From Zhuzhou to the south to Yizhang County, which borders Hunan and Guangdong, the land distance is about 700 miles, and if you walk, it will take at least eight or nine days. Fortunately, most of this journey can take advantage of the water transportation of the Xiangjiang River, and at this time, the rainy season has just passed, and the boat is quite smooth, which can not only greatly reduce the fatigue of soldiers walking on foot, but also avoid the trouble of hiring people to carry guns, ammunition, grain, and salaries.

Although the journey was smooth, by the time Liu Bocheng led his troops to Yizhang, the time was almost past mid-September. At this time, the world is already in chaos:

In central China, Duan Zhigui, the governor of Hubei, seemed to have expected that Zhang Fenghui and Jiang Zuobin in northwest Hubei would not dare to take advantage of the danger to attack the three towns of Wuhan, and personally led Wang Zhanyuan, Li Chun and others out of Hunan to attack Jiangxi. Li Liejun, the governor of Jiangxi, also did not show weakness, and commanded Ouyang Wu, Fang Shengtao and other troops to engage in fierce battles with the Beiyang Army in the area around the mouth of Jiujiang Lake. Although Li Liejun fought to the death and did not retreat, the troops suffered heavy casualties, ammunition and soldiers were replenished, and the decline began to gradually appear, and it was only a matter of time before he retreated to Nanchang.

In East China, Bai Wenwei, the governor of Anhui, was preparing to go to Yingshang in person to meet the invading Beiyang Army, but Hu Wantai, the commander of the first division of the Anhui Army, rebelled, and counterattacked, led his troops to attack the Governor's Mansion, and fought with the Yuan army on the Lion Rock on the outskirts of the city. After the defeat of Yuan's army, Bai Wenwei had no choice but to lead a small number of followers to break through to Wuhu and Dangtu, and discuss with Huang Xing about defending Jiangning.

In Jiangsu, in order to respond to Ni Sichong and Zhao Kui's attack on Anhui, Feng Guozhang led Lei Zhenchun, Zhang Xun and other troops from the southeast of Shandong to fight a major battle with the Third Division of the Central Army guarding Xuzhou. After Bai Wenwei was defeated, the defenders of Xuzhou had to abandon this gateway to East China in order to avoid being encircled and annihilated, and retreated all the way to the Yangtze River before stopping.

As for South China, Long Jiguang accepted the post of "Guangdong Pacification Envoy" granted by Yuan Shikai, and also sacrificed sword soldiers, leading the Ji army from Wuzhou down the Xijiang River to offer a reward for Hu, claiming to put down the rebellion in Guangdong. As soon as Long Jiguang came out of Wuzhou, Hu Hanmin was so frightened that he hurriedly ordered his confidant Wang Daoyuan to supervise the appeasement of Zhao (Zhaoqing Prefecture) and Luo (Luodingzhou). Commanded the patrol battalion and ten warships to intercept the eastward movement of the Ji army. However, Hu Hanmin's improvised defense line on the Xijiang River was very fragile and was in danger of rout at any time.

Seeing that the situation of victory and defeat in the whole country was becoming clearer and clearer, Liu Mingzhao was also anxious, and after rushing to Yizhang, he held a military intelligence meeting overnight to discuss the specific combat plan for entering Guangdong.

At the meeting, Dan Maoxin first introduced the general situation of the enemy troops obtained in the early stage: "Shaoguan left the Dongjiang River. With the Wujiang River on the right, it controls the traffic arteries of Guangdong and Hunan, and is the north gate of Guangdong Province. As early as the Qin and Han dynasties, Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue, was stationed here. Against the Central Dynasty. It is precisely by virtue of these passes that the Zhao family has occupied Lingnan for more than 100 years. Since then, there are few people who have not passed through this place in the southern expedition to Guangzhou, and it is a well-deserved place for soldiers.

