A long and wide lightning flashed through the entire night sky, illuminating all buildings and people for a second.∽↗∽↗, and then, there was a violent thunder, which almost shattered the entire universe. The heavy and rapid raindrops and the wind whirlpools were like cruel whips twisted together, whipping down fiercely from the sky.

Although the rainy season has not yet arrived, it does not rain, but it is just that it does not continue. This heavy rain forced the Qing army to stop the pace of attack and suppression.

"This battle cannot be fought!" Yu Ruizhi, the manager of the 29th Battalion of the Hubei New Army, plunged into the house and complained loudly before he took off his raincoat.

Biao Tong Zhang Jingliang frowned and looked straight at his subordinates, continuing to study the map on the table, and his fingers slowly moved on it.

Yu Ruizhi hung up his raincoat, walked to the table and sat down, looked at Zhang Jingliang, and said, "Sir, it's not that he is afraid of death, but that this battle is not like this."

"How should I fight?" Zhang Jingliang didn't raise his head, snorted and asked back.

Yu Ruizhi swallowed hard and said angrily: "If our new army two bidders act together, we dare not say that we can defeat the rioters, but we won't be so tired! Look at the patrol battalions and patrol teams, they are simply afraid of the enemy. They dare not divide their troops, dare not advance quickly, and dare not be too far away from us. This makes it impossible to block the rioters, encirclement and suppression, and there are loopholes everywhere. Let the rioters come and go freely, when can they win?"

Zhang Jingliang raised his head, breathed a long breath, and said in a deep voice: "Based on the combat effectiveness of the patrol battalion, it is very risky to divide the troops and advance quickly. Once they are ambushed and besieged by the rebels, they cannot stand it, and they will simply increase the seizures of the rebels."

"But how can we start a war with the rioters like this?" Yu Ruizhi leaned heavily into the chair, "I transferred to Yunnan and Guizhou, and the battle was not fought in a dignified manner, and the soldiers were injured and injured. If this continues, we will be dragged down sooner or later."

"This is a good way to use it." Zhang Jingliang slapped the table lightly, "It was this idea that the rioters fought, so that they would not fight with us. But it was different to face the patrol battalion. The rioters avoided the strong and attacked the weak, and looked for opportunities to pick up soft people. No matter how bad the patrol battalion was, they were still holding guns and were close to us. The rioters dared not act easily. If only we were left, even though they had strong combat power, the rioters might have to take action."

"Sir, are you saying that we are with the patrol battalion and other burdens, and we can only maintain it until now because of the large number of people?" Yu Ruizhi's flesh on his face moved. He seemed to want to laugh and hold back.

"You underestimate the strength of the rebels and are also confused by the illusion of avoiding war." Zhang Jingliang glared at Yu Ruizhi and said solemnly: "Even if the rebels fight us in a dignified battle, victory or defeat is still between two sides. Do you think the rebels are vulnerable, do you think we have a stable chance of winning? Don't forget, how many officers and soldiers have been killed in our new Hubei army? If we can conquer Nanning, how can the rebels be compared with the bandits in the martial arts world?"

Yu Ruizhi blinked his eyes. His words forced him to think seriously and his expression gradually became serious, but he still asked in confusion: "The unrest party is posing as a staunch to avoid the war. What is the plan?"

Zhang Jingliang sighed softly and said, "A few months have passed. Look at our Hubei New Army. The two standards were separated, and the officers and soldiers were injured and injured by nearly 10%. They ran around and ran around. The new army was already a journey of fatigue. So, I just said that it is a good thing to be with the patrol battalion. If our army is isolated, do you think the rebels will not gather troops to attack? I think it is very dangerous."

"The government army is attacking and suppressing the rebellion party, why does it sound like it?" Yu Ruizhi's hand drew a few circles in the air. He couldn't think of a suitable word to describe it.

"The government army is being led by the rebels." Zhang Jingliang said, "They temporarily avoided fighting head-on with our army, but they specially selected old troops like the patrol battalion to fight. While fighting, they expanded their troops. While training soldiers, they also dragged us to exhaustion. When they felt that they were sure to win," he stopped and made a slashing gesture.

Yu Ruizhi nodded slightly, as if he had some insight. After a while, he said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty understands everything after this analysis. The rebels are indeed cunning, and their plans are both profound and poisonous!"

"Although we know the plan, it is difficult to solve it." Zhang Jingliang sighed a little sadly, "There are paper talks on war, and we are exhausted. If we are all new troops, it is easy to deal with it. If we should block it, we should chase it, and we should chase it. We should divide the troops and attack it together, forcing the rebels to retreat or encircle it and annihilate it. Unfortunately, only our two soldiers who can fight together can only protect themselves, but it is difficult to entrust the rebels to fight around."

"Yes!" Yu Ruizhi nodded and said, "Although there are many people and forces the rebels to retreat, they cannot be blocked. They are worried that the army will go deeper. When will they follow the rebels go? "

"The rainy season is coming." Zhang Jingliang stood up, walked slowly to the window, and listened to the sound of wind and rain outside, saying meaningfully: "We need to have a breathing time, and the rebels probably want to rest. When the rainy season is over, winter will be already coming. Can the new troops in each province be trained? The Governor may send reinforcements again, and that is the time to really fight with the rebels!"

…………….

With a terrifying thunder, lightning penetrated like a sharp sword, and the sky was completely cut and shattered.

The battle started at this time when no one expected it. The Qing army did not expect that the revolutionary army suddenly targeted the attack group at the southern Yunnan group. The revolutionary army did not expect that the plan had been decided, but it rained heavily.

There was no scene of thousands of cannons bombing together. Taking advantage of the thunderstorm and strong wind, the attack troops of the Revolutionary Army carried out actions in accordance with the original plan, which caught the Qing army off guard. By the time the enemy realized that the battle had started at the same time on several positions, a fierce and close fight was roaring with thunder and lightning, and the heavy rain began like a splash.

The Qing army had never seen such a battle, and the Revolutionary Army had little experience. Artillery had no effect. Grenades, bayonets, and long and short guns were the most convenient weapons. The factors that determine the outcome of the battle also depended more on the fighting will and spirit of both sides.

A Qing army officer who was captured later was still in fear many years later, "... the enemy he touched was simply a group of devils. By the time we found out, many people had died quietly under their daggers and bayonets. They were brave, and some could even be said to be fanatical. And we were like a group of ducks who were frightened, shooting randomly, yelling, exposing ourselves, and then being killed by the enemy. Badges, daggers, bullets, bombs, like the deadly Yama in the dark night. It was so terrible..."

The battle to seize the outer positions was not fierce, but it was cruel. The shouts and exclamations were almost all issued by the Qing soldiers. Sudden and fierce attacks, fierce and cruel fighting, the Qing soldiers collapsed, and they either raised their hands to surrender, or fled around like crazy.

Two thousand revolutionary troops suddenly emerged from Gaoping in Vietnam to restore Malipo, restore Maguan County, and point the front of the troops to the river estuary; more than 3,000 revolutionary troops who restored Nanning traveled from Longzhou to Gaoping, becoming the support of the vanguard troops; more than 3,000 troops from the western Yunnan Military Region crossed the Yuan River from Zhenyuan, restored Xinping, and defeated Shiping, making a move to cut off the retreat route of the Qing army in southern Yunnan; the other two thousand troops attacked along the south bank of the Yuan River, restored Mo River, and Luchun, attacked the Qing army group in southern Yunnan from the west.

As soon as the battle began, the cable telegrams of the Qing army's external contacts in southern Yunnan were cut off. Relying on the original messenger transmission, not only did the Qing army general command in Kunming not have any clear situation and delayed judgment, but also made it slow for surrounding friendly troops to get news to come for support.

The old army patrol battalions and the patrol teams defended the positions and towns were successively lost, and the speed was astonishingly fast. On the one hand, the old army's combat effectiveness was really not satisfactory; on the other hand, the revolutionary army had been planning for a long time, and all the participating troops received resolute and harsh orders, "Don't worry about losses, the key is to win the battle."

This is a decisive battle. It is not only military, but also political significance. The Qing court will bear the biggest setback after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and will no longer be able to launch a large-scale offensive before the end of the rainy season. Defeating the Qing army group in southern Yunnan will also allow the French to re-measure the gains and losses of interests and thus open up a channel from Vietnam to the base.

In other words, this battle not only eliminates the enemy, but also allows the enemy to feel the vigorous battle of the Revolutionary Army and the fighting spirit of not fearing sacrifice, so as to win the revolutionary army time to operate and grow in Yunnan and Guangxi.

A famous tactician Lasal Oshe said in the French Revolution: "If the sword is short, take one more step." The inverse proposition of this proposition is: "If the sword is long, take one step back."

In the initial battle, the Revolutionary Army tasted the sweetness and launched night battles and melee battles, with great results. The Qing army, whether it was the old army with low combat power or the more conceited new army, was not adapted to this tactic, and even developed an inexplicable fear of darkness. The fear of close combat and night battles also showed their lack of fighting will.

