Shangli County, 32 kilometers north of Pingxiang, is located in the midst of thousands of mountains and ravines, the traffic is inconvenient, the population is sparse, and the place is not a business hub and a place where soldiers must fight, so it has been unknown for thousands of years, and only the production of fireworks and firecrackers that has been inherited for a hundred years is well-known in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.

It was not until the establishment of the Han Yeping Company that the foreign engineer hired by Zhang Zhidong, the leader of the Westernization faction, with a high salary, discovered that there were huge coal mines and lead mines in Shangli, and Shangli, which was far away from the world and like a paradise, finally became famous, and the mining of coal, iron and lead and zinc led to the development and prosperity of Shangli.

Due to the collusion between the local powerful and the officials to monopolize the resources, the people of Shangli did not get any benefits, but became the object of plunder and oppression between the government and the powerful and powerful, and the resentment that had been pressed in the hearts of the people for thousands of years was almost on the verge of exploding, but under the bloody and cruel suppression of the ruling class, the entire Shangli territory was quite stable.

But centuries of stability were finally shattered on a sunny afternoon during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the people's thousands of years of humiliation and resentment were ignited on this afternoon.

Yuan Chongxi, the head of the teaching regiment from the Sichuan Army Crash School, stood at the foot of the Fozi Ridge in the east of Shangli City, silently overlooking the small city that had been surrounded by more than 3,600 officers and soldiers of the headquarters, and was silent for a long time.

He Yuxing, a regimental deputy from the Sichuan Army's Accelerated School, was waiting quietly in the dilapidated Buddha Temple, while a strong soldier kept turning the crank of a hand-cranked generator, and two communications staff officers were working on a high-power radio station.

He Yuxuan read the telegram and hurried out, climbed the stone post in front of the temple, and handed the telegram to Yuan Chongxi, who was bearded: "The headquarters has replied to the telegram, asking us to take possession of it, strictly reorganize the training, and wait for the order. ”

Yuan Chongxi grinned after reading it, revealing his teeth full of yellowed smoke, and his deep sunken eyes showed a look of helplessness: "It seems that we don't need to go south to Guangdong." ”

He Yuxuan nodded: "We quietly changed clothes in Daye, and immediately went south, all the way was day and night, turning around, and finally got rid of the tracking of a regiment of the Hubei army and the interception of a brigade of Li Chun's department, and did not make a name for himself when he arrived in Pingxiang, but on the way south, he suddenly received an order to sneak north and seize Shangli

"Imagine, the order of the headquarters has been changed as many as three times, and I think that if it is not for the problem with Chief Liu Zicheng, or the situation in Hunan has changed, it is estimated that we will not be able to go to Guangdong, and we will not have to be a revolutionary party."

"Wouldn't that be better? Originally, all the brothers were reluctant to go south to Guangdong to support the revolutionary party, and if it weren't for the sake of Chief Liu Zicheng's face, you and I would not have agreed to the commander-in-chief to lead his troops south. It is estimated that in the next step, the commander-in-chief will transfer our lone army to the Hunan battlefield. ”

After speaking, Yuan Chongxi felt a sense of relief.

He Yuxin pointed to the entrance to the city in front of him: "Look, the ground snake has finally bowed its head." ”

Yuan Chongxi looked at the more than ten squires and several local officers in blue military uniforms who were escorted in front of him, smiled, and jumped off the stone post:

"Isn't that nice? Save us from wasting bullets in the siege, and it seems that the brethren will finally be able to sleep well tonight. ”

Half an hour later, the Sichuan Army Teaching Regiment, which had expanded to seven battalions, took over the defense of Shangli in an all-round way.

More than 100 local militia groups in the city were disarmed, the three major mining companies were seized, the courtyards of the county magistrate and seven squires were also blocked, and the officers and men of the teaching regiment, who had been sleeping in the open for more than 20 days, occupied Shangli without bloodshed, and not only received a large amount of military pay and food, but also finally had a place to stay.

More importantly, this lone army hidden behind Zhang Jingyao's department of the Beiyang Army not only has its whereabouts erratic, but also its total strength and weaponry far exceed the understanding of the surrounding armies, and its combat effectiveness is also seriously underestimated, but once the news of Shangli's occupation spreads, I am afraid that Zhang Jingyao in Yuezhou and Li Chun in Nanchang will not be able to sleep, who dares to guarantee that this small Sichuan army like a rogue will not stab itself in the back?

