Chapter 65 Cut off the Beijing-Han Line

The short fierce battle between the Kinki Army First Division of the Northern Army last night seemed to have knocked out a lot of their aura. It was just as dawn that the Northern Army of the brigade began to concentrate. Several battalions rushed together. The soldiers' faces were full of tired and depressed. They worked so hard last night, so many shells were fucked. The First Division had never worked so hard. Dong Shan couldn't defeat them! The Jiangbei Army was really a group of madmen. Even the wounded soldiers could pounce on them and hug you and take a bite.

The cannons set off in the rear were firing at the hilltop again, but the sound of the cannon also seemed a little weak. The adjutants of the Military Control Department split the boxes containing the oceans and spread the shiny white ocean all over the floor. What makes people feel a bit ironic is that some of them are Yu Datou with Yuchen's avatar. These are all the money to pay the Hubei troops. At present, He Zonglian can't take care of so much.

"Who signs up for today's death attack? Take a step forward! Each person gives a reward of fifty yuan first! Take Dongshan, and each person gives another one hundred yuan! It's all over the ocean! One hundred and fifty years ago. After this battle, you will get the money for marrying a wife and buying a family business! The division commander is watching us!" Several officers stood beside the pile of foreign money and shouted loudly.

"The Southern Army is not easy to cultivate! If we win, we soldiers who eat Beiyang and Presidential meals will have no life! We are all good men from the north, so let's fight with them today! Otherwise, if we catch the Southern Army, we will also beheading our heads and dig our hearts. They will not stay if we say the prisoners of our Northern Dialect!"

One after another, small officers and soldiers walked forward, and the officers from the Military Control Commission also gave rewards on the spot. The crisp sound of foreign money hitting also moved more people, and more people came out to sign up for the suicide squad. Joining the army to eat food was to tie their heads to their belts to earn food. President Yuan Yu was fake, but these white oceans were real!

Seeing the suicide squad slowly forming, He Zonglian sat on several stacked ammunition boxes in the temporary command center, with a heavy face as water. Li Kuiyuan arranged for the staff to wait for the telegram and guard the phone in Xinyang City, and he hurried to the front line.

Looking at He Zonglian's appearance, Li Kuiyuan had nothing to say, but sighed, "Master, we must have confidence at this time, and the enemy will be tired. If we attack at dawn, we will take Dongshan down. There will be no problem in Xinyang holding for a few more days......We have enough food and ammunition..." He straightened up and looked around, especially the corpse on the hillside facing the direction of his attack. Last night, the master took charge of himself, and this battle seemed to be very fierce. However, such a large casualty had not yet taken down Dongshan, no wonder He Zonglian was a little discouraged.

Even he himself felt that the situation was not good. There were explosions of smoke rising from the top of the mountain. He could not see the enemy's movements. He didn't even sound a gunshot. He heard He Zonglian whispering behind him: "……………Star Dou, how are the deployment in the city now?"

Li Kuiyuan knew that if Dong Shan could not take it down today, the enemy's main force arrived. From the top of Dong Shan, Xinyang City was like a cauldron. He set up a cannon and bombarded it downward, which would be even more unpredictable. No wonder the division commander had to consider the issue of retreat. If the front base camp and the Presidential Office had not agreed on the same opinion and pulled the 1st Division around, he dared to guarantee Dong Shan's defense line was as solid as a soul! But now he was lost so easily. Could it be that Beiyang had already exhausted his energy in the face of this newly emerging force?

He looked a little complicated and approached He Zonglian. The two senior officers on the front line discussed the retreat here. If the troops knew about it, the few fighting will probably disappear.

"Teacher Commander, the 16th Regiment of the 4th Division now controls several fronts of the car, and even the car is thrown on the line. I have arranged for the division's direct troops to load the car with the baggage and luggage. We can leave at any time when we get on the car. Now I don't know whether to go south or north."

He Zonglian nodded: "There is no telegram instructor from the base camp?"

Li Kuiyuan smiled bitterly and said, "I have sent a few telegrams. But there is no other instructions except asking us to do our best to counterattack Dongshan and defend Xinyang. I think now, the base camp and the old man are both stunned by the stick of the Southern Army. If we follow my wishes, in order to avoid our loss of Xinyang's responsibility, we should retreat northward and wait for reinforcements to come up to counterattack more stably. Although there is a ready-made position in Wusheng Pass in the south, it is mostly a dead end."

The two were secretly discussing the retreat when they saw a brigade commander Yu Youfu walking towards them. In the original time and space of Yuchen, in 1913, the brigade commander was guarding Rehe and was attacked by more than 2,000 cavalry and bandits of the Wutai army of the Outer Mongolia rebels, and fled with Zhang Fengming's regiment. The dignified regular army was chased by the rebels at Dawang Temple and was defeated with more than 400 casualties. From then on, they were in trouble. By 1918, they were still a brigade commander.

