Cixi, who heard the news of Niangziguan's victory, rejoiced that Long Qian had once again defeated the coalition forces. After all, the Manchu authorities had too little such a feeling in their dealings with the Western powers.

The main force attacking Niangzi Pass was the German army, and the French army only helped in the battle. Although the Qing army guarding Niangzi Pass was poorly equipped, it had a resolute will to fight, and it was much better than the main force of the Qing army near Gyeonggi. Several German attacks were defeated, many people died, and the yellow-brown hillsides were littered with the corpses of the Allied troops. It was not until the evening that the Germans captured the pass. But they did not expect that they encountered a counterattack by the Qing army at night, and the Germans and French did not expect that the Qing army, which had always lacked offensive awareness, actually adopted the tactics of sneak attack, until the Chinese touched their trenches and realized that the battle between the short soldiers was fierce, the Germans and the French were confused, and in less than half an hour they were driven down the pass, and the Niangzi Pass returned to the Chinese again. After dawn, the German and French troops attacked again under the cover of artillery fire, but suffered heavier casualties than yesterday, and the German major, who shouted to direct the attack, was broken in the head by a bullet, and the sudden fire of the Qing artillery brought panic to the German army, and suddenly broke the German army's will to fight. With the defeat of the Germans, the French, who were smaller in numbers and weaker in their will to fight, also stopped attacking from the flanks. They studied the situation and decided that they could not break through the position with their current forces alone, so they retreated.

That's right, it was the main force of the Mengshan Army that hurriedly arrived from Taiyuan that attacked at night and firmly held the city the next day. After listening to Lu Shan's reconnaissance report and listening to the introduction of the original guard Niangziguan patrol battalion, Long Qian decided to use the tactics of night attack to recapture Guancheng, and never allow the enemy army to gain a firm foothold. The four battalions of Lushan with Shi Dashou were responsible for the night attack. The task was successfully completed.

In fact, this battle of the Mengshan army was much simpler than the Xigu ambush, and the casualties were very small. Just as Long Qian predicted to Cixi, the foreign coalition forces no longer had the motivation to attack Beijing in the first place. Those middle- and lower-class coalition officers and soldiers were worried about how to smoothly bring back the gold, silver and jewelry they had looted in Beijing to their motherland, and they seriously lacked interest in breaking the Niangzi Pass and entering Shanxi.

Long Qian handed Lieutenant General Seymour's letter to a captured German second lieutenant and asked him to bring it to Field Marshal Wadsey, who then released the second lieutenant and several German soldiers who had been captured at the same time.

In the battle to seize the pass, Chen Huan finally believed in the achievements of this Shandong soldier. It was a troop he had never seen before. His organization, tactics and command methods were an eye-opener. An army like theirs and tactics of war. Chen Eun, who was in the Wuwei Army, was unheard of. Without a word of nonsense, Situ Jun, the young deputy chief of the General Staff Section, introduced the terrain, enemy situation, and battle plan in extremely concise and clear language on a hand-drawn map, and it took only 10 minutes. Next, the three battalion commanders competed for the task. Chen Eun is still the first time to see the pipe band of the task. It's a war. And it's a war with foreigners, not anything else! The pipe band surnamed Shi (they are called the battalion commander, Chen Yan thinks it is quite good) said. "Don't fight with me. At the beginning of the ambush of the coalition brigade in Xigu, the two of them undertook the assault on both flanks and made great contributions. The brothers of the fourth battalion are holding their breath. This time it's time for the four battalions anyway. Long Qian made a decision, let the four battalions go up, and the first battalion was the reserve.

Chen Eun proposed, should you send more people up? Long Qian said that the Guancheng area is narrow, and if there are too many people, it will be chaotic, and one battalion is enough. Chen Eun volunteered to go with the fourth battalion, but was rejected by Long Qian, "Don't, they have a tacit understanding with each other, you go, you can't help, but add to the chaos." ”

Chen Yan was worried, but the results soon came out, and the fourth battalion recaptured the city and captured several foreigners. Long Qian released the foreigner, Chen Eun was puzzled, and he was also curious about the letter that Long Qian handed over to the German second lieutenant who knew some English. Long Qian said that the letter was written by Seymour, a lieutenant general of the British army, and that Seymour was in Taiyuan. Now the imperial court is unable to counterattack the Beijing Division, so it can only be resolved through negotiations, and letting them go back will have more advantages than disadvantages.

