Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 162 Cannon Fodder? Who is the Cannon Fodder?
Simon Hall headquarters!

Chen Jie bought a large area connecting his residence on Ximen Street and the Ximentang camp.

The former main altar of the Simon Church has now been moved inside the camp.

On the outskirts of the camp are three five-meter-high walls with iron spikes on them.

Chen Jie has always been a person with serious lack of security.

Therefore,
The construction of the Ximentang camp is naturally based on the requirements of four words - solid as a rock!
Not only were mechanical crossbows used on the surrounding walls, but they were also used.

He even secretly installed an infrared alarm device on the top of the wall.

The Ximen Hall intelligence organization "Hidden Shadow" that Thirteenth Aunt is in charge of has its office located near the camp's residence.

Wan Jinpeng's martial arts skills have recovered a lot. With his assistance to Aunt Thirteen, the "Hidden Shadow" has developed very quickly, and the core staff has exceeded fifty people.

Not far from Chen Jie’s campsite is Zeng Xuanhuai’s residence.

This scholar, since he ordered the killing of all prisoners in the Austro-Hungarian Concession last time, has given Ximen Tang a token of his allegiance.

He is now Chen Jie's right-hand man, specifically responsible for handling the internal management of Ximen Hall.

at this time,

In a large office in Ximen Hall, Aunt Thirteen was reporting to Chen Jie the intelligence recently obtained by "Hidden Shadow".

Never underestimate the workload of an organization's intelligence department.

There is a lot of information available every day, so it is not an easy task to organize all the information.

During this period, Thirteenth Aunt devoted a lot of energy to setting up the "Hidden Shadow" intelligence department.

Even a warrior like her who was at the 'early stage of Iron Bone Dark Energy' realm felt extremely tired.

Every day she would look through thousands or even tens of thousands of pieces of intelligence, picking out information that would have an impact on Ximen Hall or that needed to be reported to Chen Jie in a timely manner.

"Junior brother! Here is a piece of information. What do you think of it?"

After looking through a pile of intelligence documents for a while, Aunt Thirteen handed a piece of information to Chen Jie.

"The commander of the Western Allied Forces, Seymour, appointed Austro-Hungarian Lieutenant General Hunter as the commander of the First Army, leading 20,000 Western Allied Forces to be stationed in the Biandu Concession at Tianjin Port!"

She knew that the situation in Ximen Hall was very serious, and she had not had a good rest during this period because she was collecting intelligence.

The army is overwhelmed!

The Western coalition forces were ready to go to war at any time.

The Daqian Dynasty continued to send reinforcements to Tianjin, and the two sides seemed to be engaged in a subsequent game.

The war is about to start.

Chen Jie flipped open the information, glanced at it, and said indifferently:

"It's okay! Seymour has shouted this many times, just to intimidate the court."

"They are drafting an unequal treaty and preparing for the Daqian Dynasty to sign it."

"Let's ignore them for now and focus on developing ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Thirteen actually shook her head and said:

"Junior brother! I always feel like something is wrong."

Chen Jie was stunned, looked at Aunt Thirteen, and said in surprise: "Tell me what you think."

Aunt Thirteen thought for a moment, pointed at the information in Chen Jie's hand, and said:

"If someone else is in charge, it might be just to intimidate the court and negotiate with it."

"But this time, with Hunter from the Austro-Hungarian coalition serving as the commander of the First Army, the situation is completely different."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie immediately became interested.

He didn't expect that Aunt Thirteen had her own unique insights into the analysis of intelligence.

It seems that during this period of time, Aunt Thirteen has learned and grown a lot while building "Hidden Shadow".

"What's the difference? The Western coalition and the Easterners are now suspicious of each other and are not ready to launch a general attack."

"The commander of the Western coalition forces, Seymour, has always been wary of the Japanese. He will definitely not go to war with the Daqian Dynasty at this time."

Chen Jie pointed at the intelligence analysis.

Aunt Thirteen nodded and said, "If the Austro-Hungarian Concession had not been attacked, perhaps, as Junior Brother said, they were just a deterrent and would not act rashly."

