Episode 63 The Empress goes on tour

On the morning of the start of the exercise, Zhu Yourong's motorcade arrived at the Purple Mountain Fortress at eight o'clock.

This has become the general headquarters of the Red side of the fortified exercises. According to the original arrangement, the commander-in-chief of the Red Side, Tang Yunsheng and Zhang Zhaoxian, as well as a group of Red Commanders, bowed to Her Majesty the Empress, and then Her Majesty should be asked to announce the start of the exercise. But now it's clearly not.

When Zhu Yourong entered the hall, there was already a panic in the Red Headquarters. Telephones rang everywhere, and junior officers ran nervously around with documents, telegrams, orders. Next to the huge map on the wall, several female officers climbed up and down on the scaffolding, constantly using long poles to move the red and blue markings on the map. The senior officers were like ants on a hot pot, clutching their phones and shouting at the other end, asking one question after another, and getting one contradictory answer after another.

The number of planes of the Red Army was limited, and one airfield was originally enough, but out of prudence, Tang Yunsheng decided to divide the few planes into one more and get one more airfield. Because the Ming and Qing wars had just ceased fire, the generals of the Ming army still remembered the "New Year's greetings" action of the air raid on the Qing army airport on the first day of the new year. At a small cost, the air raid wiped out a large number of Qing planes on the ground, causing the Ming army to seize air superiority at once.

In the current exercise, the number of planes of the blue army is already greatly superior, and Xiang Xiaoqiang, the big boss of the blue army in the background, is vigorously advocating "air supremacy", and in the words of many people, he is a "black man." Therefore, in Tang Yunsheng's view, the blue army is absolutely capable, motivated, and interested in such an air raid at the beginning of the exercise.

Tang Yunsheng had already ordered the air defense units at the two airports to heighten their vigilance and asked the planes at the two airports to prepare for takeoff one hour before the exercise began; at 8 o'clock, as soon as the empress announced the start of the exercise, the staff officers below would immediately call the airports, and the planes at the two airports would take off urgently. Fighter jets escorted bombers to the airfield for the Blues. On the one hand, we should strive to defeat the strong with the weak and gain air superiority, and on the other hand, we should also prevent them from being blown up on the ground.

But now, everything is in front of you. The Blues actually attacked two airfields at dawn, just when the Reds thought the exercises had not yet begun. At the beginning, Tang Yunsheng felt very unfair, thinking that the Blues were taking advantage of loopholes. But calm down and think about it, the opponent is the attacker, and he is the defender, is it fair that the defender knows exactly what time the attacker is attacking, and what time it is accurate?

The ground forces are okay to say, even if they don't know what time the opponent's attack is, it's right to keep them vigilant at all times. But for the airport, if there is no accurate time for the opponent's attack, can they stay in the sky and not come down because they remain vigilant? It is possible to let the plane take off in advance, that is, to know the exact time of the opponent's attack in advance. But in a real war, is it possible to know exactly when the opponent will attack?

……

In any case, in the few hours since dawn when he got the news of the Blues' attack, Tang Yunsheng can really be called "anxious". His eyes were bloodshot with anxiety, and he just looked up at the huge map and looked at the clumsy little female officers, who, according to conflicting reports, put the little blue man up one moment and took it down the other time.

At eight o'clock, twenty Praetorian Guard soldiers entered the entrance of the hall and stood in key positions in the hall in a very low-key manner. Then an officer came in to check it out and nodded to the door.

A "female officer" slowly walked in. After looking around a few times, he quietly found a chair in the corner and sat down. Several male and female attachés who followed her also sat quietly next to her.

The female officer wore a dark green marshal's uniform, and the epaulettes represented the rank neither of the copper plum blossom nor the bronze sword of the People's Guard, but the three gold Suzaku birds. The military branch emblem on her chest was neither the Army's twin guns crossed nor the Navy's anchor, but a rifle and an anchor crossed, on which a winged Suzaku stood.

The uniform of only one person in the entire Ming army is this mark. That is the great son of the emperor who is also the generalissimo of the army and navy.

Zhu Yourong sat lightly on the chair, put his right leg on his left leg, buttoned his military hat to his knees, and then gently took off his gloves and quietly looked at the noisy hall. She usually appears in front of outsiders in a dress. Today, she was going to inspect the exercise, in order not to appear too abrupt and more able to integrate into the army, she followed Zheng Yuxuan's advice and wore this military uniform that she usually does not wear. It was because of this military uniform that she didn't attract much attention when she came in for a long time. If you were dressed normally, I'm afraid that the hall would be quiet as soon as you entered.

