The wind was bitterly cold and the dust was flying.

More than 100,000 victims of the disaster in northern Shaanxi, who had suffered from the double blow of famine and war, gathered in Ankang County, southern Shaanxi, with a total population of only 50,000 people, ate up the bark and grass roots within a radius of 20 miles, and began to dig Guanyin soil everywhere.

On the fourteenth day of the lunar month and the fifteenth day of the first month of the new calendar, with the frightened shouts of the defenders at the head of the city, the millions of victims outside the city were frightened and restless, and the desperate cries gradually sounded into one.

The sound of horses' hooves like thunder was getting closer and closer, and the dust and smoke from the fierce north wind were surging upward, and thousands of cavalry finally appeared in the gray fields to the south, and were rushing towards the county seat at high speed.

"Don't shoot! Brethren, don't shoot! It's the Sichuan Army, it's our Sichuan Army! Brothers, there is a ...... saved," shouted the bearded commander of the garrison at the south gate, and with a few battalion commanders and adjutants, he stumbled down the tower.

"Phew—"

The first three cavalrymen stopped their advance about fifty meters from the south gate, and the officer in the center raised his hand and made a stop gesture.

The thousands of cavalrymen who were in the dust stopped one after another, lined up neatly behind the three commanders, looking at the countless victims and corpses trembling in the cold wind, and sighed for a while.

Before the city gate was half opened, dozens of garrison officers rushed out of the city, and the head of the garrison ran to the three cavalry officers, and after seeing the appearance of the comer, he suddenly cried: "Second brother......

Qu Wenzong, the commander of the cavalry on the horse, sighed, flew off his horse, stepped forward quickly, picked up his younger brother Qu Chuanzong, who had collapsed on the ground and was crying extremely sadly, and glanced at the brothers in the army who fell to the ground, ragged and tearful, gritted his teeth, opened his voice and shouted: "What are you crying about?" Stand up for the fuck! ”

Thousands of cavalrymen dismounted one after another, and dozens of officers ran to the front of the team, greeting each other with their former comrades-in-arms who were crying profusely.

"How many people are left in your regiment now?" Qu Wenzong asked his younger brother in a low voice who had calmed down.

Qu Chuanzong replied bitterly: "When we fled from Xi'an, nearly half of them were killed in battle, and along the way, they were constantly attacked by elusive bandits, and when we returned to Ankang, there were only more than 700 brothers left, of which nearly half were injured and sick, and there was no strength to fight, if it wasn't for the fact that we didn't exploit the local gentry and people when we were stationed in Ankang the year before last, I'm afraid Ankang would not have left us." ”

Qu Wenzong shook his head again and again: "Later, take me to meet the gentry and representatives of the people in the city, I want to thank you on behalf of all the soldiers of the Sichuan army!" You should go and give an order now, the two main divisions of the newly formed 10th Army of our Sichuan Army will arrive within three hours, and a large amount of relief food and medical teams sent by the Yichang Base Garrison Headquarters will come with the army. ”

"Second Brother ......"

Qu Chuanzong's tears burst out of his eyes again, just like a runaway child who saw his father and mother when he was cornered.

Qu Wenzong looked at his younger brother sadly: "You are also a first-term student of my Sichuan Military Academy, the head of a dignified group, crying and crying at every turn, how can you take your brothers well?" Where is the spirit of my Sichuan army? ”

Seeing his younger brother hanging his head and holding back his sadness, Qu Wenzong didn't feel a good feeling in his heart:

"Don't worry, Dashuai and Mr. Bao have not abandoned you brothers who have entered Shaanxi, although your chief is very ambitious, thinking that he wants to stand on his own when his wings are hard, hum! After learning of your defeat, he immediately called the Chengdu headquarters and Yichang base, urgently allocated food and materials, and sent them to Hanzhong and Ankang overnight, worried that you would not be able to withstand it in southern Shaanxi, and the marshal and Mr. Bao also specially transferred our Tenth Army and Heavy Artillery Brigade to Ankang to assist in defense, and instructed us to make every effort to rescue the victims of the disaster in Shaanxi. ”

Qu Chuanzong looked at the south: "We are sorry for the ardent expectations of the handsome......"

……

Compared with Ankang, Hanzhong, which has gathered 60,000 remnants of soldiers and more than 2 million people fleeing the famine, has restored order, thousands of military wagons from all over Sichuan have sent urgently needed medicines and cotton clothes and quilts, the eight counties in northern Sichuan have mobilized the people to send tens of thousands of tons of grain, and every day, tens of thousands of disaster victims drag their families and follow the returning wagons southward, and then sent by the Chengdu headquarters of the Sichuan army to various places in Xikang, where the benefits are prosperous.

In the Hanzhong camp, Deng Xihou of the Shaanxi Military Affairs Office read the handwritten letters of Xiao Yimin and Bao Jiqing, and his heart was full of guilt and gratitude, and he didn't dare to think that after the fiasco, the two old commanders not only did not abandon him, but supported him as always, although the two old commanders severely criticized what he had done in the past two years in the letter, but they did not mention the slightest place in his character, let alone the slightest accusation of his self-aggrandizement and the self-reliance that had been formed in essence.

Chen Shufan saw Deng Xihou turn his back and look up at the sky, trying his best to hide the tears in his eyes, he immediately raised his hand, motioned for the surrounding generals to retreat, slowly walked behind Deng Xihou, and sighed softly: "Jin Kang ......"

