Episode 67 Fledgling Wings

"Lord Xiang," Xiang Xiaoqiang was going to the toilet, and just lifted his pants, an earnest voice came from behind him, "Hehe, such a coincidence...... Weekend...... Weekend...... Come to the toilet too......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang was dumbfounded, and when he turned around, a big man in his forties, with slightly white temples and a general's uniform, opened his mouth and stammered.

- Lieutenant General Li Guoliang, commander of the Army Air Force.

Weekend? …… That's an exaggeration. He and he are not subordinate to each other, and even if he has just been promoted to lieutenant general by His Majesty, he is only on the same level as him. But now he is called the "last general", and his face is full of flattery......

A good premonition was born. Xiang Xiaoqiang couldn't help but feel a burst of ecstasy in his chest, but he nodded casually on the surface, and while turning on the faucet to wash his hands, he said:

"Hmm."

Li Guoliang hesitated for a moment, and also leaned over to wash his hands. Neither of them spoke, and after washing their hands for a long time, Li Guoliang finally couldn't hold it back, and whispered:

"From now on, ...... Thank you for your continued support! ”

Sure enough!

Xiang Xiaoqiang raised his head and stared at the commander of the army aviation of the Ming Empire.

Xiang Xiaoqiang has a deep impression of him. The first time I met him, it was at the East Factory meeting. At the meeting, the cabinet ministers were reluctant to send troops to rescue them, and stubbornly said that the range of the plane was not enough, and the result was that Li Guoliang stood up and bluntly refuted it, without saving face at all, making Foreign Minister Xu Yuanzhen angry and throwing boiling water on him.

But it is such a general with an upright personality, but today he is stubborn and signals to his "new star" to take refuge.

The phrase "the last general will also come to the toilet" is so classic that it is almost catching up with the sentence "Adult, you will go to the toilet yourself". …… Before he could do anything, he called himself the last general, and he didn't say anything to Xiaoqiang, so he roared urgently, and the second sentence was straight to the point, asking him to "take care of him in the future". Even in the eyes of Xiaoqiang, a newcomer to officialdom, he is too blunt and unskilled.

Why?

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:

"Whatever Master Li said, everyone is an official in the same dynasty, so they should take care of each other."

Li Guoliang was stunned for a moment, looking very disappointed. He clumsily stood for a long time, gritted his teeth, put down his face again, leaned over, and laughed quietly:

"Lord Xiang, this air raid, the last general...... The last general has done a great job,...... Hehe, the last general knows, this is all to the care of the adults......"

Well, this guy has a good idea. Xiang Xiaoqiang was very satisfied, and quickly analyzed Li Guoliang's thoughts in his mind.

If Xiang Xiaoqiang told Fourteen Gege all this, Fourteen Gege would make a similar analysis for him. Fourteen Gege knows the personality, resume, and ability of the senior generals of the Ming army well. Li Guoliang's position is very important, equivalent to more than half of the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, but he cannot enter the core position in the General Staff, and his actual status does not match his official position.

At present, the first teams do not pay enough attention to air power, either there is no separate air force, or the status of the air force is also the lowest, under the traditional army and navy. Among the top echelons of the Ming army, in addition to a few chiefs of staff, the army is the three commanders of the Yangtze River defense line, the commander of the capital garrison, the commander of the various group armies of the strategic reserve, and the navy is the commander of the major fleets. Further down, the commander of the landing aviation can be counted.

However, the operation planned by Xiang Xiaoqiang this time, and the large-scale use of air power, suddenly raised the aviation force to a position of strategic decisive victory. Li Guoliang also felt that he was so important for the first time. The generals of these air forces, more or less all of them were followers of Dugo and Mitchell, and they all believed that air power could win the war. Xiang Xiaoqiang discussed technical issues with him several times, which made Li Guoliang feel that Xiang Xiaoqiang attached importance to air power, or rather, he was simply obsessed with air power.

From this young general, who has theoretically been able to "control the armed forces of the whole country" and is the only one fully trusted by His Majesty, Li Guoliang saw an opportunity for his own rise, an opportunity for the Ming Air Force to appear and rise. He struggled again and again and decided to get out of the way and seize this opportunity. At least let Xiang Xiaoqiang use aviation boldly and confidently in the next military operations, and know that he, Li Guoliang, is standing with him.

