Chapter 139: The destruction of Yan'an
In fact, during this period of time, Zhao Yong, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province, was very tired.
Especially after the water control rights of the Yellow River were owned by the Northern Army, Shanxi was too passive. After all, many places in Shanxi are along the Yellow River. The Yellow River was controlled by the Northern Army.
This means that all the prefectures and counties along the Yellow River are unsafe.
The Union Army could attack at any time.
It is true that Shanxi has many basins.
The terrain of these territories is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if the Northern Army occupies some corners, it will not hinder the defense form of the Taiyuan Basin.
But the question is, what to do when the Northern Army gains a firm foothold?
The thief takes an inch, and I guard against it. Sooner or later, I will be exhausted and run for my life. This form is very unfavorable.
But what can Zhao Yong do?
There is no way.
Nothing can be done?
Everything you do requires resources. Shanxi has long been a secondary battlefield, and Nanjing is short of supplies for Shanxi. After all, Nanjing has long given up on letting Shanxi counterattack.
Zhao Yong himself has also made some efforts.
They have coal and iron, so why can't they build an iron factory?
The answer is yes.
But in terms of industrial ability, Zhao Yong is much worse than He Xi and Huang Zicheng. It was simply unreasonable, Zhao Yong found many people, and what he finally came up with was probably the same level of weapons that He Xi made in Nanjing. .
It is of certain use in the defense of Shanxi. But that's all.
After all, both Nanjing and Beijing are expanding the steel industry, and talent training also requires time. So overall, there are only a handful of engineering personnel who can single-handedly preside over this ironworks.
Zhao Yong could not find such a person.
Zhao Yong is not without worries about the current situation of the Northern Army. He has been worried about the Northern Army making a fuss on the Yellow River. Now it's finally here. He also has ways of coping.
The Northern Army will never be allowed to run rampant in Shanxi Province.
But here's the thing.
The troops in Zhao Yong's hands were simply stretched thin. He attaches great importance to this aspect, which means that he has to let go of other aspects.
Perhaps Qu Neng is a little more troublesome here. But in other aspects, such as the Northern Army in Huaiqing Mansion, it will be easier.
News that the Northern Army was fighting in Pingyangfu, Shanxi Province, reached Yan'an.
Geng Bingwen quickly put aside the information in his hand. Silence.
Geng Bingwen felt as if he was patching up a hole, blocking it up here and coming out again there. There is no way. He was actually very aware of Qu Neng's tricks, but he had no control over Shanxi.
At the same time, even if he can control Shanxi, what can he do?
He only has so much power in his hands. Faced with such a long defensive front on the periphery of Guanzhong and firefights from all sides, what can he do?
Geng Bingwen had an idea for a long time, nothing else. That is to abandon part of Shanxi and Shaanxi, or rather than use Shanxi and Shaanxi intact for combat purposes, but use the two places as barriers to block the Yellow River, Tongguan, and Qinling defense lines.
Geng Bingwen only had some rumors about this strategic plan with some people in Beijing.
Didn’t mention it again.
Because it's impossible.
Give up Shaanxi, Shanxi. If we concentrate our troops on the Qinling Mountains, Tongguan, and the Yellow River line, there is no need to fight at Xiaoguan or even Yanmenguan. A large number of troops were reduced.
Geng Bingwen felt that at least two to three hundred thousand mobile troops could be freed up.
It is of great benefit in defense.
But Geng Bingwen also knew that this plan also had major drawbacks.
First of all, after evacuating Shaanxi and Shanxi, why did the troops in Shaanxi and Shanxi follow Nanjing?
You know, the local armies of the Ming Dynasty are all guards, and their wives and children are all there. It is a big problem to get the troops to evacuate, let alone take away the family members of the generals.
That's an impossible task.
In this case, why did these soldiers abandon their families and retreat with the army? Picture what? I hope you lose the battle. You will lose your city and territory.
After all, this is not a war of nations, but a civil war between two brothers fighting for the throne. This temper allowed many soldiers to surrender without any psychological burden at all.
Therefore, when this plan is implemented, it is equivalent to the time when the war situation in the north completely collapses.
There may even be a situation where the army is defeated like a mountain and is out of control.
