The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 422 Refusing to Obey Orders
Teng Yuzao really wanted to keep the mortar, a secret weapon, secret for as long as possible.

Therefore, this secret must still be kept for Duan Qirui.

"Also, Commander Liu of the First Mixed Brigade reported that the Russians are very cautious. The vanguard of their pursuit troops are all cavalry, including not only the Russian Cossack cavalry, but also the Japanese cavalry, with a total number of several thousand."

"They chased us all the way and searched the hills and highlands on both sides of the mountain road. They looked like they were worried that we might be ambushed..."

Wei Jinghai's words made Teng Yuzao laugh, and he said to Duan Qirui.

"Brother Zhiquan, since I started my army, I have repeatedly used ambush tactics to inflict heavy losses on the foreign devils. Now the foreign devils should be really scared and worry about me ambush them again at any time and anywhere."

Duan Qirui nodded and was about to speak when Teng Yuzhao spoke confidently again.

"However, although I still use the ambush tactics this time, I have changed some of my tactics. No matter how careful they are, they still cannot escape the fate of being ambushed."

Duan Qirui asked anxiously, "The foreign coalition forces have 50,000 soldiers. How many soldiers does General Fu have now?"

Teng Yuzao said without hesitation, "If we exclude the artillery brigade and include the people who withdrew from the 3rd Mixed Brigade, there are about 50,000 people."

"However, my 50,000 men now have to take care of more than 30,000 foreign devils on the east bank of the Juma River. Two battalions are tied down by the river near Laishui."

"What! There are less than 50,000 people!"

Duan Qirui was shocked by Teng Yuzao's words and said hurriedly, "General Fu, the Art of War says that if your force is ten, surround it; if it is five, attack it; if it is twice as strong, fight it; if it is the enemy, divide it; if it is fewer, defend it; if it is inferior, avoid it."

"Now, with a force similar to that of the foreign coalition forces, how can General Fu use ambush tactics! Not to mention wanting to use ambush tactics to annihilate them."

"What's more, the foreign coalition forces are quite powerful. If they use weak forces to ambush a strong enemy, the outcome will be uncertain once the battle begins. I hope you will not underestimate the enemy. It is better to stop and retreat now. There is still time."

"Moreover, according to what General Fu said, near the Laishui River, General Fu took an even greater risk by using only two battalions of empty troops to fight against a coalition force of 30,000 foreigners, which is a taboo in military strategy."

"The foreigners may not be Sima Yi. Once the foreign coalition forces see through General Fu's empty city plan, Laishui will be in danger!"

"At that time, General Fu's retreat to Yi County was cut off, and the foreigners attacked from both sides. The consequences were disastrous. Please think twice!"

Although Duan Qirui called him "General Fu" all the time, with a hint of respect but a hint of alienation, his expression at this moment showed that he was genuinely worried about Teng Yuzhao, which made Teng Yuzhao feel a little warm in his heart.

Looking at Duan Qirui who looked anxious, Wei Jinghai spoke without waiting for Teng Yuzhao to speak.

"Councilor Duan, please rest assured. Since our commander-in-chief started his rebellion in Tianjin, he has fought dozens of battles with the foreign devils. This is not the first time that he has won a battle with a smaller force. This time, not only will we not lose, but we will definitely be able to inflict a heavy blow to the foreign devils. Even if we cannot completely wipe out 50,000 foreign devils, we will at least kill 40,000 of them."

Wei Jinghai no longer had the respect he had for Duan Qirui when he first heard that Duan Qirui was coming.

In particular, Duan Qirui kept talking about the allied forces, which made Wei Jinghai feel quite uncomfortable.

Although Teng Yuzao would occasionally refer to the armies of the great powers as the Allied Forces, Teng Yuzao could say that if others said it out loud, Wei Jinghai, who was already accustomed to the vanguard army generals generally calling the Allied Forces "foreign devils", would feel very unhappy.

Teng Yuzao had also heard the dissatisfaction in Wei Jinghai's tone and spoke hurriedly.

"Brother Zhiquan, please be patient. Although what my grandson said is true, this is the era of hot weapons, and the factor of firepower must still be taken into consideration."

"As for the two battalions that are holding back the 30,000 foreign troops on the east bank of the Juma River, although they only have more than 2,000 soldiers, I just killed nearly 20,000 foreigners there yesterday. The foreigners on the east bank of the river have been scared by me. What they are most worried about is that I will lead my troops to attack them."

