Alone

Huang Ke stared at the large-scale military map in front of him like a torch, with the help of the annotations on the map, he found Changsha, Hunan Province, where he is now, and then looked to the north, the great rivers and mountains of the motherland are in full view: the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Taihang Mountains, the eight hundred miles of Qinchuan, the flat North China Plain, and the vast Mongolian grassland, he seems to see a scene and a thing on the vast land.

The scenery of the rivers and mountains is good, and the whip is fast, and the horse's hooves are light! Huang Ke couldn't help but read a few limericks in his mouth, but at the moment his chest was full of resentment, and Batu, who was standing next to him, also observed the map, the northernmost part of the map was his hometown, the vast Mongolian steppe, where the cattle and sheep were fat, and the water and grass were abundant, which was really haunting.

"See this? Any idea where this is? Huang Ke tapped his finger on the map to the west of Rehe, and the large area that turned green on the map must be the Mongolian steppe.

Batu's tense face showed a hint of a smile: "Commander, needless to say, I can smell the grassland with my eyes closed." ”

Huang Ke nodded, he turned around and smiled: "The Mongolian grassland is a place where our Chinese water and grass are abundant; From Temujin in the Yuan Dynasty, it was the place of the Chinese. ”

After a few idle words, Huang Ke told Batu about the current situation in Mongolia: "When the Beiyang government was in charge, Xu Shuzheng was sent to garrison, but not long ago there was a war between warlords, and Xu Shuzheng led the army back to the mainland. Now Xu Shuzheng himself is wanted. ”

Batu didn't know much about the situation during this time, but he did know about the collusion between the Mongolian royal family and Lao Maozi.

"Kulen (Ulaanbaatar) is now only partially defended in Mongolia. But there were a lot of Soviet troops stationed there, and these people said that they would not interfere in China's internal affairs in the future, but now they are blatantly supporting*, and the weapons used by the army of the Mongol princes were all made by them. ”

Speaking of this, Huang Ke smiled slyly: "I, Huang Ke, am a stingy person, and I can't let out a single cent of my stinginess when it comes to the affairs of the country, even if it is a barren mountain or a wild mountain, let alone the fertile and rich Mongolian steppe?" Do you understand what I mean? ”

Batu nodded: "Commander, thousands of miles of grassland and thousands of cattle and sheep, there is also a place where I am haunted by my soul." ”

"If I told you to go there now, would you do it?" Huang Ke suddenly asked.

As soon as the words fell, Batu was shocked: "What? Commander, you mean to go back now? Do you mean that I am alone or with a cavalry unit to kill it? ”

Huang Ke thought for a while: "Of course, with cavalry troops!" Take your cavalry division back to Mongolia and take the fertile steppes back into our own hands. What do you think? Do you dare? ”

Batu's eyes glowed, and he looked excitedly at Huang Ke and the map, but after a moment his brows furrowed again. Difficulties are in front of him, and he has to be able to contain this happy mentality, although it is exciting to march thousands of miles into the Mongolian steppe, but the difficulties can be imagined.

There are thousands of miles from Changsha to Mongolia, which also have to pass through a number of warlord-occupied areas, and when they get to the Mongolian steppe, it is not that they will be once and for all, where they still have to continue fighting, what about logistics and supplies? How are the sick and wounded treated? How are commands communicated? A series of questions plagued Batu's mind.

Like Batu's concerns, Huang Ke also considered these issues before this, and he submitted all the questions to the General Staff.

The staff headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army on the front line also seriously studied and explored this issue, and the senior staff officers, including Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, all believed that sending the First Cavalry Division into Mongolia was tantamount to a suicide operation, and such a risky act was absolutely undesirable.

But in Huang Ke's heart, miracles will always be said to have been created!

Knowing the development of history, he knew that if he did not firmly grasp Mongolia in his own hands now, he would not only be powerless in the face of the Japanese in the future, but would even lose the whole of Mongolia.

Now the cavalry division is not able to give full play to their maximum combat effectiveness here, so it is better to send them out, let them be baptized by the fire of war, and let them fight where they are best at all.

But what does Batu think? If the Supreme Commander does not have a good idea of this, it will be difficult to carry it out.

Huang Ke looked at Batu, this person's eyes were constantly confused, and it seemed that he was still a little shaken.

"It doesn't matter, Batu! I won't force you if you don't want to; After all, this is not the same as an ordinary military mission, many people say that I am crazy, such a mission is suicide. ”

Batu's originally hesitant eyes suddenly calmed down after hearing this, and he said firmly: "No! Commander, don't worry! Batu must have put down roots in the Mongolian steppe, where he waited for the commander to lead a large army. ”

After saying that, Batu's waist straightened.

Huang Ke patted his thick shoulder: "Okay! I'm relieved to have your words. ”

Although the Northern Expedition was raging, Shanghai Tang was still singing and dancing, and there was no shadow of war.

