Xiang Xiaoqiang sat there, listening to these gray-haired old generals talking about the words "defense line" and "fortifications" and boasting about how thick the cement was. The more he listened, the more unpleasant he became.

This time it was just a small tentative attack, with only more than a thousand troops dispatched, while the Qing army had more than three million troops on the north bank.

As for the Yangtze River defense line, which is hundreds of kilometers long from Anqing to Shanghai, it is impossible for every part to be as strong as Nanjing. In other words, the Nanjing section is the strongest point in the entire eastern section of the defense line, and the rest are better than this.

weak.

Sure enough, when Commander Cao called up the defense map of the eastern section of the defense line, Xiang Xiaoqiang could see at a glance that this short section of Nanjing was densely populated with permanent fortifications. In the other sections, only places close to a few cities had permanent fortifications.

Densely, the long defense lines between these cities are much "cleaner". There are only traffic tunnels connecting various fortifications, and there is only one fortification point equipped with heavy artillery far away, and there are only some small-scale machine gun forts scattered in between.

.It can be seen that defense relies heavily on mines and mines.

Xiang Xiaoqiang secretly shook his head. The Nanjing section of the defense line and the defense sections of other cities were roughly equivalent to the level of the Maginot Line of defense. However, in the wilderness between them, there were very few all-steel lifting turrets that could be hidden underground. Basically,

They are all cement fortifications protruding from the ground, with cannons hidden inside. Although the reinforced concrete is very thick,... after all, it is exposed to the ground.

It's barely at the level of the Siegfried Line of Defense.

Moreover, there is only one permanent defense line, which lacks a deep defense line. The Ming army seems to have placed all its bets on it.

Xiang Xiaoqiang felt a strong sense of foreboding.

Perhaps he had experience after World War II and always had a deep distrust of things like permanent defense lines. This kind of thing had been proven to be obsolete in World War II. Throughout the 1940s, there was no permanent defense line.

In the end, we can stop the enemy forces, whether they are from the Allies or the Axis Powers.

Of course, this is the 1930s, and the quality of the Qing army is definitely not as good as the German and American troops in World War II. But is the average strength of Nanming's Yangtze River defense line comparable to Maginot and Siegfried?

Xiang Xiaoqiang thought for a while, and his confidence in living or dying with Nanjing was greatly weakened. That very tempting idea came to his mind again. That was——

Run away!

Take 500,000 Mingyang, take the two beauties Qiu Qiu and Xiu Xiu, and run away! It doesn’t matter whether you go to the United States or Switzerland. It doesn’t matter if the two wives are not recognized there. You can hide for a while and wait until the war is over here.

The situation. Anyway, if you have money in your hands, you can still make a lot of war fortune and become rich with your prophetic knowledge of history. There are many beauties around those Yankee tycoons. Well, Xiuxiu, I can't treat her badly.

But now that I am the commander of the People's Guard, I have heavy responsibilities on my shoulders, and I am a soldier. I can't just work in a company and just resign. I have to think of a way, find a way...

Just when he was having sex, he heard a voice:

"What does Colonel Xiang think of this issue?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang woke up with a start and saw all the officers in the conference room looking at him. The defense commander looked at him "kindly" and smiled.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you clearly. Can you rephrase the question?"

As soon as the words came out, there were murmurs, and many people even snickered.

When Xiang Xiaoqiang was distracted just now, his eyes were always looking at the map, and the corners of his mouth were smiling from time to time. Although the old admiral kept speaking, he saw all his expressions. The old admiral took all of Xiang Xiaoqiang's expressions into account.

He understood it as a "disdainful look" and a "sarcastic smile", and how depressed he was. He knew that Xiang Xiaoqiang was a person deeply trusted by His Majesty, so he specifically did not call Xiang Xiaoqiang "Commander Xiang", but "Commander Xiang".

Calling him "Colonel Xiang" with full dignity highlights the rank of the military. Although the People's Guard is a fledgling army with a small number of people and special characteristics, there are very few colonels who serve as commanders. The old general is taking this to remind everyone that this young man is just a relying on

His Majesty trusted him, he was just an upstart who came to power through a coup.

