After entering September, Xuzhou did not have the slightest heat even during the day. Duan Qirui naturally didn't know that the average temperature a hundred years later would be higher than in 1907, and Duan Qirui's biggest opponent now Chen Ke was privately very satisfied with this temperature. In any case, Duan Qirui could not have the concept of annual average temperature.

Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen sat face to face in the official hall, the temperature inside the room was lower than outside, even so, Duan Qirui didn't feel cool, he only felt that his palms were always a little wet. In front of the two of them was a notice posted by the People's Party in the city of Beijing. This arrogant approach brought far less stimulation to Duan Qirui than the content of the notice, and the People's Party annihilated the 31st Standard of the Hubei New Army. Such a big thing, Duan Qirui actually saw it from the notice of the People's Party sent by the War Department. This kind of ridiculous thing made Duan Qirui very frustrated.

"This matter should not be Chen Ke's nonsense." Wang Shizhen is much calmer than Duan Qirui, at least he doesn't seem to have changed as usual when he speaks.

Duan Qirui respects Wang Shizhen very much, in fact, not only Duan Qirui, but most of the officers in Beiyang are very convinced of Wang Shizhen. Although he was very anxious, Duan Qirui still waited for Wang Shizhen to finish his words without saying a word, because Wang Shizhen would never speak easily.

Sure enough, Wang Shizhen didn't let Duan Qirui wait, he stood up and pointed to the map and said: "The thirty-first mark should be over, and the Hubei New Army can no longer count on it." The notice also said that the People's Party had marched into Huangpi Pass, but I was afraid that this was just a false shot, so that the Hubei New Army would not dare to move. Not only the Hubei New Army, but now the People's Party only needs to send thousands of men to attack Wuhu, and the Jiangnan New Army will immediately have to return to Jiangnan. Originally, there were many flaws in the three-way siege, and what the War Department wanted was to let Chen Ke take care of one and lose the other. However, after the defeat of the Hubei New Army along the way, it became a situation in which we were left to face the People's Party head-on. You can't count on anyone else. ”

What Wang Shizhen said was a simple strategic situation, Duan Qirui knew that Wang Shizhen did not mean strategy, Wang Shizhen wanted to emphasize the last sentence, "You can't count on others." ”

"Brother, do you think we can't win against Chen Ke?" Duan Qirui asked.

Wang Shizhen didn't answer directly, he continued: "I have carefully watched these battles fought by Chen Ke, and he never fought head-on, either by surprise attack or by setting up an ambush and surrounding. As long as Chen Ke makes a move, he will definitely completely defeat an official army. Every time the officers and soldiers send troops, they go all the way and two ways, but every time they think about it in advance, if they can do anything, they can put Chen Ke in a desperate situation. And Chen Ke completely annihilated the official army at the key points that the official army had to fight, but made the situation of the official army completely defeated. Splitting and attacking together will only give Chen Ke a chance to break through individually. ”

Duan Qirui nodded slightly, although Wang Shizhen's words were extremely rare to complain, but Duan Qirui quite agreed. In fact, the military plan of this three-way joint attack on Chen Ke was not bad, and it was only after the complete failure of the combined attack that Duan Qirui figured out how to fight. On paper, it should have been Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen's subordinates who fought Chen Ke head-on first, completely suppressed Chen Ke and made him unable to divide his troops, and then the Hubei New Army and Jiangnan attacked from two sides. Theoretically, Chen Ke would not be able to resist such a situation. However, this time, the three parties did not cooperate at all, and it can even be said that they each had a perfunctory response. As a result, after the weakest Hubei New Army was annihilated, the situation shifted in favor of Chen Ke. Not only did Chen Ke not have to worry about Hubei, but the troops in Anqing could still have the spare strength to make the Jiangnan New Army unable to move.

Thinking of this, Duan Qirui had to sigh: "Brother, we can really only rely on our own people in Beiyang." ”

"I can only send troops immediately!" Wang Shizhen's words were concise and to the point, and Duan Qirui nodded immediately. Both were important towns, and Chen Ke's victory aroused strong discontent from the War Department, and telegrams and documents urging the two to march were one after another. Moreover, Chen Ke ridiculed Cixi as the "female bandit leader of the Manchu bandits", which was an apt metaphor that completely angered Cixi. And Cixi's anger was by no means genuine. For Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui, the more they are in a high position, the more they have no free choice, and it is useless to complain about some things, so it is better not to mention them.

