"Spine and spirit?"

Li Hongzhang stared at He Changying.

Beneath his gentle gaze, there was a terrifying sharpness, but he didn't ask any more questions, just nodded noncommittally, and got past this too-sensitive topic.

A lot of things need to be roughly known, and it can't be said that it is too clear and too thorough, and it is the long-term way to understand that it is rare to be confused.

That night, He Changying and the others did not stay for long, and after meeting Li Hongzhang, they didn't even eat dinner at the post station, and then led the army to leave.

Before leaving, there was a brief English conversation between He Changying and Bao Shide, the consul general of the British Empire Jinmen, but except for Tang Shaoyi, who was studying in the United States, who could understand the general situation, the rest of them were confused.

And Tang Shaoyi lowered his eyebrows, and others couldn't see any attention through his eyes.

Wang Wenjin disliked that it was difficult to travel in the dark at night, and went to Suzhuang Village, which was a redundant detour, so he agreed with He Changying and Xu Bangdao that they would go to Langfang tomorrow first, and the anti-Japanese army would arrive later.

In the early morning of February 23, the carriage grunted, the vehicle restarted, and Li Jingfang and Li Hongzhang sat in a rickety carriage.

After He Changying's request to see him last night, he slept again last night, and at this time, the complexion of the father and son was much better, and they were no longer as full of grief and indignation as when they left Beijing yesterday morning.

At this time, Li Hongzhang can also think about it, and everyone who understands that he is just a chess piece that can't help himself, as for the curses of those fools in the world, just take it as the wind in your ears, let them go.

"Father, son knows that An Zhi is not that kind of person; However, the backbone and spirit of his mouth, I thought about it for half a night last night, and I still didn't understand it. ”

Li Jingfang saw that his father's brows stretched a lot, and he was also very happy in his heart, and what made him even happier was that it proved that He Changying was not the kind of person who was ungrateful, for his own benefit, and did not hesitate to fall into chaos in the world.

"It's not that you don't understand, it's that you don't want to think about it in that easy-to-understand place, He Changying has already hinted at his words very clearly, but you always want to find other interpretations for him; What is the backbone and what is the spirit? In our Qing Dynasty, there have always been only masters and minions, only kneeling soft bones, only mixed world waiting for death, and don't you understand ,—— drill camp? ”

In Li Jingfang's mind, it was as if a blazing giant axe had split through the fog inside, revealing the clear blue sky, as well as the sharp blades of swords and spears like mountains and forests under the sky, and the blood-colored river running vertically and horizontally.

He shuddered and couldn't speak.

The carriage was silent, and only the sounds of the various lines outside the carriage could be heard.

Li Hongzhang didn't speak for a long time, and finally sighed with doubts on his face: "I really can't understand it, I can't understand it!" - With this choice, where does he have a way to survive after the peace talks? I really can't understand it. Isn't it a hero, but a big hero who sacrifices himself for others and goes to death calmly? ”

Suzhuang Village, Liangshui River.

In the golden morning light, He Changying climbed a barren high slope and held a telescope to look north.

After all, it's still too far away to see the majestic city of Yanjing.

I don't know when I will have the opportunity to step into that city again?

In the south behind him, more than 10,000 anti-Japanese soldiers were preparing to go.

When He Changying and his entourage returned to Suzhuang Village with torches last night, it was already 22 o'clock at night, and then a meeting of all officers above the company level, military judges, lecturers, and clerks at and above the company level of the regiment was immediately convened.

At the meeting, He Changying announced the formation of the Liaodong Brigade.

The 4th Infantry Regiment, 1 Guard Company, 1 Reconnaissance Company, 3 Battalions of the Cavalry Regiment, Independent Battalion and Jurisdictional Troops, and 3,000 Gan Army Infantry were all disrupted and reorganized.

Liu Mingyang, commander of the 1st Regiment, was transferred to the commander of the Liaodong Brigade, Li Fengrui, deputy commander of the regiment, was appointed deputy commander of the Liaodong Brigade, Huang Bojie was the chief of staff of the brigade, and Wu Jun, former commander of the 1st Regiment, was appointed as the brigade commander.

