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Chapter 1225 The war is coming

At Huangcun Station, five kilometers south of Daxing City in Beiping, the atmosphere is extremely tense. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The commander of the North China garrison army, Tashiro Wanichiro, and the supreme military and political chief of North China, Song Zheyuan, each led their generals and colonels to gather on the platform, the distance between the two sides was more than 70 meters, their faces were all iron-blue, and they glared at each other, and in the middle of an open field, there were fifteen corpses of Song Zheyuan's officers and soldiers and nine corpses of Japanese soldiers.

Tashiro Wanichiro forcibly suppressed his anger at this moment, thought about it and slowed down the expression on his face, tried to squeeze out a smile, and slowly walked towards Song Zheyuan.

Now it is in the preparation period for a full-scale invasion of North China, according to the order of the base camp of the first army, the Kwantung Army and the North China garrison army must stop all provocative acts, converge on all fronts, and absolutely not expose the all-round aggressive intentions of the Great Emperor's army, therefore, whether it is the commander of the North China garrison army, Tashiro Wanichiro, or the commander of the Kwantung Army, Ueda Kenkichi, they all strictly follow the requirements of the military department, put an end to all military actions, and only allow local secret services to secretly instruct traitor spies and Japan, North Korea, and waves to sell drugs and smuggle. Rushing through the pass to provoke incidents, and constantly harassing the squadron with civilian forces, greatly distracting the attention of the local governments and garrisons in North China, and then the embassies and consulates in various places shouted and shouted to cover up and confuse the North China army and the Nanjing government to the greatest extent, and win the initiative for an all-out war.

However, a sudden conflict broke out, a Japanese army team stationed in Daxing on the grounds of protecting overseas Chinese, because the smuggling materials of the ronin did not pay taxes according to the regulations, and were seized by the tax police when transferring trains at Huangcun Station, and the Japanese squad leader who received the news of distress led fifteen soldiers to rush over, and after beating the Chinese tax police personnel, he clashed with the officers and soldiers of Song Zheyuan's department guarding the station.

The captain of the Japanese squad, who had drunk a stomach and was delirious, actually forgot the strict order, pulled out his pistol, and killed the battalion commander of Song Zheyuan's department, who led his troops to investigate.

The two sides immediately fought violently, and for a time there was a burst of gunfire, and by the time their respective commanders were shocked to hear that the clash had been ordered to stop, dozens of dead and wounded on both sides.

At this time, a sudden exchange of fire greatly alarmed the Japanese troops who were making close preparations, and the commander of the North China Garrison Army, Tashiro Wanichiro, was even more annoyed, even if he was authoritarian and arrogant, he would not dare to anger China's North China army at this critical moment, and if this affected the overall aggressive plan of the Japanese army headquarters, he would be regarded as the commander.

It is precisely because of this that Tashiro Wanichiro informed Song Zheyuan, who had just returned from Jinan, as quickly as possible, and said that he would jointly deal with this emergency with an "objective and fair" attitude.

There is a famous saying in the Chinese art of war - if you can't bear it, you will make a big plan! Tashiro Wanichiro and the Japanese army up and down understood the connotation of this sentence very well, and achieved the ultimate in forbearance.

A few days ago, Song Zheyuan met with the old prefect Feng Yuxiang in Jinan, because Feng Yuxiang secretly flew to Jinan and warned Song Zheyuan on behalf of ***:

According to various intelligence, the silence of the Japanese army for half a month was very abnormal, and it was very likely to be the prelude to provoking a full-scale war of aggression against China, and we must be prepared for the worst. If there is anything unclear, you can rush to Baoding at any time and discuss with An Yi, deputy chief of general staff, who is in charge of the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War in North China, and you will definitely be able to get the all-round support of An Yi and the army under his command.

But Song Zheyuan didn't believe in these at all, he believed that the Japanese army was very well-behaved during this time, and all aspects showed the sincerity of common development and hand in hand. The reason why the Japanese troops in various parts of Pingjin did not act as arrogantly and recklessly as they did some time ago is entirely because the Jicha Political Affairs Committee has held close consultations with the Japanese army and political officials stationed in China, and has made progress in comprehensive consultations in the military, economic, and other fields, which is a manifestation of the peaceful arrival of peace on the land of North China.

Song Zheyuan's avoidance of the important and dignified reply made Feng Yuxiang anxious and angry, and finally snorted coldly and walked away.

In fact, the most fundamental and important reason why Song Zheyuan did not listen to Feng Yuxiang's words was that he was worried that Feng Yuxiang, who had a higher and higher reputation and had received strong support from Chiang Kai-shek, would come back again to collect the old headquarters of the Northwest Army, and wanted to re-annex his Song Zheyuan, Han Fuqu and Yang Hucheng Department, which was being reorganized by the Central Committee in the northwest, under his command Feng Yuxiang, which made Song Zheyuan, who had in fact become the supreme military and political leader in North China, unwilling to bear it. The so-called Song Zheyuan, who tasted the wonderful taste of power, was full of vigilance against all factors that might affect his rule, but had more intimacy with the most threatening people.

