The sky was not yet completely dark, and the blue-gray smoke was raised by a bonfire made of half-dry wood, and more than a dozen men waved sapper shovels to add the last dirt to the huge new grave, and used shovels to pat the top and bottom around the top and bottom firmly, and dispersed after returning to An Yi, and walked down the river to bathe and wash his clothes in twos and threes, and hung them on the small bushes to let the night breeze dry.

Zhang Chengzhu knelt down on one leg in front of the wordless tombstone erected on smooth stone slabs, and his mouth was full of words, as if calling out to the souls of his brothers who had not yet gone away. The beard took out three cigarettes and lit them silently in front of the tombstone, which was regarded as an incense candle instead of sacrifice. An Yi whispered a few words to Yin Jinan, who came to his side, and Yin Jinan nodded and went to arrange.

Zhang Chengzhu stood up and slowly raised his head, looked at the north with sad eyes over the mountains in front of him, sighed for a long time, walked down the river, washed it for a while and returned to the bonfire next to the new grave, carefully looked at the soldiers who were busy and orderly in the camp, and then looked at a few soldiers who led a few horses to the river to drink water, sat on the grass and asked for a cigarette from his beard, pinched a small branch that crackled and burned, took a deep breath and spit out a long puff of smoke, as if he wanted to spit out all the sorrows and troubles in his heart.

After a while, Old Han Tou brought a copper basin containing a large piece of horse meat and placed it among the three of them who didn't say a word. Yin Jinan shouted a few times, ordered the brothers to have dinner, and also joined the ranks of the three.

"Your team seems to have people everywhere, and this brother is also from our Hebei?" Zhang Chengzhu broke the silence and looked at Yin Jinan.

Yin Jinan stopped tearing open the cigarette box and nodded politely to Zhang Chengzhu: "The younger brother's surname is Yin Jinan, a native of Jizhou, who serves as an instructor for the brothers, and graduated from the fourth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy like Brother An...... Brother Zhang, please, please feel free to use it, the big brother Li who injured his right arm woke up for a long time, he had already settled down, put on a good splint and fed the medicine, and then give him some meat porridge when he rested for a while. It's just that Brother Zhang's BMWs don't have concentrate to feed, so they can only eat grass, and the horse grass by the river is also passable. ”

"Brother has ever had a horse, right?" Zhang Chengzhu asked.

Yin Jinan smiled modestly: "When I was young, I often accompanied my old man to put horses for the big families in the town, and I knew more when I saw it, just now when the younger brother looked at Brother Zhang's horses, he felt that they were the top grade on the grassland north of Zhangjiakou, and the size alone was twice as tall as our dozen pack horses, and the spiritual head was different, and only the elite in the northern army was worthy of it!" ”

Zhang Chengzhu saw that Yin Jinan understood the horse, and then looked at the equestrian instructor's beard who only cared about smoking, and sighed in his heart, and took a large piece of boiled horse meat in sauce under An Yi's warm greeting, and took a bite, saying "It tastes good", and then chewed it unceremoniously, obviously the Eastern Hiding Province for a few days was also hungry.

The four of them started their cheeks and quickly wiped out half of the plate of horse meat, and Lao Han Tou brought four bowls of rice porridge boiled from horse bones, and they were also drunk in the blink of an eye.

The old Han Tou who put away the copper plate smiled brightly, and the recognition of the skills of the brothers in the cooking class by the elders was an appreciation for his work, and he quickly collected the foreign iron bowls and left in a hurry, without waiting for the four bosses to wipe their mouths and bring four large bowls of oily hot tea again.

"A few brothers are thoughtful, and even hot tea has been prepared, which is good."

Zhang Chengzhu was also relieved of his full stomach, picked up the tea bowl and blew and drank a big sip, smacked his lips beautifully, and sighed: "I haven't drunk hot tea for more than half a month!" ”

An Yi smiled: "Brother Zhang has been in the army for many years, right? ”

