Jin Zhao took the telegram sent by the Wuyi Mountain Reading Master, and said excitedly, "Well done!" In this way, the equipment of my two artillery regiments is saved! Hehehe, the title of captain of Lao Jiang's transportation brigade is indeed well deserved! ”

Xu Wenqiang said with a smile, "The brothers in the cottage are also very happy, these mountain cannons are all authentic German goods!" Moreover, a lot of artillery shells have also been captured, but the number of artillery is a little less, and Division Commander Song asked if he could add another batch of artillery to them! ”

Jin Zhao couldn't help frowning and said, "Now that the Central Army has entered Fujian in a big way, the road has been blocked, and it is difficult for personnel to get through. So be it! Let's wait until this battle is over! Also, tell them not to take any action for the time being, and stay in the cottage honestly, waiting for orders! ”

On January 5, 1934, after completing the initial strategic deployment, Lao Chiang immediately commanded the Central Army to launch the Yanping Campaign, and the life-and-death decisive battle between the 19th Route Army and the Lao Chiang Central Army officially began.

Yanping is located in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River, is an important town in northern Fujian, surrounded by water on three sides, the northwest is high mountains, the south is Jiufeng Mountain, the terrain is dangerous, it is an important gateway to Fuzhou in northern Fujian, and it is a place where soldiers must fight since ancient times. Garrisoning Yanping was a regiment led by the commander of the Sixth Division of the People's Revolutionary Army, totaling more than 1,000 people, focusing on the defense of Jiufeng Mountain, Yuping Mountain, Fortress Mountain and urban areas. This Fifth Division was reorganized from the Second Brigade of the original Supplementary Division, and although one brigade was expanded into a division, there was basically no change in the strength of the division.

After Lao Jiang rushed from Pucheng to Jian'ou, Liu Heding immediately reported to him the enemy situation and terrain in Yanping. It turned out that Liu Heding once led troops to garrison Yanping, and even the fortifications outside Yanping City were built by Liu Heding back then, and Liu Heding knew everything about it. Lao Jiang, who was still worried that Yanping would not be easy to fight, was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately ordered Liu Heding's 56th Division, Leng Xin's 4th Division, and Song Xilian's 36th Division to besiege Yanping.

At 8 o'clock in the morning of the 5th, Chiang's army concentrated artillery fire on the positions of the defenders of Yanping, and then the three divisions participating in the Battle of Yanping launched an attack at the same time. Among them, the 36th Division attacked Jiufeng Mountain on the opposite bank of the south bank of the city, and the 56th and 4th Divisions attacked the front of Fortress Mountain and the high ground around Tiantai Mountain respectively. Under the command of Situ Fei, the defenders launched a fierce counterattack and successfully repelled the enemy's attack.

In the afternoon, Chiang's army launched a second attack. Song Xilian once again organized the main force to storm the main peak of Jiufeng Mountain, and the defenders hurriedly dispatched the defenders of other peaks to reinforce the main peak. As a result, Song Xilian took the opportunity to send troops to capture the fourth and fifth peaks of the lower mountains, and the commander of the defending battalion was killed. The command of the defenders failed, and Song Xilian's division captured Jiufeng Mountain in one go. At the same time, Liu Heding and Leng Xin also occupied the front of Fort Hill and the highlands around Tiantai Mountain respectively.

On the day of the outbreak of the Battle of Yanping, Jin Zhao, Xie Jinyuan, and Wang Geng put a large sand table in the war room and began to deduce. Wang Geng frowned and said, "Judging from this situation, even if there are no reinforcements, Situ Fei can hold out in Yanping for three to five days!" ”

Xie Jinyuan also nodded in agreement, "Situ Fei is a fierce general, coupled with the favorable terrain of Yanping City, even if the principal has more troops, he can't use it, so it won't be a problem for Yanping to defend for three or five days!" ”

At this moment, Xu Wenqiang walked in and handed a telegram to Jin Zhao, Jin Zhao couldn't help frowning after reading it, sighed and said, "Situ Fei led his troops to surrender, and Yanping was lost!" ”

"What?" Both let out an exclamation at the same time.

