Twenty-four mountain artillery pieces were placed on the spot, and groups of wagons brought ammunition to the artillery positions. The rain is still pouring down, and the rainy season in North Korea is far from over. The mountains around Ruixing Mansion were muddy, and the heavily loaded horses were neighing loudly, struggling to support their hind legs and pulling hard, and the drivers were waving their whips and shouting loudly, and the Praetorian Guard soldiers who were rolling like mud monkeys were crowded on both sides of the carriage, and they were also desperately pushing the wheels.

Heavy rain will undoubtedly cause more hindrance to the attacking side. Under the Ruixing Mansion, the exhausted Janissaries Left Association has been withdrawn and repaired, and the Right Association of the Janissaries, which has been transferred from Pyongyang, Anju, and from the Eastern Front, has taken over and entered the position, and a large number of artillery has been transferred over, and ammunition has also been concentrated here. Now the guards in the Pyongyang area are already recruits from the second town of the Janissaries. The second town of the Praetorian Guard is also the formation of four standards and twelve battalions, and there are four battalions transferred to the base of the Beiyang Naval Division, and there are two more battalions in Anzhou, and two battalions have been disbanded as supplementary soldiers to the Left Association of the Praetorian Guard.

Xu Yifan had already gathered all the troops that could be drawn and was ready to launch the final blow on the Fifth Division.

Whether it was him, the town staff headquarters, the officers and soldiers of the Praetorian Guard, and the German advisory group, the opinions were all unanimous. Fighting on the inside line is to break the opponent's main force one by one. Only by seeking complete results can we rest assured that we can switch troops and give full play to our superiority in internal operations. The Fifth Division will be destroyed!

In addition to these military views, Xu Yifan is also a little selfish, he needs a complete and complete victory to make his status and reputation to the next level!

After two days of adjustment and preparation, all units have gradually entered their positions. These troops from the Right Association looked in awe at the battlefield that the Left Association had fought all the way, and there were corpses everywhere, and many of the mountains that had been repeatedly fought over had been scorched to the ground. The senior officer corps of the Left Association is the Beiyang student soldiers pulled out by Xu Yifan, and the senior officer corps of the Right Association is the officers represented by the naval division department, and they all think that they have better training, a more complete understanding of military science, and more experience. For Xu Yifan, the battle must be pulled to the left association as a pioneer, and they are a little slandered.

Now the Left Association has opened the perimeter of Ruixing Mansion and weakened the Fifth Division to a certain extent. Xu Yifan finally handed over such a big credit to them, and the left association said that everyone was excited, and it was light, and he was so grateful!

Therefore, the entire battlefield was a scene of full soldiers and horses, and although the torrential rain was heavy, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the officers and men of the Right Union of the Praetorian Guard in the slightest.

An officer of the Right Association, whose dark complexion indicated that he was a scholar officer from Nanyang, was pushing the wheels up the mountain with the soldiers, and the movements of the soldiers around him suddenly stopped, and one by one turned their heads to the bottom of the hills. He was stunned for a moment, and was about to curse, when he heard the soldiers whispering to each other: "It's Lord Xu!" Lord Xu is here to inspect us! ”

Xu Yifan rode a tall white horse (which was a bit of a bad taste...... With dozens of heavily armed Goshkha, they walked through the battlefield, and everywhere they went, every officer and soldier recognized the young minister who had been running with them in full armor. At first, he still stood and saluted, but later, I don't know who took off his military hat first and cheered at him, and the cheers rang out one by one, and finally became one: "Lord Xu!" Lord Xu! ”

It was Xu Yifan who led them to Haidong, it was Xu Yifan who cultivated them into an army, it was Xu Yifan who gave them the best equipment, and it was Xu Yifan who brought them this victory!

Xu Yifan was in a straight military uniform and sat on a horse. His patrol was originally intended to boost morale. The rain was pouring down, drenching him and Goshha behind him, and at first he threw the cloak that Pu Yang had sent him to the ground. Now it seems that the effect is really obvious, and thousands of tiger ben, such as Lin bayonets, are cheering for him!

