The troops repaired in Meishan for three days, and during the three days, the soldiers were fully rested, they washed their dirty uniforms, and the appearance of the army changed greatly. In the past three days, He Meng expanded the recruit brigade to 5,000 men and named it the recruit brigade, and at the same time distributed the captured Remington rifles. In addition, He Meng withdrew a large number of officers to enrich the recruit brigade, and a regiment commander of the 91st Brigade was appointed commander of the recruit brigade.

In the evening of that day, He Meng checked the map at the division headquarters. He shaved his beard and shaved his head, and his cheeks were thin but radiant. His eyes were on Leshan, and it was obvious that he was playing Leshan's idea. He Meng had already learned that there were 30,000 Qing army green camps in Leshan, and that Leshan was about 150 kilometers away from Meishan. The captured Qing army generals confessed, and Zuo Zongtang strictly ordered that one side must desperately support in case of danger, otherwise the military law will be ruthless. Leshan, who was close at hand, must have learned that there was a Northern Expeditionary Army in Meishan, but they couldn't determine whether Meishan was lost, so He Meng sent a reconnaissance force in the direction of Leshan.

Thinking that Cao Cao would come, a subordinate hurriedly came in to report: "Report to the deputy commander, scout cavalry!" The Qing army was dispatched to Leshan, with a strength of about 10,000 troops! "Great, integrate my intentions, let's come to him to wait for the rabbit, and surround this Qing army in Ruyi River." Immediately convene a military conference. The battle plan was quickly finalized, and the 91st Brigade interspersed in a roundabout way to block the south of Ruyi River, with the 92nd Brigade in the west and the 93rd Brigade in the east to form an outflank. He Meng led the teaching brigade, 10 artillery pieces, and two regiments of the recruit brigade to intercept it head-on. A regiment of the Recruit Brigade remained in Meishan to guard the prisoners and serve as a defense.

After the battle plan was finalized, the troops set out at midnight and arrived at Ruyichuan the next evening. Ruyichuan is about 80 kilometers away from Meishan. After arriving at Ruyi River, the 91st Brigade began to weave through in a roundabout way, and began to deploy pocket formations on three sides. The Qing army is moving very slowly, to be exact, the green battalion of the Qing army can't get up fast if they want to, the reason is that they don't have the subject of long-distance marching in their usual training, plus the long-distance battle formation, even if it is integrated by Zuo Zongtang, it will not change much in a short period of time.

Fortunately, the officers and men had a good night's sleep after waiting for the rabbit, and the officers and men of the 91st Brigade had to suffer because they had to make a detour back to the south side of the Ruyi River because they had to trek the road. At dawn the next day, I finally looked forward to the figure of the Qing army. Although the green battalion of the Qing army hunted and loaded foreign guns, it still followed the state of cold weapons, and saw the Qing army waving flags in the columns, and the war drums urging the formation appeared in the team very eye-catching. In addition, there is an artillery corps, all of which are old-fashioned artillery. It looks scary on the outside, but it's actually donkey dung and eggs that are shiny on the outside.

He Meng personally commanded the artillery, and since the 1st Artillery Regiment remained in Xikang, it was the quasi-officers of the teaching brigade who operated the artillery. "I tell you, don't be stingy with shells when you fire artillery for a while, and use artillery fire to stop the Qing army from advancing, understand!" As soon as the Qing army saw the figure, He Meng gave the order to shoot. There was no way, He Meng did not dare to let the recruit brigade face the attack of the Qing army, in case Ken Jin could not withstand it, it would be troublesome, so it was necessary to deter the Qing army from advancing.

As soon as the artillery fire rang out here, the Qing army's forward troops really panicked and took refuge in all directions. Soon the Qing army retreated, and He Meng ordered the shelling to stop. It was a commander who led the expedition, and this guy was startled when the cannon sounded. Before he could give the order, the routs in front of him retreated like a tide, and wrapped him in the back of the retreat. Finding that the artillery bombardment on the opposite side had stopped, the Admiral drank the rout. Seeing that there was no pursuit on the other side, this guy came to his senses.

