Sometimes things are actually very dramatic, and that was the case at Nanfengkou on this day. Each of the little stories made people laugh or cry, some were ridiculous and some were heavy, but all of them were wonderful.
First, when a staff officer of the Dahua Army was helping Tang Jun sort out documents at Nanfengkou, he saw a telegram from the Imperial Capital sent by a Dahua officer in the telegraph room that was still working.
The Tang Army's staff officer was very surprised. He really didn't know that the Dahua garrison's own telegraph machine was still working. So he took the telegram from the hands of the strange-looking Dahua officer who had surrendered and read the contents.
The above content is ironic, as it was sent by Feng Kezhi himself. The telegram asked Ding Hong to fulfill his duties without making any judgment and just stick to Nanfengkou.
The message also said that he would order Qian Jinhang to break out of the encirclement. By then, the pressure from the Tang army would be shifted to the east of Lijiacun, and the Nanfeng Pass would be much safer... As long as Ding Hong can hold the Nanfeng Pass, it will be a great achievement.
It is a pity that Nanfengkou, which Feng Kezhi tried to protect, has surrendered at this moment. Ding Hong got his wish and got 100,000 gold coins. Now he is sitting in the car heading north to Tengyun, looking at the check and humming a song, thinking about the happy life in the future.
This is not a small sum of money, but Redman is willing to compensate Ding Hong for the sacrifice he made in offering Nanfengkou: Ding Hong's whole family is still in the imperial capital, and it is estimated that these people will probably never enjoy any glory and wealth again.
Of course, considering the entire war situation, both Redman and Tang Mo felt it was worthwhile to spend a small amount of 100,000 gold coins to solve the Nanfengkou problem.
At least if they can capture Nanfengkou without any bloodshed, all the strategic goals of the Tang Army will be achieved. As long as Qian Jinhang's headquarters is besieged and a small force is sent to the southern oil fields, all problems can be solved.
After seeing this telegram, Redman finally asked Tang Mo for instructions, but he very kindly responded with a telegram stating the fact that Nanfengkou was controlled by the Tang Army.
In fact, after his telegram was thrown into the sea, Feng Kezhi roughly guessed some clues, and he even ordered the entire army to change the password.
As a result, just when the Dahua troops were changing their passwords like crazy, Feng Kezhi received a message from his opponent. Redman sent a telegram to Feng Kezhi in his own name, telling him that he had captured Nanfengkou.
Later, Feng Kezhi responded to Redman's message very gracefully, sending only two words: "Congratulations."
However, it later turned out that Feng Kezhi's demeanor was only on the surface: after he called back and sent the words congratulations to Redman, he sent a telegram in less than 20 seconds, ordering the garrison in the southern oil fields to blow up all of production facilities.
It is a pity that the war has reached its current state, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Tang army has the advantage.
If you don't find more ways out for yourself at this time and prepare more chips, wouldn't you be a fool? So the deputy commander of the Dahua army stationed in the southern oil fields launched a mutiny, killed the general who wanted to carry out Feng Kezhi's order, and sent a surrender messenger.
Of course, this is all a thing for another day. Redman, who is still immersed in the joy of occupying Nanfengkou, does not know that the southern oil fields are actually rumored.
Moreover, conversely, the occupation of Nanfengkou was not as smooth as imagined. Although the vast majority of the Dahua troops laid down their weapons and did not resist, there were still fierce battles in some local areas.
"There should always be some people in our Great China Empire who have to prove with their lives that His Majesty the Emperor has loyal people, and our country has unruly people!" When the Tang Army was about to take over a military station, the officer at the gate of the barracks refused to hand it over. arms.
The other party explained his choice in a very orderly manner and had no intention of playing dirty tricks. After driving away the soldiers of the Tang Army who came to hand over, he ordered two shots to be fired as a warning when the Tang Army showed up again.
Then the battle broke out in the city. The Tang Army's troops attacked quickly and quickly broke through the defense line of the Dahua troops.
The two sides fought fiercely for more than an hour. When they were about to be completely annihilated by the Tang army, the defenders set fire to the ammunition depot and sent one-tenth of the ammunition stored by the Dahua army at Nanfengkou into the sky.
The explosion was very violent, and the surrounding Tang troops suffered heavy losses. At least more than a hundred people were killed, and the Dahua army guarding the ammunition depot was even worse.
Afterwards, it was counted that more than 700 Dahua soldiers who were unwilling to surrender were killed in this battle. The explosion destroyed a large area of the city and turned the surrounding area into ruins.
The biggest loss was actually the local civilians. At least 2,000 people were killed or injured in the explosion and tens of thousands were left homeless.
This incident also proves that there are brave men in the Dahua Army. These middle-level officers cannot decide their own destiny, but they will make their own choices.
