"Shaochuan, do you understand people, think about it calmly, with the meaning of this batch of prisoners, it is in the hands of the Mengshan army, or is it better to hand it over to Yulu?" Facing Tang Shaoyi's questioning, Long Qian said slowly, "It's not good, before he was sent to Beijing, he was robbed by the coalition forces!" ”

Although Tang Shaoyi was one round older than Long Qian, Long Qian called him directly, he didn't feel anything wrong, Tang Shaoyi gasped, "How can you explain this?" ”

"Explain to whom? According to you, what does it mean that a larger war on the Tianjin side is about to break out, and a group of coalition prisoners are sent into the battlefield? Shaochuan! There is no shortage of fools in Shangguan, don't believe them! If they had done something clearly, the situation would have come to this. Long Qian lowered his voice, because Nie Shicheng's cavalry was next door, "Shaochuan, everyone knows that this is a batch of 'strange goods', even if it is a meritorious service, it is appropriate to count it in Shandong." Otherwise, I'm really sorry for the thousands of brothers killed and wounded in the Mengshan Army! ”

Tang Shaoyi was stunned for a moment, "Are our casualties so serious?" ”

"You've seen it all." Long Qian spread his hands, "Shangfeng is like this, as long as the horses run, they don't give the horses grazing." Going to Tianjin for supplies? Easy to say. To go is to definitely go. No, I'm busy recruiting people, and if I'm not ready, how can I fight the next battle? ”

"I'm worried that Lord Yulu will be angry and offend him in vain, which is not easy to do."

Long Qian was very satisfied with Tang Shaoyi's attitude, and outside of his words, he already regarded himself as half of the Mengshan Army.

This is not to worry, Yulu sits on the powder keg, and has to deal with the crisis in front of him first. If Tianjin is lost, the enemy coalition forces will drive north. He was afraid that it would be difficult for him to explain to the imperial court. Shaochuan, you met Yulu and Nie Shicheng, do you think they will hold Tianjin? ”

"Nie Junmen is a veteran general in the army__"

"But he couldn't beat Xigu twice!" Lu Shan interjected coldly, "Unless the troops on the Tianjin side are handed over to our commander to command, otherwise, __"

"Lu Shan! Nonsense again. It's good that people can recognize me as a bandit who wants to be a country. Shaochuan, if Tianjin is lost, Xigu is blocking the main road, and the battle will still be fought. But. We always have to do what we can. Go and talk to the soldiers who sent you. If you're going to wait for me to go with you, wait half a day until I'm ready to stop. If not, let them go back first. We're definitely going to go to war again. Please rest assured. ”

"How long is it going to take?"

"Fighting a war is not child's play. The right time and place. The enemy's feelings, my feelings, and the people's feelings, all conditions are indispensable. I've sent out sentry agents, logistically. Plan a little bit too. Just say that if one eats, the army will be chaotic if there is no food. When we arrived at the Tianjin battlefield, it was completely a guest army, without its own supply channel, those adults and old men, only knew that Lu Dao used the Mengshan army to destroy the front, first, regardless of the strength of our army, and second, I would not take into account the supply and injury of our army, I can't ignore the life and death of these brothers who are loyal to the country and the nation__Forget it, I will tell them personally. Long Qian stood up and walked out.

The scorching summer sun made the land smoky, Tang Shaoyi paused for a while, got up and walked out of Long Qian's headquarters, and came to the next room.

"Our army has come from afar, and we are shy in our pockets, and this bit of silver is really not a tribute, so I should give you a cup of tea. Staff Officer Jiang, can you tell Long about the Tianjin War? ”

Jiang Yiliu hurriedly got up, "Don't dare, Long Biaotong is so gracious, my brothers and I really deserve it, I don't know what Lord Biaotong wants to know?" ”

Jiang Yiliu and his cavalry entered Xigu, had a full meal, and were not only shocked by the battlefield but also by the busy and chaotic scene in the stronghold, so they said that when they recruited people, they not only issued money first, but also registered their names and places of origin one by one, organized formations, designated responsible persons, and also sent soldiers to explain the precautions for fighting and marching.

