The Sichuan Army's overwhelming offensive caused an extreme shock to everyone, especially the defeat of the 6th Mixed Brigade of the Hubei Army in one fell swoop with lightning speed, which completely subverted people's impression of the Sichuan Army......

Although the Sichuan Army has an absolute superiority in strength, it may be able to defeat the Sixth Mixed Brigade of the Hubei Army so cleanly, which is enough to prove that the combat effectiveness of the Sichuan Army is not as worthless as rumored.

When the news reached Beijing, Yuan Shikai was in a hurry.

This time, Yuan Shikai did not hold a military intelligence meeting to discuss countermeasures, but only urgently summoned Yang Du, Yang Shiqi and Chen Eun to his study to discuss. There are more people and more disputes, which will lead to slow decision-making, and what is needed now is to respond quickly, because the hands of the Sichuan Army have reached Beiyang's neck.

The atmosphere in the study was a little dull, no one expected that the Sichuan army would be so fierce, it was like a hungry wolf pounced on Wuhan, and the speed was a little too fast for them to react.

Yuan Shikai looked at his mouth with an ugly face and said: "Let's talk about how we should deal with it, we can't just put hope on the 2nd Mixed Brigade and the Hubei Army." ”

"President, it's probably too late to transfer troops, and we don't have any teams that can be used at the moment, unless ...... The 3rd Division was transferred south. Chen Eun said a little hesitantly, obviously unable to think of any good way.

"The Third Division must sit in Gyeonggi, and it must not be moved lightly! There is no need to consider the method of transferring troops and reinforcements. Yuan Shikai unceremoniously rejected the proposal to transfer troops.

If the 3rd Division moves south, there will inevitably be turmoil in the key areas of Gyeonggi. You must know that the royalist forces have never given up, not to mention that those constitutionalists and the Kuomintang and other forces hidden in the shadows will take the opportunity to attack. When the time comes, the Gyeonggi region will be in chaos. Even if the Sichuan army can be wiped out in the end. The gains outweigh the losses.

"President, the current situation, I thought it would depend on who moves faster, us or the Sichuan army. If we can sweep away the Jiangxi Kuomintang before the Sichuan army breaks through Hankou, or if the Yunnan army besieges Chengdu, then even if the Jinghan line is cut off, there is nothing to worry about. Yang Du analyzed.

"Wang Zichun and Li Xiushan, these two idiots, what the hell are they doing, how many days have they been and they can't sweep away Li Liejun's department!" Yuan Shikai scolded his mother regardless of his identity. It can be seen that he is anxious in his heart, "And that Cai Songpo." Did he disobey the orders of the central government, and he still couldn't break through the defense line of the Sichuan army, what did he want to do? ”

"President, since the Sichuan army can take action against our logistical supply line. So why can't we also do the logistics of their supplies? Yang Shiqi said and walked to the map on the wall of the study, and used his finger to draw out the march route of the Sichuan army after entering Hubei, and then said, "President, please see, the place I crossed just now is the march route of the Sichuan army after entering Hubei in the east, and it can be clearly seen that they are marching along the line of the Yangtze River, what does this mean?" This shows that their logistical supply is dependent on the Yangtze River waterway transportation. ”

Yang Shiqi also has some dry goods in his stomach, he said so. Yuan Shikai and the others immediately understood.

Chen Yan even clapped his hands and said: "That's right, President, the road conditions in Sichuan are notoriously poor. Moreover, it is thousands of miles away from Wuhan, and their logistical supply can only rely on the Yangtze River waterway transportation. If we block the waterway of the Yangtze River, then the Sichuan army will be equivalent to a tiger with its teeth drawn, and there is nothing to worry about. ”

Yang Shiqi was also very proud of his strategy, smiled slightly, and said, "President." We can let the naval gunboats sail to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and cut off the water transportation lines of the Sichuan army. Meantime. The gunboats could also provide artillery support to the Wuhan side. ”

Yuan Shikai finally showed a smile at this time and said, "Okay, it's a good idea to let the navy cut off the logistics supply line of the Sichuan army." ”

Yang Du was not as optimistic as Yuan Shikai and others, and said with some concern: "What if the Sichuan army uses shore defense artillery to blockade the Yangtze River?" There are shore defense batteries in Jiujiang and Wuhan, and if the Sichuan army occupies them, they can threaten the naval gunboats. ”

This is indeed a trouble, after all, the ships of the navy are now small-tonnage gunboats that can only be used in rivers, and the large-caliber coastal defense guns and heavy guns will sink after a few shells.

Yang Shiqi smiled slightly, and said confidently: "Take 10,000 steps back, if the situation is really bad to that extent, we can completely ask foreign warships to deliver ammunition and supplies to the 2nd and 6th Divisions in Jiangxi, or transfer them out." I don't believe that his Sichuan army dares to provoke foreigners! ”

Now that the foreigners are fully supporting Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang Group, it should not be a problem to send a few warships to help.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai was also greatly relieved.

"Then do it, immediately telegraph Tang Qianming, and ask him to lead the 'Flying Eagle' and other ships to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River to intercept the transport fleet of the Sichuan army!" Yuan Shikai said, and then his voice became stern, "In addition, prepare a harshly worded telegram to tell Wang Zichun and Li Xiushan, the two fools over there in Jiangxi, that if Li Liejun's department is not wiped out within five days, the military law will deal with it!" Then telegraphed Li Yuanhong and Xiangyan in Wuhan that they must not despise the Sichuan army! As for Cai Songpo's side, he sent a telegram urging him to enter Chengdu as soon as possible. ”

In fact, there is no need for Yuan Shikai to remind him that Wuhan is already facing a great enemy.

