Ye Ting had the ambition of "strengthening the army and enriching the country", struggled for a "triple jump", and became the guard under the account of Generalissimo Sun Yat-sen in one fell swoop.

It's darkest before dawn.

Light, and darkness are the harshest in the fight to the death at dawn.

The harsh struggle was full of blood and fire, spirit and flesh, bravery and cowardice.

The political situation in China in 1922 was at dawn, so the struggle between light and darkness was the most severe, the harsh struggle rolled in blood and fire, rose in spirit and flesh, and fought between bravery and cowardice.

Since the victory of the Wuchang Uprising, which marked the success of the "Xinhai Revolution" ten years ago, in just two months, the wave of uprisings across the country has been surging and surging, and the corrupt and declining Qing Dynasty has collapsed in an instant, and has since come to an end in modern Chinese history. A few months later, Nanjing was established temporarily, and Sun Yat-sen, who had just returned from overseas, was elected provisional president. Thus the birth of the provisional ** of the Republic of China was announced. However, due to the intertwined struggle of the bourgeois revolutionaries, the constitutionalists and the old bureaucratic politicians and other political forces over the "political power", the provisional presidency was soon stolen by Yuan Shikai. Sun Yat-sen was forced to resign, and the temporary ** in Nanjing finally died. After that, Yuan Shikai's restoration of the imperial system and the anti-Yuan struggle set off by the whole country and the collapse of the Hongxian monarchy occurred one after another; The short-lived Zhang Xun led 3,000 pigtailed soldiers to Beijing and carried out the twelve-year-old Pu Yi in a vain attempt to revive the Qing Dynasty; Duan Qirui's traitorous dictatorship formed a chaotic situation of warlords under the manipulation of imperialism, and barren China was once again tragically affected by war, and the people were struggling to survive.

During this period, Sun Yat-sen, in response to the perverse act of dissolving the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China promulgated by the National Assembly under his auspices when the warlords destroyed the Republic of China and established it, led the revolutionaries to convene an extraordinary session of the National Assembly in Guangzhou in August 1917, and issued a call for "restoring the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China and rebuilding the republic". In view of the harsh lessons of the defeat of the revolution caused by the failure of the real revolutionaries in the past to have reliable troops, Sun Yat-sen transferred 20 battalions from the Guangdong Provincial Guard Army to form a Cantonese army under his direct leadership. A few months later, Sun Yat-sen established an army in Guangzhou. In April 1921, Sun Yat-sen convened the National Assembly in Guangzhou, passed the "Outline of the Organization of the Republic of China", and was inaugurated as the president of the very large. He ordered the armies of Jiangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou provinces to send troops to attack the Gui warlord Lu Rongting. After three months of fighting, Guangxi was pacified and the two provinces were unified. Then, the Extraordinary Congress passed the Northern Expedition. In order to unify the whole country. In order to facilitate the planning of the Northern Expedition, Sun Yat-sen decided to set up his base camp in Guilin, Guangxi, and by June 1922, the Northern Expeditionary Army had won frequent victories in Jiangxi, but Guangzhou, as a revolutionary base, was "in an emergency". The reason for this was that Chen Jiongming, who was the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong army and the governor of Guangdong Province, wanted to fight against Sun Yat-sen, attempted to launch a mutiny, and wanted to act as the new warlord of Guangdong. Originally, Chen Jiongming was an active supporter of Sun Yat-sen before and after the Xinhai Revolution, so he was also trusted by Sun Yat-sen. However, since he became the commander-in-chief of the Cantonese army, his ambitions have swelled. In addition, Wu Peifu, the warlord of Zhili, constantly sent his staff to collude with him and secretly send Qiu Bo, which made him more and more dizzy. He took advantage of Sun Yat-sen's leadership of the Northern Expedition in Guangxi, dispatched troops, sharpened his sword, and prepared to wait for an opportunity to betray Sun Yat-sen.

At this extraordinary moment, Sun Yat-sen returned to Guangzhou from Guangxi.

Ten days later, Ye Ting, who had already served as the commander of the second battalion of the guard regiment of Sun Yat-sen's base camp, rushed back to Guangzhou from Guangxi to carry out an urgent task according to the order of the base camp.

Add "urgent" in front of the task, as Ye Ting, who is very responsible for the safety of the president, is well aware of the weight of this unusual task.

