Chapter 259: An Expedition with Endless Internal Conflict
Twenty-four artillery pieces were dragged onto the wooden bridge by groups of strong draft horses, followed by two hundred and sixty strong draft horses carrying boxes of cannonballs, followed by one thousand and two dozen cannons.
Hundreds of artillery battalion officers and soldiers drove across the Sanzhuang Bridge in the west of Xinji Town one after another and entered Daying Town, which is only 24 kilometers away from Chuzhou City.
An Yi rode his black horse to the top of the hillside east of the bridge and silently looked at his marching troops. Liu Shoujiang, the party representative of the independent division major general, Hu Jialin, Yin Jinan, Yang Bin and the newly promoted colonel Zhan Huanqi, who had changed their nameplates to major generals, also
Standing on horseback, overlooking the line of troops heading westward at the foot of the mountain.
Yesterday afternoon, most of the artillery pieces of An Yi's independent division were taken away by the artillery command department of the General Headquarters represented by Cai Zhonghuang. Cai Zhonghuang was very loyal and led his elite to select the best 24 guns for An Yi.
The artillery was left behind, and after solemnly promising to bring the twenty-eight artillery pieces back to Nanjing,
He then issued an order to the First Artillery Regiment stationed in the west of Nanchang City to send six of the miscellaneous artillery pieces to the old Nanchang Non-commissioned Officer Base for training, and to send all 17 damaged and scrapped artillery pieces in the Nanchang warehouse to the independent army.
The division's ordnance repair shop allows ordnance technicians to practice dismantling and repairing.
The Battle of Yangzhou and the Battle of Taizhou were included in the "Jiangbei Campaign" by the Nanjing National Government and the Northern Expeditionary Army Headquarters. An Yi and Gu Zhutong became famous Northern Expedition generals highlighted by propaganda tools. An Yi's
Once again, his name spread all over the country, and his prestige reached directly to Commander Zhang Zuolin's mansion in Beijing.
The snow of congratulatory messages from all over the country made the personnel of the First Army extremely busy and exhausted. Dozens of Chinese and foreign reporters rushed to Yangzhou for interviews. At this time, An Yi quietly led his troops to completely evacuate Zhenjiang, Jiangdu and Yangzhou.
The logistics camp in the south of the city was almost parallel to the main force of the Third Division in the south and north, heading towards Chuzhou. Gu Zhutong was left behind to meet reporters in Yangzhou, delivering his speech on the Northern Expedition and looking forward to the future.
An Yi felt very uncomfortable now. He saw statements in newspapers that did not belong to him, and saw the so-called declaration of the Northern Expedition of the Independent Division of the First Army of the National Revolutionary Army, which contained a firm anti-communist stance and loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek.
It was clear at a glance that this made An Yi very angry inside, but he
There was nothing he could do. He knew clearly that the impact of this false statement would bring unforeseen changes to his future military and official career. Therefore, he felt very passive and depressed in his heart. However, despite this, An
Yi didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction on his face.
When leaving Nanjing yesterday morning, Chen Shuming, Liu Wendao, Ge Jing'en, Chen Lifu, He Yushu, Jiang Guangding and other important figures gathered together to see them off. The parking lot of the Central Government Complex was packed. The officers gathered Hu Jialin and others
General appointment documents and a set of general officer collar badges produced under the supervision of the Ministry of Military Affairs
The nameplate was handed over to An Yi, and he earnestly encouraged An Yi on behalf of Commander-in-Chief Chiang. An Yi cheered up and accepted it all respectfully - he knew very well that if he showed any dissatisfaction, all his previous efforts would be lost.
It is very likely that everything will be in vain, and your ideals and ambitions will become further distant.
The benefit gained from enduring is that He Yushu and Jiang Guangding, on behalf of the First Army Military Headquarters, fully agreed with An Yi to promote the chief and deputy chief officers of his four main regiments, divisional engineering battalion, guard battalion, teaching team, and artillery battalion to colonel.
