Volume 2 King of the Northwest Chapter 36: Northern Expedition (I)
The war was moving towards its end step by step with both sides on the verge of a showdown.
Feng Guozhang arrived in Beijing on August 1, announced his inauguration as acting president on the 6th, and the Beijing government officially declared war on Germany and Austria on August 14.
On August 18, Sun Yat-sen convened a meeting of members of Congress at Huangpu Park in Guangzhou and decided to hold an extraordinary meeting in Guangdong.
On the 25th, an extraordinary meeting opened in Guangzhou and decided to organize a government.
On September 1, Sun Yat-sen was elected as the Grand Marshal, and Tang Jiyao and Lu Rongting were elected as Marshals. Before the Provisional Constitution was restored, the executive power was held by the Grand Marshal, who represented the Republic of China externally.
On September 10, Sun Yat-sen took office as the Grand Marshal of the Navy and the Army in Guangzhou.
On September 29, Feng Guozhang ordered the organization of the Senate and also issued an arrest warrant for Sun Yat-sen.
On October 6, the Guangzhou Military Government ordered troops to be dispatched to Hunan and appointed Cheng Qian as the commander-in-chief of the Law-Protecting Army in southern Hunan. Finally, the civil war broke out.
"Marshal, I just received a telegram in which Yu Youren and Zhang Xun announced the organization of the Shaanxi National Defense Army. Yu Ren is the commander-in-chief, Zhang is the deputy commander-in-chief, Hu Jingyi is the commander of the right wing, Gao Jun is the commander of the left wing, and Jing Xiuyue is the commander of the rear."
Shen Qianxuan took two steps at a time and ran to Dai Jiliang and handed him a telegram.
"Now Zhang Xun has arrived in Suide."
"This old thief is quite cunning."
Dai Jiliang took it, glanced at it casually, then crumpled it into a ball and threw it on the ground. Zhang Xun entered Shaanxi from Shanxi, which made Guo Bingchang's surveillance come to nothing.
"Chief Shen, please send a message to Premier Duan in Beijing for me. The Kuomintang is splitting the territory. Zhixiang cannot tolerate this. Twenty thousand Tiger Soldiers will march north today to save the Golden Bowl without a single casualty."
Then he looked up at Song Cheng beside him.
"Ze Gang, tell everyone here the information you have."
"According to the intelligence the Intelligence Department has now, the total number of Shaanxi's militia is about 15,000, divided into three routes: left, right, and rear. However, they are short of food and ammunition, and even rifles can only meet one-third of the requirements."
Song Cheng stood in front of the map holding a baton and introduced it to all the brigade and regiment officers who participated in the combat meeting.
"The right wing was mainly composed of 7,000 people from the six regiments temporarily expanded by Hu Jingyi's troops, the left wing was composed of 6,000 people from the five regiments led by Gao Jun, Cao Shiying, Fan Zhongxiu, Li Huchen, Feng Ziming, etc., and the rear wing was composed of 2,000 people organized into two regiments led by Dong Zhenwu and Lu Zhankui, which were the Yulin garrison troops led by Jing Xiuyue himself."
"Everyone knows who the enemy is."
Dai Jiliang waited for Song Cheng to stop, then stood up.
"The militia has two tigers. What a big mouth! I don't believe it. If they are tigers, then our Shaanxi army should be Wu Song!"
Dai Jiliang's words caused everyone to laugh.
"The operational plan in front of you is the result of several discussions between the Chief of Staff and me. You can take a closer look."
All at once, the conference room was filled with the sound of shuffling papers.
"I won't say any more nonsense."
Seeing that everyone had almost finished reading, Dai Jiliang gave the final order with a stern face.
"It is now 1:00 p.m. on October 7, the sixth year of the Republic of China. Tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m., the left and right detachments will move out immediately!"
"I am willing to die for you, Marshal!"
Everyone in the conference room stood up at the same time, and as the Hunan Civil War broke out, the Shaanxi Civil War also followed.
The first to attack was the right detachment.
As soon as the war broke out, the right detachment attacked towards Tongzhou with a company of 3-pound guns from the 2nd Artillery Regiment and the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Brigade, intending to cut off the connection between the militia and Shanxi, and to move north along the west bank of the Yellow River to encircle Yichuan.
