Episode 22 Artillery Danger City

The small steamer hit a mine head-on, and the water column rose in the loud noise, and the bow of the ship was lifted up, but a string of empty oil drums tied at the bow of the ship carried the explosion for it, and the two barrels suddenly stammered, and one barrel flew far away, and the small steamer shook in the waves, without slowing down.

The Qing troops on the assault boat behind cheered and began to shout and rearrange their formation, ready to advance along the path it had opened.

It was like a drop of cold water entering the oil pot, and one after another explosions occurred, and the small steamer was hit hard one after another, and the empty oil barrels in the bow of the ship had been completely blown up, and the oil drums on both sides had also been loosened, and the tattered oil drums were floating. If it were a big mine at sea, this kind of small boat would be able to stop and blow it up, but now the Yangtze River mine is against assault boats, and the power is too small, and this poor little steamer is like being blown up until the shell is blown to pieces, and it is still crooked and unsinkable, and it drives forward slowly, and a large number of empty oil drums in the cabin provide it with enough buoyancy. In the end, the ship's belly was blown open, and a large number of empty oil drums floated out, and the small steamer rolled and sank.

Immediately after that, the Qing army drove up a second and third such "minesweepers......

In fact, before the attack, the Qing army did not expect that the mine array on the Yangtze River would be so dense, they did not prepare for artillery fire, and originally wanted to take advantage of the fog to make a surprise attack, even though the mines caused hundreds of casualties, but most of them could rush over before the Ming army reacted. But now the Ming army's mine array is not mixed up at all, and it is impossible to retreat back to prepare for artillery fire now, and if the soldiers are forced to fill the road with their lives, they will definitely mutiny. Fortunately, some of these "minesweepers" were prepared in advance, and they were very useful.

But after all, the offensive front is too wide, and there are too few empty oil barrels. This improvised small steamer could only sail a limited number of lanes, and it was very narrow, and a large number of assault boats crowded in the middle, moving cautiously for fear of hitting the mines on the side, so the attack was unusually slow.

Sporadic small-caliber shells fell on all sides, kicking up columns of water. The Qing soldiers were lying on their heads in assault boats, at least no ships around them had been hit. As we got closer to the south bank, the sound of machine guns in the distance became clear, bullets grazed overhead and ears, and occasionally a soldier screamed after being shot, but the vast majority of them were unharmed. It was clear that the Ming machine gunners could not see at all, but were only diffusing to the approximate position.

The soldiers who had participated in the previous attacks were grateful for the fog, and without it, they would not have made it here alive.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang in my ears, and a cannonball hit an assault boat in the firelight, and it was lifted into the sky. Experienced veterans know badly. A platoon leader shouted:

"Spread out! Spread out, don't huddle together! ”

But the operators of the assault boat did not listen to his command, and still crowded forward in the narrow channel. Sure enough, the surrounding shells began to dense, the sky was whistling, the water column rose and fell, and the second and third assault boats were shot and exploded.

The flames of the assault boats marked the location of the Ming artillery in the dense fog, and soon the Ming army observers found that there were many assault boats gathered here, and the artillery within a kilometer on both sides beckoned here.

The original safe passage became a death alley in an instant. The assault boats crowded here began to scatter and flee, and they could not care less when they drove into the minefield.

……

On the river embankment, every 20 meters, there is a circular steel object on the concrete ground, with a radius of more than one meter, flush with the ground, and the color of cement is painted on it, and it is impossible to see that it is made of steel without touching it with your hands.

Suddenly, with the roar of the motors below, the steel objects slowly protruded from the ground and became a half-meter-high steel round platform. The round table turned twice, and two half-meter-long barrels protruded from the side.

This is the killer feature of the Yangtze River defense line: the all-steel lifting turret. The turrets had a 200 mm thick steel outer wall and housed a twin 40 mm anti-tank gun. The turret is completely enclosed, with no gaps except for the sighting glasses between the two barrels. When the enemy is bombarded, you can lower it to the level of the ground, and when the enemy rushes up, you can rise up and fight.

This thing was also heavily deployed on the Maginot Line in Europe and became a symbol of the insurmountability of the Line.

