Dupangling, one of the five ridges of the Nanling Mountains, originates in the southwest of Hunan and ends in the northeast of Guangxi (). The border of Hunan and Guizhou cut Du Pang Ling in half with a knife, and the cross junction of this ridge and a boundary is Yong'an Pass. In the era when the Guangxi Wolf Army became famous, countless sons and daughters of the Zhuang family set off from here and went to the Central Plains to join hands with the children of the Han family to fight against foreign enemies.

In the méngméng heavenly sè, there is not only the beautiful scenery of the castle without fog locks, nor the remains of the fort, and the ancient battlefield of Yong'an in the past has been covered with greenery. At this time of the day, there should be no one in sight on the pebble-paved pass avenue, after all, the prestige of the bandits in Xiangxi is too loud, even if it has been beaten to the ground by the national defense army, even if the few remnants are hiding in the depths of the mountains to fend for themselves, but the business travelers do not dare to take risks easily.

But today is a little special, nearly a thousand soldiers in untidy uniforms, hanging their heads, gritting their teeth, and not saying a word Gui soldiers walked towards the pass, Lu Rongting, who was in his fifties, rode on a horse with bloodshot eyes and a tired expression, and there were crying voices from time to time among dozens of Fu family members next to him.

Lu Yuxun's face was covered with mud, and his military uniform was also stained with blood, and a vicious battle made him a little more wild in his father's past. Seeing that Yong'an Pass was in front, he wiped his face with his sleeve: "After Yong'an Pass, it is Hunan, Yang Qiu was afraid that the bandits would enter Guangxi when he suppressed bandits in Xiangxi, so he stationed a battalion on it, should you send someone to pass the sound first, so as not to misunderstand." ”

Lu Rongting nodded, asked Lu Yuxun to contact him personally, turned over and dismounted to take a look at his family, and walked among the soldiers: "Everyone is resting here, if I, Lu Rongting, can make a comeback in the future, I will not forget your brothers." ”

The soldiers sat on the ground after answering, and Chen Bingkun, who escaped together, saw that he was not even on guard, so he asked Tan Haoming to lead people to the front to deploy. Seeing this, Lu Rongting shook his head: "Deploy a fart, let everyone rest after running all night." Don't mess around. ”

Chen Bingkun leaned over and said worriedly: "Governor, it's not me saying you, you have to guard against people!" Don't you think it's strange that Tang Jiyao suddenly came to Guangxi? Moreover, Yang Qiu's troops had just begun to encircle and suppress, and he came before he could fight.

Lu Rongting is not a fool, he has been able to crisscross Guangxi and Vietnam for so many years, how can he do it without a little skill? So his heart is like a mirror, even if Yang Qiu is not a ghost. Tang Jiyao must have been deliberately expelled from Gui, but what's the use of saying this now? At present, the only people who can save themselves and Guangxi are him and his mighty national defense force. So the old man glared and said, "Remember my words!" Tang Jiyao entered Guangxi without permission, killed innocents indiscriminately, and everyone was punished! ”

Chen Bingkun has followed him for so many years. Naturally, he heard the meaning, and Tan Haoming next to him also nodded hurriedly and did not dare to mention the matter again. A moment later, the sound of neat footsteps came from the direction of Yong'an Pass, and after Tan Haoming got up with Lu Rongting, he saw a team of heavily armed Wehrmacht soldiers running over.

As veterans who have been fighting with guns for decades, even if they have no formal education and training, this team of soldiers also made Lu Rongting feel pierced in the eyes, especially the bayonet skins on their armed belts were all neatly worn. Some understand why Yang Qiu can rise strongly.

When he was young, he caught a French merchant who was a former army officer, and he still remembers what the French said. Whether an army is good or not depends on the bayonet, because the bayonet is very small, and it is basically not worn unless assassination training is carried out in peacetime, so whenever the soldiers are dispatched urgently, it is easiest to forget the bayonet, and if the bayonet is intact in a hurry, then it must be the most rigorously trained elite soldiers.

Yong'an Pass is just a small place on the border of western Hunan Province. The fact that a unit that has been stationed in a remote area can still maintain its ordnance integrity even after receiving an order to make a sudden dispatch shows that the grassroots officers of this unit are very solid and can train day after day without supervision, and always keep the soldiers in the best condition.

"The second lieutenant battalion commander of the 18th Infantry Brigade of the National Defense Forces, Ge Chengyuan, has met Lu Du." Twenty-two-year-old Ge Chengyuan was one of the soldiers who left with Qiu Wenbin at the beginning, and after returning to Wuchang, he saw that he was not reused, and Sun Wu and others fought for power and profit, so they also returned with him to Yang Qiu, and participated in the defense of the north and Xiaogan. Later, he entered the second phase of the National Defense University's crash course for officers, and after the suppression of bandits in Xiangxi, the company commander was transferred to him to take over, because he was appointed as a battalion commander not long ago.

