"The mortar units were ordered to stop sorties, retreat three kilometers and enter the second line of defense." Ni Sichong said in a deep voice. The first line of defense is shrouded in the range of the enemy's heavy artillery, and if you continue to stay here, you can only seek death. Therefore, Ni Sichong could only abandon the first line of defense and let the mortar unit enter the second line of defense.

You must know that now Beiyang has lost a large number of artillery, and if the mortar unit is bitten and killed by the artillery of the Northeast Army, then the next battle will really be impossible to fight.

Now Ni Sichong can already feel Fu Liangzuo's helplessness, it's not that the Beiyang Army doesn't work hard, it's that the Northeast is too strong. Whether it is in terms of the level of weapons and equipment or the configuration of firepower, these improvised patchwork troops cannot be compared with the Northeast at all. Now Ni Sichong's insistence is just to wait for the elite of the Beiyang Army led by Xu Shuzheng. This is also the hope of the entire Beiyang Army.

The artillery positions of the Beiyang Army were crippled, unable to suppress the engineering units on the river, and the fire of the conventional artillery in the northeast made it impossible for the infantry on the local positions to attack, which made the laying of the pontoon bridge unprecedentedly smooth.

"Damn it!" Watching the pontoon bridge in the northeast be laid step by step, Ni Sichong's heart was full of aggrieved feelings. But the firepower is not as good as others, so Ni Sichong can only watch.

Nanjing Beiyang Government.

Feng Guozhang looked at the telegram in his hand calmly, and under him sat a fat man in military uniform, the fat man's face was full of dust, he was the Beiyang General Cao Kun Cao Dashuai who rushed from Hubei.

"President, is there something wrong with you calling me back in such a hurry?" Complaining that Cao Kun thought so, Feng Guozhang's order was really incomprehensible, and Cao Kun led 20,000 elite troops to be transferred to Nanjing. If it is said that it is to protect the safety of Nanjing, it is still said in the past, but it is a little strange that Wu Peifu's army was ordered to stay in Henan. You must know that the war in Zhili is very tight, and you need the support of Wu Peifu's army.

"Cao Shuai, don't worry, this war is almost over, and now is not the time to fight to the Northeast, we must preserve our Beiyang vitality as much as possible. You look at the telegrams from this time. Feng Guozhang handed the telegram in his hand to Cao Kun.

"Fujian, Kuomintang rebellion? When did this happen? "Cao Kun has been in charge of the army in the central part of the country, and he really doesn't know much about this kind of thing.

"Five days ago, the Kuomintang army threw off the main force of the Fujian Fujian army and captured the city of Fuzhou, and all the ordnance and materials in the city fell into the hands of the Kuomintang army. Everyone knows the influence of the Kuomintang, they do not lack prestige, nor lack soldiers, the only lack is weapons and ammunition, now the materials in Fuzhou City have fallen into the hands of Sun Wen, if not dealt with in time, the Kuomintang may become our henchmen. Feng Guozhang said.

"What do you mean, President?" After reading the telegram in his hand, Cao Kun did not pay much attention to it, even if the Kuomintang obtained materials from Fuzhou, how many troops could be expanded in a short period of time, and Fujian was not the northeast, Fujian was mountainous, the terrain was broken, and there were few major wars, and the armed forces in the territory were limited, so it was impossible for the Kuomintang army to support the war with war like the rise of the Northeast Army. Moreover, Fujian is really not a good place to base itself, a coastal province, in which foreigners have a lot of influence. And in the face of the ocean, it is possible to face an attack from the sea at any time.

"I am ready for you to lead your elite army to set out by sea and retake Fujian. Now that we are not as good as before, we have lost Beijing and Shandong, and our strength has been seriously weakened, so any of the remaining provinces are very important to us, and there is absolutely no room for loss. Feng Guozhang said in a deep voice.

"President, what about the northern battlefield? You must know that our army has basically been drawn north. Cao Kun said with a frown. To tell the truth, he didn't want to go to the north and northeast to fight to the death, nor did he want to go south to Fujian to suppress bandits, which was not a good errand. Cao Kun is different from Wu Peifu, his mind is not in the army now, but in the court, and he is more excited to hold higher power than to control more troops.

"Cao Shuai, you have another important task when you go to Fujian this time, that is, to reorganize the strength of the local overseers, the reason why our Beiyang is inferior to the Northeast Army, although the level of weapons and equipment occupies a certain reason, but not all reasons, one of the biggest reasons is that our internal factional disputes have seriously affected the combat effectiveness of the army. Therefore, I intend to gradually weaken the power of the local overseers and integrate all the armed forces into a single unit. This is the most fundamental way for our Beiyang to rise. Feng Guozhang said.

"Weakening the rights of the Local Overseers? President, do you mean to separate the military and the government? Cao Kun said in surprise. His political understanding far outstripped his military prowess, which was why he struggled to gain higher power.