Two or three officers who had already passed by had seen her, and they all stopped in surprise, not knowing what to do. But Zhu Yourong smiled and put his index finger to his lips, meaning not to be silent. The officers turned red or white excitedly, saluted or nodded, and then went on to their busy work.

Zhu Yourong felt the panic and anxiety in the hall. It turned out that the excited mood gradually calmed down, and I couldn't help but think about Xiang Xiaoqiang.

She recalled the military lessons Xiang Xiaoqiang gave her and talked about the "blitzkrieg" many times. Xiang Xiaoqiang said in person at that time: The so-called blitzkrieg focuses on the word "fast". Make sure your attack speed is two beats faster than the opponent's defensive speed, make the opponent's plan "can't catch up with the change", let their tight battle plan become a piece of waste paper in the face of a sharp and fast attack, and lose the first round before the opponent can react to what is going on.

Xiang Xiaoqiang once described to her with relish how chaotic and panicked the traditional military command system was when it suddenly encountered a "blitzkrieg". Now Zhu Yourong is sitting here, and he really feels how he reacts to the blitzkrieg as the attacked side.

Really, it's the same as what Xiang Xiaoqiang said.

…… He was absolutely right.

Zhu Yourong sat in the corner of the noisy hall, but his thoughts couldn't help but return to Xiang Xiaoqiang's class.

……

Tang Yunsheng suddenly felt that everything around him was quiet. He looked away from the huge map, and saw that all the officers around him, as well as the little female officers next to the big map, were all looking at him in surprise.

He turned around and found Zhu Yourong standing behind him, also looking at the huge map.

"Ah, Your Majesty."

Tang Yunsheng hurriedly bent down and bowed slightly. The staff officer next to him hurriedly brought a chair for Her Majesty the Empress.

Zhu Yourong didn't sit down, just stared at the big map and asked:

"Where have the Blues gone?"

Tang Yunsheng waved his hand, asked the staff officer to spread a smaller map on the table, and then said:

"Your Majesty, it is now certain that the Blues are here, breaking through the Red Army lines. This section of the defense line was garrisoned by the 2nd and 3rd Red Divisions. It is not clear how wide the front of the Blues attack is and how wide the gaps in the defence are. ”

Zhu Yourong looked down at the map and asked:

"How's the battle going now?"

Tang Yunsheng groaned, hesitated, and said:

"The exact situation of the battle is not yet known. But there is still news from the Red Third Division, and it is certain that the Red Third Division fought very hard. As for the Red Second Division......"

He looked at the big clock on the wall and said slowly:

"We couldn't get in touch with the Red Second Division at five o'clock. It's been four hours since the Blues attacked, and judging by the speed and intensity of their attack, the Red Second Division ...... I'm afraid it's more auspicious and less. ”

At this time, an officer hurriedly came and handed Tang Yunsheng a telegram. After reading it, Tang Yunsheng handed it over to Zhu Yourong very calmly. Zhu Yourong took it and saw that this telegram was a telegram from the Blue Army Headquarters: At 8:05, the commander of the Red Second Division and 8,000 officers and soldiers surrendered to the Blue Army. The 2nd Red Division was wiped out during the exercises.

Almost at the same time, a radio fluttered over the command hall, and a dignified and calm female voice announced:

"Attention exercise units, please pay attention to exercise units...... Here is the sentence of the president of the fortress exercises...... Here is the sentence of the president of the fortress exercises...... The command of the Blue Army has just announced that at 8:05 this morning, the 2nd Division of the Red Army surrendered to the Blue Army...... The 2nd Division of the Red Army, during the fortified exercises, was wiped out......"

Suddenly, the whole hall was in an uproar. All the officers of the Red Army stopped what they were doing and subconsciously looked at the high dome of the hall, stunned. In the blink of an eye, the pot was boiling in the hall. Everyone was talking loudly.

Suddenly, everyone remembered that Her Majesty was still here watching, and the hall gradually fell silent again. The officers all looked at Zhu Yourong and Tang Yunsheng.

……

Tang Yunsheng was so busy that Zhu Yourong asked him to continue commanding. At present, Zhang Zhaoxian, chief of the general staff of the General Headquarters, accompanied Zhu Yourong to continue the inspection.

