The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Overnight, the PLA suffered more than a dozen surprise attacks from the Qing army. Although each attack was discovered in advance and caused no losses, more than twenty Qing soldiers were shot and killed. However, the comrades did not get enough rest, and the people were in panic, so the advance slowed down again.

Chapter 335:

Zhang Jianping held the summary report with a very serious expression. This Xiliang was really capable. He was using the geographical advantage of Yunnan to drag himself to death. Zhang Jianping was very clear about his main task now. Zhang Yinghao had sent him another telegram, asking him to solve the Yunnan-Guizhou issue during the Russo-Japanese War. Otherwise, once the great powers came to their senses, they would definitely arm the Qing Dynasty with all their strength.

Of course, for Zhang Yinghao, unifying the three southwestern provinces is an absolutely unchangeable goal. He unified the southwest in order to better carry out industrial layout. Moreover, Yunnan has produced copper since ancient times. Now Zhang Yinghao urgently needs these resources, so he must take over these places.

Xiliang had been in Yunnan for some time, and he had been thinking over and over again about how to deal with the Red Bandits. He was waiting for this moment, even if he couldn't defeat the People's Liberation Army, he could at least drag it down to death.

Until noon of the next day, Zhang Jianping still had not thought of a good solution. He could only launch a relentless attack on the Qing army after discovering their sneak attack, and try to eliminate these small groups of Qing troops as much as possible.

At this moment, another burst of gunfire suddenly rang out in the distance. Zhang Jianping didn't pay much attention, thinking it was another sneak attack by the Qing army. The PLA comrades in front immediately rushed towards the place where the gunfire came from, holding their guns. They saw a dozen ragged people firing back continuously, followed by a group of Qing soldiers. Based on the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, the PLA immediately opened fire on the Qing army. These ragged people were not afraid after seeing the PLA, and followed the PLA to counterattack the Qing army. These Qing soldiers were obviously very surprised by the appearance of the PLA, and were immediately killed and cried for their parents. It didn't take long for these Qing soldiers to be completely wiped out.

"Haha, Commander-in-Chief, good news, we've found help this time." "What's going on?"

"Haha, didn't we arrange for our comrades to enter Yunnan to develop long ago? They've become quite powerful by now, but they haven't received the order to liberate Yunnan, so they haven't taken any action. Now that we're marching into Yunnan, they'll naturally start to act. These are the comrades who are here to find us."

After he finished speaking, two ragged comrades came in from outside. The political commissar said, "Tell me about the situation."

The person who came in immediately reported his situation, confirming that he was the comrade who had been sent back to develop the situation. Then he said, "Commander-in-Chief, after Xiliang learned that Sichuan was going to liberate Yunnan, he immediately planned to fortify the city and clear the countryside. He abandoned all other areas and is currently deploying defenses in Zhaotong. Many of the people along the way have already been driven away, but because you quickly breached the Jinsha River defense line, Xiliang's deployment is only halfway complete."

Zhang Jianping didn't really care about these things, so he asked anxiously: "Do you know where the Qing army that attacked us is hiding?"

"I know. These Qing troops were sent here by Xiliang a long time ago. I am familiar with this place, and we have discovered their hidden hiding places a long time ago. The task given to them by Xiliang is that if the Jinsha River defense line is broken, they will find an opportunity to sneak attack our People's Liberation Army. The reason we came here today is to find their whereabouts. Now I have also discovered that many chieftains and landlords have sent people to prepare to attack our People's Liberation Army. I know where these people are going now, and I can now guide my comrades to wipe out all these Qing troops! We were accidentally discovered by those Qing troops who were clearing the countryside when we came to find our team. Those Qing troops who were clearing the countryside still don't know that our People's Liberation Army has entered Yunnan. This is the time for us to annihilate them."

Zhang Jianping was delighted after hearing this. It seemed the seeds he had sown earlier had once again proven irreplaceable. In critical moments, his comrades were still reliable. The PLA was currently facing a major headache, and these comrades could help them resolve the harassment from these small Qing troops. This was truly a blessing. He knew very well that at times like these, these local tyrants in Yunnan could solve many problems the army couldn't. These comrades were familiar with the local flora and fauna, so their help could achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Zhang Jianping quickly said to the comrade: "If we can really annihilate this Qing army, you will have helped us a lot. The credit for liberating Yunnan cannot be ignored by you comrades!"

Zhang Jianping promised a merit, but the comrade didn't care and just said, "This is what we should do."

Time was urgent and Zhang Jianping had no time to delay, so he immediately asked him to set out to help the People's Liberation Army lead the way, and sent a battalion and a mortar squadron to destroy the Qing army.