"Lord Admiral, there are foreign cannons on the opposite side, which means that it is the main force of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Maybe Meishan has been captured and should be withdrawn immediately! One of his subordinates panicked. The Admiral remembered Zuo Zongtang's strict order and said with a numb scalp: "Bastard, how could the main force of the Northern Expeditionary Army appear in Meishan, it's just nonsense. I judged that it must have been a small force of the Northern Expeditionary Army. I ordered the front team to attack, whoever the fuck pretended to be a bad seed, don't blame me for the ruthlessness of the knife in my hand. ”

After a period of confusion, the Qing army began to attack cautiously, and the artillery fire on the opposite side rang out again. The Qing soldiers heard the sound of the artillery and lay on the ground to avoid the artillery fire. At this moment, loud military trumpets sounded on the hills on both sides, and a large number of figures of the Northern Expeditionary Army suddenly appeared. Seeing this, the Admiral was so frightened that he took the lead in fleeing, and the Qing army immediately collapsed. The soldiers on both sides were like a mountain and a sea of bees, Mount Tai was overwhelming, and the Qing army was crowded into a group and desperately fled. At this time, a dense burst of gunfire rang out on the south side.

He Meng put down the binoculars and shook his head, thinking in his heart: Such an army can also fight, it is really intolerable. Then he ordered the Recruit Brigade to be dispatched, with the very clear intention of taking prisoners. A few hours later, the Admiral was escorted to He Meng. Looking at the Admiral's grizzled and embarrassed appearance, He Meng didn't bother to talk to him. With a wave of his hand, he meant to go down, and suddenly there was a flash of inspiration, and He Meng's waving arm stopped.

He Meng looked at the other party and remembered the epigram that was the best for the heart: "Lord Admiral, it is your creation to be defeated by the Northern Expeditionary Army. I am He Meng, deputy commander of the Western Route Corps of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and I have decided to let you go back and take your entourage with you! If we're not convinced, we'll do it again. He Meng was sorry on his lips, his intention was to shake the morale of the army, just imagine what it means that the deputy commander-in-chief of the Western Route Corps of the Northern Expeditionary Army appeared north of Leshan? This move can make them rebel.

The Admiral barely believed his ears, and stood there stunned. After He Meng finished speaking, he walked away, and the combat staff officer said disdainfully: "While our deputy commander has not changed his mind, he will not leave quickly." The Admiral woke up from a dream and fled in a hurry with a few of his henchmen. The staff officer looked at the admiral's embarrassed figure and said to the other staff officer: "The deputy commander's heart-attacking tactics are brilliant. First, let him go back and inform him that the deputy commander-in-chief of the Western Route Corps of the Northern Expeditionary Army appeared north of Leshan, which meant that the main army came in, causing chaos in the Leshan Qing Army. ”

Now that we turn our eyes to Chengdu, Zuo Zongtang in the Governor's Mansion was shocked to receive the report of the transport team, how is this possible, the Northern Expeditionary Army will never appear in the Meishan area. Zuo Zongtang ordered to immediately investigate the situation, and if it was a lie about military intelligence, military law would be involved. Soon the news came back, and the convoy lost contact with Pengshan north of Meishan, and Zuo Zongtang gasped. A convoy of 2,000 soldiers, escorted by 2,000 soldiers, disappeared in one day, and Zuo Zongtang began to believe that a large number of Northern Expeditionary troops had appeared in the Meishan area.

There was a chaotic situation in the Governor's Palace, and Zuo Zongtang said with a blue face: "This news is not allowed to spread, even if the Northern Expeditionary Army appears in Meishan, it must be a small number of troops, don't mess with yourself." Zuo Zongtang's calmness reassured the staff a lot. Lord Zuo, if Meishan is captured by the Northern Expeditionary Army, it is really difficult for his subordinates to understand. Could it be that Xikang, or Neijiang, was captured by the Northern Expeditionary Army? As it turns out, the city is still in our hands, did they fly from the sky? One of the staff members asked boldly.

