The troops marched out one after another, with the 3rd Cavalry Division as the lead, followed by the Armored Cavalry Division, the 4th Cavalry Division guarding the flanks, and the 70th Cavalry escorting grain and grass at the end. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoAll of us walked along the flat area at the foot of Liupan Mountain. The village does not stop, the transfer does not enter, and the township is bypassed along the way.

As the only mouth south of the Yellow River in Liupan Mountain, Guyuan has an extremely important strategic position. Guyuan, known as Dayuan, Gaoping, Xiaoguan and Yuanzhou in ancient times, referred to as "Gu", is located in the southern part of Ningxia. As early as 114 B.C., the city was built here, which was a necessary place for the Silk Road, and belonged to one of the important towns on the nine sides in the Ming Dynasty. "The left controls the five plains, the right takes the Lanhui, the yellow stream surrounds the north, Kongtong blocks the south, according to the shoulders of the eight counties, the key to the three towns", "the road back to the middle is dangerous, Xiaoguan Fengwei is more", it is the place where the soldiers of the past dynasties must fight. It is located on the bank of the Qingshui River at the northern foot of Liupan Mountain on the Loess Plateau. It is located in the center of the triangle composed of the three provincial capitals of Xi'an, Lanzhou and Yinchuan, and is one of the five cities in Ningxia and the only non-Huangchuan city. It belongs to the ethnic minority area, the largest Hui nationality settlement in the country, and is the place where the green civilization and the Central Plains culture meet.

If the Red Star Column wants to quickly enter Gansu and rescue the Western Expeditionary Army, Guyuan is a place that absolutely cannot be bypassed. At the same time, in order to leave a way for his army to retreat, Ma Hongkui left an elite 60th Brigade of the 81st Division and the 2nd Brigade of the Qingma Cavalry here, with a total of four regiments and 5,000 troops. The generals stationed were Ma Hongkui's son-in-law, Colonel Ma Dianbang, regimental commander, Major General Deputy Brigade Commander Chen Yingquan, and Ma Hongkui's second son Ma Dunjing. His eldest son, Ma Dunhou, stayed in Yinchuan to guard the nest because he was the eldest son. The troops that went to Gansu to attack the Western Expeditionary Army were personally led by Ma Hongkui and personally drove the expedition.

Three days later, the cavalry army arrived in Guyuan in the afternoon, Zhao Kuwa's 23rd Division, a regiment of Zhong Wei, and nearly 20,000 troops of the 5th Cavalry Division, under the personal command of Xu Xiangqian, used cavalry to protect the flank, and Zhao Kuwa's 23rd Division as an attack arrow, all the way to Guyuan City.

Guyuan as a thousand-year-old city, and the military land, there are still a lot of tall city walls, relying on these ancient fortifications, and Ma Hongkui in order to keep the retreat specially strengthened a machine gun battalion, an artillery battalion, eight mortars and two mountain artillery Ma Jiajun can be able to stop the offensive of the Eighth Army.

Behind him is a large army, not as cautious as when the situation is evenly matched. Xu Xiangqian can naturally let go. The cavalry division left one regiment to monitor the cavalry in the city, and the rest of the troops cleaned up the towns and villages around Guyuan. As long as possible, the news of the westward advance of the large cavalry of the column was blocked for a long time. It's just that the old saying goes, changing the commander is like changing the knife. Xu Xiangqian and Zeng Zhongsheng still don't know enough about the Red Star Column, and they don't know much about Xu Zeng's command style. When the two sides cooperate, there is always a feeling that they can't show it.

Xu Xiangqian thought that the 23rd Division should take advantage of the defeat on the opposite side to take Guyuan in one fell swoop regardless of casualties, so he severely criticized Zhao Kuwa and others, but the combat style of the Eighth Army Corps was based on the "six tactical principles" that Xia Xinsheng had been strongly instilling. When the enemy is ready. On the contrary, when our army's foothold is unstable, such a battle cannot be fought. As the so-called enemy army defends, we must be ready to fight again. So why didn't Zhao Kuwa admit his mistake, and he said too much truth even to the stupidest of them, so he knew how to explain what Commander Xia had been emphasizing all along.

And Xu Xiangqian's point of view cannot be said to be wrong, time is life, the sooner the passage is knocked down at this time, the sooner the troops can enter Gansu. Moreover, our army has always fought under the condition of serious inferiority in firepower, and the four front armies used rolling wood, stone and bamboo sticks when the Sichuan army was besieging on the six roads. In hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, it is naturally not wrong to exchange life for life, not to mention that it is normal for Xu Shuai to worry about the situation of the Western political army. (During the revolutionary period, human life was not valuable, no matter how beautified it, most people were willing to exchange human lives for victory, not because of the difference in command ability, but because of the difference in the view of casualties in exchange for victory)

Xia Xinsheng was very helpless, and he couldn't give up the revolutionary feelings, so he gave up the excellent tactics he had been advocating. Xia Xinsheng asked the cavalry army to choose a place to hide, and Luo Ronghuan came to the headquarters outside Guyuan City. Xu Shuai is studying how to adjust the operational deployment. Zhao Kuwa was standing aggrieved on the side, watching Xia Xinsheng come in, and hurriedly said as if she had met a savior: "Commander, this is ......"

Xia Xinsheng waved his hand to stop Kuwa from talking. walked over and picked up the cup in front of Xu Xiang, poured it full of water, and handed it back, saying, "Hehe...... I'm sorry, the bitter baby is not sensible, and I've blocked you. ”

Xu Xiangqian took the water and said: "I took a closer look, I blamed him wrongly, the terrain of Guyuan is too conducive to defense, and the firepower is also very fierce, it is indeed reasonable to use your tactical principles." ”

Xia Xinsheng was stunned instead, pointed to Xu Xiangqian and then to Kuwazi, and asked, "What's the situation?" ”

Xu Xiangqian said with a smile: "I was anxious just now, and Master Zhao's insistence was right." I still underestimated the power of the tactical options proposed by Commander Xia. Guyuan's fortifications were stronger than we expected. The consequences of rashly pressing the whole army are unimaginable! ”

Xia Xinsheng pursed his lips and complained in his heart, the experience of so many people in exchange for their lives, and the summary of the military god have nothing to do with us. Besides, Xu Shuai is also growing, and he is still in an incomplete form. Second, there is no tacit understanding between the troops and themselves.

Xia Xinsheng smiled at Xu Xiangqian and said, "How is the army now?" ”

Xu Xiangqian said: "There are not many casualties, but the opponent's firepower is very fierce, and there are a lot of machine guns and artillery. ”

Xia Xinsheng looked at the hand-drawn city defense map on the table and said, "Then how are you going to fight now?" ”

Xu Xiangqian said slowly: "It is very difficult, and the speed of tunnel operation is too slow. I'm worried, too! ”

Xia Xinsheng was happy, and when the big handsome man missed, Xia Xinsheng smiled as happily as he saw the big star wearing the same style as himself.

It wasn't until Xu Xiangqian showed a neuropathic expression that he stopped his voice and said, "What do I say, we also have a cannon." ”

Xu Xiangqian said: "Our best is the mountain artillery, which has no effect on their city wall fortifications. I just tried it, and their cannons are hidden in the fortifications, and the treasure is not good, and the shells can't get in. The Flying Thunder Cannon has improved its range. ”

"I still have high technology, Kuwazi, hurry up and take someone to unload a few flying thunder cannons on the roof of the car, and then let Commander Zhao choose a few masters to come over." Xia Xinsheng said. (To be continued.) )