Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 531 Preparing to Cross the River (Additional Chapter, Requested Again)

"Commander, the spring rains have been incessant for days, and the troops along the river report that the river is rising."

"The water level has risen?" Chen Chengxing put on his raincoat. "Let's go to the riverbank and take a look."

Knowing the situation was urgent, everyone got up and put on their raincoats without saying a word.

Standing on the riverbank, Chen Chengxing could clearly see that the river water had become much more turbulent.

Upon seeing Chen Chengxing and others arrive for inspection, a soldier in charge of the riverside garrison approached and said, "Commander-in-Chief, Political Commissar."

“Since the beginning of April, the river has been rising rapidly. In just 12 hours today, the river has risen another inch and 6 fen.”

Looking at the river, Chen Chengxing nodded: "Having stayed in the north for so long, I've almost forgotten that it's already the season for peach blossoms to bloom. If we wait until the end of April or the beginning of May, the river will rise even more fiercely."

“When the summer flood season arrives, the winds are strong and the waves are high, making it impossible for most inland wooden boats to cross the river.”

Before the flood season, the Yangtze River has a gentle current, which is conducive to navigation. However, once the flood season arrives, the small wooden boats collected by the Second General Team are simply unable to cross the Yangtze River.

"Old Chu, immediately send a telegram to the Corps Headquarters and the General Front Committee in the name of the General Corps, explaining the situation."

Because they were both directly under the jurisdiction of the military, the Second Army Corps, as an independent unit, was assigned to the command of the Fourth Army Corps.

"I'll go back and send the message right away." Chu Yunfei nodded.

"Also, the collected wooden boats must be well concealed. They must not be discovered by the Kuomintang reconnaissance planes, otherwise we'll be in trouble if a few incendiary bombs come down."

“I’ll handle this,” Luo Ping offered.

"OK.".
Just as Chen Chengxing was standing by the river observing the situation, Chang Ruiyuan also received a telegram from Tang Keqin.

"President, a telegram from Commander-in-Chief Tang: The flood season for the Yangtze River has arrived, and the river is rising rapidly."

Upon hearing Yu Liangzhen's words, Chang Ruiyuan immediately perked up, quickly walked to the phone, and called He Jingzhi, the Premier of the Executive Yuan in Nanjing.

"Should we show him respect?"

"President, it's me."

"We must find a way to delay the negotiations in Beiping, to get through April and May. The flood season on the Yangtze River will be approaching, and the G Army will have to wait until next year to cross the river."

"President, the peace talks were all decided by Acting President Lee."

"You're the dean!" Chang Ruiyuan said, "We must stall!"

"Yes! I will do my best!"

After hanging up the phone, Chang Ruiyuan looked at the drizzle outside the window, thought for a moment, and said, "I need to go and check on Tang Keqin's deployment."

"President, you're supposed to be retired, why are you showing up directly on the front lines?"

"Let's go tonight." Chang Ruiyuan was really worried.

The supplies to Shanghai are being transferred at an accelerated pace, but this will take time, as this is a private operation and cannot be publicized.

Inside the 88th Division's river defense command headquarters, several high-ranking officers of the 88th Division were having a great time playing mahjong.

"Commander, maybe we should call it quits. You've been losing all night."

“The old man lost most of China, and I call this a loss?” Li Nanxian, commander of the 88th Division, said as he played another card: “One of Bamboo.”

The chief of staff pushed the tiles aside and exclaimed, "I won!"

"Damn it, my luck is terrible today!" Li Nanxian was out of money, so he casually took off his pocket watch and threw it in front of the chief of staff.

Seeing that Li Nan had run out of money, the chief of staff stood up and said, "Forget it, let's stop playing."

"Stop!" Li Nanxian stood up and pressed him down: "Keep hitting him!"

"Commander, want to keep playing? If we keep playing, what are you betting on? You can't bet your wife, can you?"

"I'll mortgage my house!"

As they shuffled the cards, Li Nanxian said, "Anyway, these properties won't be registered under our names, unless we beat the G Party."

