On March 2, 18th year of the Republic of China, the Central Committee of the Kuomintang promulgated the order of battle of the Central Army, and officially announced the list of commanders and deputy commanders of the First, Second, and Third Armies. The national army organization has been quarreling for ten months.
The dispatch plan was aborted, and warlords across the country took action upon hearing the news. They desperately searched for land and expanded their armies under the turmoil. The dark clouds of war instantly enveloped the troubled land of China.
In the next few days, all warlords from all sides made their appearance. There was no direct conflict of interest between the commander-in-chief of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, Yan Xishan, and the Nanjing National Government. He first sent a call to support the leadership of the central government. Feng Yuxiang of the Northwest Army was secretly happy when he saw the two tigers competing.
He shouted for all parties to "restrain" while mobilizing troops and generals to strive for the greatest interests. Seeing the coming storm, Li Zongren couldn't sit still in the Western-style building "Rongyuan" on Haige Road in the French Concession in Shanghai. In March
On the 4th, a telegram was sent to support the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek
, to promote national unification; Bai Chongxi smelled the strong smell of gunpowder in the air, and called the national leader Hu Hanmin to tell the central government that he had issued strict orders to all troops in Wuhan in the name of the Fourth Group Army Chief of Staff and the former enemy commander-in-chief.
He stood on standby, stopped all military operations, and called Li Jishen, the hesitant Chief of General Staff of the Revolutionary Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Eighth Route Army, urging Li Jishen to leave Guangzhou for Nanjing as soon as possible to discuss the peaceful resolution of the "Hunan Case" with the central ministries.
Although Bai Chongxi was a genius in the military, he was short-sighted in politics and did not see the deep meaning behind Chiang Kai-shek's various actions. This urging was tantamount to completely destroying the two vast rear areas of the Guangxi clique that were connected as a rock. He originally thought that
With the current military strength and strong combat effectiveness of the Guangxi Clique, the Central Army would never dare to launch a crusade against the Guangxi Clique. At this time, there is Feng Feng, who has heavy troops in Wuhan and the north of Nanjing, and is eyeing them.
Yuxiang and Chiang Kai-shek simply did not dare to attack Wuhan at the risk of snipe and clam fighting for the fisherman's profit, and they did not dare to control Li Jishen, a member of the Central Committee and veteran of the revolutionary army who had the support of 80,000 Guangdong troops behind him. Therefore, the conceited Bai Chongxi denied it twice.
Despite Li Zongren's dissuasion, he publicly called Li Jishen and asked him to come to Nanjing for a meeting as soon as possible, hoping to resolve the crisis peacefully and gain sufficient preparation time for future wars.
Chiang Kai-shek was secretly happy when he saw Bai Chongxi's telegram. He called the hesitant Li Jishen again and politely asked him to move to Nanjing to work together to solve the "Hunan case" and discuss state affairs. Under the warm invitation of all parties, Li Jishen finally took the
After making up his mind, he handed over the post of commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army to Huang Shaohong, chairman of Guangxi Province and commander of the 15th Army, who rushed to Guangzhou to take charge. He then took a cruise ship to Shanghai and then transferred to Nanjing.
Li Jishen had no idea that the reason why Chiang Kai-shek agreed to the decision of the Wuhan Political Branch to appoint He Jian as the governor of Hunan Province and had been holding back and not mobilizing any troops was completely to confuse Li Zongren and Li Jishen. As long as he controlled Li Jishen, Chiang Kai-shek would
If there is a way to dismember the Cantonese army in Guangdong, the 14 divisions and 150,000 troops under the central government will march west across the entire front, and the clarion call to attack Wuhan will then sound.
On March 7, Chiang Kai-shek finally showed his prowess, and a handwritten letter was delivered to Li Zongren in Shanghai. When Li Zongren saw the firm and non-negotiable content in the letter, such as "the authority of the central government must be maintained," he exclaimed that something bad was going on and turned around.
An urgent message was sent to Bai Chongxi, who was in Peking nervously watching the development of the situation.
At this time, Li Zongren was restricted by the environment and living conditions. Except for a few people such as the adjutant and the captain of the bodyguard, he was not equipped with a telegraph operator or translator, and there was no radio station. Even if he sent a telegram, it would take a long time, let alone
Speaking of
Li Zongren knew the news from the outside world at that time. Therefore, Li Zongren didn't know at all. Just three hours before he received Chiang Kai-shek's letter, 1,700 officers and soldiers of the 52nd Division Independent Regiment under his general Ye Qi rushed in, underestimating the enemy, and chased Tan Shuqing who was escaping.
The remnants of the division are ten
Six kilometers west of Changde, Hehuayan was ambushed in a narrow area surrounded by water on two sides and mountains on the other. The 16,000 soldiers of the 44th Army Zhang Cunzhuang and the instructor Deng Bin attacked more than 400 light and heavy machine guns and 48 mortars.
