In the headquarters of the coalition forces in Beijing, a staff officer said: "Your Excellency, the Northern Expeditionary Army has not moved on the front line of Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain, and there is no sign of launching an attack, and the situation is not clear and abnormal. "Has anything changed on the Nanjing frontline?" McMahon asked. "At present, there are still a large number of ships on the south bank of the Nanjing line, and there is no sign of an attack." After speaking, the staff officer shrugged his shoulders and continued: "The Northern Expeditionary Army Weishenme does not launch an offensive, which is intriguing, and it is difficult for them to have other plans. ”

McMahon frowned, looked at the Qinling line, and asked, "Is there any movement on the Qinling line?" "Still no news!" “haha！ If the Northern Expeditionary Army wants to cross the Qinling Mountains, it will not be able to do it overnight, unless they are heavenly soldiers and generals. "The marshal of the Russian army does not care. McMahon realized that something was wrong and said, "Do you remember the battle of the Northern Expeditionary Army's attack on Sichuan and the surprise attack on Meishan by the surprise soldiers of the Yalong River? "Your Excellency Marshal, do you judge that the Northern Expeditionary Army has left the Qinling Mountains?" The staff officer asked in surprise.

"I understand that the Northern Expeditionary Army is on the front line of Nanjing, the front line of Funiu Mountain, and the front line of Tongbai Mountain are all feints, and their purpose is to confuse us and cover the Qinling Mountains. It turned out that their target was 50,000 Russian troops in Xi'an. When the marshal of the Russian army heard this, he said: "The Northern Expeditionary Army has a great appetite, but if the Northern Expeditionary Army leaves the Qinling Mountains, there should be news." "The problem is here, and we can't judge by inertial thinking. The Qing people have a military term called the impermanence of soldiers and the impermanence of water. I'm not afraid that if I can't do it, I'm afraid that I can't think of it I judged that the Russian army in Xi'an was in danger, and immediately ordered General Alexander to withdraw to Tongguan and give up the desolate west to the Northern Expeditionary Army! The occupation of the western part of the Northern Expeditionary Army means that the battle line is lengthened and the forces are scattered, which is beneficial for us to concentrate our forces to defend the hinterland of the Central Plains. ”

McMahon continued: "Immediately order the Russian army in Zhengzhou to send a division to Tongguan to assist the Qing army in defending and receiving the Russian army in Xi'an. "When the Russian army in Xi'an received the retreat order from the commander of the coalition forces, McMahon, the right column of Lin Xiong's department was launching an attack on Chang'an County. If Alexander chooses to retreat to Tongguan as soon as possible, Jihua of the Northern Expeditionary Army to encircle and annihilate the Russian army will be aborted. But things often go wrong, and Alexander buried 50,000 Russian troops for his stupidity.

At the headquarters of the Russian army in Xi'an, Yala Shan was flirting with a petite woman in his arms. A subordinate of this kung fu hurriedly came in and reported: "Your Excellency, the commander of the British army, McMahon, has judged that the Northern Expeditionary Army is out of Qinling, and the target is our Russian army. Alexander stood up and let go of the woman in his arms, as if not convinced. The subordinate continued: "Although there is no sign of this, we cannot trust the incompetent Qing army, and Marshal McMahon ordered us to withdraw to Tongguan. ”

At this time, the chief of staff of the Russian army said: "Your Excellency, the Northern Expeditionary Army has no choice but to guard against it, and it is better to believe it than to believe it." I suggest that the troops be withdrawn immediately. Yalashan pondered for a moment and said: "The Qinling Road is difficult to travel, and even if the Northern Expeditionary Army sends troops, it will not be fast. It seemed that the Allied Command was going to abandon the west, and could not afford to cheapen the Northern Expeditionary Army, so it ordered the soldiers to live happily for three days, and after three days we retreated. ”

Alexander's move was a great delight to all the generals. Soon the Russian army began to loot on a large scale in Xi'an, and Xi'an suddenly fell into hell on earth. Russian soldiers frantically robbed property, ** women. Originally, when the Russian army was stationed in Xi'an, there were often incidents of women from good families, and at first they had scruples, but now they are openly conniving, and the Russian soldiers are starting to go crazy.

