to the arsenal and continue to resist stubbornly, and be sure to recapture all the factories in Taiyuan intact. ”