The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 481: General Offensive Launched in Advance
Chief of Staff Zuo Mingyang's shout startled everyone and they all looked up towards the night sky in the southeast.

Sure enough, in the southeast night sky, there were three flares, one red and two green, hanging high in the dark night sky.

"Damn it, what the hell is wrong with Wu Ziyu? His subordinates were so nervous that they sent the wrong flare."

Liu Shijiugang, who subconsciously wanted to shirk the responsibility for Wu Peifu, shut up after saying a few words. He suddenly realized that this might be a signal Wu Peifu intentionally sent.

Liu Shijiu, realizing the problem, suddenly blushed. Just as he was about to speak, Li Xiance on the side rushed to speak.

"Marshal, Ziyu would not send signals randomly. I suspect that Ziyu sent this signal on purpose. It should be that the Kuangkou position was breached by the foreign devils, or he discovered some special situation and had to send out the general attack signal in advance without authorization. The purpose is to urge the Marshal to launch a general attack as soon as possible!"

Teng Yuzhao would not be surprised if the Kuangkou position was broken through by the Japanese-Russian coalition forces. After all, Kuangkou had to deal with the continuous and fierce attacks of more than 100,000 coalition forces day and night, and the other side also had hundreds of cannons, and there were no less than 100 cannons with a caliber of more than 100 mm.

Under such continuous fierce attacks day by day, it is indeed questionable whether the Fifth Town, which has too many new recruits, can withstand the crazy attack of the coalition forces.

In fact, Teng Yuzhao had already prepared for the possibility of not being able to hold Kuangkou, and asked Wu Peifu to divide his troops to guard Dongda and Xida, which was a measure taken for this purpose.

"Correct."

Liu Shijiu, with a flushed face, slapped his forehead and said excitedly.

"Marshal, I guess Wu Ziyu discovered that the foreign devils had begun to cross the river and escape, so he issued the signal for the general attack, which should have been ordered by the Marshal. This is to remind the Marshal not to let the foreign devils escape, and to launch a general attack in advance!"

Worried that Teng Yuzao would hesitate, Liu Shijiu added, "Marshal, if the foreign devils have already started to flee, the troops they left behind to block and delay us must have been demoralized and vulnerable. If we launch a general attack now, the foreign devils will probably collapse at the first blow. This is a great opportunity!"

"Correct!"

Li Jinyu also said excitedly, "I also think that the foreign devils have escaped. Ziyu is reminding us that we should launch a general attack in advance!"

Although Teng Yuzhao had already determined in his heart that this was the true situation, he had to remain calm whenever something serious happened. This was a warning that he had been reminding himself of all the time since he traveled through time.

After listening to what several people said, Teng Yuzhao still turned his gaze to Zuo Mingyang.

Zuo Mingyang nodded and said, "Marshal, I agree with the opinions of the town commanders. The foreign devils must have started to escape, and then Wu Zhentong sent the signal."

"Moreover, the current will of the foreign devils to fight is not resolute. This is probably because the foreign devils' commanders have already known that they have begun to retreat and escape, so the army has no will to fight. Now is a good opportunity for us to launch a general offensive."

Teng Yuzao nodded and spoke decisively without hesitation.

"Zhiyuan, immediately order Liu Changfa to immediately order all artillery fire commanded by the artillery town to begin extended firing in ten minutes to open a path for the attacking troops."

"Second, send a signal and order the main forces of the Second Regiment on the mountain and the Sixth Regiment on Panjin Mountain to immediately take a shortcut down the mountain and attack the foreign devils in the river valley. The troops remaining on the mountain should fire more flares to illuminate the battlefield for our general attack troops. At the same time, they should also pay attention to the movements of the foreign devils and report any situation in a timely manner."

Teng Yuzao turned to Liu Shijiu and said, "Fourth Regiment, gather the troops and stop advancing in a scattered line. Charge and attack in battalion units and head straight for the Qingzhang River. If you find the place where the foreign devils cross the river, immediately cut off their retreat."

