February 11, 1919, morning. Henan, Yucheng County, Zhangjiaji.

The gunfire crackled like fried beans. The incessant clicking sound of the water-cooled machine gun was intertwined with the dull sound of the 79-caliber Han-style rifle. Occasionally, there is the sound of mortar or grenade exploding. The area around this big village called Zhangjiaji has become a battlefield for the melee between the northern and southern armies! The melee was divided into two areas of intense firefighting, one was the battlefield where two regiments of the New Eighth Division stormed Zhangjiaji. The other is the battlefield where the rest of the New Eighth Division blocked the 10th Beiyang Infantry Regiment. The scene of the battle on Zhangjiaji's side still seems to be a little adjusted, that is, one side is attacking and the other side is defending. But the blocking battlefield to the west of Zhangjiaji is a mess! The blocking force composed of the 1st Regiment of the 10th Regiment of the Beiyang Regiment and the 236th Siege of the New Eighth Division, the artillery battalion (no artillery), the cavalry battalion (no horses), and the teaching brigade almost collided head-on when the sky was dark! The soldiers on both sides rushed to kill each other, shooting fiercely, and the battle was a mess from the beginning! Neither commander had the means to reorganize the chaotic troops, so he could only let the officers and soldiers of both sides fight separately, depending on which side was more suitable for such a melee!

Caozhuang Town, Dangshan County, the advance headquarters of the Western Advance Corps. When Wang Junhao arrived here with his staff team from Dangshan County. Almost immediately, I got the news that the new Eighth Division was in a mixed battle with two regiments of the Third Division of the Beiyang Army. This message can only tell one thing. The new Eighth Division has completed the task of luring the enemy and entangled with the enemy! After paying heavy losses, they had already put the noose into the Beiyang Third Division, or Wu Peifu's neck...... The determination to abandon two regiments to keep the remnants of the 3rd Division was not so easy to make!

Colonel Xu Jiajue, chief of staff of the Western Advance Corps, who graduated from the fourth phase of Baoding, stepped into the headquarters at once. He came half a day earlier than Wang Junhao, and also went to the front line to inspect the battle situation, and now he has just returned. Look at the siege of the 236th crown, beg for a monthly pass, beg for a subscription, and return to the chief of staff who is gray-faced. Wang Junhao asked in a deep voice, "Jishan, how is the front?" Can the New Eighth Division retain the Third Division of the Northern Army? Xu Jiajue picked up a teapot on the table. He took a big sip of half-cold barley tea at the spout of the teapot, and then said with a heavy face: "It's not a big problem for the time being, but the Beiyang Third Division is also worthy of its reputation, and the 10,000 people of the New Eighth Division will not have the upper hand in beating them for three or four thousand, and it is still when their artillery is not dispatched!" ”

Wang Junhao smiled faintly, leaned over the map table, and said while looking at the map: "Only if the name is worthy of the name, it is good to trap Wu Peifu, if it is replaced by any other army, that Wu Yushuai will not care, but there are three or four thousand people...... How much impact can it have on the overall situation? ”

Xu Jiajue was stunned for a moment. Rhetorical question: "Isn't the goal of this battle not only the Third Division?" ”

Wang Junhao snorted coldly. Tapping his finger on the map: "A mere third division can use our entire westward marching corps?" Moreover, Commander-in-Chief Chang has also transferred five other armies, which will come up to reinforce us at any time, and even the Second Front Army is now preparing to cross the Huai River and go north...... The whole situation has been mobilized, just wait for Wu Peifu to come up and fight with us! ”

"A decisive battle?" Xu Jiajue also leaned over to look at the map: "Provincial Duke (Wang Junhao), if you want to fight a decisive battle." Where will the battlefield be? ”

Wang Junhao pressed a slap on the location of Shangqiu and Yucheng on the map, and said in a deep voice: "It's here!" This place is located in the middle of Xuzhou and Kaifeng, and it has been occupied by our army first! As long as we push the Beiyang Third Division into Yucheng County and surround it, Wu Peifu can only grit his teeth and lead troops to rescue! However, he only has eight divisions at hand, and the rest of the main forces of the Northern Army are either in the Beijing-Tianjin area or fighting Shanxi, and it is impossible to rush to the battlefield for a while. ”

Wang Junhao straightened up, with a smug expression on his face. He was one of the first few backbones of the Iron Blood Comrades Association to follow Chang Ruiqing. Since graduating from Baoding, he has been leading troops, but Chang Ruiqing always doesn't value him as much as Bai Chongxi, although he doesn't say anything about it, but he is very unconvinced in his heart! This time in a decisive battle with Beiyang, Chang Ruiqing gave the main attack to Bai Chongxi again...... According to the original plan, it was supposed to be Bai Chongxi's Northern Advance Corps to encircle Jinan. lured the main force of the Beiyang Army to come to the decisive battle.