Hearing that Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't even listen to what he said, Cao Mingqin became even more angry. He threw his stick on the table and said in a deep voice:

"To the colonel!"

Xiang Xiaoqiang remembered that he was a colonel and he was a general, so he was three levels behind.

He stood up, held up his hat, stood at attention and said:

"have!"

Cao Mingqin said coldly:

"The war situation outside is changing now, with hundreds of casualties decided every minute. You came to this meeting, but you didn't even bother to listen to what I said. I asked you, do you rely on His Majesty's trust or do you rely on His Majesty's trust?

Your position as commander of the People's Guard?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang was extremely depressed, but he didn't say a word wrong. He reluctantly said:

"I'm sorry, sir, it won't happen like this next time... What's your problem?"

Cao Mingqin repeated impatiently:

"This general is discussing with everyone that in the mutual shelling just now, our army only relied on fixed artillery in the fortifications to fight back. The artillery density was too low, only 10-15 guns per kilometer, but the Qing army deployed at least 150 guns per kilometer. We

The army is obviously at a firepower disadvantage. Should we urgently mobilize artillery from the rear to reinforce the defense line? Do you have any advice for the commander?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang was startled, rear artillery? It couldn't be...

he asked:

"Are the so-called rear artillery drawn from the strategic reserves in the rear?"

"That's natural, otherwise where would it be?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang's "no" was already on his lips, and he swallowed it alive. No, he was new here and had no foundation. Although he was trusted by the Queen, they were all big men in the military. I asked myself symbolically, "What's the point?"

You have no intention of listening to your own opinions. If you say it, it will only be in vain.

"This kind of major matter can be decided by the superiors," Xiang Xiaoqiang said, "There is no way for the general to interfere. Besides, artillery is not the general's specialty."

Unexpectedly, these words made Cao Mingqin angry. The old general's hot temper came up:

"What do you mean, 'This kind of major matter can be decided by the superior officers.' Do you mean that this general is a domineering person who cannot tolerate others' speech? Artillery is not your specialty, so why don't you say you are your specialty?

Where are you? The generals who came to this room for a meeting today. Everyone is responsible for the life and death of the Ming Dynasty. You are the only one who knows how to behave? If everyone is like you and shirks when you open your mouth, we might as well let the Qing captives come over!"

Cao Mingqin had an upright and fiery temper. He didn't take Xiang Xiaoqiang seriously at first, so he was just going to make things difficult for him. However, he asked Xiang Xiaoqiang, "Are the artillery pieces drawn from the strategic reserves in the rear?" He thought

It's very critical, and I got the idea right. Cao Mingqin himself was hesitant on this. The strategic reserve team cannot be easily moved, and it is a life-saving thing at critical moments.

He just felt that Xiang Xiaoqiang was a bit capable and wanted to hear what the young man had to say. The young man said, "This kind of important matter can be decided by the superiors." This made the old general very angry. Oh, he is so young. You are so cunning. When the country's life and death are at stake, if you are here to protect yourself wisely, then what is the use of the country supporting you?

Cao Mingqin's words also brought out Xiang Xiaoqiang's anger. Xiang Xiaoqiang said in his heart, "You think I don't want to say it? How do I know what the rules are here? You are a bunch of old men and uncles. The water is very deep. I just I don’t know what’s coming, so how do I know whether I should jump or not?

But then he thought about it, the Ming Dynasty was indeed at a critical moment, and he was worried about the position of Commander of the People's Guards. Once the Ming Dynasty was destroyed, nothing would be left. Besides, he wanted to run away now, so why should he worry about the position? ? Just open your mouth and say it casually, with a more aggressive tone, to offend these people again. If they have the ability to remove themselves from the position of commander of the People's Guard, it is best. If they cannot be removed, they must have a lot of opinions to Shen Rongxuan and At Zhu Yourong's side, he resigned from his post, looked fresh and clean, and justifiably ran away with his money and beautiful women. If he stayed here, he might be buried with the Ming Dynasty.

Xiang Xiaoqiang clicked his lips and said:

"Since the chief has mentioned this, the general will say it. May I ask, what is the purpose of bringing in the artillery troops?"

"Absurd, of course it is to make up for our inferior firepower!"

