At 11 o'clock in the morning, we set off to camp in Hankou.
The military meeting convened by Chiang Kai-shek ended, and the generals left the meeting with the latest instructions and fighting spirit. Seven people, including He Yingqin, He Chengjun, Chen Yi who came from Nanjing, and the camp chief, surrounded Chiang Kai-shek and discussed something in a low voice.
Just as An Yi was about to say goodbye and return to Yichang, adjutant Shen Fengdao came in with a telegram and reported in a low voice. An Yi read the telegram, pondered for a moment, issued a few orders in a low voice, and then strode to the side of Chiang Kai-shek.
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the 16th and 44th Divisions of the Fifth Army captured Laohekou at nine o'clock this morning. After the first round of shelling, all the defenders surrendered. The specific reason was that the defenders lacked supplies and suffered a huge loss due to illness and cold. The number of troops was reduced, and the enemy's 7th Division had only about 5,600 officers and soldiers left, of which more than 1,000 were still lying down.
According to the confession of the enemy's Major General Chief of Staff Nie Peiyuan, Pei Jingwen, the commander of the Temporary Seventh Division, and Pang Bingxun, the new commander of the Second Route Army, have had deep grudges for several years. Therefore, Pang Bingxun did not provide any military pay or material supplement to the Temporary Seventh Division after he took office, and has not done so for five months. The officers and soldiers of the 7th Division who were required to be self-sufficient in salary and food were forced to flee from illness and live like years. Yin Jinan and Gu Changfeng demobilized the defenders according to the severance pay of two oceans per person. They were unwilling and asked our army to treat them as Disposal of disaster victims.”
After An Yi finished his report, he stood quietly waiting for Chiang Kai-shek's opinion.
The generals were surprised when they heard this. One said that the enemy would probably abandon Laohekou and retreat to southwest Henan. The other said that how could the Northwest Army be in such a dilemma?
Only Chiang Kai-shek's eyes were bright and he was quite excited: "Very good, very good! Taking Laohekou without any blood proves that opening up a battlefield on this front is completely correct! I will personally call Yin Jinan and Gu Changfeng to commend them. No matter what, After taking Laohekou, the southern and southwestern Henan areas are right under our noses. We hope that your troops will immediately change the battle plan. There is no need to wait, and the divisions will be transferred north as soon as possible to launch a fierce attack on southern and southwestern Henan! "
"Yes!" An Yi replied.
"General An, what do you plan to do with the more than 5,000 surrendered soldiers? If possible, how about allocating my third army reserve division?" He Chengjun asked with a smile.
An Yi replied apologetically: "I'm really sorry, Sir He. I can only send you 3,000 people at most, because 2,000 of them are still of great use in our legion - my subordinates have ordered the legion's political department to select from them." We dispatched two thousand officers and soldiers who had suffered greatly and were given sufficient military pay and sufficient dry food. Under the escort of our scouts, they entered the counties in southwestern Henan and spread the news that our army would open the Hubei-Henan Highway and send large amounts of relief food to the disaster areas. news, and asked these two thousand officers and soldiers to secretly contact their relatives, friends and old friends in various departments of the Northwest Army to encourage them to surrender to our Central Army. We will reward and promote those who have made meritorious deeds, and treat surrendering officers and soldiers equally."
"Okay! What a good plan! When two armies are facing each other, attacking the enemy's mind first, and subduing the enemy without fighting is the highest level of military art. Go ahead and do it!" Chiang Kai-shek encouraged loudly.
"As ordered!" An Yi stood at attention and replied.
Chen Yi took half a step forward and asked with interest: "General An, as a result, the entire front of the Fifth Army has rapidly advanced northward, and the pressure on the line from Jingxiang to Suizhou has been reduced. Under such circumstances, has General An considered If the defense of Suizhou is handed over to the Third Army, then we can devote all our energy to the northwest war?"
An Yi was stunned, and then he knew that Chiang Kai-shek had finally made up his mind to annex the disobedient Fan Shisheng's 51st Division. During the secret conversation last night, Chiang Kai-shek suddenly proposed to transfer Gu Zhutong's chief of staff Han Deqin to the position of commander of the 51st Division.
Fan Shisheng was appointed commander of the Jingxiang Garrison Command, and his original subordinate
Zhu Shigui's Xiangfan Garrison Headquarters were all transferred to Fan Shisheng. It seemed that his power and territory had doubled, and his opportunities for plundering wealth also greatly increased. However, from then on, Fan Shisheng no longer had the 51st Division under the Central Military Order.
No., I am afraid that I will lose the opportunity to lead troops in the future.
An Yi pondered for a moment and answered carefully: "I have no objections. I have only two requirements. First, the material transportation of the two army stations to be established in Xiangyang and Laohekou must be secured and maintained by the garrison of the Third Army along the river."
Absolute respect, because most of the supplies are relief food, clothing and medicines, and there is no room for sloppiness.
Second, the appointment of Generals Fan Shisheng and Han Deqin, and the decision on the ownership of the Suizhou Defense Area must be issued by the Military Commission, and the subordinates have limited qualifications and are unable to take on such important tasks."
"This is simple. Our Military and Political Department will handle it. General An will not be embarrassed." Chen Yi said with a happy smile, obviously very satisfied with An Yi's answer. He Yingqin on the side felt quite uncomfortable. He knew clearly that
If this suggestion had been made to An Yi by him, he would have been rejected immediately.
An Yi turned to Chiang Kai-shek, who was smiling: "Principal, the war is complicated, and the students will leave now!"
"Go ahead, I'll wait for you to deliver the good news again!" Chiang Kai-shek waved his hand and replied in an unusually kind manner.
An Yi saluted politely, then saluted all the officers, and strode away under the watch of Chiang Kai-shek. After walking more than ten steps, he suddenly heard He Yingqin's voice: This is too easy...
…
On April 26, in the Royal City of Luoyang, the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Army camped.
Feng Yuxiang, Zhang Zhijiang, Song Zheyuan and other generals of the Northwest Army gathered together. Zhang Zhijiang loudly announced battle reports on all fronts to the attendees. His voice changed and he talked about the current increasingly serious civil strife:
"...The bandits who suddenly came out from Heluo, Beimang and other places occupied Xingyang for four days, kidnapped more than 15,000 of our soldiers and civilians, destroyed three railways, and looted all the supplies from the military depot in the city, but our army failed to coordinate in time.
Jointly suppress bandits; large demonstrations sponsored by ultra-leftists and pro-Chiang elements broke out one after another in major towns in Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia, and even appeared in counties in southern Shaanxi
A large-scale red bandit riot occurred. They killed government officials at all levels appointed by our army, burned government offices, snatched weapons from the security forces, looted military camps and government treasuries in various counties, and ambushed and attacked our food and material transport convoys on both sides of the highway. This made the situation even more serious.
What people are worried about is that this kind of rebellion and riots have a tendency to gradually spread and become more intense, causing turmoil in the rear area where our army has been depleted of troops due to its eastward transfer.
At present, the commander-in-chief has ordered the remaining troops to strictly suppress and eliminate the rebels. We once again warn you that you must take it seriously. According to our understanding, these various riots are not as simple as a catastrophe. There must be a few black hands behind it.
Sowing discord and fueling the flames is enough to rise to a political level to deal with..."
"Report to the commander, Commander Pang of Nanyang is sending an urgent message."
The confidential staff officer came in a hurry and handed the telegram from behind Feng Yuxiang. When Zhang Zhijiang saw Feng Yuxiang frowning and suddenly standing up, he immediately stopped talking and turned his head with concern to see what was going on.
