Master Yuan, start!

Seeing this, Ling Gong Chuntai quickly climbed out of the trench and followed closely behind.

Under the leadership of the squad leader and company soldier representative with a Hubei accent, the National Revolutionary Army launched another siege charge.

Although the newly formed 2nd Mixed Brigade did not carry out thorough ideological transformation and did not hold grievance meetings to criticize the landlords, it did establish a three-member system at the grassroots level.

When the situation was clearly leaning towards the National Revolutionary Army, the three grassroots members were still quite brave and dared to take the lead in the charge.

One can only say that Zhang Zhidong did lay a good foundation for the Hubei New Army.

In late October in Hunan, the weather was a bit chilly, and the sunlight was scattered obliquely on the soil in front of Yuezhou City.

There was deafening artillery fire in the rear, and friendly artillery shells continued to bombard the Yuezhou city walls, and from time to time a few shells hit the city.

On the land front, the National Revolutionary Army, setting out from the trenches, was slowly approaching the Yuezhou city wall.

[During this period, the Second and Third Mixed Brigades launched several fierce attacks on Yuezhou City, and Yuezhou City was on the verge of collapse several times.

But no matter how many times they attacked the city wall, in the end the Hunan Brave Army and the Lingnan New Army in the city were able to tenaciously take back their positions.

"Can we take it down this time?"

Gong Chuntai looked at the dark muzzle on the city wall that had claimed the lives of many friendly soldiers, and wondered when it would fire.

"2000 steps, or 1800 steps?"

Just as Gong Chuntai was thinking in his mind, he suddenly felt that he had kicked a "stone", staggered forward and almost fell.

qLooking down carefully, Gong Chuntai realized that it was the body of a Hunan Warrior. His face had long lost its color, his eyes were wide open, and his whole body was frozen stiff in the late autumn weather.

"Shaonan?"

Gong Chuntai looked at the face on the ground and felt that it seemed familiar. He quickly squatted down and picked up his right hand to check.

When he discovered that the deceased had only four fingers on his right hand and the little finger was broken off at the root, Gong Chuntai was finally convinced that the dead person was Cai Shaonan, his companion and close friend who learned to make fireworks in Liuyang.

The two of them had originally agreed to join the Jiangnan New Army, but were separated during the war. Gong Chuntai originally thought that Cai Shaonan had died on the Jiangbei battlefield.

But he didn't expect that Cai Shaonan actually escaped back to Hunan and continued to work for the Hunan Army until he died in front of Yuezhou City.

"Bah, died in vain!"

Gong Chuntai cursed the now dead Cai Shaonan with some regret, then stretched out his right hand and slowly closed his eyes.

"Wait for me, once we win this battle, I'll take you back to Liuyang!"

Stepping over his best friend's body, Gong Chuntai's face turned pale as he walked towards Yuezhou City without avoiding.

...

On the top of Yuezhou City, debris and dust kept flying. In just a few minutes, the battle map was covered with a layer of khaki dust.

Zhang Gaoyuan, the commander of the Lingnan Huai Army, heard the rumbling sound of artillery and spat on the ground fiercely.

"The Yuan army is really willing to spend money, treating the shells like they're free. Aren't they afraid of running out of ammunition?"

"No rush, let's do it the same as before. Wait until they're done fighting, then we'll fight back. Yuezhou City is still as strong as a rock!"

The Lingnan Huai Army in Yuezhou City was the 3nd Brigade of the 2rd Regiment led by Zhang Gaoyuan. Together with the thousands of Hunan Warriors in the city, they formed a defense force of over people.

Zhang Gaoyuan was very proud of the achievement of being able to block three mixed brigades of the National Revolutionary Army north of Yuezhou with the strength of one brigade.

In his opinion, after this battle, he would have an 80% chance of being promoted to the commander of a town division based on this achievement.

When he thought of this, a feeling of jealousy emerged in Zhang Gaoyuan's heart.

Wang Xiaoqi, who was born in the same year as him, had some kind of luck that allowed him to command an entire town of troops at the beginning of the year.

But he could only lead a brigade of troops.

They are all three outstanding figures of the late Huai Army, why are there such big differences between them?