……

Xiang Xiaoqiang's own analysis is roughly the same. Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't know much about Li Guoliang's status in the army, but he knew that he was definitely not very ambitious. Xiang Xiaoqiang himself is a rapidly rising star, who has won the infinite trust of the Son of Heaven in his twenties and has been given tremendous power. In the eyes of many veteran and serious generals, this must be a blessing and a curse. But in the eyes of some younger, more opportunity-hungry generals, the "era of imperial power" of the Ming Empire had begun. Yu Qi competed with the high-level old men to survive the year, it was better to take refuge in the "Son of Heaven" as soon as possible and tie up with his future. This is undoubtedly a shortcut.

Xiang Xiaoqiang also knows that he is rising rapidly now, and there is a lack of "henchmen" around him. Now there is such a person who has recommended himself to the door, and he is also an important person like the commander of the army aviation, he is really touching the pillow when he is sleepy. Now his own People's Guard Force can only fight on the ground, and Xiang Xiaoqiang knows how much support air power has for ground operations. To exaggerate it, as long as there is absolute air superiority, the ground forces can conquer everything and be invincible.

Although he already has the power to "control the armed forces of the whole country," including the air force and navy, there is still the problem of whether or not one family listens. Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't want to go to Zhu Yourong's place to "cry" before transferring other people's troops every time, and then let Zhu Yourong give an order. He knew that until his prestige and power reached a certain level, this power was still on paper.

But now the commander of the army aviation is leaning in. In other words, I will be able to easily transfer the aircraft of the Army Airlines in the future. - Even if Li Guoliang's immediate boss and those old men in the army staff disagree, Li Guoliang can follow suit. Xiang Xiaoqiang can control the armed forces of the whole country, this is officially issued by His Majesty, Li Guoliang is a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, is it impossible to be His Majesty's edict?

Xiang Xiaoqiang's heart bloomed, and he said with a smile:

"Master Li is too modest...... In the final analysis, everyone can win battles and make meritorious contributions, and no one takes care of anyone, it's all because of His Majesty's trust! …… The army is His Majesty's army, and the plane is His Majesty's plane...... Hehe, if we all want to make a contribution, we must rally closely around Your Majesty. Well, Master Li, are you going to ......?"

Rallying around His Majesty is naturally uniting around him Xiang Xiaoqiang.

"Yes, Lord Xiang," Li Guoliang finally understood the hint and said with great joy, "the last general also intends to unite with Your Majesty...... And around the adults! ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled dumbly. He wanted to ask Li Guoliang if he planned to continue to make meritorious contributions. But this rectum poured out all the things in his heart at once. Xiang Xiaoqiang is not very used to it.

But he was pleased, looked left and right, and laughed in a low voice:

"Master Li is so straightforward, if Xiang Mou pretends again, it will be too ...... Hehe, in this way, Xiang can rest assured that he can rely on Master Li in the future? ”

Li Guoliang breathed a sigh of relief, finally heard a word of accuracy, and finally was not refused. He chuckled excitedly:

"Although Lord Xiang is reassured, although the last general is not talented, he is also in charge of the entire aviation force of the Imperial Army...... It was originally to serve the adults as a dog and horse! ”

stretched out his hand to Xiaoqiang, and Li Guoliang high-fived him. The two held hands tightly.

"Master Li, do you know," Xiang Xiaoqiang said with a smile, "Xiang has always liked to use airplanes when he fights...... Lord Li, let's work hard together, and sooner or later we will make a proposal to Your Majesty to establish the Imperial Air Force! ”

Li Guoliang's eyes were hot. This is his dream for more than ten years! Now this young man opened his mouth and said it softly, and it was almost realized! …… It was as if he saw the throne of the Chief of the General Staff of the Air Force beckoning to him.

He whispered excitedly:

"The last general is willing to assist the adults wholeheartedly and ascend to a high position!"

Xiang Xiaoqiang was taken aback: Ascend to a high position? What do you mean? He doesn't think he wants to usurp the throne, does he?

