The issue of equipment gap was like a thorn in Feng Guozhang's heart. From the Battle of Wuhan to the Battle of the Beijing-Hankou Line, Feng Guozhang always had a hidden view in his heart: the Beiyang Army's defeat was mainly caused by the excessive equipment gap.

It should be said that this point of view is correct, but it is no longer applicable. The hastily expanded National Defense Force has undergone earth-shaking changes after reorganization. The non-commissioned officers and officers who were originally seriously lacking were given a crash course in Wuhu and Wuhan for half a year.

The veterans who have studied have effectively solved the gap of non-commissioned officers. Not to mention the training of soldiers. In the past six months, with the help of the German army, the regularization of the Wehrmacht has basically taken shape.

Zhang Xun got the news first that Feng Guozhang got. Through a businessman who served the Braid Army, Zhang Xun got the news that the National Defense Force whose numbers had been found were three divisions, marching along the road to Xuzhou under banners.

The territory of Xuzhou was gained and lost. It was hard-won. Guarding Jinpu Road was a good way to make a fortune. Zhang Xun took this place very seriously. After getting the news, he immediately went to find Feng Guozhang. After meeting and informing him of the news, Feng Guozhang was also frightened.

Jump. The division size of the National Defense Force is said to be a little larger than that of the Beiyang Army. Even if it is 13,000, three divisions would be nearly 40,000.

"Shaoxuan, is the news reliable?" Feng Guozhang confirmed. According to the past combat patterns of the National Defense Forces, three divisions of troops appeared on the front, and at least one division's reserve force.

Xuzhou is located in the plains and there is no danger to defend. Feng Guozhang does not have the confidence to fight head-on with the National Defense Forces with the existing troops. Currently, among these forces, only Cao Kun's 3rd Division and Chen Guangyuan's 5th Division can fight head-on. Feng Guozhang's other troops

I really have no confidence.

Zhang Xun had a worried look on his face. Xuzhou was a place he was reluctant to defend. He would definitely not be able to defend it alone. He could only count on Feng Guozhang, so he spoke very politely: "Hua Shuai, you can't be wrong. This news

It was one of my soldiers who found out about it.

Yes, his family is from Suxian County. He opened a tavern. After the green soldiers passed by, they often went there to drink. Those officers who went to drink were drunk. If they were drunk, three of them would be able to push Xuzhou.

Go to Jinan and hit Beijing to celebrate the New Year."

Feng Guozhang naturally took the idea of ​​three divisions fighting in Beijing to celebrate the New Year as a joke. However, this also reflected the arrogance and arrogance of the National Defense Forces from the side. The Art of War says: An arrogant army will be defeated. Feng Guozhang had an idea in his mind and immediately gave orders.

: "Meeting!"

The conference room quickly gathered together. Zhang Xun, Jiang Guiti, Chen Guangyuan, Wu Xiang frame, Chen Huan, and the chief officers leading the troops all arrived.

The Beiyang Army did not have the habit of having its staff make plans in advance, and the same goes for deductions. A group of big guys met to discuss how to fight. Feng Guozhang was the first to speak: "Everyone, the traitor Fang Jianxiong's troops are heading north with at least four divisions.

, this shows that Fang Ni used his troops equally on the east and west fronts. It seems to be a taboo for military strategists, but in fact, this is Fang Ni's attack on his own troops.

We are very confident. We cannot lose this battle right now. We cannot retreat, otherwise Beiyang will be doomed and everyone will have to go home to retire. I won’t go into details about the powerful relationship here. Feng has already telegraphed the President of Beijing,

Inform Fang about the formation of troops. Our army has strong troops in Henan. We can take the offensive. Xuzhou will focus on defense and wait for opportunities to counterattack."

Feng Guozhang's battle plan seems to have been approved by Yuan Shikai. It is impossible to object to it, so Zhang Xun has been rolling his eyes. The foundation of his foundation is the army. There is no way he would not throw in all the 20,000 people.

of.

"Shaoxuan, please leave it to the front in Xuzhou." Feng Guozhang's first mission was to find Zhang Xun. There were more than 20,000 people in this group, and he also had two artillery battalions. It was supposed to be his duty to defend the front, and Xuzhou was his territory.

But is this front so easy to defend? Zhang Xun rolled his eyes a few times, coughed and said: "Since Hua Shuai likes Zhang, Zhang will take the job. However, our army has been established day by day, Hua Shuai still has

I need some help."

Zhang Xun was still very capable of fighting in history. It was he who captured the city of Nanjing in the Second Revolution. Of course, Zhang Xun was different now, and his opponents were also different. During the Second Revolution, the navy was in the hands of Beiyang.

, the attack on Nanjing was supported by naval artillery. On this occasion, Zhang Xun faced the National Defense Forces, so it would definitely be impossible without some help.

Feng Guozhang knew what he meant and expected Zhang Xun to guard the front, so he could only nod his head and said: "Shuai Jiang, brother Shaoxuan, please help me with the front. In addition, I will allocate a battalion of the heavy artillery regiment in my hand to help you."

Feng Guozhang brought a heavy artillery regiment, equipped with Japanese 105 field guns. There were only two regiments in the entire Beiyang, and they were the same as his darlings. It was quite interesting to bring out a battalion now. Zhang Xun had to take this job.

Originally, Xuzhou was planning to raise troops for him. Since it was Jiang Guiti and he was from the heavy artillery battalion, it seemed that it would be impossible not to agree.

