The horn of the charge sounded, and the soldiers jumped out of their positions and rushed forward, the flames of the explosion reflecting their sturdy figures, like a furious rush sweeping towards the enemy line. The artillery of the Qing army began to bombard, and the bombs exploded on the way of the charge from time to time, and with the suppression of their own artillery fire, the charging troops soon rushed under the city wall. The soldiers carrying the stretchers did not wait for the ladder to be carried onto the city wall when suddenly a swarm of grenades fell from above, accompanied by a violent explosion, and the stormtrooper formation was thrown into disarray.

In the past, the Qing soldiers who were blown up by grenades in the Northern Expedition turned over on their backs, but this time it was their turn to be bombed. The soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army held out under the walls for a few minutes and retreated, and then launched another attack, but they were still unable to climb the walls. The Qing army seemed to be becoming more and more courageous, and the morale of the Northern Expeditionary Army was greatly affected. In the corps headquarters, Chen Jintang heard that the attack of the siege troops was blocked, so he had to order the entire line to temporarily stop the attack.

An hour later, Chief of Staff Wang Feng and Corps Deputy Commander Li Tianxiang walked into the headquarters depressed. "Damn, the Qing army actually has a grenade, I really didn't expect this situation." Wang Feng picked up the tea bowl and poured a stomach of tea, and angrily smacked the tea bowl on the table. "I said what are you angry with my tea bowl when you are depressed, beware of breaking my tea bowl!" Chen Jintang said dissatisfied. Wang Feng didn't seem to mind: "What does the CIA do to eat, the enemy hunted grenades, and we don't know anything." ”

"The CIA is not omnipotent, and it is impossible to know everything clearly!" Li Tianxiang interjected: "Deputy commander-in-chief, the grenades must have just been transported to the front line, and the Qing army did not use grenades in the peripheral attack, and our losses in the two strong attacks were not small." "It's not easy for foreigners to develop a grenade so quickly, it seems that we have to change our tactics. The attacking troops were ordered to come down and rest, and the offensive was stopped on all fronts this evening. ”

Chen Jintang continued: "Brainstorming, ordering all divisions, brigades, and regiments to discuss and offer suggestions on the use of grenades in the defense of the Qing army. The commander-in-chief does not often warn us that the three stinkers have beaten Zhuge Liang and that we must give full play to the wisdom of the vast number of officers and men. The attack that night was aborted like this, Chen Jintang discussed with the generals of the middle lane cluster, and Li Tianxiang and Wang Feng returned to the left and right lane attack clusters respectively to adopt suggestions.

In the Governor's Mansion in Xiangfan City, the haze of days seems to have been swept away. "My lord, no wonder the Northern Expeditionary Army attacked sharply, it turned out that the grenade played a great role. The soldiers defending the city said that the rebels who had blown up the grenade had lost their armor and were embarrassed. Look, the Northern Expeditionary Army launched two attacks and retreated. "My lord, with the grenade, we can hold Xiangfan City. Foreigners are too harmful! "It's raining just in time!" The staff members were also excited like the seedlings of the long-drought harvest with nectar.

Liu Mingchuan was also very excited: "Immediately report to Lord Li in the capital, the grenade showed its might, blocked the two strong attacks of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and asked for another batch to be transported." And the brothers who guarded the wall were rewarded with 5 taels of silver each. For more than a month, Liu Mingchuan has never been in such a good mood. Perhaps he had forgotten what kind of army the Northern Expeditionary Army had always been, and the confidence he had accumulated on the second day immediately came to naught.

At three o'clock in the morning, Wang Feng and Li Tianxiang returned to the troops, and after summarizing the most valuable battle examples, they surfaced. Based on the classic example provided by a brigade commander of the 2nd Division, after discussion, the combat staff simulated that this method was feasible. The year before last, this brigade commander participated in the battle against Hangzhou, and the brigade commander was a battalion commander at that time. A similar problem was encountered during the attack on the city of Hangzhou, where the Qing army threw Molotov cocktails and white ash, which for a time hindered the attack.