"It would be really difficult to survive in Yunnan without these local tyrants. If those chieftains also attack us, we will be in big trouble."

The political commissar nodded and said, "Yes, they are local tyrants. It will take more than a day or two to wipe them out. Moreover, Yunnan is a poor and rugged region. We still need to rely on policies such as land reform and industrial development to gradually solve this problem."

Knowing that the Qing troops attacked the PLA soldiers' lair, we also know the fate of these Qing troops.

Lin Chengze led the PLA soldiers over two mountain ridges and saw a stream flowing out of a valley. Lin Chengze led his comrades to the mouth of the valley and said, "The Qing army is hiding in the valley, and this stream is their drinking water."

The battalion commander observed for a moment and said, "Is there a passage behind this valley?" "There should be."

The battalion commander thought for a moment and decided to observe the surroundings before attacking. But at this moment, he suddenly heard a voice: "Who is it?"

The battalion commander knew he was exposed and there was no need to observe anymore. He immediately replied: "Command!"

“What’s the password?”

The battalion commander immediately knew the man's location, raised his hand and shot him to the ground, then made a quick decision: "Force the attack."

The Qing troops here had harassed the People's Liberation Army for a whole night. It was their time to rest, so how could they have expected that the People's Liberation Army would actually come to their camp? They were caught off guard, and many Qing troops were shot down by bullets or killed by shrapnel while their eyes were still blurry.

Seeing that the Qing army was so vulnerable, the battalion commander immediately ordered: "Fire the mortars as far as possible to prevent the Qing army from escaping."

In fact, even if these Qing troops wanted to evacuate, it was too late. They were wearing straw sandals, while the PLA wore Liberation shoes. Their athletic ability was simply heaven and earth. Except for one who hid in seclusion and was not discovered by the PLA, the rest of the Qing troops surrendered and became prisoners of the PLA.

After eliminating the Qing army that had launched a surprise attack on the People's Liberation Army, the troops' marching speed increased again.

By this time, Li Laohu had already led his troops into Yunnan, engaging in field battles in Qujing and Xiliang. Zhang Yinghao's three armies would attack Yunnan, and Xiliang was well aware that the terrain of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces limited strategic options. The troops advancing from Lijiang were more a preparation for post-war development than a containment of the Qing army.

Xiliang knew that the eastern and central routes were the most threatening, but when he learned that the People's Liberation Army was advancing into Guizhou, he initially did not take it seriously. He had his own plans and layout, which is why he went to build the Jinsha River defense line. However, he really did not expect the situation to change so quickly, so quickly that it far exceeded his imagination. Zunyi was captured before it could even hold out for half a day, and Guiyang was liberated before it could even hold out for a day. What surprised him most was the marching speed of the People's Liberation Army. Based on his experience in the Qing army, it was absolutely impossible.

The rapid capture of Zunyi forced Xiliang to consider a strategic shift. With Guiyang captured and the vast empty space between Yunnan and Guizhou vacant, Xiliang was forced to completely restructure his forces, redeploying his main forces to block the PLA advance from Guizhou. He deployed only a small force in northern Yunnan to block the main force led by Zhang Jianping, attempting to rely on Yunnan's natural terrain to hold out. Dispatching troops from Guizhou would be closer to Kunming, so he had to concentrate his forces to eliminate this PLA force first. This became his inevitable choice.

Xiliang drew 15,000 Qing troops from the Qing army, plus cavalry units, and some armed forces of chieftains, leaders, and landlords, a total of more than 25,000 people, preparing to annihilate Li Laohu's troops first. This is all the troops that Xiliang can concentrate at present. In the more than two years since he came to Yunnan and Guizhou, he has assembled 15,000 troops that he considered to be elite troops.

When Xiliang mobilized the Qing army to stop the PLA, he suddenly realized that the PLA was advancing too fast and had already reached Panzhou, ready to enter Yunnan at any time. As a last resort, Xiliang had the Qing army repair fortifications in Qujing, hoping to stop the PLA's advance.

Xiliang was well aware that Qujing was only a little over 130 kilometers from Kunming, and he had to defeat the People's Liberation Army there. It was in Qujing that the Ming army defeated the Yuan provincial governor, Situ Pingzhang, and commanded by Darima, capturing the strategically important city known as the "key to Yunnan and Guizhou," the "gateway to Yunnan," and the "throat of Yunnan." This opened up a path for the capture of Kunming and the unification of Yunnan, clearing obstacles and successfully pacifying and unifying Yunnan in a short period of time.

The British and French in Yunnan were also in a state of panic. They kept going in and out of their respective consulates, asking for solutions and whether they needed to evacuate. Sichuan's treatment of these colonialists was obvious to all, and one could imagine how over a thousand British troops were still building roads in Xinjiang.