Just when Chen Youliang, commander of the Fourth Regiment, saw the city wall of Hancheng through his telescope, a team of more than 300 militia cavalry suddenly appeared on his flank.
“Damn it!”
The commanders of both sides cursed almost in unison. The advantage of the militia was the greater mobility of their cavalry, while the advantage of the Shaanxi army was their large numbers and strong firepower.
"It should be Fan Zhongxiu's team."
Based on the report from the Intelligence Department, the staff of the Second Regiment immediately concluded that the cavalry that could appear at the moment could only be this enemy.
"Order the fourth and fifth companies to block the enemy on the spot, and order the machine gun company to deploy immediately!"
The Fourth Regiment was now in a two-pronged marching formation, with the front and rear stretched out very long, which was not conducive to combat at all, so Chen Youliang made a prompt decision.
At the command, the blue-gray soldiers carrying backpacks fell to the ground, either lying or kneeling, and a thin skirmish line was formed in just a few minutes.
"Order the rest of the troops to outflank from both wings."
"There are too many dogs, brothers, retreat quickly!"
Seeing that the Shaanxi Army's formation was changing quickly, the militiamen, knowing that they could not gain an advantage, fired a few bullets from a distance and tried to run away. However, due to this delay, the Shaanxi Army's machine guns had already been deployed, and the crisp copper sounds rang out, instantly knocking down more than a dozen militiamen who were guarding the rear.
“Stop shooting!”
Watching the militia running away without looking back, Chen Youliang frowned and gave orders.
"Don't worry about them, seize Hancheng immediately!"
"Captain, what if this group of Kuomintang members slips through our gap and attacks the flank of the main force of the detachment?"
The regiment's staff immediately put forward his own opinions.
"In my humble opinion, we should immediately send people to block the entrance of the earth gate. The mountains in the northwest are rugged and the enemy is mostly mounted bandits. They will not abandon their horses and leave them alone ."
"That makes sense."
Chen Youliang looked at the lieutenant named Zhang Xuelian, the third term in Baoding and his post in Yizheng, Jiangsu. These two key indicators made him agree with the other party's opinion without hesitation.
"I give you a company and a machine gun. Can you hold it?"
"Report to the captain, I will not stop until I die."
You have to know that the 4th Regiment only has four machine guns, and being able to give one is already a great trust in us.
"Very good, Captain Sun!"
Chen Youliang made the decision immediately.
"Your company is now under the command of Staff Officer Zhang."
Chen Youliang was also careful. This company commander was the only lieutenant company commander in the Fourth Regiment, which avoided the problem of different responsibilities.
"Guard the Tumen Gate and ensure the connection with Hancheng. If you can't do it, you will be beheaded!"
"yes!"
Soon a company of troops separated from the brigade, and the remaining troops, except for leaving half a supply company and half an infantry company in Hancheng, continued to advance northward.
If the initial battle in Hancheng was just a few simple shots, the resistance encountered by the left detachment in Fengyuan, south of Huanglong, was much more intense.
More than 3,000 militiamen actually fought against the Shaanxi Army, and the situation was extremely tragic at one point.
"Asshole, the militia is out of control."
Ma Kang's face turned red. For three hours, except for the 9th Regiment of the 3rd Brigade which was the reserve, his two regiments took turns attacking. They used large and small artillery as if they were free and fired half of the base, but they still could not break into the town in front of them. The militia, who were only armed with big knives and red tasseled spears, rushed out from time to time to snatch the guns of the fallen and lonely Shaanxi soldiers. How could this scene not make the self-proclaimed most capable general in the Shaanxi Army extremely angry.
"It looks like we've caught a big fish."
Dai Jiliang went to the left detachment, so Zhang Zili came to the right detachment.
"Xiaoyou, you can't fight like this!"
Zhang Zilii should not have interfered with the commander's command authority, but in the current situation Ma Kang obviously lost his due judgment, so he turned around twice and issued new combat orders in the name of the Shaanxi Army Chief of Staff.
"Order the 5th and 6th Regiments to retreat and reorganize, and bring the 9th Regiment forward. Remember how the Marshal defeated Brigadier General Zhang? Push the two-pound and three-pound guns to direct firing distance, calibrate the firing parameters of the six-pound and 75-millimeter guns, and prepare the machine guns to suppress the enemy's firepower."