In Guilin, Guangxi Province in early May, the weather has become humid and hot. Ye Ting ordered all the officers and soldiers of the battalion to assemble immediately and prepare for departure. Then, he gathered the company and platoon officers together and said in a sonorous voice: "Our return to Guangzhou this time is not a previous march, but a march for war preparation. We must not only act quickly and quickly, but also be covert, always on the alert, and be prepared to deal with sudden incidents, without the slightest relaxation and paralysis. Ye Ting, who was doing mobilization, wore a large-brimmed officer's hat, a straight officer's uniform, a purple armed belt tied around his waist, and cowhide riding boots on his feet, looking particularly powerful and capable. A pair of sharp eyes under the large-brimmed officer's hat radiated the unique toughness of a soldier. Finally, he raised his right arm and waved vigorously: "Let's go!" "The powerful command resounded like a trumpet to the world.

On the way back to the base camp in Guangzhou, Ye Ting led the officers and men of the whole battalion to pay close attention to the changes in the situation and try by all means to obtain even the smallest information from Guangzhou through various channels. In order to respond to all changes with the same. When they arrived at Pingle County, they learned from the county office and the troops stationed in the county that when Sun Yat-sen was passing through Wuzhou in the first half of the year, he had called Chen Jiongming and told him to meet in Zhaoqing at the appointed time to discuss the ordnance and food of the Northern Expeditionary Army. However, Chen Jiongming, who was a thief, did not dare to go to Zhaoqing and did not reply, but took his henchmen from Guangzhou to Huizhou to hide. When Sun Yat-sen heard this, he was furious, and in the name of the very great president, he immediately ordered the dismissal of Chen Jiongming, commander-in-chief of the Guangdong army, and governor of Guangdong Province, two posts with real power, and only retained his two idle posts of army chief and chief of internal affairs. In this way, will the contradictions between the two sides suddenly intensify? It seems that the situation in Guangzhou is like an arrow on the bow, and it is imminent to erupt, and a fierce battle that is difficult to reconcile is inevitable.

"Overnight March!" Ye Ting, who had a scene of gunsmoke in front of him, was afraid that the safety of Sun Yat-sen's very big president and Song Qingling, who was stationed in the presidential palace, would be threatened.

Sun Yat-sen in Guangzhou is very large, and the presidential palace of the president is at the foot of Guanyin Mountain in Guangzhou. Although this place is named "mountain", it is actually just an open field, and although there are high walls around the presidential palace, it is not easy to defend. Ye Ting led the officers and men of the whole battalion into Guangzhou City, immediately made troop and firepower arrangements around the Presidential Palace, and personally strengthened patrols and kept a strict guard. He demanded that the officers and men never leave their posts, never undress at night, never leave their guns, and always be ready to fight.

Ye Ting, who is 26 years old, has the qualities of an outstanding soldier who is very difficult to cultivate and possess without going through strict formal training in military theory and actual combat.

Ye Ting, who is now a battalion-level commander, is really the most standard "professional" background.

That year, fifteen-year-old Ye Ting was expelled from Huizhou Provincial Sericulture School for "misdeeds of words and deeds" for cutting braids, and returned to Zhoutian Village and returned to Huizhou to study in Huizhou Provincial Middle School on the recommendation of Chen Jingru, a teacher of Tengyun School. The two are almost the same age, and they are brothers of the same mother, so they naturally express their hearts when they talk. Ye Ting told Zhiping that he had recently married a woman named Huang Chun, who was two years older than him, against his will, and that his father wanted him to marry a wife and have children, and told him to stay at home and keep his business, so that he would not get into trouble by studying outside in these chaotic years, and his life would be difficult to protect if he became a revolutionary again. Ye Ting began to resolutely refuse, saying that a good man has ambitions in all directions, does not go out to study, and sees the world with knowledge, how will he serve the country in the future? Both sides insisted on their own words, and neither side would budge. Later, in order to realize his desire to continue to study, he proposed that he would only be willing to marry if he promised him to return to Huizhou Prefecture Middle School after marriage, otherwise, he would die of obedience. Ye Xisan knew that Ye Ting had a stubborn temperament, and the eight buffaloes on his "temper" couldn't pull him back, so he had to reach an exchange condition. Ye Ting asked Zhiping if there was a suitable school for him to study in Guangzhou, and he wanted to fly away and leave the family that bound him to realize his long-cherished wish. When Chilipai heard this, he was told that the army primary school in Guangzhou was recruiting new students, and he didn't know if he wanted to go. Ye Ting jumped three feet high happily when he heard this, grabbed Zhiping's hand, and couldn't wait to ask him when he would return to Guangzhou, if he could take him to Guangzhou to apply for the army primary school. Chichihira asked him why he chose to go to military school? Ye Ting bluntly said that since Mr. Chen Jingru of Tengyun School told them the humiliating history of China being carved up by the imperialist powers since the Opium War, especially when he saw **, which was only more than 50 kilometers away from Zhoutian Village, become a British colony, he understood that China was bullied because China's soldiers were not strong, the country was not rich, and the weak ate the strong. In addition, the failure of the Huanghuagang and other uprisings launched by the revolutionaries led by Sun Yat-sen in recent years was also due to the lack of an invincible army. He looked forward to the day when he would be able to put pen to paper, and in the future he would become an invincible general with a prancing sword and an invincible horse, and realize his ambition to serve the country. In the end, Ye Ting shouted "Seventh Brother" and "Seventh Brother", begging Zhiping to help him this time.

