According to Zhu Erdian, because of his concerns about France, neither he nor the British Empire behind him could agree to Yuan Shikai's request. That is, an arms embargo on Yan Shao—————— even if the embargo is on both sides.

Because for Britain, Europe is his foundation, and the British cannot agree to anything that threatens their fundamental interests.

But then again, it would be impossible for the British to say that the British did not even say anything about this kind of digging of the wall and bridge by the French.

After all, no matter what, the British have also been the hegemon of the world for hundreds of years, and the Yangtze River is the power of the British, so if they are dug into the corner of the wall and they don't say anything about it, then they are not British.

It's just that Europe is his foundation after all, so the British only intend to express their dissatisfaction in another way.

That is to support Yuan Shikai in other ways, such as the loan that has been finalized, and hand it over to Yuan Shikai a little earlier than before. In addition, there are arms, etc., which can also be sold to him at a slightly cheaper price, and so on.

It is also because of this that Zhu Erdian's report has just been handed over, and it has already been approved by the London side.

Especially in the area of arms, credit is even allowed, which is a treatment that has not been done in the past.

In contrast, Yan Shaoke has no such support.

But then again, Yan Shao doesn't seem to need this kind of support.

After taking Jiujiang, Yan Shao realized that with the current ammunition reserves of the National Social Army, it would be a little difficult to deal with Beiyang. So after getting the consent of the others. Yan Shao placed an order with Lihe & Co., ready to order 1 million rounds of 75mm artillery shells and 300,000 rounds of 105mm light howitzer shells from Germany.

With the original reserves of the National Socialist Army, plus these new orders and the production of the arsenal itself. If all of them can arrive, it will definitely be enough to deal with Beiyang.

At the same time that Yan Shao ordered artillery shells from Lihe Foreign Bank, on the Jiujiang side, the repaired Guoshe Army also took another step forward, preparing to completely solve the war in Jiangxi in Nanchang.

Originally, according to the original plan, the National Socialist Army should have taken a port in Poyang Lake and then used it as a logistics base. While launching an offensive against Nanchang, it received ammunition and other supplies from Anqing. However, the encounter between Hukou and Jiujiang made Xiao Yongyan and Gu Chengzhou have a new evaluation of Li Liejun, and the plan naturally changed, becoming more bold than the original plan—————— directly from Jiujiang all the way to Benxi Nanchang. Strive to take Nanchang within two days.

Naturally, if you do this, there will be a problem in the first place, and that is ammunition and other supplies.

However, in the process of attacking Jiujiang, those shells almost destroyed Jiujiang. There are also many homeless young people. So after Xiao Yongyan opened 5 dimes a day. Thousands of young men were soon recruited from Jiujiang to help transport supplies.

Although these young men were very angry with the National Social Army that destroyed their homes, they still had to bow their heads in the face of life.

And with the help of these young people, Xiao Yongyan and Gu Chengzhou don't need to worry about supplies.

But on the other hand, there is also a slightly more troublesome place, that is, when attacking Nanchang, the navy may not be of much use. Because Nanchang is located dozens of kilometers inland, although there are some waterways along the way that can also enter Nanchang. However, the gunboats of the navy are all large ships with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons, and it is inevitable that they are a little reluctant. And as long as Li Liejun is a little smarter and finds a way to block the waterway, Gu Chengzhou will have no way —————— fact, after seeing the power of the Anhui navy in Jiujiang, the first thing Li Liejun did when he returned to Nanchang was to find a way to block all the waterways in Nanchang with sunken ships, so as not to let the gunboats of the navy go straight to Nanchang along the waterway.

Of course, if Li Liejun has enough artillery in his hands, then he can also choose to ambush and use artillery to deal with the Anhui naval army. The waterways in Nanchang are not very spacious, and if some artillery is really ambushed, I dare not say that there are 100 shots and 100 hits, but I am afraid it is not much worse.

The Anhui Navy is equipped with all gunboats, that is, ships with only a few heavy guns and almost no armor, if they are really hit by artillery fire, even if it is only a 75mm small-caliber gun, I am afraid that they will be heavily damaged or even have the risk of sinking.

It's a pity that almost all the artillery of the Jiangxi army was lost in Jiujiang, and the remaining ones were only a few scattered, and there were not even as many guns as on a gunboat. These special bureaus have all been investigated and handed over to Xiao Yongyan and Gu Chengzhou.

However, for the Nationalist Army, it was easy to occupy Nanchang, and there was no need to risk damage to the gunboats and have to enter the waterway to support.

In other words, I am afraid that this time the matter needs to be solved by Xiao Yongyan himself.

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In Anhui in April, the sun is shining and the spring flowers are blooming.

Although the fighting in Jiangxi has been in full swing, at least here in Anhui, the war in Jiangxi has not affected anything. And because it was a Sunday, many factories were closed (naturally, there were some that didn't, and there were many, many more, after all, this was still a relatively primitive capitalist period), so there were also many pedestrians on the streets.

For them, after many busy days, it was a rare day to rest.

As for the war in Jiangxi? Although the newspapers were also publishing things about Jiangxi, because all the news of the victory came back, the people of Anhui were not worried at all.

