Chapter 26 of Part 4

After signing the powered manuscript, Chen Congyun locked himself in the office, sat lazily on the chair, his face full of fatigue.

"Dudu!" A knock on the door sounded, and Chen Congyun shook his head helplessly. At this time, it seemed that it had become impossible to be quiet for a while. Although Chen Congyun had already ordered that military affairs would be handled with Keze.

"Come in!" Chen Congyun returned to the desk and sat upright, picked up a pen, and put on a diligent attitude.

"Chen! Let's drink the coffee I made myself." The one who appeared at the door was Keze holding a plate. At this time, the Chief of Staff had the leisure to come to find him and the coffee. Chen Congyun was somewhat stunned.

The coffee is very fragrant, and it is refreshing when you smell it. Chen Congyun took a sip and savored it.

"Isn't it good? I finally got the authentic Brazilian goods." Keze said as he put down the cup, looked up at Chen Congyun's face and said, "Chen, can you say it? You promised me that when I sent troops, I would ask you as a friend, and you will give me an explanation."

Keze was the only person in the entire army who expressed dissatisfaction with Chen Congyun's use of his power to interfere in the military deployment before the war. Keze was not against sending troops, but against Chen Congyun's way of sending troops.

"Chen, I have read Chinese military books, and there is a saying on it that war never gets tired of deceitfulness. I admire it very much. War has always been done by any means for victory. And when you deploy the combat plan this time, why did you deny my plan to use the forces of two divisions to lurk near the small station in advance and suddenly attack? You must know that it is at least a day to go from Texas to the small station." Keze showed the unique stubbornness of the Germans, although Keze chose to obey when formulating the previous combat plan.

Chen Congyun smiled faintly and said, "Keze, since you asked me as a friend, then I will tell you. This is China, a feudal emperor that has existed for two thousand years. It is hard to imagine what a feudal emperor means in China. It is hard to imagine that the Chinese people have been loyal to the emperor in the long river of feudal history of two thousand years. I started a military campaign as a Qing Dynasty minister and faced the criticism of more than half of the Chinese. Even if they knew that I was doing the right thing, they would not be able to support me on the surface. I can't escape the charge of rioters. If I use sneak attacks, it seems that I have prepared in advance, and the people of the gentry in the world will be more obvious. Do you still remember what I said to everyone when I issued the order to send troops? I will take the blame and I will die."

"China is such a strange place!" Keze still couldn't understand and could only express his regret. Chen Congyun stood up, looked at the time on the wall clock and said, "Okay, the appointment time for the five ministers of Britain, the United States, Germany, France and Russia has come, and I should go and do my job again."

It was not a coincidence that the ministers of the five countries appeared in Shanghai together, but a secret invitation from Chen Congyun since the day Cixi took action.

The reception room was filled with smoke, the Cuban cigar on the mouth of the American minister Tian Bei, the pipe held by the British minister Dou Nale, and the other ministers of the Three Kingdoms were not willing to fall behind to smoke. The secret invitation of the powerful figure Chen Congyun had already made them feel what might have happened in a sensitive period.

Sitting on the sofa in the conference room, the ministers of the five countries had different expressions, and were all making small plans for their own countries.

Americans are busy with the Spanish-American War, staring at the Philippines and Guam. As a rising imperialist country, the rise of Chen Congyun, the largest trading partner of the United States in the Far East, is in line with the interests of the United States in China and in line with the plan to cultivate spokespersons in China formulated by the US Foreign Ministry.

Germany's goal is very clear. Taking advantage of this opportunity to use China to gain the greatest benefits while suppressing Russia's expanding tentacles in China. Compared with the previous goal, Chen Congyun, as the largest buyer of the German arms industry, the latter one seems more urgent under the current situation. German Minister Hai Jing even based on the good relationship between Chen Congyun and Germany in recent years, the subjective conjecture that the country will support Chen Congyun to fight against Russia in order to curb Russia's development, and then drag Russia in the Russian and French alliance.

