The spring of the seventeenth year of the Republic of China was destined to be a painful period of chaos, internal and external difficulties.
The Lijin section of the Yellow River in Shandong burst its banks and flooded more than 80 counties. The people suffered heavy casualties and millions of people were homeless and displaced. Yan Xishan's Shanxi Sui Army and Zhang Zuolin's Feng Army are still unfolding on the front line in Shuo County, northern Shanxi.
The fierce battle was in full swing; Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army quietly stopped fighting with Fengjun at this time, and moved its headquarters from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng, across the river from Fengjun Marshal Zhang Xueliang;
The Chen Jitang Division of the Eleventh Army finally conquered Haifeng and Lufeng, Guangdong, strangling the young Communist regime in its infancy; more than 2,000 troops led by the Communist Party Zhu De defeated Xu Kexiang's division at Pingshi on the Hunan-Guangdong border and captured 1,500 troops.
More than a hundred long and short guns and a large amount of ammunition later disappeared; Chiang Kai-shek's Nanjing National Government used a rare compromise attitude to make concessions to the major warlord forces and sought temporary peace, but could not escape the dilemma of being wantonly invaded and suppressed by the imperialist powers.
Bureau.
The U.S. government received a secret report from the Minister to China, Ma Murui, and immediately held a secret meeting to discuss adjustments to its China policy. The Americans learned from the secret report that the warlords of Guangdong and Guangxi in the south had formed an anti-Chiang alliance. Most people who were originally inclined to support the Chiang Kai-shek government
Caught in hesitation, the positive China policy adjustment plan that had just been formulated was immediately postponed, and a large amount of US dollar loans and steel and other materials continued to be exported to Japan; in order to cling to its huge interests in China and aggravate the division of China, the British government did not hesitate to
He increased his support for the northern warlords and once again provided one million pounds of weapons and ammunition to the Zhilu warlord Zhang Zongchang. He also secretly sent a secret message to the Minister in China, Lan Pusheng, who had defeated his opponent Wang Jingwei in secret meetings in the province and Hong Kong under the pretext of going to Hong Kong on business.
Zhang Fakui once again took charge of Li Jishen in Guangdong. Within three days, the "Shaji Massacre" monument made with the blood and flesh of the Chinese people in the anti-imperialist struggle was quietly demolished. News immediately spread in the province and Hong Kong that Li Jishen had received huge aid from the United Kingdom.
, although Li Jishen sanctioned his denial, he has always avoided any questions about the monument. The British army, which had no right to enter the city of Guangzhou when the National Government was founded, was suddenly able to parade around the streets of Guangzhou wearing military uniforms.
After the Japanese brazenly rammed and sank the China Chase Company's "New Daming" passenger liner at Dongxing New Port in Taixing on February 18 with the Japanese ship "Second Atsuda Maru", resulting in the death of more than 300 Chinese civilians, they expressed their anger at the Nanjing government's
"Hanyeping" Steel and Coal, as well as its uncompromising attitude in tariff negotiations, once again drove a warship on a rampage in the waters of Pingtan, Fujian Province on the 28th, brutally killing more than 180 innocent people with naval cannons and machine guns, and then
The whistle blew long and flew away. The weak Nanjing government could do nothing about this series of beast-like atrocities except for futile protests and adding more hatred to the soldiers and civilians across the country.
On March 1, Li Zongren finally got his wish and got the position of chairman of the Wuhan Political Branch. With satisfaction and disappointment, he returned to Wuhan shouting the slogan "Work together for the second Northern Expedition" and ordered the convening of a military and political meeting in the two lakes regions to start dividing the cake.
At nine o'clock in the morning on March 5th, Bai Chongxi, Cheng Qian, Lu Diping and more than 20 important officials from various ministries affiliated to the Guangxi clique gathered at the Nanyang Building in Hankou to attend the military and political meeting held by Li Zongren, the new highest military and political officer in the Lianghu region.
Meeting.
The meeting had just begun and before the official agenda was entered, an urgent report was sent from the riverside post of the Jiang Defense Force: seven sea-going ships of over 500 tons suddenly came from the upper reaches without warning. They did not carry any cargo, but were filled with national revolutionaries.
Officers and soldiers, this army that suddenly appeared before our eyes without any prior notice was wearing the new yellow-green combat uniforms that the Huangpu Army had just equipped. It looked extremely suspicious!
Wuhan garrison commander Hu Zongduo's expression changed. Without waiting for Li Zongren's instructions, he immediately stood up and rushed out of the conference room. Bai Chongxi looked at each other and Li Zongren, who was also astonished, and strode away.
