"How can Cai Ye have mines?" Cao Kun said in astonishment. There was no such information in his intelligence.

"I don't know, but just now the Yihe sent news that the Pioneer was indeed a thunderbolt! Cao Shuai, what we need to do now is to find out how many mines Cai Ye has laid in the Three Gorges Basin! Wu Peifu said with a solemn expression.

"Then check it!" Cao Kun said as a matter of course, now that the Beiyang direct line and Anhui are united, Cao Kun has regained a little invincible feeling in the Beiyang world.

"But the old captains along the Yangtze River have long disappeared without a trace, and the Three Gorges basin is already full of dangerous shoals, and there are no experienced captains to participate in mine clearance, so we may be very sad!" Wu Peifu said helplessly.

"Didn't we get a full set of water pattern materials for the Yangtze River Fleet? Why do you still need experienced captains, are those who are born with mud legs more accurate than the water pattern data regularly drawn by the Yangtze River Fleet? Cao Kun said dissatisfied.

"We have water pattern data in the Yangtze River basin, but this was all drawn last year, and this year because of the chaos of the new army in the southwest, we did not draw it. The Three Gorges area has experienced the rainy season in summer, and the water level has risen sharply, and I am afraid that the situation inside the Three Gorges has changed, and only those old men who ferries in the Three Gorges all year round know the most specific situation. In addition, we don't know how many mines Cai Ye has placed in it. We can't use gunboats to get around! Besides, we don't have that many gunboats! Wu Peifu waved his hand and said. It was also him Wu Ziyu who dared to speak like this in front of Cao Kun, if he was replaced by someone else, he would be scolded by Cao Daguan if he was lucky, and if he was unlucky, he would have already been clicked away. Cao Daguan is not presumptuous in front of anyone.

"Is there any other way to get over as soon as possible?" Cao Kun said with a dark face. Finally spent a lot of effort to say that the commander of the moving section sent the Yangtze River fleet to send them away, Cao Kun didn't want to enter on foot, how difficult it was to walk on the Shu Road, but he had personally experienced it. Don't get tired and lose half your life, don't want to go in! And that's when no one is messing with you.

"There are two ways, the first is to obtain the latest water ripple data in the Three Gorges area as quickly as possible, and then send a special force into it to clear the mines. The second way is to abandon ship! Wu Peifu's mind was extremely situational, "Abandon ship? Cao's voice raised an octave. Absolutely not, Ben Shuai immediately contacted the chief of the Beijing section. Ziyu, won't you forget the situation we encountered last time we came? This Shu Road is walked by people! This time, no matter what, Ben Shuai will take a boat in! In order to take a boat into Shu, he Cao Kun did not use his brains less, nor did he pull the relationship. Now I'm about to cross Shu Road. Wu Peifu told him to abandon the ship, of course he was not happy.

"But Cao Shuai, if we wait for us to get the detailed water pattern information, and then send a ship to clear the channel, I'm afraid it will delay the originally planned date of entering Shu. It's not good for our grand strategy! Wu Peifu said with a frown.

"It's okay! What are you afraid of a few days later! It's also Cai Ye who should be anxious now. Ziyu, you are just too serious. Do you remember what Vice President Feng said to us when we came? This time in Shu, we want to destroy the strength of the Western Army, but the most important thing is to preserve our strength. If we lose too much, I am afraid that Vice President Feng's life will not be easy! Cao Kun whispered. Wu Peifu has a decent style, compared with the treacherous and cunning Cao Kun, Wu Peifu is more like a pure soldier. They are not politically sensitive and are not willing to express themselves. Although the direct line and the Anhui line have now been united, Cao Kun understands very well that the direct line is still the direct line, and the Anhui line is still the Anhui line, and the two sides now have common interests to unite, and once the common interests disappear, the alliance will become a joke. There will be a battle between the direct line and the Anhui line. After all, China only needs one force to control the government.

Wu Peifu frowned, he is not very sensitive to politics but it doesn't mean that he doesn't understand anything, how can he not know the irreparable rift between the direct line and the Anhui line, it's just that compared to the headache politics, Wu Peifu prefers to be a pure general. Perhaps it is this lack of political ambition that makes him and Cao Kun cooperate tacitly, and it can even be said that they take what they need. Although Cao Kun is also a soldier, since Beiyang took power, Cao Dashuai, who has tasted the taste of power, is now bent on improving his political status. Otherwise, the later Cao Kun would not have had the scandal of bribery.

"Ziyu, don't be anxious to fight, I know you're anxious to find Cai Yi to have a good fight. I'm here for you! Now that our Beiyang Fourth Route Army has entered Sichuan, it is not clear how Cai Ye will lay out, so don't put too much pressure on yourself. I brought a few nice items this time, why don't I give you a relaxing one? Cao Kun said with a smile. Although Cao Kun is a good woman, she still always treats women as clothes, and she doesn't care too much, the reason why she took a few concubines on the boat this time is because the boat is too boring, and she has fun to pass the time.