Feng Yuxiang handed the message to Zhang Zhijiang, pondered for a while, and calmly informed the generals: "The Fifth Army of Western Hubei has captured Laohekou. Pei Jingwen, who has long been separated from us, led the entire division and surrendered with white flags."
The general in the hall was sitting majestically, his expression unchanged. Obviously no one was surprised by this. Pei Jingwen, who was stranded alone in Laohekou in western Hubei, was not a direct force of Feng Yuxiang's system. This team originally belonged to Sun Yue, the commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces.
, was still an ally of Feng Yuxiang’s Second National Army two years ago. After Sun Yue died of illness in 2028, the Third National Army
The dragon has no leader. Some occupy one area and set up separate banners to govern their own affairs. Some go their separate ways and join the various warlords. The departments of the Northwest Army saw the opportunity and tried their best to recruit and enrich themselves. In the past two years, they used thunderbolt means to mobilize various armed forces from all over Henan and Shaanxi.
With the incorporation and eradication, Henan and Shaanxi provinces gained temporary peace, but they also hid the hidden danger of rebellion.
When Division Pei Jingwen saw that all the units in his army were either wiped out or annexed by the Northwest Army, he immediately held a military meeting above the regiment level to let everyone choose their future. Finally, they unanimously decided to join the First Route Army Commander Zhang Weixi and stationed in Dengzhou as a local garrison.
At the end of last year, Jiang and Feng became enemies, and Pei Jingwen's troops were reorganized into the new 7th Division. At the end of November, they were ordered to go south, and soon they defeated two regiments of the Hubei Local Guard Division and occupied Laohekou.
Since Division Pei Jingwen does not belong to the direct line of the Northwest Army, the financially strapped Northwest Army does not receive military pay or food at ordinary times. All expenses are "self-raised" by Division Pei Jingwen within the scope of the station. During wars, the General Headquarters only releases military pay to subsidize it.
.This “self
"Self-raising" is very subtle. To put it bluntly, it actually means allowing the garrison to plunder local people. Corrupt officials and some local warlords use the guise of "self-raising" to force expropriation and expropriation, disregarding people's livelihood, disregarding human lives and other evil deeds.
Promoting sworn hatred between the military and civilians.
Feng Yuxiang was a little surprised to see no reaction from everyone, but then he understood and asked with a smile: "What do you think of this matter?"
Sun Liangcheng replied: "Commander, which part of Laohekou is occupied by the enemy?"
Chief of Staff Zhang Zhijiang answered on his behalf: "The telegram said it was the 44th Division and the 16th Division of the Fifth Army Corps. These two main divisions of the Central Army are both Type A divisions with three brigades and nine regiments. Each division has about 10,000 troops.
There are about 6,000 people. The equipment situation of the newly formed 44th Division is not yet clear. Yin, the former deputy commander of the Anyi Independent Division,
The 16th Division, where Ji Nan serves as the division commander, has similar personnel and equipment to the Central Army's ace independent division. It has an artillery regiment and a teaching regiment attached to the division. Each brigade has a machine gun battalion and an engineer battalion. It has excellent equipment.
, well-trained, should be one of the most capable troops in the Central Military Commission for fighting tough battles.
Judging from the background of Gu Changfeng, the major general of the 44th Division, An Yi, who is extremely protective of his old subordinates and very partial, will never treat him badly. An Yi saved hundreds of thousands of victims in Henan and Shaanxi during this disaster relief, and also sat on the throne.
The old Nanchang base and the Jiangnan Arsenal have plenty of manpower and money, as well as an abundant supply of guns and supplies, and it is likely that the overall combat strength of the 44th Division will be raised to a level similar to that of the 16th Division in a very short period of time."
"Speaking of it, Nanyang is in danger! Laohekou is less than a hundred miles away from Dengzhou to the north, and Dengzhou is only a hundred miles away from Nanyang, our strategic location in southern Henan. If Nanyang is attacked by the enemy, southern and western Henan will definitely be shaken.
