"Ziyu, I have now taken over such a job as the commander-in-chief, how do you think I should act?"

Although Cao Kun took over the post of commander-in-chief of the counterinsurgency army, he also had a different kind of mind in his heart, Cao Kun was very opposed to Yuan Shikai's accession to the throne, and now he was about to start a war with the army in the southwest, Cao Kun hurriedly invited his number one henchman Wu Peifu to discuss countermeasures.

Wu Peifu has a strong stroke in modern history, he is a scholar, proficient in military affairs, well-trained and arrogant, in Beiyang is a unique figure, although unruly, but outstanding ability, Cao Kun relies on him very much.

"Dashuai, in my opinion, this battle can't be fought, but it can't really be fought!"

As soon as Wu Peifu opened his mouth, Cao Kun listened carefully, and he also nodded slightly, Wu Peifu was no different from his own thoughts, and he was not ready to really give Yuan Shikai his life, he just wanted to be perfunctory.

"Dashuai, now people are denouncing the president all day long, saying that he is perverse, if you blindly give the president your life, I am afraid that it will attract infamy through the ages, so we can't really fight, but let us garrison Hubei Wuhan's suggestion I think is still more pertinent, this is to take care of the interests of the entire Beiyang, the southwest can raise troops to deal with the president, but if you want to take Beiyang and replace it, it is a big mistake, they miscalculated, so my plan is to find an opportunity to teach the Sichuan army a hard lesson, so that they dare not mess around, At that time, let's formulate a response according to the situation in the world! ”

After listening to Wu Peifu's words, Cao Kun nodded again and again, "Ziyu, you still have a flexible mind and the right way to think, but I'm still a little worried, Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui haven't really stood up, I'm afraid that something will happen at that time!" ”

Cao Kun's worries are very reasonable, Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang are the real power figures in Beiyang second only to Lao Yuan, and now these two people have an ambiguous attitude, maybe they will also make trouble, and at that time Beiyang will really be in chaos.

"Dashuai, I think Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui will still take care of their feelings, and they may oppose the president, if they raise troops, it may not be possible, the key is to see how well the front line is fought, but as long as we have a strong force in our hands, no matter who is in power, we can't look down on us!"

With the announcement of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, and marched to Hunan and Guangxi, the whole world was in chaos, and public opinion was in an uproar, some shouted good, thinking that this was a crusade against the imperial system and the restoration of the republic, and some cursed, saying that Cai Ye had no faith and split the country, but these were all media quarrels.

Really smart people have set their sights on Sichuan, and now the two southwestern provinces have read their strength, but Sichuan has no movement, which really makes people suspicious, which is also the reason why these people's intelligence systems are not developed enough, and now Sichuan is not without movement, but everything is carried out in secret, and the outside world is kept secret to the greatest extent.

The reason why one is so is that he doesn't want to be a bird, and the second is that he is worried about the Sichuan-Han Railway, Zhan Tianyou has assured him that the railway can be opened to traffic soon, and with this railway, Sichuan can quickly transport troops to Hubei, so Qiao Yu deliberately created an ambiguous attitude to deceive Yuan Shikai and avoid Yuan Shikai from destroying the Sichuan-Han Railway.

Of course, other actions Qiao Yu had already launched, in order to deal with the threat of Shaanxi and Gansu, Qiao Yu mobilized Liu Xiang's fifth division and Liu Yunhong's cavalry division to go north together to meet the Shaanxi and Gansu army.

In Dongchuan, Qiao Yu mobilized a total of three divisions of troops, as well as the river defense troops, the railway escort team, plus a division of Xia Douyin, with a concentrated force of 50,000 troops, and the scale of the troops dispatched is not small.

However, these soldiers have an important job before leaving the division, that is, to speed up the construction of the Sichuan-Han Railway, and the last remaining section is all between the mountains and mountains, which cannot be used by machines, and can only be carried by hand, and the soldiers carry the rails and sleepers, transport them to the designated location, and then start laying.

Zhan Tianyou is also personally commanding, "Mr. Dachao, it will take a few days to finally break through!" ”

"As long as it takes three days, Dashuai, now with the help of the army, coupled with day and night construction, it will be able to be completely completed in three days, and Sichuan, the main artery out of Sichuan, will be completed!"

Zhan Tianyou also had a hint of excitement between the words, but there was also a little weirdness: "Dashuai, I originally wanted to build the railway to benefit the country and the people, how do I know that this railway is to be used to transport troops in the first place, it is really a matter of the world!" ”

"Mr. Da Chao, Yuan Shikai is the emperor, it's too unexpected, I have to do it!"

"Marshal, things are not good, the speed of the Beiyang Army is much faster than we thought!" Wu Tong walked over as he spoke, and sent a piece of information to Qiao Yu.

Qiao Yu looked at it a little, and suddenly his face was a little unsightly, it turned out that Cao Kun had already led the Third Division to hurry up to Hubei, and now it was Zhang Jingyao's Beiyang Seventh Division that was guarding the three towns of Wuhan, if it was added to the elite and warlike Beiyang Third Division, the plan to seize Wuhan would be hindered!

"Dashuai, in addition, there are also Wu Xiangzhen, Li Shanzhi's two mixed brigades are also rushing to Wuhan in the starry night, and the strength of Wuhan can reach more than 50,000 within five days, although Sichuan has not officially announced the reading power, but Beiyang obviously regards us as the biggest opponent!"

