Seeing Chang Ruiqing, he frowned tightly, as if he didn't approve very much. Sun Yat-sen stood up, paced a few steps in the living room, and whispered to himself: "There are still eighteen divisions, twelve mixed brigades, and hundreds of thousands of troops in Beiyang...... He turned to look at Chen Duxiu, who was doing pensing: "Comrade Zhongfu, what is your opinion in the Government Council?" It's easy to destroy, but it's hard to build! Less fighting, less destruction, right? ”

Chen Duxiu was also unprepared for this sudden proposal by Sun Yat-sen, and after thinking for a long time, he slowly shook his head: "My opinion is that it is better to have a short pain than a long pain." If the more than 300,000 Beiyang troops are absorbed, although there can be fewer battles and less destruction at the moment, these more than 300,000 Beiyang soldiers are not revolutionary armed forces after all! We can't trust them, and they're sure to beware of us coming out on top 229...... At present, although there are as many as 1.3 million armed forces under the jurisdiction of our Nationalist Government, the revolutionary army that is really controlled by the military committee is only 600,000 people in 12 armies, and the remaining nearly 700,000 troops are mostly old armies with the nature of warlords. How much pay do these more than 1 million old troops eat every year? How many revolutionary armies do we have to maintain in order to defend against these warlord forces? Now, I'm afraid our limited financial resources will be used to support the army, right? Where else is there the financial resources to build the country and develop industry? ”

Chang Ruiqing nodded slightly, a little smile appeared on his face, and it seemed that Chen Duxiu's answer made him very satisfied. He pondered for a while, took over the topic, and said to Sun Yat-sen: "Mr. Zhongshan." The subordinates still have a little understanding of Xu Youzheng and Wu Ziyu's behavior. They are all the kind of people who don't die until they reach the Yellow River. Even if our troops are several times larger than Beiyang, they will still resist to the end...... How did you come up with the idea of co-opting them? Could it be that you have any personal contact with them? ”

Sun Yat-sen glanced at Chang Ruiqing leisurely, paused, and finally shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The big war is coming, and I, the 229th Supreme Commander of the Top 10, am also a little apprehensive." Therefore, the day before yesterday, J Shi transferred to the Japanese friend's Jianyi, saying that he could persuade Beiyang to annex on his behalf, so it was inevitable that he was a little moved. ”

As soon as I heard that it was a Japanese building. Chang Ruiqing understood a rough idea, those Japanese devils probably want to turn the national government into another Beiyang, right? Sun Yat-sen paced a few more steps, and then went down and said, "The Japanese also said. can support our claims to reclaim customs and the Anglo-French concessions. I also want to join us in supporting the independence of the Far Eastern Republic......"

"No, that's not going to work!" Chen Duxiu stood up suddenly and interrupted Sun Yat-sen's words: "Sir." This is a conspiracy of the Japanese to divide us and Soviet Russia! After the Soviet Russia put down the rebellion, it will definitely plant the red flag in the Far East, what should we do when the time comes? ”

Sun Yat-sen frowned: "Zhongfu, I also know that the Japanese don't have any good intentions, but if we want to recover the tariffs and concessions now, we really need Japan's strong reinforcement." He looked at Chang Ruiqing again: "Comrade Yaoru, you have many methods, tell me, how should we deal with Japan?" ”

Chang Ruiqing's expression was a little complicated, he tilted his head and thought for a while, and finally nodded slightly: "What Mr. said makes sense." Although Japan has bad intentions, we can still take advantage of the power of Japan, the hegemon of the East, to get rid of the oppression of Britain and France. Besides, now that Japan has occupied Russia's Primorsky and Sakhalin provinces, its personal enmity with Soviet Russia cannot be resolved...... I think the most worrying thing for the Japanese top right now is the alliance between China and Russia, and they are probably using the Far Eastern Republic to test our position. If we resolutely refuse to intervene in the affairs of the Far Eastern Republics, we will be tantamount to exposing our pro-Soviet Russian position. Contrarily. If we follow Japan on the issue of the Far Eastern Republics, Japan will inevitably think that we have surrendered to them and will support us on the issue of tariffs and concessions. ”

Chen Duxiu seemed to be a little anxious, he stomped his foot and shouted loudly: "Then we can't get on the Japanese chariot either!" ”

