Chapter 11 Chapter 11 The Motianling blockade battle, the only victory of the Qing army

After occupying Phoenix City, Shanxian Youpeng immediately ordered the army to set off and continue to attack Fengtian!The first thing that must be taken is the Fengtian portal-Liaoyang. There are two routes to attack Liaoyang: one is to detour to Haicheng, the road is easier (plain), but the distance is longer; the other is to take a shortcut and climb over the mountains - Motianling.Although the distance is short, it can be seen from the name of Motianling that it is dangerous. Shanxian Youpeng decided: Take a shortcut!Wielding his saber wildly, he ordered the army to march rapidly towards Motianling.On the frost of the night, on the dew of the morning, march on!

On the dangerous Motianling, Nie Shicheng, who had retreated all the way west, regrouped his army and stationed here.On the front of Motianling, he deployed a heavy defense line, and on his flanks was the army led by the bannerman known as "General Tiger"-Heilongjiang General Yiktanga. It was Nie Shicheng who stopped Shanxian Youpeng. Nie Shicheng is now the supreme commander of the Motianling garrison. Although he retreated all the way before, Nie Shicheng is also constantly summing up his experience in fighting against Japan. After many fights with the Japanese army, he has gradually figured out how to deal with the Japanese army. way.In the process of summing up his combat experience and lessons, the most important inspiration came from a conversation.

Before the Pyongyang War, Zuo Baogui came to Nie Shicheng's camp to discuss defense. "What are you most worried about right now?" Nie Shicheng asked. "It's still supplies." Zuo Baogui replied. "We have stored food for a month," Nie Shicheng told Zuo Baogui. "Our army must be prepared. The Japanese are small and poor, and they must seek a quick victory. We must fight against them with a protracted war." "A protracted battle." Nie Shicheng was very excited when he heard Zuo Baogui say these four words, because it coincided with his thoughts.

Whether in North Korea or on the Qing battlefield, the marching and attacking of the Japanese army were very bold and fast. They used fast and strong attacks to quickly open the gap and break into the center of the position. It seems that they never considered the problem of blocking the attack. They will fight you desperately at every turn. , to fight bloody. In fact, this is also forced out. Because the Japanese army has the disadvantages of the Japanese army, that is, the lone army goes deep into a foreign land, and logistics supplies are extremely difficult, so they always hope for a quick battle.

When it comes to each attack, the Japanese army's tactics seem to be flexible and changeable, but there is only one core, that is: outflank.Every attack must send out several groups of troops, some of them pretend to be the main force to attack, and the real main force will always appear in the weak link of the Qing army (pre-war preparations are meticulous), encircle and use local advantages to make the opponent suffer from the enemy. Next It is to quickly close the encirclement circle and concentrate on annihilation. Once they encounter a strong enemy (such as the Battle of Xuanwumen in Pyongyang), they are also cautious, get up early if it is beneficial, and retreat if it is not beneficial, and then try their best to create conditions to attack.At this time, they will show perseverance and calmness, waiting for the fighters to move forward in a roundabout way.This is actually a trick that Tang Taizong Li Shimin used well on the battlefield when he was still the king of Qin: advance quickly if it is beneficial, and retreat quickly if it is not beneficial.In addition, they also have a trick: sneak attack.What this group likes most is to launch a sudden charge in the middle of the night or early in the morning, because this is the time when the opponent's defenses are most relaxed.

This is the characteristic of the Japanese army.There is only one way to deal with the Japanese army: attack against attack!But how to attack, you need to be more patient and more surprising than the Japanese army. The method Nie Shicheng summed up is—to be persistent strategically, and to carry out the policy of mountain mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare behind the enemy tactically. , let him take care of both the head and the tail, and it is impossible to defend against, and then touch it with a large army, and you can get it!" The Battle of Motianling was the first time since the Qing-Japanese War that the Japanese army left the plains for mountain warfare.Trouble, big trouble awaits them.

