The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 397: Fight a War of Annihilation
Wei Jinghai's words surprised Teng Yuzao.

He originally thought that the coalition forces in the north should only be composed of the brigade of the Japanese 9th Division that retreated to the north of the capital and 20,000 Russian troops, which means there are more than 30,000 people.

But now, the Japanese troops in the Allied Northern Army are almost all of the Ninth Division.

The Third Mixed Brigade now has only 13,000 to 14,000 troops. Although most of the casualties of the Third Mixed Brigade were minor, they were still wounded and had all been sent to the camp office in Luzhou.

It is not easy to stop nearly 50,000 coalition forces equipped with cannons with 13,000 to 14,000 people. Every extra day of fighting will result in huge casualties. Hard resistance is definitely not a solution.

Even if the 3rd Mixed Brigade was even slightly negligent, there would be the danger of being surrounded by the Allied Forces.

Teng Yuzao thought for a moment and said decisively, "Order."

As soon as Teng Yuzhao opened his mouth, Wei Jinghai quickly took out his pen and prepared to take notes in his notebook.

"The Third Mixed Brigade does not have to defend Shiting to the death. They must be especially careful not to be surrounded by the foreign devils. They should fight and retreat along Yanzhuang, Bachagou, and Balizhuang all the way to Beijiantou."

"The final retreat to Beijiantou must not be earlier than 15:00 tomorrow, but the retreat cannot be too slow either. We must withdraw from Balizhuang by noon at the latest."

"At the same time, we must also order Hu Dianjia that if the foreign devils stop attacking at night, they should not let them have an easy time. They should adopt the method we used in the capital and send out a small force to harass the foreign devils at night."

In order to attract Wei Jinghai's attention, Teng Yuzhao emphasized his tone.

"I also want to remind Hu Dianjia that their night harassment of the foreign devils this time should be different from the time in the capital. This time, the purpose is not to kill or injure the foreign devils. As long as they don't let these foreign devils have a good rest, they will achieve their goal."

Teng Yuzhao took a deep breath and continued to give orders.

"Order Liu Yuzhi again and ask him to urge the Second Mixed Brigade and the Artillery Brigade to speed up and arrive in Yi County before 22:00 tonight to repair and wait for orders."

Teng Yuzao said to Wei Jinghai, "Ningbo, the area between Balizhuang and Beijiantou is not a mountainous area, but it is on the edge of a mountainous area with many hills and valleys. Send out scouts immediately to survey the terrain along the way in detail, find a suitable place for an ambush, draw a sketch, and we will ambush the foreign devils from the north there."

"Yes."

When he heard that they were going to ambush the Northern Allied Forces, Wei Jinghai couldn't help but get excited.

"Marshal, I will rush back to the headquarters to convey the order. At the same time, I will send a few staff officers to follow the reconnaissance troops to check the terrain together. Be sure to bring back a detailed topographic map before dark."

Seeing Wei Jinghai turning around and about to leave, Teng Yuzao reminded him again, "Ningbo, remember to send someone to inform the villagers in Yanzhuang, Bachagou, and Balizhuang that the foreign devils are coming. Tell them to go out and hide first. They will be safe in three days at most. Tell them to overcome the difficulties for a few days."

Because of his values ​​in his previous life, Teng Yuzhao was unwilling to let the people suffer casualties and property losses.

As soon as Wei Jinghai left, Wu Peifu spoke impatiently.

"Teacher, what is the mission of our Guards Association?"

Seeing Wu Peifu's impatient look, Teng Yuzao smiled and shook his head and said, "The mission of your Guard Association is to stop these foreign devils chasing us."

Seeing that Wu Peifu looked eager to try, Teng Yuzhao reminded him.

"According to the intelligence sent back by Mingguang, this group of foreign devils is composed of the coalition forces of Britain, France, Russia and Japan. There are more than 50,000 people, no less than 200 cannons, and some of them are large-caliber cannons."

"Among them, there are more than eighty large-caliber cannons with a caliber of more than 100 millimeters."