"Minister..."In front of the gate of the Governor's Palace, a group of soldiers who were holding their hands looked at the car that drove in, and the people sitting in the car, and hurriedly saluted.

"Hmm..."Nodding slightly, Fu Xiuming didn't say anything, just motioned for the driver to drive the car in.

After the car stopped firmly at the entrance of the official residence, Fu Xiuming opened the door and walked down from the car.

In the Governor's Palace, perhaps because of the war, it has become busy, and it is full of young officers running around with information. Others who looked like troop commanders were standing in the corners. Everyone with a cigarette in their hands was talking about something, and from time to time they would take two puffs and swallow the clouds.

"Minister Fu..."Seeing Fu Xiuming walk in, these people nodded their heads and said hello.

And Fu Xiuming. They also responded one by one.

After walking for a while, Fu Xiuming and the accompanying adjutant walked to the door of the room. Just a slight glance at it, you can see that it is already busy and messy inside.

"Minister Fu? Come on in! "Seeing that it was Fu Xiuming standing at the door, Zhang Ying, who was in charge inside, beckoned." It's a mess here, I can't even clean it up..."After Fu Xiuming walked in, Zhang Ying pointed to the surrounding situation and said helplessly.

"Where's the Governor?" Seeing that everyone in the room had it, there was no Yan Shao. Fu Xiu was obviously a little strange.

"It's still over there at the manor, it seems that I'm taking care of the two young ladies, I'm afraid I'll have to wait a while to arrive..." Zhang Ying replied directly.

Since the injuries on Elano and Caterina have improved, although the two of them are still unable to get off the ground, Yan Shao still took them home.

In fact, there is no need to continue in the hospital for the next treatment. After all, the injuries of both men are traumatic. The environment in the manor is obviously much better than that of the hospital, and it is also more suitable for recuperation and Yan Shao's personal care.

Hearing Zhang Ying say this, Fu Xiuming didn't say anything more, but walked to one of the tables and looked at some of the information on it.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside. Although he hasn't seen the appearance of the person who came for the time being, Fu Xiuming still instinctively sensed that the person who came was Yan Shao.

Sure enough, it didn't take a few minutes. Yan Shao appeared at the door of the room.

"Sorry, I'm late," he said, taking off his coat. Yan Shao smiled apologetically.

To be exact, it was more than ten minutes late.

For more than ten minutes, if it is still on someone else, it is naturally a great thing, especially if so many people wait, at least they have to be reprimanded for a while, but since it is Yan Shao, then...

Let's just act as if nothing happened...

————————————————————

At this time, seeing Yan Shao walk in, the room, which was still quite messy, suddenly became quiet.

"Then, let's go straight to the point..."Walked to his own position and sat down, yawning quietly, Yan Shao looked up at everyone.

With Yan Shao starting, someone soon stood up.

"According to the information just received by the Beijing Branch of the Special Affairs Bureau, several Beiyang divisions in the north have begun to quietly mobilize, and I believe that it will not be long before they will turn against us..."

"In addition, Yuan Shikai also reached some agreements with the British, such as the early submission of the next batch of loans for the aftermath of the big loans, and the fact that Yuan Shikai can buy some relatively cheap arms from the British through credit and other means..."

These are all relatively realistic for Yuan Shikai, especially loans and arms.

Fighting a war is to burn money, although the previous big loan for the aftermath has reached a part, but Yuan Shikai now spends a lot of money, so it hardly takes much effort, and the first batch of loans has been spent.

If there is no other source of funds, the promotion fee for the troops alone is enough to give Yuan Shikai a headache.

As for the armament, although Beiyang has been accustomed to using Japanese or German weapons, and even the Austrian Manlixia rifle, but the British Lee? The Enfield rifle is also clearly very good. In all respects, it can be compared with the German Mauser G98, and in some places it is even superior to the Mauser G98, for example, in terms of firepower—————— because Lee Enfield's magazine can hold 10 rounds, which is 5 rounds more than other only 5 rounds, and it is obviously stronger than other rifles in terms of firepower.

When a platoon of British soldiers fired at it, the density of fire made the Germans on the opposite side think that they were being suppressed by machine guns.

However, it is precisely because of the strong firepower of Lee Enfeld that in order to prevent the soldiers from firing desperately and wasting ammunition, the British finally got a 'magazine partition' to come out, inserting it from the right side of the receiver to block the supply of ammunition from the magazine, and each bullet must be reloaded after each bullet is fired to prevent the soldiers from shooting desperately at a long distance to save bullets. When rapid fire is required, remove the partition and feed it from the magazine.

As it stands, the British Lee Enfield is definitely superior in all respects to the Manlisia, the 1888 Commission rifle and the Japanese Golden Hook equipped with the Beiyang Army...

Apparently. The British felt that if they could let Beiyang defeat the Nationalist Army through proxy warfare, it would also be a good way. However, in order to avoid overstimulating the French, they did not take a greater form of support, such as an arms embargo on Anhui or the warring sides, as Yuan Shikai requested.

