The vanguard of the army was the scouts. As the easiest targets to contact and the most elite combat squads of the troops, the slaughter between scouts was extremely bloody and cruel. It was impossible for the People's Party to let Duan Zhigui go south so easily. Even if it was just to make Duan Zhigui think that the People's Party was preparing for a battle with him with all their might, harassment by scouts was necessary. When two small squads charged at each other fearlessly, even if there were only a dozen people on each side, that determined attitude indeed filled the battle with a tragic color.

Both sides used shooting as an opening statement. Trying to aim accurately on a bumpy horseback was indeed a relatively difficult task to complete. The result of two or three rounds of shooting was zero casualties on both sides. When the distance was close enough that there was no time to continue shooting, the scout cavalrymen drew their sabers one after another, shouting and urging their horses to charge at the other side.

He Jing was using cold weapons in combat for the first time. His palms holding the saber were already full of sweat. Seeing the Beiyang cavalry opposite him gripping their sabers with ferocious looks on their faces, He Jing felt his breathing almost stop. At the moment when the two horses crossed paths, He Jing, following the method he had trained countless times on normal days, swung the blade of the saber forcefully towards the throat of the Beiyang cavalryman. Almost at the same time, the Beiyang cavalryman's saber thrust towards He Jing's chest.

The saber hit the steel plate with a clanging sound. Because the impact force brought by the relative speed was all absorbed by the breastplate, He Jing felt a huge force suddenly concentrate on his chest, and his body involuntarily leaned back, making even breathing difficult. However, in this electric spark of a moment, the tip of He Jing's sharp saber had already cut into the throat of the Beiyang cavalryman, and there was no stagnation at all. The tip of the blade did not pause after cutting the throat, continuing backward until it severed the blood vessels on the right side of the Beiyang cavalryman's neck before leaving the Beiyang soldier's body.

Almost the same thing happened between the two groups of cavalry scouts. The breastplate light cavalry of the People's Party suffered almost no injuries. The Beiyang soldiers, who did not expect the People's Party cavalry to wear steel armor inside their uniforms, were almost all hit by sabers. Most Beiyang soldiers were killed with one strike. Only a few lucky ones, or cavalrymen who simply didn't have time to engage in close combat with the People's Party, were lucky enough to escape with their lives. The luck of these lucky ones did not last too long. Seeing their companions suffering heavy casualties, these Beiyang soldiers lost their fighting spirit and tried to flee one after another. The People's Party scout troops pursued relentlessly. Due to the greatly increased shooting density, these Beiyang scouts were hit by bullets not long after they fled.

Every confrontation required a bloody and short slaughter. Even though the People's Party light cavalry was protected by breastplates, this was not a panacea. If the Beiyang Army lost 10 men, the People's Party's loss was around 3. The scouts in the Beiyang Army did not have an undeserved reputation. After all, the Beiyang Army's cavalry was established earlier, had more abundant numbers, and their tactical skills were also above those of the People's Party cavalry.

When Duan Zhigui went south, he did not rely entirely on the "speeding train". He sent out scout troops far ahead as an outpost. The fixed rails of the railway were the easiest targets to attack, and the outcome of a speeding train derailing was extremely tragic. Having encountered the extreme harassment of the People's Party scouts, Duan Zhigui still did not waver in his determination to continue south.

Facing Duan Zhigui's transportation method centered on the railway, and his practice of not stopping at all even when encountering setbacks, the comrades of the People's Party also felt a little uneasy in their hearts.

"Duan Zhigui's troops have a very firm will to fight. Should we deploy the Air Force to assist in the battle?" A comrade proposed this method.

The People's Party's thinking on the use of the Air Force was far ahead of this era. Chen Ke proposed the distinction between reconnaissance, harassment, and strategic bombing. Current aircraft could not implement any strategic bombing at all. The People's Party believed that large-scale sorties and bombing were just things where the loss outweighed the gain. In a team of tens of thousands with firm confidence, the effect that the People's Party's bombing could play was very small. Bombing would merely disrupt the enemy's formation and reduce the enemy's combat efficiency. The idea of relying on the Air Force to resolve the battle was simply unreliable.