In terms of military rank, the chief officers at all levels of the military battalion, company, platoon, etc. will be promoted to one rank, and a one-time cash reward of 80,000 yuan will be given to the independent division.
An Yi respectfully accepted this generous gift with a grateful smile. Together with the check of 200,000 yuan that Principal Jiang privately rewarded, all was deposited in the HSBC Bank in Xiaguan before leaving Nanjing City. This was somewhat of a relief to his injured self-esteem.
compensated.
The headquarters of the Second Route Army is located in Pukou opposite Nanjing City. Although Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek is named Commander-in-Chief of the Second Route Army, he has actually handed over all command authority to Deputy Chief of Staff General Bai Chongxi, who is fully responsible for the command.
Under his command, General He Yaozu's 40th Army, General Chen Tiaoyuan's 37th Army, and Yang Jie
The general's new Sixth Army, the independent divisions of the First Army, the First Division and the Third Division. Among them, General Chen Tiaoyuan, commander of the 37th Army, was originally General Bai Chongxi's teacher when he was studying at the Hubei Army Academy.
He was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army for the first time and jointly commanded the various units of the Central Route Army together with his student Bai Chongxi.
Pukou is just north of Nanjing City, across the Yangtze River from Nanjing. It is the starting point of the southern line of the Jin-Puzhou Railway. It is 40 kilometers away from Chuzhou and only 33 kilometers away from Daying Town where the Anyi Independent Division is located. General Bai Chongxi will
The selection of Pukou as the headquarters is of great significance.
After completing the deployment of troops, An Yi did not dare to neglect. He immediately led Yin Jinan, Hu Jialin, and Yang Bin to rush to Pukou, reported to acting commander-in-chief Bai Chongxi, and handed over the defense and frontline command of Daying Town to party representative Liu Shoujiang and the commanders of each regiment and battalion.
The headquarters of the Second Route Army is located in Pukou Camp. A division of General He Yaozu and a guard battalion of General Bai Chongxi are stationed in the camp. An Yi and his party arrived in front of the headquarters without many twists and turns after passing two checkpoints.
At this time, Bai Chongxi, Chen Tiaoyuan, He Yaozu and others were holding a military planning meeting.
The chief of staff was still Zhang Dingfan, and the director of the political department was still Pan Yizhi. When the generals heard the news that An Yi had come to report, they looked at each other and smiled. Bai Chongxi smiled slightly and whispered that it was very fast. Chen Tiaoyuan and He Yaozu said with interest,
Let's all go out to greet him and see what our young general who is famous throughout the army looks like?
An Yi and others who were waiting in the courtyard of the headquarters did not expect that so many generals would come out to welcome them in person. They immediately stood upright and loudly reported. Bai Chongxi returned the courtesy and politely introduced Chen Tiaoyuan, He Yaozu and others to An Yi.
An Yi and others respectfully greeted the two senior military officers. Their thoughtful etiquette and humble attitude won them great favor from the two generals.
Especially He Yaozu. During the Battle of Fengxin, He Yaozu was the commander of an independent division. His division was stationed next to the Second Division. They had a very good relationship with each other. In addition, An Yi had always had a good relationship with various departments of the Hunan Army. Therefore,
Many Xiaoxiang disciples served as battalion commanders, which gave He Yaozu an invisible sense of identity, and he was also very enthusiastic towards An Yi and others.
Forty-one-year-old Chen Tiaoyuan has big ears, a majestic demeanor, and a neat black mustache on his lips. This battlefield veteran who began his military career at the age of fourteen started as an ordinary soldier and went through more than twenty years of service.
In 2001, he became an army general of the Beiyang government. He was a truly meritorious general who had experienced hundreds of battles.
Before the revolution, he had been promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army and Commander of the Front Army. After the Yi Revolution, he was appointed General-General of the Thirty-seventh Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and served as Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army and Chairman of Anhui Province. General Li Zongren defeated the troops without any blood.
