Feng Yuxiang, who had just taken up the post of deputy commander-in-chief of the army, navy and air force yesterday, saw the generals leaving, picked up his teacup, and drank it thoughtfully.
The former enemy commander-in-chief Lu Zhonglin respectfully bid farewell to Feng Yuxiang, and led his generals to rush to Zhengzhou without stopping, deploy the front-line military, and command all the armies to move eastward one after another.
This important military meeting lasted for two days and once again adjusted the order of operations of the Northwest Army. Feng Yuxiang appointed Zhang Weixi as the commander of the First Route Army, and led the troops from southern Shaanxi out of Jingzi Pass, through Neixiang, Lushan and out of the Pinghan Line.
; Appointed Sun Liangcheng as the commander of the Second Route Army, with the troops entering and leaving Zhengzhou via Longhai Road; appointed Pang Bingxun as the commander of the Third Route Army, with the troops heading south to Jingxiang and into
Force and occupy Wuhan, while containing the strength of the Central Army, it can also deal a heavy blow to the Nanjing government and Chiang Kai-shek politically; Song Zheyuan's department is the Fourth Route Army, and Sun Lianzhong's department is the Fifth Route Army, which consists of Shaanxi, Gansu, and
Ningxia and Qinghai successively marched towards Henan; Wan Xuancai was appointed commander of the Sixth Route Army and led the troops to advance along the Longhai line to Kaifeng and Guide.
Feng Yuxiang also centralized the cavalry units into a cavalry group army. The cavalry commander Zheng Dazhang commanded the eastward march out of eastern Henan and northern Anhui to cooperate with the infantry operations; he appointed Liu Yufen as the rear commander-in-chief and acting chairman of Shaanxi Province, responsible for all rear affairs in Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai.
.The total force mobilized by the Northwest Army this time reached more than 260,000 people, all of whom were mobilized to the front line in order to unite the forces of all parties and carry out a decisive decisive battle against the Chiang Kai-shek clique.
After the meeting, the atmosphere in the headquarters was extremely solemn. Pang Bingxun, a veteran who was over fifty years old, came to Feng Yuxiang with one leg and whispered:
"Commander, the Third Route Army under my command originally planned to leave southern Henan in the east. Now our troops are temporarily transferred from southern Henan to fight on the Jingxiang front line. We are not very familiar with several local divisions on the Hubei and Henan front lines. In addition, time is urgent.
There is simply no time to formulate a comprehensive battle plan, and I am afraid it will take ten to fifteen days to move into place."
Feng Yuxiang politely asked Pang Bingxun to sit down: "Brother Chen (Pang Bingxun), your unit has been stationed in southern Henan for many years. You are most familiar with the situation on the border between Hubei and Henan. You have often achieved good results with flexible tactics and one strike. This is Chu Yu (Zhang Weixi's courtesy name).
)All
Not as good as Brother Chen! In May last year, the shameless traitor Han Xiaosi (Han Fuqu, ranked fourth) who claimed to be the leader of our Northwest Army invaded the border with 50,000 troops. Wasn't he also arrested at the front line of Heishiguan?
My brother was defeated by an outnumbered enemy?
Looking at the more than a hundred generals in our Northwest Army, only Brother Gengchen is extremely brave and resourceful. He has rich experience in facing the enemy and does not want to be second-guessed. Brother Gengchen's third route army has been adjusted to the Jingxiang line.
But it is a sound policy and the result of the strong recommendation of all generals.
The Jingxiang front line was actually the most important part of this war. Since Li Delin took office as the deputy commander-in-chief of land, sea and air force, Wuhan has been the biggest goal of his first front army. Chiang Kai-shek has also tried to save Wuhan, which is of great significance and can be called a political center.
He took great pains to mobilize troops and generals in the important areas of the capital, which shows the heavy responsibility that Brother Geng Chen shouldered.
When you go to Jingxiang, you only need to be strictly prepared and ready to go. When our coalition forces capture Xu Bang and oppress Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek will inevitably abandon Wuhan and retreat to Nanjing in a hurry. At that time, Brother Geng Chen only needs to send his troops south.
, must be invincible."
Upon hearing this, Pang Bingxun immediately understood Feng Yuxiang's true intentions. He knew that Feng Yuxiang not only wanted to attack Nanjing together with Yan Xishan, but also wanted to take Wuhan, a significant economic and political center, as a target and then occupy the two lakes. Pang Bingxun was slightly comforted by Feng Yuxiang's words.
, as
With the partial division, his Third Route Army does not need to participate in the war so early. Instead, it will launch a full-scale offensive only when the fighting in the Xubeng area is stalemate or progress has been made. From this perspective, Pang Bingxun, who only has 18,000 elite soldiers on hand, can
My anxious heart became much calmer.
After pondering for a while, Pang Bingxun asked: "Commander, the report said that Chiang Kai-shek's fifth theater commander An Yi has not recovered from a serious illness. Two of the four garrison divisions in western Hubei under his command are new divisions. Guards are deployed across western Hubei.
There are more than 50,000 troops. I wonder if this information is accurate?"
"That's certainly the case."
Feng Yuxiang smiled slightly: "But brother Chen, don't underestimate the enemy. I have seen this baby Lieutenant General An Yi. When he was assassinated in Peking, he was holding a preparatory meeting for the preparation of the army. According to the report from the Pingjin Headquarters, An Yi was shot through the thoracic spine.
The ribs and chest were damaged. The injury was indeed serious at the time, and it is extremely normal to have some sequelae. If nothing else, you should be a little uncomfortable when it is windy and rainy.
However, this person did not make his fortune by trying to please the public and flatter others. He fought several classic battles that have been widely praised by all armies. He is indeed a brave and resourceful young hero. This time, Chiang Kai-shek did not use the central group of confidant generals.
It happened that An Yi was summoned from his illness and given the high position of commander of the legion. Apart from relying on the commanding ability of his favorite disciple, there was nothing else.
This also reminds us that this baby general cannot be ignored, otherwise Chiang Kai-shek would not have given him such high rights and positions, and Brother Chen must pay more attention to him.
As for the 50,000 local police forces, most of them are temporary gatherings and recruitment, lack of training and nothing to worry about. The powerful independent division has now been transferred to the Xubeng front line and is not under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Army in Western Hubei.
, but you need to be careful of An Yi’s unstructured style of play, this kid is famous for being bold.”
Pang Bingxun nodded, hesitated for a while and said: "Commander, I have an unkind request."
"None of the five local divisions on the front line from southern Henan to southwestern Henan is fully staffed. Regardless of the number of officers and soldiers or equipment, they can only be called brigades. Previously, they all belonged to Brother Chu Yu's First Route Army, and more than half of them were former
The National Armed Forces surrendered. Although my subordinates also served in the National Armed Forces before joining the Commander-in-Chief, they have the same status as nearly half of the chief officers. I am afraid it will be difficult to transfer! Will the Commander-in-Chief designate another former enemy commander to come?
My department?"
Pang Bingxun used retreat to advance and made his own request.
Feng Yuxiang smiled, stood up and said loudly: "In addition to giving Brother Gengchen the power to handle military affairs during the war, I will also give Brother Gengchen the right to pay military salaries and replenish military supplies for all the departments of the Third Route Army.
Under unified control, who among them would dare to disobey orders?"
"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief! I will go all out to strictly follow the orders of the General Headquarters and implement the series of combat plans to the letter." Pang Bingxun finally expressed his position loudly.
For half a month, the fighting between Longhai and Jinpu armies became more and more intense. The fighting became more intense and spread in all directions. The first, second and fourth armies of the Northwest Army respectively advanced to Xichuan and Neixiang, west of Pinghan Road.
, Ye County and the Luoyang and Zhengzhou areas in the western section of Longhai Road. Sun Chu, Yang Xiaoou, Guan Fu'an and artillery units under Yan Xishan's Jinsui Army,
Commanded by Xu Yongchang and Yang Aiyuan, they were transferred to Lanfeng area in eastern Henan via Zhengzhou. Shi Yousan, Liu Chunrong, Wan Xuancai, Liu Enmao and Sun Dianying stationed in Jinnan, eastern Henan and northern Anhui were all under the command of Yan Xishan; the Jinpu Line
The Jinsui Army on the other side was commanded by Fu Zuoyi and Zhang Yinwu respectively. The troops were divided into four groups and rapidly advanced towards Dezhou and Jinan.
Chiang Zhongzheng went from Nanjing to Xuzhou to command the operations of various armies. Chen Tiaoyuan, Han Fuqu, Ma Hongkui, Gu Zhutong, Liu Zhi, etc. all went to Xuzhou to attend a military meeting and ordered the Northwest Army to retreat steadily in the face of the lack of confidence in the Northwest Army but to preserve its strength.
Han Fuqu's First Army and Chen Tiaoyuan's troops were transferred to defense, and the entire First Army was transferred to Shandong to take charge of all armies in Shandong; Liu Zhi's Second Army
The Second Army Corps commanded the armies in the southern section of Jinpu; He Chengjun's Third Army Corps commanded the armies in Hubei and Henan Provinces, strengthened command, simplified links, and fought with high efficiency. Wang Jinyu, Yang Hucheng, and Xu Yuanquan, the local army generals who supported the central government, were appointed to serve as the right wing of the army.
, commander of the center and left wing; Chen Tiaoyuan's Fourth Army is the reserve army, which has been strengthened again this time.
Just when all the legions were fighting with all their might and fighting the allied forces, the war zone where An Yi's fifth legion was located was extremely calm, with no sign of a war coming.
On April 24, Chiang Kai-shek, who had returned to Nanjing to borrow money from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang plutocrats to fight the war, rushed to Hankou. After getting off the plane, he hurried into the conference room without washing. He saw He Yingqin and He Cheng, commander of the Third Army.
Jun and more than a dozen generals all stood up and waited, except An Yi, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps. Chiang Kai-shek returned the greeting unhappily, walked to the main seat and sat down, and asked He Chengjun in a low voice: "Brother Xuezhou, An Yi was not notified?
"
"Here he is...but he just had a quarrel with Minister He and went out to the balcony to smoke." Good-tempered He Chengjun replied in a low voice.
"Nonsense!"
Chiang Kai-shek took off his military cap and placed it squarely on the table. He frowned and asked his senior fellow from Japan's Zhenwu Military Academy again: "What's the noise about?"
He Chengjun shook his head: "Minister He strongly advocated that the Xiangfan front line and the 17th and 51st divisions of the garrison be included in our third army, so as to facilitate the cooperation with Brother Huchen (Yang Hucheng) and Brother Kecheng (Xu Yuanquan) stationed on the Xinyang and Nanyang front lines.
to form a whole and consolidate the defense line. General An spoke out against it and recognized
Because this was a detrimental move, they claimed that this move would only make the entire command system of the already bloated Third Army more confusing, and would not help the war at all. Both of them had their own reasons, but General An was
There was a lot of sarcasm during the argument, so the quarrel became louder and louder, and finally they broke up unhappy."
An Yi strode in at this time, stood at attention and saluted Chiang Kai-shek, silently walked to the lower left corner, and sat with several major generals Gao Shen from the headquarters.
Chiang Kai-shek thought for a while and looked at the livid He Yingqin on his left: "Jingzhi, if you think it is necessary, I will do it according to your opinion."
He Yingqin smiled gratefully: "My subordinates don't dare! General An has just made a statement in public, saying that if the war is divided in this way, if the war is frustrated and the enemy breaks through the defense line and advances to the Suizhou line, his Fifth Army will not give the Third Army
The legion must provide assistance one by one, and all responsibilities arising therefrom must be borne by the subordinates.”
Chiang Kai-shek breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. It was not easy to deal with each other's criticism. He was most afraid of internal conflicts during the war. After hearing the explanations of He Chengjun and He Yingqin, he suddenly felt that An Yi was probably right. After all, he had joined the army not long ago.
Yang Hucheng came from the Northwest Army line, and Xu Yuanquan originally came from the Tang Dynasty
Tang Shengzhi, who had defected under Shengzhi's command, had not long ago been wiped out in the Henan-Hubei War and fled in embarrassment. He returned to China again and joined forces with Yan Xishan, Wang Jingwei and others in an attempt to make a comeback.
With the final savings of more than one million, he recruited his old troops to fight against Chiang until the end.
During this sensitive period, if Fan Shisheng's division, which has a history of vacillation and both sides, is merged into the Third Army, once it encounters a setback, it is difficult to guarantee that these divisions will not passively avoid fighting or even surrender to the enemy. In this way, Wuhan will definitely
Not guaranteed.
Presumably this is what He Yingqin is worried about. From this, it seems that An Yi is not only aware of this hidden crisis, but also seems to have a solution. Otherwise, he would not dare to confront He Yingqin like this in front of more than ten prominent generals in the army.
Fall out.
After figuring out the subtle relationship, Chiang Kai-shek frowned and began to preside over the meeting as if nothing had happened. He finished talking about the severe war on the Eastern Front in a few words, and the topic soon turned to the Hubei-Henan Theater of the Third Army.
He Chengjun reported the battlefield situation and the process of several tentative engagements between the two sides in a leisurely manner, and correctly judged that Feng Yuxiang's two coaches were likely to suddenly turn around and go south to attack the line from Xinyang to Wushengguan.
Chiang Kai-shek was quite satisfied with He Chengjun's report. He glanced at An Yi, who looked very serious with his head lowered while taking notes, and suddenly asked loudly: