The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Zhang Yinghao suddenly wondered if he was being too harsh on others. After all, Liu Tao had only been in charge of the industrial department for a short time, so he wondered if the procedures there were normal.

The most challenging aspect of industry is the process of going from zero to one. Take refining gasoline and diesel: if you can refine one liter, you can refine one ton, and then countless tons. It's like an assembly line: if you can produce one product, you can produce ten, a hundred, and so on and on. The initial stage is difficult, but after that, it's just a process of upgrading and upgrading. This is the charm of industry: if you have it, you have it; if you don't, you don't. Just like the production of ammunition in the liberated areas: if you can't produce it, you can't produce it. When you can produce it, it churns it out like a stream. After that, Zhang Yinghao never worried about his ammunition again.

But many things are easier said than done, like the kerosene and gas refining in the liberated areas. The theory was there, and everyone knew to be careful, but gas leaks still caused numerous deaths from suffocation. There was no way around it. War wasn't the only thing that claimed lives; the toll of industry was just as high.

Just as Zhang Yinghao was lamenting the difficulties of industrial construction and preparing to attend to other matters, Yiguo, the Grand Councilor of the Qing Dynasty, rushed to see Cixi and said, "Empress Dowager, bad news! Kunming has been captured by the Sichuan Red Bandits."

"How could it be so fast? It's only been a few days. Where are the armies of the great powers? Didn't Xiliang say that the armies of the great powers would also help the Qing army?"

"The armies of the great powers have been captured by the Red Bandits again."

"What? The armies of the great powers were captured again? How could the Red Bandits be so powerful? What should we do?"

Cixi was also a little panicked at this time, and said with trembling lips: "This is God's will to destroy our Qing Dynasty."

"Empress Dowager, I don't think it's the Red Bandits that are so powerful, but rather that the great powers can't bring their full strength to bear in inland areas. Britain's navy is the world's strongest, and France's army is formidable, but in Yunnan they can't bring their full combat effectiveness to bear."

In fact, Yizhu himself was also very puzzled. Needless to say, the fighting power of the armies of the great powers was self-evident. A few thousand British and French troops had slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Qing troops. He did not believe that the Red Bandits were powerful. We were all Chinese. It was impossible to say that the Qing army was not good, and your Sichuan army was so powerful? This made no sense. The only explanation was that the great powers could not fully exert their fighting power in Yunnan.

"You said earlier that the Red Bandits and the British didn't engage in a major conflict in Tibet because it was a barren land. So, is it possible that the foreign powers would wage an all-out war against the Red Bandits in Yunnan?"

As early as the PLA entered Tibet, the Qing court hoped that Britain and Sichuan would fight a major battle in Tibet, but they did not expect that the PLA would eventually force the British to surrender and defeat them. They also hoped that Britain could continue to hold back the Red Bandits in Tibet, but they did not expect that there would be no news from Tibet, and the Red Bandits would quickly march into Yunnan and Guizhou.

"Empress Dowager, in my opinion, Britain and France will not go to war.

It’s also a wild and desolate place.”

“The British have suffered such a great loss, but they are the world’s most powerful country.

Can they swallow this? Are they willing to suffer the loss twice in a row?"

"This, this~ I don't know. But now the British gunboats are heading towards Sichuan.

The UK is naturally unwilling to fail, but what will the UK do?

I really can’t think of how to do this.”

"Waste, all of them are waste. The plan you made before, Wei Wei to save Zhao,

Woolen cloth?

Hearing this, Yixin said with a bitter face again: "Empress Dowager, the Guangdong and Guangxi regions are

Southern Hunan is now in a state of panic due to the rebellion of secret societies and has no ability to move forward.

Instead, a lot of troops from Yunnan and Guizhou were withdrawn to suppress the rebellion of the Guangxi secret society.

The army left Yunnan and Guizhou empty, which gave the Red Bandits an opportunity to take advantage. The two lakes region, hum~

Zhang Zhidong, that old fox, has not yet moved his troops out of Wuhan after so many days.

