Early in the morning, on the Beijing-Hankou Railway.

A train of heavy-duty troop carriers pulled by steam turbines was driving on the winding and undulating railway tracks, slowly approaching from Xuchang City to Zhengzhou Fucheng.

Under the fish-belly white sky, the temperature dropped sharply, as if it was about to rain. The outline of the milky white steam emitted by the locomotive was particularly clear in the hazy wilderness.

"Clang, clang..." Amidst the friction between the rails and the wheels, the grey-bearded stoker in the locomotive was picking up a shovel and skillfully stepping on the foot valve of the furnace door to add coal to the furnace.

The Panlong flag of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the Beiyang Army military emblem are displayed on the front, rear and left sides of the train.

The stuffy carriage was packed with wounded soldiers, lying in a mess, with broken limbs and legs. The carriage was filled with the strong smell of blood, iodine-added disinfectant, etc., which was disgusting.

The whines, sighs, and complaints in the carriage can make people stop breaking down.

On both sides of the railway line, there were also defeated soldiers, and the line was winding and endless.

Over 50,000 Beiyang officers and soldiers went from an offensive sequence to a rout and disorder overnight.

The Republican Army was so mysterious that it confused the Northern Army and could not find the North.

As the saying goes, "a defeat is like a mountain falling." The morale of the Northern Army is very low now, and it is not as arrogant as it was when it came from Zhili Prefecture more than a month ago.

Now, everyone is thinking about how to save their lives and return home, and the war-weariness in the military is spreading!

Behind the troop transport train hung five or six green leather carriages, which contained the new headquarters of the merger of the Central Route Army and the West Route Army.

Most of the Central Route Army was surrounded and annihilated. Xie Hongxing, the commander of the Central Route Army, died in the battle. The West Route Army was personally commanded by Li Chun. When reinforcements came up, some of the officers and soldiers of the Central Route Army were finally rescued.

The Chinese and Western armies merged to form the new Central Route Army, and the commander was Li Chun himself.

Yu Yang and Han Jing were still hanging out in the telecommunications office of the merged headquarters. Together with the staff in the confidential room, they were arranged in the next car by the guard battalion commander Ou Yangming.

The commander-in-chief of the Republican Army, Chen Tianhua, knew in his heart that through this series of blows, the defeat of the Northern Army had begun, but Duan Gong was definitely determined to defend Zhengzhou Fucheng and confront the Republican Army on the Zhengzhou front line, waiting for the arrival of new reinforcements, and then waiting for an opportunity for a decisive battle.

.

Therefore, he and Ji Chunsheng's staff headquarters started a new battle plan.

The troops are expensive and fast, and he will never let the Beiyang army have any chance to breathe.

…

"Report…"

Li Chun hadn't had a good night's sleep for several days and nights. He was defeated yesterday, but he slept happily for several hours on the train.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I vaguely saw the adjutant shouting from the side.

"What's the matter? Tell me quickly!" His eyes have not yet been fully opened, and are in a half-open and half-closed state.

"Call from the headquarters: Duan Shuaiming..."

"Hey, hey, wait!" Li Chun raised his hand to interrupt the deputy officer.

"A call from the headquarters? A telegram? Didn't it say that both the transmitter and the receiver were broken?"

"Oh! Your Excellency, Commander, some components of the telegraph receiver and transmitter were removed artificially. Yu Zhengwei, the new guy from the Telecommunications Department, and the others repaired it in time and replaced it with a few new components. They have been repaired. It's OK.

Normal use!" the adjutant replied.

"The enemy agents are causing sabotage and playing the piano randomly again. Are they being investigated?" he asked angrily.

"Checking!"

"Hmph... Such a huge headquarters is in chaos. The Director of Telecommunications and the Deputy Director are missing. They are a bunch of losers. Keep reading messages!"

"Yes!" the deputy chief hurriedly unfolded the copy of the telegram: "Duan Shuai ordered all armies, including brigade commanders and above, to attend a military meeting at Zhengzhou Central Railway Station at 10 o'clock this morning!"

"10 a.m.?"

