At noon on July 11, at the North Campus of Chengdu, the Preparatory Office of the Chengdu Branch of the Central Military Academy, the chairman of the committee made a temporary camp.
Chiang Kai-shek was having a simple working lunch with Zhejiang Governor Huang Shaohong, Hubei Governor Zhang Qun, Fujian Governor Chen Yi, Jiangxi Governor Xiong Shihui and others who had come to ask for instructions on relations with Japan. Chiang Kai-shek had no regard for the frontier officials under his command.
Instead of looking for Wang Jingwei, he came to Sichuan to ask for instructions. He felt very relieved and satisfied. At the same time, he was worried about the deteriorating situation in North China and Japan's aggressive diplomatic pressure.
Under the tremendous pressure from the Japanese troops and embassy and consulates in China, Chiang Kai-shek, who always believed in the erroneous principle of "Anti-foreign aggression must first pacify the domestic situation", acquiesced in He Yingqin's foolish behavior, even though the contents of the "Ho-Mei Agreement" were made public, causing uproar throughout the country.
Angry, He Yingqin argued that he had never been in any
He Yingqin, who was in charge of the military and political power in North China, gave a written reply to Yoshijiro Umezu, the commander of the Japanese garrison in Tianjin. The evidence is conclusive and cannot be proven at all.
shirk his responsibility for treason.
In this regard, Chiang Kai-shek, who was commanding the suppression of the Communists from afar in Chengdu, remained silent, allowing He Yingqin and Wang Jingwei, the president and political director of the Kuomintang who brokered the "Ho-Mei Agreement", to continue to serve as shields for servility and traitorous pursuit of glory.
Immediately afterwards, the Central Military and Political Special Meeting chaired by Wang Jingwei made the decision to abolish the headquarters of the 17th Army. Chiang Kai-shek knew clearly that this was Wang Jingwei, He Yingqin and the group of compromise factions in the Kuomintang central government in order to get rid of the endless threats from the Japanese.
and entanglement, according to the "Ho-Mei Agreement" "withdraw all troops stationed in Hebei
The cowardly concession made by the "Central Army" clause, knowing that this was a key step that would eventually lead to the complete withdrawal of the Seventeenth Army from North China, knowing that the An Jiajun's tough attitude towards Japan contained huge war risks, but Chiang Kai-shek
After some hesitation, he still agreed in a joint telegram from the Central Military Commission and the central government.
But after receiving the urgent telegram from Baoding from He Yingqin yesterday afternoon, Chiang Kai-shek panicked. The refusal of Hu Jialin and the generals of the 17th Army was originally expected by Chiang Kai-shek, but he did not give any face to He Yingqin's tyrannical attitude.
, indeed worrying.
Up to now, Chiang Kai-shek is still hesitating and waiting. He doesn't know how to call his beloved general Hu Jialin to comfort him. He also doesn't know whether his compromise attitude of agreeing to cancel the headquarters of the 17th Army will destroy the Great Wall.
Will it lead to a big mistake that will harm the country and the people?
From the original point of view, Chiang Kai-shek was really reluctant to withdraw from the 17th Army, which was located in the strategic areas of central and southern Hebei. An Yi's rapid replenishment of the strength and combat power of the 17th Army at all costs was also through him.
Implemented only after Chiang Kai-shek agreed
The purpose is to maintain a strong deterrent against the increasingly arrogant Japanese invaders, the traitor armed forces in North China, and the various princes who are trying to protect themselves but are weak and wavering in their stance towards Japan, so as to prevent the already precarious situation in North China from developing into an irreversible situation.
situation.
Furthermore, after the signing of the Ho-Mei Agreement, peace was not achieved. Instead of being satisfied, the greedy Japanese continued to press forward step by step. This aroused the anger of the entire nation and led to an unprecedented anti-Japanese wave that spread across China.
against the Kuomintang government
The voices of all walks of life across the country rose up to criticize He Yingqin and Wang Jingwei's regime... All of this deeply shocked Chiang Kai-shek in the southwest, and an unprecedented combination of panic, regret, hesitation and loss of control came over him.
, making him restless and hesitant to advance or retreat.
Therefore, the hesitant Chiang Kai-shek did not issue a clear order to Hu Jialin in time. He knew very well that the fierce general Hu Jialin and the more than 80,000 tough soldiers of the 17th Army would only obey the orders of Chiang Kai-shek and An Yi. He Yingqin could not point out what to do.
What's more, He Yingqin had an old grudge with the soldiers of the 17th Army from the Anjia Army. He was lucky to not be humiliated by the soldiers of the 17th Army when he arrived in Baoding.
