Zhang Huaizhi, when he was a teenager, his family was poor, and his family of six lived in a half-yin and half-yang cellar. In 1880, in order to maintain the life of his family, eighteen-year-old Zhang Huaizhi went to the bank of the Yellow River in the south of the village to pick up river mud and earn money to support his family. The experience of suffering tempered his will, and he was determined to do something vigorous. After that, he said goodbye to his mother and went to Tianjin to join the Beiyang Army.

In 1890, he studied artillery at the Tianjin Zizhulin Martial Arts School. Eight years later, he was appreciated by Yuan Shikai and incorporated into the new army. In 1905, he took office as the commander of the Fifth Army, on the same level as Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang.

Judging from Zhang's experience, it can be called the journey from slave to general, and it is also a good inspirational story. Raising horses in the army for seven years and then entering the military academy to learn artillery is indeed a very difficult thing for a person who has not received much education, and it is difficult to do without the spirit of hard work.

Of course, Zhang Huaizhi's weakness lies in the fact that he has no background, and he has no dazzling experience in studying abroad, which is probably one of the reasons why he and the Fifth Town were transferred to the south to exterminate the revolutionary army.

Everyone knows that there are many difficulties in the southern war of the Northern Army, and the Qing court has repeatedly considered and weighed it, so it is willing to transfer the Beiyang Army defending Gyeonggi to the south to a town. Adjustable which town, there is still a lot to say and pay attention to.

If you win, you will be a high-ranking official, and if you lose, you will die in humiliation. Zhang Huaizhi did not know that this time he went south to fight, with mixed honors and disgraces, and he was a hard worker. Therefore, he is cautious, ready to advance step by step, steadily, and does not want to engage in more risky tactics such as interspersing, detours, and rapid advances.

At the same time, Zhang Huaizhi also did a lot of homework, and he also knew that the enemy he would face was not a reckless green forest, but an organized, disciplined, and commanded regular army. But now as soon as the battle was fought, Zhang Huaizhi found that the enemy was more difficult to deal with than he expected.

"it!" Ma Liang, the commander of the Ninth Association of the Infantry Team, came over with a scolding and gave a hasty salute. complained: "This battle can't be fought, just the hillside in front of it, it's more slippery than pouring oil, it's enough to climb empty-handed, and you have to bear the bullets." This damn rain doesn't seem to have a head. The rain gear is not enough, and the wet clothes stick to the body, and it will be shivering from the cold for a while......"

Zhang Huaizhi listened expressionlessly, this is indeed a difficulty, an unexpected difficulty, but this battle still has to be fought, nothing can be fought, it is all angry talk.

Ma Liang complained for a while and glanced at Zhang Huaizhi. The final conclusion was made, "The enemy on the opposite side must be the main force, and it must be the elite." ”

Zhang Huaizhi nodded lightly and said slowly: "That's a good point. To resist my Beiyang Fifth Town, where can an ordinary army be so tenacious? The enemy's idea is to first fight hard against hard, to frustrate the spirit of our army, and then to resist according to the favorable terrain. When the time and place are favorable, the enemy thinks that he can drag our army down. ”

"The time of the day. Location? Ma Liang thought for a moment and said with a wry smile: "The enemy does have these two advantages. Procrastination also seems to work in their favor. Not to mention the fatigue and collapse, it is the injury and illness attrition that is not adaptable, and as time goes by, morale will inevitably decline. ”

Adaptation refers to the adverse reactions of the body and the environment, such as climate, sound, eating habits, etc., and the reactions that occur include loss of appetite, mental fatigue, and poor sleep. Even diarrhea and vomiting, palpitation, chest tightness, itchy skin, weight loss, red spots on the skin, acne, etc.

Although people also have the ability to adapt to the natural environment, the size of this ability varies from person to person, and the time period can be short. When the northern soldiers went south, the most difficult thing to adapt to was the humid and hot climate. Mosquitoes are rampant, and with them malaria and other diseases.

"Rain gear, mosquito nets, mosquito repellents, antimalarial medicines, ......" Zhang Huaizhi said slowly, a large list of materials needed, not that there are none, but the quantity is insufficient, obviously there is still a big lack of preparations, "the tentative offensive can be temporarily stopped, and the officers and men need to adapt to the new battlefield and new environment." The enemy is strong, or rather, they want us to think so. But it is also true that we cannot defeat the enemy quickly, this is a fact and has nothing to do with the enemy's delaying tactics. ”

Ma Liang was a little unwilling and a little helpless. The six towns of Beiyang, the most elite troops in China, not only do others see it this way, but they also think so, and they also want to make a good start. But there are many difficulties they faced, many of which were unexpected by them. What's more, before they came, they secretly sent someone to ask their old superiors for advice, but the old superiors only said one sentence: "Stability is the key, don't be greedy for merit, and don't underestimate the enemy."

The Six Towns of Beiyang was Yuan Shikai's brainchild, although he was transferred to the center, and the Qing court also mixed a lot of Manchu officers into the Beiyang Army, but these Manchu officers were really not successful, and they wanted to completely control the army, but they didn't have that talent. Therefore, the six towns of Beiyang are still in the hands of his old subordinates, what is this, this is the capital to save his life, and it is also the key to whether he can make a comeback in the future, how can he easily lose it.

"Although it is a great achievement to eradicate the chaotic party, in my opinion, the eighth town in Hubei and the Guangdong Mixed Association do not want to rob this great achievement." Zhang Huaizhi sighed softly, "Xiliang is in Kunming and is nominally the commander-in-chief, but it is still difficult to coordinate unified actions. It's good now, those old soldiers saw that we were coming, and they didn't pick on us or contribute, they all relied on us to fight. It's such a situation, the hearts are not aligned, how easy is it to exterminate the chaotic party? ”

Ma Liang snorted and said: "The authority of the imperial court is getting weaker and weaker, especially in the south, officials and generals are really not like words, and their selfishness is so heavy, they are not afraid that the party will sit big, and they can't even keep their heads?" ”

"Let's get by!" Zhang Huaizhi sneered and said, "It's a pity that we still have to endure it, and we still have to rely on them for food and ammunition!" ”

…………。

The rain was heavy and light, and finally it became as thin as a cow's hair, and it became floating on the face.

Zhang Huaizhi and Ma Liang did not disagree, although the revolutionary army in front of them did not dare to say that it was elite, but it was indeed the main force, it was a strong army that had been tempered in actual combat and enriched by the backbone. And in terms of overall number, it is more than the fifth town of the Beiyang Army.

And the commander turned out to be Zhao Sheng, who was the commander of the ninth town of the new army in Nanjing, and the troops he led were praised as "civilization is the national army crown", and Xu Shaozhen, the commander of the ninth town, also praised: "Now only Boxian can fight hard and fight to the death." ”

The revolutionary army attaches great importance to the fifth town of Beiyang, and it is not surprising that the battle has formed a hard-fought situation.

Although the Fifth Town of Beiyang is only a tentative attack, it can also be seen that it is different from other enemy forces. Although there are many differences between training and actual combat, it is also possible to see the strength and weakness of a unit.

……………… (To be continued.) )