According to the time stipulated by the headquarters of the Second Division, at 3 o'clock in the morning of February 29, the last group of soldiers withdrew from Sumabao, along the repaired improvised road, and a few hours later they arrived at the right bank of the Hunhe River. Army, which had to be transferred before the sharp offensive of the Japanese army.

What is this, Yang Rui, who was lying on the bed, was calm, but he couldn't sleep. When there is a staff officer's plan in the war, he only needs to make a decision and supervise the implementation, which is actually not difficult, especially the implementation, in addition to the second division, the execution rate of the first division is extremely high, every time there is a big battle in the front, Yang Rui only stares at the rear, and instructs Colonel Madlidov to ask the headquarters for all kinds of materials. Now that the campaign is over, he has more things to do, and how the troops sum up their experience and how to popularize these good experiences is extremely important, and the officers of the First Division are still insufficient, which makes the officers have to do the work of staff officers in addition to being responsible for command, and many of these seven-month crash students cannot complete this task; There are also personnel and material supplements, and the disposal of casualties, all of which are laborious; Finally, the most urgent question, should I participate in the next wave of the Battle of Mukden? History has changed a lot, the details of the battle recorded before may not be accurate, if you stay then you have to take a certain risk, the result of this battle is the rout of the Russian army, if the independent army is surrounded by the Japanese, then the matter is big.

Thinking about it like this, he fell asleep in a daze, and when he woke up it was already evening, and at this time Leo came to him. When he met, he said, "Yang, Your Excellency the General is gone. ”

"Gone? Was he transferred to the General Headquarters as a civilian? Yang Rui was still a little confused.

"No, it's not. He himself sent a telegram to St. Petersburg to resign. He called me over in the afternoon to say goodbye. Leo said,

"Resign?" Yang Rui has never heard of such a thing, is the army also like the company to say that if you don't do it, you won't do it, is there also a military labor law?

"Yes, he couldn't stand Kuropagent anymore, he complained that the enemy of Russia was not the Japanese, but Kuropagent." Leo also had a hard time accepting the turn of events, even as a German. "Still. Before leaving, he promised me that when I returned, he would go to his connections and help send our officers to the Russian military academy for training. ”

"Really?" Yang Rui is not too interested in the infighting of the Russians, but he is still very interested in the Russian military academy.

"Yes, but this is not an act of state. It's just his personal help, and the number of people won't be too many. Leo said.

"It doesn't matter if he's more or less. As long as it will accept people. Especially the Navy. Yang Rui said.

"No, not the Navy, but the Army."

Knowing that this would be the result, Yang Rui's interest decreased a lot, and said, "Okay then." The Army is the Army. Who handed over to the whole world, there is no country to go to. It's better to go and learn. Let's learn from it. ”

Now that the military academies of the world's military powers have students appointed by the Qing government, plus some political considerations, Yang Rui has no way to arrange his officers to study in regular military academies, of course. Only Russia is an exception, and it seems that no one was arranged to study military affairs in Russia in the Qing Dynasty.

Suddenly, Yang Rui thought of another thing, "The general is gone, so who will replace him?" ”

Leo is also unclear about this, "The general is not arranged, it depends on Kuropatkin's arrangement." ”

Yang Rui nodded, "Yes." As soon as he left, now the entire Far Eastern army was completely in the hands of Kuropatkin. Hey, the county official might as well be in charge, I hope he won't be a fool. ”

Yang Rui's worries were answered the next day, and the second army was succeeded by the commander of the previous Third Army, General Kauribals, and his first order to the independent army was to withdraw the entire army of the independent army to Zhangyi Station. Yang Rui was very happy to accept this order, after the Russian army retreated, the Tenth Army was still north of Li Datun, and Missichenko's cavalry retreated to the previous starting place of Sifangtai, this Zhangyi station is behind Sifangtai, which is considered a second-line position, and he is still on the right bank of the Hunhe River and the Xihe River (a tributary of the Hunhe River, northwest of the Hunhe River). Not to mention the location of the second line, just talking about the right bank (north bank) of the Hunhe River made Yang Rui feel at ease -- the Battle of Fengtian would start soon, if he was on the south bank of the Hunhe River, when the weather would be warmer, once the Hunhe River thawed and the pontoon bridge was erected on the surface of the river mixed with ice and water, it would be difficult to erect a pontoon bridge, and once the retreat was not timely, there was a possibility of being surrounded by the Japanese army.

Yang Rui, who was thinking of a way out, was very happy to carry out this order, but after he arrived at Zhangyi Station, he found that this place was not just a post station, but a large-scale town. You must know that this place is a county in the Liao Dynasty, and then the Jin Dynasty Liao built a new city, the circumference has two miles and one hundred and seventy-two steps, and changed its name to Zhangyi County, this Zhangyi County is now Zhangyi Station, after nearly a thousand years of accumulation, the current Zhangyi Station has become a prosperous small city with a length of two miles and a width of one mile, and the households in the city and outside the city add up to more than 1,600 households, plus this is the main road to enter the customs in Fengtian, so that there are many businesses here, and the Qing court household department has set up an official village here.

The troops have been shrinking in the deep mountains and old forests, the previous civilian official tun and Sifangtai are the places where the Russian army is stationed, and there are almost no people in it, and now they suddenly come to such a prosperous place, the soldiers' eyes are spent, that is, Yang Rui himself looked at such a big city far away, and he was also a little surprised, in order to prevent the troops from disturbing the people, he only let a regiment and a battalion of Li Erhu be stationed in the city, and the other troops were camped two miles west of the city. After the troops were settled, the government department went to the city to post a notice of security in accordance with the procedure.

The Chinese soldiers in the coats of the Russian army were originally very surprised by the residents in the city, and the notice of the Ministry of Political Affairs was posted, and when they saw that there were no soldiers around, the grass people who had hidden the door before all went out and surrounded the notice, and as usual, there would be one or two old pedants to solve everyone's doubts:

"Male... ......"As soon as I read it, the old scholar was stunned when I read it, this is not in line with the norms of the Anmin notice, but if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit, anyway, it's a Xiyi person, and I don't understand the script of my Celestial Empire," according to the order of the Russian Far East Command. In order to prevent military-civilian conflicts and ensure the safety of the people, the announcement is as follows...... "Reading this, the old pedant shook his head with disdain, and didn't want to read it anymore, this proclamation is too white, how can he have no literary talent at all, doesn't this make him unable to drop his bookbag at all, where will his full stomach go?" The person who wrote it was really uneducated.

As soon as the old pedant stopped, the grass farmers were in a hurry, but a few vendors who didn't read much stammered and read out the following contents: "... In times of war, the people must obey the orders of the army. Hide in your home and don't run around in case you ...... Our army is a Chinese army, and we buy things and pay according to the price, and we don't take a stitch from the people. If there is... On the contrary, please go to the Jade Emperor Temple (Constitution)... The military department complained ......"

A few vendors struggled to read. But the basic meaning of the proclamation was read through. It's just that the sentence "Our army is a Chinese army" made everyone very puzzled, and after hearing this, many people shouted, "I just wonder, why don't these soldiers have big noses, it turns out that they are their own people, and now they have to be sure......"

