It was October 20th when all the Fifth Army Corps evacuated Henan and returned to western Hubei. When passing through Nanyang, An Yi did not release any news. During the one-day stay, An Yi went to the school in the afternoon, held a discussion with the principal and teachers, and came up with five
Wan Xian Dayang donated money to support his education and then left quietly.
In the evening, An Yi summoned talents from all walks of life to gather together and hold a simple banquet to discuss post-disaster reconstruction matters in Nanyang, introduce the successful experiences of old Nanchang, Xiangxi and other places, and put forward development suggestions for restoring agriculture, building water conservancy, and focusing on agriculture as well as industry and commerce. Participants attended the meeting
The scholars were open-minded and offered suggestions one after another. An Yi compiled all the opinions and gave them to the great scholar Zhang Lao. It was not until ten o'clock in the evening that the wise men who still had unfinished thoughts were sent out of the camp.
When night fell, An Yi and his brothers quietly broke camp and retreated south.
In the early morning of the next day, the citizens who got up early found that the streets were completely silent. Only the police officers from the police station established a month ago squatted dejectedly in twos and threes smoking in the streets and alleys. There was no trace of the familiar Anjia officers and soldiers.
The astute citizens felt something was wrong and hurried to the gate of the palace to investigate. The police guarding the gate told them that all An's troops had withdrawn in order not to disturb the people. Commander An might have passed through Dengzhou and arrived at Laohekou.
The whole city suddenly exclaimed and crowds of people surged. A group of wise men and celebrities who hurriedly ran out of their homes realized that An Yi’s banquet last night turned out to be a farewell banquet. The many suggestions put forward at the banquet were all for the personal benefit of the people of Nanyang.
It has benefited the well-being of a century, so everyone sighed and expressed gratitude. Several local scholars were even more excited and shouted at the sky and the earth, causing a large number of old, young, women and children to follow him frequently and cry.
An Yi, who returned to Yichang, was busy day and night. Early every morning, he visited the more than 8,000 children and more than 3,000 women waiting to be resettled in the Yiling camp. He and the chief and deputy directors of the field hospital visited the wards and visited the patients.
Then he went to various places to inspect the garrison of each division, rectified the severely overstaffed army, selected 15,000 overstaffed veterans to form an engineering corps directly under the army, and began to expand and reconstruct Yichang to surrounding areas.
Highways and bridges in counties and towns. Secretly, An Yi has been waiting hard for the Central Military Commission to give new designations to the four new divisions of the Fifth Army. After waiting and waiting, Commander-in-Chief Chiang mercilessly said, "Abolish the National Recruit Training Office.
"Disband all temporary units and order on-the-spot demobilization" announcement, followed by the temporary divisions and new divisions that had surrendered and recruited local armed forces were abolished, and their designations were canceled one by one.
When the news came, An Yi was extremely angry. He immediately called Commander Zhang Hongluan of the 44th Army, Commander Shi Zhen of the 43rd Army, and the commanders of each division to come to Yichang by plane. They closed the door tightly and urgently discussed countermeasures.
Although the Central Military Commission still retains the New 8th Division, the New 9th Division, the New 10th Division of the 43rd Army, the New 11th Division of the 44th Army, the New 12th Division, the New 13th Division, the New 14th Division of the 5th Army to the New
The designation of the 17th Division was not abolished like other local troops, but seven regular ones were issued one after another in just half a month.
The divisional numbers were given to the so-called "meritorious troops". The Forty-fourth Army, the Forty-third Army and the Fifth Army seemed to have been forgotten by the top management. Not a penny was allocated for this month's military pay. The Fifth Army's headquarters called the headquarters three times.
Inquiries and pleas for the release of military supplies were met with silence and no response, which made An Yi wary.
Just halfway through the meeting, Commander-in-Chief Chiang's telegram of condolences suddenly arrived and ordered An Yi to fly to Nanjing immediately for the meeting.
