Chapter 13: The Choice (Part 1)

  "... hereby confers the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on Yue Weihan, and orders him to immediately lead the remaining troops of the Baoshan Regiment to come to Nanjing for reorganization and training, and to be responsible for the establishment of the 7th Regiment of the 3rd Brigade of the Central Military Academy's Instructional Corps. The military ranks of all soldiers under his command are promoted by two grades. This order is issued by Chiang Kai-shek, Chairman of the Military Affairs Committee of the National Revolutionary Army, on September 16, 1937."

  Gu Zu read the telegram and suddenly the entire 98th Division headquarters fell silent.

  Whether it was the high-ranking generals who came with Gu Zhu and others, or Xia Zhongyu, Huang Mei Wu and other high-ranking generals of the 98th Division, they all looked at Yue Weihan with a hint of inexplicable jealousy in their eyes. The Central Military Academy's teaching group was not an ordinary unit, it was the Imperial Guard within the Imperial Army!

  Under the current situation, the teaching headquarters may be expanded into an army group at any time!

  At that time, Yue Weihan this kid would also change from a regimental commander to a major general brigade commander! But how old is this kid this year? He graduated from the Central Military Academy less than two years ago! How many Huangpu predecessors are still struggling for battalion and regiment level positions when this kid directly rises to become a major general brigade commander!?

  What an encounter, thinking about it is enough to make one jealous to the point of madness!

  Gu Zhu Tong was in a pleasant mood, and among the people present, only he knew the inside story of Yue Weihan. Relying solely on his military achievements and Huangpu background would not have been enough for Yue Weihan to become the commander of the 7th Regiment of the 3rd Brigade of the Central Military Academy's Training Corps, but if you add his Fuzhou native identity, it would be a completely different story. Who doesn't know that the old man values hometown sentiment?

  Among all the people present, the one who was most shocked and heartbroken was none other than Yu Kewei himself.

  Yue Weihan really didn't think that his own departure would shock Principal Chiang, but thinking of the evaluation of Principal Chiang by later historians and associating it with his own birthplace in Fenghua, Yue Weihan's heart was also relieved. However, speaking of which, if he were to lead the remnants of Baoshan Camp to Nanjing for retraining, that would be something he would never do even if you killed him!

  In other people's eyes, this is a great honor and also a good opportunity for rapid advancement.

  In the eyes of Yue Weihan, this is simply a dead end! What is the Central Military Academy's Teaching Corps? That is the Party-State Imperial Guard, and the backbone of the army are all composed of graduates from the Central Military Academy. The loyalty of these military academy students to Chiang Kai-shek is beyond imagination. If Yue Weihan wants to change the political leanings of these students, it would be a fool's dream.

  Yue Weihan really went to Nanjing and became the leader of this group, so in the end he only had two roads to choose from.

  Either flee alone in a disheveled manner, traveling thousands of miles to the northwest of Shanxi to join the Eighth Route Army, or stay at the Central Military Academy's Training Regiment and wait for death, eventually fleeing to Taiwan and dying abroad as an exile, there being no other possibilities.

  Even if it's a unit like the 36th Division, 87th Division, or 88th Division of the Central Army, Yue Weihan may not be able to bring his troops into the Eighth Route Army at this stage, but there will still be opportunities for them to rise up in front of the enemy lines during the Liberation War. However, in the Central Military Academy's Instructional Corps, even the opportunity for rising up in front of the enemy lines is impossible.

  Obviously, neither of these two roads is what Yue Weihan wants, so he would rather die than go to Nanjing, let alone become the leader of this group!

  According to Yue Weihan's predetermined plan, he had two things that must be done. The first thing was to rescue the fate of more than 600 soldiers in Yao Changqing's camp as much as possible. After all, they saved his life, and this task has been completed. Although only 42 people were rescued, it left a spark for Yao's camp.

  The second thing is to bring a division to Shanxi as much as possible, so that after joining the Eighth Route Army, you can at least be a district commander, and don't have to start from the lowest level of soldier. No way, Yue Weihan is after all a modern person, and when considering problems, he is always more realistic than the old generation of proletarian revolutionaries.

  So, let Yue Weihan stay in the 98th Division as a regiment commander, that's fine, but if he goes to the Central Military Academy to be a regiment commander of the teaching group, then forget it.

  Yu Weihan hesitated no more and turned to Gu Zhu: "Boss, I have something to say."

  "Ah, just say it." Gu Zhu Tong nodded lightly, he had no idea what Yue Weihan was going to say.

  Yue Weihan looked around at the high-ranking military officers of various countries present and said loudly: "I promised Captain Yao Changqing that I would live or die with all the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, and this time in Ningcheng, although it is an order, it can't help but be suspected of abandoning comrades and fleeing from the battlefield. So I want to hear the opinions of all the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion first."

