Chapter 33 of Part One

  Mount Huangshan is right in front of us, and Li Lei didn't even have time to appreciate the scenery here. Since taking down this base, it's been a revisit to our old haunt. This feeling can be seen from the enthusiasm of the ordinary people along the way. The people of Anhui are actually very hardworking. Although there are many places with Anhui migrants, they are all due to the geographical location and natural disasters that forced the people of Anhui to flee. Even so, the people of Anhui make a living by selling their skills when they go out, and beggars are rarely seen. The arrival of the Liberation Army also brought a large amount of advanced technology, allowing the local people to get their own land. With advanced farming techniques, the lives of the local people have been greatly improved. Along the way, we passed through scenes of ordinary people welcoming us with open arms, and Li Lei was constantly moved by these simple folk.

  Li Lei took a look at the place in front of him and said to the guard, "Pass it down, today we will strive to station in Xiuning. Tell the soldiers to pay attention to discipline and not trample on the people's farmland."

  Li Lei took out the map he was carrying and looked at it, muttering to himself: "Up ahead is Huizhou Prefecture. Further on, there are only a few small garrisons in various places. The Qing army in Zhejiang has only two strongholds, Hangzhou and Ningbo. However, these two strongholds support each other like the horns of an ox. Difficult to attack." As he spoke, he shook his head.

  The high city wall of Huizhou City is gone. Although this was the front line near Zhejiang, under the use of new weapons and strategies, the city wall has basically lost its usefulness. Li Lei looked at the local officials of the Huizhou Municipal Government (after our troops entered the city, Huizhou Prefecture was changed to Huizhou City) who instructed to leave it as a relic of war and a reference for cultural relics, and Li Lei had many objections to this preservation at that time. Originally, these were all rebuilt and repaired over the years. If there is any technical value, the craftsmen here can find people at any time. You say it has cultural value, but this thing can also be considered a cultural relic. Now Li Lei looked at the city wall and couldn't help but think of that night's fierce battle, under the intense bombardment of artillery, the city wall began to peel off piece by piece. In the end, it led to a complete collapse. At that time, one of Wu Sangui's ten great generals, who was stationed here with the Qing army, Li Lei couldn't remember very clearly. Led all the Qing soldiers in the city to fight to the death against Li Lei's attack. Seeing his soldiers fall down one by one from his side, Li Lei was enraged at that time, picked up a submachine gun and rushed forward. This young man, who was usually gentle and elegant, took the lead and charged forward. The soldiers seemed to be inspired by his actions and rushed forward like madmen. In the end, the Qing army began to retreat step by step under the impact of Li Lei's troops.

  At this time, the guard walked over and said: "Director, officials from Huizhou City have come to receive you."

  Li Lei raised his head and saw that several government officials were standing in front of him. He hastily dismounted his horse and walked over to say, "Mayor Xu, we're troubling you. Our division has no intention of entering the city."

  Mayor Xu laughed and said, "Director Li, this time we are just coming out to comfort the troops. There is no other meaning, also our flying boat troops' flying boats have passed through Anhui province and are now in Zhejiang. Comrade Lantian asked me to tell you."

  Li Lei rubbed his head and said: "I don't dare to comfort you. But when did Lan Tian go to Zhejiang, you have to tell me."

  Mayor Xu looked at Li Lei and said, "Li Shizhang, I'll just call you Comrade Li Lei. Comrade Lantian arrived in Huizhou City last night and left this morning. At their speed, they should have reached Shaoxing Prefecture by now."

  Li Lei nodded in agreement and said, "Oh, I think our division should keep up with their pace. If not, we'll fall behind sooner or later. Let's rest outside Huizhou City tonight and leave early tomorrow morning so as not to disturb the locals."

  Mayor Xu smiled and said, "Alright, Comrade Lei, our Chinese Empire can only win battles with armies like yours. Our municipal administration doesn't have much to offer as consolation." He turned around and pointed at some pork and vegetables behind him, saying, "I see the soldiers' lips are all dry, let's send over some fresh vegetables to supplement your nutrition, so you can fight and win!"

