Dong Zhiyuan's 18th Battalion was surrounded and suppressed by the Qing army, which seriously threatened the living environment. In order to break the Qing army's deployment, they took measures to break up the trapped situation. The 18th Battalion returned to the army and returned to Shaanxi via separate routes.
Activities in various places: all the way to Northeast Shaanxi Road, in the area of Yanzhou, Luochuan, Yan'an, Ganquan, Baishui, and Chengcheng; all the way to the south, to Miyang, Longzhou, Changwu, and Lingtai of Gansu in southwest Shaanxi.
However, because Zuo Zongtang was in charge of the division and his troops were regular troops who were accustomed to suppressing peasant uprisings and had sophisticated weapons, Zuo Zongtang attacked the returning army's tactics from all directions and sealed them tightly to suppress Dong Zhiyuan.
On the front line, the strategy of blocking the returning troops who want to enter Guanzhong is to prevent them from disturbing the rear route. Therefore, "the troops on the north road, the east road, and the southwestern road must defend and suppress them at the same time. They cannot defeat them without fighting and defeat the fierce front."
The returning army was defeated and returned to Dong Zhiyuan. Under the heavy siege of Zuo Zongtang's army, Dong Zhiyuan's returning army was even more frightened and built more than 300 forts in the Dong Zhiyuan area. They relied on the geographical advantages to resist stubbornly, concentrated their forces, and prepared to fight against Zuo Zongtang.
Tang is engaged in a battle of life and death.
Although Dong Zhiyuan's returning army was defeated one after another, the ferocious flames gradually faded and spread to the south to reach Qian and Long. The returning troops came out one after another, risking their lives to plunder, and almost never stopped. The officers and soldiers were not only packed with food, but also
The sun cannot try its best to pursue him, and he is always in a position of being unable to catch up.
In the winter, the returning troops went about grabbing food and attacking in all directions. The offensive was so fierce that it was impossible to defend or attack. It was also a crazy move because they were extremely hungry.
Dong Zhiyuan's Eighteenth Battalion has a marshal to command operations. Its leaders, namely the "Eighteenth Battalion Marshal", include Ma Zhenghe, Bai Yanhu, Yu Yanlu, Cui Wei, Chen Lin, Yu Deyan, Feng Junfu, Ma Changshun, Yang Wenzhi, Ma Zhenggang, Ma Shengyan, and Bi Dacai
, Yan
Xingchun, Lan Mingtai, Halianjin, Zou Baohe, Zhang Daiyu, Ma Weixiang, etc. In addition, there are Hemingtang, Sun Yibao, etc. who led the Hui army operating in Guyuan and other places. These leaders are the initiators of Hui uprisings in various places in Shaanxi
authors and organizers.
The area controlled by Dong Zhiyuan's 18th Battalion extends to Yima Pass in Anhua in the north, Qiujiazhai in Ningzhou in the south, Xiaojin Town in Zhenyuan in the west, and Xihuachi in Heshui County in the east.
Most of the settlement areas are located in villages and towns with relatively large traffic routes or at important passes, such as Taichang, Jiaocun, Qiujiazhai, Sandong, Lijiabao, Xiaojin, Dongzhi, Xifeng, Shishe, etc.
The returning troops from various ministries garrisoned in Dong Zhiyuan: Feng Imam (Feng Junfu) was stationed in Xiaojin Town; Zou Imam (Zou Baohe) was stationed in Shishe Town; Ma Zhenghe was stationed in Zhaizi Street, Xifeng Town; Yang Wenzhi was stationed in Dongzhi Town; Bai Yanhu was stationed in Xifeng Town
Yanxi Au, ten miles north.
There were forts in these places originally, and in some places new forts were built and used as military strongholds. Xiaojin Town was the center of the old camp where Dong Zhiyuan's returning army was stationed.
Since many of the Hui army brought their families with them, the Hui army that was stationed in Dong Zhiyuan numbered 200,000. However, the actual number of able-bodied men who could fight was only 40,000 to 50,000.
Due to heavy troop pressure and heavy casualties, Dong Zhiyuan's returning army merged the original eighteenth battalion into four battalions through winter reorganization.
Although the Hui army was suppressed by Zuo Zongtang's army in the Dong Zhiyuan area, during the long winter, the official army did not launch a large-scale offensive. Instead, the Hui army took the initiative and constantly harassed the supply lines of the official army.
The returning troops stationed in Shishe Town today are excited about the news they have just received. According to the Malay News, a transportation team "Li Ziying" from the capital is less than 400 miles away. Li Ziying has guns and guns.
The escort team was composed of young military school students and civilian husbands, totaling about 2,000 people, and they were all new recruits who had never been on the battlefield.
The spy A Si Tou has returned safely, and he is reporting the situation of Li Ziying to the two generals. A dozen generals in the hall listened carefully to the latest movements of the army that the three Han spies had just discovered.
