Chapter 62 Yingrui vs. Chaos

Chen Shanhe found a feeling of entering a no-man in Henan. The feeling of smoothness from Anhui to southern Henan was surprisingly good. The rear station line was also covered by Zhang Zhihe's detachment, so he had nothing to worry about. He commanded the troops to leap forward. No one could resist at all. The troops left behind in Henan Hongwei Army either placed a battalion in this county or had a company in that town. He felt strange, why can't the left-behind troops such as Hongwei Army be slightly concentrated into a large group? Maybe they can resist a little bit.

Along the way, four or five battalions of troops had been defeated. Although there were many civilian forces in Henan, when the army arrived, although the various forts and villages were still locked up, they all sent food and small cars to support them. Hongwei's army had only been stationed in Henan for a year. The grain distribution and various strange tax and escalation increased, it had already harmed the people of Henan. I don't know which heroes reported that this war was the news of the change of dynasties in Henan, saying that the yellow-clothed soldiers would not pay the food. Along the way, the Jiangbei Army was quite popular. Chen Shanhe also appointed several names to go out and let the armed forces in these places serve as sentry probes and guides. In just four and a half days, the Chen Shanhe Detachment, which had marched more than 120 miles a day, had already reached Xinyang Prefecture.

The army was still moving quite quickly in the night. Wang Yelu, the leader of the vanguard regiment of Chen Shanhe Detachment, taught the Third Infantry Regiment, urged the troops to speed up the speed. He turned a small hill from afar. He saw a small village in front. The troops in front had already stopped. He asked loudly: "Why, who made the second battalion stop? Who sent a rest?"

The second battalion commander and several subordinates rushed over from the front of the march, and immediately saluted Wang Yelu. Wang Yelu had a stern face and did not return the salute, and said angrily: "Lao Zhou, why did you stop suddenly? The detachment leader told us to indeed arrive in Dongshan tonight. It is still seven or eight miles away. Hurry up and order the troops to resume the march!"

The second battalion commander Zhou Sen hurriedly said, "Captain, we didn't stop, we even stopped in the village in front of us. Local Henan fellows said that there are Northern Army in Dongshan. According to their description, there are machine guns. Should we organize the troops and launch an attack tomorrow morning? Now the brothers are very tired."

Wang Yelu was stunned and asked, "Where is the company commander in search?" There was a horse riding in front of him with a few casual clothes. He looked down from the torch. It was the Henan men dressed in the regiment's direct search company commander and several heroes from the martial arts world. Some of them had not cut their braids, and they were wearing tightly lined outfits of hero buckles, and they were wearing cloaks and laces. The flower-spreading belts were so vigorous that they were all in various pistols with large noses. When they arrived in front of Wang Yelu, they jumped off the horse and saluted: "Captain!" The men in the martial arts world actually bowed their heads.

Wang Yelu jumped down and helped them up. He felt like he was watching the Seven Heroes and Five Righteousness. When the company commander looked at his regiment commander, he hurriedly stepped forward and reported: "These are heroes from Jigong Mountain. They were also rebelled by the Tongmenghui movement in the Nanyang area when they were liberation. As a result, they were defeated by Xie Laodao, the general of Nanyang Town. Hongwei's army came in and suppressed them, and now they are in Jigong Mountain..."

He stood up and continued to report to Wang Yelu that the third regiment's search company was the vanguard among the vanguards of the entire detachment. He was at the forefront all the way, and there were many hardships. Now standing there, the sweat on his forehead was flowing down, and it seemed that he was extremely tired: "Captain, we arrived in Xiaoyang Village in the afternoon, which was already the closest place to Dongshan. The heroes of Jigong Mountain were waiting to welcome us here. With their cooperation, they had already reconnaissance clearly. Dongshan was the barrier of the entire Xinyang. The Northern Army deployed two battalions of defenders here. Look at the symbols of the Beiyang Army's 1st Division. Since yesterday, I heard from the fellow villagers that they have been adding troops one after another. The machine guns have also carried five or six planes up the mountain. The terrain sketches and the rough military equipment have already drawn a rough sketch." As he said that he took out the sketches from the picture bag and handed them over.

Wang Yelu immediately called the staff to take out the map of Xinyang from the picture bag, lay on the saddle, and looked at the sketch with a torch. The search company commander did a good job of reconnaissance. Dongshan was an average altitude of more than 100 meters, only more than three miles away from Xinyang City. It is the remnant of the northern slope of the Dabie Mountains. The mountain is like a saddle, and cannons are installed on the two peaks, so it can be shot vertically in Xinyang City. To take down Xinyang, this is the most important point.

