Long Yun couldn't get angry after receiving the telegram, Lu Daoyuan's troops were almost wiped out in Hongmendu, only more than 1,000 people fled back, this blow has made him desperate, Chiang Kai-shek's move is just a chain reaction of this result, Zhuang Wenge will definitely attack Kunming next, but what about the power in his hands?

There is only one way, use Kunming to drag Zhuang Jihua, and then wait for Lu Han's rescue, but he immediately denied this idea, Lu Han only has one more brigade in his hands, and it is newly formed by the local security battalion, the weapons and equipment are in tatters, and they cannot be compared with the original Dian army at all, not to mention Zhuang Jihua's well-equipped escort team.

Only asked for help from the outside world, Long Yun suddenly found that no one seemed to come to save him, Guangxi Li Zongren was on the "Northern Expedition" and joined forces with Chen Jitang to deal with Chiang Kai-shek; Liu Xiang may speak for him, but he will never fight for him, and the previous telegram has already made his attitude clear.

"What should I do?" Long Yun stared at the blood-red eyes and asked Hu Ying, Zhou Zhongyue, Zhang Chong and others.

Zhou Zhongyue and Hu Ying lowered their heads silently, they couldn't think about it anymore, Hu Ying tried not to cross the river, but Long Yun didn't listen, and now all the main forces are lost on the other side of the river, Yunnan is almost an empty province, and Chiang Kai-shek Yan has no reason to take it.

"There's only one way," Zhang Chong said hesitantly, "but I don't know if it will work out." ”

"Say it quickly." Long Yun shouted anxiously, now even if there is only one straw, he will hold on.

"We should let Mr. Zhou's article be published in the press circles in Nanjing and Shanghai as soon as possible, so as to declare to the Chinese people our determination to support the War of Resistance and win the support of public opinion, as long as we can hold it for three months, public opinion will force Chiang Kai-shek to withdraw his troops." Zhang Chong said that in the end, he didn't even have confidence in himself, not to mention holding it for three months, and using public opinion to force Chiang Kai-shek to withdraw from the army, which is simply a fantasy.

Long Yun didn't speak, but Hu Ying slowly raised his head and said, "I'm afraid this is the only way, Brother Zhou, please contact more colleagues in the newspaper industry to create momentum." ”

After sending Hu Ying and Zhou Zhongyue away, Long Yun left Zhang Chong behind to discuss the defense of Kunming, Zhang Chong's Ninth Brigade is currently the only complete brigade in Kunming, and the combined strength of the remaining two guard regiments and the garrison brigade is not as strong as his brigade.

Speaking of the defense of Kunming, Zhang Chong had no confidence, first of all, the troops were insufficient, all the troops added up to only six regiments, and it was inevitable that the defense of such a large city would be overstretched.

Long Yun talked for a long time, but he didn't see Zhang Chong's response, and he suddenly doubted in his heart: "Yun Peng, do you have any ideas in your heart, just say what you think, let's discuss it and see if it's okay." ”

Zhang Chong was shocked, Long Yun is a more suspicious person, when Sun Du pursued the Red Army last year, he suspected that Sun Du secretly fell to Chiang Kai-shek, so he recalled Sun Du from Guizhou, reprimanded him face-to-face, and slapped him twice.

"Chairman, I'm worried that there won't be enough troops," Zhang Chong decided to tell the truth after thinking about it: "You know that the only troops we can get our hands on now are my Ninth Brigade, Lu Junquan and Yang Xinyun's two regiments, and the rest are the machine gun brigade, artillery detachment, and your guard battalion. ”

Long Yun nodded with a gloomy face: "Yes, now it will be Yongheng, otherwise I will only accept Chiang Kai-shek's order, and I will go to Nanjing." ”

"I wonder if the chairman has considered giving up Kunming?" Zhang Chong looked at Long Yun and said with determination.

"Give up Kunming?" Long Yun was a little surprised, he looked at Zhang Chong as if he didn't know him.

But Zhang Chong didn't pay attention, he continued: "My opinion is to abandon Kunming, and now we will undoubtedly sit and wait to defend Kunming, we have no reinforcements outside, and the army will be in turmoil inside; It is difficult to hold on, it is better to abandon Kunming, the whole army retreats to western Yunnan or southern Yunnan, backed by Burma or Vietnam, by the way, we can also ask the French consul to intervene, we stay here, accumulate strength, wait for the opportunity, and when the time comes, then counterattack Kunming. ”

Long Yun stood up and walked back and forth in the room, Zhang Chong's suggestion made his heart pound, he thought that Zhang Chong was shaken, but now it seems that he is still his own person.