Zhang Chengzhu smiled slightly: "Eight years ago, I graduated from the riding department of the Baoding Military Academy, entered the army of Wu Dashuai, from the trainee platoon commander to the present, at the beginning of this year, I was still on the front line of Shanhaiguan and Zhang Zuolin's Feng army desperately, a few months ago we were fighting the two armies of Zhifeng saw that the general trend of the world was not right, and quickly reconciled and besieged Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army who shouted revolution. As soon as I drove the capricious Feng Yuxiang out of the front line of Suiyuan, Hebei, I was transferred, and as the commander of the cavalry, I led the brothers of two companies to take the lead in supporting, and rushed to Ye Kaixin's headquarters in Yuezhou, northern Hunan at night, to assist the friendly army to go south, and beat the little division commander Tang Shengzhi out of Changsha and then all the way to Hengyang. Because the Xiangjiang River is covered with a dense water network and too many mountains, it is impossible to give full play to the advantages of the cavalry, so Ye Kaixin did not match me with enough men and horses, and he did not want me to grow on his territory, so I had to lead a battalion commander to help. Before Li Zongren's Gui Army's Seventh Army entered Hunan to support Tang Shengzhi, I suggested that Ye Kaixin not passively defend against the attack, but he did not accept it; When the Fourth Army of the Guangdong Army went north from Hunan and Guangdong, I suggested that he join forces with Sun Dashuai in Jiangxi to block it, and he did not listen, and after your coalition army occupied Hengyang and forced Changsha, I felt that the situation in Hunan was in danger, and repeatedly suggested that he blow up all the bridges to buy time for our Wu Dashuai soldiers to go south, but this pedantic Ye Kaixin did not dare to do it, until the coalition army of more than 40,000 people besieged Changsha and could not hold it, he suddenly found me and asked me to lead the headquarters to blow up the bridge, from the junction of your Seventh Army and the Fourth Army smoothly passed, ten minutes to destroy the defense of the Hengnan Iron Bridge Tang Shengzhi two companies, who knew that when the explosives were being planted, a seven-section train happened to arrive, there were two regiments of your north, after a fierce battle still failed to blow up the bridge, Tang Shengzhi's support troops in the north also arrived, in desperation I had to lead the remaining brothers to rush out of the encirclement all the way to the south, for a few days to avoid the pursuers stopped and walked, just got rid of the pursuers at noon today, I was thinking of going south for dozens of miles and then fleeing east into Jiangxi to find Sun Dashuai to help, and finally met you. ”

An Yi and the three looked at each other, all along, in order to pass the boring time at night, the three of them often got together to discuss some campaign and tactical issues, and the research and summary of the two Eastern Crusades were very comprehensive, and Yin Jinan recorded three major materials for this. Since entering Hunan, the three of them have analyzed and predicted the situation of the enemy and us from time to time, and used the information provided by their commanders and the brothers who led the troops through the various departments around them to summarize it. After listening to Zhang Chengzhu's words just now, the three of them realized that they had never thought about many aspects, if Ye Kaixin really accepted Zhang Chengzhu's advice and launched an action, not to mention the grand strategy of taking the initiative to attack and resist the enemy outside Xiaoxiang, only talking about blowing up the main bridges, it would give the revolutionary army an incomparably headache, not to mention that the army's march was blocked, and the artillery, baggage, and supplies could not be transported to the front line in time, so that the outnumbered revolutionary army units would be placed under the enemy's superior forces, where could Changsha be captured so smoothly?

Zhang Chengzhu saw that the young three people were in a daze for a moment and began to discuss, and he thought it was interesting and smoked a cigarette to listen, which was more than half an hour. He was surprised to find that An Yi's brain is super fast, and the countermeasures he says are often unexpected, especially in the local response, which is full of tricks, and the clever combination of various tactics is jaw-dropping, not to mention whether it is feasible, right and wrong need to be further studied and evaluated, but An Yi's blood surname and wit still make Zhang Chengzhu admire; Yin Jinan, who has not lost his childishness, is steady and calculating, and quickly calculates the troop allocation, marching speed and even firepower allocation of various actions proposed by An Yi; Twenty-year-old Hu Jialin doesn't speak much, and every time he speaks, he often fights the weakness with a surprise tactic. The three of you make up for each other and confirm each other, it seems that a small battle that is unfolding is in front of Zhang Chengzhu, how can he not be deeply surprised?

After the dispute between the three was over, Yin Jinan raised his head and smiled embarrassedly at Zhang Chengzhu and gave him a cigarette, Zhang Chengzhu took the cigarette and said in a low voice: "It seems that Huangpu Sheng is really not a vain person!" A few old brothers, just now you said that your company is an engineer company that has been in the army for less than three months, but I don't look like it, in addition to being equipped with a lot of engineering equipment, your weapons are more than many infantry I have seen, if you are equipped with a few light and heavy machine guns, no one will believe you if it is an elite reinforced company, and the strategy and ability of the three brothers far exceed my original estimate, and the number of brothers led by them has almost reached two companies, can you tell me what is the reason for this? ”

"Haha! No problem, although we were enemies just now, but the three of my brothers and Brother Zhang all felt like they were at home at first sight, not to mention that Brother Zhang was still a fellow countryman of Beard and Jinan, haha......"

