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Chapter 399: The more allies, the better

After listening to the angry statements of Ye Daolin and Zhang Cunzhuang, the special envoys sent by General Ye Kaixin, Zhu Peide and An Yi suddenly felt that Ye Kaixin's 44th Army had reached a dangerous situation where it was difficult to survive, and only more than 8,000 of the more than 20,000 people in the army fled into the deep mountains where Xiangxi and Guizhou meet, in order to avoid the encirclement and suppression of Bai Chongxi and Cheng Qian's army. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Zhu Peide called the adjutant Zhu Shijie and asked him to lead Ye Daolin and Zhang Cunzhuang to go down to rest for the time being, An Yi asked the adjutant to wait, and instructed his chief of guard, Lin Yaodong, to let him send the two guests to the Jiangnan Hotel to stay.

Ye Kaixin's adjutant Ye Daolin was anxious, at this time, only Zhu Peide and An Yi had the ability to help their commanders and their own 44th Army in the whole of China, but seeing Zhu Peide and An Yi's cautious looks, they didn't dare to force it, so they had to follow Lin Yaodong out of the meeting room with Zhang Cunzhuang, the adjutant of the deputy army commander Zhang Hongluan, and got into a car to go to the hotel to rest.

Seeing off the guests, An Yi smiled at Zhu Peide and said, "Uncle De seems to be not very satisfied with the official number of the 31st Army given by Commander-in-Chief Jiang?" ”

"If you are not satisfied, there is no way, it is much better than not being recognized by the Central Committee, and you can still get some new equipment in the name of it, but the newly established Central Political Conference decided to ask me to merge the New Third Army and the New Ninth Army under my command into the 31st Army, so I don't know what to do for a while. You also know that it is easy to be promoted to a colonel under your command and it is difficult to demote, and you don't want to let anyone down, it's a headache! ”

Zhu Peide did have a headache, Commander-in-Chief Chiang and a group of central elders were unwilling to let him be too strong, and only allowed him to retain the establishment of two armies, he was unwilling and could not do it, he was in a dilemma between the two major gaps of the Gui and Chiang factions, the development of the situation was a thousand miles by the day, it was difficult to have much room for maneuver, and he would soon face a difficult choice of either/or, and it was impossible to maintain the status quo.

An Yi nodded: "The little nephew thinks that Brother Jin's New Ninth Army is well-trained and well-equipped, especially the construction of artillery regiments and machine gun battalions has been fruitful, and almost half of the officers and soldiers under his command are from Hunan and Jiangxi provinces; Brother Zhu's New Third Army was excellent in local security and emergency response, and most of the officers and men under his command were soldiers from Yunnan, which was the most complementary to Brother Wang's well-equipped Third Army.

Another situation is that Uncle De's Jiangxi Security Command has been recognized by the central authorities and belongs to the military-level units that govern the whole province, and at present, except for a regiment stationed in Nanchang City, there is only one division of the Jiangxi Security Command of the younger nephew. ”

Zhu Peide thought about it, shook his head and sighed: "It's really hard to choose!" I have been thinking about it before, but I have not thought about it for the time being, Shigui is honest and loyal, conscientious and conscientious, Han Ding is talented and intelligent, and has the ambition of Lingyun, and both of them are rare generals who value love and righteousness, which makes me embarrassed...... I originally wanted Shigui to be transferred to the deputy commander-in-chief of the Provincial Security Command, and let Han Ding lead the newly established 31st Army to Jiangbei to participate in the Northern Expedition first, but such an adjustment is very important and involves the interests of all parties, so I have to be cautious! ”

"Uncle De, do you remember Tan Gong (Tan Yanhong)?" An Yi smiled slightly.

Zhu Peide suddenly understood what An Yi was referring to, and pretended to be displeased and glared at An Yi: "If you have anything to say, just say it, after you and Rui'er (Zhu Peide's daughter's nickname) and Huanqi became brothers and sisters, I have long regarded you as my own son, why don't I treat you as an outsider?" ”

An Yi hurriedly apologized: "Uncle De, don't be angry, where does the little nephew dare to play tricks in front of your old man?" It's just that Uncle De paid too much attention to the emotions of the soldiers under his command, so he didn't dare to speak rashly for a while.

I think that of the six armies that came out of Guangzhou to hold high the banner of the Northern Expedition, only Tan Gong and Uncle De were the first to step down from the post of army commander, and they brought their juniors to discern their talents, and they are still talked about in the army. Now Tan Gong's second army of the Hunan army is in an extremely difficult situation, the Gui department in the process of crusading against Tang Shengzhi, secretly persuaded Tan Gong and the commander of the second army, General Lu Diping, to maintain neutrality, but after the success, he betrayed his promise, claiming that the second army belonged to one of the members of Tang Shengzhi's group, greatly squeezing out, and gradually eroding the territory of western Hubei under the jurisdiction of the second army, the Gui system was powerful, and it was difficult for the second army to continue to gain a foothold.

Tan Gong with its mediocre and peaceful wisdom and high demeanor, and Uncle De together with the respect of the military and political circles, the Commander-in-Chief Jiang reorganized the Central Committee, it is extremely dependent on the two predecessors, Tan Gong is about to serve as the new chairman of the Nanjing government, Uncle De will also enter the Military Commission and the Central Political Conference, become one of the important leaders who decide the fate of the country, it can be said that everyone is looking forward to it, but Tan Gong did not have any complaints because of the weak power under his command, but was orderly and calmly faced.

This time, General Lu Diping led his troops to return to his hometown in a low-key manner, but in fact, he secretly sought to gain a firm foothold and grow again, and closely cooperated with Tan Gong, who was in the center, to complement each other. In contrast, Uncle De's existing conditions are more than ten times better than Tan Gong's, and what he lacks is only to further establish his influence in the central government. ”

Zhu Peide nodded frequently: "It makes sense...... Let's go to the yard together, let's talk about the snow. ”

An Yi readily agreed, walked into the courtyard with Zhu Peide for a leisurely stroll, and continued to express his thoughts:

"Usually Uncle De often praises the talent and lofty ambition of Brother Han Ding, trusts him, and constantly promotes, Brother Jin is grateful in his heart, and has been diligent in training for several months, trying his best to fulfill his responsibilities, and bringing a new Ninth Army with a loose and uneven style into an excellent army with strict military discipline and extraordinary combat power.

And Uncle De can completely award the post of commander-in-chief of the Jiangxi Security Command to Zhu Shigui's eldest brother, and all the officers and soldiers under the command of the New Third Army will be transferred to the establishment of the security forces, anyway, the central government has never allocated military funds to the New Third Army, and after being transferred to the localities, the establishment will be more flexible, so what does it matter if one or two more divisions are added?

Just in the name of the security forces, stationed in the counties to make up for the vacancy after the departure of the 31st Army, you can ensure Uncle De's interests in minerals and local taxes, and then quietly increase the strength of Wang Jun's eldest brother's Third Army, in addition to the three main divisions granted by the central government, form a strong combat force that can be pulled out and withdrawn at any time, in this way, Uncle De can not only respond to the call of the central government, but also maintain his original strength, and no longer be criticized by the central government's group of pink eye veterans, isn't it the best of both worlds? ”

"No wonder you've been expanding the strength of your security forces, you have been premeditated, not bad! This is exactly what I am thinking, it seems that there is no need to hesitate any longer, otherwise your President Jiang will send someone to urge me to perform my duties in Nanjing. ”

Zhu Peide was in a happy mood after thinking it out, and the smile on his face was much easier: "Virtuous nephew, you can't run away, tomorrow I will rush to Nanjing for a meeting, one of the topics is to correct the unfair punishment of the former special committee and the Central Military Commission, and soon restore your reputation, structure and number, according to the people who came to convey the notice of the central government, Commander-in-Chief Jiang has repeatedly lashed out at the relevant personnel and severely reprimanded you for the sake of your excellent army, which has made the people of the Central Military Commission and the General Headquarters tremble and be sincerely afraid, he values you very much!" ”