The Liaodong Brigade has 4 infantry regiments, 5 infantry regiments, 6 infantry regiments, and various departments under the brigade, with a total of more than 8,000 troops.

The newly formed Liaodong Brigade will move eastward to the Xianghe, Yutian, and Fengrun lines.

From Bangzi Town and Taiping Township in the north of Luanzhou, through a section of mountains, through Lulong County, north around Jieshi Mountain to Funing Town, rushed to Yongping Mansion (Qinhuangdao), and received material support from Jinmen.

He Changying's commander-in-chief order to the Liaodong Brigade was that after the troops completed the replenishment of materials and troops in Yongping Mansion, they would immediately go out to fight.

All the way to sweep Jinzhou, Panjin, Yingkou, Gaizhou, the enemy encountered, marched into southern Liaoning.

According to the advance plan, the troops will arrive at Yongping Province on February 29, make a little repairs and wait, and go north to exit the customs on March 2.

It is expected to arrive outside Yingkou City and launch an attack on it before March 18.

He Changying ordered that the team of the Liaodong Brigade must arrive at Pulandian by March 31.

Because of the huge disparity in sea power, the anti-Japanese army could only rely on its own two legs to carry out the 2,000-mile march.

Although it was hard work, He Changying believed that when these soldiers of the Liaodong Brigade appeared in the north of Jinzhou City, the wind and frost along the way would definitely forge them into an iron army!

Correspondingly, Shui Feng's army will begin on March 10, and Qu Desheng's cavalry regiment will go north to sweep away all the Japanese troops in the cities of Liaodong.

The North Korean Changbai Mountain Anti-Japanese Regiment will carry 21 Krupp 70mm tube guns, 1,500 grenade shotguns, 200 high-explosive bombs, 4 Makqin water-cooled machine guns, and 800,000 rounds of ammunition to arrive at Pulandian before 1 April to join the Liaodong Brigade.

Cooperate with the Lushun Army to attack the 2nd Army entrenched in Jinzhou, Dalian Bay.

In this way, in the entire battlefield around the Jinda Brigade, even excluding the support of the Beiyang Naval Division, the various units of the Anti-Japanese Army have gathered more than 38,000 troops here, as well as a large number of land artillery.

The 20,000 troops and several mountain artillery of the 2nd Army of Shangdashanyan are fully capable of completely annihilating it.

At 9 o'clock in the morning of the same day, more than 3,600 troops of the Anti-Japanese Army Shanhaiguan Corps, reconnaissance company, engineer company, cavalry regiment, 1st infantry regiment, and more than 3,600 troops set off for the south, targeting Langfang City, which is 100 miles south of Suzhuang Village.

At 13 o'clock in the afternoon, the Liaodong Brigade immediately set off for the east, marching and training at the same time.

In Jinmen, a large amount of food was purchased by the recruiting office of the military station, as well as partially replaced military jackets, cotton shoes, and a large number of New Year clothes.

Pulled by hundreds of carriages, they left the northern city of Jinmen, and then diverted to the east under the strong orders of the escort army.

Nearly in the evening of the same day, Li Hongzhang's motorcade entered Langfang, and Langfang County ordered Hou Bolin to hold a banquet in fear.

In the early morning of February 24, Li Hongzhang, Li Jingfang, Li Minchen and Bao Shide, escorted by a squad of southern Anhui soldiers and a group of British cavalry, continued to march towards Jinmen.

And Wang Wenjin and Wan Benhua will lead the remaining four southern Anhui soldiers to stay in Langfang.

On the same day, the 3rd Infantry Regiment in the Ninghe Battalion, Bian Changsheng Battalion, and the whole army marched south to Jinmen.

The recruits of the Dagu Military Station, the Beitang Shuiyong who was recruited, with nearly 2,000 troops, escorted nearly 1,000 captured Japanese rifles to Yongping Mansion.

On February 25, Li Bingheng, the governor of Ludong stationed in Penglai, received the Zhaoyuan City Express and found traces of Japanese troops outside the city.

The Penglai armies were all frightened and immediately telegraphed to Tongzhou for advice.

At this time, Zhaoyuan City had been easily taken by the Japanese army, and the team only made a slight repair, and then marched towards Penglai.