Going to Anqing and Wuhu was the result of Chen Tiaoyuan's close cooperation.
Chen Tiaoyuan gently held An Yi's hand, looked him up and down, and nodded: "Yes, yes, he lives up to his name! The series of battles in Yangzhou, Taizhou, and Gaoyou launched by you and Gu Mosan this time are amazing.
, mobilize both the middle and east roads of our army
Get up, those veterans who have been in the army for 20 or 30 years have been defeated by you. My old friend Bai Baoshan was forced into desperation and finally had to surrender to the revolution. This saved General He Jingzhi on the east road a lot of trouble and fought.
Very good!"
"Senior, you are ridiculous! The battle in Yangzhou and Taizhou was purely opportunistic. If my Northern Expedition troops had not pressed Jiangbei across the board, causing the enemy to focus on one thing at the expense of the other, and retreat without a fight as soon as they came into contact, with the ability of thousands of my brothers, I would not have done anything.
It would have been impossible to capture Taizhou, and now I still feel lucky when I think of my juniors." An Yi answered humbly.
Chen Tiaoyuan smiled, pointed at An Yi and said: "It's just as Jiansheng said! Yes, you are neither arrogant nor impetuous, modest and easy-going. You are a young and handsome man with magnanimity, haha! I remember you are only twenty years old this year.
, isn’t it?”
An Yi reported respectfully: "I was born in the 32nd year of Guangxu's reign. My zodiac sign is Horse. I will be 21 years old in June this year."
Chen Tiaoyuan's eyes lit up: "It's amazing. A twenty-year-old major general is extremely rare in the country. Huangpu is really talented!"
An Yi smiled and didn't answer, but he said in his heart that it didn't matter. In the next few years, a large number of young generals would emerge from the red tide sweeping the country. There were not a few who became division commanders at the age of twenty. For example, before time travel, his father often talked about the number one soldier of the People's Liberation Army.
General Li Tianyou, commander of the 38th Army, became the commander of the Fifth Division of the Third Red Army at the age of nineteen.
He Yaozu was a little disdainful: "I think it's not Huangpu that produces talents, it's the Northern Expedition that produces talents! Look at the various departments of the Northern Expedition now, how many generals are really trained by Huangpu? There is not a single Huangpu student in the Seventh Army, which is famous all over the country.
, isn’t it still invincible?”
Bai Chongxi was born in the Guangxi clan and was closely related to the Seventh Army. Hearing this, he smiled slightly and waved his hand to signal everyone to come in. When he walked into the lobby, Bai Chongxi paused for a moment, and when An Yi came forward, he asked in a low voice: "An Yi, your independence
How is the progress of the division?"
"Reporting to the commander, the 1st and 3rd regiments of our division have arrived at the scheduled combat positions on the eastern front yesterday and launched full vigilance against the enemies in Chuzhou. The independent regiment and the 2nd regiment also all entered the scheduled battlefield this morning. All the division's units were mobilized three hours ago
Stationed in Daying Town, reconnaissance of the enemy began three days ago. Currently, all kinds of intelligence data are being compiled. We only need to wait for the commander's order to launch an attack across the board." An Yi replied in a low voice.
Bai Chongxi nodded with satisfaction: "Very good. Compared with Gu Mosan's Third Division, the progress is much faster. We are analyzing the intelligence data obtained today. You can also participate."
"yes!"
After everyone sat down, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Zhang Dingfan walked to the large map and began to report on the battle situation and briefly analyze the battlefield:
"The latest news is that the Fourth and Eleventh Army of the right wing participating in the Northern Expedition from Wuhan have successfully occupied Runan. The left wing army went north from Zhumadian, took advantage of the victory to attack, and fought fiercely with Zhang Xueliang's troops in Queshan, and the front line was leveled. It is estimated that it will be in the near future.
Can be conquered.
