After the old calendar year, Deng Zixuan ordered the commanders, deputy commanders, and chiefs of staff of all corps to come to Guangzhou to attend the military conference. After receiving the order, Chen Jintang, deputy commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army and concurrently commander of the Middle Route Corps, Li Tianxiang, deputy commander, and Wang Feng, chief of staff. Bai Sheng, commander of the East Route Corps, and Shang Hu, deputy commander. Chief of Staff Song Fei, commander of the South China Sea Fleet and concurrently commander of the Yangtze River Fleet, Fan Tao, rushed to Guangzhou day and night.

At the same time, after receiving the order, Leng Yifei, commander of the West Route Corps, He Meng, deputy commander, Khalid, chief of staff, Liu Yongfu, commander of the Annan Independent Column, and Feng Zicai, commander of the Yunnan-Guangxi Frontier Troops, also rushed to Guangzhou day and night. At that time, Liu Buzhan, deputy commander of the South China Sea Fleet, Wan Chuan, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Wu Bao, commander of the public security forces, and Zhang Mancang, president of the military academy, who are currently organizing a torpedo boat fleet in Guangzhou, will also attend the military meeting as observers.

The joy of everyone meeting does not need to be expressed, and it is not difficult to guess what the scene is like on the sidelines. After all the generals arrived, Deng Zixuan immediately announced the convening of a military meeting. In a huge room of the military junta, all the generals sat together. With the loud shouting of the officer on duty, Deng Zixuan was in front, Chen Jintang, and Pei Gejin followed in turn, and strode in. All the generals stood up and saluted, followed by warm applause. Deng Zixuan ascended the rostrum and raised his hand to salute, and then pressed it with his hand with a smile.

Chen Jintang loudly ordered everyone to sit down, Deng Zixuan put away his smile and became serious: "Everyone, although we have successfully occupied half of the rivers and mountains in the south of the Yangtze River, the situation is not optimistic. The strategy of annihilating the Qing army in large numbers in the south of the Yangtze River could not be realized, and at the same time, we were unable to march north of the Yangtze River. At present, Western countries have been bound up and colluded with the Qing court, and in the future, we will have to face the Qing court and even the United Nations army, and the degree of difficulty can be imagined. Up to now, British and French warships have completely blockaded our coastal areas and begun to harass our coastal cities. ”

Deng Zixuan paused and continued: "Just a few days ago, foreign warships bombed Xiamen and Quanzhou, causing a large number of casualties among our people. In the next step, we don't know where the foreign warships will appear, so the coastal cities should do a good job of early warning to avoid unnecessary casualties. At present, we can only focus on defending three strategic points in Shanghai, Fuzhou, and Guangzhou, and other coastal cities have no time to take care of them. Next, I would like to invite Wan Chuan, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, to elaborate on the situation of the Qing court and foreigners. ”

Wan Chuan stood up and said, "Everyone, according to the latest military intelligence, the Qing court has gathered 1 million people on the defense line north of the Yangtze River in Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu. According to intelligence, the foreigners have provided 200,000 new rifles, and the ammunition situation is unknown. The number of artillery pieces supplied by foreigners has reached 500, and 300 French rotary machine guns are unknown. At present, the French army has landed 20,000 troops in Jiangbei, the British army has requisitioned 10,000 horses from the mainland, and the Japanese army has also increased its troops by 5,000 troops and horses, making a total of 8,000 troops. ”

Wan Chuan took a sip of tea and continued: "The foreign troops serve as defense on the second line of Jiangsu and Anhui. The Russian 10,000 cavalry units had already fortified the Henan line, and they formed a mobile combat force with the Mongolian 20,000 cavalry. In addition, Western countries did their best to assist the Qing court in terms of financial resources and military supplies. According to what we know, the number of warships of Western countries has reached 150 so far, and the number is still increasing. ”

