The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 409 Disagreement
Wei Jinghai picked up another piece of white paper with words written on it from the table and spoke while looking at the words on it.

"Let me tell you about our own situation first."

Wei Jinghai had put away the smile on his face and spoke with a heavy expression.

"After the Third Mixed Brigade took over the positions in Yanjiachang and Dongxianpo, they were immediately attacked fiercely by more than 50,000 foreign devils. Moreover, the foreign devils took advantage of their superior numbers to continuously outflank them from both wings, trying to cut off their retreat."

"This made it impossible for the 3rd Mixed Brigade to maintain the stability of their defensive positions. They had to retreat continuously, which allowed the foreigners to take advantage of the opportunity to break through several positions, causing the defensive positions to collapse."

"In the end, the troops in Yanjiachang were fine. They didn't suffer too much loss and were forced to withdraw. However, the troops in Dongxianpo..."

At this point, Wei Jinghai paused for a moment and said with some difficulty, "The losses were huge. After their position was breached, it was only when Commander Hu personally led his men to attack and rescue the troops on the position."

"After that, the Third Mixed Brigade, which suffered heavy losses, gradually retreated while fighting, but was closely followed by the foreign devils along the way. Now there are less than 10,000 people left in the Third Mixed Brigade."

Wei Jinghai's words surprised several senior generals below!
The Third Mixed Brigade has lost nearly half of its troops. Such a heavy loss is rare among the vanguard troops, which shows how hard they are fighting.

Although the Imperial Guards Corps suffered heavy casualties, it was winning battles one after another, and the number of foreign devils it had eliminated was still there.

Seeing that the people below were somewhat surprised, Teng Yuzao said, "Ningbo, there is no need to introduce the situation of our other troops. You should hurry up and introduce the situation of the foreign devils."

Wei Jinghai nodded, picked up another piece of intelligence and continued.

"According to the intelligence we obtained, after several days of fighting, the Japanese-Russian coalition forces in Dongxianpo should still have about 50,000 people and about 30 to 40 cannons."

"However, this group of foreign devils is very fierce. They chased the Third Mixed Brigade all the way. The pursuit was very close. The Japanese and the Russians took turns chasing in front every day. They just kept biting the Third Mixed Brigade and didn't let go. It seemed that they were determined to eat up the Third Mixed Brigade."

"However, although the foreign devils were chasing us closely, they were also very cautious."

"They are probably worried that we will ambush them. Their artillery and ammunition are placed in the middle of the marching sequence of the Russians and the Japanese every day, and protected by a battalion of Japanese. Once artillery fire is needed, they will quickly deploy and provide artillery support to the troops in front."

"The three groups of foreign devils were very close to each other, only three to four miles apart."

"As for the foreign devils on the east bank of the Juma River, they suffered heavy casualties after being attacked during the day, as I just said."

"Their current military strength should be around 30,000, with more than 200 artillery pieces, many of which are large-caliber. Almost half of the casualties of the Imperial Guard today were caused by the foreign devils' artillery pieces."

"According to our investigation, this group of foreign devils seems to have stopped attacking us. Since noon today, they have taken advantage of the village and the surrounding hills to build fortifications and take a defensive stance."

"In addition, there is a part of the foreign devils, that is, the main force of the foreign devils. Among them are 30,000 newly arrived German troops, with a total number of about 60,000 people. They have already headed straight for Baoding. The General Staff Office judged that this group of foreign devils wanted to occupy Baoding."

"If they are bolder, they may even go straight to Luzhou, which is our camp office, after occupying Baoding, and then enter Shanxi. These are all possible."

"Their purpose is probably to use these two groups of foreign devils to hold us back or hold us tightly, and then they will invade Shanxi to force the imperial court to surrender."

After Wei Jinghai finished speaking, the faces of the generals below all looked a little unhappy.

The camp office is the foundation of the vanguard army and must not be lost. Moreover, if the foreign devils really want to enter Shanxi from Luzhou, they can enter Shanxi like entering an uninhabited area, because there is no army in Shanxi capable of stopping them.

Under such circumstances, the foreign devils along the way might very likely block the way of the imperial court fleeing to Shanxi, preventing them from entering Shaanxi.

Under the current circumstances, if Guangxu and Cixi were caught by the foreigners, they would be in trouble.

In addition, according to Wei Jinghai's introduction, the foreign devils who were chasing Hu Dianjia's Third Mixed Brigade were also very troublesome.

The foreign devils along the way were indeed a bit cautious, and these more than 50,000 people were almost gathered together.

The most important thing is that the vanguard army is seriously short of manpower. Not to mention destroying these 50,000 foreign devils, even defeating them is beyond their ability.

Although the 3rd Mixed Brigade still had nearly 10,000 men, after a series of fierce battles and defeats, it was not only an exhausted division, but its morale must have also been severely hit.

An army without morale is of little use.

The vanguard’s predicament did not end there.

There was also Wu Peifu's Imperial Guard. Not only had they lost nearly half of their troops, but they also had to guard the Juma River and confront the foreign devils on the east bank, making it almost impossible for them to move.

The First and Second Mixed Consortium assault columns also suffered heavy losses, but their combined numbers were less than 40,000.

The vanguard army of more than 30,000 people was unable to deal with any of the foreign devils. They were even at an absolute disadvantage against the two foreign devils that invaded Dongxianpo and Baoding.

Liu Yuzhi took a deep breath and said thoughtfully.

"Marshal, should we rush to Luzhou immediately?"

Teng Yuzhao did not answer Liu Yuzhi's words, but spoke in a calm tone.

"Today's military meeting is to discuss this matter. Should we go directly to Luzhou, or fight one or two more battles and then rush back? Tell us your ideas first."

"Yuxuan, let's start with you. Tell us what we are going to do next and your reasons."

Liu Yuzhi thought for a moment and said, "Marshal."

"We are short of troops now. Logically, our current strength is best suited to attack the 30,000 foreign devils east of the Juma River. However, these 30,000 foreign devils have not only built fortifications, but also have more than 200 cannons."

"So, although the foreign devils on this route seem to have the least number of troops, they are actually a tough nut to crack. If we attack them, I estimate that the casualties will be considerable."

"In particular, the situation of the Third Mixed Brigade is very bad. If they can't stop the foreign devils along the way, not only will the Third Mixed Brigade be in danger of being wiped out, but these foreign devils may even form a pincer attack on our main force attacking the Hedong foreign devils."

(End of this chapter)