Under the turret, the gun commander hung up the phone and ordered:

"Molotov cocktails!"

In the next ammunition room, a base incendiary bomb was lifted up from the deep ground by a lift, and the relay hand climbed up the iron ladder to the upper turret with the shell, and the loader took it and loaded it into the chamber.

"Ready for launch!"

"Put !!"

The steel turrets on the embankment fired a volley, and the straight trajectory of the cannon stretched out to the river more than a hundred meters away. The surface of the river in the dense fog immediately rose into flames, rising more than ten meters high, mixed with billowing black smoke, forming a wall of death fire.

……

At a height of dozens of meters behind the lifting turret, in the reinforced concrete observation fort, a major with a telescope looked at the fire on the river from the narrow observation port, and his nose almost asked about the smell of burnt human flesh. He was expressionless and said coldly:

"Command the turret to prepare for the second salvo...... Stretching into the middle of the river...... Order the Spitfire pump to get ready. ”

……

After two rounds of shooting, there was a terrifying scene on the river.

The fire was thick on the water, and the corpses were floating in the water, and the flames were still jumping in the exposed parts. Some of the wreckage of assault boats caught fire and slowly sank. The entire river was filled with black smoke, emitting the strange smell of various chemicals and the smell of corpses.

This kind of military incendiary bomb uses viscous gelled gasoline as fuel, which is quite viscous and is not easy to extinguish when it sticks to the body. And magnesium powder is added to it. The burning temperature of ordinary flames is several hundred degrees, but after adding magnesium powder, the flame temperature will rise to more than 1,000 degrees, and even the steel parts of the assault boat, the steel helmet inside, and the kettle are burned. Many people were burned to death before they could react.

A large number of assault boats behind the fire were blocked here, crowded and collided, and the Qing soldiers above were stunned to see the terrifying scene in front of them, and many people supported the boats to vomit.

The machine guns of the Ming army fired aimlessly into the flames, and a series of splashes shot from the water, and occasionally the Qing soldiers were shot and fell. But most of the bullets still hit the water.

Behind him, a red flare rose from the north shore. The sound of a megaphone echoed across the river:

"The battalions and companies of the 864th Regiment are in full force...... The battalions and companies of the 692nd Regiment were ...... The battalions and companies of the 1347th Regiment were ...... Withdrawal of the North Shore Integration ...... Withdrawal of the North Shore Integration ......"

The Qing soldiers on the river knew that they had temporarily picked up a life, and a large number of assault boats turned around and sailed back to the north bank.

In an assault boat, a Qing soldier covered in water and with deformed burned lips leaned on his companion's body and muttered:

"Why...... Why is this......"

"Why? You're not happy to pick up a life? ”

"Why are we rushing so much and letting people kill like this? …… Why is there such a fog...... Still can't beat it? …… Didn't the boss say that you can hit it when there is a fog? ”

A squad leader sitting in the back sneered:

"Hmph, that's a good fight! If there was no fog on weekdays, we wouldn't be here at all! …… Where's the other side? It's Nanjing! , our 92nd Army can spread a good place, this is the most difficult piece of the entire Nanming defense line! ”

……

Jiangxinzhou is a large island in the Yangtze River in the Nanjing section, with an area of more than ten square kilometers, in the shape of straw shoes, similar to Chongming Island, which is also formed by sediment impact. Jiangxinzhou and Nanjing are separated by a 200-meter-wide waterway, called "Jiajiang", but they are separated from Pukou by more than 1,000 meters of river. Because of this geographical factor, Jiang Xinzhou has always been controlled by Nanming, who also built a fortification group on it and set up the main base of the Yangtze River Fleet here.

Because the Yangtze River Fleet is mainly submarines and small ships, the wharves are located on the edge of the Jiajiang River, facing Nanjing, from the Jiajiang River into and out of the main stream of the Yangtze River, which is both safe and convenient. Submarine caverns were built on the wharf with reinforced concrete to prevent shelling and bombardment on the opposite shore and protect the submarine.

Jiangxinzhou is a first-class island, the construction of the fortification group is relatively simple, there is no complex underground transportation network on the shore, and there is no all-steel lifting turret, which can be said to be a weak link.

