The main enemy of the Second Army is the First Army of the Southern Federal Northern Expedition, which has jurisdiction over the first, second and third towns of the "pseudo-Chinese federal empire" army. At the end of last year, this first army of the Northern Expedition had entered Henan.
The three towns of the First Army of the Northern Expedition were originally adapted and expanded from the first town of the former Qing Dynasty, the 21st Huncheng Association and the 25th Huncheng Brigade of Hunan Province. The first town was controlled by Zhang Biao, the second town was controlled by Li Yuanhong, and the third town was controlled by Zhang Dong, the president of the Shuqing Army.
Of the three towns of the First Army of the Northern Expedition, the first town was adapted from the first town. Naturally, the personnel and equipment with the strongest fighting capacity were all fully compiled from the 21st Mixed Association. The second town was slightly less staffed. Although it was fully staffed after several months of expansion, the equipment was relatively lacking. There were two artillery battalions, while the third town adapted from the Hunan New Army was short of many personnel. Three infantry targets and one artillery battalion were fully compiled, and it was only possible to play the old backbone. Actually, there was only one target.
The three parts are stationed in Zhengzhou, Henan and Xinyang, Xuchang.
The first army of the Southern Northern Expedition took control of the southern part of Henan, which is not to say that he called, but because Wang Ruxian’s troops in the northern part of the Northern Warfare were also in Zhili, which led to Henan’s virtual and Zhangdonghui’s first town, which was originally the first town, also entered Zhili, but later quickly returned to the south and occupied Henan Feng.
Subsequently, the second town of the Southern Federation, the predecessor of the 21st Mixed Association, also led troops to Xuchang, Henan Province for subsequent reorganization and expansion, and the third town of the Southern Federation, the Hunan New Army, marched into Xinyang.
That is to say, when the Civil War broke out, most parts of Henan, especially Fengnan, were controlled by the Southern Federation, and the governor of Henan actually controlled the northern part of Henan.
At the beginning of January, Wang Ruxian’s first division and Wang Shizhen’s third Hunchenglv attacked Zhengzhou, Henan Province, which was the first town of the Southern Federation. After a few days of fierce fighting, Zhang Biao told Zhang Dong that there were heavy casualties, ammunition shortage and unfavorable support from friendly forces. At this time, Wang Shizhen personally led the main force, and the sixth division was about to arrive in Zhengzhou. The situation was not good. Zhang Biao led his troops to withdraw to the south and even abandoned Xuchang. Then he went to Xinyang with the second town, and then all kinds of arguments were made to defend Xinyang …
After not having much strength to take Zhengzhou, Wang Shizhen accepted Xuchang and other places to rest for less than half a month before leading the troops to continue attacking Xinyang in the south.
This time, the Confederacy was not much better. If they were allowed to deal with the First Division and the Third Hunchenglv, they could barely fight. However, when Wang Shizhen put his main force, the Sixth Division, into the battlefield, the third town of Hunan New Army in the Confederacy soon collapsed. After the collapse of the third town on the flank, Zhang Biao and Li Yuanhong troops were in danger, so another big collapse was staged, and this time people fled directly to Wuhan.
By the end of March, Wang Shizhen had led troops into Hubei Province to launch a general attack on the three towns of Wuhan, but this time it was different from the previous two. Now Wuhan is already the lair of Zhangdong and the so-called capital of the Southern Federal Empire. If it is lost, it will be estimated that it will take a long time.
In recent months, Zhang Dong has collected a lot of reinforcements and expanded many troops. It is said that the deployment of southern federal troops around three towns in Wuhan has reached as high as six towns. It is said that the total strength has exceeded 100,000, and troops from Hunan, Jiangxi and even Sichuan in the south have been continuously transferred to Hubei by Zhang Dong. However, it is not easy to estimate that Wang Shizhen currently has more than 30,000 main forces and 10,000 auxiliary troops along the way.