In fact, he had already received an order from the division headquarters, and he had been waiting here for a long time to land Rong Ting, and when he saw it, he immediately said: "The governor can rest assured and safe here." Our ministry has been authorized to do everything in its power to ensure the safety of the Governor. ”

Of course, Lu Rongting didn't know that he had already received the order, he just thought that Yang Qiu was closely monitoring the surrounding provinces, and the matter of Guilin had reached here overnight, and he nodded: "Then thank you Brother Ge, I don't know Commander Yang?" ”

Ge Chengyuan smiled slightly: "Please rest assured, our Hangzhou Brigade Commander has arrived from the starry night in Xiangxi last night, as long as the Governor says a word, my 18th Brigade will immediately enter the customs and take Guilin directly!" ”

A small ensign dared to speak out and take Guilin, which made Chen Bingkun feel a little arrogant, although Tang Jiyao's troops suffered a lot of losses in the attack on Guilin, but with the materials left in the city, they could recover in one night. Wang Zhixiang of Liuzhou and the troops of the Qianjun army would also definitely go north to join and rush to help, and more than 10,000 soldiers with high morale were backed by the fortified city and relied on an infantry brigade that would take at least two days to arrive

Before the cold snort in his heart was over, he heard another rustling sound in the direction of Yong'an Pass. The sound was very strange, as if something was rubbing against the sand, but it wasn't as heavy as the wheels of a carriage. Before everyone could figure out what it was, they saw a large number of soldiers suddenly appear on the pass, and what made everyone even more stunned was that each of these soldiers was riding a bicycle made by foreigners.

Since this section was downhill, these Wehrmacht soldiers on bicycles flew past the Gui soldiers like sharp arrows. Lu Yuxun also bought a bicycle from a foreigner a few years ago, so he immediately noticed that these cars were very unusual, not only the style was changed, but the materials also looked a lot stronger, and there was an extra shelf in the back. In order to facilitate riding, the long rifles were all inserted into the pouches that sloped downward at the horizontal bars, and even the machine guns were made into special bags, and all the marching equipment was placed on the shelves at the rear of the car.

"***, why didn't I think of how else to use it?" Lu Yuxun slapped his forehead hard, but his forehead still hurt. The back of the head was slapped by Lu Rongting again, and he said angrily: "If you have this ability, how can Lao Tzu lose Guilin City!" The conversation caused a burst of snickers around, and even Ge Chengyuan admitted that the smell of the two fathers and sons was very appetizing to the soldiers.

The cavalry soldiers, about the size of a reinforced battalion, quickly reached the flat ground at the foot of the hill before they stopped and began to form a procession, when a convoy of pack horses came from behind, and the first two officers of the cavalry came briskly.

"Cai Jimin (Hang Zhi) has seen Lu Du."

After reporting to his home, Lu Rongting was taken aback, and it was not surprising that Hang Zhi appeared. After all, Ge Chengyuan just said that he personally led the team, but Cai Jimin is a senior staff officer of the General Staff of the National Defense Forces! Although he is not as well-known as several others, he is also one of the backbones of the Hubei War and Yang Qiu.

"Father-in-law, look." As soon as he exchanged two words, Lu Rongting was quietly pulled by his son-in-law. Squinting at the side, a few war horses were walking by, the war horses were not unusual, what was strange was that these horses were actually carrying cannon barrels and gun carriages, and even the wheels were mounted on them! Can it be split, and a few horses can carry a cannon? With this sharp weapon, what else is there to fear in the high and deep canyons?

Seeing Lu Rongting and these Gui officers looking at the three 70mm mountain guns brought for the test in a daze, Cai Jimin and Hang Zhi looked at each other and smiled: "Governor Lu, I will ask Battalion Commander Ge to protect you and go to Changsha to rest." You can rest assured that the commander has ordered all forces to be used to liberate Guilin and Liuzhou, and will definitely seek justice for you and the people of Guangxi. ”

Can I go to Changsha now and come back? Even the Western bicycles were taken out, and the detachable cannon was brought, so I still obediently cooperated! Lu Rongting immediately glared at Cai Jimin angrily: "Lao Tzu is not yet seventy or eighty." Twisted his head and snatched the rifle in Tan Haoming's hand, and shouted to Gui Jun, who escaped together: "Lord Yang has come to avenge us, how he Tang Jiyao beats Lao Tzu, Lao Tzu will fight back!" If you are not afraid of death, you will kill it with Lao Tzu. ”

It's normal to be angry when the power is around. What's more, it can be seen from his words that he already has a heart of surrender, so Hang Zhi was not angry, and quietly bumped into Cai Jimin: "Lu Baiyi's temper is really not blown. ”

"At this time, it is a rare character to be able to only scold a few words to get angry." Cai Jimin smiled slightly, and summoned Ge Chengyuan: "Lu Dudu's family members will be handed over to you for protection for the time being, and the telegraph operator will immediately ask him to send a telegram to contact the commander when he arrives, and Lu Rongting is going to Guilin with my department." ”

After Ge Chengyuan saluted. The two strode towards Lu Rongting.

