The reason why Xiao Yimin had to wait for 15 days before sending troops was that in addition to the cumbersome pre-war preparations and public opinion mobilization, the biggest reason was that he adopted the overall battle plan of Chief of Staff Bao Jiqing, and the first step of the plan was: If you want to go outside, you must first settle inside!

Although Xiao Yimin has a solid foundation among the cultural, business, and ordinary people, he still needs to win more allies among the scattered provincial government officials in order to firmly grasp the initiative and gain the support and refuge of the majority of interest groups.

In this way, it will inevitably take time to buy and win over, and it will also be necessary to make appropriate concessions and compromises on certain interests, and even make necessary promises.

For example, Xiao Yimin's faction secretly united with the faction of Zeng Shousong, a representative of Chengdu's business circles, who had common interests, and joined hands to put Dong Xiuwu, the finance minister representing the interests of Yucheng's industrial and commercial circles, into the position of speaker of the provincial assembly in one fell swoop, in exchange for Xiao Yimin's confidant Kuang Youmin, vice minister of finance, to be promoted to minister of finance, and Zeng Shousong was also promoted from an ordinary councillor to vice minister of finance.

From ancient times to the present, the Chinese have always paid attention to "being famous in their divisions," and it is indispensable to prepare public opinion before the war.

Over the past month, the mainstream newspapers in Sichuan, such as the West China Times and the Bashu Business Daily, have never ceased to denounce the Yunnan army's invasion and occupation of southern Sichuan.

Nowadays, the disgust and hatred of people from all walks of life in Sichuan towards the Yunnan army is much higher than that of the rebels in the Sichuan-Kang theater.

Driven by overwhelming public opinion, hundreds of young and middle-aged people rushed to Chengdu from all over Sichuan to enthusiastically join the border army under Xiao Yimin's command, including many aspiring young people from schools in Yucheng, Wanxian, Neijiang, Syria, Luzhou, Ya'an, and northern Sichuan.

After discussing with Chief of Staff Bao Jiqing and his subordinate generals, he quickly organized more than 750 young students into a regiment and established the "Sichuan Frontier Army Teaching Regiment" directly under the command of the headquarters.

At the inauguration ceremony of the teaching regiment, Xiao Yimin personally went among the officers and men to greet the cold and warmth, and when the review was over, he ascended to the high platform and delivered an exciting lecture. He encouraged all the officers and men of the regiment to establish a firm conviction that the interests of the country and the nation are above all else, and to ensure that military orders are like mountains and that they train hard.

"At the end of the three-month training, those who pass the examination will be able to enter the Sichuan Army Military Academy, which is under construction, to receive formal modern military education. At the end of the study period, graduates with excellent grades in various subjects will be given the opportunity to continue their studies in German higher military academies, and the number of them is not limited. ”

From that day on, more than 700 young intellectuals who were extremely excited put on brand-new military uniforms, picked up brand-new German-style rifles, sweated like rain on the battlefield, and roared like thunder -- the glorious future pointed out by Commander Xiao, the strict military discipline and generous treatment of the border army, and the sense of superiority and arrogance of contempt for everything naturally on the faces of the officers and men have deeply stimulated the self-esteem and arrogance of the young students, and strengthened their determination to forge ahead.

From late May to early June alone, the border armies in Chengdu and Ya'an recruited more than 7,800 new frontier soldiers, and this figure was the result of careful selection.

Every day, hundreds of unsuccessful candidates gather outside the gate of the Chengdu North School to plead, telling them and their families' bitter hatred for the Yunnan army entrenched in southern Sichuan, and many even knelt on the ground, crying and begging to enlist in the army.

The officers and soldiers of the guard regiment on duty tried their best to saliva, and the officers at all levels took turns to appease them, but they still couldn't let these people leave, and finally had to report to Xiao Yimin.

Where is there any good way for Xiao Yimin, who is so busy that his feet don't touch the ground? shook his hand and pushed the matter onto Chief of Staff Bao Jiqing, threw down the sentence "It's really not okay to send them travel expenses to let them go home", and immediately went to the provincial capital to attend the pre-war logistics meeting.