But looking at Li Guoliang's enthusiastic eyes, Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that he was too worried.

In any case, more than half of the "air force" has already been actually mastered.

……

Today's military operation has ended, and the Ming army inside and outside Nanjing is cleaning up the mess.

The defenders of the defense line reoccupied the two gaps in Dinghuaimen and Zimuzhou, and quickly arranged generators and pumping machines to pump water from the water inlet defense line, and sent technicians and workers to repair and restore the operation of this section of the defense line.

And then there were a large number of prisoners.

The prisoners of the People's Guard were the Eight Banners Division, which numbered four thousand. However, the friendly forces took more prisoners, and on the battlefield of Zimuzhou, more than 90,000 Qing and Han troops surrendered to the Capital Garrison, the Sixth Army, the Tenth Army, and the Fourteenth Army.

In comparison, the disparity is very great, and the People's Guard has let the comparison go down. But Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that it couldn't be compared like this. The People's Guards first blocked the gap in the defensive line, and then directly defended Nanjing, and the opponent was the elite Eight Banners Division, which fought a tough battle. Of course, it doesn't mean that others are fighting a "soft war", but it is true that the battlefield of Zimuzhou has always been in a stalemate. Moreover, the strength of the People's Guard Force is too small, only 10,000, while the Capital Garrison, the Sixth Army, the Tenth Army, and the Fourteenth Army combined have 400,000.

And, presumably, there will be more captives soon.

Xiang Xiaoqiang comforted himself like this for a while, and went to attend the military meeting.

There was no red tape in this meeting, and as soon as everyone sat down, Zhang Zhaoxian said directly:

"Xiang Xiaoqiang, tell me about your plan to cross the river and attack."

Everyone was stunned, and they all looked at Xiaoqiang in surprise. …… In their opinion, keeping Nanjing at present is already a great victory. Unexpectedly, some people would want to cross the river to find the Qing army to fight.

Xiang Xiaoqiang's plan has already been told to Zhang Zhaoxian, several top leaders, and of course, Li Guoliang, who has just joined him. Now it's time to take it out and discuss it, and if it is feasible, we must hurry up and make a battle plan.

Xiang Xiaoqiang glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded:

"Not bad. Originally, I advocated crossing the river tonight and attacking Pukou. This has just been bombed, and it works best. But it doesn't seem to be in time. It is up to Lord Zhang and all the adults to come up with ideas together. ”

It's past eight o'clock now. Xiang Xiaoqiang's plan was to take advantage of the fact that the bombing had just been completed and Pukou was in chaos, to raid and cross the river from the three pontoon bridges on Zimuzhou, and make a counterattack, so as to deal a blow to the Qing army on the north bank to the greatest extent and completely consolidate the victory in the defense of Nanjing.

But the People's Guard now has a lot of casualties, with only more than 8,000 people left. It is certainly not enough to rely on these thousands of people alone, and a large number of other troops must be mobilized to participate. But now that a major war has just been fought, there is chaos everywhere, and there are nearly 100,000 prisoners to deal with, it is impossible to quickly mobilize troops everywhere. Fighting at night, although you can strike while the iron is hot, you will encounter the least resistance, but in the dark, the armored forces are also very inconvenient to move, which is not conducive to giving full play to their advantages. It's better to simply act during the day, and you can still get air support.

Xiang Xiaoqiang asked Xiuxiu to bring a large map and spread it on the table, he stood up and pointed to Zimuzhou and said:

"You see, this section of the Yangtze River is northeast-southwest, parallel to the Yangtze River is a mountain range, Pukou is called Laoshan locally, this mountain is also northeast-southwest, more than ten kilometers long. There is a five-kilometer-wide narrow strip between the Yangtze River and the Laoshan Mountain Range. On the opposite bank of the northeast end of this narrow strip is the Shogunate Mountain in the north of Nanjing, on the opposite bank of the southwest end is Zimu Island, and in the middle is Pukou Town.

