Chapter Twenty: Mobilizing the Army and Preparing for Battle

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  Ganzhou Garrison Command, located in the former Gansu Provincial Governor's Office.

  Now here, a group of elite soldiers and generals under Li Ruofeng's command have gathered.

  Li Ruofeng attached great importance to the battle of Ganzhou. Apart from leaving a supernumerary infantry regiment in Nenjiang under Lin Shouren's command to deal with Ma Zhanshan, he transferred all the military forces he could gather to Ganzhou.

  At the same time, he also let Fourth Uncle Li Chengxiu fully transport military and strategic materials to Ganzhou.

  He had at his disposal an army of:

  Sun Zhenzhuang Yu Tong led 24,865 northwest military officers and men;

  Nenjiang Defense Cavalry Regiment 2,600 men and horses;

  Three hundred and sixty-eight fierce generals of the Hellfire Mercenary Corps

  Yuán Lǐjiābǎo directly belonged to the second hundred elite of the Imperial Guard.

  A total of 28,033 well-trained veteran soldiers.

  Possessing 25,000 Mauser 98 rifles, 200 Mauser 98K sniper rifles, 4,000 shotguns, 3,000 Thompson submachine guns, 800 Browning light machine guns, 320 Maxim heavy machine guns, 200 60/80 mortars, 48 75mm mountain guns, 48 75mm field guns, 1 million wooden-handled grenades, over 10 million rounds of ammunition, over 30,000 artillery shells, 30 radio stations, and 100 telephones.

  These military supplies, all the military supplies that Li Chengxiang had prepared and purchased over the years were moved out. These military supplies, originally intended by Li Chengxiang to form an alliance with Feng Yuxiang and build troops to fight against the Central Army, are now all transferred to Ganzhou by Li Ruofeng. It can also be said that everything has its use, after all, the purpose is to fight for territory.

  With such a strong firepower configuration, even Ma Zhongying is unclear, otherwise he would ask Anla to bless and hurry up to send this plague god out of Gansu.

  The specific situation in Gansu, Ma Bufang in Xining would not understand. With his understanding of Ma Zhongying, the so-called Gansu Ningxia Qinghai United Army was just a motley crew. Otherwise, Ma Zhongying would not have been defeated by Ji Hongchang under Feng Yuxiang's command and then absorbed into Ma Hongkui's forces.

  Ma Bufang had always looked down on Ma Zhongying, and he would never allow Ma Zhongying to monopolize the Hexi Corridor. After the Nanjing government rejected Ma Zhongying's application to establish a provincial government in Hexi, Ma Bufang had already made up his mind to use the name of the Nanjing government to send troops to Gansu to quell the rebellion and eliminate the Communists.

  Against Ma Bufang's invasion, Li Ruifeng was certainly well-prepared, otherwise he wouldn't have accumulated such a large amount of military supplies in Ganzhou.

  Li Ruofeng now urgently needs to open up the situation in the Great Northwest through a local war, and at the same time shock the five horses of the Northwest. It can also test the combat effectiveness of his subordinates.

  The Military and Administrative Council Chamber of the Ganzhou Governor's Office.

  A map of the entire territory of Ganzhou and surrounding towns hangs on the front wall. Several red small flags are distributed at the locations of important counties and towns under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou, such as Minle, Shandan, Gaotai, Linze, and Su'nan. Several blue arrows point to Shandan from three directions. Two red arrows point to Shandan from Liangzhou (now Wuwei) and E'bao respectively.

  On both sides of a rectangular table covered with green velvet, twelve young military officers from the Northwest Military Academy sat on either side.

  On the main seat, there was a colonel who looked about the same age as Li Ruofeng, but his physique was much more majestic and tall than Li Ruofeng's. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose, and a square mouth.

  Li Ruofeng somehow managed to get a Northwest Army Colonel uniform and sat next to the main seat, beside him was Lin Xiuer wearing a fitted Lieutenant Colonel uniform.

  A military officer in his mid-twenties, about 175 cm tall, with a slender build and delicate features that give off an androgynous feel, holds a long, thin-handled baton and gestures as he explains on the map.

  "Gentlemen, according to the intelligence transmitted by the reconnaissance troops, Ma Bufang's forces in Qinghai have assembled the Ma Bufeng Infantry Brigade, Ma Biao Cavalry Brigade, Ma Pu Cavalry Brigade, Directly Subordinate Regiment, and Special Operations Regiment. The three brigades and two regiments total 12,000 men and horses, departing from Qinghai, passing through Ejiao Fortress, and directly advancing on Shandan from the southwest. Ma Dunjing of Liangzhou is also leading a cavalry brigade of approximately 3,000 men and horses to advance on Shandan from the east. Ma Bufang's intentions for this battle are extremely clear: first, occupy Shandan; then, use Shandan as a resting place and establish an advanced base to prepare for attacking Ganzhou."

  The terrain of Shandan is open and suitable for cavalry warfare, and the cavalry regiment that our young master brought from Northeast China is currently stationed in Shandan. If we engage in a fierce battle with Ma Bufang, we will definitely suffer heavy losses if we don't have an advantage in terms of troop numbers. Therefore, my intention is that this battle, the young master's cavalry regiment will serve as the general reserve team. Dong Jie, the battalion commander, will lead 2,000 troops to defend Nan'an, Feng Zheng, the battalion commander, will lead 2,000 troops to defend Minle, Zhao Long, the battalion commander, will lead 2,000 troops to defend Gaotai, and Zeng Ze, the battalion commander, will lead 2,000 troops to defend Linze. The four of you must keep a close eye on Ma Chongying's men and horses and strictly prevent them from stabbing us in the back.

