The headquarters of the military government in Guangzhou is very peaceful. Deng Zixuan stared at the military map and was silent. Pei Ge said solemnly: "Commander-in-chief, Liu Mingchuan's escape from Xiangfan must be Li Hongzhang's intention, otherwise Liu Mingchuan would not have the guts." Deng Zixuan said: "This is the lice on the monk's head, and he can think of it with his feet." The British set up defensive lines on the first line of Tongbai Mountain and Funiu Mountain, and it was obvious that the foreigners had lost confidence in the Qing army. In particular, Liu Mingchuan gave up Xiangfan and fled, which further confirmed this point. ”

Pei Gejin continued: "The British army transferred the troops defending Tongguan to the front line of Funiu Mountain, and Tongguan was replaced by Qing troops. Such a change of events has made it more difficult for me to capture Tongguan. The British army was on the front line of Funiu Mountain, and the French army was on the front line of Tongbai Mountain, and the two echoed each other from afar. According to the military intelligence of the CIA, 50,000 Russian troops have landed in Jiangsu at the moment, and the Russian army landed from the sea, apparently from the sea, indicating that the Russian army has mobilized forces in the Far East. ”

Deng Zixuan said: "This is a signal that Western countries have lost confidence in the Qing army, and it is imperative to increase troops on a large scale. The Germans set up a gun and ammunition factory and a gun factory in Tianjin, and there is no doubt that the foreigners became more united, which made it more difficult for us to fight in the future. The Qing court is now even more unscrupulous, promising the Germans to open up a concession in Qingdao, and Germany will definitely send an army in the next step. In addition, grenades appeared in the Xiangfan offensive operation, and the Germans produced a new type of rifle in Tianjin, which shows that the advantages of our weapons no longer exist, and our standard rifles and grenades, including 76 mm field guns, will soon be developed by foreigners. This will be a severe test for our future operations. ”

"A few years ago, the foreigners developed a machine gun, and as for Weishenme, it was not put into use, the main reason was that it was not up to par, and the machine gun broke down frequently. I judge that the foreigners will soon solve the problem, knowing that war is the catalyst, and any miracle on earth will be created. The machine gun we developed could not solve the problem of jamming, and the original Jihua was put into actual combat this year, but it had to be postponed next year. ”

Deng Zixuan continued: "In the Wuhan River Crossing Operation and the Xiangfan Offensive Operation, the foreigners have fully grasped our operational characteristics. In particular, we used large-scale artillery fire to support the operation, and the foreigners must have understood the power of it. I judged that the coalition forces would definitely massively increase the number of artillery fires in future defensive operations, so I thought that the operation of the middle route corps would change, and we must win by surprise. ”

"Does the commander-in-chief mean not to launch an attack on Tongguan, but to leave the Qinling Mountains?" Pei Ge would like to make an inquiry. Deng Zixuan said with a smile: "The transfer of the British army in Tongguan and the defense of the Qing army are definitely beneficial to us. From another point of view, the 50,000 Russian troops in Xi'an are already a lone army, and if we aim at the Russian army, the Qing army in Tongguan will not desperately support, which creates conditions for us to encircle and annihilate the Russian army in Xi'an. Fighting an isolated enemy first will definitely achieve miraculous results, and this plan will be immediately planned by the General Staff.

Two days later, a new operation was introduced, ordering the Eastern Route Corps to continue to maintain strong military pressure, which attracted great attention from the coalition forces. Order the Central Route Corps to Chen Bing on the front line of Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain, and maintain the posture of launching an offensive at any time. The Western Route Corps was ordered to prepare immediately, and the troops left the Qinling Mountains half a month later, and planned to encircle and annihilate the Russian army. The order from the headquarters was issued quickly, and some people were happy and some were worried.

In Nanjing, within the headquarters of the East Route Corps, officers at and above the division level did it. Shaoqing, Commander Bai Sheng, Deputy Commander Shang Hu, and Chief of Staff Seinfeld entered, and all the generals stood up. Bai Sheng motioned for everyone to sit down and said, "Headquarters order!" All the generals immediately straightened up, with an excited expression on their faces. Bai Sheng said majestically: "The headquarters ordered us to continue to show the troops without moving, and put on the jiashi of crossing the river to fight, and continue to confuse the coalition forces." ”

When the generals heard this, a depressed expression appeared on their faces. "Commander, the headquarters is too partial, the West Route Corps and the Middle Route Corps drink and eat meat, and we can only drink the Northwest Wind, which is too unfair." Division commander Liu Yunlong was the first to complain about his lack of control. "That's it, our army of more than 100,000 people is here to watch the excitement, everyone talks about how depressed they are, and the brothers have long been holding back their screams." The division commander is iron-condensed. "Commander, our Chen soldiers are on the front line of Nanjing, we are fat and strong, we are now in control of the Qing army's victory, if the commander orders, I promise to kill Jiangbei first!" Nie Fengwu also shouted for help.

"Nonsense! The overall deployment at Headquarters is correct. The commander and chief of staff and I do not want to kill on the other side and sweep away thousands of troops, and our mood is even more urgent to say that it is urgent. But the harsh reality does not allow us to do so. According to military intelligence, the strength of the Qing army on the other side of the strait has reached 700,000, and the British and French troops have also reached 150,000. Jiangsu and Anhui are the key defense points of the coalition forces, can we do anything if we have more than 100,000 people killed in Jiangbei? You are all high-ranking generals, is it difficult to understand this bit of common sense? Deputy Commander Shang Hu reprimanded loudly.

