When the Xijiang River goes from Guangdong to Guangxi, it must pass through the Zhaoqing Small Three Gorges, and the first gorge of the Small Three Gorges is the Antelope Gorge. The Antelope Gorge is bounded by Antelope Mountain to the north and Lanke Mountain to the south. The peaks on both sides of the gorge are more than 800 meters high. They are strange, precipitous, dangerous, majestic and beautiful. The gorge is dangerous and has always been a battleground for military strategists.
Just at the foot of the hillside outside the mouth of the gorge, there are two ancient temples facing each other from the north to the south. With the war now in chaos, no one will come to offer incense. But the two temples suddenly became lively inside and outside. The river in front of the temple is full of mighty gunboats, tugs with big water wheels, and transport ships of all sizes. These ships were loaded with armed soldiers, and under the canvas were cannons and baggage vehicles. On the simple pier made of long granite stones on the river bank, military boots were clanging, and all the people coming and going were Australian officers in crisp gray uniforms. Most of them had command knives hanging on their waists and telescopes hanging on their chests. Pointing at the river on the pier. Guards stood guard along the pier. Sandbags were set up on the pier and outside the temple, and artillery and typewriters were deployed.
Longhua Temple is now the brigade headquarters of the First Mixed Brigade, while Xiashan Temple across the river is the joint logistics station. Here is the base camp for the First Mixed Brigade to launch an attack on Zhaoqing.
Zhaoqing is almost entirely surrounded by mountainous areas, which caused great difficulties for the troops' mobility. Therefore, Zhaoqing has been the gateway to Guangdong and Guangxi and the transportation hub of Xijiang since ancient times. And Antelope Gorge is the key to this gate. After Xiong Wencan became the governor of Guangdong, in order to defend against the possible invasion of the Australians from the north, a new fort was built here, and hundreds of battalions and twelve Hongyi cannons were stationed.
Today the fort is still there, even intact. The planning institute's work team is organizing the prisoners to dismantle the cannons on the fort. The first mixed brigade did not even wait for the arrival of the river gunboat "Pearl River" responsible for fire support, and launched a landing operation against the fort with a small launcher. The crossfire of the Hongyi artillery located on both sides of the gorge is indeed very dangerous to the large ships passing here, but it is not easy to hit the target on the wide river surface using engine propulsion. None of the twelve Hongyi cannons hit their target. Although the Taiwanese soldiers fired five or six rounds of artillery fire at an extraordinary speed, the crossfire once posed a great threat to the small boat. But in the end they couldn't resist. After the infantry landed, they climbed up the mountain crest, used three volleys and hand-to-hand assaults to defeat hundreds of Ming troops covering the Taiwanese troops, and successfully captured the fort.
Although this battle was almost the same as the Humen battle a few years ago, the veteran officers of the 1st Mixed Brigade discovered the improvements of the Ming army. They were surprised to find on the fort that these guns had been changed from the common imitation Western naval gun mounts in the past to a unique millstone mount. Although this mount had no ball bearings, it was quite difficult to rotate. But it can also be seen that the Ming army introduced new ideas. The fort has also been improved. The high and thick stone wall fort that was difficult to observe and change the shooting range in the past has been changed to a terrace-type fort with a wider shooting range. In terms of combat, they have obviously learned from past experience and have specialized troops to protect the platform.
Zhu Mingxia was in the main hall of Longhua Temple, looking at the sand table model around Zhaoqing on the table. To be honest, the Zhaoqing Battle did not require complex tactical maneuvers - in fact, the continuous mountainous terrain in this area also made it difficult for the troops to carry out large-scale maneuver operations. The simplest and clearest strategy is to force the entire army to attack the Three Gorges by boat and attack Zhaoqing Fucheng.
Since ancient times, it has been difficult for Guangdong to attack Guangxi, but it is easier for Guangxi to attack Guangdong. The Xijiang River flows from Guangxi to Guangdong. As long as the Guangxi army goes down the river and breaks through the small Three Gorges natural barrier in Zhaoqing, it can go straight to the Pearl River Delta region, the essence of Guangdong. But if the Guangdong army wants to attack Guangxi, it must go upstream - if there are no trackers on their backs, the boats going up are almost It is impossible to pass through the Little Three Gorges.
For Fu Bojun, the natural dangers of the Little Three Gorges are not enough. Motorized boats travel upstream, and the water depth in the Little Three Gorges is sufficient to allow river gunboats to reach the bottom of Zhaoqing City.
Although according to the reconnaissance report, the Ming army in Zhaoqing had a navy battalion, its total strength was only more than 1,200, and its ships were only more than 100, and most of them were small boats of 100 tons suitable for inland navigation. If the river fleet meets head-on, it will definitely lose.
From this point of view, what means will the Ming army use to intercept them? Zhu Mingxia knew that Zhaoqing was an important support point for the Ming army in Guangdong and Guangxi. Losing Zhaoqing meant losing Guangdong. If Xiong Wencan wanted to answer to the court, he had to hold on to this place. Otherwise, not only would his life be in danger, but his life would be in danger.
He recalled the report written by Thorpe and Cummings after their staff trip last year, which specifically mentioned that Xiong Wencan had participated in the Battle of Chengmai and was a prisoner of the Senate. Since there is such a person, Xiong Wencan is not ignorant of the Fubo Army's combat power and combat characteristics, and will inevitably take certain countermeasures.
