In mid-November, Lin Qingzhou.

It was already cold winter, the north wind was as cold as a knife, the heaven and earth were chopping boards, and all living beings were miserable to fish and slaughter. In November, there had been heavy snow in Shandong three times in a row. After the fourth scene, the sky and the ground were covered with silver and white colors, and there was little smoke from cooking to cooking wherever the eyes reached.

Linqing, Jinan and Qingzhou were already three important nodes for the Qing Dynasty to carry out this decisive battle. The 100,000 army personally fought by Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty and officially entered this battlefield when it arrived in Linqing. The 100,000 army set out from Beijing a month and a half ago and headed south all the way. After several encounters snow, they have never stopped.

Entering Linqing territory, the Qing army entered a state of combat. The soldiers were wearing armor, spears, bows and arrows collided with each other. As the collision of gold and stones, the lamas followed the army chanted scriptures and sang Buddha loudly. Whether Manchuria or Mongolian soldiers passed by, they sang Amitabha Buddha, making a vow to pray for blessings, pray for peace, and pray for victory. In fact, due to the snow, there was two feet of snow on the ground, and some places were not even over their knees. The horses were struggling. The army had to stop the harassment plan. In addition to sending reconnaissance cavalry to conduct reconnaissance, it was to cover the last part of Zhangqiu's materials to retreat.

Because Linqing is close to the canal, merchants gathered from all over the world, and it was originally a prosperous place. In recent years, the Qing Dynasty relied on the canal transportation, and the people here were still prosperous. Cao Yu appeared in a four-story restaurant by the canal, where you can see the Qing army being placed in the distance.

A month ago, Cao Yu and Bat chased the Mongolian cavalry in Korchin and made great contributions. The last time they had become colonels. Because the cavalry of the army was still expanding, Cao Yu's special camp plus another independent cavalry battalion, with two battalions as backbones, and a new cavalry brigade was formed. They were also trained in Qingdao. Due to the snowstorm, the original plan to harass the Qing army's advance was cancelled, and even Bat's Hussar Battalion was dismantled into a team to fight.

Regardless of the weather in the future, the camp under Cao Yu is expanding and can only participate in the decisive battle next year. He trains special instructors and the recruits who join in have a foundation. Cao Yu could have had a happy New Year in Qingdao like the other two new training brigade colonels, but he was recruited by his old boss from the Security Bureau and came to Linqing.

Although the intelligence personnel of the Security Bureau are capable, they are not from the ranks. If you investigate the important matters of the Qing army, you still need to participate in Lao Qiuba like Cao Yu.

This restaurant is a commanding height. The people from the Security Bureau have long booked a private room and arranged for surveillance people. Cao Yu entered the room and lit charcoal fires inside, which was quite warm. The person in charge of this area is Cao Yu's old acquaintance. When Cao Yu came in, he smiled and said, "Old Cao, take off your jacket quickly. It's all snow. If it melts, your jacket will become an ice lump."

Cao Yu took off his sheepskin coat, grabbed the hot tea and drank two sips, and asked, "Old Lei, have you found out about those strange cavalrymen?"

"I found out clearly that there are the three Khalkha tribes from the north of the desert and the Weila people from the west of the desert. The Khalkha is an old opponent, so we can figure it out clearly. However, the Weila people have never been in contact with them." Lao Lei said with a smile.

Cao Yu nodded slightly. The Mongolians who were dealing with the Beiyang War Zone where they were in the Beiyang War Zone were either the Eight Mongolian Banners or the Foreign Vocational Mongolia. At this time, the Foreign Vocational Mongolia was still from various tribes in the southern part of the Moon, but the troops in the Yongning Administrative Region had many dealings with Khalkha in the northern part of the Moon, and they had both trade relations and wars. Although Moon was not a foreign vassal of the Qing Dynasty, they were also vassal states that had been tributed. However, the Weila people in the western Moon were very unfamiliar.

"How many Weila people are? How are the equipment?" Cao Yu asked with a frown.

"We have said that the Weilath troops have gathered eight thousand cavalry in the inside line, but in fact there are at least 13,000. As for equipment, Khalkha and Weilath are both poor, and even robbed their iron pots and salt. In the Qing army camp, there is nothing to be looked down upon. The Weilath people's horses and armor are very poor, but they have firearms, mainly coercive guns, which are probably obtained from trading with the west." Lao Lei replied casually.

Cao Yu felt relieved. He photographed the young man who was on duty. The man made a move away from the telescope. This huge telescope was purchased from the Navy and was generally used in the main ship's watch. Although it was huge and heavy, it could see far enough and have a big vision.

