The snow is fluttering in the sky over Nanchang City, and the Baihuazhou embankment in the city is covered in silver, cold and solemn. The fireplace in the commander-in-chief's office is warm like spring, the pots of orchids in the room have just raised their pink buds, and the lush evergreens at the desk are full of life.

Commander-in-Chief Chiang's mood was like that hundred-year-old cypress that was covered by heavy snow outside, extremely heavy and lonely, and the strongly worded telegrams sent by Wuhan made him see a deep crisis and see that his rights were about to be divided and seized.

In the past, there was an open split in the collectives that fought side by side for an ideal and an ism, and the comrades-in-arms who were still brothers and sisters and close friends a few months ago finally showed their grandeur for their own interests, and everything that Wuhan was in full swing seemed to Commander-in-Chief Chiang to be a huge conspiracy, but it was all accelerated around a grandiose slogan - moving the capital to Wuhan!

Commander-in-Chief Chiang was extremely worried about the separatist situation that was now out of control, and looking at the half of China occupied by the various units of the Northern Expeditionary Army, the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse and the balance of forces among the various units had changed dramatically.

First of all, the biggest crisis comes from Wuhan, the Lianghu area has been occupied by the Tang Shengzhi Department, the largest military force in the Northern Expeditionary Army, and the four armies under its command are still expanding, and the number of officers and soldiers has reached more than 90,000 people, this number does not count the four recruit divisions that the department is recruiting and training in Changsha, Yueyang and other places, the total strength of the Tang Shengzhi Department has exceeded one-third of the total strength of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and has obtained a large amount of equipment from the original direct arsenal and the Hanyang Arsenal.

Second, Zhang Fakui, who already had more than 40,000 officers and men in two armies, had already colluded with Tang Shengzhi, and the combination of the two military forces was enough to overthrow any enemy or partner, and the two men who secretly reached a secret agreement had a very tacit understanding, not only making friendly cooperation with various forces and making use of each other, but also openly calling for Wang Jingwei, who had a beautiful face and a sharp mouth, to return to China to take power, and to work with various forces to support Xu Qian, a veteran of the party-state who had always had contradictions with Chiang Kai-shek, to become the chairman of the Kuomintang Political Axe, and secretly instructed the newspapers and magazines under their control to crack down on dissidents and create contradictionsIn the huge offensive of public opinion, the next step is to fight for military and political power.

All this is tantamount to telling the people of the world unmistakably that the orthodoxy of the party-state is on their side, that Mr. Nakayama's banner of righteousness is held high by them, and that all forces except them can belong to the alternative of the old and new warlords.

Again, the other units of the Northern Expeditionary Army, like the First Army of Commander-in-Chief Chiang, are all intensively expanding and self-strengthening, and the most ingenious thing is the Seventh Army of Li Zongren's Department stationed on the front line in eastern Hubei Province, the army continues to maintain a good reputation and a modest and generous style, left and right, sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger, although there are only three divisions, but the real strength of each division can almost catch up with one army of other departments, as long as the conditions are ripe, as soon as the opportunity comes, the Seventh Army can become three armies, and most of the officers and men in the army are self-contained. In addition, Huang Shaohong, the No. 2 man in the Gui Army, occupied Guangxi and made great efforts to govern Guangxi, and whether it was developing the local economy or the trans-provincial opium business, they all did a good job and gradually achieved results, and the Seventh Army stationed in Guangxi could easily release tens of thousands of officers and soldiers to compete in the world as long as it was needed.

Others, such as Lu Diping's Second Army, which originated from the Hunan Army, are fighting with Zhu Peide's Third Army from Yunnan in order to dominate Jiangxi; Cheng Qian's Sixth Army occupied Jiujiang and northern Jiangxi counties, with abundant tax sources, drought and flood protection, and Li Fulin, the commander of the Fifth Army who was born in the green forest, occupied Beijiang and Guangzhou, Guangdong, leisurely; After the central departments withdrew from Guangzhou, Li Jishen's troops, who gradually controlled the whole of Guangdong, were already strong and strong, and they were at peace with the surrounding forces, and they were harmonious and wealthy, and even Yuan Zuming's Ninth Army and Tenth Army, which came from Guizhou after the Northern Expedition, also occupied Xiangxi and Western Hubei and had their own territory for survival and development.

Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek turned his head suddenly, only to find that in addition to getting the false name of the commander of the Northern Expedition, the only territory he gained was the city of Nanchang within a radius of dozens of miles, so he had to lower his posture and tolerate everywhere, and at the same time use the power in his hands to quickly stand at the highest point of morality, and loudly call for inheriting the legacy of Mr. Zhongshan and continuing the Northern Expedition for the completion of the great cause of national reunification!

Commander-in-Chief Chiang knew very well that only the Northern Expedition could break the current deadlock, consume the strength of the various departments, and then cleverly plan to recover the declining situation little by little; for this reason, Commander-in-Chief Chiang did not hesitate to take the lead in transferring the only 20,000 officers and men of his descendant line to the Zhejiang battlefield when he was hastily expanding the organization, and ordered the newly formed more than 10,000 officers and men of various units who did not yet have combat effectiveness to be stationed on the still turbulent Guangdong-Fujian border and the Fujian line, respectively, as long as they conquered and occupied the rich land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and mastered the source of taxes accounting for one-third of the country. The initiative will be back in his hands again. Wars are fought with money, and without money, no matter how strong alliances and alliances are, they will collapse and be used for their purposes.

Commander-in-Chief Chiang, who had calmed down, closed the open window, kept the cold out, turned to Yu Jishi, who was sorting out the information, and asked in a low voice, "Where did Liu Zhibu enter?" ”

"The second division has all entered Shangrao City yesterday afternoon, and Chief Liu called, and immediately marched to Changshan and Quzhou after taking the oath of division." Yu Jishi replied unmistakably, a subtle smile on his handsome face.

Commander-in-Chief Jiang, who was as attentive as a hair, saw the smile on the corner of Yu Jishi's mouth and said curiously, "What's the joy?" ”

Yu Jishi replied with a smile: "At 11 o'clock yesterday morning, the communication detachment of the headquarters stationed in Shangrao in advance with the engineer battalion of the Second Division sent a secret telegram, and the An Yi Reading Regiment, which arrived in Shangrao in advance as the vanguard of the Second Division three days ago, immediately sent two platoons of elite officers and soldiers to sneak out secretly and arrest the commander of the 51st Battalion of the Zhejiang Army stationed in Yushan County, on the border of Jiangxi and Zhejiang, and the other party took out 50,000 oceans and 100,000 rounds of machine gun ammunition to ransom the hapless battalion commander, and then all evacuated Yushan in panic and fled to Quzhou. Xiao Yi was very sensible, he only left bullets and handed over all 50,000 oceans to the headquarters of the Second Division. ”

"Haha...... Niang Xipi, I'll just say, I'll say it! This guy is very good at war, he can't be reasonable, there is nothing he doesn't dare to do, and now his enemies will have a headache! When I take Nanjing, I will reward him well. ”

Commander-in-Chief Jiang laughed rarely, put away his smile after a while, and asked kindly: "Has Vice General Bai agreed to be the commander-in-chief of the former enemy of the Eastern Route Army?" ”

Yu Jishi's heart darkened, and he shook his head slightly, Bai Chongxi has been recuperating for a long time since the last time he issued a large number of captured military funds without authorization and was tactfully admonished by the commander-in-chief, and he has been recuperating for a long time on the grounds of the recurrence of old injuries, the conquest of the East Route Army is not trivial, and it is a major event related to the future life and death of the various armies of the Huangpu lineage, Chief He Yingqin is unable to command the six East Route Columns composed of the coalition forces of various ministries due to his own reasons and various delicate relationships, and only Deputy General Bai Chongxi, who has no conflict of interest with the ministries, can control the overall situation, which is convincing, Otherwise, only the commander-in-chief himself can successfully implement the strategic plan, but at this time, Commander-in-Chief Jiang has concurrently served as the commander-in-chief of the Central Route Army, and he can only rely on Bai Chongxi to go to the Eastern Route Army to command the operation, but now Bai Chongxi is still in "recuperation", and he has been appointed by the former enemy commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army twice, so why not make people anxious.

