At twelve o'clock at noon, the emergency meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adjourned, and Chiang Kai-shek hurriedly returned to the Chairman's Office in the West Branch of the Kuomintang.
Zhao Rui, Director of the Fourth Department of the Military Commission, Xu Zuyi, Director of the Second Department of the General Staff Headquarters, and Dai Li, Director of the Second Division of the Investigation and Statistics Bureau of the Military Commission, sat on the benches outside, exchanging opinions in low voices.
When the three of them saw Chiang Kai-shek walking in, they quickly stood up to greet him.
Chiang Kai-shek waved his hand to indicate that you were welcome, came to the inner room, sat down hastily on the sofa, took the water glass handed by Chen Buili, took a sip of boiled water, took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and then asked the three people standing in front of him.
: “What is the international community’s response to this bombing?”
The three of them looked at each other, and finally Xu Zuyi reported: "Commissioner, it is one o'clock in the morning in Washington, D.C., and the European countries are still sleeping. It is expected that no action will be taken until the evening."
"Ah!? Concern leads to chaos. I'm the one who lost my temper!"
Chiang Kai-shek shook his head, leaned his head on the back of the sofa, closed his eyes, and said in pain: "The Communist government and the army will never give up this time, and the next revenge will definitely be earth-shattering in order to save face...
..That’s it, that’s all, the matter has come to this, we can only use the troops to cover up the water and the earth. By the way, is there any news from the Fifth Army?”
"Commissioner, the Fifth Army Corps sent a telegram to the Military Commission at about ten o'clock in the morning, stating that the troops have successfully broken through the encirclement. The forward has merged with the 59th Army and the 77th Army of the 29th Group Army. It is expected to be ready tonight.
Retreat to the south entrance." Zhao Rui reported respectfully.
"Good! He is worthy of being the sharp blade of the country and an iron-blooded warrior. Hu Jialin has lived up to the expectations of the party and the country!" Chiang Kai-shek suddenly opened his eyes, stood up from the sofa, and walked back and forth with his hands, looking very excited, but it didn't take long.
He then dimmed and his voice became slightly lowered: "The troops... are you okay now?"
"The three divisions of the 17th Army now add up to less than 20,000 people, and most of them are injured."
Zhao Rui's face was not good-looking: "Since the Japanese army successively occupied Nanyuan, Fengtai, Wanping, and Changxindian, cutting off all roads going south, the headquarters of the Fifth Army and the Seventeenth Army could only withdraw from Suiyuan.
In Shanxi, the next step must be decided by the committee and the military commission."
Chiang Kai-shek sighed: "This time it was really hard for them. I remember that each division of the Seventeenth Army was organized into three brigades and nine regiments. Each division had about 22,000 men. Calculated in this way, they lost almost three soldiers.
Divided into two men, you can imagine the brutality of the battle. When they retreat to Shanxi, reorganize in Henan, and bring all the main generals to Nanjing, I will personally award them with honors! They are national heroes, role models for the party and the country, and well deserved! By the way,
Where is that bastard Liu Zhi?"
Zhao Rui's face was ashen and he did not answer. Dai Li took the initiative to take over the conversation: "General Liu Jingfu called at 11 o'clock in the morning. The group army headquarters successfully retreated to Fangshan County. The ministries under his command are gradually gathering up. It is expected that most of the troops will still fight again.
General Jing Fu expressed his merit, saying that if he had not made a temporary decision and retreat decisively, the troops would have been trapped in a heavy encirclement by the Japanese army..."
"Such a defeat is called meritorious service? What Hu Jialin and his colleagues call meritorious service, what he does is called shame!"
Chiang Kai-shek snorted angrily, paced back and forth for a while, then lowered his voice and asked: "Are the Second Division, the Twenty-fifth Division, the Forty-seventh Division, and the Fifty-first Division all right?"
Glancing at the indignant Zhao Rui from the corner of his eye, Dai Li said truthfully: "Liu Jingfu reported that the main force of the organization remains intact, and the remaining units will gradually return to the army within the next two days."