, the entire Hubei-Henan war situation will be difficult to control. Old Chiang Kai-shek will definitely use An Yi's Fifth Army Corps to march north from Nanyang to contain our army's strength and then threaten our hinterland in western Henan."
Song Zheyuan worriedly expressed his opinion, which was immediately recognized by many generals.
Sun Liangcheng thought for a while and said with relief: "According to the intelligence, An Yi's Fifth Army only has four divisions with more than 50,000 soldiers. It is more than stable but not aggressive enough. Facing the nearly 60,000 soldiers of our Second Route Army's seven divisions and brigades,
I don't think An Yi has any chance of winning, brother Mingxuan must be overly worried."
"Brother Liangchen, why did you forget to subtract Pei Jingwen's temporary seventh division of more than 7,000 men?" Song Zheyuan reminded angrily.
Sun Liangcheng lowered his head in silence, frowning and thinking silently. He turned a deaf ear to the discussions of the generals in the room. After a while, Sun Liangcheng suddenly asked: "Chief of Staff, which unit is the Dengzhou garrison?"
After hearing this, the generals immediately stopped talking and all looked at Zhang Zhijiang. I wonder what Sun Liangcheng meant by this. Zhang Zhijiang was shocked and turned to Feng Yuxiang. Feng Yuxiang waved back and ordered to call Pang Bingxun in Nanyang to closely monitor the movements of the enemy troops in Laohekou.
Send an additional brigade to the 13th Mixed Brigade stationed in Dengzhou.
After Feng Yuxiang finished giving his instructions, he looked at Sun Liangcheng and asked solemnly: "Liangchen, have you thought of something?"
Sun Liangcheng hesitated for a moment, then replied loudly: "My subordinates are well aware of An Yi's military capabilities. During the Northern Expedition of the Independent Division, he was famous throughout the army for his erratic actions and his comings and goings like the wind. In addition, An Yi was audacious and often walked away with his sword.
He is a slant forward, and his troops are well-trained and have strong firepower. If he really makes a desperate move and commands two divisions to rush to Dengzhou quickly, I am afraid that General Zhang Miqing's 13th Mixed Brigade will be in big trouble."
Feng Yuxiang felt relieved after hearing this, and waved his hand with a smile: "Huchen, the veteran General Pang Geng and Chen are not in vain. I think since the news of the fall of Laohekou came, General Pang has already had a perfect plan.
If An Yi commanded two divisions with more than 30,000 men to attack Dengzhou, he might not be able to get any advantage, and he might even be attacked head-on by General Pang for underestimating the enemy!
Just think about it, the road from Laohekou to Dengzhou is rugged. Without artillery coordination, how many troops would An Yi need to capture Dengzhou, a strong city at the angle with Xinye and Nanyang? Don’t forget, Nanyang alone has
Our Second Route Army has 35,000 soldiers. The road from Nanyang to Dengzhou is wide and flat. To facilitate the battle, the cavalry brigade that I authorized General Pang Lao to preserve can reach there in only one and a half hours.
Huchen, you just said that the Fifth Army only has four main divisions. At least one division is needed to be stationed on the Xiangfan front line to prevent our army from moving south from Xinye. At this time, unless An Yi has twice as many
The strength of the troops, otherwise, to attack Dengzhou where General Pang Lao is stationed can only be overestimating one's capabilities.
With General Pang's rich experience, we can rest easy for at least more than a month. Even if An Yi has great abilities, at most he can only occupy the mouth of the Laohe River and seek a confrontation."
The generals were relieved after listening to Feng Yuxiang's analysis, but Song Zheyuan saw the hidden crisis in the forced smile of Sun Liangcheng, who suddenly understood. After the meeting, Song Zheyuan went to Feng Yuxiang's residence to resign and rushed to the front line, and once again earnestly reminded Chief of Staff Zhang Zhijiang to give Pang Bingxun more money.
