On the night of 22 October, Huang Xing led two divisions of the Soviet Army and one regiment of about 25,000 troops to leave Nanjing for Anhui, and the Fifth Division of the Beiyang Army occupied Nanjing.

On the afternoon of the 24th, the First Division of the Nationalist Army arrived at Zhenjiang and took over the defense of Zhenjiang from the hands of the Third Division of Jiangsu, and at the same time, the Third Division of the Beiyang Army Cao Kun arrived in Nanjing from Chuzhou, Anhui, and then the Fifth Division of the Beiyang Army went south from Nanjing, arrived in the area near Lishui and made contact with the First Division of the Nationalist Army.

On the morning of the 25th, the Beiyang political axe issued a telegram, saying that the Nationalist Army had sent troops to Guangzhou and southern Jiangsu without permission, which not only undermined domestic peace but also was a worthy attempt, and this kind of behavior was unbearable for the central political axe, and ordered the Nationalist Army to withdraw from southern Jiangsu and Shanghai within three days.

In the afternoon, Chen Jingyun issued a telegram in Hangzhou, saying that the Beiyang Army had first broken the agreement made in the peace talks between the north and the south, sent troops south to southern Jiangsu without authorization, and intended to unify the southern provinces by force regardless of the actual situation in the country. He also said that the national army's march into southern Jiangsu was indeed entirely for self-protection and to protect the people in southern Jiangsu from the persecution of warlord forces.

On the 26th, Yuan Shikai officially appointed Feng Guozhang as the Jianghuai Xuanfu envoy and ordered him to maintain the military security and garrison of the Yangtze River and Huaihe regions, that is, to make him fully responsible for military operations in southern Jiangsu and Anhui.

"The Xuanfu envoy is in charge of the military operations in Jiangsu and Anhui, and he Yuan Shikai is generous enough!" After Chen Jingyun learned of Yuan Shikai's appointment of Feng Guozhang, he joked with a smile: "It's okay to say this Jiangsu, but I don't know if Huang Xing and Bai Wenwei can listen to him after Feng Guozhang goes to Anhui." ”

Chen Yi, the lame general who was accompanying Chen Jingyun at this time, saw him put down the teacup and said: "This is just a name, I have seen that Yuan Shikai has to let Feng Guozhang serve as the governor of Jiangsu in a few days." ”

"Also, Commander, now that General Sa's fleet has arrived in Zhenjiang, do you want him to cooperate with the army to attack Zhang Xun's Eighth Division on the north bank!" Chen Yi suggested.

However, Chen Jingyun shook his head directly and said: "It's too early to talk about the river!" We'll have to wait. ”

The Yangtze River moat is no joke, and crossing the Yangtze River with enemy forces on the opposite side is not an ordinary difficulty, even with the help of the navy, but it is also very difficult to do. Besides, the focus now is on the Nanjing side, and Zhang Xun's Eighth Division can't pass anyway, so let him stay on the north bank.

"But Nanjing has to move!" Chen Jingyun said: "After so many days of preparation, the troops on the front line are almost ready!" ”

The Nationalist Army marched into southern Jiangsu and Shanghai from the 19th, and the first and fourth divisions in the direction of Shanghai and Suzhou have successively controlled Shanghai, Suzhou, and other places, and now the main forces have reached Zhenjiang, and there is also a Jiangsu Third Division on the Zhenjiang side.

The 2nd Division in charge of the direction of Nanjing stopped advancing in the Lishui area on the 23rd and arranged a defensive position, and the 7th Division, which was reinforced later, also arrived in the Lishui area a few days later and built a defensive position on the right flank of the 1st Division.

Chen Yi also showed an excited expression on his face after hearing this, after so many days of preparation, the big war is finally coming.

However, when Chen Jingyun planned to take the initiative to attack Nanjing, Feng Guozhang of Nanjing was also planning the next step, which was currently a good situation for the Beiyang Army, after occupying Nanjing, the Beiyang Army would be able to cross the Yangtze River moat, and then it could get a steady stream of relevant supplies from the north.

However, before continuing to move south, the Beiyang Army still has one more thing to do, that is, to take Zhenjiang first, if it does not take Zhenjiang and rashly go south, Nanjing, which has dispersed its forces, may face the threat of the Nationalist Army from Zhenjiang at any time, and this threat cannot be ignored by Feng Guozhang.

"Since Tang Tianxi's Fifth Brigade has reached the periphery of Zhenjiang, let him cooperate with Zhang Xun's Eighth Division and let Zhang Xun's Eighth Division cross the river as soon as possible." Feng Guozhang looked at the map and continued: "In addition, the main force of the Third Division led by Cao Kun should also be almost there!" ”

"He Cao Kun has always been brave, and it shouldn't be a problem to take Zhenjiang this time!" Feng Guozhang muttered as if he was talking to himself.

