Chapter 146: The Discerning Vice President

The atmosphere in the conference room of the general headquarters in Gao'an City was lively. The good news just sent from Wuhan made Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek and the generals excited: the 100,000 soldiers of the Fourth Army and the Seventh Army, under the leadership of General Deng Yanda, the commander-in-chief of the siege,

After more than forty days of hard work, Wuchang City was finally breached on October 10, and the enemy general Liu Yuchun and more than 12,000 enemies under Chen Jiamo were captured. At this point, the Northern Expeditionary Army had basically eliminated the main force of the Zhili warlord Wu Peifu.

, achieved the major goal of occupying the "two lakes".

In addition to joy, all the generals attending the meeting focused their attention on Nanchang City. Although the generals had different thoughts and feelings, one thing was very consistent, that is, the good news from Wuhan was a motivation and a heavy pressure.

They all knew very well that only by conquering Nanchang as soon as possible could they establish their prestige and be eligible to enjoy the benefits that the "founding heroes" deserved.

General Chiang Kai-shek, the commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army, was in a complicated mood and had mixed feelings. He was extremely excited about the victory of occupying Wuchang. However, the ensuing telegrams about "moving the capital to Wuhan" made him anxious. After possessing Guangdong, Guangxi and then occupying the two lakes, the rapidly growing army

It is still unclear where the countless "revolutionaries" under the banner of the Nationalist Government will go. The childish government, which already has constant disagreements and undercurrents, may split and collapse at any time.

At the Central Committee meeting before the expedition, Chiang Kai-shek also agreed with the decision to move the capital to Wuhan after completing the first stage of the Northern Expedition. However, under the current circumstances, it is difficult for him to make a decision because of the inherent infighting complex in the bones of the Chinese people and the inherent infighting complex of the central government.

Based on the realistic analysis of the numerous factions, moving the capital to Wuhan will definitely cause him to lose most of his rights, and he may even be reduced to the fringes of power.

Looking up, we can see that the "revolutionaries" from all walks of life holding high the same flag are no longer what they used to be. They are getting richer and richer. The most typical representatives among them are those who were initially defeated by the Zhili army and devoted themselves to the revolution under the cruel pressure of survival.

General Tang Shengzhi's team has rapidly expanded from the initial 7,000 to more than 65,000, and is still expanding; another example is the Fourth Army of Zhang Fakui, which is gradually turning red. Since the Northern Expedition,

The two divisions that left Guangdong have now rapidly grown to more than 40,000 troops. The two divisions that stayed in Guangzhou have also grown to an unprecedented size of four divisions and two regiments totaling more than 25,000 troops. The original Fourth Army

It expanded rapidly, and it was more than enough to form three armies...

Another important reason is that from the time he sent troops to Hunan to the arrival of troops in Wuchang and now to Guangchang, Chiang Kai-shek directed the soldiers of all armies to advance one after another. However, every time the soldiers of all armies shed their blood and sacrificed their lives to conquer a place, the dust of conquest was not washed away.

As soon as they set off to another front battlefield, Tang Shengzhi's troops and various political groups deeply influenced by external forces came in strides, raised the banner of revolution, and openly established their own local government, appointed their own officials, established an armed regime, and took charge of all military and civilian forces.

This strange phenomenon of people planting trees and picking peaches later has aroused the dissatisfaction and anger of the combat troops at the front. If it is allowed to develop, the combat troops who have lost their interests will

There will be irreparable divisions, and the magnificent Northern Expedition that was promised before the expedition will be abandoned halfway.

At this time, Chiang Kai-shek, who had eyes and ears in all directions, knew very well that the troops that truly belonged to him were only a mere 30,000 people. If he had not decisively appointed He Yingqin, commander of the First Army, as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army of the Northern Expedition, he would have led a group of troops.

The three divisions of the army went out from northern Guangdong and marched straight into Fujian and won one victory after another. The more than 10,000 men in the first and second divisions he currently has are too weak to compete for the championship. Especially

It was the disastrous defeat of his confidant Wang Boling in Nanchang half a month ago. The First Division, which had excellent officers and soldiers, well-equipped equipment and had grown to nearly 10,000 people, was almost wiped out. The remaining 5,000 officers and soldiers are still licking their wounds.