But in the current civil war battlefield, the bearded brigade commander was very enthusiastic. He was wearing shiny horse boots and spoke with a strong Henan accent: "Teacher Commander, Chief of Staff! Now that the five hundred suicide squad has gathered, should we launch an attack immediately? This time, we must twist the head of the Southern Army on the mountain! Division Commander, give orders!"

Listening to Yu Youfu's praise in the sea, he was shaking. He Zonglian and Li Kuiyuan wanted to sneer in their hearts. He Zonglian waved his hand: "Braft Commander Yu, now you are the commander of the front enemy, and all the artillery soldiers are under your command. You can take down Dongshan and I will ask for merit from the base camp for you!"

The sound of artillery sounded again, and all the artillery soldiers of the 1st Division exerted greater power during the day. Dongshan's shooting had long been calibrated. The artillery from 57 mm to 75 mm caliber showed its maximum power. The explosion of the shells was almost impossible to tell. It seemed that the Northern Army was planning to bet on the final combat power this time, and fought to the death with the Jiangbei Army in Dongshan. There were many battles fought by the Beiyang Army, but the officers knew that

Only by fighting with the Jiangbei Army is the battle that is most relevant to their Beiyang Army. Politicians can change their wings and soldiers can change their troops to eat food and salary. If Yuchen wins the world, where will they find such a position? In the battle with the Jiangbei Army, the middle and senior officers are surprisingly strong. Therefore, from Hubei to Henan, as long as the main forces of the two armies collided, the battle situation is particularly tragic.

Watching the shells explode on the edge of the mountain peak above his head. Wang Yelu was like a small soldier, holding a rifle, waiting for the enemy's artillery to stop. In the past, the Jiangbei Army bullied others with powerful firepower, but this time he attacked far away with light troops. However, he suffered a great loss under the artillery of the Beiyang Army! He no longer thought about when the main force of the Captain Chen Shanhe and his team arrived, because he firmly believed that the Captain would definitely reinforce at the fastest speed! And his mission was to firmly nail the captain to Dongshan before the Captain came to reinforce.

Wang Yelu knew very well about the gains and losses of Xinyang and the ultimate significance of this important town to their detachment.

At this time, in the base camp of the Beiyang Office of the Beiyang Office, the officers were in a dull atmosphere. Since receiving the emergency telegram from Xinyang last night, no one went to bed. The president's illness also made these Beiyang officers feel heavy. Everyone is a soldier, so how can they not know the situation they are facing now?

These officers who were indifferent to the affairs of the ministry in the past were all on their posts, waiting anxiously for the return of the battle situation of the 1st Division. Now the base camp has also been reorganized. Duan Qirui and his friends came back from Tieshizi Hutong and immediately published Feng Guozhang's position as commander of the Beiyang Army of the Beijing-Han Line and deputy chief of staff of Cai E base camp.

Several new division commanders left behind in Beijing arrived here and waited for the task to be issued. Feng Guozhang pulled Yang Shande, the commander of the 4th Division, to look at the map there. Now he, the commander of the General Army of the Beiyang Beijing-Han Line, has five armies under his command. However, the effective force in his hands is the two regiments of the 7th Brigade of the 4th Division. Other troops have either started fighting in Hubei, Henan or are transporting forward. The commander of the General Army could not be established for a while, making him, the commander of the General Army who was responsible for such a great name, so anxious that he had no choice.

Duan Qirui was wandering around his office, and there was no rest for a night. A false fire supported him and he didn't feel tired. He just felt irritated. He didn't know what to do, nor did he know what to do to help the front line.

Cai E sat in his office with a pale face and looked at the official documents and the battle briefing. The phone ringing outside rang in a ball. He didn't care, but he was just tracing his mind there.

Duan Qirui turned around for a long time and finally said angrily to Cai E: "Songpo, how can we catch this situation? The President asked us everything. We have to come up with a solution! Hua Fu, I saw that he was so anxious that he rubbed his hands. He couldn't catch any troops now, so he just complained to me. In this situation, our base camp still needs to directly drop the orders to the various armies! We must make arrangements for the Xinyang situation, otherwise the morale of the army will be in chaos!"