Because of this, in the on-site negotiations between the top commander of the Chinese and Japanese armies, even if Song Zheyuan took the initiative in morality and the entente, he did not want to criticize the atrocities of the Japanese army too much and avoid making enemies with the Japanese army.

There is also an important background to this, as various pro-Japanese armed and traitor groups that originally vigorously opposed Song Zheyuan's rule in North China have recently begun to have "goodwill" contacts with Song Zheyuan, revealing their willingness to accept the reorganization of Song Zheyuan's ministry. Now, after continuous expansion, the 29th Army has nearly 150,000 horses, if these traitor armies are added, then Song Zheyuan, who has more than 200,000 troops, will become the third largest armed force in China after the Central Army and the Anjia Army, and the strength is still above Yan Xishan's Jin Sui Army. Therefore, the civilian officials and think tanks around Song Zheyuan were deeply encouraged and showed their optimism about the prospects of Sino-Japanese friendship and cooperation, all of which seemed to mean that the status of the Song Zheyuan group and the situation of the officers and men of the whole army were getting better and better, and the danger of war and conflict between China and Japan was getting lower and lower.

Under the influence of various factors, Song Zheyuan did not want to make a big deal out of the matter from the bottom of his heart, and after severely reprimanding the main generals of the army who responded strongly to the question of whether he would go all out to retaliate, he rushed to Huangcun Station with great sincerity, hoping to solve the problem and eliminate the bad influence by meeting with Tashiro Wanichiro and visiting the scene of the conflict in person.

Sure enough, Tashiro Wanichiro's low profile once again made Song Zheyuan feel good, and after meeting and discussing, he quickly made a decision to hold the officers and soldiers under his command accountable, and urged the two armies to live in harmony under the premise of Sino-Japanese cooperation to avoid similar tragedies again.

Song Zheyuan's wish was fulfilled and he happily returned to Beiping. How did he know that Tashiro Wanichiro and the Japanese generals around him were polite and rational on the surface, but in fact they were on the verge of going berserk. The death of a Japanese lieutenant and eight Japanese soldiers in a conflict, but not retaliating and not taking the opportunity to encroach on China's territory and rights and interests has been regarded as an unprecedented shame by the North China garrison, and the reason why it can still be endured is entirely because of the needs of the overall situation.

On the evening of June 7, Baoding Airport.

Chen Cheng, the undersecretary of military affairs and director of the Army Integration Committee, who arrived secretly, walked side by side with An Yi, and several adjutants followed from afar.

The sun is setting, the sky is full of red clouds, and the wide airport is bathed in the residual sun.

"Song Mingxuan's attitude is problematic, the reaction of the Japanese army is even more incredible, the foolish brother came on order for this matter, but he didn't expect to come here but was told by Song Mingxuan that the situation has subsided, and both sides have properly handled it in line with the principle of mutual tolerance, and the peaceful coexistence between China and Japan is still the mainstream, and there is no need to make extraneous branches. The foolish brother was full of doubts in his heart, and after thinking about it again and again, he still felt that this matter was very unconventional and incredible. ”

Chen Cheng's face looked even thinner in the glow, revealing an extremely worried look. Only with An Yi will Chen Cheng give up the hypocritical mask of not being surprised and calmly facing everything, and be able to express his joys, sorrows, and sorrows.

An Yi nodded, did not answer directly, and said softly after a while: "Big brother, if the younger brother says that the Japanese army will launch a full-scale war of aggression against China within next month, will the eldest brother believe it or not?" ”

Chen Cheng stopped suddenly, stared at the deep helplessness and sadness on An Yi's face, and asked in shock, "Is it really so fast?" ”

"Maybe faster, alas...... Zhang Hanqing and Yang Hucheng suddenly attacked in Xi'an, exposing all our strategic intentions, and the Japanese army quickly adjusted its strategy! Seriously, the younger brother often beats his chest and lungs for this, and he is in pain, watching the Kwantung Army increase its troops outside the pass, making up for the weak links little by little, but it constitutes an aggressive offensive posture, but he is helpless, this kind of sadness, I don't know who to say? An Yi sighed bitterly.