Now there is a tense atmosphere at the Jiangxinzhou base, the shells of the Qing army are constantly falling on the island, and a few shells directly hit the top of the submarine cave, the roof of the reinforced concrete warehouse several meters thick is trembling, and a lot of dust is falling down.

The horns in the island's units and underground fortifications constantly echoed:

"Order all female officers and soldiers to immediately go to the dock of the base and board the ship...... Regardless of the rank and position, immediately go to the base dock and board the ship...... Order all female officers and soldiers to ......"

On the docks, rows of female soldiers, some submariners and some female civilian officers on the island, lined up in backpacks. After finishing the first team, the commander took the boat and withdrew to Nanjing.

Whenever a shell fell near, they lay down and hid, then got up again and continued to line up to get on board.

In the cave behind them, there are several sappers on each submarine, loading ** and laying leads into the submarine, so as to blow up and sink them when Jiang Xinzhou can't hold it. The girls silently looked at the submarine they got along with day and night, and many of them cried.

……

The city of Nanjing is now experiencing the biggest panic since the start of the war.

In the morning in the thick fog, there were people with luggage everywhere, and they all looked terrified, and they all ran to the train station outside the city. These are all citizens who did not leave in the first evacuation. Originally, after the last great evacuation, the Qing army could not defeat Jianglai for a long time, and people's confidence in the Yangtze River defense line increased sharply.

Now there is a heavy fog, and the people who were very confident in the Yangtze River defense line now believe that they can't hold it. Although the loudspeakers in the streets kept broadcasting "We have repelled the first round of attack by the Qingqing", anyone with a little common sense knows that it is only a matter of time before they come. And once the Qing army came, everyone firmly believed that the Ming army, which was absolutely inferior, could not resist a few times.

Xiang Xiaoqiang's car honked its horn, went against the flow of people, and drove slowly towards the palace. Due to the heavy fog, when I looked at the red noon gate, I was almost at the entrance of the palace.

Xiang Xiaoqiang hurriedly asked the driver to stop on the side of the road, jumped out of the car himself, strode across the Jinshui Bridge, and was stopped at the gate of the palace.

The palace was heavily guarded, with hundreds of Praetorian Guards wearing steel helmets and guns, and machine guns seemed to be set up in the deep doorway. Now that the force has obviously doubled, many fresh faces have not been seen.

Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't say anything and took out his documents. After reading the documents, the squad leader on duty was surprised to find that this was Colonel Xiang Xiaoqiang, the commander of the People's Guard Force and the military class who came to give military lessons to His Majesty every day. Xiang Xiaoqiang was anxious, left his spear according to the rules, led by a Praetorian Guard officer, and the two trotted all the way and ran inside.

After passing through the front palace, the officer could no longer enter the palace, and a female officer led Xiang Xiaoqiang into the back court.

"Where is Your Majesty? What are you doing? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang asked as he walked briskly. He went to the palace every day to attend classes, and several times he was led by this female official, and they were all familiar with each other. The female officer also looked panicked, and said in a trembling voice:

"In the Qianqing Palace, summon the minister...... To your lordship, you say...... How long do you say Nanjing can be held? ”

Obviously, even the palace is in a panic now. Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't answer this question, but just smiled:

"What are you panicking about, follow Your Majesty closely, and you are safer than anyone else."

When the female officer heard him say this, she thought about it, and her face regained a little blood.

Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that those of them in the palace, when they were now living and dying, always regarded every word of their senior officers as authority. Their own words can give or take away their hope.

But he is not optimistic about whether Nanjing can be held. One thing is certain, however, that the Nanjing section of the line is the strongest of the entire Yangtze River defense, and even in the fog, it will never be the first to be breached.

He judged that before Nanjing was actually threatened, news would surely come that the Qing army had crossed the river elsewhere. In this way, there is still time for the retreat of Nanjing, and it will not be caught off guard.

There is no doubt that for the Manchus, the temptation to take Nanking in one fell swoop at the very beginning of the war was enormous. But after all, the Yangtze River defense line is the result of Nanming's painstaking operation for 20 years, and Nanjing is the top priority of the defense line, which is by no means so easy to gnaw. He had just received a report that the riverside defense line had repelled the first attack of the Qing army, and there were no casualties on his side, while the Qing army suffered heavy casualties, and not even a single person had even landed on the beach.

