As the relationship between the Chinese army and Zuo Zongtang's troops became more and more tense, the armies of both sides piled up on the periphery of Xi'an, making this originally peaceful ancient city once again dense with the dark clouds of war.After the Great Smoke Army and the First Field Division of the Chinese Army were stationed, the Chinese Army had more than 20,000 people, equipped with artillery and cavalry, and its strength was enhanced.The Chinese army did not attack Zuo Zongtang at first, it was because of the lack of armament, but now it has been delayed for a few months, and it is not a big problem to fight a small-scale battle.Zuo Zongtang himself is definitely unwilling to leave Huaxia, and even, if he has been in Xinjiang for a long time, he will not be reconciled, so this battle in Shaanxi will determine the speed of China's reunification.The strength of Zuo Zongtang's division was more than twice that of the First Field Division of the Chinese Army, but the officers and men of the First Field Division of the Chinese Army were not afraid, but were always in a tough posture.Fortunately, President Meng had issued an order before, and he still had to focus on rebellion, and not to start a war casually until he had to, so the First Field Division of the Chinese Army still tried its best to maintain restraint.It was the Great Smoke Army that launched the attack for several days, and Yixuan tried to use the method of coercing Li Hongzhang to force Zuo Zongtang to submit.Li Hongzhang thought that this method was useless to Zuo Zongtang, and sure enough, it was indeed useless.However, Yixuan knows that President Meng doesn't like these almost abolished Manchurians, things have developed to this point, in fact, the role of the big smoke army is not much, he almost let a group of healthy soldiers, forcing those smokers to charge to the death of more people, which in itself can also cause oppression to Zuo Zongtang Public opinion will say that Zuo Zongtang killed a lot of his own people.The war continued unhurriedly, and President Meng had a good time in Beijing, and the soldiers on the front line were not very happy.Especially the Zuo Zongtang defenders in Xi'an City, the First Field Division of the Chinese Army has never been put into battle, but the First Field Division of the Chinese Army is next to it, which is a kind of psychological torture for Zuo Zongtang and the entire Chu army.The weather in Xi'an in June was already very hot, which made the soldiers stationed here miserable.Since the morning, the temperature has risen sharply since the sun comes out, but everyone must also deal with the constant attacks of the motley Qing army under Yi Xuan.These people can't fight, the attack is really powerful, shouting and scolding all day long, this is not counted, and they still beat the gong.Zuo Zongtang stood at the head of the city worriedly and watched, "It's been five months, how long will these people be consumed?"
"They can afford it, behind them is the powerful financial resources of Huaguo, we can't afford it." ”Liu Jintang muttered quietly.Zuo Zongtang sighed, "How can I not know that the equipment of the Chinese army is good, the helmet is made of steel, and all the rifles used, our firearms are not comparable to others at all." ”Liu Jintang secretly wondered: You know everything, why don't you surrender In fact, Li Hongzhang has been secretly contacting several senior generals under Zuo Zongtang through the Statistics Bureau of Huaguo during this time.Li Hongzhang was well versed in the habits of the Qing army, and it was useless to look for middle and low-level officers.Fortunately, President Meng is not in a hurry, the time set by President Meng for Yixuan is one year, and now it has only been half a year, as long as Zuo Zongtang is won, the unification of the entire country will be like mercury.Xuan Jianzhang couldn't help but get angry, and proposed to the General Staff of the Chinese Army to send a small force to attack.After consulting the General Staff of the Chinese Army, the General Staff obtained the consent of the President's Secretariat, allowing Xuan Jianzhang to send a small force to assist the attack of Yixiao's Dayan Army.Xuan Jianzhang didn't know how small this small unit was, and how small it was to send a reinforced platoon first.And sent artillery reinforcements, of course, only one artillery company was transferred from Shanxi, only more than 20 artillery pieces, but it was enough to deter Zuo Zongtang.The shells continued to explode in the city defense of Xi'an, blowing up several Chu troops.A reinforced platoon of soldiers, these should not be considered soldiers, they are all very good officer representatives, after all, it is the first time that they have been allowed to directly confront the Chu army, these officers just took this opportunity to practice marksmanship, on the one hand, there is artillery suppression, on the other hand, let the big smoke army attack, try to climb the city wall, and then keep shooting, the Chu army on the city defense is facing huge pressure, as long as you are not careful, or to stop the big smoke army from climbing the city wall, you will be hit by the bullets of the Chinese army, and immediately fall to the ground.The direct participation of the Chinese army, especially the First Field Division of the Chinese Army, was the trump card of trump cards, and the participation of the First Field Division of the Chinese Army completely detonated the tense atmosphere between the Chinese army and the Chu army."
You can only hold it firmly, and you can't defend it until you have to, no, no matter what the circumstances, you are not allowed to go out of the city to fight, just hold the city wall."
Zuo Zongtang ordered the people below."
Yes, Marshal."
The herald replied.With the passage of time, the morale of Zuo Zongtang's subordinates became more and more depressed, there was no money, no food, and no reinforcements."
What about the losses of the army now" Zuo Zongtang was restless, and his willpower began to waver.In fact, what Zuo Zongtang wanted, he himself didn't think it was too much, originally Xinjiang and the Hui Department, he beat down, or he pacified, he just asked Huaguo for an autonomy, and thought about being the emperor of the soil, he thought that President Meng would agree to him Moreover, Zuo Zongtang also thought that if he surrendered to the past like this, he couldn't bear it from now on, Zuo Zongtang has good power and fame, not like Li Hongzhang, good power, full of official addiction, and good money."
More than 300 brothers died yesterday," Liu Jintang said coldly.Zuo Zongtang nodded and said, "It seems that it is difficult to say whether it can be kept until July." ”What Zuo Zongtang didn't say was that he ran away until July.However, it seems unlikely that in July, it was a plan made by Zuo Zongtang in his heart, and if he couldn't keep it in July, he decided to flee to Gansu.Xuan Jianzhang asked the General Staff of the Chinese Army again to increase the number of participants in the battle, and this time, Xuan Jianzhang directly issued a number, requesting that a regiment be sent to attack President Meng After knowing the situation, he ordered the First Field Division of the Chinese Army to simply launch an attack on the whole front.In the process of communicating with the Beijing Division, the First Field Division of the Chinese Army has not only set up telegraph lines, but also telephone lines, so that it can communicate in a timely manner.President Meng made such a decision after he personally spoke to Xuan Jianzhang on the phone, and now, it is equivalent to President Meng indirectly commanding the operation of the First Field Division of the Chinese Army.President Moe hasn't done this for a long time.t1706231537: