Episode 74 Thundering Tank

Under the moonlight, Zhu Yourong stood in an open armored car, Zhuangzi is on the north side of the road, here is on the south side of the road, the terrain is relatively high, but it is not too high, it belongs to the slight undulation of the terrain, not even hills.

It is located between Nanjing and Changzhou, and is neither a typical Jiangnan hilly land, nor a typical plain in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is easy to find this small undulating plateau here, but it does not pose any obstacle to the movement of mechanized troops. Xinmengzhuang is unfortunately a relatively low-lying area, with a large pond to the north and several small highlands around it. At that time, the Red Sixth Division was in a hurry and didn't care about picking and choosing, and when it saw a residential area, it went in.

However, these small heights around are only twenty or thirty meters higher than the position of Zhuangzi, and the nearest ones are a few hundred meters away, so what can be seen is limited, and the ground in Zhuangzi cannot be seen, only a piece of roof. In addition, it is now past seven o'clock in the evening, and it is already completely dark. Although the weather was clear and the moon was shining, if the Red Army artillery observers climbed onto the roof, they would not be able to see it without flares.

Now the 1st and 2nd Blue Divisions are on the periphery of Zhuangzi, the 2nd Blue Division is preparing to attack, and the 1st Blue Division is forming an encirclement on the periphery.

The Blues' front-line command was not with the Queen's convoy, but on another high ground, far from Zhu Yourong's observation point. Because during the exercises, the enemy's front-line command was naturally the target of the attack, and once the Red Army found it, it could be shelled with mortars. Mortar shells used in the exercise do not explode, but they can injure people. If the command and the Empress observation point were together, the Red Army would definitely find out and not be able to open fire, which would be tantamount to cheating by the Blue Army.

Eight red lights are now placed around the Queen's observation point, pointing in eight directions around it, indicating that Her Majesty is here and that mortars on both sides are to avoid this position.

……

Now Zhu Yourong has little interest in acting itself. She is still watching the exercise, but her heart is very miserable, thinking about her identity and the choice she will be forced to make.

Before hearing the news that the Prince of Siam was coming to Nanjing, although he also knew that he would come sooner or later, Zhu Yourong could always do it without thinking about it, and he could anesthetize himself. But now it is clear that the Prince of Siam is coming, and that he will arrange several receptions and balls as soon as he arrives, and then the two governments will announce that Her Majesty the Empress and Her Royal Highness the Prince have "fallen in love", and then they will arrange an engagement...... Immediately after that, a series of treaties and agreements representing the "common interests" of the two countries will be signed. As the monarch of the Ming Dynasty, he worked for the welfare of his country and people through his marriage......

During the day today, Zhu Yourong categorically asked to take a plane, and he took a plane with Xiang Xiaoqiang, in order to be able to soar in the blue sky with the person he likes in a confined space when he still belongs to him, leaving a lifelong memory.

When Xiang Xiaoqiang's hands and feet began to be "dishonest", first touched her legs, and then grabbed her hands, Zhu Yourong's heart almost jumped out. She didn't expect Xiang Xiaoqiang to be so bold. However, the feeling of being violated and violated by the person you like, shyness, secret joy, excitement, happiness, self-shame, and a little annoyance...... It's really enjoyable.

She's grown so big that she's tasted it for the first time. At that time, she really wished that the plane would never land, and the two of them were in the sky forever.

Zhu Yourong thought that Xiang Xiaoqiang grabbed his hand, and then said a heartwarming confession. But unexpectedly, after Xiang Xiaoqiang grabbed his hand and snorted for a while, he still "confessed" to himself. It's just that what is confessed is not admiration, but a major military event, about how to conquer the Manchus in the north and unify China.

It's also good...... She thought silently, what if he said those intoxicating words? The more drunk you are in the sky, the more painful you will be when you land. That might be better......

This time, Zhu Yourong didn't let Xiang Xiaoqiang build an observation fort for her again, but insisted that the car would be safe. Xiang Xiaoqiang also sensed something and didn't insist anymore.

Zhu Yourong tried his best to hide his loss and pain, but Xiang Xiaoqiang was still more optimistic. He thought that he had made great progress with Zhu Yourong this time and held hands. In love, holding hands once is not eating tofu once, holding hands is a milestone in the relationship between the two.

Although Zhu Yourong seems unhappy for some reason, you can't fathom the girl's heart. Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that there was still a long time, and there would be more opportunities to develop relationships after returning to Nanjing.

However, the reason why he is so optimistic is because he does not know that the prince of Siam is coming soon. It stands to reason that Zheng Yuxuan should have been the first to inform him of this news, but because he came out of the Changzhou General Headquarters to accompany Zhu Yourong to observe the exercise, he came directly in the officer's car, and the radio station that he contacted Zheng Yuxuan was still on the armored command vehicle of the Changzhou Headquarters.

……

The radio in the armored command car next to him "hissed", and then Wei Zijin poked his head out with a headset and asked:

"Your Majesty, it's half past seven now, and they're asking if it's time to attack."

Zhu Yourong put down the binoculars and said to himself:

"It's half past seven...... The villagers have all eaten, right? ”

"Your Majesty, of course we've eaten at half past seven!"

Xiang Xiaoqiang replied angrily below. He didn't understand Zhu Yourong, this mother-in-law. Originally, Rommel was going to attack at dawn tomorrow, and that was the best time to attack, but Zhu Yourong planned to take care of the rest of the people in the village, so he interfered and was not allowed to attack at night. Rommel was not lightly angry, and Xiang Xiaoqiang was also not lightly angry.

But Zhu Yourong's stubbornness really came up again, that is, he was not allowed to attack at night. The reason is that the people of this village have been tossed a lot because of this exercise. Although they have a legal obligation to cooperate with the exercise, they cannot be so tossed. Especially when the outcome has already been decided, it doesn't make much sense to toss like this. Zhu Yourong said that either they would attack during the day, or they would announce the end of the exercise now and everyone would return to Nanjing.

It was in this way that Rommel came to a compromise and chose to attack a few hours after dark and before nightfall. In this way, it is possible to reduce losses by taking advantage of the cover of night. But Zhu Yourong didn't let them attack at the villagers' dinner time, and if they wanted to attack, they had to wait for the people to finish dinner.

Zhu Yourong said lightly, the two divisions of the Blue Army were still here, and the senior officers were so angry that they scolded their mothers, but when the junior officers and soldiers heard Zhu Yourong's decision, they were cheering. Most of them are children of peasant families, and they grew up in such villages. The army's exercises are important, but the eating and sleeping of the common people is even more important. Especially now that the outcome of the exercise has been decided, and it is no longer experimenting with new tactics, it is completely relying on traditional combat. The result can be imagined: in the end, Zhuangzi will definitely be taken, but the Blues will have a lot to lose.

……

The Blues had an absolute superiority in strength, and the offensive began in three directions: east, west and south.

In the night, the sound of engines around the village is constant, and all kinds of vehicles drive around in the dark. The defenders in the village were nervous, and they didn't know if the Blues were really preparing to attack, or if they were deliberately creating tension and keeping them from resting. Anyway, one thing is certain, the defenders in the village know that the Red Army has failed in the exercise, and their own people are the only remaining strength of the Red side.

However, this not only did not demoralize them, but made them all full of confidence and high morale. Because everyone knows that a great opportunity has come. As long as he persists, through this battle, he uses his more than 1,000 people to consume thousands of Blue Army soldiers, then his fate will be completely different from that of most of the other Red Army soldiers. More than 1,000 of them will certainly make meritorious contributions and become the most outstanding performers in this exercise, and their future is bright.

Outside the village entrance in three directions, the Blue Army's mine-sweeping tanks had rumbled to their designated positions. The Lightning-3 medium tank in the back, the rarely seen "Thundering" heavy infantry tank, the Hurricane 33 armored personnel carrier, and the short, lightweight, 75 infantry gun towed behind the vehicle for street fighting......

The defenders in Zhuangzi were afraid that the blue army would take advantage of the darkness to sneak attack, so they fired a flare every once in a while. Bright magnesium bullets swayed and fell in the sky, illuminating a large area outside the village as if it were day.

Just a few hundred meters away, the Blue Army was hiding behind the tanks, ready to attack at any time, an officer car drove from nowhere, leisurely, and drove along the path in the direction of Zhuangzi.

"Which one? Stop it! ”

As if it hadn't heard, the officer's car continued in the direction of the entrance of the village.

"Huh?"

A tank platoon commander cursed, and with a wave of his hand, a Hurricane-33 armored car behind immediately started up, roared forward at full speed, and overtook the unhurried officer car in one fell swoop. The armored car stopped in front, turned two tracks, turned sideways, and blocked the field path.

The officer's car stopped. One of the non-commissioned officers on the armored vehicle stood up and shouted:

"What for? Password! ”

There were two people in the officer's car, the driver was a private of the first class, and the captain was next to him. But both were military police uniforms and wore armbands of exercise referees.

