Back to the Republic of China as a commander

In fact, Zhang Zongchang's atrocities also caused dissatisfaction among many people in Fengjun. They proposed to Zhang Zuolin to replace Zhang Zongchang. Now it is Zhang Zuolin's turn to feel a headache.

However, for Zhang Zuolin, who was born with a beard, Zhang Zongchang's almost beastly behavior was not too serious. Back then, there were many people with beards that were more beastly than this.What really worried Zhang Zuolin was Wang Zhenyu from the south. After all, he was the one who defeated the great powers.Zhang Zuolin has never seen someone who has seen the Russo-Japanese War. He has seen the battle between the Russians and the Japanese. In his opinion, although the Japanese defeated the Russians, from Zhang Zuolin's point of view, it was completely wrong. Little Japan bullied others by relying on its large number of people. In reality, Little Japan did not take advantage of it, and even suffered a lot.But according to the newspaper, Russia's elite troops were defeated by the Germans in Europe.Calculating according to this logic, can it be concluded from this that the youth army in the south is even more powerful than the Japanese after being equipped with advanced equipment?

Thinking of this, Zhang Zuolin shuddered. In fact, he didn't really want to continue going south to fight with the youth army. He was very satisfied to capture Beijing, and it was an unexpected harvest to win Zhili, Shandong, and Henan provinces.But for some unknown reason, those little Japanese kept urging themselves to continue going south under the guise of supporting China's unification, and they also promised to continue to pay half of the balance of Nishihara's loan that had not been paid to Duan Qirui to Zhang Zuolin's government.Zhang Zuolin was very happy at the beginning, but later he cursed Little Japan for nothing, Grandma's. Doesn't this mean that Lao Tzu has inherited all the obligations of Duan Qirui's government?Taking half of the money, but having to bear all the debts, Little Japan is too smart.But Zhang Zuolin didn't dare to say anything more, now he had to rely on the support of Little Japan.And if China is really unified, then veteran Zhang really doesn't have to worry about repaying the Xiyuan loan.

So these days, Zhang Zuolin is not very concerned about what happened in Shandong. There are only two things he really cares about. The first is to form a new elite army. Things are going very smoothly so far.Zhang Zuolin used the name of the Northeast Frontier Army, and the commander of the frontier army was his old brother Zhang Zuoxiang. Among the many generals in the Feng family, this man and Wu Junsheng were regarded as Zhang Zuolin's most trusted and reliable right-hand men.Zhang Zuolin of the border defense army gave ten divisions, temporarily planning to have 25 people, and Zhang Zuolin appointed his eldest son, 16-year-old Zhang Xueliang, as the deputy commander of the Northeast Frontier Defense Army and the rank of lieutenant general.

The second thing is to pay attention to the dynamics in the south. In fact, although Zhang Zuolin's fighting skills are a bit trendy, his strategic vision is still one of the best among democratic leaders. A little more prominent.In the view of Zhang Zuolin and Yang Yuting, as long as the southern national government maintains a neutral attitude during the Zhiwan War, then the territory of Henan and Shandong will definitely be obtained, and then they will be caught off guard by taking advantage of the opportunity of the main southern army's expedition to Europe. Maybe I can really unify China.For this reason, Zhang Zuolin also played a big trick, sending Liang Shiyi, who had recently defected to him, to go south to Shanghai to negotiate with the Nationalist government, and put forward the so-called peace proposition.The first point is that the southern national government recognizes the Beijing government as the central government, and the second point is north-south cooperation, and the central government continues to recognize the southern national government.The general meaning is that everyone will not have to fight in the future. In short, you are right if you believe it.In addition, the Japanese participated in planning the assassination of Wang Zhenyu. Otherwise, where would Kenji Doihara get thirty gold bars for Wang Jingwei?

