Wu Peifu hummed and stopped talking. He lowered his head to review the documents. Han Baihang bowed and resigned knowingly. He left the headquarters, but was stopped by an elegant middle-aged man wearing the rank of major general. He was stunned for a moment and stood at attention.
Saluted: "Hello, sir."
The visitor looked at him with a smile and asked, "Are you Han Baihang?"
Han Baihang puffed up his chest and said, "It's just a humble position."
"I'm Li Jichen." The visitor introduced himself.
"Chief of Staff!" Han Baihang snapped and stood at attention.
"Don't be formal, just relax."
Li Jichen waved his hand kindly. He seemed to be very interested in Han Baihang and said, "Follow me."
After saying that, he walked into the room next door, and Han Baihang followed him anxiously. After entering the room, Li Jichen took off his hat. Han Baihang hurriedly took it and carefully hung it on the coat rack, and then stood with his hands tied, waiting for Li Jichen to speak.
"Shuai Yu asked you to go to Henan. Tell me what you think." After Li Jichen sat down, he looked at Han Baihang with bright eyes, paused and said, "I want to listen to the truth!"
Han Baihang's thoughts suddenly changed. In front of a resourceful person like Li Jichen, lying would only be counterproductive. He bravely said: "I thought Commander Yu asked me to go to Henan to suppress bandits. I was overqualified."
“Overkill!”
Li Jichen chuckled and said calmly: "It is a good thing for young people to be arrogant, but it would be better to be humble."
Han Baihang did not think he was arrogant, and said neither humble nor arrogantly: "I would like to ask the chief of staff, based on my contribution in the war, whether my merits outweigh my faults, or my faults outweigh my merits."
"Of course the merit outweighs the fault," Li Jichen said.
"That's because the merit outweighs the fault. I was already a company commander before. Not only am I staying put, but I am also being sent to a remote mountainous area. To be honest, I can't figure it out." Han Baihang confessed his heart and complained.
Li Jichen smiled and said: "If you can't figure it out, just think about it slowly and you will eventually figure it out."
Han Baihang fell silent, and Li Jichen said slowly: "Do you understand the meaning of Jian in the emperor's heart? Everything you do is seen in the eyes of Commander Yu, so why bother worrying about whether you have been promoted or not. I think you are
Talents that can be made, I just want to remind you that Yushuai has always used people without following common sense. The more important people are to be used, the more stringent the test must be. Take Zhou Dongliang as an example. He was born in Baoding at the same time as the National People's Congress brigade commander.
There is someone here, but he has only become the group leader today. When it comes to hiding grievances, he is no worse than you."
Han Baihang's heart moved slightly. He only believed half of Li Jichen's words. Anyway, the words came out of his mouth, no matter what he said, they were all right. For him, any future future was empty, and only the real benefits were real. He wanted to work hard for him.
Yes, but you can't be instigated by a fool.
"Chief of Staff, I want to know how serious the banditry in Yongcheng is." Han Baihang raised his head and asked.
Li Jichen smiled meaningfully, pointed at him and said, "You've got the point right now."
As he spoke, he stood up and came to the desk, took out a map bag, unfolded it, pointed at the map and said, "Come and see."
Han Baihang walked to his desk and took a closer look. He saw that it was a topographic map of Henan Province, with dense contour lines and road maps drawn on it. He followed the direction pointed by Li Jichen and found the location of Yongcheng.
"Yongcheng is located at the intersection of the four provinces of Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui. It is surrounded by Mangdang Mountain in the north, surrounded by Huishui River in the south, connected to the Xuhuai Plain in the east and the Dabie Mountains in the west. It is known as the gateway to eastern Henan.
"Li Jichen first gave Han Baihang a military geography lesson, and then said in a serious tone: "Although the bandits in eastern Henan are not as rampant as those in western Henan, the danger is that the bandits are not limited to this province, but crisscross the mountainous areas at the junction of the four provinces.