Although the biggest breakthrough in the capture of Hangzhou was the combination of the inside and the outside, the targeted methods of the attacking troops when breaking through the city also played a significant role. Its tactic is to feint more and attack a little. And using fire cover, artillery fire coverage and other measures, in one fell swoop to break through the city wall. After analysis and simulation, the General Staff Office found that this method was feasible and suggested that this method should be used for better results in daytime attacks. Soon a new plan for attacking the fortified position was introduced, that is, to concentrate all the artillery fire to break through in the middle, and then expand to both sides, and respond to the left and right attack clusters to take the opportunity to break through the city.

Immediately, the 2nd Artillery Brigade and the 3rd Artillery Brigade all gathered in the middle of the cluster to carry out artillery support, which meant that 270 infantry guns of the entire artillery division were concentrated, and 10 artillery pieces of the heavy artillery battalion were concentrated to attack. The main attacking forces of the central cluster were still the 1st and 5th Divisions, and the general attack time was set at 8 a.m. When the time came, the earth began to shake again, and the walls were covered in smoke due to the heavy artillery fire.

After 20 minutes, the artillery fire extended and the attacking troops attacked. This time, the order was reversed, with the soldiers carrying the ladders in the back and the soldiers in front of the fire cover. The covering soldier went into the best firing position to stop the advance, and then looked for favorable terrain to begin fire support. The frontal attack area of the main attack force is divided into 20 points, 17 points are feints, and 3 points are the main attack area. The effect of the careful arrangement was reflected, especially with the support of the fire team, and the bombardiers of the Qing army were so pressed that they could not raise their heads.

The Qing army had no choice but to throw a single shot, and the efficiency of grenade blocking and killing suddenly decreased. At about 10 a.m., the Northern Expeditionary Army climbed a wall, and at 12 o'clock three walls were breached. The resistance of the Qing army was very tenacious, and several fierce counterattacks were made, but under the cover of supporting artillery fire, the Qing army was frightened. By midnight, the left and right clusters had also broken through the city wall with the support of the middle road, and the largest strong defense line of Xiangfan City was trampled under the feet of the Northern Expeditionary Army.

When Liu Ming heard that the city had been breached, he was taken aback, and immediately ordered a counterattack to take back the city wall. The fierce fighting was terrifying, and several general soldiers were killed one after another, but it did not shake the Northern Expeditionary Army. On the contrary, the results of the Northern Expeditionary Army were getting bigger and bigger. When the walls of the south, southeast, and southwest were all broken, Liu Mingchuan had no choice but to accept the reality. Fortunately, there are heavy troops in hand, in order to stabilize the morale of the army, Liu Mingchuan roared: "Resist step by step, implement local counterattacks, even if the Northern Expeditionary Army breaks through the city, it will be difficult for them to move an inch." At present, the Han River passes through the city, and even if the Northern Expeditionary Army occupies the south of the city, if it wants to cross the Han River, it will have to pay a greater price.

The Northern Expeditionary Army has accumulated a lot of experience in street fighting, so it has rules and methods. On May 30, the south of Xiangfan was captured. In view of the special situation in Xiangfan City, the Corps Headquarters revised the operation Jihua from the new, and the original Jihua was postponed for 10 days, requiring that the city north of the Han River be captured by June 10 and all the Qing troops would be eaten. After capturing Nancheng, the troops rested for two days and prepared to cross the river for battle. Chen Jintang asked the left and right attack aircraft groups to take the lead in crossing the Han River in the upper and lower reaches of the Han River, and outflank Xiangcheng on the east and west flanks.

While the army was in action, something unexpected happened. Far away in the capital, Li Hongzhang's official residence, Li Hongzhang had just returned from the coalition headquarters and was sulking. After receiving news of Xiangfan's crisis, Li Hongzhang asked McMahon to order the British troops on the front line of Funiu Mountain to support Xiangfan, and McMahon verbally agreed, but never took action. Today, he suggested that McMahon send troops to support, and McMahon said with confidence that the Han River is a natural line of defense, and the Northern Expeditionary Army will not want to cross the Han River for a month, as long as it holds out for a month, the coalition forces will launch a counteroffensive.