"But, Junior Brother, don't forget that five days ago, our Ximen Hall attacked the Austro-Hungarian Concession!"

"This time, Seymour asked Hunter of the Austro-Hungarian coalition to lead 20,000 troops and station them in the Biandu Concession!"

"The direction in which the Daqian Dynasty is currently increasing its troops is exactly the Dagukou Fort in Tianjin, which is less than 20 kilometers away from the Biandu Concession."

"Junior brother, do you think that after the Austro-Hungarian Concession suffered such a heavy blow, Hunter, with 20,000 troops, would stay in the Biandu Concession so obediently?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie's face suddenly became serious and he said, "You mean, Hunter is likely to attack Dagukou without declaring war?"

Aunt Thirteen nodded and said, "It's very likely. If I put myself in his shoes, I think Hunter is likely to attack Dagukou in the next two days."

"Once Daqian's defense at Dagukou collapses, the Western coalition forces will likely capture the Dagukou Fort in one fell swoop."

"Immediately afterwards, the Western coalition forces launched a general offensive, marching straight into the capital!"

Chen Jie thought about it and shook his head:
"The Dagukou Fort is the most important defensive fortress of the Daqian Dynasty. The one hundred Weiyuan cannons purchased by the Military Affairs Office from the West are all placed at Dagukou!"

"Moreover, the Ministry of War has recently sent 100,000 more troops to the Dagu Fort, which will be guarded by General Ye Zhicheng himself, and the troops are strong and powerful."

"Hunter wants to take Dagukou by force with 20,000 men, but it is impossible to succeed."

Thirteenth Aunt showed a trace of worry on her face, took a deep breath and said: "This is what I am most worried about."

Chen Jie asked in confusion: "Aunt Thirteen, even if the Western coalition forces launch an attack, it has nothing to do with our Ximen Hall, what are you worried about?"

"Junior brother, if Hunter does not attack violently, but only bombards with artillery from a long distance, the losses at Dagukou will be very great."

Thirteenth Aunt said in a deep voice: "According to the imperial documents, the area where our Ximen Hall needs to participate in the battle and assist in the defense of the four major 'righteous groups' in the capital happens to be Dagukou."

"General Ye Zhicheng of the Ministry of War is an important figure who opposes the formation of the 'righteous group'."

"If it weren't for the pressure from the Sixth Prince and the Emperor, Ye Zhicheng would have wanted to wipe out all the major forces in the capital long ago, and would not have wanted to form a militia at all."

"At this time, Dagukou was attacked. What do you think Ye Zhicheng will do?"

Chen Jie frowned when he heard this.

He thought about it and nodded:

"Aunt Thirteen, what you said makes a lot of sense!"

"Ye City will take this opportunity to use several 'righteous groups' as cannon fodder!"

"Dagukou is defended by a hundred cannons and 100,000 elite soldiers, making it impregnable."

"This old guy is in opposition to the Sixth Prince. He is likely to want to weaken the power of the Military Affairs Council and let Ximen Hall fight the Westerners head-on."

Aunt Thirteen exhaled and said:
"Yes, this is what I am worried about. The City of Leaf may take this opportunity to wipe out the forces of our Ximen Hall and other 'righteous groups'."

Chen Jie lowered his head and thought, the more he thought about it, the more serious the situation seemed to him.

In Xicheng District of the capital, ever since Ximen Tang became the leader of the "righteous group", he has attracted attention from all sides.

Ximen Hall has been developing very fast recently, recruiting new people and many of its actions cannot be hidden from outsiders.

However, everything that happens within the Ximentang camp is kept highly confidential.

Whether it is training, operations, equipment, or arsenals, etc., they are all strictly managed and difficult for outsiders to know.

Ye Zhicheng must think that Ximen Hall is a force similar to the Taiping Axe Gang.

Once Hunter of the Austro-Hungarian coalition attacked the Dagukou Fort, Ye Zhicheng would certainly let Ximen Tang and other "righteous men" rush to the front and serve as cannon fodder.