But after thinking about it, he felt that after withdrawing, many things would be difficult for him to control anymore. After Zhuang Jihua entered and occupied Kunming, Chiang Kai-shek appointed him again, and it was justified for Zhuang Jihua to pursue him at that time; What's more, once the conditions become difficult, will the people around him continue to follow him? A few years ago, Lu Han and Zhang Chong joined forces to make trouble, and once he withdrew from Kunming, it was hard to believe that these people would continue to follow him.

"Kunming still has to be defended, but what you said is also a good way, it's better like this, Lu Yongheng went to southern Yunnan, you go to western Yunnan, and reorganize the security regiment there in the shortest possible time, and at the same time build an outpost for me, if Kunming can't hold it, I will go to western Yunnan." Long Yun finally made up his mind.

Zhang Chong was stunned, he didn't expect Long Yun to make a decision like this, send him to western Yunnan, he looked at Long Yun, and then understood, his heart couldn't help but feel cold, and a sense of powerlessness swelled, he knew that now he could only agree, otherwise he might not be able to get out of this courtyard.

"In that case, then I'll go to western Yunnan, does the chairman have any other instructions?" Zhang Chong stood up and asked.

Looking at Zhang Chong's calm appearance, Long Yun felt a little remorse in his heart, he shouldn't have doubted his loyalty at this time, but soon this remorse disappeared.

"Go as soon as possible, I'll wait in Kunming for you to bring the troops back."

Zhang Chong couldn't believe this, but he felt that it was a good thing to be able to escape from Kunming.

After the great victory of Hongmendu, Zhuang Jihua did not immediately order the entry into Yunnan, but on the one hand ordered Yucheng to send a batch of weapons and ammunition and replenish new soldiers, and on the other hand, he repaired the troops, carried out education in Yunnan, reaffirmed military discipline, and resolutely forbade harassment of the people. Zhuang Jihua and the senior generals in the team understood that the key to whether they could clean up the hearts of the people of Yunnan in the shortest possible time was their march this time.

After receiving the order, the Yucheng side gathered 4,000 reservists within three days, and at the same time made a bold attempt to take advantage of the Jinsha River rising season to transport weapons and ammunition by ship. The soldiers traveled by land, from the Qijiang River to Guizhou, and from Guizhou to Yunnan.

After receiving the order, Lu Zuofu sent six boats to transport weapons and ammunition, and it took five days for four boats to reach Huidong, two of which ran aground, one of which was loaded with two new howitzers, which were pulled ashore and changed to land. Zhuang Jihua was satisfied with the speed of mobilization of the reserves, but was heartbroken by the huge losses of water transportation and ordered to stop such an adventure.

In late July, Zhuang Jihua finally ordered a march to Yunnan, with a total army of 39,000 people, including Liu Yuantang's army, Yang Yinglong's department, and Deng Xiuting's army, plus the Yi people's armed forces organized at the beginning of self-study, a full army of 42,000 people.

After crossing the Jinsha River, the army rushed straight to Luquan, and entered Luquan without a battle at all, and after occupying Luquan, Zhuang Jihua's soldiers were divided into three routes, leaving Deng Xiuting and self-taught Chu to guard the back road of Yuluquan to the Jinsha River, of which Deng Xiuting was in charge of command, Zhuang Jihua told Deng Xiuting as a self-taught face that he wanted to find the captured development team members as soon as possible, and he was not allowed to retaliate and kill until he had to.

Subsequently, Du Yuming led 15,000 people from Situ Fei's department to take the left road, and he personally led the eastern part of Lanyun and Fan Hanjie's department to take the right road, and the two roads diverged in Fumin, and ordered Song Yunfei to lead Yang Yinglong's brigade to attack western Yunnan to cover the flank of the army.

In July, Yunnan was lush and green, and wild flowers bloomed on the plateau, and the people along the way greeted this foreign army that broke into Yunnan with fearful eyes, but as the contact increased, they gradually felt that this army was different from other armies.

They speak kindly, they always have to pay for things, even if it's a needle and thread, and they never enter your house without permission, preferring to sleep in a thatched pile by the roadside. July was the golden season, and the wheat waves were rolling everywhere, and the smell of rice was fragrant, and when the army appeared in the fields, to the surprise of the field farmers, the soldiers carefully crossed the rice field paths, lest they hurt the rice in the fields.

