Episode 45 Spread the Three Qin (3) to liberate the Mother River

"The Ming army has entered the customs!!"

When Emperor Guangwu of the Qing Dynasty heard this report, he sighed and slowly leaned back in his chair, his heart filled with a burst of desolation. Others, from the marshals and generals to the middle and lower rank officers below, were filled with panic and anxiety in their hearts.

From last night's hearing that the Zhengzhou Corps had begun to disintegrate, and especially when he saw Nanming's leaflet telegram that "the first to enter the customs is the Hou," he understood that the entry of the Ming army into the customs would inevitably take place within a few dozen hours. And the Qing Dynasty had nothing to do about it, and there was no way to stop it.

Today, the report was finally heard.

Guangwu leaned his head on the soft leather backrest, looking at the ceiling, thinking only one thing in his heart: half of this war was lost by the Qing Dynasty...... Guanzhong is no longer from the Qing Dynasty...... Nanming can be regarded as having a complete foothold in the north.

He was thinking, 292 years ago, the sound of "the Qing army has entered the customs", did it echo here in horror like this? Echoing in horror in this same city? That moment 292 years ago...... Those Han Chinese...... How would they feel when they first heard that?

……

Guangwu shook his head, sat up, and looked at the large map on the wall. He pinched his forehead and blistered together to plan his next strategy.

With the entry of the Ming army into Guanzhong, the whole of Shaanxi will inevitably fall into the hands of the Ming army. The chances of the Qing retaking it are slim to none. At the very least, the Ming army will have complete control over the entire southern Shaanxi within a few dozen hours. As for northern Shaanxi, Guangwu judged that the Ming army might not immediately carry out the occupation. Once the Ming army took southern Shaanxi, the next most important thing to worry about was to cross the Yellow River east and enter Shanxi. The strategic importance of northern Shaanxi is far less than that of Shanxi, and it is a loess plateau of several hundred kilometers, with backward economy, sparse population, inconvenient transportation, and harsh environment, and further north is the Mu Us Desert and the Yellow River, which is enough to become a barrier.

However, even if the Ming army did not occupy northern Shaanxi for a while, the Qing army had little hope of occupying northern Shaanxi in the short term. The closest army to northern Shaanxi was still the Ming army. Whether it was the Northwest Corps, the Central Plains Corps, or the Beijing-Tianjin Corps, the Qing army had a much farther distance to reinforce northern Shaanxi than the Ming army in southern Shaanxi.

At present, it is Shanxi that must be quickly reinforced.

After hearing the report of the collapse of the Zhengzhou Corps last night, Guangwu judged that the Ming army would inevitably enter the customs, and the Qing Dynasty had no choice but to watch. He immediately made the decision of "a strong man with a broken arm", and urgently issued an order, ordering the immediate blowing up of three Yellow River pontoon bridges between Shanxi and Shanxi. Blow it up at all costs. Since Shaanxi was destined to fall into the hands of the Ming army, and the Qing Dynasty had no hope of regaining it, he simply gritted his teeth, completely lost Shaanxi to the Southern Ming, and made every effort to protect Shanxi.

Shanxi is directly adjacent to the North China Plain, and there are lofty mountains as a barrier, which can be defended by advancing and retreating, as long as Shanxi is held in his hands, he can threaten the enemy flank of the North China Plain at any time, or reinforce friendly troops on the North China Plain. Guangwu just said that "the Qing Dynasty has lost half of it", after all, it is still an exaggeration. Only lost Shaanxi, at most Nanming gained a firm foothold in the north. Moreover, the main railway line connecting the east and northwest of the Qing Dynasty bypassed the Hetao Plain north of the Yellow River, and did not pass through Shaanxi. Therefore, there is no such thing as "severing the connection between the Qing Dynasty and the west." As long as Shanxi is still in hand, with the three barriers of the Yellow River, Luliang Mountain, and Taihang Mountain, it can firmly block the Southern Ming Dynasty in the west and threaten the North China Plain.

Before going to bed last night, Guangwu had already ordered the five Eight Banner Divisions of the Beijing-Tianjin Corps and the 15 Han Army divisions of the Shandong Corps in the Central Plains to enter Shanxi by train immediately. Originally, the railway network on the North China Plain was quite dense, consisting of two trunk lines running north-south and several branch lines running east-west, which was in the shape of "me" and could be called "railway network". But when North China enters Shanxi, there is only one railway. It is the "Shilu line" of Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan-Luliang.

