On August 3, the 21st year of the Republic of China, An Yi led his staff team and the special agent team led by Sun Desheng to leave Nanjing and arrived in Bengbu by train at 3:30 in the afternoon. Wang Jun, deputy commander-in-chief of the bandit-suppressing right route army, and column commander Wei
Li Huang, Chen Jieqi and more than a hundred generals under his command came to the station to greet him, which made An Yi apologize and shout that he couldn't help it. The originally very serious welcome ceremony was changed beyond recognition by An Yi's bursts of laughter.
Hughes, the leader of the advisory group who came with him, looked on with gloomy eyes and a cold face. In the usual rigorous and solemn manner of a British gentleman, he was very unhappy that An Yi did not introduce him and his companion Brandt to the generals at the first time, and even
A little annoyed.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, An Yi respectfully greeted Wei Lihuang, Chen Chengxi and several senior military officers from each division, and then met with Wang Jun, Li Shilong, Li Wenbin, Hu Zongnan, Li Yutang, Yuan Pu, Ding Delong, Li Xianzhou, Feng Jianfei and others.
The general and the tearful good brother Fuyuko
They hugged and talked and laughed affectionately, seeming to have completely forgotten about the British adviser who was highly respected by Chairman Chiang and the Military Commission. In the end, the mature and steady Wei Lihuang and the attentive Chen Chengxi came to greet them and respectfully greeted the two neglected people.
The consultant saluted and welcomed me warmly.
After returning to the headquarters in the city to settle down, after An Yi finished washing up, Chen Jiancheng asked privately: "Why are you so confused? Even when the principal visits various armies, he first has to introduce the military advisers around him to the lieutenant generals. How about you?
, you only talked and laughed with Wang Jun and others from the Third Army and the Huangpu brothers, which made the British consultant who came with you very embarrassed. If someone sues you to the principal, it will be hard for you."
An Yi finally came to his senses and slapped his forehead helplessly: "Oops, I forgot all about it! When I saw my senior brother and those long-lost old friends, I couldn't control myself and forgot all the etiquette. This is me
It's my fault, I just need to find an opportunity to apologize to Mr. Hughes and Mr. Brandt."
"In this case, you can toast them at the reception banquet later and explain it carefully. I don't think Colonel Hughes will care too much."
Chen Chengwei shook his head and stopped mentioning the matter. He asked if the urgently needed medicines and ammunition had been shipped. When An Yi said that the special supply train would arrive in Bengbu early tomorrow morning, Chen Chenghe was very happy: "It seems that it's still you.
There is a way
, Ever since President Yu was promoted, the Munitions Administration led by General Zhu Kongyang has not given as much support to our direct ministries as before. I urged him to strictly abide by the regulations and treat everyone equally, so that the chief officers of our armies and divisions were silenced."
An Yi quickly explained: "Actually, Director Zhu treats me the same way. Yesterday I went to his office to ask for help. He also refused to give priority to our right army on the grounds that each column of the army needed to be solved one by one.
, I see no other way but
It was good to leave. Later, maybe he remembered that a lot of military supplies and new weapons were purchased by the Munitions Administration, and he needed to go to the Xiangxi Arsenal and Jiangnan Group companies. He quickly called me and told me that it would be resolved within three days. Don't blame me.
Zhu, it’s difficult for him too.
The impatient senior brothers from our direct line in Huangpu often complained about him in front of the principal, which made him very troubled. Think about it, every division in the army requires priority care, how many can he take care of? He can make a phone call
It's already a lot of face for me.
But I felt that three days was too slow, so I squeezed out of the Nanjing Military Depot of the 24th Army and the Southwest Troops, and called Acting Railway Minister General Huang Jikuan to ask for a special train, and ordered the Nanjing Military Depot to seize the time to load the train.
Send it over."
Chen Chengqi sighed very much: "This person is so popular! That's you. If it were anyone else, I don't know how long it would take. In the past six months, we have missed opportunities due to supply problems in several battles... After the armistice in Songhu, Hu Shoushan's
The 1st Division was transferred from Jiangnan to Bengbu and fought continuously on the front line. The losses were huge. It was because of the lack of mortar shells that the 11th Division attacked Xu Xiangqian half a month ago.
After several times of rushing, they were unable to get up. Instead, they were hit by more than a dozen cannons from the red bandits until they could not even lift their heads. In that battle, more than 300 officers and soldiers of the First Division were injured by the cannons. They came back to rescue the soldiers.
The iron sand picked out from the wounded soldiers with knives and tweezers weighed more than ten kilograms. That night, the howling in the wounded soldiers' camp spread throughout a ten-mile radius, even scaring away the wild wolves on the mountain. How miserable!"
