Tang Shaoyi had a long talk with Long Qian, but he still didn't know where Long Qian hid Seymour and the captives. However, Long Qian promised to reinforce Tianjin, and he couldn't say anything more.

Tang Shaoyi is in Xigu and is not subject to any constraints. He saw that the troops were indeed making preparations before departure, dry rations, stretchers, and the people recruited for the reorganization and rectification, and they were busy but not chaotic.

Because of the great victory in Xigu, the weapons in the hands of the Mengshan army were optimized again, mainly German-made rifles, supplemented by Russian-made Mosin Nagant, and the surplus guns were all allocated to the recruited people. The choice of German-made weapons was mainly based on the fact that the Qing army was basically equipped with German-made weapons in order to replenish ammunition. The caliber of ammunition is a problem, it is too messy to supply, Tang Shaoyi understands this. Indeed, it will take time to get these things right. In his opinion, the Mengshan army was nervous enough, and there was no suspicion of avoiding the war.

The Mengshan army left the Xigu stronghold and marched towards Tianjin, and it was already noon on the 10th. In the past two days, the Intelligence Section and the Cavalry Company have continuously brought back news from the direction of Tianjin, and before the troops set off, the last news was that the coalition forces launched a counteroffensive yesterday, targeting Nie Shicheng's Wuwei Front Army, and the battle is still ongoing.

The Mengshan army marched along Tang Shaoyi's main road to Tianjin. Soon after departure, the rumbling cannons in the direction of Tianjin could already be heard, and after a while, the cavalry sentry who hit the front station brought back a few deserters from the Qing army, and was immediately sent to Long Qian by Lu Shan, who led the third battalion of the forward battalion, and under interrogation, Ning Shijun, Situ Jun and Tang Shaoyi were shocked, because these deserters were from the Wuwei front army. Immediately brought these Qing troops to Long Qian, they said. In the battle of Balitai yesterday, Nie Shicheng's army had been killed, and the former army was defeated and completely dispersed! Almost all the Qing troops who had surrounded the concession retreated back into the city, and they were cut off by the coalition forces and could not return to Tianjin before they encountered the Shandong army. Meaning they are by no means deserters.

"What is your name and what position do you hold in the former army of Wuwei? Don't be afraid, I won't treat you as deserters. Long Qian asked the man who looked like an officer, only him, who still had an Austrian-made rifle in his hand.

He said that his name was Chai Shouye, and he was the platoon commander of the former army of Wuwei. After emotional stabilization. The platoon commander Chai explained the general process of the Battle of Balitai. Because he is only the lowest officer, he can't say anything about the overall battle situation, but he can say it for sure. The Nie soldiers died. His body was returned from a German officer who had fought against him. Because that German had been a cavalry instructor in the former army, he respected Nie Junmen very much.

"So, the former army is actually finished?" Long Qian asked calmly.

Chai Shouye nodded. Began to cry quietly.

"You just follow us, we are the Qinwang detachment of the Wuwei Right Army from Shandong, and we killed the Seymour troops in Xigu a few days ago. If you have the opportunity, follow us to avenge Nie Junmen. Long Qian turned his face to Lan Xinzhi and said, "Inform the troops to stop advancing and call the battalion and company commanders to come over for a meeting." ”

"Retreat, hurry up and go up for reinforcements, what else is there to do." Tang Shaoyi was very depressed, two days ago, Nie Shicheng still talked to him, and now, this mainstay of the Tianjin war has sacrificed his life for the country.

"Tianjin can't hold it anymore. Only the left army still has the strength to fight, and with its terrible command, it will definitely not be able to hold Tianjin, and we will be sent to death if we go. What we need to do now is to retreat to the Xigu stronghold and provide cover for the army's northern retreat to Beijing, instead of rushing into the army! Brother Shaochuan, you don't understand military affairs, and fighting a war requires not only bravery, but also a judgment of the situation. Long Qian had already made a decision.

The battalion and company commanders soon came to the headquarters - a clearing in front of a small forest on the side of the road.

"Tianjin is finished. The front army of Wuwei has been defeated, General Nie Shicheng was killed, and the front army was dispersed. Let's not go to Tianjin, the front team will change to the rear team, immediately withdraw to Xigu, build fortifications, and prepare to resist the allied forces advancing north. Without discussion, Long Qian made a decision directly.

No one objected to Long Qian's decision. For the rescue of Tianjin, except for Tang Shaoyi, no one was interested, including Situ Jun.

"Lu Shan, you take the cavalry company and the eighth company to operate in this area, block several roads around, try to collect the rout, collect weapons and ammunition, and I will take the main force back to Xigu first." Long Qian said to Lu Shan.