Even in dense fog, the defense line lived up to expectations and played beautifully. However, if the Qing army did not care about death and increased its strength by two or three times, it would be difficult to say. What is even more terrifying is that once they take a more realistic line, that is, abandon Nanjing as a breakthrough, concentrate their forces to break through from other weak sections of the Yangtze River, seize Nanjing from behind, and cut off the railway, it will not only be lost, but even retreat will become a problem.

Now Zhu Yourong must leave Nanjing as soon as possible. As long as the empress is gone, the People's Guard, as the empress's pro-army, will definitely follow. In this way, as the empress's pro-army commander, he can also follow and will not stay for the funeral.

He had already asked Qiu Hu to take a few people home and help Qiu Laohu pack up. It's hard to be an old man, the situation is like this, and he has been staying in danger with his daughter and son-in-law. But this time, Xiang Xiaoqiang is ready to leave with the whole family.

……

In the imperial study, there was smoke, and several ministers were sitting or standing, some smoking paper cigarettes, some smoking cigars, and some smoking pipes.

In the past, ministers did not dare to smoke in front of the empress, but once Zhu Yourong talked with several old ministers, and in the middle of the night, Zhu Yourong asked people to prepare several cigarettes for them to smoke. This "moral policy" has won the hearts of the people, because many ministers are addicted to smoking. After this tradition was established, when the minister and Zhu Yourong talked, they all smoked for a long time, and if three or five ministers came to see at the same time, the study room became a smoking room. Zhu Yourong had good intentions at the beginning, but now he is asking for hardship, and it is hard to say, so he has to endure it by himself.

Xiang Xiaoqiang smokes, but he doesn't have any addiction to smoking, and he was choked when he first came in. But when he saw Zhu Yourong sitting behind the desk, he just frowned slightly, but he still talked freely, so he dispelled the idea of covering his nose.

Although Xiang Xiaoqiang was summoned in, he saw Zhu Yourong talking to the ministers, and just quietly sat on the sofa by the door. Zhu Yourong saw him, greeted him with his eyes, and continued:

"Xiao Qing, what about your opinion?"

"Your Majesty," Xiao Zilong, the new Minister of War, sighed as he smoked a large cigar and spewed out a thick mist, "Although we repelled the first attack of the Qing army, there is no figure on how many we have really annihilated." The Qing army may not have been mentally prepared, and in shock, they retreated temporarily. The next step must be to let this division repair, and then change the force to fight. They have a lot of troops, and they don't care about thousands of casualties at a time. Your Majesty, I have received several pieces of information, all of which say that the Qing puppet emperor Guangwu threatened to go to Nanjing for the Spring Festival, Your Majesty, think about it, the character of the Guangwu puppet emperor is the more frustrated and crazy, and the next step must be to double the force and attack wildly! Although our Yangtze River defense line is strong, the visibility is only a dozen meters now, and the machine guns are simply decorations. If the machine gun is not used, then the entire line of defense is just a decoration! Your Majesty, you must think twice, Your Majesty! ”

Zhu Yourong frowned, coughed lightly, and looked at the other ministers. Several other people also nodded frequently and echoed.

Zhu Yourong stood up, looked out the window, and breathed a sigh of pain. She was extremely reluctant to leave Nanjing. She knew that once she left Nanjing, it would be tantamount to announcing that Nanjing would give up, and the riverside defenders would no longer fight as bravely as they did now.

"I ......" Zhu Yourong choked up as soon as he said it, tears rolled in his eyes, and he finally controlled it before he said, "I still want to listen to Shen Ge Lao's opinion." ”

Another man hurriedly said:

"Your Majesty doesn't have to hesitate any longer, Elder Shen Ge must also have this opinion. It is only ten kilometers away from the river, and once the Qing army breaks through the Yangtze River, it will be there in an instant! And the battle situation on the river may change every minute! Your Majesty, even if Shen Ge Lao is here, he will not agree to His Majesty staying in Nanjing and risk being captured by the Qing captives! ”

Zhu Yourong turned around, looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang by the door, and said in an almost pleading tone:

"What do you think of Xiang Qing?"

