The whole of China is now focused on the main battlefield between the north and south, and naturally no one pays attention to the secondary battlefield in Changde. As for Wang Zhenyu's telegram, it was drowned out by a bunch of unclear telegrams.

  On July 22, the Jiangsu Anti-Yuan Army was defeated by Feng Guozhang's Beiyang Second Army and Zhang Xun's Wuwei Front Army in the Xu State area and retreated to Nanjing. From July 22 to 28, the Shanghai Anti-Yuan Army repeatedly attacked the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau but failed to capture it. The command center was disbanded by the Shanghai Concession authorities. On July 28, Huang Xing saw that the situation was hopeless and left Ningbo in exile, causing the entire anti-Yuan army to waver.

  The national situation is like this, the war has just started for less than half a month, and the well-prepared Beiyang Army has made the anti-Yuan army retreat repeatedly. Although Wang Zhenyu avoided escaping once with a surprise attack, Huang Xing, who lacked sufficient endurance to failure, eventually became an escaped general.

  Wang Zhengya was overjoyed when he received the news on July 29, and immediately summoned Qingheng and others to drink a toast: "I've always said that Sun Dapao and his men are no good, they're not a match for Mr. Yuan. So it's right for us to stand on Mr. Yuan's side. That traitor Wang Zhenyu wants to take advantage of the chaos to seize territory? Haha, wait until Mr. Yuan pacifies those rebels in the southeast, and then I'll see what kind of death Wang Zhenyu will meet."

  You remained silent, while others congratulated him profusely. Some of the drunken Wang Zhengya floated away to sleep...

  On July 30, Wang Yuyun, who had just finished organizing the 9 regiments of Changde with 9,000 men and horses, received an order from his father: "Launch an attack on Taoyuan today and annihilate the Xiangxi Anti-Yuan Army."

  After the war was over, this telegram was sent to Wang Zhenyu's face, and he burst out laughing. Because from start to finish, this so-called Xiangxi Punitive Expedition against Yuan, except for Zhang Xueji, the empty-headed commander, had never existed at all. He himself had used the name of the Xiangxi Defense Team from start to finish to launch this damn "war of aggression".

  But it doesn't matter what you call it, because this won't affect Wang Yuwen's ending.

  At this moment, Wang Yu is staring blankly at the out-of-control battlefield. If he could have another chance to choose, he would absolutely not give the order to launch an attack.

  The attack by the Changde army started at 12 noon, and choosing this time was indeed despicable. At this time, normal people would be eating lunch. Wang Yuying still understood some military tactics, so he had his brothers eat lunch an hour in advance, planning to make their opponents fight on empty stomachs, and when the time came, the insufficiently supplied Xiangxi army would inevitably collapse.

  As for the firepower of the opposing camp, he had already completed several rounds of rough firepower probing, and it was unclear whether the opponent had a high combat literacy or was indeed lacking in firepower. Wang Yuwen would rather believe it was the latter, because he didn't think the opponent's military literacy could be so calm in the face of probing. Since the opponent lacked firepower, then let's make a concerted effort to charge forward.

  The development of the battle also met his expectations, and the more than 3,000 fierce Changde troops quickly captured the first line of defense. This result further solidified Wang Yuyi's determination to continue launching attacks, as losing positions was a great blow to morale, and the Xiangxi Army was no exception. Many years later, Wang Yuyi sighed in a private conversation with Li Zongren: "I really committed a military taboo, launching an attack without fully understanding your situation, resulting in the loss of my own military career, and finally having to become an old teacher."

  Li Zongren had set up a big trap from the beginning, and the three layers of solid blocking lines were just tools to lure the enemy in. Except for creating some casualties, they immediately started withdrawing, creating a false impression of insufficient combat effectiveness. Nearly two regiments of Xiangxi troops were waiting in ambush at the fourth line of defense about 2 kilometers away from the first line of defense.

  Wang Yuyin's artillery team only managed to cover the second line of defense, and when attacking the third line of defense, the Xiangxi army's resistance became fierce. The casualties of the Changde army immediately exceeded 300, and a large number of officers were killed in action. This made Wang Yuyin, who was still worried that the other side was playing a delaying tactic, make a judgment that he would regret later. This was the last bottom line, as long as it was broken through, the war could end today. Therefore, three elite battalions were thrown into the attack, and the third line of defense was taken down smoothly. Wang Yuyin personally dismounted and issued the order for a general pursuit. More than 6,000 Changde soldiers, with an unstoppable momentum, charged towards the fourth and final line of defense outside Taoyuan City...

  The war of Taoyuan has finally reached a life-and-death moment...

  Li Zongren visited the two main force regiments that were preparing to counterattack before launching the final attack in Changde, and gave a final speech to officers above the company level: "Brothers, tell me, are you men?"

  The officers were taken aback for a moment, then stood up straight and roared: "We are men."