Faced with the helpless officers and soldiers of the guard regiment and the black oppressive supplicants outside the gate, Bao Jiqing suddenly remembered the new strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare that he had learned from his casual conversation with Xiao Yimin, and immediately summoned the head of the guard regiment, Zheng Yi, and Xie Changming, the deputy chief of the staff office in charge of recruitment and training, to secretly discuss countermeasures.

Five days later, more than 1,000 unsuccessful young men who had received a short training formed 45 "special advance teams" to quietly leave Chengdu and sneak back to various counties in southern Sichuan, carrying more than 1,000 pistols of various types and silver dollars from the border army.

Bao Jiqing, chief of staff of the border army, who gave a lecture to the "special advance team" and made clear demands, also quietly left Chengdu and secretly rushed to Ya'an, and the battle plan for the Sichuan-Yunnan battle was officially launched.

On the afternoon of 15 June, the military-political conference, which had been delayed again and again, was finally convened.

More than 30 military and political dignitaries, including Hu Jingyi, the new governor of Sichuan, Dong Xiuwu, speaker of the National Assembly, Xiao Yimin, minister of military affairs and commander-in-chief of the border army, and Zhou Jun, chief and deputy minister of various departments of the provincial government, major general and commander of the first division of the new army, Peng Guanglie, commander of the second division, Sun Zhaoluan, commander of the new third division, and Liu Cunhou, commander of the fourth division, attended the meeting.

Among them, Sun Zhaoluan, the commander of the Third Division, was recommended by Xiao Yimin, and the provincial government and the commanders of all divisions in the army unanimously agreed to go out of the mountains again to reorganize the Third Division.

Xiong Kewu, lieutenant general and division commander of the Fifth Division stationed in Yucheng, did not attend the meeting, and the Fifth Division, which has a complex composition and is full of factions, has not yet recognized Hu Jingyi's position as commander-in-chief, and has also refused to recognize the newly formed provincial political axe.

In the spacious conference hall of the Governor's Palace, the Governor Hu Jingyi, who had just sat down, was very majestic, because he secretly reached a deal with Xiao Yimin, Hu Jingyi successfully won the support of more than half of the provincial council and the military, he was full of energy and confidence at the moment, and he was quite a bit of a charm of looking forward to self-pride.

When the personnel arrived, Hu Jingyi nodded with a smile, and just said a few opening remarks, Liu Cunhou, the commander of the Fourth Division, had already stood up first, slammed a pile of new newspapers in his hand on the table, sank his face, stared at Minister of State Shao Congen and asked:

"Minister Shao, what does this mean? Why did all the newspapers in Chengdu attack the officers and men of our division for two days in a row, and slandered them so much? What do you want to do? ”

Everyone was surprised, the look of annoyance in Hu Jingyi's eyes flashed, and he quickly squeezed out a smile, comforted Liu Cunhou a few words without pain, and finally earnestly asked Liu Cunhou's subordinates to strengthen military discipline, and officers at all levels should properly control their officers and soldiers.

Minister of State Shao Congen changed his image to be timid and afraid, leaned on a high-backed soft chair, and unceremoniously replied to Liu Cunhou:

"Division Commander Liu, since your Fourth Division was stationed in Chengdu, it has not been settled, and there have been endless incidents of forced buying, selling, and beating of the people, and the provincial government and the Chengdu Municipal Government have received no less than 100 complaints from the people, among which there have been as many as forty or fifty incidents of public indignation, such as three times your subordinates openly broke into the house and forcibly annihilated the people's daughters, and more than ten times smashed the legal records and the Shaanxi Guild Hall, etc., and hundreds of people were victimized.

"What's more, your soldiers also beat up the policemen who were ordered to go to your department to handle the case, causing more than ten policemen to be injured to varying degrees, and there are still two policemen lying in the hospital, and the impact is extremely bad! Master Liu, don't you know all this? Could it be that after people from all walks of life have been beaten and humiliated, they don't even have the right to redress their grievances? ”

"Humph! You are taking revenge and ostracizing! If it weren't for the fact that all the newspapers in Chengdu lashed out at the Yunnan army for dozens of days in a row and wantonly expanded the hatred between the two provinces, would my officers and soldiers have had such a big reaction? Accusing us of lax military discipline, I would like to ask, which department stationed inside and outside Chengdu dares to say that it has good military discipline? Which one dares to say that his officers and soldiers do not engage in prostitution, smoke big cigarettes, or gamble money? Why did it target our Fourth Division? Liu Cunhou relentlessly launched a counterattack.