"Yes." Lu Shan was visibly relieved.

"Let's do it." Long Qian got on his horse and turned the horse's head.

"Retreat, Yulu will hold you accountable for violating the order." Faced with the sudden situation, Tang Shaoyi was confused, and it took a long time to catch up with Long Qian.

"It would be nice if Yulu could save his life. I'm afraid that now he can't even remember who Mengshanjun is. Long Qian said lightly.

The main force of the Mengshan army returned to the stronghold and began to prepare for defense. This time, Long Qian convened a meeting according to the old method to brainstorm ideas.

Tang Shaoyi, as the "supervising army", was naturally invited.

The battalion and company commanders seemed to unanimously support the decision to return to Xigu, which could be seen from the relaxed expressions on their faces. As soon as Long Qian said the situation in Tianjin and the decision to retreat to Xigu to block the attack, Feng Lun, the commander of the third battalion, was the first to speak in support, "The commander takes into account our strength, so good." Relying on the stronghold to hold on is always less casualty than a charge. ”

Ning Shijun frowned and said, "Tell me, where did all those devils who escaped from us go?" ”

Shi Dashou slapped his thigh, "Then it doesn't need to be said, I'm going to fucking run back to Tianjin." Could it be that they can still go to Beijing? ”

"That's what the chief of staff said." Wang Mingyuan stood up, "This Xigu, we can't keep it." ”

Long Qian asked with a smile, "Why can't you keep it?" Xiong Xun, tell me, what does the second battalion commander mean? ”

The first company commander Xiong Xun stood up, "I think, what Camp Commander Wang means is that the devils will stare here to retaliate, right?" ”

"That's a good point. If a dozen or even dozens of cannons bombarded such a place, we would all be blown into powder. The second battalion commander reminded that the point of Xigu must be defended, but not stubbornly defended. Situ Jun said.

Tang Shaoyi listened to the battalion and company commanders of the Mengshan Army arguing with some blankness, and some did not understand. Long Qian's intention to fight here is clear, that's it, as for how to fight, that's not his business. He was still thinking about the consequences of Long Qian's disobedience, if Yulu held on to this matter, he was afraid that his previous great achievements would not be able to be saved. They will even be punished. But Long Qian didn't seem to take Yulu's military order to heart at all.

The military discussion took about an hour, and Long Qian synthesized everyone's opinions and decided to leave Wang Mingyuan and the 5th and 6th companies of the 2nd Battalion to stay in Xigu, and the main force retreated north to a village called Hanjiata in Silidi, to build field fortifications and block the coalition forces of the foreigners.

At the end of the meeting, Ning Shijun took the staff section and the battalion commanders except for the second battalion to Hanjiata to survey the terrain, and Long Qian called Situ Jun to choose the artillery position, help the inexperienced artillery team calculate the shooting yuan, and familiarize himself with the few artillery pieces in his hand as soon as possible. Those already familiar 37mm guns are useless. Only about thirty shells were captured.

Four 57mm guns have become the most powerful weapons of the Mengshan Army at present. It's a shame not to. Long Qian and Situ both studied it, and chose the artillery position behind a forest in the northeast of the small village where the main force was guarding, dug the artillery position, and installed the artillery. I didn't get it until the evening. Only then did I go to Hanjia Tower to see the situation of the troops digging fortifications.

"Commander. Do you have any other plans? Situ Jun asked.

"Why do you ask that?"

"Commander. Don't treat me like an outsider. With more than 1,000 of us, we will fight for half a day at most, and then fight. The damage is great. Moreover, it is possible to be surrounded by coalition forces. We can only hold this road, and there is no one to protect it on the flanks. The Coalition hated us to the core, and if it could, I'd rather delay for a few days than take the effort to wipe us out. ”

"That's what you're talking about. What should I do? Long Qian stared at Situ Jun's heroic face.

"Let's fight and withdraw."

"Well, it's good that you think so. Situ, fighting a war in China, can't do without understanding politics. I'm glad you think so, because once we're surrounded by coalition forces, no one will come to our rescue. Even if Yuan Shikai comes, he won't lend a hand. ”

"Commander, you are confident, I believe you will do a great job."

"Okay, then let's go hand in hand." Long Qian said with a smile.

Hanjia Tower has become a fortress under construction, the village and the village are busy figures, the big trees outside the village are being sawed down, and the trunks are being dragged back as a field fortification bunker, Ning Shijun gave the villagers silver, so that the villagers can avoid the upcoming war, but there are still more than a dozen young volunteers to help the Mengshan army cut down trees and dig ditches.

