Xiangcheng, Henan, the smell of the year has not yet dispersed, Yuan Shikai's mansion is full of friends, a governor of Zhili, even if he is only dismissed, on the side of Xiangcheng, he is also a great man, but Yuan Shikai's heart has always been led by Baotou, some news from the front line has come, the attrition tactics have begun, Baotou side, there is no sign of weakening of the reserves, whether you are a company, or a platoon attack, in short, a platoon of artillery down, and then machine gun fire, The sixth and fifth towns did not make much progress in other areas, and when they heard the sound of cannons, they lay down and hid, but they grew a lot, and the casualties were minimal.

"Dong Weng, Ambassador Zhu is here to urge again." Yang Du was beside Yuan Shikai and said softly.

Zhu Erdian's two visits, Yuan Shikai knew it, the time a year ago, he deliberately did not open it, but now, it is impossible to avoid it, as a diplomat who is familiar with China and even has a deep relationship with Yuan Shikai, he can enter and exit Yuan's mansion freely, but it is difficult to say whether he can see Yuan Shikai. Compared with the procrastinating Qing government, he is more willing to deal with Yuan Shikai, Zhu Erdian knows very well that Yuan Shikai's influence on Beiyang, even if there is a holy decree, without Yuan Shikai's order, the Beiyang Army will not have a single soldier to the front line.

"Take the money and want to make us desperate, there are such good things there!" Yuan Shikai said disdainfully, the changes in Baotou, including the experience of the past few years, made him deeply aware that without the existence of this powerful Beiyang Army, he was afraid that he would be nothing, whether it was listening or Zhu Erdian, they came for this, and they couldn't just joke with their brothers.

"By the way, the Japanese minister is also here today, and they will support 10 105 howitzers." Yang Du said next, Zhu Erdian, who came to the door continuously, was already waiting a little anxious, and even brought the Japanese minister over, and the two sides jointly negotiated a condition that Yuan Shikai could not refuse.

"Hikoyoshi Ijiin!" Yuan Shikai said with a straight head, he didn't have much good impression of the Japanese, before the first year of the First Wu Dynasty, he had directly confronted Japan, he was a politician, and he knew that there was nothing that could not be traded under complex interests, the key was how valuable it was.

10 105 howitzers, for China, is an absolute super heavy artillery, Yuan Shikai was a little moved, the price of 75 guns is 20,000, the price of 105 howitzers is more than 50,000, support 10 guns, almost hundreds of thousands, can not be measured only by money, Yuan Shikai has actually been seeking heavy artillery, but the relationship between the Qing court, in addition to Manzhen, with 105 and 155 heavy artillery, other artillery associations, they only have 75 guns, facing a large number of 75 guns in Baotou, It's normal for them to fall behind.

"That's it!" Yuan Shikai touched his bald head and said with some hesitation: "Why don't you let the three or four towns move!" ”

Yang Du was stunned for a moment, he looked at Yuan Shikai with some surprise, the other towns, it doesn't matter, but the third town is definitely the first strong army in Beiyang, whether it is training, or technical arms, or even generals, it is considered first-class, the title of model town, but not to say, this is a real fight, these 10 guns, needless to say, must be to support the third town, as long as the third town has these 105 guns, in terms of strength, there will be earth-shaking changes immediately.

War Department, Duan Qirui is sitting there, looking at the intelligence, the more he fights, the more he feels, this Baotou is not simple, they have collected some information about Baotou through various channels, the more they collect, the more they feel that Baotou is terrible, it can produce a full range of light industrial products, many of which are bestsellers in the whole of China, the cotton cloth and muslin of the British, which have been popular in China for decades, were repelled by Baotou in one fell swoop, and even some products were even exported to foreign countries, which is China in the past few decades. It has never been the case, the Westernization Movement has been carried out for decades, and the governors of the provinces have invested hugely, of course, most of them are for financial power, but like Baotou, a few years, like a money printing machine, this is not even imaginable, with huge funds, coupled with looming overseas support, this Baotou is definitely not simple.

"Commander, the Governor is calling!" The guard pushed the door open and came in to report.

"Read!"

"The third town and the fourth town of the telegram are to set off immediately to sweep away the rebels in Baotou."

"What!" Duan Qirui shouted out in a lost voice, he was paying attention to Baotou, he also knew the old man's thoughts before, he was very supportive, Baotou is a projectile land, after cutting off the supply from the outside, how long can its guns and ammunition last, as long as they are consumed, the victory must be the Beiyang Army, but he didn't expect that after just over a month, the old man couldn't help it, which play was going to be sung.

"What the hell does the old man think?" Xu Shichang also said with some surprise, when he returned to Beijing and accused the police department, he was demoted, which was a punishment for his failure to cooperate with the center, but Xu Shichang is still the highest existing manager in Beiyang, and has a great influence on Beiyang and the War Department.