Chen Shanhe's orders to their regiment were a little vague, and he actually arrived at the Dongshan line. Should he run overnight? His regiment marching for so long, many heavy weapons and ammunition were pulled behind. The heavy firepower of the regiment was only two Type 1 and mortars and four Louis-style machine guns. He was very tired after the march. Do you have to wait for the large army to come up? It's just a half-day night.

There seemed to be a sound of train passing by on the Jinghan Line not far away, and the sound of the whistle entering the station could be faintly heard here. Wang Yelu made up his mind. The task of their detachment was to cut off the Jinghan Line as soon as possible! A little delay was a little, the more Northern troops would be reinforced here. Even if the sacrifice of his regiment was great, it would be great that he could buy a day for the overall situation!

The Northern Army guarded Dongshan by Dongshan, the main force of the 3rd Regiment of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Division. Now, in Xinyang City, in addition to the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Brigade, there is also a 4th Regiment of the 4th Division that has been reinforced in the past two days. The 4th Regiment of the 2nd Brigade of their division was controlled at Wusheng Pass. Now the commander of the 1st Division, He Zonglian, has gathered all the troops scattered in several prefectures in southern Henan, waiting to reinforce to the Wuhan front line at any time.

However, the orders from the rear base seem to be messed up now. The previous order was to order the 1st Division to place a small number of troops in detention waiting for the 4th Division to take over Xinyang's defense, and then advance eastward with its main force to find a detoured Southern Army to fight.

Well, when he was deploying the troops and preparing to set off, the base camp sent another telegram, the 1st Division's previous mission was cancelled, the main force was concentrated into Hubei, and the Jiangyou Army's troops were reinforced. Cao Kun's contact telegram was also sent, making him go south in a hurry, and the 1st and 3rd Division fought side by side. Their Beijing-Han Line General Reserve Division had the idea of ​​joining the Wuhan battle situation at any time, so that it would be possible. Then the main force was adjusted again. The large carts, mules and other supplies collected were loaded on the train and ready to depart. The outpost positions in various places were retreated and the main force was transferred back to the city.

The telegram sent by President Yuan Shikai came again, ordering the 1st Division to be on standby on the spot and effectively protect the artery of the Beijing-Han Line. The loading supplies were unloaded one after another. The 1st Division was tossed enough and quickly re-arranged Dongshan's defense line. The 1st Division is also a very experienced unit, knowing that since it is necessary to defend, Dongshan's defense line is the key point among the key points. But after so many troubles, Dongshan only barely maintained two more battalions to defend tonight. Some of the company and platoon positions in front of Dongshan have not recovered yet.

In the evening, He Zonglian and his chief of staff Li Kuiyuan guarded the former government office of Xinyang Prefecture and the current division headquarters. Now the military situation is so hot that no one dares to rest too early and complain while sitting.

"Brother Xingdou, what kind of battle is this time called? The troops in front are in chaos. There is no accurate idea for offense and defense. If you are really ready to defeat Yuchen, then transfer all the troops! The troops behind are also waiting to see the scenery. The enemy's large detachment entered Henan. They can develop at will with such a large place. We can't bear it even if we come south and east! The president is also confused. Let Zhiquan take charge of the base camp. In my opinion, Zhiquan is not as good as Hua Fu in the command of the army! Under Hua Fu, we still have some confidence in fighting."

Li Kuiyuan was a strong and strong man. He not only had considerable achievements in military science, but also had a number of martial arts masters in the Republic of China. He could be called a master-level figure in Xingyiquan. He listened to his division commander complaining, but just smiled and didn't say anything. Now that Henan was being penetrated by the Jiangbei Army, he also knew that the situation was very bad. He had once jointly written a letter with He Zonglian. If the Second Army was copied by them, it would be too late to rescue him anyway, so he would forget it. What I was worried about is that if the Jiangbei Army took risks, he would go straight to the Jinghan Line. It would be better to concentrate the main force, at least 1 and 4 divisions on the Jinghan Line to ensure the safety of the Hubei army's retreat. Let the main force concentrate in Hubei. As long as Qi Xieyuan's troops can come up, will the Beiyang Army still have an advantageous force? It is very cheap to try to counterattack. I am afraid that I will panic and the troops will be mobilized by the Jiangbei Army.

The command of the base camp was really chaotic a few days ago. First, the 1st Division left the existing position to find the detachment of the Jiangbei Army to advance into Henan to fight. Later, they asked them to reinforce Hubei. In his opinion, these were all authentic tricks. They were simply asking them to gather together and wait for the Jiangbei Army to beat them up in the north and south! Fortunately, the president still understood a little and let them stay in place. First, the Beijing-Han Line was maintained. The 4th Division also slowly reinforced. Everyone was relieved.