In China at that time, the new army was indeed different from the modern army of the old army, and its combat effectiveness was much stronger than the old army. However, the historical evaluation was also very objective, that is, "new but not strong."

The so-called "new but not strong" should be a multi-faceted measurement and reason.

For example, compared with the world powers at that time, the new army was still far from the gap. You should know that the Western military system has been tempered and matured after modern international wars. At this time, a modern army requires a strong industrial and economic foundation, and the population is no longer a decisive factor. Industrial strength and mobilization ability are the real manifestation of a country's war ability.

Therefore, the Qing Dynasty, which was in an agricultural society, did not have the ability to build a strong new army at all. Not to mention fighting for consumption, steel, and industrial war forms were something that the Qing Dynasty dared not expect. Even the inherent institutional problems made the new army itself a lot of ills.

Someone once sighed at the chaos and corruption in the new army: "The country has spent a lot of money and has been practicing for many years, but in the end it is just a show!" The review of the school is like a child's play, and it is like flowing water. There are many problems within the army, such as the gambling trend, such as the relationship between officers and soldiers, etc. What is even more shocking is that some buy officials in the army clearly priced, sell them openly, and are in a mess.

Of course, this does not refer specifically to the new Hubei army, and there are indeed some problems in the new Hubei army, such as too few promotion opportunities, and the revolutionary party hides it.

But if the main reason for the failure is that the Hubei New Army was not adapted to the soil and water environment and lacked practical experience in mountain jungles.

Clausewitz, a Prussian military philosopher who was in a down-and-out period and honored after his death, said it well: By overcoming the enemy's existing means and willpower, you can defeat the enemy. And how many means and willpower do the 30th tier of the Hubei New Army led by Yang Kaijia have now?

Ten battalions of the Yunnan Provincial Patrol Team that were deployed around the border retreated one after another, with heavy losses. More than a thousand defeated soldiers gathered at Hekou and Meng Zi to seek protection from the Hubei New Army. While Yang Kaijia sent people to report urgently, requesting reinforcements, he urgently ordered the two battalions stationed in Hekou to return to Meng Zi, preparing to gather troops to stand firm and wait for reinforcements.

The revolutionary army on the east road took the river estuary without fighting and continued to pursue it. The revolutionary army on the east road captured Nibahei, Chehe, Nanxi, Laofanzhai, Sanchahe and Baihe; the revolutionary army on the west road captured Jianshui, Gejiu, and approached Mengzi.

Seeing that the Revolutionary Army had superior strength, Yang Kaijia was completely surrounded by General Meng Zi and lost his way to retreat, so he led his army to retreat northward and retreat to Kaiyuan.

But the various units of the Revolutionary Army were like groups of evil wolves, fighting from three sides, sticking to the Qing army tightly. Now there is no need to save ammunition or adjusting any tactics. The purpose is to completely annihilate the Qing army in the shortest time. This is very likely a decisive battle.

Finally, the retreating troops led by Yang Kaijia were blocked by a tough attack. A revolutionary army unit responsible for cutting off the retreat of the Qing army was soaked in the trenches that were hurriedly dug, and shot fiercely at the Qing army that was fleeing in panic, announcing to the Qing army that the road was blocked.

The trapped beasts were still fighting. After the Qing army rectified, it launched fierce attacks on the blocking positions again and again. It was extremely difficult and dangerous, and there was no way out, which made the Qing army seem to have the spirit of fighting against the enemy.

The heavy rain a few days ago brought trouble to both the enemy and us. The positions were muddy and the trenches were all in the country. The revolutionary army's blocking troops guarded the positions extremely tenaciously, using machine guns, rifles, pistols, bayonets, grenades, and even stocks, fists, and teeth to counterattack the Qing soldiers who rushed into the positions again and again. On the positions where there were intertwined, the small number of artillery in the Qing army did not dare to bomb randomly, so as not to injure their own people.

The sound of gunfire was ripped into pieces. The Qing army took the battalions to launch a series of attacks on the revolutionary army's blocking positions. The shouts of killing were earth-shaking. Both sides were fighting for the death, and the positions were lost again. The positions were lying in front of the positions. The bodies of soldiers on both sides were covered.

Yang Kaijia held up a telescope, and in front of him were soldiers of two armies screaming like madmen, falling and jumping in the fire of war. He showed an indescribable impulse and upset, and murmured: "Comrades are slaughtering each other, are we fighting for our honor?"
Chapter completed!