Just when he saw that the first gong was about to be taken by Bai Chongxi again, Mao Zd, who sent troops with him, suddenly put forward a "virtual and real" construction, Wang Junhao had already had the idea of luring a northern army to the front line of Shangqiu to annihilate at this time, so he and Mao Zd set a plan to lure the enemy by the new Eighth Division to deceive the defeat (it should be a real defeat). I didn't expect that what was led out was actually the third division, known as the first elite in Beiyang! As soon as he heard that the Third Division was seduced out, Wang Junhao knew that Bai Chongxi's decisive battle in Jinan could not be fought, and the first credit of this Northern Expedition must belong to him!

At the same time that the side of the Northern Expeditionary Army had decided to start a decisive battle with the Beiyang Army in the direction of Longhai Road. The new triumvirate of Beiyang, namely Xu Shuzheng, Wu Peifu, and Feng Yuxiang, are still arguing over whether to use the Jinpu Road Front Army to reinforce Jinan. The news that the Third Division might be besieged had also reached the base camp in Beijing, but Xu Shuzheng and Feng Yuxiang did not think that it was a big deal for the two battalions of the Third Division to be surrounded by the Northern Expeditionary Army, at least not more important than the reinforcement of Jinan. Still less did he think it was necessary to transfer the main force to the Shangqiu-Yucheng line near Xuzhou to fight a decisive battle with the Southern Army in order to relieve the troops of the two battalions.

Xu Shuzheng even gave instructions to Wu Peifu in the name of the commander of the base camp, asking him to abandon the small force besieged east of Yucheng, shrink his forces to the Kaifeng line to hold on, and if necessary, continue to retreat to Zhengzhou. The two main clusters of Zhengzhou and Jinan can be formed on the battlefield of the Central Plains to echo each other from afar.

And Wu Peifu knew in his heart that Xu Shuzheng was still worried that after all, the southern army would go straight to Beijing after seizing Jinan and overthrow the rule of him, the supreme consul, in one fell swoop! However, the limited main force of Beiyang is evenly dispersed in Jinan and Kaifeng to defend the city, which is definitely a stupid move to sit back and wait! The Southern Army can calmly deploy its forces and break the scattered main forces of Beiyang! At that time, not only will it be difficult for Beijing to preserve, but even the entire Beiyang system will no longer have a chance to turn over.

As for whether or not to launch the "Shangqiu-Yucheng Battle" with the Southern Army for the sake of just two battalions, the same topic is the same. Wu Peifu's views are completely consistent with Xu Shuzheng and Feng Yuxiang. Now the main force of the Beiyang Army has not yet completed the assembly, and it is unwise to rush into battle. Moreover, Shangqiu and Yucheng were too close to Xuzhou, and the southern army could use the Jinpu line and the Longhai line to quickly mobilize a large number of troops into the battlefield. Beiyang's success in the "Shangqiu-Yucheng Battle" is really not large. Therefore, after receiving Xiao Yaonan's report, Wu Peifu did not hesitate to give Zhang Fulai the order to abandon the main force of the 11th Regiment, withdraw his troops back to Shangqiu to join the 5th Brigade, and then withdraw to Kaifeng together.

But Zhang Fulai's subsequent call back surprised him. Zhang Fulai reported in the telegram that not only could the main force of the 10th Regiment not be withdrawn, but even the 10th Regiment was caught in a scuffle, and there was no way to break away from the Southern Army! Moreover, Zhang Fulai had already ordered the Fifth Brigade, which had just arrived in Shangqiu, to rush to Yucheng immediately, preparing to concentrate its forces to repel the New Eighth Division of the Southern Army first. Then retreat to the west. Or a breakout!

