Chapter 222 Li Kaiye in the northwest

Hu Chuyuan's first feeling was that the Russian army had officially intervened in the war.

He was surprised from the beginning that Wusu had always been a fortress guarded by Dong Fuxiang, the Admiral of Xinjiang Province. The construction of fortifications issued by the Army Department was very demanding, and he also allocated a lot of money every year.

Well, even if the money is embezzled by Dong Fuxiang, Wusu has not wanted to build perfect fortifications as everyone expected in the past five years. What about Dihua?

Qingzheng Axe has been painstakingly operating in Dihua for nearly a hundred years. Even if it is a street battle, it is impossible to lose it so soon?

Gan Jun?

Because the young officers in the northwest were not in place, in order to prevent the new Shaanxi-Ganning Corps from being controlled by the late Qing Dynasty-style military leaders like Dong Fuxiang, and controlled by Ma Anliang and Ma Haiyan, Hu Chuyuan only set up a division-scale Shaanxi-Ganning Corps in Xi'an.

However, the Gan army is still the only old-fashioned training army in the country that enjoys the treatment of the new army. The equipment is the latest, and the supplies and salaries are also sufficient.

The Gan army was defeated so quickly?

Hu Chuyuan can't believe it. Although Dong Fuxiang is a little old, he is still very good at fighting hard. In the past two years, he has won several consecutive victories in the Hehuang Incident.

... Jiade City.

The new city built at the Dabancheng Pass during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty was used to station troops in the field. This is the throat of Xinjiang Province from the west to the east. The mountains on both sides are towering, but there is a thousand-meter-long fault in the middle, forming a valley. The usual valley wind can reach level five.

Flying sand and walking stones.

The gunfire was constantly roaring, and the whole Jiade mouth was constantly bombarded. The continuous artillery swept wildly, almost filling the whole valley mouth. The thick black smoke rolled in the strong wind and spread out, covering the whole valley.

Jiade City has long been bombed to the ground, and all that is left is countless broken walls.

Li Kaiye was guarded here. As soon as the Green Battalion soldiers stationed here heard that the Gan army was defeated, they immediately fled crazily and took away everything that could be smashed in Jiade City.

Li Kaiye came in time. The train happened to pass by. He immediately rushed down with a machine gun and fired a shot. In a few minutes, he killed hundreds of people, and even the garrison generals were killed, which suppressed all the green battalion soldiers.

But not long after, Dong Fuxiang also fled with the defeated generals.

The artillery fire of the Ye Erqiang Department has continuously bombed the whole Jiade Pass, which has razed it to the ground. Li Kaiye had expected it for a long time, but he could only defend it. After all, there are valley entrances and highland advantages here. As long as trenches and scattered pits are reasonably excavated, it is not difficult to defend the mountain pass.

In an abandoned flat ancient city on the southeast side of the back mountain, Li Kaiye set up a temporary headquarters here to mobilize the first division of the Huguang Corps to guard the pass.

Dong Fuxiang has suffered a series of large-scale defeats, and his troops have plummeted from more than 30,000 to 7,000. For the time being, he can only be reorganized behind the valley. In addition, some troops have been transferred to carry materials.

Although there are more than 1,000 soldiers in the Green Battalion, they are even more useless. They can only be used as engineering troops and continue to be responsible for digging pits and trenches, laying mines and so on in the follow-up zone.

Li Kaiye has been used to the continuous sound of artillery fire. Compared with the Battle of Longchuan, this time the artillery force is not stronger.

He muttered a few things in his heart. How was the cable found and was dug up? Who blew up the railway?

It seems that the Yeerqiang Khanate has more parties and spies in the whole province.

In this way, Dong Fuxiang's continuous defeat seems to be reasonable.

The first division of the Huguang Corps is the configuration of three regiments and one brigade, with nearly 20,000 people, equipped with a separate artillery brigade and strong firepower.

Unfortunately, Li Kaiye came in a hurry. The 155mm howitzer equipped by the reorganized brigade and the 122mm howitzers of the artillery battalions of the three regiments were not brought, only the 75mm howitzers equipped internally by each battalion.

This kind of firepower can't be compared with the opponent at all.

Just by listening to his ears, Li Kaiye knows that his opponent has 122mm and 150mm howitzers. The latter cannon is rare. It has been produced by Krup, and France and Russia are also equipped with some, but it was also 20 years ago.

150mm and 155mm calibers are exactly the difference between the two ballistic calculations. The latter has a much larger range and greater power than the former.

Therefore, the 150mm howitzer was soon eliminated.

Li Kaiye calculated the situation in his mind and became more and more clear in his heart that the Russians and the French gave a lot of the eliminated heavy equipment to the Ye Erqiang Khanate.