Deng Xihou quickly wiped his face, turned around, and smiled apologetically: "Little brother has lost his temper." ”

Chen Shufan waved his hand: "I am also like you in my heart at this moment, and like the tens of thousands of brothers under our command, I am both ashamed and grateful, Xiao Dashuai is so affectionate and righteous, it is really admirable!" Jin Kang, the foolish brother is so envious in his heart that he wants to die, just look at the food and ammunition that have been continuously transported in the past few days, the field hospital urgently set up by the medical team of more than 100 people sent by the Chengdu headquarters, and the millions of victims who are dying inside and outside the city and can survive again...... All kinds of good deeds, unprecedented, are really admirable! ”

Deng Xihou sighed with emotion: "Yes, I didn't expect this, I never dreamed of it......"

Chen Shufan thought for a while: "Jin Kang, it seems that the banner of your Fifth Army of the Sichuan Army still has to be propped up, in addition, you and I have to do a good job of assisting the training regiment and agricultural guidance group sent by the Chengdu headquarters, since Xiao Dashuai wants to recruit 20,000 young men from the disaster victims to join the army, and also came up with an agricultural recovery and development plan for the entire southern Shaanxi region, it shows that the important position of southern Shaanxi in Xiao Dashuai's mind has never changed.

"If you and my brother want to make a comeback, we can't do without the strong backing of Xiao Dashuai, and we can't do without Sichuan's strong financial and material support."

Deng Xihou immediately understood what Chen Shufan meant: "Brother has decided? ”

"It's decided!"

Chen Shufan nodded heavily: "Let's not say that we have no way out except to defect to Xiao Dashuai, just Xiao Dashuai's benevolence and mind are worthy of my Chen Shufan and tens of thousands of brothers to follow for life!" Thinking about the past few years, my brothers and I ...... It's all a bunch of frogs at the bottom of the well! ”

Why didn't Deng Xihou feel like this? After smiling bitterly, he told Chen Shufan about his decision: "The younger brother is going to Nanjing for a trip, and he will be guilty." ”

Chen Shufan was silent for a moment: "It's okay, but I think it's better for Jin Kang to go to Chengdu first, meet our respected and wealthy Brother Bao first, and then go to Nanjing, and by the way, bring a letter to Xiao Dashuai for me, to see if he is willing to take me in, the general of the defeated army." ”

Deng Xihou's eyebrows were furrowed, and there was a determined look in his eyes: "Yes! Now only the commander can keep the reputation of the Shaanxi superintendent and the military affairs council for us, if we lose our reputation, we will lose the righteousness, and if we lose the righteousness, we will lose the hearts of the people, and we must not let the Yanjing gang take this opportunity to fall into the ground.

"As long as we have the support of the commander, we will definitely be able to fight back to Xi'an, and then capture northern Shaanxi, completely gain a firm foothold, and recapture everything that belongs to us!"

"Well said! Jin Kang, the future of the foolish brother and tens of thousands of brothers depends on you! Chen Shufan blurted out his words hopefully.

……

Nanjing Xingying, conference room on the fifth floor of the office building.

The large map of the administrative regions on the wall was hung high, and Tian Hanmin, the newly appointed head of the Military and Political Liaison Office, stood in front of the map and gave a loud report on the war situation between the two Guangzhous.

After Tian Hanmin's briefing, the participants began to express their views and speak enthusiastically.

From Lin Baishui, who is in charge of political propaganda and ideology, to Sun Baoqi, who is in charge of foreign affairs and internal and external relations, from Yang Du, the chief think tank, to He Chengliang, who is in charge of military logistics, they can all express their views and opinions in front of Xiao Yimin.

After a short recess, the various opinions at the previous meeting were sorted out, Xiao Yimin began to conduct a detailed analysis of the various opinions, and when it came to the complicated places, he personally walked to the map, picked up the baton, and explained in detail in combination with the current battle situation and possible changes.

Finally, Xiao Yimin returned to his position to summarize: "The situation is generally like this, everyone has fully estimated and prepared for the possible changes, and here I will also share my own opinions: I agree with the majority of the views and trade-offs, and agree with the careful analysis of the current war situation by Jingcun and Ruwei." For the sake of the interests of the people of the two Guangzhous, and for the sake of the country and the nation, the two provinces can no longer fight, as long as the Guangdong army takes the lead in telegraphing the whole country and puts forward a statement of ceasefire negotiations and peaceful settlement, it will be able to occupy the political initiative in one fell swoop. ”

Most of the more than 30 people attending the meeting nodded frequently in agreement, and Wang Lingji and other generals, who were bent on completely solving the problem of the two Guangzhous, also showed a thoughtful look, as if they had learned something from Xiao Yimin's analysis and final summary.

After some whispered discussions, Yang Du stood up and smiled loudly, and said loudly: "Rest assured, the Guangdong army only needs to continue to occupy the Wuzhou and Xijiang lines, which provide one-third of the military expenses for the Gui army every year, and then electrify the whole country and announce the withdrawal of troops from Guangxi, so that they can obtain huge benefits, and the initiative will be in their own hands, and then completely eliminate foreign interference and achieve a high degree of local autonomy. ”

Everyone thought for a while, and couldn't help but laugh quietly, Chen Jiongming and Xu Chongzhi glanced at each other, and they could see the relief and surprise in each other's eyes.

(To be continued)