An Yi didn't need to think about it. The news that planes frequently took off and landed today and brought more than ten generals from western Guizhou and western Hunan has prompted the increasingly professional spies in the Yichang camp to report to the central government. Commander-in-Chief Chiang, who is busy with his busy schedule, must have realized He had neglected the meritorious generals who had conquered the world for him, so he hurriedly sent an enthusiastic telegram and summoned An Yi back to Nanjing. He probably either scolded or appeased him, or both.
An Yi calmly informed everyone of the contents of the telegram, and then announced the adjournment of the meeting, leaving the two military commanders Zhang Hongluan and Shi Zhen to discuss opportunities. They met again after dinner, and the topic became the development and construction of western Hunan, western Guizhou and western Hubei. , and held a heated discussion on the adjustment and improvement of the army.
On the morning of the next day, An Yi took a six-seater Junkers aircraft driven by Lieutenant Colonel Huang Xunyi, captain of the Aviation Group, and flew to Nanjing with only his adjutant Shen Fengdao and the director of the munitions department Zhang Yang.
After getting off the plane, An Yi and his party got into the waiting car in the attendant's room and drove straight to the Central Military Academy on Huangpu Road without stopping. When they arrived at the door of "Qi Lu", they saw Chiang Kai-shek and his wife standing on the steps to greet them. Song Meiling smiled. Charming and still so kind and friendly, Chiang Kai-shek had a tense face and stared at An Yi who hurriedly got out of the car door.
An Yi strode forward and stood at attention to report. Soong Meiling said happily that she is waiting for you to have dinner with her. Come in quickly. An Yi thanked him respectfully and did not dare to move. He waited until Chiang Kai-shek nodded slightly and turned around, then followed him inside.
"Why are you still wearing this combat uniform? The lieutenant general commander doesn't pay much attention to his appearance. It seems that you need to get married soon and have someone to look after you."
As Song Meiling spoke, she pushed a plate of steamed fish in front of An Yi, her eyes filled with joy.
Chiang Kai-shek took a sip of water and put down the cup: "Tell me, why did you suddenly summon the generals of the 43rd and 44th Army to Yichang for what purpose?"
An Yi looked calm and replied respectfully: "Reorganize the army! After several months of fighting, the strength of the students' Fifth Army has greatly increased. The Forty-fourth Army and the Forty-third Army have also been recruiting troops because the main force of the army has gone north to fight and the rear is empty. In order to protect themselves, the students came back and saw that the troops in western Guizhou had reached more than 50,000, and the various divisions in western Hunan also had as many as 80,000 soldiers in six divisions, plus three regular divisions and four new divisions of the 24th Army of the Fifth Army. , the total number has reached 220,000, it will be a heavy burden if they are not reorganized or dismantled!"
Chiang Kai-shek was shocked when he heard this, and Soong Meiling's beautiful eyes were also wide open. The two of them looked at An Yi, who was sighing in a low voice. They were so surprised that they couldn't speak. They thought that An Yi and others with an army of more than 200,000 people would commit the crime. They are probably more difficult to deal with than Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan.
An Yi picked up the wine and took a sip, put down the glass and sighed: "During the war, I was always worried about not having enough troops. After the war, I suddenly found that there were overcrowding and heavy burdens. The students finally understood the principal's hard work! Yesterday afternoon's meeting , with the theme of military reorganization and dismantling. After receiving a telegram from the principal in the middle of the meeting, the students made an arbitrary decision at the evening meeting. First, they converted the over-staffed 15,000 officers and soldiers of each division of the Fifth Army into an engineering corps. Build and expand transportation arteries and bridge facilities in western Hubei, and transfer General Ding Zhicheng's New 15th Division back to Yichang Garrison Headquarters to assume local garrison and public security maintenance tasks, and propose to the 43rd and 44th Armies to abolish three-thirds of them The suggestion of one of the troops. General Shi Zhen did not agree with the students' opinions because his troops had to guard against the encroachment of Mao Guangxiang and Wang Jialie's troops, and also implemented a trade and material blockade on the Guizhou-Guangxi border. General Zhang Hongluan was open-minded and took into account the whole situation. In the overall situation, he immediately expressed that too many troops were overwhelmed and seriously affected the industrial and commercial construction in western Hunan. He persuaded his generals to agree to abolish two divisions with more than 30,000 people. Some of them were disarmed and returned to the field, and some were transferred to the engineering corps, and all of them were sent to the junction of Hunan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. The area is demolishing mountains and opening roads to develop transportation. If I hadn't been ordered to come here today, the students would have wanted to implement a series of local construction projects and have all ministries cooperate closely and develop together, so that the students can turn their main energy to the implementation of the 'Southwest Plan'."
"Well done! I feel so relieved, I feel so relieved!"
Chiang Kai-shek happily raised his glass, rarely replaced the wine with water, and toasted An Yi. All his doubts were relieved with An Yi's explanation. He felt that An Yi was still his good student who was loyal and concerned about the overall situation. He took the credit. Zhiwei is not arrogant, he does what he wants to do but has no time to do without any complaints.
Song Meiling smiled brightly, raised her wine glass, and touched it lightly with An Yi: "Come, An Yi, I want to toast you too. You and Ci Xiu are the great contributors to this Central Plains War. This time the principal called you back, that is Those who want to personally award medals to you will also need to reissue the certificate of appointment as commander to you. Your principal has said that from now on, no matter how the armies are organized or converted, the two designations of the Eighteenth Army and the Twenty-fourth Army will be Keep it forever without making any changes. I am also happy for you. Come on, congratulations!"
An Yi stood up in a hurry and thanked her loudly. He was extremely satisfied. The benefits of this honor made An Yi more excited than a hundred medals.
Chiang Kai-shek waved his hands in joy: "Sit down, sit down! In addition to tomorrow's award ceremony, there is another important reason for calling you back to Beijing in a hurry, that is, the 'Southwest Plan' related to national interests, the future of the party and the country should be accelerated When Liu Wenhui saw that the Northwest Army and the Shanxi-Sui Army were falling apart and destroying themselves, he wisely shut his mouth and secretly asked Deng Hanxiang, the director of Liu Xiang's office in Beijing, to find your Sichuan fellow Zhang Yuejun (Zhang Qun). He begged me for mercy, saying that he would change his ways and be unswervingly loyal to the Central Committee from now on, and requested that he be reinstated as a member of the Sichuan Provincial Committee and given the designation of the 24th Army again. I did not agree to it and asked Zhang Yuejun to tell Liu Wenhui that I wanted to take it. We must take concrete actions, otherwise we will still be the enemy of the party and state and the enemy of the nation.”
"Students will strictly follow the principal's instructions and never forget the southwest, and will unify the southwest to quell the war that lasted for more than ten years, and put the three provinces under the absolute leadership of the central government as one of the biggest goals in life." An Yi solemnly said answer.
Song Meiling said with a smile: "So, you have other lofty goals?"
"Yes, Master, students still have a lifelong goal: to drive away foreign humiliation and revive China! For this goal, students are willing to do it even if they are heartbroken. Before, students really didn't want to be a general, they just wanted to do some business and tinker with machines. , you can make a fortune while entertaining yourself, get a few wives, raise a group of children, and live a stable life, but reality does not allow students to choose. The country is weak and powerful, and no matter how much money you have, you will still be bullied. No matter how much you have, you will still be bullied. My wife and children can’t protect their lives, so I have no choice but to continue fighting.”
An Yi was full of emotions, his bright eyes were full of helplessness and melancholy, and his natural sincerity and pure heart deeply moved Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling.