Isn't that? Li Hongzhang has a feeling of being deceived. He figured out that McMahon had long planned to give up Xiangfan, and let Liu Mingchuan defend Xiangfan to the death was to play the role of a shield and buy time for the British army to build fortifications on the front line of Funiu Mountain. That's 300,000 army teeth, and Li Hongzhang's psychology seems to be dripping blood. Thinking of this, Li Hongzhang made it overnight. "Someone!" A subordinate ran in.

"Immediately send this letter to Liu Mingchuan and let him act at the opportunity!" Li Hongzhang said decisively. Liu Mingchuan's descendant troops are also his descendant troops, and he doesn't want all the Huai army's children to fall in Xiangfan, so he asks Liu Mingchuan to take the opportunity to retreat. The powerful attack power of the Northern Expeditionary Army attracted worldwide attention, and Liu Mingchuan held on for more than 20 days, which is completely reasonable.

In the Governor's Mansion on the north bank of the Han River in Xiangfan, Liu Mingchuan's face was pale, and he was obviously much weaker. The staff also lost their spirits, and the emotion of defeat enveloped everyone. "Report to your lordship, the scouts have found that a large number of Northern Expeditionary troops have appeared in the upper and lower reaches of the Han River." A subordinate panicked and reported it. "My lord, the Northern Expeditionary Army wants to eat us all," "My lord, the Northern Expeditionary Army did not immediately cross the river to attack, it turned out to eat us all, and it seems that they want to surround Xiangcheng." ”

Other staff members also echoed, and Liu Mingchuan's expression was a little numb. Master Li said that the British army would support, why is there no movement at all now? Liu Mingchuan was puzzled. He had no choice but to watch the Northern Expeditionary Army deploy its troops from the upper and lower reaches of the Han River.

Frankly speaking, Liu Mingchuan no longer has any confidence in sticking to Xiangfan, and after half a month of fierce battles, he has lost half of his men and horses, and in the absence of foreign aid, he has completely become a trapped beast. At this time, a messenger sent by Li Hongzhang arrived. Liu Mingchuan took Li Hongzhang's letter and looked at it, and his spirit was lifted and said: "What is the critical moment, now is the critical moment, pass my order to prepare immediately, and the army will retreat tonight?" ”

The staff and subordinates were overjoyed when they heard this. One of the staff members remembered something and said: "My lord, the front line of Funiu Mountain is defended by the British army, what if we retreat to the front line of Funiu Mountain and the British block it?" Liu Mingchuan rolled his eyes and said: "We don't retreat to the front line of Funiu Mountain, in order to confuse the Northern Expeditionary Army, we turn to Tongbai Mountain halfway, and then turn to Anhui." Let the coalition forces compete with the Northern Expeditionary Army. I'd like to see if the coalition forces can hold off the Northern Expeditionary Army's attack.

"My lord, in order to prevent the Northern Expeditionary Army from pursuing, we must throw away a large number of light and heavy, especially artillery, whether to burn the materials and blow up the artillery." A subordinate advised. "Idiot, you want to tell the Northern Expeditionary Army that we are going to retreat, don't forget, the two wings of the Northern Expeditionary Army have crossed the river and will soon outflank it, in order to speed up the retreat, all the heavy equipment will be abandoned." That night, the Qing army quietly withdrew from its positions along the river, and our army knew nothing.

In the morning of the next day, on the south bank of the Han River in Xiangfan City, our middle road cluster was ready to launch a river-crossing operation. Inside the Corps Headquarters, Chen Jintang was waiting patiently. Suddenly, a subordinate rushed in. "Report to the deputy commander-in-chief, the troops crossing the river reported that the situation of the Qing army on the other side was abnormal, and there was not a single defending Qing army in sight, and the front-line commander judged that the Qing army might have escaped."

Chen Jintang was stunned when he heard this, it was absolutely impossible for the Qing army to escape. "Deputy Commander-in-Chief, is the Qing army confusing us?" "An Operational Staff Officer Analysis." "Order the troops crossing the river and send a battalion to test it!" Chen Jintang said decisively.