In the meeting hall of Shishe Town, more than a dozen generals sat cross-legged on the carpet, with weather-beaten faces and thick beards. Now the 18th Battalion of the Returned Army is divided into four groups.
Cui Wei, the commander of the fourth battalion, only had thousands of elite soldiers, and he had 5,000 troops. He took the main seat in the meeting hall, and everyone else sat on either side of him.
Cui Wei was born in the 11th year of Daoguang reign in the Qing Dynasty. He was less than forty years old. He was a native of Cuijiawa in the southern suburbs of Fengxiang Prefecture in Shaanxi Province. He was the third of four brothers and was known as Cui San. He was tall, fond of martial arts and proficient in equestrianism.
The most miserable one here is the Sixth Commander Yu Deyan, who led more than 1,000 troops to grab food at the end of the year last year. He was ambushed by Xu Zhanbiao's Sichuan army and suffered heavy casualties. When he fled back to Dong Zhiyuan, only more than 400 people were left with him. His short and stocky
His body was a little sluggish. Others were asking questions, but he said nothing.
The three spies knelt on the ground and told each other what they had found out. Spy A Si pointed his head to the sky and swore, "Four commanders, I have found out everything clearly, and every word is true. There are more than 2,000 soldiers in Li Ziying, not even student soldiers."
Those over 17 years old are all students in the school and have never fought in a war. The other 600 or so fighters are newly recruited.
The refugees have only been trained for more than two months. They have never even touched a gun in the past. There are no more than 300 people who have fought and seen blood. There are also 100 people in the caravan who have some fighting ability. The rest are civilians.
They are here to push cannons and drive carts. However, their equipment is all imported, so Li Ziying dared to show off his power and come to fight on the front line."
The Fourteenth Commander Lan Mingtai asked doubtfully: "Li Ziying, how many miles do you march every day?"
"It's not more than fifty miles away. I asked other civilians. They practiced target shooting during the march. They shot wild wolves and skinned them. They deliberately let the wolves come for revenge. They were proud to have a wolf skin. They were so free.
"Very well, I visited the brothel several times, led by a group of dandy boys." Another spy replied, and the other two spies added fuel to the fire and slandered Li Ziying.
"That escort, Mr. Li, also has a young wife. Youtou Nianmian is like a eunuch, who can only scare people with a whip. The butler, Mr. Fan, is a fat man, and the oil in his belly can be used to light an oil lamp." Ah Sitou said.
They want to burn, kill and loot in order to avenge their dead brothers. The hatred is accumulating. Everyone here has a grudge against the officers and soldiers. Both sides kill each other. The blood feud will be remembered forever.
"But they have a lot of cannons. There are more than 100 large and small cannons. They are all foreign gadgets. We are not allowed to get close to them. They are all transported by civilians in the capital. Master Fan only allows us newcomers to carry groceries, and even the accommodation is not allowed to us.
Separately, I heard many things from the people in the capital who boasted that one cannon could be worth a hundred spears.
, saying that they were going to bombard Dong Zhiyuan, the transport brigade’s artillery shells were piled up like a mountain, and fire was not allowed to come near. Our carts were all searched, and flints and matches were confiscated.” Ah Sitou was eloquent, and he was the one who answered most of the time.
The two spies, like chickens pecking at rice, accepted his words and the information was accurate, and waited for the fourth commander to make a decision.
"New artillery and foreign guns, this battle is not easy to fight." Sixth Commander Yu Deyan had long been afraid of being beaten by the officers and soldiers, and did not want to rob the officers and soldiers' transport team. A hidden secret was not known to the public, and he had no intention of returning to the army.
No confidence in the future, secretly
He expressed his willingness to fight against the Qing army's Xu Zhanbiao and informed Xu Zhanbiao of Dong Zhiyuan's military deployment. Only then did Zuo Zongtang learn everything about Dong Zhiyuan's return. This was because the Qing army's tactical deployment was very targeted.
.
Now Yu Deyan returned to Dong Zhiyuan to act as an internal response. He looked at the Twelve Commander Bi Dacai tacitly. The two formed an alliance and were ready to strike back at any time.
Yu Deyan was born in the first year of Daoguang. He is over 50 years old, with white hair and looks tired. He is from Dazhuang, Yu family in Shaanxi, a rich man and a big local tycoon. In addition to owning a large amount of land
In addition, he is also in Dali, Weinan, Sanyuan, and Xi'an
, opened businesses and pawnshops in Kaifeng and other places, and opened salt wells in Sichuan, so the locals called it the "Sichuan Guest Yu Family". The upper-class figures in the Huijun Army today are all imams and people from the landlord class. His family has a great business.
, there are more than 1 people in his camp.
