After Xu Ji left, Yuan Su summoned Jiang Baili, Dai Fengxiang and others to discuss the situation of the Third Brigade again.
Since the Fourteenth Division has no intention of conquering Shangqiu, and both Qu Tongfeng and Duan Qirui hope to stay with Yuan Su, there is no reason for the Third Brigade to withdraw to Huaibei now. What's more, the original order of the Presidential Palace was to let the Third Brigade
The brigade temporarily suspended military operations and had no intention of ordering the third brigade to leave Henan.
After a brief discussion, Jiang Baili and Dai Fengxiang both believed that they should follow the wishes of the Fourteenth Division and simply stay.
But for Yuan Su, after the conversation with Xu Ji, he had other thoughts in mind. Duan Qirui attached great importance to the civil unrest in Henan. As a soldier, it is natural that he should do something. He can't just think about it.
Thinking about fighting for territory and intrigues. What's more, if he can really make a name for himself in Henan Province, it will be more helpful to his future development. This is not only a qualification experience, but also a proof of strength.
So, he immediately told Jiang Baili and others his thoughts.
"Since the 14th Division will not interfere with Shangqiu, and there are orders from the Presidential Office and the Ministry of War, there should be no problems with Shangqiu. Even if the 17th Division is still worried about this matter, I believe they will now
We don't dare to act rashly. But we should not forget the real purpose of our entry into Henan, I mean the official purpose." Yuan Su said calmly.
"Does the Governor mean that the Third Brigade should continue to participate in the operation to encircle and suppress the militia?" Dai Fengxiang asked immediately.
"But haven't the higher-ups repeatedly warned the Third Brigade not to take any military actions without authorization?" Adjutant Du Yu quickly reminded him.
"This is a trivial matter. If the civil unrest in Henan is not resolved for a day, beijing will not feel at ease for a day. Even if we disobey orders for a moment, as long as the result is good for the overall situation, the superiors will not blame us. Even if they want to blame, they will definitely handle it.
Know your propriety." Yuan Su said very calmly. He was thinking very clearly now that it was almost April and Yuan Shikai was making plans for his ascension to the throne. No matter how excessive he did, as long as he expressed his final words
If you support him in proclaiming himself emperor, not only will he not be criticized, but he will even receive generous rewards.
He just wanted to take advantage of this period to speed up the expansion of his personal power.
"You can't say that. The president is not blaming us. To put it bluntly, he is suspicious of us. This is a very troublesome matter. If it is not handled properly, it will only make us sink deeper and deeper." Jiang Baili was very serious.
Said. Naturally, he didn't know as much as Yuan Su, so he still seemed cautious.
"I will never forget this. In short, the people above will have a sense of propriety, and we below must also have a sense of propriety. It is not an easy task for us to wear this uniform and hold this position. We must walk on thin ice no matter when and where we are.
" Yuan Su said.
"According to the intelligence we have recently collected, it has been confirmed that all of Bai Lang's main forces have been transferred to Shaanxi. The only influential force in Henan Province is Zhou Baolin's group who were previously active in northern Henan. Now Zhou Baolin has been
We have defeated them. In fact, there are not many threatening militia forces here in Henan Province." At this time, Dai Fengxiang said matter-of-factly.
Yuan Su was not in a hurry to speak. In the past few days, he had been busy with the departure and stay of the Third Brigade, and he did not pay much attention to the situation in Henan Province. However, ten days ago, he asked Du Yu to start collecting reports on this aspect. Not only
Du Yu was paying attention to the latest war situation in Henan Province, and Dai Fengxiang's headquarters was also summarizing news from various parties.
He immediately asked Du to fetch the recently compiled map of Henan's military affairs in advance and place it on the coffee table in the study room, and then asked Dai Fengxiang's adjutant Wen Qin to report the latest news.
Just as I heard when I met with Xu Ji yesterday, the biggest hidden danger of the civilian army in Henan Province is still a few troops entrenched in the southwestern mountainous area. These troops are not Bai Lang's own troops, and they are not even related to Bai Lang's troops.
The connection is not deep. They all followed the trend of Bai Lang's uprising. Most of them are swordsmen and bandits who were active near the mountainous area.
The only white civilian army in the southwestern mountainous area had already followed most of its withdrawal and turned to Shaanxi a month ago.
"The most recent battle between Mr. He Fenglin and the civilian army was at the beginning of this month. According to the telegram sent back by Mr. He, a civilian army seemed to be trying to launch a surprise attack from the mountainous area and quarreled with the government troops stationed near Neixiang.
Fire. About a hundred shots were fired before and after, and the militiamen immediately retreated into the mountains." After the map was spread out, Du Yu said in a serious tone while gesturing on the map.