Wang Shiqi, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, was originally in Xi'an, and since the Russian army entered Xi'an, the poor military discipline of the Russian army gave him a headache. Almost every day there are incidents of Russian soldiers ** women, and almost every day there are complaints. After all, the Russian army is here to help the Qing court deal with the rebels, so he can only turn one eye open and one eye closed to the incident of ** women. But this kind of annoying thing made him uneasy, so he simply moved the governor's palace to Xianyang, out of sight and out of mind.

At dusk that day, a fast horse stopped in front of the Governor's Palace, and one of his subordinates ran into the Governor's Palace. "Report to your lord, the Russian army troops suddenly began to loot in Xi'an City, ** women from good families, and the whole Xi'an has been out of control." "These brutes!" Wang Shiqi's face turned pale when he heard this, and he sat on the chair decadently. A staff member said: "It looks like the Russian army is going to retreat, obviously the Northern Expeditionary Army has sent troops!" ”

"Why is there no sign at all, the Northern Expeditionary Army is stumped. The Northern Expeditionary Army sent troops, and there should be news from Baoji. One of the aides denied it. My lord, I suspect that the Northern Expeditionary Army may take the Fu Luo Road, which is an ancient route to send troops, and it can be taken by surprise and unprepared. We have no garrison on this line. Obviously, the intelligence of the Russian army comes from the headquarters of the coalition forces, and the Russian army is simply a bastard, and such important news will not be reported. Apparently they received the order to retreat, which is why they carried out large-scale looting. ”

"It's really a wolf into the house, are we willing to be humiliated?" In an instant, the governor Wang Shiqi lost confidence in the Qing court. "My lord, do you want to report to the court immediately?" "What's the use of retribution, we can't count on it at all in the imperial court, so let's leave it to fate!" Wang Shiqi closed his eyes in pain and was quiet. At that moment, a fast horse stopped in front of the Doge's Palace. "What? A large number of Northern Expeditionary troops were found in Meixian County? How is this possible? One of the staff members was shocked when he heard the report.

"My lord, Meixian County discovered the Northern Expeditionary Army, which means that Baoji has changed hands, and the Northern Expeditionary Army is simply terrifying. What are we going to do, Lord Doge? One of the staff members panicked. Wang Shiqi did not panic, but remained silent. He knew in his heart that the imperial court could no longer take care of the northwest, and he, the governor, was basically abandoned and could only fend for himself. originally expected the Russian army to defend Xi'an, but the Russian army was about to escape, and Wang Shiqi's heart was extremely cold.

"My lord, Baoji is composed of 5,000 Qing troops, and there is no sound, and the Northern Expeditionary Army is like a divine help. We retreated northward, and then crossed the Yellow River into Shanxi, but it was not possible for us to retreat from the Taihang Mountains into Hebei. A staff member suggested. , it is also a capital offense for the Governor to abandon the city and flee back, I suggest retreating to the north, and then entering Gansu to occupy Lanzhou is a glimmer of life! "One ministry will disagree.

After a long time, Wang Shiqi said: "You are too underestimated of the Northern Expeditionary Army, if my judgment is correct, the troops of the Northern Expeditionary Army have begun to outflank us." Don't forget that the Northern Expeditionary Army has cavalry units, can we run on 2 legs over 4 legs. In the wild, we die faster. Order the whole city to get ready for battle, take it one step at a time! Wang Shiqi waved his hand helplessly, indicating that he wanted to be quiet.

The attack on Baoji by the vanguard of the Northern Expeditionary Army was negligible, and since Baoji did not have a tall city wall, the 5,000 Qing troops surrendered almost without resistance. He Meng led the headquarters into Baoji City and came to the temporary headquarters, where the operational staff had already hung up the military map. "Report to the deputy commander that the 41st Division of the Lu Changlin Division has occupied Meixian, and its vanguard troops are advancing towards martial arts. The cavalry brigade and the ** cavalry regiment are advancing to Jingyang in the north of Xi'an, and it is estimated that they will be able to reach Jingyang tomorrow morning. In addition, the 45th Division had already followed up and formed a flanking trend in the north. ”

He Meng said: "Now the enemy army in Xianyang may already know our whereabouts. I didn't know what happened to Commander Leng, so he ordered Lu Changlin and the forward troops to quickly send troops to cut off the connection between Xianyang and Xi'an after occupying the Wu Palace. The 48th Division was ordered to advance in the direction of Xianyang. Where are the 49 divisions and artillery brigades located? "Report to the deputy commander, the artillery brigade and the 49th division estimate that they can reach Baoji at dusk!" An operational staff officer replied.