The generals who wanted to make peace shut up one after another, but only Sun Zhaoluan, the commander of the Third Division, said unhurriedly:

"Military discipline is not nothing, Commander Xiao's border army is doing very well, after I came back, I often see that the people on the street like to greet the border army, walking on the street border officers and soldiers are very consciously two people in a row of three in a row, strict military discipline Mingqiu has not committed any crimes, deeply supported by the people, worthy of our departments to learn well!"

Liu Cunhou was so angry that his straight nose turned red, he snorted angrily, sat down heavily, no longer looked at anyone, and didn't know what he was thinking, but all the generals understood that Sun Zhaoluan had taken refuge in Xiao Yimin, so everyone quickly calculated in their hearts.

Hu Jingyi saw the unruly Liu Cunhou deflated, and his heart floated with a burst of happiness, he made a haha to attract everyone's attention, and began to explain the content, purpose and great significance of this meeting, and then put down the manuscript and looked at Zhou Jun, the commander of the first division, with a smile:

"Division Commander Zhou, the first division and the various units of the Yunnan army that occupied southern Sichuan have been facing off for more than half a year, and tens of millions of people are waiting for it, and Yuan Dashuai has strictly ordered the Yunnan army to withdraw from Sichuan twenty days ago, and our Sichuan army will take over all parts of southern Sichuan, why don't your troops take action? Are there any practical difficulties? ”

Zhou Jun does have countless difficulties, although his first division has 6,000 soldiers, fully equipped, strong and strong, and is currently the strongest main division except for the border army, but Yin Changheng did not dare to forcibly expel the brave 16,000 Dian army when he was in power, and could only plead for mediation in a low voice. In case the fight is lost, this division commander will also come to an end!

Yin Changheng, who was demoted to Chuankang to quell the rebellion, had the grace of knowing him Zhou Jun, but Hu Jingyi, who secretly defected to Yuan Shikai and betrayed Yin Changheng, came from behind. Hu Jingyi has been at odds with Yin Changheng, who has been a classmate and a sibling for several years, and Yin Changheng can only stand aside even if he comes back later, and Hu Jingyi secretly wooed him Zhou Jun and the first division in every possible way, making Zhou Jun in a dilemma, and it is difficult to choose, so he has been hesitating and unwilling to even make a gesture.

At this moment, in the face of Hu Jingyi's meaningful inquiry, and in the face of a pair of eyes with complex meanings, it was difficult for Zhou Jun to hesitate, so he could only stand up and express his position:

"Back to the governor, his subordinates are short of soldiers and limited in ability, and it is difficult to support them alone, and they are really unable to take on a big responsibility. I hope that the governor will choose another meritorious, conform to the will of the people, and go south, and his subordinates will cooperate closely, listen to the announcement, and do their best to recover the lost territory as soon as possible, so as to comfort the fathers and elders in Sichuan! ”

Hu Jingyi nodded slightly, knowing that Zhou Jun's position had been loosened, and as long as he worked harder, he would definitely be able to bring him under his command, so he turned to Speaker Dong Xiuwu with great satisfaction.

Dong Xiuwu lifted his glasses, picked up the document, and announced loudly:

"On the recommendation of General Hudu Governor Jingyi, the provincial council unanimously agreed, and General Xiao Yimin, Minister of Military Affairs, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, leading all divisions of the New Army and all units of the border army to move south, expel the Yunnan army, and protect the territory and the people.

"The provincial political axe and the ministries of government affairs, finance, transportation and other ministries will cooperate closely to ensure the logistics supply of our army! Now, I would like to invite Commander-in-Chief Xiao to speak. ”

There was no applause, no cheers, just hostility and suspicion.

