Time passed, and it was September 1862. It had been more than half a month since Li Zhen returned to Beijing.
During this period of time, Huang Shihai led the First Army to advance northward and had driven the Mongolian troops moving south to the vicinity of Chengde City, Hebei Province. As long as they advanced further north, they would enter the Mongolian grassland. At this point, Huang Shihai had successfully blocked the attack. However, Huang Shihai understood Li Zhen's final request and wanted to make a contribution in this battle, so he did not lead his army back. Instead, he led his troops to continue the pursuit, preparing to use this Mongolian army as a breakthrough. Open the Mongolian defense line.
Since the fall of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Mongolia has never surrendered and is a country within a country.
Li Zhen had one thing after another and had no time to deal with Mongolia.
Now that the Mongolian army has taken the initiative to go south to provoke, Li Zhen cannot miss this opportunity, and Huang Shihai cannot give up this God-given opportunity to completely conquer Mongolia and establish his position.
The leading troops of a brigade pursued, and Huang Shihai led the military headquarters to follow.
At the military command post, Huang Shihai was staring at the map of Mongolia.
Huang Shihai held a pencil in his hand, with a serious look on his face, and drew two strokes on the map from time to time, intending to sort out the route for the next attack on the Mongolian army.
The sound of footsteps was heard, and the commanders of Huang Shihai's two divisions walked in.
One of the division commanders looked excited and said loudly: "Commander, the Mongolian army has withdrawn from Chengde City. Our vanguard has fully occupied Chengde City. Now, the Mongolian army is retreating steadily and can no longer stop our troops. I think we can launch a general offensive to deal with the Mongolian army as quickly as possible and sweep the entire territory of Mongolia."
Another division commander nodded in support and replied loudly: "I agree to launch a general offensive. The Mongolian army is already frightened. As long as we attack with thunderous means, we will definitely win a complete victory, and the other tribes on the grassland will not Dare to resist, Commander, this is a great opportunity to sweep across the grassland and create immortal achievements. You see, Liu Jintang, Chen Yucheng, Qi Zhenhai, these people have followed the president in the east and west, and have made great achievements. Now they have become a party. Official of the feudal territory, our First Army is a well-deserved veteran army, we must show corresponding meritorious service, and there is an opportunity right in front of us."
Huang Shihai was cautious in character, shook his head and said: "Don't worry, we will advance steadily, there is no need to panic."
The two division commanders looked at each other, both feeling helpless. They even planned to persuade, but before they could speak, Huang Shihai continued: "The Mongolian army was retreating steadily, but they are familiar with the terrain. We are new here and are not familiar with the situation. , a steady and steady attack is more appropriate, there is no need to conquer the Mongolian grassland as quickly as possible, a steady and steady attack will suffice."
Although Huang Shihai has a very fiery personality, he is quite stable when it comes to military matters.
The two division commanders had no choice but to superficially agree and leave.
After a short time, Liu Jintang came to the headquarters and said: "Commander, the two division commanders requested to launch a general offensive. You asked the two division commanders to attack steadily, but I am worried that the execution ability is insufficient. If the frontline is aggressive, something will happen easily."
"Don't worry, they don't dare to violate the rules."
Huang Shihai raised his head slightly and waved his hand, full of momentum.
Liu Jintang sighed lightly. He supported Huang Shihai's steady and steady battle plan, but when it was actually implemented by the army, the situation was likely to change, so Liu Jintang specially came to remind Huang Shihai.
Unfortunately, Huang Shihai was full of confidence, so Liu Jintang could only suppress the worries in his heart and stopped speaking.
…
Beijing, Presidential Residence.
There are many talents in the conference room.
Prime Minister Zeng Guofan, Vice Prime Minister Shi Dakai, newly appointed Speaker Hu Linyi, Military Academy Principal Zuo Zongtang, Supreme Court President Zhao Liewen, in addition, there are also generals who have returned from all over the country. As of now, those who have rushed back include Qi Zhenhai of Guangdong, Yang Banhou from Guangxi, Zhang Zhidong from Sichuan, Zeng Guoquan, Peng Yulin from Heilongjiang, and others. Only Li Hongzhang and Yang Jianhou from Japan, Su Lei from Taiwan, and Li Xiucheng and Lu Shaochuan from Vietnam did not return.