It's a pity that people's calculations are not as good as heaven's calculations. The assassination plan planned by Wang Jingwei ended in failure because of Mei Yunping's unexpected episode.Wang Zhenyu also saw through Zhang Zuolin's trickery, and he secretly issued a secret mobilization order through the Military Commission. Fourteen of the 21 divisions of the Southern Nationalist Government began to mobilize at full strength and assembled on a large scale towards the south bank of the Huaihe River.The military factories under the Ministry of Armaments began to work overtime to produce weapons and ammunition. On September 9, Wang Zhenyu issued a formal mobilization order based on Zhang Zongchang’s atrocities in Shandong, and then directly established the Northern Expedition Army Headquarters. He served as the commander-in-chief, Bai Chongxi as the chief of staff, Jiang Baili as the deputy chief of staff, under the jurisdiction of five armies and 1 divisions, Tao Zhiyue, Lu Diping, Cheng Qian, Song Haomin, and Yu Zuobai as the army commanders.

On the day when the mobilization order was issued, Tao Zhiyue, commander of the First Army of the Northern Expedition Army, led three divisions of the First Army and quickly stationed in Xuzhou along the railway with heavy equipment.When the news spread to Beijing, Zhang Zuolin cursed angrily: "This is not mobilized today, this is not standing up for the people of Shandong. There is someone more shameless than me, Lao Zhang, and this time I will be wronged."

Chapter 389 Wu Song Fights the Tiger

Operation Red Sun

Wuhan, the seat of the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government, Tianyuan Place Building, East Lake District.

According to the order of Zhao Hengti, Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission, the entire Military Commission Guard Corps has entered a state of high alert.Therefore, all personnel entering and leaving the Tianyuan local building must undergo the strictest inspection, and it is strictly forbidden to bring any office documents into and out of the local building.Tianyuanlou, which is responsible for some of the daily work, was also required to temporarily place some work such as the normal personnel promotion of the army, the application for resident supplies, and the replenishment and destruction of weapons and ammunition to the No. 120 Military Commission compound outside the Tianyuan Place Building.This is a six-storey square building, so it is named Sifang Building directly by its shape, and the straight-line distance from Tianyuan Place Building is no more than [-] meters.

And in the Standing Committee Building of the Tianyuan Place Building, a military meeting that will decide China's fate is going on intensely. . . . . .

The meeting room of the Standing Committee building was already full of senior generals of the youth army, and they were all anxiously waiting for Wang Zhenyu's arrival.In fact, as the Chinese European Expeditionary Force commanded by Bai Chongxi and Li Liejun continued to defeat traditional powers such as Germany and Austria-Hungary on the battlefields of France and Italy, the young generals who stayed in the country began to worry.Although the Expeditionary Army was born out of the Youth Army, most of its backbones were officers who joined during the War to Protect the Nation. Although these people are all quick graduates of the Army University, they can be regarded as the juniors of the senior generals of the Youth Army, but if these juniors are allowed to accumulate great military exploits If you step on the head, you will lose face.So everyone very much hopes to change this unfavorable situation through the next military action against Fengjun. At the same time, everyone has a wish to complete the unification as soon as possible.This is also an indirect effect of participating in the European War. The entire country and nation regained their confidence after the victory in the Verdun counterattack, and the belief in the prosperity and unity of the motherland also surfaced.

"Chairman is here..." With the reminder from Colonel Wang Chenhao, the head of the guard, all the generals stood up with a clatter.Wang Zhenyu walked into the conference room equipped with electric fans wearing the summer general uniform that was standard for the Youth Army, and then went straight to his own seat at the other end of the conference table.

"Sit..." Wang Zhenyu pressed his hands down and sat down first, and all the generals sat down with a bang.

Wang Zhenyu sat down and looked around the meeting place. Sitting on the conference table were the top leaders of the Military Commission, Chief of Staff Wan Yaohuang, ministers of various ministries, and Li Zongren, who was about to go to Europe to replace Li Liejun, and the Chief of Staff of the Northern Expedition just now. Bai Chongxi.On both sides of the conference table, there were also two rows of chairs, and generals above the division level were all present here.Wang Zhenyu observed carefully, all of them were wearing summer dresses like himself, and they all wore spotless medals, which made Wang Zhenyu very satisfied after seeing it.

