On the last day of early February, the gunboat took off from Hangzhou carrying all the crew members and hitchhiker Zhou Changfeng and others, and arrived at Hanyang Airport after more than three hours of flight.
After returning to the army, the 1st Marine Regiment continued on the road, taking a train all the way west to Yiling Prefecture.
The Sichuan-Hankou Railway passes through Yiling Prefecture, which is very convenient for troop deployment.
Since the order from the Ministry of War has been issued, a large area from Guizhou in the west, Yuan'an County in the north, and Zhijiang County in the east has been designated as a military control area. Street intersections, train stations, and important transportation points in and out of the city have all been arranged. The military police.
As far as the eye could see, there were piles of sandbag bunkers and Yi'an Army soldiers with live ammunition.
"Martial law has been imposed. It seems that we are serious about it." Xie Wancheng got off the train, looked left and right, and said.
The Yi'an Army and the normal field troops are two different systems. If we insist on speaking, they should be regarded as today's "guard soldiers." Historically, after the garrison system was destroyed, the Ming Dynasty gradually adopted the camp system of recruiting soldiers on a large scale. Since then, the garrison system and the camp system have been in parallel.
Hou Ming naturally did not expect the guardsmen to be able to fight in the field, so they simply redefined their responsibilities - farming and training, and responsible for maintaining local security.
At the same time, they do not expect their military villages to feed back the crops. They can plant as much as they want and be self-sufficient for their own consumption.
Because the nature of the mission has completely changed, many guards have also been abolished. For example, Baoding Prefecture originally had five guards in Baoding, front, rear, left, right, and center. After that, there were only two guards left. After all, there is no need to maintain public order. Multiple people.
Since the founding of the Constitution, various military stations have been unified into the Yi'an Army, responsible for the security and defense of their respective defense areas.
Last year, when the Third Mixed Brigade passed the Nujiang Suspension Bridge on its way to Lingzhi, a Yi'an Army unit was stationed there.
In order to minimize the impact on the lives of the people in the urban area of Yiling Prefecture, Zhou Changfeng set up the regiment headquarters in a warehouse in the northern suburbs, and various units also camped nearby.
"This group of bandits disappeared after the last attack and hid in the mountains. Their movements have not been discovered yet." Zhao Hanfeng said.
The regiment headquarters has not yet been set up, and the communications platoon is still laying out telephone lines and switches, but the preliminary meeting has already been held.
"It's normal to avoid the limelight." Xue Can said disdainfully: "Now it's just a game of cat and mouse."
Everyone chattered for a while, but no one came up with the reason.
During this period, Zhou Changfeng had been studying the map. After a while, he picked up the baton and said: "There is nothing to say about the overall strategy. In order to expand the search area, we will spread out in teams, and each team will have one point." Two to ensure self-defense capabilities.”
If the number is too small, such as a platoon, it will be more likely to be ambushed in a hasty attack, so there must be more.
In order to further enhance his own firepower advantage, Zhou Changfeng temporarily borrowed 300 submachine guns and 100 automatic guns from the 14th Infantry Division of the Army stationed in Wuhan to ensure that each team has at least four or five automatic weapons. .
"...The four support plans and response plans have been decided like this, right? All ministries must read it clearly and remember it carefully."
After announcing the advance and suppression order, Zhou Changfeng suddenly thought of something, looked at Xie Wancheng, and asked: "The troops have just arrived and it is easy to get lost when rushing into the mountains. Are there any local people willing to be guides?"
The latter shook his head and replied regretfully: "I don't want to. The local people are as afraid of bandits as tigers. There are many people who have been killed and retaliated by bandits for more than ten years because of leading the way... We can't force them to go."
Fan Qijin frowned and asked: "Isn't it okay to be anonymous and cover your face?"
Yao Liangchuan glanced at him and replied helplessly: "You don't know, the thieves here really dare to massacre the whole village. More than ten years ago, at least three villages were massacred, and no one was spared, women and children. It was extremely miserable. .”
Everyone was silent.
"With such viciousness and cruelty, if he is caught later, can he not be sent to prison first?" Han Yi, the captain of the reconnaissance team, suddenly spoke.
Li Bin couldn't help laughing, and he joked: "What? Are you planning to burn them alive again?"
"If you learn well, you will definitely not die in our hands, but there are many options available without killing you."
"indeed."
Zhou Changfeng shook his head slightly, waved his hand and said, "It's useless to talk about this. The prerequisite for dealing with them is to discover them first."
In order to cooperate with the First Marine Regiment in going into the mountains to suppress the bandits, the Shannan Governor's Mansion also specially mobilized a military dog unit to help. There were six groups in total, twelve military dogs and more than twenty officers and soldiers.
However, since the smell remains for a limited time and will dissipate in a few hours, the prerequisite for military dogs to be useful is to be able to first detect traces of the bandits' recent activities and then track them all the way.
The military dog units of the Ming Army used many dog breeds, but they were usually dominated by Ha Si dogs, Qingchuan dogs, and Shaanxi fine dogs.
The Xiasi dog is produced in Majiang County, Guizhou. It has white coat, thick head, well-developed limbs, fast running speed, strong endurance and explosive power, and is a very excellent hunting dog.
The Qingchuan Dog is produced in Qingchuan County, Sichuan. It is also called the Hushan Dog. Its head is in the shape of an inverted triangle, and it is quite flexible, with good speed and endurance. The Shaanxi Fine Dog has a longer history, with a slender head and a slender body. Similarly They are good hunting dogs.
It can be said that this group of bandits headed by "Wan Tianhu" caused a big disaster. In order to completely eliminate them, the court spent a lot of money that was not in line with its scale.
Zhou Changfeng felt that we should not be careful in this regard. This kind of extremely harmful banditry should be dealt with as soon as possible no matter how much it costs. As a government, it would be too irresponsible if we still consider the cost.
On February 13, the two infantry divisions deployed on the outside were all in place, basically blocking the possibility of bandits escaping within a radius of several hundred miles, and the 1st Marine Regiment had also completed its preliminary reconnaissance.
The gunship, which had high hopes, has also been busy these days. It has been flying back and forth over the mountains, familiarizing itself with the terrain and areas based on the map.
At the same time, at the foothills northeast of the main peak of Lijia Mountain...
The trees and shrubs here are extremely dense, making it almost impossible to move through. You have to use a machete to cut and walk to get through.
However, a few figures were particularly unusual. They shuttled flexibly among them, as if they knew where there were pre-opened paths.
After walking along the path for hundreds of steps, it suddenly became clear that the bushes in a radius of dozens of meters had been cleared, and many trees had been cut down, making it look quite spacious.
There were twenty or thirty tents set up here, and there were bandits eating barbecue and drinking wine all the way. They were laughing and cursing constantly, and their weapons were neatly crossed and placed aside.
Further ahead is the mountain wall, but there is a cave here, which is neatly packed with beds, cabinets, and chairs.
"...In the past two days, government and military planes have been flying around in the sky. I'm afraid they are planning to make some big move."
A few leader-looking guys inside were talking, and then a short man came over.
As soon as he came in, he stepped forward quickly and said, "That's right. The brothers who went to investigate are back, and the army is about to enter the mountain."
The Chapter 2 card has been reviewed, so it will be later.
(End of chapter)
