Chapter 20: Great Victory

  He immediately secretly assembled the soldiers of Changyan Woliangzi, and said to the crowd: "Brothers, the Grand Commander is on Wolf's Fang Ridge. If there is no strong support, it is very likely that he will be attacked by the rebels. Although we can provide artillery support here, the damage to the rebels is still limited. After research, it was decided to organize a suicide squad. Those who are willing to follow me to die together, please stand up, to save the Grand Commander from danger."

  More than 40 members of the dare-to-die corps watched as the soldiers climbed down the cliff one by one, and then Yang Xing gave a few words of advice to Zhu Lianchang before climbing down the cliff.

  After reaching the bottom, they inserted branches all over their bodies and rushed towards Yangliu Gou.

  It was midsummer, and the lush vegetation allowed them to camouflage themselves by attaching branches to their bodies. The rebel army, hundreds of meters away, remained completely unaware. Without much effort, they were able to sneak around to the rear of the enemy lines.

  The Sichuan army is fighting to the death and dare not retreat, knowing that if they retreat in the end, they will retreat to the foot of the mountain below Wolf's Den, and Commander-in-Chief will be exposed to enemy infantry attacks.

  However, due to the inferior number of troops and the ferocity of the Tibetans, they fought bitterly for half a day. As casualties mounted, although the officers and men were at a disadvantage, they still struggled on, hoping to gain time until reinforcements arrived.

  When they were about ten meters away from the rebels, Yang Xing asked everyone to stop and shouted "one, two, three" in a low voice. Then everyone threw the hand grenades in their hands into the enemy group.

  Yang Xing was originally by the side of the rebel army, within 2 minutes, hundreds of hand grenades were thrown out, and the explosion sounds in front of him rose and fell one after another. The dense formation of Zang's army suddenly suffered such a dense attack, falling down in a large area. Originally, the troops that were still fiercely attacking became chaotic, wailing and howling, throwing down hundreds of corpses, and for a time, they couldn't figure out the situation, becoming a mess, and fleeing to the back one after another.

  In less than two minutes, hundreds of hand grenades had been thrown into the rebel crowd. Seeing the rebels in such disarray, Yang Xing was overjoyed and immediately picked up his Hanyang rifle, attached a bayonet, and led the charge against the rebels.

  They chased and killed for 500 meters, beheading several rebel soldiers. Only when the fourth child pulled Yang Xing to a stop did he realize that his earlier bravery had carried him too far forward, and he was now surrounded by rebel troops with only a few Sichuan comrades nearby.

  Greatly shocked and afraid that his 150 catties would be left here, he immediately gave Si Wawa a dirty look, then turned around and rushed back to Liu Yang Gou.

  When I returned to the camp, there were cheers all over the camp. When I picked up my binoculars and took a look, under such an attack, the rebels did not dare to fight again and retreated northwest in a hurry.

  During the rebel retreat, Changyanwo Liangzi array played a role again, harassing the rebels from the side and rear as they retreated.

  Arriving at the Wolf's Den battlefield, when reporting to Commander-in-Chief Yin, Yin Changheng also recovered from his initial panic and was gathering troops to pursue the rebel army.

  Upon inquiry, it was learned that the Model Brigade had been surrounded. General Sun Zhaorong led the Second Division to advance towards Pian Gou Liangzi, and the main force had already broken through the rebel army's layers of encirclement, only twenty miles away from here.

  Just now, the rebel leader Dazhan Sangdong made a final attack on the model regiment's position, and was about to reach the Wolf's Peak when he was suddenly counterattacked by Yang Xing, causing the rebel army's plan to fall through.

  Seeing the rebels fleeing, although the Model Army had lost more than 300 men, there were still over a thousand soldiers who could fight. General Yin immediately deployed troops and prepared to attack the rebels from both front and rear.