Send a division of troops. After all, An Yi is good at fighting and has a reputation for being cunning. At this critical moment, no one dares to be careless.
Three days passed and it was May 1st of each year. Chiang Kai-shek issued an oath of victory against Yan and Feng. The First Army Corps, Han Fuqu's Division, increased its strength to eight divisions and assumed the front-line combat mission in Western Shandong. The Second Corps, Liu Zhi's Division,
The jurisdiction was increased to 12 divisions, responsible for the offensive and defensive operations on the eastern Henan front line. The Third Army He Chengjun's headquarters was adjusted and supplemented, with a total of 13 divisions, responsible for the heavy combat responsibilities on the southern Henan front line.
On the same day, Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang met in Zhangde in northern Henan. The coordinated operations between the Shanxi-Sui Army and the Northwest Army were straightened out, and a larger and more fierce battle was about to begin.
An Yi was having intense discussions with his generals at the frontline headquarters in Xiangyang City, hoping to reach a consensus on the two attack plans. Three days ago, An Yi secretly ordered Gu Changfeng's division to quickly move north to pretend to attack Dengzhou, and secretly ordered the garrison.
Zhu Shigui's 17th Division, which had been recuperating in Fancheng for a long time, raided Xinye via Guyi and conducted a military test against Pang Bingxun's troops.
However, the enemy general Pang Bingxun paid no attention to Gu Changfeng's troops who were pretending to be radical, and only sent one battalion of cavalry to monitor from a distance. After running for 25 kilometers continuously, Gu Changfeng did not dare to move forward for fear of encountering an ambush.
Take five steps back
They set up camp in a dangerous place, but the enemy did not advance. Instead, they monitored from a distance and ran away as soon as they found something wrong. Gu Changfeng was unable to retreat and was helpless. At the same time, Pang Bingxun commanded the Xinye garrison's Eighth Division to raid Fancheng.
To Xiangfan
Zhu Shigui's troops on the front line conducted exploratory attacks. The two teams encountered each other in the north and south of Huangquqiao, and fierce battles broke out. Zhu Shigui relied on the advantage of twice the enemy's mortars and light and heavy machine guns to repulse the life-saving charge of the brave Eighth Division three times.
, after two hours of fierce fighting, under the orders of the Army Chief of Staff Zhao Rui, they quickly withdrew to the front line of Guyi. Ding Zhicheng, who was responsible for the response task, rushed out of Guyi to find the enemy for a decisive battle. The Eighth Division saw that the situation was not good and carried more than 300 corpses.
Quickly return to Xinye.
This battle gave An Yi a deeper understanding of the veteran Pang Bingxun. He finally understood the power of this lame veteran who was neither a direct descendant of Feng Yuxiang nor was born in a major. He also deeply understood that this veteran who was over fifty years old had stepped from a soldier to the northwest.
The veteran commander of the Second Route Army of the Army is not a pedantic person, but has rich combat experience and can make decisions when the opportunity arises.
A wise and courageous general who is absolutely eclectic. For this reason, An Yi specially visited the surrendered brothers of the Seventh Division to inquire about Pang Bingxun's experience, and finally informed the generals one by one at the military meeting. After hearing this, the generals were filled with admiration.
No one dares to look down upon this "Pang Cripple" who has been in the military for more than 30 years, has no reputation but is good at fighting tough battles and often defeats more with less.
Zhu Shigui, who lost more than 200 people in the battle, had a bad start and was very depressed. Ding Zhicheng, the commander of the First Division, which was temporarily transferred from the Sixteenth Division and was composed of Yichang garrison troops, also praised the bravery of the Eighth Division. From the Seventh Division to the Eighth Division
Division, sharp contrast and huge
The contrast surprised An Yi and his brothers, and they finally understood that Pang Bingxun and his direct troops were not much inferior to themselves. If Pang Bingxun's two divisions also had the same equipment and logistical support as themselves, it was difficult to predict who would win in this battle.