Chapter 686 Attacking Black Mountain Cave

According to the situation explained by the prisoner, in addition to Heishandong, there are also two or three small Lidong in the nearby area who take orders from Zhao Ye. The total population is as many as three to four thousand people, and Qingzhuang accounts for about 30% of this number.

Half. However, the products of these caves are not rich. Just like the Fushan Cave that Haihan attracted when he first landed in Sanya, they are still at the level of slash-and-burn farming, and the grain output is only adequate. And currently the Shilu Mining Area has escaped

There are still thousands of prisoners in the prison, and a lot of food is needed to feed these people. Zhao Ye originally planned to obtain supplies here after capturing Shilu, but after this plan failed, the survival of the fugitives became inevitable

problem.

After Qiao Zhiya listened carefully, he considered and said: "In other words, if these people follow Zhao Ye back to the Black Mountain Cave, the local area is likely to suffer from food shortages because of the sudden increase of thousands of mouths?"

"According to the information available to the Ministry of Security, there is no record of large quantities of grain being transported to the Qiongzhong Mountains for sale in the past three or four months. Unless they store enough grain, the sudden increase of nearly 30% of outsiders will be enough to eat them in a short period of time.

Destroy them." Lin Nan responded.

After Haihan achieved control over the main towns on Hainan Island, he included the bulk trading of salt, iron and grain into the scope of monitoring, so that he could regulate the supply and sales of these consumer goods related to people's livelihood when necessary. The Ministry of Security did not

The corresponding records indicate that the planners probably did not think too much about the consequences of the failure of the riot beforehand - of course they may have already considered this, but given the conditions in Lidong, they could not raise the funds needed to purchase large quantities of grain.

Or maybe they were worried that this move would attract Haihan's attention, so they didn't execute it in the end.

Qiao Zhiya was silent for a moment, shook his head and said: "The executive committee probably won't have the patience to wait two or three months before taking action. It may not be possible to wait for them to collapse on their own. You continue to talk."

Lin Nan continued: "As for the location of Black Mountain Cave, according to the prisoners' confessions and the military map, the location is about eighty or ninety miles east of Shilu. The march will take two to three days."

This distance is actually not that far for marching and fighting, but considering that this distance is all mountainous and densely forested, large-scale military operations will indeed have certain difficulties in terms of supplies and command.

Hearing this, Qiao Zhiya frowned and said, "Are there any villages or other places where we can stay?"

"No!" Lin Nan responded: "The closest Li-Miao village that we have contact with is a hundred miles southeast of Heishandong, and it is even closer to Sanya."

"Then we can only force it." Qiao Zhiya was slightly disappointed. For a combat target that requires two days of travel, if there are villages and other places along the way, it can be used as a ready-made transit supply station, greatly reducing logistics.

Supply pressure.

However, Lin Nan was not a member of the military, and he was not very experienced in marching and fighting, so all he could do was provide intelligence, and the specific battle plan had to be formulated and implemented by Qiao Zhiya and the military personnel.

Although the environmental conditions are somewhat unfavorable, there are no conditions for soldiers to perform tasks. Qiao Zhiya quickly adjusted his mood and asked Li Qingyang: "Have you sorted out the physical characteristics of Zhao Ye?"

Li Qingyang bowed and responded: "I have already grasped this person's height and appearance. To ensure nothing is missed, I am willing to accompany the army into the mountains to search for this person!"

Qiao Zhiya gave Li Qingyang a meaningful look, a little suspicious of his real purpose. The order from the Ministry of Security did not arrange for them to accompany the army into the mountains. Li Qingyang took the initiative to volunteer, which inevitably made people doubt whether he wanted to take credit for it. But Li Qingyang himself

He seemed very calm and continued: "I am worried that Zhao Yeliu has some back-up plans, or that there are still other parties on the island, so he must be interrogated as soon as possible after he is captured."

There is some truth in Li Qingyang's words. Only people with Jinyiwei background can better grasp the rules of conduct of their colleagues. The executive committee responded so quickly this time because they hope to solve this matter completely and not allow any more mistakes. Leaders

With Li Qingyang by his side, it wouldn't be a problem. Qiao Zhiya nodded immediately and agreed to Li Qingyang's request.