Today, Jiang Fangzhen (Jiang Baili), the deputy chief of staff of the Northern Expedition Army who was just appointed by Wang Zhenyu, is in charge of introducing the battle plan of the Northern Expedition Army. He was also called back from Europe after assisting Li Liejun to complete the Italian campaign.After everyone sat down, Jiang Fangzhen, who was sitting at the end of the meeting, picked up his baton, stood up and walked towards the military map hanging on the wall.

"According to the chairman's order, our Northern Expeditionary Army Staff Headquarters formulated a more detailed combat plan. This plan is code-named Wu Song Fighting the Tiger. The goal is to defeat the Siberian tiger of the Feng army. Let me introduce the comparison of the forces between the enemy and us and The specific content of the battle plan."

Jiang Baili paused for a while, walked to the other side of the map, pointed at the map with his baton and said: "The current situation on the battlefield is like this. The Feng army is leading the battle with Zhang Zongchang's Zhilu coalition army. The total number of this army exceeds There are 25 people in [-] divisions. Strangely enough, according to the information provided by the newly formed National Security Bureau, Zhang Zongchang seems to have received a large amount of assistance from the Japanese government through Qingdao. Although his army is suspected of being a mob, it is equipped Absolutely not bad, isn’t Zhang Zongchang one of Zhang Zuolin’s subordinates? How could he bypass Zhang Zuolin and connect with the Japanese?”

Wang Zhenyu waved his hand and said: "It's not surprising at all. The Japanese don't want our old China to be unified at all. The purpose of their support for the Feng family is the same, and the purpose of supporting Zhang Zongchang is also the same. In short, they will support whoever can make China unable to unify. Whoever supports them, they will suppress whoever they don't. Let's continue to talk about your Wu Song's battle plan for fighting the tiger, Brother Baili!"

Jiang Fangzhen nodded and continued: "Yes, Zhang Zongchang's army originally planned to forcibly cross the Yellow River to capture Xuzhou, but because Xu Shuzheng's army is now our Mongolian border guards, because of the resistance of the border guards, Zhang Zongchang lacked transportation. Xia did not forcefully cross the Yellow River, but went straight to Henan. In Shangqiu, he fought with Wu Peifu’s direct army for three days. The transportation hub of the Zhili-Shandong Allied Army, Zhang Zongchang's army had to return to Shandong. So far, Fengjun still stays in Zhili and Shandong provinces. The first army of the main force of the Northern Expedition, Tao Zhiyue, is currently in the Stationed in Xuzhou one after another, taking over the city defense from the border guards.”

Having said this, Jiang Baili walked back to the table, picked up the folder, walked back to the map, and pointed to two places in Henan and Xuzhou: "According to Wu Song's action plan for fighting tigers, we have mobilized five armies and fourteen divisions in total. A force of 35 troops was put into this battle. The purpose of the battle was to launch the Northern Expedition and defeat the Feng army to unify the country. Specifically, it was divided into two armies, the East Route Army and the West Route Army, of which the commander of the East Route Army was the commander of the First Army Tao Zhiyue was in charge, under the jurisdiction of the First Army, the Second Army, and the Third Army Frontier Defense Forces, a total of ten divisions with 26 people. The battlefields were mainly in Shandong. The current task of the Fifth Army is to enter the Henan area. Since we have basically negotiated with Wu Ziyu, his direct army will be reorganized into our Northwest Frontier Army. After the reorganization is completed, it will go west to Shaanxi to open up the situation there. According to the National Security Bureau According to the information, in the Anyang area, the six Fengjun divisions under Fengjun Sun Liechen have completed their assembly, but they have not attacked Henan for a long time. On the one hand, it is because of the natural danger of the Yellow River, and on the other hand, because their material reserves are insufficient. Therefore, we are currently The only stumbling block is none other than Zhang Zongchang, who holds nearly 30 people in Shandong. Once Zhang Zongchang is defeated and Shandong is seized, then we can move to the northeast. According to the request of the General Staff, we plan to launch a campaign in the North China Plain. The second large-scale decisive battle is to try to defeat the main force of the Feng army in the Baoding area, which is absolutely beneficial for us to recover the Northeast and complete the national unification. However, I personally think that the Northeast and Shandong issues are very complicated because the Japanese are involved. , so I hope that the committee can take this into consideration when making the final decision to fight, so that our army can effectively avoid risks."

