Chapter 67: Zhang Feng fights for hegemony
PS: The first update arrives, ask for collections, ask for recommended votes! Thank you for the book friend mouse carrying the knife, the fragrance in the breeze, and the reward of Shimu 1040!
Taonan Mansion originally belonged to Mukden Province. When Ma, Wu, Feng, Zhang and other Feng giants divided the territory, Feng Linge only got Rehe. In comparison, he suffered. In order to make up for Feng Lin Pavilion, Wu Haoxuan proposed that Taonan Mansion be assigned to Feng Lin Pavilion.
In order to calm the contradictions between several people, and also to occupy the essence of Fengtian Province. Zhang Yuting agreed to such an arrangement. However, after swallowing the entire Fengtian Province and the strength began to skyrocket, Zhang Yuting regretted assigning Taonan Mansion to Feng Linge. After all, that's a population of 1.8 million! If it can be brought under his rule, at least an independent brigade or even more troops can be raised.
So, after preparing for war. Zhang Yuting immediately ordered two independent brigades to enter Taonan Mansion and take over the rule here.
At this time, in order to fight against Zhang Yuting, Feng Linge had already shrunk his army to the front line of the Daling River. There weren't many troops in Taonan at all. Those officials appointed by Feng Linge, after the arrival of Zhang Yuting's army, all surrendered to the wind. In just one day, the entire Taonan Mansion returned to the rule of Fengtian Province.
Zhang Yuting forcibly occupied Taonan Mansion, which made Feng Linge furious, and he reprimanded Zhang Yuting for not keeping his word, which was a blatant breach of the original promise. At the same time, he also called on Wu Xingquan and Ma Tengxi to deal with Zhang Yuting together.
It's just that Wu Xingquan and Ma Tengxi didn't say anything. The Jilin Army is actively preparing, and Ma Tengxi no longer has an army, even if he wants to help Feng Linge, he is powerless!
After Zhang Yuting forcibly occupied Taonan Mansion, he did not stop. The 7th and 8th Independent Brigades under his command began to march to Chifeng, an important town in the northeast of Rehe. At the same time, the 27th Town of the Army and six other independent brigades deployed in Jinzhou, totaling nearly 50,000 men, began to attack Feng Linge's troops defending the front line of the Daling River.
On August 12, Zhang Yuting and Feng Linge's troops fought fiercely on the front line of the Daling River. Although, Feng Linge blew up the bridge on the Daling River first. However, this did not stop the army under Zhang Yuting's command.
In the afternoon of the same day, the three independent brigades under Zhang Yuting crossed the Yakniu River from Beipiao and attacked Feng Linge's flank. The two mixed associations under the command of Feng Linge guarded the county seat of Beipiao.
Zhang Yuting was supported by the Japanese and was much more powerful than Feng Linge in artillery firepower. The three independent brigades under Zhang Yuting concentrated more than 20 Meiji 31-year 75mm field guns to storm the county seat of Beipiao. Feng Linge's two mixed associations suffered heavy losses in the heavy artillery bombardment of the Feng army. The county town of Beipiao, which has been in disrepair for a long time, has been blasted out of a big gap. The Feng army was able to attack the county seat of Beipiao through this gap, and the two sides engaged in fierce battles in the county seat.
The battle did not end until the evening, and Feng Linge's two gangsters suffered heavy losses and had to abandon the county town of Beipiao and retreat towards Chaoyang. And after Zhang Yuting's Feng army took the county seat of Beipiao, they could directly threaten Feng Linge from the flank.
The loss of the North Ticket put Feng Linge in crisis. After the two mixed associations guarding the north ticket retreated, there were less than 5,000 people left. The rest were either killed in the battle or had already surrendered.
The first battle was lost, which had a heavy impact on the morale of Feng Linge's army. It also cast a shadow on the next operation.
"Dashuai, Zhang Dashuai also gathered 30,000 people on the front line of the Daling River. And the more than 10,000 people in Beipiao directly threatened our flank. After the First Battle of Beipiao, we had less than 25,000 men left. This battle is not easy to fight! Qin Hua, the chief of staff of the Rehe army, looked depressed.
The strength is not as good as people, and the gap between the two sides is too big. So much so that after the outbreak of the war, the Rehe army has always been at a disadvantage.
Feng Linge's face was also as dark as the bottom of a pot, he knew that with less than half of Zhang Yuting's army, it would be very difficult to defeat Zhang Yuting. Feng Linge put all his hopes on Wu Xingquan. As long as Wu Xingquan sent troops to attack Fengtian Province, Zhang Yuting had to retreat. When the time comes, in the case of taking care of one or the other, Zhang Yuting will undoubtedly be defeated.
It's just that before Wu Xingquan sends troops, he must stabilize the battle line. Otherwise, once the battle line is broken through, Rehe will be captured by Zhang Yuting. Even if Wu Xingquan attacked Mukden Province, he would have nothing. As for what Wu Xingquan would do to him after defeating Zhang Yuting, this was no longer in Feng Linge's consideration.
