The Beiyang Army is very official, and when Duan Qirui sent out his troops, he set the troop ceremony outside the west gate of Xuzhou City. All the troops, towns, associations, standards, and battalions of the third town of Beiyang are waving their own military flags, and the autumn wind is strong, and as soon as the cool autumn breeze passes, all the flags are fluttering, and it is really a flag display. Duan Qirui was wearing a military uniform, and the yellow tassel belt looked majestic and solemn.

It was the government officials who maintained law and order for the Beiyang Army, and they looked at the brightly dressed Beiyang Army with envy one by one, and their envious eyes were mainly on those officers with bright uniforms. Fortunately, the onlookers looked at the huge military formation, and they all wanted to move forward curiously, but they were frightened by the murderous spirit of this soldier. Finally, no one wants to squeeze too much forward.

Kong Chang brought Zhou Yong to watch the troops, but the Kong family could get a better position, on the second floor of the teahouse near the open space that temporarily served as a military field, Kong Zhang and Zhou Yong sat at the window and looked at the neat military formation. Kong Zhang knew what the people around him were saying about him, and the nickname "Thunder in the Sky" had already spread to Kong Zhang's ears. Kong Zhang didn't react on the surface, but in fact, in his heart, he was extremely disdainful of these ignorant rats who criticized him. If you had invited these rats to watch such an easily excited scene as soldiers, God knows what boring things they would say. But bringing those subordinates who only know how to flatter themselves is also very boring. In comparison, people like Zhou Yong, who can deal with him normally, show their value.

Moreover, Kong Zhang is Zhou Yong's owner, and he consciously has some advantages psychologically. Zhou Yong didn't care what Kong Chang thought at all, he went to the teahouse with Kong Zhang completely normally, the guy served tea, Zhou Yong poured water for Kong Zhang's tea, and did his best to do the etiquette. When Kong Zhang turned his head to look at the Beiyang military formation, Zhou Yong also turned his head to observe. When you look at it from different heights and angles, the feeling is completely different. Zhou Yong was a deputy platoon commander in the army and had entered the military academy for short-term training. In his opinion, the Beiyang Army in front of him can indeed be called a strong enemy, but the Beiyang Army lacks a lot of extremely critical things. Very specific feelings, Zhou Yong can't say very clearly, if you have to say, this army is not a whole. Rather, it is composed of many distinct parts. Senior officers, mid-ranking officers, and soldiers, they are so close to each other, but they are separated by something intangible. On top of that, both officers and soldiers are accustomed to these isolations, even taking them for granted. In the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants, this was absolutely abnormal.

Just as he was observing, Zhou Yong heard Kong Zhang next to him suddenly laugh and said, "Zhou Yong, have you also been a soldier?" ”

Zhou Yong turned his head, but saw Kong Zhangzheng looking at him, with a strange look on his face. Zhou Yong actually doesn't hate Kong Zhang, Kong Zhang is from a big family and an international student, but he can't show his ambitions because his major is too advanced, and he has no anger in the depression, which is also rare. Although Kong Zhang's demeanor made him very rude, Zhou Yong was not relieved, he smiled. "Shaodong, I haven't been a soldier."

Kong Zhang was very puzzled by Zhou Yong's frank smile, and Kong Zhang was also looking at the military formation, "The layman looks at the excitement, and the insider looks at the doorway." Kong Chang is completely watching the excitement, if others watch it with Kong Zhang, it will inevitably be like other spectators in the teahouse shouting nonsense, Zhou Yong's silent reaction is enough to be alternative. Kong Zhang glanced at Zhou Yong very casually, only to see Zhou Yong looking at the Beiyang military formation with a focused expression, Kong Zhang is very familiar with this kind of sight, he has seen many European technicians and engineers, they are all like this when they study the mechanical equipment of this specialty. It is very abnormal that Zhou Yong, a disaster victim, can have such a reaction to the Beiyang Army Formation.