The battle was over, and Long Qian transferred the first battalion to replace the fourth battalion. Chen Eun also went up and witnessed the scene of a battalion building fortifications, which opened his eyes. And the incomparably harmonious relationship between the officers and men of the Shandong soldiers also made him sigh. He could see that the Shandong soldiers loved their commander very much, and that love came from the heart. And Long Qian and the main officers of the Shandong Army also had a fresh style, digging fortifications with the soldiers, eating together, and chatting together. He personally treated the wounded number, and even personally carried the injured number down the castle. These are all things that he has not seen in the Wuwei Zhongjun.

The summary meeting held by the Shandong soldiers after the war also opened Chen Eun's eyes, Chen Eun had never seen this kind of meeting, and the battalion commander Shi Dashou who led the team reported in detail the process of the battle, not to mention the merits, but to find out four or five deficiencies, and the other officers did not praise but pointed out their shortcomings. In Chen Yan's opinion, it was a miracle that the city was captured with less than 20 casualties, but the deputy commander of Lushan thought that the casualties were too large, and if those mistakes were avoided, the casualties could be completely reduced.

"Do you have a meeting like this every time?" Chen Yan asked Long Qian.

"Of course. Open every time. How can the lesson of blood not be summed up? The experience summed up in the actual battle is not exchanged. ”

Chen Eun wants to join the Shandong Army, oh, they always call themselves Mengshan Army.

Long Qian brought a sum of silver, except for the purchase of food, clothing and various supplies, and made an exception to give each officer and soldier three taels of silver as pocket money. In the past, the military salaries of the Mengshan Army were all in the form of bookkeeping, and the officers and soldiers were the same, and they did not receive cash. If you want to spend money, you must go to the Logistics Section for approval to spend it. The troops are fighting abroad, and military discipline is strict, and it is forbidden to drink alcohol at will, gamble for money, and still less engage in prostitution. The officers and soldiers did not have much to spend. For those who have wives and elderly people at home, half of their military salaries are distributed to their families by the logistics department headquarters in the base areas left behind. This provision is very humane and has been supported by the majority of officers and soldiers.

After the battle, Long Qian and the main officers studied and decided to give a silver reward to all officers and soldiers to commend their achievements since the battle. The base of the silver reward is one hundred taels, and the amount of meritorious service, wounded and killed is increased. In particular, each officer and soldier who died in battle received an additional 50 taels of silver for burial, which was more than four times higher than in Zhengjiazhuang. Of course, it is still in the form of bookkeeping, and everyone is used to this. There is no fear that the officials will make empty promises.

Long Qian gave 2,000 taels of silver to the patrol battalion that was originally stationed in Guancheng, saying that this was a thank you to the Shanxi brothers, and without your perseverance to buy time, there would be no victory in this battle. The battle report he wrote also talked about the exploits of the Shanxi soldiers, which moved the leaders of the patrol battalion very much. took the initiative to ask them to defend the city, Long Qian said that it was okay, it was estimated that the foreign devils would not come again, and this battle was over. for it has the effect of two thousand taels of silver. The local garrison took the initiative to vacate a barracks for the use of the Mengshan army. The weather is getting colder, and I can't stand sleeping in the wilderness. Fortunately, Jia Jiying, the bold and reckless little shopkeeper of the bank, was really a person who did things, and soon sent someone to send 300 sets of cotton clothes, and stated that the follow-up cotton clothes were being made. Successively sent to Niangzi Pass. With these three hundred sets of cotton clothes. The officers and men on duty at night and the wounded and sick will not be guilty. Other urgently needed materials, such as food and medicinal herbs, were also delivered. The people near Niangziguan are very poor, they lack everything, and they really need to buy near Taiyuan.

Two more days passed. The 112 recruits recruited near Taiyuan were sent to the Niangziguan barracks and organized into a recruit company.

Long Qian convened a meeting of officers above the company commander, and said to the officers under him straight to the point, "Our Mengshan Army has officially finished the battle of King Qin. I estimate that the imperial court will transfer me to Beijing for business, and after I leave, Lu Shan will be in charge of the troops, and everyone must unite well and obey Lu Shan's command. ”

As soon as this sentence came out, the big guy was immediately stunned.