The problem is that this railway runs from east to west, and it has to cross the Taihang Mountains to enter the Jinzhong Plain. And the situation in Shanxi ...... Basically, the Taihang Mountain Column is in charge. Taihang Mountain, that is the territory of the Taihang Mountain column. Although compared with the Qing reinforcements, they are few in number and poorly equipped, the 124-kilometer mountain railway is bound to become a ghost gate for these 5 Eight Banner Divisions and 15 Han Army Divisions.

It is conceivable that many of these 124 kilometers of railways were built between lofty mountains and cliffs. According to the degree of control of the Taihang Mountain Column over the Taihang Mountain, people dismantled the 124 kilometers of railroad tracks, which is considered kind. It is more likely to do: bury ** at every turn and cliff of the railway, wait for the military vehicles to pass by, and then with a loud bang, even people and cars, and blow up the whole train off the cliff......

Guangwu thought about it and felt that he could never use the railway. If you use the railway, this more than 100 kilometers of mountain road is enough to make the Qing reinforcements die more than 100 times.

There is also a highway running parallel to the railway, called the "Shiro Highway". Guangwu decided to use the road. Before 5 Eight Banner Divisions and 15 Han Army Divisions were transferred from their original positions to Shijiazhuang, railways could be used. The North China railway network is very safe. But when you arrive in Shijiazhuang, you will enter Taihang Mountain further west. He planned to let the troops get off the train here, and they would walk through the 124-kilometer Taihang Mountains from the Shilu Highway.

Take the road, it's still that line. Although it will definitely be ambushed by the Taihang Mountain column, after all, it will not be like a train, and if you don't get it right, it will be completely destroyed. After being ambushed, the troops still had the opportunity to retreat, return fire, and call for heavy artillery bombardment. Guangwu planned to let the Han army division take the lead, and the Eight Banners division supervised the battle in the back. This kind of mountain road, flanked by cliffs and high mountains, behind which is the warlord's team, and only the light weapons of the guerrillas are faced, those Han troops will not break and flee again.

But then again, the eastern side of Taihang Mountain has abundant precipitation and lush vegetation, and it is difficult to detect how many people and horses are ambushed in the mountains on both sides. Those guerrillas only need to set up a few machine guns and one or two mortars in the mountains and forests, which is enough to kill hundreds of Qing soldiers......

…… There is still time. 124 kilometers on foot, carrying heavy weapons and supplies...... There were a few more resistance battles in between...... One week. If you're lucky, enter the Jinzhong Plain in a week, which is the fastest.

Thinking of this, Guangwu pinched his forehead irritably and sighed heavily. He couldn't help but sigh: At the beginning, the Ming army spent a lot of money to support the Taihang Mountain Column, and now it seems to be such a cost-effective thing! Not to mention anything else, at this critical moment, the Qing Dynasty was forced to dare not use the railway, which bought time for the Ming army, and earned back the price of so many previous airdrops.

The Ming army's boat bridge troops' ability to build pontoon bridges was taught by Guangwu. On the day of the attack, a pontoon bridge was erected over the Yangtze River for a day and a night...... Of course, it was at the door of Nanming's house, after a long period of adequate preparation, all kinds of materials and equipment were complete, and the transportation was extremely convenient. Now, Lian Qing Guanzhong, lead the logistics troops to keep up, and build bridges...... How to say this, it will take three or four days at the earliest. The Yellow River is much narrower than the Yangtze River, and the Ming army will never build bridges for more than a day. That is, in a maximum of five days, the Ming army will enter Shanxi.

According to the degree of emptiness in Shanxi and the speed of the Ming army's advance, the Ming army will basically occupy the entire territory of Shanxi in three days at most. If the Eight Banners Division of the Great Qing Dynasty can enter Shanxi within a week, there is still hope of keeping half of Shanxi. Otherwise...... The war was really half lost.

……

Guangwu stood up with a "whew", walked quickly to the map, and stared at the vertical on the right half of the Yellow River's "several" shape. From top to bottom, it is the Wubao County pontoon bridge on the west side of Luliang City, the Longmen pontoon bridge on the west side of Hejin County, and the Fenglingdu pontoon bridge on the bank of Tongguan.

They...... Was it really blown up?

From yesterday's decree to now, I haven't heard the return of "blown up" with my own ears.

A cool air rushed up from his back.

"Someone's coming!"

Guangwu shouted violently.

"Your Majesty?"

"I ordered the local garrison to blow up the three Yellow River pontoon bridges yesterday, have you reported it?"