An Yi was shocked. Just when he was about to ask about the specific situation, he saw Wei Lihuang walking over and hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. Wei Lihuang handed the message in his hand to An Yi and smiled:
"This is the central clear telegram that has just arrived. It was distributed to all columns of the army. The commissioner made clear demands at the enlarged meeting on suppressing bandits held in Hankou, ordering all ministries to clear out the five provinces of Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Hunan within six months.
Communist bandits. Attached to the end of the message
After receiving the victory report from Liu Xiang's troops of the Sichuan Army, Wang Jiling and Guo Xun's two divisions defeated He Long's regiment in Shayang, Jingmen. He Long's division lost more than 2,000 troops and fled wildly to Qianjiang and Honghu Lake. The various divisions of the Sichuan Army are pursuing separately, striving to encircle and annihilate them."
After reading the telegram, An Yi shook his head and sighed: "Now the Left Army led by General He Chengjun is relaxed. He Long's tribe, which has been operating in southwest Henan and Western Hubei for several years, has been hit hard repeatedly. It is estimated that there are less than 5,000 troops left. Among the three Sichuan troops
division, General Xu Yuanquan's two divisions and Wuhan Line
Under the attack of the two brigades directly under the battalion, the battalion had no power to resist, so it could only hide in the Honghu area and use the wide lakes and dense water networks to fight guerrillas. In comparison, our right route army had much heavier tasks and took on
How to fight next, there is no consensus yet on how to suppress the general."
Chen Chengyi nodded: "Yes, after the main force of the southern Ganxi Red Bandits unexpectedly broke out of our army's encirclement, the entire encirclement and suppression situation changed drastically, and our right army was also seriously affected. Brother Cixiu's three main divisions were
Beaten and crippled the car that had just arrived in Anqing
General Zhou Hunyuan's two divisions were once again transferred to the southeastern line of Jiangxi. Even the two garrison divisions in central Zhejiang were urgently transferred south to the Zhejiang-Fujian border. Maybe our right army will also detach some troops to support
On the Fujian-Jiangxi front line, the next battle will be difficult to fight."
Wei Lihuang hesitated for a moment, then said directly: "Last night my chief of staff returned from Wuhan and heard that the top leaders of the General Suppression Bureau had made such a motion, intending to re-divide the theater and allocate one or two columns that originally belonged to the Right Route Army.
Under unified command of the Central Army, I'm afraid we will have to wait a few more days to know how to fight next."
An Yi was stunned for a moment, then thought about it and smiled happily: "Haha, in fact, it is long past time to re-adjust the war zone. For example, the three divisions of the Eighth Army of our predecessors are responsible for the front line of Huang'an and Macheng, which is far away from the principal's personal command.
The middle route army is closer and easier to command and coordinate.
"As early as the combat meeting in May, I proposed that it would be safer and more appropriate to place the entire Hubei Province under the jurisdiction of the Central Route Army. However, General He Jingzhi rejected my opinion at that time, and the people who came with me today
Mr. Hughes, deputy head of the advisory group, started last year.
The group conducted research on the Communist Army in the Hubei, Henan, and Anhui regions. This time, the combat guiding ideology and troop allocation of our Right Route Army were related to his opinions. At that time, he also agreed with General He Jingzhi’s opinions. Unexpectedly, he has readjusted them again now.
, it seems that the principal also knows that there are some problems with the current distribution of troops!"
Wei Lihuang looked at An Yi with admiration: "When you first took office, you might be deprived of one-third of your troops. It's rare that you are so optimistic and open-minded!"
"You haven't seen that when one-third of the troops are divided, one-third of the responsibilities are also divided. Moreover, the part with the most complicated terrain and environment is divided. The juniors not only do not lose, but make money.
, can you not be happy? Besides, this junior is just here to show his name temporarily. I believe that the general will be suppressed soon.
A highly respected senior was sent to take over the leadership of the Right Army. The junior was not familiar with the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone. Although he came here bravely, he never regarded himself as a commander-in-chief and could do the job of a grain supervisor well.
, it’s good if you don’t get scolded by your seniors and brothers!” An Yi said cheerfully.
Wei Lihuang smiled and said a few polite words, but Chen Jiheri saw some abnormalities from the sudden changes at the top. It made sense to re-divide the war zones, especially after the failure of the southern Jiangxi encirclement, major adjustments were definitely needed, whether it was the division of war zones or the
When it comes to troop deployment, the scope will not be small. The focus is still on the Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong war zone. Now that An Yi has just taken office, the commander-in-chief will make adjustments to the entire Hubei, Henan and Anhui war zone, instead of the Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong war zone that needs more priority.
There is another article.
