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Chapter 8** takes the lead

Throughout the end of May, almost all newspapers in China published news about the ongoing Sino-Japanese armistice negotiations, and the other about the ever-changing southern Sichuan region. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

More than 100 Chinese and foreign reporters and representatives from all walks of life across the country witnessed the two disarmaments of the An Jiajun, and the military circles in Europe and the United States were extremely concerned about this, and they could not understand why the Anjia Army was disarming on a large scale when the Chinese and Japanese armies were still in a state of war. Domestic *** has also launched analysis, optimists predict that the war will soon stop and peace will return again; Pessimists believe that this is another *** struggle, and heroes are always born with tragedy.

On 20 July, the news of the disarmament of more than 42,000 officers and men of the garrison force was still hotly debated throughout the country. On 25 July, Chinese and foreign reporters and representatives from all walks of life throughout the country once again personally experienced the feat of reducing the 50,000 engineering troops and local garrison units of the An Jia Army, and for a time many reports on the achievements of the An Jia Army and the construction of southern Sichuan were overwhelming and boiling, and the famous military general An Yi and his army once again became the focus of reports in the Chinese and foreign press, and the great discussions in the circles on the exploration of the great construction achievements and development path of southern Sichuan and various issues in army building were in full swing.

On the morning of 24 May, the Japanese troops on the front line of the Great Wall suddenly sent dozens of planes to bomb Tong County, the gateway to Beiping, triggering a raging fire inside and outside Tong County, causing heavy losses in the lives and property of military and civilian personnel.

Chiang Kai-shek delivered a sternly worded public speech at two o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, strongly condemning the atrocities of the Japanese army, and urgently telegraphed Huang Yin, He Yingqin, and Huang Shaohong, who were in charge of the military and political power and negotiation affairs in North China: The Japanese are cunning and hope to take advantage of this opportunity to reorganize the army in preparation for the final sacrifice. He also telegraphed Huang Ying, should be determined to defend the city, stand still, and turn around, unless it is the last moment, it cannot be flattened.

An hour after Chiang Kai's speech, An Yi, who was "recuperating from illness" at his home in southern Sichuan, once again wore a neat general's uniform and held a press conference with Lieutenant General Yang Bin, commander of the southern Sichuan garrison force, Lieutenant General Ye Cheng, deputy commander of the 24th Army, and Major General Huang Yuyi, commander of the aviation command under the garrison command.

In his capacity as commander of the garrison and acting director of the Pacification Office, Yang Bin announced that the southern Sichuan government would provide a cash subsidy of 3 million yuan free of charge to all armies on the North China front within three days to commend and compensate the meritorious troops and their officers and men in the war against Japan. Ye Cheng called on the officers and men of the divisions of the 24th Army who were on the front line in North China to move forward bravely, kill the enemy with all their might, and defend national interests and national dignity with blood and lives, and announced in a high-profile manner that once the war requires, the 13,000 soldiers and men of the 24th Army who have been fully prepared will rush north without hesitation and use all possible means to give the most violent blow to the aggressor.

At the end, Major General Huang Yuyi announced an astonishing news: The 12th Air Brigade, which had performed great feats in the Sino-Japanese War for half a year, had been replenished, and more than 500 officers and men of this meritorious unit would fly to the North China front line within 24 hours in three newly equipped 42-valvence fighters to resist the Japanese army under the command of the Central Army Corps Headquarters.

An Yi, who was sitting quietly on the rostrum, did not make any speech, and there was no joy, anger or sorrow on his calm and calm face. The news conference also ended after Huang Yuyi announced that "Chinese and foreign journalists who have obtained press accreditation issued by the Pacification Office will be allowed to go to Minjiang Airport this afternoon to cover officers and men of the 12th Air Brigade and to see all the fighters and weapons and equipment that are ready for departure." With regret that they could not interview General An Yi, the reporters rushed to Minjiang Airport in a large military bus.

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, General Zhang Hongluan, vice governor of Hunan Province, member of the provincial party committee, and director of the Xiangxi Pacification Office, sent a telegram to the whole country: ordering the two divisions of the North China Front led by General Zhang Cunzhuang, commander of the 44th Army, to devote themselves to the high level of preparations for attacking the Japanese invaders; The 11th Air Brigade, which is subordinate to the Xiangxi Garrison Command, was ordered to make all preparations for departure within 24 hours and fly to the North China front at any time to launch the most violent retaliation against the invaders.

Almost at the same time, Zhu Peide, governor of Yunnan Province, and Zhan Huanqi, commander of the Yunnan Provincial Security Command, sent a joint telegram to the whole country: All the officers and men of the 38th Army and the two divisions of the Yunnan Security Force, totaling 60,000 officers and men, were also ready to go to the front line in North China.

At 6 o'clock in the afternoon, Shi Zhen, director of the Qianxi Pacification Office and commander of the Qianxi Security Command, and 24 generals under his command sent a joint telegram to the whole country, saying that the army and people of Qianxi support the anti-Japanese proposition of the central government and Chairman Chiang, obey the central leadership and safeguard national unity, and that once the state calls, the 50,000 athletes in Qianxi will immediately go north and plunge into the war to expel the Japanese invaders and defend their homeland and defend the country.

The An Jiajun and its allies' unequivocal anti-Japanese stance, as well as their rapid high-profile response and strong strength, once again triggered an upsurge of resistance against Japanese aggression throughout the country, triggering a huge response from all armed forces across the country.

