As night fell, the courtyard of the Hu family was brightly lit and lively. Twenty or so banquet tables were surrounded by guests. Celebrities in the town, relatives and friends from all over the country, and martial arts comrades came to congratulate them. Master Liu, who had won the martial arts Jinshi in the early years of Guangxu, pointed out.
Lin Yaodong, the captain of the bodyguard who was watching An Yi, said:
"This guy from the south has almost bought up all the goods in the only four shops in the town, leaving everyone unable to even buy gifts."
There were bursts of cheers and laughter during the banquet. Hu Jialin, who had changed into a straight general uniform, toasted and thanked his seniors, relatives and friends one by one. At the happy moment, Chief of Staff Li Guang, who had just been called out by the adjutant, returned to An Yi.
Bian reported in a low voice:
"In the evening, the Anjin detachment discovered a cavalry force of up to 3,000 men and horses of the Zhilu Army in the Jade Emperor Temple area 17 kilometers northwest. The unit seemed to have just come from the direction of Baicao Mountain in the north. The people and horses were exhausted and the formation was
They were scattered, and as soon as they arrived at the Jade Emperor Temple, they dug pits and buried hundreds of corpses.
The subordinates judged that this unit was probably the most elite independent cavalry brigade under Zhang Zongchang who attacked the friendly Han Fuqu Department in the early morning. At noon, Uncle De also forwarded us a co-investigation telegram from the former enemy commander-in-chief of the Second Army, General Lu Zhonglin, requesting
As soon as we encounter this group of cavalry, we will immediately surround them and work together to annihilate the remaining enemy, which is probably them."
An Yi suddenly had a hunch in his heart that this was probably the cavalry led by Zhang Chengzhu. For more than a month, An Yi kept asking about Zhang Chengzhu's whereabouts, and learned from the prisoners' statements that Zhang Chengzhu still served as the major general and brigade commander of the Zhilu Army, commanding
His troops were one of the three most elite cavalry brigades under Zhang Zongchang, but they had never been able to figure out Zhang Chengzhu's combat direction.
Now, the head coach of the Zhilu Army that the First Group Army is attacking is Chu Yupu, his old rival. Half of Zhang Zongchang's direct descendants are in Jiaodong and half are north of Baoding. An Yi thought that Zhang Chengzhu might retreat to Jiaodong. When he heard the news, he felt moved in his heart.
He whispered to Cheng Zhiguang:
"The command line really dispatched all the units of the special brigade. After your hard work, immediately assemble the team and move in quickly, seal off the west and southwest, build a blockade, and then send a telegram to Uncle De to have General Chen Zhuo stationed at
The two divisions from Jiangtun in the west of Cangzhou City immediately cooperated with us to move Shangyuan to the north and northeast.
, all high-ranking officials are cordoned off, and the enemy will never dare to flee eastward. Adopting a strategy of siege but not attack can reduce unnecessary casualties. It is best to let the special brigade quietly grab one or two tongues and ask which part they are, and then put the people back.
, tell their commander-in-chief that they have been surrounded by our troops, and we will force them to surrender at dawn tomorrow."
"yes!"
The assembly whistles coming from the east, west and north directions of the town instantly silenced the bustling Hu family compound. The villagers looked very surprised when they saw the more than 30 generals and colonels around them immediately putting down their wine glasses and leaving.
He quickly apologized to his relatives and friends, returned to the main table and asked in a low voice what was going on with An Yi.
An Yi smiled easily and said: "It's nothing serious. Cangzhou called and asked our department to cooperate with the search, so I asked Cheng Guang to lead the brothers. It's nothing to do with us. You tell the folks not to worry, just treat it as night time
The training is done, let’s continue drinking...Uncle, second uncle, elders, and nephew, here’s another drink to the elders!”
"Okay, drink! You're welcome..."
Everyone saw that An Yi and Hu Jialin didn't want to leave, and heard Hu Jialin explain the night training, so they felt relieved and raised their glasses again.
Father Hu put down his wine glass and smiled at An Yi: "My nephew, I have to ask my nephew for advice on something first. We old guys discussed it and decided to let your brother Lin handle the wedding the day after tomorrow. What does my nephew think?"
?”
