With the guards on the war horse, Zhao Bei first walked west, then turned around and headed north, through the farmland, and galloped towards Qintai. But when they were still a few miles away from the Qintai, they saw a team retreating to the south in a hurry.

"Dismount!" Zhao Bei sighed, turned over and dismounted, and stood on the ridge with his hands behind his back, while Tian Jinfu led the guards to stop the soldiers who were dispersing, gathered them up and asked, it was the army that attacked Qintai, and the commander was Deng Gang of the Qunzhi Society.

"What about your commander? What about Deng Gang? Zhao Bei asked the soldiers one by one, but he didn't get an answer, and when he was annoyed, he heard Tian Jinfu shouting behind him.

"There! Deng just came over! ”

Zhao Bei turned his head to look, and sure enough, he saw a group of officers and soldiers dragging their guns to this side, and snorted coldly at the moment.

"Tian Jinfu, wait for Deng Gang to come over, unload his gun and bring it to me."

After speaking, he stepped aside and commanded the entire team of routs to assemble.

"Deng Gang, I have seen the commander-in-chief." Deng Gang's voice sounded rather depressed behind him.

Zhao Bei turned around and took a look, and saw that Deng Gang's head was wrapped in bandages, his left arm was also hanging from his shoulder, and his military uniform was stained with mud and blood.

Zhao Bei asked with a calm face, "How many shots?" ”

Deng Gang pointed to his shoulder, then to his head, and said, "I was shot in the shoulder, and my forehead was cut by shrapnel from a shell." ”

"Does it hurt?" Zhao Bei asked again.

Deng Gang hung his head and didn't dare to speak, but the sound of cold air couldn't hide it, he was shot in the shoulder, and he didn't use anesthetic, of course, he was sweating in pain.

"You know it hurts, too! Don't they know it hurts! Zhao Bei raised his hand and pointed at those defeated soldiers and scolded loudly. Deng Gang! Look up! Which of these soldiers, these officers, was not wounded? It's all thanks to you! My battle plan is fire reconnaissance, tactical containment, not charge! What the hell are you doing? How did Yang Wangpeng give you orders? ”

"It's none of Commander Yang's business, it's me who ordered the attack." Deng Gang raised his head, but when he met Zhao Bei's devouring gaze, he immediately lowered his head. "But I didn't expect that the enemy army in Qintai had four machine guns, and the artillery of Guishan and Hanyang also opened artillery to help the battle, and our attack failed to succeed several times."

"You kid is really good, one person does things and one person does it! Dare to charge with bayonets without artillery cover, you think you are an invulnerable King Kong? Zhao Bei sneered, resisting the urge to go up and slap twice. You have to thank Zhu Daniu, you have to thank the special operations battalion! If it weren't for them blowing up the shells hoarded by the Beiyang Army at the station, you kid would have been dismantled by the shells a long time ago, so Lao Tzu wouldn't have to talk nonsense about you now. I ask you, how many of your 2,000 soldiers are left? ”

Deng Gang was silent.

Zhao Bei didn't allow him to pretend to be dumb, and said hatefully: "I'll tell you!" There are less than 500 people still standing here! Half of them are drawn! In just four hours, 2,000 people beat you into 500 people, and you lost a half of Lao Tzu at once! Don't think that if you also hang up the lottery, Lao Tzu won't bother with you. A soldier's life is also a life, and fighting a war is about bravery, but it doesn't mean that you can squander a soldier's life at will! You kid doesn't care about Lao Tzu charging alone, but if you let the soldiers give you their lives in exchange for applause, Lao Tzu will be the first to refuse! ”

It is no wonder that Zhao Bei is angry, the second echelon commanded by Yang Wangpeng is adapted from the ninth town of the original Jiangsu New Army, and some patrol battalions are mixed, although they are not as well-trained as the Beiyang Army, but in the end they have also received formal military training, and their combat effectiveness is much higher than that of the Revolutionary Guards, which is considered the elite unit of the Republican Army, but now Deng Gang's mind is hot, and he has killed more than 1,000 people, and everyone who is replaced will have to run wild.

Seeing that the commander-in-chief was angry, Deng Gang was speechless, and several officers standing behind hesitated for a moment, and finally stood up alone, standing side by side with Deng Gang, saluting Zhao Bei, and saying, "The commander-in-chief is angry." After the second charge failed, Chief Deng ordered a retreat, but he didn't want the Beiyang Army to hide two machine guns on the flanks of the main position, and suddenly opened fire when our troops retreated, which caused heavy casualties. ”

"You don't have to intercede with him!" Zhao Bei waved his hand. "On the surface, it seems that he just ordered a strong attack without authorization, but in essence, he is disobeying military orders! The revolutionary army is a new force, and I will never tolerate the old style of the army, if the subordinates can change the battle plan of the superiors at will, then there is no need to fight this battle, because such an army is simply sent to death on the battlefield! Such a meaningless battle death, you are willing, I am not! Tian Jinfu! ”

"Here!" Tian Jinfu had already led a few guards to stand aside, and when he heard Zhao Bei calling him, he hurriedly stepped forward and saluted.

"Tear off his military badge! From now on, Deng Gang, you are no longer a member of the Republican Army! Zhao Bei ordered expressionlessly. At present, the Republican Army has not yet been formally reorganized, and officers have no rank, and they are all recognized by the rank of the military badge on their collars.

