On the field of the Xuzhou Military Region instructors, a group of comrades were shouting cheering slogans. In the practice of the new artillery, four groups of artillery personnel were pulling the artillery on the uneven ground. This was a long-distance test of three kilometers. There were no horses pulling it, it was completely pulled by people. Each artillery vehicle, which weighed nearly two tons, ran fast under the pull of eight artillery soldiers.
Everyone was sweating profusely, everyone was courageously moving forward, and the cheers from the sidelines were louder and louder. Lei Hu sat firmly on the viewing platform with an excited expression on his face. The artillery vehicle used brand new bearings and solid tires, and the vehicle was as light as if it was about to fly. In the past decade, the artillery of the Liberation Army had undergone great changes. In the past, it could only transport light artillery. After imitating the European artillery, some medium artillery could barely keep up with the normal marching of infantry. The artillery that was being tested now was much more powerful than the previous medium artillery, and the marching speed could even catch up with the rapid marching. In the face of the incomparably strong city walls of Nanjing, this level of artillery could not do anything. Any city wall in the four northern provinces could not withstand the attack of these new artillery.
Eight soldiers pulling the sports car could catch up with the speed of rapid marching. If two horses were used under normal circumstances, the physical strength would be saved even more. Lei Hu was happy and unhappy. If these artillery could be sent to the army earlier, instead of being temporarily transferred before the war, the tactical arrangements of the army could have more changes.
But thinking about it was one thing, and Lei Hu could not just blame the Military Commission for not being considerate enough. The Military Commission had sent the artillery before the war. Sharpening a spear at the last minute was finally something to sharpen. If they really did not give the new sports car, wouldn't Lei Hu still have to use the old "outdated weapons"?
The army's overall evaluation of the new artillery vehicle was good, but the new bearings were a bit delicate, and the damage rate under more extreme actions was a bit too high. Especially when they needed to stop and fight, if they wanted the bearings to not suffer from the strong recoil, they had to use brackets to support it, which suddenly added several artillery steps.
In the face of this criticism, Lei Hu's answer was very simple. "How can there be so many good things that satisfy both sides? If you think the bearings are delicate, then use the old ones. If you want to use a new one, then practice the new steps and arrange it well. "
By the time Lei Hu finished inspecting the artillery, the latest intelligence had reached the headquarters. Shandong's Miao Peilin unexpectedly raised the banner of the Taiping Rebellion Prince Of Qi. This two-faced fellow became a Manchu Qing official and killed Zuo Zongtang's Chu army. Later on, he returned to the capital and cooperated with Manchu Qing to deal with the Nian Army. Now, seeing that Manchu Qing's situation was not good, he unexpectedly raised the banner of anti-Qing. These actions actually had no effect on the Liberation Army. At the very least, Miao Peilin did not have the guts to attack the Liberation Army. However, the Xuzhou Military Region Command Headquarters was still full of curses. Everyone didn't have a good impression of this kind of villain.
The military commander suggested, "Political Commissar, since we're going to liberate the four provinces, let's just kill Miao Peilin. This kind of bastard, if we beat him up, no one will really save him. "
As soon as this suggestion was made, the military headquarters immediately agreed. More importantly, a disgusting fellow like Miao Peilin had unexpectedly become the "Prince Of Qi" of the Taiping Rebellion. This situation belonged to the category of "if this can be tolerated, what can?" The Taiping Rebellion was also trying to find a doctor when they were sick. It was obvious that they were trying to provoke and provoke the Liberation Army.
The Xuzhou Military Region Party Committee was in an uproar. Lei Hu had no choice but to send a telegram to the Central Military Commission, requesting that the Xuzhou Military Region go north to annihilate Miao Peilin's troops.
"A general cannot mobilize troops because of anger!" Vézé quickly replied.
After receiving the telegram, Lei Hu was greatly relieved. Although Lei Hu had said this at the Party Committee meeting, his comrades were not convinced. He had no choice but to send a telegram to the Central Military Commission. Out of confidence in Vézé, Lei Hu believed that Vézé would make a wise choice. Now that Vézé had spoken, the mood of the Xuzhou Military Region also temporarily calmed down.
In Heze, not far from Xuzhou, the commander-in-chief of the Nian Army, Lai Wenguang, was very unhappy. He objected to Hong Xiuquan's recognition of Miao Peilin as the "Prince Of Qi". This was not because he was jealous. Lai Wenguang's evaluation of Hong Xiuquan's actions was very low. Li Hongzhang's capture of Luoyang had caused the Nian Army's communication with Shaanxi to be cut off, but there was no need to use the title "Prince Of Qi" to openly express malice against Vézé.
The Nian Army did not believe Miao Peilin at all. This guy had betrayed the Manchu Qing repeatedly, and then betrayed the Nian Army again. Only a fool would believe him. In that case, why should they offend Vézé for a worthless guy?
In his letter to Lai Wenguang, Hong Xiuquan said that doing so would cause the Liberation Army to attack Miao Peilin. Once the Liberation Army entered Shandong, it would attract the attention of the Manchu Qing. This kind of calculation made Lai Wenguang feel quite ridiculous. Even if the Liberation Army really did enter Shandong to fight, it would mean that the powerful Liberation Army would destroy all the enemies in Shandong in one fell swoop. In the eyes of the Liberation Army, the Taiping army was probably also an enemy.