The French minister's mood was the most complicated. Chen Congyun was the winner of the war against France, and took advantage of this opportunity to rise to become China's most powerful warlord in just over a decade. The main pressure of France is from Germany, so in order to destroy the siege of the four alliances of Germany, Austria, Russia and Italy, the parliament would formulate a plan to spend a lot of money to help Russian industry improve. The problem facing us is contradictory. The Russians' ambitions for Chinese land are endless, which is likely to anger Chen Congyun, a tough warlord. Once Chen Congyun can quickly stabilize the situation in the country, it is very likely that Russia will send troops to Northeast China, and Chen Congyun will launch a war against Russia at all costs. Once Russia cannot subdue Chen Congyun in a short period of time and fall into the quagmire of Taoist war against China, this is obviously not in line with France's interests in Europe.

British Minister Dou Nale was thinking at the moment that once Chen Congyun succeeded in the coup, how to protect and expand Britain's interests in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and expand Britain's interests in Myanmar and Tibet.

The Russian minister was full of confidence and always rebellious. Chen Congyun was likely to surrender under the joint pressure of the five ministers and seize the opportunity of Northeast China. However, when the Russian ministers and the ministers of Germany, France and Britain were in contact with each other, in addition to France expressing their clear support, the German ministers were very vague.

When Chen Congyun stepped in, the ministers of the five countries stood up at the same time. The American minister Tian Bei took the initiative to move forward and shook hands with Chen Congyun and said, "Governor General, on behalf of the US government, I am uneasy about the current turbulent situation in China, and on behalf of my personal support for your behavior!"

"Thank you! Thank you for your friendship in the American people!" Chen Congyun said politely. The German Minister also came up unexpectedly at this time and held Chen Congyun's hand and said: "Governor General, I have urgently reported what happened in China. I believe there will be a response in the short term. I only express on behalf of me that I will urge the delivery work of ordering two new cruisers in China as soon as possible. I hope that the friendly cooperation between you and Germany can be maintained in a long and stable manner for a long time."

"Mr. Minister, I am very moved by your sincerity!"

The two ministers of the United States and Germany couldn't wait to jump out because they had a interest relationship with Shen Congyun. The ministers of the United Kingdom, France and Russia had never expected such a scene to happen. They were caught off guard by the impact.

After a series of diplomatic remarks, Chen Congyun did not offer international support as expected by the Russian minister. Instead, he sat down and said: "My ministers, I urgently made an appointment with you because I realized that His Majesty's reform actions would receive crazy persecution from conservatives. I met you so that I would like to remind you that this is China's internal affairs and hope that all countries will not interfere. I can guarantee that the vested interests of all countries in China will not be damaged in any way. If anyone here wants to support Empress Dowager Cixi, he will become a public enemy of the Chinese people."

Chen Congyun's tough opening remarks were mainly directed at Russia, so the ministers of other countries except Russia seemed relatively calm. The Russian minister was willing to do something, but seeing that the French ministers of allies did not do anything, they also knew to hold back. After all, the United States and Germany had already shown their support for Chen Congyun. Moreover, there are many topics, and it is more appropriate to talk about them in private, let alone whether Chen Congyun can succeed at the moment, or another matter.

When a secret appointment becomes a secret meeting, the next thing is naturally to wait and see. According to the changes on the battlefield, don’t be polite if you need to use a knife.

Beijing! The incident of Chen Congyun sending troops to the whole country to help the king is undoubtedly like an atomic bomb.

The Nanyang New Army, known as the invincible foreign war, actually jumped out to "respond to the king" at this time. Anyone with a discerning eye could see through it at a glance. Chen Congyun had only planned it, otherwise why did he stand up at the beginning of the reform and fully support Emperor Guangxu?

The Forbidden City was in chaos, and Cixi urgently summoned Ronglu, Yuan Shikai, and all the ministers of the Ministry of War and Military Affairs Office in Beijing. Now the only ones that can be counted on are the Beiyang armies under Ronglu.

