Not all of the troops of the Lu army were stationed in Baoding, but they were transported by train from Shandong to Hebei and stationed in different defense areas. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 In the barracks outside Baoding, several of its core troops, especially the mercenaries from Shandong, were stationed on the battlefield.

More than 3,000 people from Tiele who had already started a family in Shandong, under the leadership of Semenov, gathered into a team, and their banner had been changed from the Tiele Eagle Banner in the past to the five-color flag of Shandong. Although these people still maintain Tiele nationality, they can't go back to their homes.

The end of the Tessie War does not mean the arrival of peace. In Tiele, Kolchak, the Tsar, and the peasants, workers, and front-line soldiers who rose up formed three forces to compete with each other. The old order has fallen apart, and the vast empire is mired in endless wars. If these people return home, they will only be driven to the battlefield with a leather whip, fighting an enemy who does not know where they came from, and eventually die in battle.

On the contrary, Shandong not only gave them extremely high salaries, but also related welfare guarantees. Because of Princess Anna, most of these Tiele soldiers enjoy the benefits of ordinary citizens in Shandong, and they can also buy cheap food and salt with tickets, and Shandong also provides them with Tiele diet that meets their own tastes. Over time, many of them even became sons-in-law in Shandong. In his bones, he has regarded himself as a Shandong person.

This war is not an obligation, but a kind of voluntariness, and it is the duty of these people to take up arms to protect their superior life. Anna rode a pony specially selected by Zhao Guanhou and galloped in front of the formation, and her superb equestrian skills won the cheers of the soldiers. After a few cheers, Anna grabbed the reins, raised her horn and shouted

"Warriors of Tieler! Who gave you a safe haven? Who saved you from being killed by traitors? Who is it that allows you to live a comfortable life and get a high salary without having to toss and turn in the flames of war every day? Who gave them white bread and vodka? You have a family, a career, and a pension and benefits in the future. Unfortunately, however, these things will soon be gone. Because Duan Zhiquan asked Shandong to implement unified standards throughout the country, it could not issue excessively high benefits, and took out this part of the funds to the government. What are we to do if they want to take your vodka and white bread and send you back to Tieler? ”

"Kill them! No one can take my vodka! Semenov drew his saber and yelled into the sky. Immediately afterwards, the roar was like thunder, rolling in, "Shandong is ours, no one can let us leave!" ”

Anna nodded, "Very good, I need you to show your abilities to prove that Tiele Warriors are not cowards who are bullied!" I want you to swear in the name of your ancestors that you will always be loyal to Guanshuai and destroy all those who try to challenge Guanshuai's authority, leaving no one behind! If you can do it, I'll give you enough vodka, and white bread! ”

"And, as you know, the Prussians also formed mercenaries, formed by the woman Hannah and her father, and the number of them was equal to ours. But they claimed that one Prussian could top five Tielers. Their mercenaries will play five times our record, you say, what should we do? ”

"Destroy all the enemy and let the Prussians eat ashes behind us!" The bloodthirsty and aggressive nature in the bones of the Tiele soldiers was stimulated, not to mention, where to put face when losing to the Prussians? What will the Prussians do in the future when they take away their welfare? In order to maintain their superior life, in order to ensure that they do not return to China to suffer, they also have to work hard.

In another camp, Reinstein looked at the total number of soldiers in front of him, which also exceeded 2,000. These people come from all over the world, from all over the world. He is not young, but he is full of energy. He said coldly:

"Salted fish, you are all eliminated garbage in your own country, bastards who should go to court-martials, shameful murderers, deserters. When you return home, you will all be hanged or go to work as coolies. In Shandong, you can stay in the position of commander and order batch after batch of soldiers to die. Only here can you live a human life like a decent person. If there is a change in the right of power in Shandong, you will be beaten back to the prototype and continue to beg in the tavern. So, I don't need to say much about how to choose. If one of us tries to betray ...... You say, "What punishment should be given to him?" ”

"Dig out his heart and drink his blood!" The mercenaries said in unison

"For the sake of the employer, for the sake of the gold coins, take out all your skills. I don't need you to charge like the Tielers and Prussian mercenaries, I just need you to play your due role in your own post. Remember our slogan, as long as the employer does not owe wages, the mercenary must be loyal! ”

Aid from Albion, Yankee and other countries also entered Shandong under the premise of relative concealment. Although on the surface, the Tessie and Western countries pursued the principle of neutrality and did not allow their own people to intervene in the Chinese civil war. But in reality, the merchants had obtained their permission in private, and smuggling without being detected did not violate the order.

Since the Battle of Shandong, Albion and Yankee have invested large sums of money in Shandong, and even though Duan Zhiquan Zhengfu has repeatedly said that this Chinese civil war will not affect the interests of various countries in China, few people are willing to believe it. With the exposure of Article 21, these countries have discovered that the Fusang people have great ambitions for China, and that Duan Zhiquan has a tendency to completely tilt towards Fusang and give up his interests in diplomacy.