At the same time that Lu Rongting arrived at Yong'an Pass, Yang Qiu and Jiang Fangzhen also rushed outside Liuzhou, and the 14th Brigade, which was biting Liu Xianshi's buttocks, was preparing for the attack, and a regiment of the 15th Brigade also arrived in the north and began to build a position to cut off the connection between Liuzhou and Guilin. The telegraph line was cut off by the soldiers who had arrived in advance before the siege had begun last night.

There are almost no traces of battle on the walls of Liuzhou City in the telescope, and a large number of corpses have not been found around, which shows that after Wang Zhixiang made internal responses, yesterday's battles were concentrated in the city, and the Gui army was caught off guard and led to the loss of the whole line.

Liuzhou City, like Guilin, is made of one-meter-long bluestone, which gave Wang Zhixiang, who was hiding behind the city, great confidence and patted the thick bluestone: "If you don't need to be nervous, cannons can't open such a thick city wall." Just a mixed association wants to go wild, but there is no door. ”

Liu Xianshi naturally didn't think so, the scene of the transformation of the Great King Banner in Guiyang City is still fresh in his memory, so he quietly glanced at his henchman and asked him to prepare to retreat from the north gate as soon as there was a change, and pointed to the mortar that was being erected in the distance with a solemn face: "Tie Lao is reasonable, but it's better to be careful, their kind of small cannon is very powerful." ”

Wang Zhixiang only thought that he was frightened, the bigger the cannon was, the more powerful it was, could a few cannon barrels do it? After the ninth year, he gave up the position of governor to Lu Rongting, that Qiu Ba, and took more than 2,000 henchmen and soldiers to avoid Nandan, just for today! The north has already been contacted, and even if it is for the sake of his son's future, he should fight for it.

Before the dream of seeking a future for his son in front of Yuan Shikai began, he was suddenly torn apart by several violent explosions. The first to fire were the six 120-mm mortars that had been supported by the positioning brigades, and the power of the nearly 15-kilogram shells had exceeded that of the 105-mm howitzers, and the power of the imported TNT Yellow Sè** was even greater.

Yan Kai behind the artillery observation mirror is also a veteran of the first artillery regiment, the idea that artillery is king is deep-rooted, as the first batch of officers to learn to use mortars, from the first time I saw live ammunition shooting, I fell in love with mortars. It is even recommended to engage in a 200 mm oversized model. When he saw that the first shot was off target, he immediately corrected: "The distance is 733 meters, the azimuth is 47, the wind direction is southwest, and the left skew correction sends a rapid fire!" ”

After revising the coordinates, six 120-mm mortars bombarded the Gui army at a rate of 10 rounds per minute, and later nine 80-mm mortars joined in, throwing 600 shells at the Gui army and Liu Xianshi's army hiding behind the city wall in just 5 minutes! So much so that the empty ammunition boxes behind the position were built into small mountain bags.

The firepower density in the same unit of time has been proud of the whole country, if it is not for the large number of residents in Liuzhou City. The problem of propellant charges has also yet to be solved, and artillery alone can completely solve the problem. So when Jiang Fangzhen saw the ammunition box that was still being opened, he couldn't help but turn his head and ask: "Patrol, don't you think it's a waste?" ”

Yang Qiu didn't answer, and said lightly: "My request is 10 minutes of fire coverage." ”

After 10 minutes, Lei Meng stuck out his tongue and didn't figure it out yet. Jiang Fangzhen slapped him on the shoulder: "Don't forget it, if you hit it full, 1,500 rounds, the city walls will melt!" ”

Jiang Fangzhen found a place to sit down, he understood that Yang Qiu wanted to use this to establish his authority, and after seeing this artillery fire, it would be much easier to absorb the Gui army in the future. There is no suspense in Liuzhou, if Tang Jiyao is smart and breaks through now, there may be a way to live, but unfortunately he can't know the situation here after the telegraph line is broken (). When the encirclement is completed tomorrow night, the battle will be over. Now that the news of Guangxi has spread, Nanjing and Beijing are afraid that they have messed up, right?

He guessed right, Nanjing is indeed in chaos.

From the capital to continuing to be reduced to a companion, the city after handing over real power seems to have been siphoned off something. The presidential palace has become a joke-like ornament, and the provisional parliament is even more idle, in the words of the janitor, the royal spirit of Nanjing City has never returned since the relocation of the Ming Dynasty and Zhu Di.

