Volume 1 Teacher Chapter 35: Entering Xi'an (Part 1)
"Are you Chen Shufan's messenger?"
As the saying goes, a tiger will not fall even when it dies. Although Lu Jianzhang was holding on, it was unexpected that a small figure like Cui Shiqing acted so arrogantly in front of him. How could Lu Jianzhang not feel contempt for him?
"Tell me, what does your Commander-in-Chief Chen mean by sending you here?"
Cui Shiqing could certainly hear the sarcasm in Lu Jianzhang's words, but he was confident that he had Lu Chengwu, a powerful weapon in his hand, so he didn't care about an old man who was about to retire, and he did not hand over a letter respectfully.
"This is the commander-in-chief's letter to you. Please read it and give me a clear reply so that I can reply to the commander-in-chief."
"Humph, Chen Shufan is dreaming!"
Lu Jianzhang read the letter quickly, but after finishing it, he casually threw it on the table.
"If you want me to give up Xi'an, if you want me to let down the president and the Beiyang government, forget about it."
"Old Yuan is already terminally ill. Even Duan and Feng refuse to obey his orders. What's the point of Beiyang? Does Governor Lu want to be buried with Yuan?"
Cui Shiqing was obviously not a good lobbyist, he was rude and direct.
"Tell the truth, Governor. Our 100,000 militiamen have surrounded Xi'an. You can't escape even if you want to. Our commander-in-chief is magnanimous. As long as you agree to give up the position of Governor of Shaanxi, not only will Lu Chengwu be returned to you intact, but your many years of official salary will not be touched at all."
"One hundred thousand militiamen?"
Lu Jianzhang laughed out loud.
"I only have one mixed second brigade waiting for you to fight."
"The Second Mixed Brigade?"
Cui Shiqing also laughed sinisterly a few times.
"Commander Dai is not as ignorant of current affairs as you."
Cui Shiqing’s words immediately made Lu Jianzhang alert.
"Brigade Commander Dai has already surrendered to our commander-in-chief. Commander Lu, don't dream about it."
“Nonsense!”
Although Lu Jianzhang had some doubts, he still refused to give in.
Just as the situation was tense, He Oucai walked in in a panic. He didn't care that Cui Shiqing was there, and walked straight to Lu Jianzhang and whispered in his ear.
"Governor, I just received a telegram saying that the Second Brigade has arrived in Baoji, and Commander Zhang has announced that he will accept the leadership of the Second Brigade."
"knew!"
Upon hearing the news, Lu Jianzhang's hands trembled. He finally understood why the Second Brigade did not show up despite their long wait. He also guessed Dai Jiliang's plan to take advantage of the conflict between the two sides and he could not help but feel extremely angry.
You are so good, Dai Jiliang. I, Lu Jianzhang, would rather give this family property in Shaanxi to outsiders than to my servants. I want you to get nothing in return.
Lu Jianzhang quickly calmed down and signaled He Oucai to retreat. Then he raised his head and looked at Cui Shiqing, who looked calm and composed.
"Captain Cui, we can still discuss this..."
"Old Cui!"
He Oucai respectfully escorted Cui Shiqing out of the Governor's Mansion, trying to build friendships along the way.
"Commander-in-Chief, I need you to say something for me! You know how hard it was for me to become the head of a regiment. Today, I will tell you the truth. The one who can control Xi'an now is not Lu Jianzhang, but the nearly 2,000 brothers in my hands."
As he spoke, He Ou handed over an official note.
"This is just a small gift. If the commander-in-chief allows me to stay as the head of the regiment, I will reward you handsomely."
Looking at the number on the official note, Cui Shiqing stuffed it into his pocket with satisfaction. However, what made him even more satisfied was that the adjutant, who was previously unattainable was licking his tongue and fawning on him like a pug today. Feeling proud, he patted He Oucai's shoulder and made a promise.
"Don't worry, Lao He. However, the commander-in-chief may not take it seriously as a mere regiment commander. As long as you maintain order in Xi'an, the commander-in-chief will definitely reward you handsomely."
"Understood, understood. I will definitely take good care of the provincial treasury and other supplies."
He Oucai greeted him with a smile on his face.
"Old Cui, this is all thanks to your kind words. Oh, by the way, it won't be Hu Jingyi and Guo Jian who are the first to enter Xi'an, what if they?"
He Oucai was just trying to get the point across.
"Don't worry, bro!"
The big thing has been decided, and Cui Shiqing has completely relaxed his vigilance.
"Our commander-in-chief has already driven these two young fools far away. Hu Liseng is to the east of Xi'an, and Guo Fanggang is to the west of Xi'an. There are only brothers from our Fourth Brigade under the city, so you can rest assured."
"That's good, that's good. Come, please get on the carriage, guards, and make sure to escort Captain Cui out of the city safely."
Looking at the speeding carriage, He Oucai suddenly spat.
"You son of a bitch, you think you can just take over Xi'an's colorful world? You're just daydreaming. Someone, go to the telegraph office and send this message to Baoji."
"The Democratic Party thinks it has a sure win and has ignored its own weak strength and has adopted a strategy of dividing its forces. We can just defeat them one by one."
Following He Oucai's telegram, Dai Jiliang's troops, which had already advanced to Wugong, began to take intensive action.
"Chen Shufan has reached an agreement with Lu Jianzhang to take over Xi'an on May 18. At the same time, Guo Jian's troops of the enemy's right wing will successively take over the counties along the line from Xianyang to Baoji. So we must defeat Guo Jian's troops before entering Xi'an. Okay, it is now 4 pm on May 15. I order you to arrive in Xingping before 7 am on May 17."