Xiong Kewu, who had just taken over as Minister of the Army Department, interjected and sighed: "What's the matter? A year ago, Yuan Shikai tried his best, but he mobilized 40 troops to go south to suppress the movement to protect the country. This year In less time, a little-known Zhang Zongchang can produce 30 troops. The funniest thing is that this person was only a brigade commander of Fengjun a month and a half ago. Can anyone tell me what happened? ah?"

Wan Yaohuang shook his head and said: "What else could it be? The Japanese helped to blow up the balloons. Otherwise, relying on the production capacity of those military factories in the north, we can produce so many weapons and ammunition to arm so many Fengjun .I read the information from the National Security Bureau, and my heart was trembling. The 70 Fengjun, the Japanese must have taken out all the stocks in their hands. Our stocks can’t arm that many troops, so this battle The key point is not to focus on Fengjun, but to focus on the Japanese."

Wang Zhenyu nodded and asked Ma Xicheng: "What's the situation here at the Armament Department? Minister Ma, please tell me!"

Ma Xicheng opened his folder and stood up and spoke: "Report to the commander-in-chief and the brothers here. So far, our Armament Department has planned to build Anjiang (071 Factory), Hanyang (072 Factory) and Nanjing (073 Factory) under the China Military Industry Group. Factory) Shanghai (Factory 074) Fuzhou (Factory 075) Guangzhou (Factory 076) Haikou (Factory 077) Guilin (Factory 078) Among the eight general military factories, six factories are involved in army equipment (including firearms, ammunition, clothing, artillery , food, medicine and other branch factories) were originally planned to be completed in January 1918. With the support of Britain and France, these factories have basically been successfully completed by the end of May, and technical personnel have also been in place smoothly because of our management system and treatment. The two factories of the navy are still negotiating with the United States, and the results are not very good. So the current maximum production capacity of the China Military Industry Group has reached an astonishing monthly output of 5 sets of military uniforms, 60 hand grenades, and 50 to 120 cannons. Doors (depending on the caliber, the current technology can produce 360mm, 75mm), shells ranging from 105 to 20 rounds, 30 mortars, 400 rounds of shells, 40 grenades, 1000 heavy machine guns, light There are 480 machine guns, 800 million rounds of various machine gun bullets, 4000 Wenguan rifles, and [-] million rifle bullets. However, the rifles used by our army this time must be made in Hanyang, because the current number of Wenzheng is only [-] , It will take at least two years to realize the transformation of the entire army..."

After asking his cousin, Wang Zhenyu asked the head of the Armed Mobilization Department, his brother-in-law Li Zongren said: "That German neighbor, how is the reorganization and full strength of our youth army?"

Li Zongren said with a smile: "Because of our establishment of the provincial military region and the armed mobilization departments at all levels, the work of mobilizing [-] veterans and [-] recruits this time went very smoothly. This work was completed in July. Must win..."

Chapter 390 Wu Song Fights the Tiger ([-])

The meeting continued, Wang Zhenyu was listening and thinking, but did not speak.The meeting place gradually became quiet, so quiet that only the sound of Wang Zhenyu's right index finger tapping the table slowly was heard. It seemed that no one dared to remind the commander, so he just waited.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Wang Zhenyu suddenly withdrew his right hand, took a deep breath and said, "Brother Jiansheng and Brother Baili's plan to fight the tiger with Wu Song is actually very good, but this time I can't agree with it, and the plan has to be changed."

As soon as these words came out, all four were shocked.

Wang Zhenyu didn't care about the surprised expressions of his subordinates, but started chatting according to his own thinking: "Let's talk about each issue. First of all, why did we dare to propose this Northern Expedition? Who can tell me?"

General Xu Yuanquan, Minister of Operations and Director of Education of the Army University, got up and said: "Reporting to the commander, I think it is because we have an invincible youth army. At the same time, there are many wars in the north, and the people are in dire straits. Constructing trees, so we want to crusade against them, complete reunification, and build a strong China. Commander, this is also your original goal of leading our invincible youth army!"

