Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

When the two army-level troops under Zhu Haidong were beaten back step by step and were forced to withdraw from Beilong City with their remnants, the Jiaozhou Third Army under Zhang Chengxiang, who came from the three provinces of Zhili, marched north from the Longzhou border and joined forces with the Ninth, Eleventh and Seventeenth Armies under Zhu Haidong to launch another fierce counterattack against Beilong City.

Beilong City, the capital of the Shuiqing Empire, has tall walls that stretch for dozens of miles, which is the best barrier for defending the city. Even though the coalition forces composed of Zhu Haidong and Zhang Chengxiang's troops are coming with great momentum, it is still a pipe dream to break through Beilong City in a short time. The Duan faction's troops were hindered by Zhang Chengxiang's ally, the Ding faction of Hongzhou on the west side of Longzhou, and a very fierce war broke out between the two sides at the Guanzhou border.

As the six towns of Beilong from Yuanzhou moved south to guard Beilong City, Yang Jiakai could not launch a full-scale counterattack, but at least he could keep the capital Beilong City and rest assured.

The Kwantung Army in Hakushu in the northeast launched two army groups, a total of nine division-level combat units, and launched a full-scale attack on Linzhou in the northeastern Jiang system. The two sides fought fiercely in the entire Linzhou area.

The Dongzhou Chen faction, Mingzhou Yuan faction, and Jiangbei Pang faction on the west side of the three Zhili provinces also responded to Zhang Chengxiang's call at the first opportunity and launched a full-scale battle with the Jianzhou Lin faction and Suzhou Yang faction.

In the Northwest region, after the Northwest Revolutionary Army entrenched in Linzhou came down the mountain and showed its sharp claws, the war broke out completely. In less than seven days, the entire Northern Frontier Government was divided into three factions. The neutral faction watched the fire from the other side of the river, while the presidential faction and Zhang Chengxiang's faction were fighting fiercely. The smoke and fire of war spread throughout the northern border of China.

The Southern Government, which originally launched the Northern Expedition, became an outsider and began to reap the benefits.

"President, now that civil unrest has broken out in the northern border, shouldn't we take advantage of the situation and head north to put down the northern border bandit army in one fell swoop?"

Huang Guangtai sipped his wine leisurely and smiled faintly, "Don't worry. First, we have reached an agreement with the Zhang faction and received benefits from them. Second, we just need to sit back and watch the fight. No matter who wins between the Zhang faction and the president's faction, it will be a miserable victory and a great loss of vitality. When the war is over, we will march north and clean up the mess. It will be easy."

"Then should we withdraw our Northern Expedition troops and let them rest for a while?"

“Why do you want to withdraw?”

Huang Guangtai pointed to the map spread out on the table in front of him and said slowly: "Once we withdraw, the Jiangzhou connection and the Feng faction in Huizhou can immediately march north to cooperate with Yang Jiakai's presidential faction army. While Fuso has not yet torn open the Jiang faction's defense line, they can attack from the north and south, making Zhang Chengxiang exhausted or even defeated directly. Yang Jiakai can take the opportunity to stabilize the situation in the northern border."

"What we need to do is to make them feel that there is a tiger watching them all the time, so as to distract them from their efforts. The more chaotic the situation in the northern border is, the longer the war lasts, the more intense the fighting becomes, and the more serious the internal friction becomes. This is absolutely good news for our southern government."

"Great idea, President."

Huang Guangtai picked up the wine glass again, hummed a tune, and after taking a sip, a smile appeared on his face.

"The reason why I decisively launched the Northern Expedition is because Northern Xinjiang may seem powerful, but in fact it is a paper tiger with a strong exterior but a weak interior. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as a pile of loose sand. Yang Jiakai can be called a hero, but he is by no means a qualified leader. In this chaotic world, only a hero like Cao Mengde can truly have the last laugh and rule the world."

"I heard that Yuanfeng has conquered 40% of Hanzhou's territory, and even Wang Jin, the old and immortal concubine, has become a prisoner of our army?"