Deng Zixuan stood up again and said, "I'm afraid everyone won't get carried away when they hear these news. Although we have expanded our army on a large scale, the field force has only reached 200,000, and the total strength of the public security force and logistics force is only 500,000, so we are at a disadvantage in numbers, and along with the large-scale expansion of the army, our combat effectiveness will also decline. Our advantage lies in the fact that our individual weapons are stronger than the opponent's, our infantry artillery is stronger than the opponent's, and our battlefield command ability and military training are stronger than the opponent's. I believe that we will be stronger after the test of war. I can tell you good news, at present, the Shanghai Arsenal is developing a 75-mm field infantry gun, which will soon be put into the battlefield. ”

"In addition, the Dongguan Arsenal is developing a water-cooled heavy machine gun. I have explained to you in detail about water-cooled heavy machine guns, and I will not repeat them here. The water-cooled heavy machine gun, if it goes well, could be put on the battlefield next year. The consumption of ammunition by heavy machine guns is very large, and with the rapid development of the armament industry, the problem of ammunition can be solved gradually. In the next step, we must integrate the munitions industry enterprises and gradually transition to professional arsenals. ”

Deng Zixuan took a sip of tea and continued: "The newly built arsenal in Wuhan is currently launching an ammunition production line, and a professional rifle arsenal will be built in the future. The Shanghai Arsenal should become a specialized factory for the production of heavy machine guns and infantry guns. The Dongguan Arsenal in Guangzhou is mainly a professional factory for the production of large-caliber fortress guns, naval guns, and torpedoes. I believe that with the pace of war, our munitions enterprises will surely develop rapidly. ”

Deng Zixuan continued: "I've been talking for a long time, and I haven't talked about the next strategic issue. The Art of War: Fight the weak enemy first, and then the scattered enemy. At present, we are pressing the border with large troops on the front line of the Yangtze River, creating a situation of marching to the north of the Yangtze River, and giving the enemy a false impression. And our real purpose is Sichuan, to fight Zuo Zongtang first. You may want to ask, the Western Route Corps has only 60,000 horses after expansion, while Zuo Zongtang has 400,000 troops, a difference of nearly 10 times. ”

Deng Zixuan said with a smile: "The problem is here, we might as well analyze it, Zuo Zongtang's Hunan army has 200,000 troops and has a certain combat effectiveness. The 200,000 Green Battalion soldiers are basically a rabble. Zuo Zongtang's Hunan army used the same old routine in previous battles, that is, digging ditches and building fortifications could not hold out, and there would be no new improvement in such a short period of time. Our principle of warfare is not to fight for one city and one pool, but to destroy the enemy's living liliang. ”

"Since Zuo Zongtang wants to defend Sichuan, he must be able to reinforce the battle at any time, after all, he has enough soldiers. Then our policy is to encircle the point and send reinforcements, and eat each other one by one. Don't look at Zuo Zongtang's 400,000 army, to put it bluntly, he is a lone army. It was very difficult for the Qing court to support Sichuan, so the Qing court was unable to support Zuo Zongtang at all. In fact, if Zuo Zongtang adopts clever tactics, resists and abandons Sichuan, and Zuihou forms a defensive posture on the front line of the Qinling Mountains, then we will lose all our efforts. But Zuo Zongtang will not do this, he will defend the Sichuan Jedi and survive. Regarding the Irikawa operation, I will provide a detailed battle plan. ”

Deng Zixuan walked to the military map and continued: "Now let's talk about the situation in Annan, according to intelligence, the French army has concentrated 20,000 troops in Annan, and the French have taken advantage of the situation to annex Annan. Therefore, an attack by the French was inevitable. I suspect that as long as we launch an attack on Sichuan, the French will definitely make a move. Therefore, the defense of Annan Jihua had to change. I decided that the Annam Independent Column would abandon the area south of Hanoi and form a defensive position in depth on the Liangshan line. ”

