Zhou Weiguo has been quite a maverick in the national army over the years. His promotion to a high position was not only due to his family background and personal ability, but also to the care of Hu Zongnan.
The two had known each other for many years, and Hu Zhongnan had great trust in Zhou Weiguo. Zhou Weiguo reciprocated the favor and tried his best to assist Hu Zhongnan.
As the parting was about to begin, Zhou Weiguo was inevitably a little sad, and he also had a few heartfelt words to say to Hu Zhongnan: "Brother Shoushan, Shaanxi Province is a land of trouble and will not stay for a long time. If you have the chance, you should be transferred to another place!"
Hu Zhongnan smiled when he heard this, pointed at Zhou Weiguo with his finger, and pretended to be dissatisfied: "Zhou Weiguo, Zhou Weiguo, you are still the same. Sometimes I wonder if you were secretly bewitched by the Eighth Route Army in Shaanxi Province over the years. When did you become so cowardly?
If it were anyone else, I would have dismissed him long ago and investigated him!"
Unexpectedly, Hu Zhongnan's words suddenly changed and he continued: "I didn't know that northern Shaanxi is a whirlpool. Once I cause trouble, I will bear the infamy of starting a civil war. Although I, Hu Zhongnan, don't have much talent, I can't waste the trust of Principal Gu!"
"The Eighth Route Army is our great enemy and has now become a serious danger. If it is allowed to develop further, it will endanger the great cause of the party and the country!"
What Hu Zongnan said was awe-inspiring, but in fact he also had selfish motives. The fertile land in Guanzhong is thousands of miles away, and Shaanxi Province is a rare piece of pure land. How could he be willing to give up the long-established business?
If he can dominate the Guanzhong area and claim hegemony, it will be nothing to bear the infamy of starting a civil war. The Eighth Route Army occupying northern Shaanxi is undoubtedly the last obstacle to his occupation of Shaanxi Province.
"Forget it, let's not talk about these things. Come home in the evening, take your wife and children with you, and then send your wife and children back to your hometown in southern Hunan as soon as possible. Don't stay in Xijian!"
Zhou Weiguo nodded when he heard this. The most taboo thing between people is to communicate with each other lightly, but Hu Zongnan allowed him to take his wife and children away. Zhou Weiguo accepted his favor.
"You and I both graduated from Huangpu and are trusted confidants of the principal. However, whether in the government or the military, there are still many people with qualifications that are higher than mine. Your brother can serve as the director of Xiyuan Camp. Firstly, the principal trusts him. Secondly,
Well, those who covet it still have fears in their hearts!"
"If there comes a time when your brother is ready to take care of the Eighth Route Army, I'm afraid your position will be unstable by then!"
After the order from the Ministry of Military Affairs was issued, Zhou Weiguo's first order after taking office was to withdraw the 14th Army to Weinan for army reorganization.
With the withdrawal of the 14th Group Army, the pressure on the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia base area was greatly reduced. The troops of the 34th Group Army still blocked the base area, but no one mentioned the elimination of the Eighth Route Army again.
Zhou Weiguo was not a good old man either. As the saying goes, once an emperor is a minister, once Liu Maoen was transferred to serve in the Military Senate, Zhou Weiguo began to reorganize the 14th Army.
Now is undoubtedly the best time to reorganize the army. The 14th Group Army is in Shaanxi Province, and its food supplies are all allocated by the Xiyan Camp, which is equivalent to having its lifeline choked.
The reorganization of the 14th Group Army involved the interests of all parties. Zhou Weiguo did not dare to carry out drastic army reorganization at the beginning. The general direction was to streamline some of the troops, eliminate the old and weak as well as the veterans, and then transfer some confidants from the First Army to place them there.
Among them, the 15th Army is the main target. This unit has the jurisdiction of the 64th Division and the 65th Division, which were adapted from the Zhensong Army. The Army Commander is concurrently served by Liu Mao'en, and the Deputy Army Commander Wu Tinglin is usually in charge of daily military affairs.