Moreover, there is also a major factor, that is, when the Confederacy and the Navy were separated from the North and the South, most of the naval vessels went to the Confederacy, especially in the Yangtze River area.
Although the three towns in Wuhan haven’t brought it yet, Wang Shizhen has at least taken the title of this Huguang tour in northern Hubei, and he has finally touched the edge. Moreover, he has also intervened in southern Henan, not only for these troops, but also for on-the-spot conscription of Wang Ruxian, the commander-in-chief of Henan. Although he has intentional opposition, he can also turn a blind eye. Wang Shizhen didn’t directly eat the whole of Henan, which is enough for you. Wang Ruxian is still a little tender to fight for territory. Without Wang Yingjie’s support, it is estimated that northern Henan will be lost.
Compared with the rapid progress of the second army led by Wang Shizhen, Hubei has made great progress. It took only three months to call half of Henan and half of Hubei, and the Duan Qirui movement will be much slower.
The reason is very simple, that is, there is no railway support in the south of Duan Qirui, and most of this road relies on walking, except for the transportation by the Lee Canal. The situation in the south, Jiangbei and Shandong is relatively stable. In the early stage, the second army and the third army of the Southern Federation were defeated by the Jiang Guiti Jiangfang Army, forcing Jiang Guiti to retreat to Shandong, but they also pushed North Shandong for a short time.
The situation is relatively stable, and Duan Qirui is also busy recruiting troops all the way. Wang Shizhen South has created a first Huncheng Brigade and a militia with nearly 10,000 troops. Duan Qirui has also expanded a Huncheng Brigade, and he has become a brother with Jiang Guiti and wooed Zhang Huaizhi.
When he was waiting for Duan Qirui to set out from the south of Shandong, he suggested that the strength of the first army was relatively strong, and it was not the case that Wang Shizhen and Wang Ruxian were at odds with each other. In February, he officially went from Shandong to South Jiangsu and Anhui to announce that the first army had the Fourth Division and the Second Huncheng Brigade, a so-called Supplementary Brigade of the Fourth Division. Although this Supplementary Brigade shouted the title of Supplementary Brigade, it was actually compiled into a Huncheng Brigade.
Then there is the Fifth Division of Zhang Huaizhi, Shandong Province, and the Sixth Huncheng Brigade of Jiang Guiti, next to Beiyang.
There are two divisions and three HunChengLv. The first army is much more powerful than the second army commanded by Wang Shizhen.
However, there are many troubles facing Duan Qirui. First of all, it is very troublesome to rely on canals and civilian workers for transportation. Moreover, Beiyang troops in the south have relatively more heavy equipment. There are hundreds of guns of this size. It is really difficult to transport even Beiyang’s other advantage, the cavalry, in the face of the dense water network.
At the same time, Duan Qirui has to face a relatively large war zone, not only Jiangsu but also Anhui, which is forced to divide its troops into Anhui.
However, despite all the difficulties, it can’t hold Duan Qirui’s desire for territory. In February, Duan Qirui led the main force Jiangbei and the Second Army of the Southern Union, that is, the fourth town and the fifth town of Tie Liang, to fight fiercely.
After nearly half a month of fierce fighting between the two sides, Tie Liang’s troops suffered heavy losses and were finally forced to retreat south. At the same time, the second Huncheng Brigade sent by Duan Qirui to Anhui also successfully conquered Bengbu.
With the withdrawal of the Second Army and the Third Army of the Southern Federation to Nanjing and Zhenjiang, Duan Qirui actually controlled Jiangbei and northern Anhui.
However, when Duan Qirui was confidently preparing to cross the river to conquer Nanjing and Zhenjiang, it was when he crossed the river that he was heavily shelled by the southern federal naval vessels. Duan Qirui also gave up the idea of taking the opportunity to expand the results and instead digested the existing results to consolidate the territory.
