Chapter 97

The next morning, when Wan'er had just opened her eyes, she saw Lin Yuan place a few breakfast items in front of her. She burst into tears and sobbed, "Sir, I am just a servant. Why are you so kind to me?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Wan'er, you are not my servant. We are the same."

Wan'er stared with her beautiful big eyes, at a loss, and asked, "But, the Old Buddha said that I am your person?"

Lin Yuan chuckled and said, "What the Old Buddha says is not always right."

Looking at Wan'er's frightened face, Lin Yuan added, "I have to go. You rest well."

Wan'er suddenly said, "Sir, I..." Then she stopped speaking.

Lin Yuan looked at her and asked, "Why did you stop?"

Wan'er thought for a while, then mustered up the courage and stammered, "I was sent by the Old Buddha to... to spy on you." After saying this, she lowered her head, no longer speaking, as if she had committed a heinous crime.

Lin Yuan chuckled and said, "Just for this? It's fine. In the future, just tell the Old Buddha that I am loyal to the Qing Dynasty."

After saying this, he turned and left, heading to the military camp to discuss the deployment of troops.

Lin Yuan did not want to keep them waiting any longer, so he and Chen Fei arrived early at the meeting room. A large map of the Qing Dynasty was hung on the wall, which was quite different from the maps he was used to. The map of this era had not yet adopted the four-color filling, and the entire map was of one color.

Lin Yuan silently flipped through the documents in his hand, which detailed the defense situation of the Beijing area and its surroundings: Liu Kunyi and Wu Dacheng led the Hunan Army, totaling thirty battalions and about ten thousand men, stationed from Shanhaiguan to Jinzhou; Song Qing led the Yi Army, with about eight thousand men, stationed from Dagukou to Tianjin and Beijing; Jiang Guiti led the Gui Army, with about five thousand men, stationed from Xifengkou to Gubeikou and Juyongguan.

In addition, the trained troops originally stationed in Northeast China, after fleeing from the northeast, had been stationed in the capital.

After reviewing the Qing Army's deployment, Lin Yuan thought, "The Qing Army's defense is quite appropriate. Beijing is located on the North China Plain, backed by mountains and facing the sea. To the west is the Taihang Mountains, to the north is the Yan Mountains, and to the east is the Bohai Sea. To attack Beijing, there are only three directions: first, bypassing Shanhaiguan and attacking from Xifengkou and Gubeikou, which the Japanese used to invade North China in 1933; second, attacking Shanhaiguan and advancing through the Liaoxi Corridor directly into North China, which was the route used in the Qing Dynasty's campaigns to overthrow the Ming Dynasty; third, attacking from the sea, landing at Dagukou, and advancing from Tianjin to Beijing, which was the route used by the Eight-Nation Alliance to occupy Beijing."

Therefore, the Qing court placed great importance on the defense of Beijing. By securing these three routes, Beijing would be safe.

After a while, Liu Kunyi, Wu Dacheng, Song Qing, and Jiang Guiti all arrived. Lin Yuan said first, "Today's meeting will address a key strategic issue: there are two enemies in the northeast now, one is Russia, which has occupied Heilongjiang and Jilin, and the other is Japan, which has occupied Shengjing. Who should we attack first?"

Liu Kunyi said first, "I think we should attack Japan first. First, in terms of military strength, the Russians have deployed about thirty thousand troops in the northeast, while the Japanese have less than fifteen thousand. Second, geographically, Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou are in our hands. Advancing to Fengtian would be convenient. If we capture Shengjing, we can use it as a base to cut off the connection between the Japanese forces in the Liaodong Peninsula and Korea, and the recovery of the entire Shengjing region would be imminent."

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "I have a different opinion. I think we should attack Russia first. First, in terms of military strength, the Russians have thirty thousand troops, but how many people are there in the northeast? If we mobilize them, who will have the numerical advantage? Second, geographically, if we attack Russia first, we will strategically surround Japan on three sides, and defeating the Japanese will be just a matter of time."

Lin Yuan continued, "Think about it, both the Japanese and the Russians want to occupy Manchuria. Undoubtedly, the Russians are currently stronger. If we attack the Russians, the Japanese will certainly take the opportunity to attack the Russians as well. That way, we will save a lot of effort, won't we?"

Song Qing said, "You say we should attack the Russians first, but how? Shengjing is entirely occupied by the Japanese. We can't pass through Shengjing to attack Jilin! So, we can only go through the Yan Mountains, detour through Mongolia, and attack Jilin and Heilongjiang."

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Yes, that's the route we should take."

Pointing at the map, Lin Yuan said, "We will attack the Greater Khingan Range directly from Mongolia. Once we capture the Greater Khingan Range, the entire northeast will be under our control. From a high vantage point, we will have the advantage, and whether it's the Russians or the Japanese, they will be completely defeated!"

The four people present frowned. Wu Dacheng angrily said, "Are you sending us to our deaths? You can't just think whatever you want on a map! Do you even realize that the route you're suggesting goes through a vast desert? Not to mention whether we can get through it, our ammunition and supplies won't keep up! Do you know that many of our new recruits don't even have guns yet?"

Jiang Guiti also said, "Attacking the Greater Khingan Range from Mongolia, how is that even possible? The Greater Khingan Range is a vast mountain range with key passes that are easy to defend but hard to attack. The Russians will certainly have strict defenses. Our troops can't even hold them, let alone capture them! And the Greater Khingan Range is thousands of miles away! What about our rear? Who can guarantee that the Japanese won't stab us in the back?"

Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Then we won't go to the Greater Khingan Range. We'll cross the desert and enter Jilin directly to attack the Russian forces in Jilin."

Song Qing angrily said, "What are you talking about! Crossing the desert, do you know how big that desert is? You want to cross it! And then face the Russians! Isn't that just sending us to our deaths!"

Liu Kunyi also said, "If we really enter Mongolia through Gubeikou and Xifengkou, cross the desert, and attack the Russians in Jilin, the supply of ammunition and food will be extremely difficult!"

Lin Yuan angrily said, "Stop talking. We'll do it my way! I'll figure out the details!"

Everyone was stunned. After the previous few tests, they all felt that Lin Yuan was unfathomable, but today, when Lin Yuan was laying out the attack strategy, he seemed like a scholar who only talks about war on paper. None of his words made sense, and they had no choice but to adjourn the meeting.

Chen Fei, puzzled, asked Lin Yuan, "Boss, are you serious? Are we really going to cross the desert?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Of course not."

Chen Fei asked, "Then why did you lie to them?"

Next episode preview: What brilliant plan does Lin Yuan have in mind? What clever strategy does Lin Yuan have to solve the logistics problem?

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