Seeing the National Revolutionary Army infantry approaching the city wall, Zhang Gaoyuan directly vented his anger on the National Revolutionary Army in front of him.

After seeing the artillery fire from the lake in the distance stop, he drew his sword and slashed at the city wall, leaving a white mark. He shouted angrily, "Fuck him! Beat him! Beat him!"

Old, Han 978+7424

Just as the sound of gunfire rang out, Zhang Gaoyuan's adjutant hurriedly ran up the city wall from behind him.

"Commander, we can't fight anymore!"

The adjutant's shouting surprised the soldiers who were lying at the gap in the city wall and firing. Even the movement of pulling the bolts slowed down. They tilted their ears to try to hear what was happening.

Seeing this, Zhang Gaoyuan could not help but turn around and angrily scold his adjutant:

"What the hell are you talking about? He's already right in front of you, why aren't you fighting?!"

The adjutant hurried forward and whispered, "Commander, we can't fight anymore!

We are fighting desperately here to stop the National Revolutionary Army from moving south, but Wei Rugui in Jiangxi has run directly from Nanchang to Ganzhou!

Nanchang is lost, Ji'an is lost, and the passage from Jiangxi to Hunan is wide open!"

"What? Nanchang has fallen?!"

Zhang Gaoyuan found it a little bit hard to believe. In his opinion, the defenders of Nanchang were much larger than those of Yuezhou, and Nanchang City was also much stronger than Yuezhou City. Even if Yuezhou was lost, Nanchang might not be lost!

"No, it's not lost, it's not defended at all!" The adjutant hurriedly explained, holding the telegram:

"Wang Xiaoqi led his troops out of the city in a circuitous route, intending to raid Yuan's rear, but he was ambushed and his entire army was annihilated.

When Wei Rugui saw Wang Xiaoqi knocking at his door, he led his army on a 600-li march that night, without even looking back, all the way to Ganzhou!

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Gaoyuan's eyes widened and he felt a surge of anger rushing from his spine to his brain.

"Wei Rugui, Wang Xiaoqi, you two beasts, beasts!!!"

Zhang Gaoyuan's roar was so loud that even Gong Chuntai, who was climbing up the mountain, heard it.

^^679102[

However, he had no time to think about who Wei Rugui and Wang Xiaoqi were. He kept turning and moving, looking for rocks as cover, and rushed upwards in a zigzag shape.

"Strange, within 300 steps, the gun should have been fired long ago, right?"

Gong Chuntai leaned against a big rock, his heart pounding. It was the first time he was so close to Yuezhou City. In the past, he would be shot at when he was about 500 steps away.

But now, at 300 steps away, no one in Yuezhou City had fired a shot.

"Could it be that they plan to wait until the people get closer before focusing their fire?"

The situation was eerily quiet. Gong Chuntai couldn't figure out what was going on and didn't dare to move forward rashly.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, someone finally mustered up the courage to rush forward. Seeing this, Gong Chuntai hurriedly followed closely behind.

It was not until he climbed over the gap in the city wall and walked into the city that Gong Chuntai understood what was going on.

A group of soldiers defending the city sat dejectedly on the ground, with their rifles placed aside. The two leading soldiers held up white flags and waved them at the soldiers of the 2nd Mixed Brigade that were pouring into Yuezhou City.

After more than ten days of stubborn resistance, Yuezhou City, led by the defending general Zhang Gaoyuan, announced its surrender.

Chapter 403: Civil War II

The three fronts of Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi, on which Li Hongzhang had high hopes, had already been broken through by the National Revolutionary Army.

Naturally, Li Hongzhang placed his hopes on Ye Zhichao in Guizhou, whose organization was still intact and who had been recuperating for a long time.

Ye Zhichao has not been idle during this period.

Historically, before facing the Japanese in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Ye Zhichao fought fiercely. Whether it was suppressing the Taiping Rebellion or suppressing the Rehe Uprising, he was able to personally lead the elite troops and charge into battle.

It was precisely because of these past experiences that he was entrusted with the important task of defending Pyongyang and facing the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

In this time and space, he had no chance to face foreigners, and once again demonstrated his expertise in civil wars.

