The Beiyang Army had the style of a government army. When Duan Qirui sent troops, he specifically set the departure ceremony outside the west gate of Xuzhou city. All units of the Beiyang Third Town—town, brigade, regiment, and battalion—flew their respective military flags. The autumn wind was strong; as the cool autumn wind passed, various flags fluttered, truly a display of waving banners. Duan Qirui wore the military uniform of a Commander, and the yellow tassels looked majestic and solemn too.

Maintaining order for the Beiyang Army were government Yamen runners. They looked enviously at the Beiyang Army in bright clothes, and envious gazes were mainly cast on those officers in bright military uniforms. Fortunately, the onlookers looked at the huge military array and curiously wanted to get closer in their hearts, but were frightened by the murderous spirit of these soldiers. At least no one recklessly wanted to squeeze forward too much.

Kong Zhang brought Zhou Yong to watch the troop dispatch too, but the Kong family could get a better position. On the second floor of a teahouse near the open ground temporarily serving as a drill ground, Kong Zhang and Zhou Yong sat by the window overlooking the neat military array. Kong Zhang knew the evaluation of people around him; the nickname "Thunderstruck" had long reached Kong Zhang's ears. Kong Zhang showed no reaction on the surface, but in his heart, he looked down extremely on these ignorant rats who criticized him. If he invited these rats to watch such an exciting scene as troop dispatch, heaven knew what boring words they would say. But bringing those subordinates who only knew how to flatter him submissively was equally boring. In comparison, Zhou Yong, who could deal with him normally, showed his value.

Moreover, Kong Zhang was Zhou Yong's employer after all, so he consciously felt some psychological superiority. Zhou Yong didn't care what Kong Zhang thought at all. He went up to the teahouse with Kong Zhang completely normally. The waiter served tea, and Zhou Yong poured tea and water for Kong Zhang, fulfilling the necessary etiquette. When Kong Zhang turned his head to look at the Beiyang military array, Zhou Yong also turned his head to observe. Looking from different heights and angles, the feeling was also completely different. Zhou Yong was a deputy platoon leader in the troops and had undergone short-term training in the military academy. In his view, the Beiyang Army in front of him could indeed be called a formidable enemy, but the Beiyang Army lacked many extremely critical things. A very specific feeling, Zhou Yong couldn't explain it clearly either. If he had to say it, this army wasn't a whole, but composed of many distinct parts. Whether senior officers, mid-level officers, or soldiers, the distance between them was so close, yet it was like being separated by something invisible. Most importantly, whether officers or soldiers, they were accustomed to these separations, and even considered them natural. In the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, this was absolutely abnormal.

While observing, Zhou Yong heard Kong Zhang beside him suddenly laugh: "Zhou Yong, could it be you have also been a soldier?"

Zhou Yong turned his head and saw Kong Zhang looking at him, with a somewhat strange expression on his face. Zhou Yong actually didn't dislike Kong Zhang. Kong Zhang came from a big household and was an overseas student, but because his major was too advanced, he couldn't display his ambition. In his depression, he actually didn't have any hostility, which could be considered rare. Although Kong Zhang's demeanor was very rude, Zhou Yong didn't take it to heart. He smiled. "Young Master, I haven't been a soldier."

Kong Zhang was very puzzled by Zhou Yong's frank smile. Just now Kong Zhang was also looking at the military array. "The layman watches the scene, the expert watches the method." Kong Zhang was completely watching the scene. If others watched with Kong Zhang, they would inevitably shout and talk nonsense like other spectators in the teahouse. Zhou Yong's silent reaction was already unique enough. Kong Zhang glanced at Zhou Yong very casually and saw Zhou Yong looking at the Beiyang military array with a focused expression. Kong Zhang was very familiar with this kind of gaze; he had seen it on many European technicians and engineers. They had such gazes when studying mechanical equipment of their profession. It was very abnormal for Zhou Yong, a disaster victim, to have such a reaction to the Beiyang military array.

