Back at the regiment headquarters, An Yi asked the herald Xiao Du to settle the little soldier Zhang Cheng, and wrote down the names of the other five Gao An brothers, and instructed Zhan Huanqi, the communications staff officer, to call the first battalion commander Xia Jian, the fourth battalion commander Gu Changfeng, and the guard company commander Ding Zhicheng to come to the meeting, and called the bearded three people to gather around the sand table and tell in detail the inspiration they had obtained at the dock.

The beard roared happily, then stared at the sand table, and after a while, he walked to the large table on the other side and drew the line to calculate the details.

Yang Bin and Qu Muchen's eyes followed the instruction stick in An Yi's hand back and forth, listening intently to An Yi's assumptions, while silently calculating in their hearts.

A few minutes later, Yang Bin and Qu Muchen both raised their heads and sighed loudly, Yang Bin said admiringly: "Only you can come up with such a method, it seems that I am going to study the engineer course well." The brilliant countermeasure you've come up with, whether it's implemented or not, is an eye-opener. ”

"I guess that in particular, the Hengshan Mountain in the west, although the mountain is steep, it is not as many cliffs as there are on the top of the fire in the east, and judging from the climbing skills of the brothers in the Xia Jian Mountain Camp, it is not too difficult to climb the mountain beam on the first line of Hengshan. However, it is difficult to climb to the top of the fire in the east, and even if you find a good guide, you may not be able to guarantee success, because it is too steep.

On the other hand, standing on a mountain beam more than 300 meters high to attack the defenders of the four-kilometer pass below, it is more difficult to grasp the timing of the fuse. However, as long as the attack from the west is successful, it will create an extremely favorable opportunity for the assault troops, and if there is a battalion of cavalry, they will be able to rush through this four-kilometer narrow road in 15 minutes with all their might, and only need to successfully break through half of it, and they will be able to penetrate in one fell swoop the enemy's pillboxes and machine-gun gathering positions arranged on both sides of the narrow road, and tightly block the enemy's retreat road, and the defending enemy in the four-kilometer pass will have no way to advance or retreat, and in the end he will not be able to escape the fate of being completely annihilated by us. Qu Muchen said his thoughts excitedly.

An Yi nodded: "We have more than six hundred war horses and pack horses, and it is not difficult to select five or six hundred brothers who can ride horses from the other three battalions and regimental units, not to mention that we have a few company commanders who have graduated from the riding department themselves." The most important thing now is to wait for the exact information sent back by the twelve reconnaissance groups of the guard company, although they are only wandering around the mountains within a radius of ten kilometers, it is by no means an easy task, and it is often frightening to see dead horses running on the top of the mountains, and the winding roads can be frightened by the total mileage of the winding roads. ”

"So...... At the military meeting of the division headquarters held later, do you plan to explain this strategy? The beard returned to the sand table after calculating various parameters and asked curiously.

An Yi shook his head: "No, it's not time to say it yet, at least I can't publicly explain it before twelve o'clock tonight, twelve o'clock tonight is the stipulated time for the reconnaissance team to return to the camp, and how to implement my plan by that time will basically be clear."

At present, we only have one thing for sure, that is, if we can do it, we will do it immediately, and if we can't do it, we must do it! Otherwise, we will have to wait to be driven to death in a rain of enemy machine-gun bullets.

On this point, you must not doubt that this man of the division is absolutely ruthless enough to order our troops to send them to death first, and when we are gone, he will then drive the other regiments in and fight until our division is exhausted and he fills in himself. Commander Bai Chongxi is a well-known person with strict military orders and law enforcement, he only gives orders and does not care how you do it, and if you are not responsible, if you are not charged, it will only be carried by our second division instead of him Commander Bai, because what we can't do, he can usually do it, which is well-known in the army. Alas, I find that many of the proofreaders are becoming more and more in awe, myself included. ”

The brothers listened to these words, the mood was extremely heavy, the past few months of several battles let everyone see the sadness and cruelty, deeply feel the horror and hesitation of not being able to grasp their own fate, and even feel the backlog of resentment and rebellion in the depths of their hearts, so at this time everyone can deeply understand the helplessness and anger in An Yi's heart, but the deepest experience is the strong indomitable spirit and strong sense of distress in An Yi's body, and at the same time, he also saw firm faith and hope in An Yi's body.

