Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 163: Fire and Smoke! Enemy Attack

Zeng Xuanhuai shook his head, took a deep breath and said:
"Sir, even if the military department issues a conscription order, our Ximen Hall is not affiliated with the military department, so how can we talk so easily?"

Chen Jie was stunned when he heard this: "What do you mean, sir?"

Zeng Xuanhuai showed a shrewd smile on his face and said in a deep voice:
"Sir, the longer we delay, the better it will be for us!"

"How can we not reap the benefits at this time? Others will think we can manipulate them at will."

Chen Jie suddenly came to his senses and had to admire this scholar.

He laughed and said, "Sir, you are so talented. It is time to take advantage of this opportunity to reap the benefits!"

Aunt Thirteen, who was standing next to them, was confused as she listened to what the two were saying.

She didn't understand, what was there to be happy about?

At this point, what benefit can I get?
The two of them laughed for a while, and Chen Jie said seriously: "Mr. Zeng, if we want to achieve our goal next, what do you think I should do?"

Zeng Xuanhuai nodded and said, "Once a war breaks out at Dagukou Fort, the first thing you will do is get sick!"

"Get ill?"

Aunt Thirteen asked in surprise, a little confused.

"Yes, I am sick!"

After saying that, Zeng Xuanhuai came to a large map hanging on the wall of the office.

He pointed to the location of the Dagu Fort on the map and explained:
"Once Hunter's Western coalition forces launch an attack on the Dagu Fort, the first thing the Ministry of War will think of is to send the 'Righteers' out to serve as cannon fodder!"

"There are more than just our Ximen Hall's 'righteous group' in the capital. Young Master must take advantage of this opportunity. His sudden illness clearly shows that he does not want to fight."

"Our Ximen Hall is located in the West District of the capital, far away from the Dagu Fort."

"Even if the Western Allied Forces break through the Dagukou Fortress, what does it have to do with our Ximen Hall?"

"These days, no one is a fool and no one will rush forward rashly."

Thirteenth Aunt was even more confused and asked in confusion, "Didn't you just say that we must obey orders and go to the battle? Why are you disobeying orders now?"

Chen Jie laughed and explained:
"Being sick is not disobeying orders! We must go to the battle. Once we really start the battle at Dagukou, my illness will be cured quickly!"

Zeng Xuanhuai gave Chen Jie a thumbs up and said with a smile:
"Young Master is very smart! As long as you claim to be sick, that old man Ye Zhicheng will definitely urge us Ximen Hall to go to war. He is anxious to let us be cannon fodder and die, which is our chance to reap the benefits and extort money!"

Chen Jie smiled and nodded, "The Ministry of War has a lot of industries, I'm really jealous!"

finished,

Chen Jie pointed to a place near Tianjin on the map and took a deep breath.
"I want the port, I want the shipyard, I want the steel mill, I want all the territory in Tianjin!"

"If you want me, Ximen Tang, to go to Dagukou to stop the Western Allied Forces, you must give me what I want!"

"They might give it to me perfunctorily, but once it's in my hands, it's not that easy to take it back."

"We in Ximen Hall may not be that capable of eating so much."

"But don't forget that we have the Military Affairs Council standing behind us, and the Sixth Prince and the Emperor who are the 'war faction'."

"If we don't take advantage of the situation now, when will we take advantage of it?"

Zeng Xuanhuai agreed, "That's right. As long as we get enough benefits, we will go to garrison Dagu Port and give Hunter's First Army of the Western Allied Forces a big surprise!"

"Once Ye Zhicheng from the Ministry of War gives us benefits, he won't be able to take them back."

Next,
Zeng Xuanhuai said seriously: "Sir, now that we have made a plan, let's start preparing."

Chen Jie nodded and ordered:

"Go and arrange the next things. The 'mortars' at the arsenal should be produced at full capacity to ensure that we are equipped with fifty mortars when we go to Tianjin Dagukou."

"Let Zhang Changfeng and Yan Kuangtu come to see me. We in Ximen Hall either don't fight or we must become the first righteous group in Daqian!"