Chiang Kai-shek nodded slightly and stopped asking questions, as if the matter had just been revealed.
Zhao Rui felt disappointed and realized that in Chiang Kai-shek's mind, the most important thing was to preserve the strength of the direct line of the Central Army! Liu Zhi saw this clearly, so he shamelessly asked for credit for himself after the defeat.
This paved the way for him to raise the whip high and put it down gently when the time comes for rewards and punishments, and he can be the director of his Henan-Anhui Appeasement Office without any worries.
After returning to the sofa and sitting down, Chiang Kai-shek thought for a while and asked: "Is there anything abnormal happening to the Japanese army in Shanghai? I heard that since the Second Fleet suffered a huge blow in Haizhou Bay, it has been at Wusong Road, North Sichuan Road and other places.
The Marine Corps, which had held anti-Japanese demonstrations and held frequent military exercises, suddenly became more honest. Even the detention operation of Japanese nationals and ships in the waters from Chongqing to Wuhan led by the Jiang Defense Command a few days ago did not respond.
, as if the Japanese government didn’t care at all about the tens of thousands of nationals, more than ten merchant ships, and six small-tonnage destroyers it had detained. Didn’t the Japanese Navy’s Third Fleet respond at all?”
Regarding matters in Shanghai, the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics of the Military Commission has the most say. Seeing Zhao Rui and Xu Zuyi looking at him together, Dai Li quickly reported:
"Yesterday, the Japanese Navy made a mistake. They said that one of their sailors was missing. They suspected that it was our security team. They asked to enter our military station for inspection, but we sternly refused. The Japanese military threatened to take resolute actions to defend
The dignity of the Imperial Navy. Unexpectedly, that sailor was found near Jingjiang early this morning. It turned out that he went to Shanghai to visit prostitutes privately and was discovered by other sailors. He fled in fear of crime. Now the Third Fleet of the Japanese Navy has withdrawn all illegal requests.
"
Chiang Kai-shek nodded slightly: "Well done, we just can't give the Japanese an excuse to start a war in Shanghai. However, the trees are still but the wind is not stopping. If the Japanese army insists on fighting a war, we have no choice but to accompany them!"
Wang Brai hurriedly entered and came to Chiang Kai-shek: "There is an urgent military report in the fourth hall. Director Li Hansong is waiting outside."
"Oh? Could it be that something happened again? Please come!" Chiang Kai-shek said quickly.
Soon Li Hansong walked into the office, saluted first Chiang Kai-shek, then Zhao Rui and Xu Zuyi, nodded to Dai Li, and handed the telegram to Zhao Rui.
Zhao Rui didn't look at it and directly put his hands in front of Chiang Kai-shek.
Chiang Kai-shek took it and glanced at it, his face changed drastically, he stood up suddenly, and just as he was about to speak, his body suddenly tilted, and he fell down on the sofa and passed out.
...
Taking advantage of the adjournment time, Zhu Peide and his guards rushed to Nanjing Central General Hospital. Unexpectedly, they met Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi in military uniforms at the door of the inpatient building. They hurriedly stepped forward to say hello: "Brother De Lin, Brother Jiansheng, why do you think of them?"
Come here?"
Li Zongren smiled and said: "Yi Gong, aren't we visiting the same person?"
Zhu Peide couldn't help being dumbfounded, then pointed at Li Zongren and laughed softly.
Bai Chongxi looked envious: "Yi Gong, I have noticed that you are getting younger and younger these days. When I saw you in the early years, your face was gray and pale, without luster, and you were sickly. But now you are glowing,
You are full of energy and look like you are ten years younger. How have you been recuperating in the past few years?"