"If they hadn't known that the 50,000 coalition troops were about to rush south, the 30,000 foreign devils would have run away long ago. Now that they are staying east of the Juma River, they are actually trying to tie me down."

"With this in mind, the possibility that they dare to cross the river and launch an attack is very small. Now there will be fast horses coming every hour to report the news of the foreign devils on the opposite side. Once the situation changes, I will have the opportunity to respond quickly." Although Teng Yuzhao said that nearly 20,000 coalition forces were wiped out yesterday, which made Duan Qirui feel a little relieved, but it was still 50,000 to 80,000, still at a disadvantage, Duan Qirui was still terrified!

Before Teng Yuzhao could finish his words, the staff officer who had just run out to deliver the message ran into the headquarters with sweat all over his forehead.

"Reporting to the Marshal, Commander Hu said that he will not come to see the Marshal now."

Teng Yuzao was stunned by the staff officer's words.

Wei Jinghai and Duan Qirui were even more shocked. This was a blatant disobedience to Teng Yuzao's military orders! This was a serious crime in the army!

The staff officer took a breath and continued, "Commander-in-Chief Hu said that the foreign devils dragged their wounded and captured officers and soldiers to the front and killed them in order to force him to surrender. He couldn't swallow this."

"He must not only lead his troops to hold the blocking position assigned to him by the Marshal, but also lead his troops to participate in the encirclement and annihilation of the more than 50,000 foreign devils. He must personally see that all of these foreign devils are killed and avenge the thousands of soldiers of the Third Mixed Brigade who died. Then he will apologize to the Marshal."

"Otherwise, he would choose to commit suicide to apologize, and let his subordinates carry his body to see the Marshal."

Teng Yuzhao knew that Hu Dianjia was worried that he would dismiss him and investigate him, so he refused to obey the order to come and see him immediately.

After the staff officer finished speaking, not only did Teng Yuzhao's anger rise in his heart, but Wei Jinghai also said hatefully.

"It's fine if the foreign devils kill our people when the two armies are fighting, but they dragged them to the front and killed them in front of us. Not only can Commander Hu not swallow this, I can't swallow it either! These foreign devils should be killed to avenge our people!"

Teng Yuzao tried hard to suppress his anger and said, "Send a message to each unit. Do not take any prisoners in this battle. Kill all the foreign devils. Do not let any of them escape!"

"Yes."

Wei Jinghai agreed and ran to the group of staff officers who all looked angry to arrange for the conveyance of the order.

Duan Qirui did not feel uneasy about the killing of prisoners. There were countless cases of killing prisoners throughout history. Not to mention the distant past, even in the current dynasty, it happened from time to time among the subordinates of Li Hongzhang and his benefactor Zeng Guofan when they were suppressing bandits.

After Teng Yuzhao finished explaining to Wei Jinghai, he gave a wry smile and said to Duan Qirui.

"Brother Zhiquan, do you still remember Hu Dianjia, who was better than our Beiyang Wubei Academy?"

Duan Qirui replied, "Of course I remember. Could it be that this Hu Xietong is the Hu Dianjia from our Beiyang Wubei Academy? Wasn't he the commander of the left rear army of the Wuwei Front Army? How did he come to you?"

Teng Yuzhao's words surprised Duan Qirui again.

Hu Dianjia was the best-performing classmate from the Beiyang Military Academy. When Duan Qirui was still a captain, he had already been appointed commander of the third-rank front and rear armies of the Wuwei Army.

"it's him."

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "After General Nie died for his country, he led his troops to join the Vanguard Army."

Teng Yuzao said to the staff officer again, "Go again and tell Hu Dianjia what I said. He will definitely not have the chance to commit suicide, because he not only successfully led 50,000 foreign devils into our ambush circle, but also performed a great deed."

"I am even more confident that he will be able to withstand the coalition's attack at the blocking position. I promise him that I will let him see with his own eyes that we will wipe out these 50,000 foreign devils in one fell swoop."

Seeing the staff officer running out to pass the message again, Teng Yuzao spoke to Wei Jinghai who had arranged the message.

"Call Yuxuan and tell him to hand over the front blocking position to Hu Dianjia. The three battalions he originally cooperated with in the blocking should immediately rush back to Laishui. He should cooperate with the troops of the Imperial Guard Association defending along the Juma River and closely monitor the foreign devils on the east side of the river."

(End of this chapter)