Outside Zhenjiang, Tang Tianxi rode a small hill on his horse, and then took out a telescope to observe the position of the Nationalist Army in front, while Zhang Muhan, the Ninth Infantry Regiment behind him, put down the telescope and said: "Brother Tang, the Nationalist Army on the opposite side looks very well prepared!" ”

Tang Tianxi also put down the binoculars at this time, and his face was deep: "If this national army is really as good as it seems, then this battle is going to be difficult!" ”

Zhang Muhan said: "It's difficult to fight, and now the division commander is almost here, if we don't do something as a striker, I'm afraid it will be difficult to make a difference!" ”

Tang Tianxi nodded and said: "That's right, in this way, your ninth regiment chooses a battalion to test one or two first, and tells the following not to fight too hard, and test their strength first!" ”

At this time, Li Dianrong, the commander of the cavalry regiment of the Third Division next to him, interjected: "When the time comes, I will send a unit to bypass and test their firepower!" ”

Speaking of this, he smiled and said: "If the National Army really wants to be as strong as the legend, then it is a tentative attack, if the Nationalist Army and the Shanxi People's Army are the same soft bones as Huang Xing, maybe the temptation will become a charge!" ”

"Hehe, I hope!" Tang Tianxi said with a smile: "But there is a first division of the National Army in Zhenjiang, and they fought the battle between Hangzhou and Zhu Rui at the beginning, and I heard that the fight was not bad." However, the division commander at that time, Yuan Fang, had been removed by Chen Jingyun, and now it is only the unknown Chen Weihua who has gone up. ”

"I heard that the man is not even thirty years old!" Zhang Muhan also sighed a little, young senior generals abound in the warlord armies in the south, a large number of major generals and lieutenant generals in their twenties, and even Chen Jingyun himself is only twenty-four years old, and Beiyang, he has survived for so many years to be a regiment commander, this is to become a brigade commander and major general, when will the division commander and lieutenant general go.

"Anyway, you'll know if he's beaten a soft-footed shrimp!" After Tang Tianxi made a decision, he took people back to the temporary brigade headquarters, and then soon the Beiyang Army soon sent a small force to conduct fire reconnaissance.

In the battle line between the two sides, a group of five or six hundred Beiyang Army wearing blue-gray military uniforms began to break away from the Beiyang Army's line, and then quickly moved towards the position of the Nationalist Army. As the cannon roared, a cavalry battalion under the 3rd Cavalry Regiment also trotted around the flank, ready to launch a cavalry charge at any moment.

On the position of the Nationalist Army in front, Xu Jingqing could clearly see the Beiyang Army launching a charge from the telescope, the soldiers of the Beiyang Army seemed to be relying on Yangyang on the surface, but the whole tactical action was extremely standardized, this battalion-level Beiyang Army scattered the formation, although the artillery of the Nationalist Army had launched a blocking artillery bombardment on it, and the shells fell in the middle of the crowd from time to time, taking away people's hands and feet from time to time, but the formation of this army was not chaotic, not even a little stop, they were still charging.

When the infantry of the Beiyang Army was charging, the artillery of the Beiyang Army was also continuing to carry out artillery bombardment, providing artillery support for the infantry of the Beiyang Army charging on the front line.

Watching the Beiyang Army carry out such a standard infantry and artillery coordinated attack, Xu Jingqing, who has always been very calm, also had a cold sweat on his head, since he served as the commander of the 13th Regiment, the troops under him have been strictly trained, since he was promoted to colonel after the Hangzhou War, he has always thought that the 13th Regiment led by him is the crown of the whole army, but this intuitively saw the scene of the Beiyang Army charging in the fierce artillery fire, he had to admit that this Beiyang Army is definitely not inferior to his 13th Regiment, and even stronger in some aspects.

Xu Jingqing felt it through the telescope, and Xie Yan, the commander of the second battalion of the 13th regiment on the front line, felt the huge pressure, in the first battle of the eighth heights, he Xie Yan led the 3rd company to make great contributions, and after the war, Xu Jingqing was personally nominated as the new commander of the second battalion, and the original commander of the second battalion was also promoted, saying that he went to the Fuzhou Military Academy to attend a senior officer training class, and after coming out, he went to the newly established eighth division as a regiment commander.

"Damn, these bastards are so ruthless!" Xie Yan was a little depressed, when the first division was ordered to Zhenjiang, the first division took over part of the position of the third division in Jiangsu, and the second battalion under the 13th regiment was also deployed to the front line, Xie Yan didn't worry about anything before this, because he trusted his troops, and knew better that the first division was the best equipped and trained unit of the national army, even against the Beiyang Army, it should be able to win, with this confidence, plus he led the troops to deploy many fortifications, originally thought that there was nothing to worry about, But seeing the charge of the Beiyang Army for the first time today made Xie Yan doubt his previous judgment.