Zhou Yong looked back at Kong Zhang with bright eyes. That simple and steady gaze made Kong Zhang not know what to ask. Just at this moment, the Beiyang military band began to play. The military music "*The Beiyang New Army is Advancing*" was a tune Chen Ke plagiarized from "*Soviet March*" in *Red Alert 3*. That fierce aura shocked one's heart after hearing it. The departure ceremony led by Duan Qirui had ended. Hearing this tune with European style, Kong Zhang couldn't help being attracted. Plus he also knew he couldn't ask anything more from Zhou Yong, so Kong Zhang simply turned his attention back to the window.

Duan Qirui and other senior officers on the platform still stood there, and the soldiers below had lined up and begun to march according to deployment. The second floor of the teahouse was far from the platform, so he couldn't see the expressions of these people clearly. But the excited and high-spirited movements of the marching soldiers were quite interesting.

Kong Zhang couldn't help looking at Zhou Yong again. Zhou Yong looked at the ranks of the Beiyang New Army thoughtfully; that gaze was definitely not something a military layman would have. What exactly did Zhou Yong do? Associating Zhou Yong's Anhui origin and his usual calm and unhurried style, Kong Zhang couldn't help feeling a shock in his heart.

Zhou Yong didn't care what Kong Zhang would think. He had already received the notice from the organization. The latest military operation might be launched in Xuzhou. Other comrades had already been incorporated into the new combat department inside Xuzhou city. Zhou Yong might contact the military camp in Xuzhou, so he wasn't transferred to the new action department. As a veteran soldier of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, Zhou Yong had participated in a series of campaigns. Especially participating in the first Battle of Anqing; that was his first time traveling a thousand *li*. After this campaign, the imagination of the cadres in the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was greatly improved. Once the Beiyang Army sent troops on a large scale, Xuzhou would be empty, and the difficulty for the People's Party to surprise attack Xuzhou would also be greatly reduced. After the first Battle of Anqing, the People's Party didn't occupy Anqing, which puzzled quite a few comrades at the time.

There were some basic strategy courses in the military academy. Chen Ke specifically talked about "Lose land to save people, people and land both survive; lose people to save land, people and land both lost" in class. The comrades understood but couldn't accept it. Later, the several battles for Anqing proved Chen Ke's penetrating insight in strategy. The current Xuzhou was also the same. As long as it wasn't for occupying Xuzhou long-term, the difficulty for the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to seize Xuzhou was very small. For Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen, Xuzhou was their old nest; after losing Xuzhou, they would definitely panic. Since there was no intention to occupy Xuzhou originally, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could completely sweep Xuzhou's armaments clean and then withdraw to the base area. There was no Manchu Qing army between Anhui and Xuzhou, so the People's Party could naturally traverse the two places without worrying about anything else. Even if the Manchu Qing retook Xuzhou, so what? If they wanted to rebuild their military and political rule in Xuzhou, they would need a large amount of investment. Even if they rebuilt the military and political affairs of this Xuzhou, so what? If these troops huddled inside Xuzhou city, it would be meaningless. If the Manchu Qing still conducted mobile warfare with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could still do the same thing again and retake Xuzhou.

Regarding these strategic issues, Chen Ke had talked about them all. The more Zhou Yong savored them, the more reasonable they seemed. What he wanted most now was to finish fighting quickly and return to the troops to continue engaging in familiar military work. The intelligence department was indeed key; Zhou Yong admitted this himself. Now Zhou Yong was convinced he really wasn't suitable for this revolutionary work. Looking at the ranks of the Beiyang Army, what Zhou Yong thought of was the comrades far away in Anhui. They should be ready to go, or even already embarked on the journey, right?

Zhou Yong didn't think wrong; the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had indeed completed the final general mobilization. The troop scale of the 104th Division was larger, stationed in four areas of the base area. Chen Ke didn't engage in any concentration; he personally went to the four areas to review the troops. After Zhang Yu solved the problem of the Hubei New Army on the southern line, the four regiments of the 104th Division were stationed along the Huai River. The most elite First Regiment was stationed in Wuhe County; they undertook the heavy responsibility of attacking Xuzhou. After the Beiyang Army went south into the base area, the First Regiment would bypass the Beiyang Army and go north to attack Xuzhou. To avoid the attack of the Jiangnan New Army, Zhang Yu had already commanded the troops to cross the Yangtze River and was now advancing east. If there were no accidents, Zhang Yu should have already taken Tongling, which was weakly defended.

