Chapter 503: Taking over Yichang without losing any blood (1)
Yichang was called Yiling in ancient times. The main battlefield of the Yiling War in the Three Kingdoms era was here. It has always occupied an important strategic position as the "Throat of Sichuan and Hubei, the gateway to the Three Gorges" and has become a battleground for military strategists of all ages. It is also the site of western Hunan, western Hubei, and eastern Chongqing.
It is an important material distribution center in the region. It is customary to regard the Yichang River Section as the dividing point between the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Ships leaving and entering Sichuan via the Yangtze River route almost always stop here. This has created Yichang's prosperity over thousands of years and laid its foundation in the Yangtze River.
The irreplaceable military and economic status of the middle and upper reaches of the river basin.
Because of this, after the Opium War, Yichang became an important port barbarically occupied by British, American, French, Japanese and other imperialists on the pretext of trade. The Hanyang Arsenal was built relying on the tariffs of the two ports of Han River and Yichang. The city of Yichang is distributed along the main roads of the river.
Along with the embassies and consulates of various countries, churches and shops, only two of the nine docks along the river are owned by the Chinese. The warships and cargo ships of the great powers are rampaging on the river, showing off their power. The political situation is divided and the national power is weakening, so that the people of Yichang can only swallow their anger and remain silent.
bear.
The Yichang Administrative Office occupies a large area. A large two-story Western-style building is located in the middle of the surrounding barracks that combine Chinese and Western styles. The playground is lush and flat with lush trees. A regiment of troops is stationed here to protect Tao Jun's Western Government and Qingxiang Office.
Task.
In the large office on the second floor of the foreign-style building, Tao Jun and Hu Zongduo, who had just fled to Yichang yesterday, were in extremely complicated moods when they faced two guests from afar. They talked to each other for more than ten minutes without touching the topic, and they were still joking around in circles.
test.
These two guests were Zheng Jiemin, the special envoy secretly dispatched by Chiang Kai-shek, and his adjutant. After successfully inciting his old friend Yang Tenghui to betray the Guangxi clique and obey the central government, Zheng Jiemin took a French passenger ship straight to Yichang without stopping, and once again met with Hu Zongduo and Tao Xun, who were in constant panic, and persuaded them to
Two Hubei-born Guangxi generals recognized the situation and surrendered to the central government.
"Report! Military seat, Yidu garrison commander Zhou Xianhua asked to see him, saying that he brought important letters to the military seat and Chief Hu." Tao Jun's adjutant came to the sofa where four people were sitting and nervously reported to Tao Jun.
Tao Jun knew from the uncontrollable fear in the adjutant's eyes that Yi was gone. He lowered his face and raised his hand to make a sign of bringing him in. Seeing the opportunity, Zheng Jiemin politely offered to evade. Tao Jun thought for a while and smiled bitterly, asking Zheng Jiemin to sit down.
Wait, stand up and walk to the door.
Zhou Xianhua, who went upstairs alone and was waiting in the corridor, saw Tao Jun coming out. He quickly stood at attention and saluted. He took out An Yi's autographed letter from his pocket and handed it to Tao Xun with both hands. He told in frustration how he was beaten by tens of thousands of people wearing new combat uniforms yesterday evening.
, surrounded by the revolutionary army with unprecedented firepower, how to resist desperately and suffer heavy casualties and had no choice but to surrender, how An Yi made himself bring the letter, etc., and talked about it with embarrassment.
Tao Xun's eyes widened and he was shocked. He quickly opened the letter and read it. He ordered Zhou Xianhua to wait where he was. He hurriedly entered the office and called Hu Zongduo into the inner room, and handed the letter to Hu Zongduo for review:
"It came so fast. An Yi is so ruthless! In the morning, he quietly sent a division to occupy Zigui to the west of us. At the same time, he sent a division of 30,000 troops to occupy Yidu and went up the river. It was obvious that he wanted to use force to force us to submit, but this letter was written
His politeness and politeness can be traced back to the friendship he established with Brother Jinyu during the early Northern Expedition. This boy is indeed more and more sinister!"
