Back to the Republic of China as a commander

The Beiyang soldiers were once again driven out from the main position by the youth army. Huang Zhenkui was dumbfounded now. He is an old soldier and knows what it means to have one drum flourish, two drums decline, and three drum exhaust.The first two attacks with such efforts were unsuccessful, so if you want to succeed in the subsequent attacks, it is wishful thinking.

Sure enough, the Beiyang soldiers of the Sixth Division gave full play to the characteristics of what are called old oily sons. They all crawled between the attack initiation point and the attack target. No matter how much the officer yelled, they just couldn't get up to attack.In a hurry, I took two steps forward, no one was watching, and quietly retreated three steps. Anyway, it is impossible to expect them to take down the enemy's position.

Huang Zhenkui was also at a loss for what to do about it, and after secretly cursing a soldier ruffian, he had no choice but to report to the higher authorities.

Ma Jizeng also saw this situation. He knew that Huang Zhenkui had tried his best, and he also knew that it was unrealistic to continue attacking now.Although this reality made him very unhappy, he had to give an order to stop the attack.

The battle on the first day was declared to be completely over at around [-] pm. The Beiyang Army, which was in charge of outflanking the two wings, failed to achieve a breakthrough after paying a certain price, and finally had to withdraw to the starting point of the attack.

Since it was not expected in advance that a frontal breakthrough would not be possible, the Beiyang soldiers cannot rest now, and everyone has to wield hoes to build a simple position.Otherwise, it would not be fun to be attacked at night. Ma Jizeng can be said to have learned a lesson on this point.

The Beiyang soldiers over there were busy building nests, but the youth army was in a sad atmosphere.There is no joy of repelling the enemy, but only the trauma of war.

When Liu Xuyi, head of the 401st Regiment, stepped onto the battlefield, he saw a scene he would never forget. The corpses of soldiers from the Youth Army and the Beiyang Army overlapped on the battlefield, and the blood of the dead drenched every inch of the place. The soil dyed the entire position a dark red.And the first battalion commander Wang Kewen, who was in charge of guarding the main position, was holding a dead body in his arms and crying: "Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu, my good brother, what's the matter with you? Answer me!"

Several major military officers were trying to persuade them: "Battalion Commander, Brother Xiao Wu has already died in battle, so please feel sorry for him!"

After hearing this, Wang Kewen scolded angrily: "You fart. Xiao Wu is not dead, he saved me just now. By the way, where is the hygienist? Why didn't you come to save Xiao Wu."

The officers and soldiers standing around were all saddened when they heard the words. The brothers who were talking and laughing together this morning actually lost almost half in the evening. No one would feel better.

Liu Xuyi looked at the distraught Wang Kewen and suddenly became angry: "Wang Kewen, what are you doing? Have you forgotten your responsibility? As a battalion commander, don't you dare to face death? You don't care about the brothers who are still alive. Did you ask?"

Many years later, General Wang Kewen, who was the commander of the Great Military Region, truthfully wrote in his memoir "The rest of his life on the battlefield": "General Liu Xuyi was the head of our 401 regiment at that time. The tragedy was beyond our imagination. If the brothers from the third battalion hadn’t killed it in time, my first battalion and I would have given up all our answers in this battle. It was the most profound battle in my memory. In the three-hour battle, facing an enemy several times larger than mine, our first battalion of 918 officers and soldiers paid a huge price of 212 killed and 4 injured. A total of 519 enemies were killed and several wounded in the entire battle. But this Not enough to soothe my sentiments, so many of my brothers died, especially Xiao Wu, who was a very dedicated guard. I remember he was only 19 years old and spoke a very difficult German (Changde I have both parents, one elder brother and one older sister. I joined the army in Hanshou in December 1914, and was selected as my bodyguard because of my stature and cleverness. I usually work diligently and bear the burden of hard work. .In the battle on January 1th, I was brave and tenacious, and killed three enemies with my own hands. It is the greatest guilt in my life that I lost my life but was killed by the enemy.”

From then on, Wang Kewen regarded Xiao Wu's parents as his own biological parents, and no matter how high their status was, they took care of them until they were old and personally sent them to their death.

The results of the battle were sent to the headquarters of the Second Army immediately. Commander-in-Chief Wan Yaohuang looked at it and said nothing. Army Commander Liu Xing looked at it and said: "Liu Xuyi is doing well, this blow has dealt a severe blow to the Beiyang Army. Arrogance, Teacher Wan, can we launch a full-scale counterattack next?"

Wan Yaohuang didn't speak, he took out a small bag with him, which contained his favorite fried peanuts.Wan Yaohuang has a habit of chewing a few fried peanuts with salt when thinking about things.

All the people in the military department turned their attention to Wan Yaohuang. After a while, Wan Yaohuang said: "Continue to stand firm and prepare to retreat."

"Ah? Why?" Liu Xing didn't understand. He had an advantage in terms of military strength and equipment, so why did he have to prepare for a retreat?