"No, no. No, not on Japanese tanks. Chang Ruiqing shook his head and said: "We can enter the Russian Far East with Japan, but the purpose of our entry into the Russian Far East is not to separate the Russian Far East from the territory of Russia, but to help Soviet Russia keep this territory." ”

He pondered his words for a moment, and then said to Chen Duxiu: "Premier Chen, judging from the current situation, Japan has made up its mind to enter the Russian Far East. If we do not follow up, they will also enter alone, or force General Chiang J-shi to follow them into the Russian Far East. In that case, the situation in the Russian Far East will be completely controlled by Japan, and won't it be even more unfavorable to Moscow? For the time being, they did not have the strength to send a large army to the Russian Far East, so they could only rely on underground organizations and a small number of guerrillas to fight...... If our forces can enter the Russian Far East, wouldn't it be just right to secretly help the Russian GCD to develop their power? Maybe the Russian GCDs in the Far East can turn the Far East into a Soviet socialist republic with our help, just like Ukraine and Belarus! Therefore, there is no problem for our forces to enter the Russian Far East, but the "Sino-Japanese Treaty of the Triple Alliance in the Far East" has decided that it cannot be signed. ”

Listening to Chang Ruiqing's explanation, Chen Duxiu seemed to be convinced, and he nodded slightly: "If this is the case, we may be able to explain it to the Soviet and Russian sides." But what retaliatory measures will Japan take if they find out that we are secretly helping the Russian GCD? As he spoke, he set his eyes on Chang Ruiqing again.

Chang Ruiqing smiled and said, "Let's take one step at a time...... By the time the Japanese find out that something is wrong, we will probably have already solved our tariff problem and the concession issue, and we will have completely swept away the Beiyang forces in the north, and the situation will not be as difficult as it is now. Besides, our Nationalist Government was originally united by the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and there was a share of China's GCD in it, and it was of course natural for China's GCD to help the GCD in the Russian Far East, and they Japanese could only blame themselves for being confused. ”

Chen Duxiu sighed lightly and nodded, which could be regarded as an endorsement of the Nationalist Government's practice of following Japan on the issue of the Russian Far East. Sun Yat-sen also sighed, and said in his heart: "This Chang Ruiqing can really blow." The dead can also say that he is alive! If only that Comrade Lenin was as easy to deceive as Chen Duxiu! ”

……

January 5, 1919.

The whistle sounded loudly above the Tianzi Wharf in Nanguan, Guangzhou. After unifying the tactics of diplomacy with Japan and Russia (Soviet Russia) with Sun Yat-sen and Chen Duxiu. General Chang Ruiqing, who had already taken the title of commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army (the resistance to Russia had ended), was finally about to leave for the north. His headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army was located in Nanjing, Jiangsu, which had just been captured by the First Front Army of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and our permanent commander-in-chief and his headquarters would take the warships of the National Revolutionary Army Navy directly to Shanghai, and then transfer to a train to Nanjing.

The day before, the National Revolutionary Army had held a huge Northern Expedition swearing-in meeting and military parade, and Sun Yat-sen had also delivered a speech on the Northern Expedition in Huangpu Park. Today's Tianzi number is already crowded with people. Most of them were well-dressed and well-dressed people with guards and entourage, all waiting eagerly for the arrival of Commander-in-Chief Chang.

on the pier. Majestically docked a cruiser that is the most powerful in China, the Haiqi. The entire warship has just been painted, and the whole body is painted white, which is very dazzling. The flag of the Northern Expeditionary Army Headquarters was already flying high on the mast of the Haiqi. However, Chang Ruiqing himself has not yet been on the ship.

There was a sudden loud cheer on the dock, and I saw several black cars slowly coming from outside the dock under the escort of a team of ** cavalry. The first one was hoisting a general's flag fluttering in the wind! The officials of the Nationalist Government, the generals of the National Revolutionary Army, and some representatives of the enlightened gentlemen of Guangdong Province who saw off the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army on the wharf all began to applaud vigorously. Then I saw the convoy stop at the edge of the gangway of the Haiqi, a tall young officer, wearing a yellow tweed military uniform and neatly armed with a belt. With his military boots shiny and a solemn expression on his face, he waved his hand vigorously at the crowd of farewells, and strode up the gangway of the Haiqi in the flickering of a magnesium lamp.