  "It should be like this, it's supposed to be like this." Gu Zhu Tong nodded repeatedly, but in his heart, he was very unhappy.

  How did the Central Military Academy's Instruction Corps manage to produce such a freak? First, the corps commander, Gui Yongqing, openly defied the old man's orders and gave up the opportunity to expand his army in Sichuan and become a general. Instead, he led his troops to the front lines of Songhu. Now, another freak has emerged - Yue Weihan, who gave up the opportunity to go to Ningcheng and become a regiment commander or at least a brigade commander, but instead chose to stay with the 98th Division?

  The high-ranking generals of the National Army next to him also changed their faces, some with disdain, some with admiration, and others with confusion!

  Soon, the remaining 42 people of Baoshan Camp gathered in the courtyard of the 98th Division Headquarters, and high-ranking leaders such as Gu Zhu also came out of the command post to the courtyard.

  Yu Weihan stepped forward, and the remaining 42 soldiers of the Baoshan Camp immediately stood up straight.

  Yue Weihan and the Baoshan troops had actually not been together for a long time, no more than half a month, but in this group of defeated soldiers, Yue Weihan seemed to have already become their leader for many years! Gu Zhu Tong and the National Army generals present could all feel that there was something inexplicable in the eyes of the Baoshan troops' remnants as they looked at Yue Weihan.

  "Take a short rest." Yue Weihan raised his hand in response, then said in a deep voice, "Just received an order from the top, requiring us to go to Ningcheng for expansion. I will be promoted to Colonel and Regiment Commander, you will be promoted from Battalion Commander to Regiment Commander, Company Commander to Battalion Commander, and Platoon Commander to Company Commander. But what I want to tell you is that at this moment, troops all over the country are eager to join the battle, asking to come to the Songhu front line to fight against the Japanese invaders, while we have to leave our comrades behind and go to the rear for expansion and promotion. Although it's an order, if we ask ourselves, can we not feel ashamed?"

  In an instant, Gu Zhu Tong's face turned gloomy, and Yue Weihan's attitude had already been revealed in these words.

  "Nonsense!" Commander Cheng Cheng of the Left Wing Cluster Army couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "He's completely lacking in propriety!"

  "Yes, there will definitely be people who scold me for being a traitor and not knowing how to behave!" Yue Weihan seemed to have heard Cheng's voice and retorted coldly, "But what I want to say is that even if we are scolded by a few people for being traitors and not knowing how to behave, it's still better than being scolded by the whole world for being afraid of death and fleeing in battle! As soldiers, being afraid of death and fleeing in battle is the greatest shame! Brothers, do you think we should go to Ning City to get promoted and expand our troops, or should we stay here and fight alongside the brothers of the 98th Division?"

  "Stay!"

  "Stay!"

  "Stay!"

  Forty-two voices converged into a unified and unparalleled roar, the massive sound wave almost overturning the tiles on the roof of the teaching building.

  Yue Weihan suddenly turned around, gave a standard military salute to Gu Zhu Tong, and said solemnly: "Commander, this is the voice of all officers and soldiers in Baoshan Camp. We don't want to leave the Songhu Front at this time. We don't want to be cowards who desert in battle. We want to stay and fight side by side with our brothers from the 98th Division. Please forgive us, and also please ask Commander De to forgive us."

  "Alright, alright, a real man with a three-foot green sword, where can't he kill the Japanese? Staying behind is also good, don't worry about it, I'll explain for you. Young man, take care of yourself."

  After finishing speaking, Gu Zhu Tong turned around and left the 98th Division headquarters without looking back.

  The high-ranking generals of the National Army who came with Gu also left in a huff, especially General Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the Left Wing Group Army, who looked displeased but restrained himself from making a scene.

  Yue Weihan disobeyed Chiang's order, but his reason was extremely high-sounding. From a moral standpoint, even Chiang couldn't criticize Yue Weihan in the slightest. Who could openly criticize the patriotism of soldiers who were fighting for their country? Not only couldn't he criticize him, but he would also have to insincerely praise Yue Weihan a few times.

  However, many people also sighed for Yue Weihan, including Xia Zhongyu, the commander of the 98th Division.

  Yue Weihan would rather give up the opportunity to expand Ningcheng than leave the 98th Division, which moved Xia Zhongyu both emotionally and regretfully. What moved him was Yue Weihan's trust in the 98th Division, but what he regretted was that Yue Weihan had already offended Gu Zuolong, the deputy commander of the war zone, and Cheng Shang, the superior of the 98th Division, to death, and his future days would not be easy.

  Yue Weihan didn't mind, if there was no future in the National Army camp, then so be it. He never wanted to stay in the National Army for long anyway. He just wanted to take a National Army unit to Shanxi to join the Eighth Route Army. He wasn't greedy and didn't want many troops. Being able to bring away one or two thousand elite veteran soldiers would be enough.

  ……