Wan Yaohuang chewed another peanut and said: "We are not going to defeat the Sixth Division simply by doing math problems. There is an opportunity in it. If the timing is well grasped, the battle will be easy; on the contrary, if we do not grasp it well Well, an easy battle will turn into a tough one. Commander Liu, we have to keep our eyes on Changde, our next goal is the big plate south of the Huaihe River, so right now we can't just use up our troops at will."

When Liu Xing heard it, it made sense, but he still asked unwillingly, "Then why do you have to prepare for the retreat?"

Wan Yaohuang said: "Judging from the results of this battle, if our troops hadn't been inexperienced, it is estimated that the Beiyang Army will suffer even more. This fight is so ruthless, and it is likely to scare the enemy away. If Ma Ji had led With his team of nearly [-] people running to Changsha, what do you think will happen next? So we want to keep him and eat him."

Liu Xing nodded: "I see. Don't worry, Mr. Wan. Ma Jizeng can't run away. I'll give the order now."

Wan Yaohuang didn't speak any more, but took a map of Hunan and looked at it carefully.

"What? Retreat? Why?" Liu Xuyi asked Liao Lei, the division commander who came down to inspect the position, in surprise.

Liao Lei was also very upset, but Liu Xuyi, the commander of the regiment, was several years older than himself, so he held back his anger: "The army commander said that you fought too hard at Zhujiaqiao, and I am afraid that the Beiyang Army will run away if the situation is not good. Lose."

But Liu Xuyi was persistent: "Teacher, you have to convey this order yourself. I can't open my mouth. The first battalion in today's battle was really wounded. How can I, how can I make them give up their positions at this time?"

Liao Lei had just visited a group of seriously wounded in the field hospital directly under the division headquarters, and he understood Liu Xuyi's words: "Old Liu, I know this too. Brothers are for our fourth division today, no, it is the whole The commander of the Second Army has lost his face. But we must obey the overall situation and not be impulsive. The current retreat is to better attack the enemy, so I order you as the commander of the Fourth Division of the Youth Army. You must resolutely execute the order. The retreat will start tomorrow afternoon ..."

Liao Lei changed what Liu Xing said to him and applied it to Liu Xuyi. Liu Xuyi was so angry that he couldn't speak at all. In the end, he had no choice but to pay a military salute and think of a solution.

That night, the 401rd Battalion of the [-] Regiment took over from the [-]st Battalion and continued to guard the main position, while the [-]st Battalion, which had completed the blocking mission for a day, was withdrawn forty miles and rushed to Changde City to be stationed and recuperate.

On the Beiyang Army's side, there was already a quarrel, the infantry blamed the artillery for not being strong enough, the 22nd regiment blamed the 21st regiment for not working hard, the regiment leader scolded the brigade commander for commanding blindly, and the brigade commander scolded the regiment commander for being incompetent and defiant.In short, they were all busy trying to shirk their responsibilities in front of Ma Jizeng, the king of Hades, deeply afraid that the commander would blame him for his ineffective combat.

However, Ma Jizeng, who had just been promoted to the first-class viscount, had no intention of dealing with anyone at all. The deepest impression left on him by this afternoon's battle was two points: the first point was the powerful firepower of the youth army. Yes, the youth army's equipment is a bit too powerful.The unsatisfactory attack made Ma Jizeng have to calm down and consider another question, how many regiments with this configuration of the Youth Army are there?Without intelligence support, this battle was a fucking strange one.The second point is the tenacity of the youth army. Under such a fierce attack, they can't hold on. How strict training is needed to achieve this effect? ​​How many soldiers like this youth army are there?If Zhujiaqiao's youth army is only a particularly elite one, then there is nothing to be afraid of, but if all the officers and soldiers are at this level, then I am afraid that I will not consider capturing Changde City, but will consider retreating eastward Into Changsha.

Wait, why not withdraw to Li County?Ma Jizeng suddenly remembered his old nest: "Chief of Staff, what's the situation in Li County?"

"Li County?" Ma Baochen was stunned for a moment, what happened to the teacher seat, and suddenly asked about this, he could only shake his head and answer truthfully: "There is no news about this."

Sometimes no news is the biggest anomaly. What Ma Jizeng didn't know was that at this time of their meeting, the agents of the Military Intelligence Bureau lurking in Lixian County successfully opened the gate of Lixian County.Xu Yuanquan's troops rushed in one after another, but the Beiyang Army who was in charge of a battalion guarding the city did not fire a single shot. They were trapped in bed and disarmed. At the same time, many officers of the Beiyang Sixth Division from the north were also captured. Families, now the fun is big.

Ma Jizeng felt more and more that something was wrong. He no longer had the complacency he had in the morning. He suddenly felt that he was a prey being watched by the hunter. No, he had to find a way to get rid of it. .

"Chief of Staff, let's organize immediately and retreat to Changsha." Ma Jizeng made a very prudent decision with difficulty.