The Northeast Army commanded the position.

"Report to the commander, the Beiyang Army has retreated from the riverbank!"

"What?" Jiang Baili paused for a moment, a little unbelieving his ears.

"Our heavy artillery has stopped firing. It stands to reason that this should be the time when the Beiyang Army is launching a large-scale counteroffensive, how can it be possible to retreat silently? Jiang Baili said in surprise.

"Commander, is it possible that the enemy has collapsed?" Wang Jigang guessed.

"No, the enemy's positions were quiet, there were no signs of mutiny, and the enemy's heavy machine-gun mortar units never showed up, which means that the enemy had a rear. On my order, the heavy artillery regiment stopped advancing and stood by on the north bank, and the rest of the troops accelerated across the river! "Although I don't know what the enemy's plot is. However, the Northeast Army has wiped out most of the artillery fire of the Beiyang Army, and the balance of victory has tilted to the northeast, in order to ensure safety, the heavy artillery regiment only needs to rush to the battlefield during the siege of Licheng. There is no need to cross the river and venture when the situation is unknown.

Boom!

The soldiers of the Northeast Army flowed like a tide from the three pontoon bridges to the opposite bank, and the positions on the south bank of the Yellow River became larger and larger. The main forces of the Northeast Army began to press on the second line of defense of the Beiyang Army.

"Commander! Please cross the river! Wang Jigang said.

"Let's go!" Jiang Baili nodded.

The guards surrounded Jiang Baili and passed over a central pontoon bridge.

On the south bank of the Yellow River, there is a reed pond about a kilometer away from the Northeast Army's crossing of the river. Groups of Beiyang soldiers carefully hid among them.

"Commander, is it possible for us to succeed?" The adjutant asked with a worried look on his face. Although they were Ni Sichong's confidants, no one wanted to be sent to carry out such an almost mortal mission.

"The search force in the northeast did not find us, this is our victory, as long as we wait until the enemy's heavy artillery regiment appears, we rush out and kill them, and the mission is completed!" said the head of the guard. "Commander, what about after completing the mission?" We can't stay by the Yellow River and wait for death! The adjutant said.

"When everything is completed, there is always a way to escape." said the head of the guard.

The words of the head of the guard cast an ominous shadow over the adjutant's heart. He knew that the regiment commander was reassuring them, no matter whether they completed their mission or not, they would not be able to escape from the encirclement of the Northeast Army at all, and their best fate would be to enter the prisoner of war camp in the Northeast. If they succeed, the angry Northeast Army will definitely tear them to pieces. I'm afraid I don't even have the qualifications to go to a prisoner of war camp.

Jiang Baili set foot on the south bank of the Yellow River and looked around. As a war master, Jiang Baili also has a lot of experience in the construction of defensive positions.

"Yes, the enemy commander is a decent student, and although there is nothing new in the construction of this defensive position, it is still good on the whole." Jiang Baili said with a smile. If there were no heavy artillery regiments in the northeast, it would be impossible for them to easily cross the Yellow River. Every river crossing in history has been accompanied by great sacrifices. Even when the million-strong army of the People's Liberation Army, which had already formed a trend of sweeping the world in later generations, crossed the Yangtze River, the casualties were very large. It's just that people were blinded by the results of the war and did not find the blood and tears behind the victory.

"Handsome! Fight with us in the Northeast, but it's not okay to be decent! Wang Jigang said with a smile.

"Yes! The strength of our Northeast is indeed beyond what Beiyang can imagine. But...... Hey? Jiang Baili looked at the reeds in the distance suspiciously.

"What's wrong, Commander?" Wang Jigang asked dumbly.

"Ji Gang, look at this reed, do you want to see if there is anything special?" Jiang Baili said in a deep voice.

"Reeds?" When Wang Jigang heard this, he carefully looked at the small reed pond on the bank of the Yellow River. At this time, the reeds are basically dried up and swaying in the bitter cold wind.

"It's quirky indeed! The image of the reed swaying is wrong, it seems to be ...... It seems to be ......" Wang Jigang frowned, not knowing how to describe it.

"Looks like there's someone in there!" Jiang Baili said affirmatively.

"Anyone?" Wang Jigang was shocked, knowing that this place had been occupied by the Northeast Army. How is it possible for the enemy to lurk here without being detected?

"Yes, and there are quite a few of them, turn the Seventeenth Brigade over and surround the Reed Pond. There's probably a big fish in there. Jiang Baili said in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Wang Jigang didn't dare to slack off, if there was really an enemy in ambush here, then their unsuspecting river-crossing troops would be in danger. You know, where they are now, is basically within enemy range.

Boom!

The commander of the 17th Brigade received Jiang Baili's order, and did not dare to hesitate at all, and mobilized the army as quickly as possible to surround the entire Reed Pond!

In the reed pond.

"Commander, it's not good. We're surrounded! The adjutant said with a horrified face.

"Discovered? How is this possible? The head of the guard said yes in disbelief. You know, none of the reconnaissance troops of the Northeast Army noticed them just now. Now the enemy's artillery is about to step onto the pontoon. Instead, they were surrounded by clusters.