"Yes, the major countries in the world now basically have their internal constitutions divided into military and political forces. Soldiers do not interfere in politics. Moreover, all the finances are owned by the government, so that the financial and material resources of the whole country can be concentrated to the greatest extent possible. The army can also become regularized and pure. Feng Guozhang said.

"President, what does the chief think?" Feng Guozhang's idea is indeed very tempting, if it succeeds, the entire Beiyang will be turned upside down. But the reality is not so easy, although the Nanjing Beiyang government is Feng Guozhang has the final say, but the Beiyang army in the world can listen to President Feng. I'm afraid Duan Qirui's level alone will not be easy. Feng Guozhang crossed Duan Qirui and went south to Nanjing to establish the Beiyang government, this situation seriously weakened Duan Qirui's authority, it can be said that Duan Qirui was put together by Feng Guozhang, if it wasn't for the current tense situation, I'm afraid Duan Qirui would have been mad. How can you be so obedient to fight against the Northeast Army in the north.

But once the war in the north is over, there will still be a battle within the Beiyang government. Feng Guozhang This is to strengthen the power of his direct line and prepare for the future seizure of power.

"You don't have to worry about Chief Duan's side. Your mission is to go south to Fujian by sea, kill the revolutionary army there, and then take the opportunity to incorporate the Fujian army Li Cunhou. Then he moved west to Jiangxi and reorganized Jiangxi's military forces. Then use the military strength of these two provinces to sit in the south and guard against a possible counterattack by Liangguang. ”

"Yes!" Cao Kun nodded, although his ambition is in the court, but the more troops he masters, the more he has the right to speak in the court. Although Feng Guozhang wanted to separate the military and the government, the army was still the foundation of a political power, and whoever controlled more troops would control the entire political power.

Shandong, along the Yellow River.

After the engineer regiment completed the construction of the pontoon bridge, the elite detachment of the Northeast Army set foot on the position on the south bank. And a bridgehead was created under the dense fire of enemy gunfire.

"Order the heavy artillery regiment to extend the attack and ensure that the large army crosses the river!" After the enemy's artillery was wiped out, Jiang Baili had reason to believe that the enemy would launch a large-scale attack after the Northeast Army set foot on the land on the opposite bank. Because only when the soldiers on both sides are strangled together, the advantage of artillery fire in the northeast cannot be brought into play.

On the south bank of the Yellow River, the headquarters of the Beiyang Army.

Ni Sichong's face became very gloomy. The heavy artillery regiment of the Northeast Army was much more threatening than he thought. Heavy artillery shells fall on infantry positions in a large crater with a radius of several meters, under which any fortification appears to be extremely weak.

"We must find an opportunity to take out the enemy's heavy artillery regiment, otherwise even the deep water walls of Licheng will not be able to stop the advance of the Northeast Army." When Ni Sichong failed in artillery, he immediately contacted Fu Liangzuo in Licheng, and got the exact news from him that the Northeast had heavy artillery, which made Ni Sichong's heart full of regret, and he believed that if he had met Fu Liangzuo at that time, this kind of tragedy could have been completely avoided.

"Order the guard regiment to hide and wait, and the rest of the troops retreat to the second line of defense!" Ni Sichong said with a big wave of his hand.

"Marshal, this won't work, if you leave the guard regiment alone, it will be impossible to resist the Northeast Army." The adjutant said with a stunned face.

"Who said that let them block the Northeast Army. On the positions of our front, only the positions of the guard regiment have never been fired, and the position is remote enough that it should be able to hide the attention of the Northeast Army. Then let's attract the attention of the Northeast Army on the second line of defense. At that time, the entire guard regiment will launch a decisive attack after the enemy's heavy artillery regiment passes the pontoon bridge, and even if the entire guard regiment is sacrificed, the heavy artillery in the northeast will be killed. A fierce look appeared on Ni Sichong's face. The lethality of heavy artillery is simply too great. In particular, the Northeast heavy artillery units are not only equipped with armor-piercing shells, but also a large number of flowering shells. The flowering bomb exploded on the position, covering a radius of 100 meters, and this kind of terrifying lethality was really a nightmare for the Beiyang Army.

"Commander, will the Guards Regiment be able to complete the mission?" The adjutant said. You must know that although the defensive position of the guard regiment is remote, it is connected with the entire first line of defense, and if the Northeast Army cleans the battlefield on a large scale, the guard regiment will definitely not be able to escape the search of the Northeast Army. If that's the case, in the encirclement of the Northeast Army, the small guard regiment will not be able to do much at all.

"Do your best, let it be the fate of heaven! I don't think God will always be on the side of the Northeast. Ni Sichong said quietly. The guard regiment is an old unit that follows him, and it is his personal army, and he is reluctant to give up on the edge of the Yellow River like this. He knew that whether the Guard Regiment succeeded or not, its demise was already doomed. But for the sake of Beiyang, Ni Sichong had to do this. The guard regiment can be rebuilt if it is gone, but if the Beiyang Army is gone. These generals of Beiyang are nothing.

(To be continued)