In November, in the heavy snow, the Japanese army reached the foot of Motianling Mountain and began to attack the mountain! Nie Shicheng no longer built fortifications on the mountain to avoid a frontal battle with the main force of the Japanese army.The main force lay in ambush at the foot of the mountain, while suspicious soldiers were deployed on the mountain.When the Japanese army climbed halfway up the mountain, banners and flags were unfurled in the dense forest on the mountain, and drums were blared, creating the illusion that there were a large number of defenders. The Japanese army did not dare to advance any further, and the main force began to withdraw.And this fell into Nie Shicheng's trap.

When the main force of the Japanese army was almost withdrawn, leaving only the rear troops, the main force ambushing at the foot of the mountain launched a counterattack.The broken Japanese army was caught off guard and was absolutely at a disadvantage in terms of strength, causing heavy casualties. However, the Japanese army quickly found out what was true and false, and the main force attacked the mountain again.At this time, the tactic of using suspicious soldiers was no longer effective. Nie Shicheng ordered the Qing army to rely on the favorable terrain on the mountain and constantly change positions. A few shots were fired here, and a few shots were fired there. After the Japanese army was divided, the main force of the Qing army was concentrated again. The superior force encircled and wiped out the scattered small groups of Japanese troops-this move is called breaking down each.

In the ensuing battle, Nie Shicheng commanded the Qing army to resist more than a dozen attacks launched by the Japanese army, relying on flexible mountain movement warfare and guerrilla warfare that harassed and raided.Shanxian Youpeng finally no longer thinks that taking down Motianling is just a mountain climbing. It is the first time he has met a really powerful opponent! After resisting the wave of Japanese attacks, Nie Shicheng decided: launch a counterattack!And use a trick commonly used by the Japanese army-sneak attack. Regarding the counterattack of the Qing army, this was something that the Japanese army never dreamed of, because the Qing army had not had a single counterattack since the beginning of the war. The Japanese army thought that the Qing army would only defend and escape, and they had been mobilized by Nie Shicheng's mobile warfare. Quite tired, so They slept soundly in their bivouac.

In the evening, the sneak attack team led by Nie Shicheng set off.They lay in ambush in front of the Japanese barracks, lying in the snow, waiting for the best time.The body was covered with snow and turned into ice, and the north wind was blowing head-on. Within a few minutes, the body began to freeze, but no one moved or made a sound. Everyone was motionless, quietly waiting for the attack. At two o'clock in the morning, the defense of the Japanese sentry began to relax. "Attack!" Nie Shicheng jumped up from the snow and led the team to charge towards the nearest camp tent. The sleeping Japanese army was the ghost of the gun.The Qing army then rushed into another tent and continued to kill!

