Xuzhou Daotai Yamen, which is now the newest station of the General Headquarters of the Changruiqing Northern Expeditionary Army. On January 25, 1919, the third day after Xuzhou was taken by the Northern Expeditionary Army without a fight, he took a special train back to his hometown in this time and space. As soon as he settled down in his headquarters, his adjutant Zheng Zhongyuan sent him the news that the Beiyang ruling government had issued a crusade order against Shanxi! This incident really surprised Chang Ruiqing! What is Beiyang's move trying to do? Is it to retreat to the northwest via Shanxi? Or did Yan Xishan have some abnormal behavior that stimulated Xu Shuzheng and Wu Peifu? Perhaps the target of Beiyang is not Shanxi, but the main force of the Northern Expeditionary Army around Xuzhou!

Just when Chang Ruiqing was standing in front of the window of his office, figuring out the flaws of Xu Shuzheng and Wu Peifu's 232nd Championship and begging for a monthly ticket and subscribing, the door of the office was gently pushed open, and Zheng Zhongyuan, who was almost as tall as Chang Ruiqing, stood at the door and said softly: "Commander-in-chief, everyone has arrived, waiting in the war room." ”

Chang Ruiqing snorted, straightened his military uniform, and strode towards the war room with Zheng Zhongyuan. It was already full of people, and the large map table in the war room was already full of senior generals of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Including Bai Chongxi, Wang Junhao, Xu Tingyao, Zhang Zhizhong, Liu Zhi, and several other officers leading the troops of the First Front Army were already present. They all know that Beiyang's sudden dispatch of troops to attack Shanxi will inevitably affect the overall situation, and maybe the long-brewing Armageddon between the North and the South will soon begin!

Seeing Chang Ruiqing come in, everyone stood up and saluted, and Chang Ruiqing also returned the salute seriously. Then he walked to an empty seat in the middle of the map table. Standing there, he slowly glanced at these generals of his lineage, raised his hand, and said, "Please sit down, everyone." ”

With the sound of neatly seated people, Chang Ruiqing said in a deep voice: "Everyone already knows the crusade order issued by Beiyang to Shanxi Province, right?" Maybe you don't quite understand why Beiyang provoked a war against the Jin army at a time when the flaw of the 232nd Championship was extremely unfavorable to them...... Honestly. I don't quite understand either, but that's okay. We just need to understand that this is our chance to defeat Wu Peifu in one fell swoop and eliminate the main force of the Beiyang Army! ”

He didn't sit down when he spoke, and now he walked around the war room again: "This time it's very likely to be a trick by Xu Youzheng and Wu Peifu...... The fact that they resorted to such a strategy as attacking Shanxi to lure us to the bait shows that they have been forced to be anxious by the current revolutionary situation, and that they are no longer blindly forcing the war, but are going to take the initiative to seek a decisive battle with our army. That's exactly what I want. We have now assembled eight armies near Xuzhou with nearly 400,000 troops! There are still two armies in the direction of the Jinghan Road, there are also two corps of the reserve front army in the Nanjing and Huainan areas, and there is our first army outside the Shanhai Pass, and now there are four mixed brigades in Shanxi...... We have formed a posture of strategic encirclement in Beiyang. And it is also in an overwhelming position in terms of troops! So we will win this battle!

But we must also be vigilant enough against the trapped beasts in the Beiyang! In the next few weeks or a month, our army may encounter the most severe test since the founding of the army, may suffer unprecedented casualties, and will encounter a frantic counterattack by the Beiyang Army. There will even be temporary failures. But I firmly believe that the final victory will be ours! It must belong to the Chinese people and the national government! I look forward to your efforts in this battle and great achievements for the reunification of the country and the rejuvenation of the nation! ”

His voice fell. The crowd burst into applause.

