Tao Rong saw that Wang Zhi and Hu Fei were escorted away, so she let go of Hu Zongduo. Hu Zongduo let out a heavy sigh, tried to calm down his excitement, and said heavily: "Everyone may be pessimistic about our current situation, needless to say, our current situation is indeed very difficult, even very grim. However, if we hand over the troops in this way and accept the reorganization of the central authorities, are we worthy of the two commanders, Li and Bai? Chief Li is looking forward to us in Guangxi now! If these tens of thousands of people can be killed back in Guangxi, Chief Li still has a glimmer of hope to keep Guangxi; If we can't go back, we won't be able to hold Guangxi under any circumstances by relying only on the existing troops in Guangxi. Guangxi is not guaranteed, how can our Gui family survive, and the hard work of the two chiefs Li and Bai for more than ten years will be in vain! ”

Hu Zongduo breathed a sigh of relief, and said: "All of you here, the two chiefs Li and Bai have been raised by each other for many years, that is, Senior Commander Zheng and Senior Commander Li, and you are only the head of the regiment under Liu Zuolong, can we just see the two chiefs in a difficult situation and ignore them indifferently?" I know, including you, that it was I, Hu Zongduo, who caused this monstrous disaster for the Gui family; It was Hu Zongduo who launched the "Hunan Case" that brought this catastrophe to our Gui family. It's a big joke! Do you think that without the 'Hunan case', Chiang Kai-shek would not have done anything to our Gui family? This only gave Chiang Kai-shek an excuse, and it was only a matter of time before Chiang Kai-shek would take action against our Gui family. Last year, Chiang Kai-shek sent people to buy me and Commander Tao, and you all know about it, and now he has bought Li Mingrui and Yang Tenghui, and God knows that Chiang Kai-shek has also bought off our generals. ”

Hu Zongduo glanced at everyone, and his eyes stopped on Li Yixuan and Zheng Zheng intentionally or unintentionally and said: "All this shows that Chiang Kai-shek has long planned to do something to our Gui family. For us, the easiest thing now is to hand over the troops and accept the reorganization. To tell you the truth, Chiang Kai-shek has already sent me a message that as long as I, Hu Zongduo, will be sent to the field by telegram and hand over the troops, I will not be guilty of my past, and I, Hu Zongduo, can walk away. But in this way, what face do I have to say goodbye to the two chiefs Li and Bai. And it is difficult to say whether you will still have the opportunity to lead troops after accepting the reorganization. Chiang Kai-shek's principle of employing people, you don't know 'Huang, Lu, Zhejiang, one', who of you are involved in these points? ”

Hu Zongduo saw that several people were listening to his speech with serious expressions, and knew that his words had played a role, so he struck while the iron was hot, and said angrily: "Only in the Gui system can you be reused; Only the Gui system is your foundation. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we will fight for it. ”

Hu Zongduo stood up and said: "Therefore, I have decided that the whole army will rush across the Zhujia River in one go, and if it can recapture Hankou, it will cross the river from Hankou, otherwise it will retreat to western Hubei and then cross the river to the south." We are running out of time, the army of Song Zhewu's Fourth Route Army will arrive soon, we will only make this last effort, if we can't rush through the first battle, I, Hu Zongduo, will be electrified and go to the field, and everyone will also ask for their own convenience. Just now, Division Commander Yin was reasonable, and the number of troops that can be crossed is counted. Division Commander Yin, your troops immediately crossed the river, and after crossing the river, they joined Commander Tao, do not stay, and immediately wave their division south to return to Guangxi. However, Commander Yin, you have to leave your artillery battalion behind and help us break through the current enemy. The artillery battalion of Division Commander Li of the 1st Division was also to be pulled up to cover the attack of Division Commander Zheng's troops, and I personally led the guard battalion to supervise the battle. ”

Several division commanders with their own thoughts thought about it, and if they accepted the reorganization of the central government, they would be raised by their stepmother, and Chiang Kai-shek would never reuse them, and if they could break through the blockade of the Fourth Route Army and retreat to Guangxi, it would be the best ending. At that moment, they all said that they obeyed Hu Zongduo's orders, and everyone received the order, got up and went back to organize the troops.

Seeing that everyone had gone out, Tao Rong asked Hu Zongduo with some puzzlement: "Junzuo, why let Yin Chenggang cross the river, we will have more strength to stay here, and we will fight hard all the way to western Hubei." ”

Hu Zongduo first ordered someone to find Li Sichi, and then said to Tao Rong: "There is the temptation of Li Mingrui and Yang Tenghui to reorganize the Seventh Army, and it is not appropriate for Yin Chenggang to stay in Jiangbei. If he throws himself to the central government and is not afraid of being reorganized, he will definitely return to Li Mingrui's Seventh Army, so he will not be with us. It's better to let him cross the river and stay away from Li Mingrui, which will break his mind. Hu Zongduo sighed and said: "If he can return to Guangxi, it will also be a great help to Chief Li." Tao Rong thought about it, and felt that this was not a good way, but it also made him feel that Hu Zongduo had no confidence in the troops left in Jiangbei.

