After dozens of days of fierce fighting, Xiangfan's outer defense line was broken one by one. The right flank attacked the cluster and captured Yicheng in the southeast of Xiangfan. The central attack cluster occupied Nanzhang in the south of Xiangfan. The left flank attacked the cluster, successively occupied Jingzhou, Jingmen, and Yichang in the west, and Zuihou captured Baokang in the southwest of Xiangfan, and then formed an outflanking trend against Xiangfan.

The Corps Headquarters was relocated to Jingzhou to facilitate the command of the offensive operations against Xiangfan. On this day, an operational staff officer in the corps headquarters said to the sand table made: "Deputy commander-in-chief, after our three-way army took Yicheng, Nanzhang, and Baokang, it formed a situation of outflanking Xiangfan, which was heavily defended by the Qing army, according to military intelligence, at present, nearly 50,000 people from four divisions of the British army are building fortifications on the line of Funiu Mountain in Hubei and Henan, and the intention is very obvious, and the coalition troops are preventing me from entering Henan. ”

"Deputy Commander-in-Chief, McMahon is probably aware of our intentions, so he intends to strengthen the defense of the rear of Xiangfan." An operational staff officer analyzed. Chen Jintang said: "No matter how the coalition forces change, the headquarters will not change the strategic place of Xiangfan. The first combat staff officer to speak continued: "Deputy commander-in-chief, the Qing army has formed a deep perimeter defense line within about 10 kilometers outside Xiangfan City, and the trenches are densely packed, and the Qing army's heavy firepower has 350 artillery, 210 new Western artillery, 140 old artillery, and 120 French rotary machine guns. The Qing army continued to shrink, and the total strength of the defense of Xiangfan was now 330,000. ”

Chen Jintang said majestically: "This is a difficult battle, and I order all units to complete the battle." Today is May 18th, and it is required to conquer Xiangfan by May 30th. Ordered to launch an offensive on the outlying positions of Xiangfan. Accompanied by the combat order of the headquarters, a fierce battle was staged again in an instant. The three major attack clusters launched an all-out attack on a 100-kilometer front from Baokang to Yicheng.

Xiangfan is located in the upper reaches of the Han River, the Qinling Mountains and the remaining veins of Daba Mountain. Xiangfan is divided into two cities by the Han River, the Han River passes through the city, the south city is Fancheng, and the north city is Xiangcheng. Xiangfan has developed traffic and has been a traffic artery since ancient times. It is known as the South Xiang Pass Road, the South Ship and the North Horse, and the thoroughfare of the seven provinces. It has always been a channel for trade between the north and the south and cultural exchanges between the north and the south.

As a strategic location, ancient Xiangyang has always been a battleground for soldiers. In the long history of more than 3,000 years, there have been countless battles of all sizes. The famous battles of Baiqi water irrigated Yancheng, the battle of Guan Yu flooded the Seventh Army, the battle of Zhu Xu's resistance to Fu Pi, the battle of Yue Fei's recovery of Xiangyang, and the battle of Li Zicheng's capture of Xiangyang.

The Xiangyang area, including the ancient city of Xiangfan, has a strong cultural precipitation of 2,800 years, which is even more dazzling and splendid. Of the 120 episodes of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, 32 occurred in the Xiangyang area. Its famous historical figures include: Wu Zixu, Song Yu, Liu Xiu, Pang Tong, Du Fu, Meng Haoran, Pi Rixiu and other outstanding figures. It is also the second hometown of Zhuge Liang, Wang Cang (can) and Mi Fu (fei). As the land and habitat of these celebrities, its splendid culture and long history are well-known and have a long history.

The ancient city of Xiangfan once again ushered in the baptism of war. In the governor's palace in the city, Liu Mingchuan's nerves have been tormented for several days. The offensive of the Northern Expeditionary Army was wave after wave, and the outer positions were constantly broken through. "Report to your lordship, Gu Cheng missed, and Pontido died in battle!" A disgraced subordinate came in to report. Gu Cheng missed, which means that the next Northern Expeditionary Army is about to come to the city.

Faced with such a situation, Liu Mingchuan had nothing to do. Only four days after the offensive broke out, the Northern Expeditionary Army tore through the outer defense line one by one and advanced to the city of Xiangfan. Half of the entire 300,000-strong army is his descendants. It's not that the soldiers don't want to die, but the attack of the Northern Expeditionary Army is too sharp. "My lord, the new artillery of the Northern Expeditionary Army is very terrifying, the fortifications we built can't resist at all, a shell comes down, the entire fortress fortifications are blown up, the Northern Expeditionary Army is very fast in the middle of the assault, it is estimated that tomorrow the Northern Expeditionary Army will come to the city and launch an attack on the city!" One of the staff members said worriedly.

"My lord, our artillery lost nearly half of it in the peripheral operations, the artillery of the Northern Expeditionary Army is extremely accurate, they seem to be able to pinch and calculate, as long as we open the artillery, the opponent's shells will fall on the artillery position, we have no choice but to scatter the artillery, but in this way, the power of the artillery is greatly reduced, and it cannot effectively hit the opponent's onslaught at all." One of his subordinates was angry.