Chang Ruiqing nodded with satisfaction and returned to his seat. He pointed to Chief of Staff Lu Yixuan again: "Zixiu, let's introduce the latest situation." ”

Lu Yixuan snapped and stood upright. Chong Chang Ruiqing bowed slightly, picked up the baton and pointed at the Baoding and Zhengding lines on the map, and said: "According to the intelligence, the intelligence department of the base camp of the Beiyang Army found that Yan Xishan, the overseer of Shanxi, was in contact with us about the change of banner, so it was decided to take a preemptive strike and solve Shanxi by force. The base camp of the Beiyang Army has appointed Li Chun, commander of the Second Army, who had just withdrawn from Xuzhou, as the overseer and governor of Shanxi, and commanded the Sixth Division, the Twelfth Division, the 47th Mixed Brigade, and the 75th Mixed Brigade of the Second Army to be transported to Zhengding through the Longhai Line and the Jinghan Line, and then to attack Taiyuan along the Zhengtai Line. In this way, the strength of the Beiyang Army in Shandong and Henan provinces has dropped to ten divisions and four mixed brigades, and there is also a fifth division left in Jinan, guarding the main road to Beijing and Tianjin in the north, which cannot be transferred. Therefore, it is estimated that Wu Peifu has only nine divisions and two or three mixed brigades, and even at full strength, the total strength is only 120,000 to 130,000, which is less than one-third of the main force of our army! ”

As soon as Lu Yixuan's words fell, Bai Chongxi, who was sitting next to Chang Ruiqing, said calmly: "Wu Peifu deliberately sold us a flaw!" He now has the convenience of the railway, and the Beiyang Second Army can withdraw from the Zhengtai Road at any time, and the Jin Army's combat effectiveness will not be able to retain them. In addition, around Beijing and Tianjin, there are also the 11th Division, the 13th Division, and the three mixed brigades of the participating armies available. If one qiē is normal, Wu Peifu can send 100,000 troops to join the Henan battlefield in a short time, and if it is used properly, Wu Peifu still has a 30% chance of winning......"

"So we have a 70% chance of winning this time?" Chang Ruiqing looked at his brother and henchman with a smile.

Bai Chongxi shrugged his shoulders: "Not to mention, nothing in their Beiyang will be implemented according to the plan, we should be sure of victory!" ”

Chang Ruiqing nodded heavily: "Brother Jiansheng, Brother Zixiu, do you have any plans?" ”

"Yes!" The two of them replied in unison: "Go north, hit Jinan!" ”

……

The main force of the Beiyang First Front Army, a total of nine infantry divisions and nearly 110,000 troops, had been deployed on the plain near Kaifeng, the capital of Henan Province, under the personal command of Wu Peifu at this time. The 3rd Division of his descendants was stationed in Lankao, the 2nd Division was placed in Qixian, the 17th Division was placed in Tongxu, and the 19th Division was stationed in Weishi. The 20th Division was placed in Fengqiu, north of the Yellow River, and the three divisions of the participating army were placed in Kaifeng City, where Wu Peifu's former enemy headquarters was located.

After the main force of the Beiyang Army was deployed, it began to build fortifications on this undefended plain, not the stretching trench defense zone like in the European war. Rather, they were ring fortifications built on the city walls of the county town, as if they were ready to be surrounded and beaten one by one by the Northern Expeditionary Army.

In fact, here they are ready to be beaten. The main force was split into two, of which the second army of more than 30,000 people went to attack Shanxi, and the remaining 120,000 people were placed around Kaifeng, making the appearance of defending the provincial capital of Henan. Of course, Wu Peifu knew that such a deployment was very stupid, and he deliberately exposed such a big flaw to attract Chang Ruiqing to divide his troops to the west...... Chang Ruiqing's 400,000 troops were also deployed separately near Xuzhou. So when he learned that there was a flaw in the deployment of the Beiyang Army, he should have dispatched a unit to quickly move west to take the opponent by surprise, right?

Wu Peifu thought to himself: "Maybe 200,000 people will drive along the Longhai line, and there will be no more troops in the short term, and the transportation capacity of the Longhai line is limited." At most, it will be able to maintain the logistics needed for an offensive operation by an army of 200,000...... If this number is exceeded, it will either take a while to hoard supplies, or mobilize a large number of people to transport supplies in mule, horse and cart. Both of these points will take time, and Chang Ruiqing does not have that much time, he will definitely strive to capture Kaifeng before Shanxi is captured by the Beiyang Army. Destroy the main force of the Beiyang Army here! ”

Nine divisions, 123,400 troops, plus more than 200 75mm mountain artillery (the 2nd Division, the 3rd Division, and the three divisions of the participating armies were all equipped with artillery regiments), and strong fortifications were built. All of them filled Wu Peifu with the confidence to hit his opponent hard in the defensive battle. He sneered in his heart: "Even if the Southern Army swells three times at once, it will definitely meet in front of Lao Tzu's nine divisions!" When the time comes, reinforcements from the Second Army and the Second Front will arrive. It's time for the surname Chang to run away! ”

In the cold wind at the end of January, Wu Peifu and his staff members went to inspect the Third Division of his descendant unit. It was satisfying to find that the morale of the soldiers was quite high. The Beiyang Army is all mercenaries who sell their lives for money. The people below are paid for one day and sell their lives for one day, and the gains and losses of the territory have little to do with them. The military salaries for these two months were paid on time and in full, so the morale of the military was also stable, and it was not affected by public opinion in the press.