With the help of
It took more than thirty minutes to annihilate Ye Qi's most well-equipped and most powerful main regiment. The remaining 500 prisoners were forced to carry the entire regiment's weapons and equipment, and were surrounded by thousands of Zhang Cunzhuang's First Division.
They marched arduously westward under the guns of officers and soldiers.
Half an hour after the battle ended, Ye Qi led the main force of three regiments of the 52nd Division to three kilometers east of Hehuayan. The telescope showed corpses scattered on the ground, which shocked the stocky general.
Upon seeing this, the lieutenant volunteered and mounted his horse.
He rushed to the battlefield to survey the situation, but unfortunately he heard two gunshots before he got close to the edge of the battlefield. Two experienced elites fell off their horses almost at the same time. One of them was dragged by the frightened horse into the mountain path and disappeared, and the other disappeared.
His name remained on the ground and never rose again.
Shocked, Ye Qi quickly picked up the binoculars and took a closer look. He saw that all the red and white things were coming out of the head of the loyal subordinate. It was obvious that he had been shot in the head. His bent knees were still shaking at this moment.
The pale-faced Ye Qi trembled in his heart. Without any hesitation, he immediately ordered the entire army to withdraw to Changde, and then telegraphed to the Wuhan base camp to seek countermeasures.
Hu Zongduo was very surprised after receiving the emergency call. He never expected that the cooked duck would actually fly. Ye Qi's retreat was not a matter of urgency. Tan Daoyuan, a division of Lu Diping who was chasing and fighting all the way, escaped. But think about it.
Hu Zongduo was relieved at the loss of Ye Qi's troops. After suffering such a heavy blow in such a short period of time, it was self-evident how powerful his opponent was. It was no wonder that Ye Qi wanted to quit.
At this time, Hu Zongduo suddenly thought of the method used by the remnants of the Forty-fourth Army to attack the vanguard group of Bai Chongxi's Thirteenth Army two years ago. He felt that there was a bigger conspiracy in it. He did not dare to neglect at that moment and immediately reported Bai Chongxi in Peiping and Tao Jun's information.
A division ordered everyone to stop advancing to prevent falling into a bigger trap.
Chaoyimen Nei Street, Peking, the former enemy headquarters of the Fourth Army.
A black Dodge sedan passed by quickly, crushing a series of puddles on the street and splashing the melted snow water and sludge high. The sedan turned a corner and passed four saluting guards, entering the antique street.
The courtyard gate is in a tall and majestic building
Stopping in front of the lobby of the building with yellow tiles and double eaves, Huang Ruihua, the captain of the guard, got out of the carriage and opened the rear door. Bai Chongxi got out of the car slowly, tightened the collar of his yellow woolen coat, and strode into the lobby. The confidential adjutant hurriedly greeted him.
After arriving in Wuhan, give the urgent message to Bai Chongxi.
Bai Chongxi frowned after reading the telegram, stayed there for a moment, strode into the office in the middle hall, and asked the confidential adjutant to find a map of Hunan and check it carefully. After a few minutes, Bai Chongxi took off his glasses and raised his head, looking at the ancient and exquisite
painted ceiling, his face changing, obviously very annoyed and confused.
"Report to the military, Duke De has sent an urgent message from Shanghai."
Major General Chen Zhibiao, the brigade commander who had just been downsized into a teaching brigade in accordance with the spirit of the demobilization meeting, walked into the room and reported in a low voice. Since the teaching brigade was responsible for guarding the general headquarters, Chen Zhibiao and Bai Chongxi got along day and night. Chen Zhibiao, who had not had much to do after the Northern Expedition, saw
Bai Chongxi had few assistants around him, so he silently followed the commander-in-chief and did his best.
Bai Chongxi was a little surprised. He turned to look at Chen Zhibiao, put on his glasses, took the telegram and read it carefully. He breathed a sigh of relief, then put down the telegram and asked calmly:
"Zhibiao, I was just looking for you. Do you still remember what happened when you chased the remnants of Ye Kaixin's troops in western Hunan?"
Chen Zhibiao was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "What a shame! I will never forget it. It was one of the few disastrous defeats since I joined the army. It will be unforgettable. The military seat..."
"Well... Zhibiao, I don't mean to blame you, not at the beginning and not now. I just want to tell you that just a few hours ago, the 52nd Division Independent Regiment of Ye Cuiwei (also known as Ye Qi) was attacked
It was the same ambush, but it was worse than yours, and the time was much shorter. The entire regiment was almost wiped out and all weapons were lost. If the cannon battalion hadn't been marching too slowly and couldn't keep up, I'm afraid the loss would have been more than a thousand.