"I calculated a little, such a large valley, at least fifteen tons of explosives and the corresponding fuses and detonators are needed to be effective, otherwise it is not safe."

After the beard finished speaking, his fingers slid lightly over the narrow passage on the sand table, and his eyes were full of worry.

An Yi nodded approvingly: "Yes, I also roughly calculated on the way back, and it really can't be lower than this number, of course, the more the better." Based on the calculation that each brother in our department carried 15 kilograms, it would take at least 1,000 brothers to transport this batch of explosives, which can be done by exactly two battalions, but it is not possible to let these brothers who have no experience in making explosives bags go up to the mountain beams and then make them urgently, not only will it seriously delay time, but once something goes wrong, there will be no bones left and the risk of exposing the intentions of our army's actions, so we must do it in advance.

In order to increase the power of the explosion, I think that each explosive package should be about 25 kilograms, so roughly calculated that a total of 360 explosive bags will be needed, so we will have to apply to the division and the chief of staff for 20 tons of explosives later, and all the detonator explosives must use the one imported from the United States last month, otherwise it will be difficult for us to grasp the time and effect of the detonation.

I am in charge of this matter, I estimate that as long as Chief Bai receives the application telegram, he will be able to guess what we are going to do, and I believe that he will fully support it, and if he can't take Yang Chunqiao, he won't be able to enter Tonglu, let alone besiege the city, and Chief Bai's overall plan will not be able to be launched. According to my overall judgment of the battle plan, Vice President Bai seems to be in a hurry than us. ”

"I agree with your analysis." Yang Bin seriously thought about it in his heart, nodded and smiled in support.

"Lao Qu, the three of us will go to the division headquarters for a meeting later, and you can explain in detail our plan of action to the brothers who have arrived, and you must pay attention to confidentiality. After this battle, I have to find an excuse to get rid of the radio instructor sent by the headquarters, this person is sneaky, he goes around the battalions every day, and asks about this and that, he is definitely not a good person, Huan Qi and Jian Qing have long learned radio transmission and reception and basic maintenance techniques, and there is no need for people who can't grasp the depth to follow us all day long.

I estimate that tonight's meeting will not last long, as long as I quietly inform the division of this plan and emphasize the principle of secrecy, the division will definitely immediately send back the commanders of the regiments attending the meeting, and after sending a telegram to Commander Bai, I will go to the fourth regiment to ask for the only five remaining soldiers of Gao An's enlistment, and then immediately rush back to the meeting to discuss, and it is estimated that our various reconnaissance groups should also come back with intelligence. ”

An Yi finished the arrangement in a low voice, and then rushed to the division headquarters in the city with Hu Zi and Yang Bin.

That night, the weather was freezing and the north wind was blowing strongly, the former enemy headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army in Lanxi, Bai Chongxi, Zhang Dingfan, Pan Yizhi and others gathered together, and Pan Yizhi was very puzzled by Liu Zhi's urgent request for as many as 20 tons of explosives, a large number of detonators, and fuses:

"How can you ask so much at once? Could it be that Liu Jingfu wants to blow up the mountain and open the way? And it has been repeatedly stated that domestic ones are not used, which is too picky? ”

Bai Chongxi looked at the telegram repeatedly, and confirmed it again and again on the map on the desktop, and finally raised his head from the desktop and smiled slightly: "I guess you're right, except for blowing up the mountain to open the road, there is no need for so many explosive materials at all, but I still can't figure out how he Liu Jingfu opened the road and where he opened the road from?" I've looked at this map dozens of times, and I don't have a place to start...... If my speculation is correct, it is estimated that the Second Division has indeed found a countermeasure, and I am sure that it is An Yi who made plans to find flaws! Only a professional engineer can find a unique way to accurately calculate the effect to be achieved from places we don't expect, so as to accurately determine the amount of material required. ”

"It's An Yi again...... What do you think? Do you send it as they ask? Zhang Dingfan hesitated for a moment and asked.

