The next day, Hu Hanmin went to Whampoa accompanied by Chen Bijun, and Chiang Kai-shek put him under house arrest at the Whampoa Military Academy. Soon Wu Chaoshu quietly sneaked to Hong Kong, and then submitted his resignation to the Nationalist Political Axe, Deng Zeru, Zhang Ji, Xie Zhi, Ju Zheng and others left Shanghai one after another, and Zou Lu also went abroad through the national diplomatic delegation.

Zhuang Jihua only understood at this moment why Chiang Kai-shek only searched Hu Hanmin's house instead of detaining Hu Hanmin, a politician is not a soldier, and he does not necessarily have to do it clearly, unless it comes to the point of life and death, Hu Hanmin is naturally a smart person, and when he saw that the general trend had gone, he immediately admitted defeat and automatically handed over all power. With Hu Hanmin's house arrest, rightists have fled, while leftists and [***] have high morale. But neither Zhuang Jihua nor Chiang Kai-shek was satisfied, and their eyes were fixed on Xu Chongzhi at the same time.

The first step is to force him to agree to dismiss Liang Hongkai, the commander of the First Army, and replace him with Li Jishen, arrest the people involved in the Liao case, and then disband the troops of Wei Bangping, Yang Jinlong, and others, and if possible, even Li Fulin's troops should be disbanded together. After this step is successful, Xu Chongzhi will be relieved of military power. Zhuang Jihua suggested to Chiang Kai-shek in Chiang Kai-shek's office.

Xu Chongzhi is no better than Hu Hanmin, he has soldiers in his hands, he is the leader of the most powerful army in Guangdong at present, and he is also the person who has the ability to defeat Chiang Kai-shek.

Replace Liang Hongkai with Li Jishen because Li Jishen is not Xu Chongzhi's cronies, and he is inseparable from Xu Chongzhi.

"What if Xu Chongzhi doesn't comply?" Although it was going well, Chiang Kai-shek was still a little worried.

"The generals of the Cantonese army are related to the Liao case, and we can force him to comply through this." Zhuang Jihua was very confident, and he swore that "if the principal agrees, I will arrange it." ”

Chiang Kai-shek was silent for a long time and nodded in agreement.

These days, the garrison headquarters has been shrouded in a tense air, and the officers everywhere are in an inexplicable excitement, except for He Jinhan, who is silent in the intelligence department, blaming himself.

Zhuang Jihua has forgiven him in his heart, many things cannot be changed by human will.

"Junshan, the past is over, don't blame yourself anymore." After Zhuang Jihua came back, he first found He Jinhan, he understood He Jinhan's recent mentality, but he was too busy to communicate with him.

"Cultural Revolution, I was too careless, I was deceived by them." Facing Zhuang Jihua who persuaded him, He Jinhan was very remorseful, and he might have discovered their conspiracy after listening to Zhuang Jihua.

"Failure is a success, and we have to learn our lessons." Zhuang Jihua patted him on the shoulder: "Now I have something for you to do." ”

There are other people who have also learned the lesson, and Director Zhou in the Wende Building is also talking about the same topic to Chen Yannian.

"The Liao case has taught us a heavy lesson, and our party must set up a security team to be responsible for the safety of the party's leading comrades." Director Zhou said solemnly.

"Yes, this is a lesson in blood, come on, you are the secretary of the military committee, and this matter will be handled by you." Chen Yannian immediately agreed without hesitation.

"Okay," Director Zhou accepted the task: "There is another thing, some generals in the Cantonese army are involved in the Liao case, but Xu Chongzhi wants to protect them, and we will force Xu Chongzhi to agree to dismiss these reactionary officers and reorganize their army through public opinion." ”

"We?" Chen Yannian asked suspiciously.

