Chapter 316 Emergency Telegram
"Stop, stop, stop, Xiao Qin, what you're saying is making me more and more confused.
Originally, we wanted to capture Ping'an County, but Kong Jie and I both thought that it would be unlikely to capture Ping'an County with the strength of our four regiments.
The main reason why this is unlikely is the 11th Brigade. The New 2nd Regiment, which is responsible for blocking the Japanese 11th Brigade, will find it difficult to buy enough time for the siege troops.
Later, you and Lao Li said that you could capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold in a short period of time. Although I don’t know what method you plan to use, if you don’t tell me, I won’t ask.
I believe in you.
And now, after knowing that there are several more field artillery in Zhangzhuang stronghold, you still haven't changed your plan.
This shows that the method you and Lao Li used to capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold has little to do with the combat effectiveness of the defenders in the Zhangzhuang stronghold.
In any case, with the combat effectiveness of our four regiments, if we only attack the Zhangzhuang stronghold and Ping'an County alone, it will definitely be a piece of cake.
But the problem now is that the biggest problem in attacking Ping'an County is the Japanese 11th Brigade stationed in Shuiquan.
In my opinion, facing the Japanese 11th Brigade, it would be difficult for us to stop them, let alone provoke them.
And now you are proposing to destroy the Japanese 11th Brigade at the same time.
Xiao Qin, the vanguard regiment has great combat effectiveness. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the first regiment of our Eighth Route Army.
But no matter how powerful the Vanguard Regiment is, it is just a regiment.
Having confidence is a good thing, but having too much confidence is not a good thing.
To put it bluntly, Xiao Qin, we should all know our own strengths and weaknesses.
Once the Japanese 11th Brigade rushes into the Ping'an County area, all our previous efforts will be in vain.
Not only will all our work be in vain, but even our four regiments may be surrounded.
Xiao Qin, you don’t know how serious the consequences are, do you?
Once our four regiments suffer heavy losses or are surrounded by the Japanese, the situation in this large area will be reversed in an instant.
The slight advantage gained by our Eighth Route Army will be wiped out.
By then, even if the four of us had eight heads, it wouldn't be enough to chop off.
If other troops are implicated, whether it is you Qin Yangming, or me Ding Wei, Kong Jie, or Li Yunlong, the four of us will become sinners of the Eighth Route Army.
Yes, I admit that every war is a risky action. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.
I understand this principle too.
But now the risks we face are very high, and the benefits are also really great.
But do we have the ability to get this benefit?
Without sufficient strength, rashly launching a battle that is far beyond your ability is not taking a risk, that is fucking calling for death.
Xiao Qin, the battle is not that big. "
Listening to what Qin Yangming said, Ding Wei was very confused. He simply went over Qin Yangming's words from the beginning. After sorting out everything clearly, he expressed his analysis bit by bit.
In short, Ding Wei was trying his best to stop Qin Yangming from provoking the Japanese's 11th Brigade.
In Ding Wei's opinion, the combat effectiveness of their four regiments was not enough to swallow up the Japanese 11th Brigade after capturing the county seat of Ping'an County.
Being able to eat is a good thing.
But if you eat too much, not only will you not be able to digest what you eat, you may also end up eating too much and die.
Now, in Ding Wei's view, Qin Yangming is a guy who doesn't know how much he can eat and is about to eat himself to death.
"Captain Ding, don't worry, when have you ever seen me, Qin Yangming, not fight an unprepared battle?
Why would I do something that I'm not sure of?
I would feel heartbroken if the vanguard regiment lost a soldier, let alone sending the entire vanguard regiment to be devoured by the Japanese.
Since I said I wanted to defeat the Japanese's 11th Brigade, I naturally had my preparations.
Captain Ding, look at this map. This is the map left by Samurai Cunkou. It includes military maps of most areas such as Shuiquan, Gucheng County, and Ping'an County, as well as part of the terrain of the Yizhong area. "
Listening to Ding Wei's words, although Ding Wei's words were a bit impolite, Qin Yangming didn't care.
This is human nature, and Ding Wei is also analyzing from his own perspective for the sake of everyone.