Following Dai Jiliang's order, the Second Brigade conducted scouts in all directions and the army moved in one after another. A major battle that would determine the fate of Shaanxi was imminent.
Under the blue sky and white clouds of early summer, the villages with curling smoke and the wheat fields that had begun to turn yellow should have been a harmonious and happy pastoral scenery. However, out of sight, two entire regiments of Beiyang Army with thousands of soldiers had already secretly taken up their battle positions, and not far away from them, the messy formations of the undisciplined militia could be clearly seen with the naked eye.
"Remember, no machine gun fire, no firing!"
The squad and platoon leaders of the Beiyang Army crouched and shuttled through the simply constructed trenches. In the endless wheat fields, the militiamen, who were huddled together or in groups of three or two, stood out particularly. This was the best battlefield for an ambush.
"It seems that more rioters have joined Guo Jian's group."
Zhang Zili carefully observed his opponent's strength through the telescope.
"Originally it was said that there were more than 4,000 gunmen, but now it seems that there are more than 5,000."
However, fighting a war does not simply rely on numbers.
"Guo Fanggang is just a battalion commander. When has he ever commanded so many troops? Brigade commander, look, the machine guns are left at the back , but those 75mm guns from the core regiment are pushed to the front line. What's that? Are they showing off or do they really think they have a sure win?"
Zhang Zilii, who was always serious in front of his subordinates, rarely mocked his opponents so blatantly. It was really that the skills of the Weibei swordsmen were so powerful that they were not even one-tenth of the Bailang bandit army.
"Brigade Commander, look at them, they are holding their guns in all kinds of positions, some are even holding their guns backwards, they think they are here for a picnic!"
"But it's easy to defeat such an army, but it's hard to annihilate it completely!"
The enemy's weak strength was not good news for Dai Jiliang, because the opponent could collapse at any time, making it difficult to achieve the established tactical goals.
"Tell the brothers below that the muzzles of the militia's guns are not even at your noses, so don't fire. Also order Deng Chaoqun and Sheng Chun to destroy the enemy's machine guns and headquarters as soon as possible."
As they got closer, they could almost see the expressions on the faces of the militiamen on the opposite side. Almost all the Beiyang Army soldiers couldn't help but sweat on their hands.
Suddenly, the sounds of machine guns and artillery fire rang out one after another.
"Fire!"
The officers and sergeants shouted at the top of their lungs, and suddenly bullets rained down, turning the entire battle line into a mess.
“Damn it!”
When the first shell whizzed down, Guo Jian rolled off his horse.
"Disperse, disperse quickly!"
Although Guo Jian shouted at the top of his lungs, the aftereffects of the blind expansion of the army were clearly evident at this moment. The militiamen who had not received rigorous training were like dizzy flies flying around in circles, being driven from one end to the other by artillery fire and then back from the other end, or being knocked to the ground by rapid-fire machine guns. Only a very few of them were smart enough to lie down at the first opportunity, but they were still trampled all over by the terrified crowd.
"Everyone, bayonet!"
The machine gun fired a whole set of ammunition and the artillery shells were fired half a base number. The order was finally issued. Facing these vulnerable enemies, wasting ammunition was tantamount to a crime.
"kill!"
Countless men in blue-gray clothing, holding sharp bayonets, jumped out from their hiding places and rushed towards the already dizzy militia.
"Order the cavalry to mount!"
Because the Second Brigade was located between two large mountains, it originally did not have a cavalry unit. However, after arriving in Baoji, it collected some war horses and formed a cavalry search company. Although it was cavalry, it was just mounted infantry. However, it was no problem to use it to hunt down these defeated ragtag troops.
"Brigade Commander, Ma Kang should march to Xianyang immediately."
Dai Jiliang still had a complete regiment as a reserve, but it seemed that it was no longer needed, so Zhang Zili suggested.
"Most of these militiamen are swordsmen from northern Shaanxi and northern Wei. In a hurry, they can only think of escaping back to their hometowns. Occupying Xianyang will completely cut off their escape routes. Even if someone escapes, it will be impossible for the news to reach Xi'an in a short time. This way, we have enough time."
"Brother Park Chu is really thoughtful."
Dai Jiliang lowered his head and looked on the map, then he confirmed Zhang Zilii's suggestion.
"After this battle, the gates of Xi'an will be wide open. As long as Lao He's security group is still under control, Xi'an will be defenseless against us. I think Chen Shufan will lose more than he gains this time."
"But we still need to prepare for the possibility that the security group loses control."
Zhang Zilii was not as optimistic as Dai Jiliang.
“Even if we can completely wipe out the Fourth Brigade this time, we still have Hu Liseng. This guy came to Yaozhou on a snowy night. He has a great reputation among the swordsmen in Weibei, and he is also the banner of the Kuomintang!”
“That makes sense.”
Dai Jiliang's brows also furrowed.
"It's a pity that it was Guo Jian who came this time. It would have been much better if it was Hu Jingyi. There really is no such thing as perfection in the world."
However, his emotion was only momentary.
"I just don't believe that we would be afraid of a gangster if we can take over the whole of Shaanxi."
"The brigade commander is indeed very courageous."
Zhang Zilii flattered him a little.
"Brother Park Chu, we have been together for so many years. Do you think I, Dai, like to hear this?"
However, Dai Jiliang only did it a little bit, which was both a reminder to others and a reminder to himself.
"Taking Xi'an is just the first step. We still have a long way to go. Are you satisfied with this? I am not satisfied."
"That's right, Brigadier General."
Zhang Zilii restrained his smile, and it was obvious that he was also touched.
"Look, Brother Binnan is here to report. Let's go and meet him. It looks like there will be a lot of profit this time."
Dai Jiliang smiled, stood up with great enthusiasm and went to greet him.