But one thing was quite reassuring to Chiang Kai-shek. He believed that Xu Tingyao, an old commander of the Seventeenth Army, had also been ordered to Baoding. No matter how angry the increasingly calm Hu Jialin was, he would not fail to give Xu Tingyao face, nor would he not receive him without Chiang Kai-shek.
Before receiving clear orders, they rashly took military action against Japan.
However, Chiang Kai-shek ignored An Yi, who was not far to the south of him, ignored the group of brave generals around An Yi, and ignored the deep friendship between Xu Tingyao and An Jiajun and the patriotism in Xu Tingyao's heart.
What's more, he didn't expect that the Anjia Army Air Regiment temporarily stationed at Qingyuan Airport in Baoding was not under his control.
Chiang Kai-shek originally planned to send a secret message to Hu Jialin after holding a meeting with the governors of each province, asking Hu Jialin to still adopt a tolerant attitude and agree to the Central Committee's decision to cancel the legion headquarters but not withdraw the troops for the time being, and to stabilize the situation first.
But now, just half a day's hesitation finally triggered a huge crisis.
When Chiang Kai-shek saw Deng Wenyi trotting forward with a pale face, he felt a chill in his heart, and the chopsticks in his hands fell on the table. Huang Shaohong, Zhang Qun and others all stopped talking and looked at Chiang Kai-shek who had lost his composure in surprise.
"Principal, something bad happened..."
Deng Wenyi suddenly realized that a group of frontier officials were sitting next to Chiang Kai-shek, so she shut her mouth and did not say anything further.
Chiang Kai-shek put down the remaining chopsticks in his hand, picked up the snow-white napkin, and wiped his hands gently: "Let's talk, everyone here is the pillar of the party and the country, there is nothing to keep secret."
Everyone was very grateful for Chiang Kai-shek's trust, and Chiang Kai-shek's calmness also made Deng Wenyi feel at ease:
"Principal, I just received an urgent report from Commander Hu Jialin: At 9:40 a.m., three Japanese fighter planes once again brazenly invaded the Xushui airspace of the 17th Army Defense Area, conducting reconnaissance and low-altitude threats against the 25th Guan Linzheng Division, which was retreating south.
, a minute later, they suddenly encountered the fighter formation of the Southwest Air Force Command's 1st Air Regiment that was on routine patrol. The Japanese army
The plane took the lead in firing provocatively, and the 1st Air Regiment was forced to fight back, annihilating three Japanese aircraft. Two Japanese pilots who were parachuting were seriously injured and rushed to the Baoding Field Hospital, where they died after being rescued. As a precaution, General Hu Jialin convened a meeting
An emergency military meeting, with the unanimous advice of the generals, ordered the entire army to prepare for battle."
"ah--"
Zhang Qun exclaimed, and Xiong Shihui beside him, with his sharp eyes and quick hands, grabbed the hem of Zhang Qun's suit to stop him from jumping up.
Xiong Shihui, Chen Yi and Huang Shaohong were all veterans who had been exposed to the hail of bullets. Although they were stunned and looked at each other, no one was as frightened as Zhang Qun.
Chiang Kai-shek's thin face twitched slightly, and he slowly stood up and gave the order: "Call Vice-Commander An Yi immediately and tell him that it is urgent and ask him to fly to Chengdu to see me immediately."
"yes!"
Deng Wenyi forgot to salute and strode away.
Chiang Kai-shek glanced around kindly: "Everyone, this is the end of the meal. Come with me to the conference room to discuss it. It seems that we are riding a tiger and are in trouble."
Everyone stood up quickly and hurriedly followed Chiang Kai-shek who left first.
Chen Yi shook his head as he walked and sighed: "Let me tell you, I am always worried that something will happen, but I can't remember where it will happen. How could I forget the two air force squadrons stationed at Baoding Airport by An Yi!"
Huang Shaohong chuckled: "Everyone is firing now. It's useless to discuss anything further. You'd better get ready and carry out nationwide mobilization when you go back. Brother, this provincial governor has not been sitting on the throne until he encountered this matter, so it's just right for him to do so.
I have united the hearts and minds of the army and the people, haha!"
"Brother Ji Kuan, I admire you for being able to laugh at this time! I heard that Brother Ji Kuan and Brother An are as close as brothers, so I guess you sincerely admire Brother An's angry attack?"
Xiong Shihui, who was plump and sweaty, strode up to catch up.