With Rodley as the military correspondent of the Zhilu Alliance, Zhu Erdian's attitude is obvious, and other countries will follow suit. Capet took advantage of the Golden Franc clause and went all out to support Duan, not to play alone, but he could only control his own merchants. Like the Yankee, who was the last to make a move in the Tessie War and vaguely showed his strong national strength, he couldn't restrain him.

The military strength of these countries in China is not enough to affect the war situation, but after many years, it is more than enough to engage in some small means. Therefore, in order to protect their own interests, a large amount of grain, as well as weapons and ammunition eliminated after the Taixi War, were secretly transported to Shandong. Their respective forces in China are also quietly playing a role.

These businessmen are not lacking in adventurous spirit, and those who dare to do business in China are all bold and reckless, and they have foreign identity protection, even if they are discovered by Duan Zhiquan, they will not be good, at most they will protest. Therefore, smugglers are becoming more and more active.

In Xuzhou Station, several well-dressed Yankee businessmen introduced the goods on the train in front of the liaison officer of the Lu Army, who was in charge of contact.

"80,000 canned pork, guaranteed not expired, 20,000 bags of flour, anti-heatstroke, anti-malaria medicines, disinfectant, alcohol ......"

The liaison officer of the Lu army looked at the long manifest and nodded, and the merchant looked at the station, a large number of shirtless or only short coat coolies, who did not need leather whips and wooden sticks, took the initiative to move the goods, and were quite surprised

"Friend, how did you do that? Marshal Zhao's magic is becoming more and more incredible. You know, my friends in the capital told me about the situation there, and the porters there were making trouble...... SHIT！ Why is there such a thing in China? Even if someone went out to each of them for a piece of the ocean, he would not be able to recruit enough people to carry his poor cans. How many of them are? How much money did you pay? ”

The officer smirked, "If I say that we didn't pay anything, would you believe it?" He proudly pointed to these workers, "They all came to serve as transport soldiers voluntarily, and they did not ask for a penny." They are all the people of Xuzhou, and they don't want Xuzhou to leave Shandong to manage, so in order to safeguard the interests of Shandong, they voluntarily come to be masters. In fact, if you can go to the front line, you will find more people, using cattle and carts to help the Lu army transport military supplies. ”

"God, your marshal, must be the greatest wizard of this century. I believe that you will be the final winners in this war. It's not about forces or weapons, citizens have already made their choice, and it's already clear whether they win or lose. I'm going to send a telegram to my friend asking him to come to Shandong with his damn can to invest, instead of continuing to fight with the porters in the capital. ”

Unlike the businessman's calmness, the atmosphere in Xuzhou City was actually quite tense. The troops of the third division and one brigade of Anhui Province were in the area of Bengbu. The former salt inspection bureau set up in Shandong was banned and sealed, and the Lianghuai Salt Inspection Bureau set up in Yangzhou was also forced to close its doors.

Fu Liangfu telegraphed the whole country, stating that he swore to defend the communist system, crusade against the ministers, and demanded that Xuzhou Special City be under the jurisdiction of Anhui, and that the original officials should remain in office as a whole, and the treatment would not change, but they must obey the command of the government. Xuzhou Special City Commander is Zhang Yuan's chief of staff Wan Yingshi, but he did not follow the old master to surrender to Duan, but publicly issued a statement that Xuzhou only knows that there is a crown commander, but does not know the president, and the orders of the Anhui overseers have nothing to do with themselves.

After a few pen battles, Fu Liangfu faced this former Jin literati Wan Yingshi, and he couldn't get a bargain on the pen, so he had to use the gun to find a field. After all, Anhui has gathered a large number of troops, several times more than the defenders of Xuzhou. Moreover, the original Xuzhou garrison troops were also transferred to the front line in Baoding, and those who changed their guards were veterans temporarily mobilized by the Lu army.

Those veterans are either old or physically handicapped. However, Wan Yingshi has also followed Zhang Yuan for many years, and he is a person who has been in the army, and he does not dare to underestimate these old and weak soldiers. The momentum on those people is like a knife that has been tempered for many years, as long as it is unsheathed, I am afraid that it will see blood. Although he had two battalions of guards in his hands, he asked himself, these young men were not necessarily the opponents of these old pawns when they really fought.

In addition to these people, the railway soldiers who had previously maintained law and order in Xuzhou to investigate and protect the railway, and the cantonment regiment responsible for reclamation in the Haizhou area, had already carried out wartime mobilization. They were originally soldiers, and with their weapons in hand, they could soon go to the battlefield. Instead of defending with weak troops, they took the initiative to attack, and the forward troops took the initiative to attack, and under the leadership of Su Wenhu, the known outlaw general, the troops entered Jiangsu and occupied Haizhou.

