Chapter 15: Suppressing bandits and clearing the countryside (II)

Please bookmark it! Please recommend it! Please subscribe! Please give me monthly ticket!

...

Zhao Zhenzhong deployed troops here to wipe out bandits in Ningxia and Longdong so as to clear obstacles for the establishment of a second base in the future. Han Fuju from Shandong also stepped up mobilizing troops to encircle and suppress bandits in Baodukou, Fei County and nearby areas, and at the same time carried out the so-called clearing of the countryside movement to stabilize the territory occupied by his own country in Shandong.

In history, Han Fuju sent troops to surround Baodugu for nearly a month before obtaining the cooperation of Wang Jun, Chen Yaohan and other troops, and then launched a large-scale attack on the bandits in Baodugu in April 2019. Now, because the guards occupy four counties in Yimeng (Yiyuan County established by Zhao Zhenzhong and others themselves, the Nanjing authorities did not recognize it), although it reduced the trouble of Han Fuju in clearing out bandits in the Yimeng Mountains, it made Han Fuju worried that staying in Fei County for too long would give the Guards and Liu Zhennian troops in Jiaodong a chance to take advantage of it. In order to avoid the long night and dreams, Han Fuju took action personally and promised various benefits, which made Wang Jun's 26th Division agree to send troops to cooperate.

Although Ma Hongkui thought Han Fuju was not good enough, he only gave him more than 10 counties, and even sent a prison sentence in front of his subordinates that Han Fuju had begun to appear some minor conflicts between the two, Ma Hongkui agreed happily about sending troops to help Han Fuju fight the bandits.

After the Central Plains War, Han Fuju had seconded Li Yuying's infantry brigade to Ma Hongkui to wipe out the mutiny and colluded with bandits to occupy Gao Jianbai's troops there. However, because Li's brigade had many new recruits and poor military discipline, the battle of siege lasted about three months before finally solving the problem. Although Li's brigade made a lot of efforts in this battle, he had often plundered the benefits from the people before and after the battle.

It was also officially because of the fact that he sent troops to suppress bandits, not only did he have the benefits that Han Fuju promised, but he could also make extra money. Ma Hongkui was willing to send out one of his infantry divisions and cavalry brigades.

By late March, after eliminating some small bandits of outside bandits, Han Fuju transferred more than 30,000 troops and divided his troops into three groups to suppress the bandits entrenched in the Baodukou area.

In the Baodukou area, in addition to Sun Meisong's more than 3,000 gangs, there are also nearly 10,000 gangs such as Guo Mafeng, Yin Shigui, Zhang Heichao, Ma Jingdai who were forced into this area by Han Fuju's army. There are also nearly 10,000 gangs. Although the bandits' guns in their hands are not as good as those of officers and soldiers, they cannot be solved by the risk of defending them in a short time.

Among the troops who were attacking the troops, Ma Hongkui, Wang Jun, Chen Yaohan and other troops naturally refused to do their best to assist the troops. The Lei Taiping Pistol Brigade of Han Fuju's troops was the Lei Taiping Pistol Brigade of Han Fuju's troops. However, because the bandits built stones on the mountain to resist with natural dangers, the Lei Taiping Brigade also suffered the most casualties.

Seeing that his sharp losses were serious, Han Fuju was furious and ordered his men to set fire to remove the barriers of the bandits, forcing the bandits to appear.

The Baodugu area was originally mostly rocky, and it took more time to grow a tree in the cracks of the rocks than elsewhere. However, people in this era had no concept of environmental protection at all. At the order of Chairman Han Da, the officers and soldiers who were red-eyed because of fighting with bandits started to catch fire everywhere. For a moment, thick smoke rolled in the Baodugu area and flames soared into the air. Many bandits were roasted by smoke and fire and were blazed out from their hiding places. However, appearances on the mountain without any cover naturally became a living target for bandits and soldiers.

