Unlike his frequent good news, Tang Shengzhi's most concerned turf problem still gives him a headache. Chiang Kai-shek initially promised to let him return to Hunan, but since the defeat of the Gui faction, Chiang Kai-shek never mentioned the affairs of Hunan, and directly handed over the position of chairman of Hunan Province to He Jian.

Tang Shengzhi and Li Pinxian led a group of soldiers who were bent on returning to Hunan, where they had made their careers, and Tang Shengzhi felt that as long as he was allowed to return to his hometown in Hunan, with his prestige, he would soon return to his former power, and even grow strong enough to compete with Chiang Kai-shek. Even if he handed over Henan to him, although Henan was the land of the four wars, after all, he had a foundation, but Chiang Kai-shek handed over this position to Han Fuyu.

Several think tanks led by Master Gu advised him to go to Sichuan and Hanzhong to develop with peace of mind and wait for the opportunity; His teacher Jiang Baili called yesterday and suggested that he go to the northwest, and Tang Shengzhi, Jiang Baili's proud disciple, had been in contact with his teacher through a radio station in Jiang Baili's home.

Tang Shengzhi is worrying about why he is going these days!

Tang Shengzhi sighed and said: "Master, I understand what you mean, I have a favorable location and people in Hunan, and it is in this Henan that I am close to Yan Xishan and Han Fuyu, and I also have a foil in case of trouble." But if I go to Sichuan and the northwest, I won't be able to, not only will I not have the right place and people, but I will also have no time. Although Sichuan is now in chaos, and more than a dozen large and small forces are attacking each other, as soon as we intervene in Sichuan's affairs, these people will immediately abandon their past suspicions and unanimously deal with us, and even Liu Wenhui will turn their guns on us. ”

Tang Shengzhi said hatefully: "These Sichuan rats simply regard Sichuan as their own home, and outsiders can't interfere. ”

Tang Shengzhi sighed and continued: "As for the northwest, I don't know what the teacher thinks, not to mention that poor place is vast and sparsely populated, and now there are continuous natural disasters for many years, it is not easy to develop there. ”

Master Gu picked up the cup on the table and took a sip of tea, and said with some pity: "The commander-in-chief only knows one thing, but he doesn't know the other, Sichuan has a strong local power, and it is indeed not easy to capture it, but Sichuan is a good place, and it has been ruined by Liu Wenhui, Liu Xiang's uncle and nephew, and others." None of these people has the wisdom and ability to unify the whole of Sichuan, and if we can gain a foothold in Sichuan, it will not be difficult to take the whole of Sichuan into our pockets with the prestige and strength of the commander-in-chief. However, the commander-in-chief is extremely worried that these Sichuan people have a strong sense of region, and it is really difficult for us to intervene. Jingyuan now admires the wisdom of Mr. Lingshi Baili, it is indeed very within the reach of people, and this northwest is indeed possible. The commander-in-chief said that the northwest is poor, and it is not easy for us to expand our power, but the commander-in-chief should not forget that Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army was developed in this poor place in the northwest back then. ”

Tang Shengzhi said disapprerovingly: "Feng Yuxiang relied on deceiving [***] and Soviet Russia back then, and deceived their support, which made his Northwest Army develop and grow......

Speaking of this, Tang Shengzhi's expression suddenly moved, looked at Master Gu and said, "What does the master mean to let me also use the power of Soviet Russia?" ”

Master Gu nodded with a smile and said: "Feng Yuxiang can, of course the commander-in-chief can, and the high-level relationship between the commander-in-chief and the GCD is much better than Feng Yuxiang, and there is a lot of cooperation with them when he was in Wuhan, I remember that the commander-in-chief and the current MZD in Jiangxi were still members of the four major committees of the National Peasant Movement Federation, if the commander-in-chief had ties with Soviet Russia, the GCD would not object." Moreover, the use of the power of Soviet Russia is also temporary, as long as our strength grows to a certain extent, we can also learn from Feng Yuxiang and then part ways with them. ”

With the help of the power of Soviet Russia to develop and grow, Tang Shengzhi did not think about it, but Tang Shengzhi was too idealistic, and he looked down on those liars. And Tang Shengzhi is afraid of joining forces with GCD, when Wuhan was political, Xu Kexiang launched the Ma Yue Incident and still remembers it vividly.

