After the Shanhuagang Blockade began, Cai Ye moved his headquarters from Fengjie County to the Wushan Mountains, which was not far from the front line. Although there are a lot of troops in Cai's hands, almost all of them are recruits, and the huge number does not make up for the fact that the vast majority of the new army are recruits. Therefore, Cai Ye went to the front line in person, firstly, to boost morale, and secondly, to command nearby, so as to facilitate the first-hand battlefield intelligence on the frontline.

The intelligence on the front line continued to gather into Cai Yi's hands. Looking at the distress telegram of the three divisions, one brigade and one regiment on Shanhuagang, Cai Yi's face sank like water.

"Xinmin, how many times has the enemy attacked?"

"General, this is already the fourth attack. The enemy's offensive is very fierce, and the Beiyang army has arrived, so I'm afraid that I won't be able to hold on to it! Peng Xinmin said.

"I know that! But we are a new army, and the first big battle must be brilliant, and only then can the subsequent battles continue. A telegram was sent to the commander of the 3rd Division, Luo Peikin, asking him to increase the strength of the position to two regiments, and at the same time ordering the troops to pay attention to the protection of the enemy's artillery. Although after Cai Ye unified the southwest, the new army also formed two regiments of artillery, but unfortunately the vast majority of the so-called artillery in the southwest can become mortars. The heavy artillery possessed by the entire New Army was only a concave artillery left over from the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The lethality is really limited, and the ammunition is not sufficient. In addition, it was very bulky and inconvenient to carry, so this time it was only brought by the shelling, and all the concave guns were left in Chengdu. Knowing his weakness, Cai Ye will of course pay great attention to the enemy's use of artillery.

Boom-boom!

The roar of heavy artillery suddenly appeared on the battlefield, and Cai Yi's face changed, and then his expression became resolute. I'm really afraid of something, just said that the enemy's heavy artillery was used by the enemy. From this point, it can also be seen that Wu Peifu's ability to be a general can get such an inconvenient weapon as heavy artillery to the front line in such a short time, which shows that his ability is extremely strong.

"Ask Luo Peijin to defend the mountain at all costs." Cai Yi's face sank like water, without the slightest pity, he knew that with his order, countless outstanding men from the southwest would die in this place destined to be famous in the future. But the current form dictates that he has to. If the new army retreats because of the enemy's heavy artillery, I am afraid that the enemy's heavy artillery will become a nightmare for the new army in the southwest. Extremely detrimental to the growth of the new army. Therefore, no matter what the price is paid, Cai Ye must let the new army overcome the phobia of heavy artillery from the source.

There is a saying that veterans are afraid of machine guns, and recruits are afraid of artillery. In the era of the Republic of China, even the caliber of the most advanced howitzers on the Chinese battlefield has only just broken 100, and the shells are mainly flowering shells, and the lethality is far from being comparable with later generations. And the veterans know that if they hit a shell, they can't run if they want to, that's all fate, everything depends on their own luck, and there is nothing to be afraid of if they want to open this kind of thing. When you go to war, you have to pin your head to your belt.

Luo Peijin received Cai Yi's order, and a hideous look appeared on his face.

"Order all the first brigade to be on top of Lao Tzu! Tell the commander of the first brigade. Lao Tzu then arrived. If he loses his position to Lao Tzu, Lao Tzu will unscrew his head! "Luo Peijin knows Cai Yi's character, he is good at what he says in the army, and what he says will be fulfilled, if he withdraws the army because of fear, even if he is an old man under Cai Yi, he will not want to escape the punishment of military law. Cai Ye's extremely strict management of the army, coupled with his outstanding commanding art, made his prestige in the New Army unrivaled.

"Follow Lao Tzu to the headquarters of the first brigade!" Luo Peijin also let go. The command of the 1st Brigade was already close to the battlefield, and it was easy to get caught up in it. And the current form is clearly unfavorable for the Forces nouvelles. And the enemy army has arrived, ready to launch a large-scale attack.

Temporary Command of the Beiyang Army! A large flag fluttered near the command post. Write a "Cao" character on it, shining brightly. Cao Kun has the habits of an old soldier, such as erecting a big flag in front of the command headquarters in order to swear his status. Originally, Wu Peifu was resolutely opposed to this. After all, such a leak of the position of the command post is easy to attack. Once the southwest can only bring mountain artillery into the firing range, and Cao Kun's headquarters is included in the firing range, a single cannon can change the form of the entire battlefield. Therefore, Wu Peifu persuaded Cai Yi.

But Cao Kun insisted unexpectedly. Wu Peifu's persuasion was fruitless, so he could only let it go. Fortunately, the situation on the battlefield in the West has not yet spread to the East, and the participation of aircraft in the war is still limited to a very small scale, otherwise Cao Dashuai's behavior is a typical stupid behavior. Such an eye-catching target, of course the enemy will not let it go, "Ziyu, how is it, this small hill has not been captured yet?" Cao Kun said with a rare solemn expression.