Hu Zongduo took a car and hurried to the Longwang Temple Jiang Defense Command Post on the riverside. Surrounded by a group of generals, he climbed onto the observation tower built with huge rocks and raised his telescope:
Seven large, black-smoking ships were calmly descending from the waters a few hundred meters upstream. Four of them were flying the German flag, two were flying the Belgian flag, the passenger ship in the middle was flying the British flag, and the three ships in front and behind were all.
On the large cargo ship, officers and soldiers wearing new military uniforms were neatly sitting in the cabin. On the front deck of the passenger ship in the middle, five people wearing new military uniforms were also looking at the left bank with binoculars.
Under the long-lost morning sun, the fleet full of officers and soldiers was getting closer and closer. The sturdy middle-aged officer on the deck of the British passenger ship put down the telescope in his hand, took a step across, and stood tall and motionless facing Hu Zongduo on the observation deck on the river bank.
, his five-inch long thick beard is flowing in the wind, his eyes are bright, and there is a trace of ridicule at the corner of his mouth. The golden National Revolutionary Army lieutenant general badge on his collar is shining. The generals around him are also standing around, looking at
Hu Zongduo's eyes were full of hatred and anger.
"Ye Kaixin? It could actually be him - my God..." Hu Zongduo couldn't help but exclaimed.
"It's him, he's demonstrating against us."
Bai Chongxi stood beside Hu Zongduo at some point, gently pressed Hu Zongduo's hand that wanted to salute, put away the telescope, and shook his head helplessly: "We are looking at them, and they are also looking at us. Judging from their eyes,
I’m afraid this hatred will never be resolved again.”
Hu Zongduo sighed deeply, turned to the river, looked at the passenger ship that had sailed more than a hundred meters downstream, and asked puzzledly: "It seems that there are more than 10,000 officers and soldiers on board the seven ships, and I don't know how many are in the cabin.
Unexpectedly, they would sneak past us in such a swaggering way... How could a foreign ship come forward to help? People wearing military uniforms are not allowed to board ships from all countries, so where did Ye Kaixin get such great ability?
?”
"Of course Ye Kaixin doesn't have this ability, but Commander-in-Chief Chiang has the ability, and the extremely wealthy An Yi, who controls nearly 60% of the country's tungsten sand exports, has the ability. These days, money can make all the difference.
It's not false at all." Bai Chongxi said calmly.
Hu Zongduo was startled: "An Yi? Why is it related to him again? Brother Jiansheng means that An Yi is behind the scenes to manipulate this matter?"
Bai Chongxi nodded: "We already know Chiang Kai-shek's decision, but we don't know how he plans to transfer Ye Kaixin's troops to the south of the Yangtze River. Last week, Duke De held a meeting in Nanjing and sent a secret message to warn Jiang to take precautions.
The troops are closely monitoring the 200-kilometer river section. General Cheng Songyun's Sixth Army and our Thirteenth and Fourteenth Armies have retreated to central and northern Hunan, and are ready for encirclement and annihilation at any time.
You said before that it would be difficult for Ye Kaixin's troops to escape through the well-defended waterways. We all think so. Hunan is our defense zone from south to north. The whole of Hubei is now in our hands. If Ye Kaixin's remaining troops want to sneak through us
It is easier said than done to defend the defense zone? But who would have thought that they would leave in such a swaggering manner today? This An Yi is becoming more and more difficult to deal with..."
Hu Zongduo frowned and said with concern: "At the end of last month, major newspapers and magazines reported on the reconstruction of An Yi Division for a week. The special interview in "Eastern Outlook" was even richer. It mentioned that An Yi's independent division
The establishment was restored to 12,000 officers and soldiers, and an artillery regiment with a car company was also added. This was the first time among all division-level army establishments in the country. The division-level unit of our army only had one artillery battalion of twelve thousand.
A cannon, this guy is really rich!"
"Yeah! I'm also worried about this. This guy has a grudge against us. His comeback is definitely not good news for us. Moreover, he successfully formed an independent division in just two months, and he has
I'm afraid the advanced equipment is far more than what is described in the newspaper."
Bai Chongxi glanced at the fleet with some helplessness, and pulled his old classmate Hu Zongduo towards the observation deck: "Jin Handing's 31st Army has added a teaching regiment and a special agent battalion, equipped with 2,500 weapons produced by Nanchang Arsenal.
The new machine gun was officially named the "Zhongzheng Type 1" machine gun. This time, Degong obtained one in Nanjing through a very secret relationship and brought it back. After the test firing the day before yesterday, he couldn't put it down.