To be honest, I'm quite looking forward to it. Zhu Mingxia didn't think he had such an idea.
If the war continues to be this unchallenging, the army they have built, carefully trained and armed will soon degenerate into an out-and-out security force. Zhu Mingxia thought with worry. Without fierce large-scale battlefield confrontations, soldiers will become more and more lazy about war, and it won't be long before they will be unable to compete in high-intensity wars.
As a commander, he is very willing to fight several head-to-head battles and big battles to train his troops, instead of the current almost marching-style "combat".
However, the Ming army in Zhaoqing only had a few thousand people at best, and Xiong Wencan had no time to mobilize the troops of the Fang Yao generals from Guangxi and Dongxishan. The only troops he could directly command were the 1,200 officers and soldiers under the general command of the Zhaoqing Naval Battalion, his own supervisors of 300 to 400 people, and the Zhaoqing Guards Corps. This guard army is said to have more than 3,300 flag troops, but they are distributed in the counties under the jurisdiction of Zhaoqing Prefecture. The only ones around Zhaoqing Prefecture are Caowandu Baoguangtun in Zuoqianhusuo and Yanqiandu in Youqianhusuo. villages. The banner troops in these camps were already weak and many fled. It would be good if one or two hundred people could be mobilized.
"Comrade Brigadier, Commander of the Third Battalion Zhu Quanxing is here." The guard came to report.
"Invite him in."
Zhu Quanxing strode into the hall and saluted: "Comrade Brigadier——"
Zhu Mingxia waved his hand, indicating that he was not welcome.
"How is the situation in the camp?"
"I've been on the boat for too long, and my body is a little stiff. I went ashore and did some exercise and moved my body, and I feel a lot better."
"Is there anyone sick?"
"More than twenty. The symptoms are not serious."
"The reconnaissance team came back just now and has confirmed that there are no other forts in Antelope Canyon."
Zhu Mingxia was originally worried that the Ming army would set up forts in the narrowest part of the canyon - the width of the river here is only 200 meters - which is within the effective range of the Hongyi cannon. If the Ming army set up forts on the hills on both sides, it would It poses a serious threat to ships on the river.
Even if the Hongyi cannon fires solid iron bullets, hitting a small ship like a three-shot boat at a distance of less than 200 meters is enough to cause serious damage, not to mention that it is full of people - it will really cause blood and flesh to fly. .
As for the entire Antelope Gorge, except for the open river at both ends, the average width of the river is only about 300 meters at most. Setting up forts at any location can pose a serious threat to ships on the river.
However, according to the report of the General Reconnaissance Bureau, except for the forts on both sides of the entrance and exit of the Antelope Gorge, there are no forts in other areas. The mountains in the Antelope Canyon are steep, and there are no roads except for a narrow towpath. You can imagine the difficulty of transporting large artillery up the mountainside. It is understandable that the Ming army failed to set up defenses here.
However, Zhu Mingxia was still worried and sent a brigade reconnaissance company to conduct reconnaissance in this area.
"However, during the reconnaissance, the scouts discovered that the enemy had a plan to use fire attacks." Zhu Mingxia picked up the pointer and pointed at the sand table on the table. "The scouts reported that the enemy had assembled more than a hundred troops at the east entrance of Dading Gorge. Small civilian ships are piled with straw and tung oil."
Zhu Quanxing frowned slightly. Using the fire attack ship was indeed a threat to him. The river surface in the canyon is narrow and the current is turbulent. The key is that the enemy can use fire attack ships to go down the river, but their ships are going upstream, and their maneuverability will be very poor. It will also become more difficult to use a motor boat to tow the fire ship away.
"This Antelope Gorge is no better than when we fought on the Pearl River in the past. The water is slow and the river is wide." Zhu Quanxing said, "The enemy is upstream, and the water in the canyon is so fast..."
"So I discussed it with Commander Mond of the Pearl River Task Force." Zhu Mingxia said, "The attack is postponed for one day. Today, the fleet will pass through the canyon first and eliminate those fire attack ships."
"Is there enough time?" Zhu Quanxing was a little worried, "The plan requires us to capture Zhaoqing within seven days, but now half of the time has passed..."
"I think it's about right. How long does it take to cross Antelope Gorge? I think one hour is enough. I'll give you another four hours to capture Zhaoqing. The brigade headquarters will be able to enter Zhaoqing tomorrow night."
"It's nothing, but if the navy ends the battle in half a day, I can capture Zhaoqing before dark today."
"You can take it down at night, but we don't dare to transport the jars and jars here at night. We might as well do it early tomorrow morning."
"Okay." Zhu Quanxing nodded, "I'll go back and tell the troops to get ready."
"The military headquarters has allocated a siege artillery company and a rocket company to our brigade. I will strengthen them for your battalion - Zhaoqing is a prefectural city, and the city defense is much stronger than that of ordinary cities. It is also Xiong Wencan's home base, and the enemy's resistance may not be possible. It will be more intense.”
"Forget it about the Rocket Company. One mistake will burn the city down. I still have to take care of the firefighting and relief work."
"To be prepared, we should give them some practice. We also need to let the troops experience more coordinated attacks with rifles and artillery." rbsp;