"Brother, let's send troops immediately, I'll take the lead." Duan Qirui said in a firm tone.

This battle must be fought, Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen are both the backbone of Beiyang, if the two really use the defeat of the Hubei New Army as an excuse to stop the army, the court will not succeed in strict orders, at most they will be replaced, or even replaced, and the court will only reprimand them. But if the two of them do this, it will only make the situation worse for the Beiyang faction that has been hit hard. They will only give those who attack the Beiyang faction more excuses.

In addition, there is another thing that the two of them have to consider, this time the troops are very expensive, and it took a month for the troops of the third town of Beiyang to arrive in Xuzhou. Fortunately, Wang Shizhen was in Xuzhou, and he arranged many things, and the more than 10,000 troops in the third town finally had food and shelter. However, the total number of the two subordinates is close to 20,000, and at least more than 20,000 catties of grain in a day, and more than 500,000 catties of grain have been eaten up in more than a month. All the grain that can be collected around Xuzhou has been collected, and the price of grain has risen vigorously. Buying food is a bottomless pit. As long as the imperial court is stuck in the food and salary, Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen can only watch their troops starving. If the war leads to a mutiny in the troops, not to mention other generals, Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui will definitely not allow such bastards to happen to them. If you don't want this to happen, sending troops as soon as possible is the only option.

Wang Shizhen's Jiangbei Governor, because it was re-established by the Jianghuai Governor, was formerly known as the Caoyun Governor, so he has the right to govern the locality, and also takes care of Caoyun affairs, Wang Shizhen has a lot of authority, and he also has money and grain in his hands. However, when it comes to war, it is impossible for Wang Shizhen to invest his luck and local money in the war for a long time. Fortunately, it was Duan Qirui who cooperated with Wang Shizhen, a person who understood, if it was someone else, I was afraid that Wang Shizhen would have been blocked every day to ask for money and food.

The decision to send troops was decided, and the two generals of Beiyang began to prepare. As the earliest westernized army in China, Beiyang attaches great importance to the role of staff officers. Wang Shizhen is actually a very qualified chief of staff, he is thoughtful, good at observation, and it is never easy to make mistakes in making plans. The Third Town of Beiyang used to be Wang Shizhen's subordinates, and now the General Staff has no intention of resisting at all. Wang Shizhen sat in the staff department, and the plan to send troops was completed one by one.

"Zhou Yong, hurry up and set up the car." Kong Zhang shouted to the guy at the grain store.

"Okay, young owner." Zhou Yong replied as he ran towards the livestock shed behind.

Kong Zhang's grain shop is not large, that is, seven or eight people, but Kong Zhang has been very close to Wang Shizhen recently, so Wang Shizhen also takes care of his business. Zhou Yong, 23 or 4 years old, was hired by Kong Zhangxin for several months, and after the flood, many Anhui victims went to Xuzhou to make a living, and the wages were very low. Zhou Yong knows how to drive, and he is also honest and willing to work. At that time, Kong Zhanggang took over the grain shop, and when he hired someone, he hit Zhou Yong in the crowd at a glance. Even now, Kong Chang doesn't fully understand why Zhou Yong, who was in tattered clothes at that time, was so different. Maybe it's Zhou Yong's fearless demeanor in the face of strangers, or maybe it's Zhou Yong's frank and unrestrained temperament. Anyway, Zhou Yong can always keep himself in order, and before being hired by Kong Zhang, although his clothes were worn out, now they were carefully patched. Although it was not washed spotlessly, it was obviously washed on time. Old but not dirty. And Zhou Yong is very methodical in speaking and doing things, understanding is understanding, and not understanding is not understanding. Unlike other disaster victims, who are impetuous, fearful of their future lives, they are always afraid that others will not know what they can do, and they must prove that they are capable of everything. These made Kong Zhang like it very much.