First Regiment Commander Yang Baogui personally accompanied Chen Ke to review the troops. As the creator of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, Chen Ke already knew what exactly to look for during a review. Neat queues meant the discipline of the troops; people were not wooden stakes that wouldn't move if placed there. Whether the soldiers had enough energy and physical strength to maintain the neatness of the queues for a long time meant the training level. And the firm will contained in the soldiers' eyes was the indication of whether the political work of the troops was in place. Doing political work well wasn't making soldiers think a lot and making their gaze complicated. After political work was done in place, the soldiers of the troops would solve all doubts; they knew what they were fighting for, and the remaining thought in their hearts was an extremely simple gaze. Overwhelming all problems and obtaining the final victory.

Striding past the front of the neat queue of more than four thousand people of the First Regiment, when meeting the soldiers' eyes, what Chen Ke saw was sufficiently firm gazes. Chen Ke's gaze was equally firm. Without avoiding any line of sight at all, Chen Ke even actively inspected the expressions of thousands of soldiers. Amidst the gazes of thousands of people, Chen Ke was calm and composed; his mind was clear and bright. As the supreme commander of this army, Chen Ke could already put these thousands of soldiers before his eyes, as well as the tens of thousands of soldiers he had reviewed, into his heart. These people were the revolutionary army Chen Ke represented. Chen Ke could even clearly distinguish which gazes were firm, which gazes were overly excited or slightly fearful, and which gazes were awe or longing.

"Hello, comrades!" Before every square formation, Chen Ke would shout loudly.

"Hello, Chief!" The soldiers responded in unison.

"Comrades have worked hard!"

"Serve the people!"

As the commander of this parade, First Regiment Commander Yang Baogui followed behind Chen Ke with He Zudao. Hearing this dialogue full of aura, Yang Baogui only felt the hair on his back stand up like being struck by lightning. Although he was a regiment commander, he actually didn't have much experience of reviewing troops formally like this. The response of the troops blew past Yang Baogui's body like a storm, as if trying to push Yang Baogui away. Yang Baogui felt the hair on his body seemed to stand up under this force. Looking up at Chen Ke in front, he saw Chen Ke walking calmly in front of the team. All the sound waves couldn't shake Chen Ke's figure at all, and Chen Ke was communicating with the soldiers through dialogue. Yang Baogui suddenly felt an awe from the bottom of his heart. At least for now, Yang Baogui knew he couldn't achieve Chen Ke's calm communication. Although Yang Baogui was the First Regiment Commander, the First Regiment was still Chen Ke's troop. If the soldiers were asked to choose, the soldiers would definitely choose Chen Ke first.

After reviewing the formation on foot, Chen Ke ascended the reviewing stand accompanied by He Zudao, Yang Baogui, and others. He stood in front of Chen Ke, raised his hand in salute, and then said loudly: "Chairman Chen Ke, can the march-past begin now?"

"Begin," Chen Ke answered clearly.

With the order, the square formations of the troops began to form teams one by one and passed the reviewing stand in high spirits.

After the review ended, Chen Ke convened a military meeting of the First Regiment. "Regiment Commander Yang scouted the road personally this time; it was truly hard work," Chen Ke laughed.

Hearing this, Yang Baogui felt warm in his heart. To grasp more detailed intelligence, Yang Baogui and the Chief of Staff formed a small team and personally walked the land route once. Along the way were plain areas, and travel was also convenient. Even with such not very detailed pathfinding, Yang Baogui felt much more assured in his heart. Maps, no matter how detailed, couldn't compare to walking a trip personally like this. Chen Ke confirmed such hard work first; not only Yang Baogui, but the comrades accompanying him were also very encouraged.

Yang Baogui asked: "There aren't many enemies on the marching route; the troops should be able to arrive in Xuzhou smoothly. I just want to ask how long we have to hold Xuzhou; I hope the Military Commission can give a precise word."

"This kind of thing depends on the reaction of Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui. The distance is just three or four hundred *li*; running fast, they arrive in five or six days. The Military Commission doesn't think it will trigger a chain attack from the Manchu Qing. The key depends on which path the Beiyang Army chooses. At that time, the Beiyang Army will be desperate and definitely will risk their lives."

