Episode 34 Desperate

"What are the coordinates...... What are the coordinates...... Feed! …… Hey......"

Ten kilometers south of Kaifeng, on the position of the Fifth Artillery Brigade of the 13th Group Army of the Qing Army, a communications officer sat in a trench.

There was a huge artillery brigade and dozens of heavy guns, and now not a single one of them was firing. Other communications soldiers and artillerymen hid in the trenches and did not dare to raise their heads, and they insisted on shooting and blocking the Ming army, but they were completely unable to take care of it, and everyone just wanted to survive the bombardment. Only he was still like a fool, holding the field phone to contact the observer in front. Actually, this is also in vain. Even if he could hear the full parameters, no one would dare to climb out and fire.

The earth-shattering explosion outside thinned out, and the screams of dive bombers overhead faded away.

"Here we go again......!!!"

In the interval between the loud noises, a terrible shout came from the side. Then, everyone in the trench means what's next. They all shrunk a little tighter, lying almost entirely at the bottom of the trench, letting the dirt bury itself.

Then a low roar rang out across the sky, like a giant organ playing. This low roar grew louder and louder, and soon became deafening, as if it had reached the top of the head.

At this moment, the most terrible voice sounded. This sound sounded ten times more terrifying to the Qing soldiers in the trenches than the screams of dive bombers.

Countless overlapping sharp "whistles" pierced the air, followed by a dense explosion, and the ground beneath him kept shaking. This explosion was not as loud as the dive bomber bomb just now, but it was denser and more difficult to dodge.

Carpet bombing is here again.

Dozens of Swan bombers flew in a wide line, "buzzing" overhead, and columns of smoke poured over the ground.

In the smoke of gunpowder, mud, and dust, some of the Qing soldiers in the trench felt that there was something else covering them besides the mud every ten meters. No need to ask, it must have been blood, stumps, intestines and stuff like that. This kind of carpet bomb blows up, and the trench is not so safe, and a small bomb will fall every other section. As for who can't be blown up, it's all up to creation.

The bombardment has finally passed. The Qing soldiers in the trenches slowly came out of the dirt, shook the dirt off their heads, spit out the dirt in their mouths, and poked their heads out in horror.

The artillery positions were in shambles. The heavy artillery that was usually majestic and majestic, those heavy guns with a caliber of 100 tens of millimeters and capable of hitting shells more than 10 kilometers away, were now twisted into scrap metal, scattered everywhere, rubber tires burning, and some were still rolling, emitting thick black smoke.

In the distance, the smoke dispersed, and countless staggering figures appeared. Those were all infantry at the front. The infantry positions must have been broken up, and the remnants of the defeated generals were retreating to the artillery positions.

The Ming army dive bomber in the sky drilled down again, and the Qing soldiers on the ground exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly jumped into the crater and lay down.

But this time no bombs fell, and the bomber flew away in a circle. The Qing soldiers looked up and saw countless leaflets floating in the sky.

In addition, there were packages and the like, which were thrown directly from the plane and fell on the position.

The flyer soon became one per person. In the Qing army, no matter the officers and soldiers, no one now cares about the discipline of "not being allowed to read leaflets", and they are all scrambling to see them. The contents of the Ming army leaflets were similar to those that had been scattered before. However, this time, in addition to the concise propaganda "policy", it was also explained that the ground forces of the Ming army would soon attack and welcome the surrender of the Qing brothers. In order to avoid accidentally injuring the brothers who were willing to surrender, some white flags were thrown together with leaflets, and those who were willing to surrender could display the white flags so that they would not be fired at by the Ming tanks and armored vehicles.

At this time, the packages on the battlefield have become sought-after goods. There were many white flags in each package, and when one package was opened, the white flags were immediately snatched up.

After only a dozen minutes, the ground began to tremble slightly.

The veterans who had retreated from the Jianghuai battlefield were very experienced in lying on the ground at this time to listen, and then taught the experience to the recruits around them: this is the tank group of the Ming army, which will be here soon, and there will be no more bombing before that. Be sure to throw the gun on the ground, be sure to raise the white flag above your head, save people from being killed...... It would be too unjust to lose your life if you lose your life after all the mess up now...... Later, when other people's tanks come, let's stand aside first, don't get in the way, don't pester other people's tanks and armored vehicles to surrender, they are the vanguard, no matter this. Let's wait for a special unit to contain the prisoners......

……

In this way, the offensive began in the early morning of the 24th, and by more than ten o'clock in the morning, the Kaifeng defensive circle position composed of three divisions was broken, the thin defenders of the three divisions of Kaifeng were completely destroyed, and the Kaifeng city defense collapsed. At about eleven o'clock in the morning, the Ming army entered Kaifeng.

