The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 373 Wu Peifu's Overall View

Teng Yuzao continued, "Secondly, although Master Qian and Qionglin both sent us news that Zhang Xiangtao sent us 11.43 rounds of Maxim mm caliber bullets at once, this should include the inventory of the Hanyang Gun Factory. Next time, if he takes out so many bullets again, it will probably take a long time."

"Besides, we have to consider Zhang Xiangtao. If he makes a big fuss and asks the Hanyang Gun Factory to fully produce Maxim ammunition and shells for us, it will inevitably attract the attention of the British in Hankou."

"Commander."

Wei Jinghai was very puzzled by Teng Yuzao's attitude.

Wei Jinghai said carefully, "Marshal, why should we replace Zhang Xiangshuai?"

Wei Jinghai was originally going to call Zhang Zhidong by his name, but when he thought that it was somewhat disrespectful to do so, he changed his words and called him "Xiang Shuai".

"Hasn't the Marshal always been critical of those who signed the Southeast Mutual Protection Agreement? Now if the foreigners have a falling out with Marshal Xiang, wouldn't it be better?"

"As long as Marshal Xiang withdraws from this mutual guarantee agreement, it will cause a great shock. If things go wrong, some of the governors and governors-general who signed the mutual guarantee agreement will follow suit, and the agreement will fall apart. This is a great thing for us, right?"

Teng Yuzao sighed and said, "This is a different time!"

"At this time, it would be a good thing if the southeastern provinces could support us and save those provinces from the war."

Teng Yuzao lowered his voice and said, "Ningbo, we can't defeat all the powers in the world. Even if it's a one-on-one fight now, we will be out of our strength, not to mention that we are now fighting against a coalition of powers."

"We can certainly fight them and eventually wear them out, wear them down, or even drag them down until they don't want to fight anymore. But if we do that, since this war is fought on our soil, we will naturally not be able to develop, and our national strength will become even weaker because of the war."

"In today's world, whether it is industry, technology, or education, they are all developing extremely rapidly. For our country, every day is very precious. Only by seizing the time and fighting for every minute can we have a chance to catch up. Otherwise, not only will we be left far behind by the great powers, but even the Japanese will be unable to catch up with us. Therefore, this war must end as soon as possible."

"Before that, it would be a bad idea to limit this war to Zhili and not affect other provinces."

Teng Yuzhao's "The Rise of Great Powers" has been printed and distributed by the Commercial Press in Shanghai. Mr. Qian has sent someone to deliver 500 hardcover copies to Teng Yuzhao. Now, every officer above the rank of sentinel in the vanguard army has a copy.

Therefore, Wei Jinghai could fully understand what Teng Yuzhao said.

Teng Yuzao continued, "Also, now not only Zhang Xiangtao, but also Li Zhongtang, they have actually given up the so-called Southeast Mutual Protection Agreement, although it is still only in secret, but I think this is the best situation at the moment."

When Teng Yuzao was about to tell Wei Jinghai, who was now one of the top three senior officers in the vanguard army, some private words, he saw a staff officer from the Operations Department and Liu Changfa hurriedly walking in, and hurriedly spoke to Wei Jinghai.

"Ningbo, what we just said needs to be kept secret for now. It's fine if only the two of us know it."

"Report."

The staff officer said excitedly, "Marshal, Deputy Chief of Staff, I just received a call from Commander Hu. Commander Hu said that the Imperial Guards have been chasing the Japanese and the American rescuers all the way, and have taken advantage of the situation to kill their way into Langfang. The American troops in Langfang did not persist in resisting, and have withdrawn from Langfang and fled towards Tianjin."

"it is good!"

Wei Jinghai clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Tell Commander Hu to notify Commander Wu of the Jinwei Army and have them clean up the battlefield as soon as possible and then withdraw immediately."

The staff officer received the order and hurried off to convey the order.

Teng Yuzhao was also very excited about Wu Peifu's capture of Langfang. He had even started thinking about how to make use of the favorable situation of capturing Langfang to do something.

However, Teng Yuzao still turned his gaze to Liu Changfa, who was also very interested.

Without waiting for Teng Yuzao to ask, Liu Changfa spoke excitedly.

"Marshal, with the cooperation of the Communications Office, I have just interrogated the French artillery battalion commander who was hiding in a pile of French soldiers' corpses and pretending to be dead. He was captured by our soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield. He has explained to me in detail the parameters of this Schneider artillery that we seized from the French."

