Langfang, night, north city wall.

He Changying stood alone on the city wall, looking at the sky and the night.

The moonlight is quiet, the land is silent, and occasionally you can hear the low chirping of war horses in the city and the faint barking of dogs in distant villages.

In the dead of night these days, He Changying is always full of anxiety, and she can't sleep well.

Although in front of his subordinates, he behaved very calmly, with a strategizing and confident appearance; But only he knows that in this Langfang City, he is about to go crazy.

At this time, He Changying, like a trapped beast bound by Cixi's hands and feet, was pressed dead in this city, unable to get out.

He could let the 10,000 troops who were not in the imperial court go out of Shanhaiguan, and go straight to southern Liaoning along the way.

However, he He Changying, including Xu Bangdao and Jia Qisheng, these generals who were on the top of the imperial court, couldn't go anywhere.

In his previous design, it was impossible for the Japanese army not to come to Langfang, and then the Shanhaiguan Corps of the anti-Japanese army would break through and go directly to Shanhaiguan with the appearance of a defeated army under the condition of killing and wounding as many Japanese troops as possible.

Then enter Liaodong, Liaonan, which was about to be ceded to the East by the Great Qing Dynasty.

Continue to fight to the death with the Japanese army.

The battle of Langfang will be an important turning point for the anti-Japanese army.

also let the middle and senior generals under his subordinates who are hesitant and grass-like at both ends really recognize the face of the Qing royal family.

As for middle- and lower-level officers and ordinary soldiers, He Changying is not too worried.

Not only because of the truth of the preaching team, but also because of the generous military salary, food, various injuries, and continuous benefits after the death of the anti-Japanese army, but also the promise of huge generous benefits after leaving the army in the future.

All of them made the anti-Japanese army gradually form a close interest group.

Ideals, justice, are important.

However, bread is still important and indispensable.

When the two are perfectly combined, the huge fearless power that radiates out, in He Changying's opinion, even gods and demons have to obediently give way.

These days, He Changying has been thinking about a question repeatedly: Why hasn't the Japanese army come yet, knowing that I am here, so enduring?

In these days of repeated thinking and deliberation, He Changying has always felt that she seems to have ignored something, and what she has ignored is still very important, even fatal!

Cixi ordered the anti-Japanese army to garrison Langfang, and asked Wang Wenjin to send people to guard the four gates, strictly prohibiting entry and exit; The reason was that he was afraid of destroying the Qing Dynasty and begging peace, but he also trapped the anti-Japanese army in Langfang City. ”

"There are friends in Shanxian who know that the anti-Japanese army is in Langfang, and once an armistice is agreed, it will no longer be able to attack with revenge; But he just didn't come, what was he waiting for? ”

When He Changying combined these two points in the middle of the night when the night was as cold as water, she couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"Cixi put me here just to facilitate the Japanese army to kill, and Youpeng in Shan County has not come because he has seen through Cixi's conspiracy; It's not that he won't come, but he's waiting for Cixi to make an offer! Suffered—"

Thinking of Li Hongzhang's assassination yesterday, according to He Changying's understanding of history, it is estimated that within two or three days, Dongyang will take the initiative to declare a truce.

That is to say, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, there will be friends in Shan County who will not wait any longer, and will launch a fierce attack on Langfang!

Otherwise, he will never have any chance of starting a war!

"Qi Jiacai, order all the generals to hold a meeting immediately; ordered the reconnaissance company outside the city to immediately go to the horse factory and tell Liu Gangzhi that the Japanese army would launch an all-out attack tomorrow, and they would try to capture Langfang City within two days; Order the whole army to get up immediately and wait for the order! ”

With He Changying's loud order, at 10 o'clock in the evening on March 13 of the Western calendar, the entire Langfang City was disturbed again.

Soon, He Changying's first order was issued, 'Sub-regional, set fire to Langfang City.' "Strive to complete the burning of flammable houses in the entire Langfang City before early tomorrow morning."

Immediately, the soldiers expelled the people from house to house in the area where the fire was set on fire, starting with the slums of Xicheng and setting fire to the city.

At the beginning of spring, the weather was dry, and the fire was burning on the dilapidated thatched houses, and in less than half an hour, half of the West City seemed to be burning and turned into a sea of fire.

The stars hang down in the plains, and they can be seen for dozens of miles.

Langfang County ordered Hou Bolin, Wang Wenjin, the left attendant of the military department,—— a large group of Langfang officials were so angry that they ran to He Changying's military camp, and He Changying directly ordered and avoided it.

At this time, he is racing against time, everything will be known tomorrow, and these people will not believe what they say now, let alone be convinced.

Now that the thatched huts in the city are burned down in batches in different areas, then in the artillery battle tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, the Japanese artillery fire will not cause a fire in all parts of the city, and the entire Langfang City will not be burned into a big furnace that can burn people to death.

Standing on the top of the east city wall, He Changying, Xu Bangdao, Jia Qisheng, and Tang Shaoyi all looked at the fire in the west city with a blue face.

Especially the three of Xu Bangdao, this fire was lit, which was equivalent to burning He Changying's way back, if the Japanese army did not come to attack Langfang, this crime of setting fire to the city could easily put He Changying in prison.

"Boom!"

At this time, in the eastern, northern, southern, and three-city areas, there were explosions from time to time, that is, the anti-Japanese army sappers were blasting some houses, trying to establish fire belts one by one.

And thousands of soldiers are building blocking positions on the streets and alleys with tables, chairs, and door panels.

The low city walls of Langfang City made He Changying not completely confident that he could block the Japanese army's arrival in the city.

"The ——, is mainly in the west city, and the other three residential houses are very open; Even if the Japanese artillery shells can ignite some tiled houses, they will not form a continuous fire. ”

Qian Yugang, the commander of the 1st Regiment of the Anti-Japanese Army, was reporting to He Changying on various preparations in the city.

The staff had come up with a corresponding plan for these things before, and at this time they just had to do it, the only trouble was that the time was too tight.

Liu Yufu, deputy commander of the 1st Regiment, reported loudly: "The various blocking points in the city are also being built, and according to the process, they can be completed early tomorrow morning." ”

"The cavalry regiment is all concentrated in the anti-artillery bunker in the northern city, waiting for orders!"

After He Changying gave the order to Zhao Dabang, he ordered Liu Pingyun and Luo Huafei beside him: "The guard company and the civilian personnel of the legion should immediately go to the eastern, southern, and western city gates, and completely block these three city gates with all kinds of sundries." Luo Huafei guards the perimeter of the North City Tower, and he must hold the North Gate in his hands! ”

"Yes!"

Zhao Dabang, Liu Pingyun, Luo Huafei, all three of them responded loudly.

When he said this, He Changying saw Wang Wenjin, Hou Bolin, Wan Benhua, and a large group of officials from Langfang City going up to the city wall under the firelight of the city.

This group of guys, apparently, saw He Changying here through the firelight all over the city, and came over to ask for the guilt.

"These guys are really haunted!"

He Changying had a headache when she saw it, but now that the orders that should be given have been issued, she can be regarded as able to endure and waste saliva with Wang Wenjin.

"Damn, what's this old man holding in his hand?"

Lu Zhaomei, the battalion commander in charge of the defense of the north city wall, looked at Wang Wenjin, who had already gone up the city wall, with a shocked look and shouted: "This old man still has a big sword in his hand, what does he want to do?" No, Lao Tzu has to be him first! ”

As she spoke, Lu Zhaomei had already taken out the revolver on her waist, and with a fierce expression, she wanted to kill Wang Wenjin, the left attendant of the Qing Dynasty's military department.