"Also, send someone to inform Xu Shichang of the Grand Council. We are trying to take advantage of the situation to get what we want. Aren't they trying to use Ximen Hall to counter the 'peace faction'?"

"Aunt Thirteen, notify Wan Jinpeng. From now on, send someone to keep an eye on Ye Zhicheng!"

-

Hunter of the Austro-Hungarian coalition led 20,000 elite troops and stationed them in the Bian Du Concession.

but,

This move did not cause much impact in the army of the Daqian Dynasty.

After receiving the news, General Ye Zhicheng of the Ministry of War simply sent a notification to all the generals under him as a routine matter.

The Dagu Fort is heavily guarded and is as solid as a rock.

Unless the Western Allied Forces launched a general offensive, it would be a pipe dream to capture the Dagukou Fortress with only 20,000 people.

Don't forget that there are a hundred Weiyuan cannons at Dagukou. Although the Westerners have strong firepower, they do not have an advantage facing a hundred Weiyuan cannons.

These Weiyuan cannons are advanced artillery imported by the Daqian Dynasty from West Germany.

Therefore,
Ye Zhicheng did not take this news seriously and continued to be busy reorganizing the troops under his command.

This time, an additional 100,000 troops were stationed at Dagukou, and they were troops drawn from various places.

Some of them are the elite guards of the capital, and it is difficult for them to work together with the troops from other places.

Dagukou Fortress is very large. Although it is called a strategic fortress, in fact, its line is very long, stretching for several kilometers.

The most elite force under Ye Zhicheng's command - the Xiongwu Army, led by Assistant Commander Ma Liangkun, has the strongest combat effectiveness.

At the key location of the Dagukou Fortress, there stood two Acropolis, each garrisoned with 2,000 men.

Just like the two horns of a bull's head, standing at the very front of Dagukou.

The entire front of the Dagukou Fortress is within the attack range of the Weiyuan cannon.

Therefore,
The defense of Dagukou is as solid as a rock.

If you want to capture Dagukou by force, you can't even think about it without more than twice the number of troops.

Ever since General Ye Zhicheng of the Ministry of War took charge of guarding the Dagukou Fortress, he knew the task was arduous and had specially strengthened the defenses.

In order to improve combat effectiveness, he deployed his elite troops in the most important places.

There were originally only two thousand men stationed in the two Acropolis, but now the force has doubled.

Ye Zhicheng knew very well that the Western coalition had been clamoring to attack the Daqian Dynasty, and this war was inevitable.

As for Hunter leading 20,000 Western coalition forces stationed in the Bian Du Concession, it was just a test.

Therefore,
Ye Zhicheng was not too anxious.

At present, the 100,000 garrison troops at Dagukou Fortress have not yet been reorganized, and many strategic materials have not yet been deployed.

There’s a shortage of food——!
Ye Zhicheng’s biggest headache now is the problem of feeding 100,000 people, and he can only coordinate supplies everywhere.

We should strive to have supplies in place when the Western coalition launches the general offensive one month later and inflict a severe blow to the Westerners.

With the impregnable defense of Dagukou, he believed that even if the Western coalition launched a general offensive, they would not gain any advantage.

Ma Liangkun is a fierce general under Ye Zhicheng of the Ministry of War, and his kung fu has reached the "late stage of iron bones and dark energy".

He was able to become an assistant lieutenant general because of his real abilities.

Ma Liangkun is well-known for his bravery throughout the Ministry of War.

Since being stationed at the Dagukou Fortress, Ma Liangkun has been guarding the most important place in Dagukou - Tanggu Port!
Ye Zhicheng knew that Ma Liangkun was brave but lacked wisdom.

Therefore,
He was worried that Ma Liangkun would lose his composure after being provoked by the Westerners, so he specially appointed his adviser Xu Wenyang to assist him.

With Ma Liangkun and Xu Wenyang, one civil and one military, the Xiongwu Army became the strongest army under General Ye Zhicheng.