Following Zhang Zilii's order, the deployment of the right detachment began to adjust. The 5th and 6th Regiments of the Shaanxi Army withdrew to the periphery and surrounded the town with a loose encirclement line. A total of twelve machine guns were densely packed on the attack front of less than one kilometer. This density was a record in the country. Obviously, Zhang Zilii was going to overkill.
More than 800 combat soldiers of the 9th Regiment crossed the artillery and machine gun positions and all lay on the ground outside the range of the militia.
"What are these bastards doing?"
Li Huchen asked Gao Jun beside him in a loud voice, the elite of the Kuomintang's left wing are all here. If they are defeated here, even if there are more than 3,000 people left, they will be nothing more than a mob that is even more vulnerable.
"The Beiyang dog is crawling."
Gao Jun hid in the gap of the town wall. The artillery fire of the Shaanxi Army just now was not ineffective. This side of the town wall had completely lost its original function.
"Don't shoot randomly."
It turned out that a militiaman who had just seized the Shaanxi Army's guns and bullets was quick in his action. Unfortunately, the bullet passed over the heads of the crawling Shaanxi Army without any effect, and finally lost its kinetic energy and sank weakly into the mud.
"Wait until the dog gets close before you fight."
Gao Jun did this to save the limited number of bullets that the militia had. If they had not taken , more than half of the militia's guns would now be unable to fire.
Even so, many fast-moving guns still lose their effectiveness due to incompatible bullets.
“Watch me!”
However, Gao Jun's ban had no effect on Li Huchen. He just raised his hand sideways and casually flicked it. Long flames jumped out of the muzzle of the twenty-shot self-loading rifle. In the militia without heavy weapons, this short gun that could fire continuously played the same role as a machine gun.
The bullets jumped and bit the opponent's flesh at a clever angle. Immediately, screams were heard among the Shaanxi Army. Unfortunately, at this distance, the power of the pistol bullet was still too small. Most of the Shaanxi Army still gritted their teeth and crawled forward regardless.
"Good! Good fight!"
Thunderous cheers suddenly broke out among the militia. It was obvious that Li Huchen's move greatly boosted their morale.
However, the cheers of the militia had not yet completely ended when the shells from the Shaanxi Army's 6-pound and 75-millimeter guns came crashing down with sharp sounds.
"Everyone is in hiding."
Before Gao Jun finished his words, a shotgun shell exploded in the air, scattering hot shrapnel everywhere, instantly knocking down more than a dozen militiamen.
"Be careful, the dog is coming."
Gao Jun lowered his body, but just a dozen seconds seemed like a lifetime. Finally, the Shaanxi Army's artillery stopped. When he looked up, he saw the combat soldiers of the 9th Regiment of the Shaanxi Army leaping up and rushing towards him.
"Hit him!"
After about a minute, sporadic gunshots from the militia's counterattack were heard, but Gao Jun was horrified to find that the Shaanxi Army had suddenly disappeared again.
"not good!"
Before he could give the order, the machine guns of the Shaanxi Army lined up in a row opened fire. The dense bullets were like a big net. All the militiamen caught in it fell to the ground without even a reaction.
"Bayonet!"
The machine gun stopped after firing half a chain of ammunition. Peng Yuefeng, the commander of the 9th Regiment of the Shaanxi Army, shouted loudly, and it seemed as if a .
"Follow me!"
The deputy commander of the 9th Regiment, Lieutenant Yang Zhen, who was from Yichang, Hubei and a member of the third term of Baoding , took the lead rushed forward.
"What a bunch of bastards!"
Ma Kang didn't know whether he was scolding his own men or the militia on the opposite side. From the telescope, he could see that the battle line was clearly inside the town.
"Brother Xiaoyou, tell the 5th and 6th Regiments to be careful. If the Kuomintang escapes from the north, you will not only lose face."
Zhang Zilii put down the telescope and patted Ma Kang on the shoulder.
"If they dare, I will skin them alive."
Having said that, Ma Kang still hurried out.
"Telegraph operator, record, we have conquered Feng Yuan at 4:00 p.m. on the 10th. Huanglong County can be taken tomorrow!"
Zhang Zilii gave the order with a grim look on his face!