An Yi happily glanced at Hu Jialin who had just sat down, and said approvingly to Hu Jialin's uncle and father: "This is a good thing! My nephew completely agrees. This time, all five thousand brothers must congratulate my eldest brother and have a drink."
I’m happy, but I don’t know if I can get a new house?”
Everyone laughed loudly, and Hu Jialin's uncle was overjoyed: "Xiannephew, you are all Xiao Linzi's brothers. You are all brothers-in-law according to seniority. Of course you can have a new house, haha! Tomorrow I will ask the young people in the town to take the invitation and notify
Relatives and friends from all over the country, as well as martial arts comrades inside and outside Cangzhou City, must make the wedding a prosperous and lively event."
Hu Jialin's younger brother Li Cunzhuang stood aside and said worriedly: "If this is the case, I'm afraid we will have to buy pigs and cattle and sheep from the surrounding villages tonight, otherwise it will be difficult to prepare a banquet."
"There are still a lot of sheep, but pigs and cattle are difficult to get. Now that the army is stationed in Cangzhou, the surrounding merchants may have sold these things to Cangzhou long ago." Old boxer Liu twisted his five-willow beard and said slowly.
.
An Yi thought for a while and turned around, calling Chang Chunsheng, the logistics officer at the next table, over: "I'll write a letter later. Tomorrow you take the letter and take your brothers to the Cangzhou Camp to the former enemy headquarters."
Go to Uncle De and ask the logistics staff of the headquarters to help you buy some cattle, sheep and fat pigs.
You should also buy more things for his wedding. Cangzhou camp has more than 40 large trucks that were seized along the way. They will help you transport the things back. When you go back, tell the brothers that we will drink with Brother Hu the day after tomorrow.
Wedding banquet, this is a great event for our independent division, everyone who can come will come!"
"Yes! I will definitely do my best." Chun Sheng replied with joy.
The young and old of the Hu family were overjoyed to see that this important matter was resolved. Hu's father picked up his glass of wine and thanked An Yi. An Yi said no need to thank him. The money will be paid for by my brother Hu himself in the end. Hu Jialin nodded in agreement.
The uncle asked in surprise: "Xiao Linzi, how much money have you saved over the years?"
Hu Jialin hesitated for a moment, but answered truthfully: "Lin'er has only saved some money in the past two years. The combined salary and bonuses from previous battles are about 80,000 yuan."
There was silence all over the place. They all looked at the embarrassed Hu Jialin. An Yi found it funny and decided to add more information: "Dear elders, Brother Hu is so humble and embarrassed to finish what he said. My nephew will report it for him. What Brother Hu just said
One hundred and ten thousand is just cash that he can use at will.
If you add in his shares in several factories, hospitals, water transportation companies and automobile transportation companies in Nanchang, as well as a two-and-a-half-story Western-style building covering an area of two acres, my brother Hu's net worth has exceeded one million, and in the future
You can get a bonus of more than 100,000 yuan every year, haha!"
The sound of "clang" sounded one after another, and the wine glasses and rice bowls were overturned.
Old boxer Liu was so shocked that his beard fluttered: "Nephew An Xian, how much wealth do you have?"
An Yi shook his head and smiled without answering. Hu Jialin whispered to Senior Liu: "Master Qi, before the banquet begins, my nephew seems to have heard you keep mentioning the Jiangnan Group Company that has made great efforts in disaster relief in Northern Shandong, right?"
"That's right! That's a famous big factory in the country. There are dozens of factories down there, and the products they produce are hard to buy even in the queue. Not only are they richest in the world, but they are also very benevolent and righteous!" Old Boxer Liu replied.
Hu Jialin pointed out that An Yi told the truth: "To be honest, my brother is the largest shareholder of Jiangnan Group. How much wealth does he have?"
"Gudong...crash..." Another piece fell down.
…
At 6:10 in the morning, 17 kilometers northwest of Botou, Jade Emperor Temple.
The sound of horses neighing came from afar. Zhang Chengzhu, who was illuminated by a torch, raised his thick eyebrows and stood up suddenly. The five or six captains who were urgently discussing how to break out also stood up in panic. A burst of rapid footsteps came from far and near.