"Okay, Zhang has done it." After careful consideration, we have 20,000 people. If we don't fight in the field, we can hold it for a while.

The frontal defense task was solved, and the defense on both sides was much easier to handle. Feng Guozhang handed it over to Wu Xiangjie and Chen Huan, who could only hold their noses and admit it. Thirdly, the five or two divisions are the elite of Beiyang, and they must be

You have to stay behind to get there. They don't need to understand this truth.

The mentality of Wu Xiangjie and Chen Huan are different. The former is a warlord. His mixed brigade was expanded into a division. This was the result of Yuan Shikai's care. Therefore, it depends on how the battle is fought. If it is fought, it will be all with his own capital.

Chen Huan was ambitious and wanted to make great achievements. When the two stood up to answer, Wu Xiang frame was obviously not that loud, but Chen Huan answered loudly: "Yes!"

Feng Guozhang's arrangement, according to him, was to first use defense to weaken the enemy, and then use elite counterattacks.

Li Yifeng, who was assigned to the right wing, was actually quite unconvinced. "Why should Huyan Aobo be allowed to play in the middle? The heavy artillery regiment should be strengthened. My seventh division is only better than his sixth division." Li Yifeng returned.

His headquarters made complaints about Yang Zui. Yang Zui is now the guard battalion commander, commanding the most powerful battalion in the division. His 800 veterans are all selected from various units. In this way, Yang Zui is also

Awesome.

"Commander, why don't we take action first and not wait for the middle road." Yang Zui is also looking forward to fighting. Only in fighting can he have the opportunity to make meritorious deeds. So he is very enthusiastic in instigating Li Yifeng. He is quite good at it. He will complain and the battle plan cannot be changed randomly.

of.

"Do you think I don't want to? If the commander finds out, he can shoot me? General Staff Zhang is commanding this battle. If the commander is here, he can still make a fuss and fight for it. Now I have to obey his orders.

."

When Huyan Aobo returned to his station in Suxian County, he was so excited that all the hairs on his body stood up. He called his subordinates for a meeting. He was as excited as if he had been given chicken blood. He danced his hands wildly and said: "Brothers, the opportunity to get promoted and make a fortune has come. The last time Li Yifeng

The boy picked up the wallet, fought a defensive battle on the other side of the Ru River and made meritorious service. The commander rewarded him with a thousand oceans. A thousand oceans, which is enough to marry ten female students from the new school."

Hu Yan, who was full of gangsterism, used the same tone when he was mobilizing before the war in the Guangde Mountains.

In contrast, Lin Huaichuan on the left had a much more normal preparation before the war. However, he was also excited enough that he finally had a chance to show off. So at the mobilization meeting before the war, Lin Huaichuan faced a group of subordinates.

He said harsh words.

"Everyone, Lin is highly regarded by the commander and is able to take charge of a Class A division. This is my honor. This time I fight in Xuzhou, everyone should give me credit. If you move forward bravely, I recommend it to the commander, and I guarantee a lot of benefits.

.For those who are timid and afraid of death and dare to retreat, don’t blame Mr. Lin for being evil. From today on, the guard battalion will serve as a law enforcement team. Anyone who retreats without receiving an order to retreat will be subject to battlefield military law. Including myself, there is no order.

When retreating, military law will be enforced."

In the early winter, the land of Jiangbei was desolate, with dead grass and withered leaves. Outside Xuzhou City, Zhang Xun was setting up his defensive position. As a veteran of war, he naturally knew that it would be difficult to defend the city if he did not defend the outside of the city.

This time Zhang Xun also spent money, pulling out twenty battalions of troops at one go and building fortifications outside the city overnight. The greenskin's firepower was very fierce, and it was difficult to withstand the baptism of artillery fire without strong fortifications. The city of Nanjing

Zhang Xun did not forget the lesson he learned. So he spent the whole night outside the city, holding a torch, visiting the front lines to boost morale and urge his subordinates to build trenches as soon as possible.

After suffering a loss and learning a lesson, Zhang Xun now invested a lot of money for this army. In addition to the Japanese-made 75 field guns, he also purchased 12 Keisi machine guns and built a machine gun battalion. This is not outside the city.

Two lines of defense were deployed, and half of the machine guns were placed in positions outside the city.

The twelve guns seemed to be a bit missing. You should know that it is rare for warlords to be equipped with heavy machine guns these days. Zhang Xun suffered a big loss, so he was willing to bleed.

The setting sun was like blood. The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance. He looked through the binoculars and found that the cavalry he had sent out came back. Zhang Xun felt nervous because a gun was coming from the far end.

Sound. In the telescope, he saw a braided soldier dismounting from his horse. Zhang Xun felt nervous and secretly thought that he had suffered a loss.

The cavalry company of the Sixth Division's guard battalion that took the lead in the exchange of fire shared the same battalion head with the cavalry sent out by Zhang Xun. Each division of the National Defense Force has a guard battalion and a cavalry company. The equipment is all Sten submachine guns, and they are also equipped with

Two 60mm mortars, the two armies encountered each other twenty miles outside Xuzhou City. It was Zhang Xun's soldiers who discovered their opponent first, and it was also the Braided Army who fired first. As a result, when they came into contact, there was actually a cannon on the opposite side. Absolutely superior firepower.

In front of them, the braided army suffered a heavy loss. More than 300 people fought against more than 100 people. They fought for half an hour and lost more than 30 people. They quickly retreated.
Chapter completed!