The others didn't care either; if they could win, they could sell it immediately and make some money.

However, what they didn't see was that Chang Ruiyuan, outside the command center, saw everything clearly.

When he walked into the room from the darkness, everyone in the 88th Division was so scared they almost peed their pants.

If this had happened in the past, they would have been shot a hundred times over.

However, Chang Ruiyuan did not investigate further this time.

After looking at the map hanging in the command post for a while and seeing that the layout was fine, Chang Ruiyuan turned around and walked to the card table.

Who lost?

At this moment, none of them dared to answer; they all stood there blankly, waiting for their punishment.

Seeing that no one answered, Chang Ruiyuan asked loudly again, "Who lost?"

This time, Li Nanxian dared not refuse to answer: "Report, Major General Li Nanxian, commander of the 17th class of the Whampoa Military Academy, has lost."

Chang Ruiyuan glanced at him, pushed him aside, took off his white gloves, and sat down: "I'll do it for you."

No one else dared to fight him, and they repeatedly admitted their mistakes: "President, we were wrong, and we are willing to accept the punishment."

"sit down."

The group had no choice but to risk their lives to accompany them.

However, Chang Ruiyuan's card skills were indeed impressive. He started with a Heavenly Stop, followed by a West Wind Hidden Kong and a Kong on the Flower, a three-in-a-row that left everyone in awe and prompting them to quickly hand over their money.

After winning ten rounds in a row, and seeing that the others had run out of money, and having also won back Li Nanxian's pocket watch, Chang Ruiyuan finally got up.

He used Li Nanxian's military cap to put the winnings in his pocket and then stuffed it into Li Nanxian's hand.

"You're no good at playing cards, and I'm no good at fighting."

"Whether the natural barrier of the Yangtze River can be defended depends entirely on you gentlemen. I implore you."

Chang Ruiyuan's actions moved Li Nan to tears of gratitude.

"Principal, it's all or nothing! I'll bring my wife and children here tomorrow, and I swear to live and die with the Yangtze River defense line!"

Chang Ruiyuan patted him on the shoulder and left without saying much.

"Old Chen, the General Front Committee has issued an order: the troops should prepare." "What date?"

"Number 20."

Chen Chengxing nodded: "The moon will be quite dim on the 23rd of the lunar calendar, which is a good day to cross the river."

"Old Chu, what's the current situation with the special forces?"

Half a month ago, Chen Chengxing arranged for Wei Dayong to lead the special forces team to cross the Yangtze River in secret. The entire brigade was to be divided into several groups to conduct reconnaissance behind enemy lines.

"They sent several telegrams in succession, all reporting on the deployment of Nationalist troops in various locations." As he spoke, Chu Yunfei took out the compiled documents and maps.

"These dozens of kilometers in front of us are Liu Ziliang's Eighth Army Corps, and there is also a reinforced 88th Division."

"There aren't many people." Luo Ping stroked his chin.

The Eighth Army Corps consisted of two armies, but even with the 88th Division included, it only had a total of 50,000 men.

Moreover, they cannot all be deployed to the front lines; they also need personnel in various counties in the rear. At most, they can deploy 30,000 people at the front.

"Could it be that the Kuomintang army is so confident in their fortifications? Do they really think they can block off such a large area of ​​the river with just a few dozen 150mm howitzers?"

According to reconnaissance, the Kuomintang army built a fortress in Huashan, Jiangbei, which included a garrison brigade, a coastal artillery brigade, and a mobile artillery regiment.

"It's probably not confidence, but rather someone having ulterior motives," Chen Chengxing said.

Although he did not see the Kuomintang army's deployments in other places, he was still familiar with the historical Yangtze River Crossing Campaign.

Although the place names and terrain don't match, the results shouldn't be too different.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Chengxing drew an arc on the map.

"Let's change our plan. After crossing the river, we'll abandon the attack on Dantu and head for Jinling instead."

"Go to Jinling?" Luo Ping immediately looked at the map.

