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Chapter 502 Waiting for an Opportunity

An Yi stayed in Qiancheng for four days, during which he not only summed up and planned the current situation of the 44th Army, the direction of its development, and the next training and combat plan, but also discussed the construction and development of the entire Xiangxi region, and decided to further expand the scale of production on the basis of the pharmaceutical factory that had already been initially built, and introduce the production technology, technical personnel, production equipment, and raw materials of several major drugs from the Jiangnan Pharmaceutical Factory, and the products would first face the southwest, and then radiate to Kang-Tibet and the northwest region; Expand and build roads leading from Qiancheng to surrounding counties to eliminate bottlenecks in the transportation of raw materials and products; Using the coal resources such as Longshan and Yezhuping, which have already been exploited in Xiangxi, we will strive to build a cement plant and a thermal power plant before the end of the year, and hire geological surveyors from the old Nanchang base to enter Xiangxi as soon as possible to conduct a general survey of mineral resources. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

On 6 April, Liu Xiang, the general of the Sichuan Army, who had long coveted Yichang for many years, sent his subordinate Tang Shizun's division to attack Badong, which was occupied by the 18th Army of Tao Jun of the Gui Department, in the name of following the central crusade order.

An Yi, who received an urgent report from Yin Jinan and Deng Bin, the generals on the Hunan and Hubei border fronts, could not stay any longer, bid farewell to Zhang Hongluan, Shi Zhen, Zeng Yaokun, Zhang Shaodong and other alliance brothers, and left Qiancheng to go north through Cili.

On the evening of the 7th, An Yi, escorted by the brothers of the 11th Regiment of the 3rd Division of the 44th Army stationed in Cili, arrived at Miaowan, 24 kilometers south of Yidu County, where he joined Yin Jinan and others and began intense preparations for the attack.

To An Yi's great pleasure, the independent division, under the command of Hu Jialin and Gu Changfeng, conquered the Wuhan barrier in the early morning of the day before yesterday and cut off the retreat of more than 7,000 Gui officers and men in southeastern Hubei Province.

The independent division, which had a relatively large adjustment after the diversion, withstood the test of actual combat, and its combat effectiveness not only did not decline, but on the contrary, it increased to a certain extent compared with before the adjustment, which particularly reassured and satisfied An Yi.

After the primary election, more than 6,000 prisoners were escorted back to the old Nanchang security force base, most of them were officers and soldiers from Lianghu, and more than 3,500 veterans changed into the military uniforms of Xia Jian's security forces, and scattered into the three brigades, teaching regiments, and artillery regiments under the central Jiangxi security forces, and planned to start a month-long military training and political and ideological education after a week's rest. The remaining 2,000 or so prisoners who were tired of the war and did not want to serve as soldiers again received severance pay of five oceans, almost half of whom went to work in factories in old Nanchang, and 600 people voluntarily joined the construction engineering company under the provincial security headquarters and joined the ranks of builders who built bridges and roads in Jiangxi Province.

The day after the four brigades led by Yang Bin conquered Xianning, they were stationed in the important town of Wuhan on the orders of Commander-in-Chief Chiang with the friendly Tan Daoyuan Division, of which Tan Daoyuan's division was designated as the Wuhan garrison to enter Hankou, and Yang Bin's headquarters was stationed in Wuchang to undertake the important task of defense, so as to make up for the defense gap left by Liu Zhi's Second Route Army after it advanced west and went north.

To An Yi's surprise and high vigilance, Liu Zhi's 1st Division had a friction with the Han Fuqu Division of the Northwest Army moving south at high speed south of Wusheng Pass in northern Hubei Province, and the two armies almost opened fire and fired at each other, causing a major conflict.

Thinking that Liu Zhi was intimidated by the threat of his own army, Han Fuqu became more and more arrogant, and ordered Zhang Yunrong's division to plunge directly into Guangshui. But after arriving in Guangshui, Han Fuqu did not dare to continue to go south even if he was awesome, he was afraid that the battle line would be too long after going deep into central Hubei, if Commander-in-Chief Jiang turned his face and did not recognize people in anger, he could easily command the five divisions of Liu Zhi's Second Route Army and divide and eliminate the three divisions of Han Fuqu.

