On April 1, in Pingshou County, a simple military meeting was held at the temporary headquarters of the left wing column, and Wang Xuewu, commander of the 50th Division, who was temporarily qualified as the commander-in-chief of the left wing column, discussed the operation of the corps headquarters with the commanders of the 48th and 49th divisions respectively. The county magistrate of Pingshou County had already heard the news and fled, and now the county government has become the temporary headquarters of the left wing column.

The reason why Wang Xuewu served as the commander-in-chief of the left column was that he participated in the early Annan operations. Although he and the commanders of the 48th and 49th Divisions were all cadets of the first phase of the Shanghai Military Academy, he had more combat experience and experience than the commanders of the 48th and 49th Divisions, so it was natural for him to serve as the commander-in-chief. Wang Xuewu said very politely: "Two Xueren, Commander Leng asked us to form a left wing column and asked us to rush to Huapi Town in the north of Shijiazhuang tomorrow evening and complete the encirclement of Shijiazhuang before April 5. Half an hour ago, the 151st Brigade, which had rested for four hours, had already taken the lead in setting off, and the soldiers rushed to Huapi Town. ”

"What is Commander Leng's intentions?" The commander of the 48th Division sent out an inquiry. Wang Xuewu said: "Commander Leng ordered our three divisions to outflank Shijiazhuang from the north and northeast, and Commander Leng led four divisions to outflank Shijiazhuang from the south, southeast, and east and complete the encirclement. "That's not right! There are no troops in the west of Weishenme? "The commander of the 49th division is confused. Wang Xuewu said with a smile: "This is the genius of Commander Leng, it is called encircling three and missing one, which can save a lot of troops, if the French army and the Russian army choose to flee to the west, we will gather and annihilate the enemy at the foot of Taihang Mountain, so as not to carry out a brutal offensive battle." ”

The commander of the 48th Division asked: "What if the enemy chooses to flee deep into the Taihang Mountain?" Moreover, the enemy may not abandon the city and flee. "Commander Leng has been prepared for a long time, he has ordered the security forces to hold the passage of Taihang Mountain, if the enemy abandons Shijiazhuang, he will die faster. Of course, we are also doing a good job of siege. The two division commanders heard this, and their eyebrows fluttered. Wang Xuewu continued: "You two divisions have just arrived, rest for a few hours, and set off again at midnight." I will lead the 150th Brigade and the 152nd Brigade to set off immediately, and we will see you in Huapi Town tomorrow night. ”

Leng Yifei led the right-wing column out of the Taihang Mountains and into the Jingcheng mining area. A war horse galloped in front, and the signal soldier came to the front without dismounting and raised his hand to salute: "Report to the commander, the 47th Division has taken Jingcheng, and the 65th Division of the Qing Army has announced its surrender." At present, the 23rd Division is provisionally advanced from Cangshan to Luancheng. "I really didn't expect the soldiers to take down Jingcheng without blood, it seems that the Qing army has become a frightened bird." The deputy chief of staff was overjoyed when he heard this. "Order the provisional 24th Division to follow up and keep your distance!" After Leng Yifei finished speaking, his legs were forced, and the war horse rushed forward.

A few hours later, Leng Yifei led his headquarters to Jingcheng. Seeing the commander of the Qing army who surrendered, Leng Yifei said politely: "Welcome to the battlefield to surrender, on behalf of the Western Route Corps of the Northern Expeditionary Army, I once again welcome you." The commander of the Qing army is a bearded man, and at this moment this guy said with a beard: "Your Excellency General, your department is really brave, it broke through the defense line of Taihang Mountain overnight and eliminated 4 divisions. I decided to join the Northern Expedition, I don't know if His Excellency the General wants us? ”

Leng Yifei said with a smile: "Naturally, I am welcome, now I announce that your department is officially reorganized into the 26th Provisional Division of the Western Route Corps of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and you will serve as the commander of the 26th Division." "It's pie in the sky. This guy pledged his allegiance. "Your department will temporarily guard the Jingcheng mining area, and there must be no bad pools." Leng Yifei immediately exercised his power. "Your Excellency, Honorable General!" According to Deng Zixuan's order, the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army will accept and reorganize the Qing army if the battlefield becomes a formation and surrenders, which can quickly disintegrate the fighting spirit of the Qing army.