By April 1997, the confederate armies still controlled the three towns of Wuhan, Hefei, Chuzhou, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Nantong and other important cities in the Yangtze River basin, while the northern areas of these cities fell under the control of the northern Republican government and were divided by Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui and others respectively.
In April, after the fierce fighting in the previous months, both sides, especially the northern Republican armies, consumed almost all ammunition and ordnance. At that time, Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui could not gather enough shells and bombs to launch a wave of large-scale offensive. All they could do was to suspend the offensive and buy ammunition from Fuyuan Machine Factory on a large scale, that is, to buy ammunition from Zhao Dongyun and also to store ammunition from various ocean lines on a large scale.
It is foreseeable that a wave of large-scale attacks will be launched in a month or two, or three or four months, after the Beiyang armies have accumulated enough ammunition, and it is a question whether the Confederacy can resist it. Once it resists, it may form a long-term stalemate between the North and the South. If it fails, the Confederacy Empire will be swept into the garbage dump of history.
Compared with the two major wars in the south, the wars in Shanxi and Shaanxi are different, but they are not noticeable to outsiders.
Chapter two hundred and thirty-three Shanxi War
At the end of last year, Wu Fengling led troops from Shijiazhuang to Shanxi through Zhengtai Railway. Enshou, the governor of Shanxi Province, was loyal to the Southern Federation. He led the 43rd Huncheng Association to fight a large number of old troops, but Enshou tied up a lot of Shanxi troops, but not many were able to fight new ones. Yuan Shikai was only woven into a standard before his death.
In the 43rd mixed association, the remaining bid was adapted from the old army. Even the guns were messy, and there were few old guns and artillery. This 43rd mixed association was so miserable that you can’t count on Enshou’s thousands of old armies.
Wu Fengling is not as famous as Beiyang Big Four in Beiyang, but he was controlled by seven towns in Beiyang before Yuan Shikai died. But the fighting capacity of Beiyang Dijun is stronger than that of Duan Qirui Fourth Division and Wang Shizhen Sixth Division to some extent. It is not easy to clean up a Shanxi.
So after a small fight for half a month, Wu Fengling abruptly relied on superior forces to break through Enshou’s heavy force interception and then killed all the way to Taiyuan and took Taiyuan in two days.
However, after taking Taiyuan, Wu Fengling Day was not so good, because he was also caught in a shortage of troops. At that time, although he took Taiyuan, most parts of Shanxi, especially the southern and western counties, remained loyal to the Confederate Empire.
As a result, he was forced to divide his troops one by one to fight in prefectures and counties, and the terrain in Shanxi was not the great plain like Zhili. The railway was also built in Taiyuan, but there was no other place in Shanxi, which led to the slow progress of the second division in the western and southern parts of Shanxi
It took half a month from Shijiazhuang to conquer Wu Fengling, but in the following months, he failed to completely control all the prefectures and counties in Shanxi. The reason is not only that the terrain is not conducive to the army’s mobility, but also that his troops are not enough, which leads to a serious shortage of troops in all directions, especially in the southern team
After all, when he was busy recovering prefectures and counties all over Shanxi and wanted to bring the whole of Shanxi into the scope of controlling shares, Zhao Erxun, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, was not idle. He collected troops from Shaanxi and other areas of Shanxi and even reinforcements from Gansu to prepare for the counterattack in Shanxi.
In the face of Zhao Erxun’s search for troops everywhere, Shanxi resisted and counterattacked. Although Wu Fengling troops won the battle, they kept beating the new army and old army of the Confederacy as dogs, but it also inevitably caused a lot of losses. Wu Fengling troops even killed and injured more than 2,000 people in four months, and consumed a lot of ammunition.
In order to supplement the shortage of troops, Wu Fengling, like all contemporary warlords, has also expanded its army and created two so-called Shanxi vigilantes. This new unit also needs ordnance and ammunition, and the ordnance and ammunition of the original second division consume a lot of ammunition.