Hu Zongduo slowly put down the letter and stared at the signature on the paper without saying a word for a long time. Under Tao Jun's urging, he said helplessly:
"Now that things have happened, there is no room left. Feng Yuxiang, who has never expressed his position publicly before, has also broken out and sent a message to attack our Guangxi clique. The army has pressed into northern Hubei. Brother Degong and Jiansheng have fled far away from Guangxi and have no power to fight back. Only you are left.
I led more than 20,000 remnant troops to fight hard during the ten days of resistance. Now we are in a miserable situation with no way to retreat and cannot fight anymore. If we reject the suggestions of An Yi and the old special envoy Chiang Kai-shek, the 28,000 brothers under your command will have no morale at all.
How long can you withstand it?
I know An Yi very well. If he can't get our answer, he will definitely seize the fighter plane and order a storm. With the help of Chiang Kai-shek's planes, An Yi only needs to order the powerful and well-equipped Yin Jinan Division and the sudden attack.
The two divisions in western Hunan launched a pincer attack from east to west, and used more than 40,000 officers and soldiers with high morale to attack our more than 20,000 soldiers who were unwilling to fight, once again achieving his reputation...
Forget it, now that the matter is over, let's send him a telegram according to the contact information he left. He promised to give all our officers and soldiers the best care, and also hinted that if we don't want to be officials, we will allow you and me to take our attendants and property without any loss.
Leaving sadly, this is much more comfortable than Zheng Jiemin's empty talk.
Although An Yi is ruthless and cunning, he has kept his word for many years and has never broken his promise, which is particularly reassuring."
"Then, just tell Zheng Jiemin that we agree to lay down our weapons and hand over the army, and then go to Chiang Kai-shek to get some benefits?" Tao Jun suggested.
Hu Zongduo shook his head: "If you and I surrendered to Chiang Kai-shek, what would Duke Degong and Brother Jiansheng think? What would the entire military community think? You must not destroy your future for temporary benefits. Who can guarantee that Degong and Brother Jiansheng will not make a comeback?
?Who can guarantee that the benefits promised by Chiang Kai-shek are not temporary perfunctory measures? Or is it better to follow the originally discussed plan? The two of us will electrify and go east to Japan, hibernate for a while and then make plans. What you and I are short of now is not money.
, but the timing!”
"What Brother Jinyu said is that I have learned a lesson."
Tao Jun nodded sheepishly: "Then I will contact An Yi by phone and see what he says? If An Yi really wants to meet us, how will he reply?"
Hu Zongduo sighed: "How can I have the nerve to meet him at this time? Boy An Yi seems to be courteous and polite, but he is actually very scheming. Just like Brother Jiansheng said, he is ruthless and deceitful. He must retaliate. Once he becomes an enemy, he will do his best to take revenge.
Don't go to the extreme, use the troops unconventionally and without any trace, it is very difficult to deal with such people! It is better not to see you, to discuss clearly and arrange the escape route of the brothers under your command, we will power on and go to the field.
Go to the Japanese consulate for shelter and take a Japanese passenger ship overseas as soon as possible."
"That's all we can do. I'll send a telegram. Brother Jinyu, let's deal with Zheng Jiemin. Just say that we have reached a peace agreement with An Yi." Tao Xun suggested.
Hu Zongduo nodded: "That's fine, it saves you a lot of talking. I'm most annoyed by difficult intellectuals like Zheng Jiemin."
At noon on April 9, Hu Zongduo and Tao Jun, the chief generals of the Guangxi clique, jointly telegraphed and left the country. Then they secretly arrived at the Japanese Consulate in Hankou on a Japanese freighter, waiting to take an ocean-going passenger ship east to Japan for refuge.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Yin Jinan led the garrison division and Deng Bin led more than 30,000 soldiers of the 2nd Division of the 44th Army to enter Yichang in a mighty manner and took over all the military camps, warehouses, stations, docks, anti-smoking bureaus, police stations, and tax offices of Tao Jun's department.
and the surface anti-smuggling brigade, and more than 16,000 Guangxi officers and soldiers who had nowhere to escape were consolidated and registered. They will be sent to Wuhan in the near future to accept the unified placement of the Central Military Commission.