He listened to the sound of gunfire on the mountain pass and estimated that his opponent had more than 200 150mm howitzers and more than 140 120mm howitzers.

In this way, the opponent has at least four artillery divisions, such a large scale... He rushed over so quickly. The only explanation is that he took advantage of the railway, or at least two divisions had arranged in advance to Dabancheng. As a result... Dong Fuxiang withdrew too quickly and unexpectedly escaped before the other party took the Jiade Pass. Blocking.

Li Kaiye also believed that his opponent secretly had a set of telegraph lines commanding the whole operation.

This is not what the nomadic troops like Ye Erqiang can do. The people who really command the whole situation will certainly not be Kazakhs and Uighurs, either Russians or themselves.

Li Kaiye has another question in his heart. It is easy to get cannons, and no matter how many they are, there is no problem. The question is where did these living gunners come from?

He categorically denied that it was impossible for me and the Russians to send their own gunners here... Ninety out of ten is the result of the training and support of the three countries in Central Asia.

He took out a pocket watch and kept calculating the speed between the opponent's two rounds of artillery. With his understanding of the 150mm cannon, after several consecutive calculations, he became more and more convinced that the ability of these gunners was average.

It is estimated that most gunners have only been temporarily trained for a few months, no more than a year at most.

In this way, it should have happened after the division and self-reliance of the Yeerqiang Khanate, which is easy to explain. Most of the time, France began to vigorously support and fund the Yeerqiang Khanate at a profit.

In the alliance between France and Russia, it seems that only France can easily do this.

?

After calculating these things, Li Kaiye couldn't help scolding. He only regretted that he was too young... The mistake was that he was too young to participate in the Sino-French War and could not beat those beasts well.

Thinking about this clearly, he suddenly shouted, "Xiao Cui!"

"At!"

Immediately, a young messenger ran in, in a hurry, as if eating meat.

Li Kaiye looked at him and asked, "Have you pulled the phone line?"

"Not yet... But it's almost time, and it will be ready in the afternoon!"

The messenger looked a little scared and hurriedly added a sentence.

Li Kaiye did not have any unhappy expression. He was always an indifferent person, and all kinds of emotions were deeply buried in his heart. That's why the commanders of the whole Huguang Corps were afraid of him, afraid of him, but also awed him.

Li Kaiye ordered coldly and not slowly, "Then you can let the messengers go there, convey my words to the regiments and companies, and tell them that it is what I said. Our division will definitely keep it. There are shortcomings in the opponent's firepower equipment, and the training is not very good. As long as the follow-up artillery brigade and brismen arrive, we can counterattack and let everyone be stable. Don't worry. Lord Shoufu is sitting in Hami. There will definitely be no shortage of equipment supplies, and the other divisions will also arrive. At that time, we will wait for us to calm down the province.

Xiao Cui, the messenger, was overjoyed and saluted excitedly, "Yes, I'm going to arrange someone to pass the order."

Li Kaiye slightly opened his eyes and ordered, "By the way, invite Dong Laojunmen over and say that I have something important to discuss."

"Yes!"

The messenger Xiao Cui agreed angrily.

"Go!"

Li Kaiye waved his hand indifferently and did not raise his eyes. He continued to look at the map on the table, holding the pocket watch in his hand, and continued to listen to the sound of gunfire.

After a while, several staff officers around him came back, as if they had done something.

For Li Kaiye, the staff officer is not important. He only needs to sort out all kinds of intelligence and data to help him do logistics and plan. These are his best things.

Fighting is actually not complicated. First, it is necessary to figure out the opponent's equipment, personnel, quality and supply status. Second, it is necessary to find out the habits and characteristics of the opponent. Third, it is necessary to find out who the opponent's commander is. This person is his opponent.

After half a quarter of an hour, Dong Fuxiang came in in a hurry. At this time, he was already a 60-year-old man. He was tall, with long beards and silver eyebrows, sharp eyes, and a solemn look. He looked quite extraordinary, but he was also embarrassed. His eyebrows were a little trance and nervous.

All the way, Dong Fuxiang's first-class military official uniform was full of broken mouth and dirty. There were a few black spots on the hat, which should be burnt marks.

Unlike him, Li Kaiye wears a new army uniform modified on the basis of the German style. The army has basically achieved German training and rules, and the equipment is mainly provided by the Auckland Arsenal.

As soon as he entered the door, Dong Fuxiang arched his hand and said to Li Kaiye, "Li Dujun, I haven't seen you for a long time. I really want to thank you for your timely appearance this time, otherwise I will die."

"Nothing, you don't have to worry about the old army!"

Li Kaiye said flatly, pouring a cup of boiled water for Dong Fuxiang, and he also poured a cup himself.

Looking at the two stainless steel cups in Li Kaiye's hand, Dong Fuxiang was inevitably a little curious. The silver color, like it was made of silver, but not like it was made of silver... These foreign things, Dong Fuxiang could only think so.