As a result, Wu Fengling also faces the same problem as Duan Qirui, Wang Shizhen, Zhang Huaizhi, Wang Ruxian and others, that is, it needs to buy guns!
This is the easiest and most convenient way to buy guns. Naturally, it is necessary to import guns to rich families and foreigners can deliver them to the door! But the problem is that imported goods are expensive. After the outbreak of China last year, the price of the international arms market in the Far East reached a new high. For example, the original price in Germany has reached as high as 45 taels of silver, and the price of an arms dealer such as Britain and the United States is about 40 taels a day. The goods are cheaper, but they also cost 30 taels.
Even the lowest quality and the lowest price are the 75mm shells produced by Guofuyuan Machinery Factory. The price of imported raw materials has risen, and the selling price to grandpa has exceeded 35 taels of silver. Even if Zhao Dongyun buys from the factory ex-factory, the price needs 32 taels of silver. After Zhao Dongyun sells them to Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen, their price is 35 taels or even 36 taels.
You know, before the Russo-Japanese War, the price of 75 mm shells produced by Fukuda Factory was only 25 taels!
The artillery shells and rifles are no exception. At present, large quantities of Japanese 30-year rifles and German rifles are used. Before the Russo-Japanese War, the price of the new 30-year rifles bought by Beiyang Army from Japan would not exceed 200 taels of silver. However, nowadays, Wang Yingkai needs 200 taels of silver to buy second-hand 30-year rifles from Japanese. You know, in previous years, these second-hand guns were not even wanted for 15 taels of silver.
In recent years, the ex-factory price of the rifle factory has not fluctuated greatly. Although there is no ex-factory price in Hanyang and Jiangnan in the south, their price has always been higher than that of the rifle factory. It is estimated that it will be about 32.32 before the German National People’s Congress launched the second-hand rifle in batches. In the past few years, it was limited by the Qing court’s order that the local governor should give priority to the purchase of domestic rifles. After that, the German second-hand rifles generally did not sell much, and the price was as low as fifteen taels of silver.
However, with the outbreak of China War last October, the demand for ordnance, especially 792 mm caliber rifles, increased greatly. At that time, whether it was the two arsenals in the south or the Fu factory in the north, their output was far from meeting the huge demand for firearms in China, so many people set their sights on second-hand goods.
Wang Yingkai, a Japanese machinery company, has been buying Japanese second-hand 30-year-old rifles, but his warlords have all chosen German second-hand rifles, which has caused the price of second-hand rifles in the Far East to soar. If the rifling is properly maintained, the second-hand rifles can sell for 220 taels, while the German rifles that have not been sealed are more expensive than the ones made by Fu, reaching 35 taels of silver.
At this price, you may not be able to buy it, and you can’t get it in a short time. The spot price often needs this price base to continue to float.
The ordnance in the Far East market is so scarce that Zhao Dongyun is lucky to hold Fuyuan Machinery Factory.
In addition to his long barrel field guns, gun sights, binoculars and artillery balloons, which are very high-tech weapons, he needs to import. His rifles, artillery shells, even mountain guns and light and heavy machine gun bases can be purchased from Fuyuan Machine Factory, but the price is much cheaper than that imported.
Moreover, due to the relatively large output of Fuyuan Machinery Factory, even though there is a patrol group dressing plan and an expansion plan for a new infantry division after the third division and the fifth brigade of Zhao Dong Yunshoudi are fully staffed, it is still a method to consume the huge output of Fuyuan Machinery Factory, especially rifles.
You know, Fuyuan Machinery Factory has gradually expanded over the past few years, increasing its rifle output and working overtime during the war. At one time, it was as high as more than 300 rifles a day. Now, although it has suspended day and night work, it still maintains the overtime system with the expansion of production in the past six months. Now, the daytime output has reached more than 200 rifles, which is more than the Hanyang Arsenal and Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau combined.
