The next day, Dong Shuheng received the news, and now he felt a lot more relieved. He handed the secret document to Liu Qingnan next to him: "Brother Nan, what do you think?"
"Huh, they're just a bunch of chickens and dogs. I don't think there's any need to send field troops there. A garrison regiment is enough to eat them up." Liu Qingnan said disdainfully.
"Let's just be on the safe side. Let the 202nd Regiment go to Haizhou not to move forward, but rush to Gutaiji, east of Xuzhou, and wait in hiding on the east side of the canal. The 201st Regiment will take a navy warship to advance along the canal with great fanfare.
Otherwise, I'm worried that these old haters won't be able to find us, hahaha." This time Dong Shuheng planned to go there in person. Xuzhou is more important in his plan. It is the gateway to the Jiangbei region. It is also the future heavy industry base, he thought.
Go and see for yourself.
Moreover, the battle of Yangzhou is still being prepared, and various materials need time to be stored. Anyway, the time agreed between him and Qishan is still more than half a month.
Hua Er and other instructors have begun to train the officers of the second phase of the martial arts hall. Most of these officers are selected from the entire army, and a few are outstanding young people recommended by major families. Dong Shuheng hired some more officers through Hua Er to make a living in Shanghai.
Foreigners who have received formal military education. Moreover, through the first period of practice, the training materials for officers have been basically finalized. Therefore, now the military academy does not need Dong Shuheng to keep an eye on him every day.
The company is basically on the right track. Now, the most idle person in the entire Huaihai Group is Dong Shuheng. He estimates that he will be back in Xuzhou in about a week and will not affect the progress in Yangzhou.
The 201st Regiment to Xuzhou was already on the way. The Navy sent the Huai'an with five old-fashioned warships to transport the 201st Regiment. On the Huai'an, Cai Shusen, the leader of the 201st Regiment, stood on the bow of the ship, high-spirited and enjoying the scenery on both sides of the canal.
In his eyes, some people said that he was a close associate of the president, and he had saved the president, so he became a regiment leader. This made him very unconvinced. Although he suddenly became the regiment leader from the company commander, he felt that he was capable of leading the regiment.
.
He ate and slept with the soldiers, and he could call most of them by name in just a few days. He often chatted with the soldiers to understand their thoughts. Some soldiers had never been far away and were confused about going to Xuzhou.
He told the soldiers about the history of Xuzhou. Everyone knew that Xuzhou was one of the nine states in the world in ancient times, and they were all very proud to be stationed in Xuzhou.
The reason why Cai Shusen was able to tell the soldiers so much was not because he was very knowledgeable, but because he asked people to find a lot of information about Xuzhou before setting off. He remembered that the president said, don’t do anything you’re not prepared for, and don’t fight something you’re not prepared for.
A battle. Fighting a battle is not about luck, but about preparation.
At this moment, Zhang Qiang, deputy commander of the navy and captain of the Huai'an, came over.
"Captain Cai, the president sent someone to bring news that the gentry in Xuzhou organized 5,000 militia groups and 1,000 patrol battalions, preparing to ambush us on the canal. The president asked us to make some repairs at Luoma Lake and wait for the president's arrival before setting off together.
.”
"It's just a group of landlords' militia, which just allows the brothers to practice their skills. The president personally takes action to think highly of them." Cai Shusen said. He said this, obviously forgetting that they were just a local group training two months ago.
At noon the next day, Dong Shuheng caught up with the 201st Regiment. He led a guard company, all cavalry, which was much faster than taking a boat.
"Su Ting, you lead the brothers of the guard company on horseback along the canal. You don't need to go fast, just keep up with the fleet. Pay attention to maintaining your horse power. Ask Li Cunxun to dismount with a squad and get on the ship with me." He told the new guard beside him.
Company commander Su Ting said. Li Cunxun is the new deputy company commander. He is a child of the Li family in Gaoyou. He has read books and has a certain cultural foundation. He is smart and is taken under Dong Shuheng's side for training.
In the command room aboard the Huai'an, Zhang Qiang and Cai Shusen paid military salutes to Dong Shuheng, and everyone came to the march map.
"Shu Sen, I'm not here to take your credit this time." Dong Shuheng said with a smile, "You will still be responsible for the specific combat command. Deputy Commander Zhang's fleet will cooperate with you. My guard company has also been transferred to the command. I
This time we are mainly to inspect Xuzhou’s mineral resources, not to fight.”
"Yes, President, I promise to complete the task." Cai Shusen stood at attention and saluted. He knew in his heart that Dong Shuheng had always trusted and supported him. In order to repay the president's trust, he must fight this battle well and never let down the president's trust.
"President, based on the strength we have now, I think it can be like this: the 201st Regiment is responsible for attracting and confronting the enemy head-on. We try to attract the enemy to the river for a decisive battle, so that the Navy's naval guns can work. The 202nd Regiment goes around the enemy from upstream.
In the rear, carry out roundabout and outflank. After the enemy was defeated, the brothers of the guard company rode out and chased and drove the enemy in the direction of the 202nd Regiment. Trying to annihilate all these enemies on the edge of the canal..." Cai Shusen told all of his battle plan.
Come.
His plan took into account all the advantages of his side, and Dong Shuheng felt that he had nothing to add: "I will only add one point, try to capture the prisoners this time, and don't kill them all. Most of these people are ordinary people, and they are basically semi-forced."
Pulled into the militia."
