The sun never sets

After staying in Xi'an for such a long time, Shengyun was almost in despair. He was fighting bloody battles with the rebels in Guanzhong, but the Aisin-Gioro family was not making any moves in Beijing. If he could make some noise in Beijing, the situation here might be better. The Aisin-Gioro family was all gone, so why was he still fighting here?

"Report!"

The spy rushed in with an anxious look on his face. "Thousands of cavalry appeared near Taiping Town and Zhongzhang Town.

Killing us now!"

Sheng Yun didn't need to look at the map, the location of Taiping Town came to his mind. It was more than 60 miles away from his base camp, which was only half a day's journey for the cavalry. "Thousands of cavalry... Li Yunlong's cavalry is clearly still in Hechi Village, where did these thousands of cavalry come from?"

Li Yunlong was the general of the Guanzhong Army, and Yu Youren gave most of the cavalry to him. Sheng Yun's army fought several battles with Li Yunlong's army, and both sides suffered heavy casualties, but neither side could do anything to the other.

"How many thousands of cavalrymen are there? Let's find out!"

Soon, more accurate information came back, "It's the Mongolian cavalry that rebelled, at least 4,000 cavalry!"

"The Mongols... damn it!" Dorote Shengyun thought for a moment, then ordered: "Let Ma Yu lead the Hezhou cavalry to drive the enemy away!"

Ma Yu was a Hui, his ancestors were of Han descent, and after converting to Islam, he became a Hui. Most of the 3,000 cavalrymen he brought from Hezhou were Muslims, and there were imams in the army who were responsible for boosting morale before the battle. They were fearless and fierce in battle, and were one of Sheng Yun's trump cards.

After Ma Yu led the cavalry out of the camp by the river, Du Luote* Shengyun ordered the southern camp to be on guard, and at the same time, he mobilized the troops in the base camp and drove towards Taiping Town. Du Luote* Shengyun jumped on his horse and shouted to his generals: "Guo Tuwa and Yan Feilong usually only dare to hide behind the city wall. Today, they finally showed their turtle heads. We must not let them escape!"

The short, fat and thick Sheng Yun had a typical Mongolian face, broad shoulders and a thick body, which made him look quite majestic. He shouted orders on horseback, asking the infantry to go first and the artillery to follow. Although Sheng Yun's army mostly used cold weapons, there were still some firearms, such as mountain-splitting cannons and rifles. Well, they were all antiques used by Zuo Zongtang during his western expedition, and they played a very good role in the battle with the Guanzhong army.

The Guanzhong Army did not have many rifles and cannons, and many of them only had a broadsword. They were just as strong as Sheng Yun's army. Soldiers on both sides were very fierce, and their equipment was equally bad. Sheng Yun heard about how Baldy Lin defeated the Eight-Nation Alliance, and he admired him very much. However, admiration was admiration, and the Han and the thieves could not coexist. As a loyal minister of the court, he was destined to fight Baldy Lin to the end.

Now that Baldy Lin has finally come to kill us, well, let's set up our formations and have a good fight! If we can defeat Baldy Lin, or even kill him in battle, the imperial court can be re-established!

Sheng Yun did not tell his men that the enemy had reinforcements, but only said that it was Guo Tu Wa, Yu Min Zhong and others who came out to fight, for fear of scaring his men. Marshal Lin, who annihilated the Eight-Nation Alliance, had a high prestige. Even in Guanzhong, even among Sheng Yun's men, many people respected and feared Baldy Lin.

He had no choice. He had been in Xi'an for so long that his food and grass were almost gone. Every time he went out to get food, he had to fight with the local tyrants in Guanzhong. If he really sent out a large army, those guys would retreat.

This tortoise tactic tortured Sheng Yun to death. If it continued like this, the army under his command would be defeated without a fight. Soldiers gather together with food, and they will disperse without food. Without food, no matter how powerful the army is, it will be doomed. Now that Baldy Lin is coming to kill him, it is a good opportunity to have a good fight. Even if he loses, it is better than being slowly exhausted to death.