  Under the command of Ji Geng and Zhou Guotang, two battalions with a total of 8,000 men dug trenches to build the first line of defense ten kilometers south of Shandan. Sun led Qi Dongming and Fei Diqing's two battalions with a total of 8,000 men to set up a pocket array in a low-lying area fifteen miles east of Shandan, first to eliminate Ma Bao's cavalry brigade. Then, they would turn south and enter Qinghai, cutting off the rear route of Ma Bufang.

  In this battle, we have an advantage not only in troop strength but also in firepower configuration. We will definitely make Ma Bufang come and never return!

  "General Zhuang, you lead the troops to intercept Ma Bufang, who will be garrisoned in Ganzhou?" Li Ruofeng asked with a smile.

  Zhuang Canmou, also known as Zhuang Yu, put down the command baton in his hand and replied without thinking: "Of course, Young Master, you will stay in Ganzhou. Do you want to go to the Shandan front line?"

  "How can that be? Are you all going to rush into battle one by one, and not let me experience the taste of gunpowder and smoke? No way. Zhuang Yu, you stay in Ganzhou, and Shandan will still be led by me personally." Li Ruofeng smiled and looked at the colonel sitting in the main seat: "Colonel Sun, as the commander-in-chief of this battle, you won't disagree, will you?"

  Director Sun, also known as Sun Zhen, replied with a bitter smile: "Young master, don't make it difficult for me, okay? This time in battle, I and Zhuang Yu have already set up a battle plan with each battalion commander. In the midst of war, bullets don't distinguish between good and bad. If you want to ensure everyone's safety, I and Zhuang Yu will be held responsible for any mistakes."

  Their war meeting was really pointless and had no class.

  Sun Quan now only has one Gan Ning Qinglian Army Third Team number, but the troops are seriously overstaffed, so the entire army looks a bit confusing in terms of organization.

  Sun Zhen's mouth was each battalion commander, in fact, each battalion is equivalent to a reinforced regiment. They just hung lieutenant colonel rank only.

  It's no wonder that Li Ruofeng has not yet obtained a division-level number in name, and his troops are not good at unified reorganization. At present, the entire army is actually his private army, so Sun Zhen and Zhuang Yu still call him "Young Master" according to their previous habits, rather than addressing him by his military position.

  Li Ruofeng was also helpless, after all, he had just arrived in Ganzhou and hadn't had time to reorganize his private army, and the deeper reason was that even if he had the time, he didn't know what pretext to use to reorganize it, so he could only hope to defeat Ma Bufang this time, intimidate Ma Zhongying, and then make further plans.

  And the officers present seemed to have known all along that their troops were actually affiliated with the Li family, and their military pay, food, weapons, ammunition, uniforms and supplies were all provided by the big family of Sun Zhen and Zhuang Yu's former superiors. So they didn't think it was strange at all.

  The officers and soldiers of the Northwestern Army have had a hard time since they left the Beiyang system and joined the Northern Expeditionary Army. Now, it's not easy to meet someone who has wealth and power and is willing to spend money on soldiers, so they all cherish this very much. In these times, the Chinese mainland is full of war and chaos everywhere, being a soldier and getting paid is one of the better choices for many young men from hometowns that have encountered disasters and fled.

  Although this team composed of veterans from the northwest army has not yet formed a true military spirit, everyone is satisfied with their current food, salary, treatment and environment, so they can still do what they say, with a united heart.

  Li Ruofeng didn't expect to win over the hearts of these Northwestern Army veterans in such a short period of time, after all, he had hardly interacted with them for the past year, relying mainly on Sun Zhen and Zhuang Yu to lead them.

  For Zhuang Yu and Sun Zhen, Li Ruofeng was still very at ease. The two of them not only followed Li Ruofeng from the training camp since they were young, but also accompanied Li Ruofeng to Japan for three years to study military affairs. They were all orphans who had no one to rely on after their families were affected by bandits or disasters, and if it weren't for the Li family's adoption, they would probably have died long ago.

  Although the training was very cruel and hard at that time, they all understood that it was to learn and improve their survival ability in this world, so everyone had no complaints. Because now they all have hope, life has a foothold. And this, before they entered the Li family, was unthinkable.

  The Lao Li family has a history of over 200 years. If they didn't have their own way of winning people's hearts, their family wouldn't have been able to survive and develop.

  To know, such a big Li family village, truly belongs to the Li family's direct relatives are only about 100 or so people. The others are all descendants of servants and followers who have been following the Li family for generations. Many families' men died for the Li family, but their families were taken care of by the Li family in all aspects. This point can be seen from the fact that the families attached to the Li family village all offer ancestral tablets to the old Li family, which shows their loyalty to the Li family.

  He who gains the hearts of the people will gain the world. This maxim, Lao Li's family has been doing very well for many years. Although they have no intention of competing for the world, it is not easy to defend the foundation that has been passed down through generations.

  Of course, there are also factors of loyal ideas that have been brainwashed and indoctrinated into them since they were young.

  There are many people like Sun Zhen and Zhuang Yu, such as Si Hu, Biao Zi, Yan Tie, Xu Da, Xu Zhengliang, Tang Xiangjun, etc.

  Li Ruofeng saw that Sun Zhen had actually deprived him of his right to participate in this battle, and he was unhappy about it, even though he knew they were thinking for his own good.

  However, this was his first time facing a formal division-level battle since coming to this era. The hot blood hidden in his bones had long been boiling, and most importantly, he had no good feelings towards the historical "Northwest Warlord" Xibei Er Ma. Thinking of the tragic experience of the Red Army's Western Expedition in his previous life, Li Ruofeng's hatred in his heart was not to be underestimated.

  "Director Sun, give me another reason for not letting me join the battle, the previous one doesn't count." Li Ruofeng said with a serious face.