Now only the Second Regiment of the New Army stationed in Henan is still attacking Tongguan, Gansu

The army is harassing the Shaanxi-Gansu border area.

The Beiyang New Army was formed by the Qing Dynasty in Tianjin Xiaozhan after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

The establishment of the Beiyang New Army marked the beginning of the modernization of the Chinese Army.

The reason why the heroes participated in the Sichuan Revolution was that the Beiyang New Army in this life was more popular than in the previous life.

Due to the attention of the Qing Dynasty, the army has been expanded to the six Beiyang regiments.

But the Qing court lost Sichuan, a major taxpayer, and the money paid to foreigners

It is not less than one point, so the Qing court is much more difficult than in the previous life. This also led to

Taxes increased in various places, opium was grown more, and people became more miserable.

Cixi thought for a moment and said: "We must eliminate the red bandits in Shaanxi.

Temporarily trap the Red Bandits in the southwest and do not allow them to expand. Otherwise, our Qing Dynasty will

You're going to die, don't you understand?"

"I understand. I will send a telegram right away. I must ask Wang Yingkai to attack as soon as possible.

Break through Tongguan, march into Xi'an, and eliminate the Red Bandits."

Cixi suddenly remembered the note Zhang Yinghao had written to her, but

She continued, "Tell the great powers that be that they are willing to send troops to destroy the Reds.

The bandits wanted to take over all the mountains, rivers and plains of Yunnan. They wanted to dig up as much mineral deposits as possible.

They can dig as much as they want, and they can build the railway however they want."

"Queen Mother, this~"

Seeing that Yixin was about to raise objections, Cixi glared at him and snorted coldly, saying

He said: "Humph, I would rather give it to a friendly country than to a domestic slave. The foreigners just occupy some land and gain some

They will leave sooner or later. But the Red Bandits want to dig up my roots and seize my property.

I am the Great Qing Dynasty, do you understand?"

After hearing Cixi's "reasonable" words, Yizhu quickly knelt down and kowtowed.

He said: "Yes, I am ignorant. I will go and negotiate with the great powers. If the Queen Mother

If you have any instructions, I will take my leave now."

"Well, kneel down and say hello!"

......

Zhang Yinghao naturally didn't know about these conversations in the Forbidden City. Of course, even if he knew

Even if he knew it, Zhang Yinghao would not care at all. But at this moment, Zhang Yinghao

In the middle of the night, I suddenly received a telegram from Zhang Feng: Beiyang Army raided Tongguan in the middle of the night.

fall.

Zhang Yinghao was a little confused when he saw this telegram.

Is the execution ability of the new foreign army so strong? Of course, Zhang Yinghao does not think this half-hearted

Others will not use the tactics of night raids, but China has produced countless military strategies.

Country, this kind of sneak attack tactic is child's play.

Even if the Beiyang New Army captured Tongguan, it was already November 1904.

The cold ground would have killed the Beiyang Army's logistics, even if they were to advance.

Hao just sighed: How did things become like this? Then he continued to sleep.

Wake up and wait for the next news from Zhang Feng.

Sure enough, not long after, Zhang Yinghao received a detailed telegram from Zhang Feng.

It is said that the Beiyang Army failed to break through Tongguan and chose to retreat, but they split up halfway.

The soldiers continued to retreat all the way to confuse the PLA scouts, and then quietly turned back.

A surprise attack at night took Tongguan. Zhang Yinghao thought for a moment, then replied by telegram:

If the enemy continues to advance into Shaanxi, we should open up the two flanks, lure the enemy deep into our territory, and cut off their rear.

Look for opportunities to wipe them out completely, avoid a drawn-out battle, and also pay attention to the Qing army in Gansu.

The troops under the command of Wang Yingkai, the commander of the Beiyang New Army, were ordered to attack Tongguan and then

Xi'an, implemented the strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao, intending to contain the Sichuan Red Bandits.

