On the morning of 16 December, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, who were far away in Guilin, Guangxi, also received a letter from Liu Yimin, commander of the Central Red Army Guard Division, sent by telegram from Xia Wei, commander of the 15 th Army on the Guibei Front.

The letter reads:

"General Delin and General Jiansheng:

The two generals held high the banner of righteousness, contained the scattered weak brigades, confronted the warlords, and completed the great cause of unifying Guangxi with the strong support of the Guangzhou revolutionary political axe founded by the former premier Mr. Sun Yat-sen. Later, he sent troops to the north twice until the Shanhai Pass. Meritorious deeds, brilliant in the annals of history.

In the Northern Expedition, [***] people cooperated with the two generals seamlessly, charging into battle, shedding blood and sacrificing, and the two generals are still unforgettable.

However, after Chiang Kai-shek betrayed the revolution, the two generals followed suit, completely forgetting the original intention of the revolution, and waved the butcher's knife against the [***] people together with Chiang, and degenerated from the pawns of the original revolutionary army to warlords seeking their own selfish interests, and then there was the defeat of the Chiang-Gui War and the Central Plains War. The past is gone, and it is embarrassing to think about it so far!

Today, it is said that Kou occupies the northeast of China, and 30 million people have fallen into the hands of the enemy. The main force of our Red Army conformed to the general trend of national reading power and went north to resist. The two generals held the elite in their hands, and did not want to drive the battlefield to resist the war and save the nation from peril, but instead besieged the Red Army fighters who went north to resist the war with aircraft and artillery, and the battle of the Xiangjiang River made the blood of the Red Army fighters of the elite of our nation stain the water. Is it the work of a wise man that such things are painful to relatives and happy to be enemies? I don't know what future generations will say about what the two generals have done today. Han Jianhu? Accomplice? Or is it something else?

In the battles of Xinwei and Gulingtou, the artillery of the Seventh Army and the two regiments of the 24th Division of your army were killed at our hands. Under the invasion of the Kou, our army really does not want to see this incident of fighting in the same room and from the same root happen again. Therefore, on behalf of the Central Guard Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, I discussed with the two generals the following three matters:

1. Your army shall no longer pursue our army. If the two generals insist on entering the Guizhou realm to form an alliance to protect themselves, the strikers are not allowed to enter within 200 miles of our army's rearguard. Otherwise, the two generals will bear all the consequences.

2. The soldiers of our Red Army captured by your army in the Battle of Xiangjiang are anti-Japanese soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the whole nation, and I hope to hand them over to our army.

Our army marched north to resist the war in order to fight for freedom and reading power for the whole nation. The funds, weapons, and ammunition required by our army should be borne by the whole nation. Guangxi is part of China's territory and should be the first to respond. It can provide 300,000 yuan in advance, 50 heavy machine guns, 100 light machine guns, 3,000 79 rifles, 5,000 75 mountain artillery shells, 10,000 60 mortar shells, 30,000 heavy machine gun shells, 100,000 79 bullets, and 500 mules and horses with complete saddles. The two generals have benefited a lot from the opium tax that harms the country and the people, so they won't be poor and give up, right?

If the two generals agree to the above three things, they must deliver our personnel, money, and ammunition to Yatoubao, which your army occupied in the former county, before 5 p.m. on the 17th.

If the two generals disagree with the above three things and insist on pursuing, please think twice about the lessons of the 24th Division.

Our division now serves as the rear guard of the main force of the Red Army, and has the right of mobile operations granted by the Red Army Headquarters. Lu Wen Bai Gongzi's mother is gentle and elegant, and she is quite skilled in cooking. I often think that if General Jiansheng gives a banquet in Nanning, it will also be regarded as fulfilling a long-cherished wish of his life. However, I am not responsible for the reasons caused by the Central Army's large-scale entry into Guizhou in pursuit of our army.

It is often heard that General Delin and General Jiansheng are the military masters of the world, and they secretly think that there is nothing to fight in the civil war.

I am very eager to join hands with the two generals to fight for the reading power of the nation and the liberation of China.

Best wishes for the Good Don Hour!

Liu Yimin, commander of the Central Reading Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, said on December 14, 1034

After reading the letter, there was a dead silence in the room, and Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, and Liu Fei were speechless.