"The first idea of the last general was to cross these three pontoon bridges at dawn tomorrow under the cover of a formation of dive bombers, first to occupy and consolidate the crossing with light infantry, and then to quickly allow the armored troops to cross the river. Then the troops divided into two routes, one to hold the southwest exit of the narrow strip, and the other to the mechanized and motorized corps, around the back of the Laoshan mountain range, quickly outflanked to the northeast, and then blocked the northeast exit of the narrow strip, and loaded the Qing army in Pukou into it. ”

There was silence in the conference room. The generals were shocked when they heard this, and they all stood up and approached, looking at the map very seriously. After a while, one of the generals muttered:

"That's at least 200,000 Qing troops."

Tang Yunsheng, chief of the General Staff of the Army, asked:

"What happens when you put it in?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang drew a circle in Pukou with a baton:

"Bombing. Non-stop bombing. At the same time, both sides quickly pushed inward. …… Of course, the cooperation of various units is required, for example, the engineer boat bridge unit should quickly erect a few pontoon bridges at the northeast end of this narrow strip of land, that is, near the shogunate mountain, so that if the situation is not good, our army can quickly withdraw and not fall into the north of the river. In addition, our fighter planes will also be sent into the sky in large numbers to prepare for the possible attack of the Qing army. They are not willing to lose air supremacy, and they will definitely try to regain it at all costs. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang said and glanced at Li Guoliang.

Li Guoliang immediately stood up and said resolutely:

"Rest assured, the general can guarantee that at least within 150 kilometers of both sides of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, air supremacy will always be in our hands."

Seeing Li Guoliang, who had never spoken much, suddenly swore an oath, everyone was a little unaccustomed. But when they thought of the brilliant achievements of the air force just now, everyone was also relieved. With such a face-revealing result, people can be a bull. But they didn't know that Li Guoliang was full of confidence in his future and full of confidence because he had just joined the royal celebrity. And this guarantee is also to show loyalty to Xiaoqiang.

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"If Master Li can be so confident, then we will be much more sure on the ground. …… Well, due to the continuous bombardment at dusk, the artillery positions of the Qing army at Pukou have also been completely destroyed. The banks of the Yangtze River in the Nanjing section are so quiet for the first time since the start of the war. It was because the Qing army on the other side of the river had no heavy artillery. Well, or basically no heavy artillery. At present, the state of the Qing army is heavy casualties, low morale, and organizational chaos. By dawn tomorrow, there is only a limit to how much we can recover in a few hours, and tomorrow morning our opponent should still be in disarray. ”

Zhang Zhaoxian already knew Xiang Xiaoqiang's overall plan in advance. He now prompted:

"Xiang Xiaoqiang, tell me how many troops you are going to invest."

Xiang Xiaoqiang says:

"There are very few troops directly used to blockade and attack Pukou, and according to the current combat strength of the 200,000 Qing troops in Pukou, I think that with the armored forces as the vanguard, a maximum of 30,000 to 40,000 troops will be enough. However, at present, in the entire Jiangbei, the Qing army still has an absolute superiority in strength. However, if the Qing army is reinforced in time, our army is still in a very dangerous situation.

"But there is no horizontal railway in Jiangbei, and it is hilly. The closest assembly places of the Qing army to Pukou were on the other side of Zhenjiang and Ma'anshan. The two places are 30 kilometers and 50 kilometers away from Pukou respectively. The large force will not arrive within a day, but some motorized battalions and regimental units may be drawn to reinforce first. Therefore, we also need some troops to be deployed on the perimeter on both sides to conduct a vigilance. ”

The generals studied the map around it, whispering to each other, and gradually all nodded.

Zhang Zhaoxian said:

"Xiang Xiaoqiang, tell me about your determination to fight this time."

This is not to make him determined, "determination" is a military term here, similar to the meaning of "purpose".

Xiang Xiaoqiang says:

"This plan is still relatively rough, and it is only a temporary idea of the last general, and it will definitely need to be checked by all of you. I will first talk about the determination of the plan, and I would like to ask you for your reference. ”

He pointed Pukou with his baton and said word by word:

"The first determination was to completely wipe out the 200,000 Qing troops in Pukou. …… The second determination was to kill or capture the Qing Emperor alive. ”