"For us, Shaoguan is a battleground, because Shaoguan is not only the starting point of the Guangshao Railway, but also the convenience of the Beijiang waterway. As long as Shaoguan is captured, you can go all the way to the outside of Guangzhou. Although our army tried its best to block the news during this southern expedition. However, 6,000 or 7,000 people went south in batches and entrenched themselves in this wild place, and in addition, planes circled over Lianzhou, Shaozhou, and Nanxiong every once in a while to reconnoitre, and concealing their whereabouts was tantamount to covering their ears and stealing bells. Therefore, two or three days ago, the Guangdong side had already guessed our general intentions and began to gradually increase the number of troops and strengthen its defense. ”

Deng Xihou hurriedly said: "Brigade commander, we should send troops as soon as possible, so as not to accumulate more and more enemies in front of us!" Originally, they had the advantage of holding on to the main territory, but if they had the upper hand in the number of soldiers. Isn't it far away for us to enter Guangdong? ”

Liu Mingzhao shook his head: "It's useless!" You must not forget what Nu Gang (Dan Mao Xin) said earlier that Shaoguan has the advantages of the Guangzhou-Shao Railway and the Beijiang water transport, and I am afraid that three or two days of work will be enough for the Guangdong side to complete the action of transferring troops and dispatching generals. We had just arrived in Yizhang, and the soldiers were very tired, and the weapons and ammunition had not yet been distributed. ”

But Mao Xin said: "Long Zicheng's sudden dispatch of troops to attack Guangdong is actually a disadvantage for us. The disadvantage is that he forced Hu Zhantang to abandon the plan to aid Jiangxi and withdraw all the soldiers who aided Jiangxi, so that the Zhang Zicao (Zhang Iquan) Independent Brigade stationed in Shaoguan was almost restored to a complete formation, which put a lot of pressure on our army; The advantage is that the Jijun army went east to Deqing and Zhaoqing. Forcing Hu Zhantang to send all the troops that can be used in his hand to western Guangdong, we only have Zhang Zicao's independent brigade in front of us, so there is no need to worry about other reinforcements. ”

Lu Chao said: "Since the main force of the Cantonese army is now mainly concentrated in Zhaoqing in western Guangdong, Shaoguan in northern Guangdong, and Guangzhou, the provincial capital, then why don't we follow the brigade commander's previous strategy of avoiding the real and attacking the false, bypass the Shaoguan Mansion in front of us, and go straight to Guangzhou Mansion instead?" ”

"Difficult!" But Mao Xin immediately rejected Lu Chao's proposal, "The five mountains in the northwest of Guangdong are high into the sky, and there are only four roads suitable for the march of soldiers since ancient times, one is from Longnan and Quannan in Jiangxi Province near Lianping into Guangdong, and then from Conghua to Guangzhou." Although this road is not heavily defended, but the road is far away, I am afraid that before we have gone around Jiangxi, Long Zicheng should take Guangzhou directly.

"The second is to go south to Lianzhou, from Yangshan Pass into Guangdong, which also has the advantage of waterway transportation. The problem is that Yangshan Pass is steep and abnormal, known as 'a husband is a pass and ten thousand people are not open', and it is close to Shaoguan, so it is impossible for Zhang Zicao not to garrison troops here. Once we are blocked in Yangshan Pass, it is really far away to enter Guangdong!

"The third road is to detour to Anfu, southwest of Jiangxi, and cross Meiguan or Xiaomeiguan to enter the border of Nanxiongzhou, Guangdong, but this road still has to pass through Shaoguan to enjoy the convenience of Guangshao Railway and Beijiang water transportation. So to sum up, the fourth road in front of us is the lightest, as long as Zhang Zicao's independent brigade is annihilated or defeated, it can be unimpeded all the way! ”

Zhu Daizhen interjected at this time: "Nu Gang, according to your early investigation, what is the general deployment of military forces in Shaoguan?" ”

But Mao Xin took a pencil and circled the map: "According to the aircraft reconnaissance and the intelligence collected by our secret agents, the Zhang Zicao Independent Brigade in front of him is about 5,500 people, under the jurisdiction of the first and second regiments, in addition to the brigade's mortar company, communications company, baggage battalion and other departments. The armament is mainly made in Hanyang, and there are also some old Japanese Murata-style rifles, with an average of three or four 60mm caliber mortars per battalion, and the ammunition is relatively sufficient, at least two bases.