At that time, most of the officers under him were from the squires of Hunan, and they were all opposed to the GCD, and it was only under his suppression that no one dared to oppose it in person. Later, He Jian took advantage of the opportunity of his expedition to Henan and Northern to serve the army, and after summoning Li Pinxian, Zhou Lan, Xia Douyin, Ye Qi and others to conspire, Xia Douyin instructed his subordinate Xu Kexiang to launch it. Now Tang Shengzhi is afraid of repeating the mistakes of the past, and he can't afford to lose these troops again.

Tang Shengzhi was stunned for a long time, then shook his head resolutely and said: "No, it is absolutely impossible to use the power of Soviet Russia, in that case, not only will the military spirit of the troops be unstable, but even Chiang Kai-shek will not give us another chance, he will fight us with the GCD." Moreover, as long as we are on the edge of GCD, there will be no one to help us except GCD. ”

Tang Shengzhi sighed and said, "If only I could go back to Hunan!" ”

Master Gu lowered his head and thought for a while and said, "Commander-in-chief, according to Jingyuan's view, you will definitely not be able to go back to Hunan. ”

"Oh!" Although Tang Shengzhi was mentally prepared for not going back to Hunan, it could be seen that Master Gu was resolute, and he couldn't help but be a little surprised.

Master Gu grabbed a few chess pieces and played with them in his hand and said: "Among the various forces in China today, Chiang Kai-shek is most afraid of Li Zongren, Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, and the commander-in-chief, because you are enough to shake Chiang Kai-shek's foundation and threaten his position. Li Zongren's Gui line is now seriously damaged, and it is difficult to say whether Li Zongren can even gain a foothold in Guangxi, that is to say, the Gui line is finished; Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army was unable to confront Chiang Kai-shek for the time being; There is still a threat to Chiang Kai-shek, and now only Yan Xishan and the commander-in-chief are left. The reason why Yan Xishan's strength is still intact is that in addition to his ability to meet the left and right, a very important point is that he has a deep foundation in Shanxi, and Chiang Kai-shek can't help him for a while. ”

Seeing Tang Shengzhi listening carefully, Master Gu said again: "As for the commander-in-chief, this time Chiang Kai-shek asked you to come back, just to let you deal with the Gui family for him, to put it bluntly, it is to use the commander-in-chief." Now that the Gui system has failed, that is to say, the commander-in-chief is no longer useful to Chiang Kai-shek, and he will only think about how to cut off the commander-in-chief's military power and how to let the commander-in-chief return to Hunan. Although Hunan is not as rich as Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it can also be regarded as a rich place, not only the granary of central China, but also connected with the two Guangzhou, the commander-in-chief has a wide range of contacts and prestige in Hunan, if the commander-in-chief is put back to Hunan, it is really a tiger into the mountains, and the dragon returns to the sea. Chiang Kai-shek is not a fool, he will not create a 'Hunan system' for himself again. Chiang Kai-shek's appointment as commander-in-chief of the Nanjing Military Senate is enough to prove that Chiang Kai-shek has seen this point clearly, that is, he wants the commander-in-chief to take up his post in Nanjing and break away from the troops, and then gradually digest the Fifth Route Army under the commander-in-chief. Although the commander-in-chief has not been forced to go to Nanjing for the time being, according to Jingyuan, this is a matter of time. Last year, Chiang Kai-shek had already asked all those who served in the Central Committee to take up their posts, and Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan could not hold on. The reason why this matter was not mentioned for a period of time was because Chiang Kai-shek wanted to deal with Li Zongren and Feng Yuxiang, and once the situation stabilized, Chiang Kai-shek would definitely bring up the old matter again. ”

Master Gu's words made Tang Shengzhi feel excited, frowned and thought for a long time, and said: "According to the master, Chiang Kai-shek has long been on guard against me, and I Tang Mengxiao can't go back to Hunan!" But if I can't go back to Hunan, I will not make a wedding dress for Chiang Kai-shek in the end? ”

Feeling that Tang Shengzhi was a little depressed, Master Gu shook his head and said: "It is absolutely impossible for Chiang Kai-shek to agree to the commander-in-chief to return to Hunan, but if you don't return to Hunan, it may not be to make a wedding dress for others. You must know that although it is in heaven to make things happen, it is up to people to plan things. ”

As soon as he heard Master Gu's words, Tang Shengzhi suddenly came to his senses, walked in front of Master Gu in a few steps, bent down and stared at Master Gu, and asked urgently, "What does the master think!" ”

Seeing that Master Gu was smiling and silent, Tang Shengzhi realized that he was a little out of shape, smiled awkwardly, sat down opposite Master Gu and said, "Master, please speak, Meng Xiao listens." ”

