Since Yanjing's cable telegram had already reached the front line of Shanhaiguan, a few hours after the headquarters was established, Nie Yuanzheng and Yue Fengxian received orders from the headquarters.

After reading the order, Yue Fengxian said to Nie Yuanzheng in confusion: "You said that at this juncture, the commander asked me to lead the First Cavalry Division back to Beijing, did something happen?" ”

Nie Yuanzheng shook his head and smiled, "Isn't it clearly written on the order?" Let you lead the troops back to Beijing to participate in the joint general training of the Dragon and Tiger Army. ”

Of course, Yue Fengxian understood the content of the order, but he was just a little worried, and when he heard Nie Yuanzheng say it, he was a little less worried, he nodded and said: "I'm just a little worried, now that the Russian army has occupied Shengjing, Shengjing's general Zengqi has led his troops to retreat to Jinzhou and rely on the Daling River to confront the Russian coalition army, I'm afraid that it won't be long before the Russian army will hit the Shanhai Pass, if the first cavalry division leaves, the third division only has more than 18,000 people, even if you add the Qing soldiers and these recruits recruited by the son, There are only more than 21,000 people, can they withstand the attack of the Russian army? ”

Nie Yuanzheng said with a smile: "You also said, now that Zengqi is blocking in Jinzhou, the Russian army also seems to be confronting Zengqi, after occupying Shengjing, there is no intention to continue the attack, if the Russian army wants to capture Jinzhou, and then reach the Shanhai Pass, it will not work without a month, think about it, what month is it now?" In another month, what will it be like outside the gates? ”

When Yue Fengxian heard this, his heart was clear for a while: "Don't say a month, I'm afraid that after half a month, it will be cold and snowy outside this pass, and I can't stand it when I go out." ”

Nie Yuanzheng smiled and nodded: "That's right, the Russian army has captured most of the northeast on the surface, but due to the rush of time, it has not completely occupied it, and only occupied some major cities, and now it is winter, and they are just going to take advantage of this winter to consolidate it." ”

Yue Fengxian bowed his head and said, "That's the truth. ”

Nie Yuanzheng continued: "Take a step back and say, even if the Russian army attacks desperately, it can take Jinzhou, defeat Zengqi, and fight under Shanhaiguan, but I am afraid that it will be powerless, and what we have to do now is to hold Shanhaiguan for the commander and win time for the commander, instead of taking the initiative to attack, besides, it is cold and snowy, and the cavalry division is not of much use in Shanhaiguan, it is better to be transferred to Yanjing for rest and training." ”

Looking at Yue Fengxian, who was deep in thought, Nie Yuanzheng said again: "And Yanjing has enough grain and grass, and most of the grain and grass and military salaries in Shanhaiguan have to be transferred from Yanjing, even if the railway from Yanjing to Shanhaiguan has been rebuilt, it is extremely inconvenient to transport in the winter, rather than increasing the difficulty of logistics, it is better to transfer the cavalry to Yanjing and train on the spot." ”

Yue Fengxian thought deeply and said: "Yes, today's cavalry division, combat effectiveness is far from good, rather than doing nothing in Shanhaiguan, it is better to go back to Yanjing to fight the troops, and wait until the next year when the ice and snow melt and the weather is clear, and then it will be the time for the commander to lead us to counterattack." ”

Nie Yuanzheng patted Yue Fengxian's shoulder and said with a smile: "It's best if you think like this." ”

Yue Fengxian nodded and said, "Then I'll go and prepare first, and I'll lead the cavalry division south tomorrow." ”

Nie Yuanzheng said with a smile: "Go, it's arranged, let's have a good drink tonight, we haven't drunk together for a long time, so I will see you off." ”

Yue Fengxian also grinned: "That's the best, but it can't be in the barracks." ”

Nie Yuanzheng said with a smile: "This is natural, although the commander said that it is cold in the north, and when necessary, soldiers can drink properly to warm up their bodies when they are moving, but it is against military regulations to drink privately in the barracks." ”

……

Just when Yue Feng led the First Cavalry Division to Yanjing in a hurry, there was also a conflict in Tianjin that was not a conflict.

On November 22, Ye Zuqi, Sa Zhenbing, Liu Guanxiong and other generals of the Beiyang Naval Division led the Beiyang Naval Division to the coast of Tianjin.

Since Ye Zuqi received the holy decree and edict, after many days of determination and discussion, he finally formulated a plan with Sa Zhenbing, Liu Guanxiong and others on how to go north to Tianjin.

Since these days, the Beiyang Naval Division has been going all the way north, cautiously, and when they encounter ships of other countries from a distance, they will bypass them as quickly as possible, and sometimes even do not hesitate to retreat, and then wait for the ships of other countries to leave before moving forward.

Driving all the way, most of the personnel on the Beiyang Naval Division were extremely aggrieved, Liu Guanxiong, Li Dingxin and others even suggested to Ye Zuqi more than once to attack those lonely or very small foreigner fleets, after all, the Beiyang Naval Division now has five heavy cruisers of 'Haitian', 'Hairong', 'Haiqi', 'Haichou', and 'Haichen', as well as more than 20 ships of various sizes, although more than half of them are wooden ships, but if it is not for the main fleet of the naval power, it cannot be used by the Beiyang Naval Division.

But no matter how Liu Guanxiong, Li Dingxin, and other generals suggested, Ye Zuqi rejected them all, not because he didn't want to fight, but because the holy decree and edict didn't let him fight, but asked him to do everything possible to save every ship, even if he retreated at a critical moment, it didn't matter.