As for the situation in the battlefield in western Hubei Province, it is even more complicated, the two regiments of Tao Xun who had no intention of fighting again were quickly defeated under the blow of Tang Shizun of the Sichuan Army, Tang Shizun easily occupied Badong, and a main force continued to pursue to the east, and successfully occupied Guizhou Town and Guojiaba, which was only seventy kilometers away from Yichang City.

On the east road, Zhu Shaoliang commanded the Eighth Division, Xia Douyin's 13th Division, Zhang Fakui's 4th Division, and Fan Shisheng's 5th Division of the Eighth Route Army, with a total of 60,000 officers and men. Zhu Shaoliang immediately telegraphed to Commander-in-Chief Chiang, who had arrived in Wuhan, and then led the Eighth and Thirteenth Divisions to storm Jingzhou City, ordered Zhang Fakui to lead the Fourth Division to bypass Jingzhou and attack Zhijiang, and ordered Fan Shisheng's troops to quickly move north, attack Jingzhou, and leave a part to guard the public security.

An Yi carefully observed for a while, and slowly raised his head from the map: "Deng Bin, where has your second division forward unit arrived?" ”

"Here, Liujiapeng, eight kilometers south of Changyang, is stationed in this hill south of Zhennan. Lao Wei reported that most of the defenders of Changyang had retreated north, leaving only one battalion to garrison, which could be easily captured with just one charge. Deng Bin replied, pointing to a location on the map.

An Yi nodded, and then asked, "The enemy of Changyang is naturally not a problem, but if I ask you to lead the old guard and the second senior brothers to take Changyang, and then rush to Zigui non-stop, how much time will you need?" ”

Deng Bin and Zhang Cunzhuang, the commander of the first division, and Wu Yijiang, the chief of staff of the second division, discussed the map for a moment, raised their heads and replied confidently: "Division, the second division is basically the original tutor brothers, and it has been seven months since the army was trained, and all the training is strictly carried out in accordance with the specifications and requirements of our independent division. Liao Jiachong, a mountain road that can walk in a carriage, will be completed in 12 hours after a distance of 48 kilometers, and the county seat of Zhijiang is located on the south bank, and there are less than two regiments defending the enemy, and all of them are panicked, so his subordinates are confident that they will take the place before noon tomorrow! Please give the order ......"

"No, no! Brother Deng, this is called reluctance to seek the near and far! ”

Cheng Mingzhe, an old subordinate of Zhang Hongluan and chief of staff of the First Division, who graduated from the seventh phase of Baoding, interrupted Deng Bin's words: "General An, please see, my first division is resting on the line of Xiongjialing, two kilometers south of Gaojiayan, from Gaojiayan to Zigui, only 31 kilometers away, why do you need the second division to take so many unjust roads?" In terms of combat effectiveness, I'm afraid that my first division is not necessarily much worse than the second division, right, Senzai? ”

Zhang Cunqiang, chief of staff of the army and commander of the first division, echoed: "That's! Brother Deng, I think you should stay and assist Brother Yin to deal with Hu Zongduo and Tao Xun in Yichang, and Zigui will be left to us as a division. Hehe, I'm going to meet that Tang Shizun, last time our batch of goods was detained by him in Fuling for more than ten days before it was released, it's good to meet him this time, I don't know what he looks like when I fight in the future. ”

The brothers laughed and the atmosphere was remarkably cheerful. An Yi bowed slightly, and then asked Deng Bin and Yin Jinan's opinions, and then decided to hand over the task to Zhang Cunzhuang, and solemnly instructed at the moment:

"Brother Zhang, although the Sichuan army is aggressive, but we had better not clash with them, at present, all departments of the Sichuan army are our big customers, I believe that General Tang Shizun will also be cautious, most of the medicines, guns, mortars, bullets and shells they urgently need need to be transported from the Yangtze River and Xiangxi, and it will be more convenient after our Xiangxi plant is put into operation, so it is better to make money with harmony." Of course, if someone wants to insist on being an enemy of us, you might as well teach us a good lesson and let people understand that we are not easy to mess with. ”

Zhang Cunzhuang laughed: "Don't worry, the Sichuan army basically knows the existence of our 44th Army at present, and special products such as medicinal herbs and tobacco will take the initiative to pay a transit tax when they transit through Xiangxi along the way. I'm completely sure that Tang Shizun's grandson will immediately avoid it when he sees us taking the initiative. ”

"Okay! Zigui will be handed over to Brother Zhang and Brother Cheng. Ji Nan, Lao Ding, Brother Xie, Deng Bin, and Lao Wei immediately ordered the garrison division and the second division to prepare for battle, and we attacked Yidu before evening, and the garrison division crossed the river non-stop, rested for three hours, and then slowly marched northward after dinner; It is estimated that at about six o'clock tomorrow morning, Cheng Guang's two gunboats and a transport ship will arrive to coordinate with your two divisions in the center; In case of resistance, I can also ask the Air Force to help.