In fact, in the subconscious of all the Qing army generals, many of them belong to the grass on the wall falling with the wind, and they have already reached a consensus, that is, to protect themselves at any time, and the real opponents of the Northern Expeditionary Army are foreigners. Don't look at the Qing army, which has been trained by foreigners, and its military quality has improved to a certain extent, but the vast majority of the soldiers of the Great Fresh Army are forced to join, so they will not play with their lives when fighting against the powerful Northern Expeditionary Army. Another point is that they carry guns purely for their livelihood, that is, the so-called soldiers to eat food, so it is impossible to fight with their lives. Especially in the current situation, the officers and soldiers of the Qing Dynasty are even more scattered, and everyone plans for themselves, which shows how bad the combat effectiveness of the Qing army is, so the Northern Expeditionary Army does not regard the Qing army in the eyes of everyone.

Leng Yifei summoned the officers above the regimental level of the newly formed 26th Division and preached the posture of the Northern Expeditionary Army's large-scale attack. It's not to scare them, but to let them abandon their illusions and go to the Northern Expeditionary Army with all their hearts, and follow the Northern Expeditionary Army to have a way out, maybe they have long had this thought. Leng Yifei delayed for a few hours in Jingcheng, and then led the headquarters and the 47th Division to continue on the road. After passing through several villages along the way, Leng Yifei found that the people's eyes were very blank, and most of them were in rags, so he must have had a hard time in the past few years.

The troops passed through a village on the hill, and there was no one in the village. Overgrown with weeds, it was desolate and bleak. Last year's severe drought caused a sharp decline in the population of the Central Plains, coupled with the wars of the past few years, and the heavy taxes and miscellaneous taxes, which reduced the population of the Central Plains from 100 million to 60 million. What Leng Yifei saw was only the tip of the iceberg, and it seems that the Chinese nation must pay a huge price in the process of moving towards rebirth.

Luancheng is located in the south of Shijiazhuang and is an ancient county seat. When the vanguard regiment of the provisional 23rd Division arrived at the county seat, an even more comical scene appeared. According to intelligence, about 2,000 Qing troops were stationed in Luancheng. When the vanguard regiment arrived at Luancheng, the regimental commander was ready to launch a strong attack. When the troops formed a straggler line and outflanked Luancheng, a strange scene appeared at this time. I saw that the city gate suddenly opened, and the Qing soldiers ran out one after another, and lined up at the gate of Cheng.

The regiment commander thought that the Qing army was going to attack, and immediately ordered the troops to stop advancing and defend on the spot. But it was soon discovered that the Qing soldiers did not bring weapons, but stood honestly at the gate of the city, and also put up a sign that read: Welcome to the Northern Expeditionary Army! The head of the regiment saw it in his telescope, and he hardly believed his eyes. Fearing that the Qing army would deceive him, the regiment commander sent a staff officer to find out the truth. As a result, the Qing army expressed its surrender and really lined up at the gate of the city to meet the Northern Expeditionary Army.

This is probably the way the people want, and the people of the Central Plains wish that the Northern Expeditionary Army would come earlier. Leng Yifei arrived at Luancheng and couldn't help but feel a lot of confidence. With the support of the common people, the Northern Expeditionary Army is like a fish in water, and it is even more invincible. After Leng Yifei arrived in Luancheng, the 23rd and 24th Divisions had already gone to the east of Shijiazhuang and began to outflank Shijiazhuang according to the planned operation.

To say that the communication in this era completely relied on people to send letters, and the poor communication constrained the Northern Expeditionary Army and also constrained the Allied Army. The two sides are evenly matched in terms of contact, which may be more advantageous to the attacking side. The French and Russian troops guarding Shijiazhuang were shocked to hear that the Northern Expeditionary Army was out of Taihang, and immediately sent people to report to the headquarters of the coalition forces in Beijing, so it was impossible for the French and Russian troops to escape at the first time, which won time for the Northern Expeditionary Army to surround Shijiazhuang.

The French army stationed in Shijiazhuang had 30,000 men, and the Russian army had 20,000. The Frenchman Ferry served as the commander, and the Russian Janrowsky served as the deputy commander. When the two heard the news that the Northern Expeditionary Army had broken through the defense line of Taihang Mountain, it was indeed two days later. In a panic, the two discussed and decided to immediately report to the headquarters of the coalition forces in the capital and ask for reinforcements as soon as possible. But where did they think of the changes in the capital, even if the people sent back would be a bad cry.