After receiving a report from General Ye Zhicheng of the Ministry of War, Ma Liangkun disagreed with the Western Allied Forces stationed in the Bian Du Concession.

According to previous information, the Western Allied Forces' general offensive will be launched in a month, so now is definitely not the time for it.

Therefore,
After Ma Liangkun sent out scouts to spy on military intelligence outside the Tanggu Port, he did not increase the alert too much.

November 7th!
Tanggukou still started training step by step.

The soldier stood on the watchtower and looked ahead.

As the weather gets colder, the fog increases.

In the morning sun, there is a hazy feeling. A few kilometers ahead of Tanggukou is a small plain, and Tanggukou is like the mouth of a gourd.

This place is easy to defend but difficult to attack, which is also an important reason why Ma Liangkun did not take the Western Allied Forces stationed in the Bian Du Concession seriously.

The Xiongwu Army is composed of elite soldiers who have experienced hundreds of battles and their combat effectiveness is definitely not bad.

Even many elite soldiers had experience in fighting against the Western Allied Forces.

If they were on the coast, with no strategic location to defend, the Xiongwu Army would certainly not be able to stop the Western ships and cannons.

The artillery of the Western Allied Forces’ ships was extremely powerful.

They anchored five kilometers away from the coast and were able to destroy all fortifications on the shore with artillery.

But now, near the Tanggu Port, there are a hundred Weiyuan cannons from Dagukou, which prevent Western warships from docking.

Therefore,
If the Western coalition forces want to break through the Tanggu Port and open the defensive positions of Dagukou, it depends on whether they are tough enough.

The elite soldiers of the Xiongwu Army were determined to teach the Western Allied Forces a lesson.

On the observation tower at Tanggukou.

The soldier on sentry looked up into the distance.

The sky in the east was bright, and beacon fires were seen lit a few kilometers away.

That was the scouts lighting the beacon fire.

Boom-boom-boom--!
Next,
I saw that other beacon towers a few kilometers away had lit up beacon fires.

The sentry on duty on the watchtower was completely stunned after seeing this scene.

this moment,
In the fog that had just dissipated, the dark mass of Western coalition forces, with muskets in hand, approached the entrance of Tanggu in an orderly manner.

Launch the attack!
Enemy attack!

The sentry on the watchtower, blow the horn immediately.

Toot—toot—!
For a while,
The simple and dull sound of the horn echoed over the entire Dagukou Fortress, making people feel depressed.

this moment,
The common people living near Dagukou Fortress heard the sirens from the horn and then looked up to see smoke signals in the distance.

For a while,
All the common people poured into the Dagukou Fortress.

On the fortifications at Tanggukou, the soldiers of the Xiongwu Army were lined up fully armed.

The muskets were placed on top of the city walls, and the cannons were also set up.

On both sides of the fortifications, there were crossbows, which were used as long-range attack weapons in the past of the Daqian Dynasty, and hundreds of them were all taut.

Many soldiers were carrying various bows and arrows, earth cannons, sandbags and other things.

When the scouts outside Tanggukou retreated, the entire Tanggukou's defensive fortifications were on high alert.

have to say,

The Xiongwu Army was worthy of being the elite of the Daqian Dynasty. They fought in an orderly manner without any panic.

this moment,
The soldiers of the Xiongwu Army raised their muskets and looked at the dark mass of Western coalition forces approaching gradually in the distance.

Boom——!
After the scouts retreated into the fortress, the gate of Tanggukou was closed.

Ma Liangkun was wearing the armor of the assistant general of the Daqian Dynasty, and one hand was holding the hilt of the sword at his waist.

He stood on the wall of the Tanggu Port fortifications and looked up at the Western Allied Forces in the distance.

An aura of dominance emanated from him.

The aura of a powerful late-stage Iron Bone Dark Energy master was displayed to the fullest at this moment.

An old man following him frowned slightly when he saw the Western coalition forces in the distance.

"Mr. Xu, Hunter of the Western Allied Forces actually took the lead in attacking our Tanggukou!"

"They are used to showing off their power with their guns. If I don't give them a bit of strength today, they will think that there is no one in the Daqian Dynasty!"