"Although Shaoguan is dangerous, the danger is not in Shaoguan City, but in Lechang County in its northwest, so Zhang Zicao's troops are mainly deployed in Lechang. The strength of Lechang includes two battalions of the first regiment, one battalion of the second regiment and a mortar company attached to the brigade, with a total of about 3,200 people. The rest of the troops were deployed in Shaoguan and its surrounding strategic locations, including Fengmen Pass and railway stations. It can be said that as long as Lechang is defeated, Zhang Zicao will either retreat without a fight, or be killed! ”

Seeing that everyone was looking at Lechang, Mao Xin introduced: "Lechang borders Yizhang, where we are now, but in the middle lies the Nanling Mountain Range with an average altitude of eight or nine hundred meters. Although the narrowest part of the South Ridge is only seven or eight kilometers in a straight line, the cliffs are there, and it is almost impossible for our troops to climb over this mountain with full armament. Therefore, you can only choose to go forward from the relatively flat mountain roads of Qingyun, Liangjiang, Jiufeng and other places, or take the Wujiang River Valley.

Although these two roads can barely get off the carriage, there is very little room for maneuver, and in the event of a battle, they cannot spread their formation at all, and can only be beaten passively. Moreover, there are dense vegetation on both sides of the road, which is very easy to ambush the enemy, and it is extremely difficult to find it whether it is reconnaissance by aircraft or search. So, these two paths are basically the perfect place made in heaven! ”

After listening to Dan Maoxin's introduction, Liu Mingzhao's face was almost gloomy, and he asked in a deep voice: "Fighting in this kind of terrain and landform, it is the first time that our Third Brigade has encountered it since it became an army, what are your best strategies?" ”

Deng Xihou said: "According to what we have seen, let's choose a relatively short one of these two roads, and quickly pass through the platoon in sections and batches, and provide support before and after the attack, so as to avoid being caught all by others; It is also possible to concentrate aircraft and artillery fire to bomb and clear the enemy's ambush at a fixed point. ”

But Mao Xin shook his head and said, "No, no, no!" These two roads are more than 20 kilometers at the shortest, and no matter how fast they pass, it will take more than a day, and it is easy to lose sight of each other. At that time, it was necessary for a strong man to break his wrist, and it was painful! ”

Lu Chao said tentatively: "Brigade commander, aren't there two ways to enter Lechang?" Let's combine Brother Jin Kang's strategy of passing quickly in batches with platoons as a unit, and attack the west in a loud voice, what do you think? ”

didn't wait for Liu Mingzhao to answer, but Mao Xin hurriedly replied: "Still no!" If Zhang Zicao only had one or two thousand people in Lechang, then the plan of attacking the east and the west would be a clever plan, but now there are more than 3,000 people in Lechang, and he can defend everywhere. No matter how he strikes, he can stand still and wait for it to change! ”

Lu Chao was unconvinced: "More than 3,000 people are cut in half, and there are 1,500 or 600 people on each side, not to mention that Zhang Zicao can still hold a single soldier in Lechang City?" With fifteen or six hundred men to encircle our large army of six or seven thousand, be careful to break his belly! ”

But Mao Xin rolled his eyes: "Seeing the enemy on all sides, the whole army is frightened and weak, what is the use of a large number of people?" On the battlefield, you don't have to be able to win with a large number of people! If that's the case, what kind of battle are we fighting, recruiting troops directly in Yizhang City, crushing Zhang Zicao, why work so hard? ”

Deng Xihou said again: "What if you take a night attack? ”

But Mao Xin said: "Night attack? If you light a torch, it is equivalent to reporting to your home; If you don't shoot torches, you will be on a cliff all the way, and you will be afraid that you will fall to death more than you will die in battle! ”

Liu Mingzhao said angrily: "In your opinion, what should I do? ”

But Mao Xin said: "My subordinates have been tossing and turning for the past few days, thinking of various methods, and finally I still think it is best to attack with fire." It is now the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the grass and trees in the mountains are quite withered, which is more suitable for the solar term of fire attack. Moreover, it is said that the Air Force has an incredibly powerful incendiary bomb, which burns endlessly when it is contaminated, regardless of the mountain, stone, copper, and iron within 50 meters in diameter. If you cast an incendiary bomb on both sides of the road one or two kilometers apart, it doesn't matter if he is in ambush or not, he will be reduced to a pile of ashes! (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point (qidian.) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support, is my biggest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to m.qidian. )

ps: Brothers and sisters, Uncle He continues to ask for tickets!!