The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 462: The Enemy Changes, I Change
Seeing Teng Yuzhao pointing out the location of the Qingzhang River Valley, several generals except Liu Changfa were a little surprised.

Li Xianze said with some doubt, "Marshal, could it be that Pan Jinshan hit too hard, making the Japanese worried that we would besiege them on their way to Luzhou? So, they want to run to Shexian to meet up with the Russians, and then go south to Luzhou Prefecture together!"

Liu Nineteen nodded, stroking the stubble on his chin and said, "That should be it. Pan Jinshan hasn't led such a tough battle alone for a long time. This time he is leading the Sixth Regiment alone. I guess he wants to fight a good battle and make a splash!"

Hu Dianjia also interjected, "Marshal, this will turn out to be a bad situation for us. If the Japanese invaders occupy Shexian County, our more than 100,000 people will be trapped by them."

Teng Yuzao did not speak, but looked at Wu Peifu.

Wu Peifu looked at the map and said thoughtfully, "Teacher, it seems that our plan needs to be changed. If the Japanese invaders occupy Shexian County and accidentally block us in the middle, we will be in a passive position."

"And if we withdraw to the west of Shexian County now, the Russians and Japanese will join together. They have more than 300,000 people, and we, with less than 200,000 people, may not be able to defeat them. In that case, Luzhou Prefecture will definitely not be able to be saved under the double attack of the foreign devils."

"Should we concentrate our forces now and attack them proactively along the way, striving to eliminate as many of them as possible? In this way, even if we let them reunite as planned, the strength of the foreign devils will be greatly reduced, and we will still have a chance to find an opportunity to eliminate them."

Liu Changfa rubbed his hands and said, "Marshal, I agree with Ziyu's opinion. In my opinion, we should fight the Japanese first. If we can seize the heavy artillery of the Japanese regiment, even if the Russians and foreigners join forces, we will be able to destroy them without any problem."

Liu Changfa's words made everyone present laugh, and even the slight tension that had just appeared was swept away.

Liu Nineteen said with a smile, "Brother Qingyun, you are attracted by the Japanese cannons!"

Liu Changfa also smiled and said, "You don't know that the Japanese heavy artillery regiment not only has 120mm heavy artillery, but also 150mm large-caliber artillery, 36 of each. If we have these artillery, the Russians and the Japanese will be no problem."

Teng Yuzao took a deep puff of the cigarette in his hand and said, "You are all right. I asked you to come here today to change the enemy and me. There is no plan that cannot be changed. We have to change our battle plan."

"Our final battle goal remains unchanged. We must still strive to completely annihilate the Russians and the Japanese. At least we must eliminate one of their factions and defeat the other."

"Let's not go far away and just fight the Russians first."

Teng Yuzao looked at Liu Changfa, reached out and patted Liu Changfa on the shoulder and said.

"As for the Japanese heavy artillery you covet, it will be yours sooner or later."

Liu Shijiu rolled up his sleeves and said, "Brother Qingyun, I'll leave your heavy artillery to me. I'll make sure to get it back for you."

Teng Yuzao glanced at the faces of several people, and seeing that the generals were not afraid of the powerful enemy, Teng Yuzao couldn't help but feel a sense of heroism in his heart, and waved his hand and said.

"Now, I command."

"The Third Regiment, immediately go through Balaling, Nanmantuo, and Dougong, avoid the main force of the Japanese troops marching along the Qingzhang River Valley, and quietly rush to Hezhang to attack the enemy Fifth Division of the Japanese troops defending Hezhang. Strive to capture Hezhang in one fell swoop, and then firmly hold Hezhang to block the Japanese troops' escape route through the Qingzhang River Valley."

"Director Zuo."

Teng Yuzao looked at Zuo Mingyang and said, "Immediately send someone to the chief of staff and ask him to urge Yuxuan not to retreat even a step and to resolutely stop the two groups of foreign devils in the south in the mountains."

"Then have the chief of staff immediately order Liu Bingyi to rush to Hezhang and join Xuanqing, and let Xuanqing command the attack on Hezhang." Teng Yuzao turned to Yang Shixiang and said, "Mr. Lian, you rush to Shexian overnight and ask the local county magistrate to arrange for the people inside and outside the city to take shelter for a few days. Tell them that the foreign devils are about to attack Shexian."

Yang Shixiang, who was bending over to add charcoal to a pot of charcoal fire on the ground, quickly stood up and agreed.

Without waiting for Teng Yuzao's order, Liu Shijiu was already beaming with joy.

"Marshal, just leave the task of biting the Russian man hard to me and Ziyu. I guarantee that a large piece of his flesh will come off, and he will be in great pain."

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "You and Ziyu should hurry up and prepare for the battle. The attack time will be set at tomorrow morning. The specific battle plan will be decided based on the speed of the Russians' advance tomorrow."

Looking at Li Jinyu who was looking at him eagerly, Teng Yuzao said.

"Although you, the Eighth Town, have suffered heavy casualties in the past few days, you cannot sit idle. Grit your teeth and hold on. You must continue to harass the Russians. You must prevent them from sleeping peacefully for the next two nights. Whether you can win this battle depends on the effectiveness of your harassment."

Li Jinyu nodded and said, "Marshal, starting from last night, the Russians didn't care much about our harassment. Sometimes they were even too lazy to fight back against our harassment. They believed that we were just harassing them."

"So, I plan to take advantage of the Russians' slackness and concentrate two battalions tonight to launch an attack on their artillery units. We will give them a short assault and make them alert at night."

When Liu Changfa heard that Li Jinyu was going to attack the Russian artillery unit, he hurriedly spoke.

"Mingguang, among these foreign troops, the Russians have the fewest artillery, with only two artillery regiments, but their artillery is pretty good. They not only have 75mm artillery, but also 36 120mm artillery pieces. It would be even better if we could get some back."

Teng Yuzao agreed with Li Jinyu's idea. Taking advantage of the Russian army's harassment, launching a surprise attack would not only achieve unexpected results, but also increase the power of harassment, so that the Russian army would no longer dare to ignore the harassment and attacks of the vanguard army.

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "This is a good idea. I agree."

"However, you must be cautious, hit once and run, don't be greedy, and don't get entangled by the Russians."

"As for the Russian cannons, don't even think about bringing them back. If there's a chance, blow them up right there. This will also save us some trouble in the subsequent battles."

Teng Yuzao turned to look at the somewhat embarrassed Liu Changfa and said, "Qingyun, you are very qualified as the commander of the artillery town. I am very relieved to hand over the artillery of the vanguard army to you. I believe you will definitely make great progress in the artillery of our vanguard army."

After encouraging Liu Changfa, Teng Yuzao changed the subject and said, "However, although the Russians' cannons are from Britain, France, and Germany, they are indeed very good, but this is not the right time."

"After this battle, it won't be a big deal for you to have hundreds more cannons. Don't even think about these few cannons."

Seeing that Liu Changfa still seemed a little unwilling, Teng Yuzao smiled and said again.

"If we have a few hundred more cannons, we will set up another artillery town. Then you will no longer be a town commander. I will promote you to be the first artillery director of our vanguard army, with a rank comparable to that of an army of the great powers."

(End of this chapter)