And Long Qian was generous, and when they met, they gave each of them twenty taels of silver, which moved them even more.

"How many battles have you fought with the coalition forces, what are their current strengths? Which country has the most soldiers? In terms of weapons, are there any machine guns? What about the cannons? ”

"This, the lowly position is not clear__"

"We should always know the situation of our army, right? I heard that both the left army and the front army have come up, where are they deployed? The prestige of Nie Junmen, Long Qian has already been like thunder, this reinforcement, you must vote for Nie Junmen, how are the current soldiers of your department? Where is it deployed? Long Qian took out a map, "Staff Officer Jiang, come and see, this is Tianjin City, which direction is the concession?" How far is it from Tianjin? Where are Nie Junmen's troops? ”

Jiang Yiliu leaned over to check and saw that a lot of graphic symbols had been drawn with a brush on a piece of white paper, and the place name of Xigu had been marked on it, while in the area of Tianjin, only a square frame had been drawn, and the rest were blank. However, several roads from Xigu to Tianjin have all been marked.

Jiang Yiliu took the brush, thought for a while, and marked what he knew.

Long Qian took it over and thought about it carefully, "Staff Officer Jiang, based on what Long has seen, it is not a long-term thing for the coalition forces to shrink the concession, and they will definitely counterattack and break the siege." Then plan Tianjin. Nie Junmen's troops must be the primary target of the coalition forces. Please go back first and tell Nie Junmen, be careful. Long still needs to prepare for a day or two, even if he sacrifices heavily, he has to go up. After thinking about it, "If the war is unfavorable, please don't fight hard for Nie Junmen, and command the whole army to retreat in the direction of Xigu, this road, our army must be controlled in our hands, so that the military gate can retreat." Please put the military affairs first and save the useful body, we are dignified China, hundreds of millions of people, more than 10 million square kilometers of land, thousands of years of civilization, there will be a day of shame. ”

"Yes, if Lord Biao Tong speaks, he will definitely bring his humble position to the military gate." Jiang Yiliu looked at Tang Shaoyi, who was standing behind Long Qian, "Then, let's go back first." Thank you for your kindness. There will be a period later. As he spoke, he gave a military salute to Long Qian.

Send Jiang Yiliu and his party away. Long Qian took Tang Shaoyi to the northwest clearing of the stronghold, where a group of artillerymen were fiddling with a dozen cannons, and the carpenters were working, looking like they were repairing the wheels for the cannons. On the other side, more than two dozen officers and men were studying multi-barreled machine guns mounted on wheels.

"Fixed?" Long Qian asked.

"It's repaired, you can pull it away." A soldier of the fifth company wiped his sweat.

"These things were taken from Seymour's forces. Hope it comes in handy. This guy should be called Gatling, and I will call it Grimm Cannon when I buy it. The big guys have never seen a machine gun, but now they finally do. Thankfully, we didn't give them a chance to use these weapons last time, otherwise, my few people wouldn't have been able to do these things for a few minutes. Long Qian gave up half of his position, allowing Tang Shaoyi to see the weapon in front of him clearly.

Tang Shaoyi has seen this kind of weapon, and Yuan Shikai has two in his hand, which are made in Jinling, and they are always malfunctioning. There is no need for the battlefield at all. It is not possible to say that it is an imitation, and I have been trying to buy it from the British, but I have never bought it.

"It turns out that you know that the Dao Coalition has this thing in your hands, and you are afraid of losing so you use the white blade to fight." Tang Shaoyi scratched his head.

"yes. We're just a couple of rifles. Head-to-head engagement. Where can I fight others? In the next battle, people will never give us a chance to ambush again. These weapons must be used well, otherwise they will be sent to death. What do you think. Got it? Long Qian squatted down and looked carefully, it was indeed a Gatling, "Put this one outside and try it, pay attention to the safety of the shooting world." ”

Several soldiers pushed the cart together and came to the outside of the stronghold, where there were already several cavalrymen in the distance, planting two flags in front of a few small trees.