Li Sichi was found back, Hu Zongduo motioned for Li Sichi to sit down, turned around and said to Tao Rong solemnly: "Chief of Staff Tao, you and I have worked together for more than two years, and you also know Hu's personality. I have been strict with myself and strict with others, and I have blocked the way of many people's wealth. You didn't get half a point for following me, but you didn't do less to endure hardships and suffering, and even offended some people for me, Hu Mou Thank you Chief of Staff Tao here. ”

Hu Zongduo's words surprised Tao Rong a little, Hu Zongduo is strict with himself, never greedy for ink, and he is also very strict with his subordinates. Although Tao Rong did not embezzle military salaries, he could often get some benefits under Liu Zuolong, and he was indeed much poorer in the past two years with Hu Zongduo, but he had no complaints. Tao Rong hurriedly stood up and said: "The military seat is serious, the military seat is strict with himself, he is really a model for my generation of soldiers, Tao is deeply honored to work with the military seat, and there is no complaint." ”

Hu Zongduo pulled Tao Rong to sit down and said: "Don't talk about this, you don't like a few of them, they have soldiers in their hands, even if they are reorganized, Chiang Kai-shek will not move them for a while, and will give them a place." But you're different, once you're reorganized, you're likely to have to leave the 19th Army, I mean, you also cross the river with Yin Chenggang. Although there is no guarantee that you will be able to return to Guangxi after crossing the river, there is still some hope. ”

Hu Zongduo waved his hand to stop Tao Rong, who was about to speak, and continued: "To be honest, I think that even if we rush across the Zhujia River in a while, we will not be able to recapture Hankou. What the staff officer of the Fourth Route Army said just now is credible, and their large force must not be far away, if not soon. The reason why I still have to fight a battle is that I am just doing my best, and it can be regarded as an explanation to the two chiefs Li and Bai. So, you don't want to stay here. ”

Listening to Hu Zongduo's words, Tao Rong sighed slightly and said, "Everyone said that the military seat was weak, and today Tao knew that they were all wrong." However, I don't go to the river, to be honest, even if I cross the river, I don't think they will have a chance to return to Guangxi, I will leave it to my fate here. Moreover, the regional concept of the Gui family is very strong, and it is difficult for people who are not from Guangxi to gain a foothold in the Gui system, and the military seat is supported by the two chiefs Li and Bai, and it is still so difficult to mix, Tao does not want to stay in the Gui department anymore. ”

Seeing Tao Rong thinking like this, Hu Zongduo was silent for a long time, took a pen and paper and wrote a warrant and handed it to Tao Rong, and said resolutely: "It's okay!" Then you will take this warrant to take over the troops directly under the army, and do two things with Sichi: first, the two of you will immediately concentrate the ammunition and materials of our entire army into a division and control it, and the chief of staff will come forward in this matter. Second, Si Chi, you immediately sent people to contact the Fourth Route Army, and asked them to reorganize the First Division and the troops directly under the army in the name of you and Chief of Staff Tao. ”

Li Sichi and Tao Rong looked at Hu Zongduo in surprise, and Li Sichi said puzzledly: "Didn't the military seat say that there is still a battle?" Hu Zongduo explained: "It is to fight a war, and if a war rushes over, everything will not be discussed." But if you can't rush through, you will inevitably have to accept reorganization. Li Yixuan and Zheng Zheng can accept the reorganization of the Central Army, but you Li Sichi cannot. You are my confidant general, and Chiang Kai-shek will not let you continue to lead the troops, so you cannot accept the reorganization of the Central Army. The fact that the Fourth Route Army has developed so strongly in just two years shows that this Song Zhewu is not simple and should have a great future for development. Moreover, soon after the formation of the Fourth Route Army, there must have been a lack of officers, especially senior officers, in his troops, and there was not necessarily a sense of regional prejudice. Accept his adaptation, not only can you keep the army, you can also continue to stay in the army, you are all less than forty years old, it is a promising age, if you quit the military circles are really a pity! ”

Seeing that the two were silent, Hu Zongduo thought that the two were unwilling, and asked in surprise: "What, you don't want to?" ”

Li Sichi and Tao Rong were not unwilling, but deeply grateful to Hu Zongduo from the bottom of their hearts. Hu Zongduo is looking for a way back for them, and they also think that what Hu Zongduo said is reasonable, and it is indeed a good choice to take refuge in Song Zhewu of the Fourth Route Army.

Li Sichi and Tao Rong hurriedly said: "We will listen to the arrangement of the military seat. ”

Hu Zongduo understood the thoughts of the two, and advised: "The matter of contacting the Fourth Route Army must be done immediately, and it must be done quickly." Once I haven't contacted the Fourth Route Army after the call, things will not be easy. Therefore, the two of you must hurry up and send a telegram to accept the reorganization of the Fourth Route Army before I send a telegram, so that Chiang Kai-shek will not be able to intervene. Chief of Staff Tao took out all the money from the quartermaster and put it with Si Chi, and once you sent a telegram to Song Zhewu, he sent the money to the brothers who went with you, and told them that I, Hu Zongduo, were incompetent and could not lead them into battle. After speaking, he waved his hand and said, "Go and do it immediately." ”

Li Sichi and Tao Rong gave Hu Zongduo a solemn military salute and hurriedly arranged the arrangement.

After Li Sichi and Tao Rong left, Hu Zongduo thought about it, picked up the pen again, and drafted a telegram on the conference table, and put it in his pocket after writing. I wanted to send another telegram to Li Zongren explaining that he had no choice but to go to the wilderness, but he couldn't put down the pen, and after hesitating for a while, he still put away the pen. He said secretly in his heart: "Chief Li, Chief Bai, I, Hu Zongduo, have done my best. ”

(To be continued)