At the same time as occupying Kaifeng, the Ming army's troops in the Kaifeng direction quickly adjusted the direction of the attack and continued to advance to the east, and it was a fierce attack, causing a large Qing army in the direction of Shangqiu to continue to retreat to the east, until it retreated through Lankao County and Sui County, until it reached Ningling County, only 30 kilometers away from Shangqiu.

At this time, the Ming army basically stopped continuing the offensive and retreated slightly. By about 6 p.m., when it was dark, the battle line between the two sides had basically stabilized. The Ming army no longer took the initiative to attack, and the Qing army was also busy gathering the remnants of the defeated generals, busy breathing and gaining a foothold, busy digging trenches, and establishing a new defense line.

After the Ming army took Kaifeng, it immediately organized tens of thousands of Qing prisoners of war to dig trenches, lay artillery positions, repair field airfields, and establish a new defense line 30-40 kilometers east of Kaifeng, on the line of Lankao, Qixian, and Sui counties.

In this way, it can be regarded as separating the Zhengzhou Corps from the Central Plains Corps. Now the Zhengzhou Corps is bordered by the Yellow River to the north, the mountains and Hangu Pass to the west, and the Ming army-controlled areas to the east and south.

Chen Wangwu of the Zhengzhou Corps had two choices at the moment, first, hold on and hold this last piece of land outside the Qing Army's Western Theater Pass. Second, retreat and preserve strength.

Chen Wangwu had been worried about the direction of Kaifeng for many days before the Ming army attacked. The Kaifeng direction is the weakest place in the strength of the Zhengzhou Corps, with only three divisions. But there was no way, the Zhengzhou Corps had a total of only 15 divisions, and Zhengzhou and Luoyang were much more important than Kaifeng. Needless to say, Zhengzhou is the location of the only Yellow River bridge in the Western Theater, whether the Corps retreats north to Shanxi or receives reinforcements from the north, it must rely on this bridge. Luoyang is located to the west of Zhengzhou, between Zhengzhou and Hangu Pass, and is also a military location. Historically, no matter which army wanted to attack Hangu Pass from the Central Plains, it had to take Luoyang first.

In addition to Zhengzhou and Luoyang, the Zhengzhou Corps had to deploy two or three divisions at Hangu Pass. In this way, Kaifeng is the "least important" direction. This is also a helpless choice. Chen Wangwu has been asking the imperial court for reinforcements, but the imperial court has always believed that it is not the main direction of attack of the Ming army, and it cannot be "contained" by the Ming army over there with too many troops.

If the Ming army had attacked a few days ago, it would have been easy for the Zhengzhou Corps to get reinforcements relatively quickly. Because at that time, the exercise corps was still in the north of it, and a Jingnan railway came down directly. But now it can't be done, there is no longer a large corps in the north, and the exercise corps no longer exists, and it has been supplemented to the Central Plains Corps and the new Shandong Corps respectively. Regardless of the fact that the imperial court must still think that this is a feint attack by the Ming army, even if the imperial court believes that this is the main direction of attack of the Ming army, it is too late to transfer troops from the east now.

In the Zhengzhou headquarters, Chen Wangwu stared at the map with bloodshot eyes, watching a large group of staff officers around him hurriedly marking the map, and the phone room next door was like a fried pot, and countless voices were howling "hey, hey, hey". The headquarters can be described as "panicked".

Chen Wangwu sat in the chair, his face was dull, but he was fiercely weighing in his heart: what should I do? Hold? Unrealistic.

The holy decree sent by the emperor required that the Zhengzhou army must hold on, and it was not allowed to retreat north across the Yellow River, nor to retreat west into Hangu Pass. The emperor's logic is: this is a feint attack by the Ming army. Even if the Ming army feints, it is not determined to win, and it will not make great efforts to attack desperately. Then as long as the Zhengzhou Corps desperately defends, it will be able to hold it.

But Chen Wangwu knew very well that under the condition that the air supremacy was completely in the hands of Nanming, even if the Ming army did not attack desperately, he would not be able to hold out for long. Now we are at a disadvantage in terms of troops, firepower, morale, and training quality, and we are simply unable to resist. Three days at most – more likely not to last two days.

Then, within a few hours, he will have to make a choice - where to retreat. This must be arranged in advance, otherwise a temporary order to retreat will not be a retreat, and it will definitely become a rout.

Chen Wangwu hoped to retreat north. It's most convenient that way. If the Ming army really wants to cross the Yellow River north to continue the attack, it will be more convenient for them to get reinforcements from the Shandong Corps and the Beijing-Tianjin Corps. On the one hand, the distance is close, and on the other hand, it is also within the North China railway network, and the speed of troop deployment is fast.

However, the emperor has expressly forbidden the withdrawal from the north...... Even if they openly resist the order, even if they keep the troops, they will not be in danger of their lives in wartime, but after the end of the war and the signing of the armistice agreement between the Ming and Qing dynasties, most of the Ming troops will keep the places that have been defeated...... Then, the place south of the Yellow River is given up by himself, and the emperor must settle the account on his head, and his own head will never be able to be saved......

