"Report to the marshal, deputy marshal! The enemy fled. Shanhuagang has fallen into the hands of our army.

"Great! It's finally time to get out of this hellish place! Cao Kun said excitedly.

"What the hell is going on? Why is the gunfire so sparse on the battlefield? Wu Peifu said with a frown.

"By the time the first mark rushed to the enemy's position, the enemy's large force had fled, leaving only hundreds of wounded soldiers who were seriously wounded and dying. Therefore, our army did not occupy positions at great cost. The herald saw that Wu Peifu's face was not very good, and said in a low voice.

Cao Kun waved his hand to let the herald go down, no matter how bad his temper was, he Cao Dashuai would not embarrass his soldiers, on the contrary, he took great care of his soldiers. This can be regarded as the means of Cao Dashuai's majesty! Therefore, the reputation of Cao Dashuai is excellent.

"Dashuai, Cai Ye chose to retreat, it seems that he wants to take advantage of the complexity of the terrain in the Sichuan-Shu region to find an ambush site. We are not familiar with the terrain here, and it is easy to ambush Cai Ye in a rash advance. Wu Peifu said with a frown. The southwest is mountainous and the terrain is complex. Although there are thousands of miles of fertile fields in the Chengdu Plain, it is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the road is long and obstructive. Without the guidance of the locals, these wild places are really difficult to walk.

"Why don't we put our march on hold or take a detour?" Compared with Wu Peifu, who wants to compete with Cai Yi in a dignified manner, Cao Kun does not have such a big sense of victory, he wants to win on the basis of preserving his strength.

"No, the Shu Road is difficult, and the detour is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also constrained because you don't understand the terrain. Marshal, we still advance according to the original plan, but the troops will be more jǐng, and the scouts will be sent out more widely. "Cai Ye didn't fight Wu Peifu, tens of thousands of troops hid in the mountains and forests, and Wu Peifu couldn't do anything.

Surrounded by mountains and a small population, the terrain provided too many opportunities for Cai's defense. An army of tens of thousands of people hid in the dense forest, and no one was visible outside. Since Cai Yi wants to play hide and seek with Wu Peifu, Wu Peifu can only accompany him.

"Ziyu, I'll just say you're too serious! If our army occupies Chóng Qìng, and then captures the Chengdu Plain along the Yangtze River and surrounds Chengdu, Cai's notification center, we can subvert Cai's tax land, and the southwest new army will become a rootless Ping and a source of water. It's not up to us to handle it then! Cao Kun shook his head and said. Although he is a general, he is not a famous general, and he can't understand the contest between famous generals like Wu Peifu and Cai Yi. Compared with Wu Peifu, Cao Kun is more realistic.

In the last Protectorate War, although Wu Peifu was the brigade commander of the Beiyang Army, he was barely a high-level officer, but Cai Yi was the commander of the Protector **, and he was the commander-in-chief, and the status of the two sides was incomparable, so Wu Peifu, who lost to Cai Yi, was not convinced, and now he is also the commander, with an army of 70,000 jīng, and it is normal for him to want to compete with Cai Yi. After all, there is no first in literature, and there is no second in martial arts.

"Not bad! Cao Shuai, let's lead the army and approach the southwest town of Chóng Qìng, I don't believe that Cai Ye can still calm down! Wu Peifu said with a firm face.

Wu Peifu ordered his Beiyang Army to rest and recuperate, and then the whole army set off, and the scout range was expanded from five to fifteen li. At the same time, some troops were left along the way to pick up the follow-up baggage team. It is impossible to carry the baggage of tens of thousands of troops at any time. Coupled with the fact that it is not a local operation, logistics has always been the weakest link.

When Cai Yi's army and Cao Kun and Wu Peifu were playing hide and seek. Li Chun's division of the Beiyang Army entered the Bazhong region. Li Chun's Beiyang Army was a combined army cobbled together by the overseers from various places, from several provinces, and the military discipline was very poor. Since entering Sichuan, there has been a phenomenon of disrespecting military discipline and plundering without permission. The notoriety of the Beiyang Army spread throughout the Bazhong region. Therefore, Li Chun's army has just entered the Bazhong region, and the local people have already fled.

"Damn, haven't the baggage troops caught up yet?" Li Chun said with some annoyance.

"Back to the Overseers, not yet. Because our army marched too fast, it was seriously separated from the logistics baggage troops, and now the military supplies carried by our army are limited, and I am afraid that they will not be able to support it for too long. The Admiral advises the Overseers to take a break and wait for the arrival of food and grass! Li Chun's confidant general Li Fuxiang whispered.

"Damn the Beiyang Logistics Department, the Governor of Pontus has already asked them to hand over the grain and grass to our logistics department, they have to do it, and now the army is short of food, which seriously affects the speed of advance! Missed fighters, what bastards! Li Chun said angrily. Premier Duan did his best to Beiyang jīng Rui, and at the same time recruited the private army of the overseers in various places, and Li Chun, as the head of the three direct governors, was naturally the first to bear it. Whether Li Chun wanted to or not, he still led his 20,000 jīng Rui to come as soon as possible. With his prestige in the Beiyang, he became the commander of the Northern Route Army. Of course, the military rations and grass needed by the united army certainly needed to be allocated by zhōng yāngzhèng fǔ. Although he Li Chun is a Beiyang veteran, he has not yet reached the realm of being a private fat man. Besides, since Yuan Shikai's death, in Li Chun's heart, Beiyang is no longer the original Beiyang. Li Chun defected to Feng Guozhang and joined the direct forces to ensure his current status.