Cao Yu aimed at the center of the Qing army camp to observe. It was a big banner with the Qing emperor, and it was also the central army. The surrounding Eight Manchu Banners were stationed, especially the nearby stations of the Shangsan Banners. Compared with other Qing army camps that he had seen, the places where the Qing army was located were very orderly, and the tents were arranged with a straightforward look. Lao Lei said, "The boys in Beijing always said that Manchu soldiers are no longer as good as when they first entered the pass. They have no blood and fighting spirit and cannot be able to go to the formation. I can't see that. Looking at the camp tent, there are still a few tricks."

"That's not necessarily." It is obvious to all that the overall combat capability of the Manchu soldiers is reduced. Old corps like Cao Yu are even more aware that twenty years ago, dozens of Manchu white armored men could chase thousands of Ming troops to cut. In recent years, it has been very rare for Manchu soldiers to fight with the army. Of course, the Manchu soldiers would not admit that they were not as good as their fathers. The reason they found for themselves was that they were unwilling to hit the guns and bullets of the United States Army.

"You are interested in the horses of the Three Flags!" Cao Yu said with a smile when he saw his old friend puzzled.

Lao Lei smiled. He had heard that Cao Yu used a mare trick in Zhangqiu, earning thousands of good horses from the Mongolians, and making great contributions. He said half-jokingly, "Brother, under your 'reminder', I have collected the horse matching of Manchu soldiers. Like the Mongolians, I use horses to make up for the war horse gap with us."

"Who told you to look at the horse whip? Look at the color of the horse!" Cao Yu said.

Lao Lei had already seen it, looked at it again, and said, "It's normal, a date red horse, a yellow fat horse, a white horse, a 'mouse skin', a chestnut rabbit brown, a chestnut flower."

Lao Lei and Cao Yu are now in a low position. In today's United Kingdom, both inside and outside the army love to raise horses. The upper class represented by veterans is also fond of horses. Naturally, he is very familiar with horses and can be said to be aware of them.

Seeing him talking about more than a dozen styles in one breath, Cao Yu asked, "Did you see the dark horse? The green horse?"

"No, it's still mainly about maroon and white horses." Lao Lei said honestly, turning his head and asking, "Is there anything wrong with this?"

Cao Yu smiled and said, "Of course, Manchuria regards the red, white and yellow horses as auspiciousness. The royal family went on tour and worshiped ancestors. The Taipu Temple mostly used horses to prepare three colors. The black horses and green horses were the main evil, and they were usually used in battle. Now the Manchuria emperors are on the battlefield, but there are many auspicious horses in the camp but no war horses. Do you think their combat effectiveness has decreased?

Not to mention the ability of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, this courage alone has been defeated by our predecessors for twenty years."

"So do you think the Qing army would not enter the Qingzhou camp before the New Year?" Lao Lei asked.

Cao Yu smiled, "I didn't say that."

What the Security Bureau wants to figure out the most is whether the Qing army will rest in Linqing or go to the Qingzhou camp. After all, there are only these two places in Shandong that can provide such a large-scale army. Linqing has autumn grain and grain intercepted before the canal freezes, and Qingzhou has been prepared. As for other cities, including Jinan, due to the large-scale harassment of the army cavalry, it is only the infant city defended itself, and at least the autumn grain was not harvested.

Lao Lei said, "According to you, the Manchu soldiers are no longer brave. Why don't you go to Qingzhou and stop going? By the way, you don't know yet. The Qing court sent envoys to seek peace with the United States."

"Oh, is there something wrong?" Cao Yu really didn't know this.

"This is not a secret. It has been five months since June to now. Although the Qing Dynasty cannot figure out our exact strength, you can tell a rough idea just by counting the numbers. What's more, the head of state appeared in Jiaodong, which is already very telling. Let me tell you a little bit of news. The Qing Dynasty hopes to rule with the United States!" Lao Lei was full of mystery.

Cao Yu was not interested in these news at all. He sat comfortably on the soft stool and said, "I won't mention this, but I can be sure that the Qing army will not stay in Linqing for a long time and will set off for Qingzhou within a few days."

"Why?" Lao Lei couldn't believe it. He thought he would take a break for at least a while, at least after the weather was clear, it would be impossible to go there after the New Year.

Cao Yu said, "Of course it's because of the weather. Although the weather is bad and not suitable for cavalry wars, it does not hinder the army from marching. Catch some strong men to clear the official road and walk along the official road. But if you wait until the snow melts before walking, you will have to face tens of thousands of cavalry in the United States. Brother, after hundreds of miles of the journey, the cavalry will at least have to peel off a layer of skin from the Qing army. It's better to go now. The weather is cold and there is heavy snow."