The same is true for the husband.

The shouts of the soldiers came in waves, and there was no time to stop. The North Koreans seemed to see something in the cheers and the eager eyes of the soldiers and officers, and they were prostrate in the muddy water one by one. Needless to say, Xu Yifan couldn't help but return the salute with a solemn expression. One by one, those goshkha also held their chests high, carrying their guns on their backs, and not squinting. Looking up, everyone was tightly tied with their belts, and their sleeves were rolled up to reveal their strong arms. It's really a bit of the sharpest guard posture around Xu Yifan!

The group of horses cheered and went straight up to the hill where the artillery position was located, and looked at the wagons carrying ammunition that were still struggling in the muddy water. Xu Yifan's mind moved, turned over and dismounted, rolled up his sleeves and joined the team of the cart: "Brothers, work hard, the end of the little devil is just around the corner!" ”

As soon as he made a move, the Goshha behind him were still idle, and all the saddled horses and joined the queue. There is a lot of strength in people, and the carriage rolls up after three times and five divided by two. A group of officers ran down from the hills, and the leader was Chen Jinping, the commander of the Right Association: "My lord, how can this be worthy?" It's dangerous here, so please go back! ”

Xu Yifan patted the mud on his body and smiled: "Everyone is two eggs and one gun, you can do it, I will become Miss Jiao?" The tragic situation of the devil, I won't come to see it, just enjoy it? What a reason! ”

A large group of officers and guards surrounded Xu Yifan and went straight up to the hill as an artillery position, and when he was about to get up to the ridge line of the hill, Xu Yifan suddenly turned around, met thousands of eager eyes, took off his military hat, waved heavily at the officers and soldiers covering the field, and then half-turned and pointed straight to the south!

There was silence below, and then the earth-shattering cheers sounded again: "Lord Xu! We don't hold back! ”

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Artillery positions are placed on the hills, and the mountain artillery muzzles are only three thousand meters away from the city wall of Ruixing Mansion. Even with heavy rain and poor visibility, the final point of the 5th Division was clearly discernible. Dense trenches had been dug around the city walls, and the rain poured into them, filling the trenches with muddy water, and I don't know how deep they were. The gates of the city have been sealed, the low walls have been reinforced with civil engineering, almost all the houses in the city have been demolished, and all the materials available to strengthen the fortifications have been used. Everyone stood on the battle position, rarely moved, and was as silent as a dead city.

More than 2,000 remnants of the army are ready to defend here, and Xu Yifan has already opened the back road to the south for them. But these devils show no signs of retreating.

In the heavy rain, Xu Yifan held the binoculars and observed for a long time, and only after a while did he gently spit out a few words: "I want to die...... Not easy? ”

Those officers of Goshha and the Right Association, intentionally or unintentionally, always stood in front of him, Pu Yang looked even more nervous, pricking up his ears to listen to the sound of cannonballs breaking through the air, once there was a slight sound, Xu Yifan would be suppressed immediately.

Chen Jinping was also a little nervous: "My lord, the terrain is like this." Adults better go down early, I'm here to pat my chest with you, these devils, right Xiebao hit! ”

Xu Yifan smiled, turned his head sideways and asked, "How long?" ”

Chen Jinping calculated: "Today, August 22, the general attack order of the General Staff Headquarters is August 23...... My lord, before the 25th of August, I will bring you the leader of the devils. Are you going to die or live? ”

Xu Yifan waved his hand: "On August 24th, I will end the battle." ”

Chen Jinping was stunned, the six battalions attacked the strong fortifications of the Yue army, and Xu Yifan's artillery construction was limited to time, and it was only field artillery, and there was no siege heavy artillery. Even if the Fifth Division is already exhausted, it will still be necessary to gnaw them out, why does Lord Xu only give one day? His mind turned, and he asked in a low voice, "My lord, is there something wrong with the Eastern Front?" ”

