The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 479 The Marshal is Right
Li Baihui asked Wu Peifu tentatively, "Town Commander, do you think the foreign devils could really risk their lives to escape by wading through the water?"

Wu Peifu nodded and said, "The Marshal is right. A cornered dog will jump over the wall, and a cornered rabbit will ask for help. What's more, these are hundreds of thousands of foreign devils."

"We have already surrounded them tightly, with an area of ​​more than 20 miles from north to south and an average width of 10 miles from east to west. The widest part along the Qingzhang River is only 15 or 16 miles wide. For a large army of more than 100,000 people, there is no depth."

"Tell me, if you were the commander of the foreign devils, what measures would you take now?"

Li Baihui said without hesitation, "Of course we can't just sit there and wait for death. We can either fight to the death to seize Kuangkou and open up a passage for the army, or we can concentrate our forces and turn back to kill the pursuers led by the Marshal and fight a decisive battle with the Marshal in the river valley. After all, the foreign devils have more than 100,000 people and have a certain advantage in terms of military strength."

Li Baihui's words made Wu Peifu slightly stunned, but he immediately shook his head.

"Chief of Staff, your statement is somewhat original, but I judge that the foreign devils will never turn around and fight the Marshal."

Without waiting for Li Baihui to ask any questions, Wu Peifu continued.

"If you want to fight to the death, you must have the determination to die and the soldiers to live. But don't forget that the foreign devils are a coalition force, and they are an eight-nation coalition with ulterior motives. If you win, the benefits will be shared by the eight countries, but the losses will only be borne by your own country."

"This is destined. None of these foreign devils will let their own soldiers make huge sacrifices in order to win. In the eyes of the foreign devils, that is simply making wedding clothes for others."

"Besides, even if the foreign devils have the courage to fight the Marshal, not only does the Marshal have the army of three towns at his disposal, but the most important thing is that the foreign devils' artillery can't go up the mountain, but our mortars can. Once he leaves and looks for a wide valley, all his troops will appear within the firepower range of our nearly 1,000 field artillery and mortars."

"If this is the case, it won't be a fight to the death, but a fight to seek death."

Wu Peifu's words made Li Baihui nod involuntarily.

Li Baihui then added, "However, in this kind of weather, the river will even freeze at night. If the foreigners really wade across the river, I think that would be a way to die!"

"Besides, the river channel near Kuangkou is relatively narrow, while the river channel to the south facing the foreigners is very wide and the water is more than one person deep. When we came here, we had already removed the door panels of the only Baishihu villagers nearby. There are few tall trees nearby, only low shrubs. Even if the foreigners wanted to build a floating bridge, they would have nothing to build it with."

"Also, even if the foreign devils really build a pontoon bridge, our scouts on the south bank will definitely find it. Once that happens, the Third Brigade, which is kept as a reserve, will arrive soon and blow up the foreign devils' pontoon bridge with a barrage of mortar shells."

Wu Peifu sighed and said, "You are right. This is also the reason why the foreign devils have been desperately attacking our Kuangkou position since last night. Only by opening Kuangkou can they escape safely to Hezhang."

"only."

Wu Peifu took a bite of the steamed bun, chewed it, and spoke thoughtfully.

"The foreign devils have been attacking our positions continuously since last night, but why did they suddenly stop now? And it has been more than two hours now, and there is still no movement?"

Li Baihui smiled and said, "Town Commander, from last night till now, the foreign devils have been launching continuous fierce attacks on us. Their artillery even cut off a layer of several hilltops we occupied, causing thousands of casualties to our First Brigade, but the foreign devils' casualties will also exceed 10,000." "Besides, the foreign devils are also human beings, and they are not as hardworking as our soldiers. From last night till now, it is estimated that the foreign devils in the valley have not only not slept, but even have trouble eating. They must also rest and take a breath."

After hearing what Li Baihui said, Wu Peifu couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Chief of Staff, don't think that the people in the foreign countries are all rich and their soldiers can't stand hardship. If that's the case, you are totally wrong."

"According to the Marshal, among these powers, except for Britain, France, the United States, Germany, and Austria, where the people are relatively wealthy, the domestic conditions in Italy, Russia, and Japan are not good. Even the military expenses of the Russians and the Japanese to join the Allied Forces this time were borrowed from the banks of Britain and France."

"Especially in Russia and Japan, their people don't live well. In some places, their lives are even worse than ours. They are lucky to have a piece of black bread to fill their stomachs. And their soldiers are almost all from poor peasant families."

"Among the armies of these powers, the Russian and Japanese soldiers are the most hardworking. Not to mention that they haven't slept well these days, and they may not even eat on time. But as long as they are not too hungry to walk, they will still fight us with guns."

Wu Peifu sighed and said this.

"So, we still have to be careful. I suspect that the Russians and the Japanese are adjusting their deployment in order to escape tonight. The possibility of wading across the river is very high. Order our alert and reconnaissance troops on the south bank of the Qingzhang River to closely monitor the river situation."

"Oh, and order them to expand their surveillance area all the way to the foot of the mountain in the west."

Li Baihui couldn't help but feel a little surprised that the surveillance range was extended to the western foot of the mountain.

"Town Commander, except for the wide river channel in the south where the water is shallower, the river at the foot of the mountain in the west is not only fast-flowing but also very deep. It is not suitable for wading across the river at all!"

Wu Peifu shook his head and said, "It's the dry season now. I'm worried that there might be a place over there where we can wade across the river."

Seeing Wu Peifu's confident look, Li Baihui couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Town Commander, if that's the case, I suggest that you become the third assistant of the reserve team and move forward."

Li Baihui leaned over to look at the spread-out map, and pointed a finger at the hook of the Chinese character "Ji". "Move forward and wait two miles south of the bottom of the northern cliff. What do you think?"

Wu Peifu looked at the position pointed by Li Baihui and nodded, saying, "Very good, let's do it. At the same time, order Wu Zijia to transfer all the mortars of the first brigade to the third brigade. The troops are not allowed to rest tonight. Everyone must be on alert and keep their eyes open. He is in charge of the position here."

"Send a message to the Second Brigade defending Dongda and Xida, and ask them to step up their alert and not allow the troops to sleep."

Wu Peifu thought for a moment and said, "Send someone to inform Commander Hu of the Third Regiment and tell him that the foreign devils are going to break out tonight, and ask them to be on high alert as well."

(End of this chapter)