20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 603: Fengjun enters the pass
It's April on earth, the war is about to begin and the smoke is billowing.

The Zhili and Feng families were in a cold war for a year, engaging in verbal battles, and finally reached the point where they had to resort to swords.

If the previous rumors about the war were still suspected of being groundless and could be accused of "disturbing the people's hearts"; then the current situation is that the people of the entire Fengtian City are all extremely convinced that Marshal Zhang is indeed about to lead his troops into the pass.

At the end of March in the new calendar, the Fengtian Military Governor's Office sent a telegram to the capital of Beijing, requesting that his eighth brother Zhang Fuchen lead the 27th Division of the Central Army to station inside the Great Wall in the name of changing defense.

Everyone in Fengtian knew what this move meant.

The 27th Army Division was the personal guard under Marshal Zhang. It was the first formal armed force he personally led after he became rich.

The quality of its soldiers, weapons and equipment, and combat experience are truly the best in the Fengtian Army.

In the entire army, perhaps only the troops led by the Crown Prince can barely match them.

With this as a starting point, the Fengzhang Group began to dispatch troops to the interior of the country using the Beijing-Fengtian Railway.

In early April of the lunar calendar, the Fengtian Provincial Government officially issued a general mobilization order.

In an instant, the entire province of Fengtian, and even the entire three northeastern provinces, all implemented military priority in terms of materials, transportation, and personnel deployment, and the business community was shaken.

Within a few days, Beidaying was almost deserted.

With the will of one man, soldiers from three provinces marched south to fight for supremacy.

From the national army and provincial troops to the guard regiment, advanced soldier battalion, and cadet soldiers, all kinds of corps are included.

At the same time, Marshal Zhang ordered his sworn brother, the Chahar Governor-General, the commander of the Fengtian First Division, and his fifth brother Zhang Xuwu to lead his troops to deploy along the Beijing-Hankou railway line.

As a result, the Fengtian Army dispatched a total of two and a half full-strength divisions, nine mixed brigades, and several troops, about 100,000 people, to cross the Shanhaiguan Pass, vowing to fight a decisive battle with the Zhili clique.

Afterwards, Marshal Zhang changed the name of the Fengtian Army entering the Pass to the "Zhenwei Army" under the title of "General Zhenwei", stored troops and food in the city, and established the Zhenwei Army Headquarters.

At this point, no one anymore has any unrealistic fantasies about "peace".

For a time, people from all over Beijing and Tianjin flocked into the city, fearing that the swords and knives would be merciless and they would end up like the innocent souls of the war.

However, war is never just a life-and-death struggle on the battlefield, but also involves many aspects of the game, such as public opinion, politics, and logistics.

Even if the civilians who fled to the inner city and the concessions could escape the war, they could not escape the accompanying human disasters, such as stagnant logistics, shortages of goods, and soaring prices...

All these things, although not resulting in bloodless killing, will inevitably result in skinning, or even breaking bones, and houses will collapse overnight.

However, real money will not disappear out of thin air. It can only be transferred from one pocket to another.

When some people lose money, naturally some people make money, some even make a fortune and are rich.

There are countless traitors and corrupt officials like these who hoard goods and drive up prices in every province and region.

He has goods that are not available in department stores, and he also has rice that is not available in grain and oil stores.

They can anticipate things, have extensive connections and wide-ranging information, so making money is as easy as drinking water. Ordinary people can only envy them.

Of course, the people will scold them, and they only know how to scold them, because those who sit in a well and look at the sky can only see a cloud.

Little do they know that the clouds move with the wind, and they are just earning money by "running errands".

However, compared with the chaos in the war zone, the three provinces outside the Great Wall did not suffer too much negative impact due to their geographical advantage of being located on the border.

After the Fengtian Army entered the pass, except for occasional delays in the delivery of goods, most people continued to live their lives as usual, especially the farmers in the countryside, who were hardly affected at all.

Even so, Marshal Zhang still did not dare to take it lightly when it came to ensuring the stability of the rear.

On April 25th of the lunar calendar, the provincial government issued a decree - Fengtian is under martial law, and a special martial law headquarters was set up in the provincial capital.

Marshal Zhang first met with his sixth brother Sun Jiugong and appointed him as the deputy commander-in-chief of the "Zhenwei Army", stationed in the Fengtian base camp and coordinating all logistical work.

The commander personally led the army to fight, not picking anyone else but Sixth Brother to guard the house, which shows his loyalty and devotion.

Secondly, Marshal Zhang went on to meet with high-ranking officials from various government offices of the provincial government, as well as the military and police officers who stayed in Fengtian, and gave them all kinds of instructions, so there is no need to say more.

Finally, Lao Zhang met with influential gentry, powerful people, business leaders, and social celebrities inside and outside the provincial capital, and ordered them to do their best to stabilize the overall situation.

Although these people had no real power, they had advocated the concept of "being governed by the people" and helped Marshal Zhang to mediate with the Beijing authorities.

Jiang Lianheng is one of them.

However, compared with other powerful families, the Jiang family is more valued by the provincial government.