According to the standards of later generations, cannons with a caliber of more than 120 mm are considered large-caliber cannons. However, at this time, the domestic custom is to classify cannons with a caliber of more than 100 mm as large-caliber. Teng Yuzao pointed to the Juma River in front of him and said, "Although you have the advantage of terrain, it will be difficult to block these foreign devils while retaining this stone bridge."

In order to attract Wu Peifu's attention, Teng Yuzao said again.

"Don't underestimate this mission. Whether you can hold off this group of foreign devils for two days is related to the success or failure of our ambush on the foreign devils in the north."

"If you can stop this group of foreign devils, we will most likely be able to annihilate the nearly 50,000 foreign devils in the north in one fell swoop. This will be the largest annihilation battle our Vanguard Army has fought since its establishment. If we achieve the goal of the battle, it will at least buy our Vanguard Army another month of repair and expansion time."

"On the contrary, if we let the foreign devils chasing us from the other side of the river cross the river, not only will we fail to achieve our goal of annihilating the foreign devils in the north, but we will also be chased and beaten by 100,000 foreign devils all the way."

"Moreover, the combined strength of the two groups of foreign devils is only about 100,000. They should have about 50,000 troops, including the 30,000 new German troops, who have not yet appeared. They are likely to be following the foreign devils on the opposite side. You have a heavy burden!"

"teacher."

Wu Peifu puffed out his chest and said, "As long as the students are alive, the foreign devils will never be able to cross the river."

Teng Yuzhao nodded, looked at the gradually decreasing number of horses and vehicles on the other side of the river, and continued.

"After crossing the river, the baggage camp will go directly to Yi County and will not hold you back. If you really can't stop the foreign devils, you can blow up the stone bridge. I won't blame you for that. After all, you have less than 10,000 troops now."

Teng Yuzao patted Wu Peifu on the shoulder and said in a stagnant tone, "You must remember, I don't want a dead Ziyu, I only want a living Wu Peifu. You are now a senior general of the Vanguard Army, no longer an ordinary soldier of the Wuwei Vanguard Army. The teacher hopes that you can live well and become a strong helper and assistant to the teacher."

Seeing that Wu Peifu's eyes were a little red, Teng Yuzhao hurriedly spoke again.

"Zi Yu, don't just stare at the stone bridge. Also pay attention to the movements upstream and downstream to prevent the foreign devils from sending people to wade across the river and cut off your retreat."

Seeing Wu Peifu nodded solemnly in agreement, Teng Yuzhao spoke again with some concern.

"The artillery fire from Mingguang has stopped. The foreign devils are about to attack again. They can't hold out for too long. The remaining vehicles and pack horses should all be here in half an hour at most. Send someone to notify Mingguang and ask him to withdraw in an hour."

"Okay, teacher, I'm here, so you can go back to the headquarters without worry. There are still many things waiting for you there."

Teng Yuzao shook his head. "I'll be waiting for you in your headquarters. Make arrangements as soon as possible and rush back to the headquarters as soon as possible. You have to command the blocking battle here."

An hour later, on a hill 500 meters away from the stone bridge, in a camouflaged shelter, Teng Yuzhao and Wu Peifu were observing the direction of the stone bridge with binoculars.

Although there was an artillery telescope mounted on the observation port in the shelter, Teng Yuzhao did not occupy it.

This artillery telescope is the only one in the Guards Artillery Battalion. At this moment, an observation staff officer is putting his eyes close to the artillery telescope and observing it carefully.

The baggage camp on the other side of the river, with its carts and pack horses fully loaded with ammunition and supplies, had all crossed the stone bridge more than twenty minutes ago, and now there was no one on the other side.

“Withdrawn.”

Wu Peifu's voice, both excited and worried, rang out in the shelter.

In fact, the sharp-eyed Teng Yuzao had already seen the withdrawing troops through his telescope.

However, the situation of the retreating troops made Teng Yuzao's heart sink.
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(End of this chapter)