An Yi smiled helplessly: "The little nephew knows a little and has begun to prepare, when the time comes, I am afraid that half of the security forces in Ganzhong will have to be withdrawn, plus the five thousand recruits currently being trained, they can basically restore the original structure, but Uncle De left the experienced eldest brother Yang Bin and Huanqi and Xia Jian, the cadres and generals, and the younger brother had to pick a few people among the candidates who graduated from Huangpu to top, firstly, to reassure Principal Jiang, and secondly, there are indeed many outstanding generals among those fellows, they just don't have the opportunity to display their talents." However, after the major adjustment, without more than three months of running-in, it was difficult for the independent division of the little nephew to recover to its original combat effectiveness. ”

Zhu Peide nodded: "Since Shigui is given the position of commander-in-chief of security, I want Yang Bin to be promoted to deputy commander and concurrently captain of the teaching brigade, Huan Qi to be promoted to chief of staff, and tiger general Xia Jian to be promoted to commander of security in Ganzhong, what do you think?" ”

An Yi looked at Zhu Peide in surprise: "Why did Uncle De make this decision?" ”

Zhu Peide sighed: "Shigui is a confidant who has followed me for many years, and Huanqi is my son-in-law, but in comparison, they are not as good as your sworn brother Yang Bin, Yang Bin is indeed a rare general, infantry, artillery, cavalry, and engineering are all proficient, leading troops well, governing the army strictly, and having a generous temperament without losing flexibility, which is very rare!" Only by reusing him and trusting him can the security forces be brought into a qualified force, and if there is a need to change clothes, they can be pulled out as regular troops.

After the 31st Army of the Han Dynasty left, Wang Jun's Third Army had to take over the defense of Jiujiang, Hukou, and De'an, and the garrisons of Nanchang and Jiangzhong counties were all handed over to the security forces.

The garrison division in southern Jiangxi is subordinate to the General Headquarters, and it is still under preparation, and it will be difficult to form combat effectiveness in three or five months, and even after forming combat effectiveness, the central government will have to pull it out immediately if there is an order, so the building of the security forces has become our top priority.

This time I went to Nanjing for a meeting, and I inevitably had to take on a certain position in the Northern Expedition again, and when the time came, you and I both had to go north to fight, how could we do it if we didn't leave our own group of people at home? ”

An Yi nodded and asked in a low voice, "Uncle De, how do you reply to Ye Kaixin's senior's request?" ”

Zhu Peide stopped, quite embarrassed: "Brother Qiu (Ye Kaixin) and I have always had a good relationship, we have known each other as early as when we were young, and the last time we sent a joint telegram to the whole country to ask Commander-in-Chief Jiang to reinstate and get his strong support, now the situation is chaotic to this point, and if you are not careful, you may be burned, so you can only let two messengers bring 100,000 military funds to fund them, where can we have the ability to rescue at this time?" Even if he has the ability, he will offend Li Delin and Bai Jiansheng because of this, and the whip is beyond the reach of the whip!

Li Delin just sent me a telegram yesterday, saying that he planned to withdraw the Seventh Army station stationed at Hukou within a month or two, and asked me what my opinion was. I knew that he was testing my attitude and seeing if I would tear my face with him after accepting the post of the Central Committee, so I could only reply to him with kind words and persuasion, so that he could take a far-sighted view and continue to keep the Hukou Seventh Army Station, and in the future, when encountering a large transfer of troops, there would also be a place to supplement, and within two hours of replying, he called to express his deep gratitude, and it is estimated that he also knew that I would not embarrass him. ”

An Yi thought about it and finally said his plan: "Uncle De, let's do it, you pay for it, the little nephew will provide guns and ammunition and an instructor team, how about the little nephew will rescue Senior Ye and Senior Zhang Hongluan, you also know the relationship between Senior Zhang and Senior Zhang, the messenger named Zhang Cunzhuang today is Senior Zhang's adjutant, no one will help them at this time, and the famous 44th Army will die!"