As soon as these words came out, a few people next to him echoed them. The old scholar listened very unpleasantly to the side, cleared his throat and said: "It's really a foolish people, do you know why this is Huamin?" He looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him. A few of them were still very flattering and said, "Master Liu, why is this?" ”

Master Liu was looked at by everyone with such admiration, his heart was as comfortable as smoking a big cigarette, he failed the imperial examination, he only found pleasure from the students taught in the private school and the usual reading of the proclamation, he was addicted to everyone for a while, and then said slowly: "These people are bandits recruited by Yangyi from the mountains......" Looking at everyone's stunned faces, he had to explain with disdain, "It's the beard in the mountains!" ”

"Ahh Hu Zi ...... "Everyone was startled, this time they all broke up without asking, and the door that was hidden before returning home was also bolted, and the few shops that were still open were also closed, and the entire Zhangyi City immediately became an empty city." Yang Rui didn't expect that the original Anmin's notice would have such a counterproductive effect, but he took the army to stay outside the city to summarize after the war, regardless of the complaints of the beards of the second division, the army should have been in the field, as for the city, it was the territory of the police and the city management, and it was not the turn of the army to manage it. However, the logistics department that went into the city to purchase the next day still reported the situation in the city.

"All closed? The shop is also closed? Yang Rui was a little surprised, he didn't do anything that everyone was angry about.

"Yes, sir. The pharmacy wasn't open either, so we had no choice but to smash the door open. Zhu Luhe, who was in charge of logistics, said that he was not actually there to report the situation of the residents in the city, but that his subordinates were arrested by the gendarmerie for smashing the door of the pharmacy, and they have not yet been released from the gendarmerie.

"That's the case." Yang Rui said, and then said to Xu Liezu: "Go and call Yuanshi." "Yuanshi is Liu Boyuan, the director of the political department, and he is the only one of the three graduates of the first political department to return to China, and now he is in charge of the military police.

Liu Boyuan knew what was going on as soon as he heard Yang Rui looking for it, it was really difficult to get such a half-dead person in the city, and it was okay to purchase things, but if there was a war, the people would not stop the army's orders, and it was estimated that there would be a lot of accidental injuries. But he had a plan in mind before he came to the headquarters.

"Storytelling?" Yang Rui was a little surprised.

"Yes, sir." Liu Boyuan said.

"How?"

"It is to find a storyteller in the propaganda department and send him to the city to tell the story, and say that the mountain carving has been a person from childhood to adulthood, and the people have often scared themselves and spread a lot of falsehoods. As long as you can comprehensively publicize the person of the mountain carving, so that everyone feels that he is an ordinary person, and has the same bitterness and sorrow as ordinary people, then the people will not be afraid. "Liu Boyuan was born as a person, and after such a year of study, he is very able to grasp some of the psychology of the masses.

"That's good. But is there a joke? This Wang Qinian is out of nowhere. Yang Rui said.

"Sir has said before, a lie told a thousand times has become the truth. As long as we make this person look like it's real, then everyone will think it's real. Liu Boyuan is a careful person, he has recorded a lot of things Yang Rui said before, and he usually has a booklet, and he often records some of what Yang Rui said.

Yang Rui was choked by his sentence "A lie told a thousand times becomes the truth", he really can't remember what he said in that class, but since Liu Boyuan can say this sentence, then he must have said it unintentionally or excitedly. It's really a headache, I've said so many things. I don't think there are some things that shouldn't be said.

Yang Rui pounded his head that was very confused because of the post-war summary, and thought of another question, that is, the matter of helping Russia to resist Japan is very unrighteous in the Northeast, and he wants to know how Liu Boyuan will explain him.

But Liu Boyuan's answer was beyond his expectations, "Sir, we can't explain this matter in the book, and there is no need to explain it. Seeing that Yang Rui was puzzled, he continued: "As long as this matter is explained, it will become darker and darker, and it is best to avoid it, our focus is only on the flesh and blood of Wang Qinian." Emphasis on love and righteousness, then the people will naturally approve of what he has done. The people think that what good people do is good, and what bad people do is bad. As long as Wang Qinian is a good person, then no one will pursue him for helping Russia resist Japan. ”

It seems that Liu Boyuan is already very proficient in publicizing this level, Yang Rui smiled: "Okay." Then do as you say. Remember not to disturb the people, and make sure that the people trust us. We used to be in the mountains. Even Tonghua has never been there, now is the first time we have contact with the people in the city, we must be very careful to deal with it, the reputation of an army is very important, this is the basis for the people to support us in the future. ”

Liu Boyuan memorized Yang Rui's "instructions" again, and after he went back, he would write these words down in a small notebook. He stood up, saluted, and went.

