The sky is clear and the sun is shining. A large army marched west in the Hexi Corridor, with horses neighing and people shouting. The desolate river valley is full of life again, the marching team can not see the edge at a glance, like a long dragon rolling forward, Zuo Zongtang led 100,000 male soldiers to advance into Xinjiang, and the magnificence of this western expedition compared with that year, more than that, I am afraid it is unprecedented, more shocking.

At the beginning of June, when the Korean battlefield and the Outer Mongolia battlefield were in full swing, He Meng, commander of the Western Front Army, led two infantry corps, six cavalry divisions, and one artillery division, including light and heavy troops and the families of the officers of the troops, and more than 200,000 people formed the first echelon to advance into Xinjiang. Among them, there was a cavalry division stationed in Hami, and this cavalry division was the former Zuo Zongtang's living troops. After they fled back to Chengcheng, they were reorganized and stationed in Hami, the frontier.

In this westward expedition, a specific division of labor was carried out. He Meng led the first echelon to capture Dihua and gain a firm foothold. The 2nd echelon was led by Deputy Commander Lei Zhensheng with two infantry corps, two cavalry divisions, and three artillery divisions. The 10 army reclamation regiments then advanced into Xinjiang. The third echelon was a cavalry division led by Chief of Staff Lu Changlin, including 20,000 Japanese prisoners of war, whose task was mainly to lay the railway bedding from Lanzhou to Dihua.

In the column of the Chinese army, He Meng rode a war horse, next to Lin Xiong, the commander of the 1st Infantry Army, and Mu Chuan, the commander of the 2nd Infantry Army. It was followed by a long camel, on which sat the families and children of the officers, while the cavalry divisions were distributed parallel on one side and artillery units on the other. The army was divided into three routes, and the march was very slow due to the large number of artillery and logistics units.

Next to a camel. He Meng's wife Deng Xiuhua rode a war horse, and her youngest daughter and her righteous daughter Peony both rode on camels. Due to the boring journey, the three-year-old daughter has long lost her excitement. At this time, she was drowsy, and Deng Xiuhua's righteous daughter Peony hugged her little sister tightly, for fear that she would fall. "Mother, it's been a few days since we left, when will we be able to reach Dihua?" The righteous daughter Peony questioned.

In September last year, He Meng and his wife adopted the righteous daughter Peony on the way to Beijing to participate in the founding ceremony. After 9 months of recuperation. has completely restored the innocence of the girl, the peony was originally born beautiful, and now the face is red in protein. It's like a beautiful girl who is born beautiful.。 Deng Xiuhua once said to He Meng in private that the righteous woman is strong and too beautiful, and she will definitely have a lot of fate in the future. At that time, He Meng disagreed, and boasted about Haikou. In the future, I will definitely find a fast son-in-law for my righteous daughter.

Deng Xiuhua wiped the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief and said, "Listen to your father-in-law." It takes a month to walk, and it's a long way to go. Peony stuck out her tongue and said, "Mother, go and get busy, my sister has me to take care of it!" Deng Xiuhua glanced at the sun and said: "There are still a few hours before the camping time, I'll go to the back to take a look, don't fall asleep!" "The troops march long distances, there will be many sick numbers, and she serves as the director of the field hospital. Naturally, it is not appropriate to be busy.

A war horse galloped forward, and an officer rode on a war horse and raised his hand in salute. His uniform was covered with dust, apparently from afar. "Report to the commander, the 1st Cavalry Division of the forward force has arrived at Jiayuguan, and they ask if they want to move on." "Order the 1st Cavalry Division to move forward and quickly make contact with the Separate Cavalry Division stationed in Hami." The communications officer was ordered to leave.

"What's up ahead?" He Meng asked. "Report to the commander, ahead is Jiuquan." An operational staff officer replied. "Order the troops to speed up their march and camp in Jiuquan tonight." As one of the four musketeers who graduated from the first phase of the Shanghai Military Academy, it was no accident that He Meng became the commander of a front army. He used his military exploits to obtain Deng Zixuan's approval. The other three: Fan Tao was appointed commander of the navy, Shang Hu was appointed commander of the Burmese Front, and Khalid was appointed chief of staff of the Central Cluster.

Deng Zixuan put a lot of effort into them back then, and now they are all blossoming and bearing fruit. At present, officers who have graduated from military academies and universities have become the backbone of the army one after another, and the cohesion of the troops has become stronger and the regularization has been more perfect. At the beginning of the year, Deng Zixuan set up another military academy in the capital, the purpose of which was to quickly train low-level officers and constantly meet the needs of conquest.

As the sun set, the camping bugles sounded, and the troops stopped advancing. There is a north-south Beida River next to Jiuquan, and the troops pulled to the river to set up camp, so it is impossible for so many people to live in the town. In recent years, a large number of refugees have migrated to this area and the land has been reclaimed in the Jiuquan area, which has revitalized this ancient market town. Coupled with the development of the Yumen Oilfield, the business atmosphere here has become more and more intense.