Three days later, the news of the occupation of Shangli by more than 1,000 Sichuan troops who left Daye finally reached Li Chun's hands, and the stunned Li Chun looked at the map for a long time, and under the advice of his master and adjutant, he repeatedly weighed the pros and cons, and finally decisively sent the information to Zhang Jingyao, who commanded the Hunan armies, and reported the situation to Duan Qirui in Yanjing, and then ordered the third brigade of the Jiangxi army stationed in Pingxiang to quell the chaos, only need to closely monitor the direction of Shangli, block the traffic arteries from Shangli to Wanzai and Yichun, and do not take the initiative to attack the Sichuan army occupying Shangli.

Zhang Jingyao was picking up the wind and washing the dust for Cao Kun and others, who led his troops to Yuezhou, when he received Li Chun's report, he was taken aback, and he was no longer in the mood to drink wine and eat meat.

Cao Kun didn't dare to hold it up after reading the telegram, after all, 70 miles north of Shangli was Liuyang, where the army was empty, and 80 miles southwest was Liling, which had fallen into the hands of the 3rd Division of Tan Yanmin's Hunan Army.

Thinking of the stern warning of Xiao Yimin, commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army before leaving Wuhan and leading his troops into Hunan, Cao Kun and Zhang Jingyao began to have headaches, and Li Chun specially reminded in the call:

The Sichuan army of this department seized all the weapons of the Pingxiang garrison regiment in a surprise attack, and issued an unknown number of weapons to the Pingxiang miners who were bewitched by the chaotic party, instigated strikes, plundered the public treasury, and marched away with an unknown number of rebel miners before the arrival of the Jiangxi army's counterinsurgency army.

The quiet and vast scenery of the cave under the moonlight was no longer attractive, so Cao Kun and Zhang Jingyao ended the banquet after a brief discussion, and returned to the yamen of the city together for urgent discussion.

After carefully reviewing the map and confirming the location of the Sichuan army and the possible route of the march, Zhang Jingyao solemnly asked Cao Kun's opinion: "What should I do?" You can't just leave this nail there and ignore it, right? ”

Cao Kun still didn't think clearly, and under the gaze of Zhang Jingyao and the generals, he had to express his opinion:

"I definitely can't stay, but if I want to fight, it's very troublesome, who should I send to fight? How many people are sure to go? We don't know anything about this sudden Sichuan army, but this Sichuan army knows us, and I'm sure it must have been a deliberate move by Xiao Yimin. ”

Speaking of this, Cao Kun's heart suddenly brightened, he pulled the map on the table, stretched out his thick fingers, and knocked on Liling:

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is Li Zhonglin's third division newly formed by the Hunan army stationed in Liling, this Sichuan army can attack Liuyang, where our army is stationed, and retreat to Liling, and join forces with Li Zhonglin to make another plot, but as long as they don't leave for a day, they will always threaten our eastern battlefield.

"However, it is difficult for us to eliminate this elusive Sichuan army on our own, and we don't even dare to guarantee that this Sichuan army will remain in Shangli at the moment, only by asking Li Xiushan in Nanchang to cooperate, after all, this Sichuan army is entrenched in Li Xiushan's defense area, no matter how unwilling he is to send troops, he can't shirk his responsibility."

Zhang Jingyao beat the drum in his heart.

Cao Kun and Li Chun have a very good relationship, both of them are direct generals, and now Cao Kun leads the two main divisions to spread out mightily, but he puts the responsibility of eliminating this Sichuan army on himself and Li Chun, and the last few sentences show a clear attitude of standing by and watching, this abnormal move has to make Zhang Jingyao, who sees that his military power is not guaranteed, be vigilant.

Again, Li Chun was the first to discover this Sichuan army, he ignored it himself, and instead called Duan Qirui, the old governor of the Anhui department, to decide, could there be any conspiracy here?

Zhang Jingyao, whose brain was spinning rapidly, stared at the map with a sad face, but without saying a word, Cao Kun and his chief of staff Xiong Bingqi glanced at each other, and could only shake their heads helplessly.

In the end, Zhang Jingyao also came to a Tai Chi pusher, and under the pretext that he needed to send personnel to reconnoiter to confirm the whereabouts and number of the Sichuan army before making a decision, he ended his first meeting with Cao Kun.

Zhang Jingyao, who returned to the mansion, quietly issued an order for a regiment stationed in Liuyang to quietly retreat north to avoid a possible sneak attack by the Sichuan army at any time.

However, this order was still too late after all, and when Zhang Jingyao dictated the order, more than 3,000 Sichuan troops had quietly arrived outside Liuyang City.

(To be continued)