Bai Chongxi nodded: "Yes, although I also want to test the strength of An Yi's reading force group through this battle, but since they have found a countermeasure, I will not be a villain in vain, this time not only will I try my best to meet their requirements, but also immediately send a convoy to send over, if we can arrive at Tonglu City one day in advance, it will add a chance of victory to our entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang strategic plan - as long as Liu Jingfu's second division is forced to Tonglu City, the enemy army will inevitably rush to mobilize heavy troops to help and defend Tonglu, Otherwise, the last barrier to protect the ancient city of Hangzhou would be gone, and Sun Chuanfang and Meng Zhaoyue would not be able to protect the entire Zhejiang. Now pass me an order: Immediately deliver the goods according to the telegram requirements of the Second Division, and it must be delivered before seven o'clock in the morning tomorrow! ”

"Yes!"

Zhang Dingfan signed the order recorded by the confidential staff officer, and then handed it to the desktop in front of Bai Chongxi.

Bai Chongxi smiled slightly after signing: "If my prediction is good, the day after tomorrow at the latest, the second division will be launched, tomorrow afternoon we will personally go to the Jiande front line for a trip, I really want to see with my own eyes how they do it, to be honest, so far, I still can't think of a countermeasure to overcome the danger of Yangchun Bridge." ”

In the early morning of the next day, there was a busy scene around Guanyin Mountain, which was 5.5 kilometers southwest of Jiande City, and with this as the center, all the intersections within a radius of two kilometers were strictly sealed by the officers and men of the Reading Regiment, and the temporarily formed 500 cavalrymen were equipped with 200 flower machine guns and 25 light machine guns that had been concentrated in the middle, with large knives in their backs, grenades and shell guns on their waists, and galloped back and forth on a two-kilometer-long dirt and stone road in the south, under the command of the beard, diligently practiced group charge and horse strafing.

On Guanyin Mountain, more than 120 squad and platoon commanders drawn from the 1st and 4th Battalions carried baskets, ropes, explosive bags, and large clay pots filled with kerosene, climbed the 280-meter-high mountain beam, divided into six groups, lined up on the undulating 300-meter-long mountain beam, listened carefully to the explanations and demonstrations of the six groups of demolition team members led by Captain Han Xianchu, the demolition instructor, and took turns to work in strict accordance with the instructors' requirements.

The instructor commented loudly and corrected the mistakes, so that every squad and platoon leader involved in the operation had the opportunity to figure out how to fix the explosives bag in the basket, how to light the fuse, how to throw the clay pot full of kerosene, and so on.

After an hour and a half of training, the experimental blasting attack was ready, and the instructors again earnestly told them to take precautions, and the platoon leaders of the six groups on the mountain beam were sternly ordered to stuff wet cotton balls into their ears.

On the high ground 1.2 kilometers south of Guanyin Mountain, Liu Zhi and Xu Tingyao, who came with illness, listened to An Yi's explanation of actions, raised their binoculars to carefully observe everything up and down Guanyin Mountain, and saw the machine gun positions and pillboxes built by the brothers of the 2nd Engineer Company of Reading Li at the foot of the mountain, Liu Zhi hurriedly reminded An Yi:

"Xiao Yi, look, your engineer company withdrew without careful inspection, and actually forgot so many horses at the foot of the mountain over there, shouldn't you!"

"Rest assured, the twenty or so old and weak pack horses were specially selected for testing, and they were thirty to eighty meters away from each explosion point at the foot of the mountain, and all of them were tightly tied to wooden stakes for the purpose of testing the power and effective distance of the explosion.

The explosive packets tested today weigh 25 kilograms each, exactly the same as those used in our plan, and if the calculations are correct, the powerful shock wave generated by the explosion will stun or even destroy all animals within 50 meters of the explosion site...... Okay, the signalman signaled with the flag that the test was about to start in one minute, so let's plug our ears first. ”

An Yi said, took out a cotton ball to block his ears, and stared intently at the direction of Guanyin Mountain, looking extremely expectant.

More than a dozen regiment commanders and commanders of divisions and divisions watched all this with interest, and many people were very unimpressed by An Yi's reminder, and even more doubtful about the effectiveness of this strange tactic of throwing explosives bags down the mountain that had never been done before.