Bi Dacai understood it and shouted: "This is a trap. We can't fall for it. We should attack with a small group. Take advantage if there is any advantage. If we have an idea, scare us a few times. We don't lack this food and grass, so we don't have to fight the soldiers and horses from the capital."
, those Eight Banners soldiers can't climb the city, and when they see us returning to the military camp and forgetting our lives, and killing the braided dogs one after another, they will immediately go back to the capital, or let those Han people work for their lives."
Bi Dacai was a close confidant of Yu Deyan. He was less than thirty years old and a brave general. He had a majestic body and a dignified appearance. His eyes shot up to the cold stars, his eyebrows were as thick as paint, his beard was bushy, his chest was broad, and he had a majesty that was difficult to defeat.
There were more than 6,000 civilians in the camp, obeying his command.
In addition to being in charge of the army, various members of the returning army also took their families with them and moved them from Shaanxi to Dong Zhiyuan. The 18th battalion of the returning army passed the test of the Bloody Sea and Knife Mountain and became an alliance with blood. But the oath cannot be eaten as food. Some people
They stick to their oaths unswervingly, even if they are destroyed in ashes. Some people are thinking about their family and the people under their camp, and abandon their original oaths.
Now the Sixth Commander Yu Deyan and the Twelfth Commander Bi Dacai are colluding together, waiting for the uprising, but this time they will fight back. At this time, letting their two battalions leave the Dong Zhiyuan base and go out to plunder will be a waste of work and no effort.
It will make a difference.
The Hui army battalions are like this. They unite together for survival, but they all have their own independence, their own territory, and their own management methods. In addition, although these Hui armies believe in Islam, they have different sects.
They are not the same, their races are not the same, their doctrines are different, they are more mutually reinforcing, and maintaining independence while working together is the current situation of each Hui army.
This is also the reason why the Hui armies were defeated by the Qing army one by one. There was no unified deployment. The Hui armies in other places would not support Dong Zhiyuan's Hui army and maintain their existing territories. This is the current situation of the various Hui armies. Now as the four major battalions
Commander Cui Wei nominally controls the soldiers and horses of these battalions, which total one person, but he must respect them first. The military commanders of each battalion are not unified in their thinking.
The sixth commander Yu Deyan and the twelfth commander Bi Dacai were unwilling to attack the transport team of officers and soldiers, and had expressed their views implicitly. The fourth commander Cui Wei heard that the two were venting their anger from the same nostril, so he would not force others to do anything, and did not ask Yu Deyan and Bi Dacai.
Opinions on attacking officers and soldiers' transport convoys. Everyone has different opinions. Some are rich, others are hungry. Some battalions have already become extremely vicious. They attack officers and soldiers' transport convoys in winter, grabbing food everywhere, with their battalions as the main force.
Cui Wei turned his head to the other side and looked at the brothers who shared life and death. The 14th Commander Lan Mingtai, the 15th Commander Harian Jin, the 16th Commander Zou Baohe and his confidant General Erhezhou, their opinions were equally important.
The Fourteenth Commander Lan Mingtai listened carefully from the beginning, and he and his general An Jie made a decision after whispering in low voices.
Lan Mingtai and An Jie are about the same age, in their early thirties. They are different from other Hui armies in that they are "swordsmen" and bandits. When the Hui people rebelled across the province, they also joined the ranks of the rebels. Now their family has a big business.
If there are more than 1 tribe members, they are best at looting.
"Four Commanders! We can immediately pull out 2,000 soldiers and horses. Time waits for no time." Lan Mingtai shouted eagerly. There were more than one person in their battalion, and the accumulated food and grass were insufficient. They were afraid that they would not be able to support themselves under the long-term siege of the Qing army. Although it was winter.
He robbed the transport convoys of officers and soldiers several times, but still wanted to make more military exploits.
An Jie stood up and said: "I will mobilize the troops right away. Commanders, please let me know after we have discussed it."
Before the fourth commander Cui Wei gave the order, An Jie had already walked out of the meeting hall. He only listened to the words of his eldest brother Lan Mingtai. Why did he pay attention to the other commanders? It was the same with all the people. They went out to rob each other and turned over 30% when they came back.
Spoils of war. Each battalion relies on its own effort to coordinate its troops and develop and grow. Who will give you rations and men?
You must know that in the spring, the Qing army will be approaching in large numbers. There will be more Qing troops around Dong Zhiyuan, and the returning army will have less strategic room for maneuver. The most fearful thing is that the army will force Dong Zhiyuan to sit there and wait for death. He is full of fear for the future and whether he will succeed.
Then Chengren was determined, even if Li Ziying was a tough nut to crack, he would still give it a try.
"What about you?" Cui Wei, the fourth commander, looked at the other two commanders who remained silent, the fifteenth commander, Harian Jin, and the sixteenth commander, Zou Baohe, hoping that these two men could also shoulder the heavy burden.