At this time, a man in civilian clothes walked into the headquarters, "Report to the deputy commander, I am the head of the Baoji intelligence station, and I have come to cooperate with the army's operation." He Meng took the certificate and carefully checked the certificate and said politely: "Please take a seat!" Tell us about the situation in Xianyang and Xi'an? "Report to the deputy commander, at present, Wang Shiqi, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, is stationed in Xianyang, and Xianyang has 20,000 Qing troops. There is no change in the Russian army in Xi'an, and this is the case. "At this time, the Russian army has been looting in Xi'an for two days, and the news did not come in time.

He Meng groaned and said, "Tell me about Wang Shiqi?" "According to the information we have, Wang Shiqi, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, was born and became the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu in the middle of the previous year. This person is relatively honest and has a good reputation. It was Zuo Zongtang who strongly recommended this person to serve as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu. At the beginning of the year, this person was not accustomed to the corrupt military discipline of the Russian army, so he moved the governor's palace to Xianyang. "The man in casual clothes has a clear idea. He Meng heard that this person was Zuo Zongtang's person, and realized that it was impossible to give in easily, so he dispelled the idea of persuading him to surrender.

On this morning, the commander of the Russian army, General Alexander, was admiring the stolen gold, silver and jewelry. This guy greedily looked at the jewelry and ornaments on the table, and his mustache was upturned. At this time, his subordinates were picking out jewelry and packing them separately, and other generals were also taking care of their "trophies". One of his subordinates ran in in a panic to report: "Report to the commander, the patrol unit found a large number of defeated Qing troops outside the southern city, according to the defeated soldiers of the Qing army, Chang'an County had been occupied by the Northern Expeditionary Army two days ago. ”

"Two days ago, weishenme only reported?" Alexander asked in surprise. The subordinate said: "The Qing army officers reported that they fled to Xi'an City, and they didn't dare to enter the city when they saw the chaos in the city, if it wasn't for our patrol troops to find them, we would still be in the dark now." Alexander immediately realized his mistake and connived at his subordinates to loot, and the Qing army naturally would not report it.

"Your Excellency General, it is obvious that the Northern Expeditionary Army is coming from the Qinling Meridian Road, and it should immediately retreat to Tongguan!" The chief of staff suggested. Alexander was just about to give the order, when he suddenly stopped. Alexander looked at the map and stared at Weinan Dao: "Everyone, the Northern Expeditionary Army has occupied Chang'an County for two days, and Weishenme is close at hand and will not attack?" "Are you saying that the Northern Expeditionary Army did not carry out an operation, but divided its troops to occupy Weinan with the intention of destroying us in the wild!" The chief of staff was shocked when he heard this.

"Your Excellency General, we should immediately dispatch to seize Weinan and ensure that the army retreats eastward." A subordinate is in a hurry. "It's late, when we arrive in Weinan, I'm afraid the Northern Expeditionary Army is already waiting." Alexander Road. As soon as these words came out, the air in the headquarters suddenly became tense. "Your Excellency General, we are retreating to the north, and we really can't retreat back to the Mongolian steppe!" The chief of staff suggested. Alexander shook his head and said, "We have not forgotten how difficult it was to march south from the Mongolian steppe. In addition, there is the Wei River in the north, and the water level of the Wei River rises sharply during the rainy season, making it very difficult for the army to cross the river. If Weinan is occupied by the Northern Expeditionary Army and finds that we are retreating to the north, the Northern Expeditionary Army will send troops to pursue us, and we will be entangled by the Northern Expeditionary Army. ”

"Stumped General wants to retreat west?" The chief of staff was shocked. Alexander said calmly: "Everyone, the Northern Expeditionary Army came from the Meridian Road, and the first thing is to take it by surprise and attack it unprepared. The second is to judge that we are retreating to Tongguan, intending to eat us halfway. Obviously, the Northern Expeditionary Army abandoned Chencang Road, and I decided to occupy Lanzhou to the west, so that I could use troops in the east and Xinjiang when I retreated, after all, Yili had our heavy troops stationed. ”

"General Gaojian, I heard that in the west of Lanzhou, there is a natural salt lake, which is inexhaustible, and we can take the opportunity to occupy this cornucopia!" As soon as the chief of staff spoke, a cheer erupted in the surroundings.