Chapter 200: First Defeat
Chapter 200: First Defeat
"In August, the Yanmen Pass opens, and the geese come with frost on their feet."
A flock of wild geese flew in a V-formation, led by the leader goose.
The red sun had just emerged from the east, the earth was quiet, and the wide and gentle Yellow River in Lanzhou was flowing quietly as it had been for thousands of years.
Not far ahead is Yantan, where wild geese are gliding and descending in altitude, preparing to take a rest in this traditional resting place.
There was a thin layer of frost on the ground in the early morning. The continuous military camps along the Yellow River were silent. Eighty thousand people stood solemnly on the military field, without any movement.
Suddenly, military music sounded and the wild geese were startled. They suddenly realized that there were so many people below. The geese immediately lost their formation and flew up screaming.
On the reviewing stand, the main generals of the Huai Army stood in a row, each with a serious expression.
The military music stopped and Shao Quanzhong walked in front of the crowd. Behind him, Hu Liuniang was holding a plate with a pile of epaulettes on it.
Shao Quanzhong was dressed in military uniform, with three gold stars on his shoulders. Commanding an army of 80,000, he was promoted directly from major general to general.
"Grant, Chief of Staff of the Huai Army, was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General."
"Appoint Shao Hengzhong as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Huai Army and commander of the First Infantry Regiment, and grant him the rank of lieutenant general."
"Appoint Song Le as the commander of the Imperial Guards and grant him the rank of major general."
"Appoint Lin Bo as the commander of the Second Infantry Regiment and grant him the rank of major general."
"Appoint Nie Shicheng as the commander of the Third Infantry Regiment and grant him the rank of Major General."
"Appoint Dong Fuxiang as the commander of the Gansu Army's Independent Mixed Brigade and grant him the rank of major general."
"Appoint Huai Army camp officer Wu Ci as concurrent commander of the Engineering Division and grant him the rank of major general."
"Le Sen, the logistics officer and director of the intelligence department of the Huai Army, was awarded the rank of major general."
"Hai Qing, the captain of the Huai Army's military police and the chief of the detective department, was awarded the rank of major general."
"Artillery Brigade Commander Zhou Sheng awarded him the rank of Brigadier General."
"Appoint Ma Yukun as the commander of the cavalry brigade and grant him the rank of brigadier general."
There were only a few people who needed to be awarded titles by Shao Quanzhong himself, and then he would read out the awarding decisions for those who were not present.
"Award Zhang Siwen, the commander-in-chief of the Huai Army's overseas mercenaries, the rank of Lieutenant General."
"Award Jiang Chunlin, Chief of the Intelligence Department of the Huai Army, the rank of Brigadier General."
"Award the rank of Brigadier General to Ma Han, the principal of the Zhenjiang Naval Academy and the acting admiral of the Nanyang Navy."
Originally, when the army expanded to 40,000 people, there should have been a promotion of military ranks. But at that time, we were at war, so this collective promotion of military ranks was delayed until now.
Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and felt honored. He had no idea how high he would have reached if he had not left America.
But now his family is very wealthy, which is unattainable in the United States. Historically, after Grant's death, his wife had to rely on publishing his memoirs to live a decent life. For an American, being rich may mean being more successful...
Song Laosan only led a brigade of five battalions of soldiers, but he was still a major general, simply because Shao Quanzhong's guards did not need a division...
Dong Fuxiang's troops still only have 6,000 people, but now they have two infantry battalions and four cavalry battalions, forming a mixed brigade whose uses are not comparable to those of an ordinary brigade.
At the end of the Battle of Nanjing, Shao Hengzhong, Song Laosan, Lin Bozi, and Nie Shicheng were all promoted to generals. It was not until today that they actually led a town of troops, which was consistent with the position of general.
During this military expansion, the Huai Army's machine gun and rapid-fire artillery units did not increase in number, but based on actual combat experience, they were reorganized into six companies and upgraded to machine gun battalions and rapid-fire artillery battalions. After the conferring ceremony, Shao Hengzhong led the First Infantry Division, and selected two machine gun companies, two rapid-fire artillery companies, three engineering heavy artillery companies, two cavalry battalions, and two engineering battalions to form the temporary First Mixed Division, with more than 18,000 people, and headed west to Suzhou to attack Ma Wenlu.