Now it is still the era of Beiyang, the Beiyang Army has a rich heritage and strong power, and it is still very difficult to shake it, which is also an important reason why Qiao Yu is unwilling to be a bird.

"Chief of Staff, immediately order Xia Douyin to lead his troops to capture Hankou, and he must hold the railway station in his hands, and he can't let the Beiyang Army take the lead!"

"Dashuai, if Cao Kun's third division takes a train to reach Hankou in only two days, and now the Sichuan-Han railway will be able to break through in three days, the time advantage is not ours, if the third division rushes to Wuhan first, I'm afraid Xia Douyin alone will not be able to do it!"

"Well, let the Air Force dispatch to bomb the Luhan Railway for me, and be sure to prevent Cao Kun from going south to aid Wuhan!"

Cao Kun is not terrible, but he has Wu Peifu under his command, once they are allowed to seize the first hand, it will become even more difficult to seize Wuhan, so the use of the air force has become the best choice.

At present, in China, the Sichuan Air Force is unique in the world, even in the Far East, it is good enough compared to the Yuanben, and it has become the best choice for the Air Force to dispatch, Wu Tong hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Xia Douyin since he took refuge in Qiao Yu, the power in his hands has expanded rapidly, and now Yichang is the center, and Western Hubei has all fallen into his hands, this time Yungui raised troops to attack Yuan Shikai, Xia Douyin instinctively felt that Sichuan must be involved in the war, so his army has already begun to mobilize and prepare.

After getting Qiao Yu's order, Xia Douyin took a division of troops all on the boat, and ran to Hankou overnight, this road Xia Douyin went for the third time, the first two times were because of the problem of Hanyang Iron Works, which triggered the conflict between Sichuan and Yueben, Xia Douyin's department became a gun in Sichuan, this time was no exception, Xia Douyin's division was escorted by more than ten troop carriers and several shallow gunboats, and quickly approached the three towns of Wuhan.

At this time, it was Zhang Jingyao, the commander of the Seventh Division of the Beiyang Army, who was guarding the three towns of Wuhan, Wuhan is the main transportation route between China's north and south, east and west, if Yanjing is the brain of China, then Wuhan is the heart of China, the geographical location is the most important, and there must be no mistakes.

Since Cai Ye played the banner of protecting [***] and began to oppose Yuan, Wuhan has become a hub for the north-south transportation of arms and materials, and a large number of arms and food clothing have been transported to Hunan and Liangguang through here, and then support the Beiyang Army fighting there, Zhang Jingyao knows very well that Wuhan is not only a transportation hub, but the more important mission is to prevent the Sichuan army from leaving Sichuan, but Zhang Jingyao also knows that his power in his hands is weak, and he is desperately asking Yanjing to strengthen his troops.

Fortunately, Yanjing had already agreed to the request, and the third division would be able to arrive within two days, and there would be two other mixed brigades, as well as some local troops would be stationed in Wuhan, which immediately made Zhang Jingyao's heart relax slightly, and it was impossible for the Sichuan army to capture Wuhan so quickly, as long as the reinforcements arrived, there would be nothing to fear.

Zhang Jingyao was looking at Chinese and foreign newspapers under the lamp, to be honest, he was not optimistic, many articles were against Yuan Shikai's claim to be emperor, it is said that the Dian army had invaded Hunan, and won the first battle, and the situation was not favorable to Beiyang.

The mess made Zhang Jingyao upset, and the surname Suo was about to stop looking at it and go to rest, when suddenly there was a thunderous sound in the distance, Zhang Jingyao was suddenly shocked, and then an adjutant ran in in a panic.

"Master, it's a big deal, someone is attacking the dock now!"

After Zhang Jingyao got the report, his mind was dizzy for a while, this Sichuan army did not move at all, and he did not join the protection [***], how could he suddenly appear in Hubei, where is it not the Sichuan army, now Zhang Jingyao's eyes are black.

"Hurry up and pass on my order, let the brothers resolutely hold the Yangtze River, don't let the other party land, at all costs, as long as you can block the attack, Feng Wife Yinzi is in front of you!"

The Beiyang Army hurriedly mobilized, at this time the sound of artillery on the river bank had already sounded, participating in the bombardment of a total of five shallow water gunboats, all of which were produced in Sichuan, with a displacement of 820 tons, equipped with two 120 mm cannons, a total of 10 cannons bombarded the Beiyang Army camp near the wharf, one after another red light crossed the night sky, and smashed heavily on the head of the Beiyang Army, and the huge explosion sound shook people's eardrums, and the sky was full of scattered sand.

Xia Douyin's main task this time was to seize Hankou on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and then occupy the Hankou railway station, he first commanded the gunboats to bombard the Beiyang Army in the south of the Yangtze River, in order to destroy the docks, prevent the Beiyang Army from being transported from the south of the Yangtze River to Hankou, and aid the Beiyang Army in Hankou.

The position of the Beiyang Army was soon torn apart, and the army had begun to retreat to the city of Wuchang, Zhang Jingyao was also furious, and hurriedly commanded the Beiyang artillery to return fire, but it was a pity that the Beiyang 75 mm mountain artillery was not enough to break through the defense of the Sichuan gunboats, and in the darkness, the artillery technology level of the Beiyang Army was not very good.