"Will my father agree?" Chichihei asked without worry, because he knew his father's thoughts.

"The two of us told him together that he would agree. Besides, he had agreed to me in the past in exchange for marriage. Ye Ting is full of confidence.

Who knows, when Ye Ting proposed to Ye Xisan to go to Guangzhou to apply for the army primary school, Ye Xisan did not jump like thunder as in the past, but said in a sad tone: "Alas, the ancients said that the son is too big to be a master!" You are getting older day by day, and you are a family again, and you can listen to your parents' words or not. However, I always can't figure it out, now, the warlords are strife, you fight for me, and those who are cannon fodder are those who are soldiers. Have you ever heard of a few high-ranking officials who carry bayonets for their lives? Besides, a good man is not a soldier, and a good iron is not a nail, this is all an old saying, why do you want to go to what military school? ”

Ye Xisan's "mourning policy" made Ye Ting, who was not mentally prepared, impassioned for a while. However, having already made up his mind, he calmed down his emotions infected by Ye Xisan a little, and said in a sincere tone: "Dad, it is precisely because the country is in turmoil and wars that it is necessary for people who serve the country to go to the Lord to calm the world. Besides, if a good man is not a soldier, it means that being a soldier is not good in itself. Guan Yunchang during the Three Kingdoms period, Yang Jiajun, and Yue Fei in the Song Dynasty were not all soldiers? Aren't they all heroes? Isn't it, Brother Seven? ”

"Yes!" Zhiping listened to Ye Ting's words, but he didn't expect him to be so resolute in Congrong's wishes, and he also talked about his ambition to serve the country. hurriedly accosted, "Dad, the eighth brother is talented, burly, and dignified, and he is determined to serve the country from Rong." I think it will be great in the future. Besides, he went to Guangzhou to attend an army primary school, and he can go to a higher military school in the future, so he won't immediately go to the battlefield with a gun, and when he finishes his studies, I don't know what the country has become? So, don't worry about his safety just yet. When the eighth brother arrives in Guangzhou, our brother is in a city, and I will take care of him, so you can rest assured. Zhi Ping's words, interlocking, reasonable, Ye Xisan threw down the sentence "If you brothers want to go out, it's up to you to decide", and left the house I don't know who to visit.

It can really be said that "where there is a will, there is a way".

After the Spring Festival, the high-spirited Ye Ting, together with his seventh brother Ye Zhiping, took a few new clothes made for him by his mother and wife Huang Chun, boarded the boat from the Tamsui River, first to Huizhou, and then took a small steamer to the provincial capital in the west, and went to Guangzhou, the first major port in southern Guangdong, which brought him beautiful longing for several nights.

However, there is always a certain gap between imagination and reality, and it will cost a certain price to put ideals into reality. There are things that go smoothly, but most of them refer to the specific process of a specific thing; As far as the whole process of the whole thing is concerned, there are always tribulations, ups and downs and even disasters. However, the tribulation comes out of the will. Only those who have obtained it hard will cherish their hard-won.

Ye Ting and Seventh Brother Ye Zhiping came to the registration office of the Army Primary School on Huangpu Island in the Pearl River in the eastern suburbs of Guangzhou, and they hit a big nail, and they almost broke their heads. When they asked for registration, an official at the registration office looked at them and saw that they didn't respond, so he simply stretched out his hand: "Take it!" ”

"Take what?" Ye Ting's two thick black eyebrows shrugged.

"A letter of recommendation from the county!" The officer's eyes widened.

"To sign up, do you need a recommendation from the county?" When Ye Ting heard this, his eyes suddenly straightened.