But those people cheering on the dock at the moment, I'm afraid few can think of it. This tall young man wearing a general's uniform is actually not Chang Ruiqing, but his adjutant and stand-in, Lieutenant Zheng Zhongyuan, who graduated from the first phase of Whampoa.

With the increasing power, Chang Ruiqing's requirements for his own safety and security work are getting higher and higher. In other words, our Changda warlord is really afraid of death. He was from the Haiqi on the dock of the Whampoa Military Academy last night, and is now in a meeting with his staff team in the officers' lounge of the Haiqi.

This officer's lounge is very plainly furnished, with a long conference table. There was a circle of chairs around the conference table, and the four walls were covered with military maps. In particular, the map near Henan and Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province is hung in the most eye-catching place. Chang Ruiqing stood in front of these two maps, surrounded by some senior staff officers of the National Revolutionary Army, Lu Yixuan, who served as the chief of staff of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and Huang Xuchu, deputy chief of staff of the Northern Expeditionary Army, stood to his left and right.

Huang Xuchu pointed to the map with a baton and was introducing the military situation to Chang Ruiqing: "According to intelligence, the main force of Beiyang is currently divided into two large parts, which are deployed along the Longhai Road and near the Beijing-Tianjin area. According to investigations, the Beiyang Army along the Longhai Road has about 12 divisions and 6 mixed brigades, and the Beiyang Army assembled around Beijing and Tianjin has about 5 divisions and 3 mixed brigades, and the two together reach 17 divisions and 9 mixed brigades, accounting for 90 percent of the current strength of Beiyang.

According to the deployment of the Beiyang side, the General Staff Department estimated that the operational idea of the Beiyang Army should be to use the three railway lines of Longhai, Jinghan, and Jinpu to quickly mobilize troops. In the vicinity of Xuzhou or in the central part of Henan Province, they sought to start a decisive battle with the main force of our Northern Expeditionary Army. Taking advantage of its internal operations and rapid mobilization, it broke through the large armies of our Northern Expedition by different routes. ”

Chang Ruiqing snorted, Beiyang's decisive battle plan is estimated to be from Wu Peifu's handwriting. First, the whole line was contracted, and then the troops were concentrated, relying on the railway line to expand the arrangement, waiting for the southern army to go north, and then using the railway line to fight a mobile war in order to break through each one. This kind of tactics can almost be used in textbooks, although it is classic enough, but there are not many bright spots.

"Does the General Staff have any ideas about the decisive battle?" Chang Ruiqing asked in a low voice.

Lu Yixuan and Huang Xuchu looked at each other for a moment, then took the baton and pointed to the map and said: "The idea is that there are two plans, Case A and Case B. The idea of Case A was to still divide the northern expedition, and the four armies of the first army would follow the Jinpu Road. On the second side, the four armies marched in unison along the Jinghan Road. and make preparations for a decisive battle with the 200,000 troops of the First Front Army and the main force of the Beiyang Longhai Line...... At the same time, the other front army will quickly advance north and attack the rear route of the main Beiyang army. The key to the success of Case A is mainly two points: First, with the strength of 12 divisions of 4 armies, a decisive battle was waged against at least 12 divisions of the enemy. Although the strength of the troops is comparable, our army has many new recruits, and the training level is not as good as that of the Northern Army, and it is a guest army. The mastery of the terrain was also inferior to that of the Northern Army.

Second, the Beijing-Tianjin cluster of the Beiyang Army may go south to join the decisive battle, which will form a situation in which the Northern Army has 300,000 troops against 200,000 troops. In order to avoid this, the General Staff proposed two points of advice. The first is to win over Yan Baichuan, the overseer of Shanxi. Yan Baichuan has the force of four mixed brigades and one cadet corps, with a total strength of more than 20,000. It will be able to effectively contain the forces in the Beijing-Tianjin area of Beiyang. The second is to mobilize the First Army, which is currently deployed in the northeast, and make it advance to the front line of Shanhaiguan, so as to create the false impression that Jiang Jishi's group is about to move its troops into the customs, and attract the main force of Beiyang Beijing and Tianjin to move to Shanhaiguan to deploy defense.