The little nephew can't watch it, just let the little nephew come out of this, even if Li Delin and Bai Jiansheng know that the little nephew is aiding the 44th Army, they can't do anything about the little nephew, anyway, the grudge has already been settled, and they are not afraid of one more knot, as long as the 44th Army can stop the decline in Xiangxi, they can gradually gain a firm foothold, and then control the trade routes on the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan-Hubei border, and after they grow slowly, no one dares to underestimate them.

Uncle De, we don't have many allies, if we only want to keep the land of the four wars, Jiangxi will be very passive, the little nephew thinks that we need to pay attention from now on, the more allies, the better, as long as we can have three or five allies with common interests in the entire Yangtze River Basin, who would dare to covet our Jiangxi? ”

Zhu Peide looked at An Yi in surprise, pondered for a long time, and nodded heavily: "You think farther than me, more thoughtful than me, very good, just be bold and do it, Li Delin's side will be dealt with by me, no matter how uncomfortable he is, he doesn't dare to offend me openly, not to mention that Ye Jingqiu is also my good friend, everything is up to you!" ”

"Thank you Uncle De for your trust, the little nephew will do it carefully and try not to let the Gui family know." An Yi thanked with a smile.

Zhu Peide smiled happily, patted An Yi's shoulder, and walked back to his yard together: "When I see Tan Gong in Nanjing tomorrow, how about helping you be a matchmaker?" Tan Xiang, the third daughter of Duke Tan, is a big beauty who has come back from abroad, I heard that she has just become the goddaughter of your Principal Jiang's wife, and suitors are flocking to her! This girl seems to be a year younger than you, Qi Nian is jade, and she is just right for you. ”

"Huh!? Uncle De, you can spare your little nephew! Even if the girl was the reincarnation of the immortals, the little nephew didn't dare to use his brain! If these words reach Mr. Ou's ears, the little nephew may not be able to eat and walk around, in case Mr. Ou is angry, he will withdraw all his investments in our old Nanchang, cut off business contacts with the little nephew, and no longer serve as a trader between the little nephew and other countries, the little nephew will cry without tears! An Yi hurriedly begged for mercy.

Zhu Peide laughed funny when he heard it, raised his hand and gave An Yi a head: "It's really unproductive, in troubled times, how normal is it for a manly man to have three wives and four concubines?" It seems that you will also be afraid of your wife in the future! ”

Who knew that before he finished speaking, Mrs. Zhu, who was pruning flowers and trees in the yard, stood up and looked at her wife with a smile. An Yi couldn't help but laugh when he saw it, and the group of attendants who followed behind him couldn't help but laugh dumbly.

The next morning, when the snow was falling, the 500-ton German-flagged cargo ship of the Jiangnan Water Transport Company slowly left the old Nanchang wharf, and Ye Daolin and Zhang Cunzhuang, the messengers of the 44th Army for help, stood on the deck, their eyes flushed, and waved to An Yi who saw him off on the dock with great gratitude.

Deng Bin, the newly promoted deputy lieutenant colonel of Ding Zhicheng's special brigade, smiled at the corner of his mouth, and was calm, and the 50-member instructor team he led all put away the excellent special equipment and changed into crew clothes, full of 8,500 sets of gray cloth winter clothes, 1.5 million rounds of ammunition, 1,500 rifles, 50 Czech light machine guns assembled in his own arsenal, two radio stations, a battalion of engineering equipment and dozens of boxes of medicines that had just been issued by the Quartermaster Department to An Yi to form an independent division, and rushed to Xiangxi with the two messengers. Support Ye Kaixin's 44th Army to tide over the difficulties.

An Yi's instructions to Deng Bin and the other 51 instructors from Sichuan and Hunan were simple: he loudly admonished his elite brothers in front of the two messengers:

One day, Senior Ye and Senior Zhang let you come back, and you can come back!