Chiang Kai-shek, who presided over the encirclement and suppression meeting in Lushan, received a mixed blessing after receiving the report, and the good news was that An Yi did not stand by with resentment because of the estrangement and contradictions between teachers and students, but united the armed forces of the southwest with practical actions at an astonishing speed, giving him the most powerful military support and the most timely response to the commander of the whole army. The worry is that the fledgling An Yi and his allies once again took advantage of this opportunity to unite to form the largest military strength in China at present, and occupied the country's most stable and wealthy huge territory.

Without waiting for Chiang Kai-shek's tossing and turning response, the high-profile announcements of the Anyi Group and its allies triggered a series of chain reactions:

At 9 o'clock in the morning of the 25th, Jiang Guangding and Cai Tingkai, who were in Fujian, sent a telegram to the whole country, saying that the 30,000 soldiers of the 19th Route Army's northward anti-Japanese vanguard were ready to go, and they were just waiting for an order from the central authorities to go north at full speed to expel the Japanese invaders.

Yan Xishan, the scheming king of Shanxi, then issued a telegram, encouraging his generals Shang Zhen and Fu Zuoyi to lead the three Jin men to "fight against the Japanese invaders with a hundred times the strength and confidence to defend the country", the reason is that after the sinister goal was not achieved in the negotiations, the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, Koiso Kunizhao, openly threatened Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang, claiming that the army would not only occupy the Zhangbei region, but also occupy the front line of Datong and northern Jin, and carry out a merciless blow to all the armed forces that "dare to challenge the majesty of the army".

At 11 o'clock in the morning of the 25th, Chen Jitang, commander of the Guangdong army, Li Zongren, and Bai Chongxi, commanders of the Gui system, and more than 30 generals under their command sent a telegram to the whole country, saying that the two Guangxi armies were ready to go north to resist Japan and respond to the call of the Japanese army to go north to resist Japan at any time. Feng Yuxiang, who announced his appointment as "Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Anti-Japanese Allied Army" in a high-profile manner, praised the anti-Japanese stance of the armed forces throughout the country, and expressed his determination to "fight to the end without fear of the violent Japanese army." After expressing the determination of the anti-Japanese allied forces to fight to the end without fear of violence, Feng Yuxiang once again criticized the "cowardice and compromise" of the Nanjing government and Chiang Kai-shek, the nominal commander-in-chief of the all-affairs affairs, as well as "the crime of waging a civil war for the sake of selfish interests and excluding dissidents."

At noon on 25 July, Hu Hanmin and Li Jishen, party elders who were living in seclusion in Hong Kong, held a news conference to severely criticize the cowardly and compromising policies of the Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Ching-wei governments toward Japan, vigorously praised the officers and men of the An Jiajun, the Hunan Army, the Yunnan Army, the Guizhou Army, the Guangdong Army, and the Gui Army for their uncompromising anti-Japanese stance, and called on people of insight in the party to unite to face the national crisis.

In the face of an unexpected chain reaction, An Yi was once again deeply shocked by the huge power generated by "morality and righteousness", and did not expect that once his well-thought-out plan was implemented, it was not only he An Yi and the entire group that benefited, but also the keen sense of smell and the ability to grasp the opportunity of all walks of life, which greatly exceeded the imagination of An Yi and his brothers, and couldn't help but greatly admire the far-reaching foresight and accurate vision of the newly joined "military advisor" Jiang Yunshan. Except for Wang Jingwei's reaction, which Jiang Yunshan had not yet predicted, the rapid reaction of the various forces in the country was almost the same as what Jiang Xianyun said.

In particular, Hu Hanmin and Li Jishen mentioned by Jiang Xianyun, An Yi and the brothers believed that with the calm character, rich experience, and current situation of the two patriarchs, they would not be able to react quickly to the sudden change in the national situation.

Jiang Xianyun said confidently: This time is different, because in the past two years, the open and secret struggle of various factions in the party has entered the white-hot stage in advance with the return of Wang Jingwei. Even the *** Red Army, which is gradually falling into passivity, may not give up this precious opportunity.

At noon on 26 May, 76 brand-new fighters of the 11 th and 12 th Air Brigades subordinate to the South Sichuan Government and the Xiangxi Government gathered at Nanchang Airport to refuel and replenish their aircraft in an orderly manner under the stunned gaze of nearly 1,000 officers and men of the Central Air Force, thousands of people, and reporters.

More than 1,000 officers and men of a garrison regiment of the Anjia Army who remained at the airport opened the cordon, and Major General Lao Shoudao, who is still a senior staff member of the army, put on a rare straight military uniform and, together with Jiangxi Governor Xiong Shihui and other military and political dignitaries, extended cordial regards and earnest encouragement to the officers and men of the two aviation brigades.

Xiong Shihui and others saw the heartfelt respect and love for Lao Shoudao by the officers and men of the two aviation brigades, and saw the rows of new planes equipped with large-caliber aviation machine guns, as well as the famous Junkers three-engine large transport planes neatly arranged with silver light, and they were all amazed by the strong strength of the Anjia Army and the Xiangxi Army. Looking at the whole country, which one has such a powerful aviation force?

An hour later, 76 warplanes flew into the blue sky in batches amid the incomparably excited cheers of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians, and many Chinese and foreign reporters finally confirmed the authenticity of the bold words of the An Jiajun and the Xiangxi army, and one by one they quickly rushed to the city to send a report to the headquarters.