Zhou Yong looked back at Kong Zhang with bright eyes, and that simple and steady gaze made Kong Zhang not know what to ask. At this moment, the military band of Beiyang began to play, and the military music of "The New Army of Beiyang is Advancing" was Chen Ke's plagiarism of the song "The Soviets are Advancing" from Red Alert Sanlitou, and the fierce spirit made people feel shocked after listening to it. The troop dispatch ceremony led by Duan Qirui has ended, and Kong Zhang can't help but be attracted when he hears this European-style tune. In addition, he also knew that it was impossible to ask anything from Zhou Yong, so Kong Zhang simply returned his attention to the window.

Duan Qirui and other senior officers on the platform were still standing there, and the soldiers under the stage had already begun to march in line according to their deployment. The second floor of the teahouse is far away from the platform, and I can't see the demeanor of these people clearly. On the contrary, the excited movements of the marching soldiers were very interesting.

Kong Chang couldn't help but look at Zhou Yong again, Zhou Yong looked thoughtfully at the ranks of the Beiyang New Army, that gaze was definitely not unique to military laymen. What does Zhou Yong do? Thinking of Zhou Yong's background in Anhui and Ping Suli's calm and unhurried style, Kong Zhang's heart couldn't help but be shocked.

Zhou Yong didn't care what Kong Chang would think, he had already received an organizational notice. The latest military operation is likely to be launched in Xuzhou. Other comrades have been incorporated into the new combat department in Xuzhou City. It is possible that Zhou Yong had access to the military camp in Xuzhou, and he was not transferred to the new operational department. As a veteran of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, Zhou Yong participated in a series of battles. In particular, he participated in the first Battle of Anqing, which was the first time he traveled thousands of miles. After this battle, the imagination of the cadres of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was greatly enhanced. Once the Beiyang Army sent troops on a large scale, Xuzhou was empty, and the difficulty of the People's Party's sneak attack on Xuzhou was also greatly reduced. After the First Battle of Anqing, the People's Party did not occupy Anqing, and many comrades were puzzled at that time.

There are some basic strategy courses in military schools, and Chen Ke specifically talked about "saving lost land, people and land are saved; If the land is lost, the people and the land are lost. "The comrades understood, but could not accept it. The subsequent battles around Anqing proved Chen Ke's strategic insight. The same is true of Xuzhou now, as long as it is not for the long-term occupation of Xuzhou, the difficulty of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to seize Xuzhou is very small. For Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen, Xuzhou is their old nest, and they must have panicked after losing Xuzhou. Since it had no intention of occupying Xuzhou in the first place, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could have collected all the armaments in Xuzhou and then withdrew to its base areas. There was no Manchu army between Anhui and Xuzhou, and the People's Party could naturally crisscross the two places, and there was no need to worry about anything else. What could the Manchus do even if they recaptured Xuzhou? If they want to re-establish their military and political rule in Xuzhou, they need a lot of investment. Even if the military government of Xuzhou is rebuilt, what can it do? If these armies were cowering in Xuzhou City, it would be meaningless at all. If the Manchus still engaged in a movement war with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could still recapture Xuzhou according to law.

For these strategic issues, Chen Ke has talked about them, and the more Zhou Yong tastes it, the more reasonable it is. What he wanted most now was to finish the battle as soon as possible and return to the army to continue his familiar military work. The intelligence department is indeed the key, Zhou Yong himself admits. Now Zhou Yong is convinced that he is indeed unsuitable for this revolutionary job. Looking at the ranks of the Beiyang Army, Zhou Yong thought of the comrades who were far away in Anhui, they should have been ready to go, and even embarked on the journey.

Zhou Yong was not mistaken, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had indeed completed the final general mobilization. The 104th Division was larger and was stationed in four areas of the base area. Chen Ke did not do anything to concentrate, he personally went to the four regions to review the troops. After Zhang Yu solved the problem of the Hubei New Army on the southern front, four regiments of the 104th Division were stationed along the Huai River. The most elite regiment was stationed in Wuhe County, and they undertook the heavy task of attacking Xuzhou, and after the Beiyang Army entered the base area in the south, the first regiment bypassed the Beiyang Army and went north to attack Xuzhou. In order to avoid the attack of the Jiangnan New Army, Zhang Yu had already commanded the troops to cross the Yangtze River, and was now advancing eastward, if there were no accidents, Zhang Yu should have taken the weakly defended Tongling by now.