"Not only do you need to be escorted by the county, but you have already recommended three or four candidates in Huiyang County, and the places are all over, go back." The clerk came to a showdown and told the truth.

"Ah——!h Ye Ting was stunned. Ye Zhiping was also stunned for a moment. Ye Ting finally persuaded his father, with enthusiasm in his heart, it can be said that he came to Guangzhou hundreds of miles to apply for the military academy, if he couldn't even apply for a name, wouldn't it be in vain? That hit him too hard!

However, Ye Ting kept in mind the saying "good things are grinding" and the proverb "sincerity, gold and stone are open", and went to Huangpu Island every day to find the official in the registration office to complain about his grievances, talk about his ambitions, express his feelings, and express his determination, almost "soft and hard bubbles" and "central notice", and directly said that the official was both sympathetic and in love with Ye Ting. The clerk saw that Ye Ting, a young man, was not only strong, dignified in his words and deeds, and shrewd in his childishness, but also was indeed eager to study and ambitious, and was really moved by Ye Ting, he not only told Ye Ting that although the registration quota in Huiyang County was full, there was still a place in Yangjiang County that no one had signed up, and also gave him an idea, asking Ye Ting to report in the name of the candidates in Yangjiang County, and cleverly fill in the Yangjiang column of the registration book. Ye Ting was overjoyed after hearing this, thanked him repeatedly, and reported his name as he wished.

However, if the name is reported, can it be on the list in the exam? This is not only what Ye Zhiping is worried about, but also what the official of the registration office who was impressed by Ye Ting is concerned. When Ye Zhiping asked Ye Ting if he could be admitted, Ye Ting's answer was categorical: "No problem!" With that confident look, it seems that he was admitted to this army primary school like a bag.

Sure enough, on the day of the list, the bustling crowd focused on the admission list with their expectant, surprised, and worried eyes, and Ye Ting's name stood impressively on the admission list.

"It's not easy, young man!" The clerk of the registration office happily shook Ye Ting's hand and praised him repeatedly!

"Thank you for your care and encouragement." Ye Ting excitedly bowed deeply to the officer, his eyes filled with tears of gratitude and joy.

"Eighth brother, congratulations on getting your wish!" Ye Zhiping couldn't help but bend down excitedly and picked up Ye Ting and spun around.

"Seventh brother, without your help, I would only be studying in Huizhou Prefecture Middle School at most." Ye Ting was grateful to his seventh brother Ye Zhiping in his heart. If it weren't for his help, it would be difficult for me to be admitted to the Guangzhou Army Primary School! However, Ye Ting's gratitude to Ye Zhiping, who has brotherhood, has sublimated to a realm with strong family affection, "Seventh brother, don't worry about me in the future, I know how I was admitted to the military academy, and I will give you a satisfactory answer sheet with the final graduation results." ”

Ye Ting said that he would definitely be able to do it. During his three years of intense and rigorous study in the army elementary school, in addition to studying the Chinese, mathematics, physics, and chemistry courses offered in ordinary schools, he also chose to learn German, which was not available in ordinary schools, and also had to conduct training in elementary military subjects and military conventional techniques. At the graduation ceremony at the end of 1914, the eighteen-year-old Ye Ting wore a brand-new military uniform, standing handsomely and chic at the first place in the queue. Ye Ting, with excellent grades, was sent to the secondary military academy - Wuchang Army Second Preparatory School for further study as an outstanding military talent in the future.

This is Ye Ting's pride.

This is also a pride in being a Guangzhou Army Primary School that is responsible for cultivating military talents for the country.

The predecessor of Wuchang Army Second Preparatory School was Hubei Army Middle School. The policy of this military academy is to enable students to learn well the cultural courses of ordinary secondary schools, as well as military subjects such as elementary tactics, shooting, assassination, and city building. After graduation, students with an intermediate level of education are not only students with a medium level of education, but also students with a medium level of military knowledge and military skills, which are different from the students who generally only have a medium level of education. The semester is the same as that of a general middle school, so the number of courses increases, and the study becomes more and more difficult. In order to leap from the Guangzhou Army Primary School to the Wuchang Army Second Preparatory School to a new height, and still to achieve remarkable results, we must pay even more arduous efforts and a greater price than the Guangzhou Army Primary School.

"You go to Wuchang alone, we are not together anymore, and we are far away from home, you have to work harder!" When Ye Zhiping sent Ye Ting off, because Ye Xisan died last year, and as the elder brother of a mother's compatriot, he felt that he had added a responsibility to his eighth brother Ye Ting.