"Go, tell them that when they hear the whistle, they will hide in the trench, and they shall not stand up without the whistle."

Lu Quanta jumped up and gave the order.

Long Qian checked the machine gun, "I'll try it first." He crouched behind the machine gun, and next to a soldier came to shake a handle to keep the barrel spinning.

"Quack," the machine gun spewed out tongues of fire, but it only fired twenty rounds of bullets before it jammed, probably because the crank was spinning too fast.

"How many bullets?" Long Qian stood up and asked.

"No, there are hundreds." A soldier replied. Most of the people were still in extreme shock, and Long Qian's continuous shooting just now frightened everyone.

"Commander, if this goes on and on, my mother......"

"This is a machine gun. In fact, it is a rifle that can fire continuously. "Long Qian has to tell his soldiers about machine guns, who knows that Lu Dao will not encounter machine gun fire?" This guy is decades old, and you see, it's just six barrels and firing them in turns. This machine gun is relatively backward, and the most advanced should be called Maxim, because it is water-cooled, and the fog will rise when fired, which is the most terrifying. I ask you, what do we do if we encounter a machine gun? ”

"What can I do? Fight as you want! Cheng Erhu, who stammered, said this very neatly.

"The spirit is commendable. Fight is a must fight! As you can see, when it comes to weapons, we are no match for others. Don't look at the equipment of the right army of Wuwei or the front army of Wuwei, it is all bought with people for nothing. Just like now, if there is a war with more than a dozen countries, will people sell us arms? Dream! So, in the future, we will have to produce our own weapons, and the devils can make them, we have them, we can make them, but the devils don't! ”

More and more officers and soldiers were agitated by the words of their commander.

"However, there is still something wrong with Deputy Battalion Commander Cheng's words, if you find that the other party has a machine gun, you can't rush hard! That's not bravery, it's brute! It is necessary to learn to conceal and dig fortifications well, and in addition, to find out the weak points of the machine gun, such as easy jamming. For example, the position of the shooter is relatively high, and it is easy to be killed by the sharpshooter, and so on. If you want to study this, take this research, don't be afraid of breaking it, and don't be afraid of running out of bullets. It's best to try to feel like you're being suppressed by a machine gun, but the fortifications must be dug well so that you can't get hurt by mistake. This matter is the responsibility of Deputy Battalion Commander Cheng. ”

"Yes." Cheng Erhu stood upright.

"General Long," Tang Shaoyi was still thinking about the captives, especially Seymour, "where did you hide them?" "I turned around just now, and I didn't even see the shadow of a foreign devil, and the Boxers in strange costumes were gone. I regretted going to Tianjin in a hurry, and in this day, Long Qian did a lot of things that he didn't want him to know.

"Don't worry, Shaochuan. Those captives are in my hands, and they can't escape. In the future, bargaining with foreigners is a big bargaining chip. My wound number also needs to be placed. We've already found a safe place in advance, and when this battle is over, we'll pick them up. Now with this group of prisoners, it is not easy to do, and if it is not good, it will be lost. ”

That feeling hit my heart again, "Long Biaotong, if you think that I Tang Shaochuan can still be trusted, you can tell me the truth." How do I think you're prepared for this war? ”

"Yes." Long Qian said firmly. "But don't shout anything. I call you Mr. Shaochuan, I have been overseas for a long time, I don't know the etiquette, and I don't know if it's a little offensive. I see, you can just call me by my name, or call me a cousin. ”

"Reflections? Yes. That's good. Tang Shaoyi thought that Long Qian was afraid that he had failed his father's hopes, and his behavior of returning to China was neither humble nor reflective.