Duan Qirui was clear about the thoughts of these local overseers, but the strength of the southwest and northeast forces was beyond his imagination, and Duan Qirui had to rely on the power of the local overseers, and he could only try to meet their requirements. In addition, by declaring war on Germany, Beiyang secretly obtained a lot of funds from the British, which were used by Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang as war funds, which made Beiyang rare and generous. But Duan Qirui is not a fool, he knows the selfishness of the local overseers, so he controls the military supplies provided by his own people. Control the participation of local Overseers in the war by controlling the allocation of military supplies. Li Chun once protested, but Duan Qirui couldn't help it if he didn't let go. Fortunately, Duan Qirui's allocation of military supplies was quite timely, so Li Chun couldn't find any excuse to refute. However, after Li Chun's army entered Sichuan, it did not encounter any resistance, and the army drove straight in, and the logistics force of the Anhui system was somewhat unable to keep up. In order to seize the credit, the local overseer force headed by Li Chun can be regarded as advancing with full strength, and the logistics force was opened dozens of miles at once. is now in an embarrassing situation where there is a shortage of food and grass.

"Order the troops, search the nearby villages, the villagers must have just escaped for a short time, and they must have left a lot of food behind for me to collect!" Li Chun said.

"General! How much food can there be in the homes of ordinary people! The subordinates suggested looting the big families. It doesn't take much, just a few households can gather the grain and grass of the army. Li Fuxiang said.

"No! If we move the local heroes, we will offend the local forces in the southwest, although these forces seem inconspicuous, but they are deeply rooted in the locality, if they really anger them and let them completely throw themselves into Cai Yi, then the pressure on our Beiyang will increase greatly! Li Chun is aware of the current situation of the Republic of China, it seems that the power is in the hands of the local overseers, but in fact, the real power of the local area is in the hands of those powerful people, even if Li Chun is the head of the three capitals of the Beiyang direct line, he does not dare to touch the interests of the powerful in Jiangsu Province under his jurisdiction. On the contrary, in many respects, it is necessary to rely on the support of those local wealthy families to achieve stability in Jiangsu.

"Overseer! No matter whether we win or lose this war, our interests are only in Jiangsu. Besides, we are not doing this to march as soon as possible, invade the southwest hinterland, and expand the territory of the Beiyang. Even if some local powerful forces unite to fight us, how much threat can they pose? This great credit for the capture of the southwest is really not worth mentioning. Li Fuxiang said disdainfully.

"This ......" Li Chun was a little moved. Now the North and South-West are at war, and it is understandable what means are used. As for whether he will ruin Beiyang's reputation by doing so, it is none of his business. Because even if Beiyang conquered the southwest region, it would be impossible for him to abandon Jiangsu and transfer his forces to the southwest. Therefore, no matter what kind of notoriety he left in the southwest, it was Duan Qirui of the Anhui system who finally picked up his tail.

"Don't hesitate, Overseer! Now that several other armies in Beiyang have been blocked, it is the time for our generation to work hard and establish meritorious deeds. One will be successful, and ten thousand bones will wither. Overseer, make up your mind! Li Fuxiang persuaded.

Li Chun frowned and sank for a long time, and finally a slick appeared on his face. A little infamy is still not as exciting as the great merit of capturing the southwest.

"Good! Fuxiang, you can do this yourself! Be smart! Li Chun finally agreed to Li Fuxiang's suggestion. With the speed of the Beiyang Logistics Force, it will take at least a day to catch up with them, and now is not an ordinary time, and the fighters are fleeting. Li Chun didn't want to give up such a good opportunity to make great contributions. Although he is the head of the three governors of Beiyang, Li Chun is not satisfied with his current status. He wants to take another step and become a real general in his direct line. Like Cao Kun, a Beiyang tycoon who is really in charge of the party.

Li Chun raised a butcher's knife in the Bazhong region, slaughtered several large landowners, and obtained a large amount of grain. Ordinary people fled in large numbers for fear of military disasters, but those big and powerful families generally did not leave, because their ancestral industries were here. At the same time, their local relationships are intertwined. Whoever occupies the place will not be touched in order to quickly settle the place, and as long as they show obedience to the ruler, they will be used heavily.

Li Chun didn't know that his decision had completely ruined Beiyang's reputation in the southwest, and those local powerful forces that had originally opposed the Southwest New Army knew about these things, and compared Beiyang with the New Army, and found that although the New Army was a little harsh, it was still reasonable, but Beiyang had no reason to talk about at all. These local heroes don't want Beiyang soldiers to kill their homes one day, turning the wealth they have accumulated for generations into military supplies.

...