"Then what is the purpose of making up for our inferior firepower?"

Many people laughed, and many others looked at their watches dissatisfied. Cao Mingqin blew his beard and glared angrily, slapping the table and saying:

"Xiang Xiaoqiang, what exactly do you want to say?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang said reluctantly:

"Please answer! Everyone here please also answer! Purpose! What is the purpose?"

Slowly calming down, the generals looked at each other and pondered this "purpose". Yes, what is the purpose of making up for the disadvantage of firepower? It seems to be... think about it.

Xiang Xiaoqiang said:

"How much artillery can we mobilize from the reserve? How many artillery divisions can we mobilize? Impossible, because the defense line is very long, and just for Nanjing, the most we can mobilize is a few heavy artillery regiments, that is, a hundred heavy artillery pieces. Looks like. But in the 20-kilometer-long Nanjing section, the Qing army has 150 guns per kilometer. Ours is only a drop in the bucket, and we are still at a firepower disadvantage. Since we cannot form an overwhelming advantage, what is the purpose?

"In order to prepare our firepower, we need to attack across the river? Obviously not. Or maybe the artillery in the current defense line is not enough, so the Qing troops are almost allowed to attack? Isn't it? At present, in our defense line Their artillery performed very well. Although it was fewer than the Qing army's, it was more than enough to defend the Yangtze River.

"In order to eliminate the artillery of the Qing army? From the picture, the artillery positions of the Qing army are arranged behind the mountains of Tangquan Town and Yongning Town. If we want to get enough range, we must place the heavy artillery exposed on the riverside. In this way, they can easily It is difficult for us to hit them. Even if we can hit them, our new artillery is not protected by cement fortifications and is directly exposed to ten times the Qing army's artillery fire. It can neither suppress nor suppress them. If they are in danger of being destroyed, it is better to let them play their role in the hands of the reserve team.

"Therefore, in General Yimo's view, it is not cost-effective to use our shortcomings to attack the enemy's longcomings. As far as I know, the thickness of the top cover of the cement fortifications on our Yangtze River defense line is more than 1.5 meters, and some of the main fortifications are thicker than More than three meters. Along the river in the Nanjing section, there are mainly all-steel lifting turrets. The Qing army retracts underground when shelling, and rises up to fire when the Qing army charges. It is even more difficult to destroy. Currently, the only threats to our fortifications are That train gun.

"The train cannon can only fire two rounds per hour, not counting its slow rate of fire, and it only dares to hide dozens of kilometers away and fire at us with its range advantage. If it gets too close, once we find the position, we will send an aircraft to attack us.

, it didn’t even have time to warn and hide. Therefore, the Qing army did not dare to get too close to the train gun before seizing the air supremacy on both sides of the Yangtze River. Therefore, the threat was quite limited.

"So, what the general is saying is, since we have spent so much money not on artillery, but on reinforced concrete, let's let these reinforced concrete work now. Well, in my humble opinion, I don't know what you officers think.

how."

There was silence in the conference room. All the generals were staring at Xiang Xiaoqiang. Slowly, several people looked at Commander Cao with their throats rolling, wanting to say something. Finally, a major general said:

"Master Cao, the last general thinks so too. Instead of using my shortcomings to attack the enemy's strong points, it is better to use my strong points to attack the enemy's shortcomings."

Then, another person rushed to say:

"Yes, Master Cao, this is what I have always thought."

"That's right, the general has had this opinion for a long time. As soon as he said it, that person vetoed it..."

"It seems that General Xiang and Brother Xiang have the same idea..."

Cao Mingqin's face, which was originally red with anger, gradually calmed down. He glanced at Xiang Xiaoqiang and said in a rough voice:

"That's right! It should have been like this a long time ago! Young people, don't be so arrogant and say whatever you think! Now that the Ming Dynasty is at a critical moment of life and death, everyone should not think as much as usual. Tell us, what do you think of Commander Xiang?

"

There was a roar of approval.

Cao Mingqin waved his hand and said:

"Then it's decided that the artillery from the reserve will not be deployed. Okay, let's see again..."

Then, the old man accidentally looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang with a little more appreciation in his eyes.
To be continued...