Just when the Sichuan people and the Huai people in the Sichuan New Army were fighting each other, he moved north from Guizhou at an extremely fast speed and penetrated into the chaotic area of ​​central Sichuan.

First, they cut off the route for the Sichuan New Army in Chengdu to advance eastward, and then turned around and launched a fierce attack on southeastern Sichuan.

With the help of the Huai soldiers who had been stationed there for several years, Ye Zhichao first captured Luzhou and then Chongqing. In just over ten days, he completely took control of the southeastern Sichuan area.

As for the remaining Sichuan New Army that dispersed after the defeat, most of them chose to flee to the rear and escape to the Chengdu Plain.

After learning the news, Li Hongzhang was naturally overjoyed. He sent several telegrams asking Ye Zhichao to leave Sichuan as soon as possible and raid Hubei.

Li Hongzhang sent his trusted aide Yu Shimei with a Lingnan Bank bill of exchange worth 100 million taels, saying that it was to reward Ye Zhichao and the soldiers for "recovering eastern Sichuan." Not only that, Li Hongzhang also awarded Ye Zhichao the title of Governor of Sichuan.

But even with such courtesy, Ye Zhichao himself, who was placed with high hopes by Li Hongzhang, had no intention of leaving.

He now sits comfortably in Zunyi Prefecture, Guizhou, smoking the finest Guizhou tobacco, and ignores Li Hongzhang's order to seek a decisive battle with Yuan's army.

"Humph, what Yuezhou is impregnable, what Nanchang is indestructible, they are all rubbish!"

Ye Zhichao held the latest intelligence from the rear in his hand and bluntly belittled his friendly forces.

Although he learned from the telegram that Jiangxi and Hunan were in crisis, he did not look anxious. On the contrary, he looked thoughtful.

The Lingnan Huai Army's forces were divided into four parts, one part was stationed in Guangzhou, and the other three parts were sent to Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.

Now that most of the military forces of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces have been lost, Ye Zhichao understands that his own importance has suddenly increased.

If he could take advantage of the situation to attack Hubei and directly strike the heart of Yuan's army, then the war between the North and the South would still be going on.

But if he turned to Yuan Shikai, or even did not need to change sides, but just sat back and ruled the mountain as king, it would almost be the end of the Guangzhou Lingnan Military Governor's Office.

Seeing Ye Zhichao's silence, his close confidant Jiang Zikang rolled his eyes and approached and said:

"Marshal Ye, ever since the news of the fall of Yuezhou and the subsequent emergency at Changsha and the fall of Nanchang and the subsequent emergency at Ganzhou came out, we have received several telegrams a day from Guangzhou urging us to move forward.

Out of the river, out of the river, which river is out?

In my opinion, things are really messed up over in Guangzhou!

The road to Shu is difficult, the road to Shu is difficult. This line has been said in poetry for thousands of years. Doesn’t he know it?

Jiang Zikang, a subordinate of Ye Zhichao, was not very good at fighting, but his ability to read people's expressions was definitely top-notch. They looked at Ye Zhichao holding the telegram in his hand in silence and quickly guessed the hesitation in his heart.

However, after hearing this, Ye Zhichao did not express his opinion on the issue of sending troops, but instead said to himself:

"I have done my best to ensure that the Sichuan New Army is not controlled by Yuan Shikai. I have done my best for Old Man Quan."

Jiang Zikang, who was standing by, immediately echoed the words, "Marshal Ye is absolutely right. The Hunan and Jiangxi battlefields were completely routed, and only Guizhou and Sichuan achieved a breakthrough. Marshal Ye, among the Lingnan Huai Army, you have the clearest conscience!"

Ye Zhichao didn't feel anything about the flattery of his confidant. However, after hearing the words "clear conscience", he suddenly raised his head, looked at his confidant and asked:

"You said that Yuan Shikai at least gave himself the title of so-called president. I heard that foreigners also have presidents, and they are appointed to positions of high caliber, with a minimum of four to five years and a maximum of eight to ten years. It is definitely not a lifelong position.

But what about that old man? Judging from his words and actions, I'm afraid that after the Qing Dynasty falls, he wants to become the emperor of the Han people.