The awakened Japanese soldiers didn't know what happened, so they ran for their lives.When they breathed a sigh of relief and finally escaped from the camp, when they thought they had reached a safe zone, Yi Ketang'a, who had been notified by Nie Shicheng in advance, had already ambushed here, and the army attacked and killed again.Since the beginning of the war, the Qing army had never killed the enemy so heartily, so they were all extremely brave, and shot row after row of revenge bullets into the body of the Japanese army.The whole battlefield was full of killing sounds. The Japanese army finally collapsed. They scrambled and retreated for dozens of miles, and fled all the way back to Phoenix City! The Motianling blocking battle was the only major victory of the Qing army against the Japanese army in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1995. This victory was achieved by Nie Shicheng, and Zuo Baogui also contributed to this victory. The wisdom of war.Nie Shicheng can comfort Zuo's precious heroic spirit. Under the night sky, in the heavy snow in Motianling, Nie Shicheng stood for a long time.Heroes go away, heroic spirits linger! Youpeng Shanxian finally understood that he was facing a completely different team from the previous Qing army.This Qing army has learned to fight.It seems that Nie Shicheng is very difficult to defeat, Shanxian Youpeng decided: change the course and go to Haicheng! However, Phoenix City cannot be left behind by changing to Haicheng, and an army must be left to guard against Nie Shicheng's counterattack, so Shanxian Youpeng made a risky decision: divide the troops.The Fifth Division was ordered to stay in Phoenix City, while more than 6,000 people from the Third Division went deep alone and rushed to Haicheng for a long distance, opening up the passage from Phoenix City to Liaoyang through Haicheng. Shanxian Youpeng's order was not approved by the base camp—it wasn't that Shanxian Youpeng didn't report the order, but the base camp opposed it at all.The opinion of the base camp is: In view of the severe cold season, we should give up the risky attack and continue to stay in Phoenix City, waiting for the weather to warm up in the next year before attacking Fengtian. But Shanxian Youpeng put aside the strict order of the base camp.His risky decision was really to fulfill his boast that he would spend the New Year in Fengtian in Haikou. On November 28, the Third Division marched to Haicheng alone.The first thing they have to face is extremely unfavorable conditions - cold. There used to be a joke about a southerner who went to the Northeast on a business trip in winter and wanted to drink beer when he arrived at the restaurant, so he said to the waiter: "Bring me a bottle of beer!" "Do you want it frozen or at room temperature?" the waiter asked. The man was furious: "You still want me to drink frozen food in such a cold day, of course it is at room temperature!" "The freezing temperature is minus 1 degree, and the normal temperature is minus ten degrees." The waiter replied calmly. The 6,000 soldiers set out in such a bitter cold. In such a cold day, it would be great if there was a down jacket, even a sweater.Sorry, this really doesn't exist. Due to the problem of supply transportation, only a small number of soldiers can wear military coats, and most soldiers still wear skirts (Japanese-style summer dress skirts). Since I can't dress warmly, it would be nice to have a drink of hot water and a hot meal.Sorry, that doesn't work either.The onigiri that I carry with me, at a temperature of more than ten degrees Celsius below zero, has a characteristic that it is very hard. When I bite it down, there is a "click", and half of my teeth fall off.As for drinking hot water, there is no firewood.So drink unboiled water?All the rivers are frozen over.There is no water to drink, only snow to eat. The road from Phoenix City to Haicheng is often deserted mountains and plains. At night, when you go to sleep, you just find some dead grass (you may not be able to find it), and everyone hugs your body to keep warm. When you wake up the next day, the snow has buried your neck. A large number of soldiers and horses were seriously injured and died of freezing.In fact, this group of people is not the worst, the worst is the soldiers of the other two arms. Since everyone does not know the way, the engineers need to explore the way.The shoes were worn out quickly when they stepped on the hard ice, and the blood flowed from both feet, and then quickly froze into ice.Their task is not only to explore the road, but also to clean up the snow on the slope; when encountering a frozen river, they need to find sand and sprinkle it on the ice to prevent slipping.Soldiers carrying cannons cannot cross the river on ice. At this time, the engineers have to break the ice and build bridges. It depends on luck. Not every place to cross the river is suitable for bridges. At this time, the engineers can only Crack the ice with iron rods, let the artillerymen carry the cannons, and cross the river through the icy water. At that time, it took three or four days to cross a slightly wider river.And when the march is the most difficult, you can only advance three or four miles a day! It is estimated that no one wants to go to Fengtian to celebrate the New Year at this time. After half a month of marching, the third division finally arrived in Haicheng.When they saw the city wall of Haicheng, everyone burst into tears. The defense of the Qing army in Haicheng was very lax, not even a sentry, and no one would have thought that a Japanese army would appear when the weather was freezing.The Third Division successfully sneaked into the city in the middle of the night.However, before they had time to be happy, the joy of victory suddenly turned into great fear. Because Haicheng is surrounded by Qing troops. Haicheng is close to Liaoyang, and Liaoyang is the gateway of Fengtian.For Fengtian, the imperial court has to do its best to protect it. It is not only the "land of dragon prosperity", Fengtian is also the place where the ancestors slept underground - "the important place of the mausoleum".Huang