Shaoguan, the Xiongcheng city of northern Guangdong, has now become the front-line headquarters of the Northern Expedition of the Guangdong Revolutionary Army.

Sun Yat-sen succeeded in eliminating the signs of split within the party before this, and on the condition of ensuring the current status of the revolutionary army stationed in the provinces of Guangdong, stopping the adjustment of the defense areas of various ministries and suspending the implementation of the new tax law, he succeeded in resolving the contradictions among the various factions of the revolutionary army, and was able to mobilize 25,000 soldiers including Deng Keng's newly organized First Division of the Guangdong Army, Shen Hongying's Fifth Mixed Brigade of the Gui Army, Li Liejun's Yunnan-Hunan Allied Army, and Liu Bingxian's Guard Brigade directly under the Generalissimo's Office.

More than 10 people, including Hu Hanmin and Wang Jingwei, the elites of the Kuomintang, and Ju Zheng, who fled back to Guangdong after the defeat of Shandong, drove north, and the generals of various departments of the revolutionary army gathered in Shaoguan.

The General Headquarters of the Northern Expedition of the Revolutionary Army is located in the Xihe Garden in the north of the military camp in the city, which originally belonged to the three-entry courtyard of the Manchu Salt Political Envoy's Yamen, and now it is bustling with people shuttling, and the Yide Pavilion in the middle of the garden is full of sentry posts, and several sweaty officers are surrounded by the tall wooden pole next to the hundred-year-old begonia tree outside the gate, constantly rotating the wooden pole and adjusting the antenna receiving attitude at the upper end.

In the antique main hall, it is busy.

Deng Keng, commander of the 1st Division of the Guangdong Army, came apologetically to his desk located due north and whispered to Sun Yat-sen, who was drafting the order:

"Sir, there are problems with our two old radio stations, the Confidential Section and the Communications Section are checking the antennas, and the American engineer said that the radio has been used for a long time, and there is a lack of accessories, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to repair it for a while. Their radio station is a high-end product of the American Bell Company. ”

"Yes, you can go directly to the military camp in the south of the city and say hello to Kai-shek, Zicheng led a company to Lechang yesterday morning to meet the new corps." Sun Yat-sen was still writing and did not look up.

Deng Keng agreed, turned to leave, took two steps and came back, and asked Sun Yat-sen, who had just stopped writing, in surprise: "Zicheng went to Lechang to pick up the new corps?" Is it a local armed force secretly recruited by the Hunan Branch? ”

Sun Yat-sen raised his head, smiled proudly and said:

"The 30 officers who were recruited from Sichuan to lead the team are all outstanding young officers who we sent to the Sichuan Army Military Academy last year for further study, and these 30 officers basically studied infantry and engineering departments, and because the situation is pressing, we can only recall them in advance, and the remaining 20 people are studying the surveying, mapping and communication department, artillery department, and cavalry department, which are difficult and specialized, so we have to let them continue to study and wait until they graduate."

Deng Keng's eyes widened: "Why haven't you heard about this all this time?" Could it be that this new regiment is also the same as Zicheng's younger brother back then, quietly marching all the way from Sichuan? ”

"Haha! At the request of Zicheng and Kai-shek, Xiao Yimin, commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army, listened to the opinions of dozens of cadets we sent to the Sichuan Military Academy for further study, and sent troop carriers to send this new regiment with 2,500 officers and soldiers all the way to Changde, and then, with the great help of Cheng Songyun, quickly drove south to Lechang, and Zicheng only needed to go to Lechang to meet him. Sun Yat-sen introduced in detail.

"I wonder if this new regiment is equipped with new equipment such as light machine guns and mortars that are commonly equipped in the Sichuan army?" Deng Keng's eyes lit up.