The headquarters of the front army entered the town of Jiuquan, and after dinner, Fan Tao and his wife Deng Xiuhua walked up the city wall of Jiuquan to watch the night view of this ancient market town. When the army arrives suddenly, all the shops in the town have extended their opening hours, and the sight of the town being overlooked by brilliant lights abounds. He Meng said: "In the past six months, I have made up a lot of homework, especially about the humanities and history of the Western Regions, which has benefited me a lot. ”

"I've heard that this market town is thousands of years old! Stunning in this desolate west! Deng Xiuhua agreed. He Meng said: "The history of Jiuquan can verify the pioneering history of the Chinese nation. Probably in the pre-Qin period, this place was historically called Xirong Land and Xiqiang Land. It is also called the right land of the Xiongnu and the west, the west, and the three dangerous places of Hexi. Before the pre-Qin period, it was inhabited by Qiangrong in ancient times, and Qiangrong was the indigenous inhabitant here. Qiang Rong refers to the moon, Wusun is the transliteration of velvet, and the vast area of Hexi has been monopolized by the Yueshi for a long time. ”

He Meng continued: "During the Han Dynasty, the powerful Xiongnu began to rise and forced most of the Yue clan to migrate westward, migrating to the Ili River Valley, and conquering the Sai people there to live, known as the Da Yue clan in history. And some of the Qiangrong people who stayed here were known as Xiaoyue in history. So far, to the second year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, more than 50 years, this has been the pasture land of the Xiongnu people, known as the right land of the Xiongnu in history. ”

In the second year of Yuan Hunt, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered to send the general Huo to the west, in the autumn of this year, Huo Qubing defeated the Hun Hun evil king, and the remnants of the Huns were chased to Yumen Pass. Immediately, the Western Han Dynasty moved hundreds of thousands of people from the Central Plains to Hexi to live and cultivate, so the civilization here opened a new page, and Chinese culture began to take root in this soil and blossom. ”

"Weishenme is called Jiuquan here, could it be related to wine?" Deng Xiuhua asked. He Meng said with a smile: "In the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, Jiuquan was named because there was a spring under the city, the spring water was sweet, and its water was like wine. After that, the Han Dynasty set up Jiuquan County here, which was named after the spring. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, Jiuquan Town was changed to Suzhou, and the governor of the state was Thorn Shi. From the Tang Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty Xuanzong for about 80 years, Jiuquan was occupied by Tufan......"

He Meng continued: "From the end of the Tang Dynasty to the fifth dynasty, this place was occupied by the Uighurs. During the Song Dynasty, it belonged to Western Xia. After the defeat of Western Xia, it was under the jurisdiction of Mongolia, and the Yuan Dynasty set up Suzhou Road, and the governor called Daru Huachi. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Ming Dynasty set up Suzhou Wei, and the chief was the commander, and the Qing Dynasty was changed to Suzhou Zhili Prefecture and set up the prefect. Deng Xiuhua sighed: "I didn't expect that the history of Jiuquan has been ups and downs, which is unbearable. ”

He Meng's face became grim and said: "The purpose of our westward expedition is to make the western territory no longer have the ups and downs of history. If the Chinese nation wants to reproduce the majesty of the Han and Tang dynasties, it must conquer our enemies by force and restore our traditional territory since the Han and Tang dynasties. ”

Deng Xiuhua gently leaned her head on her husband's shoulder and said softly: "Although I am a woman, I share this burden with you!" He Meng changed the topic and said: "The army has just begun to move, and after entering the desert and the Gobi in the next step, there will be a situation where the water and soil are not adapted, and there will be a large number of non-combat attrition, and your field hospital must be fully prepared." There is a saying that describes the harsh environment in the west very accurately, wear cotton in the morning, wear yarn in the afternoon, and eat watermelon with the stove in your hand! The temperature difference between day and night is very large, and many soldiers from the south in the army are definitely not adapted. ”

Deng Xiuhua said: "I am most worried about the officers and soldiers of the infantry corps, the cavalry troops are almost all northerners, and the western part of the people account for the majority, they adapt to the climate here, and most of the infantry soldiers are from the south, and the march has begun to have diarrhea in the past few days, so I have ordered the medical officer of the field hospital." Go down to the troops and pay close attention to prevent the emergence of large-scale sick numbers. I suggest that after entering the next door and the desert, march for two hours continuously, and should rest for half an hour, so as not to make the soldiers too tired. ”

He Meng thinks about it, it makes sense, the troops have traveled a long distance to Dadihua, and it is very likely that they will be put into battle, and if the soldiers on the road are physically dragged down, there will be a large number of non-combat attrition, which will have a great impact on the battle. Back at the headquarters, He Meng immediately called the two army commanders and told them that from now on, the infantry marching speed would be reduced by one-third on the original basis, and at the same time, let the combat staff staff draw up a new marching jihua.

Late at night, when I returned to the dormitory, my wife and two children had already fallen asleep. He Meng folded the quilt for them and quietly exited the room, standing in front of the window, looking at the stars in the sky, still not sleepy. He lit the candle and picked up the book again and began to read. After many years of military career, He Meng has developed the habit of reading, and it seems that it is difficult to sleep if he does not read every night.

A cup of tea was placed on the table, and He Meng looked up and found that it was the righteous daughter Peony. "Why are you awake, go to sleep, you have to march tomorrow?" He Meng said with concern. "Father-in-law, I've been asleep for hours, and I don't know when my mother-in-law will come back. You are busy with military affairs, watch your body, or rest early! Peony's eyes seemed to reveal a strange message.

A 12-year-old girl, mature terrible. Under the concerned gaze of the righteous daughter, He Meng closed the book and said: "What a sensible girl, go to sleep, I will rest immediately!" After Peony went down, He Meng suddenly remembered his life experience, remembered his sister and thought in his heart: "Only suffering can really hone people, it can be said that the children of poor families are in charge early, that's right!" ”。 (To be continued......)

PS: Just when the war between the east and the north was raging, the western expedition began