This idea was proposed by Zhuang Jihua. Chiang Kai-shek was a little jealous, worried about causing Xu Chongzhi's backlash. Zhuang Jihua believes that strong public opinion pressure can be formed through the news and newspapers to force Xu Chongzhi to make concessions. He hoped that publications such as "New Youth" and "Guide" would cooperate. Director Zhou explained.

"Why is this Zhuang Jihua again," Chen Yannian couldn't help frowning, and Director Zhou asked with some surprise: "What's wrong?" ”

"En, I'm afraid you don't know yet, you, Huangpu Junjie, are in the fresh, forcing Comrade Peng Fentian to agree to the landlord's membership. Look at it, this is Comrade Fenda's letter. ”

Director Zhou couldn't help but be stunned, and after taking the letter and reading it in a hurry, he shook his head and smiled:

This is the so-called spirit of contract, or the inference of innocence, which is too deeply influenced by Western legal thought; But this is nothing, didn't he also say, that the power of the main person in charge of the peasant association can be limited from the organizational structure. ”

"But have you thought about it, this also restricts the peasant associations under the leadership of our party." Chen Yannian immediately retorted: "I think it is still necessary to restrict landlords from joining the union, and it is a special situation for Comrade Fentian, and it is not suitable to promote it in other places." ”

"I'm afraid it's difficult, although Zhuang Jihua didn't participate in the Sun Society, but he has a great influence on the Sun Society, what if he uses the Sun Society to promote it in the province?" Director Zhou's thick eyebrows were furrowed, and he felt a little puzzled, why did Zhuang Jihua suddenly change his attitude? I don't know if Jiang Xianyun can successfully complete the task.

"Then we can only let Comrade Fentian try it out first and see the effect." Chen Yannian sighed helplessly, saying that it was impossible to push the Kuomintang to pass laws and regulations that forbade landlords to join the union.

"That's the only way to do it first, so what about this matter?"

"What do you think?" Of course, it is good to be able to get rid of Xu Chongzhi, but Chen Yannian is not that impulsive young person.

"I think it's feasible, there are people in the Cantonese army involved in the case, that's a fact. Xu Chongzhi is not a strong-willed person, and it is entirely possible to make concessions. ”

"So how do you want us to cooperate?" Chen Yannian decided to give it a try.

In the following days, the press continued to dig deep into the background of the Liao case, and the new issues of "Republic of China Newspaper" and "New Youth" turned their guns and pointed the finger at the Guangdong army, pointing out that Liao Zhongkai had caused dissatisfaction among the generals of the Guangdong army because of the financial rectification, and that the generals of the Guangdong army had also participated in the conspiracy of the Liao case.

…….

…….

"Meet, fourth brother, Chiang Kai-shek did a good job, Xu Ruwei is afraid that he can only give in." Chen Bijun put away the newspaper and said to Wang Jingwei with a smile that she had trained Hu Hanmin on Huangpu Island for two days before returning to her home in Guangzhou. The couple was sitting leisurely on the sofa drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Gongbo has already reported that some of the generals of the Cantonese army are involved in the case, so you shouldn't cover them up." Wang Jingwei said solemnly: "Kai-shek, this is also a way to do it. ”

"Come on, there's no outsider at home now." Chen Bijun's slender fingers lightly tapped Wang Jingwei's forehead: "The generals who supported Hu Zhantang at the beginning should be eliminated, and their own people should be promoted, and the lessons of the prime minister should not be forgotten." ”

When Chen Bijun mentioned the premier's lesson, Wang Jingwei nodded thoughtfully, and the couple often exchanged views in private, and came to the conclusion that the biggest lesson of the premier's unsuccessful revolution was that he did not have a loyal army in his hands.

"Do you think that Zhuang Jihua can do it?" Chen Bijun asked.

"The talent is very talented, and the others need to be observed." Wang Jingwei replied.

"You don't need to hang yourself from a tree, how about that Wang Dongcheng (that is, Wang Maogong)? If you can, take this opportunity to lift him up and show him kindness. ”

"Good idea, my lady, you're really a good helper for me." Wang Jingwei laughed.