According to the Lu army officer, this is called active defense, and you can't be beaten with your head bored. In Wan Yingshi's view, this should actually be called the defense of expulsion, fighting for wealth. After all, Haizhou is famous for its salt profits, and the Lu Army's salt inspection department was forcibly closed down not long ago.

Although Haizhou is the territory of Jiangsu, most of the salt traders there are Anhui salt merchants, and everyone has a rich net worth. Originally, the troops in this kind of place would not be without combat power, but the officer who defended Haizhou was actually an obsession with Xiao Afeng, and was rebelled by her words. As soon as the troops arrived, they immediately surrendered their guns and opened the city, and none of these gentry could escape, and they all became guests of the Lu army. But it is not easy for this guest to be a guest, and most of them cannot return to their hometowns if they don't pay 35,000 yuan for meals per person.

Those who can do the salt business have a relationship, and many salt merchants have their hands and eyes, and the relationship can lead to Duan Zhiquan's side. In front of Fu Liangfu, there were also many gentry who came to cry and cry Qin Ting, asking him to send troops quickly and rescue the merchant first.

Since Ni Jichong went into the field, Fu Liangfu took over the throne of the overseer, and brought two divisions of troops to escort him, so his majesty was naturally there. Zhu Jiabao's talented class was above Fu Liangfu, but he couldn't control the troops, so he was soon squeezed by Fu Liangfu and resigned.

Fu thinks that he is the overseer and the head of the province, and his authority is not inferior to that of Ni Jichong that day, but his courage is far smaller than Ni's cannon, and militarily, he relies on Lei Zhendong, one of the thirteen Taibao of Hong Xian.

He had already received the decisive battle order from Zhengfu, and the troops were also assembling towards the border, and the momentum was very strong, but when it came to fighting, he had no bottom in his heart. When the salt merchants in Haizhou were in trouble, they were embarrassed not to help them based on their friendship. The question is, help ...... But it's not that easy.

"Lao Lei, you tell me the truth, how sure are you in fighting with the Lu army." In the secret room, Fu Liangfu pulled Lei Zhendong with a sincere face, according to his identity and status, after Hong Xian's defeat, Lei was one of the culprits, and the opposition wanted to get its leader quickly.

If it weren't for Duan Zhiquan's protection, his head would have to be moved, and Fu Liangfu, the Duan Department of the Four King Kongs, would not be able to be calculated. The other party is willing to hand over such a boldness, he should be grateful. But the problem is that this question has been asked ten times, and no matter how good Lei Zhendong's patience is, he will inevitably get angry.

"Zuo Shuai, do you want me to write you a military order?" His voice couldn't help but get louder, "I have already sent troops to reconnoitre, and the one occupying Haizhou is only a battalion of the Lu army, and our three divisions and one brigade can't solve a battalion?" Shame isn't that a shame, right? On the front line of Xuzhou, the Lu army only has old and weak soldiers and second- and third-line troops, and their combat effectiveness is very poor. ”

"yes...... I believe in General Lei's ability, and it will not be a problem to solve the Lu army. However...... "Fu Liangfu coughed twice, "But, in case he is defeated...... The consequences are unimaginable. We are now maintaining our troops, we can confront the Lu army, in case the front line is defeated, and the Lu army takes advantage of the situation to counterattack, we may have to lose Anhui, that responsibility is too great. Besides, behind us, there are two divisions of the Lu army......"

He was naturally referring to the two divisions of the Lu Army stationed in Hunan and Hubei, Lei Zhendong said: "On the Sichuan side, dozens of divisions have been gathered to attack Yichang, and even if the two divisions of the Lu Army go together, they may not be able to hold it, where will they have the spare strength to attack us?" The soldiers are fast, and if they are late, they will change, in case the Lu army gets support......"

"Yes, you also said that if the Lu army still has support, then our attack will not become an attack?" Fu Liangfu decisively grasped the language disease in Lei Zhendong's words

"This battle is a matter of great importance, involving friendly and neighboring forces in various provinces, and when the profits are shared in the future, there will inevitably be a conflict of interest. Whoever has more capital, whose voice will be louder, we are in our hands, and we can't waste it. In my opinion, the best thing to do right now is to ...... Confront the Lu army. Use our troops to contain the Lu army so that it cannot reinforce the frontal battlefield. As long as our army succeeds in the frontal battlefield, we can rest assured that we can attack boldly, and we will definitely be faster than them when we enter Shandong from Xuzhou. When the time comes, we will lose the least and make the most profits. Remember, we must not only destroy the Lu army, but also preserve our strength. If we rush forward now, it is very likely that the friendly forces will benefit, and this kind of thing cannot be done, notify the front line, stand still, and wait for the next order from the superiors. ”