The wind was getting faster and faster in the evening, and the night was dark outside. The commands and shouts of troops patrolling martial law on the streets sounded by chance this night, which made the division headquarters look as quiet as a tomb. The dusk atmosphere of Beiyang now seems too deep. Even if this battle is supported, how many days can the Beiyang group last? Both of them understand people, and there is helplessness in their eyes when they look at each other. Jiang Bei Yuchen is in full swing, and he is aggressive in his actions. His troops are now famous in the south and north, and Outer Mongolia is also the one he sent to recover...... The future is really hard to say.

Under the night, several rows of Jiangbei Army's scattered lines were lying on the attack starting area. All the bullets were pressed into the chamber, and all the bayonets were ready, waiting for the orders to be initiated by the attack. At the front, there was a company, led by several old Henan men familiar with the terrain in Jigong Mountain, and they touched forward. There was actually no Northern Army position outside Dongshan, almost guarding this lonely mountain. The attack starting position could advance to a few hundred meters at the foot of the mountain. The Jiangbei Army was surprised. The Northern Army here was too careless!

Wang Yelu personally grasped the only heavy firepower at hand on the attacking position. He was anxiously waiting for the news of the sneak attack in the night. The Northern Army controlled the two hills of Dongshan, and the saddle in the middle could be blocked with firepower, and did not release troops to defend. He carefully selected a company's selection, and touched the saddle from the saddle, and touched the Qiaocai Path towards the slightly higher hill. The forwards were all covered with grenades, and they were all his.

The regiment's assassination expert. With a successful call, the entire regiment launched an attack and even fought to take Dong Shan down! The Jiangbei Army had some opinions on the teaching brigade. The officers and soldiers from these brigades were basically promoted to the next level when they went to other troops. They were the most trusted and direct troops of Commander Yu. The proportion of members of the Qing army association was also the highest among the divisions and brigades. However, they went to the battlefield very few times, and their performance could only be said to be average. From the commander of the teaching brigade, Lu Fengqiao, to the privates, everyone was holding their breath.

Wang Yelu touched the armband of the teaching brigade "Don't Forget Zhang Bao" on his arm. The teaching cavalry regiment was said to have made contributions to the An Meng army to revive Kulun. If his third regiment made his first contribution in the battle to revive Xinyang, the reputation of the teaching brigade would be all back! He lay on this position only three or four hundred meters away from Dongshan. Looking at the dark light in the night of machine guns and mortars, he felt that the vest was cold, and it was all cold sweat.

He Zonglian and Li Kuiyuanzheng talked a little while, and it seemed that there was no emergency military information today. He Zonglian finally gave a few words to his chief of staff and was ready to rest first. His expression was too tense these days. It was rare to have a good rest. If the war really started, it was common not to sleep for a few days.

"Xingdou, let the troops take a break today. The defense in Dongshan will be strengthened tomorrow. We are just holding two holes! One is Wusheng Pass and the other is Dongshan. The main force should be placed in these two places! Xinyang should not leave more troops. I know the 1st Division, and the defense is still calm. The attack will not be possible..."

While they were talking, they suddenly heard sporadic explosions and gunshots sounded in the east direction. Then a ball of shouts came vaguely. Both of them were stunned, and they had an unknown premonition. The guards who were dozing off in the yard also woke up, and suddenly their shouts came: "Dongshan! Dongshan!"

The two rushed out of the yard and looked eastward. Then they saw bursts of explosive flames blooming in the night. Each flash, the shadow of Dong Shan Peak appeared in the night. The machine guns on another mountain also rang. The gunshots came here, and they were already dull and completely covered by the explosion. The fire flowed between the two mountain peaks. How damn, the Jiangbei army actually rushed to Xinyang! They were fighting the Jinghan Line!

Li Kuiyuan exclaimed in a daze: "Yuchen Master, they advanced to Henan just to encircle the retreat of our entire Hubei army... With such a sharp plan, only the Jiangbei army dared to act like this!"

He Zonglian was so anxious that he jumped. This Shandong man was an old military service. How could he not understand that if Dong Shan was lost, the enemy could use firepower to control the Xinyang Prefecture and the Jinghan Line. Then Xinyang was just a big deal! He shouted: "Xingdou, don't praise others here. I will go out to capture the troops immediately. If I catch any more, I will immediately reinforce. If I don't have time to reinforce, prepare for counterattack! Go and write a telegram to the base camp, saying that Xinyang is attacked, and ask them to respond quickly!"

The telegram was sent to the base camp of the Beiyang Office at night. Duan Qirui has been lying here with clothes these days. His most confidant aide Xu Shuzheng hurriedly opened the door of his bedroom and rushed in. The lights were lit up. Duan Qirui was a little confused and glared for a while before being awakened. Looking at Xu Shuzheng's appearance, he knew that something big happened on the front line. He asked: "Youzheng, what big thing happened? Has the Second Army collapsed?"