The army marched northeastwards, and only advanced 20 miles when they heard that Ma Yu's troops had fought with the enemy near Wangjia Village. Ma Yu said that the enemy's cavalry was large in number, but it was no big problem, and the Hezhou cavalry was enough to defeat the enemy. After receiving the news, Dorote* Shengyun was refreshed and ordered the soldiers to eat their dry food, replenish water, and then throw away all the extra things, carrying only weapons and equipment, and quickly marching towards the battlefield.

Sheng Yun had a lot of battlefield experience. He had fought bloody battles with the Eight-Nation Alliance. Even if the enemy was the world-famous Baldy Lin, he was not afraid and directly sent his troops forward. But soon, he found out why Baldy Lin... Marshal Lin was able to completely wipe out the Eight-Nation Alliance.

"What? The Hezhou cavalry was defeated? How come it was so fast? An hour ago, Ma Yu said it wasn't a big problem!"

Chapter 151: Sweeping the Enemy

Ma Yu's Hezhou cavalry was one of Sheng Yun's trump cards, and it suddenly collapsed, which surprised Dorote*Sheng Yun greatly. However, he quickly reacted and immediately ordered the infantry to stop advancing and launch a defense on the spot.

"I heard that Baldy Lin has a group of Mongolian cavalrymen under his command. They are unrivaled in the world in charging into battle. How hateful! Why don't such warriors serve the court, but instead go to the rebels?"

Because Lin Yongchang gave a lot of money...

This is really not nonsense. Ideals are the icing on the cake. Timely payment of military pay and sufficient material supplies are the basic guarantee of combat effectiveness. As long as military pay can be paid on time, without deductions or other messy things, the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army is guaranteed.

Why can't Seung-yoon's army be full of morale? Because Seung-yoon has no money..........

Just as the infantry entered the nearby villages and towns to defend, the Mongolian cavalry rushed over. [Mongolian Iron Cavalry] had a lot of buffs stacked up, mobility +10%, morale +10%, and impact +10%. After defeating the Hezhou cavalry, they killed their way along the river.

The one who led the troops to kill was not Lin Yongchang, who was always calculating in battle, but Dong who didn't even care about his own life.

Fuxiang. Dong Fuxiang's style of using troops can be summed up in one word: "ruthless!"

In his hands, the [Mongol cavalry] was used like an ordinary army. When he saw the enemy, he would entangle them, and then the army would rush forward. His fighting style was fierce and sharp, and the results were great, and his own casualties were not small, but Dong Fuxiang didn't care at all. The army is to kill people. What is a peerless general? If you can kill half of the soldiers, you will be famous throughout the country!

Rewards are like the sun and the moon, trust is like the four seasons, orders are like axes, and control is like Gan Jiang. This is Dong Fuxiang's art of war!

Dorote* Shengyun was slower at every step and was beaten back step by step by the Mongolian cavalry and the genuine Gansu Army. The infantry deployed on the spot were scattered, and the retreating troops rolled back, sucking in the artillery and baggage troops in the rear.

The Mongolian cavalry, as the vanguard of the army, suffered heavy losses, but also achieved great results. Before Sheng Yun's army could react, they were defeated by the violent attack. Dong Fuxiang, who had lost his temper, personally led his troops to charge, and killed his way to Sheng Yun's general flag, cutting down the yellow flag.

However, Dong Fuxiang was still a step too late. Sheng Yun had already escaped back to the camp under the protection of Goshha. Dong Fuxiang only captured Sheng Yun's flag. Once the flag fell, the morale of the enemy army plummeted again, and many troops defending the villages and towns surrendered to Dong Fuxiang.

Dong Fuxiang was the real boss of the Gansu Army, and Dorlot* Shengyun was just a Mongolian who had just been transferred there. The Han people and Hui people from Gansu all recognized Dong Fuxiang as the King of the Northwest. Dong Fuxiang had guarded the Northwest for thirty or forty years, and his prestige was simply not comparable to Shengyun's.