Sun Yat-sen shook his head regretfully: "It's a pity, I heard that in order to move quickly and facilitate the march, the new corps only got the imitation Mauser rifles and Leopard brand pistols that the Sichuan army had reloaded, and there was no light and heavy machine gun and mortar, but we should also be content, this Xiao Yimin is still very interesting, and when the new corps arrives, our direct guard brigade can be upgraded to a guard division." ”

Deng Keng was quite disappointed when he heard it:

"Alas...... In the process of purging the local forces and powerful forces in northern Guangdong, we got more than 100,000 oceans, and we had previously purchased their light machine guns and mortars from Sichuan through Zicheng, but Sichuan just didn't sell them, and even Zicheng, who was Xiao Yimin's brother and brother-in-law, couldn't do anything

"Judging from the current situation, it is very difficult for us to obtain advanced weapons and equipment in a short period of time, and several foreign companies in Hong Kong and Fuzhou have all kinds of long and short guns and bullets for sale, but there has been no supply of artillery, light and heavy machine guns, and mortars, and it seems that the war in Europe is becoming more and more intense, and it is very difficult for us to buy artillery and advanced weapons until the final victory or defeat is determined!

"On the other hand, our opponents, the various departments of the Beiyang Army can continue to buy from the capital, which is very unfavorable for our next move....... hey, look at me again, sir, I will go first, and I will go to the guard brigade to borrow the radio back."

Sun Yat-sen watched Deng Keng walk out of the door, stroked his chin with his hand, and fell into deep thought.

In less than half an hour, Deng Keng returned in a hurry, accompanied by Chiang Kai-shek, deputy chief of general staff of the former enemy headquarters and chief of staff of the guard brigade with a grim face.

Deng Kenghan didn't have time to wipe it, so he sent two telegrams to Sun Yat-sen:

"After the Fourth Division of the Sichuan Army cooperated with the Xiangxi garrison to take Changde, in the middle of the night three days ago, it suddenly turned around and went north and attacked Hubei Public Security, and then the Fourth Division attacked Shashi non-stop, and the other two brigades suddenly turned to the northeast, forcibly occupied Qianjiang, and annihilated all the Third Division of the Hubei Army."

Sun Yat-sen was taken aback, grabbed the message, quickly checked it, and slowly put it down after reading it twice: "What does this Xiao Yimin want to do?" Could it be that his ambitions have suddenly swelled ....... radio? Have you taken it? ”

"I'm sent to the communications department next door." Chiang Kai-shek hurriedly replied, and Hu Hanmin, Wang Jingwei and others, who were scattered all over the main hall, surrounded one after another.

"Kai-shek, you go and use the contact code book that Xiao Yimin gave us, and ask him what he wants to do? Then I sent a telegram to Tan Zu'an and General Cheng Songyun in Hunan to ask about their views and the reactions of various circles in Hunan, and then to Minister Xu in Guangzhou to inform them...... Zhaoming, you are responsible for contacting the Shanghai branch and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang branches, and find out the reactions of the Beiyang First Department and European and American countries, this matter should be fast! Sun Yat-sen's reaction was extremely sharp.

Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei left in a hurry, Sun Yat-sen motioned for Deng Keng and the others to sit down, thought about it, and asked kindly: "What do you think of the actions of the Sichuan army?" ”

Hu Hanmin, who was thin and upright, replied casually:

"The wolf's ambition is obvious! Ignoring the tacit understanding reached by all parties before, the Sichuan army brazenly waved its troops to capture Qianjiang, the western barrier of Wuhan, before the situation in Hunan was settled, which was tantamount to openly announcing their ambition to occupy Hubei; this was by no means an isolated incident, and it was very likely that it was the unanimous decision of the military and political circles in Sichuan and the rapidly growing Mingzhu Party Central Committee; if the military action in Sichuan was not contained, the whole situation would be out of control, and a full-scale civil war would likely break out as a result. ”

"Report the call from Generalissimo and Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Army, General Xiao Yimin—"

The confidential secretary presented the message with both hands, took a step back, and turned to leave.

Deng Keng and Chiang Kai-shek arrived on their hind feet, and Chiang Kai-shek quickly delivered a few telegrams in his hand, apparently obtained through the new radio station that had just been launched.

After reading all the messages, Sun Yat-sen finally breathed a sigh of relief:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the two brigades of the Fourth Division of the Sichuan Army are withdrawing from Qianjiang and returning to Yichang, and Shi Xingchuan, the general of the Hubei Army, led his troops to take over the defense of Qianjiang, and Xiao Yiming's two telegrams respectively gave a detailed explanation of the battle of Qianjiang, although the reason sounds a little far-fetched, but it is still very sincere.