In the next few days, all kinds of materials, mules, horses, and personnel arrived in Changhua one after another, and then took the train to the Shilu Mining Area. The size of the troops gathered here was close to 2,000 people, and there were hundreds more

Militiamen responsible for baggage logistics - Considering the special environment of this battle, the military did not recruit ordinary civilians like in the past, but directly transferred a group of reserve militiamen to take charge of baggage logistics.

On September 25, Qiao Zhiya led the Annan Second Battalion, which had been adapted to Shilu for a week, to set off eastward into the mountainous area. Along with him, the auxiliary Li Miao Company and the baggage mules and horses brigade followed.

A total of more than 300 mules and horses were organized to transport baggage. A total of 275 mules and horses were organized in Danzhou and the Yinggehai Saltworks in the south. They were sent to Changhua by cargo ship and then sent to Shilu Mining Area by train.

It was so big that even the mule and horse markets in Sanya and Qiongzhou Fucheng experienced price fluctuations due to this. Fortunately, the target to be dealt with was located in the Qiongzhong Mountain Area, where there was little information, otherwise the news would have leaked out before the militia took action.

For Qiao Zhiya, only one week to get used to this unit is too short. Fortunately, apart from the daily training content and the combat methods that this unit is good at, this unit is somewhat different from the local militia.

The system and so on were of the same origin, and taking over the command was relatively smooth. Moreover, the acting battalion commander Ruan Xiangqian, who was born in Annan, did not slack off due to the change of his immediate boss, and still carried out every instruction issued by Qiao Zhiya extremely well.

Qiao Zhiya was also very pleased to find that the ability of this militia group to adapt to the mountain environment was indeed significantly better than that of their colleagues trained in Hainan Island. The militia troops previously stationed in Shilu would also organize mountain training at least once a month.

, but the marching speed alone was more than one step slower than the Annan militia. Qiao Zhiya even thought that if the first batch of troops that entered the mountain to pursue the troops that day were the Annan militia, the ambush in Heishandong might not be able to retain them.

Leading the way were three Montenegrin people who were arrested during the riot. After receiving the promise that they could save their lives, they chose to reveal the truth and assist Haihan in capturing Zhao Ye. Of course, even if they could save their lives,

It is unlikely that they will regain their freedom one day, and they will probably have to spend the rest of their lives in hard labor camps. In addition, it is difficult for their homes to be preserved during this operation to suppress bandits in the mountains, but this is not true.

Someone will take the initiative to tell them.

The three prisoners were escorted separately. The purpose of this was to prevent them from colluding with each other on the way, and also to verify whether the directions they pointed to were consistent, thus more appropriately ensuring the safety of the troops. However, those who escaped from the Shilu Mining Area

The thugs probably took this route, leaving obvious traces everywhere along the way. Qiao Zhiya could infer from this that the situation at that time must have been chaotic, and Zhao Ye, the organizer of the organization, could not effectively direct the thugs to hide their whereabouts

They stood up so that their direction of travel was almost completely exposed to the sight of the Haihan militia.

Fortunately, apart from the slightly rugged terrain, there were no particularly difficult natural dangers along the way. Two days later, the leading troops responsible for reconnaissance and exploration had arrived at the sphere of influence of Heishandong.

Heishandong is located on a mountain plain in the Qiongzhong Mountains. The natural environment here is far superior to Fushandong in Tiandu and Shizidong in Shilu. Heishandong also cultivates more cultivated land here.

It reaches thousands of acres. The north of the plain is where the Songtao Reservoir of Hainan Island will later be located, and the water conservancy resources are very rich. Although the farming methods of these Li people are still very primitive, with such superior natural conditions, the food they can grow must be stronger.

For those Li Dongs that are really located in the mountains.

"No wonder these guys dare to make such a big fuss, it seems they are not very short of food!" Qiao Zhiya stood on a high place, using a telescope to observe the intertwined plains at the foot of the mountain: "If we really plan to wait for them to run out of food, then

How long will it take? Don't you think so?"

The person Qiao Zhiya asked was Li Qingyang who was standing next to him, and his face was slightly embarrassed at this time. The inference of food shortage was made by him and Lin Nan after interrogating the prisoner, but it was obviously slightly different from the actual situation. But

This did not trouble Li Qingyang. He took half a step forward, bowed and responded: "Fortunately, the leader is wise and made accurate judgments. He was not misled by the wrong information provided by his humble position. I am very lucky!"