"Since Duan Zhigui's troops have such a tenacious will to fight, what use is bombing?" A comrade immediately retorted. The fuel used after the Air Force sortied, the consumption of aerial bombs, and the mechanical failures that were extremely likely to occur, all of these needed to be considered.

"The movement speed of the 5404th and 5405th Divisions is not fast. If we set off now, let alone a surprise attack on Anyang, I'm afraid that after we leave, Duan Zhigui will seize the Hebei Circuit first." The staff officers were quite depressed; the mobility of the brother units was really not trustworthy.

Kang Wenzheng was especially anxious about this. The progress of the battle situation still exceeded expectations. Because they were worried about scaring away Duan Zhigui, although the 5404th and 5405th Divisions had already assembled, they waited for Duan Zhigui's march to exceed halfway so that his retreat would not be too fast, before marching quickly to reinforce. Unexpectedly, despite constantly suffering losses in battles with scouts, Duan Zhigui still advanced so fiercely. What kind of wrong medicine did this Duan Zhigui take?

"Comrade Mu Husan, what do you think?" Kang Wenzheng asked. Since Mu Husan proposed the battle plan, did Mu Husan anticipate the current situation?

Mu Husan did not contemplate or pause. He replied, "Looking at the current situation, I'm afraid Duan Zhigui is preparing to retreat?"

"What?" Including Kang Wenzheng, the comrades in the division headquarters were all startled.

"Yes," Mu Husan did not hesitate. He continued to answer, "Although I can't be sure under what circumstances Duan Zhigui is preparing to retreat, given the current situation, he is definitely prepared to retreat. I suggest proposing to the Army Headquarters that our division begin implementing the operation to encircle and annihilate Duan Zhigui's troops now."

"He's fighting so fiercely, how could he be preparing to retreat?" A staff officer immediately expressed objection.

"Duan Zhigui's Beiyang Army is not a unit that is unafraid of death. If he were this brave, he wouldn't have retreated so obediently to the north of the Yellow River. As early as when we first entered Henan, Duan Zhigui should have pounced on us fiercely. Based on past performance, Duan Zhigui is just a guy who likes to stick to defense. The Army Headquarters believed that this time our division crossed the Yellow River, even if Duan Zhigui wouldn't flee immediately, he wouldn't choose to take the initiative to attack. This wasn't the Army Headquarters thinking blindly," Mu Husan replied.

"Then why on earth is he doing this?" The staff officer questioned.

"Why he is doing this, I am not very clear either. However, the conditions for us to deploy and encircle Duan Zhigui on the spot are already mature. We should adopt such tactics right now." Mu Husan gave his own answer.

Hearing this, Kang Wenzheng's mind moved. He finally discovered why he had been unable to issue orders accurately and timely.

When fighting under Chen Ke's command in the past, every battle proceeded with the highest efficiency. The experience of Chen Ke playing the enemy in the palm of his hand made Kang Wenzheng too accustomed to the mindset of the enemy falling into the most disadvantageous situation almost like a drill. When Duan Zhigui's actions made people indecisive, Kang Wenzheng couldn't help but wait to get more accurate intelligence to adopt the most effective tactical method.

Mu Husan obviously did not have this mindset, just as Mu Husan had just said, "The conditions for us to deploy and encircle Duan Zhigui on the spot are already mature. We should adopt such tactics right now."

Kang Wenzheng remembered what Chen Ke had said at the military academy, "Strategy wins because it is correct, tactics are correct because they win."