"Seventh brother, don't worry, I won't be sorry for my family and insult my ancestors." Ye Ting's voice was solemn and loud.

After Ye Ting arrived at the Second Preparatory School of the Wuchang Army, he invisibly added another pressure. Among his classmates in the same grade, in addition to students from elementary school to middle school like him, there are also students who have served in the army and fought in wars and went to preparatory schools for further study. These students are generally older than them, physically stronger, more experienced in dealing with people, and have practical experience. Like Deng Yanda, a fellow villager in Tamsui whom Ye Ting met soon after entering the school, he not only graduated from the Army Primary School in Guangzhou, but also joined the revolutionary army led by Sun Yat-sen after the recovery of Guangdong, participated in the Northern Expedition, and fought several tough battles. In order to be able to study at the Baoding Military Academy, a higher military academy, he first made the transition to this preparatory school. So, to catch up with them in their studies and surpass them, there is no shortcut other than putting in much more effort than they do. So, Ye Ting wrote a pair of italicized horizontal couplets with a brush: "There is a road in the book mountain, and there is no end to the hard work of learning the sea", which was pasted on the head of the bed as a motto, always tempering and spurring himself. Hard work pays off. The competitive Ye Ting not only maintained an excellent level in courses such as inorganic chemistry, calculus, and German, but also ranked among the top in military courses such as elementary tactics and assassination, ranking among the top students every time.

In the era of rapid change, the school is not a vacuum, but also full of rapid changes. As an honor student, Ye Ting's mind is always baptized by the turbulence and surging of the rapidly changing wind and clouds.

When the thief Yuan Shikai announced that 1916 was the first year of Hongxian and he was ready to ascend the throne as emperor, he was attacked and crusaded against by the people of the whole country. Ye Ting and his classmates at the military academy were also filled with righteous indignation, marching in the streets in groups, putting up slogans, and giving speeches to the people. He stood on the steps many times and shouted the slogan "The rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of the husband", and bitterly attacked Yuan Shikai's shameless acts and heinous crimes of restoring the emperor, succumbing to the pressure of Japanese imperialism, and accepting the "21 Articles" of losing power and humiliating the country. Not only that, but he and his classmates took advantage of their special status as military academy students to come to the artillery camp under the jurisdiction of Wang Zhanyuan, the assistant military affairs officer in Hubei, to mobilize officers and soldiers to raise an uprising, and to participate in the struggle against Yuan Shikai with real guns and artillery.

In the course of studying at the military academy, Ye Ting participated in the training of practical struggles and deepened his understanding of the value of studying at military academies through participating in practical struggles, which made Ye Ting more and more diligent in thinking about current affairs and in life, and diligent in exploration. A letter he wrote to the famous magazine "New Youth" before graduating from the preparatory school to explore the philosophy of life shows the formation of his great ambition to "rejuvenate the world and rise to weakness" and the noble sentiment of "not being tired of external things and not being tired of lust".

At the graduation ceremony of the No. 2 Preparatory School of the Wuchang Army, 20-year-old Ye Ting was sent to the Baoding Military Academy, a senior military academy, for the second time as an outstanding student.

Baoding is a well-known historical and cultural ancient city located in the land of Yanzhao. There is the majestic Daci Pavilion of the Yuan Dynasty building in the city, and there is the ancient lotus pond of the Yongzheng Academy of the Qing Dynasty that was once opened in the "Penglai City with Several Doubts". Baoding is bordered by the majestic Taihang in the west, the vast Baiyang Lake in the east, and the main artery of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway runs through the north and south. Therefore, Baoding is an important gateway to the southern tip of Beijing and has always been a battleground for soldiers.

The reason why Baoding Military Academy has become the highest military institution today is not only because it was established early, but more importantly, because it can be said that from instructors to students, it can be said that it concentrates top talents and future pride in the military circles. At the same time, the program of this military academy, that is, the spirit of the Baoding Military Academy, which has been widely praised, is also extraordinary: "Patriotism, love for the school, loyalty and bravery, trustworthiness, hard study, diligence, and punctuality." It is said that the "spirit of Baoding Military Academy" was formulated by Mr. Jiang Baili, the former president. Jiang Baili studied in Germany and Japan in his early years, and was a high-achieving student specializing in military affairs. When he was studying in Germany, because of his talent and profound attainments, he was specially appreciated by the famous German general Berlumer; When he was studying in Japan, he excelled in his studies and became the first foreigner to be awarded a sword by the emperor.