Although this kind of gun weighs 4.6 kilograms and has a large recoil, it is exquisitely made and has powerful firepower. It uses 7.62 ordinary rifle bullets and is common with the new 7.62 caliber rifle produced by Hanyang Factory. It has 30 rounds.
The loaded magazine has a range of 1,200 meters. After experiments, we believe that the effective range is about 350 meters. There is no accuracy after 450 meters. However, it is amazing that it can be produced.
Judging from the equipment of the 31st Army, An Yi Independent Division is equipped with no less than 2,000 machine guns. In the past, each of his squad leaders and deputy squad leaders were equipped with fancy machine guns. It is estimated that this time will be no exception, and his cannons
The regiment must have at least twenty-four artillery pieces, and combined with other factors, the combat effectiveness of the An Yi Division will never be lower than that of an army!"
Hu Zongduo and Bai Chongxi got into the back seat of the car and rushed back to the Nanyang Building for a meeting. Along the way, they repeatedly analyzed the current situation of the Anyi Division after its formation. They were very impressed by the bravery of the officers and soldiers of the Anyi Division, advanced weapons and equipment, and flexible tactics.
fear.
Both of them are puzzled that Chiang Kai-shek still has not announced the ownership of the An Yi Division, but Bai Chongxi is very confident in judging that the An Yi Division will never stay in the rear, but will be used by Chiang Kai-shek as the vanguard of the Northern Expedition. Bai Chongxi and Hu Zongze
After repeated deliberation, it was unanimously concluded that the reason why An Yi Division has not yet been affiliated with a certain army of the Huangpu Clan is probably the result of the competition between Liu Zhi and Gu Zhutong.
By 12 o'clock at noon, the military and political meeting with extremely uneven distribution of interests had made no progress. In particular, there was endless debate about who should leave the two lakes to participate in the Northern Expedition. Li Zongren took the lead in proposing that Cheng Qian's Sixth Army and Lu Diping's Second Army each send a detachment.
The First Army, He Jian's 35th Army, and Li Pinxian's Eighth Army participated in the Northern Expedition, while the rest of the troops stayed behind. This distribution that clearly favored the Guangxi faction immediately aroused the objections of the veteran Cheng Qian. Cheng Qian saw that Li Zongren's own main force was the third.
The Seventh Army, the Nineteenth Army, the Eighteenth Army, the Thirteenth Army, and the Fourteenth Army did not move, but they allowed themselves to take command and lead the Sixth and Second Army's Northern Expedition. I felt very uncomfortable, so I seemed to be polite and fair.
It was proposed: Whether weighing from a political or military perspective, the world-famous Seventh Army of the "Northern Expedition Steel Army" should be the main force, and each of the other armies should send out a unit to cooperate with the operation.
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately won the support of Lu Diping, Li Pinxian and other non-Guangxi generals. Xia Wei and Hu Zongduo immediately expressed their opposition, and the two sides soon started arguing. Seeing that they could not unify their opinions, Li Zongren had to announce a temporary adjournment.
After people go back, they think about it again and will resume the meeting tomorrow morning.
During lunch, Li Zongren, who was exhausted both mentally and physically, was not satisfied with the food. He had an intense discussion with Bai Chongxi, Xia Wei and other confidants around him. After long discussions, he still could not come up with an effective solution that was accepted by all parties. Seeing this situation, Li Zongren could only temporarily drop the topic and bring it up again.
Ye Kaixin and An Yi's departments:
"Jiansheng, can you conclude that all of Ye Kaixin's troops have left western Hunan and headed for the Jiangsu and Anhui front lines?"
"It is basically certain that even if one is left behind, the number will not exceed one regiment, which is not enough to cause trouble! If it is found that the remnants are still in Xiangxi, we only need to order Brother Hu Huang (characterized by Chen Jiayou) to lead the 14th Army to eliminate them.
I have an idea. Since everyone is so dissatisfied with us for not sending our direct troops to participate in the Northern Expedition, I am willing to take on this important task. I will immediately transfer the Thirteenth Army under my command back and take the lead in marching to Wusheng Pass, ready to go north at any time."
Bai Chongxi said magnanimously.
Li Zongren was deeply moved: "Jiansheng has solved my dilemma! The Thirteenth Army was transferred to central Hunan and western Hunan for more than two months. It has made great achievements along the way and the soldiers are also quite tired. Please transfer it back as soon as possible to rest. Priority is given to replenishing personnel and equipment so that
Recharge your batteries and go north to fight... Jiansheng, how is your instructor doing?"
Bai Chongxi put down his chopsticks and wiped the corners of his mouth: "I am resting in Yueyang. The attack on the instructor regiment this time cannot be blamed on the division commander Chen Zhibiao. His marching route and combat methods are both correct. Since entering Hunan, he has led the instructors bravely and tenaciously, and has been invincible.