"Marshal, the enemy has increased its forces, and at the moment there are at least two regiments of the Southwest New Army near this small hill. We have limited artillery at our disposal, and I am afraid that we will not be able to provide favorable support to the infantry. "The terrain of Shanhuagang is not suitable for the deployment of large forces, especially the side attacking from Wu Peifu. Wu Peifu also wanted to concentrate the army to launch a thunderous offensive, but unfortunately the troops could not be expanded, so he could only do it in a hurry.

"Ziyu! Don't worry, I just got the news, Li Chun on the northern front has almost no resistance, and now the troops are advancing lightly, and when Li Chun attacks the hinterland of Sichuan, Cai Yi will inevitably panic, and there will be flaws in the defense, and then it will be our chance! Cao Kun said with a smile.

"Dashuai, will there be fraud? Cai Ye is meticulous in his work, and I am afraid that there will not be such a big mistake. Wu Peifu frowned.

"Okay Ziyu, don't think about the situation of the Northern Route Army anymore. The only thing you have to do now is to fight the battle in front of you with all your might! I heard that the two armies of the Hunan and Anhui factions have been blocked, and how many troops can he Cai Ye can distribute. Therefore, as long as we hold off Cai Yi's army and prevent him from dividing his troops to other aspects, it will be a great achievement for us. Cao Kun said indifferently. Although the coalition of local overseers led by Li Chun is also a direct force, its combat effectiveness is really average, and it can only be called a rabble. It is also very likely that Cai Ye does not put it in his eyes.

Thundered! The fierce white-knuckle battle unfolded on the mountain flower hill, and this was the Beiyang Army that rushed into the position of the New Army was engaged in a white-knuckle battle with the soldiers of the New Army. Repeatedly fight for positions under your feet. On the one hand, Beiyang, which has a fine tradition, and on the other hand, it is for the new army in the southwest to protect the homeland. The stumps were broken, blood flowed everywhere, and the entire mountain flower was stained red with blood.

In the end, the new army repelled the fifth attack of Beiyang by virtue of its numerical superiority.

"The brigade commander has an order, and the first and second regiments are all withdrawn from their positions!" The heralds from the brigade headquarters came to the battlefield and announced the order of the top of the new army?

"Retreat? Whose order is this! We are here to protect our homeland, how can we retreat, we haven't been defeated yet! A group of elders yelled with a distorted face. It had only been a long time since he had been fighting, and less than half of his regiment remained. If it weren't for the support of the 2nd Regiment later, their regiment would have been wiped out. So many good brothers have become stumps and flesh in the blink of an eye, and Gu Wei feels that there is nothing more cruel in the world.

"This is the general's order!" The herald said solemnly. Gu was stunned, didn't say anything anymore, turned his head to mobilize manpower, search and rescue the wounded, and issued a retreat order. Gu only believed in Cai Yi, and believed that Cai Yi's order to retreat was not because he was afraid of the enemy's strength, but because he had other layouts.

After experiencing the battle on the battlefield, the spirit of the surviving soldiers has completely transformed. There is a murderous aura and a sinister aura on his body. This kind of temperament is the temperament that a veteran should have, killing is a process that must be experienced by a new soldier to a veteran, and no one can replace this process. Cai believes that when those veterans who have returned from injury come back, he can use these veterans as a skeleton to build a truly powerful army.

In this Shanhuagang blocking battle, Cai Yi's biggest purpose was two, the first was to thwart the enemy's offensive spirit, and the second was to take the opportunity to train the troops. There are too few veterans in the new army. After the Yunnan army went north, Cai Ye almost lost all the recruits in his hands, and even if such a force was commanded by a famous general like Cai Yi, he also felt scratching his head.

The retreat of the new army was very swift, all the wounded who could be treated were taken away, and there was no way for the corpses. The soldiers of the Forces nouvelles also wanted to bring their comrades in their robes, but the current conditions simply did not allow it. They had no choice but to give up.

"Say goodbye to your brothers! Lao Tzu swore today that we would fight back, and we would not let our brothers expose their corpses to the wilderness! Gu Wei looked at the criss-crossed bodies of the position, of which the new army occupied the majority. These are his robes, his brothers. I didn't expect to bury my bones on the first day of the war.

After five large-scale charges, the soldiers of the second town of Beiyang and the first standard of the first association were also extremely tired, and the enthusiasm shown by the new army cast a shadow on their future, and their morale was greatly damaged.

Doodoo ...... The military horn of Beiyang sounded, which was a call to urge the soldiers of the first target to attack. Although the soldiers were dissatisfied in their hearts, they did not dare to disobey the military rations, Wu Peifu was strict in governing the army, and disobeying the military orders could only end in death, and the gendarmerie in the army was not vegetarian.

The Beiyang Army hardened, summoned up the courage in its heart, and under the cover of artillery, rushed madly to Shanhuagang. To their surprise, only the sound of gunfire could be heard on the hill.

"Kill! The new army is out of bullets! The morale of the attacking Beiyang Army was greatly boosted, and they rushed into the position one by one. But to their astonishment, except for a few wounded soldiers who were seriously injured and killed frequently, they were still pulling the trigger in their hands, and the other soldiers of the New Army had disappeared without a trace.

"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.

(To be continued)