"Since it's a friend. I won't hide it from you. I'm really prepared for this fight. The imperial court's attitude towards the Boxers was ambiguous and difficult to understand, and I knew that Lu Dao was in trouble. The Boxers were a bunch of fools, and the leaders pretended to be ghosts. It's even more confusing below. thought that killing a few foreigners would make the world peaceful. The court did not give positive guidance. But he wanted to use them against foreigners. Out of the foreign atmosphere that was suffered in the turmoil of easy storage. The crux of the matter is that the highest authorities are very confused about public international law, and they do not know what is going on in the world today. Once the embassy is attacked, war is inevitable. But. Long knows that the imperial court can't beat others, even if it wins a few battles now, it will be a losing situation in the future, cutting land, paying compensation, and losing all the vitality of China, leaving for future generations are piles of mess__"

"You're sure you're going to be recruited?" Tang Shaoyi stared at Long Qian.

"Hehe, I really let you talk. The imperial court went to war with all nations, and once the situation was unfavorable, it was inevitable to gather troops from all over the country to serve the king. Shandong is close at hand, can Yuan Shikai dodge? And he is a smart person, and he is very reluctant to invest his little capital in this bottomless pit, isn't it logical to let the Mengshan army top the tank? ”

Tang Shaoyi was stunned, and said after a long time, "Think about it, aren't you worried about yourself and your soldiers?" ”

"Brother Shaochuan, I said that the Mengshan Army is a national force, don't you still believe it? What I have done is to do my part for our troubled people. The better we play on the battlefield and the more cards the court has, the smaller the losses in the future. Does Brother Shaochuan admit this? ”

Tang Shaoyi felt a little off-topic, "Thinking back, I admire you and your army, the previous war has proven everything." I mean, you've been in Gyeonggi for a long time? Including choosing a secluded place? He still had Seymour in mind.

"Since I am going to come to Gyeonggi to fight, I naturally have to take precautions. If you don't think about winning, you should lose first. I can't help but prepare a few hands in advance. As for Seymour, it was only after coming to Yang Liuqing that this goal was confirmed__"

"So, how do you think the battle will evolve?"

"I'm not optimistic about the war in Tianjin. Although the imperial court has put almost all the elites in the country into Tianjin. Once Tianjin is lost, the strength to defend the capital is probably insufficient. Even if the southern governors are willing to send troops to serve the king, I am afraid that they will not be able to catch up. ”

"Will Tianjin lose? Nie Shicheng Junmen, Ma Yukun, and Song Qing are all generals, and the equipment of the front army is better than that of the right army__"

"Officially, because of that, I'm not optimistic. If it could have won, it would have been won a long time ago, so why bother with a stalemate now? In fact, the last thing you should do is to lose the big sell. Then, we should take advantage of the gradual increase in the strength of the coalition army and choose one part to annihilate it, just like we fought Seymour. It is better to cut off one of its fingers than to hurt its ten fingers. Moreover, it is necessary to fully study the characteristics of the coalition forces, because since they are coalition forces, they are bound to be full of internal contradictions. Defeat all the way, and the contradictions will become even more intensified. It is not impossible to find an opportunity to immediately resort to diplomatic means. However, Brother Shaochuan, how many of the imperial court's armies can keep pace? If you win, you will fight for merit, and if you lose, you will save your life. If we fight a battle like Seymour, they're afraid they won't be able to fight. Moreover, the situation in Beijing is the crux of the matter, and in any case, the imperial court should not declare war on all nations."

"How can we remedy the disadvantage?"

Long Qian shook his head, "How do I know the Dao?" I'm just a ringing horseman, and I do it with my own passion. What does the center think, how do the commanders and soldiers do, where do I know? ”

"Come to thought, at least I think you have a way to do it militarily. Why don't you go to Tianjin to meet all the marshals and tell me your views? I am willing to accompany you to Tianjin immediately. ”

"It's useless. The bigwigs in Tianjin transferred reinforcements from the Mengshan Army, but they were just looking for some cannon fodder__Brother Shaochuan, I am still willing to carry out the military order, and prepare for another day, the troops will recover from fatigue, straighten out the logistics, and we will march towards Tianjin the day after tomorrow. (To be continued......)