Ten days later, Tang Jian held the last high-level military meeting before the counterattack at the Wuchang War Command, and all officers at the Southern Army Navy and Army lieutenant colonel level and above participated.

At the meeting, Tang Jian mainly retelled the combat policy of combining strategic detours and strategic depth, and specifically subdivided the combat tasks to the hands of each unit.

Now the main conventional combat forces of the Southern Army have reached more than 200,000. During the counterattack, the 200,000 army was divided into three fronts. The first army was the western army led by Nie Shicheng, with a force of 80,000, and was preparing to enter Shaanxi from Hubei and rush to the north. The second army was the eastern army led by Sun Wanling, with a force of 50,000, and resisted Cao Kun in the north and defended Nanjing. The Beiyang Fleet led by Weiye Zugui, the third army led by Weiye Zugui, all the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Fleet, the Shanghai Marines, and the army participating in landing operations, had a total force of more than 40,000. The navy and army jointly fought and were preparing to land on Qinhuangdao, while Tang Jian led the remaining troops to defend Wuchang and command remotely.

During the meeting, the commanders of the three armies, Nie Shicheng, Sun Wanling and Ye Zugui, reported the counterattack preparations of the headquarters respectively. Some senior officers, such as Feng Guozhang, Duan Qirui, and others, put forward some feasible suggestions, and most of them were adopted after passing the argument.

Various emergencies were also predicted and corresponding response plans were formulated. The entire combat meeting lasted for three days. Three days later, the senior military meeting ended successfully, and the commanders of each army returned to their troops and actively prepared for the next counterattack.

On this day, Duan Qirui, the new Wuchang garrison commander, stood alone by the river, looking into the distance, with a blurry look. The river breeze kept blowing the hem of Duan Qirui's military uniform.

Duan Qirui sighed lightly at the rolling Yangtze River, then smiled bitterly and prepared to go back. Duan Qirui just looked up and happened to see Tang Jian walking towards this side alone.

Tang Jian smiled and said, "So, Zhiquan, you are not in a good mood recently?"

Duan Qirui was a little nervous about Tang Jian's sudden appearance and did not dare to hide anything. He immediately stood at the scene and saluted, saying, "Report, thank you for your concern. Some trivial matters bother me, so I came out to relax."

"Is that right?" Tang Jian did not bring any shelves, but took out cigarettes from his pocket, lit one for Duan Qirui, and then lit one himself, and then asked: "Is it because I didn't let you join the West Route Army and Feng Guozhang and went north together?"

Duan Qirui quickly put away the cigarette from his mouth and lowered his head and said, "Commander, I have no intention of this!"

Seeing Duan Qirui's nervous look, Tang Jian patted his shoulder and signaled to relax, saying, "It's okay. Tell me if you have any unhappiness, or if I have done something wrong, you can point it out. A big man keeps his thoughts in his heart, and he's so confused!"

Tang Jianping and his approach to the human expression made Duan Qirui's nervous mood relax a lot. Duan Qirui finally stopped avoiding it and opened up the conversation: "Today I saw the rolling river water, and suddenly realized that things are like water and are changing. I thought that I was one of the most loyal officers in the Beiyang New Army on the other side of the river a few days ago. I didn't expect that today I had reached the opposite side of Yuan Shikai, joined the Southern Army, and began to compete with the Beiyang New Army. Haha, there are many division commanders and commanders in the Beiyang New Army who used to be my classmates!"

Tang Jian joked: "What? Have you regretted it?"

Duan Qirui apologized and said, "Commander, I'm honest, don't mind!"

Tang Jian laughed heartily: "It's okay, but it's okay!"

"Yes, Commander. When the commander designed a counter-espionage plan to put me in a dangerous place, I really hated the commander very much. I didn't even want to surrender to the commander, but I couldn't resist Xu Shuzheng's advice. Besides, I really had no place to go, so I had no choice but to join the Southern Army."

Tang Jian let out a sip of smoke, nodded and smiled, and signaled Duan Qirui to continue.

"But after a long time when I came to the Southern Army, my attitude towards the Southern Army turned 180 degrees. I think it was a wise choice to come here at the beginning." Duan Qirui said frankly.

"Oh? How do you say this?" Tang Jian asked with a look down.

"When I was in the Beiyang New Army, all the officials were thinking about how to curry favor with the people above and always thought about how to be promoted. The army was not like the army, but like a dirty officialdom. But the Southern Army was different. Whether it was an officer or an ordinary soldier, except for military command, everyone was equal in daily life, and I could not see any privileges and personal gains, including you, Commander. This is something that I admire very much."

"In addition, I would like to thank the commander. It was the commander who let me see Yuan Shikai's true face. I was useless to be loyal to him, but he was suspicious of me and would kill me without any detailed investigation. Fortunately, Xu Shuzheng was smart, otherwise I would have been a pile of dry bones by the river at this time." A look of sadness appeared on Duan Qirui's face.

Yuan Shikai was kind to him, and Duan Qirui treated Yuan Shikai like his own brother. Unexpectedly, Yuan Shikai's suspicion almost cost him his life in the end. Therefore, Tang Jian's counter-espionage plan could be considered a blessing in disguise for Duan Qirui!