Jiufeng Mountain and other important places were captured, and Yanping lost its barrier. Situ Fei knew that it was difficult to hold on, so he sent the chief of staff out of the city at 6 p.m. to ask for surrender. Lao Jiang was overjoyed when he got the news, and the Battle of Yanping, which had planned to fight a tough battle in Yanping, ended in less than a day.

After the consent of Lao Chiang, Situ Feibu surrendered and was reorganized into a supplementary brigade, concentrated in the area of Xiaoshuimen. But unexpectedly, on January 10, Liu Heding, according to Lao Jiang's order, suddenly mobilized two regiments of troops, surrounded Situ Fei's department, forcibly disarmed, officers and soldiers were dismissed, and Situ Fei and other officers were temporarily detained! Of course, that's another story.

Jin Zhao shook his head helplessly and said, "Situ Fei has surrendered!" As he spoke, he handed the telegram to the two men. Wang Geng took the telegram and glanced at it, looked at the sand table in front of him and said loudly, "As soon as Yanping is lost, the Central Army will definitely take the opportunity to attack Shuikou, Gutian, Yanping, Shuikou, and Gutian, these three places are important barriers in Fuzhou, and now that Yanping has been lost, Shuikou and Gutian must not be lost again!" ”

Xie Jinyuan took the telegram and said in disbelief, "How is it possible! This Situ Fei is a fierce general, how could he surrender so easily? ”

Jin Zhao shook his head with a smile and said, "Hmph! You're talking about fighting devils! Now it's time to fight the civil war! What's more, in all the previous civil wars, the 19th Route Army unswervingly stood on the side of Lao Chiang, and this time it was difficult for some officers and soldiers to accept the sudden raising of the flag against Chiang, and it was inevitable that this situation would occur. ”

"But the Nineteenth Route Army was defeated too quickly, which was very detrimental to our plan." Wang Geng said with a frown. Because the strength of the Central Army was too strong, according to Wang Geng's idea, although he hoped that the 19th Route Army would be defeated in the end, he hoped that the 19th Route Army could try to consume Lao Jiang's strength. In this way, they have a greater chance of success, but they didn't expect the 19th Route Army to be defeated so quickly, which made Wang Geng a little worried, if the 19th Route Army collapsed on the whole front, it would be difficult to turn the tide with the strength in Jin Zhao's hands alone.

Jin Zhao was also embarrassed in his heart, and he always had a feeling of walking on thin ice. His plan is too risky, and if he is not careful, he may lose the whole game, and Jin Zhao can't be careless. Jin Zhao thought about it, sighed helplessly, and said, "Now I can only take one step at a time!" ”

At this moment, Xie Wanting walked in and handed a telegram to Jin Zhao. Jin Zhao took the telegram and read it, then handed the telegram to Wang Geng, "The military seat has already sent troops to support the front line, and Mao Weishou's Second Army and the Third Army are rushing to Gutian along the Great Lake through Xuefeng. Shen Guanghan's First Army and the First Division of the Third Army supported Shuikou along Baisha and sugar cane. And Chen Mingshu, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai and other major leaders also led the headquarters to Baisha to supervise the battle. At the same time, the military seat ordered us to assemble in Fuzhou with the 1st Division and the 4th Army to stand by. Jin Zhao briefly introduced the content of the telegram, and then kept silent, staring at Wang Geng and Xie Jinyuan.

Xie Jinyuan's eyes lit up, and he said in surprise, "Can we take this opportunity to occupy Fuzhou?" ”

"Enter and occupy Fuzhou." Jin Zhao couldn't help frowning, to be honest, he really didn't expect this just now. Now think about it carefully, according to Cai Tingkai's latest deployment, the first, second, third, and fifth armies have all rushed to the front line, and the fourth army is still in Zhangzhou and is preparing to go north. Now Fuzhou is only garrisoned by a small number of troops, and if Jin Zhao leads his army north, he will indeed be able to occupy Fuzhou. (To be continued.) )