Ma Liangkun curled his lips in disdain when he saw the Western Allied Forces musketeers in the distance.

Do you think you can open a gap from Tanggukou and take over the entire Dagukou Fortress with just these musketeers?

Isn't this underestimating our Xiongwu Army?
Xu Wenyang looked up into the distance, shook his head, and said solemnly:

"General, these people are the elite of the Western Allied Forces, and the leader among them is Hunter from the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

"But judging from their attire, the main combat force should be the elite of France."

"The French are best at bombardment, and Hunter's combat habits also make him good at artillery."

"They and the Japanese in Shandong used artillery to clear the way and directly captured Weihaiwei."

"So it is impossible for these people to attack our Tanggukou Fortress with muskets."

Ma Liangkun was stunned when he heard this, and frowned, "What do you mean, sir?"

Xu Wenyang pondered for a moment and said:
"They showed up in a big way, one kilometer in front of the fortress, just out of the range of musket fire!"

"If I'm not mistaken, they should be testing the strength of our Tanggukou defense."

"What I am worried about now is that Hunter will lead the Western coalition forces to bypass the Dagukou Fortress and attack other places in Tianjin."

"Once our defense forces are dispersed, I'm afraid it will be difficult to stop them."

At this moment, Xu Wenyang was worried.

Separate attack?

The Western coalition forces dispersed their forces, bypassed the Dagukou Fortress, and attacked Tianjin?
Damn it——!
It's really possible.

However, the Dagukou Fortress was guarded by 100,000 elite troops.

Once the Western coalition forces divided their forces and went around, wouldn't they be worried that the elite troops stationed at Dagukou would attack them from behind, cut off their supplies, and wipe them out?

Ma Liangkun thought to himself and told Xu Wenyang about his inner doubts.

Dividing the forces to attack was not an advantageous thing for the Western coalition forces.

Once they really dispersed their forces, it would give the Daqian Dynasty the opportunity to defeat them one by one and cut off the supply of their warships at sea.

Xu Wenyang shook his head and said with a wry smile:

"General, Hunter leads 20,000 men. They only need to leave 5,000 men here to contain the Xiongwu Army at Tanggu Port."

"The other 15,000 men can be divided into three groups, bypassing the Tanggu Port and attacking other parts of Tianjin."

"Although the Western Allied Forces have only dispatched 20,000 troops so far, there are 80,000 Western Allied Forces in the rear, waiting eagerly and ready to launch a general attack at any time."

"I always feel it's a bit weird that they use our Tanggu port as a breakthrough point."

"If we divide our forces to intercept them, it will be very difficult and will also continue to weaken our defenses."

Upon hearing this, Ma Liangkun suddenly became anxious.

"If they really don't intend to attack Tanggukou, but want to split their forces and bypass it, then it will be troublesome!"

"No, I have to report to the Ministry of War immediately and let General Ye know."

Xu Wenyang looked up at the dark mass of Western musketeers in the distance, squinted his eyes and said:

"Although the Ministry of War has increased its troops by 100,000 in Dagukou, all kinds of supplies have not yet arrived. General Ye Zhicheng is still organizing the troops!"

"Our mission is to defend the Dagukou Fortress and stop the Western Allied Forces from attacking the capital!"

"As for the Western coalition forces splitting up to attack various places in Tianjin, I guess General Ye Zhicheng will definitely order each army to hold their camps and not send out troops, in order to prevent problems with the defense of Dagukou and eventually be breached by Seymour's army."

Hearing this, Ma Liangkun became completely anxious.

"Damn it - if that's the case, then every place in Tianjin will be in danger!"

"Once these Western allied forces divided their forces and bypassed Dagukou, they entered Tianjin and burned, killed and looted."

"The people in Tianjin are going to be in trouble!"

"Since they dare to divide their forces, why don't we cut off their supply lines and beat the dog at the gate?"

"Today I want to see how I can tear them apart if they split their forces and bypass Tanggukou right under my nose."

(End of this chapter)