Chengdu, Southwest Governor's Palace.

"Governor, Lu Rongting has sent troops to take over the entire Guangxi, among which Lin Junting's department of the Gui Department has already gone to Quanzhou, and is now confronting the troops going south from Beiyang!" Tang Jiyao sent the latest information to Cai Yi's hands.

Cai Ye nodded, and there was no look of surprise on his face. As if such a thing had been expected for a long time.

"Governor, is the Gui Army an opponent of the Beiyang Army? There are 40,000 elites in Beiyang. And Ni Sichong, who leads the army, is also a famous general in Beiyang. "Tang Jiyao followed Cai Ye in the Protectorate War, and he has seen the elite of the Beiyang Army, if it weren't for Cai Yi's command ability, I am afraid that the protection ** would have been suppressed long ago. He was worried that the Gui army was not the opponent of the Beiyang Bureau, so the conditions facing the southwest would be even more difficult.

"Old Tang, you don't have to worry about this, the current Gui Army is no longer the Gui Army when Lu Rongting went south. In recent years, Lu Rongting's development has not been slower than ours, and after the annexation of Guangdong, his strength has been greatly improved. In addition, when have you ever seen Lu Rongting fight a battle that he is not sure of? He dared to take over Guangxi, which we had left behind, which shows that his Gui army has the ability to block the southward movement of Beiyang. However, with Lu Rongting's cunning, it is impossible to expect him to fight to the death with Beiyang. The most likely is that the Gui army will defend the city and then force Beiyang to change the offensive route. With the already inferior forces, it may not be easy for Beiyang to attack the hinterland of Guangxi, and even if Beiyang wants to change the offensive route, it may be under unfavorable circumstances. Cai Ye is not worried about Guangxi, Lu Rongting used to be his robe, and he still knows Lu Rongting's ability relatively well.

Tang Jiyao thought about it and nodded in agreement. Lu Rongting's military talent is good, or he will not be able to control the huge Liangguang region. Moreover, when other small warlords were eliminated one after another, the Gui family developed into a major warlord in the south. If it weren't for the close proximity to the southwest, Lu Rongting would definitely be a big man on the pastoral side.

"Now the enemy is advancing in three directions, Old Tang, do you have any good suggestions?" Cai Ye turned to look at the huge sand table and said. This is the last time he went to the Northeast, he saw it from the Northeast Security Army, he thought it was very vivid, and when he came back, he also established one, and after thinking that the effect was good, it was popularized in the new army. Needless to say, this kind of three-dimensional simulation is much more vivid than simple drawings.

"The enemy is advancing in three directions, of which the middle two roads are the most powerful, and the commander is also a very powerful figure in Beiyang. If we let either of these two roads enter the southwest hinterland, it will be useless for us to push back the other three roads. Tang Jiyao said.

"Not bad! The 50,000 people in the northernmost direct line should not seem to be the elite of Beiyang, and they can even be said to be a rabble. However, Cao Kunbu in Hubei Middle Road and Xu Shuzheng in Hunan Middle Road are extremely difficult opponents. Moreover, these two route armies are the most powerful, and if they are not repulsed, allowing them to enter the hinterland of the southwest will definitely shake the foundation of the southwest. Cai Ye also felt tricky, although the difference between the two sides was not big, but the combat power was much different. If the enemy only has one large army to enter the southwest, Cai Ye can also concentrate all his forces and compete with Beiyang. However, the enemy divided his forces into four directions, clearly trying to disperse the resistance forces in the southwest. The strength of the southwest is largely based on the body of Cai Yi, if the new army is divided, the combat effectiveness of the troops led by Cai Yi himself is definitely the strongest, but the rest will be much worse. Unlike the Southwest, the Northeast does not lack good commanders, but well-trained officers at the bottom. And there is no shortage of low-level officers in the southwest, after all, the reputation of the protector is outside, coupled with the prestige of the merry general Cai Yi, many Chinese students have gathered in the new army in the southwest and become middle- and lower-level officers. It's just that there is a serious shortage of commanders in the new army who have excellent command skills. Although Tang Jiyao and other high-ranking members of the New Army can also lead the army to fight, their command ability is also average, and they are far from being called famous generals.

"Governor, among the four roads, Cao Kun's department on the middle road of Hubei is the fastest. Moreover, our southwest navy is weak, and I am afraid that it will not be able to withstand the attack of the government navy. But if they don't stop it, they will go down the Yangtze River into the Chengdu Plain. With Wu Peifu's ability, I am afraid that the entire Chengdu Plain will be turned upside down! Tang Jiyao said worriedly. In the Protectorate War, the one who impressed him the most among the Beiyang warlords was Wu Peifu, who was directly related to him. It's just that at that time he was only a brigade commander in Beiyang. But now he is a military commander. Commanded tens of thousands of elite troops, and the destructive power is indescribable.

Wu Peifu, Ziyu, Han nationality, native of Wujia Village, Beigou, Penglai, Shandong, ancestral home of Changzhou, Jiangsu Province (Yanling County). In 1898, he joined the Huai Army. In 1906, he served as the pipe band of the Cao Kun Department of the Beiyang Army, which was quite important. Later promoted to brigade commander. The Protectorate Yuan Movement arose, and went into Sichuan with the camp to suppress the Yunnan Protector led by Cai Yi.