Zuo Zongtang couldn't answer, but his eyes looked at the map and pondered. He never imagined that the Northern Expeditionary Army would come from Xikang and along the deserted west bank of the Yalong River, because he had never encountered in his military career that an army would be whimsical in such a dangerous situation at the risk of its own safety. Zuo Zongtang set his eyes on Neijiang, and then made an erroneous judgment.

Zuo Zongtang looked around at the crowd: "Not long ago, the rebels attacking Neijiang suddenly retreated. I judged that they did not retreat, but bypassed Neijiang in a roundabout way and attacked Meishan directly. Meishan is an important passage to the front line of Xikang, Yibin and Luzhou, and the purpose of the rebels is to cut off the logistical supply of our front line, and then achieve the goal of breaking through our defense line. This move was very powerful, but the rebels did not expect that they would become a lone army when they penetrated deep into the hinterland of my heavy army. ”

Zuo Zongtang sneered and continued: "I decided to encircle and eat this lonely army, ordered all the green battalion soldiers in Ziyang to dispatch, and outflanked Meishan from the east side, and ordered the Chinese army to dispatch 40,000 horses and horses to advance to Meishan quickly, I want to eliminate the rebels in Meishan." Zuo Zongtang believes that no matter how strong the 10,000 rebels are, it will be difficult to perform without backup, and if these 10,000 rebels are eliminated, the offensive of the entire rebel army will disappear. But where did Zuo Zongtang think that the situation was not like that at all, and this move accelerated his defeat.

The green battalion of the Ziyang Qing Army received Zuo Zongtang's order, and 20,000 horses were dispatched to kill Meishan. As we said earlier, the Qing army in Leshan was killed by 10,000 horses and horses, and it has become a frightened bird, but Zuo Zongtang does not know about this situation. After He Meng led his troops to complete the ambush operation beautifully, the troops returned to Meishan from Xin. Obviously, the Qing army in Leshan could no longer do anything, and the Qing army stationed in Ziyang was not worried, so they began to pay attention to the movements in Chengdu.

He Meng knew that there were 50,000 Hunan troops in Chengdu, which was the victorious army of Zuo Zongtang's Chinese army, the descendant of the lineage, and the combat effectiveness was strong. After Zuo Zongtang learned of the situation in Meishan, in view of the importance of Meishan, he would send troops 100%. Therefore, He Meng urgently needed to get in touch with Khalid, hoping that Khalid would lead his troops to intersperse between Ziyang and Meishan. In addition, he also needs to tell Leng Yifei his news through Khalid.

Khalid led his troops to attack Neijiang and was blocked, and then received an order from Leng Yifei to stop the attack. Khalid pulled his troops to a small town on the north bank of the Yangtze River and stood by, where they could advance and retreat freely, and they could attack Neijiang again, and retreat to the south of the Yangtze River. One day, Khalid received an order from the corps headquarters and told He Meng to lead his troops to make a long-distance detour to Xikang to attack Meishan and cut off the supply line of the Qing army on the front line. Ordered him to move closer to Neijiang, and once He Meng took Meishan, he took Neijiang and inserted it between Meishan and Ziyang, forming two sharp knives.

Khalid was overjoyed when he saw the order, and immediately led his troops to re-advance towards Neijiang. The troops arrived at Changlong and stopped, where Khalid waited for news from He Meng. On this day, Khalid was preoccupied with everything, and he was worried about why. When the subordinates saw that the chief of staff was in a bad mood, they deliberately avoided him, so as not to attract reprimands. The offense was blocked and fell into passivity, and now it all depends on how He Meng breaks the deadlock.