After a while, Bai Chongxi laughed angrily: "Haha, something that came out of nowhere that I don't know whether to live or die, the bamboo pole actually knocked on our heads, and I really pinched my Bagui disciples as soft persimmons!" ”

Li Zongren picked up the tea on the table, took a sip, and said slowly: "Jiansheng, don't say it, although this guy is childish and cute, what he said is not completely unreasonable, a bit of the posture that we were not afraid of the sky and the earth back then?" ”

Liu Fei, a think tank in the Gui department, received: "Degong and Jiangong, Chiang Kai-shek is killing three birds with one stone, and we can only compete with Chiang Kai-shek by uniting with Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guangdong." If the Red Army really went north to resist, it would be easy to say anything. However, if the Red Army moved into the province, it would really give Chiang Kai-shek an excuse to enter Guizhou to suppress the bandits, and at that time, I am afraid that the situation would be even more complicated. ”

Bai Chongxi pondered for a while and said: "The main force of the Red Army will not come, and entering Guigui is a dead end. But it's hard to say whether such an inexplicable and unreasonable guy will get into Gui. If the pursuit of the army is too hasty, it is difficult to say whether this guy will make a plan to move the tide eastward. After all, our army is limited in numbers, and no matter how tight the defense line is, there will be gaps. However, if this guy dares to enter Guangxi, with our strict militia system in Guangxi, he can have nothing to hide, and he will not be able to escape. ”

Li Zongren suddenly asked, "Jiansheng, how does this guy know that your wife is a good cook?" ”

Bai Chongxi's face was a little twisted, and he said: "Didn't he say it in the letter, it's a road hearsay, it's hearsay." ”

Li Zongren sighed and said: "We don't know anything about our opponents, and our opponents seem to know us well, and such enemies are the most dangerous. Fortunately, Jiansheng saw the opportunity quickly and acted quickly. Otherwise, I think Wei Yunsong's 43rd Division may have already fallen into the tiger's mouth. Strange, when did the Red Army come out with such a figure? Liu Yimin, have you heard of this person? ”

Bai Chongxi and Liu Fei both shook their heads. Li Zongren also said: "This person's argument is quite fair, and he also has a very high opinion of our great cause of the Northern Expedition. Think about the move of following Lao Jiang to figure out the party, it is indeed not bright, sorry friends. Compared with [***] people, Jiang is really much more insidious. ”

The three of them fell into deep thought again.

Liu Fei saw that there was no way to go on, so he boldly asked: "Duke De, Duke Jian, how to deal with this letter?" ”

Bai Chongxi raised his eyebrows: "How to deal with it?" Put something to the side! Joke, how can my tens of thousands of elite soldiers be blackmailed by a small division commander of the red bandits? ”

Liu Fei asked again: "Then does the deployment of our army still need to be adjusted?" If the Red Army enters Guizhou and the Central Army also enters Guizhou to pursue and suppress it, will our previous plan be carried out? ”

Bai Chongxi sighed: "Please make a decision with your neighbors!" ”

Li Zongren took a sip of tea, began to pace slowly in the room, and finally stood still. opened his mouth and said: "Jiansheng, I have an idea, you can consider it, if it is inappropriate, we will discuss it again." From this letter, such information was revealed, that is, the main force of the Red Army had entered Guizhou. It is estimated that we will receive a telegram from Wang Jialie for help soon. However, we must have a clear order from the central authorities to enter Guizhou, and I am afraid that Chairman Chiang will not let us enter Guizhou at will, and he will drive the central army to quickly enter Guizhou and seize power in Guizhou in the name of suppressing bandits. In order to prevent this unfavorable situation, we must also go to Guizhou to show solidarity with Wang Jialie. How do you unravel this knot? Just now I suddenly had an idea, this Liu Yimin dares to blackmail us, why can't we use him as a gunman? You two think about it, He Jian is not coming out, we have shrunk the defensive line, then only the Central Army is pursuing the Red Army behind. This situation [***], Zhu De will not be able to see it. If the Central Army had ventured forward, would it have become the first bird to be beaten by the Red Army? Joining the Red Army can make the Central Army suffer a big loss, and Lao Jiang had no choice but to let us send troops to support, so wouldn't it be logical for us to join Guizhou? Do you think about it? ”

Bai Chongxi bowed slightly, and Liu Fei said: "Degong's inference is indeed wonderful. ”

Li Zongren continued: "Let's talk about this guard division that suddenly appeared, it should be a newly established unit of the Red Army, and it is estimated that it will be used as a partial division of the Red Army, and the purpose is to contain the pursuing armies from all directions. It is very likely that He Jian's three divisions were eaten by this department one after another. So this Liu Yimin is very crazy, reading between the lines, pointing out the country and the country, and whether he is a character. However, it can also be seen from it that this son is not a thing in the pool, he will not be willing to be lonely, and we can't despise him. So, what's next for him? I don't think he will enter Gui now, because after our army shrinks to northern Guibei, it is basically invulnerable, and he will not come to touch the mold. But if we now enter Guizhou with all our troops to actively pursue and suppress the Red Army, he will certainly take advantage of the situation. In that case, we are very likely to suffer a big loss, and even let Lao Jiang take advantage of the situation, causing an unimaginable situation. We are like this, and He Jian is estimated to be guarding the gate tightly, and even reached a secret agreement with the Red Army. You know, if this Liu Yimin can blackmail us, I'm afraid he has already blackmailed He Jian. Except for us and He Jian, there is only the Central Army, and this Liu Yimin will definitely set a trap for the Central Army to jump. ”

Seeing that Bai Chongxi and Liu Fei were both listening very seriously, Li Zongren took a sip of tea and continued: "Instead of us confronting Lao Jiang, it is better to let the Red Army beat Lao Jiang hard, and weakening Lao Jiang is equivalent to helping us." Therefore, money, weapons and ammunition are nothing, and they can even be given more, so that the Red Army can have more confidence to fight and attack more fiercely, so that Lao Chiang can suffer greater losses. As for the Red Army prisoners, they were basically peasants who had just laid down their hoes, and they were veritable recruits, who were not of much use. If he wants, he will pick some good health for him, and the rest of the old and weak will be handed over to the chairman of the committee. ”

After Li Zongren finished speaking, he picked up the teacup and tasted tea again.

Bai Chongxi thought for a while and said: "Delin's analysis is reasonable, whether the Red Army fights Lao Chiang, or Lao Chiang fights the Red Army, we are happy to see it. It's better to lose both sides and we can pick up the pieces. The only thing that is not happy is that Liu Yimin dares to come to the door to blackmail, when there is a chance, I must teach him a good lesson, so that he knows the retribution of bullying people! ”

Seeing that Li Zongren was already pursing his lips and smiling, Bai Chongxi also felt that it was funny to talk angrily, so he said to Liu Fei: "For Zhang, you will work hard, and follow the arrangement of Delin." ”

Liu Fei went out, and only Li and Bai were left in the room. The adjutant retreated after adding tea, and the only sound of tea and laughter seemed to be left in the room.

Jianhe County, formerly known as Qingjiang County, was renamed Jianhe County in the second year of the Republic of China, located in the central part of southeast Guizhou, adjacent to Tianzhu and Jinping County in the east, Liping and Rongjiang County in the south, Leishan and Taijiang County in the west, and Shibing, Zhenyuan and Sansui County in the north, which is the only way from Liping to the hinterland of Guizhou. Liuchuan Town, the county seat of governance, is built by the mountains and rivers.

On the afternoon of December 16, the 1st Division and 1st Regiment of the 1st Red Army arrived at Wuli Bridge in the east of the county seat.

Yang Dezhi, the commander of the Red First Regiment, and Li Lin, the political commissar of the Red First Regiment, who had crossed the Miao Ridge all the way and defeated the enemy's reactionary militia all the way, found that there were regular Guizhou troops stationed at Wuli Bridge, and the flag number should be the Seventh Regiment of the Zhou Fangren Brigade of the Guizhou Army. After further investigation, it was found that there were no other Qianjun troops nearby. What a chance! Let's take Qianjun to try the knife! Let's see if the Red Regiment, which has been replenished with weapons and ammunition in Liping, has sharper blades. Therefore, Yang Dezhi was determined to annihilate the enemy.

The combat order was issued, and 1,700 soldiers of the 1st Red Regiment attacked the enemy in three directions under the cover of machine guns. To Yang Dezhi's surprise, as soon as the charging troops came into contact with the enemy, the enemy collapsed, and they fled, not to mention any will to fight at all, it was almost the same as the militia group. This made Yang Dezhi, who was bent on taking the Qianjun test knife, feel that he had punched the broken cotton wool, and he couldn't use it forcefully, and he felt uncomfortable.

The commander of the first battalion, Sun Jixian, brought the soldiers over with the prisoners. Seeing the regiment commander and political commissar, Sun Jixian ran over and reported: "Report to the regiment commander and political commissar, after we launched an attack, the enemy began to break and flee, but fortunately we moved quickly, captured more than 700 prisoners, and captured more than 800 guns. It was an easy battle. ”

Yang Dezhi asked if the prisoners were interrogated? What is the enemy situation in Sword River?

Sun Jixian said: "I just interrogated a battalion commander, and according to him, there is only one regiment and some militia groups in Jianhe City. ”

Yang Dezhi said: "You brought that battalion commander here, I want to ask him." ”

Sun Jixian turned around and shouted: "Company commander, bring the commander of the Qianjun battalion who was interrogated just now, and the regiment commander will interrogate him personally." ”

After a while, the enemy battalion commander was escorted.

That guy is also smart, as soon as he saw Yang Dezhi and Li Lin standing there, with binoculars hanging around their necks, he knew that it was a senior officer of the Red Army, and he knelt on the ground with a plop, kowtowing and shouting to the commander to spare his life.