The convoy began to gain support in Yunnan, and at the end of July the army arrived at the foot of Kunming, and so did the new recruits from Guizhou, Zhuang Jihua added them to the troops of Wang Guobin, Fan Hanjie, and Situ Fei, and they arrived at the same time as the Yunnan team of more than 200 people.

On the one hand, his army only has more than 30,000 people, and it is beyond his power to completely besiege Kunming, and on the other hand, Long Yun is the vice president of the Military Senate, and the central government has not explicitly ordered him to be arrested or killed, and killing Long Yun will have a very bad impact on his subordinates.

The troops opened up a formation below the city of Kunming, preparing siege equipment with great fanfare, and the howitzers sent out a few colorful leaflets from time to time, and the city of Kunming was slaughtered again and again.

Long Yun wanted to fight, but the citizens in Kunming City were afraid, this fight, the whole city was destroyed, decades of accumulation, the hard work of several generations will also be turned into ashes, the chamber of commerce in the city recommended the respected chamber of commerce Shang Shang, Zhou Zhongyue and Miao Jiaming out of the city to negotiate.

"I have no other intention to come here, that is, to ask General Long to go to Nanjing as soon as possible to take up his post, and Li Liejungong, the chairman of Yunnan Province appointed by the Central Committee, will soon arrive in Yunnan." Zhuang Jihua greeted the three negotiators in the military tent with a smile on his face.

"General Zhuang, we have agreed to all your conditions, why do you still want to enter Kunming and threaten with war." Zhou Zhongyue asked dissatisfiedly.

"Mr. Zhou, it was Long Yun who provoked this incident, not me Zhuang Jihua," Zhuang Jihua said coldly and patiently: "Since General Long wants to provoke the incident, then he must have the courage to bear the result, and now that he has lost and failed, of course it is up to me to put forward the conditions." My condition now is that he should immediately accept the appointment of the Central Committee and immediately go to Nanjing to take up his post. ”

Zhou Zhongyue couldn't help but be stunned, and the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce hurriedly interjected: "General, the ancient city of Kunming has been built for hundreds of years, can you bear to destroy it in the war; There are hundreds of thousands of people in the city, can you bear to throw them into a pool of blood, and please think twice. ”

Zhuang Jihua smiled bitterly: "I don't want either, but I can't help it, unless Long Yun leaves Kunming immediately and goes to Nanjing to take office." If you come to persuade me, it is better to persuade Long Yun. ”

He paused and said: "In this way, I make a promise, after Long Yun leaves, the Dian Army will be reorganized into the Central Army, and all officers and soldiers will be treated according to the Central Army, and the lives and property of all officers and soldiers will be protected. ”

Zhuang Jihua generously let the delegates visit his artillery position, the howitzers that rarely appeared in the civil war of the Chinese [***] team, and the high-spirited muzzles pointed directly at the city of Kunming, which made people tremble.

Long Yun was upset after receiving Zhou Zhongyue's report, he knew that he would definitely not be able to hold Kunming with the current strength in the city, but his only hope, Lu Han, was rarely silent, and he didn't call to reply that the troops were being reorganized, and he couldn't go north for the time being, while Zhang Chong simply had no news, and he didn't know if he had summoned the army.

The next day, Zhou Zhongyue and Hu Ying came to visit, and Long Yun knew the purpose of their coming as soon as he saw them, and sure enough, Hu Ying persuaded him to surrender as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Chairman, there is no point in fighting any longer," Hu Ying said heavily: "The important thing now is to keep the bloodline of the Dian army for the future." ”

Long Yun was silent for a long time before he asked faintly, "Will he keep the Dian army intact?" Didn't you say it was going to be reorganized? ”

"No matter how it is reorganized, there will always be some troops that can be retained, but once the war starts, Kunming will be destroyed in the flames of war, and the Dian army will inevitably be burned, and the general will have no hope of restarting." Hu Ying sighed.

Zhou Zhongyue took out an envelope from his arms and handed it to Long Yun: "This is a petition from the merchants and people in the city, they..." ”

"Didn't you say that you could force Zhuang Wenge to withdraw through public opinion! What about public opinion! And the result! You guys....a bunch of garbage! Long Yun couldn't help but roar angrily, after Zhou Zhongyue's article was published in Shanghai's "Declaration", the repercussions did not arouse much, and in the eyes of the press circles in Shanghai and Nanjing, the changes in the two Guangxi events attracted attention, and Yunnan was too far away.