Unlike the National Social Army, Beiyang did not have many machine guns or large-caliber artillery (for them, 105mm was considered large-caliber). Even if there is an arms embargo, it will not have much impact, but in the case of the National Social Army, the impact will be somewhat fatal.

————————————————————

"Mobilization..."Yan Shao tilted his neck and thought about it. It wasn't unexpected. As for the British, there is no need to worry about it for the time being. ”

"According to the information obtained by the Special Affairs Bureau, the scale of this Beiyang mobilization is probably 100,000 people, and there are at least three veteran Beiyang veterans among them. It's definitely not comparable to the people's army in Nanjing last year..."

Seeing that Yan Shao seemed to despise Beiyang's appearance. Wu Qianqiu hurriedly reminded softly beside him.

After all, the National Social Army has not exchanged fire with Beiyang now, and with the reputation of China's strongest army in Beiyang, it is normal for them to be cautious.

"So, do you have any plans on the part of the Ministry of Military Affairs?"

Straightening up, Yan Shao looked at Fu Xiuming and Zhang Ying.

"Our opinion is..."After Fu Xiuming and Zhang Ying glanced at each other, Zhang Ying spoke. If Beiyang wants to go south, the first stop will definitely be Suzhou, where we currently have three divisions. And a large number of fortifications have been built on the front line of Suzhou, if Beiyang starts. We can completely pull up a defensive line in Suzhou, rely on the advantages of geography and equipment to let Beiyang break the blood flow in the Suzhou defense line, and when we frustrate their spirit, we can counterattack on all fronts..."

Beiyang's superiority in military strength is obvious, plus it is not as ineffective as the civilian army. If it is really tough, I am afraid that there will be a lot of losses of the National Social Army, so it is better to carry forward the advantages of the National Social Army and bully the Beiyang Army with intensive firepower.

In fact, this is also what Yan Shao thought, so after hearing Fu Xiuming and Zhang Ying's proposals, he did not object, and agreed very directly.

At present, the Kuomintang has a total of 9 infantry divisions, of which 3 divisions have moved south to Jiangxi, and everything is going smoothly. However, Xiao Yongyan will also sit in Jiangxi to prevent recurrence in Jiangxi, so it is unlikely that the 3rd Division will come back for the time being.

In other words, in a short period of time, Yan Shao could only use eight divisions.

Although it is eight divisions, it still has 120,000 troops in terms of strength.

The problem is that although Cheng Dequan and Zhu Rui have promised that they will stand in a neutral position in the next conflict between the National Social Army and the Beiyang Army. But if Yan Shao really believed them and transferred all his troops to Suzhou, then he would have lived for so many years in vain.

Huizhou, Anqing, Dangtu, and Wuhu must leave a part of the troops to garrison, but considering that the local armies in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and even Hunan and Hubei are not strong in combat effectiveness, it is enough to leave only one division or even one brigade in each locality.

Among them, Dangtu and Wuhu can be counted as one place, which means that Yan Shao can use at least 5 divisions, that is, about 80,000 people.

With so many troops, whether it is to defend the state, or to counterattack and directly attack Shandong, there is no problem...

————————————————————

Just when the Anqing side was formulating an operational plan, the war in Nanchang had already begun.

Because Nanchang was far away from Poyang Lake, Gu Chengzhou was unwilling to risk sending warships into the waterway to support, so the 10 gunboats of the navy returned directly to Anqing later, and did not continue to stay in Poyang Lake to cheer for Xiao Yongyan.

And outside the city of Nanchang, all 72 artillery pieces were also ready and entered the artillery position.

Perhaps because of the experience of Jiujiang, Li Liejun built a large number of fortifications in Nanchang City, so as not to be almost wiped out by the opponent's shells before he had not yet fought with a small number of troops under his hands, after all, there were only more than 3,000 people left in his hands now, and he really couldn't help but cherish them.

It's just that outside the city, Xiao Yongyan's men have more than 15,000 people, and the victory or defeat is obvious.

On the other hand, although Li Liejun had telegraphed the remaining troops under his command, that is, more than 10,000 people of the Second Division, to rush to Nanchang as soon as possible, the Second Division had also telegraphed back to obey the order. However, several regiments of the Second Division scattered in other places seemed to be very dragging after receiving the order.

The matter of Hukou and Jiujiang has long been spread throughout the Jiangxi army, and it has become obvious that Nanchang cannot be defended. In this case, it is naturally impossible for anyone to be willing to accompany Li Liejun to die, plus the Second Division is not Li Liejun's descendant, and his real descendant is only the Ninth Regiment and the Tenth Regiment of the First Brigade of the First Division and the Independent Brigade.

In the case of the 10th Regiment, all of them had surrendered at Hukou, the 1st Division, the 2nd Brigade was almost completely wiped out on the river, and only more than 1,000 people of the 1st Brigade escaped with Li Liejun.

Coupled with the Ninth Regiment stationed in Nanchang, Li Liejun's descendants are already all here...

It's just that even among these people, there are very few people who are willing to follow Li Liejun all the way to the end, except for Lin Hu and other absolute descendants, the rest have begun to seek a way out, and some even want to contact Xiao Yongyan outside the city, in order to get a good position in the future Jiangxi military government... (To be continued......)