……

"We've caught the Third Beiyang Division!" A joyful exclamation suddenly raised the atmosphere in the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army in Xuzhou. Chang Ruiqing, who had been sitting in the headquarters since the armies of the west and north routes were dispatched, had stayed up for several nights, but the tired look on his face was swept away after hearing the news. The whole person was refreshed at once, and he watched the staff officers cheering there. He also nodded with satisfaction, and said to Chief of Staff Lu Yixuan in a cheerful tone: "Okay! The Westward Advance Corps did a good job, and the New Eighth Division was even better! A commendation order was issued to all the officers and men of the New Eighth Division, and another 200,000 yuan, no, 300,000 yuan! All the fallen soldiers of the New Eighth Division should also receive preferential pensions. By the way, what was the reaction of the Northern Army? Did their troops move in the Beijing-Tianjin area? What are the actions of the Second Army of the Northern Army in the direction of Zhengtai Road? ”

Listening to Chang Ruiqing's last series of questions, Lu Yixuan smiled faintly: "Brother Yaoru, how can the information come so quickly?" But don't worry. Our people have long infiltrated them (referring to the Northern Army) like a sieve, and we can all know what Wu Peifu's deployment is within forty-eight hours. ”

As he was saying this, a communications staff officer hurriedly walked in and handed a copy of the telegram to Lu Yixuan. Lu Yixuan glanced at it twice and said with a smile: "It's news from Beijing, Xu Youzheng appointed Feng Huanzhang as the commander-in-chief of the Jinpu Road Front Army." Let him command the 1st, 11th, 15th, and 16th Divisions, as well as the Second Army to reinforce Jinan. ”

"Let Feng Yuxiang go to reinforce Jinan?" Chang Ruiqing snorted and said with a smile: "Okay! It's good if they move...... Once these seventy or eighty thousand troops are in Feng Yuxiang's hands, it will be difficult for Xu Youzheng to mobilize them again! He thought for a while, and then said to Lu Yixuan: "Sue the king to introspect, just push the third division of Beiyang into Yucheng and surround it, don't annihilate it for the time being." ”

Lu Yixuan's eyes rolled, and he understood Chang Ruiqing's thoughts, and he smiled and said, "Do you want to wait for Feng Yuxiang's army to arrive in Jinan and then let go of your hands to fight?" ”

Chang Ruiqing nodded with a sneer: "Of course, we can't reveal the direction of the main attack yet...... And if you don't fight around the third division, you can also give Wu Peifu a little fantasy. I don't want him to run to the northwest with his troops to claim the king! ”

……

Beijing Zhengyangmen Railway Station. A train full of Beiyang officers and soldiers was already lit and ready to go. The station was full of well-dressed and well-dressed men with escort secretaries, who had come to see off Feng Yuxiang, the commander-in-chief of the Jinpu Road Front of the Northern Army. The infantry army commanding the Yamen, the police of the Jingshi Police Station, and the officers and soldiers of the ruling government guard were on strict guard inside and outside the station, as if they were facing a great enemy.

During this time, the markets in Beijing and Tianjin were not very calm, and students from large and middle schools did not attend classes much, holding placards and marching all day long to protest against the dictatorship of the Beiyang government! There are also calls for workers to strike, businessmen to strike and so on. As a result, he provoked the consul Xu Shuzheng, ordered the military and police in Beijing and Tianjin to suppress the bullets, and also opened fire, killing several GCD people who took the lead in making trouble. However, the protests were suppressed, and the rumors that the Red Brigade was going to assassinate Xu Shuzheng and Feng Yuxiang and that they were going to carry out terrorist activities in the city of Beijing arose, which made the whole Beiyang government panic, and they hurriedly ordered the imposition of martial law and curfew in Beijing.

However, Xu Shuzheng also knows that the root cause of the fluctuation of people's hearts in the capital is actually the approaching Northern Expedition army step by step! And what really poses a mortal threat to him and Beiyang's rule is Chang Ruiqing's Northern Expeditionary Army! If you want to stabilize your own rule, there is also the key to the hearts and minds of the people in the Beijing-Tianjin area. It is still necessary to block the northward march of the Northern Expeditionary Army. It's just that with the current strength of the Beiyang Army, I'm afraid it will be difficult to complete this task.

In the white air of the train platform. Xu Shuzheng took Feng Yuxiang's hand. I really didn't know what to tell for a while. It wasn't until the whistle sounded that he sighed: "Huanzhang, the hope of our Beiyang is in you and Ziyu." The situation in the direction of Longhai Road does not seem to be good, Ziyu's third division has suffered some losses, but with him, the first general in Beiyang, there will not be a bad situation...... The direction of Jinpu Road will be handed over to you, no matter what, you must hold Jinan, and at the same time, you must also prepare for the whole army to go south to cooperate with the Longhai Road direction...... In case Ziyu's worries are true, the only way to save the situation is by relying on the attack of your Jinpu Road Front. ”