Yunnan is a magical place, a key node on the ancient Southern Silk Road. Since ancient times, it has served as a vital channel for communication and trade with Southeast and South Asian countries. However, because ancient countries were mostly agricultural civilizations, or even semi-primitive societies, commercial exchanges were not very developed.

Western capitalist powers like Britain and France had already embarked on a path of reckless expansion and aggression through the Industrial Revolution. After acquiring numerous colonies in the Americas and Africa to secure abundant and cheap resources, they turned their attention to the Asian continent. India, Vietnam, and Burma, among other countries, became colonies of Britain and France under their guns and cannons.

Why did Britain and France focus on the impoverished Yunnan region and invest heavily in the construction of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway? Yunnan's vast trade volume with Southeast Asian countries, its vast market, and its rich mineral resources had long captivated both countries. Yunnan's tin and copper mines, as well as some gold, silver, iron, and coal mines, were all valuable assets. Tin was particularly valuable as a military resource, and the Yunnan Army later relied on this resource to thrive.

Therefore, they tried to invade Yunnan to plunder minerals and seize wealth, and use it as a springboard to infiltrate mainland China, and then connect the Chinese market with their colonies to continue invading and dividing China.

During this period, they engaged in seemingly harmless activities such as missionary work, exploration, and the stationing of consuls, but in reality, these activities served as preparations for future invasions, including intelligence gathering, terrain surveys, and probing the bottom line. Faced with the comprehensive infiltration of Western powers, the late Qing government was extremely weak and powerless, and could only compromise step by step and take no action.

France obtained mining rights in Yunnan through the Boxer Protocol. Britain, eager to capitalize on the gains, signed the Yunnan Mining Regulations with the Qing government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stipulating that mining could be conducted in seven locations: Yunnan Prefecture, Chengjiang, Lin'an, Kaihua, Chuxiong Prefecture, Yuanjiang Prefecture, and Yongbei County. This included the condition that if the mines in these seven locations proved unsatisfactory or the terrain was unfavorable, they could be transferred to other locations, and the Longxing Company had the right to transfer the rights. Thus, the Qing government completely lost its mining rights in Yunnan. British and French merchants flocked to Yunnan to exploit its mineral resources.

Everyone understands the principle of "the lips and teeth are cold when they are gone." After the PLA annexed Yunnan, Britain and France would face the PLA's bayonets. Given the Forward Party's consistent character, it was like a stone in a latrine—stinking and hard. Britain and France also knew the Forward Party's policy of nationalizing mineral resources. If this policy were in the great powers, it would naturally be considered politically correct. However, in the impoverished and backward East, it was unacceptable to the great powers.

A strange phenomenon occurred in the late Qing Dynasty: the Manchu government feared the foreigners, the foreigners feared the people, and the people themselves feared the government. Consequently, the foreigners, especially the British, who had suffered enough at the hands of the Boer guerrilla warfare, thrived in China. Facing the Manchus, Britain and France could bully them to their heart's content. However, because the Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army were not afraid of the foreign powers, Britain and France felt a headache just thinking about the problems in Sichuan.

Faced with the PLA advancing into Yunnan, Britain and France could either send troops directly to fight the PLA, defeat them, and thus preserve their interests in Yunnan. Alternatively, they could provide assistance to the Qing government, strengthening the Qing army and allowing it to resist the PLA. Of course, they could also join forces with the Qing to deal with the Sichuan army, but the powers were still undecided about whether to intervene personally. Yunnan was far from the coastline, and they were not fully prepared. Furthermore, they did not yet know the PLA's true combat capabilities. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles, so for now, they could only wait and see.

Auguste François, the French and British Consul General in Kunming, and British Consul Litton consulted their respective plenipotentiaries and, after further consultation, decided to send 4,000 troops to aid the Qing army in besieging the People's Liberation Army. Their reasoning was simple: if the Qing army failed and the Yunnan Qing government was overthrown, they would be forced to face the People's Liberation Army directly. With just a few thousand men, they would be no match for the PLA, which had a vast army continuously entering Yunnan.

However, if they help the Qing Dynasty defeat the People's Liberation Army, they can not only keep the privileges they have now, but also gain more privileges, expand more interests, take the opportunity to blackmail the Qing Dynasty, and make the Qing Dynasty grateful. Even if they fail in the end, they can still cut the Qing Dynasty's meat from other places.