This day, the output is more than 200 units, and a month is more than 6,000 units, so the output of Zhao Dongyun is naturally consumed separately. After all, when Fuyuan Machinery Factory was originally designed and planned, this factory was responsible for the whole North China ordnance, and it should be more than just tens of thousands of troops at the hand of Zhao Dong Cloud.
In addition to changing the newly expanded troops to patrol troops, this rifle factory has also prepared some extra rifles, which are qualified for several Beiyang warlords.
Among many warlords in Beiyang, except Wang Yingkai, all the Japanese weapons are 792 caliber ordnance. If Zhao Dongyun is willing to sell them, they are naturally willing to buy Fu Factory ordnance. This is because Zhao Dongyun gives cheaper prices and transportation can get the goods earlier.
"Did you give Duan Qirui another thousand guns this month?" Zhao Dongyun didn’t look at the report in his hand, but asked directly.
The director of the Ordnance Department, ordnance procurement, also manages the private business of ordnance export. Zhao Dongping said, "There are four heavy machine guns and 300,000 rounds of ammunition besides 1,000 guns!"
"Yesterday, someone came to my side and said that they wanted 3,000 guns and 20 heavy machine guns, and two million bills. Besides these, they also asked if we could buy some guns from them. Mortars are also needed for mountain guns! "
Zhao Dongyun listened and nodded. "It seems that Duan Hefei has made a lot of money in Jiangbei. In the past few months, he also bought six thousand guns. Now he wants three thousand and even wants to expand a brigade."
Zhao Dongyun did not immediately decide whether to buy or not, but continued to ask, "What about Wang Shizhen and Wu Fengling and Zhang Huaizhi? How much is this month’s bill? "
Zhao Dongping said, "Wang Shizhen, Hubei Province purchased 1,500 bullets and 100,000 rounds of machine guns this month!"
"Shanxi Wu Fengling also sent people to buy 3,000 rifles, 3 million machine guns and 12 guns!"
"Wang Ruxian of Henan Province has no new orders this month. They have purchased 4,000 guns in the first half of the year, and now they are afraid that they are full."
"Shandong Zhang Huaizhi didn’t come here this month and bought 500 guns in a single month. I heard that he hooked up with Qingdao Germans and bought a batch of second-hand rifles from Germans!"
"In addition, these people want to buy our guns more or less!"
Chapter two hundred and thirty-four Military trade and explosives
Zhao Dongyun picked up the report in his hand and looked at it slightly, then said, "These rifles and heavy machine guns will be sold to them if they are given enough cash. The price of the bullets and shells is slightly tighter than before. If the bullets exceed 500,000 rounds and the shells exceed 1,000 rounds, they will not be allowed to buy light machine guns, mortars and artillery without my approval. As usual, you are not allowed to buy any of them!"
Although Zhao Dongyun has accumulated a lot of ordnance in his hand and is ready to sell it, he is not going to sell everything. The rifle base and heavy machine gun base are open and the price is relatively favorable. This is because even if Zhao Dongyun doesn’t sell them, they can get enough goods from various ocean lines, so it is better for Zhao Dongyun to sell them to make money.
Moreover, if you want to sell it to make money, you have to compete with imported goods. Well, the prices of German second-hand rifles and Mao Se 9′ 30-year-old rifles are now lower than those of Mao Se 9′ 30-year-old rifles and higher than those of second-hand rifles and 30-year-old rifles, and it is still quite attractive to Chinese warlords.
After all, the new rifle in China’s arms market is the cheapest one, but the price is far lower than that in Mao Se, Germany, which has just been installed for 30 years. Although the second-hand rifle is cheap, it is not as good as the new rifle, and you want the second-hand family Zhao Dongyun to have it. His third division has been equipped with rifles for several years. If you want the second-hand Zhao Dongyun, you can directly replace it with a new rifle and sell it to you, and the price is cheaper than that of the German second-hand rifle and the Japanese thirty-year rifle.