This sentence can be regarded as asking Xu Yifan's heart, and concentrating troops to the maximum extent means temporarily giving up control over other parties. But with his strength, there is no choice. Now all he's worried about is what will happen on the Eastern Front! The line from Pyongyang to Anju that Nie Shicheng covered was the retreat and supply line of the Praetorian Guards. Although the current supply is also quite limited, at this time, the land supply is expensive and can be transported less, and most of the old foundations he uses to fight the war are the old foundations that he has been desperately storing for more than a year. But as an army, it doesn't feel like there's always a way to be cut off from all sides. Especially as a new army of the Praetorian Guard, I am afraid that the high morale and combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.

What's more, if there is any contingency on the Eastern Front, it will disrupt his overall strategic arrangement! He needs to be in a position where he can advance and retreat freely, and deal with the enemy one by one, and not be pushed under the nose by the other side!

However, as a superior, he must not have the slightest wavering doubt in the eyes of his subordinates. From the beginning to the end, the biggest pressure is that he bears it alone!

Hearing Chen Jinping ask rhetorically, he just smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Anlan...... Where were you when the Sailor was defeated? ”

The battle of Zhiyuan and the martyrdom of Deng Shichang are the eternal pain in the hearts of these former subordinates. In the heavy rain, Chen Jinping was silent: "My subordinates are in the back of Pyongyang...... At that time, I couldn't wait to be able to represent Lord Deng. ”

Xu Yifan also restrained his expression, and pointed to the Ruixing Mansion opposite: "The opportunity for revenge is right in front of you!" I swore at that time that a ship on the Zhiyuan would cost the lives of 10,000 devils. There is also Jingyuan, Yangwei, super brave...... If you don't clean up here quickly, how can you transfer troops to kill more devils? There are a lot of enemies, if you want to kill more, you need to hurry! And then with me to the world! ”

One sentence aroused Chen Jinping's already high fighting spirit, and he wiped the rain on his face violently: "It's August 24!" The subordinates will win and send them to the adults' horses with their own hands! ”

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Lushun, at the foot of the Golden Mountain.

The night was dark and raining heavily. The sea is very turbulent and undulating. The wind carried the rain and mist, forming white mist on the surging waves, and the lights of the vigil on the fort flickered and dimmed.

"Lord Yang, my subordinates have also been sent here...... The wind and waves are so strong, do you want to take a break and wait for the wind and rain to stop before going to sea? ”

On the beach, a group of people wearing tarpaulin cloaks are bidding farewell to them. There was a small steamer on the sea, which was rising and falling with the waves, and the sailors on board were braving the heavy rain to fix the rigging, and occasionally glanced at the sea, and their faces were a little hasty.

This Lord Yang, who came from Tianjin in a hurry, looks like a literati, but he is really bold enough. Not only braved the wind and waves, sailed to Lushun in the dark, and did not breathe, but also crossed the sea at night under such a climate and went straight to the Iron Mountain in North Korea!

They had a bad fate, so they sent such an envoy to the point. Even if you don't meet the devil's cruiser ship, it's hard to say if you will be able to reach it or not!

Seeing off Yang Shixiang was Gong Zhaoyu, a member of the Beiyang Coastal Water and Land Camp Office, as an official who had been floating and sinking in Beiyang for more than ten years. He also brought this position to this position for this war. It turned out that he was nothing more than the general manager of the Lushun dockyard affairs, and he was a civil official in the affairs through and through. During the First Sino-Japanese War, the Navy Division had already retreated back to Weihai, and although the Land Division had also transferred a few battalion leaders, no one was willing to come out to take charge. No one could afford to be defeated in the war, and finally he was brought out! He was also trembling, walking on thin ice, and asked Li Hongzhang several times to send a large number of officers to Lushun to sit in the town, or to hand over his position to the generals of the Lu Division. But the Beiyang Center has been messed up, who cares about him. He had no choice but to accept his fate as this official who was sent to death.