"Why do you fire me?" Deng Gang panicked at this time, raised his head and asked.

"Why? Just because you have a 'big mistake' that hasn't been undone! How dare you change the military orders of your superiors without authorization, do you think you are a special operations battalion? If it weren't for your modest contribution to the Huangnigang Uprising, I would have shot you! Zhao Beihe said. Tian Jinfu, ask someone to escort him away and take him to the staff office to see! When the battle is over, a military tribunal will be formed, and the trial will be conducted in an open and just manner, and the crime of 'resisting military orders' will be charged! ”

"I'm not convinced! I'm not convinced! You are a fake publicist! Revenge for personal gain! Deng Gang struggled desperately, pulled off the bandage that was holding his shoulder, and pointed to the wound on his shoulder. Look here! Lao Tzu is not hiding behind, Lao Tzu is rushing in front when he charges! Lao Tzu is not a deserter! ”

But where did Zhao Bei allow him to argue, and with a wave of his hand, several guards finally put Deng Gang down.

The subordinates change the orders of their superiors without authorization, which is absolutely intolerable in any army, and we must take this opportunity to deter those arrogant generals.

Once the order is given, the subordinates must unconditionally obey the superiors, this is the iron law of the army! This iron discipline can only be cultivated by strict discipline, and it must be inscribed as instinct in the soul of every soldier.

Tian Jinfu handed over the torn military medal to Zhao Bei, who looked at the blood stains on the military medal and was speechless for a long time. It is true that Deng Gang's handling is too cautious, but he can't help but take into account the stability of the army, after all, he is the backbone of the Qunzhi Society, and now it is a critical juncture in the battle, and Deng Gang is not fleeing from the battle.

"What's your name?" Zhao Bei raised his head and asked the young officer who interceded with Deng Gang, judging from the military seal, he was a battalion commander.

"Qin Shouzheng." The officer said.

Zhao Bei nodded, handed over Deng Gang's military badge, and said: "From now on, Deng Gang's position will be taken over by you, and these five hundred people will be under your command, you will immediately take them to Parrot Island to rest and recuperate, and immediately select suitable soldiers in the Revolutionary Guards, and strive to restore the establishment as soon as possible." ”

Qin Shouzheng did not refuse, took the military medal, saluted and retreated, and reorganized the team with several other officers and retreated to the south.

"Commander-in-chief, let's retreat quickly, Qintai can't be attacked, we are on the front line now." Tian Jinfu brought the war horse and handed the reins to Zhao Bei.

Zhao Bei did not retreat immediately, and turned around and looked north.

On his left side is a vast lake, that is the Moon Lake, which is divided into east and west by a dragon lantern embankment, and the north shore of the lake is the Hanyang Iron and Steel Works and the subordinate steel medicine factory of the arsenal, where the Qing army position is also located, and now the second echelon of the revolutionary army has advanced west along the south bank of the lake, and established a position by the lake, facing the Qing army across the lake; On the right side of Zhaobei, a low mountain rises on the horizon, that is, Guishan, the commanding height of the suburbs of Hanyang, once you occupy there, you can condescend and look down on the entire battlefield, where the revolutionary army arranged artillery positions to bombard Hanyang City during the Xinhai Revolution in history.

However, now, Guishan is under the control of the Qing army, and Zhao Bei has no intention of seizing it immediately, and only by taking Hanyang City first can the Qing army's threat to the flank and rear of the attacking troops be removed.

According to the information sent back by Zhu Daniu's special combat battalion, the Beiyang Army arrived in Hankou with a maximum of 3,000 men, and due to the bombardment of the two gunboats "Chuguan" and "Gonghe", the Beiyang Army lost at least several hundred people, and the remaining 2,000 people could only cross the river in a circle from the upper reaches of the Han River to reinforce Hanyang.

Judging from the intelligence of various aspects, the Beiyang Army defending Hanyang was divided into four parts, one part was stationed in the arsenal, some was stationed in and around Hanyang City, and the other part was stationed in the area of Qintai. The Beiyang Army on Turtle Mountain is mainly artillery, they set up artillery positions on the top of the mountain, condescendingly bombarded the Republican Army positions near Hanyang City with artillery, but because the Republican Army retreated in time to the Beiyang Army artillery range, so now the cannon sound can no longer be heard on the Turtle Mountain, which may also be the reason for the lack of artillery shells of the Beiyang Army, the loud sound of the Liujiamiao Railway Station in Hankou not only shocked the Qing Army, but also destroyed the arsenal of the Beiyang Army in one fell swoop.

However, according to the prisoners' confessions, the Hanyang Arsenal originally stored some old cannons and shells, although they did not match the field artillery system of the Beiyang Army and could not be used universally, but the Beiyang Army obviously did not abandon those old rack artillery, and the new and old guns were dragged up Guishan to provide artillery support for the Hanyang defenders.

These cannons even pose a certain threat to the gunboats on the Yangtze River, the wooden-hulled "Republic" did not dare to approach at all, and the steel-hulled "Chuguan" could only hit from a distance, and there were not enough shells to let go of the attack.

Therefore, the artillery positions of the Beiyang Army on Turtle Mountain could only be taken down by infantry.