In the face of Long Yun's anger, Zhou Zhongyue said bitterly, public opinion persecution is just a trivial matter, if it has no strength, no matter how big public opinion is, it is useless.

"Zhizhou," a soft voice floated into the house, a dignified figure walked into the house, Hu Ying and Zhou Zhongyue saw that it was Long Yun's wife Gu Yingqiu, and quickly stood up: "Madam." ”

Gu Yingqiu gave Hu and Gu a slight salute, and then walked to Long Yun's side: "Zhizhou, I have never interfered in your military affairs, but I know that Mr. Hu and Mr. Zhou have been running around for you all these years, even if they are still working hard for you under the current situation, you shouldn't say this about them." ”

Gu Yingqiu's words extinguished Long Yun's thunderous anger, he let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, his eyes were slightly closed, Hu Ying and Zhou Zhongyue also lowered their heads, they were really powerless now.

"General Hu, Mr. Zhou, please go back first." Gu Yingqiu gestured to Hu Ying and Zhou Zhongyue, and Hu Erren stood up and said goodbye to Long Yun.

After the two left, Gu Yingqiu said: "Zhizhou, I often hear people say that taking a step back is wide open to the sky, and now the hard top is all the jade burning, but what if you think about it from another angle?" Accept Zhuang Jihua's conditions, even if there are losses, but as long as Lu Han and Zhang Chong are still there, we will have the opportunity to return to Yunnan, do you say? ”

Gu Yingqiu is a top student of Peking Normal University, and Long Yun's ex-wife Li Peilian is a good friend, after Li Peilian died three years ago, she was matched to marry Long Yun, but she is not like Song Meiling, she doesn't like to participate in her husband's political affairs, but she always appears appropriately when he is angry.

Long Yun still leaned silently on the back of the chair, and Gu Yingqiu said again: "Politics is like this, come up today, go down tomorrow, my uncle was not a storm back then, but in the end he ended up at both ends of his body, Zhizhou, you also have to think about the children." ”

Gu Yingqiu's words touched Long Yun, her uncle was Gu Pinzhen, a famous general of the Yunnan army who was in Yunnan that year, Gu Pinzhen became the master of Yunnan after the success of the anti-Tang Dynasty, and later Tang Jiyao returned to Yunnan with the support of Long Yun and others, Gu Pinzhen was defeated and died, but in this way, Tang Jiyao still did not let him go, and hung his body on the city wall of Kunming for three days, and his family was not allowed to collect the body.

Long Yun has been fifty-one years old for a few years, he has been married three times, the first wife is the daughter of his uncle, and gave birth to three sons for him, Long Rope Wu, Long Rope Ancestor, and Long Rope Zeng; The second wife is Li Peilian, who gave birth to four children for him, Gu Yingqiu is his third wife, the three children of the first lady are already Chengren, Long Rope Wu and Long Rope ancestors graduated from the French Saint-Cyr Military Academy, and now controls Long Yun's guard brigade, but Li Peilian's four children are still young, so Gu Yingqiu said this.

"Call the Rope Ancestor." Although Long Yun had made a decision in his heart, he still wanted to hear the children's opinions.

Gu Yingqiu stood up and walked out, and after a while, Long Rope Wu and Long Rope Ancestor came in, they inherited Long Yun Kuiwei's figure, coupled with the influence of Saint-Cyr in France, with a bit of elegance and romance in fortitude.

"You have studied in Saint-Cyr, France, and although you have not fought since you came back, you have led troops, and I would like to hear your opinions on the current situation." Long Yun's culture is a bit like considering their brothers.

Long Rope Wu and Long Rope Ancestor looked at each other, Long Rope Martial is the boss, he first said: "Daddy, if today's situation is only by fighting, we will definitely lose, we can only think of his way." ”

"What's the solution?" Long Yun asked quietly.

"Exit Kunming, go to southern Yunnan, Mengzi and Lu Han to join forces, back to Vietnam, and Zhuang Jihua, waiting for the opportunity." Long Rope Takeshi's answer was succinct.

Long Yun's face did not have the slightest expression, his gaze turned to Long Shenzu, and Long Shenzu said unhurriedly: "I suggest accepting the conditions of Zhuang Wenge, Daddy will go to Nanjing to take up a job, but before leaving, you must negotiate with Zhuang Wenge, and ask that the Yunnan army not be dispersed." ”

Long Yun's face showed a look of relief, he stood up and walked up to the two brothers, and said with satisfaction: "You have not studied in vain in Saint-Cyr, you have taken the guard brigade to Mengzi to find Luhan, he naturally understands what to do." Rope Ancestor, you go to Lu Junquan's Guards Regiment, you have to be careful in the future, don't let people drive you out of the army. Zhuang Wenge will not agree to any conditions for us, but Chiang Kai-shek is different, you must remember that you must be careful when dealing with Zhuang Cultural Revolution. ”

"Yes, Daddy." The two brothers replied in unison.