But what about obedience to the Holy Decree and perseverance in resistance? Two or three days later, they will be defeated and captured...... The emperor will not allow the retreat, will the emperor allow the whole army to be annihilated, defeated and captured? Anyway, it didn't end well left and right.

So, Chen Wangwu made an abacus.

He was very envious of those generals who guarded the dangerous passes, such as Hui Zhang, the defender of Fangcheng. People are guarding there, whether they are fighting or surrendering, the initiative is in their own hands, and the Ming army has to go up the pole to persuade them to surrender, and seal the officials to make a wish. Hui Zhang's kid gave a surrender order, and he was paid hundreds of thousands of oceans. not only saved the life of his family, but also ensured the wealth and worry-free in the second half of his life.

And what about yourself? The protest was withdrawn to the north shore, and it was inevitable that people would fall to the ground after the war. Stick to Zhengzhou according to the order, and the army will be defeated and captured, and the Ming army will not even give him a dime. Even if he surrenders now, according to the policy of the Ming army, it is no longer an "active uprising". Moreover, the Ming army is now in a state of strength, and it is easy to defeat Zhengzhou Luoyang, and it is like looking at the pattern of a backhand, and it will not be interested in making any deal with itself at all. People are willing to pay for the transaction, it has to be a place like Fangcheng.

Chen Wangwu looked at the map and slowly shifted his gaze to the left, moving past Luoyang and moving to Hangu Pass.

Hangu Pass, a place that has been easy to defend and difficult to attack for thousands of years, is known as the "Pass of One Hundred and Two". This means that even if the enemy attacks with a million troops, our army only needs 20,000 men to hold it. In history, the Qin State has repeatedly let the six ** teams ambush millions of corpses here, bleeding and drifting.

This place is ten times easier to defend than the city and difficult to attack.

Chen Wangwu's mind became excited, and his breathing became more and more rapid. …… led the army to retreat into Hangu Pass, held here, and bargained with Nanming vigorously. As long as Nan Ming plans to enter the customs, he must give himself the fattest piece of the pie. And Nanming has already hit here, and he doesn't plan to enter the customs? Unlikely. Even if they didn't have a plan to enter the customs, they would not refuse this opportunity when they saw that they could talk at this time.

You must know that once Nanming takes Guanzhong, it will be impossible for the Qing Dynasty to take it back. Now the Qing army in Shanxi and Shaanxi is very empty, and once the Ming army enters Guanzhong, it can immediately go north to occupy the whole of Shaanxi and Shanxi. In that way, even if the Southern Ming suffered losses in the Eastern Plain and retreated to the south in the future, it would be impossible for the Qing army to continue to move south without scruples. The Qing army had to be on guard at all times to the west, and the Ming army could pounce on the plains from the mountains of Shanxi at any time, threatening the strategic flank of the Qing army, and could retreat at any time.

Then Nanming is in an invincible position in this war.

This is a huge benefit to the Southern Ming Dynasty, how can the Southern Ming Imperial Court not see it? So as long as he firmly guards Hangu Pass, what price he offers, Nanming has to give whatever price.

Chen Wangwu's heart was beating wildly with excitement, looking at the sweaty staff officers in front of the map, watching them busy contacting the front and arranging resistance, and secretly laughed in his heart: Lao Tzu worked hard for the Qing Dynasty in the first half of his life, and from now on, Lao Tzu will die for himself!

……

Chen Wangwu began to ignore how to defend against the Ming army's attack, and began to stare at the map, thinking about how to withdraw as many troops and equipment as possible into Hangu Pass.

…… First of all, the Yellow River Bridge was blown up, cutting off the way for the Ming army to go north from Zhengzhou to Shanxi and Zhili, forcing it to make a detour from Hangu Pass.

Secondly, immediately send cronies to lead troops into Guanzhong first, and go to Xi'an to protect their families, in case the imperial court finds out that they have different intentions and preemptively controls their families.

Third, several pontoon bridges over the Yellow River between Shanxi and Shaanxi should be protected. Although Shanxi and Shaanxi are next to each other, they are separated by a Yellow River. There were several permanent pontoon bridges on the Yellow River, and once the Ming army entered Shaanxi, they could use these pontoon bridges to quickly enter Shanxi and join their Taihang Mountain column, so as to possess the entire Shanshan. Therefore, these pontoon bridges were all bargaining chips for themselves and the Ming army.

At last...... Do a good job in the "ideological work" of the officers and men of the whole army. Fortunately, the Zhengzhou Corps is all children of Guanxi, and the west of Hangu Pass is their hometown. Follow yourself to take risks and eat inside and out, and you don't have to worry about your family being retaliated against by the imperial court. Those generals under his command should win them over and promise them glory and wealth. Give yourself a price, and don't forget to ask them for a share......

So, Chen Wangwu stood up and began to arrange.