Li County, the location of the prefectural governor's office of Lizhou.

  The outside has already been in an uproar, and Wang Zhengya's order for each unit to assemble was issued at noon, which triggered speculation from all parties. So Wang Zhengya didn't say it explicitly, but with such a large military mobilization, there is no other reason that can explain it except for fighting, it can't be that so many soldiers are taken out for an excursion.

  You are aware of the inside story. As the deputy governor and chief advisor who had just returned from a meeting at the Governor's Mansion, he...

  As soon as he entered the door, Mrs. Wang came forward: "Master, are you tired? There is a guest at home who claims to be your old subordinate from the Fourth Division."

  You Heng was still very satisfied with his wife, a talented and virtuous woman who never relied on being Wang Zheng's sister to get her way, always gentle and considerate towards him.

  "What brings you here, old subordinate of the Fourth Division?" Qing Heng was surprised that an old comrade from the Fourth Division had come to find him, as the Fourth Division no longer existed. His teacher, Wang Longzhong, had been given a lieutenant general's rank and then relegated to Beijing with the empty title of Senior Advisor to the Presidential Palace and Northwest Inspector.

  At this time, who would come to find himself the fourth master of the old days? With confusion and curiosity, Qing Heng took a step into the living room.

  As he walked in, he saw two men sitting there. Upon closer inspection, he didn't recognize them. Qīn Héng immediately thought of the current situation and his right hand quickly went to the gun holster at his waist, hesitating whether to call his deputy in.

  One of the guests laughed and stood up to salute: "Don't worry, old official, we didn't bring any weapons, we just came to deliver a letter."

  You finally relaxed your hand that had already opened the gun holster and sat down to ask in a low voice: "May I ask who you are, and on whose behalf are you delivering this message to me?"

  The newcomer bowed and said: "I am Gong Peng, a lieutenant colonel in the military affairs office of Wang Zhenyu, the commander-in-chief of Xiangxi Town. This is my deputy officer, Ming Dahu, also a trustworthy person. I once served in the 9th Brigade of the 4th Division, and at that time, I had heard of your great name."

  You leaned back on the sofa, seemingly reminiscing about past years: "Yes, the Fourth Division, my rank of Major General was obtained in this unit. When we also went to Wuhan and fought a decisive battle against the Manchu Qing dynasty, haha, all forgotten. So, it's Wang Zhenyu who sent you to deliver the message, give me the letter!"

  Gong Peng respectfully handed the letter to Qing Heng, who tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter. To his surprise, it was a blank sheet of paper with not a single word on it. Qing Heng would never think that Wang Zhenyu was playing a trick on him; instead, as an intelligent person, he knew exactly what the blank sheet of paper meant - that everything was up to him to decide.

  "Your general's meaning I understand, you go back first, leave a contact address to my deputy, if there is something I will send him to find you. Don't worry, this person also followed me from the old fourth division for many years."

  Although Gong Peng didn't understand why the target of his persuasion suddenly let him leave after seeing the letter, he knew from several months of intelligence training that this was not the time to be curious or ask questions, and it was best to follow the other party's request and leave.

  He stood up, saluted, and left without any hesitation. This made Qīn Héng very satisfied, nodding his head in approval. The young general, who was also the teacher's nephew, really had a way with commanding troops...

  Gong Peng and Ming Datou left, Qīng Héng fell into a moment of contemplation.

  Wang Zhenyu's ambition is much greater than that of his uncle Wang Longzhong. Having just left the Fourth Route Army for only a year, he first took down Hongjiang and then turned his guns on Changde.

  This is not surprising, Changde's location is too important for Xiangxi, directly blocking the entrance from Yuanjiang to Dongting Lake, and Lixian County's location is even more important, connecting directly to the Yangtze River. With such a vital position, how could Wang Zhenyu let outsiders take control?

  But does he have such strength? Qing Heng hesitated and got up, pacing back and forth in the living room.

  The information in one's own hands is still too little, but one thing can be certain. If one really turns against Wang Zhengya, then Wang Zhengya will definitely lose. Because not only will the military deployment go through one's own hands, but also nearly 2,000 of Wang Zhengya's current army of 10,000 will listen to oneself.

  However, he is after all his wife's brother and a relative, who pulled him through when he was in trouble. Although they have many differences in their ideology, if it really comes down to doing something that would betray him, although not being a foolishly loyal person, Qing Heng still isn't too willing.

  The thought returns to the current battlefield, and the land route from Lixian County to Changde is 150 miles, while the waterway is about 200 miles. However, Taoyuan to Changde is only 40 miles away, and the waterway is even more downstream. According to the telegram sent by Changde, the troops occupying Taoyuan are the First Mountain Brigade of the Xiangxi Defense Team, with nearly 5,000 people. In contrast, there were only two battalions of guards in Changde, with a total of over 1,800 people. That is to say, Wang Zhenyu had the complete ability to take down Changde before his own reinforcements arrived.