By the evening, Dong Fuxiang had already recruited more than 20,000 infantry and cavalry on the battlefield. Except for the main camp where Sheng Yun was, all other camps surrendered to Dong Fuxiang. After seeing Dong Fuxiang's banner, many troops came to surrender with their weapons without firing a single shot or arrow.

Dorote Shengyun stood on the wall of the camp and looked out. Many flags were on the side of the court in the morning, but now they have become rebels. He was so angry that he couldn't help cursing.

"Dong Fuxiang! You ungrateful bastard! The court gave you a high position and generous salary, and this is how you repay it?"

Dorote* Shengyun yelled at the outside, and suddenly his eyes widened, pointing at someone and yelling, "Ma Yu, you actually betrayed me!"

Ma Yu rode on his horse and shouted towards the camp: "Marshal Dong said that you are the thief now! General, you should surrender too! Marshal Dong said he will not kill you!"

"My family has been blessed by the country for generations, how can we be as shameless as you?"

Sheng Yun cursed loudly and called his personal soldiers and musketeers to kill the shameless Ma Yu. But Ma Yu was very alert. When he saw the shadows in the camp, he immediately rode back to his camp. He rode to the flag of Dong Fuxiang, dismounted from his horse at a distance of dozens of meters, ran over in three or two steps, and then knelt down to salute, "General, Sheng Yun refuses to surrender!"

"Humph, I knew it a long time ago. Shengyun is just a stone in the toilet, smelly and hard!"

Dong Fuxiang felt sore all over. After all, he was already 60 years old. When he was young, he had been through many life-and-death experiences and suffered from many injuries. He could not see it at ordinary times, but he immediately felt the ravages of time after he went into battle. When he fought with Marshal Zuo, he did not feel anything even if he did not sleep for several days and nights. Now, after just one day of riding, his bones were about to fall apart.

He just wanted to lie down on the bed and sleep, but he had to hold on in front of everyone. "Don't worry about him, let's set up camp first and wait for the cannons to arrive. Let's see if he still insists on being stubborn!"

Cannons are good, but they move too slowly. For Dong Fuxiang, who is used to charging and charging, the artillery often cannot keep up with the speed of the army. By the time the artillery arrives, the battle is often over. But it may also be because the soldiers they encounter are all miscellaneous. There is no such good thing when fighting against the Eight-Nation Alliance and the Beiyang Army.

Without the help of artillery, it is difficult to capture the infantry positions equipped with foreign guns and cannons. The real strong soldiers are all equipped with machine guns and cannons. Cold weapon troops like Shengyun Army and Guanzhong Army have been eliminated by the times. Dong Fuxiang knew that it would be difficult to encounter such an easy enemy in the future.

After entering the tent, his energy and spirit collapsed at once, and he slumped in the chair, pounding his waist constantly.

I am old, really old! If I were five years younger, or even half a year earlier, I wouldn't have felt so hard when fighting the foreigners. Perhaps it is time to think about my future.

Dong Fuxiang was a strong man throughout his life. When he was young, he started a rebellion. Later, he was convinced by Zuo Zongtang and joined the army. He never backed down from fighting against Yakub Beg, Huihui, Russians, and the Eight-Nation Alliance. However, now that the war was going so smoothly, he felt sad.

Since ancient times, famous generals are like beauties, and they are not allowed to have white hair in the world.

Old is old, no matter how brave a warrior is, he cannot resist the passage of time. Dong Fuxiang even began to envy Sheng Yun on the opposite side. Dorote* Sheng Yun's fighting skills were a bit trendy, but he was young, just in his early forties!

When he was in his forties, he could ride on a horse for three days and three nights without getting off the ground! What about now? He can't even stand up straight!

"Marshal! There's movement in the enemy camp!"

The guards shouted loudly outside the big tent. Dong Fuxiang immediately straightened his back, walked out of the tent and shouted, "What's going on?"

In just a moment, he turned into the awe-inspiring King of the Northwest who was intimidating without even getting angry.