After returning to China, when he was the principal of the Baoding Military Academy, he advocated that as a new generation of Chinese soldiers, the temperament, courage, feelings, and demeanor of the Chinese rangers, the Japanese samurai, and the European knights should be fused into a furnace to create a new Chinese military soul. Therefore, the school's rules are very strict with students, and no slackness, insults and mistakes are allowed.

Ye Ting is a student of the sixth phase of Baoding Military Academy. The discipline he chose was sappering. He believes that the engineering department can learn physics, chemistry, engineering and construction, practical blasting, bridge erection, and other knowledge, and at the same time, it can also learn the military knowledge of ordinary infantrymen, and in the future, it can not only lead troops to fight wars, but also engage in "industrial salvation of the country," and its development will be more beneficial to the country.

Ye Ting is a famous "bookworm" among the sixth batch of students. As long as he has a little leisure, he will not let go of the book. "The Art of War", "Warring States Policy", "Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty", he is all extensive. He watched Chen Shou's "Three Kingdoms" and Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" twice, among which "Three Kingdoms" was turned over by him. He meticulously studied the masterpiece of bourgeois military theory, Prussian Clausewitz's "On War," and memorized some incisive arguments by heart. Ye Ting is not only interested in explosives, city building, and geography, but also has a soft spot for tactics. In each tactical class, he was widely involved in ancient and modern Chinese and foreign combat examples, and often expressed incisive and unique opinions, and was praised as "Zhiduoxing" by instructors and students.

After the New Year of 1919, Ye Ting ended his lifelong study career in the military academy as a graduate of the sixth phase of the Baoding Military Academy with excellent results, and was about to go to the troops assigned by the school. Since the school was run by the Beiyang warlords, most of the graduating students went to work as trainee officers in the Beiyang Army. His classmates Deng Yanda, Li Zhenqiu, Luo Zicai, and others all went to the northern army, and Ye Tingyin submitted an application to the school to study in Germany, and the school approved him to enjoy "official fees" to study abroad according to his "full honor" conditions.

However, when studying in Germany, the "official fee" is not enough to ensure all the needs of study and life, and a considerable amount of "private funds" must be raised to make the trip. So, Ye Ting returned to Zhoutian Village.

However, at this time, the Ye family's family situation has become desolate and decaying. Because he sold almost all his belongings when he was taking care of Ye Ting's father Ye Xisan and his mother's funeral, the seventh brother Ye Zhiping, who was far away in Malaya to make a living, was also shy in his pocket, so Ye Ting's study abroad came to naught because of "lack of resources".

Ye Ting couldn't go abroad, so according to the recommendation of his classmate Deng Yanda, he went to Zhangzhou, Fujian Province to meet with Deng Keng, chief of staff of the Headquarters of the Guangdong Army to aid Fujian.

Deng Keng, who had a heroic and well-trained military demeanor, was the backbone of Sun Yat-sen's revolution. In his early years, he joined the Xingzhong Society and the Alliance led by Sun Yat-sen, and was very knowledgeable and resourceful. When Ye Ting saw this long-admired revolutionary senior, he knocked his heels, "clicked" a straight upright, and raised his hand to perform a standard military salute: "Ye Ting, a graduate of the sixth phase of Baoding Military Academy, came to meet Chief of Staff Deng!" Deng Keng saw Ye Ting standing in front of him, with a straight uniform, thick eyebrows, a burly physique, a heroic posture, and a real lovelid, plus he received a letter from Deng Yanda not long ago, which introduced Ye Ting's talents and aspirations in detail, and asked Deng Keng to accept this rare talent. Deng Keng and Deng Yanda are both Hakka people who settled in Tamsui, and naturally they are also fellow villagers with Ye Ting. He held Ye Ting's hand tightly and couldn't help but say happily: "Welcome to you, a little fellow from Tamsui, and welcome to you, a top student of Baoding Military Academy!" Have a seat! After some heart-to-heart talks, Deng Keng told Ye Ting that the unit was now being expanded and reorganized, and asked him to serve as an adjutant in the first detachment to assist the detachment commander Li Bingrong in doing some training and expansion work. Ye Ting stood up when he heard this: "Resolutely obey the order!" ”

This support for the Fujian and Guangdong Army was the basic force of Sun Yat-sen's struggle to protect the law, and almost all the officers at all levels were revolutionaries. Soon after Ye Ting arrived in the first detachment, he took the initiative to apply to join the Chinese Kuomintang. Subsequently, according to Sun Yat-sen's instructions, the Guangdong Army aiding Fujian formed the First Division of the Guangdong Army, with Deng Keng concurrently serving as the division commander. Ye Ting was transferred by Deng Keng to the headquarters of the First Division as a major staff officer. Immediately, when the 1st Division organized the engineer battalion, Ye Ting was appointed as the deputy commander of the engineer battalion. Half a year later, Deng Keng accepted Sun Yat-sen's order to form a guard regiment for the base camp, and he reorganized the engineer battalion of the first division into the second battalion of the guard regiment, and promoted Ye Ting to the commander of the second battalion.