Early the next morning, a group of bearded soldiers suddenly came to the once prosperous place of Zhangyi City, and these big-headed soldiers drove a mule cart. Under the command of a leader, several people unloaded a high platform from the mule cart, and then set up a shelf next to it, on which was placed a bronze bell in the temple, but this bronze bell was not hung vertically, but horizontally, and after a while, the group of big-headed soldiers drove the mule cart away, leaving only a man in a long shirt standing by the platform, although this old man was wearing a long shirt, but at a glance he knew that he was wearing a military uniform, and the shirt was bulging and bulging, and it was very funny.

The children who were lying on the window of the wooden attic of their house looking at the diorama, and the adults who were peeping behind the door and peeping through the gap in the wooden board, were curiously looking at what the fake old man was going to do outside, but they saw the fake old man in a long shirt holding a piece of something and slapping it on the table, "Bang!" When the adults and children here are looking for where the sound comes from, there is a loud voice coming over, only to hear a strong voice read aloud: "The general was born bold, the waist is crossed, the autumn water goose feather knife, the wind blows the drums, the mountains and rivers move, and the lightning carving flag is high in the sun and the moon." The unicorn in the sky is primordial, how can the ants in the cave escape, the day of the return of peace and victory, Dongyi is red-blooded..."Speaking of this, the previous shocking wood was a loud "pop...", and after calming down, the earlier voice spit out the last three words "... Dye the robes. ”

As soon as the final poem of the storytelling was read, the people on a few streets finally knew that the old man in the long shirt outside turned out to be a storyteller, but they didn't know why his voice was so loud, the adults looked at each other, I don't know what kind of magic these beards used, the children were happy, and only the outdated festivals or the big families did good deeds on weekdays to have a show, but now there are people who come to the book, it's really happy, those who are small with strength are squeezed behind, one by one to the window, I hope to see what the storyteller on the street looks like.

When he was happy and curious, Zhou Wenchang, a storyteller in a long robe, had already started to speak, although the storyteller generally had to face the audience, so as to grasp the rhythm according to the audience's expressions, and every time the company performed, as long as the poem was recited, the big soldiers below clapped their hands and smashed it. It's really frustrating that the streets are deserted now, but there's no way around it.

"It is said that during the first day of the dynasty, Dongyi raised troops, intending to occupy my vassal North Korea, the prince of the Korean country is young, the minister of the court is mediocre, how to stop the vicious Dongyi people, and had no choice but to ask for help from this dynasty, after the ministers of the DPRK and the central government discussed, they sent Ye Zhichao, the governor of Zhili, to bring troops into the court, although Ye Zhichao had military exploits in his early years, but he was also old, old and timid, and the army led by him was even more fancy.

The commander has fled, the army has been defeated, but near the left of the royal city of Pyongyang, on the side of thousands of Dongyi soldiers, there are more than a dozen officers and soldiers who have not retreated, and the person who is the leader is the mountain carving Wang Qinian who is going to talk about today. This Wang Qinian was originally a native of Jiangnan, born in the third year of Guangxu, when his mother gave birth to him, he only dreamed that the sky was full of brilliance, and a big eagle burrowed into his belly, just waiting to wake up from the dream, but he had already given birth to a Lin'er......"

This time it's a new joke, but as long as Zhou Wenchang starts talking, he can talk more and more smoothly. In order to make the character of Wang Qinian seem real, when Liu Boyuan made up the joke, he immediately put the story in North Korea, so that no one knew the truth of Wang Qinian, and made the plot extremely dangerous, in order to be fascinating. (To be continued......)