"Commander, what do you mean by that?" Shi Dashou stood up and asked, "What are you doing?" What's there to do on business? ”

"Exactly. The commander can't leave, everyone is looking forward to going home. Ye Yanbing said loudly.

"Don't be in a hurry. I guessed. The imperial court always has to negotiate peace with foreign devils. The Wu Yong County Commander, who followed us all the way from Huai to Taiyuan, had followed Li Hongzhang for several years. This time, the Empress Dowager of the West appointed Li Hongzhang to be solely responsible for the peace talks with foreign devils, and Wu Yong wrote a letter to Li Hongzhang, recommending me to assist. Because Wu Yong said that I was born in the United States, which is very important.

"The most important thing now is the future of our Mengshan Army. There are two levels, one of which is whether we can return to Shandong. I know that everyone is looking forward to going home, and so am I. In the past two years, I have regarded myself as an authentic Shandongite. The place in Zhengjiazhuang is everyone's home. The second is how the imperial court arranges me, as long as I am given status, our Mengshan Army will have status, and everyone will also have status. What I had to do before was to properly solve this matter, whether it was to fight foreigners or save the court, it was all for these two things. I can trust everyone, and I know that everyone can also trust me Long Qian. The experience of our dispatch of troops from Shandong is destined to be written into history, and everything we have done is right for our own conscience, for this country, and for our nation. In the future, someone will definitely set up a monument in Xigu, which will engrave the names of the fallen soldiers of our Mengshan Army, so that our children and grandchildren will always remember that there was once an army that sacrificed its life to resist the invasion of foreign coalition forces here!

"Some people may think, what country and nation are too far away from us. Wrong! You have also seen, how many troops are there in the imperial court? Many times more than foreigners! Didn't the army of the imperial court have guns? Is it a burning stick in your hand? Why can't you beat foreigners? In addition to poor training and lax military discipline, the main reason is that there is no concept of the country in my heart, I don't know what Lu Dao is fighting this battle for, and I don't know what Lu Dao is shedding blood and sacrificing for Lu. The main reason why our Mengshan Army was able to win the victory against the foreign devils was that we were well trained and the officers and men were brave, especially the officers and men who took the lead. I have always believed that there are no soldiers who cannot fight, only officers who cannot fight! However, our Mengshan Army is also far from having a good concept of the country and the nation, and our study and education are very insufficient. Some people are conscious and have a country and a nation in their hearts, while many more people are confused. Think about it, how many of us Chinese are there? How much land do we Chinese occupy? Why can't you win against those small countries in the West? Most of the people here don't know about foreign countries, but Situ understands it, whether it's Britain or Germany, it's just a province that is not necessarily bigger than our Shandong. Why can anyone cross the ocean to Haiti and come to China to show off their might? Even our capital in China is occupied? If we do not understand this, the tragic events that happened in Beijing will one day fall on the heads of Shandong, on the heads of our fathers and fellow villagers, and on our heads. Therefore, when we return to Shandong, or when we arrive at a new station, we must not only conduct more rigorous military training, but also carry out gradual political education. Start with us people. Understand what we are starving, suffering, training, fighting, bloodshed, and dying for!

"Brothers, the three months we have been away from our hometown in Shandong have been very special three months. I think all of us have a very special feeling. To put it simply, everyone opened their eyes and saw a lot of things that they had never even heard of before. Most of the brothers even met the emperor and the queen mother, who were originally just legends. To put it a little deeper, some people will think about things that they didn't think about before, why is China so weak? So poor? Look at the countryside you pass along the way, what kind of poverty has become? Those who fled the famine and begged for food. Those who sell their sons and daughters. A teenage girl can take it away for two or three taels of silver! What the fuck is this? Living people are not as good as pigs and sheep? The big guys are all from a hard background, and they should be able to understand the feelings of the poor. For what kind of land is the same. The same people. Foreigners live such a happy life. And we Chinese are so poor? Szeto can testify that I'm not talking nonsense! Our blood, sweat, and even crippled and sacrificed are a goal. Let us, our relatives and friends, villagers, and our children and grandchildren live a good life, no longer flee the famine to ask for food, no longer sell their children and daughters, and let alone let foreign devils come in and burn, kill, rape and loot at will! We are going to build a new nation, an army strong enough to defend our people! We must not only have a full stomach and not be hungry and cold, but also live a happier life than foreign devils! That's what I'm living for! I hope that all of us here will work towards this goal as much as I do! Some of us may not see that day coming, and even our generation will not see that day coming, it doesn't matter, we can't, just let our children and grandchildren take the guns in our hands and continue to work in our footsteps! I believe that as long as we unite and twist into a rope, that day will come! As long as we are worthy of those dead brothers, worthy of our ancestors, worthy of our sweat and blood! ”