Xiao Yimin stood up calmly:

"Thanks to the trust of the Metropolitan Governor, the provincial government and the parliament, Xiao Yimin will go all out and work with all departments of our army to expel the barbarian invaders as quickly as possible! The following is my overall battle plan, and I sincerely ask the Metropolitan Governor and all colleagues to review and approve it. ”

Xiao Yimin glanced at everyone's expressions, picked up the plan, and read it out loud:

"In this expedition, the main forces were the First Division, the Fourth Division of the Army, and the Second Mixed Brigade of the Border Army, with a total strength of more than 17,000 people; Since Yin Changheng withdrew the main forces of two regiments from the Third Division before the Western Expedition, the Third Division of the Army, which was reorganized by General Sun Zhaoluan, was seriously short of soldiers, so it could only stay in the East Campus Barracks and continue to recruit soldiers and carry out training and ......."

"I'm sorry! Our division is also in short supply, and it is really difficult to take on the big responsibility, so I implore the Metropolitan Governor and Commander-in-Chief Xiao to choose another meritocracy! ”

Liu Cunhou loudly interrupted Xiao Yimin's arrangement, and sat there looking at the ceiling with a big grin, and the harmonious relationship with Xiao Yimin broke down.

Where is the powerful Xiao Yimin is a fuel-efficient lamp? What's more, most of the generals present here are twenty-seven or eighteen years old, at most in their thirties, Liu Cunhou, who has followed Chen Eun to Yunnan as an official since he returned from studying abroad, has not been recognized by everyone, and Liu Cunhou's unscrupulous interruption is completely disrespectful to Xiao Yimin.

Everyone can see that all the friendships between Xiao Yimin and Liu Cunhou may disappear suddenly because of Liu Cunhou's words, and I don't know how the two will get along in the future?

The generals and civil officials present all know that Liu Cunhou has the support of the powerful Yunnan Army and the Yunnan Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Yunnan Army, Cai Yi, otherwise, Liu Cunhou, the battalion commander who has been serving in the Yunnan Army, will not be able to lead two regiments of the Yunnan Army back to fight for power and profit, and now Liu Cunhou is clearly not going to obey Xiao Yimin's orders, and the gesture he made is undoubtedly to tell everyone: no one can do anything with him, the 4,000 troops in his hands are to be stationed in Chengdu, and he will not go anywhere!

To everyone's surprise, the young and vigorous Xiao Yimin actually compromised!

Xiao Yimin glanced at Liu Cunhou coldly, and then said loudly:

"In this case, the rear guard depends on General Sun's third division, and I declare: the first division that has been stationed on the Leshan front line is the right flank, General Peng's second division is the left flank, and the second mixed brigade and two regiments of the border army are the middle road; At nine o'clock in the morning after the third day, the second division and the border army troops participating in the battle gathered in the eastern suburbs of the camp to hold a grand swearing-in ceremony. ”

Hu Jingyi and Dong Xiuwu took the lead in applauding, and Finance Minister Kuang Youmin loudly said that he would immediately distribute military salaries to the soldiers on the expedition.

Governor Hu Jingyi once again emphasized the important surname of one heart and one mind, and Dong Xiuwu also added a few words, and announced the adjournment of the meeting after seeing that no one raised objections.

Xiao Yimin still had a humble smile on his face, and took the initiative to go to greet Zhou Jun and Peng Guanglie, and asked kindly if there was any difficulty?

Zhou Jun tightened his face to deal with two sentences, the upright Peng Guanglie proposed that there was a lack of ammunition, and Xiao Yimin immediately ordered Zheng Changze, the adjutant behind him, to write down and send 800,000 rounds of ammunition to the camp in the eastern suburbs within 24 hours, which made Peng Guanglie quite moved.

After saying goodbye to each other, Xiao Yimin did not return directly to the barracks or home, but went to the "first floor of Bashu" next to the drum tower to set up two tables of banquets, and toasted with the celebrities and capitalists in the Sichuan cultural circles.

Just when everyone thought that things would not change, an iron-blooded killing operation that was about to shock the whole country was quietly unfolding in an orderly manner.

(To be continued)