It can be said that Cai Ye has already fought with Wu Peifu, and attaches great importance to this lieutenant general who is quite talented among the direct warlords. Now Wu Peifu is Cao Kun's confidant, Cao Kun's ability is limited, and he is a little greedy and sleek, but he has a very big advantage, that is, he is never jealous of his ability, and he can promote and reuse people who are stronger than himself. Maxima like Wu Peifu can rise thanks to Bole like Cao Kun. Although the army of the middle road of Hubei was nominally dominated by Cao Kun, Cao Kun simply handed over the command to Wu Peifu and only put his name on it. Because it was with the help of the Yangtze River Fleet going upstream, the speed was the fastest among the armies. As a result, Wu Peifu has become the most important soldier of Cai Yi. The last time he fought Wu Peifu, he was only a brigade commander in Beiyang, and the troops were newly organized and trained, and their combat effectiveness was limited, so even then Wu Peifu still caused him a lot of trouble. But since the death of Yuan Shikai, the direct line and the Anhui line have developed rapidly, and the fastest rising generals in the direct line are Cao Kun, who is good at drilling, and Wu Peifu, who is outstanding. And there is also a trust between these two people that is unimaginable to ordinary people. Because of Cao Kun's drill camp and Wu Peifu's strength, the Cao Wu combination has become the most dazzling force in the direct line. The current Cao Kun and Wu Peifu are the right-hand men of Feng Guozhang, the leader of the direct system. In his hands, he held a direct army of 70,000 elites, and rushed towards the southwest with murderous spirit.

"Yes, so I'm going to personally lead the troops against Cao Kun's troops. Old Tang, you have to work hard to lead the main force of the Yunnan army to the north. The 50,000 rabble must be wiped out as soon as possible! Then quickly go south, and combine the forces of you and me to severely damage Cao Kun's department, so that our southwest will have a chance to be preserved. Cai Ye said in a deep voice.

"Governor, what about Xu Shuzheng from Hunan Middle Road? He has 80,000 elites, and his destructive power is no less than Wu Peifu! Tang Jiyao said in surprise.

Xu Shuzheng put it aside first. As long as we stop Cao Kun's troops and eliminate the northernmost Beiyang Army, the whole situation will be rewritten! Cai Ye said confidently.

"Governor! You're saying that you should first concentrate on wounding and wounding the troops in your immediate line. Forced to withdraw from the southwest. And then concentrate on dealing with Duan Qirui's Anhui system? ”

"Not bad! Although the new army also has 200,000 troops, there are too few veterans to ensure that the troops will fight. Dividing troops and shaking hard can only be a self-defeating road. Although our southwest has a large population, it has a shallow background, and it is not a mature opponent of Beiyang at all. Now that the Beiyang Army is pressing, our only chance is to take advantage of the rift in the factional division of the Beiyang Army. Although Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui have united, the information we have obtained shows that Feng Guozhang does not want to start a war with us and the Northeast at the same time. It was only because of Duan Qirui's extreme persistence that it would lead to the rapid outbreak of this big war. If we concentrate our forces on dealing with the direct forces, after the direct forces suffer big losses, Feng Guozhang will definitely retreat in order to preserve his strength, and even if he does not retreat, he will stop advancing, this is our opportunity. At that time, it will be much easier to concentrate the army to deal with the forces of the Anhui system. There is another layer of meaning for you to go north. The military aid promised by the Northeast will be delivered through the Ganning region, which is our lifeline, and its importance is self-evident. This requires us to ensure the stability of the northern Sichuan region, and we must not allow the Beiyang Army of the North Road to enter northern Sichuan. And we have determined that although there are 50,000 troops along the way, they are all local troops drawn from various provinces, and their combat effectiveness is very limited. Old Tang, whether the southwest can achieve victory depends on the performance of your Dian army. ”

Although the new army was established in the southwest, the name of the Dian Army was still retained, but it was no longer a family of its own, and it was only the title of the elite in the new army. The current Dian Army is the main force of the New Army in the Southwest. Although Tang Jiyao was not a very good commander, he was able to sit firmly in the position of overseer of Yunnan when Cai Yi was under house arrest, which proved his ability. Therefore, it is very easy for him to lead the main force of the Dian army to the north to eliminate the 50,000 rabble.

"Don't worry, Governor! If I can't destroy those rabble, I'll come to you with my head! Tang Jiyao said firmly.

"Brother! Take care all the way, I wait for your good news. Cai Ye patted Tang Jiyao on the shoulder, the small battalion commander under him had unknowingly become a big man. The Dian army is the main force of the new army, and it is based on the troops launched by Cai Ye last year to expand the city. At present, the total strength of the army is almost 70,000, and all of them are mature troops who have completed three months of recruit training. It is currently the most elite army in the southwest, and after Tang Jiyao led it north, Cai Ye was able to use only 130,000 recruits. In addition, it is necessary to garrison the huge southwest. There were less than 100,000 troops that could be concentrated by Cai Ye for field warfare.

Although Cai's grand strategy was to let Xu Shuzheng's troops enter Sichuan, eliminate the northernmost direct rabble, and repel Cao Kun's troops in the middle road. But Cai Ye couldn't let Xu Shuzheng's troops easily enter Sichuan. Therefore, he transferred 20,000 from the 100,000 new army and handed it over to his henchman Lei Biao. Let it go south to slow down Xu Shuzheng's progress. Then all the remaining new troops were deployed on the front line of Wushan, preparing to block the elite of Cao Kun and Wu Peifu's Beiyang Army in this area. And he himself took a boat down the river from Chengdu. The New Army in the Southwest also had its own naval army, but most of them were old-fashioned wooden ships, and the steel battleships consisted only of a few old gunboats. This is still left behind by the Yangtze River Fleet in the Sichuan-Shu region. Moreover, after the establishment of the Southwest Governor's Palace, the finances were not sufficient, and of course it was impossible to develop the naval army.

(To be continued)