But now that Lai Wenguang had made such a judgment, he could only put this problem aside. According to the latest news, a Nian Army of more than 2,000 soldiers had been destroyed by Sengrinchen. The mood of the Nian Army's commander-in-chief was very low.
"Your Highness, where are we going?" Zhang Zongyu asked.
The Xiang Army was chasing the Nian Army as if they had taken the wrong medicine. Sengrinchen's Mongolian Eight Banners cooperated with the Xiang Army. Sengrinchen did not give chase, nor did he chase after them. The Xiang Army was following the Nian Army. Sengrinchen had adopted a parallel tactic. They maintained a distance of 30 to 40 li from the Nian Army. There was only one purpose for this operation: it would prevent the Nian Army from using the strategy of splitting up and attacking together like before.
The Nian Army was preparing to split up in Yuzhou. In the end, Sengrinchen's Mongolian Eight Banners pounced. They did not attack the Nian Army's main force. Instead, they annihilated a division of the Nian Army. After suffering such a loss, the Nian Army had no choice but to regroup. According to the current situation, if they were to go west, they could only retreat to Shaanxi through a small path.
Lai Wenguang pondered for a while before suggesting a retreat to the west. Before Zhang Zongyu could answer, Ren Zhu objected. "King Lai, we want revenge now. If we retreat to Shaanxi, when will we be able to fight back?"
The Nian Army's generals had the same opinion. "The Liberation Army has already taken Sichuan and Kangding. They can turn around and attack the northwest. If we go to Shaanxi, I'm afraid the Heavenly King will not let us out again. When will we be able to avenge our families? "
Lai Wenguang did not expect the opposition to be so strong. There was something in the Nian Army's words that Lai Wenguang could not help but notice. The Nian Army seemed to be very reluctant to follow Hong Xiuquan's orders.
"Brothers, if you want revenge, you have to leave your lives behind first," Lai Wenguang said.
The Nian Army's generals did not seem to be interested in this. There was no strong reaction. Some Nian Army's generals even suggested that they go back to Huoyang.
Lai Wenguang's efforts to persuade the Nian Army's generals had no effect. The Nian Army's generals did not support the plan to retreat to Shaanxi. Lai Wenguang had no choice but to consider moving east to northern Shandong.
After the meeting, Zhang Zongyu, Ren Zhu, and the other Nian Army generals held a secret meeting. Zhang Zongyu said with a gloomy face, "Brothers, King Lai is a member of the Taiping Rebellion, not a member of the Nian Army. Even now, he is still thinking about the Taiping Rebellion and Heavenly King Hong. Our opinions are not what King Lai wants to hear. We cannot retreat to Shaanxi! "
The other Nian Army generals nodded. Most of them were from Anhui and Shandong. They had fought in Henan and Shandong near their hometown. Going all the way to Shaanxi would mean entering the Taiping Army's territory. At that time, everyone would have to listen to someone else's orders. This was not something the Nian Army's heroes could accept.
Ren Zhu asked, "Brother Zhang, what do you plan to do?"
"Who is the Taiping Army most afraid of now?" Zhang Zongyu asked.
The generals had never thought about this question. They looked at each other and slowly came to an answer.
Zhang Zongyu said, "The Taiping Army is most afraid of the Liberation Army. When they were in Nanjing, they offended Prince Qi Vézé and killed King Of The East Yang Xiuqing. Prince Qi Vézé marched north to Nanjing. The Taiping Army originally had no way out. However, Prince Qi Vézé was loyal and let the Taiping Army go. I heard that Prince Qi Vézé said that as long as the Taiping Army gave up Nanjing, he would not destroy the Taiping Army. That's why the Taiping Army ran to the north. If Prince Qi Vézé really wanted to destroy the Taiping Army, there would be no Taiping Army now. "
The generals of the Nian Army also knew about this. However, compared with the Taiping Army, the Liberation Army was more indifferent to the Nian Army, so they didn't care much about this matter. Now that Zhang Zongyu had asked this question, the generals of the Nian Army felt that Zhang Zongyu must have something else to say.
Ren Zhu said, "Brother Zhang, we all trust you. If you have any ideas, just say it. We'll think about it."
Zhang Zongyu looked at his brothers who were looking at him expectantly. He gritted his teeth and summoned up his courage to say, "If we really want to go back to our hometown, we can only see if the Liberation Army wants us. If the Liberation Army wants us, we don't have to run around anymore. We can just go back to our hometown when the Liberation Army goes north. At that time, not only can we take revenge, but we also don't have to work for the Taiping Rebellion. "
This suggestion was fierce enough. Most of the generals of the Nian Army did not expect that after mocking Miao Peilin's capriciousness, Zhang Zongyu was ready to betray the Taiping Rebellion and join Vézé.
They were all people in Jianghu. This was indeed not right.
No one agreed, and no one objected. The crowd was silent for a long time. Finally, someone said, "The Liberation Army had dealings with us more than ten years ago. After that, they didn't contact us. We don't know what they're thinking!"
Zhang Zongyu was not so pessimistic. He said, "Relatives who don't communicate often will drift apart. If the Liberation Army doesn't come to us, we will go to the Liberation Army. What do you think? "
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