On our Nanjing side, the Xiawei Division under General Li Delin of the third route and the 44th Army of General Ye Jingqiu (named Ye Kaixin) are attacking the Zhilu Allied Forces in Chaoxian County. The commander of the First Route, He Jingzhi, led his troops and fought fiercely with Sun's army in Hai'an.
On the front line, General Yang Gengguang's Sixth Army of our Second Route Army (characterized by Yang Jie) has been advancing from south to north against the enemy defenders in Chuzhou. General Chen's Thirty-seventh Army is attacking Hanshan, and the occupation of Hanshan is just around the corner.
It can be said that the current development of the entire war situation is more favorable to our Northern Expedition armies. At present, our Second Route Army's troops are relatively dispersed. The First Division of the First Army is still stranded on the opposite side of the river at Xiaguan and has not yet crossed the river. General Gu Mosan
Only half of the third division reached the southeast of Chuzhou
, Fortunately, General An Yi's independent division has made rapid progress and has completed the pressure on the eastern front of Chuzhou's defenders ahead of schedule. Therefore, as long as the third division enters the southeast battlefield, our Second Route Army can launch a full-scale attack on the defenders of Chuzhou City. The following is
, please ask Commander Bai to arrange combat missions."
Bai Chongxi glanced at An Yi, who looked confused. Instead of going straight to the topic, he asked in a low voice: "General An, do you have any questions?"
"Oh? Subordinate... I'm sorry, I was distracted."
An Yi straightened his back and answered truthfully: "I have two questions. First, I don't know when General Ye Kaixin, who was reorganized into the 44th Army after surrendering to the revolution, will arrive in Chaoxian County? Secondly, according to the news in the newspaper
As said, General Feng Yuxiang's troops have left Shaanxi and arrived at Tongguan
Later, it stagnated. The outside world speculated that General Feng Yuxiang was secretly compromising with Fengjun Zhang Zuolin. If this was true, his subordinates were very worried that Xuzhou Fengjun would go south to Bengbu, and the enemies of Bengbu would go south to reinforce Hefei and Chuzhou, which would affect our next combat strategy.
It will cause great trouble.”
The generals looked at An Yi with smiles. Chen Tiaoyuan's eyes were filled with admiration, thinking that it was indeed very rare for An Yi to have such a broad vision at his age.
At Bai Chongxi's signal, Zhang Dingfan explained loudly: "We have discussed this issue just now, and we have unanimously determined that General Feng Yuxiang will not collude secretly with Fengjun, at least not during this period, because General Feng Yuxiang has already sent troops to Wuhan at the same time.
The Party and our Nanjing government made a public commitment to go all out in the Northern Expedition and never retreat. Commander-in-chief Chiang Kai-shek also responded positively to the military assistance requested by General Feng Yuxiang.
In fact, the one who is currently sitting on the sidelines is not General Feng Yuxiang, who openly responded to the revolution, but the Shanxi-Sui Army commanded by General Yan Xishan. However, according to the latest intelligence, the main forces under General Yan Xishan have been quietly mobilized to intimidate the front line in North China.
, which greatly restrained Fengjun's troops heading south, so General An did not need to be distracted by this.
Secondly, General Ye Kaixin has been stationed in Hubei since he surrendered to the revolution. The reason why he suddenly transferred from Wuhan to our Nanjing camp was because General Tang Shengzhi and General Ye Kaixin had a long-cherished wish. General Ye Kaixin saw that General Tang Shengzhi’s troops were about to encircle and disarm him, so he only
He could quickly break away from the Wuhan government, rush eastward and join our Northern Expedition in Nanjing, and then be incorporated into our Third Route Army to fight alongside General Li Zongren."
"I understand, sir. Thank you for your explanation, sir." Only then did An Yi know what had happened.
Bai Chongxi kindly asked everyone if they had any concerns. Seeing that everyone said they had no objections, Bai Chongxi first gave a slight salute to his teacher Chen Tiaoyuan, then slowly stood up, strode to the map, and addressed various departments in his calm voice.