On April 3, at the headquarters of the Wuhan Corps, officers at and above the division level were seated. When Chen Jinyu, Li Tianxiang, and Wang Feng entered the war room, all the generals stood up. Chen Jinyu walked to the front of the long table, and Li Tianxiang and Wang Feng were in place on the left and right. Chen Jinyu waved his hand majestically and said: "Everyone, please sit down and tell you the good news, the headquarters has approved our river-crossing operation, and the attack is scheduled to be launched at 5 o'clock in the morning on April 5." ”

When the generals heard this, their faces showed joy, and Chen Jinyu continued: "The big war is imminent, and all commanders must be sincerely united. In the operation of large corps, the coordination of various departments is particularly important. In particular, the combat orders of the corps headquarters must be carried out to the letter. If there is a delay in the fighter plane and the execution is unfavorable, it will be dealt with by military law. Next, I would like to invite Deputy Commander Li and Chief of Staff Wang to give a briefing on the situation of Jihua and the enemy in the river-crossing operation. ”

Li Tianxiang stood up and walked to the military map, picked up a command baton and said: "Everyone, our corps has taken the lead in launching the river-crossing operation in accordance with the intention of the headquarters. At that time, we will launch a full-front offensive along a 20-kilometer frontal stretch from Wuchang District to Qingshan District. The Corps headquarters concentrated 15 field divisions to form three assault clusters, and five divisions served as campaign reserves. Three brigades of the artillery division were assigned to three attack clusters. The cavalry division will not participate in the battle for the time being, and after the successful crossing of the river, it will be determined according to the situation on the battlefield. In addition, the Yangtze River Fleet was responsible for covering the smooth attack of the troops crossing the river, carrying out artillery support, and transporting troops across the river. I would now like to give the chief of staff the opportunity to give you a detailed account of the situation on both sides of the enemy. ”

Wang Feng stood up and opened the black notebook and said: "At present, the Qing army has concentrated 200,000 horses in the city opposite us, forming a defense system in depth. The Qing army arranged its defensive positions in full accordance with the defensive means of the foreigners. According to the reconnaissance situation, our frontal Qing army had 150 artillery pieces of various types and 75 French rotary machine guns, and the Qing army's artillery posed the greatest threat to our attacking troops. The Qing army had the largest number of artillery in the middle lane, so our new artillery was deployed in the middle lane cluster to provide strong artillery support. ”

"The composition of our three assault clusters is that the middle lane cluster is composed of the 1st, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th field divisions, and is attached to the 1st Field Brigade of Artillery, a new heavy artillery battalion, with a total strength of 58,000 troops. The right flank cluster is composed of the 2nd Field Division, the 4th, 8th, 10th, and 12th Field Divisions, and is attached to the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, with a total strength of 55,000 men. The left cluster is composed of the 3rd Field Division, the 6th, 13th, 15th, and 17th Field Divisions, and the 3rd Field Artillery Brigade, with a total strength of 55,000 men. Our attack was scheduled for 5 a.m. on April 5. ”

Chen Jinyu asked loudly: "Are you all clear?" "Clear!" All the generals stood up and replied. Chen Jinyu continued: "I am responsible for commanding the middle lane cluster operation, Deputy Commander Li is responsible for commanding the right lane cluster operation, and Chief of Staff Wang is responsible for commanding the left lane cluster operation. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Field Divisions, as the main attacking forces of the three major clusters, demanded five days to take the opposite city and capture the Jiangbei area of Wuhan. Let's split up! ”

On April 4, in the Xiangfan Qing Army Admiral's Mansion, Liu Mingchuan sat on a chair and listened to a subordinate report while sipping tea. "My lord, all my front-line troops have been replaced with new foreign guns, and at present, we have concentrated 200,000 troops in the Wuhan area. In particular, with the help of foreign advisers, according to Western defense tactics, a large depth of defensive fortifications was built. I dare to guarantee that the Wuhan Yangtze River defense line is impregnable and foolproof! ”

All the staff members were happy on their faces and echoed one after another. "The delay in the Northern Expeditionary Army's action proves that my defense is solid." "Now that there is the support of the foreign lords, the Northern Expeditionary Army does not dare to attack rashly." "You have forgotten how Zuo Zongtang was eliminated, and you must not underestimate the enemy. Now the morale of the Northern Expeditionary Army is strong, the soldiers are strong, and now they are the army of tigers and wolves, so we must not slack off and get carried away. Liu Mingchuan was very sober-headed, and he was dissatisfied with the complacency of his subordinates.

"My lord, the Russian army is currently stationed in Xi'an, and the Northern Expeditionary Army is forced to stop at the Qinling Mountains, which shows that the Northern Expeditionary Army is afraid. At present, the Northern Expeditionary Army is not fighting against the imperial court, but against all nations. I believe that under the joint attack of the foreigners, the Guangzhou military government can only be a flash in the pan, and the rabbit's tail will not grow. "A staff member is mindful and shakes his head." My lord, the foreigners are determined to eliminate the rebels in Guangzhou. Now that the foreign adults have joined forces to send troops, it is only a matter of time before the Northern Expeditionary Army is eliminated. ”

The subordinates were clamoring, but Liu Mingchuan did not approve. He followed Hong Xiuquan to rebel that year, and later defected to the Hunan army. Because he thinks that Hong Xiuquan is difficult to become a big man, and he is not a master who can follow. But this sex Deng is an outlier. At present, many internal officials privately say that Sex Deng is a Ming lord who only appeared in a thousand years, and everyone with brains has seen this. He knew that after the Northern Expeditionary Army occupied half of the country, and then occupied Sichuan and stopped military operations, it was by no means afraid but regrouped and waited for the situation to strike.