"Order the cavalry units to prepare for the attack! Knowing that the Feng army would definitely attack from the north, the cavalry could go up the road and deal a heavy blow to the Feng army. Feng Linge said. The thousands of Mongolian cavalry recruited were Feng Linge's killer weapon. Originally, he wanted to wait until the most critical moment of the war to use it. to play a role in reversing the situation. However, now that the situation has deteriorated, if you don't think about it, I'm afraid there will be no chance.
"Yes, Dashuai!" Qin Hua nodded, he also knew that the current situation was already very dangerous for Rehe.
On August 13, Zhang Yuting stormed the defense line of the Daling River while ordering the Feng army occupying Beipiao to attack Feng Linge's flank to cover the frontal battlefield. 、
In the offensive and defensive battle of the Daling River, both Zhang Yuting and Feng Linge put the main force into it. Zhang Yuting's 27th Town and Feng Linge's 28th Town were the most elite troops in their hands. The two sides were separated by the Daling River and a fierce battle began.
The artillery of the Feng army was obviously much stronger than that of the Rehe army. On the east bank of the Daling River, Zhang Yuting concentrated more than 50 Meiji 31-style field guns and fiercely shelled the positions of the Rehe army. The infantry used the small boats they had collected to cross the Daling River and break through the defense line of the Rehe army.
The Rehe army also knew the importance of the Daling River defense line, and once the defense line was breached, the Feng army would be able to drive straight in. Therefore, the Rehe army could only defend the Daling River.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! "A crisp gunfire rang out, and it was the Feng army and the Rehe army that were shooting at each other across the Daling River. However, the marksmanship of both the Feng army and the Rehe army was not very accurate, and such shooting was more for the strength of the troops.
"Da Da Da!" Maxim heavy machine guns on both sides, as well as Hazikaith machine guns, were firing. Constant strafing of enemy positions. There was a burst of dust on the beaten position.
One by one, the small boats rowed towards the west bank of the Daling River. This was an attempt by the Feng army to cross the river. However, the troops crossing the river were hit by the superior firepower of the Rehe army. Many Fengjun soldiers were killed directly in the process of crossing the river, and the blood stained the Daling River red.
Although, under the heavy blows of the Feng army, the Rehe army paid a heavy price. However, with the help of the Daling River, they resisted the attack of the Feng army to the death.
Zhang Yuting saw that the frontal battlefield had never been able to break through the Dalinghe defense line, and it was worth pinning his hopes on the flanks. More than 10,000 Feng troops set out from Beipiao and launched an attack on Chaoyang.
At this time, Feng Linge's cavalry was dispatched. Thousands of cavalry fired an undulating attack on the Feng army in the middle of the road. The sound of horses' hooves is like thunder, and the swords are bright. These Mongol cavalry were very brave and were able to launch a frantic attack even in the face of the machine gun positions of the Feng army.
After all, the Feng army was not an elite army, and even though it was equipped with a lot of heavy machine guns, it was still unable to resist in the face of a sudden attack by the enemy's cavalry. Many soldiers even escaped from the battle, which led the defense line to break through by the Mongol cavalry.
Once the defensive line was breached, it was even more impossible to resist the attack of the Mongol cavalry. The Mongol cavalry that rushed into the ranks of the Feng army and wantonly slashed and killed these Feng troops.
In less than half an hour, the Feng army was defeated. Countless officers and soldiers of Feng threw away their armor and fled to the north. The Mongol cavalry, on the other hand, pursued them fiercely. When the Feng army fled back to the scene of Beipiao, only half of the more than 10,000 people remained. The Mongol cavalry lost less than a thousand men. These losses were caused by machine gun fire from the Feng army in the first place.
However, although the Feng army suffered a crushing defeat, with the army left behind in Beipiao, there were still seven or eight thousand people. Although the losses were not small, for the Feng army, it did not hurt the muscles and bones.
On the other hand, the 7th and 8th Independent Brigades of the Feng Army, which set out from Taonan Mansion, also captured Chifeng on the afternoon of August 13 and rushed directly to Chengde, Feng Linge's old nest.
Because of the tight defense line of the Daling River, Feng Linge has already transferred all the troops left in Chengde to the Daling River. So much so that no one defended Chengde at all. Once Chengde is captured, Feng Linge's lair will be destroyed. After losing his old nest, if Feng Linge wanted to gain a foothold in Rehe again, it would be impossible.
On the night of August 13, Feng Linge had to abandon the Daling River defense line and retreat to Chengde. After retreating back to Chengde, the army under Feng Linge was less than 20,000 people. Although there were several thousand additional Mongol cavalry, it was still unknown whether they could withstand Zhang Yuting's attack.
Feng Linge took the initiative to evacuate the Daling River defense line, which undoubtedly gave Zhang Yuting a chance. Tens of thousands of troops under Zhang Yuting began to march towards Chengde. Because of the strength of the Mongolian cavalry, Zhang Yuting also began to actively think of other ways.
Zhang Yuting's henchman Zhang Fuchen was sent to liaise with the Mongol tribes, and after Zhang Yuting paid a lot of money, these Mongol tribes immediately abandoned Feng Linge and recalled the Mongol cavalry to their respective tribes.
After losing the Mongol cavalry, Feng Linge was left with less than 20,000 men to defend Chengde. However, they had to at least resist the attack of the 50,000-strong army under Zhang Yuting's command. If there is no accident, Feng Linge will not be able to defend Chengde at all.