"Zhang Aiqing," Zhu Yourong said as he walked through the noisy hall, "you, like me, are people who are beyond the red and blue sides. In your opinion, on the first day of the exercise, the Blue Army almost wiped out two divisions of the Red Army in only four hours, why is that? …… To be honest, I was very surprised. ”

Zhang Zhaoxian and Zhu Yourong walked slowly side by side, smiling with her on both sides, and said softly:

"Your Majesty, the minister was also very surprised. Chen had never imagined that the Blues would attack like this and attack so quickly...... But Chancellor believes that there are several reasons: first, the Blues have achieved air supremacy from the beginning. In other words, even if the Blues did not destroy the RED airfield in the first place, the BLU would have air superiority based on the air power ratio between the two sides. It is only a matter of time before air supremacy is obtained.

"The Blues have air supremacy, and that's what it takes. First of all, the Blues can observe from the air and keep track of the Red Army's every move, while the Red Army is blind to the position and movements of the Blue Army. Secondly, the Blues have the advantage of being quick and mobile. Air supremacy can also bomb and strafe the Red Army's marching columns from the air, seriously slowing down the Red Army's movement and making the Blues' speed advantage more obvious; moreover, this kind of air raid itself can kill and injure a large number of Red officers and soldiers, making the Red Army chaotic at a critical time, and it is difficult to resist the Blues' attack on the ground.

"In addition to the air superiority of the Blue Army, the second reason, in Weichen's view, is that the speed of the attack is too fast, so fast that the Red Army is caught off guard. Although there is no complete report on the scale of the Blues offensive, Chancellor may have guessed that the commander of the Blues, Rommel, had concentrated his armored forces and carried out a rapid onslaught at one point of the defensive line, as he had done during the Battle of Nanjing. This is obviously a new method of attack, and such an offensive should not be able to withstand by any country's army at present. ”

Zhu Yourong suddenly stood up, looked at Zhang Zhaoxian, and asked with a smile:

"Zhang Aiqing, I ask you, which side do you want to win from the bottom of your heart?"

Zhang Zhaoxian was stunned for a moment and said with a smile:

"Your Majesty, both the red and blue sides are my Ming army, and the victorious ministers on either side are happy. …… Didn't Your Majesty think so? ”

Zhu Yourong smiled, lowered his head again, and continued to walk slowly.

Zhang Zhao followed behind first, and after a while, he laughed softly:

"Your Majesty, would you like to come and observe the drill site in person?"

Zhu Yourong raised his head:

"Today?"

Zhang Zhaoxian smiled and nodded.

Zhu Yourong stared at his eyes and asked slowly:

Zhang Aiqing...... Do you think that after today, the overall situation of the exercise will be decided? ”

Zhang Zhaoxian didn't answer directly, but smiled slightly:

"The minister noticed that His Majesty had come in a military uniform. Don't...... Didn't Your Majesty want to be on the battlefield today? ”

Zhu Yourong also smiled and nodded:

"Yes, I did want to go ahead today. Zhang Aiqing arranges it. ”

"Your Majesty," Zhang Zhaoxian said with a smile, "Commander Li has already made arrangements. ”

"Commander Li? Which one? ”

……

At 9 o'clock in the morning, Zhu Yourong's motortroop drove out of Nanjing and entered the people's guard barracks in the eastern suburbs. Li Gensheng, commander of the People's Guard's mobile team, led all the generals of the People's Guard to greet the holy car at the gate.

After Zhu Yourong briefly inspected the People's Guards, she boarded an armored command vehicle specially prepared for her.

This armored command vehicle is the most luxurious one in the Ming Army, with luxurious interior decoration, spacious and comfortable. None of them were from the People's Guard, but were specially ordered by the General Headquarters and the "Tai Ping Ji" for use as the chief of the General Staff and the Minister of the Army. Today, Zhang Zhaoxian specially transferred it out of the garage of the headquarters.

But in addition to this car, the convoy that accompanied the empress to the "front line" also included three or two ordinary armored command vehicles, two light armored reconnaissance vehicles, two transport vehicles, and ten armored personnel carriers. These vehicles and guards are all from the People's Guard.

At 11 o'clock in the afternoon, the empress inspected the convoy on the front line of the exercise, a total of 18 armored vehicles, and drove out of the east gate of the People's Guard barracks. Drive east along the Shanghai-Nanjing Highway at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour.

Dozens of kilometers to the east, the 1st Blue Division and the 6th Red Division were fighting wits and courage in Xinmengzhuang, and the killing was in full swing.