Duolun is Mongolian, meaning "seven". Duolun's original name is "Duolunnao'er", which means "seven lakes". It was named after there were 7 lakes in the territory. Since the Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, this place has been a strategic fortress connecting the capital and the Mongolian Plateau. It is also a gathering place for the circulation of commodities between the Mongolian Plateau and the interior.
Duolun has more than 4 million acres of natural grassland and abundant water resources. It is the main water conservation area in the upper reaches of the Luan River and is also the main mixed area of Hui and Mongolian people on the grassland.
By the Republic of China, Duolun had thousands of businesses and a population of more than 200,000, making it the second largest city in the Chahar region after Zhangjiakou.
Although Duolun is a big city in Chahar, it is only compared to those small counties with a population of only tens of thousands, and cannot be compared with the big cities in the Central Plains that often have a million people.
Due to the lack of stone materials and disrepair, most of the city walls in Duolun County can only be described as earthen fences, but they can barely form a high and uneven defense circle around the county seat, which can withstand the cavalry attacks of the cold weapon era. , but to resist modern artillery attacks is a joke.
If it were in the spring of previous years, on the endless prairie with lush water and grass outside the city of Duolun, you would see countless sheep like patches of white clouds, with stars falling and floating on this green field.
But today, on this grassland that has nurtured countless generations of herdsmen, there are two armies of thousands of people each shouting and fighting.
An army in iron-gray military uniforms, numbering about 4,000 people, half cavalry and half infantry, formed a defensive formation with the city of Duolun behind them, while another army in khaki-colored uniforms numbered about 5,000 people. , their cavalry ratio is higher, and they also have two mountain cannons to help them, and they are launching waves of attacks.
All of a sudden, the grassland was rumbled with cannons, gunfire, and horses neighing. The two sides were fighting from morning to noon, and now the side in iron-gray military uniforms has gradually become more and more unstoppable.
At this time, on a high ground about 3 kilometers east of the battlefield, four officers in colorful military uniforms were observing the battlefield with binoculars.
Those who are familiar with it will know that this kind of attire is the combat vest of the mercenary group, and these four officers are naturally Zhou Wen, Gao Xiaoshan, Miaohua and Chen Wanli.
"Judging from the military appearance and equipment of both sides, they don't look like regular armies. Although there are many cavalry, they don't pay much attention to the formation when charging. They all rush forward in a swarm. If they can't rush through, they will retreat in a swarm. In comparison. Under this situation, Duolun's defenders are even more unbearable. They don't even have the most superficial coordination of infantry and cavalry. They all fight in their own way. I think they won't be able to hold on within an hour." Chen Wanli said.
The two armies were fighting outside the city, and the one with its back was naturally the defender.
"I don't know which army the defenders belong to. Do we want to help?" Gao Xiaoshan asked. In his opinion, since Chahar is the provincial chairman of General Song Mingyuan, the troops in the city must be under his command, and naturally they are friendly forces.
"Let's find out the identities of both sides first. Originally, I thought there was no large-scale armed force in this area. I didn't expect to encounter such a large-scale battle as soon as I came out of the mountain. I'm afraid the people on both sides are not unknown people. I'd better wait for the second time. Let’s talk about the news about Gazi and the others.” Zhou Wen guessed that the matter might not be that simple.
The main force of the 29th Army has basically gone to the anti-Japanese front line. It is impossible to leave thousands of soldiers and horses in the small county of Duolun, let alone so many cavalry.
At this moment, Zhou Wen secretly thought that he was unlucky. As the saying goes, misfortune never comes alone and good fortune never comes alone.
After receiving the bad news from his family last night, although Zhou Wen was very angry, he did not panic. After several people discussed it, the top priority now is to go back safely, and revenge will be a matter for the future. What's more, since we know that the people who plotted the mercenary group are the Kong family, we are not afraid that they will be able to escape. Moreover, how to retaliate requires some strategies. After all, the relationship between the Kong family and the principal is such that ordinary revenge methods cannot be used. I'll plan it carefully when I get back.
As for the traitor, Zhou Wen just ordered Jiang Han to keep Zeng Erniu under surveillance and wait until he returned to deal with it. Of course, if he wants to run away, there's no need to be polite, just catch him first.
Regarding Zeng Erniu's rebellion, Zhou Wen was not surprised at all, because although this person had some friendship with the mercenaries in Henan, he was still an outsider. Zhou Wen only took him in for the sake of Zhou Jinbao's face. , and after arriving in the mercenary group, Zhou Wen only asked him to do some peripheral work of the mercenary group, and he was not completely relieved.
Of course, not being too surprised does not mean that Zhou Wen is not angry. Not to mention well-organized troops such as the mercenary group, but also general Jianghu gangs and copycat bandits, all must use the harshest means to eliminate traitors. But these can only be dealt with after going back.
Therefore, Zhou Wen, who had been somewhat relaxed and not very anxious, now began to feel a sense of urgency again.
They changed their plan last night and only rested for 2 hours in the valley. Then the entire army left Baicha Mountain and marched for dozens of kilometers on the prairie overnight. Only after dawn did they realize that the route had gone astray. It actually went around to the north of Duolun City.
The prairie stretches as far as the eye can see, and there are no targets in the dark. Even if a Mongolian like Delentai, who is familiar with the terrain, leads the way, it is easy for direction deviations to occur.
Of course, Zhou Wen did not blame Delengtai, who had repeatedly asked for punishment, but he did not expect that after finally walking dozens of miles, he almost broke into a battlefield where thousands of people were fighting.
This is where Zhou Wen feels frustrated.
I thought that when I arrived in Duolun, I would contact General Song Mingyuan through the radio, and then I would be entertained by the Duolun local government and the garrison. If everyone exchanged their weapons for some horses, the rest of the journey would be accelerated a lot, and we could go home. It’s just around the corner.
He never imagined that such a large-scale melee would occur in front of such a vast and sparsely populated prairie.
Even with the combat power and equipment of the mercenary group, if they were to fight thousands of cavalry on such a grassland without any obstruction or support, they would not be able to protect themselves and they would suffer heavy losses.
I'm afraid I won't be able to leave now.
You must know that the mercenary group is a force of thousands of people. If you want to bypass these cavalry who don't know their enemies and friends and march on your own on this prairie, it is impossible to keep it secret. If they are caught up by a large group of cavalry on the way, even if these cavalry are not very powerful, but thousands of horses charge forward, the situation will not be optimistic. Although the battle will not be defeated, heavy casualties are inevitable.
Therefore, it is impossible for the mercenary group to return safely. They must fight a battle and eliminate the threats behind them before they can escape.
The most urgent task now is to figure out the identities of the two warring parties, and then we can decide on how to fight and who to fight.
