Chapter Thirty-Six: Cloud Movement (One)

  On the evening of New Year's Day, it was already after 8 o'clock. Zhao Daiwen, the chairman of Chahar Province who had returned to Taiyuan for the Spring Festival, received a phone call from Yan Xishan and hurriedly came to Yan Xishan's residence, the headquarters of the Third Group Army, which was originally the Shanxi Governor's Mansion after the 1911 Revolution.

  Zhao Dawen was Yan Xishan's old partner and also a native of Wutai, Shanxi. The two joined the same alliance in Japan at the same time and Zhao followed Yan afterwards, serving as Chief of Staff of the Eastern Route Army Headquarters, Secretary-General of the Shanxi Governor's Office, Chief of Staff of the Shanxi Military Governor's Office and concurrently Garrison Commander of Jinbei, Commander of the 4th Mixed Brigade of the Army, General Adviser to the 3rd Group Army and concurrently Director of the Political Training Department, Chahar Provincial Chairman, and Provincial Chairman. He was a true elder statesman of the Jin-Sui faction and also Yan Xishan's think tank. After the Second Northern Expedition, he was promoted by Yan Xishan as Chairman of Chahar Province, and his arrival was not blocked by the guards.

  Inside the gate is the East Garden, which is the largest courtyard in the Governor's Mansion. The four sides are all built with halls, and the middle is a flower bed, artificial hill and fountain pool, surrounded by strips of stone, pebbles and green bricks paved and carved into decorated patterned carriage roads.

  Passing through the corridor in the middle of the east hall of the first yard, you will enter the second yard of the East Garden. This yard is slightly smaller than the first one, but its buildings are more luxurious and exquisite. The vivid stone carvings, wood carvings, as well as the Ming-style columns, drum-shaped foundations, flying eaves, and dougong brackets, all demonstrate a typical late Qing dynasty palace architectural style. Behind the main hall of the third yard in the East Garden, there is a relatively secluded small courtyard, where Yan Xishan often lived and worked.

  Zhao Daiwen nodded to the duty officer who saluted him and went straight into the room. The room was brightly lit, but due to the dark colors of the doors, windows, beams, pillars, and furniture in traditional Chinese architecture, the overall feeling inside the room was still somewhat dim. There was only one person in the room, Yan Xishan, whose short and stout figure had obviously gained some weight, but not to the point of being obese. At this moment, Yan Xishan's face was gloomy, with his hands clasped behind his back, pacing around the room in circles. Zhao Daiwen knew that something must have troubled his old friend - the de facto king of Shanxi.

  "Next year, you won't let me have a good time either, will you blame me?" As soon as Zhao Daiwen came in, Yan Xishan immediately changed his expression to a smile. "Brother Baijiang looks for me, it's not just New Year's Eve, even if it's the wedding night, I should come right away, how dare I blame you." Zhao Daiwen also smiled and replied, while finding a chair to sit down. Yan Xishan said with a bitter smile: "You are already the provincial chairman, you must pay attention to your words and deeds." While saying this, he handed over a telegram to Zhao Daiwen. "If it weren't for Tongxuan's telegram from Beiping, I wouldn't have bothered you, my brother!" Yan Xishan rubbed his temples while continuing to pace around the room.

  As soon as he heard that it was a telegram from Zhang Yunwu of Beiping, Zhao Daiwen thought to himself that Yan Xishan's thorn in the eye, Shang Zhen, must have done something wrong again. The telegram had been sent an hour ago by Zhang Yunwu, and the more Zhao Daiwen read it, the more shocked he became. He was aware of Shang Zhen's absorption of Song Zhiwu, and Song Zhiwu's request to practice military exercises in Laiyuan had originally been rejected by Yan Xishan, but was later agreed to after his persuasion.

  Zhao Daiwen asked somewhat doubtfully: "He brought so many people and horses, is the information reliable?"