Dong Fuxiang probably didn't expect that this kind of stainless steel cup could be produced in several factories in Shanghai, and there were more nationwide.

Li Kaiye took a sip of hot water, and then asked Dong Fuxiang, "Old army, I want to ask you something... It may sound a little disrespectful to you, but now that the war is coming, I have to ask clearly, so that my brother of more than 10,000 people will also be buried here."

Dong Fuxiang hurriedly said, "Don't worry, I can understand, but it's okay to ask!"

Li Kaiye nodded slightly and asked, "Then I'll ask you where you think you have lost, how many troops the opponent has, who are they composed of, and how about the heavy firepower equipment?"

"This...!"

Dong Fuxiang is inevitably a little embarrassed. Every problem is like sprinkling salt on his wound, but he knows that these problems must be explained. With an explanation, he can at least keep the official position and the Gan army in his hand.

Otherwise, according to the surname of Hu Chuyuan, the first assistant, nine times out of ten, he will be dismissed from his officials and his Gan army will be withdrawn.

Hu Chuyuan can definitely do this kind of thing.

Dong Fuxiang thought for a little, and then said to Li Kaiye, "I'm ashamed to say that although I have played until now, I have not been able to figure out who the main force of Ye Erqiang is. I only know roughly that there are more Kazakhs, followed by Uighurs in Xinjiang, and there are Hui people and other Hui. The total number was not much at the beginning. At this time of last year, it was only a few thousand people. Later, it became more and more, and gradually reached tens of thousands of people. After defeating Ili, the number of people suddenly increased to sixty or seventy thousand, with the largest number of cavalry, accounting for more than half of the total. Therefore, I could only keep it. Originally, it could also be guarded for half a year. Two months ago, the number of opponent's artillery suddenly increased to more than 100, and there were several heavy cannons, which suddenly blew up Wusu to the ground. I retreated to defend Dihua again. Just half a month later, the opponent's artillery tripled. The old man who blew up was embarrassed, and the brothers were killed and injured heavily.

Li Kaiye still nodded coldly and said, "It's troublesome now. We are fighting on the ground outside. The number of our cavalry is too small, and the province of Xinjiang is too big. There are barren land everywhere. We can't fight without cavalry at all. If it's a tough battle, or sticking to the pass, it doesn't seem to be able to hold on.

"Yes!"

Dong Fuxiang was very happy. He was waiting for this sentence.

Li Kaiye is the first direct general of Hu Chuyuan. If even he said so, Dong Fuxiang's guilt will be more than half less.

In a word, it's not that Dong Fuxiang is incompetent. It's really that his opponent is too powerful. If he rushes out to fight, he will die.

Dong Fuxiang suddenly remembered another thing and hurriedly said to Li Kaiye, "No, Li Dujun, there is another way from Yili to Turpan. Although it is a little difficult to walk, the heavy artillery can't be transported, but the cavalry can still walk. If Ye Erqiang sends cavalry around from Ili and attack our backs, we will be miserable... What's more, I'm afraid Lord Shoufu is also in Turpan!"

Li Kaiye said indifferently, "Don't worry about the old army. I have sent all the few cavalry companies in my hand. Now I should have reached the pass. Although it doesn't add up to one column, it's not a problem to stay still for a day or two. In addition, there is an infantry regiment on the way at night, which can arrive this afternoon. As for the safety of Lord Shoufu, you don't have to worry. Before others destroy the cable, I have already sent electricity to Shoufu. Please stay in Hami for the time being and urgently transfer the 24th Division of the Shaanxi-Ganning Corps to come up. Later, the third and fifth divisions of the Huguang Corps will not be a big problem.

Hearing this, Dong Fuxiang was secretly surprised in his heart and said that this man was so powerful that he really deserved to be the relative of the first assistant!

In the final analysis, Hu Chuyuan was lucky. He originally wanted to pull out Duan Qirui's Jianghuai Corps and continue to let Li Kaiye guard Jinzhou. For a while, he still felt that Duan Qirui was not as good as Li Kaiye in experience, and finally chose Li Kaiye.

Li Kaiye has a talent that others can't compare with.

He has a strong memory, and he can remember the topographic map of the whole country as long as the basic mapping has been completed by the Army Department.

There is no need to bring a map at all. As soon as he arrives at Jiadeguan, he knows where is the best position, where is the most prone to accident, and where the enemy can walk to the shortcut.

If it weren't for him, if it was someone else, even if he could hold on for a while, he wouldn't last for a few days.

However, it is because of Li Kaiye's power that he is very clear in his heart... At present, there is a problem that can't be solved at all.

In the final analysis, he can't beat Ye Erqiang.

(to be continued)