Sometimes they act alone to harass the local area, sometimes they form large groups in series, and they can often confront the officers and soldiers head-on. Previously, Henan Governor Zhao Ti sent a regiment to garrison Yongcheng, but in less than half a year, nearly 30% of the officers and soldiers were lost, and the bandits
Thirteen times in a row, the city was invaded and looted, causing the place to suffer so much that the officers and soldiers did not even dare to go out of the city to fight the bandits, which had disgraced our Beiyang government. Therefore, Governor Zhao Ti asked Commander Yu to hire a brave general to take charge of the bandits.
Yushuai is the first person to think of you, and this expectation is not small."
Han Baihang only knew that banditry in eastern Henan was serious, but he did not expect that it had reached such a situation that even the officers and soldiers of a regiment could not deal with the bandits. It was not a joke to ask him to lead a company to suppress the bandits, but he knew that neither Wu Peifu nor Li Jichen
I was joking with him. The military order was like a mountain, and he was determined to suppress the bandits. Unless he deserted halfway, he would not choose this path as a last resort. After thinking for a while, he said: "Chief of Staff, I think the failure of the Yongcheng garrison is not here."
How strong the bandits are, I’m afraid it’s because of their own reasons.”
Li Jichen cast an admiring look at him: "It seems that Commander Yu is right to choose you. The main reason why the suppression of bandits is unfavorable is the collusion between officials and bandits. This official has both garrison troops and local tyrant officials and gentry. In short, it is intricately connected. I
My advice to you is that after you go to Yongcheng, don’t rush into military operations. You must first calm down and observe, sort out the local situation, and then go to suppress the bandits. Only then can the attack be effective, otherwise you will only fail again.
It’s the same mistake.”
Han Baihang kept Li Jichen's advice in mind. This was a wise idea, and it coincided with what he thought. At any rate, he was also someone who had seen the outsmarting of Weihu Mountain and the Suppression of Bandits on Wulong Mountain. How to deal with bandits.
There are ways.
Li Jichen added: "When you go to Yongcheng, you must pay attention to handling the relationship with the county magistrate. In name, you, the garrison company commander, have to obey the county magistrate's orders, but you are the person appointed by Commander Yu.
Don’t be afraid of him at all times. In short, you must be neither humble nor arrogant, and hide the needle in your skin.”
Han Baihang hesitated and said, "What should we do if the county magistrate is colluding with the bandits?"
Li Jichen said: "You don't have to worry about this. The previous Yongcheng County Magistrate died in office, and the current County Magistrate has just been transferred from Luoyang. He will not collude with the bandits so quickly. If the county magistrate convicts the bandits in the future, I can only
I’ll tell you four words: act according to circumstances.”
Han Baihang was relieved and said hesitantly: "Chief of Staff, I have one more request. I hope you agree."
Li Jichen frowned and said, "Tell me first."
"There are more than 400,000 troops in Dingkou, Yongcheng. My company's garrison is too small. Can I expand it on the spot?" Han Baihang asked reluctantly. He had commanded an army of tens of thousands, and then commanded more than a hundred.
Not to mention how awkward the human troops are, as long as Li Jichen can win the expansion, he can raise a regiment of troops in Yongcheng.
Li Jichen shook his head decisively and said: "No, your establishment only has one company, and even one more person is not enough. The army will never allow anyone to expand the company without permission. You have already made this mistake before. Don't make the mistake of knowing it." He said seriously.
Warning Han Baihang.
Han Baihang was a little disappointed and annoyed. It was really difficult to suppress the bandits this time, and there were many restrictions. This could not be done and that could not be done. No wonder it was difficult to suppress the bandits.
Li Jichen seemed to sense Han Baihang's displeasure, and changed his voice: "The army establishment is limited, but local militia groups are not restricted. However, the command power of the Republic of China is in the hands of the county magistrate. How to obtain this military power depends on your skill."
Han Baihang was pleasantly surprised. As long as there was a slight possibility, he could always think of a solution. Now he thought that going to remote places to suppress bandits would be a good choice. After all, the sky is high and the emperor is far away. With a gun in his hand, he may not be able to do something big.