As soon as this was said, the generals present all applauded.Wang Zhenyu glanced at these grandchildren. It seems that with the smooth rise of the youth army, the grandsons in front of him have begun to take it for granted. Even the slogan of the invincible youth army has come out. Why does it sound like Japanese militarists? Is the invincible Imperial Japanese Army a tune?

Wang Zhenyu couldn't help coughing, and everyone immediately kept quiet, all eyes turned to the marshal who brought them victory, glory, power and status.

"I can't say that your point of view is wrong. If you are just an ordinary youth soldier or a junior officer, then your point of view is naturally correct. On the contrary, in my opinion, if you are a senior officer If you think so, it is not only wrong, but also a very dangerous thing. In fact, the answer lies there. Zhang Zuolin’s Fengjun is not only 70, but even if he pulls a team of 100 million, it will be very difficult for me, Wang Zhenyu. It doesn't matter in the slightest. Except for our Minister Dai, who here has never led soldiers to fight? If this is a battle with less than a hundred people, the more people have a high probability of winning. And once the scale exceeds a thousand people, The comparison is not the number of people, but the combat effectiveness. Therefore, the speed of Fengjun's troop pull has little impact on us, on the contrary, it has a very bad impact on themselves. At least 70 Fengjun is 70 The mouths that need to eat, their logistical support and supply pressure are unimaginable. So in a real fight, even if we are not aggressive, just spending time with the Fengjun and playing positional warfare, the Fengjun will undoubtedly lose .Since Feng Jun is not scary, what was I thinking about just now? Who can guess? There will be a prize for guessing!"

Wang Zhenyu's sudden joke caused the generals at the scene to burst into laughter, and the atmosphere of the meeting suddenly became more lively.

Only Bai Chongxi said with a serious face: "Marshal, are you worried about the Japanese?!"

Wang Zhenyu nodded and said: "Secretary Chen, go, take out the altar of Maotai from my cabinet, and let Chen Hao and the others send it to Chief of Staff Bai's car. This is his prize."

The crowd burst into laughter again, and now even Bai Chongxi couldn't help laughing, and while laughing, he touched his head, which had begun to show signs of hair loss, in embarrassment.

Seeing Bai Chongxi's action, Wang Zhenyu added: "Don't touch it, you will become a monk if you touch it again, go home and talk to your wife, eat some walnuts, black sesame fruits, vegetables, milk, beans, eggs, peanuts , sesame seeds, honey, pork liver. These things can make you not a monk."

Now everyone burst into laughter, and Wang Zhenyu himself laughed too.

After laughing for a while, Wang Zhenyu tapped on the table lightly and said: "Now there is only one issue left for everyone to discuss, how to deal with the reaction of the Japanese. To be precise, once we get rid of the Feng family, what should we do if the Japanese take action?" manage?"

"What are you afraid of? We have won against world powers like Germany and Austria-Hungary, so why should we be afraid of countries like Japan?" Cheng Qian yelled this sentence very naturally.

"The victory in the Verdun counterattack and the Italian campaign was based on the strong industrial foundation of Britain and France. To fight against Japan, our current military industrial production capacity cannot support it. Among other things, we do not have a powerful navy like Britain and France. It is not difficult to win a battle, you just need to concentrate your superior forces, but if you think you can win a war with this, it is undoubtedly a dream." Bai Chongxi, who did not deal with Cheng Qian during the War to Protect the Nation, immediately rewarded him coldly Cheng dived into a bucket of cold water.

Cheng Qian immediately lost face. As a Huxiang faction leader who had just risen in the youth army system, he was about to fight back against Bai Chongxi.But Chief Staff Wan Yaohuangwan didn't intend to give him this chance, because the generals below were intriguing in front of the commander-in-chief, which would affect his image as the general staff in the commander-in-chief's mind.

"I won't discuss this point. The commander-in-chief said just now that you are all senior generals. Let's focus on analyzing specific issues."

"I'm worried that Japan will send troops directly." Xu Yuanquan, who had studied in Japan, was the first to put forward his point of view, which immediately moved Wang Zhenyu's heart.Historically, in 1928, Japan did accept Zhang Zongchang’s invitation to send troops to Jinan when the National Revolutionary Army invaded Shandong, and created the appalling Jinan tragedy, which not only killed the Kuomintang representative Cai Gongshi and others, but also caused more than [-] casualties on the Kuomintang side , and also dealt a heavy blow to Chiang Kai-shek's prestige, laying the foundation for a series of events such as the Central Plains War thereafter.