Having made up their minds, the British and French colonists, without waiting for Xiliang to find them, approached him and offered to provide him with arms and weapons to help him defeat the PLA. They were even willing to send 4,000 troops to join the Qing army in resisting the PLA, including artillery to assist the Qing army. Xiliang naturally welcomed this offer. Of course, the treaty included several more areas where the powers were permitted to mine minerals, and even promised to open several more ports after defeating the PLA, allowing Britain to build a railway into Yunnan, "jointly" building the Yunnan-Burma Railway.

For Xiliang, the joining of the British and French forces was something he had been looking forward to. For the Qing Dynasty, the most important thing at this time was to maintain its rule in Yunnan. As for railways and minerals, what was the point of having these things when the country was already lost? What would it matter if we defeated the People's Liberation Army and lost these things?

After receiving Xiliang's promise, Britain and France immediately sent troops to enter Qujing to set up defenses, and artillerymen also joined the Qing army's artillery team to help the Qing Dynasty fire cannons and jointly resist the PLA's attack.

It wasn't just Britain and France that were keeping an eye on Sichuan, attempting to prevent the PLA from liberating Yunnan. The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Cen Chunxuan, was also wary of the Sichuan revolutionaries and the PLA's ability to leave the province. Having served in Guangdong, he naturally knew the true nature of the revolutionaries. He also had a good understanding of the situation in Sichuan, and to prevent the Sichuan revolutionaries from leaving the province, he began assisting Xiliang early on.

As long as Sichuan liberated Yunnan, his Guangdong and Guangxi would be in danger. If it weren't for the Guangxi secret society uprising in full swing, he would have even sent troops directly into Yunnan and Guizhou to resist the People's Liberation Army together with Xiliang, but he was powerless at this time. Even so, Cen Chunxuan had been helping Yunnan and Guizhou. Even in difficult circumstances, he provided Yunnan with a large amount of arms and food. Yunnan soil was also sold to the outside world through Guangxi, in order to allow Xiliang to hold out for a while longer and consume the strength of the People's Liberation Army as much as possible.

Xiliang also invested heavily in order to annihilate Li Laohu's advance troops. At this time, he had mobilized 75 cannons. Some of these cannons were originally owned by Yunnan, and some were purchased from the French. In addition to the cannons supported by the British and French powers, there were also 15 heavy machine guns. Overall, Xiliang's weapons seemed very good.

However, Xiliang knew his own difficulties. Yunnan could not produce its own artillery shells, and the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway had only recently begun construction. The foreign powers were also unable to provide him with a large amount of artillery shells in a timely manner. Once the shells were used up, the cannon would be no more than a firewood stick. Moreover, Yunnan's ammunition reserves and production were very limited. A large number of men and guns had been transferred to suppress the Guangxi secret society uprising, which was a double blow to the situation.

The vanguard regiment attacked cities and strongholds with unstoppable force. Upon reaching Qujing, they saw a large number of Qing troops already preparing for their attack. They launched a token attack, realizing the Qing troops were fully prepared, and immediately retreated. Li Laohu, leading his army into Yunnan, halted his advance upon receiving a report from the vanguard. He directed his troops to rapidly establish a defensive line, deploy firepower, and adopt a defensive posture.

Chapter 336:

The PLA troops advancing from Guizhou were no longer in a hurry. The Qing army on the other side was well prepared. If they could not annihilate them quickly, they would be in danger. Therefore, they had to wait until Zhang Jianping and his men had penetrated deep into Yunnan, so that the two armies could advance together and support each other. If they were alone, they would easily be isolated and in danger. Therefore, the PLA immediately began to set up camp and dig trenches.

Li Lao Hu looked at the map with a relaxed expression and said with a smile: "Chief of Staff, Xi Liang wants us to take the initiative to attack!"

The chief of staff nodded and replied, "We're not in a hurry. It's Xiliang who should be in a hurry. Three armies have already entered Yunnan, and the Qing troops there are stretched thin and struggling to take care of themselves. Xiliang is definitely eager to eliminate us so he can free up his forces to focus on dealing with the main force led by the commander-in-chief. So as long as we adopt a defensive posture, Xiliang will definitely attack."

The political commissar chimed in, saying, "That's right, Commander-in-Chief, they should be able to liberate Zhaotong soon. The Qing attack will only be strong for a short while, then weaken and finally run out of steam. We just need to hold out for a few days, avoiding the Qing army's attack for the next two days. That's when we'll have our decisive battle with them!"

Li Lao Hu actually wanted to immediately engage the Qing army in a decisive battle and then march on Kunming, thus gaining the first credit for liberating Yunnan. However, since the Chief of Staff and the Political Commissar insisted on holding out for two days, and their main mission along the way was to lure the enemy, and considering that defense was passive in terms of time and space, but also difficult for their own logistics, and that defense was inherently stronger than offense, Li Lao Hu agreed to hold out for the time being.