Yang Dezhi looked funny, and said, "Get up and answer my question honestly." ”

The enemy battalion commander did not dare to get up, and was still kowtowing like garlic. Sun Ji angrily lifted him up and yelled: "If you are told to get up, you will get up, there are no eggs!" Answer questions honestly, dare to be honest, shoot on the spot! ”

After the enemy battalion commander stood up, he hurriedly said: "Please ask the commander of the Red Army, I will answer honestly." ”

Yang Dezhi looked at the guy, he was thin and only had bones left, and his face was black and yellow, and he was probably a smoker. He said, "Report your troop number!" ”

The commander of the enemy battalion hurriedly stood up: "Report to the commander of the Red Army, my subordinate is the seventh regiment of the Zhou Fangren Division of the Fourth Brigade of the [***] 25th Army." ”

Yang Dezhi asked: "Which unit is the defenders of the Sword River?" How many people are there? ”

The commander of the enemy battalion replied: "Report to the commander of the Red Army, it is the eighth regiment of the Zhou brigade, about 2,000 people. There are also militia groups, about 500 people. However, the chief has to hurry up if he wants to fight the sword river, and if it's too late, I guess they'll run away. ”

Yang Dezhi smiled and asked, "How do you know they are going to run?" ”

The commander of the enemy battalion replied: "Report to the commander of the Red Army that the counties of Rongjiang, Jianhe, Taijiang, Sansui and Liping are stationed in total for the strength of these two regiments, and our regiment fled here from Liping a few days ago. As soon as the deserters of our regiment arrived in Jianhe County just now, they would definitely run together. ”

Yang Dezhi felt very strange, how could he only have such a small number of troops? Just asked: "What about Wang Jialie's main force?" ”

The enemy battalion commander was now open: "Report to the commander of the Red Army, Chairman Wang's main 15 regiments are still in Tongren, I heard that they are preparing to go to Jinping and Liping to intercept the Red Army on the orders of Chairman Chiang, but I didn't expect you to come so quickly." I heard that Commander Wang ordered Hou Zhidan's troops to deploy on the first line of Huangping and Shibing along the Wujiang River, and ordered Judah to send six regiments to deploy on the east side of the south bank of the Wujiang River. Commander Wang's own main force planned to deploy on the west side of the south bank of the Wujiang River, but now it's too late, you guys are coming too fast, and Commander Wang's main force can't come back. ”

As he was talking, the snot and saliva of the enemy battalion commander flowed out together, and it turned out that he was addicted to smoking.

The commander of the enemy battalion immediately spoke without a question: "Report and report to the commander of the Red Army, I have finished what I know, I beg you, open your grace, let me take a sip and have a good time." ”

Yang Dezhi waved his hand in disgust, and Sun Jixian slipped the guy away.

Yang Dezhi said to Li Lin: "Political commissar, the soldiers are fast, we will immediately lead the troops to capture the county seat of Jianhe, and leave a company to escort the prisoners and captured weapons, what do you think." ”

Li Lin said two words: "Agreed." ”

The troops quickly gathered and headed straight for the county seat.

As the name suggests, Wuli Bridge is five miles away from the county seat. The distance was short, and the iron feet of the Red Army fighters were fast. But no matter how fast it is, it can't catch up with the speed of the Qianjun escaping. When the Red Regiment ran to the edge of the county seat, it was seen through the binoculars that the Qianjun army in the city had begun to flee out of the West Gate.

Yang Dezhi hurriedly ordered the siege of the city, but the Qian army at the east gate of the city did not fire a few shots and ran away. When the Red Army soldiers entered the county seat, it was almost an empty city.

Sitting on the chair of the county magistrate of Jianhe, recalling the vicious and tough battles with the Central Army, the Jiangxi Army, the Guangdong Army, the Hunan Army, and the Gui Army since joining the Red Army, Yang Dezhi called the telegraph operator and began to dictate the telegram:

"Division Commander: On the afternoon of December 16, our unit encountered the 7th Regiment of Zhou Fangren's Division of the 4th Brigade of the enemy's Guizhou Army at the Wuli Bridge of the Jianhe River, and then defeated the enemy, captured more than 700 people, and surrendered more than 800 guns. After interrogating the prisoners, it was learned that the Eighth Regiment of the Guizhou Army and the reactionary militia were stationed in Jianhe County, and our regiment immediately marched in a hurry to prepare to storm Jianhe County. Unexpectedly, when our troops arrived at the county seat, the enemy had begun to break and flee, and our regiment immediately occupied the county seat of Jianhe. ”

"From the confession of the prisoners, it is known that the main force of Wang Jialie's 25th Army is still on the front line of Tongren and Jinping, and there are almost no soldiers in front of the stage, Sansui and Rongjiang. According to the observation of the battle, the Guizhou army had a weak will to fight, and could not be compared with the Hunan army and the Gui army. Yang Dezhi and Li Lin, the leaders of the Red First Regiment. ”

(To be continued)