Knowing that thousands of Japanese troops would arrive at Tianjin Port by sea in three days, Ye Shaolong couldn't sit still any longer, and after saying goodbye to Tang Feifei and Su Xiaocao, he rushed to Tianjin City with dozens of guards. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The strength of the Yejiabao army on land is not bad now, as long as it is not besieged by the joint forces of several parties, if it wants to develop steadily, there is no need to be afraid of any single force.

Although the strength on land is not bad, at sea, Yejiabao, like the vast majority of warlords, is a blank. This is also the reason why the vast majority of warlords have never been able to compete with foreigners or Japanese pirates.

The Qing Dynasty has been building cars behind closed doors for more than 200 years, but foreign countries have developed rapidly during this period, and the industrial age has come, and even trains have been made.

But on the other hand, the warlords of the entire Qing Dynasty nowadays, all things with a bit of technological content have to be purchased from foreigners. They themselves could not produce at all, and the foreigners destroyed the will of the entire Qing people with big smoke. also almost all the silver of the Qing Dynasty.

The old plank ships could not compete with the steel steamers of the foreigners, and the long coastline of the Qing Dynasty was blocked by the guns of the foreigners.

Unequal treaties were constantly signed with foreigners, and now that the Qing Dynasty is dead, warlords in various places are supporting their own troops and chaos are frequent, wars are continuous, and the people are living in dire straits.

Ye Shaolong sat in the galloping carriage, thinking about the current situation in the Qing Dynasty, and suddenly a deep sense of powerlessness swept through his body.

A hopelessly sick country is struggling to survive in a deep quagmire of its own. The feudal mentality of the common people is deeply rooted, and there is no time for a hundred or decades to awaken them, and there is no need to talk about any grandiose rhetoric about the prosperity and founding of the country.

In the evening, Ye Shaolong set off and rushed all the way to the outside of Baoding, when the bright moon was already hanging high. The wilderness is full of abandoned fields, and due to years of drought, there are not even many weeds in the wasteland.

Only the weeds, which are extremely vigorous, survive, and yesterday's heavy rain turned the potholes on the road into small pools. The wheels rushed over it, and the water splashed, and the carriage jolted incessantly.

It's a good way to walk like this, but the trail I passed just now is difficult to even walk, let alone run a carriage.

The bumps along the way made Ye Shaolong quite painful, and he had secretly made up his mind in his heart if the crisis of this attack by the Japanese invaders was successfully passed. He must build a cement road from Yejiabao, Beijing, Baoding City to Tianjin City.

In this way, the march is also convenient and fast, and no matter where the enemy attacks, the army can support in the shortest possible time. He had already thought about this idea, and cement had already been applied in Yejiabao.

The newly built outer city wall was built with cement and stones, so it could be built in just half a year.

The cool breeze and the sound of insects chirping everywhere in the night added a lot of life to this barren wilderness. The bright moonlight reflected in the silent city of Baoding, like a tiger lurking on this plain.

There are no more people living in Baoding City, and the Yejiabao army left behind is full of 5,000 people, but in this small city, 5,000 people seem very desolate and silent.

It was the middle of the night, and there were scattered torches on the city walls, but there were no soldiers to be seen defending the city. The whole city is as silent as a ghost town, and stopping here makes people feel a sense of panic.

The carriage and dozens of guards stopped outside the north gate, which was empty. But when the carriage stopped, the figure suddenly shook, and a cold drink full of anger suddenly rose: "Who is coming, report the name quickly!" ”

"Ye Shuai is coming, open the city gate quickly." When the chief guard heard this, he immediately lit a torch and illuminated the carriage that Ye Shaolong was riding.

Then he took out a token from his body, waved his hand and threw it directly on the three-zhang high city wall. Seeing that his face did not change color and his breathing was even, it was obvious that this was a very easy thing for him.

There was a sudden silence on the city wall, and after a while, the voice that I heard just now sound again: "Open the city gate quickly, it's Ye Shuai who is here." ”

"Squeak, squeak!"

The heavy gates slowly opened, making a piercing creaking sound that echoed in the silent night sky.

As the gate slowly opened, looking in, a group of soldiers with torches could be seen standing on both sides of the gate. The distance on Main Street was still dark, and there was no light in sight from the abandoned houses on either side of the street.

The carriage slowly entered, followed by dozens of guards, and when everyone had entered the city, the gates slowly closed with another creaking sound.

Four defenders led the way with torches in their hands, and walked straight to the center of the city. There were no people living in the city, and all the dwellings were empty.

The soldiers stationed in the city lived in the government office in the center of the city, and everyone lived here except for the soldiers on duty.

The carriage soon arrived in front of the government office in the center of the city, and Ye Shaolong's arrival had already been reported to the supreme governor who stayed here. This person was originally the deputy general under the iron tower, and he was a mighty man named Dashan and Xiao Xiao.

As soon as Xiao Dashan received the report, he immediately waited in front of the yamen of the mansion to greet him.

"The chief soldier of the defenders of Baoding City, Xiao Dashan sees Ye Dashuai!"

As soon as the carriage that Ye Shaolong was riding stopped, Xiao Dashan immediately bowed down and believed in the big salute.

Xiao Dashan was originally a subordinate who worked as a coolie in the capital in the homes of large families, and since the fall of the capital, he went with the people who went to Yejiabao.

When the tower expanded the cavalry battalion, he took a fancy to him, and then Xiao Dashan performed well in the cavalry battalion, and was promoted to deputy general by the tower.

From a flat-headed ordinary man who is nothing to the deputy general of a cavalry battalion who commands more than 4,000 people, Xiao Dashan cherishes this hard-won glory, and is even more grateful to the iron tower and Ye Shaolong who promoted him.

Ye Shaolong jumped out of the carriage, and the bumps along the way almost broke the bones in his body. He got out of the carriage and moved his body by the way, and said with a smile: "Dashan, you have managed Baoding City well, and the military discipline is strict, and the commander has not mistaken you." ”

"Hey......."

As soon as he heard Ye Shaolong praise himself, Xiao Dashan, who was not very good at talking, could only smirk.

Ye Shaolong is quite helpless, no one is perfect, Xiao Dashan is the same as the iron tower, he always rushes to the forefront in battle, he is brave but he is not good at expressing himself.

Perhaps it is this kind of character that is deeply recognized by the iron tower, but such a character is fortunately in the Yejiabao army. If it was in the previous Qing army, his character would never have come out.

"Let's go, go inside and talk, and get some food and drinks by the way." Ye Shaolong patted Xiao Dashan on the shoulder and walked into the brightly lit mansion with him.