A middle-aged scholar who looked like a staff member first drove the guards out, and then said solemnly: "Japan and Britain have each supported 10 doors 105. ”

Although the words were not said very thoroughly, Duan Qirui immediately understood, 20 105 guns are almost the establishment of a heavy artillery standard, the combat effectiveness of the third town, the crown of the entire Beiyang Army, has always been seeking to establish a heavy artillery standard, but it was stuck by the military aircraft department, 75 guns are okay, heavy artillery is already a deterrent unit in China, and it cannot be equipped with money, only the town can be equipped.

Therefore, even the British and Japanese powers, which have always supported Beiyang, will not spit lightly, but unexpectedly, they have opened a hole here.

The shape is different, with the pressure of Britain and Japan, plus the rebellion in Baotou, there is an opening here, a target is established, there is a second, or even a third, 105 guns and 75 guns, don't look at the difference of only more than 30 mm, but the deterrence and power brought are completely different, before, it seemed difficult, the defense of Zhangjiakou, under the appearance of the 105 guns, will no longer exist, besides, Duan Qirui, Xu Shichang, for the combat effectiveness of the three towns, is quite clear.

The transfer of the third and fourth towns, especially the third town, immediately attracted the attention of Baotou, and the relevant news was quickly transmitted to Baotou, including the support of the British, 105 guns are the focus, this thing can't be stopped at all, with China's road conditions, that is, to Zhangjiakou, there is the Beijing-Zhangjiakou railway, which can be passed, there is no railway, relying on ordinary roads, this thing can't go up at all, and the weight of a few tons can't be pulled by pack horses at all.

This point, a few decades later, the Japanese invasion of China also showed, the closer to the inland, the more heavy artillery could not come up, mostly 75 guns and 37 battle defense guns, a certain range dù on, is the world of small artillery, small steel cannons, 37 guns, basically enough.

At the beginning of March, the year was finally completely over, when the first month of the entire lunar calendar passed, the Qing court had a good life today, and finally passed a fat year, and the Qing government, which spent almost 1 million yuan of silver dollars, finally remembered that there was still Baotou, and the order was issued, almost following Yuan Shikai's order, the use of the two towns, the third and fourth, but not the fifth and sixth ordinary towns, they are all complete strengthened towns, and they belong to the most elite part of the entire Beiyang Army, you must know that the six towns of Beiyang are only more than 70,000 people, The number of people in Sansi Town has almost reached 35,000, which can be seen that these two towns are strong.

The rotation training has entered the third month, and after low-intensity battlefield training, most of the new army soldiers are also under such intense training, slowly transforming from ordinary people to a warrior, Lima's Baotou, is preparing to show his fangs.

After the Chinese New Year, the speed of the Qing court seems to be much faster, in addition to the third and fourth towns in Beiyang, from the Shanxi generals, Shaanxi generals, also mobilized 30,000 green forest troops, from this below to attack Baotou, as for the Mongolian side, is also nervously contacting the Mongolian princes.

It's just that, like the Qing court, the Mongol princes, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, completely declined, and they may be able to make up a few thousand horsemen, and if they are really gathered together, they may pose a threat to the flanks of Baotou.

I thought that the holy decree together, the Mongolian princes, will immediately obey the order, but I didn't expect it, but it was politely rejected and pushed, Mongolia is too close to Baotou, not to mention the sales of Baotou products in Mongolia, so that the Mongolian princes have got a lot of benefits, first of all, a few years ago, the horse bandits siege time, have made these Mongolian princes vigilant.

The Mongolian princes knew very well that the 13,000 horse thieves were completely hated under the city of Baotou, and they did not even enter the periphery of Baotou.

Without the flank of Mongolia, the Qing court jumped straight to its feet, but there was no way, the Qing court had gradually come to an end, they could not mobilize a lot of forces at all, if the Mongolian princes who had the closest relations with the Manchus could not be mobilized, the rest, what else to say, can only expect this time, with the help of heavy artillery, the powerful third and fourth towns will go out together, and they can achieve good results.

The news from all sides was summarized in the command room, during this time, Yang Yuanzhao almost put most of the time here, although Baotou has made a lot of preparations, and also has a group of strong generals, half of the troops are just formed into the army, and the Beiyang Army, which has experienced a hundred battles and is famous, is more or less worried.

Especially the third town of Beiyang, if there is still that force in the Beiyang army, it is this third town, of course, there is Duan Qirui who commanded the troops to come.

The head of this later Anhui warlord, who served as prime minister three times, is the actual supreme leader of the government, and his military ability and political ability are amazing, if it weren't for Yang Yuanzhao's crossing, Duan Qirui has already emerged and become one of the pillars of the Beiyang Army, and he may also send him an invitation. R1152