Jingzhou will be captured by Commander Zhu Shaoliang in the blink of an eye, so we must be quick in this operation, not only to seize the front of the Sichuan army, but also to seize the front of friendly forces, take Yichang, and the western and western Hubei and Xiangxi will be able to be connected, which will play a vital role in promoting our future development. This battle must be fought well, and tell the brothers under his command that as long as the combat mission is successfully completed, each person will be rewarded with ten oceans! An Yi decisively ordered.

"Yes!"

The generals stood upright and answered in unison, then turned away and went out to give the order to act.

"Old Ding—"

An Yi called Ding Zhicheng and whispered to Ji Yi: "After you conquer Yidu, you show me the garrison commander of the Eighteenth Army, and I will write a letter to him to bring to Yichang and hand it over to Hu Zongduo and Tao Jun." As the Gui faction is divided and retreated, I estimate that they have now become frightened birds, shrinking in Yichang City and waiting to die, I will immediately send a telegram to the commander-in-chief, as long as Hu Zongduo and Tao Xun are willing to lead their troops to lay down their arms and accept the reorganization of our army, they will not be blamed for the past. ”

"Got it! Now that the overall situation has been decided, it is best to surrender the army without a fight. Ding Zhicheng smiled knowingly.

In the evening, gunshots and shouts of killing were everywhere, and the local defenders of a regiment in Yidu were in chaos surrounded by heavy troops of two divisions, and the regiment commander Zhou Xianhua saw that the ferry had been occupied by a battalion of central troops that seemed to fall from the sky, and even if he wanted to escape, he had no way to retreat, so he could only reluctantly order his brothers to put down their weapons and raise the white flag.

Zhou Xianhua, the commander of the garrison, and the deputy of the regiment were brought to An Yi, and when they saw An Yi sitting on the Taishi chair where he often sat and wrote letters, he felt very uncomfortable, and vaguely felt that the young lieutenant general in front of him seemed to have seen it somewhere, but he couldn't remember it for a while, so he could only wait patiently under the guard of the well-equipped guards around him with eyes like knives.

Hearing the footsteps, An Yi raised his head and glanced at the two of them, nodded with a smile and continued to write the letter, and after finishing writing the envelope, he got up and walked to the two captive regiment leaders, and said with a polite smile: "Regiment Commander Zhou and Deputy Sun Tuan are frightened, An Yi hereby apologizes to the two of them!" ”

"Ann...... General Ahn? ”

Zhou Xianhua and his regiment deputy finally remembered who the young man in front of them was, and stood up and saluted nervously, even saying that he admired for a long time.

An Yi waved his hand to signal the two of them to be casual, and then asked, "Commander Zhou, An knows that you are under the jurisdiction of General Tao Jun's garrison headquarters, do you know General Hu Zongduo?" ”

"Familiar, familiar! The subordinates and General Hu are fellow villagers, from the next village, and the subordinates became the head of this regiment, and they were recommended by General Hu. Zhou Xianhua replied truthfully.

An Yi nodded appreciatively: "You can be honest with me, it's good!" Head Zhou, An has something to ask for, and the two of them probably also know that I and General Hu's eldest brother Jinyu are old friends, and they knew each other when the Northern Expedition attacked Wuchang, and they got along very happily for nearly a year after that, and they almost talked about everything. Although we belong to different camps now, our personal friendship has not changed, at least I An Yi feel that it has not changed.

