Volume 2: Famous all over the world Chapter 10: The Birth of the Guerrilla Warfare Progenitor
"A great victory in Xiangyang, the entire territory is recovered."
The shouting of the newsboys finally dispelled some of the depressing atmosphere, but the Beiyang troops that were still gathering outside Wusheng Pass still made people breathless. At this moment, many people were waiting, waiting for a hearty autumn rain to come to Hubei.
Yang Qiu at Wusheng Pass was most aware of his situation. If possible, he did not want to fight to the death with Beiyang, but now he had no choice. Hanyang was his foundation, and it would take half a year to move such a large factory with the transportation level of that era. Moreover, if he did not use the geographical advantage to consume Beiyang, it would be even more difficult to fight after the pass was broken.
"commander!"
After inspecting the three checkpoints and returning to the command post, a voice that seemed to have not been heard for a long time finally made Yang Qiu feel relieved. Turning his head, he saw Yue Peng coming behind him with several officers, striding towards him with a smile and confidence.
His arrival filled Wusheng Pass with laughter for the first time. They were all young officers who had known each other before, so even Wu Zhaolin and his officers gathered together and joked with each other in this narrow shelter.
"This is the news that Shen Shukai got through Beijing Heshengyuan." After saying a few words, Yue Peng took out the telegram with a solemn look: "Zaifeng and Empress Dowager Longyu agreed to Yuan Shikai's six major demands last night, and sent an edict this morning to recall Yinchang and appoint Yuan Shikai as the imperial commissioner to lead the national troops to suppress bandits. It also specifically noted that the Ministry of Army, the Military Advisory Bureau, and the Ministry of Navy were not allowed to make decisions. In addition, they agreed to Yuan Shikai's suggestion to appoint Feng Guozhang as the commander of the First Army and Duan Qirui as the commander of the Second Army, and at the same time began to accelerate the establishment of 25 patrol camps in Hubei, striving to enter Hubei from Wusheng Pass as soon as possible.'"
The sudden news made the laughter freeze in an instant. After a few days of preliminary confrontations, everyone understood what kind of army the Beiyang was, especially in the first two days of hard fighting, they showed their strength that was superior to the Southern Army. Although they seemed to have been a little passive and lazy recently, if Yuan Shikai came out, then... I'm afraid they would have to accept the most tragic battle again.
"What are you afraid of? If an enemy comes, we will fight him. If a flood comes, we will block it with earth. If you risk your life, you will always be able to get a few pieces of meat."
Lei Meng's words aroused the agreement of the grassroots officers. Some of them were so excited that they even began to discuss taking the initiative. Only He Xi and others kept their mouths shut and looked at Yang Qiu quietly, as if waiting for him to make a decision. Wu Zhaolin, who was standing next to him, suddenly found that his officers also cast their eyes on his silhouette, which meant that this person had actually won their recognition and they unknowingly regarded him as their backbone.
Wu Zhaolin wanted to laugh. Since the first day Yang Qiu arrived and took the initiative to intercept the logistics of the two armies, and personally commanded the defense battle to resolve dangerous situations many times, he had actually expected this day to come. He just didn't expect it to happen so soon. Now he, the assistant commander, might not be as good as the other person's regiment commander, so after moving his lips twice, he finally took a deep breath and cast his gaze over.
Dai Tianchou had long regarded Yang Qiu as his idol. He kept his eyes on him, pointed his camera at him, and even stopped his pen and paper to record his words.
Yang Qiu didn't know that everyone's eyes were suddenly on him. He looked at the map quietly, feeling annoyed. Although Yuan Shikai hadn't gotten the position of Prime Minister that he wanted the most, and there would be a few days of forcing Zaifeng to go back and forth, the comeback of the northern hero was just around the corner. Once he became Prime Minister, the strength of the Beiyang would be greatly enhanced! Perhaps Feng Guozhang on the other side was already considering taking Wusheng Pass as a gift to him.
Although Zhang Wenjing had contacted the navy with Tang Hualong as planned, the chances of success were still 50-50. In fact, even without the navy, he still had a good chance of winning this battle. But the problem was that Sun Wu behind him made him feel more and more uneasy. Zhang Wenjing and Xiao Anguo had repeatedly written to him saying that they should just take action, but they were temporarily suppressed by him. Yuan Shikai was about to return, and Huang Xing would be here soon. Solving the rear became an urgent issue, so... some people must not be kept!
This was the first time he had the intention to kill a well-known politician. Once this thought arose, it was like a vine that could not be stopped. After taking a deep breath to suppress this thought temporarily, he turned his head and asked, "Wei San, when will the reinforcements from Xiaogan arrive?"
Wu Zhaolin turned a deaf ear to Yang Qiu's commanding tone and replied, "We have already sent two groups of people, but Zhang Jingliang rejected them both for lack of preparation. When asked when exactly they would provide support, he refused to say. He Xifan did promise to send a battalion from Xiaochang, and they should arrive in the afternoon."
"Damn, I knew he was unreliable! It's all because of that Sun Wu. He was sent to command us. They are obviously in the same gang!" Shi Xiaolou had already learned about being forced to resign, and his angry words attracted the approval of many young officers. However, Yang Qiu seemed not to hear the accusations and noise, and looked at Yue Peng and asked, "What about you?"
"Five fully staffed battalions, and four new battalions sent by Hanyang for support, but they..."
He Xi understood what Yue Peng meant and said, "Although the soldiers are available, they may not be as good as the new recruits when it comes to fighting. In my opinion, it is better to transfer veterans from us to lead them. After all, we have been fighting with the Beiyang for so long, and everyone knows the situation."
Yang Qiu nodded, but this still involved the issue of the First Brigade, so he immediately looked at Wu Zhaolin. The latter, who had already made his choice, immediately said: "Don't worry, Commander. Wei San is a Hubei native after all! We don't want to see anyone suffer here!" As soon as he finished speaking, almost all the remaining officers of the First Brigade expressed their acceptance of the reorganization, and were willing to join as long as they could win the battle.
"My brothers, since you think highly of Yang Qiu, I will make a bold decision." Yang Qiu took a deep breath, discarded all the complicated things, pointed at the map and said, "After a few days of fighting, Beiyang has thoroughly understood our defense at Sanguan. Now we only have one heavy machine gun left, and several light machine guns are gone. If Beiyang launches another assisted-level attack, we will definitely lose. So I decided to temporarily give up this place and retreat to Dahongshan."
No one expected Yang Qiu to retreat, and many people were still a little dissatisfied, but the following words slowly refocused their attention. Dai Tianchou frantically recorded every move and every word of Yang Qiu, and listened to him continue: "I know everyone is very dissatisfied, and I am dissatisfied too! Your comrades died here, and my soldiers also died here! But if you still can't save them in the end, and they sacrificed their lives in vain, how can you avenge them? How can you overthrow the Manchu Tartars? How can you become a real national defense army to protect this country?"
"To live requires greater courage than to sacrifice!" Yang Qiu pointed at Wusheng Pass and raised his voice, "Yue Peng already has nine battalions in Dahongshan, and there are two regiments and many brothers in Xiaogan. Now the railway has been bombed. Even if we break through the pass, the Beiyang will not be able to continue to move south in the short term. Our mission has actually been completed. What's left is to keep attacking the enemy and not let them live in peace! There are gunshots when we sleep at night and when we march during the day. Even when we eat or go to the toilet, we dare not relax!"
"Yes! With Dahong Mountain as a distraction, I can hide in the ravine. The Beiyang troops are unfamiliar with the place and are no match for us. I can kill one a day and make enough money in ten days!" Ke Shao said while gritting his teeth. His vulgar words caused everyone to laugh.
Yue Peng walked to the map and pointed at Tianmen, Jingshan and other cities in the Dahongshan area, and said, "Dahongshan is located on the left side of the Beijing-Hankou Line, and is a natural attack position. The Beiyang artillery is powerful, but everyone knows how heavy the artillery is. They can't just run around all day. So I think we should merge, and after the Beiyang enters the pass, we will use Dahongshan as a backing, take advantage of our familiarity with the geography and the fact that many of our soldiers are locals to avoid a decisive battle, and focus on attacking and harassing the Beiyang logistics and those small flank troops, and make them the first target. Without bullets and shells from the north, let's see how they can continue to fight!"
Yue Peng's speech completely opened up everyone's thinking. Even Wu Zhaolin expressed his opinion. Yang Qiu felt that this was not the era of World War I, but rather the guerrilla warfare of later times. Was he inadvertently the ancestor? However, this was exactly what he was happy to see. The traditional large-scale combat brought by Germany and Europe was no longer suitable for the domestic situation. It was just that he had no time to provide tactical guidance before. Now it was better for Yue Peng to take the lead, and it also showed that he was indeed a real talent.
