"This battle is different from the one in Changde, where the enemy outnumbered us two to one and we were at a disadvantage geographically, surrounded on all sides. I thought for a long time that to win this battle, we must first seize the initiative on the battlefield; and to do so, we must concentrate our superior forces and defeat Chen Bingkun's Guangxi Second Army Corps, which is threatening our flank. Only by eliminating this threat can we take advantage of the favorable terrain in front of Liuzhou and calmly await the enemy's attack."

  Standing in front of a simple sand table made by the Military Intelligence Agency's Liuzhou branch, Bai Chongxi put forward his own combat thinking.

  Wang Zhenyu and Xu Yuanquan exchanged a brief glance, both seeing admiration in each other's eyes.

  Xu Yuanquan's hands were placed on the edge of the sandbox, and he asked very naturally: "So, Jian Sheng brother, how do you think we can defeat Chen Bingkun's troops? This man is not a fool. If he hadn't received news that Lu Rongting's main force had arrived, do you think he would have come out of Guilin County to send himself to death?"

  Bai Chongxi nodded and said, "What Commander Xu said is also what I think. Before the Gui army surrounds and takes position, Chen Bingkun may not dare to come out and launch a strong attack. These more than 200 miles of mountain roads will make it difficult for our army's heavy weapons transportation, ultimately affecting our mobility. By the time we arrive in Guilin in large numbers, I'm sure Chen Bingkun has already made preparations to defend himself to the death."

  Wang Zhenyu was taken aback: "Then what's your plan?"

  Bai Chongxi pointed to Lüzhen County with a thin wooden stick: "My idea is simple, it's to launch a full-force strike on Chen Bingkun's unit at the moment of encirclement here, striving to annihilate the entire unit and turn the tide of battle."

  Wang Zhenyu asked in a low voice: "Jiansheng, how confident are you?"

  Bai Chongxi shook his head and said, "In the midst of war, it's hard to say how much we can grasp, but in my opinion, as long as it's a coalition army, there will inevitably be discord and lack of effort. As long as we make the right adjustments and strive to create time differences among the enemy's units when they form a siege, and find a way to let Chen Bingkun's Second Division reach its designated position first, then everything else will be easy.

  Also, I have some information about the Guangxi First Army here. This information was compiled by the Military Intelligence Bureau's Liuzhou branch and is very detailed. The predecessor of the First Division was the nine patrol battalions under Lu Rongting's command, with a total strength of no more than 7,000 soldiers. The division commander, Chen Bingkun, has been following Lu Rongting for many years and is an old bandit who knows how to fight.

  The equipment of this division is indeed good, but there are many problems. For example, the morale of the soldiers is generally low. Everyone knows that Guangxi is a poor province. In addition to Lu Rongting's 20,000 troops, there are also Mo Rongxin, Chen Chaoping, and Wei Changrong's patrol armies, totaling around 50,000 people. During the Qing dynasty, Guangxi had 30,000 soldiers, but still needed subsidies from the imperial court in Guangdong to maintain them. Now that these subsidies have been cut off, the army has increased by almost double. How can Lu Rongting maintain his troops? Although he has plundered a lot of money, most of it was spent on buying weapons. His troops are basically paid only 40% of their wages, while we pay full wages. It's hard to imagine how low morale is."

  Four-tenths of the rations, Wang Zhenyu was shocked. On his side, it's all rations, and he can't imagine how Lu Rongting maintains military discipline and combat effectiveness. Is Lu Rongting also a time-traveler who has successfully brainwashed the Guangxi Army using the Soviet Red Army model? The ideological awareness of the Guangxi Army officers and soldiers must be at a much higher level than his own troops, those rascals.

  Just then a staff officer walked in, saluted and read out loud the telegram that had just been received from Nanning: "The 2nd Division of the Guangxi Army has mutinied in Binjiang County due to demands for pay."

  It turns out that Wang Zhenyu's confusion in his heart immediately disappeared. He really thought that the Gui army was his mother's Eighth Route Army. This coup is good, now even seven and a half routes are not counted.

  Lu Rongting is also very depressed about what happened to the good situation and how Tan Haoming led his troops.

  It's really not possible to blame Tan Haoming, he did his best. The mutiny was entirely caused by these four characters' greed for wealth and power.

  The soldiers of the Guangxi Army were originally trained to suffer and eat poorly, and Lu Rongting didn't care about their lives or deaths. Years of being a bandit had given him a way of thinking that as long as he had guns, he wasn't afraid of not having soldiers. So Lu Rongting spent all his money on buying arms and expanding his troops. As for the treatment of his officers and men, he never intended to spend any effort improving it even a little bit.

  History has told us countless times: those who fail to keep up with the pace of the times are doomed to be eliminated.

  The army is a hierarchical and strict place with a management model of one level pressing down on the next. Normally, taking four-tenths of the salary is a bit hard to bear, but everyone can still tolerate it since there are still four-tenths left. However, things are different now. The commander-in-chief has ordered us to march to the front line and fight. According to the old rules, this owed salary should be paid back. This is also an important factor why military expenditure will automatically double during wartime in this era. But our land commander's affairs are really busy, and he considered all aspects of the mobilization except for this rule of paying back the owed salary.