While supplementing, he worked hard with hatred. Now he can only rely on the second division led by the honest and loyal Liu Zhi. It is precisely because of the second division that he won the Battle of Shangfu, the Battle of Fengxin and other large and small victories.

, which gave Chiang Kai-shek great comfort in his anxious and heavy heart.

At the meeting, the generals from all walks of life were excited and full of confidence. They were already discussing the battle plan of forcibly crossing the Gan River to siege Nanchang City. General Bai Chongxi, the deputy chief of staff who had just returned to the Gao'an General Headquarters from Wuchang City the night before, looked calm as usual.

Calm and confident.

Thirty-three-year-old Bai Chongxi was sitting next to Commander-in-Chief Chiang. He had extraordinary commanding abilities and the military talent to strategize and win thousands of miles away, but he could not see much from Commander-in-Chief Chiang's calm and unsmiling face, but Bai Chongxi could

Feeling the urgency of the commander-in-chief to attack Nanchang, knowing that the current situation has forced the commander-in-chief to make a decision. After Wuchang was captured by Tang Shengzhi, Zhang Fakui and others, even the worst politicians knew who the huge reputation was for.

Create strong political capital.

Therefore, Bai Chongxi did not urge the commander-in-chief to make an immediate decision. Instead, he listened calmly to the various strategies of the participating generals and easily judged their pros and cons. He knew that it would be sooner or later for the commander-in-chief to make a decision, and it would be today.

Although Bai Chongxi knew that this battle was really a back-to-back siege, which violated the taboo of military strategists and was likely to outweigh the gains and even lead to the loss of troops, there were many ways to achieve maximum results at the minimum cost. To this end, he had already formulated several strategies.

Plans and plans, but in such an atmosphere, he was unwilling to say it out loud. Many of the people here were not only older and more powerful than him, but they were all confident and determined to win. From a political and military perspective, attacking Nanchang was also

It was imperative that Bai Chongxi did not want to leave a bad impression of being arrogant and arrogant at this time.

More than ten minutes passed, and the meeting place gradually became quiet. All the generals looked at Commander-in-Chief Chiang, who had not spoken a word, and only waited for an order to rush to the battlefield.

The commander-in-chief slowly glanced around and said calmly in his typical calm way: "Everyone's opinions are very good. The good news from Wuchang is exciting. Our officers and soldiers are greatly encouraged and their morale is like a rainbow. In addition, the seventh general of the neighboring country yesterday

The army conquered De'an after a hard battle, cut off the Nanxun line and divided the enemy's army in one fell swoop, as well as our Second Division's excellent record of going deep into the tiger's den and capturing two enemy generals. The enemies in Nanchang and its surrounding areas were hit one after another, and their morale was sluggish and the morale of the army was floating.

Our Second Army, also led by General Lu Yong'an (alias Lu Diping), captured Fengcheng and threatened the southern front line of Nanchang yesterday afternoon. It has now arrived in Gao'an. Therefore, it is the right time to attack Nanchang. Now, please ask the deputy

General Jiansheng, Chief of General Staff, would like to introduce to you a series of plans formulated by the headquarters, which will be implemented immediately once decided."

It only took Bai Chongxi half an hour to unify the various ideas that the generals of the three armies were arguing about into his own battle plan, and easily convinced the generals to accept the order: Tomorrow, the armies will force the crossing from three directions.

Ganjiang, the Third Army occupied Niuxing Station north of Nanchang to prevent the enemy from going south for reinforcements; the Second Army and the First Division of the First Army served as the main siege force. Bai Chongxi continued to serve as his familiar role - the former enemy commander-in-chief.

When the generals dispersed, Bai Chongxi put away the documents, thought for a moment and asked Commander-in-Chief Chiang in a low voice, who put down his water glass: "Jie Gong, my subordinates inspected the combat readiness of all armies yesterday. Passing by the west of the city, I saw the actual combat training of engineers at the Second Division Model Battalion. I felt it was a model."

The four engineering companies of the battalion are very excellent. Both in terms of technical ability and command level, they are far above the engineers of other armies. The subordinates stayed there for more than 40 minutes and talked with the battalion staff and instructor Lieutenant Colonel Yin Jinan and the chief officers of each company.