  Yan Xishan stopped in his tracks, furrowed his brow and said: "Last year when he was incorporated, he already had 18,000 men. Before moving to Tianjin, he also incorporated some more people. This matter was discussed with Yi Sheng at the time. The four supplementary regiments that Shang Kaiyu prepared for expansion last year were not approved by Meng and were all handed over to Song Zhiwu. When he arrived in Laiyuan, he recruited some more. Meng originally thought that without a base or grain supplies, he wouldn't be able to support such a large force, and with a lack of food and pay, the troops would disperse within days. But this Song Zhiwu turned out to be a clever and resourceful man, running several factories successfully, not only supporting tens of thousands of people but also providing higher military pay than other units. Shang Kaiyu had been providing him with military pay according to an 18,000-man quota, and even so, he still owed him two months' worth. These military pays were almost entirely his own expenses. This time in Nanjing, they gave him a full salary, and this Song Zhiwu was truly invigorated! Yan Xishan sighed: "Alas, we made a mistake, a big mistake. At the time, not only should we not have let Shang Shen incorporate him, but Yi Sheng should have disarmed and disbanded him on the spot. Now it's too late, we've nurtured a tiger! Yan Xishan's face was gloomy as he said: "How can I let someone else sleep soundly by my bedside? Meng wants to find an excuse to eliminate him. That's why I called you here today, to hear your thoughts."

  "No way." Zhao Daiwen was startled when he heard Yan Xishan's plan. "There are three reasons why Song Zhiwu cannot be moved: Firstly, the Security Command is under the Hebei Provincial Government, and although you are the commander-in-chief of the Third Group Army, in charge of the Shanxi-Suiyuan troops, you are only the chairman of Shanxi Province in terms of civil administration. Taking action against Song Zhiwu would be unjustified and unconvincing. Only Shang Zhen could take action, or at least speak out, but he absolutely won't agree to it. Secondly, Song's troops currently have over 1 million men, and according to Tong Xiang's telegram, their combat effectiveness is quite impressive. We need to solve the problem of his troops, but we can't do it with less than 1.5 million men. However, even if we mobilize all the troops in the province, we still can't gather that many men. The only option would be to deploy troops from Chahar and Hebei, but the troops in Pingjin are absolutely indispensable, otherwise, Bai Chongxi might take advantage of the situation. Even with sufficient troops, once the battle starts, if we can't quickly resolve it, the war will drag on, and others will take advantage of us. We have the Northwestern Army to our west and south, they have long been eyeing our Shanxi province, which is the foundation of our Jin-Sui system. We can give up Pingjin, Hebei, Chahar, and even Suiyuan, but we absolutely cannot lose Shanxi. Thirdly, Nanjing has already promoted him in rank and provided military pay, clearly incorporating him into their fold. Although he is still under Shang Zhen's command, it's just to save face for him. If we take action against him, Nanjing will definitely not sit idly by, and it would be a perfect excuse for Old Chiang to deal with us."

  After listening to Zhao Daiwen's words, Yan Xishan's face was overcast and uncertain for a long time before he let out a long sigh and said: "It's all because of my shallow virtue! First, Shi Yousan and Han Fuju defected to the Mongols and then betrayed them; this Shang Yunxuan has been treated well by me since entering Shanxi from Shaanxi, when I only had two divisions, I gave him a division commander position, last year he led the first mixed brigade out of Shanxi to fight and was defeated, but I didn't blame him and still trusted him, yet now he is estranged from me and getting along famously with Old Chiang.