The staff officer didn't dare to slack off, and immediately went to investigate. After a few moments, the return reported:

"Emperor Qiqi, at two o'clock in the morning, the garrison of the Fenglingdu pontoon bridge replied to the decree and blew up the Fenglingdu pontoon bridge. At that time, the emperor had already gone to bed, and the staff officer on duty was afraid of disturbing the emperor's rest, so he didn't ......"

"Okay, okay, Fenglingdu has been blown up, what about the two?"

"Your Majesty...... Minion...... The minions didn't find the reports from the two places......"

Guangwu was irritated for a while, and shouted:

"Hurry up and ask for power generation! Ask if it blew up! ”

"Huh!"

"It doesn't matter if the Wubao pontoon bridge in northern Shaanxi is not enough, the Longkou pontoon bridge in southern Shaanxi must be blown up!"

"Huh!"

……

Throughout the afternoon of the 25th, the large forces of the Ming army "galloped" through Hangu Pass and Tongguan Pass at a very fast speed, and rushed into the pass. Now the Nanjing Command understands as well as the Beijing Command: time is life!

When crossing the Tong Pass, the soldiers of the Ming army stood in the armored car, holding the armor plate and looking to the right.

On the right side of the road, between the embankments on both sides is a loess beach, and on the wide loess beach, there is a yellow-colored "belt" - the legendary Yellow River.

…… The mother river of the Chinese nation.

Although the upper reaches are rainy and have entered the autumn flood, in the eyes of these Ming soldiers, the Yellow River in front of them is still so soothing and calm, like a yellow satin, stretching on the wide river beach.

The officers and soldiers of the Ming army saw the Yellow River for the first time. They always feel that the legendary Yellow River in front of them is not like the Yellow River they read in textbooks since childhood, and it does not look like it roars and rushes as they imagined.

They are accustomed to seeing the Yangtze River, and feel that even if the Yellow River is in a wet season, it will not be able to compare with the usual water volume of the Yangtze River. In ordinary times, even when the water volume is the lowest, the surface of the Yangtze River can clearly see ripples, pushing each other and rolling forward. It is for "the back waves of the Yangtze River to push the front waves". But the Yellow River in front of her was exactly like a kind old woman, watching the long-lost children appear in front of her, wiping their hands on their aprons, grinning happily, revealing their broken teeth and deep wrinkles on their faces.

Looking at the "Mother River" that I have only known in books since childhood, the male soldiers of the Ming Army are already excited, and those female soldiers are even more sincere, and many girls have sour noses and tears on their faces.

……

"Behold, our mother river ......"

In the political work team, a little girl sat in the communication car, held the baffle of the carriage, looked at the Yellow River under the embankment, and said with tears in her eyes.

"Well," the other little female soldier beside him was also sensationalized, looking down solemnly, but said emotionally, "Three hundred years ago, a group of barbarians snatched our Yellow River mother...... We fled to the south, and Mother Yangtze River protected us with open arms, sheltered us from the wind and rain, and continued to feed us...... We will not forget our adoptive mother, but we must save our biological mother's ...... That's the Yellow River......"

This little girl is also very talented, she is quite good at sensationalism, and she often incites herself to cry when she is sensational, so she was selected into the political work team and is responsible for persuading her to surrender and shouting. At this moment, after such a sensational sensation she invested, none of the little girls in the carriage did not shed tears.

Suddenly, the radio in the car sounded, and the voice of the commander above shouted urgently:

"All pay attention, Nanjing urgently ordered not to occupy Guanzhong for the time being, immediately turn around and go north, and seize the Longmen pontoon bridge! Do you understand? ”

"Sir!" The squad leader of the little female soldiers immediately grabbed the microphone and asked, "Hasn't the Longmen pontoon bridge been blown up yet?" ”

"No, but it's fast, the Taihang Mountain column is fighting fiercely with the Qing garrison, if we don't grab it quickly, the pontoon bridge will be blown up at any time!"

"Yes! Got it! ”

Hung up the microphone, and several little female soldiers in the car immediately exploded.

"Not only is it back in the middle of the gate?"

"Guanzhong, you can't run away if you put it there, anyway, sooner or later it will be recovered! Now the key is to enter Shanxi! ”

"So, how do we change our next propaganda slogan?"

"It can't be used in the Guangfu Guan...... That's called 'Recovering the Mother River'! ”

"No, it's better not to use 'liberation', it's better to use 'liberation'!"

"That's right, it's called 'Liberating the Mother River'!"

……

On the afternoon of the 25th, as soon as the Ming army had passed Tongguan, it made an emergency U-turn and went north along the "L-shaped" turn of the Yellow River to seize the Longkou pontoon bridge 120 kilometers north.