Before Chen Chengcheng could figure it out, Wang Junfeng, the unshaven deputy commander-in-chief of the Right Army, arrived in a hurry. He greeted the two of them, took An Yi's hand and strode out, saying as he walked: "Let's go, each army is on its own."
The brothers and sisters are basically here. Without you as the commander-in-chief, who dares to use chopsticks? Haha!"
"Brother missed two words, he is the acting commander in chief..." An Yi was serious as he walked.
"It doesn't matter whether he is an agent or not, he is still the commander-in-chief, and his official position is higher than Brother Yu..."
Wei Lihuang and Chen Chengwei looked at Wang Jun and An Yi talking nonsense in an intimate manner, shaking their heads repeatedly. Chen Chenghe explained to Wei Lihuang in a low voice: Wang Jun's officers above the company commander of the 7th Division have listened to An Yi's lectures, and the grassroots level
Most of the non-commissioned officers came from the Nanchang Non-commissioned Officer School founded by An Yi. Wang Jun himself established a deep friendship with An Yi when he was serving under General Zhu Yizhi, so the two became so close.
Wei Lihuang suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the Seventh Division of the three armies performed so well. Li Wenbin, commander of the Seventy-fifth Division and Commander of the Twenty-first Brigade, was the only general among the anti-bandit ministries to receive three commendations from Chairman Chiang Kai-shek. In the past two years, whether in Jiangxi or southern Anhui
,plum
Wenbin's troops always won more than they lost in battles with the Red Bandits. They escaped four times when the Red Bandits were about to be surrounded by heavy troops. One of them even staged a very bold counter-ambush, which gave Li Wenbin a headache when all the Red Bandits encountered him.
It turns out there is such a origin.
The reception dinner was lively and grand. All the generals and first-level generals from all divisions and brigades of the Right Route Army came. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Wang Jun presided over the banquet without any hesitation. Wei Lihuang and Chen Chengyi were both dragged up by Wang Jun to deliver speeches.
, when it was An Yi's turn to speak, he very humorously asked everyone not to drink too much and just mean it, otherwise he would definitely get scolded.
This statement made more than a hundred generals burst into laughter. An Yi held up his wine glass amidst the laughter and politely paid tribute to the two British advisers first, then to the three German advisers who had been following the Right Army in combat, and finally
Then I toasted to everyone.
Despite this, An Yi cried out after a few rounds that he couldn't stand it anymore, but he still had to bite the bullet and continue drinking one cup after another. Wang Jun went even further. While shouting that no one should get drunk, An Yi kept drinking wine. The third army
All the divisions, brigade generals and colonels also happily came up to toast An Yi, who was so drunk that An Yi fell down without even taking a bite of the food. The British consultant Hughes next to him sneered and shook his head repeatedly, his face full of disdain.
After the banquet was over, Wei Lihuang was worried after bathing. He got dressed and told the adjutant a few words. He walked alone through the corridor and walked to the two-story building left for An Yi in the backyard. He arrived accompanied by Lin Yaodong, the captain of the bodyguard.
The entrance to the main hall.
Lin Yaodong went in to report. Wei Lihuang stood at the door and saw Chen Jieqi, Hu Zongnan, Li Yutang and a young brigade commander who he had met several times but could not name. They had arrived at some point. An Yi, who was neatly dressed, was not drunk at all.
He stood in front of the huge war zone map with Chen Chengi and others, making gestures and having a heated discussion.
Upon hearing Wei Lihuang's arrival, An Yi, Chen Chengi and others hurriedly came out and warmly welcomed him into the main hall. The guards quickly served him fragrant tea.
Wei Lihuang walked to the map with a teacup in hand, looked at it for a while, and asked in a low voice: "Are you talking about the enemy situation in Luotian?"
Chen Chengyi smiled bitterly and said: "My little brother's thoughts were noticed by An Yi at a glance. He asked me about the coordinated operation plan of the First Army and the Third Army. My little brother could only tell the truth. Although this plan was not reported, he was still informed.
You can see that despite the great reputation, there is no real talent!"
Wei Lihuang knew the formulation process and details of the entire plan. Chen Jicheng and Wang Jun asked for his opinions many times. Wei Lihuang considered that the combat intentions of the two armies would be very helpful to the theater he was responsible for, and completed the three tasks.
All the armies benefited a lot, so they also joined in the active planning. After several days of hard work, they basically came up with a preliminary plan. As soon as they had determined the specific positions of Xu Xiang's two main forces in the front, they jointly submitted it to the General Suppressor for approval. Unexpectedly, this
At that time, An Yi, who had just arrived, saw through it.
Wei Lihuang stopped being polite and told An Yi together with Chen Chengyi the ins and outs of the entire plan and the specific action plans to be taken.
