The Anti-Japanese War Begins with the Northeast Army

As soon as he arrived in this land of Qi and Lu, this famous Jade Marshal received a blow that was not painful but extremely insulting;
Unexpectedly, they had prepared themselves to the fullest, gathering troops and mobilizing weapons and supplies - but they were still shot from behind, and even set a fire that almost set the tent on fire.

How could he, who is known as the Jade Marshal, tolerate this?

He immediately led a large number of cavalrymen, rushed out of the military camp, and searched for the whereabouts of this group of reckless people along the way.

However, how could the shrewd Guo Songling let them catch him?

At the beginning of his attack, he found a hiding place nearby based on the panoramic map of Shandong provided by Jiang Cheng. After watching the ferocious cavalry troops running away, he waited there until four o'clock, almost dawn.

Throughout history, many famous sneak attacks, including those in later generations, took place during this period of time.

For normal humans, four o'clock in the morning is the most tiring time...

If it was a little later, certain arms within the Zhi army, such as the cooks and patrol soldiers, should have been mobilized in large numbers to patrol and guard the surroundings, etc.

He led his cavalry and immediately rushed towards the sleeping troops.

The key point is that the weapons they carried this time were an enhanced version of the "Ten Thousand Enemies" developed by Jiang Cheng at the Siping Arsenal.

Black powder is used as the ignition material, with sawdust, cotton, and coal powder added as combustion aids, and then forced into the copper shell barrel...

When the soldiers got to a position with similar distance, they arranged the gun barrels in a row and fired the primers like firing mortars. Each small shell burst directly into the camp of the Zhi army!
Bang! Bang, bang, bang…

With a shocking explosion, the Zhi army's camp was suddenly filled with a large area of ​​fire that was enough to burn people's eyes.

What's even more terrible is that these flames also cause countless sparks to fly everywhere... Wherever they fly, the place will be ignited:
Tents, ammunition boxes, food that had not yet been organized...even ordinary soldiers who had just been awakened from their sleep.

Hair, clothes, and even exposed skin... these extremely hot "sparks" are like the curse of the God of Fire. Wherever they pass by, they will be quickly ignited!
This round of bombing caused huge casualties... Guo Songling ordered all personnel to change positions and bombed again -

The screams like ghosts and wolves howling could be heard clearly from a distance... You know, this year, drought not only broke out in the Central Plains, but also in the Northeast;
Drought is inevitably accompanied by dry weather and dry objects. Under the impact of incendiary bombs, everything is burning violently.

"Commander Guo, we should rush forward now and completely wipe out the vanguard of the Zhi army!"

His subordinates suggested to Guo Songling excitedly: It can be seen that today they have so successfully "lured the tiger away from the mountain", and with the support of advanced weapons provided by their governor, they have inflicted such heavy damage on the local area. This can be said to be an outstanding first battle.

After all, they are soldiers, and what they want to do is to continue to invest manpower after achieving victory, so that they can achieve greater results.

This gambler-like mentality is shared by many soldiers.

However, as the commander, Guo Songling held up a telescope and focused all his attention on the Zhi army's camp:

He did not answer, and his expression remained absolutely cold and calm... as if the soldiers on both sides and the tragic battle in front of him had nothing to do with him.

"Guo, Chief Guo, are we?"

Thinking that the noise from the other side affected the temporary boss's hearing, he immediately asked again;
However, Guo Songling immediately put down the telescope and looked back. Even in this extremely dim environment, his calm yet somewhat fierce eyes were still bright: "What are you fighting for? We must retreat quickly!"…………

Guo Songling's choice was right - not to mention Wu Peifu's cavalry unit that quickly withdrew after realizing something was wrong;
The point is, although they relied on the right time and place to launch sneak attacks and caused great damage, in fact, because they wanted to maximize their mobility, they could not carry too many weapons.

Although the barracks of the Zhi army, which served as the vanguard, was bombed, there were two other teams gathered nearby. With the ammunition they carried, if they were really surrounded by the large force of the Zhi army... the consequences can be imagined!

After firing the "Ten Thousand Enemies" gun, it was abandoned on the spot, and Guo Songling quickly ordered them to retreat immediately.

He knew very well that as a commander, facing such a victory...he should quit while he was ahead.

It is unacceptable to have a gambler's mentality. It is important to attack your opponent, but it is more important to protect yourself and get out of it safely.

While they launched a surprise attack on the Zhi army, Jiang Cheng ordered Guo Xipeng to advance towards Xu Shuzheng.

Xiao Xu came here to take advantage of the situation. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, he would definitely not fight face to face with the defenders of Jinan Prefecture.

Jinan’s reply to UMC was “jointly fight against foreign enemies”, but Uncle Jiang’s response was to take the initiative!
Xu Shuzheng, who was stationed on the spot, was shocked - damn, you Fengtian Army, can't you afford to play? I came to Shandong just to pretend and see if there is any benefit I can get, but you can't afford to play!
But after all, he was the think tank of the Anhui clique and the most favored general around Duan Qirui, so he was still able to fight in a professional manner;

Moreover, although coming to Shandong was a chance to pick up an advantage, he was also very clear that he was facing the Fengtian clique's little tyrant Jiang Cheng, and the Zhili clique's Jade Marshal Wu Peifu... Both of them were not ordinary people.

So not only did he bring elite troops with him, he also mobilized civilians to requisition military rations and weapons...his preparations were quite sufficient.

Fortifications were built around the camp, and there were two newly dug trenches.

As soon as Guo Xipeng arrived, he was discovered by the Anhui Army soldiers on sentry post. Loud shouts and shrill whistles echoed throughout the camp.

There were curses coming from the machine gun positions on the east and west sides. The machine gunners adjusted the shooting parameters as soon as possible, but the officers in charge shouted not to shoot first.

However, what was frightening was that just as the Anhui Army was gathering and preparing to rush into the trenches and take up their combat positions, a strange loud noise was heard from Guo Xipeng's position opposite.

It sounded like a cannon, but the sound was so damn scary that it made my ears hurt even from such a long distance away...

The earth was shaking violently. Not only were the stones and debris on the ground bouncing, but every Anhui Army soldier and officer felt the resonance in their bodies.

Damn! What is this...

I looked up in astonishment: the sky at dawn was streaked with flames, and huge explosions and thick smoke marked the beginning of the battle.

These large-caliber shells were densely packed, and the soldiers cried out for help the moment they hit the ground. It was as if God was sowing seeds on the ground, and each shell blew away a lot of them.

Flames shot up into the sky! (End of this chapter)