However, Wang Jingwei forgot that the literati who meddled in the army in troubled times often surprised them when the world was peaceful.

Chiang Kai-shek Wang Jingwei took the opportunity to force Xu Chongzhi to remove Liang Hongkai, the commander of the First Army, and was replaced by Li Jishen, and then arrested Liang Hongkai, Yang Jinlong, Zhang Guozhen, and Liang Shixue, and Wei Bangping fled Hong Kong when he saw that things were not good.

After Li Jishen took over the post of commander of the First Army, he immediately announced the reorganization of the Third Division of the Cantonese Army of Wei Bangping, Yang Jinlong's brigade, and all the officers were dismissed, and some of the soldiers were incorporated into his own troops, and the other part was handed over to the expanding party army, on which Chiang Kai-shek established the Sixth Regiment. Zhang Guozhen South Road, the post of commander-in-chief of the eight subordinates of the suppression of Fufu was succeeded by Chen Mingshu. The first phase of the battle was completely won.

It was time to give Xu Chongzhi the final blow, but Zhuang Jihua and Chiang Kai-shek had a disagreement on the way of the final blow. Zhuang Jihua's idea was to remove Xu Chongzhi through the Military Commission, but Chiang Kai-shek thought that time was running out, Xu Chongzhi's descendants were led by Xu Ji and Mo Xiong to garrison Dongguan, and Tan Shuqing's brigade and Wei Lihuang's regiment in Guangzhou had been rebelled, so Xu Chongzhi was actually alone in Guangzhou.

"In this case, the principal must persuade Wang Jingwei to agree to remove Xu Chongzhi from military power." After knowing that Chiang Kai-shek was determined to solve Xu Chongzhi by force, Zhuang Jihua no longer insisted, but only suggested that Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei be consistent, and he also understood these days that Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek had reached a tacit understanding, and both wanted to get rid of Hu Hanmin and Xu Chongzhi.

"Chairman Wang will agree." Chiang Kai-shek didn't care, and after a while, he asked a little strangely: "Cultural Revolution, why do you have to go through the consent of the Military Committee or Chairman Wang for everything?" ”

"The military must act legally." Zhuang Jihua said worriedly: "I'm worried that the principal likes to use force to solve problems, but in fact, solving problems by force seems to be very direct and efficient, but in fact, it is useless; Force only destroys the problem temporarily, and over time, the same problem will recur. So I hope that the principal will set an example for all military personnel. ”

Chiang Kai-shek was very surprised, he did not clear why Zhuang Jihua said this, and he also felt that Zhuang Jihua seemed to have reservations and did not say it thoroughly; Of course, Zhuang Jihua did not explain it thoroughly, and he did not dare to say it thoroughly, this is already the maximum he can express, Zhongshan Ship, 4.12 are Chiang Kai-shek's unauthorized use of force in disregard of the Supreme Committee, the former allowed Chiang Kai-shek to ascend to the supreme leadership of the Kuomintang, the latter was the failure of the Great Revolution in the morning, and the central authority of the Kuomintang was lost, and after that, Chiang Kai-shek was superstitious to solve it by force until he was defeated and left the mainland, but he never succeeded again.

In early September, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Zhuang Jihua to lead a new regiment to surround Xu Chongzhi's mansion, and on the same day, He Yingqin led the party army to surround Xu Ji's division and Mo Xiong's division in Dongguan. Mo Xiong's division was stationed on the Guangjiu Parallel, and the troops were relatively scattered, so Mo Xiong hurriedly led a regiment stationed in Zhangmutou and a regiment stationed in Tamsui, fled into Huizhou, and joined Chen Jiongming's troops.