The main point of Case A is to use the strength of one front army to undertake the fierce offensive of the main force cluster in Beiyang, and whether or not it can be firmly held will be the key to this victory...... The General Staff estimated that if our army had been vigilant enough and had not been attacked by the Northern Army, it would have had an eighty percent chance of victory. The advantage of Case A is that there is no need to make major adjustments to the current situation of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and the operation can be launched almost immediately! ”

He said it plain and simple. The staff officers around him all nodded their heads, and it seemed that they were more in favor of this plan of splitting the northern expedition. After all, the National Revolutionary Army has just achieved a great victory in the northeast to annihilate tens of thousands of Russian troops! Naturally, everyone was full of confidence in the combat effectiveness of the National Revolutionary Army, and how could a front army with 200,000 National Revolutionary Army be defeated by the Beiyang Army, which was comparable in number?

Chang Ruiqing hummed a few times, and seemed to be a little noncommittal: "Then how are you going to act in Case B?" ”

Lu Yixuan frowned and said, "Yaoru." In fact, at this time, there are always some risks in implementing the second phase of the Northern Expedition, so it is better to postpone it for 6 months to 1 year......"

Chang Ruiqing waved his hand resolutely: "The sooner you defeat Beiyang, the sooner you can start construction, the time left to us by history is not sufficient, I don't want to waste it in vain!" ”

Lu Yixuan smiled, a little helpless. He always didn't quite understand why Chang Ruiqing was in a hurry to unify China. However, since the other party is the commander-in-chief, he, the chief of staff, has no choice but to act in accordance with the other party's strategic concept.

He pointed to the map and said lightly: "Case B and Case A are just the opposite, concentrate on Jinpu Road!" The Second Front Army in the direction of the Jinghan Road retained only one army, and a new army was transferred from the Third Front Army in Sichuan to be incorporated into the Second Front Army. The Second Front took a defensive position and did not take the initiative to attack until the Battle of Jinpu Road began.

In addition to being transferred from the Second Front Army to the Third Army, the First Front Army on the Jinpu Road also had to be transferred from the Reserve Front Army to one army, so as to form a heavy army group of eight armies and twenty-four divisions, and go all the way north! Seek the decisive battle of the main group of Beiyang, and decide the battle in one battle! ”

Chang Ruiqing's eyebrows raised, he hummed softly, and muttered: "On the surface, Case B has a ten-percent chance of winning, but Wu Ziyu is not a fool, how can he fight a battle without a little certainty?" I'm afraid that he will choose to retreat and avoid the battle......"

Everyone present understood the meaning of Chang Ruiqing's words. Militarily, a battle with a 100% chance of victory cannot be fought, because no opponent would be so stupid as to fight a battle that is sure to lose. The B plan proposed by Lu Yixuan is a plan with a 100% chance of winning, and the 400,000 troops will be merged into one unit, leaving no flaws. Wu Peifu would inevitably choose to retreat and avoid the battle, throwing a large area of territory to the Northern Expeditionary Army, in order to disperse their forces and create opportunities for breakthroughs.

Lu Yixuan shook his head slightly and insisted: "I still think that case B should be taken...... If Wu Ziyu avoids the battle, then we will find a way to force him to fight a decisive battle with us! This can be achieved through guò intrigue and political tricks, and this aspect is like a brother, but everyone! ”

His words sounded a little sarcastic. However, Chang Ruiqing slapped his hand heavily, pointed at Lu Yixuan and laughed: "What Brother Zixiu said is extremely true, the current situation at home and abroad is favorable to us, so we are not afraid of Wu Ziyu avoiding the war...... There's always a way to force him to come up and die! We'll use Case B and don't give him a chance! ”

As soon as his words came out, it was the final decision. Although the staff officers present couldn't think of any way for Chang Ruiqing to let Wu Peifu use more than 200,000 troops to attack 400,000 troops, they were very confident in the conspiracy and tricks of Chang Ruiqing, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army.

Since he said there is a way, there must be a way!

When Chang Ruiqing returned to his official cabin on the Haiqi to deal with the official documents of the Northern Expeditionary Army Headquarters, as soon as he entered the hatch, he smelled a strong smell of smoke, and then he found that Mao Zd, the head of the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, was sitting on the sofa, smoking there. Chang Ruiqing was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly asked, "Brother Run, why are you here?" Aren't you in charge of reorganizing the new Eighth Division in Jiangxi? ”！！！