  Is it really careless or is it that the Governor's office has run out of money?

  "Commander Wei, here is a 100,000 yuan Chinese Bank draft. You can go to the bank and cash it out as soon as you leave. After that, we will give you another 100,000. How about that? My Commander Wei is much more sincere than that selfish and stingy Lu Du Jun." The person speaking was Gong Peng, the station chief of the Military Intelligence Agency's Guangxi Station. At this moment, he was sitting in a private room at the Baifang Building in Nanning with Wei Changrong, the commander of the First Guangxi Patrol Army, and Chen Zhaopin, the commander of the Sixth Army.

  Wei Changrong took a look at the IOU and didn't take it. He looked at Chen Zhaopeng, this kid must have also benefited from it, otherwise he wouldn't have invited him over. He pretended to be rough and laughed loudly: "Gong younger brother, Wei Mou is also approaching fifty this year, with family and children, there are many things that dare not be thought about or touched. This foreign currency is a good thing, but if you can't explain its meaning clearly, then Wei Mou would feel embarrassed taking it."

  Kong Peng naturally guessed this meaning, that is, things with too much risk will not be done.

  What if the gains are also great?

  "Wei and Chen have something to say, not just for ourselves, but also for the two of you. The two of you, Lin and Long, Mo are different from Lu's military commander, who is one with them. In the future, when Guangxi is unified, power and position will all be elevated, but Wei and Chen are not the same. You two are not on the same path as Lu's military commander, and as far as I know, your seniority in the Gui army is not inferior to Lu's at all. If Lu's military commander really defeats Liu Zhou and unifies the eight provinces of Guangxi, I don't know what will happen to Wei and Chen."

  Wei Changrong was indeed a man with some experience. When Guangxi's commander-in-chief Su Yuan Chun surrendered to the imperial court, he followed Lu Rongting and Mo Rongxin in accepting the amnesty. However, his violent temper and inability to get along with others meant that he did not follow in Lu Rongting's footsteps afterwards. He was always resentful of this, and Lu Rongting knew it well. Therefore, after 1911, Wei Changrong and his troops were arranged to be stationed in Longzhou as a border defense army.

  Wei Changrong is also an old river and lake. After hearing Gong Peng's words, he immediately slammed the table and angrily said: "You Hunan brats are provoking discord here. As for how Director Lu treats me and the imperial court, I won't say it. You know what kind of heart your Wang Zhenyu has. We can't be unaware that if I help you sell out Director Lu today, you will unify the eight provinces of Guangxi in the future. We Guangxi people will have no way out either. So, let's just drop it and leave."

  "What a pity! What a pity! This Guangxi governorship should have been yours to take!"

  Wei Changrong turned around at the door and said: "What did you mean by that, Mr. Gong?"

  "Wei Shuai, the deal didn't go through, so why get angry? Besides, our Great General only wants the iron mine in Liuzhou and the coal mine in Laibin. As for the situation in Guangxi, he knows it better than you do. If there's no money, bandits will rise up, what use is he to us then? Why not just go conquer Changsha instead? Don't you want to know our Great General's thoughts?"

  Wei Changrong thought for a moment, then sat back down and said: "Mr. Gong, I'm a straightforward person, don't mind me asking, but I really want to know what your General thinks."

  Gong Peng said to Wei Changrong and Chen Chaoping: "As for the betrayal, our commander-in-chief doesn't need it. Our commander-in-chief only needs your two armies to slow down a bit, then wait until we join forces with Lu Rongting and take Nanning City. After that, our commander-in-chief will only ask for Liuzhou and Laibin to mine coal and iron ore. As for the governor of Guangxi, it's naturally Wei Changrong, and the head of civil affairs is Chen Chaoping. Economically, we will provide 2 million yuan in aid to you two every year, which can be considered as rent for Liuzhou and Laibin. What do you think of this condition?"

  Wei Changrong and Chen Zhaozheng exchanged a glance before saying: "How can you guarantee that we will get what we want?"

  "Haha, the two of you are overthinking. At that time, Nanning will be in your hands, and we'll just be a guest army. How can we go back on our word? What you should really worry about is whether you two can keep the situation under control." Gong Peng fully displayed his excellent eloquence as a thug, causing the two leaders to move their fingers in agitation.

  Finally, Gong Peng added: "Whether to move or not is entirely up to the two of you. We won't force it because the opportunity belongs to the two of you. We're just sharing some benefits. If in the end, the two of you don't dare to take this wealth and fortune, then so be it. Consider the gift I'm giving as a token from my family's general to our friends. Please rest assured and accept it, it's just a gesture of goodwill from my family's general."

  When he finished speaking, Gong Peng immediately bid farewell and that's all there was to it. If he had gone any further, it would have been too much.

  After Gong Peng left, the room fell into a long silence. After a while, Chen Zhaopeng asked in a low voice: "Brother, are we going to do it or not?"

  Wei Changrong thought of some past events and gritted his teeth, saying: "Why not do it? Let's do it. Call those two big-buttocked old men over here. I'm going to thoroughly defeat them today."