"Chairman Chen, then let's simply block Duan Qirui in Suzhou (Anhui)," Yang Baogui worried most that he wouldn't have a battle to fight. Since this campaign was personally commanded by Chen Ke, he suspected the Beiyang Army basically had no ability to escape the base area. Suzhou was south of Xuzhou, closer to the base area. If they wanted to effectively influence Xuzhou after the war, occupying Suzhou was imperative.

"If we can prevent the Beiyang Army from plaguing the base area, I still don't want to let the Beiyang Army plague it. But if the troops fight against Beiyang in field battles, I feel the losses will be too great. We can't bear such losses." Chen Ke stated his thoughts very bluntly. "Drag Duan Qirui down and skinny first, then annihilate him in one blow. Fighting when the Beiyang Army still has spare energy, we suffer losses."

"Encounter the enemy where they are, and defeat them there. If no enemy is encountered, then strike straight at the bandit army's nest, Fengtai." This was the strategy formulated by Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen. Duan Qirui himself was from Anhui, ancestral home Lu'an. His grandfather Duan Pei (courtesy name Yunshan) had trafficked private salt with Liu Mingchuan and organized militia training in his early years, gaining merit in suppressing the Nian Army. He was an official Commander of the Huai Army, leading troops outside. Local tyrants Liu Nan and Liu Shu ran rampant in the countryside; Duan Pei killed them out of righteousness, thus forging a feud. Duan Qirui's father Duan Congwen farmed at home, living by renting land for cultivation. In early 1869, to avoid revenge from the local tyrant surnamed Liu, Duan Congwen moved the whole family to Yanliumiao, Shouzhou. Although the Duan family moved to Hefei a year later, the young Duan Qirui could still vaguely remember the peaks of Shouzhou. Shouzhou was only thirty *li* from the Fengtai County base area. Duan Qirui not only looked forward to eliminating the chaotic party Chen Ke through war, but Duan Qirui also had sufficient enthusiasm for fighting back to the hometown he once lived in.

From the map, Fengtai County was in a position slightly west of the south of Xuzhou. After entering October, the weather was clear. The Beiyang Army divided into two groups. Wang Shizhen was in front, and Duan Qirui's Third Town was in the rear instead. Jiangsu was Wang Shizhen's territory after all; him acting as the guide was more efficient. This journey was also very smooth. The two armies paused briefly in Suzhou to rest and reorganize. Duan Qirui then took the lead; the Third Town continued south as the vanguard, heading straight for Huaiyuan. Huaiyuan had already fallen into the hands of the People's Party; both Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen believed that place would likely be the first battlefield.

The closer to Huaiyuan county town, the more abnormal the surrounding scenery became. Although Duan Qirui was from Anhui, his time in the north far exceeded his time in Anhui. In the Anhui of his memory, fields were scattered, but the land of the base area entering Duan Qirui's line of sight changed according to the terrain, but the land was connected into large blocks. Between the fields, there were obviously unfinished projects, looking very much like water conservancy projects. But they were divided into sections; Duan Qirui couldn't figure out for a moment how the gap in between was solved.

These doubts were just small problems. Wang Shizhen had explained to Duan Qirui in detail the "New Deal" promoted by the People's Party in the bandit area. While the Qing court was still arguing about "constitutionalism," in the bandit area, not only was there no argument, but various places had elected their own "People's Representatives" and formed local governments. Of course, before promoting "constitutional government," the People's Party had already breached all the fortified villages within its sphere of influence. Among these "People's Representatives," the number of mud-legs (peasants) was very large; they were all firm followers of the bandits. Thinking that the "constitutional government" Lord Yuan Shikai strove to design was actually realized first in Anhui in such a mode, Duan Qirui had an indescribable feeling in his heart.

Regarding land reform in the bandit area, Duan Qirui also knew a lot. Regarding the matter of the People's Party bandits personally building water conservancy, Duan Qirui scoffed at it. A group of bandits with today but no tomorrow, even if they engaged in some water conservancy construction, it was just pretending to deceive the common people. Only after personally seeing these farmlands and seeing the unfinished but large-scale water conservancy projects did Duan Qirui realize he was wrong. These bandits were not perfunctory; they were really engaging in construction.