"According to the French prisoner, this 75 mm, 36-caliber artillery was developed by the French two years ago. Its effective range is 8500 meters, and its firing angle is -11°~18°. Although the muzzle rotation angle is a bit small, the firing rate is extremely fast. As the Marshal said, the maximum rate of fire is rounds."

Liu Changfa rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "Marshal, this rate of fire is already three times higher than that of the German guns. With these sixteen French guns, we have the equivalent of adding fifty German Krupp cannons. Do you think our artillery association can use these sixteen French guns to form another artillery battalion?"

Teng Yuzao smiled and said, "This Schneider artillery is the most advanced artillery in the world today. The French treat it as a treasure. Apart from using it themselves, they never export it. Not only does the Germans not have it, but even the British and Americans don't have it either. You've got your eyes on it first."

Although Liu Changfa was excited by what Teng Yuzhao said, Teng Yuzhao had not yet agreed to organize an artillery battalion, and he was anxious to speak again.

Teng Yuzao had already said, "How can such a good artillery be left unused? But do you have so many people?"

Upon hearing what Teng Yuzhao meant, which indicated that he had agreed to use these rapid-fire cannons immediately, Liu Changfa was so excited that he almost jumped up and spoke hurriedly.

"Yes, yes."

"You know, Marshal. When we formed the artillery battalion, we should have been well prepared. We have assigned several people to each position. Not to mention just forming this one battalion, even if we are forming three battalions right now, I have enough manpower."

Looking at the overjoyed Liu Changfa, Teng Yuzao laughed happily, "Okay! Since you have the manpower, that's good. I think we shouldn't just build an artillery battalion."

"From here to Baoding, it's all plains, and the roads are easy to travel. You can just use those nine 105mm heavy artillery and form another heavy artillery battalion. Once we encounter the foreign devils chasing and intercepting us, these heavy artillery can also play a big role, giving our vanguard army another weapon to defeat the enemy."

Originally, I just wanted to form a rapid-fire artillery battalion, but I didn't expect that there would be another heavy artillery battalion. Liu Changfa was so happy that he jumped up on the spot. , his face flushed, and he said excitedly.

"Marshal, just wait and see. Our cannons will definitely give the foreign devils a good beating."

Liu Changfa saluted Teng Yuzhao and was about to leave when Teng Yuzhao called him back.

"Qingyun, you must hurry up and train the personnel. The camp office still has a lot of field artillery. After this battle, I think we will have a period of peace. At that time, our vanguard army will have to expand significantly. Your artillery battalion will also have to be expanded, and those idle artillery will have to be used."

"Yes!" Liu Changfa responded excitedly, turned around and ran out of the house.

Teng Yuzhao had already discussed the military expansion with Wei Jinghai, but today was the first time Wei Jinghai heard Teng Yuzhao talk about the expansion of the artillery battalion, and he was also very excited.

However, Wei Jinghai suddenly thought of something and spoke in a low voice.

"Marshal, this time, the three mixed brigades reported the results of the battle, but there was not a single prisoner captured, this French officer."

Wei Jinghai's words also made Teng Yuzao's heart sink, and he couldn't help but ask.

"Have they still not reported a single prisoner? Or is it that the foreign devils are too stubborn?"

Wei Jinghai did not directly answer Teng Yuzhao's question, but said with a wry smile.

"Marshal, how about I say hello to a few assistant commanders and the two columns? There must be some prisoners."

Wei Jinghai's words were a disguised acknowledgement of the question asked by Teng Yuzhao.

Teng Yuzao waved his hand and said, "That's not necessary. Just kill the Russians and the Japanese. Even the Indian soldiers and their colonial soldiers should be killed. But we still have to take some prisoners from the French, British, and Germans, otherwise it will be difficult for us to talk to them in the future."

Seeing Wei Jinghai nod, Teng Yuzao said solemnly, "Especially the Americans. As long as they surrender, no one can be killed."

Teng Yuzao added that he was worried that Wei Jinghai would have trouble convincing the high-ranking officers below him, especially Liu Shijiu. ?
"Tell them clearly that the Americans are relatively friendly to us now. Although they are also doing it for their own interests, after all, their President McKinley is still working hard to end the war."

"Moreover, not only will we need the support of the Americans when we negotiate peace in the future, but we will also need their help in developing our economy and establishing modern industry after the war."

Wei Jinghai nodded and said, "I understand the Marshal's painstaking efforts. I will go and tell them."

After all, it involves a major matter like killing prisoners. If it gets out, it will damage Teng Yuzhao's reputation, so such a matter can only be handled by Wei Jinghai.