Soon after entering the temple gate, Li Jinlong, who was on guard at the outer patrol camp, rushed into the hall and reported in a deep voice:
"Brother, the First Army of the Revolutionary Army not only blocked the main roads in the west, but also quietly kidnapped three of our brothers who went out for reconnaissance. They were just released after interrogation. This is what the Chief of Staff of the Independent Division named Zhi Guang wrote to
Big brother’s handwritten letter.”
"The First Army Independent Division? Isn't it Brother An's independent division? Didn't they withdraw south at the beginning of the month? Why did they also go north?" Zhang Chengzhu looked at Li Jinlong who nodded in surprise, took the letter and hurriedly opened it to read.
"General Zhang's lesson: Your troops traveled two hundred miles for several days and then went through a big battle. The soldiers were exhausted and the horses were trapped. It was really difficult to break out of the encirclement composed of three divisions of our army. I am glad to hear that the general and General Li Jin Long are both our independent divisions."
Commander-in-chief General An,
General Hu is a close friend and old friend. I sincerely say this with great respect. I hope the general will come and contact me as soon as possible. Then we will escort hundreds of injured brothers from your unit south to Botou, where our division is stationed. After we are out of danger, we will discuss everything separately.
At this moment, the two divisions of General Han Fuqu of the Northwest Army and the cavalry division of General Li Xiuwen have reached the northwest, more than 20 kilometers due north of the river, and the Xianxian line. If there is any further delay, the consequences will be unpredictable! General Zuo'an of the division, and General Hu, the deputy commander of the division,
I am on my way to pay a visit to the general. The military situation is urgent, so I hope you can come soon. Brother, I am here to pay you a visit."
Zhang Chengzhu put away the letter and sighed: "God will not stop me! I didn't expect Brother An and Brother Hu to be right in front of me. I didn't expect that Brother An's words that day would actually come true today! Jinlong, let's go and help Brother An right away."
Lead the horse..."
Li Jinlong shook his head and smiled bitterly. Normally, a captain would survive a desperate situation and be in high spirits. How could two commanders have such mixed feelings? Following Zhang Chengzhu, Li Jinlong hurried out. In an instant, he got on the horse drawn by the three hundred iron guards and rushed towards the southwest two directions.
Houtun, kilometers away, will soon be
Seeing the four bonfires gradually extinguishing at the fork in the road ahead, in the morning light, a general wearing a steel helmet stood in the middle of the road surrounded by several followers. The terrain on both sides extended north and south, and the grass and trees around the low slopes and creeks gently
It was swaying, and it was impossible to tell whether there was a heavy ambush.
Zhang Chengzhu reined in his horse and stopped fifty meters away. The generals and three hundred cavalry behind him immediately stopped. Their movements were uniform and orderly. The fleeing army still had such a powerful combat power and appearance, leaving Li Guanghe hidden behind him.
The more than 2,000 soldiers around him were filled with admiration.
Li Jinlong clapped his horse and approached Zhang Chengzhu. Just as he was about to speak, the horse under his crotch suddenly jumped. In the blink of an eye, Li Jinlong, who was unprepared, was thrown off the horse. The black horse raised its front hooves high, and turned its head high in the air to the southeast, mouth
It let out a long and loud hiss, and when its front feet landed, its strong hind legs suddenly exerted force, rushing like lightning along the creek toward the dense forest a hundred meters southeast.
Just as several iron guards were about to ride their horses to catch up, they were stopped by Zhang Chengzhu. All the eyes of the soldiers on both sides were focused on the tall and sturdy black horses. A burst of hearty laughter was heard from the woods. The soldiers in camouflage combat uniforms
An Yi opened his arms, ran out of the woods, and met the speed
The black horse came, and the black horse neighed excitedly, circled quickly around An Yi, slowed down and ran to An Yi's side, barking non-stop, bent his beautiful neck, and touched An Yi's chest affectionately with his face.
With face and face, more than thirty riders, led by Hu Jialin, also slowly walked out of the dense forest.
An Yi hugged the little black colt's neck after a long separation, laughed happily, gave his beloved horse a deep kiss on the face, and then got on the horse. Hu Jialin and others followed closely and ran towards Zhang Chengzhu and others who were dismounting.