Contrary to Long Yun, after sending off the delegation, Zhuang Jihua sat leisurely in the military tent and read, he was in a good mood, Deng Xiuting called to report that all the captured development team members, including Professor Cao, had been rescued, and several captured guards had also been sent back.

The speed surprised Zhuang Jihua, but the subsequent news made him put away his thoughts about looking down on the Yi people. Although the Yi people who sent troops to Huili were headed by the Jin family, they also included the troops of the six major branches of Long, Lu, An, and Liu in northern Yunnan, and now these six families saw Zhuang Jihua killed, and the presiding officer of the Yi affairs in northern Yunnan was the murderous demon star Deng Xiuting, they were all panicked, and immediately sent the people who were kidnapped by Huili to Lu to persuade them to make peace, and the Lu family even killed the two immediate family members of the Jin family who fled to them, and sent their heads to Lu to persuade Deng Xiuting's army.

It seems that Deng Xiuting's deterrent effect on the Yi people is still very high, and Zhuang Jihua has the intention of pulling him into the account, but first of all, he must cut off his relationship with Liu Wenhui, otherwise he will become Liu Wenhui's hand to northern Yunnan.

For Kunming City, Zhuang Jihua is very sure, Kunming City may have begun to negotiate nervously, Long Yun can only give in in the end, if he wants to escape, he has deployed a force in the southwest of the city to prepare for pursuit.

The time of three days is almost up, but there is no movement in the city, Du Yuming and Fan Hanjie They can't help but be a little anxious, Wang Guobin Lan Yundong came to Zhuang Jihua several times, but every time he walked outside the tent and stopped, and successfully conquered Yunnan, so that Zhuang Jihua's prestige rose again, and the "oppression" of colleagues in the development team became bigger and bigger. Finally, in the afternoon, the representatives of Kunming City came to Zhuang Jihua again.

"Chairman Long promised to go to Nanjing to take office," Hu Ying's tone was slow and sad, but Zhuang Jihua was unmoved, he asked calmly: "What conditions does he have?" ”

"Chairman Long hopes to retain part of the Yunnan army,.... Hu Ying raised his eyes to look at Zhuang Jihua, but he was disappointed to find that there was no expression on the other party's face, and he had to continue: "The Dian people hope that the Yunnan people will govern Yunnan, and the people used by the provincial political axe are all handsome people from Yunnan with outstanding talents; In addition, please do not retaliate against the Yi people in northern Yunnan. ”

"Well," Zhuang Jihua nodded and said: "I understand, I will reply to you now, all the Dian army, including the captured Dian army, will be reorganized, and the reorganized troops will be led by Lu Han, and the cadres at all levels are also the current generals of the Dian Army, and the equipment treatment is comparable to that of the Central Army; The Yi people in northern Yunnan are also nationals of the Republic of China, and I will not allow anyone to kill at will, but how can the personnel of the provincial political axe be adjusted so that it can only be confirmed after Li Liejun arrives, and I have no right to appoint or dismiss. ”

Zhuang Jihua's cheerfulness surprised Hu Ying, Long Yun didn't estimate that Zhuang Jihua would accept it, his calculation was that once Zhuang Jihua refused, he would contact Chiang Kai-shek directly, but he didn't expect...

Hu Ying stared at Zhuang Jihua's expression, wondering if what he said was true or false, but the other party's face was very calm, without the slightest expression, and after a long time, Hu Ying nodded and said, "Okay, I will reply to Chairman Long, and I hope the general will keep his promise." ”

"Of course, I will keep my promise, but I also ask the general to tell Chairman Long, don't make a bad idea, China needs unity now." Zhuang Jihua solemnly warned, he sneered in his heart, you still want to bury a mine here, but you would never have thought that the War of Resistance would break out in a year, and at that time, it would be justified to transfer Lu Han out of Yunnan, and there would be no more armed forces in Yunnan.

After receiving Hu Ying's report, Long Yun was silent for a long time before he said with difficulty: "Send a telegram to the chairman, just say that I will leave within two days." ”

(To be continued)