There was nothing wrong with what Ding Wei said. Since there was nothing wrong, why should he care about it?
Is it because Ding Wei’s words were a little harsh?
But good words often don’t sound good.
Besides, Ding Wei is not the political chief, he is the military chief.
After answering Ding Wei's question, Qin Yangming unfolded the map in its entirety, then pointed at the map and began to tell Ding Wei his thoughts.
Ding Wei thought Qin Yangming's words made sense.
Qin Yangming had indeed never fought a battle without preparation.
So Ding Wei also wanted to see what Qin Yangming thought.
"Captain Ding, since you came from the Yizhong Military Region, you should have come from this side. What is the terrain of this place like? Is it the same as on the map?"
After saying that, Qin Yangming pointed to the high ground he found and asked Ding Wei.
"The terrain here? Let me take a look... No, absolutely not!"
Ding Wei looked at the place Qin Yangming was pointing at and instantly understood what Qin Yangming was thinking.
"Xiao Qin, you are not planning to lure the Japanese 11th Brigade here, then dig up the riverbank upstream of the Dongzhang River, and finally use the river water to force the Japanese 11th Brigade to this high ground, and then bombard it, right?
I tell you, this method absolutely won’t work!
The Dongzhang River slopes downward from here to the northeast, and only the Song River has a slightly higher terrain.
However, if the water flow is not controlled and all rushes into the Song River, once an unexpected situation occurs, the Song River may burst its banks. At that time, the water from the two rivers will flow down and submerge the entire Gucheng County.
Xiao Qin, there are still many ordinary people in Gucheng County, and there are still many farmlands in Gucheng County, where a lot of grain is grown.
In addition to the grain collected by the Japanese, a lot of grain will be taken away by our Eighth Route Army.
When I was in the Yi Zhong Military Region, there was a tacit understanding between Gucheng County and the Japanese that no one was allowed to destroy the farmland in Gucheng County, and each family would get half of the grain.
My colleagues and I thought that because of the special location of Gucheng County, the Japanese were more restrained here. In other words, the common people here were not arrested and relocated on a large scale by the Japanese.
If the two rivers burst their banks, what will happen to the people in Gucheng County?
We can't possibly send another troop to Gucheng County to evacuate the people, right? If we go there to evacuate the people, the Japanese are not fools and will definitely guess our intentions. At that time, the Japanese 11th Brigade can choose to retreat, or bypass the upper reaches of the Dongzhang River and launch an attack from the north. It just takes more time.
If the Japanese launch an attack from here, without the upper reaches of the Dongzhang River and the Song River as defensive fortifications, what can we use to resist the Japanese 11th Brigade?
Especially the New 2nd Regiment, which was responsible for resisting the Japanese 11th Brigade.
In such a small area, it would be difficult to hold out for even one or two hours, let alone three or four hours.
If the terrain was not inclined, this place could be said to be completely flat, extremely suitable for large troops to carry out operations.
No matter how powerful the Japanese's 11th Brigade is, it still has 7,000 to 8,000 combat troops.
This area can accommodate at least 3,000 troops to conduct combat operations.
The new second regiment had only more than a thousand people.
How could the New Second Regiment withstand the Japanese attack?
If this is your idea, Xiao Qin, I absolutely disagree and I am against it. "
Who is Ding Wei? As soon as Qin Yangming pointed to the location on the map, Ding Wei knew what Qin Yangming was going to do.
It's nothing more than wanting to replicate the last attack on Qinghe County.
But the situation this time is very different from that in Qinghe County.
Qinghe County is located at the junction of grassland and plateau. Although the terrain is flat, it is close to the northwest inland and is basically desertified land.
Then there is a small population and little farmland.
In addition, the river embankment that Li Yunlong blew up was not very high.
Less than a hundred meters.
Even if the river water washes down, the long distance is enough to slow down the momentum of the river water. In addition, the properties of the soil itself and the assistance of the old river channel, so the harm is relatively not that great.
In other words, it will take a few years of clearing the farmland in Qinghe County before it can be replanted again.