In order to prevent the innocent brothers of the two armies from killing each other, I implore Commander Zhou to bring a letter to Yichang to give a letter to Brother Jinyu, to reminisce about the past, and at the same time to discuss ways to resolve the conflict peacefully. ”

"I will do it, I will do it! Subordinates, let's go! ”

Commander Zhou, who had a beautiful mustache, puffed up his chest, agreed loudly, took the letter handed over by An Yi with both hands, carefully put it into his jacket pocket, buttoned it and glanced at An Yi, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a low voice: "General An, my subordinates also have one thing to ask for, my subordinates are the generals of the defeated army, I don't dare to make excessive demands, but please general, for the sake of the brothers in this regiment are all local disciples, allow the brothers to disarm and return to the field, don't ...... Don't embarrass them. ”

An Yi laughed: "I thought it was a big deal, it's totally okay!" My An Yi's troops have never been embarrassed to lay down their arms, brothers who want to continue to be soldiers, An welcomes the surrender to the revolution, and those who do not want to be soldiers will be given five oceans to go home each, and An and the soldiers under his command will never embarrass anyone. ”

"Thank you, General, thank you!"

After thanking the head of the group, he still did not leave, and he stopped talking, as if he still had something to say but did not dare to say it.

An Yi felt very strange, and hurriedly asked, "Is there anything else with Head Zhou...... If you have something, please say that Commander Zhou understands the righteousness and can order more than 1,000 brothers under his command to lay down their arms and join the revolution when the two armies are about to fight, which is a great achievement in itself, what else dare not say? ”

Zhou Xianhua gritted his teeth and bowed his head and pleaded: "General, the subordinate quartermaster baggage and account room have all been seized by your army, and the subordinates and Adjutant Sun hope to leave some savings, and they can return to their hometowns to work as farmers after being disarmed...... Even if you can't send it all, I hope to get 30% ......"

"Yes, it's no problem at all, when Head Zhou returns from the letter, An will immediately meet the requirements of the two!" An Yi generously promised.

Zhou Xianhua and the two of them stood up and saluted gratefully, followed the two brothers selected by Ding Zhicheng and strode away, Ding Zhicheng and the others walked out of the door, and immediately came to An Yi's side, shook his head with regret on his face, and then sighed: "Master, you are too generous, didn't you see my gesture?" ”

"What gesture? I really didn't see it, what's going on? An Yi shook his head inexplicably, looked at Ding Zhicheng and asked with some curiosity.

Ding Zhicheng had a sad face and explained in great distress: "Master, do you know how much cash is stored in the treasury of those two grandsons? When I left, the five brothers in the quartermaster department had not counted half of the 120,000 bars, not counting the dozens of gold bars, and it would be a pity if you promised to return them all! ”

An Yi was startled and blurted out: "So much money!" His grandmother's, no wonder I heard rumors that Tao Jun occupied the Yichang area with a monthly income of no less than 800,000 yuan, and he handed over 400,000 yuan to Li Delin every month, and this money was earned by collecting tobacco and soil taxes, not including industrial and commercial taxes and agricultural taxes, it seems that all this is true...... However, I have promised others, what should I do now? ”

"I think so, the money in the treasury should belong to public funds, and after the inventory is completed, it will be returned according to their requirements, and it is enough for each person to take 70,000 or 80,000 yuan home!" Ding Zhicheng suggested.

An Yi nodded: "It seems that this can only be the case, such a large sum of money, it is impossible to give them all, in the future, your division will be stationed here, if you want to gain the support of the people for long-term peace and stability, you have to build wharves, roads, bridges, and schools, hospitals, and housing for the local people, all of which require money!" ”

"Then, I'll follow the main force across the river."

Ding Zhicheng nodded and saluted, walked out of the door and pulled Shen Fengdao, who was standing at the door smoking and watching the prisoners gather, looking at the door, An Yi held his chin thoughtfully, shrunk his shoulders and pulled Shen Fengdao farther away again, and whispered in his ear.

Shen Fengdao pointed at Ding Zhicheng and laughed: "You obviously want your little brother to make mistakes!" ”

Ding Zhicheng pursed his lips and shook his head: "This is our own idea, it's not that the master doesn't keep his promises, and it has nothing to do with him, right?" I don't have time to command the troops to attack Yichang, otherwise I'll do it myself. ”

"Okay, I'll do it, and when you come back, I'll give it back to you." Shen Fengdao agreed in a low voice, Ding Zhicheng happily hugged his fists and thanked him, and left happily.