At this time, in the headquarters of the allied forces in Shijiazhuang, Ferry said calmly: "General Yang Luovsky, our soldiers are strong and strong, if the Northern Expeditionary Army wants to quickly capture Shijiazhuang, it is wishful thinking, as long as we hold on, when the reinforcements arrive, the Northern Expeditionary Army will be killed under the city of Shijiazhuang, you and I will be frequent." Yang Luovsky also calmed down when he heard this: "Your Excellency General, what you said makes sense, we may be able to make a splash." ”

Although Napoleon folded Waterloo and humiliated the French. Later, however, France and Russia did not settle their enemies for the war, but on the contrary, the relations between the two countries became better and better. Otherwise, McMahon wouldn't have been able to put them together. Ferry continued: "I have ordered the French army to strengthen the defense of Liliang on the west flank, and the defense of the south will be handed over to you." Then the two began to study how to defend the war, and they had no idea that the Northern Expeditionary Army would launch a large-scale attack on the Central Plains.

A day passed, and there was no figure of the Northern Expeditionary Army on the west side, and the two French and Russian commanders were a little confused. That night, the nervousness of the two relaxed, Ferry poured two glasses of wine, handed it to Yang Luovsky casually, and said: "It seems that the Northern Expeditionary Army is a false shot, they just occupied the defense line of Taihang Mountain. It's the incompetence of the Qing army, and we'll filter it. "General Ferry, you and I should be careful, the Northern Expeditionary Army is elusive, maybe there are bigger attempts."

Fei Li agreed: "What you said makes sense, I suggest that the whole city of Shijiazhuang be put under martial law to prevent the Northern Expeditionary Army from sneaking into the city. After all, we are outsiders, and we are not advantaged by the right time and place. Frankly, I have some doubts about the future of the coalition forces now, and we have watched the Northern Expeditionary Army grow stronger day by day, and there is nothing we can do. In particular, hundreds of thousands of coalition troops could not launch an offensive against the Northern Expeditionary Army, but desperately defended. Maybe Napoleon was right, China is like a sleeping lion, once it wakes up, it will be shocked! ”

Seeing that Ferry was a little decadent, Yang Loveski said, "Yes! I really can't understand that the Northern Expeditionary Army is so powerful, and the wisdom of the East is really terrifying. The Yellow Peril theory put forward by the Americans hit the nail on the head, and it is no longer an internal problem of the Qing Dynasty, and once the Northern Expeditionary Army unifies China, it will pose a fatal threat to the West. "General Yang Lovsky has a point, if a strong empire emerges in the East, the entire West will fall into ruin." Ferry agreed.

The dialogue between the two and their thoughts actually reflect the mentality of the Western powers. So much so that it later evolved into a struggle not for interests, but for life and death. Deng Zixuan also did not expect that the scale of the war would become more and more fought, and China would eventually form a pattern of confrontation against the United Nations Army with its own strength.

In fact, at the end of the 19th century, with the strong rise of capitalism in Germany and the United States, the entire Western society reached a certain consensus, that is, the Western cultural system. At that time, the Western powers were both despisable and afraid of Chinese culture, despising this once glorious ancient civilization, which had fallen behind and decayed due to its own reasons. They hope that China, the sleeping lion, will sleep forever, and they hope that China will be carved up and become a meal on the plate.

During this period, the pattern of cultural confrontation between the East and the West had not yet been formed, but the political elites of the Western powers were not fools, and the tolerance, inclusiveness, and integration of Chinese culture were the most terrifying. In fact, in the course of history, the Chinese nation has constantly integrated the essence of various ethnic groups to form powerful cultural elements, and this is very clear to the Western powers.

In addition, the 5,000-year-long history of civilization of the Chinese nation is actually a history of conquest and expansion. And the Northern Expeditionary Army, which was born on the land of China, with its increasingly powerful military strength and rapid development momentum, will naturally resonate with the Yellow Peril theory in the West. As for the contradictions in Western countries, it is due to interests, and when interests and survival are placed in front of them at the same time, the latter will rise to an irreplaceable height. That is, in the East, Western society would never allow a powerful Chinese empire to emerge.

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