However, there are not many farmlands in Qinghe County, and most of the soil is poor. Even if there is no farmland to supplement Qinghe County, it will not be a big problem.
But it’s different in Gucheng County.
Gucheng County is located in a gap in the Taihang Mountains.
During the rainy season, due to the terrain, the water veins in the Taihang Mountains will carry the nutrients in the Taihang Mountains into Gucheng County.
So the arable land in Gucheng County is all good land, and very fertile.
It can even be said to be the granary of the Shuiquan area.
Because the grain harvested in the entire Gucheng County can be said to account for a quarter of the entire Shuiquan area!
And because Gucheng County has a flat terrain, it is easy to cultivate arable land and plant crops...
If the arable land in Gucheng County was destroyed, what would the Taihang Military Region use to fill the food gap?
Up to now, their Taihang Military District has only just managed to meet its own food needs.
Therefore, whether from a military perspective or a livelihood perspective, Ding Wei does not recommend using this method to attack Gucheng County.
"Captain Ding, don't worry, even if the worst result comes, at most half of Gucheng County's arable land will be destroyed.
Our goal is just to use the river water to force the Japanese 11th Brigade to this high ground.
As long as we plug the hole in time, everything will be fine, right?
No, look here, this location, isn't this a ravine? If the Song River also bursts its banks, I will blast this location open and divert the river water directly into this ravine. At that time, the river water can still converge into the original river channel of the Song River.
Since I have proposed this method, I must have thought about the consequences.
The worst possible outcome would be problems with the arable land in Gucheng County.
But if we eliminate the Japanese in Shuiquan, then there will be no problem with food in Gucheng County, right?
Although Gucheng County provided a lot of food, most of it was taken away by the Japanese and provided to other troops.
In other words, the grain produced in other parts of Shuiquan is definitely enough for the people in the Shuiquan area to eat.
And because there is a Shuiquan Coal Mine in Shuiquan, the people here do not all make a living by digging in the fields.
I asked Saburo Murakuchi, and he said that most of the grain in Gucheng County was sent directly to Shuiquan after harvesting, and then transported by train to Yi Province to be turned into military rations, and then transported to Manchuria or the battlefield in the south.
So even if half of the arable land is lost, it’s not a problem.
What's more, not all the arable land was destroyed.
By then, we can get more cows, plow the land a few more times, and apply some fertilizer. The land will be ready in two years at the latest, or even less.
The reason why it takes two years to cultivate the land in Qinghe County is that the land itself is barren, and the river water carries a large amount of sand, so it takes two or three years to cultivate the land again.
But it’s different in Gucheng County. The land in Gucheng County is very fertile, and what is washed down from the mountain is not sand or something, but soil.
At that time, we will arrange for people to sow some grass seeds, and when autumn comes, we will set a fire and the land will recover again by the next year.
Captain Ding, I also know that you are worried about what to do if after I break the dam, the Japanese 11th Brigade does not go to this high ground, but chooses to retreat directly?
Hahaha, Captain Ding, don't forget that the terrain of Gucheng County is easy to attack but difficult to defend no matter which direction you attack from.
The Japanese troops in Gucheng County were not numerous, just a few dozen and some puppet troops.
At that time, even if the Japanese 11th Brigade came from Gucheng County, it would be impossible for them to leave their baggage in Gucheng County.
Therefore, the Japanese 11th Brigade was likely to carry those baggage with them.
If the Yizhong Military Region is in charge then..."
"Captain Qin, Captain Ding, an urgent telegram from the brigade commander!"
Just as Qin Yangming was explaining his plan to Ding Wei in detail, Wei Dayong, who was on guard duty, held up a telegram and shouted loudly to Qin Yangming and Ding Wei in the artillery tower.
After hearing the emergency telegram, Ding Wei and Qin Yangming looked up at the same time, then quickly ran to the door of the artillery tower and took the emergency telegram sent by the brigade commander from Wei Dayong.
Originally, Ding Wei and Qin Yangming were worried that something might have happened to someone, so the brigade commander sent an urgent telegram.
But after seeing the content of the telegram, Qin Yangming burst out laughing.
(End of this chapter)