It’s not that the Dahua troops are hoarding all arms in the urban area, but because the ammunition and weapons and equipment hoarded in Nanfengkou are too much, so much that it is unimaginable, so supplies are everywhere. arms.
Stretching from the train station to the outskirts of the city, Nanfengkou has stockpiled at least more than one million rounds of artillery shells of various types, and at least 1,000 cannons of various types.
In order to deal with the possible air force of the Tang Army, more than 1,000 air defense troops were deployed throughout the city, from the suburbs to the city, and more than 100 anti-aircraft guns were installed wherever possible.
Most of these anti-aircraft guns are advanced new models, some of which the Tang Army has never seen before. There are 50 mm caliber guns, 76 mm caliber guns, and 100 mm caliber guns.
Of course, there is also food for hundreds of thousands of troops: this may be one of the biggest gains of the Tang army in capturing Nanfengkou: this is food for the Dahua army's millions of troops for more than ten days.
It is no exaggeration to say that even if these grains were placed in Datang, which had no shortage of grains, it would definitely be a shocking amount of supplies.
If you also include quilts, clothes, tents, rain gear, vehicles, tanks, and fuel parts... then the amount of supplies stored in Nanfengkou is simply an astronomical figure.
Originally, these supplies were to be transported to Xicong to support Qian Jinhang's attack. But as the Tang army approached, the transportation of supplies was forced to stop, and the rest was forced to be hoarded at Nanfengkou.
Without support, one can only imagine how miserable Qian Jinhang is now trapped in Xicong.
Another battle broke out near the train station, where the Dahua troops stationed there wanted to escape by train. However, they were soon blocked and a fierce battle broke out with the tanks of the Tang Army.
A battalion of more than 500 Dahua troops fought until the last moment. A train was destroyed on the tracks, and clothes and bedding piled up at the station were also set on fire by the desperate defenders.
The fire kept burning, delaying the use of the train station, and the black smoke enveloped half of the south vent. The city was filled with a choking smell that did not dissipate for three days.
From a strategic perspective, the Dahua soldiers of this battalion used their own efforts to create the greatest obstacle to the Tang army.
They wasted more than two days of the Tang Army's fire-fighting time, preventing the Tang Army from using the Nanfengkou Railway Station, delaying the Tang Army's transportation mobilization, and at the same time gaining valuable reaction time for the defenders of the southern oil fields.
Unfortunately, during the time they bought, the besieged Xicong defenders did not break out toward Lijiacun, and the defenders of the southern oil fields did not set the oil fields on fire like them.
Those sturdy fortifications were not put to use. The cement trenches, stretched barbed wire fences, and hidden bunkers were all handed over to the Tang army intact.
The Dahua troops stationed in these fortifications all laid down their weapons, and the mountains of ammunition were piled up in the ammunition depot without even breaking the seals, and were even guarded by dedicated personnel.
Dozens of Tang Army staff officers and secretaries and clerks spent a whole day sorting out the piled-up material lists before they could even sort out a rough list. There was a mountain of complex and confusing documents that could not fit in several rooms.
Zuo Shilang of the Dahua Ministry of War, who was in charge of these documents, swallowed a gun and committed suicide in his office: he had no idea that Ding Hong had surrendered, and when he heard the news, the Tang army had already entered the city.
This desperate Dahua official didn't even have time to escape. In the end, he could only choose a decent ending for his family. In this way, at least his family in the imperial capital still has a way to survive. Not everyone is as ruthless as Ding Hong.
Feng Kezhi reluctantly arrived at the palace by car, and then met with the emperor Zhao Kai. He reported to Zhao Kai the news of the worsening situation in the south: "Your Majesty! The news just came that the rebellious Ding Hong surrendered to the Tang State... Nanfengkou... was lost."
"What did you say?" Zhao Kai, who had heard that the situation in the south was stabilized a few hours ago, suddenly stood up from his seat.
It wasn't that he was too unstable, but the news really shocked him. Once the south wind outlet is lost, the situation in the entire southern region will collapse.
Because the southern oil field area is blocked by mountains, it can basically be said that it no longer borders the Great China Empire. The vast territory southeast of Zangjian Gorge is almost entirely controlled by the Tang State.
What's even more frightening is that the hundreds of thousands of troops commanded by Qian Jinhang are trapped in a tight siege, and it is estimated that they will all be lost in the end... If nothing else, the war of the Dahua Empire can be said to be completely lost.
"Your Majesty, the situation in the southeast has collapsed, and I... feel ashamed to have cultivated you." Feng Kezhi knelt down on one knee, lowered his head and said to Zhao Kai.
Although this series of failures were not all caused by him, Feng Kezhi, he was the general of the empire, and he was indeed to blame for such a big problem.
Although this moment was not the best moment to take the blame, Feng Kezhi had to express his attitude and hand the knife to Zhao Kai first.
(End of chapter)