Now that Xu Yuanquan made such an analysis, Wang Zhenyu couldn't help but nodded in agreement.

Jiang Baili shook his head and said: "It is true that Japan may send troops directly, but it is not great. After all, we are now allied with Britain, France and them. It is too risky for Japan to send troops directly."

Xiong Kewu is just the opposite: "Brother Baili's words are not unreasonable, but the Japanese are a very adventurous people, and many times they cannot be taken for granted and inferred. Otherwise, what happened to the Beiyang Navy back then will be our end. "

. . . . . .

The atmosphere in the conference room became lively again, and the discussions became more and more intense. Everyone didn't even eat lunch. Chen Bulei and the others packed the food and sent it in. After everyone finished eating, they continued to quarrel. . .

At this time, in a secret meeting room of the Guangzhou Municipal Government, Fang Zhenwu, the head of the Guangzhou main station of the National Security Bureau, was having a secret meeting with Nguyen Hoo-ho (son-in-law of the richest man in southern Vietnam, Le Fa Tha) and the representative of Vietnamese King Qi Dinh Nguyen Phuc Chang.In a western restaurant in the French Concession, National Security Commissioner Zheng Jiemin disguised himself as a sympathizer and supporter of the Vietnam Restoration Movement and met with a Vietnamese revolutionary named Nguyen Aiguo.It is worth mentioning that this Vietnamese named Nguyen Aiguo is the famous Ho Chi Minh in history, but Ho Chi Minh is not a socialist fighter at all. He is now a nationalist. Thick legs to hug, whoever supports him will believe in whatever.

Wang Zhenyu can be said to know or not to know about this matter. He just mentioned when meeting Wang Yaqiao alone that the clans of traditional Chinese border countries such as North Korea and Vietnam should be contacted. It may be useful in the future.Wang Yaqiao immediately understood, and immediately sent his good brother, Fang Zhenwu, who had not been reused because he was captured by mistake in Beijing, to Guangzhou to serve as the stationmaster of the newly established Guangzhou Station.Colonel Fang Zhenwu also realized that this was an opportunity for him to rise again. After discussing with his subordinate Zheng Jiemin and others, he decided on such a strategy and met with representatives of the Vietnamese royal family and civil independence activists at the same time.

According to Zheng Jiemin's point of view, the Vietnamese royal family is obviously corrupt and unpopular, but it is precisely this kind of existence that is more valuable to China and easier to control.Emerging powers like Hu Hanmin are also worthy of investment and support, because they are better controlled and utilized at present, while old fritters like Pan Peizhu have matured politically, and investing in them is likely to be nothing but meat buns beating dogs. Back, after all, it's not easy to control.

In the conference room of the Standing Committee Building, the debate had already focused on the issue of relations with Japan. Li Zongren stood up and said: "No matter what, we should be prepared to fight. The divisions are fully mobilized, the combat troops directly under the provincial military regions, the security forces, and the railway troops are fully mobilized. The navy immediately guards the mouth of the Yangtze River, sinks itself when necessary, and builds river defense fortresses. In short, the Japanese fleet is not allowed to enter the Yangtze River. .”

Li Zongren's suggestion was correct, but it made Ma Xicheng, who is usually silent, couldn't sit still: "Brother Delin, if we follow your plan, the pressure on our logistics is probably no less than that of Fengjun, and the actual In fact, because our youth army relies more on heavy weapons such as cannons and machine guns than the Fengjun, our logistical support pressure is likely to be much greater than that of the Fengjun."

"Yes, so what I mean is that we still need to find a way on Britain and France, try to avoid the possibility of Japan's participation in the war through diplomacy, and our combat plan should not be reduced in scale. Instead, we must expand our attack power to speed up our march and let Japan Lost the best opportunity to intervene." Other generals demanded that the size of the troops participating in the war and the scale of the battle be further expanded.