Yang Guigui, the commander of the first regiment, personally accompanied Chen Ke to inspect the troops, and as the founder of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, Chen Ke already knew what to look at during the review. A neat queue means the discipline of the troops, people are not wooden stakes that will not move when they are put down, and whether the soldiers have enough energy and physical strength to maintain the neatness of the queue for a long time means the level of training, and the firm will contained in the eyes of the soldiers is an indication of whether the political work of the troops is in place. Doing a good job in politics does not mean that the fighters think too much and complicate their eyes. When the political work is done, the soldiers of the unit will solve all their doubts, they will know what they are fighting for, and the rest of their thoughts in their hearts will be extremely simple. Overcome all problems and get the final victory.

Striding through the front of a neat queue of more than 4,000 people, when he met the eyes of the soldiers, Chen Ke saw a firm enough gaze. Chen Ke's gaze was equally determined. He didn't avoid any sight at all, and Chen Ke even took the initiative to inspect the expressions of thousands of soldiers. In the eyes of thousands of people, Chen Ke was calm, and his mind was empty. As the supreme commander of this army, Chen Ke has been able to keep in mind the thousands of soldiers in front of him now, as well as the tens of thousands of soldiers who have been reviewed. These people are the revolutionary army represented by Chen Ke. Chen Ke can even clearly distinguish which gazes are firm, those that are too excited or slightly fearful, and which ones are awe or longing.

"Hello comrades!" Every time he arrived in front of a phalanx, Chen Ke would shout loudly.

"Hello Chief!" The soldiers responded in unison.

"Comrades have worked hard!"

"Serve the people!"

Yang Guigui, the commander of the first regiment, was the commander of this military parade, and he followed behind Chen Ke with He Zudao. Hearing this aura-filled response, Yang Guigui only felt that the sweat on his back was like a thunderbolt, although as a regiment commander, he actually didn't have much experience in formally reviewing the troops. The response of the troops blew through Yang Guigui's body like a storm, as if they wanted to push Yang Guigui away. Yang Guigui felt that the hairs on his body seemed to stand up under this kind of power, and raised his eyes to look at Chen Ke in front of him, only to see Chen Ke walking calmly in front of the team, all the sounds could not shake Chen Ke's figure at all, and Chen Ke was communicating with the soldiers through answers. Yang Guigui suddenly felt a kind of awe from the heart, at least for now, Yang Guigui knew that he couldn't do Chen Ke's frank communication. Although Yang Guigui is the commander of the first regiment, the first regiment is still Chen Ke's troops. If the fighters were to choose, the fighters would definitely choose Chen Ke first.

After inspecting the array on foot, Chen Ke boarded the review stand accompanied by He Zudao, Yang Guigui and others. He stood in front of Chen Ke and raised his hand to salute, and then said loudly: "Chairman Chen Ke, can we start the march now?" ”

"Let's get started." Chen Kelang replied.

With the order, all the troops began to form a team one by one and passed through the review stand in high spirits.

After the review, Chen Ke convened a military meeting, "This time, Commander Yang personally explored the way, which was really hard. Chen Ke said with a smile.

Hearing this, Yang Guigui's heart was hot. In order to grasp more detailed information, Yang Guigui, the chief of staff and others formed a small team and personally walked the land route. Along the way, there are plain areas, and it is easy to get back and forth. Even with such a less detailed exploration, Yang Guigui felt a lot more down-to-earth. No map can be as detailed as a personal trip. Chen Kexian determined that this kind of hard work was not only Yang Guigui, but also the comrades in the same industry were very encouraged.