Because of this, the fleet retreated and stopped, and the fleet walked for a whole month before entering the coastal waters of Tianjin, but when the fleet was about to enter the port of Tianjin, it was alerted by the Dagu Fort.

Today's Dagu Fort is not the former Dagu Fort, the firepower and scale are several times stronger than the former Dagu Fort, the location and way of setting the fort are not comparable to the previous Dagu Fort at all, and the area covered can almost reach within five kilometers of the Haihe River estuary.

Even if the most powerful naval artillery of the coalition army, it is absolutely impossible to destroy the Dagu battery, because more than half of the batteries are designed by Wang Jundao, he took into account the disadvantages of the naval artillery, so he created many shooting dead ends, even if the power of the naval guns is greater than that of the field army artillery, but for these shooting dead ends, there can only be helpless, and the power of the shells of this era is far less than that of later generations.

On more than one occasion, these naval fleets and Russian naval fleets entered the waters off Tientsin and tried to re-land, but they were all repulsed by the powerful fire of the Dagu Battery.

Therefore, not to mention that a Beiyang Fleet that has not yet restored its pre-war level in the Yellow Sea, even two Beiyang Fleets, without paying a heavy price, do not want to bargain at the Dagu Fort.

In desperation, the Beiyang Fleet could only be forced to stop outside the firing range of the Dagu Battery.

In order to resolve the contradiction as soon as possible, let the Dagu Fort relax its vigilance, and prevent the foreign fleet on the Bohai Sea from taking advantage of it, Ye Zuqi handed over the command of the fleet to Sa Zhenbing and personally rushed to the Tianjin Military Port by small boat.

Coincidentally, Guo Meng, the commander of the Tiger Roaring Division, happened to be inspecting the Dagu Fort today, so Ye Zuqi didn't take much time to meet Guo Meng.

Guo Meng had already been instructed by Wang Jundao, so with just a simple identification and certification, Ye Zuqi's identity was determined.

Subsequently, Guo Meng personally arranged to welcome the Beiyang Fleet into the Tianjin Military Port.

At this time, the coalition fleet composed of dozens of ships was already less than 10 kilometers away from the coastline of Tianjin, and when it saw that the Beiyang Fleet had entered the port of Tianjin, it had no chance to take advantage of it, so it could only retreat first.

After placing the Beiyang Fleet in Tianjin Military Port, Guo Meng led Ye Zuqi and Sa Zhenbing to Tianjin.

Along the way, according to Wang Jundao's instructions, Guo Meng deliberately showed the two of them the strength and defense system of the Dragon and Tiger Army, which made Ye Zuqi and Sa Zhenbing secretly shocked.

After arriving in the inner city of Tianjin, Sa Zhenbing finally couldn't help but admire: "With such a strong army, no wonder I can defeat the foreign soldiers, I was still skeptical before, but at this time I am already convinced." ”

Ye Zuqi also nodded yes, since they entered the Fuzhou Shipbuilding School, they have been inspired to develop strong troops, completely get rid of the bullying of foreign powers, but they have been in the navy for nearly 20 years, and what they have obtained is not the realization of ideals, but the increasing backwardness of China and the increasing number of Qing political axes.

Even so, they still did not give up, they are still fighting for a strong army, and now they are fortunate to see such a strong soldier as the Dragon and Tiger Army, so that they can defeat the strong soldiers of the Eight-Nation Alliance, they are not only surprised, but shocked.

Although when they were in the southeast, they didn't know what the situation in the capital was, but along the way, especially after entering the Tianjin Military Port and landing, they knew a lot about the situation in the capital and the affairs of the Dragon and Tiger Army, and knew that although the Qing Kingdom was still there on the surface, it actually existed in name only.

However, these are no longer important, for them who have received Western education, the idea of foolish loyalty has long been gone, and in their hearts, they are only loyal to China and the Chinese nation, not to the Manchu Qing, to Guangxu, and to Cixi.

If it weren't for Cixi's embezzlement of military funds and the construction of the Summer Palace, if it weren't for Guangxu's appointment of army officers to lead the navy and let the layman command the insider, the navy would not have failed, and so many of their naval brothers and so many heroes who fought for the rise of China would not have died.

Therefore, in their hearts, it doesn't matter who rules China, what matters is whether the person who rules China can save the country from danger, so that China will not be bullied by foreign powers and foreigners, and can lead China to prosperity and strength, then they will not hesitate to die for it.

Thinking of the mightiness and military style of the Dragon and Tiger Army, Sa Zhenbing couldn't help but be in awe, he had an impulse to urgently see the founder and leader of the Dragon and Tiger Army, he couldn't help but ask Guo Meng: "Dare to ask Senior Commander Guo, I don't know when Commander Wang will be able to summon us?" ”

Guo Meng smiled and said: "General Sa and General Ye don't worry, before coming to Tianjin, I have sent a report back to Yanjing, or it won't be long before the commander will reply, you just got off the ship, just follow me to Tianjin, before you have time to rest, I have ordered someone to prepare a banquet, the two generals please eat first, after the meal, take a break, the commander's order will definitely come over, I will personally inform the two of you then, how about it?" ”

Sa Zhenbing wanted to say something more, but Ye Zuqi, who knew his surname well, opened his mouth to stop him, and said to Guo Meng: "It's okay, then we will thank Master Guo for his kindness." (To be continued.) )