After a long time, it was learned that the battalion could complete the more than 60-meter pontoon bridge in five hours with only two companies. The subordinates went to the bridge to inspect it and found that the pontoon bridge was strong enough for horse-drawn artillery to pass safely.

, the speed and quality are surprising.

The subordinates could not help but think of many past events of the battalion commander An Yi, as well as a series of outstanding achievements since the Northern Expedition, especially the Fengxin Battle. As a result, our officers and soldiers of the Northern Expedition were deeply surprised by the powerful combat power of this model battalion, which was mainly composed of engineers.

When subordinates were instructing the siege deployment in Wuhan, they had already heard about the outstanding performance of the battalion. The generals of the various armies praised it, especially Generals Liu Wendao and Ye Qi of the Eighth Army, and Zhang Fakui, Huang Qixiang and Ye Ting of the Fourth Army who were expanding.

The generals were all full of praise for An Yi. At the banquet to bid farewell to his subordinates that day, General Tang Mengxiao (alias Tang Shengzhi) joked that without the Model Camp, the First Army and the Second Division would never be as famous as they are today. It seems that the Model Camp is well-deserved.

ah!"

Commander-in-Chief Chiang was very proud in his heart, but his face was calm and composed: "Well, Jian Sheng has seen An Yi before. In mid-April, I invited you to Huangpu for lectures and inspections, and we observed the training of the Engineer Section on the training ground. I will remember you.

I shook hands with An Yi, who was the acting district captain at the time."

Bai Chongxi smiled slightly: "My subordinates still have fresh memories. At that time, I felt that An Yi was straightforward and polite. I didn't expect that he turned out to be a tiger general in the war. It is still said in the Northern Expedition that An Yi single-handedly braved the rain of bullets.

He rushed under the Wuchang city wall, fired two precise shots to kill the enemy machine gunner and exploded a huge gasoline barrel, causing a hundred meters of the defender's city wall to be covered in fire, thus allowing 200 soldiers of the Second Division to successfully escape. Northern Expedition

When he first arrived in Changsha, the anecdote about his lawsuit against a commander of the Eighth Army for one of his soldiers has been widely circulated and made people laugh endlessly. Hu Zongduo, the brigade commander of the Seventh Army who once served as the main force in the siege of Wuchang, once told

His subordinates revealed that when the Model Battalion was assisting him in making the siege ladder, he had been reminded to be on guard against artillery attacks from enemy ships on the river. As a result, it was precisely because the Seventh Army did not find the correct defense method that thousands of soldiers were killed.

The city has suffered a heavy price. From this, it seems that An Yi is not only brave and resourceful, but also has a broad vision and unique vision. He is indeed a rare talent."

Commander-in-chief Jiang nodded: "Haha! This An Yi is not bad, and he still has a certain future. Maybe you have also heard that the enemy's mixed brigade commander Jing Yanzong and chief of staff Zhou Huayuan who are guarding the southwest section of the river in Nanchang City are also An Yi.

An Yi was captured by chance in the model camp. I was also surprised at the time. The audacious An Yi dared to do this, which was entirely the result of a few bets with his bosses Jiang Mingsan and Xu Yuexiang. On the night he was captured, he took

The bet note was taken with two packhorses and went to three bosses to ask for the ocean. Although Jiang Mingsan and the others felt distressed, they had to pay An Yi a total of fifteen thousand yuan. I heard that this guy even issued a challenge with a smile on his face after receiving the money, hoping to win.

When Nanchang continued gambling, his three bosses were so angry that they were speechless, haha!"

Bai Chongxi laughed heartily, and then suggested to the smiling Commander-in-Chief Jiang: "Jie Gong, my subordinates occasionally heard Brother Jing Fu talk about interesting things about the grassroots officers and soldiers of the model camp, saying that as long as they had time, they would build a sand table.

The war simulations were launched, and An Yi was the president every time. No matter which side won or lost, he would pump 15% of the water to ensure the harvest, haha! The subordinates estimated that the attack on Nanchang was imminent, and they would not be idle. If Mr. Jie had time, he would come together

How about going to the model camp in Jiangjun Temple? My subordinates also want to take the opportunity to see the preparations of the model camp. After all, the task of selecting and building two large pontoons is huge, and the model camp has a heavy burden!"
Chapter completed!