Chiang Kai-shek sighed slightly and stopped mentioning this heavy question. Instead, he motioned for An Yi to eat whatever he wanted. After lunch, he served tea and returned to the sofa. Chiang Kai-shek asked An Yi in a low voice:
"The situation across the country has changed greatly in the past few months. Taking the Guangdong and Guangxi regions as an example, the troops of Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, and Zhang Fakui who originally invaded Hunan suffered heavy losses under the attack from three sides by our army, especially in the three large-scale attacks by the Guangdong and Guangxi armies. During the battle, Li Zongren and Zhang Fakui's elite troops were out of ten. The original Iron Army and Steel Army were no longer as brave as they were in the past. The quality of the officers and soldiers dropped sharply, their strength was greatly damaged, and there was no way to recover. At the same time, Yunnan Longyun responded to the central government's order, Starting from August, he marched eastward and conquered Baise, an important town in western Guangxi. Then he took advantage of the victory and conquered Binyang and Shanglin, surrounding Nanning and forcing Li Zongren's troops who had fled into northern Guangxi to rush south to relieve the siege. Originally, He Yunqiao (characterized by He Jian) ) troops could take advantage of this opportunity to send troops to Guilin, but their troops fought continuously with the Communist Red Army Peng Dehuai and other troops, and were unable to do what they expected. They could only watch the opportunity to completely wipe out the Guilin clique gradually disappear. It is a pity! Today, I want to hear from you For your opinions, including your opinions on Long Yun’s department, just say whatever comes to mind without any worries.”
An Yi nodded: "Principal, the students are in a dilemma! This time Long Yun marched eastward and stayed behind in Kunming, Qujing and other places with less than three divisions. If he is ruthless, let alone the students with Thunder
He led his four divisions to join forces with the Forty-Third and Forty-fourth Army and two divisions each to attack Yunnan.
, just through General Shi Zhen, quickly provide a batch of weapons, ammunition and military supplies to support Hu Ruoyu and other troops lurking in southern Sichuan and northern Yunnan, Long Yun can be caught off guard. Even if he cannot overthrow Long Yun, his strength will be greatly damaged.
The prestige is no longer there, which will reduce the resistance for our central military units to enter Yunnan in the future.
However, Long Yun responded to the call of the central government and led his troops to conquer Guangxi. The students could not do this. However, they did not mention that it might lead to political condemnation. It was not justified from a moral perspective. Therefore, the students still focused their main efforts on Sichuan.
Southeast, we hope that the principal and the central government will quickly take political action to create conditions for students to become famous teachers."
Chiang Kai-shek nodded appreciatively: "The fact that you can think so comprehensively and see a rare opportunity from a military perspective is enough to prove that you have made great progress.
Although Yunnan is important, due to the current situation and political needs, we can only pursue it slowly. We must not risk the world's taboos and give others leverage during this sensitive period. The only plan for southern Sichuan is justified. When the time comes, I will immediately let go.
All ministries of the central government are closely cooperating with your actions.
In addition, our Central Army cannot directly enter Yunnan, which supports the Central Committee, but this does not mean that Hu Ruoyu and other troops who oppose Long Yun cannot enter. They are also the Yunnan Army and have their own political pursuits. We can definitely use them and wait and see what happens.
what you think?"
"Students understand! We'll do it right away when we get back."
An Yi respectfully agreed, sighing secretly for Chiang Kai-shek's methods.
Chiang Kai-shek nodded happily: "You can move freely in the afternoon and attend the military meeting at the headquarters at eight o'clock in the evening. After the meeting, Brother Yizhi and I and others will talk to you about the armament reorganization of the Fifth Army. Now that the war is over, all the ministries are bloated.
, it is necessary to abolish some of them, otherwise the central finance will be overwhelmed.
However, this does not mean that the veterans you have worked so hard to recruit from Henan, Shaanxi and other places will be dispersed. Your Fifth Corps shoulders the important responsibilities of the party and the country. You only need to make some efforts in name to comply with the current disarmament policy of the central government.
Just keep your spirit. Now some troops have obtained regular designations and you
Just because we don’t have the Fifth Army does not mean that I don’t value you. There is a very subtle reason for this, which I will tell you now. That is, all troops with regular designations must immediately go to various places to suppress bandits.
Their official numbers don't make sense, just understand them.
The awarding of honors will be completed tomorrow morning. You will stay for a few days to rest. You have not had a day's rest during the months of fighting. Wherever you go, the people support you and you are invincible. You are praised as a teacher of justice and a teacher of benevolence.
The central government has won great political reputation, and it is no exaggeration to call you the first contributor to this battle.
You and Ci Xiu are my right-hand men. I hope you will not be arrogant or impatient and continue to work hard. The great cause of the party and the country has a long way to go!"