20demayo Chapter 176 Attacking Baisha County
Chapter 176 Attacking Baisha County
The chief of staff said, "Commander, Baisha County is too small. It is better to surround it without attacking it. Once their food runs out, they will surely come out of the city and surrender."
"It's not a good idea. This will waste too much time. If we delay, when Feng Zhangshan sends troops south, we will be in a passive position." Li Weiling shook his head slightly.
The communications officer said, "Commander, why don't we let the main force stay here to contain Liu Fuxun, and send a few detachments to occupy Nandu and other places first."
Looking at the communications officer, Li Weiling asked with a smile, "What's your name?"
"Reporting to the division commander, my humble name is Zhao Juncai." The communications staff officer replied.
Li Weiling was quite satisfied with Zhao Juncai. He nodded and said, "Well, that's good. Are you willing to lead a troop to attack the southern capital?"
"Commander, I am willing to do so." Zhao Juncai was very eager to lead troops in battle.
However, due to Zhao Juncai's outstanding performance, he was assigned as a staff officer and his military rank was promoted quickly. However, for him, it was not as satisfying as leading troops.
Li Weiling appointed Zhao Juncai as the battalion commander and set out for Nanchuan. At the same time, he sent out a small force to attack the surrounding cities. According to previous experience, as long as one company was sent out, a county town could be captured.
Fang Jian, who was in Yanshan County, received the battle report from the front line and couldn't help but smile: "The front-line troops are moving quite quickly."
"It's all thanks to the commander. He made plans and won the battle thousands miles away." Tao Yunong flattered.
Although he knew that Tao Yunong was flattering him, Fang Jian was still very happy. Who doesn't like to hear good words?
Fang Jian asked, "What did Mr. Zhan say?"
"Mr. Zhan means that we can temporarily build a road to Nandu. As for further planning, we need to survey the entire Nanchuan before we can design it," Tao Yunong introduced.
Although Zhan Chengda is an expert in road construction, it is impossible for him to plan roads out of thin air without considering the actual terrain.
Even when planning the two main roads in Nanshan Province, Zhan Chengda also visited various places in Nanshan.
Fang Jian sighed, "At present, Liu Fuxun has not been eliminated, and Liu Hui and Yang Wei in Nanchuan have not been eliminated either. The conditions for Mr. Zhan to inspect the entire Nanchuan area are not met."
"Let's do this for now. We'll build a road from Yanshan County to Nandu first, and then make plans after we take over Nanchuan."
I was originally quite satisfied with the progress of the three divisions, but now it seems that we need to speed up.
"Send a telegram to Li Weiling, and destroy Liu Fuxun's troops as soon as possible to prepare for the next strategic step."
The so-called next strategy is not to expand after taking Nanchuan, but to mobilize troops after taking Nanchuan to deal with the reactions of the northern government and surrounding warlords.
Before, Nanshan Province only bordered the Northern Government and the Southern New Army, and there were no warlord forces around it.
After taking over Nanchuan, the surrounding situation was different. To the north of Nanchuan was Yongxi, and to the south was Yunshan Province.
Yunshan Province is ruled by the warlord Yun Zhizhou, who just integrated Yunshan last year. It is possible that after Fang Jian takes over Nanchuan, they will also want to get a piece of the pie.
Not to mention the area north of Nanchuan, the ambitious Feng Zhangshan is the biggest enemy of Nanchuan Province and must be guarded against.
In addition to Nanchuan Province, Nanshan Province also had to guard against the northern government and the new army in the south.
Needless to say, the Northern Government was troubled by Yuan Shiting because he was instigated and did not like Fang Jian. In addition, Nanshan's cooperation with the New Army caused a lot of trouble for the Northern Government. Naturally, he was also a thorn in the side of the Northern Government.
Although Franciscan and the New Army of the South were allies, the alliance was the most unreliable.
There are all kinds of intrigues and fights among the same faction. Why do you think that the other party will be open and honest with you and not add insult to injury?
Despite all the dangers, they could not stop Fang Ji'an's determination to expand. Not only could he expand his territory and population, but he could also increase his strategic depth and have more room to deal with external pressure.
With all sorts of thoughts flashing through his mind, Fang Jian asked again, "Has the news of our attack on Nanchuan not spread yet?"
"Don't worry, Commander. No news has been released yet." Tao Yunong was still very confident about this.
Not to mention that the roads in Nanchuan are difficult to travel and the transmission of information is slow, the troops have been in Nanchuan for more than ten days, and Liu Fuxun still doesn't know where they came from and still thinks they are Feng Zhangshan's troops.
Nanchuan was originally remote and had no close relations with the surrounding warlords, which provided Fang Jian with an excellent opportunity to occupy Nanchuan.
The later the news of Nanshan Army's expedition to Nanchuan spreads, the more time it has for the Nanshan Army to respond.
Fang Jianan said solemnly, "Okay, Yu Nong, have the intelligence agents pay close attention to the situation of all parties, especially the northern government, the southern new army, and Feng Zhangshan."
"Yes, Commander, the Intelligence Department will definitely live up to your expectations." Tao Yunong immediately assured.
At the command post outside the east city of Baisha County, Li Weiling's expression became more serious after receiving Fang Jian's telegram, and he then gave instructions to the staff officer beside him.
"Send a telegram to the 703rd and 704th Regiments in Changde, asking them to break through Changde City as quickly as possible and join forces in Baisha County to eliminate Liu Fuxun as quickly as possible."
After the staff officer went down to convey the order, the chief of staff asked in confusion: "Commander, what happened?"
"The commander asked us to eliminate Liu Fuxun as quickly as possible." Li Weiling said helplessly.
"The commander is so anxious, is there something wrong in Nanshan or the north?"
Li Weiling shook his head slightly: "No matter if there are other changes, we just need to follow the commander's orders."
"When will our heavy artillery be delivered to Changde?"
Hearing about the heavy artillery, the chief of staff was also helpless: "Division Commander, the speed of trucks transporting supplies southward on the Nanchuan Road is only slightly faster than walking. After loading the heavy artillery, the speed is very slow. I'm afraid it will take another three days to reach Changde City."
Because the road was bumpy and full of potholes, the road surface needed to be refilled in many places before we could continue our journey, which was a waste of time.
Li Weiling also said helplessly: "Each regiment is also equipped with 82 caliber mortars. Let's use mortars to attack the city temporarily. At the same time, send a telegram to the th and th divisions to attack the city tomorrow."
The 8th and 9th Divisions received Li Weiling's telegram and without any hesitation began to prepare for the siege the next day that night.
Early in the morning of the second day, the 7th, 8th and 9th Divisions in three directions launched an attack on Baisha County.
The four regiments that surrounded Changde also launched a siege on Changde City.
At 6:30 in the morning, all units began to have breakfast. At 7 o'clock, the three divisions set up mortar positions and launched artillery attacks on the east, north and west walls of Baisha County.
Hearing the sound of artillery fire, Liu Fuxun, who was sitting in the command center, stood up and asked, "Is the enemy attacking the city so soon?"
Because he was trapped in Baisha County, Liu Fuxun did not sleep the whole night last night.
"Don't worry, Governor. We have more than 16,000 people in the city. The enemy can't easily break in." The adjutant beside him comforted.
"You haven't rested all night, go and rest first. I will notify you as soon as anything happens."
Seeing the adjutant's words, and feeling a little tired, Liu Fuxun did not refuse: "Okay, if there is any situation, be sure to inform me in time."