Liu Maoen and Liu Zhenhua, the leader of the Zhensong Army, were brothers. During the Northern Expedition, he switched allegiance to Feng Huanzhang's Second Army and since then he has been considered a member of the National Revolutionary Army.
However, the predecessor of the 15th Army, the Song-Suppressing Army, had a blood feud with the people of Guanzhong. When the Song-Suppressing Army took advantage of the situation and swept through Guanzhong and laid siege to Xijian, many local people died at the hands of the Song-Suppressing Army, and every household wore sackcloth and mourning.
Of course, Zhou Weiguo could not tolerate having such troops under his command, so he teamed up with Hu Zongnan to hold a farewell party in Xijian City in the name of Liu Maoen going to the mountain city to report on his duties, and invited a group of senior generals of the 14th Group Army to attend.
The next day, Liu Maoen took a plane to the mountain city. In front of all the generals, Zhou Weiguo read out the order of the Ministry of Military Affairs and transferred Wu Tinglin, deputy commander of the 15th Army, to the First Army as deputy commander.
Wu Tinglin originally dreamed of being promoted to the commander of the 15th Army after Liu Maoen left, but he never imagined that Zhou Weiguo had resorted to a trick to isolate him from his troops in the name of a farewell party.
Wu Tinglin only had a few guards with him and had no room for resistance. He was detained in Xijian City in disguise. Then Zhou Weiguo served as the commander-in-chief of the group army and concurrently served as the commander of the 15th Army. Yao Beichen, commander of the 64th Division, served as deputy commander and presided over daily military affairs.
Li Jiyun, commander of the 65th Division, retains his original position.
Wu Tinglin was like the chicken that killed the chicken to scare the monkeys. Zhou Weiguo's actions frightened the generals of the 14th Group Army. However, the subsequent reuse of Yao Beichen calmed people's hearts.
Yao Beichen studied in the artillery department of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School for five years. He has a high enthusiasm for resisting Japan. He is fundamentally different from old warlords like Liu Maoen and Wu Tinglin. He is a rare talent.
Li Jiyun, on the other hand, also graduated from the third phase of Huangpu, and was a direct descendant of someone who was inserted into the 15th Army by Jiang. He had an unclear relationship with the Eighth Route Army, but lost contact with the organization during April 12, and led his troops to the Central Military Commission.
It was only later that Tiaoshan reconnected with the organization.
With the cooperation of the two men, the 15th Army began to streamline its troops. The main target was the veterans left behind by the Suppressing Song Army. These people were generally around 40 years old, and most of them served as middle- and low-level officers.
The 14th Army was a direct descendant of the Guard Chief. Zhou Weiguo did not make any changes in the upper-level personnel arrangements. Army Commander Li Tie and his subordinate 83rd Division, 85th Division, Temporary 2nd Division and other senior generals continued to be retained.
The same is true for the 93rd Army Commander Chen Mu-Nong and his subordinate 10th Division, the newly formed 8th Division, and the 166th Division. However, the 166th Division was ambushed by the Japanese army in Zhongtiao Mountain and had incomplete personnel and organization, but the lost troops were not replenished.
Time came to mid-August. As the 14th Army withdrew from the blockade, the situation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party eased. The mediation work of the military adjustment team made significant progress. Zhou Weihan and the brigade commander also had plans to return to Yanzhou.
This time, he could go back to Yanzhou openly. Before leaving, Stilwell found Zhou Weihan again and told him that several friends were visiting folk customs in Sanyuan County and wanted to go to Yanzhou to have a look and asked Zhou Weihan if he could accompany him.
What Stilwell said was quite cryptic, but Zhou Weihan immediately understood that these might be observers sent by the United States to Yanzhou, but their identities could not be made public, so Zhou Weihan naturally agreed happily.
Immediately after the defeat of the National Army at Zhongtiao Mountain, the U.S. government became increasingly disappointed with the National Government. Not only was it looking for suitable replacements within the National Government, it even paid more attention to the Eighth Route Army.