When the fierce battle between the three towns of Wuhan was in full swing, the Eastern Route Army took the lead in breaking the military balance between the two sides relying on the Yangtze River. At the end of May, Jiang Xianyun first led his troops to break through Sun Chuanfang's defense line and successfully captured Hangzhou; Immediately after that, the Eastern Route Army was going to take Shanghai and Nanjing directly, and at this time Jiang Xianyun made a bold decision: take Anqing first and then Nanjing.

To be able to make such a decision, Jiang Xianyun has his own plans. When Jiang Xianyun proposed the idea of China and discussed it with Lin Zuoda, Lin Zuoda did not understand it at first, and his emaciated face showed nervousness when he frowned.

In the Eastern Route Army, although Lin Zuo was young and his position was not high, Jiang Xianyun regarded him as an important staff officer, and he would discuss with Lin Zuo when encountering major military operations and deployments.

After hearing Jiang Xianyun's suggestion, Lin Zuoda said with worry: "Commander, we now have enough troops, and we can completely capture Shanghai, Nanjing and other big cities in one fell swoop. ”

Although Lin Zuoda is young, he has been on the battlefield for a long time, and what he said is not unreasonable. However, Jiang Xianyun didn't dare to agree, he spread out a map and pointed to Anqing's location and said: "Zuoda, you are right, I will also tell me my reasons, you and I will discuss it together." ”

"Commander, please speak!" Lin Zuo's loud voice was deep and relaxed, but the expression on his face was still solemn, and it could be seen that he did not approve of Jiang Xianyun's suggestion.

For a long time, although he has been highly regarded by Huang Ke, because of his young age, he has been serving as a military staff adjutant in the headquarters, which makes him a little unhappy and a little anxious. Young people are eager to go into battle to kill the enemy, who wants to stay in the staff and do a seemingly good-sounding job, but in fact it is an idle position?

Naturally, he had no reason to argue with Jiang Xianyun, but this was also a point he had always minded, in terms of ability and command art, he was actually not much worse than Jiang Xianyun, but Jiang Xianyun entered the Xiguan Military Academy earlier.

In Lin Zuoda's heart, there is not only admiration for Jiang Xianyun, but also some dissatisfaction with him.

The two contradictory psychology of literati and heroes are intertwined in Lin Zuoda's heart, which makes him admire this commander's combat command, and sometimes a little resistant.

Jiang Xianyun understands Lin Zuoda's psychology very well, so he will take care of him in many cases, but in terms of specific military orders, he will never give in, what I should say is that you can understand it, and if you can't understand it, you have to implement it.

After taking a sip of the boiled water on the table, Jiang Xianyun pointed to the map and said: "Zuoda, you see, although Anqing is a small place, its geographical location is particularly significant, it can control Wuhan along the Yangtze River to the west, and it can reach Nanjing, Shanghai and other places to the east. ”

"After we seized Anqing, Sun Chuanfang and Wu Peifu were cut off south of the Yangtze River; On the contrary, we and the Cui Wu Department of the Central Route Army will be able to connect together, and when we march again, we can coordinate the pace of attack, and it will be much more convenient for the supply and strength complementarity between the two sides, and at the same time, the Northern Expedition will be connected into a large area. ”

"In addition, because there has been no war along the Yangtze River for these years, the people's lives are quite stable, and the south of the Yangtze River is rich in silk rice. In addition, once the south of the Yangtze River is defeated, Sun Chuanfang's forces can be wiped out, and if he wants to gain a foothold in the north, he will have to see if Zhang Zongchang and Zhang Zuolin agree or not. ”

Jiang Xianyun said this, Lin Zuo was as big as an empowerment, he looked at the map, and then looked at the location he just said, and it was true.

If you can open up the three towns of Anqing and Wuhan at this time, the situation of the Northern Expedition will be all over at once, just like a game of chess, the situation of the Northern Expedition in the whole country will be alive all of a sudden, and the most important time, taking Anqing first can not only intensify the contradictions between the warlords, but also be able to link the army smoothly, this move is really still some vision.

"Commander, after you say this, I understand at once." Lin Zuoda showed a comfortable smile on his face, and he had to say that in terms of overall awareness, he was still slightly inferior to Jiang Xianyun.

Jiang Xianyun nodded: "If you don't have any opinions, we will hold an emergency military meeting in a while, and report to the Northern Expeditionary Army Headquarters after perfecting the combat plan, and ask the Supreme Command to decide." ”

Soon, an emergency pre-war military meeting was soon convened, and a group of staff generals refined the draft and drafted a telegram to the Northern Expeditionary Army Headquarters.

The advantage of the East Route Army is that most of the officers and soldiers are the foundation of the Xiguan Military Academy, so the professionalism is also higher than that of other armies, and at the same time, because of this, the number of military etiquette and petty bourgeoisie in the East Route are also more, of course, this should also be the reason why Huang Ke arranged them on the East Road, because most of the big cities on the East Road, if Wang Maocai's West Route Army is allowed to bring troops over, it will definitely frighten people rudely.

After the military meeting was held, when the meeting was dismissed, Jiang Xianyun walked up to Lin Zuoda and motioned for him to stay. Lin Zuo looked at Jiang Xianyun in the back team and said: "Commander, you just give an order, I want to lead the team in Anqing, I have always been eager to have such an opportunity." ”

Lin Zuoda was very excited, and his words revealed his expectations for going to the front line.