Marshal Zhang fulfilled his promise and Jiang Lianheng was promoted out of turn. He was temporarily promoted from the original secret agent consultant in the provincial capital to the duty captain of the provincial government's martial law brigade, and he could report directly to Deputy Commander-in-Chief Sun.

If we talk about how high his official rank is, let’s put it this way, a dung beetle lying on the ground is still half a head taller than him.

But if we talk about how great his authority is, I'm afraid we can only say that his authority is as great as his imagination.

After all, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

Having said that, Jiang Lianheng gained real power but did not dare to abuse it.

Firstly, the Jiang family is powerful and no longer needs to rely on such means to crack down on dissidents; secondly, this job concerns major military and political affairs, so they have to take responsibility and naturally dare not jump around.

That night, Marshal Zhang specially called several trusted spies to his house and told them to always pay attention to public opinion trends and the safety of the rear and not to neglect their duties.

The spies received the order and then retreated.

"Xiao Jiang, you stay." Marshal Zhang raised his hand and waved.

Jiang Lianheng stopped, turned around and asked, "Marshal, do you have any other instructions?"

"Nothing else, just to tell you that my special train will leave for Junliang City the day after tomorrow."

"Oh, then I am in Fengtian, waiting for the Marshal's triumphant return."

After saying that, Jiang Lianheng did not leave, but stood where he was, quietly waiting for orders. Since the Marshal asked him to stay, it would not be just to explain his itinerary.

However, Lao Zhang seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if he was a little hesitant or nervous. After thinking for a while, he suddenly waved his hand inexplicably.

"It's okay. You can go back and pay close attention to Fengtian's movements. Don't let me down."

"Don't worry, Marshal. I will do my best!"

Immediately, Jiang Lianheng leaned forward and asked tentatively: "Then...if the Marshal has no other instructions, I will leave first?"

"Well, let's go." Marshal Zhang didn't look up.

When Jiang Lianheng left the office, he was seen in front of the dim desk lamp, with his head down and his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth, seeming a little anxious.

Although Marshal Zhang did not say it explicitly, Jiang Lianheng knew the reason for his behavior. The Fengtian Army's entry into the pass seemed to be orderly and step-by-step, but in fact it was far from being fully prepared. It was even more exaggerated to say that it was a hasty expedition.

Because this battle through the pass did not conform to the strategy formulated in advance by Marshal Zhang, or in other words, the timing was not yet ripe.

According to the original idea of ​​the General Staff of the Feng-Zhang Group, the campaign against the Zhi army should have been a three-way alliance of "Feng, Anhui and Guangdong", with the cooperation of other provinces to send troops together.

According to Marshal Zhang's original intention, it should be Sun Yat-sen who led the Northern Expedition first, followed by General Lu who actively responded, and then the Generals of Henan Province, Anhui Province, and the Northwest who joined forces to disrupt the heartland of the Zhili clique, and finally he himself would go south to enter the pass and decide the outcome, just like the Zhili-Anhui War back then.

To this end, Lao Zhang did adhere to the strategy of "making friends far away and attacking nearby ones", actively contacted all parties, and gained support from many allies.

However, things are different now. In the Zhi-An War, the Fengtian Army was just a supplementary force and could naturally change its stance according to the situation.

Now that the Zhi and Feng factions are in confrontation, if Feng and Zhang do not act first, how could other warlords risk being the first to be shot and be the first to provoke a war?
What's more, among all the princes in the world, Zhifeng is the greatest.

The other few factions are not yet strong enough. If they want to successfully defeat the Zhili, the Fengtian Army must be the main force, and there will be no chance of taking advantage of the situation.

While Feng Zhang was strategizing, Zhi Wu was also maneuvering.

When the Fengtian Army assisted Sun Dapao, the Zhili Army assisted Chen Zansan; when the Fengtian Army allied with General Lu, the Zhili Army joined forces with the Navy Commander; when the Fengtian Army telegraphed General Zhao of Henan Province to send troops, the Zhili Army sent Feng Jishen to Longhai as an eyeline to guard the Central Plains.

When the Zhili and Fengtian factions turned from a cold war into a hot war, the strategic arrangements of all parties were unfavorable to Zhang.

Chen Zansan refused to follow military orders, and the Northern Expedition plan was aborted; the commander-in-chief of the navy supported the Zhili clique and successfully contained the Anhui and Lu armies in Jiangnan; the rest of the troops all waited and watched and remained neutral.

Not only that, Feng Zhang's plan to sow discord between the "Wu-Cao pair" also failed.

The generals of the Zhili clique jointly issued a telegram, denouncing the military interference of Feng and Zhang in politics. Before the war even started, public opinion had already become one-sided.

The time to go to war is not yet ripe.

Old Zhang knew this very well and had thought about postponing the battle, but Mr. Wu was pressing on step by step and was about to catch him off guard, so how could he allow him to delay?

If they did not fight, the Fengtian Army would have no choice but to accept the orders of the Zhili Army and withdraw to the outside of the Great Wall.

Marshal Zhang naturally refused, so he had to bite the bullet and go into battle alone.