The 6th Mixed Brigade of the Hubei Army has proved the strength of the Sichuan Army with their rout, and in this case, the second fool who kills himself will be taken lightly.

Luo Enrong urgently built and strengthened various fortifications, especially the strategically located Liujiamiao Station, which was heavily guarded by the 2nd Beiyang Mixed Brigade.

"Be realistic, otherwise you won't be able to protect yourself from enemy shelling and machine-gun fire from the commandos!" He personally inspected the sandbags used to build artillery bunkers, and repeatedly admonished, "You must know that once a war starts, the enemy will have to deal with the artillery team. Machine guns and artillery will be coming at you, and these bunkers are the foundation of your life, and you must not take it lightly, understand? ”

"Understood!"

The officers and men of the artillery team hurriedly responded in unison.

Luo Enrong nodded, looking at the twenty seven-life and five-Krupp field guns deployed at the side of the station, he had some confidence in holding the Liujiamiao station.

Luo Enrong, who has a big picture of the overall situation, knows very well that Liujiamiao Railway Station cannot afford to lose. If the Sichuan army captured the Liujiamiao Railway Station, it would go north along the Jinghan Line, capture Wusheng Pass, and block the road for the northern army to go south. At that time, not only the 2nd and 6th Divisions that entered Jiangxi to fight were in danger of being wiped out, but even the whole of Hubei would also fall into the hands of the Sichuan army.

Thinking of that serious consequence, Luo Enrong shuddered and continued to mentally check the combat readiness of the various defense lines.

If you want to say that Yan Enrong is just nervous, then Li Yuanhong is anxious and afraid.

In order to resist the invading Sichuan Army, Li Yuanhong had to gather high-ranking officers and confidants to urgently discuss countermeasures.

"According to the information described by the soldiers of the 6th Mixed Brigade, the Sichuan Army has a total of two divisions and eight regiments, two of which are artillery regiments. Are you sure you can deal with the Sichuan army? Li Yuanhong asked Tang Keming, commander of the first division, and Cai Hanqing, commander of the second division, with an anxious expression.

Li Yuanhong now has the first division and the second division left at hand, because the 6th Mixed Brigade is disabled, while the 3rd Division is stationed in Xiangyang, and the 2nd Mixed Brigade is stationed in the vicinity of Wusheng Pass.

Tang Keming and Cai Hanqing looked at each other, no one dared to give a positive answer, they were really frightened by the brutal strength that the Sichuan army suddenly displayed.

"The governor doesn't have to worry too much, the key to this victory and defeat lies in the strength of the Sichuan army and Beiyang. Even if the Sichuan Army has some strength, do you think they are the opponent of the Beiyang Army? Jin Yongyan said.

Tang Keming echoed: "The chief of staff is right, as long as the 2nd and 6th Beiyang Divisions on the Jiangxi side sweep away Li Liejun's troops, and then return to Hubei, it will naturally be easy to deal with the Sichuan army." ”

Li Yuanhong frowned and said: "But the problem is that now that the Sichuan army has arrived in front of us, the two divisions of the Beiyang Army entering Jiangxi don't know when they will be able to return to Hubei." ”

"That's why, Governor, I think what the Beiyang side needs is time. As long as we can hold back the pace of the Sichuan army and buy time for the Beiyang army. As long as the Beiyang Army cleans up the Kuomintang bandits and frees up their hands, what is the use of the Sichuan Army making trouble again? Jin Yongyan sneered, he looked like he had already seen the scene of the Sichuan army being bloodily suppressed by the Beiyang Army.

Hearing Jin Yongyan's analysis, Li Yuanhong breathed a sigh of relief.

"In this case, the 1st Division immediately stationed in the vicinity of Junshan Town to build a defensive line and defend the left flank of Hanyang, and the 2nd Division immediately entered the vicinity of Jinyinhu to build a defensive line and defend the right flank of Hankou. As for the frontal line of defense, it was handed over to the 2nd Beiyang Mixed Brigade. However, if you have the opportunity, you can flank the Sichuan army from the left and right flanks to relieve the pressure on the 2nd Mixed Brigade in front. Go now, fast! With a wave of his hand, Li Yuanhong asked the two division commanders to go down and build a defensive line as soon as possible.

"Yes, Dudu!"

Tang Keming and Cai Hanqing responded in unison, and then turned around and left, stepping up the construction of a defensive line.

Although the deployment was made, Li Yuanhong did not have much confidence in his heart to be able to resist the Sichuan army. To be honest, the sudden display of strong combat effectiveness by the Sichuan army also frightened him a little, and sometimes he couldn't help but wonder: Is it wrong to support Beiyang and Yuan Shikai?

……

On the official road leading from Chuyang to Wuhan.

"Quick! Fast! Speed up! ”

From time to time, the voices of Sichuan army officers shouting and urging at the soldiers were heard.

Groups of Sichuan soldiers walked in unison and ran all the way on the official road.

In order to rush to Wuhan as soon as possible, Wang Mo gave the order to forcibly march.

However, the real difficulty in speeding up the march was not in the ordinary infantry, but in the speed of carrying artillery, heavy machine guns and ammunition.

Fortunately, Wang Mo forcibly requisitioned a large number of mules, horses and carts for compensation, so the speed was not too slow.

At the current pace of marching, we will be able to reach the outskirts of Wuhan tomorrow night or the morning after tomorrow, and it will almost be time to hit the defensive line built by the Wuhan side. (To be continued)

ps: The update of 120,000 words for the fourth update has been completed!