Long Qian inspected the prototype of the fortifications in the field and had dinner at the Hanjia Tower. After the meal, Long Qian and Situ Jun rode back to the Xigu stronghold.

In the evening, Lushan's troops also returned. Long Qian also found Ning Shijun, Feng Lun, Wang Mingyuan and Shi Dashou to discuss how to fight the next battle. Tang Shaoyi was not invited to attend this meeting.

The next morning, Long Qian ran to the artillery position again, checked the shooting Zhu Yuan again, personally operated the artillery, and fired two shots at the predetermined position, looking at the smoke rising in the distance, the artillerymen were jubilant.

There were only about 40 artillery soldiers who had been trained, and Long Qian selected more than a dozen people to join the artillery team, personally organized them, and asked them to practice repeatedly and not stop for a moment, "These cannons, just use them this time." When this battle is over, you remove the bolts, take your rifles, and form a company of infantry again, which is called an artillery company, and it is directly under my command. Gong Kaichen, you should be the company commander. ”

"It's a shame to throw it away, isn't it?" Gong Kaichen is the captain of the original artillery team, a veteran of Mengshan, and the leader of Cao Minzhong's team.

"We don't have the strength to run away with these cannons. If nothing else, we are going all the way north into Beijing. Don't be a pity, I know your feelings for the cannon, as long as you are there, the cannon will have it. Long Qian patted Gong Kaichen on the shoulder, "Keep practicing." ”

On the morning of the 11th, the Lushan infantry team that remained south of Xigu sent back the gathered rout one after another, with a total of more than 50 people. The staff section registered them one by one and forcibly organized them into various companies. Long Qian looked at the list at lunch, and there were several people from the Martial Arts Academy, which aroused Long Qian's interest.

The head is called Qu Hongxiang, a native of Baoding, and teaches in the martial arts school. With six or seven trainees, he escaped from Tianjin, fled all the way north, was intercepted by the cavalry company, and was sent to Xigu.

Long Qian ordered Qu Hongxiang to be brought.

"Qu Jiaoxi, fortunately." Long Qian greeted warmly.

Qu Hongxiang was annoyed in his heart, but he didn't dare to show it, the current situation, this Shandong soldier who claimed to have defeated the Seymour coalition army could completely correct it on the spot in the name of punishing the deserters.

It's a time of war, and there's not so much to talk about.

"My lord, I am not a deserter...... Qu Hongxiang swallowed hard, and his throat was as dry as if it was on fire.

"I just want to find out where the cadets of the military academy have gone? Looks like there are thousands of you, right? ”

"Yes." Qu Hongxiang licked his dry lips, "The military academy is next to the concession, as soon as the battle started, the general office Yin Chang ran away, the students were scattered, and most of them retreated into the city, those of us did not enter the city, but followed Nie Junmen's troops to fight a few battles, thinking about avenging the brothers who died in the school." Unexpectedly, the day before yesterday, there was a battle in Balitai. Soon after the start of the war. Lord Nie's troops were surrounded, Nie Junmen was martyred, the team was scattered, and he couldn't return to the city. It took more than a day to stand out......"

Long Qian didn't think about whether Qu Hongxiang's words were an ambush. Since he is a teacher of the Martial Arts Academy. Long Qian didn't want to let him go. "Qu Jiaoxi, a few of you, just follow me. You are all formally educated military men. I won't talk about the big truth. The country is in danger, and it is precisely when the soldiers are serving their lives on the battlefield, and it is impossible to escape. Not to mention that military law is intolerable, even if it is not acceptable in conscience. A few of you, I don't use it as an ordinary infantryman, that's too condescending. If you have studied artillery, you can go to my artillery company to help. The others followed my headquarters. Qu Jiaoxi, you help me do one thing, screen the military cadets who escaped, as well as the personnel of the Machinery Bureau and other units, our national strength is weak, and what we lack most is not weapons and machine tools, but talents. Protecting these talents with professional knowledge can also be regarded as leaving some vitality for the country. When the battle is over, where should you go back and where will you go? Luckily? ”

Long Qian's words were very polite and in place, and immediately moved several members of the military academy, who immediately expressed their willingness to obey the dispatch of Lord Biaotong.

Qu Hongxiang had already been assigned to the company, for Long Qian's words, where did he dare to resist, he had to thank Lord Biaotong for his weight, there were indeed two people under him who learned artillery, and they were immediately taken to the artillery company east of Hanjia Tower.