There are seven hundred officers and soldiers.
You must also be aware of the situation of the 52nd Division Independent Regiment. The combat effectiveness of this unit with a glorious tradition is by no means inferior to your teaching regiment. It is almost all composed of veterans with more than three years of service. It has disappeared in the blink of an eye.
, which was beyond my expectation. If by chance, we could find some excuse to excuse it, but this is already the second time, and we have to pay enough attention to it.
You know what kind of strategic position Hunan is in for us. If the remnants of Ye Kaixin in western Hunan are allowed to develop smoothly, they are likely to give us a fatal blow at a critical moment. Therefore, I want to find out why this remnant has
Such a powerful fighting force? What happened in that area in the past two years? Will it confirm your original suspicion from another angle? "
Chen Zhibiao hesitated for a moment, and whispered under Bai Chongxi's encouraging eyes: "My subordinates have been thinking about this issue for the past two years, and repeatedly recalled the ins and outs of An Yi's relationship with Ye Kaixin. At the beginning of the Northern Expedition, Ye Kaixin was still in our revolutionary army.
The common enemy, General Mengxiao’s disarmament after joining the revolution in Tang Dynasty
Under the threat of reorganization, he led his troops to flee eastward and joined the Central Army. An Yi also met Ye Kaixin after that. However, Ye Kaixin's deputy commander at the time, Zhang Hongluan, had known An Yi earlier. Zhang Hongluan led the Second Division of the Hunan Army
Defending Yueyang, fighting to the death and refusing to surrender, he finally broke through the fourth quarter of Tang Mengxiao's Eighth Army in one fell swoop.
The division was encircled and fled eastward. At the end of the battle, An Yi, who had just been promoted to Acting Engineer Battalion Commander, discovered that he led all his brothers who were capable of fighting and risked their lives to drag down the remnants of Zhang Hongluan. Only then did Commander Liu Jingfu lead the main force.
The encirclement was successful and a good battle was fought without much effort. Subordinate
I remember that before General Zhang Hongluan was released by Liu Jingfu, he specifically asked to see An Yi, who was dragging his thousands of remaining troops. The two broke up after a few words. Later, they unexpectedly reunited during the Northern Expedition in Jiangbei.
An Yi has become a major general and commander, and has become friends with Zhang Hongluan and Ye Kaixin."
Bai Chongxi's eyes lit up and he blurted out: "Zhang Hongluan! I know this person. After graduating from Baoding, the Gui Army Lu Rongting was not willing to use us at all. I almost joined the Second Division of the Hunan Army. Zhang Hongluan was already the brigade commander at that time.
, this person has the most military demeanor in the entire Hunan Army system, has a tough style and leads troops well, and he is the best at fighting... Let’s go on.”
Chen Zhibiao nodded: "Based on the above situation, my subordinates speculate that An Yi may have secretly sent a team of instructors to the 44th Army of Western Hunan to help train the team out of his friendship with Ye Kaixin and Zhang Hongluan, or may accept the 44th Army.
The outstanding officers and soldiers of the army go to the old Nanchang non-commissioned officer training base for training, or a two-pronged approach is adopted. Otherwise, it is impossible for any current army to have a combat style and strict military discipline similar to that of an independent division.
An Yi is indeed good at training troops and has a unique set of political education methods. In addition, An Yi himself and the grassroots officers who have been trained by him and various scientific instructors for a long time are very self-disciplined. From the independent division to the division commander to the platoon leader,
Basically, everyone can lead by example, so they are deeply respected by the grassroots officers and soldiers, and their teaching and learning progress are very fast.
The teaching brigade currently led by my subordinates basically follows the pattern of the Independent Division. Unfortunately, we do not have as many outstanding instructors with specific skills as the Independent Division, nor do we have the time and opportunity to select instructors from thousands of officers and soldiers.
, I deeply regret this."
Bai Chongxi stood up slowly: "So, your and my judgments are basically the same... An Yi and his independent division are well-known throughout the army in terms of training officers and soldiers. This man has an extraordinary mind and is full of strategies. Although he is young, he is scheming.
from every fight he's ever had
Judging from the huge business he has created in Jiangxi, we can see this person's ability. Alas... Zhibiao, take your time and don't be in a hurry. We still have time and opportunity, but I'm afraid we can't do it now. From De Gong just now
telegrams and announcements from the central government
Looking at the ranks of the three armies of the Central Army, Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek has sharpened his sword and is ready to take action. Our armies do not have the energy to deal with the matter in western Hunan for the time being, so I will think of a way to let He Jian worry about it. The situation is urgent now, and Xia Cangxi must be dealt with
(Xia Weizi
)'s 15th Division was quickly transferred to eastern Hubei, and the 18th Army stationed in Yichang needed to be urgently ordered to immediately shrink its formation to guard against Sichuan Army sneak attacks. Ye Cuiwei's 52nd Division was also required to be transferred to the border line between Hunan and Hubei to deal with the Central Army
An attack may be launched at any time.
