In the end, the wine was not drunk, and the troops began to dial it.

"Aren't we leaving? Why stay? Zhang Shao was a little incomprehensible. He knew very well that although his troops now seemed to have more than 10,000 people, their combat effectiveness was severely weakened. Almost all the veterans were promoted to become non-commissioned officers, and the least became squad leaders. However, after the veterans were transferred, the tactical strategy of the troops was not in place at all. The combat effectiveness of the troops can be one-tenth of what it used to be, and Zhang Shaozeng will wake up with a smile even if he is dreaming.

"You take the people first, and forcibly evacuate all the people in the village on the way, and don't leave a grain of grain for the foreigners. I took five hundred veterans with me. Hu Xiaoyan explained lightly.

Because the airship came, it brought a lot of supplies. Thanks to Hu Xiaoyan, who began to hoard grain and grass a year ago, the supplies are still quite sufficient. However, the Tianjin people who went on the road in front of them could only implement the rationing system.

The grain and grass at the headquarters in Suxian and Lieshan are actually running out, and Hu Xiaoyan can't afford to fight a protracted war, so he doesn't want to fight a protracted war, he wants to gather the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance and find an opportunity to solve it at one time. And the wild area of Balitai is obviously not a good place. His airships are limited in number, and if 50,000 people run around the mountains, where will he take prisoners? When these people gather again, will he Hu Xiaoyan's trouble be bigger soon?

Rong Lu's Green Battalion was even weaker in combat effectiveness, and it couldn't even compare to the Boxers. Hu Xiaoyan couldn't count on it

So Hu Xiaoyan insisted on retreating instead of a decisive battle. But he couldn't influence Nie Shicheng and Ma Yukun. Not to mention Rong Lu, unless Rong Lu gave the order, Nie Shicheng and Ma Yukun would definitely not retreat.

Now the city of Tianjin is empty, and even the hospital was forcibly evacuated to Beijing by Hu Xiaoyan. Only the telegraph office is still working, but it is also unstable. They will also retreat with Zhang Shaozeng.

"Execute the order." Hu Xiaoyan didn't care about Zhang Shaozeng's expression when he wanted to speak.

After arriving at Balitai, Hu Xiaoyan led people to teach Nie Shicheng and Ma Yukun's men to dig trenches.

The method of digging trenches has formed a complete set of tactics in Hu Xiaoyan's new army. There are many doorways among them, which ordinary troops can't accept at all, but fortunately, Hu Xiaoyan's prestige is still there. No one objected, and among them, Wu Dawei was the most active.

Wu Dawei is the person who knows Hu Xiaoyan best. Hu Xiaoyan also completed his transformation under Wu Dawei. If there are people who admire Hu Xiaoyan in the world, it will definitely not be the League of Legends, and it is not Liu Min, but Wu Dawei.

Hu Xiaoyan, a thin boy who lived in a villager's house, grew step by step into a general who could influence Nie Shicheng and Ma Yukun. Wu Dawei took the initiative to understand every step of the way. Wang Yue, who trained soldiers for Hu Xiaoyan back then, was also deliberately aware of every move of the new army. Now Wu Dawei and Wang Yue are both battalion officers under Nie Shicheng. They are also considered to be the generals who hold the power of the army.

The front of Balitai's defensive line is Nie Shicheng, and the flank is Ma Yukun. The strongest is also Nie Shicheng's department, because almost all of Nie Shicheng's subordinates are now Mosinagan rifles. And because of the previous day's fighting, they collected a lot of Russian weapons and ammunition. At present, the most important thing that Nie Shicheng's department lacks is Mosinagan rifles and bullets.

Ma Yukun's department now uses a lot of miscellaneous, including the Austrian-made M1895 Steyr-Manlisha, the Hanyang-made, the British Enfield rifle that has just been confiscated, and the Japanese Murata rifle. Ma Yukun's troops are miscellaneous, and their combat effectiveness is definitely not much better.

Except for the ten 75mm rapid-fire guns left by Hu Xiaoyan, the others are all imitation Krupp artillery, which is not enough to see when used to fight the Eight-Nation Alliance. Not even rapid-fire guns.

Hu Xiaoyan went to see that the Eight-Nation Coalition Army had more than 50 75mm rapid-fire guns, and there were more than 50 other types of artillery in total. There are also 300mm naval guns that have been removed from warships.

The artillery alone can cripple Nie Shicheng and Ma Yukun, and the only advantage is probably that there are not many shells.

However, with Hu Xiaoyan's new trenches, the power of artillery should be reduced. It's a pity that there isn't enough cement.

That night, except for the sentinels who were probing, everyone spent the night in the trenches.

Hu Xiaoyan shuttled through the trenches with Huo Yuanjia, and did not find the target, but saw Wu Dawei.

"Master Hu." The three Wu Dawei brothers are actually here. They now have no tiger body as before, and they have become very restrained.

"Everyone on the battlefield is a lifelong friendship, so don't pay attention to etiquette." Hu Xiaoyan smiled, it was still early, so he sat on the ground and beckoned Huo Yuanjia and the others to sit down and talk.

"It's been two years." Hu Xiaoyan recalled it and suddenly sighed with emotion, indeed, his life seems to be very legendary, when he was rescued by Wu Dawei in 1898, did he think about it today? He thought about it carefully, and there really wasn't, and at that time, he just shouted to save his life: "Father Li Hongzhang." ”

In retrospect, it's a little funny and a little funny.

"One year and ten months." Wu Dawei answered. It has been a year and ten months since September 1898, maybe a month?