Seeing the dejected appearance of the generals, Chief of Staff Seinfeld said in a soft voice: "We understand everyone's feelings, don't think that our Northern Expeditionary Army is strong and can have no scruples." But let's not forget that we are not fighting against the Qing court, and the next step is to fight against Western countries on a large scale. Commander-in-Chief Deng's strategic concept is very correct, the troops out of the Qinling Mountains, eat up the isolated enemy, constantly compress the enemy's space, zuihou battle and win, this is a strategic chess move. ”

Bai Sheng said: "The deputy commander and chief of staff just said it very well, so I won't repeat it." Don't be in a hurry to fight a war with you, once we are engaged in the Jiangbei battle, it will be cruel and even unimaginable, so you must be mentally prepared. Since the headquarters has asked us to cross the river and bewitch the coalition forces, we must cooperate with the overall strategic concept of the headquarters to the letter. ”

Xiangfan, the headquarters of the Middle Route Corps, Chen Jintang was silent with the combat order of the headquarters in his hand. "Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Commander-in-Chief Weishenme Change Combat Jihua? There are only 50,000 British troops defending the front line of Funiu Mountain, and we are fully capable of breaking through the defense line of Funiu Mountain, and then take Tongguan to achieve our strategic goal. "Li Tianxiang is confused." Maybe the commander-in-chief wants to eat the Russian army in Xi'an first, or maybe there is a bigger attempt. Chen Jintang muttered to himself, unable to guess his intentions.

"I see!" Chief of Staff Wang Feng's eyes lit up. "What do you understand?" Li Tianxiang urged. "Deputy commander-in-chief, you see, first, Tongguan was replaced by the Qing army, and the Russian army in Xi'an became a lone army, which created conditions for us to eat the Russian army. If we eat the Russian army, the situation in the west will be clear at a glance. The main force of the Russian army is stationed in Yili, and the road is far away, and it is impossible to reinforce it. ”

"It seems to be convincing, but wouldn't it be better for us to break through Funiu Mountain and attack Tongguan to cooperate with the Western Route Corps? There is no contradiction between the two! Li Tianxiang did not agree. Wang Feng said with a smile: "Second, if we break through the defense line of Funiu Mountain and attack Tongguan, the commander of the coalition forces, McMahon, will see our purpose, and he will let the Russian army withdraw to Tongguan. ”

"Your analysis is reasonable, if the Russian army withdraws to the front line of Tongguan, our offensive will be aborted!" Chen Jintang agreed. Wang Feng continued: "Third, the line of Funiu Mountain, including Tongbai Mountain, is a mountainous area, and the topography is beneficial to the defending side and not to the attacking side. Moreover, the British and French armies had defensive experience and rich field experience. In addition, the French army and the British army echoed each other from afar, and one side of the crisis must be desperately rescued, and it is impossible for us to launch an attack on Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain at the same time. ”

"Fourth!" "Why do you still have four, please don't gasp!" Li Tianxiang was obviously a little jealous. "Fourth, it cannot be ruled out that the coalition forces are prepared. The use of hand grenades by the Qing army in Xiangfan is a clear sign. We crossed the river in Wuhan, annihilated the Japanese troops, attacked the fortified positions in Xiangfan, and used artillery on a large scale to achieve the goal of rapid attack, McMahon was not a fool, so the coalition forces would definitely increase the number of artillery. ”

"Deputy commander, if we attack unfavorably, it will be troublesome to fight in a state of scorching. In addition, the information provided by the headquarters is very obvious, 50,000 Russian troops landed in Jiangsu, and the target must be Zhengzhou. McMahon would not ignore the British and French troops on the front line of Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain. The headquarters judged correctly, and Liu Mingchuan suddenly led his troops to flee, which shows that the foreigners no longer believe in the combat capability of the Qing army, and the foreigners will definitely increase their troops on a large scale, which is why the headquarters changed its strategy. ”

"You kid is really good, don't be impressed in three days!" Li Tianxiang was a little sour. Wang Feng said: "This is all the cultivation of the deputy commander-in-chief, and I am a staff officer, which is my strength." Chen Jintang was overjoyed and said: "You kid didn't disappoint me, the headquarters must be based on this consideration, let's deploy it according to the intention of the headquarters!" Deputy Commander Li, what are your plans to feint against the British and French forces? ”

Li Tianxiang said confidently: "Deputy Commander-in-Chief, the battle losses of the middle lane cluster and the right lane cluster in the early stage of the operation are large, and I suggest that the two major clusters rest and replenish the troops." It is suggested that the five divisions of the Corps Reserve should be put into the front line of Tongbai Mountain, waving their flags and shouting to prepare for a large-scale attack. The left side cluster was put into the front line of Funiu Mountain, and the same battle was ready for attack. "Good! That's it, you deploy. Chen Jintang made the final decision.

At the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army in Guangzhou, Wan Chuan, the director of the intelligence bureau, hurriedly walked in. "Is there any emergency?" Deng Zixuan was looking at the documents and realized that Wan Chuan came in without looking up. "Report to the commander-in-chief, I just got information that 20,000 Japanese troops have landed at a certain port in Jiangsu. Intelligence said that this was the first batch of reinforcements from the Japanese army, and the number of subsequent reinforcements is unknown. Deng Zixuan said calmly: "As expected, let's see how much cannon fodder Little Japan can come." ”

Deng Zixuan continued: "The war will be protracted, and your military intelligence must be accurate and timely, which is particularly important for us to understand the enemy's situation and strategic deployment. "My subordinates understand!" "There are signs that the coalition forces are going to increase reinforcements, and your intelligence department is going to concentrate on Liliang to spy on the coastal area. I want to learn more about the reinforcement of the coalition forces! "Yes!" Wan Chuan assured loudly.