Tang Jian was listening carefully, and Duan Qirui suddenly knelt in front of Tang Jian and said, "The most important thing is that I also solemnly thank the commander!"

"Hey, why should you and I be so polite? Get up quickly!" Tang Jian quickly dragged Duan Qirui's arms and persuaded.

Duan Qirui looked firm and said, "Please ask me to finish me, otherwise Zhiquan will feel uncomfortable."

Seeing that dissuasion was useless, Tang Jian nodded helplessly.

Duan Qirui knelt on the ground and said, "I think Duan Qirui is the general of the surrendered army. Thanks to the commander's resignation, the commander not only did not dismantle our unit, but also organized the entire unit into one of the Wuchang guards, becoming an important garrison force for the garrison of Wuchang and the defense department to make people safe! The commander's absolute trust moved Duan Qirui, and also moved all the soldiers in our army."

"We know that the commander did not let our troops go north and there is another willingness, that is, the commander does not want to see the Beiyang New Army, who was once a colleague, killing each other with us! The commander was deeply moved by what we thought and did. All the officers and soldiers of our troops were deeply moved. The subordinates all thought of me and expressed that they were willing to follow the commander to the death to repay the commander's trust!" Duan Qirui knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

Tang Jian helped Duan Qirui up, nodded and said with a smile: "It would be best if Zhiquan could understand my painstaking efforts."

Duan Qirui was choked with red eyes and held Tang Jian's hand tightly without saying anything.

In fact, these were arranged by Tang Jian specifically. People did not doubt the use of people. When Tang Jian decided to leave Duan Qirui's entire unit to be a garrison force, Yan Fu refused to agree, saying that they had just surrendered and had unstable morale and were not suitable to stay by his side. They should disrupt their establishment and disperse all the troops under Duan Qirui's command to the army to prevent future troubles.

However, this time, Tang Jian did not adopt Yan Fu's suggestion. He felt that Duan Qirui was a tiger general. Although Duan Qirui had already joined the Southern Army, his heart might still be on the Beiyang New Army. The best way is to let Duan Qirui completely join the Southern Army and make his troops an elite army in the Southern Army.

Fortunately, Tang Jian had the right bet. After a series of arrangements, Duan Qirui had completely adapted to his new identity and began to be loyal to Tang Jian.

Duan Qirui wiped the corners of his eyes and said, "Commander, I have something to report to you."

"It's okay to just say it." Tang Jian replied.

"A few days ago, General Nie and Feng Guozhang, I jointly wrote several letters together. We sent all of these letters to our colleagues who were better in the Beiyang New Army and advised them to abandon the secret and turn to the light. Yuan Shikai is no longer worthy of their loyalty. The three of us are the best proof. Let them take the opportunity to surrender and join the Southern Army!" Duan Qirui said.

"Okay!" Tang Jian applauded. Now the battle between the north and the south is a forced one. Yuan Shikai was the first to provoke the fight between the two families. Tang Jian did not want to really kill all the Beiyang New Army as soon as possible. After all, they are their own compatriots, but their respective camps are different.

If more troops in the Beiyang New Army were willing to lead their troops to surrender, this was what Tang Jian liked. In this case, the number of innocent Chinese killed and injured in this civil war would be much smaller, which was a great thing for the Beiyang New Army and the Southern Army.

"So the commander agrees with us doing this? I was worried that the commander would blame him without the commander's consent." Duan Qirui breathed a sigh of relief. The incident of writing a letter to surrender was also on a whim. Duan Qirui did not report to Tang Jian because of the urgent time. At this time, he saw that Tang Jian did not blame him, and a stone in his heart finally landed.

"I not only agree, but I will also support you in doing this. This is a good thing!" Tang Jian smiled and said, "Then I will give you a task now. In your spare time, you can write more such letters to your former colleagues, telling them that as long as they are willing to lead their troops to surrender, all the previous frictions and struggles will be purchased and sold. After the surrender, all the ranks and positions of the people will not change, and the army system will not be changed. As long as they are willing, they can stay in their old troops!"

"That's great. With the commander's words, I think many people are willing to lead their troops to surrender!" Duan Qirui said happily.

"Then I agreed, I will leave this matter to you!" Tang Jian remakes Duan Qirui's shoulder with encouragement.

"Yeah." Duan Qirui nodded vigorously.

...

In the early spring of 1904, the spring was chilly and new branches sprouted, and everything on the earth began to wake up from the long winter sleep.

Since Jingzhou has returned to the hands of the Southern Army, Anqing has also changed its flag. The Beiyang New Army located in Hankou has retreated for 100 miles under the pressure of the Southern Army. Since then, most of the Yangtze River defense has fallen into the hands of the Southern Army.

The Beiyang Fleet then only symbolically arranged some light ships along the Yangtze River. Then other main warships of the Beiyang Fleet gathered in the Bund of Shanghai. The 20,000 Southern Army located in Zhejiang and the Marine Corps in Fuzhou also arrived in Hangzhou Bay on troop transport ships and prepared to rush their troops north!
Chapter completed!