Lao Lei smiled and said, "Forget it, I don't care about this anymore. The matter here is to be handed over to you. When the Qing army arrives in Qingzhou, you can go back and report your life."

As he said that, Lao Lei had already taken out the official document, but it was handed over. Cao Yu took it and it clearly stated that the current affairs were all under his control. When the Qing army entered Qingzhou, he would return to Jiaodong to lead the army. Cao Yu was puzzled, "Brother, what mistakes did you make? Shandong is about to fight to the decisive battle. You have been in the local area for many years, so how could you transfer you away?"

Unlike Cao Yu, Lao Lei is a secret stake placed by the Security Bureau in Shandong, that is, a lurking person, and has a strong identity. There are not many such secret stakes. Cao Yu thought about it and remembered that Lao Lei was lurking ten years ago. It seemed that he was the son-in-law of a gentry in Jiangnan. His father-in-law was quite famous in Jiangnan. If he had not cooperated in the early years and had known his identity, he would not have sent him to come.

Lao Lei smiled, "There is no way, the order from the top of the mountain will ask me to go back to Jiangning. There is an important task. You also know my father-in-law. Alas, this time the Qing court opened an Enke, I guess it has something to do with this."

Qingdao.

"The confirmation news sent by Linqing was that the Qing army set out on November 12th. It only took four days to rest in Linqing, and traveled sixty miles a day, and the Qing army was also desperate." In the combat conference room of the command headquarters, Gao Feng personally brought information to Li Mingxun to report the movements of the Qing army.

Li Mingxun smiled and said, "Zuo just used the bad weather to force his army to avoid harassment from our army."

"Then should we send troops to intercept it?" Gao Feng asked.

The blockade that Gao Feng mentioned refers to the incident after entering Qingzhou. After all, the Zhangqiu stronghold has been abandoned and the weather is indeed bad now. However, around Qingzhou Prefecture, the army occupied several cities, and the road from Zichuan to Qingzhou can make a difference. At that time, General Xue should stop.

"Forget it, it's too cold, it's not worth it to let the cavalry take risks for some small profits." Li Mingxun waved his hand. He originally planned to eat the Qing army bite by bite, but since the beginning of winter, this plan has gradually been broken, not only the sudden blizzards, but also the problems of the army itself.

When the Beiyang War Zone expanded its army, it was already preparing for the future. The first thing was to choose more soldiers from the north. However, the population from the north among the national groups of the United States was not large, not to mention that the officers could not be limited. The final result was that there were a large number of Koreans in the Beiyang War Zone army.

But even so, it is not possible. Because of the problem of the control area, most of the North Korean soldiers come from the south, and the weather there is similar to that in the south of the Yangtze River. The Beiyang War Zone is located in Jeju, not to mention it. It may not be snowed for a few years. The result is that after the army entered Shandong, the severe cold caused a large number of soldiers to get sick, especially the officers.

It’s okay to say that the problem of war horses is unsolvable. The blizzard this month killed nearly one-tenth of the war horses in the Beiyang War Zone. You must know that this is the loss rate of those war horses fighting outside in the fully equipped and well-prepared military stables.

Gao Feng said, "The subordinates thought so too. The few waves of troops sent to repay the Qing army set up a turtle formation to guard against the attack of the cavalry. I think we can send the cavalry out how much we have gained."

After the two of them said this, the others were out of mind. Just when the meeting was about to end, Pei Chengyi stood up. Now he has been promoted to commander and formed the Sixth Army with the first division and two brigades from Yongning. Pei Chengyi said, "Anyway, we can't let the Qing army succeed like this."

"What are your opinions?" Li Mingxun asked.

Pei Chengyi said, "Your Excellency, we can't stand this cold weather, and the Qing army is not feeling well. The intelligence says that every time the Qing army sets out camp, there will be bodies left in the ground? If we find a way to let them stay in the wild for a few more days, wouldn't we lose more?"

Li Mingxun naturally knew this. Although the Mongolian tribes from the north, west and south of the mourning world were not afraid of bitterness and cold, they could not withstand the torture of various diseases in the pass. The Green Camp tribes had few military supplies and poor equipment, and the cold cold was also killed many of them, not to mention those who followed the army. Some of them didn’t even have cotton coats. The longer they stayed in the wild, the more they died.

"How!" Li Mingxun knocked on the table.

Pei Chengyi said, "Your Excellency, have we seized a lot of Mongolian horses? The local area also confiscated a lot of mules, tied these beasts together, and led by a small number of cavalrymen, wandering around the Qing army's array. The Qing army naturally stagnated."
Chapter completed!