However, the feelings of some grassroots officers are obviously a little depressed, and the relationship between these officers and Beiyang is closely related, so they will naturally be worried about the current situation. Wu Peifu had no choice but to patiently say some encouraging words to these grassroots officers, and was talking nonsense about what kind of nonsense such as retracting his fist and hitting it more powerfully, when suddenly a chief staff officer of the third division headquarters hurried over and reported breathlessly: "Yu Shuai! The southern soldiers have been dispatched! Dangshan, Xiayi and Zaozhuang were all captured by the vanguard of the Southern Army! ”

When Wu Peifu heard the news, he hurriedly turned around and took a copy of the newspaper from the chief staff officer...... It was sent by cable telegram by the governors of Dangshan, Xiayi, and Zaozhuang counties before the fall of the county, and it was probably the last time to be loyal to Beiyang.

After Wu Peifu read the newspaper at a glance, he handed it to his chief of staff, Xiao Yaonan, and said with a smile: "Okay! All right! Chang Ruiqing finally moved, and he was almost finished as soon as he moved! ”

The junior officers of the Third Division who were around him were all in high spirits when they heard their teacher say this, and Wu Peifu said a few words of encouragement before ordering them to return to their respective teams. When these people were far away, Xiao Yaonan frowned and said to Wu Peifu: "Ziyu, what does Chang Ruiqing mean by sending troops to Zaozhuang?" Is his target Kaifeng or Jinan? ”

Wu Peifu's eyebrows were twisted, and he said calmly: "It's hard to say, the situation we have mastered now is too little, and it is not enough to judge the direction of the main attack of the Southern Army." ”

Xiao Yaonan shook his head and said: "Jinan only has Zhang Zizhi's (Zhang Huaizhi)'s Fifth Division and some local troops in Shandong, and the total strength will not exceed 20,000...... If Jinan is lost, then Shandong will be occupied by the south! Ziyu, we have to do our best to increase troops in Jinan. ”

Wu Peifu hesitated: "It's still too early, we don't have many mobile troops, except for the Second Army that fought in Shanxi, there are only a few divisions left around Beijing." If they are all transferred to defend Jinan, what should I do if Kaifeng fights here? ”

Xiao Yaonan smiled bitterly: "This Chang Ruiqing is not an idle person in the end, as soon as he makes a move, it will put us in a dilemma." ”

Wu Peifu snorted. smiled: "Of course he won't be idle, or our Beiyang will be forced to this point by him?" In this case, let's not guess, let's send troops to test it! Yan Shan (Siu Yiu Nam). I want the 3rd Division to meet with the southern soldiers near Shangqiu, and you go with Zhang Fulai (the new commander of the 3rd Division). Remember, touch the virtual reality and retract it, do you know how to explore? ”

Xiao Yaonan nodded: "I know, it depends on whether the opponent has a cannon or not, and how many cannons there are...... Their southern army expanded too quickly, and the infantry was easy to handle, as long as they could pull strong men. But the artillery is not so easy to handle. According to intelligence, they only have one water-filled artillery regiment per army, but only 16 75mm mountain guns. ”

Wu Peifu smiled faintly: "Okay, that's it!" Remembered. Just touch it, don't really hit it. Zhang Fulai is stupid and impulsive, you must keep an eye on it. This third division is our capital, and we can't afford to make a mistake! ”

……

When Wu Peifu was ready to send troops to test the reality. Xuzhou Railway Station is a busy scene. The platform was crowded with soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army wearing khaki military uniforms, carrying backpacks and rifles. A train arrives at the station. As soon as they stopped, the soldiers who had been waiting for a long time were under the command of the officer. Board the train in good order.