After An Yi asked about a few key points, he was full of praise for the plans of Wei Lihuang, Chen Chengi and others, but finally asked with a smile:
"Your fighting style is to respond in three directions, advance in unison, press forward step by step in an arc through a surprise joint attack, and use a head-on approach of attacking from three sides, forcing the main forces of the two Communist armies to fight, and in the end they can only retreat to the west of the Xihe River.
This narrow area north of Luotian.
"But the guiding ideology of the General Suppressor is 'separate advance and combined attack', with encirclement as the ultimate goal. It is estimated that he will not agree to leave only one division of Li Mo'an in the direction of Macheng for an ambush, because most people think it is unsafe, let alone
I appreciate your good intentions of "getting maximum results at the minimum cost".
"The strength of each column of our army is distributed at various strategic points, and too much emphasis is placed on the gains and losses of one city and one place. Therefore, it is difficult for you to persuade the general to give up monitoring and suppressing other departments of the Communist Army, and to mobilize troops from other places to cooperate with you.
Together with the six divisions, they launched a continuous large-scale attack on the two main forces of the Communist Army. I wonder if you have thought about this?"
Wei Lihuang sighed: "It is precisely because of this that we were hesitant. We did not report in advance as usual, and we were not sure whether we could convince the committee members to make a decision. I thought that I could promote this battle after taking charge this time, but now it seems
, it’s so difficult!”
Chen Chengi and others also nodded. Li Yutang thought for a while and suggested: "If the chief of guards, the military commander and senior brother Hu go to Hankou together, the problem may be solved."
Wei Lihuang and the three of them looked at each other, and finally everyone looked at Hu Zongnan, who was most valued by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek.
Hu Zongnan pondered for a moment and immediately expressed his position: "If this can be facilitated, what's the harm in going to Hankou to present to the principal? The principal always respects the opinions of the chief of guards and the military commander. It would be better for the chief of guard and the military commander to lead their subordinates together.
"
"In this case, without further delay, let's leave tomorrow morning, take the train to Nanjing, and then find a way to apply for an aircraft from the Aviation Administration through the Military Commission to fly directly to Wuhan, otherwise it will be delayed for another three or four days." Chen Chengxiu said.
Hu Zongnan laughed: "Military seat, have you forgotten? Mr. Vice-Chancellor has his own special plane, which is better than the principal's plane. Please ask Mr. An to send his plane to do a favor and fly directly from his hometown Nanchang Airport to Bengbu.
Can't you just take us and fly to Wuhan?"
Chen Chengyi's eyes lit up and he grinned: "That's it, haha!"
An Yi agreed readily, and everyone talked for a while before saying goodbye. An Yi pointed to the young commander of the Fourth Brigade of the First Division and asked Hu Zongnan:
"Senior brother, give Dongzi a night off. I'll ask him to report back on time at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. How about that?"
"That's why I brought him here. Let's go! Send the plane here early tomorrow. Also, don't forget what you promised me."
After Hu Zongnan finished speaking, he motioned for Wei Lihuang and Chen Chengyi to leave first. An Yi, Shen Fengdao, Zhao Rui and others politely sent them outside, and exchanged pleasantries before saying goodbye to each other.
Walking out of the yard, Wei Lihuang asked Hu Zongnan: "What is the relationship between the commander of the Fourth Brigade under Shoushan named Dongzi and General An?"
"His name is Luo Shaodong, he is Junior Brother An's brother with a different surname."
Hu Zongnan explained with emotion: "Junior Brother An lived in Guangzhou during the chaos when the merchant group rebellion was being eliminated. He was almost killed by the workers' pickets and the Red Guards as a merchant army. Junior Brother An then fell seriously ill.
On the street, he was taken to the eastern suburbs for burial as a dead body. At that time, Dongzi was working in the corpse collection team of the Guangzhou Civil Affairs Bureau. Seeing that Junior Brother An was still breathing, he used a cart to pull him back to his residence and spent all his money on it.
Junior Brother An was cured, and the two became brothers in life and death. Later, Dongzi was admitted to the fifth grade of Huangpu with excellent results. After graduation, he was assigned to a subordinate unit. He started as a trainee quartermaster, made many military exploits, and was finally promoted to the current position.
Colonel and brigade commander, Junior Brother Ding Delong’s independent brigade was surrounded by Xu Xiang’s two divisions at the end of June. It was Dong Zi who took the lead and led his troops to quickly rush to the rescue and fought hard for four hours to successfully rescue the siege. The bullet hole in his calf has not healed yet.”
Wei Lihuang was greatly moved, and at the same time he gained an additional understanding of the friendship between Hu Zongnan and An Yi.