Wei Jinghai then said, "It's just that this French officer was buried among the corpses. He must have seen some of the things we did. This officer..."

Teng Yuzao of course understood what Wei Jinghai meant, and nodded, saying, "We can't let him have a chance to speak, otherwise we will also be included in the so-called list of culprits by the powers. If they really want to pursue the matter, it will probably give those people in the court who are afraid of us a chance."

Teng Yuzao's words about some people in the court being afraid of Cixi were certainly not alarmist. In his letter to Teng Yuzao, Zai Yi had already implicitly told Teng Yuzao about Cixi's attitude, and Teng Yuzao also showed this letter to Wei Jinghai.

After explaining all this, Teng Yuzao suddenly changed the subject.

"Tell Hu Dianjia to inform Ziyu not to destroy the telegraph lines along the way."

Wei Jinghai had understood what Teng Yuzao meant, and he gave a thumbs up and complimented him, saying, "It is true that a good teacher produces good students. Wu Ziyu has already thought of this, and Hu Dianjia has already called me to tell me."

Teng Yuzhao was very happy that Wu Peifu thought of this, as it showed that Wu Peifu had already thought of making a fuss about taking over Langfang.

In other words, what Wu Peifu was thinking about was no longer limited to the battlefield at hand, but he had begun to think about the overall situation.

"Not bad!"

Teng Yuzao couldn't help but admire sincerely, and then said.

"Our original plan was to intercept this batch of arms and evacuate immediately, rushing to Yanjiachang and retreating across the Yongding River. Now that Wu Ziyu has taken Langfang, we might as well set up a false formation for the coalition forces in the capital."

Teng Yuzao continued, "What I mean is that we should not leave in a hurry now. Tell the troops to eat and rest as soon as possible, and pretend to cut off the retreat of the coalition forces in the capital. After dark, order the troops to march quickly to Yanjiachang."

"In addition, during the day, order the assault column and the Second Mixed Brigade to send out their reconnaissance personnel to closely monitor the villages and towns along our planned evacuation route to prevent them from being occupied in advance by the coalition forces."

"After dark, the assault brigade will lead the way, and the second and second mixed brigades will follow to clear all obstacles along the way for the main force."

"You lead the headquarters' troops to escort the captured ammunition and supplies with the First and Third Mixed Brigade, and the Artillery Brigade to evacuate. I will lead the Guard Brigade to cover the rear."

Seeing that Wei Jinghai seemed to want to stop him, Teng Yuzao waved his hand and said, "Ningbo, time is tight now. There are many things waiting for you to arrange immediately. This matter is settled. Follow the order."

Wei Jinghai nodded helplessly and said, "The Marshal's move is brilliant. Cutting off the food supply is a taboo in military operations. This is the case in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad. The foreign devils will definitely be anxious and will definitely send a large number of troops here. This way, our evacuation will be much safer."

"I think we should gather the three cavalry patrols of our three alliances and have them shield our area."

"Also, get the people in the surrounding villages out to hide first, so that the foreign devils won't be able to find us and take their anger out on these ordinary people."

Wei Jinghai's suggestion was a good supplement to Teng Yuzhao's plan. Teng Yuzhao nodded in agreement and then spoke.

"In addition, we need to tell the villagers that we are going to fight here and ask them to leave as soon as possible to avoid being affected. We can give each of them a few taels of silver, otherwise these people may find it difficult to leave their little belongings."

Teng Yuzao sighed and said, "Don't make it difficult for those people who really don't want to leave. This is wartime, and the casualties of innocent people are unavoidable no matter what."

Wei Jinghai's action was very efficient. After just one and a half hours, the entire army had already started to eat lunch.

In order to persuade the people to evacuate, it was inconvenient for the people in the surrounding villages to carry their poultry and livestock, so Wei Jinghai simply asked the troops to buy all the livestock and poultry and slaughter them, so lunch was very sumptuous.

感谢：coker65、小刘刘、20230415804、20221124102136644、Drizzt.x、20200312092302165、我想不出来名字、20220903223550229、南洋山民、三虎兄弟、取个能用的名字真的好难、基督山伯爵1980、prince007、160722201808282、123386497、遛弯的老猫、陈国2023、小叶黄杨2、李质秉、血色辉耀、20240313434-ae、站着撒尿好、望书思烛、希格拉之耀、湿妹好银荡、偏爱有加、20170426190541064、风花942、20210301105267525784、寻书、20231017335-Aa、20210301104130671710、20240427004441536、20200827174753968、20180927104339797、深蓝等书友月票、推荐票支持！！！



(End of this chapter)