Chapter Thirty-Four: Southern Garden

  As expected, Yan Xishan underestimated the capabilities of the German advisors, and his "model project" was too small in scale, directly "exploding" Falkenhausen; haha, Sino-German relations cooled down once again.

  But Falkenhausen, who had returned to Beiping after a long journey, was clearly fired up, let alone the "model" incident and Song Zheyuan's group were unrelated, and Mingxuan, Shaowen and others deliberately flattered him, cheering up the old man.

  "Song, I'm getting more and more confused about you Chinese people. Your country is already on the brink of survival, yet there are still people like General Yan..."

  The old man became a general and didn't speak vulgarly? Hehe, I secretly smiled, "General, it's not a big deal, anyway the Jin Dongbei defense line won't be used at the outbreak of war, after the war starts, the main force of the Jin Sui army will have nothing to do, let them build on the spot."

  "It's reasonable, but I'm fed up!" Falkenhausen started yelling again. "Song, your new fortifications are good, but the construction time is several times longer than before; in North China with this hard soil, it takes a lot of effort at this season."

  "There won't be war now, General, believe me, wars always break out after the warm flower-blooming season."

  "Heh heh, after all, Shanxi's northeastern region is second-tier, let's not mention it. What do you think should be done here?"

  I shook my head, "No way, we'll have a few chances of winning if we take action first, but if we retreat, we'll definitely lose."

  Fakenhausen spread his hands, "I suggested to the chairman of the committee that either withdraw the main force stationed here or take action first; but the chairman disagreed. Taking action is not possible at all, and withdrawing the main force must be discussed with the generals here."

  "Since the chairman has said so, then please let General give a lesson to the leaders of the 29th Army, perhaps they will agree."

  "Song, I'll have confidence if you go with me!"

  "Rarely does a general show such hospitality, haha!"

  Another round of mutual introductions, dull and tedious small talk.

  "Goodbye, brother!"

  "Brother Ziliang, nice to meet you."

  。。。

  "In view of the enemy's inevitable attack on the Pingjin area from both north and east, while our army cannot take the initiative to launch a counterattack against the enemy, I think the current deployment is very inappropriate. Our army, which is at a disadvantage, especially in terms of heavy weapons, is extremely vulnerable to being broken through by the enemy's first wave of attack under the current deployment, leading to a complete collapse."

  The whole audience fell silent.

  "So I suggest that your army withdraw its main force to the Baoding line for deployment, in order to avoid the enemy's first wave of attack; our army will only maintain a garrison force in the Pingjin area to deal with the small-scale clashes frequently launched by the enemy."

  The whole scene was still silent.

  "Our troops should deploy small detachments of jīngdàn between Pingjin and Baoding to delay the enemy's advance, raiding their baggage train."

  The whole scene remained silent as before.

  Fakenhausen looked around somewhat gloomily, "The line of Baoding, relying on the river as a front barrier, the most dangerous right wing has the protection of the Baiyangdian Lake wetlands, and the left wing is mountainous and easy to defend. This is our army's most suitable main position."

  Finally, under Qin Dechun's lead, they received sparse applause, causing Falkenhausen to end his speech in a huff, not forgetting to glare at me.

  It seems that Falkenhausen is still not adapting to the national situation! I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands. "Firstly, we should thank General Falkenhausen for his military guidance!" Everyone applauded! "Secondly, as Chinese people, we have a responsibility to defend our land and cannot give up the Pingjin area just because of small tactical losses!" The applause was thunderous! I despise it! "However, practice has taught us that the Pingjin area is indeed on the front line, with crises lurking everywhere. While the troops defending the land have a responsibility, it doesn't mean we should concentrate all our forces in the Pingjin area; therefore, I suggest that the 29th Army's headquarters, logistics, training, and other non-combat units, as well as several new recruits who have not yet formed combat-effective units, move south to Zhuozhou or Dingxing. It would be more appropriate." The faces of the 29th Army leaders were still acceptable. "Of course, in order to boost morale, the army and division headquarters will remain in their original locations. During wartime, each of you brave and patriotic generals can lead your respective advance command posts to stay in their original locations and direct combat operations?"

  At last, after much persuasion and deception, the 29th Army commander decided to move non-combat units and new recruits south to counties north of Baoding within three months, thus ending this topic.

  Fa Ke-nan and Song Zheyuan went to discuss the "big" issue, while I found Zhang Zizhong, a great name in later generations but now very dissatisfied, "Zhang Zizhong."

  "Good luck, young brother."

  "I've long heard of your great name, Brother Jun-tsun. Now I finally get to meet you!" I suddenly lowered my voice, "The Chairman has entrusted me with a message: 'Jun-tsun has suffered enough.'". Seeing Zhang's change in expression, I resumed my normal tone: "Hehe, what are your thoughts on the enemy's line of attack and the defense around Tianjin?"

  During the war, the enemy will inevitably march south from Northeast China along the railway line, passing through Tangshan to attack Tanggu. Then, relying on sea transportation, they will gather their main forces and supplies, first heading to Tianjin to lift the siege of the garrison troops, and then advancing westward to Beiping and southward.

  Zhang Zizhong sighed as he spoke, "Although our army is said to be waiting for the enemy's exhaustion, we cannot launch a preemptive attack on the enemy, nor do we have effective weapons for defense. We can only passively withstand their blows."

  I was shocked and didn't expect that Zhang Zizhong, who is famous for his loyalty and bravery, would have such high military skills! "Brother Jun, is there anything I can help with?"