Li Zhen sat on the rostrum, facing everyone.
He looked serious and said unhurriedly: "The generals who came back from all over the country must be very confused as to why all the generals stationed in other places were suddenly transferred back to Beijing." After a pause, Li Zhen continued: "Although Li Hongzhang, Lu Shaochuan and others have not returned yet, but the minority obeys the majority. Now that the majority of people have returned, I will explain the matter of dispatching everyone back."
Immediately, Li Zhen talked about the establishment of the Ministry of National Defense and the establishment of seven military regions.
There was a lot of noise in the conference room.
The generals' eyes flashed, and they couldn't help but get excited.
Among the generals here, only a few are commanders of an army, and most of the rest are at the level of division commanders. With the establishment of the Ministry of National Defense and the creation of the seven military regions, many positions will immediately appear, and they are all very high-level. Positions, not to mention the minister and deputy minister of the Ministry of National Defense, just the commanders of the major military regions will be the targets of everyone's pursuit.
The conference room was noisy, and Li Zhen frowned slightly.
He stopped and stopped talking. Everyone noticed that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the conference room, so they stopped immediately. Gradually, the conference room became quiet.
Everyone looked at Li Zhen with eagerness in their eyes.
Anyone who can be a teacher definitely has the ambition to climb up.
Li Zhen coughed twice, and then continued: "As for the appointment of personnel from the Ministry of National Defense and major military regions, Premier Zeng, Vice Premier Shi, Chairman Hu, Dean Zhao and President Zuo and I will discuss it as soon as possible, and then issue letters of appointment. , I am just giving you an advance message so that you can be prepared. After the order is issued, you will all obey unconditionally and perform your tasks."
"yes,."
Everyone answered in unison, looking excited.
Zeng Guofan approached Li Zhen and whispered something.
Li Zhen raised his eyebrows and asked, "When did it happen?"
Zeng Guofan said: "Around May, the president had not come back yet, so we made it in advance."
Li Zhen nodded and said loudly: "Today, in addition to announcing adjustments to the army, there is another thing. All of us are going to visit the Heroes Monument. You are the commanders of the army, and the Heroes Monument commemorates the soldiers who died in the past. , we should go see and pay homage to the dead heroes."
What Zeng Guofan mentioned just now is exactly the matter of the Heroes Monument.
It was originally planned to erect the Heroes Monument in 1860, but the monument produced at that time was too small and the base did not meet the requirements. So Li Zhen asked for it to be redone. The monument now re-carved is made of a complete piece of granite. It is carved and is about 7 meters high, 1.5 meters wide and 1 meter thick.
In this era, there is such a huge monument, which is already majestic. Although it is not as good as the monuments erected by later countries, its commemorative significance is the same. Li Zhen took the people in the conference room to leave the presidential palace and went to a After visiting the monument in the center of Beijing and arriving at the square, Li Zhen looked at the inscriptions on the monument and at the flowers around him. He was filled with emotion. If there were not groups of soldiers who fought hard, we would not be here today. Without him, China would not be what it is today.
Li Zhen bowed, presented flowers and stepped aside.
Those who followed bowed and saluted, and then stood aside and waited silently. After everyone paid homage to the Heroes Monument, the two groups parted ways. Li Zhen, Zeng Guofan, Shi Dakai, Zhao Liewen and other major members of the country returned to the president. The generals who returned to Beijing went back to the posthouse to wait for news.
At this time, a train entered Beijing.
After the train stopped, a middle-aged man with a thin body and a resolute face got off the train. Immediately afterwards, two burly young men also got off the train. The middle-aged man was Li Hongzhang who had returned from Japan, followed by Yang Jianhou and Su Lei.
ps: The transition chapter is so stuck that it gives me a headache;