allonlinenovel Chapter 196 Korman's radical move to attack Hot City
Chapter 196 Korman's radical move to attack Hot City
After receiving a reply from the central government of Northern Xinjiang, Korman was furious.
"Damn the Northern Xinjiang government, damn the Han people! They want to take control of the grassland from our Jirhan royal family, and they even made up such a high-sounding reason! It's simply wishful thinking for me to hand over the military power to the so-called Northwest Revolutionary Army!"
"Ji Lu! Immediately have someone arrest all the Northern Frontier government officials from the Anbei Protectorate in the city! Tell the Northern Frontier government that if they don't let the Northwestern Revolutionary Army withdraw from the grassland, we will take action against them immediately!"
Korman's trusted subordinate, Giroud, said hesitantly, "Great Khan, with our current strength, even if we gather the power of the entire grassland tribe, we can never be a match for the Northwest Revolutionary Army. Such a tough approach is likely to cause a complete fallout between the two sides."
"I just want to completely break off relations with them! Tell them that the Gilhan family is the king of the grassland! You are dreaming if you want to take control of the grassland!"
"Do as I say!"
Half an hour later, hundreds of soldiers from the guard force of the Jir Khan Palace broke into the government building of the Anbei Protectorate in a very rude manner, arrested dozens of Northern Xinjiang government officials who were working inside, locked them up in a dungeon, and directly warned the Northern Xinjiang government in harsh words that if the Northwest Revolutionary Army did not stop its pace of advancement, it would cause resistance in the entire grassland, and the Jir Khan Palace would be the first to target these government officials.
The news soon reached Su Zhengyang's ears.
Sitting in the office, Su Zhengyang listened to Zhang Luanyu's report to him, put out the half-smoked cigarette in his hand into the ashtray, and slowly said: "This Korman is really an ignorant frog in the well. Immediately notify Liu Chengxu and give him one day to capture Hot City for me. I want to make this arrogant Korman a prisoner of our Northwest Revolutionary Army!"
"If this happens, Korman may become desperate and endanger the lives of those Northern Frontier government officials in Anbei Protectorate."
A cold light flashed in Su Zhengyang's eyes.
"Tell Korman that if he dares to touch anyone from our Northern Frontier, when the city is captured, I will destroy the entire Gilhan royal family and bury them all with him!"
Zhang Luanyu nodded and spoke again: "The Jirhan royal family can be said to be the spiritual totem of the grassland. If we touch them, will it arouse resistance from the people of the entire grassland? It will be detrimental to our future control over Mengzhou."
Su Zhengyang pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Tell Liu Chengxu that after entering the city, he must not harm the local residents of Hot City, and must not fight back or retaliate. He must use 60% of the cattle, sheep, pastures, and property obtained from the grassland nobles to help the lower-class people on the grassland."
Since ancient times, no matter where, the social form has been a pyramid structure. After all, those who truly hold power and the wealthy are only a minority. As long as the vast majority of the people at the bottom get benefits, they will soon put aside their hostility towards the Northwest Revolutionary Army and slowly accept the Han people.
Outside the city of Hot, in the First Army Command, after receiving the telegram from Su Zhengyang, Liu Chengxu stood up with a serious expression.
"Have the 101,102st and 6nd Regiments ready. The 103,104th Heavy Artillery Brigade will immediately build artillery positions and tear open the city wall. The two infantry regiments will charge in from the gap. The rd and th Regiments will be ready for fire support at any time. I will give you six hours to capture the city of Hot and make Coleman kneel before me!"
Twenty minutes later, the 6th Heavy Artillery Brigade deployed its troops on a flat terrain three kilometers outside the city, and twenty-four 105MM heavy howitzers opened fire simultaneously.
Hao Te City is a newly built city with a history of no more than 30 years. Most of the city walls are built with blue bricks and rammed earth, so they are not very thick.
The power of the 105MM artillery is enough to blow a hole in the city wall.
Although the equipment of the guards of all the major tribes in the entire Mengzhou grassland is extremely backward, the Mengzhou Self-Defense Division, which guards the city of Hot and protects the safety of the Jirhan Palace, has equipment and firepower that are comparable to the combat troops of the first-line warlords in the country.
Coleman had no idea how much it cost to assemble this well-equipped and well-mannered division-level combat force.
The Mengzhou Self-Defense Division includes four regimental-level combat units, an artillery battalion, and a guard battalion, with a total number of about 10,000 people. This is also the reason why Korman dared to break off with the Northern Xinjiang government.
On the battlefield, the sound of artillery fire was deafening. Countless artillery shells hit the southern wall of Hot City like comets, completely collapsing the more than 200-meter-long wall and revealing a huge gap. The entire Hot City was thus exposed to the iron torrent of the First Army without any cover.
Beep beep beep beep!
The charge horn sounded, and the 101st and 102nd Infantry Regiments poured into the city like a tide, following the gap in the city wall blasted by the heavy artillery brigade, and engaged in close combat with the Mengzhou Self-Defense Division, which had established defensive positions and fire blockades on the main roads in the city.
The battlefield was filled with the loud noises of all kinds of guns, bullets raining and smoke everywhere. The two infantry regiments with rich combat experience began to advance step by step in an orderly manner. Now, each squad of the Northwest Revolutionary Army is equipped with a heavy firepower infantryman carrying an Iron Fist rocket launcher. The platoons are equipped with a large number of 60MM mortars. General firepower points and fortifications were eliminated one after another under the targeted artillery fire.
The two large infantry regiments were unstoppable, forcing the Mengzhou Self-Defense Division to retreat step by step and shrink its defense line step by step.
After the battle lasted for two hours, the 103rd and 104th Infantry Regiments began to push forward, while the 101st and 102nd Regiments, which had experienced two hours of high-intensity fighting, began to take a short break to rest. In the entire Mengzhou Self-Defense Division, two of its regimental units were completely destroyed during these two hours, and almost wiped out. The remaining two regiments could only struggle to hold on and survive.
The city was littered with corpses of Mengzhou Self-Defense Army soldiers. From the very beginning of this war, the First Army of the Northwest Revolutionary Army had an absolute crushing advantage.
An hour later, the two infantry regiments of the Mengzhou Self-Defense Division that were entrenched on the Yulin Road defense line outside the palace were completely defeated. The combat troops of the four regiments of the First Army basically took control of the situation in the city and surrounded the Jirhan Palace.
Until this time, Korman, who was arrogant and did not take the Northern Xinjiang government seriously, began to sweat and regret.
In a span of four hours, the Mengzhou Self-Defense Division, which had a strength of more than 101 people, was almost completely annihilated. The artillery battalion was not even able to fire a single shot before an assault company of the st Regiment found its base camp and disarmed it.
"Great Khan! Let's surrender. The guard battalion in the palace alone can't resist the Northwest Revolutionary Army! If we don't surrender, we won't be able to save our lives."
Korman said gloomily, "No, we cannot surrender! Once we surrender, they will never let the Gilhan royal family go! I have to be responsible for my people!"
When the First Army launched the siege, Korman had already ordered the execution of 37 government officials of the Anbei Protectorate. Now he had no way of retreat.