Chapter 58: First Shock

At this time, the representatives from the north have arrived in Shenhai and are engaging in in-depth exchanges with the representatives from the south. Their purpose in coming is to hope for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
At this moment, Wang Feng naturally did not expect to have such a situation in Shenhai! His thoughts are fully focused on the Northern Expedition.
In addition to leaving a guard battalion in the Jinling Mint, and setting up a general station in Jinling, his main force went north of the Yangtze River.
All the places along the way were under military control, and they marched all the way along the Jinpu Road.
马鞍山、滁州都不战而下，但是在徐州蚌埠一带，还有张大辫子的江防营残部，和张成武第五镇南下的一个混成支队的兵力。
Now the First Division is fully engaged in military operations, and their subordinates' minds are much simpler. Busy every day, although the First Division has high morale and excellent equipment, there are too many recruits.
There were many jokes along the way during the march, and the officers from the accompanying military school, under the guidance of their instructors, went to experience firsthand in each unit. These elite youths selected by Wang Feng from the young recruits are all growing up rapidly.
And Wang Feng himself is also learning to become a commander with 20,000 soldiers from a simple soldier, and there are too many things he has to learn.
"Where is the third regiment? Just arrived at Mingguang? When they carried out a powerful search there, they found two or three battalions of the river defense army?"
吴文才一边记录着底下参谋的回报，一边还下达着命令。
“The left flank unit formed by the First Brigade is advancing too slowly. They must arrive at Mingguang before 3:00 p.m. today and join forces with the Third Regiment to take it over! Our division headquarters will organize the relocation and arrive at Mingguang tomorrow morning.”
A few horse messengers set out, and Wang Feng leisurely walked out of the civilian house that served as the headquarters and smiled at Wu Wencai.
"Brother Nian Sun, you're pulling the bowstring too tight! I reckon we won't really engage with the Northern Army until we reach Bengbu."
Wu Wencai replied sternly, "I also think so, but we cannot relax our demands on them!"
Wang Feng smiled and waved his hand, "These are the things your chief of staff should take care of. I won't interfere. It's funny to receive so many telegrams today!"
He shook a bunch of posters in his hand and said: "There are posters from the Allied Forces, the Shenhai Civil Group, the Southern Army, the Town Army, and the East Guangdong Army... all supporting me, Wang. They said that they were glad to hear that our army broke the situation of non-war and non-peace between the north and south, and they are willing to subordinate themselves to our cause of national reunification and create new glory."
He shook another hand holding a report paper: "This is an insult to me. Feng Er Gou and Duan Lao Hu, along with more than sixty officers of the Northern Army, sent me a telegraph, saying that if I did not stop this reckless military action, they would lead 100,000 soldiers from the north to engage with me to the end! Li Pu Sa also sent a telegraph from the Hu Bei road, asking me to think twice before acting and not to destroy the situation of North-South negotiations and the resolution of the war... It seems that there is no sound from the two places where the Democratic Party gathers, Shenhai and Jinling. Apparently, they are willing to see me go north, but do not want to support me as a person... With so many affairs recently, reading these telegraphs is also a way to relieve loneliness."
He crumpled the telegraph paper in his hand and said, "I don't need anyone's support. I'll just take Xuzhou and show these comrades. Order the army to advance quickly. Before the 25th, I want to capture Bengbu and threaten Xuzhou!"
Wang Yangming stood in front of the artillery positions assigned to his brigade. Normally, each brigade had twelve 75mm Chinese-made mountain guns, and the division headquarters also assigned an additional twelve field guns to his brigade.
Under the fierce bombardment of powerful artillery, columns of smoke rose from the perimeter defenses of Mingguang. The attacking battalion of the third regiment lay prone in front of the perimeter defenses, watching as hundreds of soldiers from the Jiang defense army broke out of their position and fled towards the rear. When the artillery fire ceased, the third regiment cheered and rushed forward.
Wang Yangyang put down his telescope and shook his head. Chen Jianghe stood beside him, laughing: "These river defense troops can't compare to the troops in Jinling City! They run away after being hit by a cannonball, and there's no excitement in the battle."
Wang Yangming looked coldly at him: "The main force of the Jiang defense army is in Jinling City, and we have already defeated them. These are just temporary recruits by Zhang Dabian...but, you also need to see what our army looks like now? These types of enemies don't even need artillery fire, they will collapse with just one charge. But they still insist on waiting for the artillery to enter the battle. Our first division still needs more tough battles for training!"
Chen Jianghe smiled and said, "With artillery support, those guys will naturally be too lazy to charge. But as for you, ever since the Northern Expedition, you've had a serious look on your face and never even smile... Do you also have any objections to the division commander?"
Wang Yangming ignored him and ordered his staff beside him: "After entering Mingguang, troops are not allowed to enter civilian houses. A review meeting for officers above the company level will be held at the regimental headquarters at 7 pm tonight! Although we will rest for a day in Mingguang tomorrow, we will still have our regular training!"
He finished speaking and went on his horse by himself, while Chen Jianghe just shook his head slightly watching his back.
With the taking of Mingguang City, Wang Feng's First Division had fully deployed along the Jinpu Road, with the attached Second Brigade Armored Artillery Battalion and Cavalry Battalion forming a front support team, whose leader was Chen Jianghe, and was marching directly from Fengyang to the east front of Bengbu.
One brigade is accompanied by one strengthened artillery battalion, one cavalry battalion, and one engineering company, forming the canal transportation support unit. The commander of the unit is Wang Yangming and they follow the rear route of Bengbu along the canal.