Compared with the commotion of hundreds of thousands of troops half a year ago, the city has recovered as before. Jinling Arsenal because of Yuan Shikai's appropriation is barely maintained, the only thing that is extra is a four-wheeled foreign car that emits black smoke, a revolutionary upstart in this way to show off and show their status, after the election will end the mission of the Nanjing caretaker government after receiving funding from Beijing, it is even more in one breath to buy 30 cars for government officials to go back and forth, it is said that after hearing that his money was wasted like this, Yuan Shikai was so angry that he did not speak for a day.

Zhang Jizhi, who has never been left behind, also bought one. He has now resigned from the position of Minister of Industry of the Nanjing Government, and as the leader of the constitutionalist faction in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Yuan Shikai has not forgotten to win over this "good man" who reminded him of Sun Wen's three major conditions, and let him become the chief of agriculture and commerce and the chief of national water conservancy. But as soon as he pushed open the door of Huang Xing's office, he saw the tall KMT middle-man figure stumbling under his feet. If Li Shucheng hadn't been quick to hold on, he might have fallen down.

Li Yuanhong, who was short and fat next to him, was also busy getting up to help him, this scene made Zhang Ji intuitively sense that something big had happened, and after he was helped to sit down, he grabbed Li Shucheng and asked, "Xiaoyuan, what's wrong?" ”

Chief Li Shucheng sighed: "Something big has happened in Guangxi!" ”

"What's going on in Guangxi?" Although Zhang Jizhi's heart is no longer in Nanjing, he is still very clear about the major events, and said in surprise: "Didn't Yang Qiu go to Guizhou and Yunnan?" ”

Huang Keqiang relieved his breath and stomped his feet and said: "It's Guizhou!" Tang Jiyao was so frightened by Yang Qiu's tens of thousands of troops that he turned his head and went south to defeat Guilin and Liuzhou in Guangxi! Lu Rongting's family is now unknown. ”

"What!"

Li Shucheng continued: "The news was sent by Yang Qiu yesterday, and the ministers of various countries stationed in Guilin also sent a telegram this morning, and said that Tang Jiyao was he."

"What's wrong? It's not the same as Guiyang ()! Li Yuanhong snorted angrily. After he joined the National Socialist Party, his political enthusiasm suddenly became much higher, and the posture of the vice president also rose, and he was obviously ready to exert his residual heat. Li Shucheng nodded: "The British minister sent us a message, last night Tang Jiyao ordered the whole city to be searched, and took this opportunity to rob countless merchants, and there are countless Fu girls who have been ruined!" This morning, he also ordered the killing of more than 30 members of the Guangxi Consultative Bureau! Yang Qiu has already called, asking for the right to grant the National Defense Forces the right to use all their forces to ensure the tranquility of Guangxi! ”

"Give! Must give! Even if it is a breakthrough, this Tang Jiyao must be caught and escorted back to Nanjing for public trial to correct the national law. Li Yuanhong was trembling with fat all over his body, and he didn't know whether he was really angry or asking for power for Yang Qiu. Only Huang Keqiang reacted quickly: "No! This matter started because Yang Qiu made the first move, how could he go to Guangxi again if he couldn't pick it up himself? Xiaoyuan, you immediately send a report to Zhantang (Hu Hanmin), he should have arrived in Guangzhou, let him discuss with Chen Jiongming and Long Jiguang, and immediately send troops to Guangxi to arrest Tang Jiyao. ”

These words made Li Yuanhong a little dissatisfied, and they all said that he was a duke, but at this moment, it was clear that Yang Qiu's troops were closer, but he had to give up the distance to transfer the troops in Guangdong. What's more, Long Jiguang was originally from Guangxi, and he had a very poor relationship with Chen Jiongming, only because he held the military power, so he couldn't help it, what is the difference between letting him go back to Guangxi and letting the tiger return to the mountain? Moreover, Lu Rongting and him also have a lot of grievances, and this time it is bound to set off a civil war in Guangxi!

But he didn't object, because he had vaguely guessed that Tang Jiyao's sudden U-turn and going south to fight Guilin must have something to do with Yang Qiu, maybe this was Yang Qiu's calculation, and the National Defense Army in Guangxi could enter justifiably as soon as it was chaotic. As for political pressure, after Tang Jiyao's crime is reported, I am afraid that the people of the whole world will want the national defense force to kill him.

It's a pity that the person in front of him is too naïve, maybe he has no problem being a man, but doing things! Li Yuanhong sighed, glanced at Huang Keqiang, who confessed to Li Shucheng, shook his head and walked out of the office, Zhang Ji looked at his round back, and his heart gradually chilled.

The sky is going to change again。!。