Huang Guangtai's trusted subordinate, Niu Lichang, the secretary general of the Southern Kingdom Government, nodded and said, "Three days ago, our Western Route Army had already breached Zhangcheng, the capital of Hanzhou. Wang Jin fled to the northern part of Hanzhou in a hurry, without even taking his concubine with him. After the civil war broke out in Dongzhou and Mingzhou, our Western Route Army had an absolute advantage over the Wang family, which was alone and powerless."

"This concubine of Wang Jin is known as the most beautiful woman in Hanzhou. It is said that she is as beautiful as a fairy. I feel pity for her. Since Wang Jin has abandoned her, let Yuanfeng send someone to send her to Junzhou and let me take care of her for Wang Jin."

Niu Lichang was slightly startled, then flattered him: "Mr. President really has the spirit of Jian'an and the legacy of Wei Wu. I will send a telegram to Commander Song and ask him to send this beauty to the bed of Mr. President as soon as possible..."

In the northwest Yongzhou Sishui City, the war had only been going on for less than seven days, and the Second Army led by Zheng Zeyu of the Northwest Revolutionary Army had won victory after victory, and had successively captured the four major cities on the eastern border of Korea with great momentum. Even the important transportation hub of Yongzhou, the starting point of the Yonglong Railway, Sishui City, had fallen into the control of the Northwest Revolutionary Army.

After more than half a year of sedimentation and accumulation, the Northwest Revolutionary Army now gives people the intuitive feeling that if it does not move, it will be nothing, but if it moves, it will be as loud as thunder.

During the seven-day-long war, the two Korean army-level combat units were directly cut off from their retreat under Zheng Zeyu's exquisite battlefield command and strategic vision. While besieging the Korean 5th and 6th Armies, Zheng Zeyu launched a tactic of besieging and attacking the reinforcements. After several days of fighting, not only did he completely wipe out the last hope of the two army-level units to break out, but he also completely crippled the Seventh and Third Armies that came to rescue.

Finally, the 5th and 6th armies had no choice but to surrender. Chen Jiahu, commander of the Korean th Army, became a prisoner of the Northwest Revolutionary Army again only half a year later. It can be said that he had a tragic fate.

At the Ganzhou border, the Third Army of the Northwest Revolutionary Army led by Tang Yuanfei launched a violent offensive against the Zhao faction like a tiger descending from the mountain. The Zhao faction was even more vulnerable than the Han faction. After all, the economy of Ganzhou was much worse than that of Yongzhou, and the military investment was different, so there was also a certain gap in combat effectiveness.

Five days after the war began, Tang Yuanfei, who had his base in Lantian City, Ganzhou, had successively captured the three important cities of Tongshan, Liangchuan and Baishui, annihilated more than 30,000 enemies, and captured countless prisoners. Zhao Rufeng, the eldest son of Ganzhou Governor Zhao Yuanzhi, was captured alive by the front-line troops of the Third Army before he could escape in the Battle of Liangchuan.

It was not until this time that the Zhao and Han factions fully realized the gap between themselves and the Northwestern Revolutionary Army. The two governor-level officials and faction leaders who had occupied a state for more than ten years finally felt the fear like a mountain pressing down on their heads at this moment.

The Governor's Offices of the Han and Zhao factions called Zhang Chengxiang one after another, hoping that he could mobilize the Pang faction in Jiangbei to launch an attack on Linzhou and ease the tension in Yongzhou and Ganzhou.

"Zhao Yuanzhi, Han Jiwang, what's the difference between these two people and trash? Su Zhengyang's Northwest Revolutionary Army has just started to exert its strength, but they are already complaining bitterly and beginning to be unable to hold on. I really don't know what the point is of spending such a huge price to win them over!"

Zhang Chengxiang smashed the teacup in his hand angrily. Since the war began, the situation was completely different from what he had imagined. First, there was an accident in the assassination attempt on Yang Jiakai, which led to his quick capture of Beilong City. Then his plan to go north to cooperate with Fuso to defeat the Jiang faction failed, and he formed a stalemate with the Presidential faction's army in Beilong City. Later, war broke out in the northwest, and the Han and Zhao factions who defected to him joined forces. Not only did it not bring pressure to Su Zhengyang, but it gave Su Zhengyang a legitimate excuse to start a war, and he was on track to directly capture Yongzhou and Ganzhou and become a powerful country occupying three provinces.