As the march proceeded, Duan Qirui saw with his own eyes that this kind of large-scale land was not just in one or two places, but appeared constantly. The intervals between large patches of fields were also some unsuitable land. These weren't left empty either; bamboo forests and tree forests covered these lands unsuitable for cultivation in large patches. Duan Qirui even saw many mulberry trees. Although they were all small trees, small trees would always grow up. The People's Party not only emphasized agriculture but also sericulture. They really treated the bandit area as their own territory.

The scenery of the farmland was nice, but there were no farmers in the fields. Even less was there the scene of common people lining the streets to welcome the "King's Army." The more he saw, the uglier Duan Qirui's face became. It wasn't rare for common people to hide from military disasters, but hiding so cleanly was rare. Large troop marching was a rare thing after all. According to Duan Qirui's experience, no matter how sparse the population in the fields was, there would always be people watching the excitement. Marching for two days, they actually hadn't seen any common people watching the excitement. This was a bit too worrying.

Scout cavalry galloped back and forth between Huaiyuan County and the long main force of the Beiyang Third Town. Two scouts rushed to Duan Qirui's central army. "Reporting to Commander Duan, Commander Sun has already taken Huaiyuan county town."

"How many bandit troops are inside Huaiyuan county town?" Duan Qirui asked closely.

The two scouts looked a bit strange. They paused before answering: "There are no bandits in the county town; the city gates were wide open. Commander Sun entered the county town directly."

Although Sun Yongsheng asked these two scouts to say some good words for him, Duan Qirui wasn't that easy to fool. The scouts finally told the truth.

Regarding easily occupying a county town in the bandit area, the Beiyang Army officers following Duan Qirui were all beaming with joy. Duan Qirui said with a cold face: "Understood, go."

Watching the scouts leave like lightning, an officer already leaned up. "Commander Duan, now the bandits dare not accept battle..."

While talking, gunshots suddenly rang out on the open field. Not just one place; gunshots sounding simultaneously in seven or eight places plunged the main force of the Beiyang Army into chaos instantly. The units not attacked were still advancing, while in the attacked units, due to casualties appearing, the formation fell into chaos instantly. When the comrade beside him fell on his shoulder screaming, the first feeling of the nearby Beiyang Army soldier was panic and fear. The attackers used repeating rifles; in a moment, the five bullets in the magazine were all fired. In the chaotic and panicked gaze of the Beiyang Army, someone saw some figures flash at the places where wisps of gunpowder smoke rose from shooting, and then no other movement could be seen.

"Line up, line up!" The low-level officers of the Beiyang Army shouted immediately. These were quite qualified Beiyang Army officers. Being attacked directly led to the confusion of the Beiyang marching column; if order couldn't be restored in a short time, the impact on the Beiyang Army would be disastrous.

"Send people to chase immediately! Order, heavy rewards for catching these people." Duan Qirui issued the order without even thinking. At this time, they absolutely couldn't be beaten passively; this was just common military sense. Others had already attacked; if he still just watched and took the beating, this kind of thing was fundamentally impossible to happen in the Beiyang Army which "won by courage."

Soon, small units rushed out from the crowd, charging towards the places where shots were fired. "Heavy rewards for catching these bandit soldiers!" In the charging teams, officers shouted loudly. This shout of heavy rewards instantly overwhelmed the panic of being attacked in the hearts of the Beiyang Army. Soldiers of quite a few units already looked at the officers of their own units with eager eyes, hoping such a good thing could fall on their heads.

As if to guide the Beiyang Army, figures in dark blue military uniforms were seen in several places. Those people carried guns, and no one knew how they ran to that position. Anyway, those figures leaped into the unfinished ditches everywhere with skilled movements, and then disappeared from the Beiyang Army's field of vision. In an instant, more than a dozen Beiyang Army small units left the ranks, chasing in the direction of the attackers.