Yang Shixiang arrived last night, he thought that Zhongtang was kind and asked Yang Lianfang to pick up his position, but he didn't expect that this Yang Shixiang was like crazy, and he was actually going to smuggle to Tieshan in North Korea overnight!

Holding Yang Shixiang's hand, I don't know if I was worried about his safety, or thinking of his unpredictable future, Gong Zhaoyu's tears were about to fall.

At this time, Yang Shixiang was wearing a cloak, and he just raised his eyes to look at the Golden Mountain Fort above his head. He asked in a low voice, "The guards are from the Praetorian Guard, right?" ”

Gong Zhaoyu was busy defending: "This is Ding Junmen's moderation!" Brother also took this messenger to understand the beginning and end, I really don't know before! ”

Yang Shixiang smiled faintly, in the heavy rain night, his face was haggard, and his eyes were red: "It's okay to guard them...... Brother, before the news of North Korea came, Lushun must not be lost! Brother said something in front, if we alone Beiyang have one defeat report after another, and other places are still Chuanjie, the responsible Beiyang members, Zhongtang will want their heads! ”

A threatening word frightened Gong Zhaoyu's face even paler. Even Yang Shixiang, a graceful and elegant Beiyang think-tank, took this kind of risk and didn't know what to do, if Li Zhongtang wanted to cut off people's heads, it was really more than just talking!

Slow down...... Yang Lianfang's words meant that if there was news of the defeat from other places, if something happened to them here in Lushun, the responsibility would be much smaller?

They are all people who have been rolling in officialdom for so long, and their ability to obey the deep meaning is first-class. Gong Zhaoyu looked at Yang Shixiang suspiciously, his eyes rolling around. Yang Shixiang smiled faintly, patted the back of his hand, and said the most heart-wrenching words: "Brother Gong, do you think my brother is crazy?" Brother, this is not for our Beiyang to run! Success or failure doesn't matter if you lose your reputation. Leaving Beiyang, we people are nothing wow! Brothers have been by Zhongtang's side for so many years, and they are famous all over the world, but they are also complaining all over the world! At this point, it's hard to retreat...... How many people follow Beiyang and have the right to eat and drink, and my brother is running for these people who can't let go of this position! Today's wind and waves are so big, I still have to give up this life to move forward, I am afraid that I will be one step late, and I will not be able to meet the people I should meet in Iron Mountain! ”

After that, he just gave his hand, turned around and got on the little steamer. The machine of the steamer was already full, spewing black smoke, and it was about to raise the anchor and fight with the wind and waves, Gong Zhaoyu stood there blankly, just giving his hands. Yang Shixiang turned around again, put his hands to his mouth, and shouted with all his strength: "Dude! Today is August 22, before August 30, if there is a change in Lushun, you have to hold on to anything! Lushun area, don't miss it! ”

Gong Zhaoyu was full of cleverness, and shouted back loudly: "Before August 30, what will happen?" ”

Yang Shixiang didn't answer again, turned around and got out of the cabin.

The people on the shore all watched stupidly as the little steamer set sail and disappeared into the storm. The waves crash on the shore, the wind and rain howl, and everyone's heart is cold.

This steamer has carved a straight route to the southeast on the sea, heading straight for the Iron Mountain, which is not far from the mouth of the Yalu River, and will be able to reach it before dawn if nothing else......

Hundreds of nautical miles away from this steamer, there is another huge fleet and a group of ships, which are heading straight for Dalian Bay in the opposite direction to it! It is also before dawn that they can reach the destination of their cross-sea attack!

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"Zhongtang!" The door of the signing room was kicked open suddenly, and I saw Zhang Peilun trembling with anger, holding a newspaper and rushing in.

The Beiyang officials who had already gathered in the signing room had come and gone, and when they heard this movement, they all stopped moving, just watching Zhang Peilun rush straight in.