Yang Guigui asked: "There are not many enemies on the marching route, and the troops should be able to reach Xuzhou smoothly." I just want to ask how long Xuzhou will be defended, and I hope that the Military Commission can give a letter. ”

"This kind of thing depends on the reaction of Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui, the distance is only three or four hundred miles, and it will take five or six days to arrive. The Military Commission did not believe that it would trigger a chain attack by the Manchus. The key depends on which path the Beiyang Army chooses. When the time comes, the Beiyang Army will be cornered, and it will definitely play with its life. ”

"Chairman Chen, then let's just stop Duan Qirui in Suzhou." Yang Guigui was most worried that he had not fought a battle, and since this battle was personally commanded by Chen Ke, he was very suspicious that the Beiyang Army would not be able to escape from the base area at all. Suzhou is in the south of Xuzhou, closer to the base area, and if you want to effectively influence Xuzhou after the war, it is imperative to occupy Suzhou.

"If I can prevent the Beiyang Army from harming the base area, I still don't want the Beiyang Army to harm it. But the troops fought against Beiyang in the field, and I think the losses will be too great. We can't afford to lose like that. Chen Ke said his thoughts very bluntly, "First drag Duan Qirui down and lose weight, and then annihilate him in one fell swoop." Fighting a war when the Beiyang Army still has strength left, we suffer losses. ”

"Wherever you meet your enemy, you will break it. If you don't encounter the enemy, then go straight to Fengtai, the old nest of the bandit army. This is the strategy formulated by Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen. Duan Qirui himself is a native of Anhui, his ancestral home is Lu'an, his grandfather Duan Pei (the word Yunshan) had sold illicit salt with Liu Ming in his early years, ran regimental exercises, and had meritorious service in suppressing the Twist Army. The local tyrants Liu Nan and Liu Shu ran rampant in the township, and Duan Pei was killed with righteousness, so he formed a grudge. Duan Qirui's father, Duan Congwen, worked as a farmer at home, renting land for a living, and in early 1869, Duan Congwen moved his family to Yanliu Temple in Shouzhou to avoid revenge from a local tyrant surnamed Liu. Although a year later, the Duan family moved to Hefei. But the young Duan Qirui can still vaguely remember the peaks of Shouzhou. Shouzhou is only thirty miles away from the base area of Fengtai County, and Duan Qirui is not only looking forward to eliminating the rebellious party Chen Ke through war, but Duan Qirui also has enough enthusiasm to return to his hometown where he once lived.

From the map, Fengtai County is located slightly west to the south of Xuzhou. After entering October, the weather was fine, and the Beiyang Army was divided into two groups, Wang Shizhen was in front, and Duan Qirui's third town was in the rear. The road was also very smooth, the two armies paused in Suzhou for a while, Duan Qirui took the lead, and the third town continued to go south as the guide, heading straight for Huaiyuan. Huaiyuan had fallen into the hands of the People's Party, and both Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen believed that it would likely be the first battlefield.

The closer you get to Huaiyuan County, the more abnormal the surrounding scenery becomes. Although Duan Qirui is a native of Anhui, his time in the north has far exceeded his time in Anhui. In Anhui in my memory, the fields are scattered, but the land that enters Duan Qirui's sight changes according to the terrain, but the land is connected into large blocks. Between the fields it is clear that there is unfinished work, which looks like a hydraulic project. But it was divided into paragraphs, and Duan Qirui couldn't figure out for a while how to solve the gap in the middle.

These questions were only minor issues, and Wang Shizhen told Duan Qirui in detail about the "new policy" implemented by the People's Party in the bandit areas. The Qing court was still quarreling about the "constitution", but not only did there be no quarrel in the bandit areas, but all localities elected their own "people's representatives" and formed local governments. Of course, before the implementation of the "constitutional government," the People's Party had already broken down all the encirclements in its sphere of influence, and among these "representatives of the people" were a large number of mud-legged people, all of whom were staunch bandits. Thinking that the "constitutionalism" designed by Yuan Shikai and Lord Yuan was the first to be realized in Anhui in such a model, Duan Qirui had an inexplicable feeling in his heart.

Duan Qirui also knew a lot about the land reform in the bandit areas, and he scoffed at the fact that the bandits of the People's Party personally built water conservancy. A group of bandits with no tomorrow today, even if they started some water conservancy construction, they were just pretending to deceive the people. It wasn't until he saw these farmlands in person and saw the unfinished but large-scale water conservancy projects that Duan Qirui realized that he was wrong. These bandits are not perfunctory, they are really engaged in construction.