  Yang Xing was about to ask for battle, but General Yin stopped him: "Zheng Dong, you're also tired. Since leaving Luding, every day during the daytime march, you've been running back and forth, boosting the morale of various troops. At night, you still have to build fortifications and patrol the camp. After this counter-ambush battle started, it was you who ensured the safety of the main force. Let Colonel Tao be in charge of pursuing the rebels, you just stay here with me."

  Considering that the main force of the pursuit was still infantry, Yang Xing had no choice but to silently accept the task, despite his great disappointment.

  Seeing Yang Xing's disappointed expression, and thinking of the military achievements over the past two days, as well as breaking through the bandit lair of Yan Mountain and collecting tens of thousands of military rations for the army. General Yin was delighted and said to everyone: "Before the army set out, we defeated Wang Dahan's lair in Yan Mountain, collecting a huge amount of military rations for the expedition. In this counter-ambush, Yang Xing also ensured our model regiment turned defeat into victory. Considering that the battalion commander died in battle, I have decided to promote Comrade Yang Xing directly from lieutenant to captain, appointing him as deputy officer of the General's Headquarters and battalion commander of the First Battalion of the Model Regiment, commanding three companies and the artillery company of the headquarters."

  He unexpectedly rose to prominence due to his achievements, and although he humbly declined at first, seeing the trust in Commander-in-Chief Yin Changheng's eyes and the unanimous agreement of the crowd, he happily accepted the appointment.

  Tao Zekun led a team of crack troops to pursue the rebel army immediately, while Yang Xing led his department to be responsible for the safety of the General Command.

  Yang Xing immediately ordered Zhang Lianchang to lead the first and second companies, along with the artillery company, to stand guard near the headquarters. He arranged for the third company to sweep the battlefield and collect the weapons and ammunition left behind by the rebel army.

  Of course, the rebel artillery had been very envious for a long time. In secret, he ordered Liu Er Gou, the deputy commander of the artillery company, to lead a squad to the rebel artillery position and transport their cannons down. ?? The first shot was fired at 20:00

  This battle yielded a lot of spoils. In just two days, the rebel army left behind more than 2,000 rifles, five large cannons, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition.

  Just like other military materials, it is countless. Although the Tibetans are poor, their upper rulers, the Dalai Lama, are still very rich. It seems that the British support for the Dalai Lama is unconditional.

  Seeing such a big victory, Yin Changheng was also quite surprised, and only after confirming it did he let out a long sigh of relief.

  The General Headquarters staff heard such a result and burst into waves of applause.

  Then, a burst of boastful remarks erupted, and the entire headquarters was filled with optimism.

  Yin Changheng looked at Yang Xing's eyes and asked: "Zhēng Dōng, what do you think?"

  After a moment of contemplation, Yang Xing replied: "The Grand Commander and all the officials, everyone has seen the Tibetan people's combat strength. Their military tactics are no different from Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Army. Faced with our army's attack, they will find it difficult to resist after all. If we only look at the situation on the battlefield, eliminating the Tibetan rebellion shouldn't be a difficult task."

  Taking a deep breath, he continued: "Gentlemen, you must see beyond the battlefield. Our army's expedition to Zongbian has not only a long supply line but also treacherous mountain roads along the way, making supplies extremely difficult. Therefore, Commander-in-Chief, our first goal is to capture Kangding, which is occupied by the rebels, and use it as the rear supply base for our great army. By striking at the forces supporting the Lama, we can obtain the grain and military pay that we need.

  A man in his forties shook his head and said, "It can't be done, Commander. This move is absolutely impermissible. The Tibetans are rebelling, the conflict between Tibetans and Hans is intensifying, how can we attack and collect military expenses from the supported local officials and lamas? How can we use this to fight for food? This move is absolutely impermissible."