The group of people under Long Qian eat this set, not only because of the charm of Long Qian's personal personality, but also because Long Qian can always open a scenery that everyone has never seen. The real formation of the concept of the state and the nation is by no means an overnight thing, and it will not be effective because of Long Qian's several speeches and incitement. But now the fact is that every time Long Qian mobilizes, it can have the desired effect.

After Long Qian finished speaking, except for Situ Jun, the rest of the people stood up and said roughly the same thing, "Commander, you have the final say, what you do, we will follow." ”

Long Qian looked at Situ Jun, then at Lu Shan, and decided to partially highlight the incident that had been buried in his heart during this time but was becoming more and more uneasy.

"Thank you for your trust. I, Long Qian, swear here that everything I do is for the benefit of the country, the nation and the Mengshan Army. If I violate, let me die under the indiscriminate shooting! Long Qian's expression was serious, "Brothers, I have heard some discussions recently, saying that I took the main force of the second battalion and two companies of Gu Xiaolin and Xu Gongzhi to make a lot of money in the capital. I'm sure you've heard of that, too. Lu Shan asked me, Ye Yanbing was spitting that day, he wanted to say it but didn't say it, he wanted to ask about it, right? On the way from Taiyuan to Niangziguan this time, Zhang Yulin and Du Sanli both mentioned it to me. It is estimated that Lao Feng and Dashou have heard some rumors, right? Brothers, I want to thank you, thank you, for trusting me. Because despite these rumors, no doubts were brought to combat operations! It's very good and very touching. That's right, I did a big thing in Beijing and grabbed a sum of money! How many? I don't know what to do. Leaving the chief of staff and the commander of the second battalion for what is going on is to take care of the money. This money belongs to all of our Mengshan Army, not who does it! This must be made clear to everyone. Deputy Commander Zhou, Guozhu, Lao Song, and Tsinghua did not participate, let alone know the Dao, they all have a share! This is the big rule of our Mengshan Army, if there is no such rule, we will not be able to go far, and we will soon break up! When he was in Taiyuan, Xu Gongzhi was a little worried, saying that the money was a lot, would something go wrong? I said no. I believe in Ning Shijun, I believe in Mingyuan and Erhu, just like you believe in me. Whoever dares to steal this money will run to the ends of the earth to get it back! The money belongs to our entire army, not mine, and not here. What is this money used for? Needless to say, there are too many places to spend money, in addition to the cost of maintaining our troops, the most important thing is to create conditions for us to seek development after occupying the territory. I have a big plan, to set up a company to make money, and it snowballs and gets bigger and bigger. And not only to make money at home. I have to go abroad to earn money from foreign devils! After making money, we recruited troops, set up factories, built guns, and became rich in our base areas. Don't look at other people's faces anymore.

"The company was formed. Just like the money bank ticket number, the big guys are all shareholders, and when the company develops, everyone's share capital increases. The brothers followed me with their heads and played with their lives. I have to think about the future of the big guys. What is the share capital. Who is more. Whoever is less, we will have time in the future, and then we will discuss it slowly. I, Long Qian, will never eat alone behind everyone's back. Please rest assured. ”

These words dispelled everyone's doubts.

"I'll just say, how could the commander do something sorry for everyone? You people, go and ask the commander. I don't ask. Feng Lun said.

"We're also here for the stability of the troops." Ye Yanbing said.