Soon, the car was set, and it was not only Zhou Yong's car that went with him, but also two other cars. Kong Zhang sat directly in Zhou Yong's car, "Let's go, go to the barracks." ”

Kong Chang likes to sit in Zhou Yong's car, in addition to the fact that Zhou Yong has never had any peculiar smell, Zhou Yong is also different from other guys, he never gets close to Kong Zhangtao, driving is driving, Zhou Yong does not gossip. As usual, Zhou Yong shook the reins, waved his whip and shouted, "Drive." After the mule cart was started, Zhou Yong's original driving level was so-so, and he worked in Kong Zhang's grain store for a few months, and his driving level improved a lot, and the mule cart went fast and steady. After the car was running normally, Zhou Yong never said a word.

"Zhou Yong, let me ask you something." Kong Zhang took the lead this time and said, "I want to give you a raise." ”

"Thank you, young owner." Zhou Yong replied without squinting. Although there was some joy in his tone, he didn't feel as ecstatic as others after encountering such a good thing.

"Zhou Yong, are you going back to your hometown in Anhui?" Kong Chang couldn't help but ask.

"Who wouldn't want to go home?" Zhou Yong replied calmly.

Kong Chang heard that Zhou Yong meant to go home, and he was a little unhappy, "Zhou Yong, your salary is not high now, at most you can eat and drink by yourself." You see, you've been with me for a few months, and you haven't even bought new clothes. Now that you're home, you've got to bring some more money to your family. ”

"What you said is true, but my hometown in Anhui brought me a letter, and the family has divided the land, and life is passable. It's just that there was still another war this time, and I didn't leave. I'm waiting to see what happens after this battle. Ay. After finishing speaking, Zhou Yong sighed.

"What do you mean by that?" Kong Zhang listened to what Zhou Yong said, and immediately became interested.

"Shaodong, if the official army wins, I will go home immediately. If there is no one at home to support this military disaster, it will not work. If the official army doesn't win, I can earn more money in Xuzhou and then go back. Therefore, I understand your kindness, and you give me a salary increase naturally because you want me to work here for a while longer, but I can't settle down if I go and stay, if the official army wins, I will leave immediately, but I will fill in the trouble for you. Therefore, I can't live up to your wishes. Zhou Yong replied calmly.

After hearing this, Kong Zhang didn't know what to say for a while. What Zhou Yong said was true, but there was a reasonable person like Zhou Yong in these years, Kong Zhang really didn't expect it. Kong Zhang felt moved in his heart, and he patted Zhou Yong's shoulder, "Zhou Yong, if you tell me the truth, I can't let your kindness fall like this." In this way, our wages will still rise, but not by that much. I've been inquiring more recently, and I'll send you more to the barracks to deliver food. Keep an eye out for news yourself. The official army has already set a day to send troops, and it will be just three or four days. With the result, I won't stop you from staying. ”

When Zhou Yong heard this, he also glanced at Kong Zhang with emotion, and he said seriously: "Then thank you so much, Shaodong, you might as well start asking if you have a car now, don't wait for me to leave and look for it." ”

"By car?" Kong Zhang smiled bitterly, "Now the officers and soldiers are looking for drivers everywhere in order to transport food before the troops. If you want to find someone, you have to wait until this battle is over. By the way, you should also be careful, follow me closely, don't transport food but get caught. ”

The people at the gate knew Kong Zhang, and when they saw him coming, they didn't check the vehicle at all, so they let them into the camp gate. The barracks of the Beiyang Army were already bustling with activity at this time, and everyone looked nervous and rampant. The officers were so angry that when they saw someone who was not pleasing to the eye, they shouted loudly. Looking at the scene of people shouting and neighing, Zhou Yong was sure that Kong Zhang's news that the Beiyang Army was about to be dispatched was indeed correct. Because he learned Mandarin in the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, Zhou Yong can quite understand what the Beiyang Army is arguing about. In fact, it is nothing more than the question of those preparations for the march. The more senior officers in the Beiyang Army, the more excited they became, and Zhou Yong saw that a senior officer with a standard epaulette actually scolded him for not raising his horse well. This style made Zhou Yong very disgusted in his heart. If the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had sent troops, these tasks would have been completed by the grassroots commanders below long ago, so how big a leak would it take to make a battalion commander commanding a thousand men angry? The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had complete systems, or at least constantly perfected them. The battalion commander, the political commissar, and the soldiers' committee had already put these things in order through a meeting on weekdays, and they would be furious before sending out troops.