Jiang Xianyun nodded: "I weighed and thought about it, the battle of Anqing is not trivial, and it is related to the overall situation of the Northern Expedition; Now that the warlords' coalition forces have stationed a lot of troops there, coupled with the coordination of the connecting troops in Hefei and other places, and the fact that they have to pass through many locations along the way from Zhejiang to Anqing, the pressure is already not small before the battle starts. ”

After listening to Jiang Xianyun's words, Lin Zuoda strengthened his judgment, it seems that Jiang Xianyun still has some trust in him, but he may have been worried about the rhetoric of the people around him, so he has not been allowed to lead the troops in person.

"To tell you the truth, Commander, I have been serving as a military adjutant since the Northern Expedition, and although nominally I am quite authoritative in our Eastern Route Army, in reality I can play very little role. Many times, I want to apply for a report from you, and let me go down to be a regiment commander, battalion commander, even a company commander; In that case, I would have been able to personally direct the troops and the enemy, but since the Northern Expedition, I have never had such an opportunity. Now that there is finally such an opportunity, it is incumbent on Zuo Dazi. ”

When Jiang Xianyun heard this, he smiled with satisfaction: "Zuoda, do you know? A few decades ago, there was a big battle in Anqing, and one of the generals who commanded the battle was about your age now. ”

"I know the commander, it was the battle of Anqing in which Zeng Wenzhenggong's Hunan army besieged the Taiping army Chen Yucheng. When this battle was in Xiguan Military Academy, it was still a class taught by Commander Huang himself, and this battle opened a classic example of 'encirclement and reinforcement', and Commander Huang spoke in detail at that time, and I was also very impressed. ”

"yes!" Jiang Xianyun said: "A few decades ago, the British King Chen Yucheng, who was only in his 20s, led the Taiping Army on the North Road from Tongcheng and was invincible all the way; The Taiping army led by him took only 12 days, even down Yingshan, Huoshan, into Hubei, and conquered Huangzhou on the 18th, and was praised by Hong Xiuquan, the king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom at that time, as 'a general full of courage'. It's a pity that at this time he met Zeng Guoquan. ”

Lin Zuo listened casually, he knew what Jiang Xianyun said, in fact, it was the bloody battle of Anqing in history.

Jiang Xianyun may not have noticed Lin Zuoda's expression, he continued to say with great interest: "Zeng Guoquan is the ninth brother of Zeng Wenzhenggong, and this person is very distinctive in fighting. He has a nickname called Zeng Iron Bucket, which means that he likes to use iron bucket-like battles to besiege the enemy when he fights. The siege of Anqing was no exception, he dug a lot of trenches outside Anqing City, and then tens of thousands of troops were stationed around Anqing City, only to surround but not fight, for a long time, and then there was no food in the city, and even a tragedy of cannibalism occurred. Chen Yucheng's many rescues were also repulsed, and at this time, the Taiping army in the city charged many times, but they were all wiped out by the Hunan army that was waiting for work. ”

"This is the earliest encirclement point reinforcement, Commander Huang said." Hearing this, Lin Zuoda was still careless, and he had long been familiar with these old-fashioned military allusions.

Jiang Xianyun had already noticed the change in Lin Zuoda's expression this time, and he continued with a soothing tone: "In addition to the military siege of the Hunan army, there is another point that I personally think is more important, and it is also a lesson worth learning from you and me. ”

"What?" Lin Zuoda became interested in this sentence.

"King Chen Yucheng's attitude is not firm." Jiang Xianyun said: "Chen Yucheng was only in his 20s when he became the king of England, and he was young and vigorous, which shows his excellence; However, he made a fatal mistake by not acting resolutely. At first, he tried to 'encircle Wei and save Zhao' by attacking Wuchang, but later he gave up. This is his fatal weakness, and it is also a mistake that many young people tend to make. ”

After speaking, Jiang Xianyun sighed and said: "Chen Yucheng is still too young, he is easy to be impetuous and emotional when fighting, and this can be proved by sticking to Anqing, because his British palace and family were in Anqing City at that time. Emotional agitation is an excellent quality as a soldier, but it is a taboo as a general, and a general must be as calm as water in the face of any temptation and difficulty, so that he can withstand the temptation of the enemy and win the battle. ”

"Commander, Zuo Da understands." After listening to these words, Lin Zuoda finally understood why Huang Ke chose Jiang Xianyun as the commander of the Eastern Route Army. In fact, he knew that what Jiang Xianyun said about Chen Yucheng was actually alluding to himself, and he was now about the same age as Chen Yucheng, his positions were beyond ordinary people, and his abilities were also seen by everyone; However, one of his shortcomings is that he is sometimes too impatient, which is also a mistake that many young people tend to make.

Lin Zuo secretly made up his mind that at this time, he must strengthen his confidence and guard against arrogance and rashness.

Seeing Lin Zuoda, "Commander Huang advocates that every general should look at the books written by Zeng Wenzhenggong, I only have a few here, and I don't need to read more in the military, I have a copy of "Five Proverbs" written by Zeng Wenzhenggong here, you can take it to see. ”

After speaking, Jiang Xianyun took out the book, which was still a wire-bound version, which could be seen to be very precious. Lin Zuoda understood Jiang Xianyun's good intentions, he was going to beat himself in actual combat.

"Yes!" Lin Zuoda took the book and saluted Jiang Xianyun with a military salute.