Li Hongzhang sat behind the official case, he had already cleaned up the depressed old state in his inner house study, and sat there with a solemn expression, holding a pen and approving the official documents. Seeing Zhang Peilun coming in, he was also stunned: "Youqiao, what's wrong?" ”

Zhang Peilun's face was pale, and he waved his hand: "Go out!" ”

He used to be the minister of the Qincha, the leader of the Qingliu in the court, and now he is the son-in-law of Li Hongzhang. Ordinary Beiyang wingmen, there is really no one who dares to argue with him. In the past, Zhang Peilun was elegant and elegant, and he did not participate in the specific affairs of Beiyang. Now that it is so powerful, everyone is ready to quit.

Li Hongzhang slapped the public case and shouted with a straight face: "Youqiao, why are you so frivolous? My visa room is also a place for you to mess around? Lose your temper and go somewhere else! It's all here, see what he has to say! ”

Those Beiyang wingmen all stopped, and they didn't leave, they didn't stay, and they couldn't tell the embarrassment. Who knows what your father-in-law and son-in-law are doing together, and this business should also be judged by our subordinates?

Zhang Peilun glanced at it and slapped the newspaper on the table: "Why did the imperial court send a newspaper to say that it was played by the Zhongtang and transferred Ye Zhichao and Wei Rugui to return to Beijing by land before leaving the Pyongyang army?" Zhongtang, did you really approve Yang Lianfang's idea of losing his conscience? ”

Li Hongzhang's face changed greatly, he picked up the newspaper and hurriedly looked at it twice, and shouted: "Lianfang mistook me!" ”

Zhang Peilun sneered: "Didn't you send that fold in the middle hall?" ”

Li Hongzhang was already sitting there, unable to say a word. Zhang Peilun looked at him fixedly, and suddenly arched his hand: "Zhongtang, Yang Lianfang is forcing you to a dead end!" Even if Zhongtang doesn't know about this, this room is full of ......"

He pointed around, gritted his teeth and continued loudly: "...... That's them! It is this Beiyang group that you raised with your own hands in Zhongtang! For decades, the group has become unbreakable. The only way to consider anything is to start from this group, and completely ignore the righteousness as nothing! Without them, they form a joint force...... Even if Yang Lianfang did all this thing, without the support of these Beiyang vested interest groups, could Yang Lianfang have the courage to risk the name of Zhongtang? Without their support, Yang Lianfang could get the defense of the middle hall from the hands of the palm seal division? I'm afraid that Zhongtang will also turn a blind eye to it, and you want to stop it but you haven't stopped it! Zhongtang, this is a national war! ”

With that, he flicked his sleeves violently and turned around to leave.

"Where are you going? Young wood? ”

Zhang Peilun looked back and smiled bitterly: "Zhongtang, Beiyang is already in the twilight, this boat, those who have seen it early should jump off." Private friendship is private friendship, I have repaid Zhongtang inexhaustibly in this life, I can only go to Xu Yifan to remedy the things behind Zhongtang! Only in this way is to talk about repaying virtue! ”

Li Hongzhang stopped him softly, his face was pale, and he said in a low voice: "Youqiao, I'll transfer a steamer for you, fly the British flag, and let you get to Pyongyang as soon as possible...... I'm too old to live without this boat. When I saw Xu Yifan, tell him, I, Old Man Li, see what he can do! ”

Zhang Peilun smiled and arched his hand, shook it to the ground, and turned around.

There was silence in the signing room, Li Hongzhang had a pale face, and approved another official document, as if everything was as usual. After this official document was approved, he suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood, and those Beiyang officials who were holding their breath rushed up: "Zhongtang!" Nave! ”

Li Hongzhang stood up by vomiting blood and patting the table, and the corners of his mouth were still red: "Okay...... I, Li Hongzhang, achieved Beiyang, and finally destroyed in Beiyang, what a success! That's great! ”

(To be continued)