  Yang Xing laughed and said, "Old sir, don't be in a hurry. Let me make things clear. The conflict between Tibetans and Hans has intensified mainly because of our conflict with the upper class of Tibet. Through interrogating the rebel soldiers captured yesterday, we found that they still have good feelings towards us Hans and are unwilling to fight against us. For these Tibetans who do not want to be our enemies, we should make amends, but Tibet is far from Sichuan, and it's already difficult for us to provide compensation to our own army, so how can we support the forces that are friendly to us Hans?

  Looking at everyone falling into a deep thought, Yang Xing smiled and said: Everyone knows that the Tibetans are ignorant and easily influenced by the upper class. If we don't punish those Tibetan officials and lamas who support independence, when our army leaves, they may betray us again and attack our supply lines from behind, just like Zhao Erfeng's Sichuan troops did in the past. When our rear was in chaos, they even bought my Sichuan soldiers as slaves. Therefore, we must severely punish those who are hostile to the Han Chinese and those who support independence, and we must support those who support unification and those who are close to us Han Chinese.

  Yin Changheng leaned against the wall, deep in thought for a long time before saying: This is correct. For those who are hostile to our Han people, we should severely punish them. For those who are friendly to us, we should support them. I still agree with this point. However, since this matter is of great importance, and involves the eastern regions and entering Tibet, how to punish and how to support must be reported to the General's headquarters for decision.

  Everyone nodded in agreement as they watched Yoon Chang-hyeon make a decisive judgment.

  Yang Xing continued to analyze: At home, Yuan Shikai relied on his relationship with the British to seize the fruits of the revolutionary victory. Although the country is now unified, various contradictions still exist sharply. For example, the contradiction between the Beiyang warlords represented by Yuan Shikai and the southern revolutionaries, the mutually utilitarian and cooperative relationship between Yuan Shikai and the Manchu people, and Yuan Shikai's essence of taking foreigners as his master and fearing them.

  Seeing Yang Xing's sharp criticism of Yuan Shikai and his Beiyang warlords, pointing out the heavy domestic problems and contradictions, some pro-Beiyang officers have expressed their opposition.

  Yin Changheng was the introducer of Yang Xing's alliance, and upon hearing this, he did not make any comments, but only waved his hand to signal Yang Xing to continue speaking.

  Yang Xing pointed to the rifles captured outside and said to the crowd: "Gentlemen, please take a look. The rebel army has only one unit, but there are so many British-made rifles, and even our own army's cannons that have not been deployed yet. Tibet is vast and sparsely populated, and the Tibetans live in hardship, where did they get the funds to buy such advanced weapons? This can only explain that these weapons were provided by the British as free aid to arm the Tibetan forces, which can only prove that the British are sparing no effort to split my Tibet.

  Everyone heard this and did not raise any objections. After all, after a day of fighting, the ferocity of the Tibetan firearms was clear to everyone. Although the rebel army's tactics were backward and their training was extremely poor, the Tibetans' savagery still caused several hundred casualties for the Model Troop.

  It's clear that the British are trying to split Tibet from China, and the whole headquarters is filled with a heavy atmosphere.

  Seeing the dejected expressions of everyone, Yang Xing suddenly spoke up and said: "Gentlemen, Tibet is not impossible to deal with. Although the British are supporting them strongly, the contradictions between the Tibetans and the British cannot be reconciled. The British want to separate Tibet from China and merge it into India, which is something that the Tibetan nobility and lamas do not want to see. Firstly...

  Secondly, the serf system in Tibet, people lack any security guarantee, and are simply private property of the feudal lords and lamas. This is something that the British cannot tolerate. The British mainly colluded with the upper echelons such as the Dalai Lama, while ordinary Tibetan civilians lived even more difficult lives. Under these circumstances, ordinary Tibetans must oppose the Dalai Lama's separatist activities.

  Thirdly, after all, I am a Han Chinese who has been operating in Tibet for many years. Apart from some separatist elements like the Dalai Lama, there are also many lamas and nobles who are loyal to our great Han nation, such as Master B of Jikaze.