Cai E just nodded. Last night, He Zonglian's telegram was not only direct telegram base camp and presidential palace. The troops fighting in Beiyang and Hubei also received his telegrams. Now they have telegrams coming to ask for instructions. They are now in contact with the Jiangbei Army, and it is not easy to use the troops. They are anxiously asking the base camp whether they are fighting or leaving? Cao Kun's impatient attitude has proposed his own plan, using the Jiangyou Army and the First Operations Army to shrink to Xiaogan. Give up Wuhan, concentrate their troops first to attack Wusheng Pass to defeat the detachment of the Jiangbei Army in Henan. Use the Second Operations Army to cover their troops to shrink. Even if they have decided to sacrifice less important troops such as the Hongwei Army and the 7th Division, they must also cover their safety.

The idea is very good. If he and Chen Huan's first army could be brought out, it would be nothing to sacrifice the second army. But is others willing to sacrifice for him? Nowadays, who doesn't know that soldiers are strength, officials, and territory?

Now the Beiyang army is in a scattered formation. Not to mention that he, the deputy chief of staff at the base, was originally considered irresistible. Even if he pounced on him wholeheartedly, he would be caught in a dilemma against the huge strategic advantages formed by the Yuchen Jiangbei Army.

He comforted Duan Qirui and said, "Zhiquan, don't worry, can't this matter be urgent? The first priority now is to arrange the chaotic troops and form a singular front line again. Didn't I tell you before? Military to eat the Jiangbei army, don't make this plan. How to deal with this defeat now so that the government can end the war with a decent amount! Xinyang I dare to make sure that I can't hold on for long...... The 1st Division was originally a big shortage, and so many flag soldiers were gone. Now it is estimated that the Jiangbei army was hit head-on, and there was no sharpness at all. It is a foregone conclusion that the Jinghan Line was cut off......"

He stood up: "President Yi Huafu served as the commander-in-chief of the five armies. He can't command so many troops now. He has not even formed a staff team. How can he command so many troops in such a vast area? There is no such reason in military science!"

He calmly put down some of the rotten medicine between Duan Feng, but Duan Qirui heard it very much and nodded constantly. He just urged him to say it quickly. Cai E smiled: "The key point now is that there is no unified command in Hubei, and Hua Fu can't command there. My case is. If the Jinghan Line is broken, then break it. Anyway, we can't save it now. It is best for Hubei to set up a deputy commander of the General Army of the Beijing-Han Line to command the troops. Discard the baggage. If Xinyang is captured, it will reinforce a mixed brigade unit of Wusheng Pass. While retreating from Laohekou to Henan. The large army will not be easy to move, at least those combat soldiers who have been trained for so many years must be pulled back! And the action should be fast, and it will be delayed a little. The enemy will break through the weak defense Wusheng Pass and go in and out of Hubei, and completely cut off our retreat. There is no need to fight this battle!"

He took a breath slightly, looking confident, Duan Qirui was also impressed. In addition to having some concerns about giving up Hubei, when he heard Feng Guozhang's suggestion of being decentralized, he actually felt that it was a very insightful proposal. And the reason was high-sounding. Can't he command it!

"The other troops on the Jinghan Line should be transferred quickly. I guess the 1st Division will not retreat to Hubei. They will not send their hopes to the destiny themselves. In fact, if the 1st Division is strong enough, continue to retreat to Wusheng Pass and wait for our large troops to reinforce. We cannot turn defeat into victory and open up the Jinghan Line again... But Zhiquan, do you think we have given this order, will the 1st Division listen?"

Duan Qirui thought about it and shook his head flatly, "The 1st Division will not obey! They will only retreat northward! I understand these soldiers. It is absolutely impossible to set up soldiers and generals to fight, and let them defend the Jedi to death!"

Cai E smiled. His throat was always bad. He went to the north because of the unadaptable climate. The disease became worse. After talking too much, he felt a little sputum-swelling, but he still insisted on saying: "Since the 1st Division retreated northward, we will just go to Tang Qiang Bing! Feng Huafu commanded the He Zonglian combat army formed by the 1st and 4th Divisions and the Qi Xieyuan combat army. The strength of the two armies is also quite strong. He slowly fought south all the way and met with the main force of Hubei who had retreated from Laohekou. The purpose is to move the troops on the Hubei front line quickly! And Feng Huafu and his troops must be stable! They can no longer be mobilized by the enemy's nose!"

Duan Qirui gave him a final summary: "Hubei must be unable to save it. As long as our main force is still there and we are stalemate with the Jiangbei Army on the Beijing-Han line, then is the problem of political solution?"

Cai E nodded with a smile. There was no way to solve this solution. Duan Qirui frowned and was about to make up his mind. When he heard a noise in the war room outside: "Xinyang's latest telegram, Xinyang's latest telegram!"

The two of them looked at each other and walked out. They saw Feng Guozhang sitting there with a big golden sword and watching the telegram first. Duan Qirui's face immediately darkened, but then he smiled: "Hua Fu, how about Xinyang?"