"There's a fire in the enemy's camp, and it looks like a fight has broken out!"

Chapter 152: Cutting the Gordian knot

Dong Fuxiang squinted his eyes and observed for a while, then decisively gave the order, "Attack!"

Maybe the enemy was cheating, but Dong Fuxiang had more confidence in his own army. Cheating was something that only the elite could use. The more complicated the tactics, the higher the requirements for the soldiers. For the soldiers that Dorote* Shengyun had just recruited, if they wanted to use any tactics, they would only end up making things worse.

Facts proved that Dong Fuxiang's intuition was correct. There was something wrong in Shengyun's military camp. A group of Ganzhou soldiers who had just arrived set fire to the camp and opened the gate. When Dong Fuxiang's army arrived, Yunsheng was angrily commanding his troops to suppress the rebellion. After being attacked from both inside and outside, Shengyun was exhausted and abandoned his army under the protection of his personal soldier Goshaha and fled.

Sheng Yun ran very fast, but the Mongolian cavalry ran faster. He was caught up by the Mongolian cavalry halfway. After a fierce fight, Dorlot* Sheng Yun was captured alive. Because he was also a Mongolian, the Mongolian cavalry did not chop off his head, but sent him to Dong Fuxiang.

When Sheng Yun, who was tied up, saw Dong Fuxiang, he started to curse. Dong Fuxiang was not angry, but just said: "If you want to die, I will have your head chopped off now. But if you still care about the kindness of the Aixinjueluo family, why don't you stay useful and take care of those people in the previous dynasty?"

Sheng Yun sneered, "You are so kind to remind me? Dong Fuxiang, just use whatever means you have. If you frown, you are not a hero!"

Dong Fuxiang laughed loudly, "I have killed thousands of people and never played tricks! Shengyun, tell me straight, do you want to live or die?"

Dorothea Shengyun was silent for a while, then gnashed his teeth and said, "You must live! I want to see what will happen to you, a bunch of traitors!"

"Hmph, you can do whatever you want. Since we were once ministers in the same palace, I will let you go today. If you insist on doing wrong in the future, someone will take care of you!"

Dong Fuxiang gave Sheng Yun a horse and some money and let him go, but he was not so easy on those who followed Sheng Yun. All the remnants of the previous dynasty were beheaded by Dong. The flagpoles in the camp were full of heads, which made Yu Youren and Li Yunlong, who came to express their gratitude, jump.

"Marshal Dong, thank you for your help this time......"

Dong Fuxiang didn't treat Yu Youren and the others well either. He interrupted Yu Youren with a cold face, "Let's not talk nonsense anymore. I came here on the orders of the Grand Marshal and the President, not to listen to your nonsense. The President has ordered that now that the Russians have occupied the Northeast, Li Yunlong, Guo Tuwa, Yan Feilong, Jin Xiang, Liu San, Wang Gaiming... and others will be transferred to the Northeast to guard the border. Are you going or not? Give me the answer straight away!"

Li Yunlong and Yu Youren looked at each other in dismay. Yu Youren could not help but said loudly: "We are willing to serve the country, but Marshal Lin cannot interfere in our affairs in Guanzhong!"

"So you don't agree? Very good!" Dong Fuxiang sneered and shouted, "Someone come here!"

There were chaotic and dense footsteps, and dozens of soldiers with rifles rushed in, with their bayonets pointed at the leaders of the Guanzhong militia. "Take them all..."

Seeing that Dong Fuxiang was about to order the killing, Yu Youren hurriedly shouted: "Wait, wait! We are willing to go to the Northeast to guard the border!"

Li Yunlong, Jin Xiang and others exchanged glances, meaning that they would agree first and talk about it later. But how could Dong Fuxiang not be on guard against this trick? When the Hui people rebelled, they often pretended to surrender and then attacked secretly. Dong Fuxiang was used to all kinds of tricks, and it was not so easy to fool him.

"All of you should write letters to your subordinates, asking them to lay down their weapons and accept transformation."