"In addition, the two generals of Hunan, Tan Zu'an and Cheng Qian, did not react much to this, they all agreed that the actions of the Sichuan army would not be harmful, and their calls made people feel as if they already knew the outcome of the matter."

Deng Keng was puzzled: "Could it be a plan to capture the old people?" The three giants of the Sichuan army, Xiao Yimin, Bao Jiqing and Wang Lingji, are all resourceful, from the two Sichuan-Yunnan battles and the Sichuan army's wave of Yichang, and then to the brazen dispatch of troops to occupy Daye, etc., everything may exist in the next step, we have to guard against it! ”

"Not bad! Maybe this is Xiao Yimin's plan to ask for directions, by capturing Qianjiang, to see the reaction of various factions across the country and the Beiyang garrison. "Hu Hanmin's political sensitivity is indeed very high.

Wang Jingwei put away the folding fan and echoed Hu Hanmin very calmly: "Cousin Zhan's analysis is very reasonable, I don't know if you have found it?" For a long time, under the influence of our public opinion and propaganda, both the Sichuan Army and Xiao Yimin gave people the impression of being arrogant and domineering, selfish, and disregarding the overall situation, but not many people paid attention to Xiao Yimin himself.

"This big warlord who has walked step by step from the teahouse to today's hall actually has extraordinary political talent and vision, and Xiao Yimin's series of military and political essays and political views have attracted the attention of Chinese and foreign politicians and military strategists in the past few years, which is a good proof, so maybe we have neglected something."

After everyone was stunned for a moment, they quickly fell into deep thought.

Wang Jingwei glanced at his thoughtful colleagues, and in Sun Yat-sen's encouraging gaze, he continued: "There is also Xiao Yimin's chief think tank - Bao Jiqing, chief of the general staff of the Sichuan Army, this person is very low-key, and it seems that he will always hide behind Xiao Yimin's figure, but according to my contacts with the Manchu princes and generals at all levels in Yanjing and Shanghai, Bao Jiqing, who was born in Jinshi, is far underestimated by the outside world. If it weren't for the infighting between high-ranking officials of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which made him a scapegoat for the defeat of the Tibetan army, this person's reputation would never be below that of Yuan Shikai, Yi and others. ”

Wang Jingwei paused for a moment and spoke eloquently: "The remaining deputy commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army and the commander of the First Army of the Sichuan Army, Wang Lingji, everyone is already very familiar with him, this person is known as a wise and brave person, and he has extremely rich military experience. The Sichuan army has grown rapidly under the leadership of these three people, and has replaced the Beiyang Army and become the country's leading force, which is enough to reflect the ability of the three Sichuan army commanders, so I think that it is time to look at the Sichuan army objectively. If we really become enemies with the Sichuan Army and the Mingzhu Party, I am afraid that whether we can keep Hunan, which has formed a de facto alliance with Sichuan, will probably become a problem, not to mention the Northern Expedition, not to mention our internal ...... Alas! ”

After everyone was shocked, there was silence, and even Sun Yat-sen was deeply surprised by Wang Jingwei's sudden statement.

The sound of hurried footsteps came, and the confidential section chief, who had just walked for a short time, trotted over, and nervously reported to Sun Yat-sen: "Report to the marshal, when the new regiment of the guard brigade from Hunan passed through Lechang, it was surrounded and disarmed by the first division of the Guizhou army stationed in Lechang, and the new regiment resisted angrily, and then a fierce battle ensued, and the result was that the new regiment repelled the Guizhou army and occupied Lechang, and then sent a telegram to the whole country by telegram, accusing the Guizhou army of atrocities, as well as the crimes of the Guizhou army's corruption of military discipline and massacre of the people......."

"What-"

Chiang Kai-shek Huo Ran stood up, and the other military and political dignitaries were also taken aback.

Sun Yat-sen only felt a "buzz" in his ears, and his mind went blank.

(To be continued)