The terrible thing about the other side is that they can make guns and cannons, and they have deep financial resources. In just two years, the Northern Expeditionary Army swelled to 600,000 troops. Liu Mingchuan couldn't even imagine how they did it. At this time, he was playing with a silver dollar issued by the Guangzhou Military Government. sighed in his heart: There is no doubt that the Guangzhou military government is too rich. Money can make ghosts grind, but it's hard to move an inch without money!

The staff and subordinates made a noise, and found that Liu Mingchuan was still in a bad mood, so they fell silent one after another. One of his subordinates hurriedly walked in and said, "My lord, according to the report of the Wuhan observation post along the river, it was found that the army on the other side of the river was frequently moved. This is a letter from Lord Min, the commander of Wuhan City Defense. When Liu Ming heard the rumors, he immediately opened the letter and checked it. Seeing that Liu Ming stood up and said: "Inform the Governor of Min that the front line along the river has entered combat preparations, and the Northern Expeditionary Army may launch a large-scale attack." Liu Ming's words made the staff present a little dazed, and a trace of gloom shrouded the governor's palace.

At 4 a.m. on April 5, Chen Jinji and others entered the front-line headquarters. "Report to the deputy commander-in-chief, our division has been prepared." The division commander who was responsible for the main attack saluted. "How's the artillery unit preparing?" The commander of the artillery division who accompanied him said: "Report to the deputy commander-in-chief, the first artillery brigade and heavy artillery battalion are in place!" Chen Jinlu's eyes were aimed at Fan Tao. Reports Deputy Commander-in-Chief. The fleet artillery was already in place, and the landing gunboats were ready to rush to the beach. ”

Chen Jinyu picked up the telescope and looked at the other side, the sky was already bright, the river was foggy, and at this time a light rain fell from the sky, which can be described as a rain in the Qingming Festival. Chen Jinyu put down the binoculars and took out his pocket watch to look at it and said: "There are still 40 minutes before the start of the general attack, order all departments to check carefully again to see if there are any mistakes!" "Yes!" The generals immediately gave orders. The wait was long, and Chen Jinyu took out his pocket watch and didn't put it in again.

As time passed, Chen Jinyu knew in his heart that the Qing army on the opposite side had already noticed and prepared for the continuous military movements in the recent period. It doesn't matter whether the Qing army is prepared or not, the attack is imminent, and there is no liliang to stop it. The river was still foggy, which just hid the ships of the attacking troops. At this time, the rain was still dripping, and the large and small wooden boats were lined up on the side of the riverbank.

The first wave of attacks was carried by wooden boats, which could carry 10 people at a time, in order to keep the target small and avoid excessive losses from enemy artillery fire. The Corps Headquarters gave full consideration to this issue when formulating the Jihua River Crossing. The 2nd attack echelon consisted of gunboats, which also carried soldiers. First, the gunboats can effectively carry out artillery support, and second, they can quickly send support to Liliang to consolidate the captured riverbank positions.

Artillery positions were located downstream from the departure of the attacking troops, and due to the current, the ships reached the opposite shore not in a straight line but in an oblique line. At this time, the newly formed heavy artillery battalion, 10 76-mm field guns were neatly arranged, and the muzzles of the black holes pointed to the opposite bank. The 90 infantry guns of the 1st Artillery Brigade have a total of three artillery positions, each with 30 infantry guns. Due to the short range of the infantry artillery, it could only be supported by artillery fire at close range, which was intended to create conditions for the landing force to clear the fortifications on the riverbank.

At about 4:30, Commander Fan Tao boarded the command ship of the Yangtze River Fleet, the Northern Expedition, an all-steel battleship that captured France, and the ship's guns are currently the most powerful. Fan Tao's naval artillery and heavy artillery battalions were tasked with destroying the Qing army's fortress artillery on the riverbank before the infantry could attack. At present, the Qing army has built fortress artillery positions on the riverbank, and the fortress artillery is provided by foreigners, although the range is not far, but the power at close range is huge.

"Report to the commander, all the naval guns are in place, and the observation post reports that the Qing army on the opposite side has found something bad and is entering the position." A subordinate reported. Although the sky was still raining, Fan Tao saw that the fog on the river was gradually dissipating, and the Qing army fortifications on the opposite bank were clearly visible. "Order all naval guns to reload their shells and get ready for battle!" Fan Tao gave the order. The herald of the command ship began waving flags and giving orders to all the ship's guns that were ready to fire.

At about 4:10 a.m., the fog on the river cleared. The observation post of the Qing army found that a large number of ships had appeared on the opposite bank, and the situation was immediately reported to the Admiral's Mansion of the Supreme Headquarters of the Qing Army in Wuhan. Admiral Min and his entourage were shocked when they heard this, and immediately ordered all troops to enter the fortifications, and at the same time sent flying cavalry to report to Governor Liu Ming. Although the Qing army was transformed into the Great Fresh Army, the command system was still the old system, and at this time there was chaos in the Admiral's Palace, and many generals had just been summoned, and improper clothes and hats abounded.

At this time, a tall British military adviser saw the chaotic scene and said angrily: "Lord Min, the battle is imminent, and it is a shame for the soldiers that your subordinates have behaved so badly. What you need to do now is to stabilize the morale of the army, promulgate a code of punishment, and severely punish the generals who are slack, panicked, and cowering. Admiral Min seemed to come to his senses and said loudly: "Order the Governor of the Combat Team to be dispatched immediately, and kill the officers and soldiers who are cowardly, fleeing, or unfavorable in battle." ”

The earth began to shake, roaring violently with the sound of explosions that thundered through the ears, obliterating all sounds.