After 4 or 5 consecutive days, the bandits in Baodugu area wiped out six or seven out of ten bandit suppression officers and soldiers. However, the remaining bandits saw that the situation was not good, and they hid in the corners of the mountain valleys and hid. Of course, some bandits were familiar with the terrain in the mountains and used the gaps between the officers and soldiers to escape.

After achieving these results, Han Fuju was not satisfied and ordered a massacre to be launched. Except for women and children, all men aged 15 to 50, who are not "environmental protection" will be executed by shooting. The so-called environmental protection means that local residents need to supervise each other. If something happens to a family, each family will be convicted. If a man is not a local resident, and there are no local residents to cooperate in the protection of a few local residents, and a man between the ages of 15 and 50, I'm sorry, Chairman Han Da wants to use your life to kill one person to warn a hundred. After sending soldiers to search in the Baodugu area carefully, Han Fuju ordered the withdrawal of troops. On the way back, he burned the village where bandits had once hidden in the Baodugu area.

In addition to leaving a small number of officers and soldiers in the Baodugu area to continue to chase and suppress the fish that had missed the net, in early April, most of the bandit-suppressing soldiers with the "thieves" plundered from the people's homes with satisfaction, leaving only the elderly, weak, women and children who were ravaged by the officers and soldiers and were destroyed, and they were penniless and crying...

However, when Han Fuju left Fei County, he found that most of the soldiers from Ma Hongkui's troops who followed him to wipe out the bandits were missing. He couldn't help but wonder: "Yinxuan, where have all the soldiers and generals of Ma Shaoyun gone?"

"Chairman Han, the subordinates of Chief Ma said they were going to hunt down the fugitives." Li Shuchun, who was following the side, smiled bitterly.

"Hmph! Chasing the fugitives? I think they are going to do something wrong again?" Although the relationship with Ma Hongkui is still OK now, Han Fuju is not accustomed to Ma Hongkui's love of taking advantage of him and robbing the people. In the past, it would be fine for Ma Hongkui to act in other places, but now Shandong is his own territory. Isn't this a slap in the face in front of him? Besides, he has taken out more than 10 counties to repay him, Ma Shaoyun, but he is still so unsatisfied? Thinking of the rumors that Ma Hongkui sent prison slandering him in front of his subordinates, and the fact that this man did not treat himself as an outsider and was more imposing than his provincial chairman on the ground in Shandong, Han Fuju began to figure out how to find a way to invite this god away from the territory of Shandong.

"Chairman Han, there are less than 70,000 people left in Fei County, almost nine out of ten families are empty, so they can no longer be harmed." Li Shuchun, as the Minister of Civil Affairs of Shandong, naturally knew the current situation in Fei County, and reminded him, "The ground in Shandong is now the jurisdiction of Chairman Han. If this continues, it will damage your reputation."

"It is easy to ask for a god but it is hard to send him to a god." Han Fuju sighed, "Although I, Han Xiangfang, is not talented, but I know the principle of being an official and benefiting the people. But you see, whether it is Ma Hongkui, Wang Jun, or Chen Yaohan, it was not something we invited, but someone from Jiang from Nanjing who forced us to leave. We are not yet firm in our foothold, so it is not easy to send away all kinds of gods."

"Besides, although there is no big battle in Shandong now, not to mention the bandits everywhere, Liu Zhennian from Jiaodong and the guards north of Mengshan are not something we can pacify now. We also have places to borrow these gods and immortals. Besides, even so, Mr. Jiang called me to send troops to Jiangxi to wipe out the Communist bandits, and I really look down on me, Mr. Han."

Han Fuju remembered the various tricks that Mr. Jiang in Nanjing played with him, and couldn't help but sneer.

Li Shuchun thought about the current situation in Shandong and the dilemma of the Jinan authorities, and sighed: "According to the original intention of Nanjing, we do not want to give us a prosperous place like Shandong. Now that we have Shandong, we have no choice but to let our little arm twist our thighs, we can only accept it first and wait until we have gained a foothold here before talking about other things." After thinking about it, Li Shuchun suggested: "Now Nanjing has dealt with everything north of the Yellow River to Zhang Xueliang. Although most of the places in Shandong are south of the Yellow River, Qingdao is controlled by the Northeast Army. If we want to do something here in Shandong, we must handle the relationship with the Northeast Army well. It is best if Chairman Han can reach an agreement with him, Zhang Hanqing on related matters. In this case, if Nanjing wants to be careful with us, he will think more."