However, according to the special training in intelligence work, Zhou Yong just glanced at it curiously, and then turned his gaze away, this is not just acting, but Zhou Yong really looks at these things with a humble learning attitude.

"Is Admiral Wang here?" Facing the quartermaster, Kong Chang asked with a smile.

"Mr. Kong, Admiral Wang is here." The quartermaster also smiled and said, "Go in and see Admiral Wang." ”

"It's not appropriate." Kong Zhang hurriedly said, "Admiral Wang is very busy now, I can't disturb him." ”

"Admiral Wang has instructed, Mr. Kong, who is making large quantities of grain, must meet in person. Mr. Kong, please come in. The quartermaster explained.

Kong Zhang instructed several other coachmen to take care of the vehicle, and let Zhou Yong follow him into the Chinese army's tent.

Wang Shizhen is not afraid of cumbersome work, this time the logistics of the troops is a matter of great importance, he is afraid that the people below will do bad things, and all those who sell more than 300 stone of grain will be personally received by him. After the personal soldiers reported, Wang Shizhen ordered someone to bring Kong Zhang in.

"Admiral Wang, the student is polite here." Kong Zhang stepped forward to salute.

Wang Shizhen nodded and waved his hand to signal Kong Zhang to sit down. Kong Zhang thanked him and sat down in the seat next to him. Zhou Yong naturally stood behind Kong Zhang.

"This is ......," Wang Shizhen asked, looking at Zhou Yong.

"This is my personal buddy, and he does a lot of things in the store." Kong Chang replied.

Wang Shizhen looked at Zhou Yong carefully, and then turned his gaze back to Kong Zhang. "Kong Zhang, can you prepare food?"

Kong Zhang owed slightly, "Admiral Wang, all the food that has been agreed upon is ready." However, there is no guarantee of food in the future, and there is too much grain bought here recently, and all the grain that can be received nearby has been harvested. If you want to prepare again, you have to go farther. Admiral Wang, your matter is important, and my father asked me to explain it to you. If it is within a month, 300 stone can still be raised. More is not guaranteed. ”

Wang Shizhen squinted his eyes slightly and looked at Kong Zhang. Kong Zhang's family is a big family in Xuzhou, known as Kong Wanmu. Kong Zhang is the fourth son of the head of the family of this generation, and he didn't have any share when the family property was divided. The old man asked Kong Zhang to choose a career by himself, and Kong Zhang went to the UK to study, but he learned power generation. Kong Zhang thought that he had mastered the latest technology and wanted to show his skills. In order to show what he had learned, he also got a hand-cranked generator when he came back, watched the crackling electric sparks between the two metal balls, and listened to Kong Zhang's explanation of electricity. The old man of the Kong family saw this "trick of pretending to be a god" and realized that this son had spent thousands of taels of silver, and he actually learned such a useless "pit daddy major". The old man is angry, and he got sick that night. I didn't give Kong Zhang a good face for many days.

Kong Zhang once went to Shanghai to work in a power plant, and he thought that as a student studying in the UK, he would have to be taken seriously by the British, but the British looked down on him at all and just gave him a position as an ordinary technician. Kong Zhang did it for a while, but he really felt depressed, so he ran home. When he returned home, the old man couldn't bear to let his son be an idler, so he gave him a grain shop.

Wang Shizhen knew that Kong Zhang had a nickname in this Xuzhou city, which was called "Heavenly Thunder Split". Wang Shizhen knows a lot about new technologies, in fact, he agrees with Kong Zhang's power industry, but China's industry is poor, and Xuzhou has no power plant, so Kong Zhang's knowledge is a pity. Wang Shizhen also thought that if Chen Ke could be exterminated, he would find a way to raise funds to build a power plant. Kong Chang has the value of making full use. So this time, Wang Shizhen is very close to Kong Zhang.