"Breaking out?" Jiang Baili asked in confusion.
"Well, these are the original words in the message sent back by Mr. He. Maybe it was just an accidental encounter. The civilian army did not deliberately want to break out." Du Yu quickly added an explanation.
"Apart from this, are there no other movements of the civilian army in the next few days?" Yuan Su asked.
"No more." Du Yu shook his head and said.
"First of all, we can be sure that if we want to go into the mountains to encircle and suppress these militiamen, unless we have enough troops to occupy all the key pass areas around the mountainous areas, it is absolutely irrational to rush into the mountains. Doesn't it mean that we are not familiar with the terrain of the mountainous areas?
Even if you find a guide to lead the way, you may be ambushed at any time if you lead the enemy in hiding, and there are really too many risks." Jiang Baili said very solemnly.
"The most appropriate tactic for fighting in mountainous areas is siege tactics, but as Mr. Jiang said, there must be enough troops to implement siege tactics. Now Mr. He's side can only stick to the towns on the edge of the mountains because of insufficient troops.
, beware that the militia will cause chaos. If we want to deal with the militia here, even adding our third brigade will not help." Dai Fengxiang sighed slightly and echoed Jiang Baili.
"To solve the current problem, we do not necessarily have to rely solely on military operations." After a period of silence, Yuan Su said with a deep expression.
Everyone looked at each other, Jiang Baili thought for a while, and vaguely understood the meaning of Yuan Su's words.
After a slight pause, Yuan Su said: "It is better to attack the heart than to attack the stronghold. Since the civilian army in the southwestern mountainous area was not under Bai Lang's command, and now Bai Lang has led the large army to move to Shaanxi, for these
This is the most difficult time for the team to rise up under the banner of Bai Lang."
Dai Fengxiang nodded suddenly and said: "I understand. No matter what reason Bai Lang moved to Shaanxi, for other militiamen who are still in Henan, they will only think that we are the government.
The pressure from the army is getting stronger and stronger, and the intensity of the encirclement and suppression is getting stronger and stronger. Before, if Bai Lang was still in Henan, everyone might still have some confidence, but now even Bai Lang has fled, I'm afraid it's just like
It’s just taking the heat out of the cauldron.”
Jiang Baili had actually thought of Yuan Su's intention for a long time, but he did not think carefully about it. Instead, he jumped to consider how to implement the so-called "attacking the strong point is worse than attacking the heart" strategy. For the Beiyang Army, in order to It is commonplace to recruit bandits from Anshan for huge profits, but what happened in Henan this time was not just a matter of banditry. It was also mixed with some revolutionary ideas and some people's long-standing resentment against the government.
"Brother Baili, what do you think?" Yuan Su asked subconsciously when he saw that Jiang Baili had not spoken.
"The governor's intention is obviously to recruit surrender, but if this method could work, other armies in the province and the governor's office would have sent people to try it long ago. Of course, I don't mean that it is completely unworkable. After all, this method
One moment, another moment. But the specific action method still needs to be considered in the long term." Jiang Baili said meaningfully.
"Yes, yes. Recruiting and surrendering is a common tactic used by our officers and soldiers. As the saying goes, spending money to eliminate disasters. In my opinion, the 59th, 60th, and 61st regiments of the 17th Division are very
It's like the troops who were recruited in the past. You can tell by their military discipline. A group of bandits put on military uniforms, but their former banditry has not changed, alas." Wen Qin shook his head and said.
Yuan Su was silent for a while, thinking quickly about the words of Jiang Baili and Wen Qin in his mind.
"If we can let Zhou Baolin set an example, it may be of great help to the recruitment process." After a while, he quietly proposed his own method.
"This is indeed a good idea. However, it has been almost a month since the arrest of the third person in Bai Lang's headquarters. If he really wants to surrender, there should be some movement."
Du Yu frowned and said, he had also followed up on this matter in the past few days. Zhou Baolin was under house arrest in a small room for the whole day. He did almost nothing and said nothing, as if he was in seclusion.
The door is generally clean and repaired.
"Commander, if we can persuade Zhou Baolin to surrender, and if we subconsciously manipulate public opinion, this matter will definitely have a great impact on the entire situation in Henan. Although it cannot be said that it will be a sure-fire way to recruit the militiamen in the southwestern mountainous area.
, but it will definitely shake them." Jiang Baili further said.
"I've been wanting to talk to Zhou Baolin for the past few days, but unfortunately I haven't had time. So, starting from tomorrow, I will simply put down my airs and talk to him every day, even if I use the attitude of visiting the thatched cottage.
We must talk to him. What's more, Zhou Baolin is a man of integrity and is definitely not a heinous person. It is a good thing to lead him to the right path." Yuan Su said with a firm tone.