Li Chun took out his pocket watch and took a look, "Hey... it's getting late. The train stopped at the South Station in the suburbs. The sick and wounded were transferred to the field hospital. The headquarters camped outside the area. I immediately called the division and brigade commanders, but they couldn't get through.

Let the communication troops ride quickly and order them to set up camp outside Zhengzhou City and be on standby. The commanders at the brigade level and above should go to the Central Railway Station for a meeting as requested by Duan Shuai, and there must be no mistake!"

"Yes!" The adjutant saluted and exited.

"Guard officer!"

"Here, Commander!" Ding Jiu, the captain of the guard, was standing next to him.

"Where is the train now?"

"We have entered Zhengzhou and are almost at the South Railway Station."

"After arriving at South Station, arrange horses for me immediately. I will ride to the headquarters for a meeting!" Li Chun said in a hoarse but majestic tone.

"As you command!"

…

At night, there is a huge flow of people.

In a row of houses near the Second Highway of Zhengzhou South Railway Station, lanterns are hung and people are moving around. The narrow indoor space is crowded with people, various equipment is piled up, and there is a commotion everywhere.

This row of houses turned out to be a school. Because there was going to be a war, the school evacuated all the students and fled. There was only an old man guarding the gate who was unwilling to leave.

He was helpless, and everywhere in troubled times was full of danger, so he simply refused to leave.

Li Chun's troops of the Northern Army requisitioned the land near the South Station, and the school became the temporary command center and headquarters of the Central Army.

The school is not big, with only seven or eight dilapidated classrooms in total. Important departments such as the war room, electrical, confidential, and staff departments are prioritized. If the buildings are not enough, tents are set up on the open space of the school.

In a large classroom on the west side is the headquarters war room.

Li Chun, the new commander of the Central Route Army, sat behind a simple desk and an old wooden high-backed chair. It is said that this is the only chair in the school and is reserved for the exclusive use of the principal.

At this moment, he couldn't help but touch the cigar box. Among the few cigars, he selected half of them that he couldn't bear to finish smoking. He held them between his fingers, lit them with a match and smoked them all.

From time to time, I would still stroke my beard that had fallen off my face for more than three months.

He was still thinking about the contents of the whole day's meeting and the instructions he gave Duan Shuai when he said goodbye:

We must resolutely hold Zhengzhou and prevent the Republican Army from continuing to advance northward.

The Beiyang Army still has 200,000 troops in Jinyi and Luyu, and weapons and ammunition will arrive in the next few days. We will continue to fight here for a decisive battle with Chen Tianhua.

At the end of the meeting, Mr. Duan specially left Li Chun behind and said sincerely:

"Brother Li Chun, we felt like old friends at the first sight. I admire my brother's character, loyalty and ability very much. In the critical period of life and death, I can only rely on my brother to help me turn things around."

"I remember that you, Wang Zhanyuan, and Wang Yujia were all my right-hand men. Now Wang Yujia is trapped in Xuzhou. Wang Zhanyuan fell seriously ill after his defeat. He has no fighting spirit. It can be said that he is in despair. Now you are the only one who is still fighting alongside me.

, after this incident, I am willing to formally sworn brothers with my brother as brothers of the opposite sex. From now on, we will share wealth and glory. When the weapons and equipment arrive this time, I will give them to you first."

"..."

At this time, there was a knock on the door, "dong dong dong...", which pulled Li Chun back from his memories.

Li Chun cleared his throat, "Come in!"

The deputy officer came in. He walked quickly to the desk. Seeing Li Chun's frown, he said softly:

"Commander, according to the defense plan you signed, we have notified Zheng Junshan's, Zhou Fengming's, and Yang Genghe's troops to arrive at the designated location before dawn to deploy their defenses."

Li Chun raised his eyes and glanced at the adjutant, and hummed listlessly:

"oh…"

The adjutant wanted to say goodbye and exit the room, but couldn't help but turned around and asked:

"Commander, are you...are you okay?"

"Uh...it's okay, you can go ahead." Li Chun waved his hand.
Chapter completed!