"The Second Regiment will also follow up in battalion units. If the foreign devils have already escaped, and the number of them that have escaped is large, the Second Regiment will take over from the Fourth Regiment to block the escape route of the foreign devils, and the Fourth Regiment will take a detour from Kuangkou to pursue the fleeing foreign devils."

"Since the foreign devils have already started to flee, their will to resist will not be too strong. If you encounter a foreign devil blocking force, you must attack and charge hard. No matter if the foreign devils try to escape from Dongda, Xida, or Hezhang, you must bite the foreign devils' tail tightly and chase them closely. I will lead my troops to support you later." "The Eighth Regiment."

"Here." Li Jinyu responded and stood in front of Teng Yuzhao.

"Your troops will replace the Fourth Regiment and advance from north to south in a skirmish line formation. Together with the troops that have reached the Qingzhang River, you will attack the foreign devils in the river valley. Those who refuse to surrender must be eliminated resolutely."

"Yes."

Teng Yuzao waved to the others and said, "Each of you hurry up and prepare. In ten minutes, start the action. Even if the foreign devils have already started to escape, we must kill half of them in this battle. Execute."

Sure enough, the battle in the valley progressed surprisingly quickly. After the Fourth Town and the Second Town launched a fierce attack, the coalition forces in the valley collapsed at the first blow and a large number of surrenders soon occurred, which further confirmed Teng Yuzhao's judgment.

An hour later, there were only sporadic gunshots in the encirclement. However, the gunshots in the lower reaches of the Qingzhang River were still dense, but the artillery fire had stopped.

Teng Yuzhao took Liu Changfa and found Pan Jinshan, who had just come down from the mountain and was covered in dust, and Li Jinyu and Zuo Mingyang, who were in high spirits, at the bank of Qingzhang River.

As the battlefield was extremely chaotic, Teng Yuzao stayed behind at the strong dissuasion of Li Jinyu and Zuo Mingyang. He acted with the artillery town.

In the Artillery Town, in addition to the Artillery Town's own guard forces, a guard battalion following the headquarters is also cooperating with the Artillery Town's guard forces to protect the safety of the artillery and prevent sneak attacks by any foreign devils who have escaped the net.

Teng Yuzhao will act together with the artillery town, so his safety will be guaranteed.

Although Teng Yuzhao was eager to understand the situation on the battlefield, after all, a part of the coalition forces in the encirclement had been eliminated. Teng Yuzhao suppressed his anxiety, walked quickly to Pan Jinshan, stretched out his hand and pulled down Pan Jinshan's saluting hand and held it tightly.

"Rui Guang, you fought very well. I will commend you. Thank you for your hard work! Are the casualties of the troops too great?"

Teng Yuzhao didn't bother to ask about the battle situation. As soon as he saw him, he asked about it with concern. This made the haggard Pan Jinshan suddenly feel a severe fever, and he hurriedly spoke loudly.

"Thank you, Marshal! Nearly half of our troops have been killed or wounded, but we can still fight. I request that you allow our Sixth Regiment to follow you in chasing the foreign devils."

Teng Yuzao waved his hands and said, "Rui Guang, your troops probably haven't had a full night's sleep these days. Don't argue anymore. When you go back, your Sixth Town will be reorganized according to the model of other towns, and you will have a strong Sixth Town immediately."

"The equipment and personnel of the sixth town will be exactly the same as the first five towns."

"Now, the second brigade coming down from the mountain is temporarily under your command. Immediately take over the task of collecting prisoners, eliminating the remaining enemies, and cleaning up the battlefield."

After saying this, Teng Yuzhao did not forget to shake Pan Jinshan's hand.

Pan Jinshan was deeply moved by Teng Yuzao's promise.

He joined the vanguard army together with Hu Dianjia. Hu Dianjia's official rank was much higher than his when he was in the Wuwei Vanguard Army. But now, he is about to catch up with Hu Dianjia's rank. How can he not be happy?

And all this was given to him by Teng Yuzhao!

(End of this chapter)