Staring at the map for a while, Kang Wenzheng began to issue orders, "Send a telegram to the Army Headquarters. Our unit believes that based on the current situation, the timing to encircle and annihilate Duan Zhigui's troops is mature, so we are starting to implement the encirclement action. Requesting the 5404th and 5405th Divisions to immediately enter combat. The 1st Regiment is to set off now to cut off Duan Zhigui's retreat. The 2nd Regiment is to go north along the east side of the railway, and the 3rd Regiment is to go north along the west side of the railway. The 4th Regiment and the cavalry troops are to march slowly along the railway to implement an encirclement of Duan Zhigui's troops."

Since Kang Wenzheng had already issued the combat order, the comrades in the unit no longer questioned it, nor did they resist.

"Comrade Mu Husan, how long have you been in the staff department?" Kang Wenzheng asked.

"Nine months," Mu Husan replied.

The People's Party imitated the method of the German General Staff. Officers selected from the soldiers at the grassroots level had to be promoted step by step through the channels of officers at various levels, military academies at various levels, and staff departments at various levels.

"The battalion commander of the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment has reached the time for rotation. I want you to replace him in his position," Kang Wenzheng said.

As soon as these words came out, the comrades in the staff department looked at Mu Husan with various gazes. The 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment was generally a unit that fought tough battles. Sending Mu Husan down from the staff department to the front line at this moment could be understood as a demotion, or it could be understood as putting him in an important position.

Mu Husan saluted Kang Wenzheng with a normal expression, "I obey the arrangement."

Duan Zhigui sat in the train compartment, calculating the current situation in his heart. In fact, from the very beginning, he had no intention of having a bloody battle with the People's Party. Even if there was a bloody battle, it wouldn't be one so close to the People's Party. The reason for going south was purely to give Yuan Shikai an explanation. He originally thought that the People's Party would panic and mobilize troops to block the road south. In this way, after fighting a battle, regardless of victory or defeat, he would have a reason to retreat.

But the People's Party just happened to be able to keep their patience. Duan Zhigui wasn't stupid; railway transport wasn't reliable. If he was cut off from the railway by the People's Party when he approached the Hebei Circuit, and the Hebei Circuit was too close to Zheng County occupied by the People's Party, once surrounded by the People's Party with superior forces, Duan Zhigui would find it hard to escape even with wings. So even though the scouts suffered great losses, he still went south nonstop, the purpose being to exchange fire with the People's Party earlier. Even if the situation was advantageous, Duan Zhigui would retreat immediately.

This carriage with sleeping berths was considered luxurious, at least compared to those flatbed cars that used cloth curtains to shade the sun; it was really too luxurious. Duan Zhigui and his entourage of a dozen people occupied a carriage, while on the flatbed cars, there were at least sixty, and at most nearly a hundred Beiyang soldiers crowded together. Because the weather was hot, Duan Zhigui constantly wiped his sweat with a towel while ordering soldiers to fan him. The soldiers fanning him were already sweating profusely, but Duan Zhigui felt that the scorching heat brought by the irritability in his heart had not decreased a bit.

"What on earth is the People's Party thinking?" Duan Zhigui thought with egoistic anger, "I've already arrived at a place less than 30 li from Weihui, and they still haven't made a move. Are they trying to act like shrinking turtles?"

As if Heaven heard Duan Zhigui's heartfelt voice, there was a rush of footsteps, and a staff officer ran in with a panicked look on his face, "Commander Duan, according to reports, rebels have appeared thirty li behind us. They blocked the railway with logs, our retreat is cut off!"

Duan Zhigui slammed the table and stood up, "Why are you only reporting now? What did the scouts go do?"

The staff officer was tongue-tied and couldn't answer. The scouts had suffered heavy casualties recently. Duan Zhigui ordered that the reconnaissance range of the scouts should be around 10 li, while leaving troops to patrol along the railway line. Where did the sharply reduced number of scouts have so much manpower? The scout who came to report was covered in blood. He said that of the 12 scouts with him, only he escaped with his life. The others were either dead or their fate was unknown after falling from their horses; they were all lost.

Before the staff officer could come up with a way to explain, he heard Duan Zhigui order anxiously, "Stop the train. We are retreating!"