  Li Lei took a look and said to Mayor Xu, "Old Xu, then we'll take our leave. Don't let us delay your work either. Let's get together again after the country is unified." He then turned to the soldiers behind him and said, "Move all these things to the military camp. Tonight, I'll treat you to a feast."

  In the following ten-odd days, the Qing garrison that had been stationed in the city after our warriors arrived ran away without a trace. Li Lei was busy calling on soldiers and members of the propaganda team to carry out various propaganda work in the city and surrounding villages. He himself was also busy convening the people of the city to elect some officials they trusted. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, where reading is popular, some old scholars ran to Li Lei's door, crying and making a fuss, wanting to hang themselves. It turned out that these old gentlemen said that our propaganda team had men and women paired together, singing operas every day, all of which were reactionary plays. What a loss of face for their ancestors! Li Lei specially found a day to gather these stubborn and unyielding die-hards and the people together.

  Li Lei said to the crowd below, "Fellow villagers, these scholars say our team has a bad influence. Today we'll comment with them and see who's really having a bad influence."

  At this time, an old man with a scholarly appearance walked out and said: "You people are forming cliques for personal gain and doing evil. Look at what you've done to the good rivers and mountains."

  Li Lei gave him a cold look. The old scholar trembled all over. Li Lei continued, "We form cliques and pursue personal interests? If we hadn't formed cliques and pursued personal interests, you would still be under the rule of the Qing dynasty's dog slaves. Hmph, take a look at yourself, as a scholar who has taken the imperial examination and obtained an official position in our great Ming dynasty, you don't know how to repay our great Ming, but instead shaved your hair into a small braid like the Qing dynasty's slaves. This is what really harms social morals." Li Lei seemed still not satisfied and said, "What about our propaganda team? You say we sing reactionary plays. Are you actually protecting our great Ming or helping the Qing dogs? You must remember that we are determined to drive the Qing dogs out of our land." Pointing at his bright and shiny clothes, he said, "Look at you, this traitor. At a time when your ancestors have been lost, you still wear the Qing dynasty's clothes and wander around here." After pausing for a moment, he said, "I see, what you mean is that our anti-Qing movement is reactionary."

  That old man has been scolded by Li Lei to the point of being completely in the wrong. Li Lei shouted at the crowd below: "Fellow villagers, don't you think that such a slave of the Manchu Qing dynasty should be driven out of our land and sent back to their Manchu masters?"

  The audience below had already thought of the deafening cheers and applause.

  Li Lei's troops finally caught up with the airship troops in Shaoxing. Lan Tian was waiting for Li Lei on purpose. Li Lei shook hands with Lan Tian and said, "Great job! I've never seen anything flying in the sky since I was a kid, you're really something!"

  Lan Tian smiled and said, "Li Shizhong, why don't you come with me to sit down for a bit?" After finishing, he laughed and said, "Alright, let's talk about the main issue. Now we've bypassed Hangzhou and are directly attacking their Ningbo Prefecture. I think this way they will definitely send reinforcements from Hangzhou. Geng Jingzhong is still very cautious in his military tactics. How about our airship troops launch a feint attack on Ningbo, and then ambush the troops that come out of Hangzhou to attack you?"

  Li Lei shook his head and said, "I don't think it's a good idea. Let's not talk about those people for now. Look at our soldiers, they were all surprised when they saw this thing for the first time. This is still our own stuff, we're not fighting our own people. I think we can launch a propaganda campaign against them. You guys fly over Ningbo Prefecture at night and drop a lot of flyers, then during the day when we attack, you help us with bombing. That way, those Han Bannermen will be so scared they'll pee their pants. As long as we take down Ningbo, I'm not afraid that Geng Jingzhong won't come out." He pulled out a map and said, "Now I think the Second Division should have arrived at Ningguo Prefecture. Once Geng Jingzhong comes out, we'll attack him from both sides and he won't be able to escape."

