The strength of the cottage is more than 2,000 people, and there are not many people in the buildings around the Guangming Temple alone, so the strength of the cottage is divided into three places, the Guangming Temple where the general rudder is located is stationed with the old battalion and four teams of about 1,000 people, and the east and south two small villages, each stationed about 500 people.

Long Qian's eighth team was stationed in Nanzhai, also known as the aggressive village, and was accompanied by six teams and some handymen, including sixteen prostitutes.

Although Mengshan Mountain is steep, the road to the mountain is not just the west road. In fact, there are roads up the mountain in the east and south, and there are also big roads to climb the mountain on the east road from Mengyin, but the road conditions are not as good as the west road. Since Cao Kun set up the camp in Pingyi Village, the main direction of attack must have chosen the west road. What the Mengshan bandits didn't know was that Cao Kun left a battalion with the strongest combat effectiveness on the East Road, plus Mengyin's garrison, which was dedicated to defense, Cao Kun thought it was enough to block the Mengshan bandits. Cao Kun imagined that if the main force of the thieves broke through from the east road, then they would also give up the geographical advantage, or the geographical advantage would be different from the offensive and defensive situation. As long as the battalion on the east road relies on its equipment to block for two days, the main force on the west road will occupy the Mengshan thief's nest, so that the main force on the west road is condescending, and it is easier to attack the thief army on the east road.

In addition to the east and west roads, the south road can also climb the mountain, but it is a sheep intestine path, from the south road to reach the Guangming Temple need to climb over the deserted mountains, empty-handed climbing is still laborious, not to mention the regular army carrying guns and ammunition. Because the Mengshan thieves had the lesson of plundering from the south road, Cao Kun traveled to Wenyi Prefecture and ordered him to send three anti-camp sentinels to guard the southern line to ensure that the thieves did not slip through the southern line.

The commander of the Southern Route Army was the named Admiral of Shandong, Lan Twilight, although the official was higher than the Cao Zhen Guard, but the strength under his command was weaker than that of the Wuwei Right Army, so Admiral Lan's duty was only to defend and alarm.

Cao Kun led two infantry battalions and the main force of the artillery team, the Wuwei New Army, as the main force of the attack on the western road, to undertake the heavy task of plowing the court and sweeping the caves and leveling the nest of thieves in Mengshan in one fell swoop.

The old camp called the Mengshan thief by the Yizhou government is a temple called Guangming Temple, the monks in the temple have fled ten years ago, and the Buddha statues in several halls are also damaged. Since the Mengshan thieves occupied the Guangming Temple, the former holy Buddhist places were wafting with the smell of wine and meat all day long, and all that came was the sound of guessing and shouting, and there was no trace of the holiness and solemnity of the pure land of Buddhism.

But today, the Guangming Temple is not as noisy as in the past, and there is a tense and depressing atmosphere everywhere, and in the main hall, the big leaders are discussing against a hand-drawn map.

The news of the official army's invasion was as difficult to conceal as all the secrets in this world, and it had already reached the old camp in Mengshan ten days ago, and Sun Dewang, the big boss who stayed in the old camp, quickly recalled Liu Yucai, the second leader who was leading the army, to discuss countermeasures. Liu Yucai strongly advocated that he withdraw from Mengshan before the official army was encircled, and turned to Yizhou, and then returned to the old camp when the official army was exhausted. Liu Yucai also burst out in a crepe sentence, "Avoiding its sharpness and attacking its laziness is the way for soldiers to win." Although Liu Yucai had the highest degree of Chinese in the public, the words that dropped the book bag just now were unspeakable, and Sun Dewang immediately judged that Liu Yucai was influenced by Long Qian again.

Sun Dewang considered that it was not easy for the old camp to operate, and once he was evacuated, he could bring gold and silver treasures with him, but the grain houses would naturally have to be burned, and even if they didn't burn them, the officials and soldiers would not leave them behind. What's more, there are many family members in charge, and small-footed women can't ride horses or walk, how can they keep up with the marching speed of the army? Therefore, Sun Dewang vetoed Liu Yucai's opinion and insisted on guarding the mountain. He believes that it is not the first time that the official army has entered and suppressed, because the Mengshan Mountain is high and densely forested, the terrain is steep, and the grain and grass on the mountain are sufficient, so we can hold it for a long time, and the officers and troops may not spend a long time. At that time, even if they don't defeat us, they will obediently withdraw due to lack of food and grass.

Liu Yucai was a little worried, "Big brother, it's not an ordinary official army who came back this time. It is the army of Yuan Shikai, who has made great contributions in North Korea, who is the most knowledgeable soldier in the imperial court. The reason why Yuan Shikai, the dog official, attacked us as soon as he came to Shandong. This time, the imperial court sent the new army of Wuwei to attack Mengshan, not on a whim, nor because Yuan Gouguan was eager to make meritorious contributions, I am afraid that he had a plan for a long time. I think Xiaolongzi is right, when the new army first comes, it must have the mentality of being rewarded for meritorious service, and it is naturally sharp. When they pounced and couldn't find us, the anger was almost gone. This is what the Art of War says, "avoid its sharpness and attack its laziness". When the time comes, we will pursue, volley, and fight no matter how we fight. ”

"The morality of the officers and soldiers is like that, how much difference can there be between the new army and the green battalion, it's just that the military pay is sufficient and the weapons are good." Sun Dewang shook his head, "Back then, you were in Henan, and our brothers were in Yinan, so there were fewer officers and soldiers killed?" The soldiers of the new army did not have three heads and six arms. What are you afraid of, we can do it, we have more than a thousand brothers who have fought and seen blood, and it is almost impossible to say that one is ten. As for grain and grass, our fifth child is a rich man, good at managing money, and there is a lot of grain stored in the village, which can support at least three months. They stayed for a few days, and when they ran out of food, they obediently withdrew. ”