Wang Feng leads the training regiment and the direct troops of the division to follow up behind the support unit in the front.
Through the powerful reconnaissance of the cavalry troops on the front lines, it is preliminarily judged that there are thirteen battalions of the Zhang Da Bian Zi's newly formed Jiang Defense Army, one artillery battalion, and the main artillery battalion of the Beiyang Fifth Town with twenty markers, totaling more than seven thousand people defending the area around Bengbu.
There are six infantry regiments of the Jiangfang Army and a battalion of the Beiyang Army with nearly 3,000 soldiers stationed in Guzhen and surrounding areas. The real battle of the Northern Expedition is about to begin.
Bengbu is a major prefecture in Southern Zhun and controls the strategic pass of Wuhexiaoshan. It is a crucial location in Southern Zhun.
Jinpu Road crosses through Bengbu from this gorge, and there are no dangers to defend against all the way to Xuzhou.
If you want to defend Xuzhou, you must defend Bengbu.
That's why Zhang Dabianzi completely deployed his main force here, intending to fight to the death with the First Division.
After he fled to Xuzhou, he recruited and assembled more than 20 battalions with a total of over 10,000 troops, including former patrol guards, but their combat effectiveness was very poor!
However, after Zhang Chengwu dispatched Ma Shuyuan to coordinate and brought the 10th Artillery Battalion south to support him, he gained confidence with the backing of the Old Beiyang Army and immediately adopted a defensive stance in Bengbu.
前哨战是在12月18日打响的，第二旅在由南到北十余里的战线上，全部展开轮番起了攻击，攻击重点指向浮山峡。
After a day of intense fighting on the 18th, there was almost no progress. The Old Beiyang Fifth Division lived up to its reputation, and its main position in the Fushan Gorge resisted the repeated attacks of two or three battalions from the Second Brigade, with artillery fire covering the sky and the earth.
However, these old Beiyang soldiers kept calm, had great firepower organization, and were very accurate in their shooting.
The First Division left over a hundred corpses and even more wounded in front of their main position. Other Jiang Defense Army positions were inspired and held on stubbornly. They even engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Second Brigade several times, but held their positions firmly.
The sky had already darkened, and the enemy's ammunition was running low. They had stopped firing the cannons. Only the Second Brigade's twenty-something mountain artillery guns fired sporadically at the enemy positions, occasionally creating a burst of red light and smoke. In the dim light, the corpses of the officers and soldiers of the Second Brigade were even more conspicuous.
Chen Jianghe, with red eyes and sleeves rolled up high, rallied over a hundred young military officers with the same red eyes: "Our 2nd brigade has never suffered such a shameful defeat! We can't even retrieve the bodies of our loyal and brave brothers who died on the front line! As officers, we always command our brothers to fight to the death. Today, it's time for us to fight for our fallen brothers! Retrieve the bodies immediately! I order a night raid! What's so great about the old Beiyang Army? I want to see who's the real man!"
A cold voice said, "Order cancelled!"
Chen Jianghe turned around and cursed, "F*ck! Who the hell..."
Wang Feng was wearing a coat and standing behind him with Wu Wencai, and Lü Si was also fully armed and accompanied them with a cold face.
Wu Wencai waved his hand: "Return to your own platoons, control your troops, set up alerts, and stay awake all night at the front line!"
The officers scattered, dissatisfied. Chen Jianghe squatted down and whispered, "Commander! Why don't you let us go up there? Our brothers' bodies are still up front. My heart feels like it's being stabbed by a knife! Commander, as long as you agree, I would rather die up there!"
Wang Feng silently helped him up, patted his shoulder, and continued to walk forward with Lu Si, checking on each squad one by one.
But Wu Wencai stared at Chen Jianghe seriously: "If it wasn't for the brigade commander and me coming over, would you have wanted to eliminate all the officers in the Second Regiment? I really doubt if you can be the regimental commander! Our opponents are the old Beiyang troops, and we have many new soldiers. It's normal if we can't win in one battle! We'll organize the troops to retrieve the bodies at night, there's no need for you to risk your life!"
He was so angry that his chest was heaving: "Our First Brigade needs to grow slowly in the flames of war, not recklessly like you! As a colleague and good friend of the 33rd Battalion, I'm only advising you to calm down this time. You're not a child anymore! If you act recklessly again, I'll have to deal with it officially. You need to calm down and figure out how to lead the troops well and fight the war well!"
Chen Jianghe was left speechless as he watched Wu Wencai turn and walk away. They had fired over eight hundred rounds of ammunition today, but had encountered this tough nail known as Lao Beiyang. For the first time, this passionate young man felt he had met his match.
He got up and shook his head, straightened his uniform, and walked towards the brigade.
After midnight, Chen Jianghe organized several small teams to sneak up and bring down the bodies of his comrades.
Wang Feng stood at the forefront with his hand on the brim of his hat, refusing to let it go, quietly watching his soldiers being carried past him one by one.
Behind him, Wu Wencai and a dozen senior officers stood at attention, occasionally a stray bullet grazed by but none of them bent over to dodge.
In Wang Feng's past experiences, the vast battles and casualties that he was passionate about in military history were just simple numbers.
However, actually being there and feeling the cold, young bodies gave him a completely different feeling.
It was he who brought these incompletely trained young men to the battlefield! Officers and soldiers from the nearby second brigade slowly gathered around Wang Feng and crowded around him like a group of sculptures in this dark night.