Li Yunlong reached for his waist, but found nothing. All the weapons were taken away before entering the tent. Now he couldn't fight even if he wanted to. The swordsmen in northern Shaanxi were very brave, but they also needed swords. Now they were unarmed. If a fight really broke out, the leaders of the Guanzhong Army would probably die here.

Dong Fuxiang looked at Li Yunlong and others with ugly faces, sneered again, and then said to Yu Youren: "They will stay here for a few days. As for Mr. Yu, the President wants you to go to Taiyuan to discuss state affairs with him."

"What? You want to take Mr. Yu away?"

"Damn it, don't go too far!"

"At worst, I'll just fight them!"

Yu Youren saw that Dong Fuxiang had a murderous look on his face, so he quickly appeased the leaders of the various tribes. He sighed and said, "Since the president values me so much, I will go to Taiyuan."

"Hey, Mr. Yu, you are a smart man. Don't worry, the President is such a hero, how could he be on the same level as you guys?"

Dong Fuxiang wiped out Sheng Yun's army in no time, and then incorporated the Guanzhong Army. During this period, Guo Tuwa's subordinates refused to accept the reorganization, so Dong Fuxiang chopped off Guo Tuwa's head without saying a word, and then led his army to defeat Guo Tuwa's troops and beheaded all the officers and leaders he captured.

The remaining Guanzhong troops were finally obedient. A few months ago, Zhao Bi, Wang Laozai and others came to help the Guanzhong troops capture Xi'an, but were later squeezed out by the leaders of Guanzhong. Now they want to use the same trick again, but Dong Fuxiang is not easy to talk to.

Only such a devil can control the Hui people in the northwest. A good man cannot survive in the border area close to Tsarist Russia.

Dong Fuxiang stayed in Xi'an for a month and a half, and waited until the People's Army took over Guanzhong before he led his troops to Gansu. That was not the end. One year later, the Gansu Army would march into the Western Regions and establish a Protectorate in the Western Regions. Dong Fuxiang would become the first Grand Protector of the Protectorate.

Dong Fuxiang was very satisfied with this appointment. He had been the uncrowned king of the northwest for more than 30 years. He had no shortage of money and fame, but he lacked a chance to go down in history. As the first Grand Protector of the Western Regions Protectorate, Dong Fuxiang's name would surely be passed down to future generations.

However, he was also somewhat dissatisfied. This appointment came too late. He was sixty-one this year and his health was not as good as before. Even if he became the Grand Protector, he could only do some preparatory work. If he wanted to expand the territory in the northwest, he would have to wait until the next one, or even the next one.

"Damn it!"

Dong Fuxiang was indignant about his fate. If he could have been given another twenty years... no, just ten years would have allowed him to have a bitter fight with the Russian Empire, the mastermind behind the Tongzhi Hui Rebellion. However, he no longer had twenty years, not even ten. After returning to Gansu, Dong Fuxiang's health deteriorated. In the spring of the following year, when Dong Fuxiang went to Dihua, now Urumqi, with his sick body, his condition became even worse.

In the last period of his life, Dong Fuxiang built bridges and roads in the Western Regions, reclaimed land, planted trees, and prevented sandstorms, but he never got the chance to fight the Russians again.

Chapter 153 Human Relations and Worldly Wisdom

1900 was a turbulent year. In this year, northern China was turned upside down, blood flowed like a river, heroes rose up, and a year later, the imperial court collapsed, and the new overlord stepped on the corpses of the imperial court and foreigners to ascend the throne, drew his sword and looked around, whipping the world.

Many people thought of the demise of the imperial court, but they did not expect that the Eight-Nation Alliance would be completely annihilated on the North China Plain, and no one thought that an evil bald man would appear. And now, Baldy Lin is announcing that he will do something shocking - a public trial of the foreign devils.

This is something that the whole world is discussing. Many people in the South are worried, thinking that this move will greatly anger the foreigners and will bring disaster to China. Since the war has been won, why should we kill those foreigners quietly? Why do we need to hold a public trial and kill people in public?