On the street of Shiliyangchang, the tinkling tram slowly drove by; Neon-lit brothels and casinos abound; On the streets, Indian patrolmen wearing rattan hats and leggings, foreign devils and noble ladies in suits and leather shoes with dogs on their toes, compradors with gold-rimmed glasses with oily hair and fluent in foreign languages, rickshaw drivers walking the streets, thin peddlers selling pear paste candy, beggars with poor clothes and food, and big smokers with yellow faces and thin muscles, these people together built the first city in the Far East.

Walking on such a street, Fu Guoqiang felt as if he was in two different worlds, but these were facts, and they existed in the same place at the same time.

Fu Guoqiang really hated this place, this city that was described as the charming capital of the East, he didn't want to look at everything in front of him, but he knew that he would have to fight here for a long time.

The Shanghai Station of the Reserve Cadres Bureau, that is, the Far East Intelligence Station, was secretly established not long ago. Fu Guoqiang is the section chief of the intelligence department of the Shanghai Station, leading the major military academy.

A few days ago, Huang Ke ordered all departments of the Reserve Cadres Bureau to regard the source of artillery as the top priority, because this batch of artillery had already affected the local pattern of the Northern Expedition.

As for the source of artillery, Fu Guoqiang and the Shanghai station where he is located have a plan. Fu Guoqiang knew very well in his heart that if such a large number of artillery wanted to be transported to Wuhan in such a secret way, it must be transported by waterway, and if he wanted to take the waterway, he could only go through Shanghai, and he felt that he should start from the port of Shanghai.

In the past few days, Fu Guoqiang and his intelligence officers have been busy running around the various wharves in Shanghai, and they have found the people in charge of the entry and exit of ships one by one to obtain detailed lists, and they have to find out about the passage of all ships with a displacement of more than 500 tons.

After many days of travel, he finally came into view, and a Japanese freighter named the "Torimaru" and two British ships came into his sights.

But what are these batches of ships transporting, Fu Guoqiang really has to find someone, and he has to go to the concession to find someone to help.

Shanghai is chaotic, but the concession is even more chaotic, the concession is full of down-and-out warlords, politicians, and some gangster fugitives, in short, this is an international shelter, to find someone to help in it, it is really not a matter of money, it depends on specific interests, because no one who has a foothold in the concession is short of money, at least not a little money.

Fu Guoqiang still thinks of Fang Pingxiang, if it comes to getting information, he sometimes really can't do without this person, although he has been extremely disgusted with Fang Pingxiang from the bottom of his heart.

In the afternoon, he went to the Fang Mansion, and in order to avoid the embarrassment of meeting, he also specially bought a gift to bring with him.

Fang Pingxiang also dislikes Fu Guoqiang, this kid is arrogant and domineering, too unsuitable for business, this is a world of difference from his father.

A few days ago, he was drunk and loudly advertised that the Northern Expeditionary Army was coming, and almost exposed his identity, and what annoyed him the most was that this guy made a mess of a drinking party he had carefully prepared, leaving him with no face in front of many friends.

"Loser! It's really a loser! Although Fang Pingxiang was full of resentment in his heart, on the surface, he would never show the slightest dislike for Fu Guoqiang. When Fu Guoqiang came, he was still warmly welcomed, and he basically helped him with everything he could do, and in the face of the big right and wrong, Fang Pingxiang could still see clearly.

Seeing Fu Guoqiang coming, Fang Pingxiang warmly welcomed him into the house and sat down, Fu Guoqiang was not polite, found a place and sat down.

"The speed of the Northern Expedition is very fast, and Sun Chuanfang is afraid that he will not be able to withstand it." Fang Pingxiang spread out the newspaper of the day and said to Fu Guoqiang with a smile.

Fu Guoqiang knew that Fang Pingxiang was testing him, and he knew this very well in his heart, but he couldn't say that the Northern Expedition was now encountering resistance in the middle battlefield, and these resistance was most likely from Shanghai.

"Yes, the Eastern Route Army's offensive speed is like a bamboo, and the Northern Expedition is now gaining momentum! I believe that Shanghai will soon become a new city, but ......" Fu Guoqiang flipped through the newspaper casually, and the sound of cheering kept ringing.

Fang Pingxiang smiled and nodded, in fact, he had already known about the defeat of the Middle Route Army in Wuhan, and this move was just for him to test Fu Guoqiang. After some confrontation, he clearly knew that Fu Guoqiang still had reservations about him, it seemed that this guy was not so simple, he was as wise as his father.

"Is there anything special about Guoqiang coming today?" Fang Pingxiang asked while sipping tea, Fu Guoqiang was also happy, he nodded and said, "It's for a ship." ”

"A ship?" Fang Pingxiang didn't understand.

Fu Guoqiang took out a small notebook and pen from his bag, and then clearly wrote a name "Torimaru" on it.