When Commander-in-Chief Jiang saw the look on Yu Jishi's face, he knew it in his heart, and slowly took two steps and sighed:

"It is difficult for those whose shins are larger than the strands to walk, and those who are larger than the arms are difficult to handle...... Jishi, bring my hat and accompany me to Vice President Bai's accommodation, he is waiting for me to come to the door to ask for talent......"

"Yes."

On the New Year's Day of the 16th year of the Republic of China, on the first day of January 1927, in the big field of Shangrao County Middle School, the north wind roared angrily, the snowflakes flew, and the 18,000 soldiers of the Second Division gathered in a neat line on the three sides of the high platform as a regiment, looked up at the mighty and majestic division commander Liu Zhi on the high platform, listened to his majestic pre-war mobilization, and then chanted the oath in unison under the loud leadership of Chief of Staff Xu Tingyao.

After the bloody oath was completed, a pawn of the Sixth Regiment who had been killed by forcibly pulling a man to death was tied up and escorted to a high flagpole by Wuhua Da, Liu Zhi lowered his face and loudly announced the crime of the pawn, once again strictly affirmed military discipline, and admonished all officers and soldiers to clean themselves, and then waved his hand and issued an order to correct the law on the spot.

"Bang-" a gunshot, the pawn who bulleted in his heart fell like a humble chicken in the thick snow, his feet kicked violently a few times before losing his vitality, the blood flowing on the snow surface was extremely dazzling, and after a while, it was drowned by the snowflakes little by little.

The executioner of the newly formed military police of the division headquarters stepped forward to check and replied loudly, and Liu Zhi on the high platform nodded slightly, and finally gave the order to set off.

The 4th, 5th, 6th, and divisional engineer battalions set off one after another, and all divisional units also returned to their barracks one after another, preparing to set up camp in Yushan.

An Yi stood in front of the 3,200 officers and soldiers, quietly staring at the void in front of him with snowflakes, his heart surging and unable to help himself. Although An Yi had been told that his headquarters needed to act as a reserve at the previous division headquarters combat meeting, An Yi accepted all this very calmly at that time, but at this moment, there was no commander of the main regiments vying for power and profit, and no outsider could see his pain and unwillingness, so he used this kind of standing in the heavy snow to accept the biting cold invasion to vent the anger in his heart and calm his excitement.

Liu Zhi and Xu Tingyao, who walked off the high platform, were quite surprised to see that the Reading Force Group did not move at all, and immediately understood An Yi's feelings when they thought about it, both of them knew the routine of the Reading Force Regiment with military discipline like a mountain, as long as An Yi did not give an order, all officers and soldiers would stand silently in the heavy snow like An Yi.

"Disbanded and returned to the camp, such a heavy snow will freeze if you stand still." Liu Zhi and Xu Tingyao came to An Yi and whispered.

"Oh? The subordinates forgot ......"

An Yi immediately turned around and ordered loudly: "All departments of the Reading Force Regiment, disband and return to the camp!" ”

"Kill—"

The 3,200 officers and men of the Reading Force Regiment shouted out in their customary response, and each dissolution ended with a "killing" sound, so that the officers and men would always remember the heavy responsibility on their shoulders.

