Chapter 199: The curtain opens

On April 28, 1913, the units of the Second Army of the People's Army, which had already been ordered to be on standby at the junction of the two provinces, immediately began to attack in three directions after the autonomous government issued a statement, and after less than half an hour, they broke through into the territory of Guangdong. Along the way www.biquge.info the various units of the People's Army not only made rapid progress and did not encounter decent resistance, but were also welcomed by the local people and gentry.

I have to say that there has never been a shortage of smart people in Chinese society in all dynasties. Although the collision between the two giants of the north and the south has not yet begun at this time, when facing the strong rise of the Communist Party People's Army, smart people will always make the right choice.

"Division Commander, we are almost at the boundary of Zhaoqing!" A staff officer took the map and walked to the side of Guo Songling, the commander of the Fourth Division.

Guo Songling, who was recognized by everyone as Xiao Mubai's confidant and favorite general, and had an unlimited future, was the commander of the Fourth Division who took over after the end of the war in Burma. Knowing that his post had been greatly criticized in the army, although he was young and ambitious, he was high-spirited, but he did not get carried away. Guo Songling, who urgently needed to prove himself with a victory, personally led the fourth division from Wuzhou after the outbreak of the war, and marched all the way, defeating several enemy forces one after another, and it took only one day to reach the vicinity of Zhaoqing, and it was only more than 200 miles away from Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province.

Guo Songling took the military map, looked at it and said, "The troops of the 10th Regiment, where are they now?" ”

"The Tenth Regiment reported not long ago that they are about to arrive in the Sanshui area!"

"Why is the speed of the Ten Regiments so slow? Only more than fifty miles away from the division headquarters? Guo Songling's face sank, obviously dissatisfied with the marching speed of the Tenth Regiment.

Another staff officer immediately replied: "The bridge across the Beijiang River on the way forward of the 10th Regiment was damaged by the enemy, and the logistical baggage could not be transported across the river, resulting in the obstruction of the march. Because I waited for the temporary bridge to be built, I crossed the river, so it took a lot of time. ”

Hearing this, Guo Songling frowned, but he didn't say anything, and nodded directly: "Call the Ten Regiments, let them speed up, and they must arrive at the predetermined area on time!" ”

Although Guo Songling was a little dissatisfied with the slow movement of the Tenth Regiment, he had no reason to be angry when this kind of thing happened. The Second Army was stationed in Guangxi for more than half a year, and in addition to being well aware of the local terrain, it also sent a large number of surveyors to the entire Guangdong region to survey and map military maps.

The Fourth Division of the People's Army here is rapidly advancing towards Guangzhou, but in the city of Guangzhou, Hu Hanmin, Chen Jiongmin, and Long Jiguang, who are the highest authorities of the military government at the moment, are still arguing over the question of whether to fight or make peace. Hu Hanmin and Chen Jiongming, two members of the KMT, although they are at odds with each other because of the struggle for power and the issue of political ideas, are surprisingly unanimous in their views on the issue of resisting the People's Army. Hu Hanmin did not have a good impression of the warlord Xiao Mubai in the mouth of the Kuomintang leader Sun Wen; Chen Jiongming is because of his political philosophy, as a supporter of federalism, he is disgusted with the Communist Party from the bottom of his bones, and he holds two divisions, so he naturally does not allow the People's Army to run rampant at this time; And the last Long Jiguang, a genuine former Qing officer, an executioner with the blood of revolutionaries on his hands, although Xinhai was forced to respond to the revolution due to the situation, he never thought that he and the revolutionaries were all the way. He knows the most about current affairs, although he carries heavy soldiers, but he is not stupid, and he still weighs a few pounds and a few taels. The army was stationed in Huizhou, Hailufeng and other areas, and he had a relationship with Yuan Shikai, and he had long been determined to flee if the situation was not good.

The three of them had different thoughts, and although they quarreled all night, they did not reach any consensus, but wasted a lot of time in vain and indulged the fighters. The next day, when Hu Hanmin and Chen Jiongming wanted to persuade Long Jiguang to join them in defending the city of Guangzhou, the latest battle report came that the forward troops of the People's Army had captured the Foshan area on the outskirts of Guangzhou. When the news came out, the entire city of Guangzhou suddenly became a little chaotic.

Sanshui, Guangdong, inside the newly built headquarters of the Fourth Division.

