Vast grassland, snow-capped.

A long procession trodden through the steppe in ankle-length snow and into the territory of Chahar.

In the distance, Song Zheyuan, who was wearing a tiger skin, put down the binoculars in his hand and whispered to the man next to him, who was wearing a general of the fruit army and wearing the rank of major general on his shoulder:

"Haoyuan, it seems that we have attracted a fierce tiger this time! If it is used well, it is a great help; But if it is not used well, it will lead the wolf into the room! ”

The major general of the fruit army is named Tian Haoyuan, who followed Song Zheyuan ten years ago, is his confidant and favorite general, and is currently the commander of the 29th Army under Song Zheyuan.

The March of the Broadsword, which was widely circulated in later generations, was composed by the 29th Army in the Battle of Xifengkou based on the battle in which the broadsword killed the enemy.

Tian Haoyuan looked at the approaching team in the distance, smiled and shook his head:

"You can rest easy, according to your subordinates, this group of people is not here, and they will definitely not have the slightest thought about my Chahar."

"Oh? What do you mean by that? Song Zheyuan was a little surprised.

Tian Haoyuan straightened the collar of his coat, and his tone was a little emotional:

"In the past two months, his subordinates have sent people to collect and sort out all the combat situations of the so-called independent battalion since its formation, and although it is not comprehensive, it is not difficult to see the ambition of its commander.

Liu Cheng was only about 20 years old, but he was calm and sophisticated, and he joined the guerrilla unit formed in Panshi two and a half years ago, and successively served as squad leader, junior battalion commander, and brigade leader.

More than a year ago, for some reason, they broke away from their original ranks and formed an independent battalion of about two or three hundred people.

Until half a year ago, he had fought against the Japanese army several times with a force of about 1,000 troops, and was finally forced to move to the territory of Rehe, but in just one month, he expanded his army to about 4,500 people.

What surprised his subordinates the most was that this person had always had enough ammunition without any support, and he also snatched back two TF-17 tanks left by Lao Zhang from Mukden, holding more than ten artillery pieces, and defeated Zhang Haipeng's two integrated divisions in the first battle!

Moreover, after that battle, Zhou Zuopeng rebelled against Rehe and joined forces with him to defeat Lumao Huxiong's independent mixed brigade, and the weapons and equipment were further replenished.

However, at that time, the casualties of the two were also heavy, so they retreated to the grassland to recuperate; But now, how many people do you think there can be in this team? ”

Song Zheyuan groaned slightly:

"I'm afraid it's no less than 10,000 people."

Tian Haoyuan smiled slightly:

"More than 12,000!"

"What do you think? ......" Song Zheyuan subconsciously turned sideways and looked at the captain of the Guojun who was holding a folder not far away, feeling a little uneasy.

In the folder was a piece of appointment, which said that Zhou Zuopeng was appointed as the head of the Chaharrong Border Special Regiment, and Liu became the deputy head of the regiment.

Although it is indicated that it is a special group and can decide most matters independently, it is still subject to his Song Zheyuan's restraint on some important matters.

To put it bluntly, this is a kind of co-optation in disguise, but only formally.

Tian Haoyuan, as Song Zheyuan's confidant and favorite general, naturally knew what Song Zheyuan was thinking at this time, and then leaned over to Song Zheyuan's ear and whispered:

"You might as well just give them absolute autonomy, and the Chahar doesn't bind them in any way, just cooperation or employment; For example, demarcate areas of activity for them and provide them with a certain amount of food and supplies; And they are responsible for guarding those areas for us, and in the event of a war, they will do their best to help us defend against the invading enemy, what do you think? ”

Song Zheyuan frowned and thought about it, and nodded lightly.

Half an hour later, Liu Cheng and Zhou Zuopeng, who were all generals, finally appeared in front of Song Zheyuan.

Song Zheyuan laughed and stepped forward to pat the two on the shoulder, and said loudly:

"The two of them are arrogant and generals, and the officers and soldiers of the department are like rainbows, and they are really the division of tigers and wolves; Song is really ashamed of himself, ashamed of himself......"

Zhou Zuopeng looked at Liu Cheng without a trace, and when he saw him smiling, he stepped forward and grabbed Song Zheyuan's arms, and said very enthusiastically:

"Song Z Xi is too modest, the two of us are here, it really caused you a lot of trouble, the little devil is afraid that it will come later, and I hope you will support a lot!"

"It's easy to say, it's easy to say, let's go to the city first, and Rong Song will give the two of you the wind first!"

During the banquet, Song Zheyuan did not take out the letter of appointment, but announced on the spot: Liu Cheng and Zhou Zuopeng's department, as Chahar's special garrison, cooperated with Chahar to fight against the Japanese invaders, and there was no subordinate relationship;

At the same time, the three county towns of Xinghe, Taolin and Liangcheng, as well as the Abaga Banner, Sunit Right Banner and Sunit Left Banner were assigned to Liu Cheng and Zhou Zuopeng as stations.

During their stay in Chahar, Chahar was responsible for providing food and bedding and other supplies; In the event of a war, Liu Cheng and Zhou Zuopeng's troops need to participate in the battle as soon as possible and fully support the defense of Chahar.

Regarding the conditions proposed by Song Zheyuan, Liu Cheng and Zhou Zuopeng directly agreed, but they were a little suspicious in their hearts.

Before coming, Liu Cheng had thought of many possibilities and preset a series of countermeasures, but now none of them are used.

After eating, Song Zheyuan left with his own people and returned directly to Zhangjiakou, leaving Liu Cheng and Zhou Zuopeng, who looked at each other.

After settling the team, Liu Cheng found Zhou Zuopeng and said the question in his heart:

"What do you say is this Song Zheyuan? It's a bit unaccustomed to this kind of pie-in-the-sky thing suddenly falling on my head. ”

Although Zhou Zuopeng is usually very arrogant, he does not dare to be sloppy in the face of such a major event related to the fate of the troops.

The conditions given by Song Zheyuan are indeed a bit different from his character, in other words, it is unlikely that anyone else will give Liu Cheng and Zhou Zuopeng such generous conditions.

This is equivalent to completely handing over the gateway of Chahar to Liu Cheng and Zhou Zuopeng, in case the two of them are thinking about Chahar, they can completely rely on the existing three counties and three banners as the backing to gradually encroach on Chahar.

Zhou Zuopeng thought about it for a long time and didn't come up with a reason, and said angrily:

"I can't figure this out, but looking at Song Zheyuan's appearance, it doesn't look like he's calculating us, or just wait to see his next reaction? Let's be careful. ”

Liu Cheng nodded lightly:

"That's the only way, when we left the grassland, some scouts found the traces of the devil, and it is estimated that now they have mastered our location, but because this is Song Zheyuan's territory, they didn't do it.

What we have to do now is to take strict precautions, let the scouts expand the scope of investigation, and we must not let the devils get close to within a hundred miles! ”

Zhou Zuopeng promised in his mouth, but he was bitter in his heart.

Hundreds of miles away...... How easy is it to say?