"Let's talk about it! What should I do?" Cixi's face was furious, her blue face, and her former tyranny, looked increasingly ferocious at this time.

"Empress Dowager, I immediately led a town of elite troops to the south and defend the Tianjin line of Xiaozhan! But I think that the new army of Nanyang Army is a tiger and wolf army, and it is difficult to resist the new army of Xiaozhan. In addition, the military pay after the war was launched, the Ministry of Revenue was also asked to pay a sufficient amount of funds quickly. In addition, our Beiyang Navy immediately started anchoring out of the port, blocking the Bohai Bay, and preventing Shen Congyun from landing on the side of the capital!" As Cixi's vanguard, Ronglu naturally stood up first.

"Yuan Shikai, tell me, you trained the new army. Do you think you can defeat Chen Congyun's troops in one battle?"

"Empress Dowager, I think that the Beiyang New Army is not enough to defeat the enemy and have enough to protect themselves. If you can retreat to Tianjin, with the Wuyi army and the Gansu army cooperate, it will be no problem to defend the first half of the year." Yuan Shikai answered, while holding his eyes to pay attention to the expressions of Cixi and the ministers present.

At this time, everyone here looked like a broken dog, and looked like a disaster was coming.

"The Empress Dowager, I think that the most important thing now should be announced to the world. Chen Congyun's crime of a traitor, and let the governors of the world rise up and fight him!" Li Hongzao was so angry that his beard trembled, and he knelt on the ground with a heartbroken expression.

Cixi sneered and turned her eyes to Li Hongzhang's face, who had been silent, and asked gloomyly: "Li Hongzhang, what do you mean?"

"The Empress Dowager, Chen Congyun's rebellion must have been bewitched by the Reformers. The empress dowager asked Chen Congyun to withdraw his troops. If he did not follow, he would have sweared to be incompatible with him." At this moment, Li Hongzhang was nervous. He understood who Cixi was.

"Hmph!" Cixi hummed and said, "Ronglu, Yuan Shikai, go south immediately. Since the small station cannot be defended, retreat to Tianjin and must block the rebels on the front line of Tianjin. Li Hongzhang immediately went to see ministers from various countries and sought interference from the great powers. Remember, I would rather be with outsiders than with family slaves."

Cixi said, with a sharp murderous aura on her face, "Every ministries should also move as soon as possible. The Ministry of Rites quickly drafted a telegram to inform the whole country, so that the governors of all provinces, especially Fujian and Zhejiang, and Huguang must send troops to Liangjiang as soon as possible. The Ministry of Revenue immediately negotiated the loan with banks of various countries, and agreed to the matter of banking within three days at any cost."

Small station!

Wang Shizhen, who was later known as the leader of the "Three Masters of Beiyang", was also a fierce general who fought with the Japanese in the Battle of Pyongyang.

After learning that Chen Congyun's new army set out from Dezhou, Shandong and advanced to the small station in two directions, Wang Shizhen immediately invited Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang who were ordered to stay.

In the Beijing coup, Yuan Shikai led an elite town into Beijing. The troops left behind were as strong as two newly formed towns. The new Nanyang army rushed towards him had the same force, but as the defense side, Wang Shizhen's judgment was undoubtedly that he had the advantage of the territory. As for the time and harmony, he could not control it.

Wang Shizhen's enemy in front of him was the fierce general Liu Yongfu, a general who had fought fiercely with the French for many years, led his army to the forefront as the admiral of Shandong.

"Everyone, there is not much time left. Liu Yongfu's army is coming soon. We must come up with a combat plan as soon as possible." Wang Shizhen looked grim. This battle does not require it before. The opponent defeated the French and Japanese New Army in the South China Sea. It is no better than the new army that has never seen blood in Xiaozhan.

