Just when Han Baihang received the order from Zhang Zuolin and Marshal Zhang to join forces and move south, Zhang Zongchang's 100,000 troops had already headed for Jiangsu.
Although Zhang Zongchang cannot recognize a few Chinese characters by nature, because of his forthright personality and ability to reward merit, and as long as his subordinates perform outstandingly, he does not hold power in his own hands like other warlords, but actually disperses it.
To his subordinates, his character made many capable people willing to join his subordinates, so in Shandong, his strength gradually became stronger.
As early as 1922, Zhang Zongchang was serving under the Northeast King Zhang Zuolin, Marshal Zhang. By chance, he recruited the White Russian soldiers who were defeated by the Soviet Red Army. At that time, a large number of White Russian soldiers were defeated in Shandong.
, they were hungry due to lack of food and drink, so Zhang Zongchang seized the opportunity without losing any chance.
He was also generous enough and ordered his subordinates to provide these White Russian soldiers with plenty of beef bread and vodka, and kept them entertained with delicious food. At that time, the Chinese soldiers under Zhang Zongchang were still eating sorghum rice and pickled vegetables. Therefore,
A large number of White Russian soldiers who fled to Shandong were attracted by Zhang Zongchang's generosity. Soon after, the White Russian soldiers under Zhang Zongchang developed into infantry, cavalry and artillery under his command, with a total of about 1,500 troops.
Although these 1,500 White Russian soldiers did not seem to be a large number, Han Baihang, who had a clear understanding of the history of the Republic of China, knew that these White Russian soldiers were of great help to Zhang Zongchang, a warlord who started his career as a "speculator."
At that time in 1922, although Zhang Zongchang had followed Zhang Zuolin, the king of Northeast China, his military strength was still very weak, and almost no one took him seriously. As for his current army of 100,000, it was all in 19
During the Second Zhili-Fengtian War in 2004, they took the opportunity to reorganize and reorganize. However, this minuscule army of 1,500 White Russian soldiers was almost invincible in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War.
These desperadoes, who were usually heavy drinkers, violent and vulgar, showed their courage to move forward regardless of their lives during the Zhifeng War, and instantly became Zhang Zongchang's most relied-upon weapons.
Relying on the sharp sword of the White Russian Army, Zhang Zongchang rose from an almost unknown young general to one of the most powerful figures in Shandong in just two years. He could even challenge the general Li Jinglin under the Northeast King Zhang Zuolin.
, they once fought fiercely for the position of Shandong Governor.
Although the White Russian Legion is small in number, it is powerful. This is due to their own quality.
Among the warlords of the Republic of China at that time, most of the expanded armies had never fought in a war. Therefore, as soon as these soldiers without actual combat training left the battlefield, their combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced due to their own fear and the cruelty of the battlefield.
, Han Baihang has had profound experience in this regard. When he encounters a situation where he needs to replenish his troops, he would rather gather the soldiers who were defeated from the battlefield mountain than recruit new soldiers. There is an important reason for this.
Zhang Zongchang's White Russian soldiers had fought fierce battles with the powerful Soviet Red Army many times in the Soviet Union, otherwise they would not have been beaten like this. It was exactly this kind of battle dozens of times and hundreds of times.
Experience has honed these veterans' proficient combat skills and battlefield survival methods, and tempered their tenacious fighting will and ruthless psychological quality.
Coupled with the Belarusians' innately strong physique and tough character, as well as the advanced weapons distributed to them by the Fengjun, they became veritable killing tools on the Chinese battlefield.
In Han Baihang's eyes, the behavior of the Chinese hiring foreign soldiers to kill Chinese people made him feel very uncomfortable, but he knew that at that time, you could not survive without strength. In this world, whoever has a big fist will be tough.
, war has always been like this.
The biggest characteristic of Zhang Zongchang's White Russian Army was its ruthlessness, or to put it bluntly, cruelty. This shocked both Zhang Zongchang, who had killed countless people, and the Northeastern King Zhang Zuolin.
As the military commander of the White Russian Legion, Zhang Zongchang seldom inspected this team for a very special reason, that is, he could not stand the cruelty and ruthlessness of these people.
In the military camp of the White Russian Army, there were a lot of "parts" from dead people, some of which were other people's fingers, ears, etc. These White Russian soldiers killed and robbed on the battlefield and never let go of the good things they could get.
It seems that killing is born with them. Even when they drink and eat meat, sometimes they cut the knife directly from the living creature, cut it off and put it in the mouth. The cattle and sheep are running around in pain, but the meat on their bodies is already bloody.
It fell into the bellies of these White Russian soldiers.
For Zhang Zongchang, recruiting these Belarusian soldiers is undoubtedly a huge help to him. He only cares about whether these soldiers can fight for him, and does not care about what these soldiers eat and drink. As long as they can expand his territory for him, he will
Then we can provide these soldiers with enough delicious food.
Of course, these White Russian soldiers did not live up to Zhang Zongchang's expectations and investment. In the second Zhili-Fengtian War that broke out in 1924, the Fengjun army was firmly blocked at Shanhaiguan by the Zhili army commanded by Wu Peifu. It is recorded that Fengjun
The army either fought or retreated. When it was about to be counterattacked by the Zhili Army, Zhang Zongchang's White Russian Army launched a fierce attack on the flank of the Zhili Army.
Some of these White Russian soldiers were proficient in artillery tactics. They had mastered accurate, advanced and practical artillery technology on the Soviet-Russian battlefield. The terrain of the Great Wall of Shanhaiguan, which the Zhili army was firmly defending, was just conducive to them launching artillery attacks. At that time,
The White Russian Army destroyed the military fortifications built by the Zhili Army near the Great Wall. Fengjun took this opportunity to advance straight in and cut off the Zhili Army's retreat.
At that time, coupled with Feng Yuxiang's defection before the battle, the Zhili army, which could not take care of the first, was finally defeated across the board. Finally, Feng army commander drove straight into Peiping and took charge of power. Therefore, in the Zhili-Fengtian war, Zhang Zongchang's White Russian Army not only contributed a lot, but also
And it played a key role in the entire Zhili-Fengtian War.
It was this battle that suddenly gave Zhang Zongchang, who had no fighting ability in the eyes of other generals, his own status. Even the Northeast King Zhang Zuolin and Marshal Zhang looked at him with admiration.
But for Zhang Zongchang, he didn't think it was important what others thought of him. Only his own strength was the most important, so he "sneakly" recruited more than 100,000 troops in this battle and made a fortune.