"yes. It's been almost two years. My goal is still far away, and yours has achieved it. How was it under Nie Dashuai? Why don't you come to me? ”

The adult laughed. The ability of the lower officials to have today is all the work of adults. Wu Dawei replied awkwardly. His two brothers, one with a black face and the other with a white face. It's not very real in the firelight.

If it weren't for Hu Xiaoyan coming forward as Li Yan to give Nie Shicheng a big gift and recommending him, Wu Dawei would just be a boss even if he came back. Where can we get to where we are now?

"Nope! It's the result of your own efforts, and I can't help you without your silver taels. Hu Xiaoyan smiled: "If it weren't for the start-up funds you provided, I wouldn't be able to do the situation I am in now." ”

"The past is like smoke, and the previous grievances and grievances will be written off today."

Wu Dawei smiled, his smile was a little relieved and a little bitter. If it had been when they first met, he would have laughed uncontrollably. But now the gap between the two is a chasm.

Although Wu Dawei is already a battalion officer, it is extremely difficult for him to go further. Their opponents are foreigners, and it would be good if they could save their lives.

However, although Hu Xiaoyan is now only the premier of the Yamen of the General Department of Mining, he is chic in watching him easily eliminate 10,000 Western coalition troops. Hu Xiaoyan's future cannot be comparable to him, Wu Dawei.

"I'm sorry."

Hu Xiaoyan waved his hand, he asked Ye Cheng to help send someone to the small village to find the old couple who saved him, but he unexpectedly got a completely different answer from what Wu Dawei had promised!

When he heard the bad news at that time, Hu Xiaoyan did have an urge to kill Wu Dawei and others, but after experiencing so many things, that killing intent had disappeared. Wu Dawei and others are intentional or unintentional. The moment he walked into Nie Shicheng's military camp, he was doomed to their death, and that bit of hatred was no longer enough to attract Hu Xiaoyan's attention.

"Westerners are not easy to deal with, be careful yourself." Hu Xiaoyan didn't want to say more, because it was not necessary. Judging from Wu Dawei's character, the order to kill the old couple should not be given by him, he is just a pure soldier. Hu Xiaoyan believed him. After all, a deserter didn't think about being a rich man when he got a million taels of silver, but directly donated it just to ask for Nie Shicheng's forgiveness and relist the people under his command, such a great person. Hu Xiaoyan has no reason not to believe him.

Even if the order to kill was really given by him, Hu Xiaoyan insisted that Wu Dawei's character was much more noble than 99% of the literati in the world. If there are immortals, Wu Dawei will inevitably become a god in the future.

There are many people in this world who can resist the temptation of a million taels of silver, but there are only a few people who sacrifice a million taels of silver just to join his former army. Even Hu Xiaoyan thought he couldn't do it.

"I am the one who gave the order!" It was Wu Jinxiu, who was once the third master, who spoke.

After saying that, the three brothers Wu Daxiong, Wu Dawei, and Wu Jinxiu knelt down.

"Do you think I'm joking?" Hu Xiaoyan stood up.

"When the national disaster is at hand, what is this little grievance? Defeating the Western coalition and making China rich and strong is what I have to think about. ”

"Dare not to die!" The three brothers spoke in unison.

Hu Xiaoyan shook his head and left.

While walking and looking at the direction of Dagukou, Hu Xiaoyan carefully felt the dynamics of the Eight-Nation Alliance. The coalition forces of more than 50,000 people were blocked by small forces of Ma Yukun and the Boxers along the road. As a result, it was much slower to act. But they were mainly worried about Nie Shicheng's large force attacking. After all, the newspaper said in detail that Nie Shicheng's department was not only equipped with the latest Mosinagan rifles, but also had a lot of Krupp-made artillery. Although fighting head-on, the coalition forces are not afraid, but in case Nie Shicheng plays an ambush. The casualties of the coalition forces will also be large.

Even so, the Eight-Nation Coalition will soon arrive. If it weren't for the heavy artillery, we would have been able to reach Balitai today.

Unstoppable! No matter how Hu Xiaoyan looks at it, he feels that he can't stop the Eight-Nation Alliance! It has too many guns and too much power! There are now more than 7,000 people left in Nie Shicheng's department, and more than 8,000 people in Ma Yukun's department. The Boxers in various places add up to three or four thousand, but these people are not bad in close combat, and their overall combat effectiveness is just scum, and they don't even have the strength to be cannon fodder.

Wang Yue was also a battalion officer, and he was once ordered to train troops for Hu Xiaoyan. Because he himself was born in martial arts, he also studied in Tianjin Wubei Academy. He participated in the Korean War before, and he was not only a military general, but also a rational brave general. It's just that because the promotion mechanism of the old-style troops is relatively rigid, it has not been promoted. It's not about ability.

Hu Xiaoyan's troops in Nie Shicheng were only familiar with Wang Yue, so the next tasks must be cooperated with him. Hu Xiaoyan's prestige is still very good, and after questioning a few officials, he found Wang Yue, who was telling stories to his subordinates. Wang Yue learned this trick from Hu Xiaoyan.

After talking to Wang Yue in detail, Wang Yue was still a little hesitant. What Hu Xiaoyan made him do was too amazing. He didn't dare to say yes. However, due to the situation, he can only say that he thinks about it. But that's enough. Hu Xiaoyan believes that after the situation changes, Wang Yue will definitely agree.

The next day, the Eight-Nation Coalition arrived. The first shot was fired by Nie Shicheng's subordinates. The Russian Cossack cavalry, acting as scouts, scattered around and then discovered an ambush. The soldiers opened fire in desperation. Ten cavalrymen, five ran away.

The ambush battle turned into a positional war. This is what Hu Xiaoyan is most afraid of, but it is the favorite of the Eight-Nation Alliance.