  Fourthly, although the rebel forces were strong, our Sichuan army had footholds in Gyantse and other places, and had not been completely destroyed by the rebels.

  Finally, I also hope that all of you will work together to deter separatist elements from seeking personal gain at the expense of the country and Tibet's interests.

  Everyone nodded in agreement, and morale was boosted as well.

  An officer with a full beard stood up and asked, "All these grand principles can be spoken of, but when we face the rebel army, what should we do in the end to prevent Tibet from being split off by that old lama?"

  After a moment of contemplation, Yang Xing replied: "To achieve long-term stability in Tibet, we must control the ruling method. In fact, the Tibetan nobility ruled the Tibetans through three methods."

  The first is the military, as long as I can guarantee that troops are stationed in Lhasa and Shigatse, Tibet will not be able to separate from the mainland even if it becomes chaotic again.

  The second is the rule of the Tusi, in the past, in order to maintain control over Tibetans, large and small Tusi were appointed to govern Tibetans through them.

  The third is the rule of the lamas, Tibet was a society where politics and religion were inseparable, governed through religion.

  "At the end of the Qing dynasty, the abolition of the tusi system led to the collapse of the local chieftain's rule, which naturally resulted in the dominance of the lama forces. Although some lamas like Master B Chan advocated for friendship with China and maintaining national unity, others like DL Lama were restless and colluded with the British, attempting to separate Tibet from the motherland."

  "In view of the current complex situation, I suggest that if possible, we should ensure our Sichuan troops are garrisoned in Lhasa and Shigatse. This is fundamental and cannot be opposed by Tibetans."

  Secondly, I think that in view of Tibet's realization of the unity of politics and religion as a whole, it is suggested to change to a secular society. This will thoroughly eliminate the poisonous tumor of the Dalai Lama and thoroughly eliminate the religious forces supporting the Dalai Lama.

  "Thirdly, in view of the special situation in Tibet, under the circumstances of changing the local government to a regular one, some local chiefs with separatist tendencies were publicly tried and punished as despots, while those who were loyal to the motherland were retained."

  Fourthly, by striking at the pro-Dalai Lama forces and overthrowing the rule of the evil local tyrants, we can bring benefits to the local people, thus creating a stable source of support for us in Tibet.

  Fifthly, encourage the people of Sichuan Province to migrate to Zangbian (Tibet), which is the fundamental guarantee for Tibet's stability.

  Yin Changheng listened and said after a long silence: "The Dalai Lama is the highest spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, with great influence in Tibet. It is absolutely impossible to purge him lightly, otherwise it may bring chaos to the entire Tibetan region. We should strengthen our military presence, cultivate pro-Han forces, and move Sichuan people there, that's what we should do."

  Yang Xing was shocked upon hearing this, and immediately admonished: "Commander-in-Chief, in my humble opinion, the Dalai Lama is a factor of unrest in Tibet. He should be eliminated. If we do not eliminate the Dalai Lama, this political monk, and his religious influence, there can be no true peace in Tibet."

  Yin Dazong Duobu waved his hand and said, "Qingdong, my mind is made up, and it's absolutely impossible to abolish the Dalai Lama lightly. You should know that since the Yuan Dynasty, the Dalai Lama has been conferred by our central government. Although there were conflicts with the central government when the British entered Tibet, it's absolutely impossible to abolish it lightly."

  Yang Xing still wanted to persuade further, Yin Changheng smiled and said: "Everyone, as long as we unite sincerely, the pacification of Tibet can be achieved soon. I heard that this time's counterattack war has gained a lot, let's go together to take a look."

  He immediately led everyone to the front lines of various places and inspected the battlefield.

  Under the influence of the great victory of the counter-ambush at Piankou Liangzi, the rebel army suffered heavy casualties and fled in a hurry, escaping through small paths to Kangding City, attempting to take advantage of the terrain to resist the advancing pacification army.