In the west of Xuzhou city, militia groups recruited from Peixian County gathered here. A total of 5 families participated in the militia organized by the Zhang family. After all, the Zhang family has accumulated prestige in Xuzhou for a long time, and the Huaihai navy was unknown. And to these families,
The Zhang family promised many benefits.
Seeing the crowds of militiamen outside the city, Gui Zhongxing, the prefect of Xuzhou, hid in his yamen and did not dare to make a sound. Most of Xuzhou's officers and soldiers were transferred to Beida Camp. He was now a polished commander and did not dare to offend anyone.
"Uncle, we got news that the Huaihai Navy came to Xuzhou this time with a thousand people in total. They came by boat along the canal. We'd better lie in wait by the canal and wait for them to go ashore and kill them by surprise." Zhang Meng
He said to Zhang Yulin. Zhang Yulin personally brought people here this time. Zhang Yulin must be the commander-in-chief. He could only suggest from the side.
"Well, what you said makes sense. The army is here now, go and bring the money. Let's go and boost morale. By the way, when will the five hundred Shandong thieves you contacted arrive?"
"Uncle, don't worry. Mr. Lin has a very good reputation on the road. He is reliable in fighting. Since he has accepted our money, he will not break the promise. I have told them the time and place. They will choose the time and opportunity to fight.
of."
"Haha, okay, I'll give this Huaihai Navy a big surprise then. I'm afraid these people from the south have never seen cavalry, and my twenty thousand taels of silver are not in vain." Zhang Yulin said with an arrogant smile.
Nearly six thousand people gathered in a chaotic pile, as if attending a big gathering. They were divided into six camps according to their families. The scene was very noisy. Zhang Yulin shouted for a long time before he quieted down these mud-legged people.
Yes, they are just a bunch of bastards. These temporarily organized militia groups are basically the farmers of these landlords. The landlord Lao Cai said that each person who followed this time could get two taels of silver, which was better than the previous village fights.
It was much better. At that time, each person could get 2 buckets of rice at most. The people in Xuzhou area were already fierce, and armed fights between villages and families were common, and the scale of thousands of people was also common, which everyone found strange.
No wonder.
Then, several large boxes were brought up. After the boxes were opened, the white silver reflected a silvery white light in the sun.
Hu San from Yanji Town squatted with a group of village companions. In his hand was an iron spear. This weapon had been passed down in his family for several generations. Every time he fought with weapons, he could charge ahead because of his strength.
Holding this iron spear. This time the Zhang family prepared weapons for those who had no weapons. After all, their family was an iron maker. But Hu San still insisted on using his own iron spear.
"Master Zhang said that this time the Yangzhou people want to rob us Xuzhou, and we Xuzhou people must share the same enemy. I, Hu San, will show these Yangzhou people this time how powerful I, the Xuzhou people, are." Looking at the pile of money,
Hu San thought secretly in his heart.
The money is promising. Master Zhang said that if you kill a Huaihai navy, you will be rewarded with five taels of silver. How much work do you have to do in the mines to earn it? Five taels of silver can be bought by the Huaibei Railway and you can buy a beautiful little daughter-in-law.
Not to mention that the moves of this group of landowners and gentry were really easy to use. The entire team immediately became more energetic, and their originally lazy movements became agile.
Next, the servants from each family came to distribute breakfast. For breakfast, each person had a large bowl of mutton soup and a piece of flatbread. People in Xuzhou love to drink mutton soup, but how can these villagers afford it? Although mutton soup does not contain much meat, it is
It is full of oily flowers! There is also enough pepper and salt, which makes people feel comfortable after drinking it. The flatbread is as big as a pot lid. Although it is a bit hard to bite, it softens after taking a sip of the mutton soup.
After eating and drinking, the team was led by the leaders of each family and headed east. The speed of the whole team was much faster. The team members were thinking about what they would do with the reward. Go to Huaibei next door to buy an Anhui wife. There are wives
Let's see if we can buy two acres of land for our family, or buy a donkey.
Thanks to the mutton soup pancakes in the morning, when the sun was still in the southwest in the afternoon, the militia group rushed to the Guji section of the canal. Why did the militia group choose this section of the canal to ambush? Because this section of the canal is closest to Xuzhou and has many
There is a ready-made dock. The Huaihai Navy will definitely choose this section to land when they want to go to Xuzhou.
A soldier from the patrol battalion who went out to investigate ran up to Zhang Yulin and Zhang Meng and said: "Report to Mr. Zhang and Commander Zhang that six ships were found on the side of the canal, five of which were large sand ships, and one very large ship.
It’s very strange, there is a big chimney on top, and black smoke is blowing out.”
"How many soldiers do they have in total?" Zhang Yulin asked.
"There should be only a thousand people. After all, there are only six ships in total. I saw them getting off the ship." The soldier reported.
"The art of war is about winning by surprise. Let the army press forward, and we push them into the canal to feed the bastards." Zhang Yulin said to Zhang Meng beside him. He now looked like a Confucian general, all he needed was a chicken feather in his hand.
Fan.
Zhang Meng originally wanted to open his mouth to offer some words of advice, but seeing that his uncle was in high spirits, he didn't dare to speak. If you don't see the situation clearly, the whole army will attack you. If something happens, the whole army will be defeated! This uncle looks at his age.
It's not that young, but he is still not calm enough to fight. Obviously, he has adopted the clan fighting style.