"According to reports from the front, the 10th Regiment of our division has captured the Foshan area outside Guangzhou, and the headquarters of the 1st and 3rd Battalions under its command have exchanged fire with the troops of Chen Jiongming's troops defending the periphery of Guangzhou with the support of artillery. At present, all units of the 10th Regiment have organized positions on the spot and confronted Chen Jiongming's troops in person. The staff officer instructed on a large map of Guangzhou City and the surrounding areas with a small command list, and at the same time explained: "In addition, the first battalion of the 11th Regiment of our division has been ordered to move closer to the direction of the 10th Regiment, and the other two battalions will also arrive in the Panyu area according to the scheduled battle plan. The relevant troops of the 12th Regiment are expected to be able to reach the Shibei area north of Guangzhou in the afternoon, and while flanking and supporting the 10th Regiment, they can also block the enemy coming to the aid of Long Jiguang's department. ”

Chief of Staff Yu Wenhao also said at this time: "At present, the whole division has basically been carried out according to the scheduled plan. Division commander, do you want to carry out the next battle plan? ”

Guo Songling groaned for a while, then nodded. Seeing that the chief of staff wanted to speak and stopped, he continued: "I know that everyone has worked hard for so long, but now is not the time to talk about hard work and rest. The city of Guangzhou is just around the corner, and I hope that the comrades will carry forward the revolutionary spirit of our people's army, which is not afraid of hardship or death, and take it down with all their might. ”

Cao Junshan, the political commissar who understood what he meant, further did ideological work and said: "Comrades, since the start of the war, the progress of the fraternal troops has also been rapid! Although it is now the first soldier of our Fourth Division to come to the city of Guangzhou, maybe tomorrow the Fifth Division and the Sixth Division will come, and our Fourth Division is a well-known trump card unit of the whole army, and has made countless achievements in the southern and northern wars. When they come to take Guangzhou together, how can our Fourth Division hold its head up after that? ”

"The commissar is right! Division commander, you can rest assured, the brothers promised to take the city of Guangzhou, the British devils didn't let us worry at the beginning, not to mention these tens of thousands of rabble in the city who are not even equipped with guns, how can they be the opponents of our fourth division? ”

Guo Songling nodded and said in a deep voice: "That's good." Our 4th Division has no reason and cannot accept defeat. ”

The general direction is set, but the details need to be discussed again, and at the suggestion of Guo Songling, Chief of Staff Yu Wenhao and his staff officers began to discuss the war situation again.

Time is constantly moving forward, but at this time, the city of Guangzhou has gradually become chaotic. The troops stationed in Guangzhou were the first and second divisions personally organized and trained by Chen Jiongming, and most of the soldiers in them were bandits who had been recruited at the beginning, and a small part were newly recruited peasants. One can imagine how strong an army can be, transformed from bandits. On the same day, after a regiment of soldiers defending a position outside the city was smashed by a third of the artillery battalion of the 10 th Regiment and fled into the city carrying the dead regiment commander, no matter whether Chen Jiongming was kind to persuade or threaten, these men with a single rifle in their hands no longer dared to go out of the city to face the People's Army wearing steel helmets, carrying semi-automatic rifles, and artillery to assist in the attack.

Seeing that the people's hearts were scattered and the team was about to be difficult to bring, Chen Jiongming hurriedly went to Long Jiguang to discuss, hoping that he could transfer the troops stationed in Huizhou, the closest place to Guangzhou, to support Guangzhou, but he didn't want Long Jiguang to flee with his guards at this time. At this point, Chen Jiongming had to go to Hu Hanmin again, but before he could reach the Governor's Mansion, the bad news that Hu Hanmin had fled to the Shamian Concession in Guangzhou came one after another. At this moment, Chen Jiongming is really anxious and angry, and he has a feeling of insufficient and conspiracy. The general trend has gone, things are no longer possible, and the truth that a gentleman does not stand under the dangerous wall is not only understood by Hu Hanmin and Long Jiguang, but also by Chen Jiongming. In the afternoon of the same day, Chen Jiongming, who had only a few entourage, was unwilling and angry, and finally fled to Hong Kong after several detours.

Chen Jiongming escaped happily, but what he left behind was really a mess. Under the pressure of a strong enemy outside and no way to retreat inside, tens of thousands of people's troops, which were no longer controlled, suddenly changed from an army that protected the territory and the people to a heavily armed bandit army and a chaotic army. There were more than 20,000 rebellious soldiers, but there was no effective army in Guangzhou City that could threaten them. Therefore, these more than 20,000 rebels after they got out of control burned, killed and looted, which is called an unscrupulous.

The city of Canton has been completely thrown into chaos, with thugs everywhere and gunfire everywhere. The big families and the guards were cautious with guns and guards, while the ordinary people could only hide in their homes trembling, begging the rebels not to find their doors.

Fortunately, the chaos inside the city was quickly detected by the People's Army outside the city. The troops of the 10th Regiment of the 4th Division, which had received the order, quickly marched into Guangzhou from the west of the city, and the troops of the other two regiments were not willing to be left behind, and entered the city of Guangzhou from the other two directions. At this time, except for a small number of rebellious soldiers who dared to continue to pick up guns and loot and were hanged by various units, more rebellious soldiers threw down their guns, took off their military uniforms, and turned themselves into ordinary people, and then they were searched out one by one by the officers and men of the Fourth Division and arrested under the joint identification of the citizens of Guangzhou.

After the People's Army entered Guangzhou, it took only one night of hard work to basically wipe out the chaotic soldiers and bandits in the city of Guangzhou, and the chaotic situation was finally completely controlled. The people of Guangzhou, who had suffered from the harassment of the rebels, finally exhaled a deep breath in their hearts.

On April 30, 1913, just two days after the outbreak of war, Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, fell into the hands of the People's Army