"The south of Liangshan is a plain area that is not safe to defend, and the area north of Liangshan is a mountainous area. The independent column must ensure the stability of the Liangshan line. In addition, Feng Zicai's border garrison formed the second line of defense at Zhennan Pass, and supported the independent column at any time. At present, the French do not dare to move, because it is estimated that I will not move. Therefore, there was plenty of time to build a defensive line north of Liangshan, and after the military meeting, Commander Liu and Commander Feng had to rush back to deploy ・・・・・・. ”

The military meeting lasted for a whole day, and in the evening Deng Zixuan held a banquet to entertain the generals. At the banquet, Deng Zixuan toasted one by one, walked to Liu Yongfu's side and said: "Commander Liu, this glass of wine is a send-off wine, you will rush back to Annan tomorrow morning, do you have confidence in defending Annan?" "Even if the subordinates pin their heads to the waistband of their trousers, they will not disappoint the commander-in-chief!" ・・・・・・ though. Liu Yongfu's face showed embarrassment.

Deng Zixuan said with a smile: "As the saying goes, one must be skillful, and the other must be wonderful, and it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice!" I see what you mean. At present, the army is being expanded on a large scale. The overall refitting of the independent column could not be done for the time being. But in order to strengthen your department, I prepared you 5,000 rifles, 2,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 30,000 grenades, 20 infantry guns, 1,000 shells, and 50,000 sets of military uniforms. That's all there is to do at the moment. ”

Liu Yongfu was a little excited: "Commander-in-chief, I have nothing to say, if the French want to break through the Liangshan defense line, they must step over my corpse." ", if you're all killed, can the defense line still be kept, I see what you mean. Not only to keep the line of defense, but also to keep me alive. "Subordinate Order! Rest assured, Commander-in-Chief! Liu Yongfu stood tall and saluted the army with some funny respects, which made the surrounding generals laugh.

Deng Zixuan walked up to Feng Zicai and said, "Old General Feng, you still let you lead the troops into battle in your old age, and the younger generation is deeply ashamed. But there was no way, and he had to rely on the prestige of General Feng to suppress the formation. "Commander-in-chief, you have seen what you said, and the old man can't afford it. Now the prestige of the commander-in-chief has shaken China, and the Han nation has risen again. Even if my old bones are bloodstained on the battlefield, it is not a pity. "That's right, Lao Ji has a long way to go, and he has ambitions for thousands of miles. Due to the current large-scale expansion of the army, your weapons and equipment cannot be replaced. ”

"Commander-in-chief, my equipment is many times better than before. Please rest assured that Liu Yongfu will give full support to Liu Yongfu in the event of a crisis, and will never let the French army step across Liangshan. "Feng Zicai is dressed in a military uniform, as if he is more than ten years younger." General Feng, I'm relieved to have you in Annan, come! Cheers to General Feng's good health! Deng Zixuan took the lead in drinking the wine in the cup, and the surrounding generals helped one after another.

The next day, everyone sent Liu Yongfu and Feng Zicai away, and began to study the battle plan for sending troops to Sichuan without stopping. Deng Zixuan took out the proposed battle jihua and said: "Leng Yifei, He Meng, you two take a closer look, if you need to add, just say it, after all, you are the front-line commander, and you are familiar with the defense of the Qing army in Sichuan." After Deng Zixuan finished explaining, he and Chen Jinxi, Pei Gejin, Li Tianxiang, Bai Sheng, Shang Hu, etc., began to study the measures of the Yangtze River defense line.

Everyone studied until the evening, and Chen Jinji, Bai Sheng, and Fan Tao came up with the combat jihua of feints to attack Jiangbei, and at the same time took out the training jihua after the expansion of the army. Leng Yifei, He Meng, Khalid and several operational staff officers repeatedly deliberated on the battle plan for entering Sichuan, put forward many supplementary suggestions, and Zuihou finalized a complete operational plan. After dinner, Deng Zixuan suddenly remembered something and said: "Tomorrow He Meng, Shang Hu, Li Tianxiang, Fan Tao, Wang Feng, and Song Fei will come to my residence to surprise you!" Several people stared wide-eyed and fell into confusion.