  Li Zongren nodded in satisfaction: "Today is the first battle of our Mountain First Army's expedition to Xiangxi, and I don't know how future history will record what we did today. Are we righteous or evil? I don't know either. But one thing I do know is that we absolutely cannot be the losers, if this battle must have a loser."

  Li Zongren waved his hand and pointed directly at the front of the formation: "That's them, send defeat to them, and leave glory to ourselves. Long live the fierce tiger, the fierce tiger must win!"

  The officers and nearby soldiers all responded excitedly: "Long live the fierce tiger! The fierce tiger will surely win!"

  Changde's army charged forward without hesitation, the easy capture of the first three lines of defense made them slightly disdainful of their opponents, this time they even charged before the earth cannons were pushed up.

  Two hundred meters, one hundred meters, eighty meters, sixty meters, fifty meters, getting closer...

  But it's strange, really strange. This time the White Tiger Troops from Xiangxi were different from before when they would shoot at 100 meters away. The entire position was silent, not a single bullet was fired.

  This silence is oppressive, and the soldiers of Changde would rather take bullets than face this eerie atmosphere.

  As they gradually drew closer, the Changde officers and soldiers slowed down their pace unanimously, becoming somewhat frightened.

  About 400-500 meters away from the front line, seventy-five mortars (the standard equipment of a division is 25 mortars) were lined up in a row according to the angle adjusted yesterday. The gunners all stared tightly at the scattered skirmish line of the Changde Army in the distance, waiting for the commander's order. The commander had also raised the red flag high, waiting for the final firing order.

  In a more distant place, twenty self-made mountain cannons were also in position, all of which had removed the camouflage according to the predetermined elements and were waiting for the order to fire. This concentrated use of artillery was also mentioned by Wang Zhenyu at the tactical seminar several times, and Li Zongren was actually learning from it.

  Li Zongren put down the telescope in front of him and took a small breath before saying: "Open fire!"

  The deputy officer saluted and turned around to fire three signal flares into the sky.

  Just as the flare was about to fall from its zenith, seventy-five mortars and twenty mountain guns also let out a deafening roar, and forty machine guns that had been waiting in ambush fired without mercy. The entire front line of the battlefield was immediately shrouded in smoke, and the Changde army was suddenly subjected to fierce artillery fire and machine gun sweeps.

  Many of the Changde soldiers had not yet figured out what was happening when they were already flying into the sky. Wang Yuying, who was directing the battle from the rear, was immediately frightened by this 5,000-strong army, which could have such fierce firepower - how did they do it? Even Wang Yuying, who had participated in the Changde autumn harvest, had never seen such ferocious firepower being used so intensively before. As for those Changde soldiers under him, even more so.

  The bombardment had only lasted for two rounds when Li Zongren called a halt. No choice, the shells were too expensive, using too many would probably make the commander-in-chief angry. Moreover, this was an internal war, excessive casualties would hurt morale. The previous bombardment had also been very effective, in a fight to the death, those who charged forward first were usually the bravest. Although the previous artillery strike had only killed about 400 people, it was enough to shock and intimidate the enemy, the rest still relied on the infantry to solve.

  The bugle sounded immediately, and the infantry stopped designing very neatly, drew out their bayonets from their waistbands, and inserted them into their rifles with a whoosh. Then the officers led the way, and more than 2,000 Xiangxi officers and soldiers followed the White Tiger Army flag, shouting slogans of "Long live the fierce tiger army" and rushed out of the array.

  The Changde army was now completely immersed in great shock and panic, those who were lucky enough had ascended to heaven, while the unlucky ones still had to stare at the gory blood and face this bleak world.

  Seeing the fierce and menacing Xiangxi Tigers rushing towards them, they lost the most basic courage of a man. The idea of escaping involuntarily emerged in their minds. As people had this thought, the great rout inevitably occurred.

  Wang Yu's second biggest regret at this moment is that he didn't set up a vanguard team. When faced with this situation, he was also helpless. Now the only thing he can do is to lead the two thousand men who have not yet joined the attack to retreat first and avoid being dragged into chaos by the defeated troops. At the same time, he issued an order for these armies that had lost their fighting spirit to immediately run towards Changde City, heaven knows how many people will be able to escape into Changde City after dozens of miles.

  For escaping, this distance is indeed a bit too long, and what's even more terrifying is the astonishing running ability of the Xiangxi fierce tiger soldiers.

  More and more exhausted Changde soldiers threw their guns to the ground, sat down, panting heavily, and shouted to the pursuing Xiangxi fierce tiger soldiers: "Don't be afraid, I surrender."

  Of the 6,000 Changde soldiers who participated in the attack, only less than 3,000 people escaped back to Changde, and the loss of equipment was even more severe. Wang Yuyin was both heartbroken and regretful, and finally gathered the remaining 6,000 men and horses to defend Changde without mentioning it again. As for where his father was, Wang Yuyin thought about it repeatedly and still sent a telegram truthfully...