Liu Mingchuan looked at the messy perimeter fortification map, the outlying defense line that had been unrecognizable, and his heart was full of bitterness and bitterness. In a word, that's the end of the road. But you can't say that, so as a manager, you have to keep your composure. "Order the Governor's Mansion to withdraw to the city north of the Han River, and the troops in the outer positions will shrink, and I will hold on to Xiangfan City." There was a rumbling cannon sound in the distance, Liu Mingchuan walked out of the governor's mansion, glanced at the south of the city, and sighed deeply.

Liu Mingchuan landed in the city on the north bank of the Han River, and the transport team from the rear brought him good news. In the temporary placement of the governor's palace, a subordinate held a grenade in his hand and said excitedly: "My lord, this is a grenade newly made by foreigners, and the explosion power is not inferior to that of the Northern Expeditionary Army." Master Li specially brought us 10,000 grenades to defend the city. ”

Liu Mingchuan's eyes lit up when he looked at the grenade, "My lord, the grenades of the Northern Expeditionary Army have made us suffer a lot, and this time we will let the Northern Expeditionary Army taste the power of the grenades." "Is this thing easy to use?" "My lord, just open the gay line and throw it, there is 7 seconds from the pull line to the explosion, and you will see it." During the demonstration of his subordinates, the frightened people around him were frightened and their scalps were numb.

Liu Mingchuan was overjoyed and said: "God really helps me, immediately send the grenade to the garrison troops, and teach them immediately." Tell the garrison troops that grenades are not allowed to be used until the critical moment, and I will be caught off guard by the Northern Expeditionary Army. "The Qing army has grenades and has greatly increased their confidence in defense, and we do not know anything about these situations.

On May 25, the three major attack clusters approached the city of Xiangfan. During the daytime truce, Chen Jintang rushed from Xiaogan to the front-line headquarters and personally commanded the attack on Xiangfan. In the front headquarters of the Corps, Chen Jintang said to Li Tianxiang and Wang Feng: "We fought well in the periphery of Xiangfan. But don't be complacent, the next siege battle will be a tough battle that will test our ability to attack. ”

Chen Jintang pointed to the sand table and said: "After a few days of fighting on the outer defense line, it is obvious that the combat effectiveness of Liu Mingchuan's descendants is stronger than that of the Qing army in Wuhan. The city of Xiangfan has been through the war, and its defensive facilities are very well-developed, and its walls are tall and strong, so we need to think more about the offensive plan. The commander-in-chief had warned that the situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly and anything could happen. ”

Chief of Staff Wang Feng said: "Deputy Commander-in-Chief, the Han River passes through Xiangfan City, which makes it impossible for our troops to deploy, and the attack area is narrow. In the peripheral offensive operations, the Qing army fought very smartly, not blindly defending, so the Qing army lost less than 80,000 people, the main force of the Qing army did not break the muscles and bones, for the Qing army heavily defended Xiangfan City, we should attach great importance to it. ”

Commanders who have grown up in the flames of war have been able to clearly analyze the battlefield situation and clearly grasp how to seize the initiative on the battlefield. This is particularly encouraging. At present, Wang Feng and Li Tianxiang, as senior commanders who have grown up in military academies, are increasingly reflecting their professional level. At present, as senior commanders, they have clearly improved significantly compared to the Wuhan River Crossing Campaign.

Chen Jintang said: "Your analysis is in place, the attack time is positioned at 8 o'clock tonight, let's start preparing!" After Wang Feng and Li Tianxiang left, Chen Jintang came to the headquarters of the First Division at the front, "Report to the deputy commander-in-chief, our department is making pre-war preparations." "Division Commander Yang, your division fought well in the Wuhan River Crossing Operation, especially as the main attack division, it played an exemplary role for other troops." "Thank you to the deputy commander-in-chief for your love, we haven't done enough."

"Good is good, what is modest, it seems that Deputy Commander Li is very discerning," Chen Jintang smiled. Before the start of the Wuhan River Crossing Campaign, according to the arrangement of the Corps Headquarters, Li Tianxiang no longer served as the commander of the First Division, and he recommended Yang Cheng, the young commander of the First Brigade, to serve as the division commander. After actual combat testing, Yang Cheng, who is only 28 years old, is fully qualified for the role of division commander.

"Deputy commander-in-chief, don't worry, I promise to be the first to break through the Xiangfan city wall and let the military flag fly on the city wall!" Yang Cheng puffed up his chest and promised. "I know that in the battle to cross the river and the battle on the periphery of Xiangfan, your division suffered great losses. At the moment, we can't replenish new troops, but I promise you that after the capture of Xiangfan, I will give you the full amount of the battle damage. Yang Cheng was overjoyed when he heard this.

Chen Jintang then inspected the 5th Division, which was the main attacker, at the front line, and at the same time inspected the defense of the Qing army through a telescope. Seeing the defensive arrangement of the Qing army on the city wall, Chen Jintang felt that the Qing army had become smarter, and the dense defensive formation in the past had become sparse, so as to avoid a large number of casualties from artillery fire. Learn war in war, and so did the Qing army.

When I returned to the headquarters, the sun had already set, and the operational staff officers of the headquarters began to get busy. As the sky grew darker, the wilderness became extraordinarily silent, and the heavy artillery battalions and artillery brigades were the first to enter the battle preparations, the black hole hole cannon muzzle was raised, and the first shell entered the gun chamber, patiently waiting for the passion to fly.

At 8 o'clock, the earth began to shake, and with a deafening roar, the sky drew countless bright spots, like meteors flickering, and the fire of the explosion instantly dyed half of the sky red.