Thinking of this, Chen Jie's expression became solemn:

"Please come here, Mr. Zeng!"

A few minutes later, Zeng Xuanhuai came to Chen Jie's office.
Chen Jie took a deep breath and showed him the information he had obtained.

Thirteenth Aunt stood beside Chen Jie, looking curiously at this scholar who was praised highly by his junior fellow apprentice.

Zeng Xuanhuai is now Chen Jie's assistant, right-hand man, and most capable assistant.

Although he was a clerk from the Grand Council and applied to join Ximen Hall, he was resourceful and had very accurate judgment.

Zeng Xuanhuai was responsible for the entire internal management of Ximen Hall, no matter how big or small.

It can be said that Zeng Xuanhuai played an indispensable role in Ximen Hall's smooth expansion and orderly management.

at this time,

Thirteenth Aunt was very curious about Zeng Xuanhuai and wanted to see how he would judge this matter.
Zeng Xuanhuai looked at the information carefully and frowned slightly.

Next,
He put down the intelligence and said to Chen Jie: "Sir, you asked me to come here, I think you understand the current situation of our Ximen Hall."

Chen Jie was a little surprised when he heard this.

Thirteenth Aunt spent a lot of effort to investigate the intelligence, and only then did she guess that once the Western Allied Forces attacked Dagukou, Ximen Hall would be used as cannon fodder.

Zeng Xuanhuai only took a quick look at the intelligence he had just obtained and determined that Ximen Tang would face a challenge.

This scholar is not simple!
Whether it is logical thinking ability or analysis and judgment of things, he is outstanding.

Aunt Thirteen smiled and asked, "Mr. Zeng, the situation you are talking about, do you mean——?"

Zeng Xuanhuai pointed at the intelligence and said in a deep voice: "The commander of the Western Allied Forces, Seymour, appointed Hunter of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as the commander of the Western Allied Forces' First Army. His purpose is obvious, he wants to start a war!"

"He wanted Hunter to take the lead, and he also wanted to test the bottom line of the Daqian Dynasty."

"But if the Dagu Port Wharf is attacked, General Ye Zhicheng will probably take this opportunity to kill someone with a borrowed knife!"

"General Ye Zhicheng has always been very disgusted with the forces of the underworld. He will never allow Ximen Hall to grow stronger."

"The fact that the 'righteous group' is not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War is, in his opinion, simply ridiculous."

"So there is no need to think about it. Leaf City will definitely take this opportunity to consume all the 'righteous groups' organizations."

Chen Jie nodded and said:
"Since even Mr. Zeng thinks so, it seems that the possibility of it happening is more than 90%."

"Aunt Thirteen was thinking the same thing just now. She was thinking about how to deal with it."

Oh?
Zeng Xuanhuai then turned his gaze to Aunt Thirteen who was beside Chen Jie.

Talented man and beautiful woman!

At this moment, Zeng Xuanhuai couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

This woman and this young man are a perfect match!
She looked graceful and dignified, and gave off a cold aura, and it seemed that she had good martial arts skills.

The key is,
He could see that the relationship between the young master and this woman was unusual.

That's right, the young master put this woman in charge of Ximen Hall's most important intelligence department, 'Qianying'.

It can be imagined that this woman is definitely the person the young master trusts the most.

Before this, Thirteenth Aunt had been working and living outside the Ximentang camp and was not familiar with Zeng Xuanhuai.

Zeng Xuanhuai showed an intriguing smile on his face, and asked Chen Jie: "Sir, how do you think we should deal with it?"

Chen Jie shook his head and said calmly:

"He doesn't have the ability to use my Ximen Hall's people as cannon fodder!"

Zeng Xuanhuai lowered his head and remained silent for a moment, then sighed and said:
"You can't refuse. Ye Zhicheng is a general in the Ministry of War. He holds a high position of power. Although the Righteous Group is not affiliated with the Ministry of War, it must obey orders during wartime."

"Sir, it is definitely not possible to refuse openly. Once we are labeled as 'treasonous', the 'righteous group' will most likely become the target of extermination by the imperial court's military department."