Yan Bing said yes. The reason why everyone is called here is to give you a bottom line, we, including Shi Jun Mingyuan who stayed in Beijing and Zhou Yi Guozhu Lao Song who squatted in the base area, are the backbone of our Mengshan army. However, you must manage the soldiers below, especially the veterans who came out of Shandong. The affairs of Beijing are rotten in my stomach. Whoever leaks the news is not qualified to be a shareholder, not only is he not qualified, but he is tantamount to betraying our Mengshan army! In exchange for what, the court is looking for trouble with us, and the silver is fucking flying! So, be careful. It is necessary to explain the stakes to all platoon commanders, squad leaders, and each soldier. Whoever dares to chew his tongue is a traitor to the Mengshan Army. I will not be spared. Each company should take care of its own soldiers, and no more discussion is allowed. In the past, I will not pursue it, and if I mention this matter in the future, it will be a leak of secrets, and it will be punished as a treachery. ”

"Yes." The officers present at the meeting solemnly agreed.

"At the end of the day, it's a question of where we be. I will do my best to let us go back to Shandong. After I left, Lu Shan was fully responsible, and he had to send capable officers to lead the recruit company, followed by the resumption of military training. I guess we will be stationed in this area for a while, as short as a month or two, or as long as half a year, and there will be results. Military discipline must be maintained, and no violations of military discipline are allowed, understand? ”

"Understood."

It's meant to happen. The 3rd and 11th Companies took part in the robbery operation in Beijing, and when they returned to the main force, it was difficult to stop the spread of news. Long Qian had to find an opportunity to make things clear. When I thought about the incident in Beijing later, I did take a great risk, and now the troops left Taiyuan and were stationed in the mountainous areas of eastern Jindong, far away from the imperial court, which made him feel a lot more at ease. Long Qian also knows that only one meeting cannot completely solve the problem, one is to tie everyone together firmly from the system, and the other is to gain time, the longer the time, the more beneficial it is to himself. When his wings are stiffened, even if the court learns the truth, he has to weigh what to do.

Regret it? Long Qian never regretted it. Heaven does not take it, but suffers from it. Now that you have made up your mind to break a path in this troubled world, you can't do anything without money.

After the meeting ended, Long Qian left Lu Shan, the three battalion commanders and Situ Jun, and repeatedly deduced several possible changes. The arrangements were made in detail for the aftermath of the departure, although he had not yet received any news. The troops' clothing, food, shelter, and transportation, preparations for winter, and liaison with Beijing and Shandong. The first step was to send someone back to Shandong to inform the family of the current situation of the main force of the Mengshan Army. It is estimated that Ning Shijun has already sent someone back to Shandong, and Jiang Yun should get in touch with this side soon. In this way, the direction for the rational formulation of the next action plan is pointed out.

Situ Jun was worried that the imperial court might not release the Mengshan army back to Shandong. This is also what Lu Shan and the others are most worried about, and Long Qian also has great concerns. The worst case scenario is that Rong Lu will hold the Mengshan army in his hands, and that will be troublesome. But Long Qian thought that Rong Lu would not do this, with his understanding of Rong Lu, Rong Lu did not trust this army with a strong horse, compared to Yuan Shikai's Wuwei Right Army, the Mengshan Army was not his own people, although the Mengshan Army had made immortal achievements this time.

"It's up to us to fight for the results. The worst is to go out of the court. Long Qian's face was relaxed, "Yuan Shikai lost points in front of Zao Cixi this time, the deeper the contradiction with Yuan Shikai in our history, Cixi felt relieved, if we are really Yuan Shikai's descendant, it will not be good." The people in the imperial court neither understood nor cared about improving the combat effectiveness of the troops, what they cared about was that they could not hand over the strong army to the Han people. Do not carry out all orders aimed at splitting the Mengshan army, and find any reason for it, even if you make a mutiny. Mingyuan is in touch with it, and there will be no shortage of money. You let go of recruiting troops, let go of buying weapons, the stronger your strength, the safer I am over there. You don't have to worry about me, with my skills, it is not a problem to escape alone. ”

"Commander, why did you decide that the imperial court would transfer you?" Feng Lun was puzzled.

"I just had my gut feeling. Probably not. But that's an opportunity. Brothers, if you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger? Now our strength is too weak, and it would be too stupid for us not to use the huge resources of the imperial court. Therefore, we must have a good relationship with the imperial court on the basis of preserving our strength. This is not a surrender to the imperial court, but for ourselves, understand? ”

Two days later, Cixi's will came from Taiyuan, asking Long Qian to return to Taiyuan immediately. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you book friends for congratulating me on my birthday, thank you!