What is inconvenient to say here is that Liu Yucai and Sun Dewang always have some inconsistencies. At the beginning, Liu Yucai and Zhou Huanan, who were born in the remnants of the Twist Army, brought hundreds of people from Yinan to vote, and Sun Dewang accepted it generously, and the strength of the cottage was more than doubled. In the years that followed, Liu Yucai proved that his courage and scheming were above Sun Dewang with his strategy and military exploits. However, because of the incompetence of Shandong Green Camp, Sun Dewang has long been consumed by the comfortable life of flowers and willows.

As Long Qian expected, the opinion of Sun Da was agreed by the rest of the leaders except Zhou Huanan. As a result, the principle of relying on geographical advantages and fighting on the inner line was determined. The current situation is that the Wuwei Army came faster and fiercer than they thought. Yesterday, spies came to report that the officers and troops of the West Road had occupied Zhangjiazhai. Zhangjiazhai stuck on the road that Mengshan must pass through from the west of the mountain, if you ignore it, or two days, the official army will enter Niutouling and approach the Guangming Temple.

"Can't let them occupy Zhangjiazhai!" Sun Deming, who heard the news, found his brother and strongly requested that the main force of the official army be defeated before the main force of the official army occupied Zhangjiazhai was defeated.

Zhangjiazhai is so small, at best, it can accommodate up to 200 people.

Sun Dewang agreed with his younger brother. So he summoned the rest of the leaders and decided to attack Zhangjiazhai after sunset. The terrain is extremely familiar, and it shouldn't be difficult to win this battle.

"Didn't Long Qian say that there are many fast guns in this group of officers and soldiers from Zhili? Then we'll grab him. Sun Deming grinned. He was only in his early thirties, but his hair was starting to go out, which made him look a little old.

"The third child also knows the power of foreign guns." Liu Yucai smiled, "I heard that Yuan Shikai trained at a small station, and the instructors invited were all Germans. I have also heard that the Germans fought the most wars, and the Oriental soldiers who beat the Beiyang elite in Korea and Northeast China were all their students. ”

"Second brother, don't be ambitious." Sun Deming disagreed, "We are not fighting with the Germans, you still don't know the virtue of the officers and soldiers?" They are bullying a few honest people. ”

The Mengshan thieves now know a lot about foreigners. Although most of them are desperate farmers. Being located in Shandong allows them to take advantage of information ahead of their time. A few years ago, during the First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese army landed in Weihai, and the year before last, the Germans sent troops to occupy Qingdao because their missionaries were killed, so that they found that the legendary foreigners were not far from them.

"I heard Long Qian say the same, the German Army first. If this group of officers and soldiers had really been trained by the Germans, we should have abandoned the mountain and left. It was Zhou Huanan, the fourth master, who spoke.

"Don't listen to Long Qian's nonsense. He is a hairy child who has never seen the world, and he knows what the German Army is the first! He has been to Germany? Sun Deming said dissatisfiedly, "Abandon the mountain and don't go?" Where to go? The ass is followed by thousands of officers and soldiers, which village gives us face? If he did what he said, these thousands of people would have dispersed as soon as they got off the mountain. ”

"Since the newcomer Yuan Futai doesn't give us a way to live. There is no way out," Sun Deming said, "if you win, you can stay in Mengshan, go to Feixian, Pingyi or Mengyin." But if we are defeated by this group of officers and soldiers who come from Zhili, we will be lost dogs even if we go down the mountain. The third child is right, Zhangjiazhai must fight. ”

Liu Yucai also believed that only by defeating the official army could there be room for turnaround. Among this group of people, he has a wide range of knowledge. Mengshan Cottage looted everywhere, and the surrounding villages had deep grievances, just like the twist of the year, once it failed, even the villagers became extremely terrible enemies.

"Big brother, although Xiaolongzi is young, he has read books and seen the world. The truth that we must win the first battle is indeed incisive, otherwise we may fall into passivity. It's not impossible to fight Zhangjiazhai, it's better to send Long Qian to lead someone to do a reconnaissance. Zhou Huanan still felt in his heart that Long Qian's suggestion of abandoning the mountain and leaving him was right, but the current situation seemed that the idea of advocating a frontal attack on the official army obviously prevailed.

"Scouting? Who doesn't know the situation in Zhangjiazhai? Scouting what? Time is not in our favor, and once the officers and troops gain a firm foothold, it will be difficult to sneak attack. Sun Dewang lit another bag of cigarettes and said in an urn voice.

"It has to be done. Otherwise, the dog's day doesn't know how many eyes the prince of Ma gave birth to! Sun Deming, the third master with a hot personality, said loudly, "I'll take people to fight Zhangjiazhai!" We are familiar with the terrain, how many times do we not go in and out in which year? Wait ye for my good news. ”

Liu Yucai and Zhou Huanan actually haven't seen how powerful the Wuwei New Army that Long Qian boasted about is that it is simply a divine soldier. But the two of them trusted Long Qian very much, so Liu Yucai asked, "Third child, how did you fight Zhangjiazhai?" Just rush down the hill? ”

"Of course not." Although Sun Deming was reckless, he was not stupid, "Since the official army has good weapons, we won't fight with him during the day." At night, at night we snuck in and killed him by surprise. ”