An Yi, who came back to his senses, once again expressed his opinion to Liu Zhi and Xu Tingyao: "Division, chief of staff, why did the commanders of each regiment turn a deaf ear to the suggestions put forward by our regiment at last night's meeting?" Although it is said that Cao Wanshun's troops have surrendered to our army and helped the battle from northwest Fujian under the banner of the 17th Army, the 26th Army attached to Zhou Fengqi's Department of the Zhejiang Army and Chen Yi's 19th Army are all assisting our Eastern Route Army, but the various armies are extremely scattered among each other, and the self-contained system cannot achieve effective coordination, and the distance between the various divisions is far away from the third column with our division as the main force is not helpful, but our division is facing an elite and strong enemy in the Zhejiang army. The enemy is superior to our division and the 21st Division, which is a serious commander in terms of numbers and equipment, and the enemy's defender is Meng Zhaoyue, who is known for his bravery and good at fighting. ”

Liu Zhi smiled slightly: "We know that there are Yang Bin and others in your reading group who are familiar with the generals and colonels of the Zhejiang army, and even you have sent a reconnaissance team to sneak behind the enemy and bring back a lot of important information, but the principal is wise and resolute, far-sighted, and the soldiers who surrendered without a fight have quietly disintegrated all departments of the Zhejiang army.

In view of this, the rapid and fierce attack of our army is at the right time, and the enemy will surely retreat step by step, which will be difficult to resist, and then be eaten and destroyed by our columns one by one.

Of course, the information you submitted is very timely and valuable, especially the successful operation of your reconnaissance detachment in Yushan has greatly damaged the morale of the enemy, and the officers and men of the whole division have seen it in their eyes and are deeply encouraged, and they also attach great importance to the possible actions of the enemy in front of them, so we can only be wronged to serve as a reserve force in this battle and wait for reinforcements.

Don't worry, Xiao Yi, there will be a big battle next, and we are worried that your reading group will not be enough by then. ”

After that, Liu Zhi patted An Yi's shoulder comfortingly.

Xu Tingyao also smiled and said: "Don't worry, the information and detailed maps you provided have been sorted out by the division headquarters, and they have all been distributed to the main regiments, and those senior brothers of yours are all excellent commanders who have experienced a hundred battles, and they will grasp the proportions." ”

An Yi smiled reluctantly, didn't say anything, and discussed with Liu Zhi and the two of them a little to enter the order, and then returned to the student dormitory that was used as a barracks in the deepest part of the campus, and as soon as he entered the regiment headquarters, he immediately took off his gray cloak and threw it on a bench, took the hot tea handed by Qu Muchen and drank two sips, and said worriedly:

"The regiments did not accept our kindness, thinking that our reading force regiment had done so much homework in advance in order to serve as the main force and rob them of their credit, even the division seat and the chief of staff had the heart of underestimating the enemy, and they did not pay attention to the strong resistance they might encounter, and no one analyzed the combat habits and surname of Meng Zhaoyue, the commander of the Zhejiang army we were about to face, Lao Tzu always felt that something was going to be wrong when he thought about it."

Yang Bin sat down beside An Yi and comforted in a low voice: "Xiao Yi, don't worry too much, it's no longer for us to exert influence, we can only be ready to support at any time, wait for dispatch, and try to make up for the omissions of the main forces." ”

"Make up for it! Do you know when we're leaving? Tomorrow morning! Do you know tomorrow morning? The division headquarters is still ahead of us, and it actually ordered Lao Tzu's reading group to clean up the aftermath and be vigilant, grandma's! The left and right and the rear are all friendly forces that are watching and stagnating, and they are on guard. Delay for a day and a half, let's at least open a distance of 60 kilometers from the main force, in case something really happens, let's put on our wings and fly over this lofty mountain to rescue?

Alas, isn't the meaning of the regiments clear? We have nothing to do in this battle, and we have been tired and tired for a few days to prepare and plan meals and not be able to take care of eating, in exchange for this result, okay! Isn't it for us to have a good rest? Drink first, and then go to bed when you're full......"

After An Yi finished venting, he stood up in annoyance, walked out of the door and shouted that Old Han Tou would come to a table of mutton hot pot, and the brothers in the room were also disheartened, so they could only shake their heads and sigh and smile bitterly.

(To be continued)