After Xu Chongzhi received the report that the mansion was surrounded, he was stunned for a while, he didn't expect Chiang Kai-shek to attack him, he thought that Chiang Kai-shek was just heartbroken Liao Zhongkai's death, and he had to investigate it thoroughly, he handed over Liang Hongkai and others thought that the matter would pass like this, but he didn't expect Chiang Kai-shek to kill them all. He immediately thought that Xu Ji and Mo Xiong in Dongguan were afraid that they would be more auspicious and less auspicious, and Chiang Kai-shek would never let them go, and Tan Shuqing and Wei Lihuang in the city might not be reliable.

Looking at the busy guards in the courtyard, Xu Chongzhi seemed to return to the battlefield of artillery fire and smoke, and his blood flowed back to the backyard, and then ordered to open the door of the mansion, and he changed into civilian clothes, sat in front of the living room with a chair and smoked a cigarette indifferently, and after a while, there was a shout outside the door.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot."

He nodded, and the captain of the guard ran to the door with a pistol that turned on the nose and shouted, "Come here." ”

Zhuang Jihua and Fang Jing, the battalion commander of Wei Lihuang's regiment, walked into Xu Chongzhi's mansion together, and their mission was to persuade Xu Chongzhi to admit the reality and accept Chiang Kai-shek's arrangement.

"Say, what did Chiang Kai-shek say?" Xu Chongzhi asked straightforwardly.

"Commander Xu, the outside is already surrounded by party troops, and there is no point in resisting by force." Fang Jing looked at the murderous officers and soldiers around him and persuaded him.

Xu Chongzhi ignored him, he looked at Fang Jing with disdain: "How much money did Chiang Kai-shek give Wei Lihuang?" Are you still my subordinate? ”

Fang Jing's face was red, and he didn't know how to answer.

"Not a penny." Zhuang Jihua replied steadily, as if he didn't see the muzzle of the gun pointed at him: "Commander Wei and Battalion Commander Fang are just carrying out the orders of the Military Commission. ”

"Military councils? Hmph, I'm a member of the Military Commission, and I don't know what the Military Council has decided! Xu Chongzhi sneered.

"Because this matter is related to Commander Xu, Commander Xu must avoid it." Zhuang Jihua said lightly: "Commander Xu, the military committee has received information that the Guangdong army is unstable, and the troops outside are here to protect your safety." ”

"Keeping me safe? I have guards and I don't need them to protect me. Xu Chongzhi said coldly.

"Your guards are going to be transferred out of the mansion," Zhuang Jihua was very calm: "Open the skylight and say something bright, the military committee is discussing the disposal of you, in this extraordinary period, in order to avoid chaos, the guards must be transferred, of course you can leave a few cronies and guards." Also, the principal has a letter for you. ”

After speaking, Zhuang Jihua took out Chiang Kai-shek's letter from his pocket and handed it to the chief guard beside him, who took the letter, ran up the steps, and handed it to Xu Chongzhi.

After reading the letter, Xu Chongzhi did not speak, but thought silently for a while and said: "You go back, connect the telephone line in my house, if there is anything, I will tell Chiang Kai-shek myself." ”

"Yes," Zhuang Jihua and Fang Jing saluted Xu Chongzhi and turned to leave the Xu Mansion.

That night, Xu Chongzhi's cronies Guan Dao, chief of the Quartermaster Division of the Guangdong Army Headquarters, Li Jihong, director of the Guangdong Department of Finance, Jiang Weihua, secretary general of the Guangdong Army Headquarters and director of the Guangdong Shatian Cleanup Division, and Zhao Guizhang, commander of the Navy, were all arrested, and Xu Chongzhi's power in Guangdong collapsed.

Five days later, Xu Chongzhi, accompanied by Chen Mingshu, boarded a ship to Shanghai, and since then he has been separated from the Chinese and political circles.

Chiang Kai-shek also established the Third Division with Tan Shuqing's brigade as the core, and in addition to the original Tan Shuqing brigade, the rest of the divisions were adapted from Xu Ji's division and Mo Xiong's division. Wei Lihuang's regiment was incorporated into the battle sequence of the party army.

(To be continued)