As a result, even the Qinling, Tongguan, and Yellow River fronts that Geng Bingwen wanted were difficult to maintain.
However, the reason why Geng Bingwen knew this and still proposed such an unreliable plan was because the front line really could not hold on any longer. Especially the Battle of Yan'an.
Speaking of the Battle of Yan'an, it has been going on for several months.
The reason for this is that in winter, the weather is freezing and the fighting on both sides is restricted. Neither side used their full strength.
It was Geng Bingwen, the defense master, who summarized the situation of the Battle of Yulin and made new strategic arrangements. If we talk about the Battle of Yulin, the two sides still competed for the city as the core.
The Battle of Yan'an is obviously not the case.
The battle in the Battle of Yan'an consisted of defensive fortifications, small mounds blocking traffic arteries, and other seemingly inconspicuous places that the two sides fought for to the death.
Although the fighting between the two sides has not yet extended to the situation where barbed wire fences and trenches stretch for hundreds of miles. But actually it already has that flavor.
Geng Bingwen hardly deployed many troops in Yan'an City. All the troops were outside, in a village, a ravine, a creek, and a hillside. They have become places where both sides fight.
Especially on the Loess Plateau, the soil is very suitable for building fortifications.
During this period, Nanjing's rear was affected, but the number of firearms in Geng Bingwen's hands was still several orders of magnitude more than during the Hongwu years.
It's not impossible to fight in a frontal battle. But very few.
But to occupy strong points and wait for the enemy to attack, night attacks, ambushes, infiltrations, detours, and other tactics were all used. There is no difference in essence between these things, only the form of application has changed.
As long as Geng Bingwen gets used to it a little, he will have the same demeanor as he did when dealing with Zhang Shicheng.
However, Geng Bingwen knew that he could defend Yan'an and even retreat dozens of miles without any problem. If Qu Neng wanted to attack him, he would have to lay out hundreds of thousands of corpses. But he couldn't defend Xiao Pass, couldn't defend the Yellow River, and there were other attacks.
Geng Bingwen could not defend Guanzhong.
His ability is much worse than that of Xu Da, Fu Youde, and Feng Sheng. Let Geng Bingwen defend one city and one place. Even in the age of firearms, as long as he adapts to the rhythm of combat, he can easily innovate. Come up with new ways to fight.
But when Geng Bingwen was at his most glorious, he did not truly serve as a coach or general.
This lack is difficult to make up for. Not to mention that Geng Bingwen is so old. It was already difficult for him to adapt to firearms warfare. Lin Lao allows the elderly to level up and break through their limits. It's just too difficult.
Not to mention, in this all-round passive situation.
So Geng Bingwen already had a premonition.
No matter where it is, there must be a breakthrough somewhere.
But he didn't expect the news to come so quickly.
Whether he wanted to or not, Geng Bingwen could only give the order. Withdrawal.
Geng Bingwen's defensive tactical command can be called art. This is true even when retreating. Qu Neng actually judged that Geng Bingwen would definitely retreat.
He has even given orders to all departments to open their eyes wide and not let go of anything fishy.
But when they discovered that Geng Bingwen had retreated. I only had time to catch one of them by the tail, and after a beating, these people all surrendered. When I asked, I found out that they were people from the Yan'an local guard station.
Qu Neng knew that, and Geng Bingwen knew that these people were unreliable. It is very likely that they will defect and surrender, so they are treated as abandoned children.
In other words, Geng Bingwen's retreat this time did not allow Qu Neng to gain any advantage.
Qu Neng felt a little confused in his heart.
He seemed to remember that he had met Geng Bingwen many years ago when he followed his father to the Marquis of Changxing's Mansion to pay New Year's greetings. Geng Bingwen even talked to him about military matters and worked hard for him.
Now that the two sides are fighting each other, there is nothing to say about the old man taking advantage of him.
Qu Neng thought to himself: "Old man, what a pity."
Geng Bingwen is not without ability. The most suitable battlefield for Geng Bingwen is to defend an important place with about 100,000 people. Just like Yan'an. Geng Bingwen can fight against ten times the ground and still not fall behind.
Even though Qu Neng didn't use his full strength, after grinding for several months, Geng Bingwen still gave up on his own initiative, which shows everything.