However, at this time, Wang Shizhen did not have any positive thoughts because of his love for talent, Kong Zhang's father "Kong Wanmu" was really cunning, he sold a thousand stone of grain to Wang Shizhen this time, but he made it clear that he didn't want to sell more. Now that the Beiyang Army has almost bought up the grain in Xuzhou, the price of grain will definitely rise sharply after a while, and Kongjiatun's grain will be able to make a lot of money. However, Kong Zhang in front of him is also the son of "Kong Wanmu" in Xuzhou, and the Kong family also has a dynasty jinshi, but it is not easy to offend.

Although Kong Zhang has a reputation of "thunder and thunder in the sky", he is not rigid. Wang Shizhen coerced and lured, Kong Zhang's speech was exactly the same from beginning to end, and it was difficult to collect food, so he really had more than enough heart but not enough strength. Wang Shizhen knew that he really didn't have time to deal with Kong Zhang now, so he had to agree on when the three hundred stone grain would be delivered, and then let Kong Zhang leave.

Kong Zhang achieved his goal, and Shi Shiran did not lose any courtesy when he got up to leave. Wang Shizhen looked at Kong Zhang's back, but couldn't help but set his eyes on Zhou Yong. Wang Shizhen obviously felt that Zhou Yong was really different, Zhou Yong was too relaxed, that was the demeanor that only people with confidence would have. As Kong Zhang's buddy, it is really abnormal to be able to behave like this. What made Wang Shizhen feel particularly concerned was that when Zhou Yong followed Kong Zhang away, his demeanor was too appropriate. This shows that Zhou Yong fully understood what Kong Zhang was talking to him. If Zhou Yong was Kong Zhang's shopkeeper, that attitude of not being moved by the content of the conversation would not be normal. This kind of behavior made Wang Shizhen can't help but think of a person, and that person is Chen Ke. When Chen Ke and Yuan Shikai met, they also had this feeling, it was an attitude that was not subordinate to anyone, and it was a very heartfelt attitude. Wang Shizhen felt that Chen Ke was too arrogant at the time, but later he realized that Chen Ke couldn't even talk about arrogance, that was simply not the attitude that Yuan Shikai would have as his own.

didn't expect to see such a person again today, Wang Shizhen felt very unhappy in his heart.

Kong Zhang did not have the knowledge accumulated by Wang Shizhen's experience, and the reason why he pulled Zhou Yong to meet Wang Shizhen together was to let Zhou Yong know that he still had a future with him. Zhou Yong is conscientious, and he can also read and write, and knows how to add, subtract, multiply and divide arithmetic. Plus it's not bad to drive, so it's a shame that such a person can't stay.

After going out, Zhou Yong still drove as usual and didn't say a word. Kong Zhang finally understood that Zhou Yong was determined to return to his hometown in Anhui.

Back at the grain store, Zhou Yong didn't have anything else to do, he waited until noon before dinner, and secretly took out a pencil and wrote a note. After eating, he went out in the direction of the City God Temple, and after walking a short distance, he saw a beggar leaning against the wall to bask in the sun, and wrote three words in white ash in front of him: "Okay, okay".

"If you want food, you have to go home." Zhou Yong said with a smile.

The beggar hurriedly said, "Give three steamed buns to eat." ”

"Three? Not a single one. Zhou Yong said with a smile.

"There isn't one, you eat it yourself. Okay, we are all from poor backgrounds, look at your body, five steamed buns in a meal are not pulled down, and there is always half a steamed bun to be rewarded. ”

"Get out!" Zhou Yong chirped.

"Let me get out of here, I'd like to get home." The beggar said lazily.

"Who wouldn't want to go home?" Zhou Yong sighed.

Seeing that Zhou Yong was homesick, the person who asked for food hurriedly came up and grabbed Zhou Yong's hand. Zhou Yong hurriedly shook off the dirty hand that asked Hanako for food, and walked away quickly with a look of disgust. Hanako smiled and secretly put the piece of paper in Zhou Yong's palm into his arms.