An Yi took the horse more than ten meters away, turned over, and strode towards Zhang Chengzhu, who was looking at him with a smile. He saluted and then stepped forward to hug Zhang Chengzhu tightly, who had no time to return the salute:
"Brother Zhang, I'm here to congratulate you! Here..."
Zhang Chengzhu was surprised to take the note ordered by An Yi and saw that it was a translated message. He read it carefully and found that it was a message from Chiang Kai-shek. He was actually appointed as the Major General Commander of the Cavalry Division of the First Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army, Li Jinlong.
He became the chief of staff of the major general, and Chiang Kai-shek encouraged Zhang Chengzhu and Li Jinlong a lot and greatly praised them.
Zhang Chengzhu took the telegram and said incoherently: "Brother An, this and this..."
"This is what Brother Zhang deserves. Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek is currently holding a meeting with General Yan Baichuan in Shijiazhuang. At five o'clock in the morning, he was delighted to hear that General Zhang Chengzhu had led more than 3,000 cavalrymen to join the revolutionary camp. Overjoyed, he immediately sent a telegram of commendation and commissioned
The younger brother handed it over to Brother Zhang, and the letter of appointment will be reissued as soon as Brother Zhang leads his troops to Xuzhou for rest and recuperation." An Yi explained happily.
Zhang Chengzhu and Li Jinlong were very grateful. How could they not know that this was the result of An Yi's hard work? Zhang Chengzhu put his hands on An Yi's shoulders and asked with mixed feelings: "Brother, I won't let you and your brother Li have a beard."
Horse?"
An Yi and Huzi looked at each other and laughed heartily. Huzi stepped forward to shake hands with Li Jinlong, who was covered in dirt, and turned to Zhang Chengzhu and whispered: "Brother Zhang, Brother Li, just in case, let's drive to Botou first. Listen,
He said that there are many injured brothers under the eldest brother’s command and they need to be treated as soon as possible. In addition, when they reach Botou, the Northwest Army has nothing to do."
"Okay, let's set off immediately."
Zhang Chengzhu turned behind him and issued a series of orders. His captain immediately rode back to the camp and led his troops to move south. Zhang Chengzhu and Li Jinlong got on their horses and suddenly saw thousands of independent soldiers carrying light machine guns and machine guns emerging from the woods and beside the stream.
The whole body of the division officers and soldiers was almost integrated with the wild grass and trees, and they couldn't help exchanging glances and secretly marveling.
Cheng Chengguang and several other brothers also came to say hello immediately, and then returned and led the brothers of the Independent Division to gather up the team. Li Jinlong pointed at the soldiers of the Independent Division who had gathered and marched southward in silence, and asked curiously: "Brother An, what are the clothes of my brothers?"
What a novel outfit! Are the helmets on your heads the new equipment of your revolutionary army?"
An Yi nodded: "Brother Li, when you get reorganized in Xuzhou, you will also get this equipment. At that time, I will accompany the two eldest brothers to see the commander-in-chief and get the best treatment for the cavalry division brothers."
"Thanks to my brother, we can only live as soldiers. Otherwise, even if the more than 3,000 brothers under my command have escaped, how will we make a living in this troubled world in the future?" Li Jinlong sighed, and Zhang Chengzhu also sighed.
An Yi shook his head: "Brother Zhang and Brother Li are both from the Sixth Period of Baoding. They are classmates with many generals in our army, and they have rich experience in combat and cavalry command. This is exactly what our revolutionary army lacks most at present. Chiang Kai-shek
The commander-in-chief and the generals at the headquarters attach great importance to it, so the two eldest brothers should not feel that they have any merit. Youdao is a hero regardless of where he comes from, and the revolution does not matter sooner or later. In the future, the two eldest brothers will definitely make great progress and make further progress."
Zhang Chengzhu looked at An Yi gratefully: "Tell me, how can I thank you?"
"Brother, don't say such things. On the west bank of Hongze Lake that day, if it hadn't been for the deep friendship between brother and brother, where would my brothers, Hu Hu and the Independent Division be today? If brother really wants to thank you, drink more tomorrow night.
A few drinks, Hu Hu's hometown is in Botou, he will get married tomorrow, haha!" An Yi said boldly.
Zhang Chengzhu and Li Jinlong quickly congratulated Hu Jialin. A group of brothers chatted affectionately and drove quickly to Botou.