Master Gu put away his smile and said: "As soon as Chiang Kai-shek defeated the Gui faction, he immediately took action against the Northwest Army, but Feng Yuxiang saw the opportunity quickly, and when he saw that he couldn't do anything, he immediately announced that he would go to Huashan to study. Feng Yuxiang's hand was very timely, so that Chiang Kai-shek had no reason to continue to act against the Northwest Army, although the generals of the Northwest Army who remained in Shaanxi and Gansu promised to listen to the dispatch of the Central Committee, but it was more than 300,000 troops, and Chiang Kai-shek could not eat it in one bite, Feng Yuxiang was waiting for the opportunity, so that his Northwest Army would have time to breathe. Deployment takes time, and there are bound to be complications along the way. Not to mention that Feng Yuxiang's cronies would not allow Chiang Kai-shek to carry out a deployment that would damage the Northwest Army, even if they were obedient, Chiang Kai-shek would also find some reasons to provoke disputes between the Northwest Army and the Central Committee, so as to give Chiang Kai-shek an excuse to completely eliminate the Northwest Army and not give Feng Yuxiang a chance to recover. Only by eliminating the greatest threat to the Northwest Army could Chiang Kai-shek let go of his actions and deal with the various local forces one by one. ”

Tang Shengzhi opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he couldn't help but say nothing. Master Gu understood Tang Shengzhi's mood, and said with a smile: "Commander-in-chief, don't worry, listen to me slowly." We can not only see these mental means of Chiang Kai-shek, but also Yan Xishan, and even He Jian, Cheng Qian, Long Yun, Chen Jitang, Chen Mingshu, Liu Wenhui and others can also see that in addition to Yan Xishan, these people are either not strong enough, or their prestige is not enough, and they are not qualified or dare to take the lead against Chiang Kai-shek. Now the only people who have this qualification to lead the group are Yan Xishan and the two of you, the commander-in-chief. Although everyone didn't dare to work against Chiang Kai-shek openly, they still dared to play some tricks and do some tricks in secret. ”

Master Gu glanced at Tang Shengzhi, who was listening intently, picked up the teacup, took a shallow sip, and continued, "For example, he secretly contacted many people with us. Yan Xishan is also secretly and actively preparing now, didn't Yuan Shiquan say that Yan Xishan had sent Li Shucheng to Huashan to invite Feng Yuxiang to Shanxi, and the two of them wanted to show up together. In Jingyuan's view, Yan Xishan did this for two purposes: one was to see Chiang Kai-shek's reaction, if Chiang Kai-shek did not stop it, it would mean that Chiang Kai-shek was ready to attack him Yan Xishan's idea, and Yan Xishan would form an alliance with Feng Yuxiang on this, and also contact all parties dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek's forces to compete with Chiang Kai-shek; Second, if Chiang Kai-shek stops him and does not let him go abroad, it means that there is still room for things to turn around, and Chiang Kai-shek will still use him Yan Xishan to suppress the forces of all parties, and Yan Xishan will also postpone the showdown with Chiang Kai-shek. It's just that in this way, if Feng Yuxiang goes to Shanxi, Yan Xishan is likely to learn from Cao Ying, and come to coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes to detain Feng Yuxiang to control the Northwest Army. In this way, Yan Xishan, who thinks he has a plan, will be completely entangled with Feng Yuxiang and can no longer be torn apart, once Chiang Kai-shek is ready, he will put Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang together to clean up, which will do him Yan Xishan a hundred harms but no benefits. Yan Xishan probably didn't think about this clearly. ”

Tang Shengzhi asked with some surprise: "If Yan Xishan really controls Feng Yuxiang, he will also indirectly control the Northwest Army, Yan Xishan's Jin Sui Army has more than 200,000 people, plus Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army of more than 300,000 people, that is more than 600,000, such a big force is more than the Northwest Army in its heyday, not to mention that Yan Xishan will have more confidence when bargaining with Chiang Kai-shek, that is, he will open a posture and fight with Chiang Kai-shek's Central Army, Chiang Kai-shek may not be their opponent, why does the master say that this will do all kinds of harm to Yan Xishan and no benefit?" ”

Master Gu shook his head and said, "Commander-in-chief, there are two points that you haven't figured out. ”

Seeing Tang Shengzhi looking at him puzzled, Master Gu said: "First, the Jin Sui army is not more than 200,000 people, and the commander-in-chief has forgotten Song Zhewu's Fourth Route Army, he is Yan Xishan's army. ”