After several attacks, they were unable to capture Tongguan.

The news of the occupation of Yunnan and Guizhou came, and the Beiyang Army had to retreat.

Comrades feel that the battle is over for now. After fighting for many days, the soldiers are very tired.

Tired, so the troops were withdrawn.

Cixi still ordered them to march into Shaanxi and eliminate the red bandits in Shaanxi. Wang Yingkai

They immediately came up with a plan to conceal their presence. Half of the troops continued to advance in disguise, and they also used a covert attack.

The strategy of crossing Chencang, and the other half of the troops launched a surprise attack in the middle of the night. Although the liberation of Tongguan was left behind,

The army fought desperately, but the Beiyang New Army still captured Tongguan.

After Shaanxi entered November, the weather was clear and cold. The Beiyang Army captured

After Tongguan, they rested for a day and continued their march the next day, aiming for Xi'an.

Tongguan went straight to Xi'an, the speed was very fast.

In this world, as long as Xi'an is captured, it is equivalent to winning. They also don't know that people

The people's revolution, the power lies among the people, in the vast rural areas,

They don't know that even if the People's Liberation Army gave up Xi'an and let the Beiyang New Army occupy it, it would still be

Any questions.

After Zhang Feng received Zhang Yinghao's telegram, he immediately understood Zhang Yinghao's intention.

Thinking, this is to completely keep this unit in Shaanxi.

The troops stopped for a short rest in Huayin, and Wang Yingkai sent a

He took the lead and continued to move forward as a vanguard, heading straight for Huazhou.

If Huayin is abandoned, then Wang Yingkai believes that Huazhou will most likely be the first place to fight.

field.

Wang Yingkai was an expert in the military and graduated from Tianjin Military Academy.

Wang Yingkai was a brave warrior with outstanding military achievements, and he was highly appreciated by the Qing court.

Yuan Shikai's new army was the backbone of the Beiyang Army in its early days.

Office, Chief of the Right Wing of the Beiyang Standing Army, Director of the First Town Office, and General Manager of the Beiyang Training Office

Senator, now the commander of the second town.

After Wang Yingkai entered Shaanxi, he saw the situation in Shaanxi and felt an inexplicable feeling.

It was a heavy burden. Although the Qing Dynasty had been slandering the Sichuan Red Bandits, what red-headed

He used it to scare the people by making it have red hair, red eyes, eat people, be eight feet tall, and have eyes like copper bells.

But in fact, according to the principle that the one who knows you best is your enemy, the Qing high-level officials

Everyone knows what is going on, and the internal affairs are also very concerned about the red bandits in Sichuan.

The commander of the second town knew that these propaganda messages were fake.

The Qing Dynasty was in turmoil, and Wang Yingkai had an inexplicable feeling in his heart.

The Red Bandits implemented land reform in Sichuan and Shaanxi, which was a practice that scholars had been pursuing for thousands of years.

These are things that everyone dreams of doing, but the division of land has been talked about for thousands of years.

If it is not done, then it cannot be done. The large number of landlord armed forces in Sichuan and Shaanxi

The Red Bandits broke through and killed so many landlords. Wang Yingkai was very concerned about the Red Bandits' propaganda.

The land reform is despised. It is clearly an opportunity to rob the rich and buy off the people.

The landlords who escaped hated the atrocities committed by Sichuan and Shaanxi with gnashing teeth.

Wang Yingkai felt that this was the truth.

However, since entering Shaanxi, the Qing army and the People's Liberation Army have been treated differently in Yunnan.

On the contrary, there was no lively scene of people preparing food and drinks to welcome the "royal army".

Even when entering Huayin, the people left without a trace.

The more Wang Yingkai looked at it, the uglier his expression became.

It was completely beyond his expectation. It was not surprising that the people avoided the war when they knew it was going to happen.

When their troops passed through Henan, there were also a large number of people who fled from them, but even