"The Taoist priests from Wanshou Palace taught me how to maintain good health and specially prepared some dietary prescriptions for me. I followed them for several years, and my health gradually improved without realizing it. Especially in the past six months or so,
My best friend gave me a few prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine, and the changes in my body became more and more obvious." Speaking of this, Zhu Peide sighed with emotion: "In addition, the fallen leaves have returned to their roots, and the mountains and rivers of my hometown nourish people. Now I have people who can help me with big things, and my beloved son-in-law can help me with small things.
If you share your burdens, are carefree and cheerful, how can your health be bad?"
"When Yi Gong said, 'Someone has an idea for big things,' he was referring to An Yi, right?" Li Zongren asked with a smile.
Zhu Peide nodded: "Yes, Xiaoyi, my son-in-law, and my daughter have become brothers and sisters, and they are dependent on each other. They are closer than a family. It is really a great blessing in this life that I have such a close friend like Xiaoyi. Looking back now, if I didn't
I decisively stepped in to help Xiaoyi and tried my best to facilitate him. How did I get this blessing today? I don’t know for sure, but now my old bones have become a pile of loess for future generations to commemorate!"
"Yi Gong, sometimes I really envy you. You have a good son-in-law with outstanding abilities like Zhan Huanqi, and a good nephew like An Yi who knows how to repay kindness. He thinks of everything for you, unlike me, who thinks of everything for you."
You have to rely on yourself, and you are afraid that you will make a wrong step in your errand. No, I came here specially to ask for advice." Li Zongren couldn't help but sigh when he thought of the grievances and resentments he had with An Yi.
"It's a pity that we could have become friends. An Yi was under my command during the Northern Expedition... Oh, what a mistake!" Bai Chongxi sighed unbearably.
"Let's go in first. A large group of people are blocking the door. It's too eye-catching! Please, Brother De Lin, Brother Jiansheng!" Zhu Peide made a gesture of invitation.
"Okay, let's go hand in hand! It seems that we have never had such an opportunity since the Northern Expedition. I didn't expect that now under the banner of anti-Japanese, we are back together again."
Li Zongren held Zhu Peide's hand with his left hand, and held Bai Chongxi's hand with his right hand, walking side by side, with a look of reminiscence on his face.
Bai said with emotion: "Now not only you and me, but also the Communist Party of China have reunited under the banner of anti-Japanese war. Think about the fighting of life and death in the past ten years, how many soldiers have shed blood on the battlefield, and you will find that it turns out that we
What we pursue and insist on is simply not worth mentioning in the face of the great interests of the country and the nation."
...
The entrance to the stairs from the lobby on the first floor to the special care ward on the second floor was covered with sentries, and the Anjia Army iron guards in civilian clothes were watching the surroundings vigilantly.
When An Yi's bodyguard leader Shen Ziling saw Zhu Peide, he quickly stepped forward and respectfully called "Uncle De" - this was based on the seniority of the Taoist priests of Wanshou Palace who interacted with Zhu Peide. There was a hint of intimacy in his words. Then,
Shen Ziling solemnly saluted Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi again.
Zhu Peide asked with concern: "Is Xiaoyi awake now?"
Shen Ziling nodded: "I woke up. The commander's brain was severely damaged. Uncle Shi (Lao Shoudao) said that it will take a while to recover. Before that, he should not be too excited. However, Commander Hu and his troops are trapped in a tight siege, and their life and death are uncertain.
How could the commander calm down? Fortunately, around ten o'clock, the headquarters of the Fifth Army sent a battle report, saying that it had broken through the heavy Japanese encirclement and was about to join forces with General Mingxuan's 29th Group Army. I think the commander would be in a much better mood."
"The Seventeenth Army broke through?"
Bai Chongxi looked excited: "If the Seventeenth Army can be preserved, then the entire North China War situation will be saved..."
At this point, Bai Chongxi seemed to suddenly realize that the deployment of the Central Military Commission was not appropriate in public. Bai Chongxi changed his words and said: "The Japanese invaders still couldn't leave Anjiajun behind despite all their efforts. This is a disservice to their commanders and troops."
The blow to morale is so great that it is unimaginable that our goal of promoting peace through war may really be achieved..."