During this period, the civil ** lords were still relatively "law-abiding" when they started the civil war, and they still took care of this kind of railway, which was quite difficult to build. Generally, they do not engage in destruction. This time, when Beiyang withdrew from Xuzhou, it was the same, and it did not destroy the Longhai Railway and the Jinpu Railway, so now Chang Ruiqing's Northern Expeditionary Army can still use them to transport troops.

Now on the bus is the "Western Advance Corps" commanded by Wang Junhao, which is a temporary number, under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Army and the Seventh Army, and a new Eighth Division, which is the division that Mao ZD pulled up in Jiangxi.

At this moment, Mao ZD was standing in the temporary headquarters of the Western Advance Corps in the Xuzhou Railway Station building, holding a telescope to watch the scene of his beloved party troops getting on the train. Looking back, Wang Junhao and Chen Jiji (commander of the Seventh Army), and a Cantonese guy named Zhang Minda (Sun Yat-sen's confidant, commander of the Fifth Army) were studying around the map, and they would exchange opinions from time to time, but no one paid attention to him, a representative of Mao.

"Wu Peifu is not a three-year-old child, he can't be scared by bluffing, he will definitely send troops to test us, I think only by concentrating superior forces and beating them pain, can Wu Peifu think that we are the main force of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Let my Seventh Army take the lead! ”

Chen Jiji, the commander of the Seventh Army, who spoke, is a graduate of the second phase of Baoding and a native of Jiangsu, and Chang Ruiqing knew each other as early as when Lu was a small school in Nanjing, and he is the core figure of the Chang family. But in the official position, he was pressed by a few juniors of the third phase of Baoding, and his face was not easy to show (Chang Ruiqing was also in the third phase), but he was very unconvinced in his heart, so he wanted to show himself well on the battlefield.

"Let's let the Fifth Army go up! The Fifth Army is the foundation of Zang Zhiping's mixed brigade, all the sergeants are veterans, and most of the officers have participated in the battle to pacify Guangdong, have certain actual combat experience, and will not panic when encountering critical situations. Zhang Minda also wants to fight this front, he is the only commander in the current National Revolutionary Army who has not received formal military education (Lamppipe Li did not become a military commander in this time and space). He is a military strategist who threw homemade bombs to engage in terrorist activities, whether it is the Baoding department, the non-commissioned officer department, the Lu Da department or the ** generals of the Wutang department, they don't look down on him very much...... Chang Ruiqing also wanted to "escort" him to the Whampoa Military Academy. So now he also wants to prove his abilities on the battlefield.

"If you want me to see it, your Fifth Army and Seventh Army can't fight this first formation, and the first formation can only be our new Eighth Division." Mao ZD listened to their argument for a while, and finally came over to talk. It's just that this is a little unpleasant, and Chen Jiji and Zhang Minda both showed contemptuous looks on their faces.

"Minister Mao, I'm afraid your new Eighth Division is not the opponent of the elite of Beiyang, so don't take the lead this time." Wang Junhao frowned and reminded. He himself has the identity of a GCD member, and it is not good to watch the "party army" jump into the fire pit by himself, so he hurriedly persuaded him.

"The New Eighth Division is not the opponent of the elite of Beiyang, the Fifth Army and the Seventh Army are their opponents?" Mao ZD sneered and asked rhetorically.

Chen Jiji and Zhang Minda's faces suddenly darkened, and they just wanted to refute. Mao ZD said eloquently: "What is the task of the Westward Advance Corps this time? It's a bluff, it's not going to a decisive battle with the main force of Beiyang! Bluffing is playing psychological warfare, if you want to command the troops to fight with real knives and guns, I will definitely not be as good as you, but when it comes to playing psychological warfare...... Hehe, then Wu Peifu is not my opponent! ”

He first boasted to himself, then smiled coldly, and then said: "What is the purpose of the bluff of the Western Advance Corps? Isn't it just to make Wu Peifu mistakenly think that the Western Expeditionary Corps is the main force of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and the Northern Expeditionary Corps is a virtual army? But looking at the problem from Wu Peifu's point of view, he will definitely think that the strong Western Advance Corps is the main force, and the weak Northern Advance Corps is a virtual army? Moreover, the combat strength of the Fifth Army and the Seventh Army may not be able to intimidate Wu Peifu, since showing strength and the enemy may not be effective, it is better to take the initiative to show weakness and the enemy! (Your support is my biggest motivation.) )rv！！！