The people in the north cheered. Under the propaganda and encouragement of the new government, the northerners had a strong psychological advantage over the foreigners. They thought that if they could wipe out all the foreigners once, they could wipe them out again. If the foreigners came again, they would beat the hell out of them again. North China had demolished all the foreign churches, abolished most of the unequal treaties, and even took back Tianjin. Only Qingdao was still in the hands of the Germans.

It was different in the south, where British warships were still sailing on the Yangtze River, and arrogant foreigners could be seen from time to time in Wuchang, Chongqing and other places. In order to fight against the People's Army in the north and suppress the rebels of Sun Yat-sen in Neihuang, Zhang Zhidong, Li Hongzhang and others relied more and more on the British and other foreigners, and were said to be discussing the "post-war loan" with the British.

Many southerners expressed confusion and disdain for Marshal Lin's public trial of the foreign devils, but many people cheered loudly and ran thousands of miles to see the foreign devils' heads fall. Among them was an 18-year-old passionate young man named Wang Jingwei, whose uncle was named Wang Hai, who was once Marshal Lin's staff.

When Lin Yongchang started his rebellion, Wang Hai fled with his valuables for fear of being implicated. But who could have thought that a group of peasants could actually accomplish something? Of course, Wang Hai had a different account of his escape. He claimed that he went to the south to recruit talents for Marshal Lin.

But no matter what Wang Hai said, the top positions in the new government had nothing to do with him. He could have been the prime minister, but now he was thrown to Beijing to be a street director. Wang Hai was so regretful that his intestines were about to turn green, but he had to pretend to be calm on the surface.

"Zhao Ming, don't run around outside all the time. Read more books when you have time!"

Wang Hai said to the excited Wang Jingwei: "The president values military personnel and talents in science and engineering the most. People in our Wang family don't need to fight on the battlefield. You should learn physics or chemistry well, and then show your skills in front of the president when you have the opportunity. You will naturally enjoy endless benefits in the future!"

He stayed with Lin Yongchang for several months, not only managing clerical work but also handling financial matters. He was the most trusted confidant of Lin and knew Marshal Lin's situation very well and what Lin Yongchang valued most.

But Wang Jingwei didn't want to read at all. He said excitedly: "What's the point of reading? I'm going to apply for the military academy in a few days and become a general!"

"You! Didn't you see so many people died in the war?"

"How can there be no casualties in a war? If you are afraid of death, don't join the army!"

Young Wang Jingwei's blood was boiling, and he almost wanted to sing with his sword, "Marshal Lin said that the Russians still occupy millions of square kilometers of our land, and sooner or later we will settle accounts with them!"

Wang Hai was troubled. Why didn't the kid listen? Fighting is fun? Isn't it good to learn to be a mentor from your uncle? What is the Jianghu? The Jianghu is not about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and worldly wisdom!

It's already raining in Beijing

The streets were covered with snow. It was the dead of winter, but many people were busy in the streets and alleys. Because of the public trial of the foreign devils, many Chinese came to Beijing, and President Lin also came. There were also many foreigners, both Westerners and Easterners.

In order to ensure safety, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the army were mobilized, not only to conduct inspections, but also to clear the snow on the streets. The new government has always claimed to be a "people's army", and Lin Yongchang has also publicly claimed that he is the son of the Chinese people and has always paid attention to building a "close relationship between the army and the people." Helping the people clear the snow on the streets is just normal, and usually helping the people fetch water and firewood near the station.

The streets were bustling with activity. While the soldiers were working, the art propaganda team was beating drums and gongs. The little girls in their thick cotton-padded jackets were frozen with red cheeks, but they were all very happy, singing and dancing with the aunties.

"The first month of the year is the New Year..."

It's not the first month of the lunar year yet, but the songs have already started. Entertainment activities were not very developed back then, and there were only a few songs that people knew, so they played "Little New Year Greetings". Anyway, everyone just wanted to have fun, and no one would say anything if they just left.