Outside the city of Nanjing, huge artillery balloons were raised, officers held foreign swords and shouted orders, the hearts of those who beat Western military drums were tense, and Zhang Xun's soldiers of the Dingwu Army wrapped their braids around their necks one after another, and lined up in a loose queue with nervous expressions.

The artillery positions of the pigtail army were placed in the rear of the infantry, with the infantry phalanx in front and the cavalry on both sides. A rich man's house in the countryside became Zhang Xun's temporary headquarters. Groups of officers with braids and wearing the New Army's placket and button-colored uniforms of the late Qing Dynasty shuttled like water, conveying orders one after another to the front line.

"Damn, the rabbit cubs of the Jianghuai Army are too bullying, do you really use Lao Tzu's Dingwu Army as mud and paper paste?" Zhang Xun scolded angrily.

It is no wonder that Zhang Xun was angry, besieging Nanjing for many days, the pigtail army suffered heavy casualties, and Feng Guozhang, a descendant of Beiyang who was ordered to besiege Nanjing with him, almost did not let go of a shot, and watched the excitement from the side. Lei Zhenchun, the commander of the Seventh Division, also attacked with heavy thunder and little rain, and only the Braided Army launched attacks again and again without fear of death.

Zhang Xun asked the Second Fleet of the Navy several times to bombard the city wall with large-caliber naval guns, but the gunboats of the Second Fleet only symbolized the surname and did not move after two cannons, and the effect was not as good as the firecrackers set off during the New Year. After more than a month of fighting, the pigtail army suffered more than 1,000 casualties, and it was easy to dig the tunnel under the city, and in two days the tunnel excavation work was completed, and only a few hundred kilograms of explosives needed to be put in to blow up the city wall, even if it was a great success. The pigtail army has been greatly boosted in the past two days, and Zhang Xun promised to enter the city after three days, and then seal the sword to calm the people three days later.

At this juncture, the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Division of the Jianghuai Army drove from Ma'anshan, 60 miles away, and the brigade commander Lin Hu asked the Braided Army to get out of the Chaoyang Gate and let the Jianghuai Army enter the city to collect Yuan's army.

Zhang Xun suddenly realized, no wonder Lin Hu's first brigade stayed in Ma'anshan for more than half a month without moving, and the emotional family had quietly hooked up with the defenders, just waiting to pick this ripe peach.

Lin Hu is clearly here to smash the field!

Zhang Xun hurriedly asked Feng Guozhang and Lei Zhenchun for help, but not only did they not help, but instead gathered the troops and put them into storage, and set up a clear attitude that they would definitely not start a war with the Jianghuai army. This time, the Beiyang Army crossed the Yangtze River and occupied Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei and most of Jiangsu, Feng Guozhang and Lei Zhenchun's troops had already been full, and they were preparing to send the stolen gold and silver back to their hometown. What's more, when Wuchang rebelled, Feng Guozhang and Yuan Shikai formed a relationship, just when Wuchang was about to break the city, Baron Feng Guozhang had just received the yellow coat sent by the Manchu court, and was bent on relying on his great martial arts to make the marquis a general, Yuan Shikai ordered Duan Qirui to seize his military power and drove him to Rehe as the capital. If it weren't for the fight against the revolutionary party this time, Feng Guozhang would still be drinking the north wind and eating sand in Rehe!

After this incident, Feng Guozhang can be regarded as seeing through, it is true that there are soldiers and guns, once this little soldier is gone, when the old man turns his face and does not recognize people, no matter how big the credit is, it is nonsense!

Zhang Xun dreamed of moving into Nanjing, and lived a life of the Governor of Liangjiang in the current Nanjing Liu Liushou Mansion, which was the chair made by Zeng Wenzhenggong, Li Zhongtang, and Zhang Xiangshuai! Moreover, his Dingwu army has been attacking Nanjing, and has not had time to loot elsewhere. Zhang Xun's troops relied on robbery and murder to maintain the vigor of the army, and once they worked to no avail, they were in danger of collapsing.

Although he had some scruples about the combat effectiveness of the Jianghuai Army, Zhang Xun was really reluctant to drop the fat to his mouth, and when he heard that the First Brigade of the Third Division was a newly formed unit, and Lin Hu had just defected to the Jianghuai Army by the generals of the Jiangxi Army, and did not belong to the Wuhu Regiment and the First Brigade of the Anhui Revolutionary Army, which were descendants of the Jianghuai Army, Zhang Xun's courage grew. If it was Kuang Haishan's first division or Lu Kai's second division, even if it was Gu Mazi's first mixed brigade, Zhang Xun would flee from the wind, and he was really scared when he was in Bengbu!

In Zhang Xun's view, the first brigade of the third division is a miscellaneous card of the Jianghuai army, and the Dingwu army is a miscellaneous card of Beiyang, not to mention that the Dingwu army was born from the Jiangfang battalion of the former Qing Dynasty, and the first brigade of Lin Hu's third division is the original adaptation of the Jiangxi army.