As he marched, Duan Qirui saw with his own eyes that this kind of large-scale land was not one or two, but constantly appeared. The intervals between the large fields are also unsuitable land, and there is no vacancy on them, and bamboo forests and woods cover large areas of unsuitable land for cultivation. Duan Qirui even saw a lot of mulberry trees, although they are all small trees, but the small trees will always grow, and the People's Party not only values agriculture, but also mulberry silkworms. They really regard the bandit area as their own territory.

The view of the farmland is good, but there are no farmers in the fields. There is no scene of the people welcoming the "Wang Shi" in the middle of the road. The more he looked at it, the more ugly Duan Qirui's face became. It is not uncommon for people to hide from the army, but it is rare for them to hide so cleanly. After all, marching in a large army is a rare thing, as far as Duan Qirui's experience goes, no matter how sparsely populated the fields are, there will always be something lively to watch. It's been two days since the march, and I didn't even see the people watching the excitement. That's too worrying.

The horse exploration cavalry galloped back and forth between Huaiyuan County and the long army of Beiyang Third Town, and the two exploration horses rushed to Duan Qirui's Chinese army. "Report to the Duan system, Sun Tong has taken Huaiyuan County."

"How many bandits are there in Huaiyuan County?" Duan Qirui asked.

The two scouts looked a little strange, and they paused before replying: "There are no bandits in the county seat, and the gate of the county seat is wide open." Sun Tong took the county seat directly. ”

Although Sun Yongsheng asked these two Tanma to say some good things to himself, Duan Qirui was not so easy to fool, and Tanma finally told the truth.

For the county town that easily occupied the bandit area, the officers of the Beiyang Army who followed Duan Qirui were all smiling, but Duan Qirui said with a cold face: "I know, let's go." ”

Watching the horses gallop away, there were already officers coming up, "Duan Commander, now the bandits don't dare to fight......

As he spoke, a gunshot suddenly rang out in the open field. Not only one place, but the simultaneous gunfire in seven or eight places made the large troops of the Beiyang Army instantly confused. The troops that were not attacked continued to advance, and the queues of the attacked troops were instantly chaotic because of the casualties that appeared. When the comrades-in-arms around him screamed and fell on their shoulders, the first feeling of the Beiyang Army soldiers next to him was panic and fear. The attackers used fast guns, and in a matter of moments, all five bullets in the magazine were fired. In the chaotic and panicked eyes of the Beiyang Army, someone saw a few figures flickering in the few wisps of gunpowder smoke coming from the shooting, and then there was no other movement.

"Queue, queue!" The junior officers of the Beiyang Army immediately shouted. These are all quite qualified officers of the Beiyang Army, and the attack directly led to the chaos of the Beiyang marching brigade, and if order cannot be restored in a short time, the impact on the Beiyang Army will be disastrous.

"Send someone after you immediately! Order, catch these people and reward them. Duan Qirui gave the order without thinking about it. At this time, we must not be passively beaten, this is nothing but military common sense. Others have already beaten them, and they are still watching and being beaten, this kind of thing is simply impossible to happen in the Beiyang Army, which "wins with courage".

Soon small units crossed the crowd and rushed towards the place where the shots were fired. "Catch these bandits and reward them!" Rushing out of the ranks, the officers shouted. The shout of this reward instantly overwhelmed the panic in the hearts of the Beiyang Army, and many soldiers of the unit had already looked at the officers of their own troops with eager eyes, hoping that such a good thing would fall on their heads.

As if to guide the Beiyang Army, dark blue military uniforms were seen in several places. Those people carried guns on their backs, and they didn't know how to get to that position, anyway, those figures jumped into the unfinished ditches in various places with skillful movements, and then disappeared from the field of vision of the Beiyang Army. In an instant, more than a dozen small units of the Beiyang Army came out of the ranks and pursued in the direction of the attackers.