Chen Cheng's facial muscles trembled a few times, obviously very angry, gritted his teeth and was silent for a long time, and slowly spit out his resentment: "You are right, but everything before is irretrievable, just pass it, don't indulge too much, let alone resent, it's all providence!" Speaking of which, the Xi'an incident is not all bad, at least the position of the principal is more stable. Now that the whole country and all parties and factions are soberly aware that without the president in charge of the overall situation, the whole country will be immediately torn apart. From this point of view, everything has its two sides, and if you think about it carefully, the dialectical philosophy of Marx, the founder of thought, still has a certain truth. ”

An Yi was amused and asked with a smile: "Big brother has also read Marx's book?" ”

"I've seen it, I've studied it carefully, I don't understand the doctrine and spirit of ***, how to cooperate with the chairman?" Chen Cheng smiled bitterly and shook his head: "That's it, don't mention these *** things, now that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are cooperating, the previous ones will go with him." Tell me, why don't you want to see Song Mingxuan? ”

An Yi took another step: "Big brother, it's not that the younger brother has a self-respecting identity and wants him to come over by himself, or he is afraid of any accidents in the territory controlled by *** people, but the younger brother thinks that even if he sees him, it is useless, and now almost all the people around Song Mingxuan are pro-Japanese politicians, even if the younger brother kneels down and begs him, he will not change his position on appeasement and peace talks, and now he has been immersed in the beautiful blueprint drawn to him by the pro-Japanese staff members in the military and political circles and around him, He believed that he was fully capable of grasping the initiative in North China, and did not want the central government and the Central Military Commission to touch his position as the leader and military power of North China. The younger brother stood in front of him, and the feeling given to him would only be negative, so the younger brother did not express any opinion on the conflict that occurred the day before yesterday, and watched coldly, hoping that he could report the whole incident in detail to the central authorities in time, and did not expect him and the younger brother to talk about it and start to solve it together. But until now, he has not received any news from him, which makes the little brother quite annoyed and very worried. ”

Chen Cheng nodded and sighed: "Yes!" Oh, yes...... Song Mingxuan has changed too much, it's just that you haven't contacted a few generals under his command? ”

"I have been contacted, but it was not the younger brother who took the initiative to contact, but they quietly came to the door! Two days ago, Feng Anbang, commander of the 37th Division, and Zhang Zizhong, commander of the 38th Division, came to Baoding together and asked the younger brother to allocate a batch of military funds to supplement the two departments in a timely manner, especially interested in the general-purpose machine guns that the 17th Army was replacing, and asked if they could give them some?

The younger brother agreed, promising to equip each of them with a machine-gun battalion within two months, and the two were very happy, and when they stayed for a drink at night, maybe they drank a few more glasses, and said a few worried words to their commander Song. When the little brother heard it, he didn't understand their dissatisfaction, but he could only pretend not to hear it, Hu Zi, Yang Guan, Brother Chengzhu, Lu Yixuan and others saw the little brother's eyes, and hurriedly expressed their full support for the two of them, which made the atmosphere return to normal.

"To be honest, the younger brother also wants to set up Song Mingxuan, who is obsessed with ghosts, but it's too late!" An Yi honestly said what was in his heart.

Chen Cheng nodded, knowing An Yi's difficulties, and the 29th Army has developed to 150,000 horses today after several hardships, which is not so good, and it is already very good to be able to get the sincere treatment of the two generals under Song Zheyuan.

Chen Cheng thought about it and deliberately changed the topic: "Last month you were in Zhengzhou, you really helped the desperate Liu Jingfu, the principal received your secret telegram, and after listening to the large-scale air defense exercise in Zhengzhou that shocked the whole country, he said to the surrounding generals with great emotion: An Yi is kind-hearted and well-intentioned, you have such brothers and colleagues, you should cherish it!" Then he called Liu Jingfu, who was much left out, for the first time. Three days later, Liu Jingfu flew to Hangzhou, and self-examined with tears in front of the principal, and the principal finally forgave him, and it is estimated that it will not be long before Liu Jingfu will be reused again. ”

An Yi smiled bitterly: "Big brother, you also know that although Liu Jingfu has fallen out of favor, the entire Central Plains Railway Hub is still under the control of his generals, and it is not possible to remove it if he wants to, especially when the Northeast Army advances eastward, someone has to come forward to offend people, right?" Liu Jingfu, who adheres to principles and is extremely obedient, is the most suitable to do, otherwise the principal would have pushed him to the end, and the younger brother had to help him for the sake of military continuity and stability. Again, how to say that Liu Jingfu was the commander of the younger brother, at the beginning of the younger brother's career, he was more or less favored by him, and if he didn't report it at this time, when would he wait? ”

Chen Cheng laughed and slapped An Yi affectionately: "You kid is really insidious, but you have an appetite for me, hehe......"

"Report to the commander, the chairman of the committee is urgent!" Liu Qing hurriedly ran over.

An Yi took it and spread it out, a handsome face suddenly changed color, gloomy and no longer spoke, and slowly handed it to Chen Cheng beside him.

Chen Cheng was taken aback when he saw it: "Quick! You and I have to fly to Lushan immediately, the faster the better! ”

An Yi nodded and gestured slightly to Shen Fengdao.

Ten minutes later, An Yi's special plane rushed into the fading sky, turned south, and soon disappeared.