  "Good brother! I know what you've been up to since your return, and I understand. But this passive situation of being beaten can't be changed by increasing troops and arms, it will only lead to more losses. Forget it!"

  I gazed at Zhang Zizhong's resolute expression, and could only helplessly sigh, "Brother Xun, after your troops head south, I'll think of a way to replenish them for you. The war of resistance is a long-term one, don't be proud of just a temporary victory..."

  After that, we were relatively silent.

  Although I wanted to stay a few more days, Falkenhausen was in a bad mood after being fooled by Yan Xishan, and he didn't go to Jinan either. After hastily bidding farewell to the high-ranking generals of the 29th Army, he flew directly to Nanjing.

  Having experienced "Rongke Tujie" many times, I seem to have gotten used to it and forgotten the Boeing passenger plane of my "past life". "Boeing passenger plane? Ah!"

  Yunyan was unexpectedly unwell this time and asked dizzily, "Zi'an, what's wrong? Did you think of Pan Am's Boeing Clipper?"

  "Right, it turns out we're still small shareholders of Boeing! The only property I left in the US is this! My third sister too! Haha!"

  "Haha, you actually vomited! You're still smiling, 'Did I give you a chance to mock me?'"

  "Right, right, right! Strong and powerful, one against three, haha!"

  It was already evening when I returned to Nanjing, so I sent the vomiting Yunyan back to Song Gongguan for care by my elder sister-in-law, and then rushed to find my older sister.

  "Nothing is recorded in the Finance Minister's hall if there are no taxes to be paid, haha, here's a little specialty from Shanxi Province, please accept it." Anyway, it was sent by Old Yan from the West.

  Elder sister took over: "No gifts are made without a selfish motive, unless it is a bribe!"

  "Haha! Your sister is right! What's wrong? Zi An, do you need your brother-in-law to help with anything?" Kong Xiangxi asked with a smile, seeing my embarrassment.

  "Hehe, sorry about that, can you arrange for the repairs, brother-in-law?"

  "What? Military expenses? That's a matter of national defense, always decided by Chiang Kai-shek. What does he want me for?"

  "The problem is that the Director will no longer allocate funds to Shanxi."

  "Isn't it just a matter of Baichuan swallowing tens of thousands of yuan? Indeed, Jieshi won't be able to allocate funds for Shanxi's national defense projects again. I wouldn't either, Baichuan can't get any fatter! Hahaha!"

  It's rare for Kong Xiangxi to be so humorous, and I had no choice but to laugh along with him. "However, the national defense projects in Shanxi still need to be built. Since Chairman Kung is sulking and refusing to allocate funds to Taiyuan anymore, I think it would be more suitable for the Ministry of Finance to foot the bill, and have Shang Qiyun take care of it."

  "How much?"

  "3-4 million is enough."

  "How can it be just this much? The project in Shanxi's northeast was so huge, and the budget at that time was 4 million yuan!"

  "It's not Shanxi's northeast, it's just Niangzi Pass. How could the Chairman and Director Yan allow Shang Zhenyun's troops to enter Shanxi's northeast?"

  "It's just this little money, no problem at all; as long as Chiang Kai-shek agrees, I'll allocate the funds."

  "Alright, I'll go and tell the Chairman then."

  Government residence

  "Good boy! This time accompanying the old man out, the harvest is not small! Why are you still busy and not accompany your wife?"

  "Brother-in-law, national affairs come first."

  "The army and government are all like Zi An, what's the worry that the enemy won't be destroyed? But there are many corrupt people like Yan Laowei who dare to embezzle even national defense funds, and they embezzle hundreds of millions!"

  "Yan Laowai is indeed nothing, but Shanxi's national defense works can't be left unrepaired!"

  "How to fix? Send him money again?"

  "I'm not talking about Shanxi's northeast, that place isn't on the front line. Once war breaks out, Shanxi's main forces won't go to fight in Pingjin anyway. By then, it'll still be possible to build field fortifications, and I guarantee they'll be built quickly and well, haha!" I pointed at the map on the wall, "What I'm saying is about Niangzi Pass. Even if Shanxi's main forces defend the northeast, it can still be guaranteed safe, but Pingjin won't be able to hold out for long. If the enemy retreats all the way to Zhongshan and then enters Shanxi from Niangzi Pass, the situation in North China will collapse; but now Niangzi Pass has no national defense preparations at all."

  Old Jiang stood up and carefully looked at the map, "What Zian said makes sense, what are you going to do?"

  "The younger brother suggests that the Ministry of Finance directly allocate funds to Shang Qi, who will dispatch his affiliated workers and soldiers to construct the Nü'erguan array, and then have the General Staff Headquarters and the Engineering Supervision Bureau jointly supervise."

  "Hmm, this idea is not bad! Qi Yu was originally a Jin army, and he was familiar with Yan Laowei's subordinates, so there wouldn't be any conflicts; Qi Yu's troops would garrison at Nü'erzhuang Pass, which would be equivalent to Zhongyāng defending the eastern gate of Jin, haha!"

  After running back and forth several times, the matter was finally settled; Third Brother-in-law gave an order plus Eldest Brother-in-law's check, and Comrade Zhang led 32nd Army's 5th and 6th Engineer Battalions and a few infantry regiments to enter Niangzi Pass and start building fortifications.

  And I returned to Song Gongguan, shouting loudly: "Ah..."

  Don't be surprised, it was my smiling sister-in-law who told me with a shy goose: "Yunyan is pregnant!"