Respectfully

After sending John away, Li Jinyan went to see Mrs. Lou.

Mrs. Lou was playing cards with some concubines, when she saw Li Jinyan, she beckoned him over.Compared to half a month ago, Mrs. Lou's health has decreased a lot.Hearing from the girl, she vomited so badly morning and night that even calling several doctors didn't help. Seeing that Mrs. Lou's face was no longer as rosy as before, Marshal Lou jumped up anxiously, but there was nothing he could do.

"It's because I'm getting older." Mrs. Lou said with a smile, "It's not like before. When I was pregnant with Xiao'er, I didn't feel so uncomfortable even if I struggled all day."

The three concubines echoed from the side, seeing that Mrs. Lou had something to say to Li Jinyan, they excused and left.

Ever since Li Jinyan presided over and arranged the wedding of Miss Six and Miss Seven, the attitude of everyone in the Lou family towards him has changed unknowingly.Especially the three concubines, even if Li Jinyan was considered their junior, they didn't treat Li Jinyan as casually as before.On the day Miss Six and Miss Seven returned home, they treated Li Jinyan with even more respect.Obviously, the few days at her husband's house made the two ladies "sensible" a lot.The housekeeper's servant who had played tricks with Li Jinyan before, also started walking with his head bowed when he saw him, and dared not have any other thoughts.Li Jinyan knew what it was for, and thanked Mrs. Lou from the bottom of his heart.

"Silly boy, if you call me mother, I should protect you." Mrs. Lou frowned suddenly in the middle of her words. Li Jinyan hurriedly turned to call girl, but was stopped by Mrs. Lou, "It's okay, after a while Just fine."

"Should I tell the girl to ask the doctor to have a look?"

"It's really fine, don't make a fuss." Mrs. Lou said, "I came here to talk to you about the Dragon Boat Festival."

"Dragon Boat Festival?"

"Today is the 25th of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, and the holiday will be in ten days." Mrs. Lou picked up a candied fruit from the table and took a bite. "I think my mother-in-law is always lonely living alone, and she doesn't like to go out. Walking around, my body is inconvenient now, why don't I bring my in-laws and my mother to celebrate the festival together."

"Mom, this..."

"That's the deal." Mrs. Lou interrupted Li Jinyan without waiting for him to finish speaking, "No matter what, on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, my mother-in-law must come to the house to have fun. You are also busy during this time, It's hard for me to see you, let alone my mother-in-law? Didn't you take your mother-in-law out of Li's house just to be filial to her? How can she feel better if she doesn't see you all day long? "

Li Jinyan nodded, he was indeed negligent about this matter, it wouldn't be all right if he took the second wife out of Lou's house, how could parents not want their children to be happy?

"Mom, thank you!"

"My family, what are you thanking for?" Mrs. Lou said, picking up another preserved fruit and putting it into her mouth.

Curious, Li Jinyan couldn't help but picked up one and took a bite, his facial features were wrinkled immediately by the sourness, he picked up the teacup and took a big gulp, at least to suppress the sour taste.

Mrs. Lou laughed straight at the sight, "It makes you hungry." She deliberately picked up a preserved fruit to tease Li Jinyan, "Eat another one? Maybe it won't feel sour."

Li Jinyan was frightened by Mrs. Lou, and he didn't dare to hide casually, for fear that Mrs. Lou would knock or touch it, and the matter would become serious.People often say that pregnant women have great emotional changes. Li Sanshao had no experience in his previous life, nor in this life, so he could only smile wryly in the face of the current situation.

In other words, isn't Mrs. Lou really treating him like a cat?

Marshal Lou and Young Marshal Lou saw this scene when they came out of the study, Marshal Lou hurriedly stepped forward to support Mrs. Lou, "Ma'am, be careful."

"I'm not paper, how can I be so expensive?"

"Always be careful."

It's not easy for Mr. Lou to have a son, no matter his wife or children, he can't make any mistakes!Thinking of the battle situation discussed with his son in the study just now, he immediately hated those few people who refused to stop.