Tang Shengzhi saw that Master Gu was talking about Song Zhewu's Fourth Route Army, pursed his lips, and said disdainfully: "Song Zhewu's Fourth Route Army is a local miscellaneous army, and his troops were Shang Zhen's Hebei Security Army last year. His troops have only been in the army for two years, what combat effectiveness will there be, and this time it is cheaper for him to send troops to Hubei. The reason why the Gui faction was defeated so quickly was that Tang Shengzhi drove out Bai Chongxi in North China, and second, Chiang Kai-shek bribed He Jian, Cheng Qian, and the Gui faction's fierce generals Li Mingrui and Yang Tenghui. Hu Zongduo, Xia Wei and others had no intention of fighting again, which made him Song Zhewu out of the limelight. This time, when I passed through Zhengzhou, that Song Zhewu personally came to the station to greet me, and I didn't see him, but he was just a little stubborn, and the master was really worried. ”

Master Gu sighed and said, "It's all because Jingyuan is going to Kaifeng to visit friends, so he didn't come to Zhumadian with the commander-in-chief, otherwise I would definitely persuade the commander-in-chief to see him." ”

Seeing Tang Shengzhi's disapproving look, Master Gu shook his head and said, "I met a brigade commander of Han Fuyu's security forces in Henan through a few old friends in Kaifeng this time, and according to this brigade commander, he heard Han Fuyu, who had just returned to Kaifeng, that this Song Zhewu's Fourth Route Army now has more than 200,000 horses. ”

"More than 200,000 horses!" Tang Shengzhi grew his mouth in surprise.

"Maybe more." Master Gu said affirmatively.

Master Gu explained: "According to this brigade commander, Han Fuyu personally told them that this time in Hankou Chiang Kai-shek added two divisions and three brigades to Song Zhewu, so that the Fourth Route Army would have four infantry divisions and three infantry brigades, as well as an artillery division and a cavalry corps. ”

Tang Shengzhi said suspiciously: "According to domestic standards, four divisions plus three brigades can be counted as five divisions, which is 780,000 people, and the Fourth Route Army plus the cavalry army and artillery division is just over 100,000. Not 200,000? ”

Tang Shengzhi said with some envy: "It's just that I didn't expect this Song Zhewu to have an artillery division, it seems that going to Hubei this time really made him pick up a big bargain." ”

Master Gu waved his hand and said: "No, this Song Zhewu's troop establishment is special, one of his divisions has more than 30,000 people, so calculated, his four divisions and three brigades must have 1780,000 people, although a cavalry corps does not know how to organize, but according to the general standards in China, there must be more than 20,000 people, and an artillery division must also have nearly 10,000 people, which will have more than 200,000, plus the troops directly under his headquarters, 200,000 is only a lot more." If his cavalry army was also organized according to his infantry, then his army would have 60,000 or 70,000 horses, so that there would be more than 250,000, that is to say, Song Zhewu's Fourth Route Army should now have between 200,000 and 270,000 men and horses. If you count the Fourth Route Army, but the Jin Sui Army has nearly 500,000 people. ”

Looking at Tang Shengzhi's surprised appearance, Master Gu said regretfully: "The commander-in-chief really shouldn't offend this Song Zhewu in Zhengzhou!" ”

Tang Shengzhi was stunned for a while with a complicated expression on his face, when Master Gu said this, he really regretted it, he never thought that this little-known little stubborn man would have such great strength, if he could join forces with him, it would add a huge force. If Master Gu had come back half a day earlier, he would have known that Song Zhewu was so powerful, and this time he would not have sent Hu Yisan to Song Zhewu to arrest people without saying hello, so that he and Song Zhewu would have completely torn their faces. Thinking of this, Tang Shengzhi couldn't help but be a little frustrated.

But after thinking about it, Tang Shengzhi said with some disbelief: "If Song Zhewu has more than 200,000 horses, then his strength is not much different from Yan Xishan, how can Song Zhewu be willing to obey Yan Xishan's orders?" How could Yan Xishan watch the power of his subordinates swell so much? How could Chiang Kai-shek be willing to increase the number of posts for Song Zhewu? Is he willing to raise another Jin Sui army? And Song Zhewu actually expanded the army to more than 200,000 in such a short period of time, where did he get his money? This is a huge amount of money, and Shang Zhen will not have so much money. Also, his troops have expanded so much in two years, can their combat effectiveness be guaranteed? ”

(To be continued)