  Up till now, there has been no news from Changde about being attacked, so there can only be one explanation: Wang Zhenyu set up an ambush here and invited the 7 regiments that Wang Zhengya is currently gathering. Thinking of this, Qingheng couldn't help but take a cold breath, wondering if he should report to Wang Zhengya or not. Just as he picked up his clothes, another voice in his heart told him it's better to pretend to be ignorant.

  Finally, she plopped down on the sofa with a sigh, closed her eyes and tilted her head back to rest, let's see what happens next...

  On July 28, the training ground of Li County was crowded with people, flags were flying high, and Wang Zhengya was inspecting his 7,000-strong army that would soon be dispatched to Changde area for battle.

  "Father, rest assured, this time I will definitely succeed." Wang Yu-yin, who had just taken up the post of commander-in-chief, said to Wang Zheng-ya with a flourish.

  "Wang Zhengya smiled and said: 'Good, good, I wish my son will win with flying colors and achieve great success.'"

  You coldly watched this deep father-son scene, hummed in your heart, and you were also a famous general who participated in the Battle of Hanyang. By rights, you should be the best candidate to lead the troops this time. However, at the critical moment of life and death, Wang Zhengya still chose to hand over the military power to his own son. It seems that his trust in himself was also exaggerated. Well, in this way, you won't owe him anything anymore.

  That night, Qingheng invited the camp commander Yu Guangming who was left to guard Xiangyang County to come home for a simple meal. What they specifically talked about is unknown. Anyway, it's said that Wang Zhengya had a series of nightmares that night and woke up several times with a start.

  The later famous world scenic spot Zhangjiajie, at this time the environment is very good, green trees are shaded, lush and verdant, cliffs are towering, waterfalls are flowing, and mountains and waters are shining together to form a natural painting that makes people infatuated.

  At this time a very discordant dirty word suddenly came from the mountains and lingered for a long time.

  "The staff are pigs, is this the kind of arrangement for our march?" The young commander of the 2nd Mountain Brigade of the Xiangxi Defense Forces, Bai Chongxi, looked back from a high place and found that his large troops were marching slowly and laboriously on the rugged mountain road. Faced with such a slow pace, he finally couldn't help but curse.

  Bai Chongxi is now almost fed up with those armchair strategists in the headquarters who only know how to talk on paper, and with a simple stroke on the map, he and his brothers are exhausted to death.

  Can you imagine soldiers working together to push a 220-pound mountain gun forward on such a rugged mountain road? What's even more terrifying is that many places can't pass through, and in the end, the artillery had to disassemble the big gun and let the infantry scatter and carry it forward. Our white regimental commander was worried, whether these guns could still fire after reassembly.

  Bai Chongxi disliked this kind of gameplay that could only follow others' routes, he secretly made up his mind that one day he would be the chief of staff and let everyone play according to their own thinking.

  The guide looked at Bai Chongxi, who was full of anger and frustration, and could only whisper: "Sir, after crossing the mountain in front, we will arrive at Xin Qiao Town, where we can rest for a while. From there to the bank of Li River, it's only more than 20 miles away, and the road is relatively easy to walk."

  Bai Chongxi glanced at the guide sent by Gu Hu, the head of the Salt Administration Bureau's inspection team, who was said to have been a big private salt smuggler in the past. From Sangzhi to here, this man had been leading the way, and the 100-mile mountain road had taken three days to walk. Bai Chongxi said bluntly: "Lao Da Long, you count yourself, how many times have you said that we would arrive after crossing that mountain?"

  Long Lao Da was not very tall, but he had a rather rugged appearance. He usually had some ferocity to him, but when faced with someone like Bai Chongxi, his ferocity turned into timidity. He said somewhat awkwardly: "Sir, this really is the last one, I'm familiar with this road, once we reach the riverbank, we'll have a boat, my brothers and I have already made arrangements with the ship owners."

  Bai Chongxi poked Long Lao Da with his hand: "If you dare to provoke me again this time, I'll make sure you taste the flavor of the 30th Army's stick."

  After finishing, Bai Chongxi looked up at the sky and then turned to his deputy officer and ordered: "Notify the troops to speed up their march and try to reach Xin Qiao Town tonight. We've been sleeping in tents for several days, tonight I want to sleep in a bed."

  The orders were quickly passed down to the troops, and the soldiers, who had been utterly exhausted, immediately became energetic upon hearing that they could rest in town tonight without having to camp out. They hastily quickened their pace.

  Almost at the same time, the officers and men of Li Zongren's First Division were frantically building various fortifications in Taoyuan. Li Zongren and his staff analyzed that the earliest attack by the Changde army should be three days later. Because according to the intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Agency, as many as 7,000 people came over, even if they sat on a steamship with the same number of people, it would take at least one day for both personnel and equipment, let alone that they didn't have this thing. Li Zongren looked at the mountain artillery position being built and then looked into the distance: "Jiansheng, act quickly, strive to make our Guangxi people's prestige in this battle, don't disappoint Generalissimo's appreciation for us brothers..."