Miscellaneous cards vs. miscellaneous cards, who is afraid of whom?

The 1st Brigade of the 3rd Division had 4,000 officers and men, the Dingwu Army had 13 battalions with 6,500 men, and Zhang Zongchang's cavalry regiment, which had just defected from the Yuan Army, and the strength of Zhang Xun's troops was close to 8,000.

The strength is two to one, Zhang Xun feels that this battle can be fought!

Although Zhang Xun is rough on the surface, he is actually not stupid at all, which fritter who has been mixed in the Manchu officialdom for a long time is not a seven-trick and exquisite heart? He knew in his heart that in the battle between himself and the First Brigade, no matter who won or lost, the bigwigs above would pretend not to see it. Two days later, it will be the time to elect the president, and it is impossible for the Beiyang and Jianghuai armies to mobilize all their main forces to fight to the death because of a Nanjing city at this time??? What's more, now that Yuan Shikai and Chai Dongliang have a good relationship, all the parliamentarians in Anhui, Jiangxi, Fengtian, and Mongolia are sparing no effort to support Lao Yuan as president.

Nanjing was the gateway to the Yangtze River, and taking Nanjing meant controlling Jiangnan, and Shanghai was now under the jurisdiction of the governor of Jiangsu, and the Jianghuai army would not allow others to control their own financial resources.

Zhang Xun felt very aggrieved, he didn't plan to occupy Nanjing forever, but he just wanted the children to loot, and then he would return to Xuzhou's nest in a few days. This little request can't be satisfied, and the Jianghuai Army is really too deceitful!

Lin Hu also felt very aggrieved, his command post was an abandoned ancestral hall. Outside the city of Nanjing, Zhang Xun's pigtailed soldiers have been sacked countless times, and the common people have fled to death, except for the wild dogs with red eyes because of eating dead corpses, there is no other living thing. Lin Hu was also very angry in the ancestral hall, Zhang Xun, who was beaten by Lu Kai and Gu Mazi in Bengbu, actually dared to open his position and confront his two armies??? It's too bullying, isn't Lao Tzu's First Brigade the Jianghuai Army?

The First Brigade of the Third Division and the other units of the Jianghuai Army basically had exactly the same strength and firepower distribution, with one brigade directly under the artillery battalion, one directly under the cavalry battalion, three infantry regiments, 12 75 mountain guns, 4 75 field guns, more than 20 light and heavy mortars, and 25 self-made Makqin guns from the Wuhu Arsenal. Except that the soldiers were not trained for as long as the 1st and 2nd divisions, there was no difference.

Chai Dongliang never deliberately divides the soldiers into three, six, nine and so on, and will not be separated because of the geographical origin of their origins, especially under the infection of the British Barnes and Bruce, he does not have any discrimination against those soldiers and battalion strings that no one wants, but all middle and lower-level officers and staff officers of the Jianghuai Army must participate in half a year of training at the Anqing Non-commissioned Officer School, and then combine with the Gurkha Guards for three months before they can be sent to the troops. Officers who fail to meet the graduation standards are not allowed to lead troops, regardless of their seniority and closeness.

On the first day of the reorganization of the soldiers of the Jiangxi Army into the Jianghuai Army, they were trained according to the standards of the first division, without any special treatment, and of course the treatment was exactly the same.

The same is true for soldiers, and deliberate preferential treatment will also cause officers and soldiers to feel alienated. The officers of the Jianghuai Army have always eaten small stoves, and their military salaries are more than twice that of ordinary soldiers, which seems to be unequal, but once an officer violates military law, the punishment is much heavier than that of ordinary soldiers, but whether it is a reward or punishment, there are extremely detailed military regulations that can be referred to, and arbitrary law enforcement such as punishment without teaching is impossible in the Jianghuai Army.

The military law of the Jianghuai Army stipulates that when a soldier fights, if the officer of his team escapes, not only will he be killed, but even his direct supervisor will be punished. If the officers persist in the battle, and the soldiers flee, they are punished according to the law, and the officers of their own units are also punished??? The reason for punishing a soldier is very simple, run away without an order on the battlefield and go unpunished, so what's the point? And punish the officers who insist on fighting, the reason is also very simple, soldiers are not willing to fight for you, what qualifications do you have to be this officer, personal bravery can not change the victory or defeat of the battlefield, only sincere cooperation between teams can not be defeated.

A soldier who does not want to be a marshal is not a good soldier, and an officer must be a role model for a soldier by nature, and if the officer's treatment is not more favorable than that of a soldier, where does the soldier have the motivation to strive upward? In the same way, since it is a role model, the requirements are naturally more stringent.

Chai Dongliang knew very well in his heart that relying only on the courage of spirit and blood, it is impossible to maintain the morale and fighting spirit of the army for a long time, and when the spiritual strength will be exhausted one day, and when the blood will cool, only the unity of interests and responsibilities, the improvement and meticulous system building, and strict law enforcement will be the eternal theme of maintaining the army's combat effectiveness.

In fact, this set of military regulations is not new at all, but the only difference is that within the Jianghuai army, this system has been deeply rooted in the bone marrow, and every officer and soldier is accustomed to taking these military regulations for granted, and when violating military law is punished, no one tries to open the joint to escape punishment. Chai Dongliang himself was sentenced by the court to be a volunteer for violating traffic control regulations, and Fang Qingyu, the director of the Military Justice Department, was beaten with 20 military sticks because he was eager to protect the lord, and he took out a gun on the street and lay in bed for half a month.

The law is not afraid of strictness, but of injustice!

The army is supposed to be a disciplined force, and once military discipline is lost, it is a rabble with weapons, and it is useless except to plague the common people.

This truth is understood by almost all people who lead the troops, but unfortunately it is too difficult to do this, except for Chai Dongliang, who is alone through the crowd and Sun Wukong who jumped out of the cracks in the stones, who doesn't have a seven aunts and eight aunts? With so many relatives and friends, why do you have to find a way for them to eat? The simplest, of course, is to plant in the vital departments of the army and give them a fat gap that is both idle and well-oiled. If you want to achieve clear rewards and punishments, you must first pass the level of your father, mother and son, so it has become an impossible task.

The Hunan Army, the Huai Army, and Beiyang inevitably festered under the infection of this sauce jar culture. During the First Sino-Japanese War, the Huai Army, which was known as experienced in a hundred battles, was beaten by those recruits who had never experienced war??? The officials have all run away, and they still expect the soldiers to fight for them? In peacetime, soldiers are treated as slaves, wantonly exploited and humiliated, and in wartime, don't dream that they will obediently be cannon fodder.

The only support for the combat effectiveness of this kind of rotten army is looting and burning after the war, and only the most primitive beast surnames can barely maintain their only bit of force.

"Brigade commander, the representative we sent was whipped twenty horsewhips by Zhang Xun, and Zhang Xun, the dog thief, said that he would never let us into the city!" An adjutant said angrily.

Lin Hu walked out of the door with an expressionless face, only to see a young officer with high whip marks on his face and neck, his military uniform was also torn, and blood was dripping from the corners of his mouth. The corners of his mouth had just grown slightly fur, and he didn't look to be more than twenty years old.

Lin Hu took out a flat cigarette case from his pocket, took out a cigarette and lit it with his own hands, handed it to the wounded officer's mouth, watched him take a puff, and then asked calmly: "Can you still fight?" ”

The young officer spit out the cigarette in his mouth, snapped upright, and said loudly: "Yes! ”

Lin Hu smiled and said, "Okay, after defeating Zhang Xun, your battalion can be the first to enter the city!" ”

According to the military regulations of the Jianghuai Army, the first unit to enter the city will be awarded an honorary title, and the image of the gate of that city will be awarded to every officer and soldier as a medal. Being the first to enter Nanjing means that the image of Chaoyangmen will be used as the symbol of this battalion, highlighting their military exploits!

"Brigade commander, my battalion does not need this reward and honor, we will be the first to attack Nanjing City and use real combat exploits to obtain this Nanjing Liberation Medal!"

The young officer declined Lin Hu's kindness, but made him very happy, Lin Hu kicked him in the ass: "The kid has learned to talk back, get out, don't pretend to be dead since there are no multiple injuries, Lao Tzu hopes that the battalion flag of your battalion will be the first to be planted in Chaoyangmen!" ”

Seeing him leave happily, Lin Hu's face suddenly stiffened, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Zhang Xun, who was raised by a son of a bitch, actually dares to beat Lao Tzu?" Lao Tzu had to peel his skin! ”

"Since Zhang Xun doesn't know each other, let's give this old bastard a real thing!" Lin Hu said ruthlessly.

"Brigade Commander, our flying team is going to fight!" An officer in a flight jacket and a flight cap walked in from outside, saluting as he spoke.

Lin Hu smiled and said, "Zhang Xun's army is in front of you, there is nothing to scout." ”

In addition to the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Division, there was also a flying reconnaissance squadron with three Feng Ru 4 wooden biplanes.

This kind of two-seater aircraft was used by the Jianghuai army as a reconnaissance plane, and with these heavenly eyes, the Jianghuai army greatly avoided the opportunity of being attacked by the enemy.

The captain of the flight squadron was only in his early twenties, and he said with a smile: "Brigade commander, do you look down on us?" Is it rare that a flying squadron can only reconnoitre, not fight? ”

Lin Hu patted him on the shoulder and comforted: "Zhang Xun's soldiers have also undergone formal training, and if you want to blow them up with two or three five-pound bombs, I'm afraid it's unrealistic, it's good for you to be eager to fight???

The flight captain didn't wait for him to finish, and pointed to the artillery aiming balloon of the pigtail army in the sky and said: "Brigade commander, let's see the eyes of the blind pigtail army artillery first!" ”

(To be continued)