, being brave and resourceful is very rare.
At that time, a division of the 14th Army was fifteen kilometers away from his right, and the Second Division of the Thirteenth Army was twelve kilometers away from his left. The three divisions were advancing almost in tandem, cooperating seamlessly. The entire offensive plan was reviewed and approved by the younger brother, and no any prior discovery was made.
Question, but I didn’t expect that the enemy would be so courageous, choose the ambush location so well, and escape immediately after a successful attack, making it difficult for people to guard against it!
Before my younger brother arrived, Commander Chen found me. He suspected that Ye Kaixin’s headquarters was hiding an instructor from the Special Forces Brigade of the Anyi Independent Division. Based on the terrain, time, and means of the attack, snipers killed the second regiment commander and several battalion commanders who rushed to the rescue.
A detailed analysis of the position of the superior officer and other aspects is very reasonable. I also feel that this battle is very similar to An Yi's field style, but there is no evidence to prove the existence of An Yi's troops. Now Ye Kaixin leads his troops to the Jiangbei front line. This
Things are even harder to verify."
Li Zongren frowned slightly, feeling very worried about An Yi's comeback. He had already realized that sooner or later there would be a battle between himself and Chiang Kai-shek. Looking at the Huangpu family, only An Yi's independent division worried him the most, not just An Yi.
With their extraordinary military talents and the strong fighting power of the independent division, what troubled Li Zongren the most was the hatred they had formed with each other. From the analysis of An Yi's character with clear grudges, as long as the two sides broke up, he would not hesitate to retaliate.
Any unit that encounters a tough and cunning independent division will be a huge worry.
Xia Wei, who was sitting next to Li Zongren, also had a wry smile on his face. Thinking of Division An Yi's iron-bloodedness and toughness on the battlefield in Jiangbei, he shook his head and refused to say anything.
Bai Chongxi saw the worry in Li Zongren's heart from his face, thought for a while and said in a low voice: "Brother, please be at ease. This time going north, An Yi's division will definitely be used as a sharp blade by Chiang Kai-shek. Once he goes north, he will kill every one of them."
The arduous battle, without about half a year's rest, made it difficult for all the troops who fought north to recover. What's more, Feng Huanzhang's Northwest Army, Yan Baichuan's Jinsui Army and other forces were bargaining with Chiang Kai-shek for power and profit.
To take a step back, even if the crisis does come, it will only happen in the future. During this long period of time, we don’t know what changes will happen. Moreover, our troops staying in the rear will not make any progress.
, Hanyang Arsenal is now in our hands, and with a little more effort, the training and equipment levels of our armies can be improved by several levels. There is only ten thousand troops in the An Yi Division, so there is no need to take him too seriously."
Li Zongren smiled slightly, nodded and sighed softly: "Speaking of which, the production management of the Hanyang factory must be tightened. The Japanese have blocked us for such a long time. If we hadn't cleverly pushed the 'Shimoga Maru' incident to Sichuan Dongge Laohui,
And we gave them some preferential policies in terms of trade, but I'm afraid we are still in a bleak situation to this day.
Old Chiang Kai-shek is a thief. He talks about sincere unity, lifts the economic blockade on the two lakes areas in a high-profile manner, and allows all walks of life in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi to resume trade with the two lakes areas. In fact, in his heart he hopes that we will accomplish nothing. Brother Yu is coming back this time with a lot of energy.
We need to focus on economic development, otherwise it will be difficult to meet the needs of our more than 100,000 soldiers."
"Today's Nanchang area has become the trade center of the entire middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The three major trading markets built by General Zhu Yizhi in Jiujiang are bustling with people. It is said that the Third Army made a lot of money just by selling houses and land. In our two lakes area, almost
All the wealthy businessmen have moved there, what a pity! Can you try doing business with An Yi?" Hu Zongduo, who had never spoken, suggested.
Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi were stunned at the same time. After thinking about it, it made sense. They looked at each other and nodded in unison. Li Zongren said kindly:
"Jin Yu (Hu Zongduo), among all the generals in our army, An Yi has the best relationship with you. You are now shouldering the heavy responsibility of the entire Wuhan garrison. I will assign you the position of supervising the whole province, and you will be responsible for communicating with Nanchang.
What do you think about establishing normal business cooperation relationships in the new industrial zone?"
Hu Zongduo was overjoyed and stood up and expressed excitedly: "Zongduo will definitely go all out!"
Li Zongren smiled heartily and motioned for Hu Zongduo to sit down. Bai Chongxi was also deeply satisfied that Li Zongren trusted and reused his trusted general.