Moreover, Li Lao Hu had already noticed that the entire army was a little impatient and eager to make a contribution. This was not a good sign. He had to temper his comrades' tempers. Anyway, time was on his side, so there was no need to rush. So Li Lao Hu said: "Then we will block Cheng Yaojin's three axes first, and act as bait to attract Xi Liang's attention. I believe that the commander-in-chief will soon liberate Zhaotong. By then, Xi Liang will definitely be unable to take care of himself. That is when we will launch a general offensive and fight the Qing army in Yunnan!"

Li Lao Hu and his men were still trying to stall for time, discussing the situation with a relaxed air. But Xi Liang was already frantic, his mouth blistering, clearly under immense pressure. He had hoped the PLA would attack them, depleting their forces and supplies, but seeing the enemy's defensive stance, Xi Liang couldn't afford to waste time. He immediately switched from defense to offense, attacking the PLA from the front while simultaneously dispatching all his cavalry to flank the enemy, cutting off their logistics routes and hoping to annihilate Li Lao Hu and his men in Qujing.

Under the command of the foreigners, the Qing army's artillery threw its arms and attacked the PLA positions fiercely. The Qing army's tactics were still old-fashioned: artillery bombardment, infantry charge, infantry charge, artillery bombardment, and so on over and over again.

On the other hand, while Zhang Jianping was still leading the main force to Zhaotong, a small force overcame numerous difficulties and left Yiliang, heading straight for Zhaotong. How could the Qing troops in Zhaotong have imagined that the People's Liberation Army could pass through Yiliang so quickly and directly reach Zhaotong? At this time, they were still digging trenches outside the Zhaotong city wall according to Xiliang's orders.

The same recipe, the same taste, the PLA soldiers disguised as Qing soldiers immediately walked into Zhaotong City. At this time, there were still people coming and going outside Zhaotong City. A large number of people were organized by the Qing army to dig trenches, carry wood and stones, and they looked very busy. So the PLA soldiers disguised as Qing soldiers directly crossed several trenches and came to the city gate.

Perhaps because they thought the PLA wouldn't reach Zhaotong quickly, the city gates were unusually lax. The Qing soldiers guarding the city would pay some attention to civilians entering, but upon seeing the Qing troops, they simply let them pass. Just as the PLA soldiers were about to enter the city gate, a man who looked like a Qing army officer emerged from the opposite direction.

The Qing army officer on the other side was also a well-informed man. He could tell at a glance that the PLA soldiers were different from the Qing army. He also noticed that the PLA soldiers did not stand still and salute him. Although he did not think much about it, he still habitually asked: "Where are you from and what are you doing in the city?"

The PLA didn't recognize this man, and they hadn't expected this Qing officer to suddenly ask them a question. The scene suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of the PLA's advancing footsteps. Everyone knew something was wrong. The officer and his guards were about to draw their rifles and fire, but the company commander, walking in front, swung two flying knives. One hit a guard in the chest, and the other struck the officer in the arm.

The other PLA soldiers also showed their weapons without hesitation. "Don't move. The PLA will treat prisoners well."

The People's Liberation Army shouted, but their steps and movements did not stop at all. They directly kidnapped the officer and took control of the inside and outside of the city gate and the gate tower.

The PLA directly controlled the city gates, and the trenches the Qing troops had painstakingly dug outside became mere decorations. Unbeknownst to these PLA soldiers, they were holding hostage none other than Nalan Xiong, Xiliang's highest military commander in Zhaotong. With the Qing army, a feudal army like this, and Nalan Xiong, its highest commander, taken prisoner, the rest of the Qing troops lost all desire to fight. This meant that Zhaotong was easily captured by the PLA. Reality is so dramatic, often stranger than fiction.

"Bang."

The sound of gunfire was the order. The PLA troops lying in ambush in the distance immediately rushed towards Zhaotong like a tiger descending from a mountain, leaping over the trenches and rushing directly into the city. When the Qing troops in the city learned that Nalan Xiong had been captured, as expected, the vast majority of the Qing troops chose to surrender directly. Only a few Manchu supervisors tried to resist stubbornly, but they were all shot by the PLA, and Zhaotong changed hands directly.

After the PLA took over Zhaotong, they immediately led a group of Qing troops along the main road towards Sichuan, shouting at those Qing troops who tried to stop the PLA to surrender. Zhaotong had been liberated, Nalan Xiong had been captured, and these Qing troops no longer had any reason to resist. The Qing troops they encountered along the way surrendered without hesitation, even those at the pass like Daguan, which could hinder the PLA's advance and cause trouble for the PLA, surrendered directly.