You should also be prepared. If the situation is urgent, we may risk being intercepted by Feng Yuxiang and rush south by special train to join the battlefield. Wuhan cannot be lost. If we lose Wuhan, everything will be lost."
"yes!"
Chen Zhibiao turned around and left. He walked a few steps and seemed to have thought of something. He hesitated and turned back again: "Military officer, there is something that I think it would be better to report to you. It is not because I am jealous of General Li Heling (Li Pinxian), but because I am jealous of General Li Heling (Li Pinxian)."
I’m deeply confused by some things and I’m unhappy if I don’t vomit.”
Bai Chongxi glanced at Chen Zhibiao in surprise and smiled slightly: "Zhibiao, I know your character very well. If you have anything to say, just tell me."
"Yes! Today, my subordinate led the military police on an inspection and found that many generals under General Li Heling were eating and drinking in restaurants and spending money extremely generously. My subordinate felt it was strange at the time. Although our three armies were reduced to three divisions,
It is still a military-level personnel establishment, so military pay
It has always been a problem. As of now, we have not been paid for three months. Where did the soldiers of General Li Heling get the money? This subordinate did not want to talk about it, but he always felt that something was wrong, so he could only take the liberty to report it.
, please forgive me, military commander." Chen Zhibiao said with a wry smile.
Bai Chongxi was shocked in his heart, but a calm smile appeared on his face: "It's nothing. You did a good job in this matter. You are not wrong but you have merit. This matter seems small, but it is likely to cause misunderstandings among the military officers. It's okay, I
I'll call Li Heling later and ask, please go back and rest."
"yes!"
As soon as Chen Zhibiao walked out of the room, Bai Chongxi's expression suddenly changed. He was silent for a while, and immediately called the adjutant to arrange the vehicle. A few minutes later, Bai Chongxi, escorted by two troop transport trucks and guards, drove directly to Li Pinxian's 51st Division.
Headquarters.
After enjoying a sumptuous dinner, Li Pinxian, who was happily picking his teeth, was shocked when he heard the urgent report from the star officer on duty. His fair face was clouded and his eyes were flickering. Although Li Pinxian was born in Cangwu, Guangxi and was a fellow villager with Li Jishen, he came from Baoding.
After graduating from the first class of the military academy, he returned to the First Division of the Guangxi Army to meet
Xi was squeezed out everywhere and did not get any promotion opportunities for two consecutive years. In anger, Li Pinxian turned to the Hunan Army. Under the care of his old classmate Tang Shengzhi in Baoding, his official career was prosperous. He worked there for thirteen years, starting from a platoon leader step by step.
He was promoted to Lieutenant General of the Army and had a feeling of kindness and comradeship towards Tang Shengzhi.
Under the guise of the central government, the Guangxi Clique went west to Wuhan. As a last resort, Li Pinxian was reluctant to join the Guangxi Clique when Tang Shengzhi promised to go to the countryside. Three days ago, his old boss Tang Shengzhi suddenly appeared in Tianjin and secretly rushed there.
Li Pinxian, who met in Tianjin, discovered that his old boss Liu Wendao, the former party representative of the Eighth Army, was also present.
After that, without much effort, Li Pinxian happily accepted Tang Shengzhi's cash check of 800,000 yuan, and received a promise from the central government that the entire army would be reimbursed for three months' salary arrears. So Li Pinxian immediately summoned the regimental commanders and brigades after returning to the station.
After secret negotiations, all the generals heard that their old boss Tang Shengzhi had returned.
, and was appointed by the Nanjing government to revive the army, and immediately cheered and praised in unison. Upon seeing this, Li Pinxian took out a check of 400,000, and ordered the quartermaster to cash it in the bank immediately and distribute it to the entire army. Therefore, this army was reorganized from the former Eighth Army into
The direct descendants of the Hunan Army of the 51st Division were named Tang again.
But this time was obviously not a good opportunity for a showdown. Bai Chongxi's sudden arrival frightened Li Pinxian, thinking that it was possible that the salary had leaked the news, which alerted Bai Chongxi.
Li Pinxian was deeply aware of the methods of his junior brother Bai Chongxi from Baoding and how cruelly he treated traitors and dissidents. He did not dare to compete with Bai Chongxi in any aspect, but this time Bai Chongxi suddenly showed up uninvited, and the car
They had already entered the camp and arrived at the headquarters entrance. They couldn't hide even if they wanted to, so they had no choice but to straighten out their moral integrity and strode out pretending to be calm.