According to the current situation, Song Zhou definitely intends to win Shandong. No matter Zaozhuang or Linyi, as long as he wins a firm foothold, he can take advantage of the trend to go north, or take the whole territory of Shandong except Qingdao, or continue to go north. , are enough to pose a threat to the northern government.

However, there are nearly 8 people stationed in Hebei's five divisions of President Sima Da.The biggest possibility is to move to Henan after winning Shandong. Yuan Baoshan is definitely not his opponent. Once Henan is won, and Liu Fuxian from Sichuan will join forces to form a three-sided encirclement of Hubei. At that time, Song Qining in Hubei will only have two paths. , Either fight to the death or run away from Shaanxi.

Ma Qingxiang from Ganshan is a master of plucking geese. If Song Qining is really forced to that position, it is estimated that there will not be much left in the family he saved.

Of course, all of this is the guesswork of the Lou family and his son. Before things get to the worst, the six northern provinces will send troops no matter what.If Song Zhou really digs out his lair, he won't even have a place to stay.

Marshal Lou was reprimanded by Mrs. Lou, still with a smile on his face, Young Marshal Lou walked up to Li Jinyan and sat down, "What did you say to Mother just now?"

"My mother said that I want to pick up my mother to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival."

"Dragon Boat Festival?"

"Well, it's the nineteenth day of this month, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month."

Hearing about the Dragon Boat Festival, Lou Dashuai and Lou Shaoshuai were silent at the same time.

"What?" Mrs. Lou first sensed that Marshal Lou's expression was wrong, "Marshal Lou?"

Marshal Lou rubbed his face, "If Song Zhou was really sent into Shandong, the six northern provinces would have to send troops."

"Send troops?" Li Jinyan turned to look at Young Marshal Lou, "Do you really want to send troops?"

"En." Young Marshal Lou nodded, and pressed Li Jinyan's shoulder with one hand, "Don't worry."

Li Jinyan opened his mouth, when did he say he was worried?He was just asking if he was going to send troops.In his mind, no matter who it is, it has always been Marshal Lou who bullies others.

But looking at the situation in front of you, it's better not to explain it. After all, misunderstanding is always beautiful, but reality is often unwelcome.

As Marshal Lou expected, after the troops from the six southern provinces captured Taierzhuang, they went northward along the newly completed Taierzhuang Railway, occupied Nigou Town and Feng County along the way, and launched an attack on Zaozhuang on the morning of June [-]. Offensive.

Song Zhou had just ordered twenty Nissan 75-type 120 field guns and two [-]-type [-] howitzers from President Zheng Da, and they all put them on the train and drove to Zaozhuang.Although each gun is equipped with only one base shell, it is not easy to transport.This railway can be regarded as a great help to the army of the six southern provinces.

Even so, the attack that was supposed to be launched on the morning of June 12 was delayed until the early morning of June [-].The commander of the No.[-] Division of the Seventh Army of the Southern Six Provinces, who led the attack all the way, jumped and scolded, but he had no choice but to miss the opportunity and watched the Lu army guarding Zaozhuang make preparations in advance.The surprise battle turned into a fortified battle, and the battle damage increased irresistibly.

Even if the artillery of the No.12 Division smashed the positions of the Lu army into big pits one after another, and the sand and stones splashed, the entire area was covered with black smoke and dust from the explosion, accompanied by a dead silence, as if all The defenders had all been killed by the previous shelling.

But whenever the gunpowder smoke cleared and the troops from the six southern provinces began to attack, there would always be surviving Lu troops emerging from all directions of the position.

They are both Chinese, but they are opposing sides at this time. A civil war is definitely not what these soldiers want, but the battle has reached this point, no matter which side can easily retreat.

No one is not afraid of death, and no one is willing to fight desperately with their compatriots, but they have no choice!

The civil war may be just a means for the superiors to fight for power, but what is destroyed by the war is a real life, the pillar of the family, the son of the mother, the husband of the wife, and the father of the child.