In this way, Zhang Jianping and his men did not fight again along the way, and it turned directly into an armed long-distance march. It was really an incredible experience. After Zhang Jianping arrived in Zhaotong, he immediately sent a telegram to the central government. At the same time, the central government also received a telegram from Li Laohu and his men: there were more than 4,000 foreign troops in the Qing army.

After the Central Committee received the news, it immediately began to analyze the war situation. The comrades really did not expect that the great powers would actually take the field bare-armed, and everyone did not know what to do for a while.

Zhang Yinghao thought for a moment and said, "The Anglo-French coalition's biggest mistake was attacking us alongside the Qing army. This, in turn, presents a golden opportunity for us. The people of Yunnan now possess a patriotic tradition of anti-imperialism. This presents us with the best opportunity to mobilize the masses broadly and actively develop and learn about people's war. Mobilizing the masses will also help raise their consciousness. Furthermore, the mutiny of the Qing troops in Guangxi proves that their interests are not aligned with those of the Qing. We must implement a strategy of fighting to support the war, intensify our efforts to reform prisoners, and incorporate both prisoners and the rebel army. As long as we do this well, the several thousand Anglo-French coalition troops will be insufficient to fill our gaps. Even if the British and French send more troops, it will be of no avail."

After receiving the telegram from Zhang Yinghao, Zhang Jianping immediately left a small number of people to form a local government and immediately marched towards Kunming. With the advantageous terrain of Zhaotong, the Qing army was liberated by the People's Liberation Army in just half a day. How could other places stop the People's Liberation Army? Due to the rapid advance of the People's Liberation Army, many places that followed were completely unaware that the People's Liberation Army had liberated Zhaotong. The People's Liberation Army was unstoppable along the way. When faced with the sudden arrival of the People's Liberation Army, the people in Huize, Dongchuan, and Xundian were demoralized and had no fighting spirit. These places surrendered without a fight.

Xiliang, still locked in a tug-of-war with Li Hu, didn't learn of the fall of Zhaotong until after the People's Liberation Army liberated Huize. He nearly fainted. He knew things were bad, and panicked. He had no choice but to abandon Qujing and quickly retreat to Kunming, hoping to rely on its fortress to hold out. He also sent a telegram to the Qing court requesting assistance.

After receiving the telegram, Li Lao Hu patiently monitored the Qing forces across the way, focusing particularly on the Anglo-French coalition. He summarized the message from Chairman Zhang Yinghao in two key points: first, mobilizing the masses in Yunnan and Guizhou, raising their awareness, and gaining support for the People's Liberation Army. Second, using war to support the war effort and appropriately rehabilitating prisoners. Li Lao Hu naturally knew that the PLA had previously been reluctant to accept Qing prisoners, but now that the PLA had grown stronger and its handling capacity had increased, accepting some rehabilitated prisoners was no longer a problem; these prisoners could not change the nature of the PLA.

"Commander, the Qing army is retreating. I just noticed signs of the Anglo-French forces withdrawing." Li Lao Hu, having already been promoted directly to acting division commander after reorganizing some Guizhou armed forces, had already achieved merit in liberating Zunyi and Guiyang. Wartime was like that; promotions were fast, and if you weren't up to par, you'd be quickly weeded out by the war.

"Tell the comrades on the front line to pay attention and be careful that the Qing army's attack will confuse us." Sure enough, half an hour later, the Qing army suddenly launched a fierce attack on the People's Liberation Army. Li Laohu had already confirmed his judgment that the Qing army was about to retreat.

Li Lao Hu immediately said excitedly: "When two armies face off, we can attack the strong or the weak. If we desperately attack the British and French forces now, Xiliang will definitely try his best to save their emperor. But now the Qing army has received the order to retreat. If we attack the Qing army and defeat it, the British and French forces will be thrown into disarray."

With his mind made up, Li Lao Hu concentrated all his artillery and immediately bombarded the Qing army's left wing. The artillery roared loudly. The Qing army here was instantly stunned by the deafening and earth-shaking explosion. They were frightened by the huge destructive power of the shells and had no idea what was going on. Didn't they say to retreat? Why were they under such a fierce bombardment from the opposite side?

The Qing army instantly lost their ability to fight and was thrown into a panic. The PLA soldiers seized the opportunity and charged forward, instantly collapsing the Qing army, which had previously been locked in a seesaw battle with the PLA. Xiliang, an old-fashioned official, had no concept of defense in depth or mutual protection. They always preferred to place elite troops in the center of the battlefield, leaving the weak and old to the side. Their tactics were rigid, and any single breakthrough would cause the entire Qing defense to crumble.