The plain in autumn was open. The attackers carefully selected retreat routes; they fully utilized the terrain and unfinished water conservancy facilities to avoid the Beiyang Army's line of sight. But there were no continuous hiding places on the plain. After running far, the figures of these people were finally completely exposed. Their wildly running figures were seen clearly by the Beiyang Army tailing behind. The low-level commanders of the pursuing Beiyang Army said nothing more and immediately ordered their small units to line up and shoot. However, this distance was a bit too far, and the enemy was a bit too cunning. They didn't run in a straight line at all; although running fast when fleeing for their lives, they always ran obliquely. This made aiming with gun muzzles quite difficult. Several rounds of shooting by the Beiyang Army didn't hit a single enemy. Those people ran for their lives as if they hadn't heard the gunshots. Seeing that they were about to get out of rifle range.

"Chase!" The Beiyang officers issued the order. The main force naturally couldn't divide into several routes to chase these very few enemies. A total of about four hundred Beiyang troops broke away from the main force, divided into seven teams, and chased over.

The Beiyang Army had always trained hard, but the escaping enemies seemed even more hardworking. Seeing them agile and vigorous one by one, running without stopping at all. This was the first battle after the Beiyang Army entered the base area. How could the attacking Beiyang Army let them escape? As long as they could capture alive or kill these people, the first merit would properly fall on their heads, and reward money naturally wouldn't be lacking. Since the enemies were all out of range, the Beiyang Army stopped shooting; they also buried their heads and chased fiercely all the way.

"Commander Duan, should we set up camp temporarily?" A New Army staff officer leaned up and asked. Just now some troops chased out, and some troops chased a bit but couldn't continue. The originally neat marching column already had confusion.

"How many brothers are injured?" Duan Qirui asked.

"This, still under detailed investigation."

"Reorganize the team temporarily, calculate the number of injured quickly." Duan Qirui answered with a cold face. He never expected the first battle to start like this. Duan Qirui had seen many bandits; those people relied on numbers to embolden themselves. Even if it was a "sneak attack," the number dispatched was quite large. The Beiyang Army marched quite carefully, sending sentries on both sides. But Chen Ke's bandit crowd actually used groups of three or four people, with seven groups launching attacks simultaneously. This tactic was something Duan Qirui had never seen before. Presumably, these attacking bandits must be the elite dare-to-die soldiers under Chen Ke. If these people couldn't be eliminated, the Beiyang marching would have to worry about attacks from both sides at all times; how could they march then?

Soon, the Beiyang team restored order, and the casualty statistics result also came out. Hearing the result of eighteen dead and fifty-two wounded, the faces of Duan Qirui and the officers gathered around him became extremely ugly. In the blink of an eye, it was seventy casualties. If it went on like this, how could this war be fought?

"How are the pursuing troops?" Duan Qirui asked ferociously.

As if to inform Duan Qirui of the fate of the pursuing troops, the marching staff officer didn't answer. From the direction the Beiyang Army pursued, several dull explosion sounds came from afar. Then dense gunshots violently broke the silence in the empty fields. The Beiyang Army pursuers seemed to have encountered an ambush.

When the Beiyang Army divided into large groups and began to sortie, and the large groups of men and horses arrived at the seven battlefields cautiously and tremblingly, what they saw were extremely bloody scenes. Either there were large pits formed after landmines exploded on the ground, with complete or incomplete Beiyang Army dead and wounded scattered around the explosion point. Or a ground full of dead bodies, with a few wounded soldiers occasionally wailing and groaning in the pile of dead bodies. Apart from these, not a single piece of Beiyang Army weapon could be seen. Asking the surviving wounded, they groaned and told the arriving Beiyang Army that many bandit soldiers rushed out from the ambush locations. Regardless of whether the Beiyang wounded lived or died, they snatched the weapons and ran.

In the first battle with the Bandit Army, Beiyang suffered nearly five hundred casualties. This was the first time in the history of the Beiyang Army. The enemy dispatched large troops, but these troops fled immediately after a successful hit. Except for footprints all over the ground, not even a shadow of a person could be seen. The Third Town had twelve thousand people, a very large number. But these twelve thousand people placed on the vast wilderness counted for nothing.

Looking as far as the eye could see, the wilderness seemed like a boundless ocean, while the Beiyang Army seemed like a small handful of sand grains. Facing such vast land, from officers to soldiers, fear arose in the hearts of almost every Beiyang Army officer and soldier.