Qiao Zhiya smiled and said no more. Since Li Qingyang accepted this responsibility, he had achieved the purpose of raising points. Speaking of which, Li Qingyang was neither a local cadre nor a member of the military. Qiao Zhiya had no direct jurisdiction.

, if you find too many faults, there is no need to offend the Security Department later.

Qiao Zhiya ordered the troops to rest in place for two hours, and then marched to the plain area. Taking advantage of this time, Qiao Zhiya asked the militiamen to cut down a lot of bamboo wood in the mountain forest, and began to make the ladders needed to attack the village wall. Not far from Heishan Cave

When the village was about five or six miles away, the team was finally discovered by the opponent. However, Qiao Zhiya had no intention of hiding its tracks and continued to march forward until it was about a mile away from the Black Mountain Cave Village and could already be seen.

When they reached the village gate, they gave the order to stop.

"Tell your cave master and the people in the village to hand over the mastermind and all the prisoners who escaped here, and the people in Heishan Cave can save their lives. But I will only give you one hour to make a decision..." Qiao Zhiya raised his hand.

He looked at the time and said: "The time starts from now on. Once the time is up, we will attack the village directly. Anyone who resists will be regarded as a group of thugs. Okay, you go!"

Qiao Zhiya decided to be polite first and then to fight, and released a prisoner back to convey Haihan's final warning. Of course, he did not forget to take this time to deploy some men to several roads around the village to prevent Zhao Ye from escaping again.

Heishandong's reaction was faster than he expected. About forty minutes later, a long bamboo pole stretched out from the gatehouse of the village, and it seemed to be carrying something on it. After confirming it with a telescope, Qiao Zhiya found that it was a human head.

.Although he couldn't see the face clearly, Qiao Zhiya could probably guess whose head it was. It was obvious that the prisoner's persuasion had no effect. Regardless of whether it was the master of Heishan Cave or Zhao Ye who cut off his head, it seemed that the villagers

No one inside had any intention of surrendering to Haihan.

"Get ready to fight!" Qiao Zhiya gave an order to Ruan Qianqian: "All those who resist will be resolutely attacked!"

"Yes!" Ruan Qiangqian responded loudly. He understood very well what Qiao Zhiya meant by "fighting resolutely". In layman's terms, it meant fighting to death.

In the weapon configuration of the Annan militia troops, each battalion has six to eight small-caliber artillery pieces, which can fire 3-pound shells or short-range shotguns. However, due to transportation problems, the troops entering the mountains this time only carried two small-caliber artillery pieces.

cannons, but the performance of these two cannons is better than the models they used in the past. They are no longer the oldest cast iron cannons, but bronze cannons that fire more frequently.

Since the opponent did not have any powerful long-range weapons, the militia army advanced unhurriedly to about 200 meters outside the gate of the village, then stopped and began to set up artillery positions and build a fire line command post. The Li people in the village were probably

He also already knew the power of his opponent's firearms, so he did not stupidly open the door and rush out to kill him. Instead, he chose to keep silent and not show his head, intending to rely on the stone wall to resist the offensive of the militia army.

Qiao Zhiya asked the soldiers who understood Li to shout with the iron trumpet, but the response they received was only a few arrows shot from the wall. Seeing that the attitude of the other party was very clear, and his own position was also arranged, Qiao Zhiya

Ordered to start attacking Heishandong.

Two cannon shots opened the prelude to the battle, and the shots were quite accurate. Both rounds directly hit the village gate, but the gate's protection was not bad. Apart from causing the shells to splash out a pile of sawdust, there was no impact.

Obtain obvious results.

"Oh, the caliber is too small and the power is not enough!" Qiao Zhiya shook his head helplessly: "If there were a 12-pounder cannon, only one at this distance could blast through the wooden door!"

Of course, this can only be said. A twelve-pounder cannon is at least six or seven times heavier than a three-pounder cannon. Taking into account the shells and gunpowder required for launch, the increased baggage weight is almost ten times, and it is also difficult to transport.

It is also much larger. A three-pounder can be carried by a pack horse, but a twelve-pounder must be transported on wheeled equipment. There is simply no way to transport it from Shilu to the battlefield in a short time. So it can be placed here.

The only artillery used was the relatively lightweight three-pounder.
Chapter completed!