Jagged Warlord

Ma Qian'an selected a company commander, two platoon leaders, and eighteen squad leaders from the first battalion and the second battalion respectively.These people are the team of the SS Bing Lilian. As an independent company, they are directly ordered by Li Mohan.

The company commander's name is Wang Qinian, a Shandong man in his thirties, and an old subordinate who followed Li Mohan to Henan for development.This person has a straightforward personality and strong political qualities. Apart from drinking a couple of cups, he doesn't smoke, prostitute or gamble, and he is also a good member of the army.

"Wang Qinian, Li Yonghe, Jiang Dabiao..." Li Mohan called out the names of these twenty people in one breath.

The dignified regiment leader, who can remember his own name, is a matter of face for these low-born soldiers.For Li Mohan, it is a very cost-effective way to win over.

"Salute." Wang Qinian took the lead, straightened his palm, and raised his right hand to salute Li Mohan. Li Mohan raised his right hand at 45 degrees to return the salute.

"Qinian, you are the first company commander of our SS Army to take charge of one's own duties. The burden on your shoulders is not light." Li Mohan said affectionately to Wang Qinian

Wang Qinian was agitated. He stood up straight and said, "I will definitely not embarrass our SS."

"I don't worry about your work." Li Mohan patted Wang Qinian's shoulder lightly, Wang Qinian became more excited, his chest heaved violently.Then, Li Mohan chatted a few words with each of the other nineteen soldiers one by one, or praised or encouraged each of them, in short, these little soldiers became more and more excited.

At night, Li Mohan found Ma Qian'an and Liu Musheng, and confessed his feelings to them.

"Actually, I don't intend to go to Shaanxi to suppress Bailang. I just want to take this opportunity to strengthen our team and expand our territory." Li Mohan didn't hide anything

Ma Qian'an said: "I remember you said, big brother, that you have to grab the land by yourself. Are we robbing the land?"

Liu Musheng, on the other hand, had a complacent expression that he had expected. He waved the paper fan unhurriedly, and said, "I said, why is it so strange? From the north of Henan to the south of Shanxi, and then cross the Yellow River to Fengling Shannan, why bother?"

Li Mohan smiled slightly, and said: "Since that's the case, then I have nothing to worry about. Let's put it this way, I plan to take down the whole of Northern Henan as an opportunity for a great cause. What do you think?"

Ma Qian'an scratched his head, obviously unable to offer any nutritious suggestions or opinions on this kind of issue.

Liu Musheng shook his head, and said: "Northern Henan is fertile, rich in coal and iron, and convenient to the Daoqing Railway. These are all true. But Henan was originally the place where the Fourth World War was fought, and Yuan Shikai is close at hand. Young master, what do you want?" Standing here, I'm afraid there are many constraints."

Liu Musheng's words were also reasonable, so Li Mohan asked again: "Then according to your opinion, master, where is it appropriate?"

Liu Musheng didn't answer directly, but instead asked Li Mohan, "Master, have you ever played Go?"

Li Mohan shook his head.

Liu Musheng smiled, shook his head and said: "Huan Tan said in "Xin Lun": Those who are superior should be far away from them and surrounded by gatherings, so they will grow in numbers and win the Tao; Conceal the key points and seek profit by competing for convenience, so the outcome is doubtful, and must be determined by counting; those who are inferior must guard the corners and tend to be shackles, so as to live on their own in the small land, but it is definitely not as good as it is.”

Speaking of this, Liu Musheng paused, and looked at the expressions of Li Mohan and Ma Qian'an. The two looked blank, obviously not understanding.

Satisfied with the effect, Liu Musheng cleared his throat and continued: "China is like a Go board. Guanzhong, Hebei, Southeast and Sichuan are its four corners, Shanxi, Shandong, Hubei and Hanzhong are its four sides, and the Central Plains is its central hinterland. .

Each of the four corners has its own unique geographical conditions. Generally, it has a relatively superior mountain and river situation, a relatively stable rear, and mountains and rivers that can be relied on. Advancing can be attacked, and retreat can be defended.It is rich in products and has a large population.Occupying the four corners of the land with mountains and rivers, you can establish a base area, manage it calmly, accumulate strength, and lay the foundation for future aggressiveness in the world.