An Yi once again showed his bold and righteous side, and explained in detail the origin of the three of them, the establishment of this company, and how they ended up here, and finally smiled at Zhang Chengzhu, who sighed frequently:

"Brother Zhang, if you don't be ordered to lead the troops to blow up the bridge, we won't see each other today, just like the 'providence' you said shortly after you got off the horse, it is also providence for us to meet thousands of miles, haha...... Anyway, Brother Zhang has now become a friend of our brothers, and he will leave soon, what do we have to hide from this bit of? ”

Zhang Chengzhu nodded frequently, looked at the three young people who were old and old, and asked with a smile: "It is very difficult for you to go here, if you want to defeat the more than 200,000 elite direct troops that we occupy a favorable position with 1230,000 hastily gathered men and horses, are you sure?" ”

Yin Jinan shook his head: "It is indeed very difficult, but we are confident that as long as we do not disperse our forces too much, we may be able to break through a little, and then advance the whole army in one go, of which the biggest reliance is on two points: first, we are a revolutionary army, representing the interests of the majority of the people, and the division is famous and has a lot of help; Second, the Northern Army is not good at fighting in the mountainous south, where the water network is full of mountains, and the superiority of firepower and speed of action will be greatly restricted, and these two points may allow our revolutionary army to offset your superiority and finally defeat you and achieve victory under the encouragement of strong morale and conviction. ”

"Makes sense...... What do you think of Brother Xiaoyi? Zhang Chengzhu looked at An Yi quietly.

An Yi lit a cigarette and raised his confident head: "The newspaper said that General Li Zongren, the commander of the Seventh Army of the Gui Army, made a bold statement that as long as he takes Changsha, he will be able to plant the battle flag at the head of Wuchang City in one go, although I am a little worried about this sentence, but I firmly believe that Marshal Wu Peifu will definitely fail, and before the end of the year, even if he has more troops and better weapons, it is useless, because he does not have the hearts of the people!" Haha, Brother Zhang, don't laugh at the arrogance of the little brother, the little brother always feels that he will meet Brother Zhang in this life, maybe in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, maybe in Henan, Shandong or Yanjing, as long as we fight all the way, who can guarantee that there will be no chance to meet again? It's just that I don't want to see Brother Zhang in Nanchang or Jiangxi, it's too early, the three of us are still lieutenants, if I see you, I have to salute, can't I get it? Haha......"

Such heroic words made Zhang Chengzhu, a person surnamed in love, deeply infected, and he laughed and said loudly: "Okay! Sure enough, it's a hero out of a teenager, and it's not in vain that I, Zhang, got acquainted! Brother Xiaoyi, and two little fellows, I will also leave a message today, otherwise wouldn't I let the brothers look down on me? Ha ha! I won't talk about anything else, just one thing, if you can take Wuhan before the end of the year, the next time you meet my brother, I will not only send you three first-class horses, but also be willing to lead the horse and whip for you! ”

An Yi was overjoyed: "Is this true? ”

"Is a manly man a treacherous villain? As long as a few brothers' revolutionary army defeats Wuhan, our Wu Dashuai is afraid that he should also go back to enjoy his family, brother, I and Zhang Huzi's Feng Department outside the Guan, Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army can't pee a pot, unless I don't go to the army, is there any other choice? ”

Zhang Chengzhu's thick eyebrows raised, and his voice changed: "Since everyone is so happy, I also have a saying, if the three brothers are unfortunately captured by our soldiers, I hope to report my name Zhang Chengzhu." Thanks to the direct brothers of the upper and lower brothers, give the foolish brother a 'little Zhang Fei' name, as long as the cheap name is mentioned, most of the brothers will give a little face, and then the elder brother and I personally ride the horse to greet each other, set the wine to catch the wind, sweep the couch and wait, the three brothers will succumb to the elder brother from now on, how about it? Do you dare to take this gamble from my brother? ”

Hu Zi and Yin Jinan were slightly startled, and they all looked at An Yi. An Yi laughed, then stood up and solemnly clasped his fists with both hands: "Then, the little brother is presumptuous, so I dare to take this bet with Brother Zhang on behalf of Hu Zi and Jinan!" Anyway, the little brother has been lonely and cold since he was a child, if he is captured, what does it matter if he gallops with all Yan Zhao heroes in this life, galloping on the land of Qilu and riding horses inside and outside the Great Wall? Haha......"

"Good! A gentleman's word......"

"It's hard to chase a horse!"

"Hahahaha......"

Several brothers who did not know each other stood up proudly, clasped their fists and saluted each other and laughed in unison, and the brothers who had just fallen asleep under the trees sat up one after another, and looked in surprise at the chief who was shining on the bonfire and the burly beard that had returned from captivity.