"I think the Guo army certainly doesn't intend to defend the Yangtze River to the death," Chen Chengxing said.

"But they would never dare to give a signal at the beginning, so if we are fast enough, we might be able to catch a few big fish."

Looking at the map, Luo Ping said, "If we change our route to Jinling, it's over 60 kilometers, with countless river forks and mud pits along the way, and there are also a large number of Kuomintang security forces. By the time we arrive, it will be too late."

"All artillery regiments will act in unison, and the infantry will advance directly into Nanjing at top speed. As for the security forces, we can ignore them."

"The rocket artillery regiment was split up for fire support, with each detachment assigned a company. Two salvos of shells were prepared, with artillerymen carrying the cannons and infantrymen carrying the shells."

"Should we report this to the Corps Headquarters?" Luo Ping asked hesitantly.

“We don’t have any concrete evidence yet, so how can we report this?” Chen Cheng said. “Besides, I know the clerk’s character. As long as we can win the battle, that’s all that matters.”

"If I really manage to take Jinling, he'll just treat me to drinks."

"As for whether to report it, we'll decide after we cross the river. What if my prediction is wrong? We'll still proceed according to the established plan."

Seeing that Chen Chengxing spoke logically and persuasively, Luo Ping could only suppress his intention to report it to higher authorities for the time being.

Time flew by, and just as the million-strong army was sharpening its swords, Li Delin in Nanjing received the draft report sent back by the delegation.

The people of Jinling were arguing fiercely over the draft.

Ultimately, the draft could only be sent to Chang Ruiyuan in Xikou for him to make the decision.

Chang Ruiyuan was furious when he saw the draft.

The arrangements made for Li Delin and Bai Jiansheng were quite good; they were allowed to pursue political careers or lead troops as appropriate.

But what about him? He didn't mention a single word!
"Damn it! Incompetent in both literature and civility! A disgrace to the nation and its sovereignty!"

"Father, should we send a telegram to Guangzhou and immediately issue a statement rejecting this peace agreement?"

"Send! Send a telegram to Guangzhou!"

"Tell Li Delin to send a plane to bring him back! He must come directly to Xikou to see me!"

It is foreseeable that if Zhang Wenbai returns to Nanjing, his best fate will be to become the next Zhang Hanqing.

However, the G Party had already secretly arranged for Zhang Wenbai's family to be brought to Beiping, thus protecting them.

By the 20th, the Jiangbei army was fully prepared, and Chen Chengxing had moved the headquarters to the front line.

Just as everyone was waiting for orders, a phone call came in from the front lines.

"Commander, a British warship has appeared on the river!"

"The Central Committee has already issued a notice; act in accordance with that notice! Make them leave immediately!"

"Yes!"

"Why would a British warship suddenly enter the battlefield at this time?" Luo Ping was very puzzled.

By this time, the smell of gunpowder on the Yangtze River was so strong that even the Yangtze finless porpoises had fled. How could the British army, which had just been through World War II, not smell it?
"I don't care what he's here for! Even if he's here to kowtow and offer birthday wishes, that's still unacceptable!"

"The central government has already issued a notice stating that we do not recognize any treaties that undermine our sovereignty."

"The 20th is the deadline. Before then, all foreign warships must evacuate!"

"Damn it, I thought this was the Qing Dynasty?"

"Get me Wang Chengzhu!" Chen Chengxing picked up the phone.

"Should we report it first?" Luo Ping asked anxiously.

Although Luo Ping also wished he could go up and fire a few shots at it, this was, after all, a foreign warship, and there are no small matters in diplomacy.

"That's your problem, I can't interfere."

"Hey! Pillar! The howitzer regiment, prepare to fire on the British ships at any time!"

"Yes!"

"Old Chu! Order the rocket artillery regiment and all artillery regiments to adjust their positions, build fortifications, and prepare for artillery battle; all infantry regiments to take cover and avoid artillery fire."

In a gunfight with warships, infantry have no chance to contribute; if they are exposed, they will only suffer casualties.

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)