"Yinxuan, your suggestion is good." Han Fuju nodded and smiled, "It seems that if you have the chance, I really want to visit Mr. Zhang."

Han and Li rode their horses and walked on the road leading to Teng County under the guards' escort, preparing to return to Jinan via the Jinpu Line.

While walking, Han Fuju looked up at the direction of Mengshan in the north and sighed: "There is still a force behind this mountain that we cannot ignore. It is too close to Jinan and Tai'an, Jinpu and Jiaoji lines. As long as they are willing, they can send troops to threaten Jinan and Tai'an in one day and night, threaten those two major trunk lines, a confidant."

"I don't think they will really threaten us." Li Shuchun had a different view. "Since before the Second Northern Expedition, the Guards issued the autonomous power, they have not attacked the outside world so far, and have used the built fortifications to defend passively. Moreover, after understanding, I found that they have rescued hundreds of thousands of people in the surrounding counties in the past few years. Many people in Fei County were unable to withstand the years of war, famine and taxes and flee into the territory of the Guards in the Yimeng Mountains. We fought to death outside, but these bandits in our eyes were helping the people. It was a great irony!"

"It would be great if they could always keep peace with us." Han Fuju said with a complicated expression. Then, as if it had touched a certain inspiration in his heart, Han Fuju asked anxiously: "Yinxuan, where did Ma Shaoyun's bandits go?"

Li Shuchun was stunned by Han Fuju, and then replied: "I can't say it well, maybe I'm going to harm the people along the way?"

"If they go north to Mengshan, what will happen?" Han Fuju asked in a low voice.

"Towards Mengshan?" Li Shuchun repeated, then looked at Han Fuju in surprise, "Then there would be no good results. No matter how strong Ma Hongkui's soldiers were, they could not compare with Zhang Zongchang and Chen Tiaoyuan's army. Do we need to send people to remind them again?"

"Before the action, I have repeatedly emphasized to Ma Shaoyun." Han Fuju's eyes were a little wandering, "Now, I'll send someone to notify me, and those guys who are difficult to change will not listen. Let's go to Tai'an to find Ma Shaoyun and ask him to give the order."

Li Shuchu Han Fuju's god, and said understandably: "Chairman Han has emphasized in advance that they do not obey military orders, and you are inconvenient to directly and strongly intervene because of your relationship with Chief Ma. It is better to let Chief Ma take charge of his own troops."

After pausing, Li Shuchun said with a smile: "Besides, learn from one's mistakes and letting these people learn some lessons is not a bad thing."

"This is just our thoughts." Han Fuju also smiled, "The soldiers and generals didn't know where they were going. We just wanted to send someone to remind them again, and we didn't know where they were going."

Han Fuju and Li Shuchun had other ideas. When they saw Ma Hongkui through Tai'an, Teng County that day, Han Fuju said to Ma Hongkui with a little complaint: "Brother Shaoyun, your arrogant soldiers and generals have left you, and others will not be able to command them. I just said that I had withdrawn my troops, and before I could leave the mountainous areas, your troops would be gone. Don't touch the northern guards, it's a thorny iron turtle, and you will suffer a great loss."

"Haha, I guess my brothers are happy to see the hunter and go after the bandits. It's okay." Ma Hongkui said in disregard for fear.

Han Fuju then stopped mentioning it. After a few people exchanged greetings, Han, Li and others took the train back to Jinan.

However, although Han and Li thought that Ma Hongkui's troops would suffer a great loss when they met the escort army, they did not expect that Feixian would be lost. Ma Hongkui naturally did not expect that Han Fuju would come true, and most of his infantry divisions and cavalry brigades were ruined to the escort army.
Chapter completed!