Xiliang knew the severity of the breach. If it were normal, he would have sent his men to desperately retake the position, or dispatched elite troops to stop the PLA, which would have bought him considerable time. However, Xiliang was distracted by the fall of Zhaotong, and his men had no fighting spirit. They simply wanted to quickly retreat to the fortified city of Kunming for protection. In their panic, they immediately resorted to bizarre tactics.

"Cavalry, cavalry, attack!"

Xiliang thought that the fastest cavalry could undoubtedly provide support the fastest. Such an order would not be wrong in the old times, but with the increasing firepower now, the cavalry were just sitting ducks.

Soon, a massive mass of cavalry charged towards the PLA. Their momentum was astonishing, the sound of their horses stampeding on the ground creating a sense of earth-shaking movement. Like a tidal wave, they charged towards the PLA with unstoppable force. Many PLA soldiers, who had never witnessed a cavalry charge, paled at the sight of the cavalry's momentum, their fingers turning pale as they gripped their rifles involuntarily.

Although Yunnan was rich in Dian horses, these short horses were well-suited to the terrain. They were a good choice for transporting cargo, but they were too weak to charge into battle. Xiliang, a member of the Mongolian Bordered Blue Banner, naturally valued cavalry, but he only had 1,500 cavalrymen. Even with just 1,500 cavalrymen, the burden of feeding and feeding them was already too much for Xiliang.

However, the cavalry involved in the attack totaled a full 4,000. Aside from Xiliang's 1,500 cavalrymen, the remaining 2,500 were not actually an army at all, but rather a patchwork of armed forces under the command of local tyrants, chieftains, and headmen in Yunnan. Xiliang was worried that these bandits might revolt in the back while he was fighting the Red Bandits at the front, so he simply drafted all of their troops and assembled this massive, improvised cavalry force. It looked impressive, but its fatal weakness, a lack of organization and training, was immediately exposed in combat.

According to Xiliang's plan, once there was a problem on the front line, the Qing army would immediately use the armed forces under the command of the local tyrants, chieftains, and headmen to charge forward, forming an overwhelming momentum, relying on them to consume the firepower of the People's Liberation Army and recapture the position in one fell swoop. The regular cavalry would supervise the battle, hold the line, and cheer from behind, taking the opportunity to consume the armed forces under the command of the local tyrants, chieftains, and headmen.

As Ru Xiliang expected, in front were the Yunnan local cavalry who were arranged to lead the charge and die. Their attack was indeed vigorous and powerful, with an overwhelming force. Feeling this atmosphere, the cavalry rushed towards the People's Liberation Army at even greater speed.

However, they soon paid a heavy price. The PLA's rifles were immediately switched to continuous fire mode, and the tactic of firing in a line was used. Dense bullets were fired at them, and in an instant, the cavalrymen in the front were all shot to death, including their horses, which immediately surprised the cavalrymen behind them.

These local armed forces usually only bullied the common people and had never seen a real battlefield. Their horses had not received rigorous training, and at the sound of gunfire, they became agitated. Some tried to retreat, some horses tried to turn around, and some continued to charge forward. In the chaos, dozens of cavalrymen fell from their horses, letting out screams of pain, and the scene was in utter chaos.

After the PLA fired their bullets, they immediately changed or reloaded their magazines. The Qing commander took advantage of this pause and finally managed to stabilize the troops.

"Charge! Killing a red bandit will reward you one ounce of silver."

A heavy reward is the only way to make the feudal army attack. After hearing the order to attack and the reward, the armed forces under the local tyrants, chieftains, and leaders had to muster up their remaining courage and charge forward again with shouts.

As they got closer, the comrades could clearly see these so-called cavalrymen. They were a group of dirty, dusty, and muddy people. They wore loose, knee-length cotton trousers, straw sandals, and hats, most of which looked like punctured lids. The short Yunnan horses supported their bodies, making them look out of place.

After the previous shooting, the comrades now knew that the cavalry before them was nothing more than a mob, a mere rabble, a facade of flamboyance. A wave of flesh was still a wave of flesh, not an unstoppable ocean wave, and it could never withstand a storm of steel. As the cavalry drew closer to the trenches, the frontline commander gave the order: "Shoot!"

The soldiers raised their rifles again and began to fire. The cavalrymen fell to the ground again, with countless casualties and cries of grief. At this time, the charging position had been opened up a lot, and the cavalry trained by Xiliang was finally about to start the charge. However, just as they were about to charge, the front-line commander immediately shouted: "Heavy machine gun fire."

This cavalry charge tactic was the secret weapon of the Yunnan Qing army, having previously repelled numerous invaders with its intensive assaults. Unfortunately, times had changed. Under the PLA's four heavy machine guns, the bullets fired in a short period of time surpassed the PLA's previous accumulated firepower combined. The torrential rain of bullets reduced the men and horses exposed to the firepower to sieves.