The weapons of the Lu army defending Zaozhuang were inferior to those of the troops of the six southern provinces. With the old sleeves in their hands and the rifles made in Hanyang, which were almost worn out, they still held their positions stubbornly.

The battle lasted from early morning to evening, and the artillery shells of the troops in the six southern provinces were almost exhausted, and the positions ahead were still unable to be captured.

When the two division commanders of the Seventh Army received the battle report, they frowned in distress.In one day, the several regiments that took turns to attack all lost a lot. If this continues, even if they take Zaozhuang, they will probably be hurt.

After nightfall, the gunfire finally stopped, and no one in the trenches of the Lu army was unharmed. When the battle was most tense, the brigade commander, not to mention the regimental commander, rushed into the battlefield with his guards.

"Didn't the commander send a telegram saying that there are reinforcements?!" The head of the main regiment with a bandage on his head said loudly: "The gang of southern barbarians are accurate with their guns, and they are terribly cruel with their bayonets. If this continues, it will take less than two days." There is not a single brother left!"

The brigade commander also frowned, and he directly spread out the telegram he had just received in front of several regimental leaders, "Let's read it all."

It turned out that when the battle in Zaozhuang was at its most intense, Linyi had already been captured by the troops from the six southern provinces, and the opponent continued to march north without stopping, splitting up into two groups, all the way to Yanzhou, and all the way to Teng County, obviously to copy them Back road!

"This is to siege us to death here!" A team leader slammed the table fiercely, "Traveler, what should we do? Just let someone swallow it in one bite?"

"What else can we do? Hold on!" The brigade commander grabbed his hat, "Even if we retreat, where can we retreat?"

Several regiment leaders looked at each other, two of them blinked slightly, and their eyes fell on the brigade commander who was looking down at the map, thinking in his heart: Brigade, it's not that the brothers are unkind, it's because they are forced to do nothing, we can't let all the brothers die here?

That night, a strengthened brigade of the Lu army guarding Zaozhuang had a mutiny. In the early morning of the next day, the two regiment leaders directly telegraphed the whole country, and Yi Zhi joined the army of the six southern provinces and took refuge in the southern government.

Shandong Commander-in-Chief Han Anshan was anxious because the two divisions entering Anhui were trapped, and when he got the news again, his eyes darkened and he almost fainted.He was clearly tricked!The confidants who encouraged him to send troops before had disappeared long ago, and the secret agents who had been lurking in the six southern provinces suddenly disappeared. If he didn't know that he had fallen into a trap, he would have lived in vain for so many years!Regardless of whether it was Song Zhou or someone else who set the trap, in short, he stepped in, his ankle was tightened, and he couldn't break free even if he wanted to.Song Zhou holds the six southern provinces in his hand. How can he fight with someone surnamed Song?

"Marshal, what should we do now?" A staff officer asked.

"What else can I do?" Han Anshan looked gloomy, "Send a telegram to the President, asking for reinforcements!"

"Yes!"

"Wait!" Han Anshan suddenly stopped the staff officer.

"Master?"

"...It's nothing." Han Anshan waved his hand, feeling a sudden exhaustion in his heart. He worked so hard for so many years, but in the end he still made a wedding dress for someone else, regardless of whether he was Lou Shengfeng's army or Sima Jun's personal soldier. , this Shandong will never be surnamed Han again.

After Zaozhuang was occupied, Sishui, Qufu, Yanzhou, and Teng counties also fell into the hands of the troops of the six southern provinces one after another.If Jining is captured again, the Lu army's retreat into Anhui's two divisions will be completely blocked, and Shandong will also open the door wide.

Sima Jun received a report from Han Anshan asking for reinforcements, pondered for a long time on the map, and finally ordered the six northern provinces to send troops!

This day is June 1912, 6 in the Gregorian calendar, the second day of the fifth lunar month, and there are only three days before the Dragon Boat Festival.