In the evening, Zhou Yong went out again. The place agreed on the note was very secluded, and someone was already waiting there in the shadows. Zhou Yong carefully identified it, and couldn't see his face clearly, but he knew that it was not a flower called during the day. The two exchanged the code, and Zhou Yong told the liaison officer the information he had collected. The liaison listened carefully and remained silent. After Zhou Yong's report was completed, the liaison officer only said "I know" and got up to leave.

"Wait, comrade, I want to ask when I will be able to return to the army." Zhou Yong asked. The comrades who came to Xuzhou with him this time were all cadres selected by the organization, and Xuzhou City was not small, and everyone had not met since they dispersed. Zhou Yong almost felt that he had been abandoned by the organization, until when he encountered important information, he followed the contact method to connect, and sure enough, he found that the intelligence system was really working. And Zhou Yong's biggest concern is when he can return to the army, when he was selected, Zhou Yong felt that he could do the job, and when he actually did it, he felt that he really didn't know himself.

"I'll report your request to the organization, and now get the job done."

"Please be sure to report this to the organization, I really want to go back to fighting."

"Hmm." The correspondent answered, and left the junction following the shadows.

Early the next morning, in a private house outside the city, several pigeons jumped over the wall and flapped their wings and flew into the western sky.

Zhou Yong's report on the work of the troops was transmitted back to the base area along with the information. After the intelligence officer parsed the document, he sent the two pieces of information to the department where they should be sent. This is not the first time that the Special Services Section in charge of external intelligence has received such an application. Virtually all of the expatriate intelligence officers made the same request, which made the Chief of the Special Services Section frown.

The War Department is smiling, the intelligence from all over the place indicates the movements of the Beiyang New Army, and the information from Zhou Yong is particularly useful, the amount of food raised by the Beiyang Army is too critical data. The price of grain in Xuzhou can certainly reflect the problems, for example, the persistent grain price indicates that some people are buying grain on a large scale. But how much was acquired, it is not known. What can be known now is that Wang Shizhen presided over this matter. It would be nice to be more detailed.

The War Department reported this idea to Chen Ke, and Chen Ke replied simply, "It's not necessary for the time being." Chen Ke has always attached great importance to intelligence work, but Chen Ke feels that comrades have recently misunderstood intelligence work. There are often things like "stealing secret letters" in the storytelling, as if a battle is decided by a few letters or battle plans. In fact, with the execution ability of the Manchu army, they simply could not implement the battle plan they had drawn up in a distorted manner. Even if the opponent is the elite of Beiyang, Chen Ke does not think that the Beiyang Army can do this. Over-indulgence in the "accuracy" of intelligence can only lead to negative effects.

Not only the Beiyang Army, but also the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, Zhang Yu's victory on the southern front directly led to a major change in the initial deployment. The troops originally used for emergency response on the southern front were greatly reduced, and if the earliest battle plan was stolen by Beiyang, then when the actual battle began, Beiyang would find that the number of troops of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was more than planned. The Central Military Commission replaced a regiment originally planned to be stationed in Hefei with a newly formed reinforced battalion. The entire forces of the 104th Division were used in the campaign to annihilate the Beiyang Army.

Due to the abundance of troops, the CMC's reformulated plan was bolder and more offensive. The original plan was to attack the group located in the rear of the enemy first, but now in the new plan, a regiment will be sent to attack Xuzhou. As soon as Xuzhou was lost, no matter how brave and resourceful Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen were, it was impossible for them to persevere. There are countless opportunities to take advantage of in the process of their withdrawal. If they fought according to the original plan, Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen would definitely be cautious step by step, and there would be too few opportunities to take advantage of.

This bold plan was proposed by Zhang Yu, who volunteered to take on the job. Chen Ke gave him another order, Chen Ke ordered Zhang Yu to cross the Yangtze River and then feint to attack Wuhu. Let the Jiangnan New Army return to the south of the Yangtze River. The new battle plan was far more extensive than the original plan, and the shock to the Manchus was no less great. Chen Ke even had some doubts about whether the Manchus could afford this defeat.