  "Alright, we'll do it your way," said Blue Sky after a moment of contemplation. "You guys prepare the propaganda materials now, and we'll launch them tonight."

  The city of Ningbo was in a state of panic during the day, with propaganda papers scattered everywhere bearing the words "Overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, the divine bird assists." The people of Ningbo, whether civilians or Qing soldiers, were all discussing this matter. At this time, Li Lei's artillery unit had already begun to fire, with heavy cannonballs landing on the city walls, causing the entire city to shake. The Qing army began to deploy, and the ordinary people closed their shops and hid in their homes. In the distance, several black shadows rose into the sky, and the soldiers cheered as they intensified their attack. The red-clothed cannons on the city walls of Ningbo also opened fire, with dozens of cannons firing in rotation, and several Qing soldiers simultaneously launched giant bows that shot arrows like raindrops flying over. The soldiers retreated a bit, and Li Lei looked at the strong firepower ahead and said: "Order the artillery battalion to increase the intensity of the bombardment. Machine gun battalion and sniper team prepare. Aim at the Qing soldiers on the city walls and fire."

  The Blue Sky Air Force has arrived above Ningbo City, and the Qing soldiers are already cowering on the ground, begging for mercy from heaven. The Blue Sky troops don't care about that. Special air force bombs fall from the sky, one after another exploding on top of the enemy's heads. As they watch their comrades die one by one, the morale of the Qing soldiers has reached an all-time low. Some soldiers have already started to flee.

  Li Lei looks at the situation and says to the three battalion commanders: "You three battalions, each take a city gate, don't let a single enemy escape! The rest of the troops will follow me to attack one city gate. Comrades, our victory is within reach! Follow me!"

  The soldiers' morale, already high, has been boosted even higher by Li Lei's words. They all charge forward without hesitation towards Ningbo City. The city gates are quickly blown open, and the soldiers pour in like a tidal wave.

  At this point, the Qing soldiers have lost their will to resist under the influence of "heavenly fate". Seeing our soldiers charging over, they all drop their weapons. The People's Liberation Army is famous for not killing those who surrender. Now these Qing soldiers are learning from experience. To save their lives, as soon as the soldiers arrive, they throw down their arms.

  It's unbelievable how fragile the enemy's will is in the face of superstition. At this moment, several logistics soldiers come over and say: "Commander, in this Ningbo battle, we have annihilated more than 8,000 enemies, captured 12,548 people, seized various firearms with 5,000 guns, 21 red cannons, and silver worth 600,000 taels. We also obtained over 50,000 stones of grain."

  Li Lei nodded and said, "En, let's temporarily leave these big guns alone and wait for the Qing army to come over. There is still some use for them. Leave other things behind as well, they will be used to equip local troops in the future. Send the silver to Huizhou and ask them to send it to Changsha. Take out a portion of the grain and distribute it to the local people. The rest will be left for the local government's reserve use."

  Li Lei looked up at the sky and walked into the blue sky: "Blue Captain, I didn't expect it, the flying boat's effect is so great."

  Lan Tian smiled awkwardly and said: "Commander Li, trouble you to resupply our troops with ammunition. We're heading out to the Fujian region today."

  Li Lei looked at him in surprise and said: "You're leaving so soon?"

  "Can't help it, the military situation in Fujian is urgent. Lu Youde was outsmarted by that old fox Shang Kexi in Fujian and must rush there quickly."

  Li Lei nodded and said, "Alright, then trouble you to go and tell the logistics team to register." Lantian thanked him and was about to leave when a guard walked in and said, "Second Division urgent telegram, Geng Jingzhong led 30,000 Qing soldiers to Ningbo!"

  Lan Tian looked at Li Lei and smiled: "Li Shizhang, your trouble has come again."