"No need! Cao Shuai, go and have a good rest! I'll take care of things here! Wu Peifu shook his head and said. As a traditional soldier, Wu Peifu was not accustomed to Cao Kun's bureaucratic style. But Cao Kun has the grace of knowing him, and he Wu Peifu has never been ungrateful. In addition, he can give full play to his military talents with Cao Kun, so the personal relationship between the two is also very good, and Wu Peifu has great respect for Cao Kun.

"Okay! Ziyu, you send the situation here to Chief Duan in Beijing, and Chief Duan will have a way to solve it! A mysterious smile appeared on Cao Kun's face.

Although Wu Peifu didn't understand, he still strictly implemented Cao Kun's order.

Beijing.

During this time, Prime Minister Qirui's life was not easy. Although a consensus had been reached with Feng Guozhang on the war, what discouraged him was that even the forces of the direct and Anhui factions might not be able to achieve the war goals he expected. In particular, Zhang Zuolin's sudden defection to the army made the superiority of Beiyang's military strength on the northern battlefield suddenly come to naught, and even now the strength of the army is still at a disadvantage. Just making up for the gap in military strength between the two sides made Mr. Duan anxious. Now he is in contact with the Overseers in various parts of the Central Plains by telegram, collecting troops in their hands and preparing to strengthen the troops on the front line of the Chahar Mountain Customs in the north.

At the same time, Duan Qirui ordered Jin Yunpeng to defend Rehe Province and southern Chahar at all costs. Because of the sudden defection of the Feng army, the northeast suddenly occupied most of the Chahar. If it weren't for Jin Yunpeng's army hoarding in the south of Chahar now, Duan Qirui probably wouldn't have been relieved to pay attention to the southwest battlefield.

Although Duan Qirui received a lot of financial assistance and a steady stream of foreign arms were also sent in, fortunately, he himself had not been carried away by all this, and knew that it was impossible to kill the forces of the northeast and southwest at one time. Therefore, he took a defensive position in the northeast and chose a strong offensive in the southwest. Because the Northeast is now very large. However, the territory is vast, the troops are scattered, and most of the land occupied by the northeast is bitter cold, so it is impossible to shake the foundation of Beiyang. But the southwest is different. The southwest is not weaker than the Beiyang government in terms of geographical location and development potential, which can be seen from the fact that Cai Ye was able to raise an army of 200,000 in just a few months. If Cai Ye was given a few more months, Duan Qirui would not dare to imagine how much the power of the southwest would swell. At that time, whether Beiyang can deal with the southwest is still a question. Although the Northeast Security Army has a brilliant record, Duan Qirui has never really fought with the Northeast Security Army, and he subconsciously does not pay enough attention to it, but Cai Ye is different. He had fought with Cai Yi, at that time, he led tens of thousands of Beiyang elites, and in the face of Cai Yi's rabble of more than 10,000 people, he suffered consecutive defeats, which left a shadow in Duan Qirui's heart. What's more, now that Cai Ye has these 200,000 people in his hands, imagination makes Duan Qirui frightened. If Cai Ye was still a pure soldier, Duan Qirui would not be worried at all, but now Cai Ye has established the Southwest New Army, which rules the five southwestern provinces, and has formed a huge force. At this time, Cai Ye often represented not his own will, but the will of the entire organization. Even if Cai Ye has no intention of taking power in the country, what will his people think. Once the strength of the southwest swells to a certain extent, I am afraid that even Cai Ye can only go with the flow. Therefore, Duan Qirui wants to completely nip Cai Yi's henchman in the bud at all costs.

After receiving Wu Peifu's telegram, Duan Qirui did not dare to slack off, although the matter was a little tricky, but it was not too difficult for Duan Qirui, he urgently contacted the Japanese ambassador to China, and did not spend too much tongue to obtain the latest water pattern data in the Yangtze River Basin. Bing, through the Japanese ambassador, sent Japanese hydrographic experts to the Yangtze River Fleet. It's so fast that it's smacking.

Wu Peifu frowned deeply, looking at the seemingly respectful Japanese hydrological expert in front of him, but his heart was full of humiliation. The confidential water pattern information of his own country needs to be obtained through the Japanese. What an embarrassment.

"General Wu, this is the latest Three Gorges water pattern data, and I have marked the areas in the southwest that are most likely to bet on mines. Hopefully, it will help the general in his crusade against rebellion. Japanese hydrologist Inoue Ishine said with a smile. Like other Japanese staff members sent to China, Inoue is fluent in Chinese. A mouthful of Beijing films is extremely standard. But it is this kind of standard that makes Wu Peifu feel tired for a while. However, thinking of the current form, Wu Peifu could only suppress the dissatisfaction in his heart and take over the information from Inoue Shigen. It was handed over to the staff officers, and then the personnel were allowed to participate in the demining. Now that there has been a lot of delay, Wu Peifu, who is a little impatient, urges the troops involved in the demining to move quickly.

(To be continued)