Qu Hongxiang and the other four were taken to the headquarters set up by Hanjiata and handed over to Lan Xinzhi. Qu Hongxiang didn't believe that the Shandong Qinwang army that "kidnapped" him had defeated the Seymour coalition army, but how dare he question the boasting of Long Qian and his officers. However, Qu Hongxiang was very surprised when he looked at the Hanjiata village and the defensive position outside the village that had begun to take shape, whether it was the setting of the village position or the layout of the field position, he was surprised. Hanjiata Village is very small, at most 100 households, guarding the highway, is the only place from Tianjin to Beijing, Xigu is lost, the coalition forces will inevitably seize this place to open the passage to the north, choose here to block, the vision is there. But in any case, it is not as suitable as Xigu. I don't know why the Shandong soldiers don't focus their defense on Xigu, which he doesn't understand. However, the level of fortifications built by this small Shandong army is first-class, and if the fighting spirit is strong, the coalition army is afraid that it will have to suffer. However, after the battle of Tianjin, Qu Hongxiang was a little disheartened, extremely not optimistic about this war, and the major policies above swayed left and right, just say that the Boxers will be suppressed for a while, and they will be appeased and used for a while. Some of the officers and soldiers of all walks of life regarded the Boxers as the right army, supported guns and ammunition, and paid military salaries, while others always maintained a repressive attitude. For example, Nie Junmen's Wuwei Qianjun has always regarded the Boxers as a thug that brought disaster to the country and the people. As a result, some former officers and soldiers who fell into the hands of the Boxers were brutally executed by ignorant peasants. And the big people above are even more unbearable, let's just say Yinchang, it is a retreat, and he is the principal of the military academy, so he has to deploy it all, right? How can you throw away the instructors and students and slip away first? Thinking of the military academy where he had served for many years, it turned into ruins overnight, and Qu Hongxiang felt miserable in his heart. Thinking of the danger of Tianjin, nine times out of ten, this city, which has consumed a lot of people's wealth and people's strength since the Westernization Movement, will not be able to hold it, and the essence of the Beiyang sea and land founded by Lord Li Hongzhang is afraid that it will be destroyed in this confused war. The insight of the court officials is not as good as that of a standard system from Shandong__

The 11th was spent in peace, but more and more defeated troops retreated from the direction of Tianjin, and there was basically no formation. On the day of the 11th, the Mengshan Army gathered at least 120 routs with or without guns around Xigu, with those of the left army and even more of the front army. The news brought over was chaotic, and some of them simply contradicted each other, which made Situ Jun, who had formulated the next battle plan, distressed. What is certain is that Yulu has retracted all the main forces outside the city into the city and is ready to hold Tianjin.

On the evening of the 11th, Long Qian had a meal with the Qing army officers who had gathered in Hanjiata, explained why the Mengshan army did not enter Tianjin for reinforcements, discussed the battle in Tianjin with them, and clearly pointed out that the decision of the governor of Yulu to gather troops into the city and hold on was wrong, "Without foreign aid, even the strongest city will be opened." Not to mention that it has now entered the era of hot weapons, even in ancient times, there are few successful cases of sticking. How strong is the Diaoyu City in the Southern Song Dynasty, and there is still backup, but it has not been defeated in the end? Now that the front army has collapsed, only the left army of Song Qing and Ma Yukun can be relied on, where is there any strong reinforcements? If the Governor General grasps this army in his hands, abandons Tianjin in time, chooses to fight in motion, blocks head-on, and harasses from behind, the coalition army will be very troublesome. After all, it's a war on our soil. This is good, in order not to be held accountable by the court for losing his land, he simply put the last bit of essence of the court into the dead place of Tianjin! ”

"That's what your lord said! Many of us also think that Tianjin is a dead place. But the military order is difficult to disobey. I heard that the adults wiped out 2,000 coalition troops in Xigu in one fell swoop, but is it true? "It was a former army officer surnamed Han who was shot in the right arm. In the afternoon, he was put away, his wounds were cleaned again, and he was given the gold sore medicine brought by the Mengshan army. At this moment, he was in good spirits, and asked in a loud voice, "That morning, Nie Junmen once said to us that Shandong Qinwang soldiers killed 2,000 reinforcements in Xigu, which made us very excited, but in the morning, Nie Junmen was martyred__"

"Of course it's true, Officer Han, if you don't believe me, stay with us Mengshan Army for a while, and you'll see those captives." Lan Xinzhi replied for Long Qian.

"As long as you don't run away and fight with foreign devils, I Han Ziying will fight you to the end."

"Okay, that's it. Let's be here, teach the foreign devil another lesson, and avenge Nie Junmen. Long Qian stood up, "Let them see, the Chinese soldiers also have what they can fight, not all of them are bad seeds!" (To be continued......)