"Commander, the enemy has mobilized more than 10,000 people, and the entire reed pond has been surrounded. We're really in danger. Commander, you have to get an idea whether to fight or surrender! The adjutant said in horror.

"Damn it!" The head of the guard gritted his teeth. Did it fall short? I'm so unwilling!

"Listen, people inside, you are surrounded. You must come out and surrender within ten breaths, or we will burn the reed pond. There were shouts from outside.

"Fire?" The adjutant's face is like ashes! You know, this is the middle of winter, the reeds have already dried up, once the fire starts, it will inevitably sweep the entire reed pond, if they don't make a decision early, I'm afraid it is really possible to be burned to death by the Northeast Army.

"Pass my orders, attack!" The head of the guard turned grim.

"What? Attack? Commander, you are crazy, there are tens of thousands of enemies! There are only 2,000 of us, and there is no possibility of victory! The adjutant had a hellish look on his face.

"Chief Ni has a great kindness to me, I can't surrender without a fight!" The head of the guard said firmly.

"Commander......"

"Say no more, carry out the order!"

Pop - Gunshots were heard from the reed ponds, and there were quite a few of them.

"Stubborn!" The commander of the 17th Brigade turned dark. Judging by the sound of gunfire, the enemy is only about one or two thousand. Such a number is still in the disadvantaged terrain, and it is really looking for death to choose to fight back.

"Ignition!" Since the enemy chose to resist stubbornly, the Northeast Army will certainly not be ambiguous. The battlefield is a place of life and death, pay attention to everything, and compassion will only cost you a small life.

"Order the artillery unit to cross the river!" Looking at the reed pond that caught fire, Jiang Baili said in a deep voice.

"Commander, you are truly a god. How do you know that there are people in ambush in this reed pond? Are you so sure? It's just that with the wind blowing the reeds, Wang Jigang thinks that it is impossible to judge with certainty.

"It's not worth mentioning. If you were an enemy commander, how would you position and deploy your troops in such a terrain? If it were mine, the reed pond would be a little remote, but if an army was ambushed in it, it would be easy to take it by surprise. Moreover, judging from the extension of the enemy's position, the reed pond should also be a part of the defense of the Beiyang, and in this case, coupled with the abnormal wind blowing the reeds, it can basically be determined that the enemy has an ambush in it. Jiang Baili said with a smile.

"Commander, the enemy's army has withdrawn, what are you doing in ambush such a partial division? Didn't he know that once we found out, he would never be able to escape. "Wang Jigang did not understand the thoughts of the enemy commander. It stands to reason that the strength of the Beiyang Army is now overstretched. Not a single army should be allowed to come and die.

Jiang Baili pondered for a moment and said: "If I am not wrong, the purpose of the enemy's ambush is nothing more than two, one is our headquarters, that is, me!" Just kill me. Although it will not lead to the collapse of the Northeast Army, the leaderlessness of the dragons will definitely cause a certain amount of chaos. In this way, the purpose of delaying time for the Beiyang Army was achieved. ”

"And what about the other purpose?"

"Heavy artillery regiment!" Jiang Baili said in a deep voice.

"Heavy artillery regiment! Profound! The enemy did not hesitate to sacrifice an elite unit to destroy our heavy artillery regiment, must it be to prevent us from using the heavy artillery regiment to attack Licheng? Wang Jigang said suddenly.

"Yes, the enemy now knows that he is invincible to us. But they still insisted on leaving an ambush here to delay time, which was nothing more than waiting for Xu Shuzheng's troops to go north. And as long as our heavy artillery regiment is killed, with the thick walls of Licheng, it will definitely be able to greatly delay time. Even if one of them doesn't deal with it well, we will have to go through the city again and sink into the sand. Such a result is worth the risk of Beiyang. Jiang Baili said with a smile. How could such an attempt by the enemy be concealed from him. However, Jiang Baili believes that with Guo Shanhu who went south and the elite Fourth Brigade, it is unknown whether Xu Shuzheng can still rush to the central Luzhong area!

"Order the artillery to build an assault position and immediately launch an attack on the enemy's second line of defense. Now that we have the advantage of artillery fire, it is a good time to defeat the Beiyang Army in one go and fight to the city of Licheng. The enemy wanted to stall for time, but I didn't let him get his way. Jiang Baili said excitedly. Licheng, as the city where Duan Qirui personally sits, is the place where the Beiyang Army is concentrated, and after the continuous weakening of the Northeast Army, the troops in Licheng are much empty. There are less than 80,000 Beiyang troops around Licheng who can be called regular troops. About half of them were in the hands of Ni Sichong, hoarded on the south bank of the Yellow River to prevent the Northeast Army from crossing the river. It's just that now that the Northeast Army has an overwhelming advantage, it has become possible for Beiyang to lose troops, and Jiang Baili believes that when this war is over, the scale of Beiyang's troops will be reduced. It can be said that if the Beiyang elite Xu Shuzheng's troops could not rush to the Luzhong region, then the overall situation of the entire Shandong would end with the Battle of Licheng. If the Northeast wins, it will annex most of Shandong, and if the Beiyang wins, the two sides will rule across the river.

(To be continued)