A minute passed quickly, with a sharp whistle on the mountain beam, two clay pots full of kerosene were thrown down the mountain beam, the clay pot was still in mid-air, a large basket containing twenty-five kilograms of explosives was pushed down the mountain beam, with the slightest fuse of the green smoke quickly rolled down the foot of the mountain, the basket rich in bullet surname rolled faster and faster, the speed of the fall increased rapidly, the sound of the two jars of kerosene breaking has not stopped, the big basket that bounced on the rock jumped high with the sound of the wind, straight to the bottom of the mountain, and then an earth-shattering explosion came, The mountains in a radius of several hundred meters shook the ground, and the thick gunpowder smoke and mud and stone branches and leaves expanded violently under the impact of the shock wave, like a round black mushroom rolling up, the lush trees at the foot of the mountain and on the mountainside shook violently, and large swaths of snow were rolled up into the sky, mixed with the smoke of gravel and gunpowder, flying all over the sky. The smoke rose into the air, and the raging flames began to gradually coalesce and burn violently.

Violent explosions rang out every minute, and each explosion had the same effect as the first.

Looking at the smoke of gunpowder and the raging flames in front of him, the generals around An Yi turned pale and dumbfounded, and several untethered war horses were still neighing and galloping, gradually moving away.

Xu Tingyao, who was shocked by the violent sound and fell on the snow, raised the telescope in his hand, his hands trembled slightly, but he carefully observed it for a long time, until the herald Pegasus came to report, then he put down the telescope, and the experimental results were far beyond everyone's expectations: only one of the nineteen horses was still alive, but he was paralyzed!

Liu Zhi's face turned red, and he turned to An Yi with great excitement, and An Yi also happened to turn to him to report, Liu Zhi suddenly found that his ears were buzzing, and he couldn't hear anything clearly.

The experiment was a complete success, and the general of the 2nd Division quickly returned to the city for an emergency military meeting. In the admiring eyes of the generals, An Yi stood up and said a surprising decision:

"Divisional seats, chiefs of staff, ladies and gentlemen, the 12 reconnaissance groups of the guard company of our regiment have made great efforts and with the help of many mountain people who support the revolution, they have succeeded in finding a way to ascend the mountain beams on both sides of the four kilometers south of Yangchunqiao Town. But what is anxious is that we have learned from the mountain people that there will be another heavy snowfall here tonight, and the climbing passages and those markings along the way that we have worked so hard to open will soon be buried by the heavy snow, and it will take at least a whole day or more to search for them again tomorrow, so I suggest that our division should attack before ten o'clock tonight! Otherwise, if there is no heavy snow for several days in a row, what we are doing now will probably be meaningless. ”

The generals immediately became hotly discussed, and most of them thought that the time was too rushed, and there was no time to make preparations, only Li Yannian stood up firmly to support An Yi:

"I think Regiment Commander An's suggestion is very correct, and the preparation time is completely in time, since the brothers of the Reading Force Regiment are sure to sneak more than ten kilometers, trek through mountains and rivers, and climb two steep mountains with heavy loads, and can prepare for the entire attack in a few hours, why can't our regiments that are only more than ten kilometers away from the battlefield? Here, on behalf of all the brothers of the Fifth Regiment, I would like to express my firm support for the opinion of Regiment Commander An, and if necessary, the headquarters is even willing to take on the responsibility of assault forward! ”

"I support it too! This is the only feasible way at the moment, otherwise once the fighter passes, the gains outweigh the losses! ”

General Chen Jiji of the 22nd Division also opened his mouth to express his support for An Yi, and he knew very well that the plan proposed by An Yi was the best plan at present.

The opposing voices fell silent, and Xu Tingyao summarized everyone's opinions and solemnly expressed her support. Under the chairmanship of Liu Zhi, the meeting soon formed plans and orders:

The An Yi Reading Regiment only needed to open four kilometers of narrow road and control the enemy position at the north entrance of the narrow road. If the attack plan of the Reading Force Regiment proceeds smoothly, the task of crossing the narrow road and taking advantage of the victory to force Tonglu City will be entrusted to the three main regiments, and the 65th Regiment of the 22nd Division inherited by Chen will also take on the main offensive task, and the An Yi Regiment will automatically be transferred to the reserve after capturing the narrow road, so that the officers and men of the Reading Regiment, who have worked hard and made great achievements, can stop and take a good breath.

(To be continued)