Taiji and other ancestors are buried here.What the imperial court was worried about was whether the old ancestors in the ground could sleep peacefully, so they assembled heavy troops to guard the ancestral graves for the royal family. In order to allow the ancestors to sleep peacefully underground, the imperial court has already mobilized heavy troops and assembled 170 battalions of nearly 80,000 troops in this area. Yingkou surrounded Haicheng on three sides. If the Qing army, which was 10 times larger than the Japanese army, attacked aggressively, no matter how poor its combat effectiveness was, it would crush the Japanese army to the ground. The third division plunged headlong into the encirclement of the Qing army. They never imagined that they had worked so hard and traveled long distances all the way to die.With no support before and no reinforcements behind, they had no choice but to defend Haicheng alone.And Youpeng of Shanxian County didn't even need to think about his plan to open the road from Haicheng to Liaoyang before, as long as he could save his life, it would be good. The situation was reported back to Japan, and both the base camp and Renren were shocked by the serious consequences of Yamagata Youtomo's arrogance.Brother, there are only six divisions in the country, so you just let one division die. Youpeng Shanxian no longer had the chance to see the ending of the Third Division.Because the leader was very angry, Muren decided that Shanxian Youpeng must be dealt with, and Shanxian Youpeng would pay the price for his arrogance. When Muren decided to deal with Shanxian Youpeng, he was very worried.Although Shanxian Youpeng was a little crazy and reckless, he was loyal to the emperor and spared no effort in the war, even at the expense of his own life.Having such a general is a great comfort to Mujin. Although he is on the front line and Mujin is in Hiroshima, his lovely face often appears before his eyes, and it is really hard to bear to do it. And Shanxian Youpeng has taken the lead in seriously violating military orders and making fatal mistakes. If he is not dealt with, how will military discipline be maintained in the future? Although you have made great achievements and are loyal, you will be punished if you make a mistake, because the entire country of Japan is betting on this war, only success is allowed, and failure is not allowed. Everyone is serving this war. I am no exception. The fairest result is of course dismissal on the spot, but Muren knows that based on his understanding of Shanxian Youpeng for so many years, if he is publicly dismissed from his post, this madman may draw his sword on the spot - seppuku.Muren couldn't bear to see this result. Muren thought about it, and finally came up with a solution. He made a decree. "I haven't seen you for a long time, and now I hear that you are suffering from a disease. I can't bear to miss you. I want to hear about the whole situation of the enemy army from you. You should return to the court to report it." Dear, come back quickly and let the doctor take your pulse. Youpeng from Shan County was furious after receiving the imperial decree. He was going to send a telegram to the base camp, asking the base camp to play Muren: I am not sick, and I can still fight! But Shanxian Youpeng finally calmed down.He began to pack his luggage and return home in despair. This was his failure, which can be regarded as the biggest failure since he joined the army. He once boasted that he wanted to conquer the whole earth, but the fact was that he couldn't even conquer a single mountain.Youpeng Shanxian proved a truth with his experience: where there is aggression, there will be resistance.The power of aggression can never crush the power of resistance. But for Japan, they will continue.Before the war started, Mutsuhito lived in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, but now he has come to Hiroshima.The wartime base camp, parliament and other institutions also moved to Hiroshima with him, not because the air in Hiroshima was better and the scenery was better, but because it was convenient for Mujin to sit in the rear and command.From a geographical point of view, Hiroshima is closer to the Qing Dynasty than Tokyo, and it is also closer to the front-line battlefield. Having the emperor sitting in the town will motivate the front-line soldiers even more. Even if I can't go to the front line and go to the battlefield, I will come to a place closer to you.Soldiers, charge! With the sad departure of Shanxian Youpeng, the military operation of the Japanese First Army also came to an end.We need to turn our attention to another Japanese army in the northeast battlefield. When Youpeng of Shan County led the First Army to fight on the Korean battlefield, the headquarters believed that the Qing Dynasty had a vast territory and a large population. Even if it occupied Fengtian and the entire Northeast, it could not decide the overall victory or defeat, and the Qing court could not feel the pain of signing the alliance under the city. Send an army to invade from other places, so as to split with the first army to attack Fengtian, and at the same time, it is easier to attack Beijing. This is the Second Army, which consists of the First Division and the Fourth Division of the Japanese mainland. In 1945, Japan was defeated in the Second World War. MacArthur, the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces, asked Japan to remove the statues of domestic militarists, but an exception was made to keep the bronze statue of one person, because this person was MacArthur's. Idol, his portrait has been hanging in MacArthur's study.He is Xixiang Takamori's cousin, Da Shanyan, commander-in-chief of the Second Army. On October 24, 1894, the same day that the First Army Death Squad swam across the Anping River and entered Qing territory, Da Shanyan set off with his Second Army. This will be a larger battlefield than the First Army, and it will also be the location of the real elite main force of Li Hongzhang's Huai Army. With the unfolding of the Luda battlefield, we will soon see the true strength of the elite Huai Army.