The autumn plain was an open space, and the attackers carefully chose their retreat routes, making full use of the terrain and unfinished water conservancy facilities to avoid the sight of the Beiyang Army. But there was no such place in the wilderness, and after running away, the figures of these people were finally fully exposed. Their galloping figures were clearly seen by the Beiyang Army following them. The junior commander of the pursuing Beiyang Army did not say a word, and immediately asked his small troops to line up and shoot. But this was too far away, and the enemy was too cunning, for they did not run in a straight line at all, and when they ran for their lives, they always ran diagonally, although they ran fast. It's quite difficult to get the muzzle aim. Several rounds of fire from the Beiyang Army did not hit a single enemy. As if they hadn't heard the shots, they continued to run for their lives. Seeing it, it was out of range of the rifle.

"Chase!" The Beiyang officers gave the order. Naturally, it was impossible for a large force to divide into several lines to pursue this few enemies. The Beiyang Army, which numbered about 400, broke away from the brigade and divided into seven teams to chase after it.

The Beiyang Army has always trained hard, but the fleeing enemy seems to be even harder. I saw that they were all vigorous, and they didn't stop running at all. This is the first battle after the Beiyang Army entered the base area, where is the Beiyang Army willing to let them escape, as long as they can capture or kill these people alive, the first merit will fall on their heads, and the reward will naturally be indispensable. Since the enemy was out of range, the Beiyang Army no longer fired, and they chased all the way with their heads down.

"Duan Commander, do you want to camp temporarily?" The staff officer of the Forces nouvelles leaned over and asked. Some troops chased them out, and some troops chased them but couldn't catch them up. The originally neat marching procession was already in disarray.

"How many brothers are hurt?" Duan Qirui asked.

"This is still under investigation."

"Assemble the team for the time being, and quickly count the number of injured." Duan Qirui replied with a cold face. He never expected that the first battle would be fought like this, Duan Qirui had seen a lot of bandits, and those people relied on the courage of many people, even if it was a "sneak attack", the number of dispatches was quite large. The Beiyang Army marched quite carefully, and sent outposts on both sides. But the bandits under Chen Ke actually attacked in groups of three or four people, and seven groups of people attacked at the same time, a tactic that Duan Qirui had never seen before. Thinking that these bandits who attacked must be the elite daredevils under Chen Ke. If you can't kill these people, you have to worry about attacks from both sides at all times when you march to the Beiyang, how can you march?

Soon, order had been restored to Beiyang's ranks, and the casualty statistics were out. Eighteen people were killed and fifty-two were wounded. The faces of Duan Qirui and the officers gathered around him became extremely ugly. A staring effort, it is seventy casualties, if it goes on like this, how can this battle be fought?

"How's the pursuing troop doing?" Duan Qirui asked viciously.

As if to tell Duan Qirui about the fate of the pursuing troops, the marching staff officer did not answer, and several dull explosions came from a distance in the direction of the pursuit of the Beiyang Army. Then the sound of gunfire broke the silence of the open field. The pursuers of the Beiyang Army appeared to have encountered an ambush.

When Beiyang divided into brigades and began to attack, the brigade of men and horses cautiously trembled to the seven battlefields, and what they saw was an extremely bloody scene. Either there is a large crater formed by the explosion of a mine on the ground, and with the explosion point as the center, there are complete or incomplete dead and wounded of the Beiyang Army. Or the corpses in a place, and occasionally a few wounded soldiers were crying and moaning in the pile of corpses. In addition to these, none of the weapons of the Beiyang Army could be seen, and when they asked the surviving wounded, they groaned and told the Beiyang Army that many bandits rushed out of the ambush site, and they didn't care whether the Beiyang wounded soldiers were dead or alive, they grabbed the weapons and ran.

In the first battle with the bandits, Beiyang suffered nearly 500 casualties. For the first time in the history of the Beiyang Army. The enemy sent out large forces, but these troops fled as soon as they were killed. Except for the footprints all over the ground, not even a figure could be seen. The third town has a population of 12,000, which is a very large number. But these 12,000 people are nothing in the vast wilderness.

As far as the eye can see, the field seems to be an endless sea, and the Beiyang Army seems to be a small handful of sand. In the face of such a vast land, from officers to soldiers, almost every Beiyang officer and soldier was afraid in their hearts.