Since Ye Ting came to the command of Generalissimo Sun Yat-sen, he has shouldered the safety of a very big president, and he feels both a heavy responsibility and an incomparably sacred.

This time, Ye Ting led the officers and men of the second battalion to return to Guangzhou from Guilin, Guangxi, and it was he who first led his troops to escort Xu Shuzheng, the representative of the Anhui warlord Duan Qirui, to Guilin to meet Sun Yat-sen, who commanded the Northern Expedition, in the hope that the two families would unite and concentrate their forces on striking at Wu Peifu, a direct warlord of the direct line of the enemy who was blocking the Northern Expedition. When Ye Ting arrived in Guilin, he received the bad news that Deng Keng, chief of staff of the Guangdong Army and commander of the First Division, had been assassinated at the Guangzhou Railway Station, and then learned that the direct warlord Wu Peifu and Chen Jiongming, the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong Army and the governor of Guangdong Province, were in collusion and were ready to light a fire in the backyard to defeat the Northern Expedition led by Sun Yat-sen without a fight. In order to thwart the conspiracy of Chen Jiongming and Wu Peifu, Sun Yat-sen returned to Guangzhou before Ye Ting. Soon, the base camp asked Ye Ting to lead his troops back to Guangzhou as soon as possible, which undoubtedly seriously threatened the safety of President Sun Yat-sen.

Sure enough, Ye Ting arrived in Guangzhou, and set up a guard against the presidential palace, but he already felt that the clouds were thick, and there was a kind of gloomy and precarious presence under the city.

"This battle is inevitable!" Ye Ting has already felt it with the unique inner temperament and intelligent sense of smell of a soldier, as long as he looks at the arrow-like sharpness shot out of his eyes, he will be convinced.

Not long after dark that day, a soldier who was a soldier in Chen Jiongming's unit ran to the fellow who was a soldier in Ye Ting's second battalion, and said breathlessly: "Oh no, they are going to make a move on the president!" Then he took out a blue and white identification belt from his pocket, "Look, this was just sent to me, saying that it was a night war to distinguish friend from foe." ”

The situation is urgent! Ye Ting immediately reported this enemy situation to Chen Keyu, the head of the guard regiment. Chen Keyu felt that the black clouds were already overwhelming. The entire guard regiment has a total of only eight or nine hundred people, but Chen Jiongming's troops that can be mobilized in Guangzhou City are no less than 20,000 people, and the difference between the two sides is more than 20 times. However, Chen Keyu did not panic, but put Ye Ting's second battalion in the front yard of the presidential palace, and handed over the most important frontal defense task to Ye Ting.

"Battalion Commander Ye, Yuexiu Building in the Presidential Palace, the Generalissimo is inside, Song Qingling is also inside, and you are pregnant, your first line of defense can't be broken through!" The head of the regiment, Chen Keyu, explained to Ye Ting word by word.

"As long as there is an officer and soldier of the second battalion, the position in the front yard will not be lost!" Ye Ting held his head high, and his swearing-like words were like angry waves crashing on the shore, with the heroic spirit of vowing to live and die with the front yard position. In order to resist an enemy who is several times larger than ours, it is necessary to form a combat deployment in a limited area that has both a focus of firepower and an echelon that can complement each other. He arranged the 5th and 7th Companies, which were good at fighting tough battles, to guard the main gate, the back gate, and the north and south courtyard walls, because this was a breakthrough that the enemy would desperately seize at any cost; The 6th and 8th companies, which had a slightly larger number of recruits, guarded the east and west courtyard walls, and the strength of the two companies was concentrated in the areas close to the north and south walls, forming a situation of replenishing the strength of the 5th and 7th companies at any time; Then he took the regimental machine gun company attached to the 2nd Battalion to fight, filled all the light and heavy machine guns with bullets, and lurked around the presidential palace, once the enemy troops broke through, he had to suddenly concentrate his fire and fiercely repel them, so as to cooperate with the front yard, the back yard, and the four courtyard walls so as not to lose their hold. Throughout the night, Ye Ting inspected the firepower equipment one by one to prevent the appearance of loopholes in the unreasonable deployment of troops, so as to avoid regretting it once the battle began.