Lin Bozai's Provisional Second Mixed Division attacked Ma Zhan'ao in Hezhou, and Nie Shicheng's Provisional Third Mixed Division attacked Ma Guifang in Xining.
The remaining troops and the headquarters were stationed in Lanzhou as a reserve force, waiting for the gathering of food and fodder for the Western Expedition.
After Shao Quanzhong sent the army off, he hurried into Lanzhou city.
A large number of horses, pulling carts of machinery and equipment from the United States, were entering a new factory. These equipment were transported all the way from Xi'an by steam tractors, but the steam tractors were too large and dangerous to drive into the city, so they were transported by large carts outside the city.
Recently, Lanzhou has added two modern factories: one is a steam tractor assembly plant moved from Xi'an, and the other is the newly established Wen's Lanzhou Weaving Factory.
The tractor factory was located outside the city, and the woolen factory was located in the city to make it convenient for city workers to go to work.
Why did Shao Quanzhong go to the less important weaving factory instead of the tractor factory, which had more military significance? Because an important person was visiting.
Wen Xiu, chairman of the Wen Group, went to Lanzhou in person to preside over the opening of the woolen factory.
In the northwest, people raise sheep everywhere, eat mutton, and sell sheepskins.
Due to the lack of large-scale deep processing methods for wool, a small amount of wool was woven into rough wool felts, shawls and other things by women, and most of the wool was wasted.
Shao Yigu, general manager of the Wen Group, was ordered to relocate the tractor factory to Lanzhou, which was closer to the Western Region front. When he came to Lanzhou to inspect the factory site, he discovered this business opportunity and reported it to Wen Xiu.
He was planning to build a woolen mill to recycle waste. At least the Huai Army would have orders for more than 80,000 pieces, and they could also be sold to other places. The opportunity to make money could not be missed.
However, this was just a small-scale investment for the Wen Group, but it actually attracted the attention of the big boss, who came in person to preside over the start of construction.
Well, the logistics of the Huai Army are of great importance. If the Huai Army soldiers can wear home-made woolen coats, their image will be elevated immediately, which is very important.
This is the reason Wenxiu explained. Of course, the actual reason is that Shao Quanzhong is such a heartless man. He has not been home for more than a year since he went to war, and he is about to go to the farther western regions, leaving his two wives at home and not caring about them.
Rong Hui had no reason to come, but Wen Xiu finally found a reason. She traveled thousands of miles to find her husband and decided to give Shao Quanzhong a good lesson.
Wenxiu, who was full of anger, calmed down immediately when she saw Hu Liuniang.
Hu Liuniang actually still looks like a virgin. Her husband is really too well-behaved. He has been taking such a personal secretary with him for several years, and he can still endure it. This deserves a reward.
But then she felt inexplicably worried. After having dinner with Shao Quanzhong and sending everyone around him away, Wenxiu looked around Shao Quanzhong anxiously.
"Brother Shao, even though I told you to be honest, you turned out to be so obedient. Are you sick from being on the battlefield all year round? Uh-huh-what are you doing?"
Practice has proved that Shao Quanzhong had no problems at all. He was just concentrating on fighting. A year passed in a flash and he had no energy to think about anything else.
The next day, Wenxiu simply did not get out of bed, and it was not until the third day that she limped to the weaving factory to work.
On August 15, the fourth year of the Tongzhi reign, Mr. Qiao rushed to Lanzhou and spent the first Mid-Autumn Festival in Lanzhou. Famous scholars from the Shaanxi-Gansu Governor's Office visited the city and left behind many new poems.
On August 16, when Shao Quanzhong went to report to his godfather, an embarrassing news came.
During the campaign against Ma Zhan'ao of Hezhou, the Second Temporary Mixed Division of the Huai Army led by Lin Bozai suffered a setback at Taizi Temple, lost 2,000 soldiers, and retreated to Sanjiaji.
One of his subordinates, a battalion commander from Luzhuang, was killed, four battalion officers from Jiangyan were killed, and Lin Bozai was shot three times and was slightly injured.
Ma Zhan'ao, taking advantage of his victory, asked the Huai Army to follow Dong Fuxiang's example and accept the amnesty.
(End of this chapter)