Chapter 337:

The bodies of men and horses lay scattered across the ground, their blood staining the earth red. It was a horrific sight, but in the end, dust returned to dust, and they would eventually enrich the land of Qujing. The air was thick with the stench of blood. The cavalry watched as their fellow cavalrymen were shot to the ground, killed by bullets, and trampled into pieces by horses' hooves. They could no longer bear it, and regardless of any orders, they turned around and ran.

Due to their sheer numbers, some of the actual Qing cavalry in the rear were momentarily overwhelmed, their formations disrupted by the armed forces of these local tyrants, chieftains, and headmen. These Qing troops were still trying to prevent the armed forces of these local tyrants, chieftains, and headmen from fleeing the scene. In the chaos, some of the two independent cavalry lost their minds, especially those who had witnessed the power of heavy machine guns. They wanted nothing more than to escape this hell of death as quickly as possible. They couldn't help but open fire on the Qing troops, brandishing their sabers and engaging in mutual slaughter, hoping to escape the slaughter as quickly as possible. The PLA would not miss such an opportunity. Officers immediately ordered the soldiers to intensify their fire, further escalating the chaos.

When Xiliang saw this scene, he immediately knew that the situation was hopeless and he immediately lost his will to fight. In despair, he immediately took a group of officers on horseback and fled for dozens of miles in one breath.

After running for dozens of miles, Xiliang finally came to his senses. Looking at the few remaining soldiers around him, he felt like crying but had no tears. At this moment, Xiliang's wise side finally showed up. He knew that Kunming was a dead place at this time, and going there would be a waste of life. With a change of mind, he directly fled towards Guangxi with a group of remaining soldiers.

The PLA had already launched an all-out offensive, and the Qing army, which had been able to fight with some fighting spirit, had now collapsed. They dropped their weapons and fled, hiding in the mountains and forests in an attempt to avoid being captured. Some Qing soldiers, seeing no way to escape, immediately chose to kneel down and surrender.

But at this time, Li Laohu's mind was no longer on these Qing army prisoners. There were still thousands of British and French allied forces here. These people were the real big fat piece of meat. If he could get rid of these thousands of British and French allied forces, there would be no suspense in this march into Yunnan, and all the goals would be achieved.

If the British and French officers had abandoned their men and fled like Xiliang did, the PLA would naturally be helpless against them. However, the British and French officers did not choose to flee, and thus the British and French forces lost their chance to escape. In the inland area of ​​Yunnan, Qujing is more than 400 kilometers away from the border. The PLA has countless ways to annihilate them. Thousands of foreigners in Yunnan are like a ball of fire in the dark night. Where can they escape to?

The Anglo-French coalition faced the same problem as the PLA before them: they were surrounded on all sides. The two sides were now in a standoff, and the officers of the Anglo-French coalition were also thinking about how to resolve the current situation. Unlike the PLA that arrived in Qujing, the Anglo-French coalition was not like the PLA that was actively surrounded by the Qing army. In order to deal with the Qing army's attack, they also deployed a deep defense system. The Anglo-French coalition was forced to retreat to a hilltop, and the PLA had already surrounded them on all sides.

If Zhang Yinghao were here, he would immediately recall the scene in "Bright Sword" where the Eighth Route Army surrounded the Yamazaki Battalion. However, the difference was that Captain Yamazaki was fearless and looked down on the Eighth Route Army. He felt that he only needed to hold on for two days before he could defeat the enemy. However, the British and French forces were in a panic at this time and didn't know what to do.

Li Laohu, upholding the fine traditions of the PLA, began calling for surrender. Seizing this opportunity, the artillery quickly deployed, including newly captured Qing cannons, ready to bombard the Anglo-French positions. In "Bright Sword," the Independent Regiment had to dig tunnels to reach the top of the mountain because the Eighth Route Army lacked artillery. But the PLA didn't go that far. Digging trenches wasn't for attack, but to prevent the Anglo-French troops from escaping and to protect themselves.

After shouting, seeing that there was still no movement on the hilltop, Li Lao Hu immediately ordered: "Fire."

At the command, hundreds of shells were fired directly into the Anglo-French positions. Although most of them were low-powered artillery like mortars and grenade launchers, they were still far more effective than the Eighth Route Army's black powder grenades that exploded in half. The hilltop occupied by the Anglo-French forces was immediately engulfed in smoke and dust, and even the fragments of shattered bodies could be seen. The soldiers in the trenches were also stunned by the spectacular sight of these hundreds of artillery salvos, and then they all smiled.