Xu Shuzheng and Feng Yuxiang were all surrounded by government officials who saw them off, as well as a large group of generals of the Beiyang system. Everybody's face was gloomy. It's not like I'm here to see Feng Yuxiang off. It's like I'm here to give a funeral! It is not for nothing that these people have ugly faces. Beiyang's current shape, they are very clear to insiders. The main decisive battle between the north and the south has begun, but the northern army has obviously made a bad start! The most elite 3rd Division seems to have suffered a big loss on the Longhai Road, and the shape on the Jinpu Road is even worse, and the entire Southern Army is overwhelmed...... Now it's up to Feng Christ to see what tricks he can make to turn the tide? Maybe some Jesus will bless him, the general of Christ?

However, the shape is not good, and it is not what these people are most worried about. What bothered them the most was that the Nationalist Government had put forward a demand for the resumption of all concessions in Shanhaiguan except Hong Kong (including Macao) in its diplomatic involvement! That is to say, in case, uh, not just in case, but 9/10,000 in Beiyang to be completely finished, they will not be able to go to the Tianjin Concession to avoid the limelight! As for the Japanese-controlled Kanto Prefecture outside the Kanto Prefecture, it seems that it will be taken back by the Nationalist Government in a few years...... Now the Japanese seem to be colluding with the Nationalist Government and want to form an alliance with China against Soviet Russia!

Feng Yuxiang glanced at the gloomy faces of these officials, and patted Xu Shuzheng's hand again. smiled and said: "Brother Zheng again, I know in my heart this war, and I will not let the people of our Beiyang group end up in the end!" As he spoke, he smiled at a few senior Beiyang officials who came to see him off: "Everyone rest assured, only with me Feng Yuxiang one day, I can always keep everyone safe." ”

There is obviously something deep in this statement. However, Xu Shuzheng was upset at this time. didn't hear any questions, he shook Feng Yuxiang's hand tightly: "Okay, then please." Feng Yuxiang also nodded his head, and then turned around and got on the train. Song Zheyuan, Zhang Zhijiang, Han Fuqu and other officers of Feng Yuxiang's system who were standing at the door of the train carriage also followed their boss one by one to get on the train.

On February 12, 1919, General Feng Yuxiang, commander-in-chief of the Jinpu Road Front of the Beiyang Army, led his headquarters and the 11th Division of the Army to board the train south to Jinan. On the same day, the Second Beiyang Army, which was advancing along Zhengtai Road to Taiyuan, also moved east and retreated to the east and boarded the train to retreat to Zhengding. The 1st, 15th, and 16th Divisions under the Jinpu Road Front Army will also move south in the next few days. After these troops left, the Beiyang Army near Beijing and Tianjin was left with only the 13th Division defending the first line of Shanhaiguan and the three participating armies stationed in Beijing as a mixed brigade.

"Yao Shuai, the telegram from the commander-in-chief of the Western Advance Corps Wang, they have surrounded the Third Division of the Beiyang Army in Yucheng County!" Lieutenant Colonel Wang Geng, a senior staff officer of the General Headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army and had just returned from studying in the United States, stood in front of Chang Ruiqing and Lu Yixuan, looking a little excited. This lieutenant colonel who graduated from the West Point Military Academy is participating in actual combat for the first time, and it is still such a big battle that will determine China's future and destiny, and the excitement can be imagined.

Chang Ruiqing and Lu Yixuan were discussing something at the map table. A military map of 1 in 50,000 is densely marked with various symbols representing troops, defense lines, transportation lines, and the number of troops. Among them, most of the surroundings around Shangqiu-Yucheng are blue symbols representing the National Revolutionary Army. Hearing Wang Geng's report, both of them turned around, and Lu Yixuan slapped his face with a smile: "Okay!" It's finally fenced in, and now Wu Peifu can be regarded as being trapped by us! ”

Chang Ruiqing frowned slightly, turned around and tapped the location of Shangqiu on the map with his fingers, and ordered: "Propose to the headquarters of the Western Advance Corps to build a strong defensive position on the front line of Shangqiu!" Then he smiled at Wang Geng: "Shouqing, the battle on Longhai Road is about to begin, you can't do anything in my general headquarters, let's go to the front line to experience it, I will promote you to colonel and commander-in-chief of the artillery of the Western Advance Corps now, there are three artillery regiments here in Xuzhou that have been prepared, you take them together, and two artillery regiments will arrive at the front line in about three days, all under your unified command!" Do a good job, this battle is fought, you are a general! (Your support is my biggest motivation.) )rv！！！