Mengshan Army

The strength of the Shanzhai exceeds 2000 people, and the buildings around the Guangming Temple alone cannot accommodate many troops, so the army of the Shanzhai is divided into three. There are two small villages, each with about 500 people stationed.

Longqian's eighth team was stationed in Nanzhai, which was also called Duduo Village, and there were six teams and some miscellaneous personnel stationed in Nanzhai, including sixteen women.

Although Mengshan is steep, the road leading to the mountain is not just the west road.In fact, there are roads up the mountain in the east and south, and there is also a road in Zimengyin on the east road, but the road conditions are not as good as the west road.Since Cao Kun set up his camp in Pingyi Village, he must choose the West Road as his main attack direction.What the Mengshan thieves didn't know was that Cao Kun left a battalion with the strongest combat effectiveness on the east road, plus Mengyin's garrison, which was dedicated to defense. Cao Kun thought it was enough to stop the Mengshan thieves.Cao Kun imagined this way, assuming that the main force of the thieves broke through from the east road, then they would give up their geographical advantage, or use their geographical advantage to attack and defend against a different situation.As long as the battalion on the east route can hold back for two days with its sharp equipment, the main force from the west route will occupy the bandit nest in Mengshan. In this way, the main force from the west route will be condescending and attack the bandit army with the east route, and it will be easier to reap the rewards.

In addition to the east and west roads, the south road can also be climbed, but they are all small trails. To reach Guangming Temple from the south road, you need to climb over uninhabited mountains.Because Mengshan bandits had a lesson in plundering from the south road down the mountain, Cao Kun wrote to Yizhou and ordered him to send three defense camps to guard the south line to ensure that the thieves would not slip through the net from the south line.

The commander of the South Route Army is Shandong Registered Admiral Lan Twilight. Although the official rank is higher than that of Cao Zhenshi, the strength of his troops is weaker than that of Wuwei Youjun, so Admiral Lan's duty is only to defend and call the police.

Cao Kun led the Wuwei New Army, the main force of the two infantry battalions and the artillery team, to do their part. As the main force of the West Road offensive, they took on the important task of sweeping the caves in the courtyard and clearing the bandits' nests in Mengshan in one fell swoop.

The old camp called Mengshan Bandits by the Yizhou government is a temple called Guangming Temple. The monks in the temple have fled to nowhere ten years ago, and the Buddha statues in the main halls are also damaged.Ever since the bandits occupied Guangming Temple, the once holy Buddhist place has been filled with the smell of wine and meat all day long, and all the sounds are full of fist-chasing and yelling, without the sanctity and solemnity of Buddhist pure land.

But today, Guangming Temple is not as noisy as it used to be, and there is a tense and depressing atmosphere everywhere. In the main hall, the big bosses are discussing matters in front of a hand-painted map.

The news of the official army's attack was as hard to conceal as any secret in this world. It had already reached the old Mengshan camp ten days ago.Liu Yucai strongly advocated withdrawing from Mount Meng before the encirclement by the officers and troops, turning to Yizhou, and returning to the old camp when the officers and troops were exhausted.Liu Yucai also said politely, "Avoiding his vigor and attacking his laziness is the way for a military strategist to win." Although Liu Yucai was the most educated among the leaders, he couldn't say the sentence just now that dropped his book bag. Sun Dewang immediately It was determined that Liu Yucai was influenced by Long Qian again.

However, Sun Dewang considered that the old camp was not easy to manage. Once they evacuated, they could take the gold, silver and treasures with them, but the grain and houses would naturally have to be burned.What's more, most of the heads of the family have family members, and women with small feet can't ride horses or walk. How can they keep up with the marching speed of the army?So Sun Dewang vetoed Liu Yucai's opinion and insisted on guarding the mountain.He believes that this is not the first time that the army has launched an offensive. Mengshan Mountain is high and densely forested, the terrain is steep, and there is sufficient food and grass on the mountain. We can defend for a long time, and the army may not be exhausted for long.At that time, even if they are not defeated by us, they will obediently retreat due to insufficient food and grass.

Liu Yucai was a little worried, "Brother, this is not an ordinary army. It is Yuan Shikai's army who has made great achievements in North Korea. The reason why Yuan Shikai attacked us as soon as he came to Shandong. This time the court Sending the new army of Wuwei to suppress Mengshan was not a whim, nor was Yuan Gouguan eager to do meritorious service. I am afraid that he had a plan. I think Xiaolongzi is right. The new army must have the mentality of being rewarded for meritorious service when it first arrives, and it is naturally vigorous. .When they run into the air and can't find us, the anger will be exhausted. This is what the art of war says "avoid their vigor and strike their laziness". Let us."

"The virtues of the officers and soldiers are just like that. How much difference can there be between the new army and the green battalion? It's just that the soldiers have enough pay and better weapons." Sun Dewang shook his head, "You were in Henan back then, and our brothers were in Yinan, so fewer officers and soldiers were killed. The soldiers of the new army don’t have three heads and six arms. What are you afraid of? We’ll do it. We have more than a thousand brothers who have fought and seen blood. It’s not far from saying that one is worth ten. As for food and grass, our fifth is a local rich man who is good at managing money , There is a lot of food in the stockade, which can last for at least three months. We can support it, but the officers and soldiers may not be able to do it. They stayed for a few days, and when they ran out of food and grass, they obediently withdrew. "

What is inconvenient to say here is that Liu Yucai and Sun Dewang always have some disagreements.At the beginning, Liu Yucai and Zhou Huanan, who were born in the remnants of the Nian Army, brought hundreds of people from Yinan to vote. Sun Dewang graciously accepted them, and the strength of the Shanzhai more than doubled immediately.In the following years, Liu Yucai used his strategy and military exploits to prove that his courage and strategy were superior to Sun Dewang's.However, because of the incompetence of Shandong Luying, Sun Dewang has long been consumed by the comfortable life of flowers, flowers, willows and greens, and has lost his energy.

As expected by Long Qian, Master Sun's opinion was approved by the other leaders except Zhou Huanan.Therefore, the principle of relying on geographical advantages to fight inside was determined.The current situation is that the Wuwei Army came faster and fiercer than they thought.Yesterday, the spies came to report that the West Road officers and soldiers had occupied Zhangjiazhai.Zhangjiazhai is stuck on the only way out of Mengshan Mountain from the west. If you ignore it, in two days, the officers and soldiers will reach Niutou Ridge and approach Guangming Temple.

"We can't let them occupy Zhangjiazhai!" Sun Deming, who heard the news, found his brother and strongly demanded to defeat the forwards of the official army who occupied Zhangjiazhai before the main force of the official army arrived.

Zhangjiazhai is so small, at best, it can accommodate up to 200 people.

Sun Dewang agrees with his younger brother.So they called together the other leaders and decided to attack Zhangjiazhai after sunset.The terrain is extremely familiar, and it shouldn't be difficult to win this battle.

"Didn't Long Qian say that the army from Zhili has a lot of fast guns? Then we'll grab him." Sun Deming grinned.He's only in his early thirties, but his hair is starting to bald, which makes him look older.

"The third child also knows how powerful foreign guns are." Liu Yucai smiled, "I heard that Yuan Shikai's military training station hired German instructors. I also heard that the Germans were the most powerful in war. The Japanese soldiers who have lost their armor and armor are all their students."

"Second brother, don't let others be ambitious." Sun Deming disagreed. "We are not fighting the Germans. You don't know the virtues of the officers and soldiers? They are just bullying a few honest people."

The Mengshan thieves now also know a lot about foreigners.Although most of them are desperate farmers.Being located in Shandong allows them to take advantage of advanced information.A few years ago, the Japanese army landed in Weihai during the First Sino-Japanese War, and the Germans sent troops to occupy Qingdao because their missionaries were killed the year before last, which made them realize that the legendary foreigners were not far away from them.

"I heard from Long Qian that the German army is the number one. If this army is really trained by the Germans, we should abandon the mountain and leave." It was Zhou Huanan, the fourth leader who spoke.

"Don't listen to that brat Long Qian's nonsense. He is a kid who has never seen the world. He knows that the German army is number one! Has he been to Germany?" Sun Deming said dissatisfiedly, "Abandon the mountain and don't go? Where are you going? Followed by his ass." Thousands of officers and soldiers, which stockade will give us face? If we do as he said, these thousands of people will disperse as soon as they leave the mountain.”

"Since the newcomer Yuan Futai won't give us a way out. There is no way out," Sun Deming said. "We can stay in Mengshan if we win the battle. We can go to Fei County, Pingyi or Mengyin. But if we are defeated by this gang If the army from Zhili is defeated, even if we go down the mountain, we will be homeless dogs. The third brother is right, Zhangjiazhai must be defeated."

Liu Yucai also believed that only by defeating the official army could there be room for change.Among this group of people, he has a lot of knowledge and travels to several provinces.Meng Shanzhai looted everywhere, and had deep grievances with the surrounding villages, just like Nianzi back then, once he failed, even the villagers would become extremely terrifying enemies.

"Brother, although Xiao Longzi is young, he has studied and seen the world. The principle of victory in the first battle is indeed brilliant, otherwise we may fall into a passive position. It is not impossible to attack Zhangjiazhai. Let Long Qian lead people to do a reconnaissance That's good." Zhou Huanan still felt in his heart that Long Qian's suggestion of abandoning the mountains and leaving alone was right, but from the current situation, the idea of ​​confronting the officers and soldiers head-on obviously gained the upper hand.

"Reconnaissance? Who doesn't know the situation in Zhangjiazhai? What is reconnaissance? Time is not on our side. Once the officers and soldiers gain a firm foothold, it will be difficult to sneak attack." Sun Dewang lit another bag of cigarettes and said in a low voice.

"It has to be done like this. Otherwise, I don't know how many eyes the Lord Ma has!" Sun Deming, the fiery third family leader, said loudly, "I will take people to fight Zhangjiazhai! We are familiar with the terrain, and we don't go in and out a few times every year. ? Just wait for my good news."

In fact, Liu Yucai and Zhou Huanan had never seen how powerful the Wuwei Xinjun, who was boasted by Long Qian, was like a magic soldier.But the two of them had great trust in Long Qian, that's why Liu Yu asked, "Third brother, why did you attack Zhangjiazhai? Did you just rush down the mountain like this?"

"Of course not." Although Sun Deming was reckless, he was not stupid. "Since the officers and soldiers have good weapons, we will not meet him in the daytime. At night, we will sneak in at night and kill him by surprise."