"I only say two points. First, retreat to Tianjin City, back to Tianjin City Wall to conduct a defensive battle, waiting for Lord Yuan to lead his army to reinforce. Second, build a position on the spot, spread the existing troops in a fan shape, and the new army in the South China Sea fought a decisive battle." Feng Guozhang was a scholar and was once under Nie Shicheng. However, he was not very proud when he was under Nie Shicheng. He did not pay attention to his opinions many times. When he arrived at Yuan Shikai, he quickly rushed up. Therefore, he was still very grateful to Yuan Shikai's kindness for his understanding. Feng Guozhang, who had also seen blood in the battle with the Japanese, responded quickly and put forward two opinions.

"I think it is best to retreat to Tianjin and cooperate with the Wuyi Army to coordinate the garrison! Although the two sides are at the moment, please pay attention to the Nanyang New Army. Each town (division) is equipped with a heavy artillery regiment, and every three towns is equipped with a heavy artillery, while our entire army is equipped with a first artillery! The number of artillery artillery in the Nanyang New Army is far above our army, especially the secret weapon mortars equipped by the Nanyang New Army. So far, only the German Army has purchased patents and equipped them in large quantities. I think that we are obviously at a disadvantage in fighting the Nanyang New Army in a flat area of ​​Xiaozhan. "Duan Qirui, who was born in an artillery, was naturally considering the comparison of artillery fire between the two sides.

While the three were discussing, the Beijing telegram came.

"Retreat to Tianjin!"

Although Tianjin was only ten kilometers away from Xiaozhan, the imperial court and Feng Guozhang both underestimated the advancement speed of the Nanyang New Army. Before the war, considering that the Xiaozhan New Army might retreat to Tianjin, the General Staff had formulated targeted tactics, that is, to form a new cavalry brigade of the First and Second Armies to form a new cavalry division as the guide, advance quickly, and strive to delay the Xiaozhan Beiyang New Army.

Zhang Guangming, one of the student soldiers under Chen Congyun's command, joined at the same time as AfterZheng and others. Compared with AfterZheng, Zhao Xinglong, Wang Chao and others, Zhang Guangming has never been very revealing. He started from the initial platoon leader and slowly went up to the company commander, battalion commander, and regiment commander. Until two years ago, when the new army was preparing to build a cavalry brigade, AfterZhen Xiang Chen Congyun recommended Zhang Guangming as the brigade commander of the cavalry brigade of the First Army, and since then, he solemnly entered Chen Congyun's sight.

This time, Zhang Guangming was entrusted with an important task to delay the enemy's army suddenly.

Zhang Guangming looks steady on the surface, but in fact, he likes to take risks when using troops and uses troops. This is why he has not been valued before. Because Chen Congyun's idea of ​​building an army is known for his heavy and steady attitude. In terms of military use, he advocates that when large corps are fighting, the use of troops is mainly based on the right and the risk is auxiliary.

This time, Zhang Guangming was able to become the commander of the Cavalry Division because aftershock and Keze took a fancy to him when he was practicing troops. He advocated that the cavalry should do its best to play its fast and maneuverable combat style to achieve the combat effect of unexpected enemy troops.

It was already noon, and Zhang Guangming stopped by the roadside and kept urging his subordinates to advance quickly. In response to this battle, Zhang Guangming once wrote a letter to Chen Congyun, proposing to use cavalry as the main force to attack, and quietly move to the small station to hide near the station under the cover of the night, and then suddenly attacked.

This plan was appreciated by Ke Ze, but it was denied by Chen Congyun. Now Zhang Guangming could only arrive at Xiaozhan as soon as possible according to the General Staff's combat plan, harassing and restraining the enemy's retreat from Xiaozhan.

However, if you fight according to the combat plan with peace of mind, Zhang Guangming would not be Zhang Guangming. Jun Ming would not accept it if he was away. Zhang Guangming thought more.

Using a squad to drag the enemy down is a scheduled combat plan, and Zhang Guangming considered how to use the cavalry of a division to eat the vital power of the small station enemy as much as possible.
Chapter completed!