Zhang Chengzhu's severed hand adjutant didn't know when he came to the four of them, An Yi hurriedly greeted him, looked at his well-bandaged and fastened arm, nodded with satisfaction, and enthusiastically helped him sit on the stone:

"Brother Li, I'm sorry for you, I knew that such a little brother wouldn't dare to offend even if he gave himself a shot, haha...... Be careful...... Ji Nan, my cigarette is gone, you light one for Brother Li. ”

The adjutant waved his hand indifferently, looked at Zhang Chengzhu and smiled at each other and motioned for everyone to sit down: "A few brothers, I have taken a look at it, this group of brothers under your command is not simple, they are in an orderly manner and help each other and love each other, so it can be seen that your training is very effective, especially the dozens of brothers who serve as guards, they are all elite soldiers!" ”

An Yi smiled and suggested: "If the eldest brother is inconvenient, it is better to stay and heal the injury first, there is no problem in terms of safety, wait for the injury to heal before leaving, and see how our eldest brother Zhang lost to the younger brother, haha!" ”

Li Jinlong, a tall and thin adjutant in his early thirties, laughed: "I admire the heroism of Brother Xiaoyi, but it is hard to believe that the revolutionary army will have such good luck, as my brother Chengzhu said, as long as you can defeat our more than 200,000 elites of Wu Dashuai in Wuhan, we didn't say a word, but with the current combat strength of the revolutionary army, I am afraid it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky!" Ha ha...... Thank you brothers for your hospitality, we will keep this friendship in our hearts, my injury is nothing, there is no need to stay, if there is a fate he can see each other. ”

An Yi nodded and was not reluctant, took out his matching gun, took out four full magazines and handed them to Zhang Chengzhu: "The rifling of the elder brother's gun is not good, and there are not a few bullets left, the younger brother has nothing to see off the eldest brother, so please accept the eldest brother...... You're welcome, this gun was not issued by our troops, but bought it from an old friend in a German trading house before the younger brother left Guangzhou and went north. The two eldest brothers may not be very smooth on the road, after Leiyang, they will cross the tea tomb as soon as possible and go all the way to the east, please forgive the younger brother for not revealing too much, so the two elder brothers should be fast, our third brother will not leave you, the horses and luggage I have asked my brothers to pack up, see if nothing is left behind, let's go. ”

Zhang Chengzhu, who was moved in his heart, took the gun, groped lovingly for a moment, then unceremoniously inserted it into the empty holster on his waist, then took the magazine and stuffed it into the empty holster on his belt, stood up and strode towards the six horses, and hurriedly hung the exquisite suitcase and two original imported carbines on the two jujube red horses that he was going to ride, and led the shorter black horse in the middle to An Yi: "Brother Xiaoyi, this little foal is not yet an adult, it is the son of the big black horse, it has been exhausted during this time, and its coat color and body shape are unsightly." , but the elder brother thinks that it is the best in this group of horses, with the bearded brothers and the Jinan brothers to help you take care of it, it will definitely be able to add some help to your galloping battlefield in the future, accept it, it can be regarded as the elder brother voted for Li Baopeach! ”

Zhang Chengzhu couldn't help but stuff the reins into An Yi's hand, turned to Hu Zi and Yin Jinan and smiled kindly: "Two little fellows, I will also leave the other three horses for you, even if they are not top-grade, they were all personally selected by me before I left my hometown, and those few horse pistols that have run out of bullets, let's accept them together, I and Brother Jinlong will leave for the time being, and there will be a period later!" ”

"Wait! The younger brother of the horse accepted it cheekily, but the two eldest brothers had to bring the bag of money and use it on the road. After the careful Yin Jinan finished speaking, he strode towards the horses.

Zhang Chengzhu grabbed him: "The more than 1,000 pieces of ocean were rewarded by Ye Kaixin before departure, and now there are only two of us left among the more than 200 brothers, and it is sad to keep them." I know that you sappers are very miserable, and that the clothes on your brethren are full of holes, which are inferior to our inferior troops, and we can have more money on hand, even if it is a little bit of our heart. As long as I go to Jiangxi, with the banner of Wu Dashuai and the old face of my brother, I will still have 1,800, but now it will be a burden. Okay, brother, I should also go, there is something to remind me before leaving, when the two armies are in close arms, we must be careful of our ironclad train, the many heavy guns installed on it are very powerful, and they can hit more than ten kilometers away, and they can hit wherever they go along the railway, just pay attention to the guard......"

Under the starry sky, An Yi and the three of them sent Zhang Chengzhu and the two to the side of the road, and watched the two of them disappear at the end of the darkness before returning melancholy. An Yi walked up to the little black horse, gently combed its mane and caressed its forehead, just like his own Chu'er, whispering and nagging to it......

(To be continued)