Everyone saw that Duan Qirui was always irritable and uneasy, but was dragged into the office and spoke for a while, but now they were laughing. They all felt that this deputy chief of staff was really capable and could subdue Duan Qirui. The look at Cai E was full of admiration.

Feng Guozhang handed the telegram to Duan Qirui in dejectedly and sighed: "What else is there? Xinyang reported that the counterattack of Dongshan failed again in the early morning. The troops suffered heavy casualties, and the enemy's main force had already reinforced. The 1st Division was preparing to get on the car and retreat north..."

Everyone's heart was cold. They didn't know that Xinyang was difficult to protect. But they always hoped that the 1st Division would have a miracle to keep Xinyang. But after all, the miracle did not happen. They had to face the situation where the Jinghan Line was cut off by the Jiangbei Army.

Duan Qirui looked at the telegram with a calm face, but did not speak any words. He turned to Cai E and said, "Songpo, let me tell you about the response method we agreed on to the base camp just now! Xinyang is lost, but our Beiyang is not finished!"

Wang Yelu stood at the top of Dongshan Mountain, and many people advised him to go down and rest for a while, he refused to do so. He was tied with a bandage on his head. He held a telescope and watched the shells explode in Xinyang City. Trains dragged long white smoke to flee to the north in panic. The soldiers in gray-clothed Northern Army climbed like ants, making the carriage everywhere inside and outside. A large cannon shell exploded on a carriage. Those ants-like villains were immediately lifted everywhere, and the train dragged fireworks to speed up the new entry.

One morning, the 1st Division insisted on launching several counterattacks. But it was no longer as fierce as last night. Apart from the cannons, it still did not stop fighting. The Third Regiment of the Cultivation suffered heavy casualties and finally held Dongshan. Many Beiyang soldiers who were killed were holding handfuls of Yinyang in their hands. Wang Yelu was very proud of this. Our Jiangbei Army and the Qing Army were fighting for justice, and you Beiyang were just fighting for these few dollars of money! As for what kind of justice is, the regiment commander Wang was still a little confused.

After noon, the main force of Chen Shanhe Detachment finally came up with reinforcements. Chief of Staff Cai Hengwen personally grabbed the troops at the foot of the mountain. When he arrived at a unit, he had to sort it out and then rushed to Dongshan. The mortars of each unit were concentrated and transported, and the Northern Army's counterattack was already weak. Seeing the main force of the Jiangbei Army coming, the retreating look was really a throwaway. The infantry rushed down with the trend of the Beiyang Army's retreat. If Li Kuiyuan had not prepared, the 16th Regiment of the 4th Division relied on the city wall and used firepower to stop the Jiangbei Army's pursuit. It is estimated that the 1st Division would not have the life to board the train now! But the artillery positions of the Beiyang 1st Division listed at the foot of the mountain. Almost all the cannons were seized by the Jiangbei Army, and there was even a command knife that He Zonglian had not had time to take away.

The cannons from the Jiangbei Army were carried down to Dongshan by people, looking down at Xinyang City and started bombardment. The Northern Army's retreat immediately began, and trains left like a life-long escape. Many of the carriages were fired, and the soldiers of the Northern Army were in chaos. They were not divided into brigades and battalions, just squeezed into the car. Many families of the army were separated from their children and their husbands who were officers, chasing the train and crying and howling. Any shell without eyes could cut them down without discrimination. Fleeing was the most tragic thing for any army.

Wang Yelu held up a telescope and applauded like a madman next to the cannon position.

"One more time!"

"Do that locomotive!"

"There is a big guy wearing a gold-border military cap!"

The artillery had no intention of obeying his command, but he just aimed straight at the shells and shot them out.

When Chen Shanhe walked to the top of Dongshan Mountain, which was covered with scorched earth and dead bodies, he saw the commander of the teaching group who had made great contributions, losing his composure. He raised his telescope and observed the situation in Xinyang City, and ordered the artillery commander beside him: "Don't fire the artillery, let them run away. The infantry will advance and capture the prisoners."

Hearing the sound of cannons around him slowly calmed down, Wang Yelu turned around with red eyes, not paying attention to Chen Shanhe and the others. He just stared at the artillery viciously: "Why don't you open fire? You collude with the enemy! I'll kill you!" As he said that, he took out his pistol. Chen Shanhe shouted: "Wang Yelu! You are crazy! I ordered them to cease fire!"

Wang Yelu was clever and looked at Chen Shanhe. He slowly put the gun down and suddenly shaking and knelt down: "Captain, kill all these Northern Army soldiers. Our Third Regiment died miserably! More than 2,000 brothers, the enemy's bombardment has never stopped... Look at the corpses of the brothers all over the mountain!"
Chapter completed!