Beiyang reactionaries

In particular, to control Anqing and Wuhu, in fact, it is enough to control the waterway of the Yangtze River.

"Mr. Xie, that's what I said. But if Duan Xun's troops are allowed to sweep across northern Anhui, it will have a great impact on the morale of our troops. Therefore, I am thinking, should I ask Mr. Xie to lead the troops to attack Tongcheng? Attack if you have the opportunity Duan Xun's troops who invaded northern Anhui should firmly control Tongcheng without a chance, and don't let Duan Xun's troops go south easily. If there is a chance to defeat Duan Xun's troops in northern Anhui, there will be a fundamental change in the battle situation .”

Chen Leshan didn't listen to Xie Hongxun's suggestion, and told Xie Hongxun according to his own ideas.

Xie Hongxun sighed inwardly.

Xie Hongxun is a complete soldier, and he thinks about problems from the perspective of fighting.Although there are quite a few troops in Anhui at present, most of them are actually not useful.

Regardless of whether it was the mixed brigades of the Anwu Army, or the Dingwu Army that Zhang Wensheng, the governor of Anhui, regarded as a treasure, fierce generals like Xie Hongxun looked down on them.

Because the strength is too weak.

The number of these troops is quite large, but Xie Hongxun thinks that once they fight, they will definitely collapse within a few rounds.

And the troops with a little combat effectiveness are all active-minded troops, which are difficult to control.Just like the third mixed brigade of the Anhui Army currently on the front line of Anqing Wharf, the strength of the troops is really good.

But their brigade commander, Wang Pu, is not easy to deal with.

Born in the Anhui Revolutionary Party, he graduated from Baoding Military Academy. He fought with the Revolutionary Army and Ni Sichong in his early years, but was defeated by Ni Sichong's troops.However, Wang Pu had a marriage contract with Ni Sichong's daughter since he was a child, so after returning to his hometown, he soon married Ni Sichong's daughter and became his son-in-law.But Wang Pu is young and energetic, he is only 32 years old this year, and he was just in his early twenties when he got married.Therefore, he does not respect his father-in-law at all, and criticizes many policies of Ni Sichong in Anhui at every turn.

This made Ni Sichong furious, and his relationship with this son-in-law was very bad.Later, relatives, friends, and daughters persuaded Ni Sichong, saying that Wang Pu was a talented man, and he was born in the serious Baoding Military Academy. Ni Sichong lacked such capable family members.Although Wang Pu didn't deal with Ni Sichong, he was Ni Sichong's son-in-law anyway.

That's why Ni Sichong started using Wang Pu.And Wang Pu's ability is really outstanding, which made Ni Sichong like him more and more, so Wang Pu went to Army University.By the time Wang Pu returned from graduating from the Army University, the Second Revolution and the War to Protect the Country had passed, and the revolutionary enthusiasm in Wang Pu's heart had also faded away.So he stated to Ni Sichong that he would never take a concubine in his life, which won Ni Sichong's further respect.

Soon he became the most powerful general under Ni Sichong.

Xie Hongxun admired Wang Pu very much.After Ni Si rushed to the field, Anhui was so turbulent that the Anwu Army was in dire straits for a while.But the Anwu Army, with Wang Pu at its core, was still not disbanded.Even under the situation of insufficient military pay, Wang Pu's Anhui Army's Third Mixed Brigade is still strong.Just from this little ability, one can know how powerful Wang Pu is.

But it was precisely because Wang Pu was so powerful that Xie Hongxun was worried about him.

Worried about Wang Pu.

This is the status quo in Anhui.In fact, the only people in Anhui that can be trusted are the troops of Chen Leshan and Xie Hongxun.Under such circumstances, there is only one way to fight.

That is the focus of defense.

Northern Anhui didn't care at all.But Chen Leshan thought differently from Xie Hongxun.Xie Hongxun only thought about the war, but Chen Leshan had more to think about.

He also has to consider some implications.Chen Leshan was worried that if northern Anhui fell too fast, it would greatly affect the morale of the troops.Once the morale drops, these half-hearted troops in Anhui might have to take refuge in Duan Xun.

That's why Chen Leshan likes Xie Hongxun leading troops to attack northern Anhui.

"Then Anqing's side?"

Since Chen Leshan thought so, Xie Hongxun did not insist on his own opinion, but asked An Qing about the matter.Duan Xun mobilized tens of thousands of troops from Hubei and Jiangxi to target Anqing, and Anqing was under great pressure.

"Anqing has my Fourth Division, Zhang Wensheng's Dingwu Army's main force, and Wang Pu's Anhui Army's Third Mixed Brigade. There are no disadvantages in terms of the number of troops. As long as we stand firm, Anqing will have no problems. .”

"it is good."

Xie Hongxun nodded.