Jiang Lianheng also knew a little about all this information, especially the fact that Anhui and Lu were unable to send troops, which was reported directly to the Jiang family by Wen Tingge.

However, seeing more than 100,000 people heading south to enter the pass, Jiang Lianheng still believed that even if Feng Zhang fought alone, the battle could still be fought.

He closed the office door gently. That night was the last time Jiang Lianheng met Marshal Zhang before the Zhi-Feng War broke out.

Three days later, Marshal Zhang appointed himself commander-in-chief of the "Zhenwei Army", arrived at Junliang City by car, and personally supervised the battle.

On April 29th of the lunar calendar, the Fengtian-Zhangyi Group officially issued an order for a general attack on the Zhili warlords.

…………

When the war broke out, the provincial capital of Fengtian immediately stepped up martial law patrols.

Jiang Lianheng often goes out early and comes back late. Although he does not need to patrol the streets in person, the intelligence clues of various martial law teams always have to go through him.

Ordinary people cannot see the real situation of the war and can only wait quietly for the final outcome of the war.

Any news that is unfavorable to the Fengtian Army will be discovered and erased in a timely manner, and the writer will be detained and interrogated on the charge of disturbing public order.

However, even Jiang Lianheng himself could not accurately judge the battle situation inside the pass.

A very strange situation occurred in all provinces: in all provinces governed by the Zhili clique, people praised the Zhili army for being invincible; in all provinces governed by the Fengtian clique, people praised the Fengtian army for being invincible.

Even in the concessions in various places, it is difficult to see objective reports.

English newspapers claimed that the Feng-Zhang clique had already lost its weapons and was in disarray; however, Japanese newspapers claimed that Wu Xiucai had died before the war and the Zhili army was in great chaos.

We can only wait for the dust to settle to know who is right and who is wrong.

The provincial capital was under martial law, and the Jiang family's insurance business was reduced, but the impact was not significant. The transportation insurance for the Beijing-Fengtian Line had already been prepared in advance. As for the rest of the business, due to Jiang Lianheng's identity as the duty captain of the martial law brigade, not only did it not suffer losses, but it also increased slightly compared to usual despite restrictions on its peers.

Although the Jiang family did not raise prices drastically, they still made a small profit by stockpiling goods in advance.

However, Hu Xiaoyan couldn't be happy.

The eldest sister-in-law of the household was frowning all day long and was restless. The first thing she did every day was to read the news in the newspaper; the last thing she did every day was to read the news in the newspaper, hoping that Zhao Zhengbei would return safely as soon as possible.

Hu Xiaoyan was originally weak, and now she was uneasy, her face became even paler.

Jiang Lianheng came home late and saw her still lying on the bed reading the newspaper. He went up to her and snatched it away, saying, "Don't read it. Go to bed. What are you reading? Can you believe a single word in this newspaper? You might as well ask me instead of reading it!"

Hu Xiaoyan hurriedly stood up and asked, "Any news tonight?"

"No, it's only been two days since the war, how can there be so much information? We caught a guy tonight, and the report he wrote to you was very well-written. I thought he had really been to the front line, but it turned out that he was a big shot. It was all damn second-hand information."

"Maybe there is real news?" Hu Xiaoyan said worriedly, "With so many reports, it's impossible for all of them to be false. There must be some truth in them."

Jiang Lianheng took off his coat and said impatiently: "Well, even if there is real news, you can't see Beifeng. He is just a high-ranking official, and it is not his turn to be in the newspaper!"

"Then at least we can see who wins and who loses!"

"That's right. If you lose, you may not die, but if you win, you may not live either."

"What should we do?" Hu Xiaoyan sat up suddenly and grabbed Jiang Lianheng's arm. "The north wind is too strong. I'm really worried that something will happen to him."

"Don't think about it. What's the point of sitting here and thinking until dawn?" Jiang Lianheng said as he lay down. "He is not a fool. He has been in the military camp for so many years."

"Why don't you find a place to worship him?"

"What are you praying for?"

"Pray to the Buddha. Ask the temple spirit."

"Tsk, I just do these useless things all day long. If the Buddha saw me, he would probably be disgusted and would close the stall on the spot and quit."

Jiang Lianheng originally wanted to make a joke to ease his wife's tense mood, but it was of no use. Hu Xiaoyan was still sighing and worried.

"Tsk, look at you, is it that serious?" he said, "Bei Feng is a soldier now, and it is natural for him to serve in the army and fight in wars. If he can make meritorious contributions, won't we also be able to enjoy the benefits?"

Hu Xiaoyan shook her head and said, "You don't understand. Beifeng didn't want to be a soldier. I forced him to go to the Military Academy. If anything happened to him, it would be my fault..."

She didn't dare to say anything.

People are close or distant, but the eldest sister-in-law loves Beifeng more.

Jiang Lianheng then said a few words to comfort Hu Xiaoyan, and finally managed to calm her down. However, he couldn't help but wonder, Zhao Zhengbei was a straightforward and sharp-eyed guy, and he didn't know how he would perform on the battlefield...

(End of this chapter)