Xu Shuzheng shook the telegram in his hand: "It would be great if the Second Army collapsed! Now I finally know the movements of the two detachments of the Jiangbei Army in Henan. It turned out to be aimed at the retreat of our entire Hubei army! Now Xinyang has started!"

Duan Qirui jumped up and stepped on the ground barefoot. After receiving the telegram, he read it. His face became increasingly ugly. Xu Shuzheng added from the side: "The movements of the Jiangbei Army were also found near Zhumadian. The garrison was weaker than Xinyang. It seems that the Beijing-Han Line does not break from Xinyang, and Zhumadian will not be protected!"

Duan Qirui fell and sighed, "I didn't listen to Cai Songpo! He told me to quickly shrink the troops and move towards Wusheng Pass. But I didn't stick to the president, but instead wanted to mobilize troops to Hubei. The First Division in Xinyang was also commanded in a mess. The situation was not good, and the crime was on me!"

Xu Shuzheng's face looked ugly. He never believed Cai E. He was Duan Qirui's most confidant little fan. Cai Songpo sorted out a plan to shrink the entire army north of Wuhan. However, he proposed a plan to counterattack the first division to the east and face the troops that advanced into Henan with the First Division. Although Duan Qirui was stubborn, he obeyed his plans and immediately prepared to mobilize the 1st Division. As a result, the Presidential Office ordered the stop of Xu Shuzheng's plan and the 1st Division went south to Wuhan. He prepared to form the Beiyang Jinghan Line General Army in Wuhan, and let Feng Guozhang be the commander of the general army. Unified command of the Jiangyou Army, the Second Operations Army, the First Operations Army, the 1st Division and the 4th Division who was transferred.

At the instigation of Xu Shuzheng, Duan Qirui was not willing to let Feng Guozhang take over the heavy army. Apart from his two unhappy sons, the heir of Lao Yuan, wasn't he a choice between him and Feng Huafu? For a little selfishness, he kept the 1st Division in Xinyang, and the 4th Division was also slowed down. Feng Guozhang saw that he was hindered everywhere. He had not gone south for a long time, and he delayed for a few days. In the end, the situation turned out like this! At this time, Xu Shuzheng really regretted that Beiyang, as an old group for decades, was not as united as the Jiangbei Army, and focused on the war and worked towards a goal. And these Beiyang soldiers had too deep entanglement in various factions, and they were indeed too selfish. If Feng Guozhang had taken over the position as soon as possible, how could this be the situation!

Hearing Duan Qirui’s complaint, Xu Shuzheng had a blue face: “General Duan, now is not the time to hold the responsibility accountable. But we should come up with a solution quickly! The president also needs to inform us!”

Duan Qirui hurriedly started wearing his boots and shouted: "The telegrams of these brigade commanders on the front line are all in duplicate. The Presidential Palace should have received them earlier than our base camp! Hurry up and ask someone to find Cai Songpo, and save the situation no matter what. If the 1st Division cannot hold on in Xinyang, the morale of the front line will be completely destroyed!"

Mortars and Louis-style machine guns were roaring desperately, and the firepower was pouring towards the lower position, and the Northern Army was still under guard. Type 1 and 2 mortars were really a sharp weapon in this kind of mountain combat. There were almost no dead spots in shooting and the firing frequency was fast. When the eighty-mm shell exploded, cast iron shrapnel flew around, almost completely suppressing the opponent's firepower.

The shouts of killing on another mountain were already mixed, and the sneak attackers finally reached the top of the mountain. The Beiyang Army, which had more than one battalion, had just finished the defense today, and was exhausted. After putting some sentries, they fell asleep. In their opinion, Dongshan was still very safe. The candidates of the Third Regiment of the Jiangbei Army first used bayonets to kill the sentry. Before alarming the Northern Army guards, they threw a lot of grenades at the place where they were resting. The Northern Army on the front line was suddenly blown up and suffered heavy casualties. They could not organize effective resistance at all, and they threw away their armor and left their armor and ran straight to the top of the mountain. There was a small temple on the top of the mountain, which was both the headquarters of the 3rd Regiment and the place where they controlled the reserve team. The bullet rain chased their butts from behind, and the dead bodies were spread from bottom to top to the top of the mountain.

In the small temple, when the front line was heard, the officers jumped up and commanded the untidy soldiers to rush out of the temple gate in chaos, but were transferred by the Jiangbei Army to seize the guns, and they were firmly blocked. The bodies of the soldiers in the Northern Army completely blocked the temple gate. They could only take out the gun holes from the walls and fight desperately. They kept firing signal flares at the foot of the mountain, asking the troops in Xinyang City to come up to reinforce immediately.
Chapter completed!