The land on the four sides generally has relatively dangerous mountains and rivers, but the comprehensive conditions of these areas are not as good as the four corners.They are all sandwiched between the two corners, and they can come and go here. They are not only the link between the two sides, but also the focus of contention when the two sides confront each other.Their topographic features are also in line with their status. There are not only traffic passages for both parties to enter and exit, but also dangerous points that can be guarded; moreover, there are relatively short and short passages between them and the Central Plains.The political forces rising in the four corners, if they want to get rid of the dominance of one corner and expand outward, they must first fight for two wings and control the two sides of the corner.

At the beginning of the chaos in the world, because the Central Plains can be attacked from all sides, the centrifugal force of the four sides is enough to tear the situation in the Central Plains, making the Central Plains a turbulent intersection.The torrent of turmoil is enough to destroy any efforts to defend the Central Plains.At this time, it is easy to occupy the land with strong mountains and rivers in the four corners, but it is difficult to occupy the four wars in the Central Plains.

After Liu Musheng made some high-level remarks, he directly shot Li Mohan's idea of ​​using Henan as his base.

Ma Qian'an couldn't help asking: "Then what do you say?"

Liu Musheng replied: "If it was a few hundred years ago, I would suggest taking Guanzhong. But now the poor people in Guanzhong are not the best choice; the ancients said that if you don't go to Sichuan, if the young master wants to achieve great things, Sichuan is naturally not the best choice. ; As for Hebei, Hubei, Hanzhong, Shandong and other places are all under Yuan Shikai's control, let alone wishful thinking."

Li Mohan thought for a while and asked, "Then only the southeast is left. But aren't Jiangsu, Anhui, and Zhejiang also controlled by Yuan Shikai's henchmen?"

Liu Musheng put away the paper fan and said with a smile, "Master, why did you forget someone——Zhang Xun."

"Zhang Xun?"

"Yes, it's Zhang Xun."

Earlier, there were rumors among the people that Zhang Xun, the commander of the braided army and patrol envoy of the Yangtze River, received Bai Lang's secret envoy at the headquarters in Xuzhou.Although Zhang Xun belongs to the Beiyang family, it is a branch of the Beiyang family, not Yuan's direct line. Not long ago, in order to compete for the Nanjing commander-in-chief, Yuan Shikai used some tricks to force Zhang Xun to give up the Jiangsu governor and Nanjing territory, and replaced it by his confidant Feng Guozhang. , This is a new enmity; there is also an old account that Zhang Xun has always been loyal to Xunqing, and he and his troops have always kept braids as proof.

Since there are new and old grudges, it is possible that Zhang Xun is unreliable.Therefore, it was rumored that the Bailang army sent representatives to meet Zhang Xun, and Yuan Shikai really sweated, for fear that the braided army and the Bailang army would join forces. In view of this, Yuan came up with a clever plan of "fighting poison with poison", which was to order Zhang Xun Go to attack Bai Lang's army.Zhang Xun accepted the order openly and happily, but asked Yuan to allow him to expand his force and recruit 10 battalions of recruits.Yuan was dumbfounded by this counter-demand, and hurriedly sent Ruan Zhongshu, a confidant who had friendship with Zhang Xun, to Xuzhou to make arrangements, telling him not to recruit soldiers or suppress bandits!

Li Mohan was suddenly enlightened by Liu Musheng's mention. He thought for a while and said, "Send a telegram to the Ministry of the Army, and I ask myself to be stationed in Xuzhou. The reason is that I am from Xuzhou and want to return to my hometown."

Liu Musheng raised his eyebrows, and said with a smile: "The young master's thoughts changed quickly. Yuan Shikai didn't trust Zhang Xun, so he simply put an enemy by his side, to watch them at one time, and consume each other at the other. He can take advantage of the fisherman."

"But will this stimulate Zhang Xun too much?" Li Mohan asked with a smile

Liu Musheng didn't laugh, but thought about it seriously, and then said: "Well, it's really wrong to do this. I have a way to figure it out slowly."

"What way?" Ma Qian'an asked

Liu Musheng flicked his finger on the map, pointed to the central and eastern part of Henan, and said, "Take the eastern part of Henan first, and then map the Jianghuai."