What made Ye Ting a little relaxed was that under the critical situation that the rebels were approaching the presidential palace step by step, under the persuasion of his secretary Lin Zimian and Lin Shuwei, who joined the army, he disguised himself as an emergency doctor, and quickly left the Guangxiu Building and transferred to the Yongfeng ship anchored on the Pearl River. However, "**" Song Qingling, who was pregnant and slow, was unwilling to drag Sun Yat-sen down; Second, there are many people with big targets, and I don't know if I can avoid the blockade of the enemy, so I am still stranded in Yuexiu Building.

Just half an hour after Sun Yat-sen left Yuexiu Tower, the rebels began to fire artillery at the Presidential Palace, and the roaring sound of artillery tore the sky over the Presidential Palace, and the dust and masonry kicked up by the cannonballs screamed with piercing arrogance and crackled the walls and roof of the Presidential Palace. Then, the rebels' bullets rained down in the direction of the presidential palace like locusts.

The rebels launched a charge at the presidential palace.

"Capture Sun Yat-sen alive and reward Guangyang with 200,000 yuan!" Chen Jiongming was determined to wipe out Sun Yat-sen and his wife Soong Ching-ling, and offered a high reward to the rebels who attacked the presidential palace. Not long after, Chen Jiongming was afraid that the appetite of the rebels would not be stimulated, so he asked the guards to convey his promise, "If the presidential palace is captured, the officers and soldiers can loot for three days and have three days off!" ”

When the rebels heard the reward given by their superiors for such a high bargaining chip, they became like vicious dogs with red eyes, shouting and screaming and attacking the presidential palace head-on.

"Hit, hit hard!" Ye Ting stood on the steps in front of the presidential palace belonging to the position of the Fifth Company, shooting at the rebels on one hand and giving orders on the other.

The rifles and machine guns in the hands of the officers and men of the fifth company roared in unison, and layers of fire nets drowned and submerged and submerged and covered and covered again and again. In less than an hour, three attacks by the rebels were repulsed, and outside the wall of the main entrance of the presidential palace, the corpses of the rebels were raised layer by layer, and hundreds of people were killed.

The fourth offensive of the rebels began. This time, the rebels adopted the tactics of attacking the east and the west. The officers and men of the 5th and 7th companies, believing that the rebels had changed the direction of their main attack, offered to allocate part of their forces to support the 6th and 8th companies. Ye Ting thought for a while, and immediately said: "This is a trick played by the rebels, we can't be fooled!" He immediately ordered the Fifth and Seventh Companies to prepare for a vicious battle. As soon as Ye Ting's words landed, the rebels concentrated more than a dozen companies of troops and launched a fierce charge towards the main gate.

"Defend the Presidential Palace! Beat! Ye Ting shouted slogans and fought bloodily with the officers and soldiers of the Fifth and Seventh Companies without forgetting his life. As soon as a charge by the rebels was repulsed, the follow-up troops immediately launched a new charge, and the two sides fought fiercely for more than six hours, the rebels were full of corpses, Ye Ting's second battalion officers and soldiers suffered more than half of the casualties, and Ye Ting's arm was also slightly wounded. However, the presidential palace was still safe and sound, and Ye Ting's troops did not ask the rebels to cross the Lei Chi step.

Suddenly, for some reason, the rebels stopped their assault on the presidential palace. A few hours later, it was learned that Chen Jiongming had figured out that Sun Yat-sen had already boarded the Yongfeng ship, and the presidential palace had lost its offensive value, and Wei Bangping, the commander of the Guangzhou garrison who advertised himself as "neutral", mediated and mediated, and the rebel representatives announced that the guard regiment could withdraw from the presidential palace.

"We must do our best to protect Mrs. Sun!" Ye Ting and regiment commander Chen Keyu immediately decided to select dozens of brave officers and soldiers from the second battalion to cooperate with the presidential guard to protect "**" Soong Qingling from the presidential palace. Although Song Qingling was extremely frightened, and her only child with Sun Yat-sen was miscarried, she finally boarded the Yongfeng ship safely in the mouth of the tiger.

Subsequently, Guangzhou fell into the hands of the rebels.