Huang Shaohong shook his head and said with excitement: "Brother Tianyi (Xiong Shihui), didn't you hear clearly just now? It was obviously the Japanese plane that provoked first, and Brother An's plane was forced to fight back! It was a good fight, and it won the opening prize as soon as it came.
Later I have to ask Brother An how he trained such an excellent pilot."
"Okay! The chairman of the committee has summoned me. I estimate Brother An will arrive soon. Then I will ask him and learn from him." Xiong Shihui smiled in agreement. He never believed that the Japanese plane fired first.
Otherwise, all three planes would have been knocked down, and none of them would have been able to escape.
Chen Yi coughed, and everyone quickly looked around. When they saw Chiang Kai-shek speeding up his pace, they immediately closed their mouths and followed silently.
…
There was a huge quarrel at the headquarters of the Japanese garrison in Tianjin. Every Japanese officer was shouting and murderous. They wanted to rush to Baoding immediately and drag Hu Jialin out and beat him up. But as urgent reports arrived,
The Japanese generals were dumbfounded:
General Lu Yixuan of the 17th Army commanded the four brigades of the 17th Division and quickly moved north along the route of their last exercise; the Central Army's trump card division, the independent division, which has a heavy artillery regiment and an assault brigade, has more than 20,000 people in four brigades.
Everyone, the troops were divided into three groups and marched to the corridor.
Song Zheyuan's brigade stationed in Langfang closed its doors and disappeared; Yang Jiuxiao's 40th Division stationed in Hengshui, with 20,000 elite troops, requisitioned all trains and civilian vehicles and headed north at high speed under the guidance of the newly added anti-aircraft artillery brigade and mechanized assault regiment.
The 68th Division of Zhang Chengzhu stationed in Shijiazhuang was about to arrive in Shijiazhuang via railway. About seventy-two large wheeled armored vehicles followed by a car group rumbled northward and arrived at Wangdu County, 30 kilometers south of Baoding.
Within the territory; the Anjia Army Air Force fighter planes that had the air superiority were dispatched all over the North China airspace. Three of the new fighter planes appeared in the sky over Tianjin and Peiping in ultra-low-altitude sneak attacks, dropping a snow-like anti-Japanese leaflet...
Umezu Yoshijiro frowned and waved slightly. The four intelligence staff bowed and retreated. Umezu Yoshijiro turned to Doihara Kenji behind him and asked: "What's the reply from the Kwantung Army?"
Kenji Doihara replied in a low voice: "The headquarters has ordered the Sixth and Eighth Divisions in the Recha area to stop advancing westward and be ready to go south for support at any time; a regiment of Uramu-kun's Sixteenth Division has already boarded the train, and it is expected that today
At about ten o'clock in the evening, we passed through Shanhaiguan and headed south to Tianjin, while the navy used the excuse that it needed to wait for domestic orders... At present, domestic opinions are divided, and the Ministry of War and the General Staff Headquarters are quarreling.
The cabinet strongly opposed the escalation of the situation, saying that the current achievements of the Kwantung Army and the garrison army were very great, but they had also caused great harm to the already shaky economy of the Empire of Japan, and they did not support the military adding troops to China. If my estimate is correct,
, the Kwantung Army Headquarters probably received a secret order from Prince Zain of the General Staff Headquarters, otherwise it would be impossible not to have the rapid response we expected."
Umezu Yoshijiro looked pale and worried: "What should we do in this case? If the 17th China Army, which is not afraid of death, does not listen to the orders of the Nanjing government and is determined to attack Tianjin with all its strength, what should we do with our only three brigades?"
"General, please rest assured that the Seventeenth China Army will not be able to succeed. Our Ambassador Plenipotentiary Ji Mingjun has made an urgent appointment with Wang Jingwei. General Seiichi Kita, the first section chief of the General Staff Headquarters, will also attend the meeting. The results of the negotiation will be transmitted soon. I estimate..."
"
"Report, General, urgent call from the General Staff Headquarters."
Sakai Takashi walked over quickly and handed over the message with a face full of grief and indignation.
Umezu Yoshijiro quickly took it and looked at it carefully. After reading the order from the Chief of General Staff Prince Zain that "it is prohibited to use force except in self-defense", he couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh:
"Citizens are harming the country! We can only rely on your secret service and foreign affairs department below. If there is no domestic support, we will be defeated without a fight..."
After Kenji Doihara was shocked, he gritted his teeth: "General, I will never give up! The 80,000 imperial warriors of the Kwantung Army will never give up. We must fight to the end and fight to the death!"