Seeing that it was the exercise referee, the non-commissioned officer on the armored car relaxed, but still asked routinely:

"Password?"

The captain turned his head and replied impatiently:

"Plate Duck."

"Hoof."

The non-commissioned officer on the armored car also replied. Then he asked:

"Sir, what part are you? What is the matter with entering Zhuangzi at this time? ”

"Yes, there is something."

The captain frowned, and didn't want to say anything more to him, just waved his hand and motioned for him to reverse the armored car and make way out.

Seeing that he was a drill referee and a commander, the non-commissioned officer didn't ask any more questions, bowed his head and ordered the driver to retreat the armored car to the field next to him.

The armored car rumbled back, and the officer car increased its throttle and drove into the Zhuangzi in a puff of smoke.

……

As soon as they drove into the village, a low roar immediately came from a nearby house:

"Stop! What for? ”

At the same time, several bolts rang out, as well as the sound of machine guns pulling at the bolts.

The officer's car stopped, and the captain took off his hat and scolded:

"What the hell! I don't even recognize it! ”

"Ah, Master!"

The voice in the darkness cried out in surprise. Immediately afterward, several voices shouted happily:

"Master! Division! ”

"It's pretty much the same, is it easy for Lao Tzu to run back!" Huang Shuliang waved his hand and motioned for the car to continue driving, "It's not to take you to die better!" ”

The car drove into Zhuangzi. And the news that "the division is back" spread quickly throughout this small Zhuangzi. The morale of the defenders rose to its highest point.

……

In the division headquarters in the center of the village, several staff officers were so happy that they had heard that the Red Army command had agreed to their continued "death" as if they had seen the "corpses" of the Blue Army lying in a village and that they had medals on their chests.

"Division," a staff officer smiled from ear to ear, "you pretend to be a referee in the exercise, don't you foul?" ”

"Fouled, what's wrong?" Uncle Huang rolled his eyes, poured a large mouthful of water, wiped his mouth and said, "Didn't you say that everything should be imitated by the truth?" Since there is a drill referee, then I can't pretend to be a referee? He didn't foul the Blues attacking in advance, so I fouled the referee of the exercise? Bird. ”

"When !!"

A loud bang came in, and everyone involuntarily crouched down. Then they immediately rushed to their posts. Map table, radio, field telephone, Huang Shuliang grabbed the binoculars, and ran to the second floor with a staff officer.

"37 anti-tank guns! Our! ”

Huang Shuliang said as he ran. Before he could finish speaking, another loud bang came.

"It's the Blues! 57 tank guns, it's a thundering tank! ”

Climbing to the third floor, Huang Shuliang climbed the ladder to the roof. This is the only three-storey building in the village, and it is also the highest commanding height in Zhuangzi.

The sound of artillery came from the southeast of the village, and there was already a flare in the sky shooting magnesium light, swaying down, and the southeast part of the village was illuminated.

The two climbed up, crouched down, and looked through the magnesium light with binoculars.

At this time, there was a rush of machine gunfire from there. Soon it was mixed with the sound of submachine guns, and shouts. At the same time, the dogs in the village barked.

The three-story building is not tall enough, and the area at the entrance of the village is blocked by many houses. But I can see that there is a lot of flashing over there, and the fight is in full swing.

"Herald!" Huang Shuliang turned around and shouted, "Let the artillery positions in other directions be on strict alert!" It is impossible for the enemy to attack from only this one direction! ”

The staff officer immediately shouted into the skylight to give orders.

Before he could finish speaking, another crisp sound came from the west side of the village. The sound was not too loud, neither a cannon nor a gunshot, at best like a firecracker set off during the New Year.

This is a mine for exercises. At the same time, the roar of the engine is getting closer.

"Division, it's the Blue Army's minesweeper tank!"

The staff officer shouted.

Uncle Huang nodded brightly and looked west with a telescope.

……

At the west entrance of the village, a mine-sweeping tank stretched out a long steel arm in front of it, and several large iron chains at the front of the steel arm kept turning, whipping the ground, and fire and smoke erupted on the ground from time to time. Anti-tank mines, anti-infantry mines were detonated one by one.

Behind, a tall "Thundering" heavy tank. The Minesweeper and Thundering Tanks, both of which are strong and thick-skinned, are at the forefront, withstanding the first blow from the defenders.

The armored personnel carriers of the Blue Army followed, and the soldiers in the vehicles held their submachine guns and kept their heads bowed. The machine guns in front of them are constantly aiming at the windows of the buildings on both sides, ready to jump out of the car at any time and engage the enemy at any time.