Chen Jie frowned and said in surprise, "Sir, do you mean to let our brothers in Ximen Hall serve as cannon fodder?"

Knowing that Ye Zhicheng from the Ministry of War would use the attack on Dagu Fort as an excuse to deplete the power of the rebel group, he still sent Ximen Tang to die?

Zeng Xuanhuai nodded and explained while counting on his fingers:

"Of course we have to go! If we don't go, how can we take down the Dagu Fort?"

“This is a tough challenge, but also an opportunity for us!”

"Dagukou is the gateway to Tianjin, and has always been a battleground for military strategists."

"The most important thing here is the port, which is where the foundation of Tianjin's 'Westernization Movement' was established."

"The most important shipyard of the Daqian Dynasty is at Dagu Port, as well as the copper smelting plant, iron smelting plant, and so on!"

"What's more, Dagukou has what we need most!"

"With this thing, our Ximen Hall can have a hundred people respond to our call. No matter how much money you have, you can't buy something like this!"

finished,

Zeng Xuanhuai looked at Chen Jie with burning eyes.

Chen Jie suddenly had an idea and asked in surprise, "Are you talking about reputation?"

Zeng Xuanhuai nodded and said, "Yes, it is reputation! The imperial court established the righteous group originally to resist the Western coalition forces!"

"If Ximen Tang can defeat the Western coalition forces at Dagukou, it will be able to restore the reputation of the Righteous Group and truly gain the support of hundreds of people in the martial arts world."

"By then, even if Ximen Tang doesn't want to be the leader of the Righteous Group, other forces will definitely elect Ximen Tang as the leader!"

Chen Jie frowned slightly, shook his head and said, "It's unrealistic to take Dagukou from Ye Zhicheng of the Ministry of War!"

"No!"

Zeng Xuanhuai shook his head carefully and said, "If it were normal times, there would indeed be no chance, but now is different. This time we have a good chance of taking down the Dagu Fort."

Seeing Zeng Xuanhuai's confident look, Chen Jie naturally knew that this scholar had a plan in mind.

He smiled and said, "Sir, you are very resourceful. How can we take over Dagukou? Tell me about it."

Zeng Xuanhuai took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice,

"Ye Zhicheng wants to use the various righteous groups as cannon fodder, so he will definitely give up the defenses of Dagukou first and kill with a borrowed knife!"

"But the premise of all this is that he doesn't understand the combat power of our Ximen Hall."

"If you misjudge our strength, it will be our chance to seize the Dagu Fort."

"The military rules of the Daqian Dynasty stipulate that whoever conquers the territory will own it."

“General Ye Zhicheng will not give us any muskets and artillery, and will give up the Dagukou fortifications. Once we block the attack of the Western coalition forces.”

"As long as we don't withdraw, Dagukou will be ours."

finished,

Zeng Xuanhuai hesitated for a moment and said, "The problem now is that we only have 500 people in Ximen Hall. It is very difficult to defend Dagukou!"

Chen Jie thought about it and said calmly:

"The whole area around Dagukou is in full view, and everything within a five-kilometer radius can be clearly seen."

"If we rely on the fortifications at Dagukou and the mortars at Ximentang, the 20,000 Western coalition troops led by Hunter will never be able to capture Dagukou."

"The longer it takes, the stronger and more sufficient our firepower will be!"

"If Seymour launches a general attack in a month, we might be able to give him a big surprise!"

Zeng Xuanhuai said seriously: "Looking at the situation, Hunter of the Austro-Hungarian coalition is likely to start a war within three days. We must prepare in advance!"

"I believe the military order from Ye City's Ministry of War will be delivered to Ximen Hall in the next two days."

"This battle is very important to Ximen Tang, and it is also very important to the war faction of the Daqian Dynasty!"

"The court is still arguing over the formation of a 'righteous group'."

"The Sixth Prince and the Military Affairs Office are under great pressure!"

Chen Jie smiled and said, "Okay, I'll just wait for the conscription order from the military officer Ye Zhicheng, and then I'll drive him out of Dagukou with justification!"

(End of this chapter)