Several ministers realized that there was a person sitting at the door, and they turned their heads to look, and found that it was Xiang Xiaoqiang, waiting for him to speak. Because these ministers all know that although Xiang Xiaoqiang has a low rank, he is very close to His Majesty, and he is His Majesty's military teacher, as long as he says yes or no, he can greatly influence His Majesty's decision.

Xiang Xiaoqiang was ashamed, because he couldn't support Zhu Yourong when he needed his support the most. And most of it is for their own benefit.

He dodged Zhu Yourong's gaze and said:

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty...... That's what it means. There is no point in you staying in Nanjing. ”

The ministers' faces softened, and they all cast appreciative glances at Xiang Xiaoqiang. They knew in their hearts that their lives had been saved. There will be no tragedy in history where courtiers and cities died. With the withdrawal of the royal family to the south, the work of the Ming government's withdrawal from the south will be in full swing.

Zhu Yourong had a disappointed expression on his face, and sat down slowly, covering his face with his hands. After a while, he said softly:

"Stand down, and I'll be quiet."

The group exited the smoky study and went to the courtyard outside. Several old ministers fell to the ground with a boulder in their hearts, and began to praise Xiang Xiaoqiang with a smile, loyal to the monarch and patriotic, thinking big, caring for the king, regardless of personal honor and disgrace, and selflessness......

Although Xiang Xiaoqiang was full of shame and full of guilt for Zhu Yourong, this favor was not accepted in vain. He smiled very humbly, and said a lot of beautiful things, saying that although he was a soldier, he was also a human being, and everyone compared their hearts to each other, not because they were afraid of death, but because they were afraid that death was worthless. Now that the fog is heavy, the Nanjing defense line is more auspicious and less auspicious, so retreat early and leave a useful body, so as to better defend the country against the Qing captives......

These few words erased all the remaining shame in the hearts of the ministers, and everyone was happy, and they took his words for granted. The relationship between Xiang Xiaoqiang and these ministers is one step closer.

At this time, the sound of a car engine was heard in the distance, and then the door "slammed" shut.

Someone said:

"Shen Ge is here."

In the entire Ming Empire, only a few people, such as the first assistant minister and the king of Yanping County, enjoyed the treatment of driving a car into the palace. Obviously, it was Shen Rongxuan, the first minister, who came.

Shen Rongxuan wore a tweed coat and strode into the courtyard of the imperial study. Several ministers saluted him and called him "Cabinet Elder". Shen Rongxuan smiled at them and nodded, then looked at Xiao Qiang again.

Xiang Xiaoqiang also greeted him very humbly, and called him "Shen Gong". I haven't seen Shen Rongxuan for a long time. Since he was in charge of the People's Guard, there was always some awkwardness when he saw this former Dongchang factory governor and former ally again, and he unconsciously wanted to guard against him, as if he couldn't even smile naturally.

A palace maid came out and said:

"Shen Rongxuan, the first assistant minister of the Xuan Cabinet, is here!"

Shen Rongxuan took off his hat and went in.

Shen Rongxuan came, and several ministers felt that they had a backbone. Now His Majesty is almost willing to retreat south. Shen Rongxuan went to say it again, and the matter was finalized.

After a while, the palace maid announced everyone in the courtyard again.

"Everyone, Aiqing," Zhu Yourong stood behind the desk, holding the table with his hand, sweeping away the sad look just now, and said with a smile, "I have made up my mind, and I will not retreat south for the time being!" ”

As soon as these words came out, not only several ministers, but even Xiang Xiaoqiang were speechless in shock. Zhu Yourong continued:

"I, and my government, will live in the Purple Mountain Fortress next to see how the Ming army resists the Qing captives. To defend Nanjing, I have to ask you to love Qing, especially Xiang Qing. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at Shen Rongxuan, who was sitting on the sofa next to him with his eyes closed, and couldn't help but be shocked and angry. What kind of medicine did the former boss of the East Factory pour into His Majesty?