"Brother Wei San, you are a senior officer, you can lead us!" He Xi smiled and looked at Wu Zhaolin, who smiled more after untying his knot. He waved his hand and said, "I can't command such a large and scattered battle. If the commander can't command it himself, Zi'an should come. He is a real German military student, much better than us half-hearted ones."
Yang Qiu glanced around and saw that everyone still approved of Yue Peng, so he suddenly shouted: "Order!" With a swish, these two words that were almost engraved into their bones during the training immediately made the officers of the right wing army stand at attention with their legs together, and Wu Zhaolin and others followed suit and straightened their chests.
"So, as the commander-in-chief of the National Defense Right Route Army and the highest commander here, I order the former First Brigade of the Left Route, the Fourth Battalion, the Fifth Battalion, the two detachments and the nine battalions led by Yue Peng to be merged into the First Division of the National Defense Army! Yue Peng is the division commander, and Wu Zhaolin is the deputy division commander and chief of staff. The First Division is temporarily divided into two brigades, with six regiments and eighteen battalions under its jurisdiction . Shi Xiaolou is the commander of the First Brigade." After Yang Qiu finished speaking, he turned his gaze behind Wu Zhaolin. Since Song Xiquan of the First Battalion was injured and returned to Hankou, he looked at Liang Bangfu, the commander of the Second Battalion. He was a sturdy man in his thirties. He was previously the commander of the Second Battalion of the 30th Battalion of the 15th Brigade of the Eighth Regiment. Judging from this period of time, he is worthy of appointment, so he said, "Liang Bangfu is the commander of the Second Brigade."
"Commander, when will we retreat?"
"Tomorrow morning... I have a big gift for Feng Huafu." Yang Qiu smiled and turned to look at Lei Meng, who immediately nodded and told the guards to run to the back of the pass. After the regiment and battalion commanders had made arrangements and unified their thoughts and the next tactics, Lei Meng returned with hundreds of masters carrying black iron balls.
"Commander, this is..."
"Explosives! One ton of explosives that is no worse than Japan's Shimose gunpowder! Since we are leaving, let's leave a deep impression on Beiyang." Yang Qiu picked up a crudely made bomb from Hanyang. It was filled with yellow explosives sent from Germany. Three hundred bombs weighed a full ton. He didn't dare to say that he could blow up the entire Wusheng Pass, but at least he could completely paralyze it. Without four or five days of cleaning up, Beiyang would not be able to move south.
Four or five days... should be enough for me to solve the problems at the rear, right?
Ji Fucheng, who was born in the engineering corps, took over the task of installing explosives. Fearing that the Beiyang artillery fire would detonate the explosives, these explosives were buried deep in craters of varying sizes and covered with small stones. In this way, once they exploded, they would create a terrible debris flow and kill all targets within a few dozen square meters.
While everyone was busy, Yue Peng walked up to Yang Qiu and asked, "Commander, what about Sun Wu?"
"I have already written a letter to Zhang Wenjing. There are some things I don't want to wait for anymore."
Yue Peng breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Yang Qiu would continue to endure it. To be honest, after this period of contact, he and Zhang Wenjing knew that this young commander was capable and talented, but he did not have the most important reputation and connections! They alone could not support much of the sky. If they had not come to Wusheng Pass to guard it and live with the soldiers, if Sun Wu had not sent Zhang Jingliang to the front line to command the troops, and the latter deliberately did not support Wusheng Pass to make the soldiers resentful, just the matter of incorporating the first association today would probably end in a bad mood.
His rise was too short. Even Sun Wu, a party member with no experience in the army, had better connections and reputation than him because he had the party as a backing. It seemed that he was forced to resign, but he deliberately took a step back to Wushengguan to gain fame and connections! As long as he can win one or two more battles, people like Sun Wu... should step aside. Now that he has made up his mind, he relaxed and complained with a smile: "Commander, you really gave Zi'an face. You took away all three old battalions and gave me a bunch of rookies and unstable veterans. You didn't give me a division. You wanted me to be an instructor and train a division, right?"
Yang Qiu smiled slightly: "I am not sure I can control He Xifan yet, I need to wait for an opportunity, so I have to build the Second Division with three battalions from the First Regiment and two battalions from the Second Regiment, so I can't help you here, you can only wish you the best."
"Who made me so miserable?" Yue Peng smiled and turned to look to the north: "Commander, do you think the first Beiyang officers to lead the charge tomorrow will be Li Chun and Wang Zhanyuan? If they are killed on the spot, it will be a lot of fun."
"Dream on!" Yang Qiu looked at the sky full of stars and ordered a gradual retreat.