Chen Leshan is currently the top military leader in Anqing.Now that he has decided, Xie Hongxun is willing to take the order.But Xie Hongxun thought for a while and said: "General Chen, Wang Pu is not easy to control, you should pay more attention to him."

"I see."

"Then I will take the troops to Tongcheng overnight to set up defense."

"kindness."

352 An Wujun's Choice

"Brigade Commander, the Fourth Division of the Zhejiang Army is heading north."

Xie Hongxun is a fierce general.

Since Chen Leshan asked Xie Hongxun to go north and station in Tongcheng, Xie Hongxun did not waste time.After talking with Chen Leshan, Xie Hongxun immediately returned to his unit and began to deploy.

On the night of May 1922, 5, he set off overnight.The necessary weapons and ammunition, logistics supplies, etc., will be brought up one after another by the follow-up troops.

Xie Hongxun had already left Anqing with his vanguard.

There was a lot of movement.

Even if Xie Hongxun wanted to go north quietly, it was impossible.Because Xie Hongxun's army has more than 6000 people, and he wants to go north to Tongcheng, plus the required logistics materials, how could it be possible to quietly.Especially at such a sensitive time now, everyone is paying attention to the changes around them.How can Xie Hongxun's large army go north and hide it from others.

So soon the forces around Anqing got the news.

Even the [-]rd Mixed Brigade of the Anhui Army stationed at the front line of Anqing Wharf got the news.

"all gone?"

"Not yet. However, the Fourth Division of the Zhejiang Army is moving very fast, and many barracks are already empty. Those who are currently staying in Anqing are some units that are raising troops for logistics. I estimate that most of the combat troops of the Fourth Division of the Zhejiang Army will be before noon today They should all leave Anqing."

"Xie Hongxun is worthy of being a famous general under Lu Yongxiang."

Wang Pu couldn't help admiring.

The departure of troops is not a trivial matter.Especially the mobilization of a large force of tens of thousands of people is not a trivial matter.Not only do you need to prepare a lot of things, but you also need to mobilize the troops quickly, not just walking.

Wang Pu knew that Xie Hongxun's troops had been stationed in Anqing and had never planned to go north.

But look at Xie Hongxun's actions.

After talking with Chen Leshan, I went back to the army to make arrangements for going north.In less than an hour, around nine o'clock in the evening, the vanguard troops had already moved out, and most of the large troops had already left Anqing at night.Before noon today, that is, a little more than half a day, all the troops of the Fourth Division of the Zhejiang Army will leave Anqing.This kind of movement, this kind of speed, and this kind of organizational ability are simply impossible for ordinary troops.Although Wang Pu thought that he was very good at leading troops, if he received such an order, he would definitely not be able to leave within half a day.The speed of Xie Hongxun's troops is enough to show the strength of Xie Hongxun's troops and Xie Hongxun's ability to control the troops.Even Wang Pu gasped in admiration.

so good.

Xie Hongxun really lived up to his reputation.

"Uncle Wen (Ma Xiangbin), tell me. Why did Xie Hongxun go north suddenly?"

"Brigade Commander, isn't this an obvious thing?"

Ma Xiangbin spoke with a smile.

He didn't say it directly, because Ma Xiangbin knew that Wang Pu was not unclear, but just wanted to be more sure.Ma Xiangbin didn't say anything directly, but Wang Pu still nodded.

Then he said: "Yes, in fact, you and I both know. There are no troops in northern Anhui, that is, the first mixed brigade and the fourth mixed brigade are in the Bengbu area. Maybe Shutian (Gao Shidu) has been in contact with the other side for a long time. , Just wait for the other party to come and surrender. This kid is very slippery and never does things that are disadvantaged. There is also Can Chi (chi) (Ni Chaorong), his father-in-law used to like him very much, and he took him with him like his own grandson. By my side. But this kid has never suffered since he was a child, and he is proud and arrogant, so he has never fought a war."

"Yes, brigade commander. Except for these two mixed brigades in northern Anhui, the others are all local militia groups. I have lived in Suzhou and Bengbu for many years, and I know the virtues of local militia groups. It is okay to scare ordinary people, but fighting wars is a joke. So I It is estimated that the northern Anhui area must be waiting for the wind, so Xie Hongxun will go north."

"Uncle Wen, do you think Lu Yongxiang can withstand it?"

Wang Pu was silent for a while, then asked Ma Xiangbin.Wang Pu knew Lu Yongxiang.When Ni Sichong ruled the roost in Anhui, Jiangsu, and the Yangtze River, although Lu Yongxiang was the governor of Zhejiang, he was not as powerful as Ni Sichong.Because Zhejiang controlled by Lu Yongxiang is far inferior to Ni Sichong in terms of strength.

At that time, Ni Sichong was a powerful faction of the Anhui faction, and Duan Qirui relied most heavily on him in the central provinces.Therefore, Ni Sichong's status in Anhui is much higher than that of Lu Yongxiang.