  Zhao Daiwen didn't say anything, but he was thinking that his old partner might not be so lucky after all. However, one thing was certain: they were shallow and narrow-minded. After Shi You San and Han Fu Chu lost the battle at Nan Kou in the northwest, Feng Yu Xiang had to retreat and go abroad to the Soviet Union. Shi You San, because of his relationship with Shang Zhen, joined Yan Xi Shan's army through Shang Zhen's connections. Although Yan Xi Shan provided them with food and salary, he was always on guard against them. As a result, his subordinates naturally followed suit, constantly squeezing them out, even privately calling them second-rate Jin Sui soldiers. It was no wonder that when Feng Yu Xiang returned to China, the two of them didn't return to his side. Shang Zhen was slightly better off because he had joined the Jin Sui army when Yan Xi Shan's power wasn't yet strong, and he still had his own troops with him. However, after the Jin Sui army grew in strength, things changed. At first, they only had two divisions, each with two regiments, but Shang Zhen was given the position of division commander because of his seniority as an old Tong Meng Hui member. Later, during the expansion, Shang Zhen's division still only had two regiments, while the second division expanded to eight regiments. It was clear that Shang Zhen would become disheartened. Zhao Daiwen often advised Yan Xi Shan privately, but Yan Xi Shan believed that Shanxi belonged to the people of Shanxi and that only Shanxi people would truly follow him. However, Yan Xi Shan did care for the local people of Shanxi, not just Sun Chu, Zhao Cheng Shou, and other old comrades from Baoding, but also young low-ranking officers like Fu Zu Yi and Li Da Sheng, whom he promoted all the way to become high-ranking generals commanding entire armies.

  Yan Xishan turned around a few times, stroking his somewhat thinning hair, seemingly talking to himself, yet also as if asking Zhao Daiwen: "Is it really the case that we can only watch as that Mongolian ally is nailed down beside Meng, with no way out?"

  Zhao Dawen thought for a moment and said, "There is indeed a way, but whether it will work or not remains to be seen." As soon as he heard that there was a way, Yan Xishan immediately became spirited: "Dawen, I knew you were clever and would have a plan. What's the plan? Tell me quickly!"

  Zhao Dawen thought for a moment and said: "The old Chiang in Nanjing is best at poaching people, but he always does it quietly. Once the matter is clear, the person who was poached and the troops will also pass. But this time, it's obviously different from his usual approach, loudly proclaiming it early on, as if afraid that others won't know. This just shows that he hasn't really grasped control of this troop. His purpose in doing so is no more than two: one is to tell others not to have any ideas about Song Zhiwu anymore, he's already my man. Two is to threaten us, when he deals with Gui Xian Bai Chongxi, we shouldn't interfere. Based on the above judgment, since Song Zhiwu hasn't completely turned to the old Chiang, we might as well try to win him over too."

  Yan Xishan first showed a pleased expression, then furrowed his brow and shook his head: "Not good, not good. If this Song Zhiwu really surrenders to Nanjing, Meng will end up losing everything, and that Meng's ally will still harbor resentment towards Meng."

  Yan Xishan has been wavering between two extremes since the Xinhai Revolution, with a changeable and suspicious character. This is his greatest advantage, but also his biggest disadvantage. Zhao Daiwen always thought that Yan Xishan was an outstanding politician, but not a qualified commander-in-chief, lacking the resolute and decisive air of a commander.

  Zhao Dawen let out a quiet sigh and continued, "So, I said we should try to sound him out first. Spring is just around the corner, and our troops need to start preparing their summer uniforms. Song Zhiwu's dye factory produces excellent fabric, and it's said that they've already sold some to Southeast Asia. We can use his fabric for our military uniforms this year. Of course, since the fabric is of high quality, the price will be slightly higher." Seeing Yan Xishan looking thoughtful, Zhao Dawen continued, "Additionally, we can also purchase some military rations from his flour mill and buy some goods from his soap factory. Our ordnance factory can now produce a variety of calibers of bullets and shells, which we can sell to him at a low price. However, the person sent to Taiyuan to discuss business with him needs to have a high enough rank; otherwise, they may not be able to meet him in person. Once they meet Song Zhiwu, they can first probe his attitude, and then we can make our plans. This time, Nanjing's troop reduction is clearly aimed at weakening rival factions. Now it's the turn of the Guangxi clique, and once they succeed, next will be us and the Northwestern Army, followed by these small forces. I think he understands this logic, so the possibility of him ultimately siding with us is still quite high."

  "Good! Good idea!" Yan Xishan's eyes lit up with excitement. If he could pull Song Zhiwu over to his side, his power would be the greatest among the current Nanjing, Gui?, and Northwest Military factions. At that time, he wouldn't need to consider anyone else's opinions when taking action, and it was likely that things would turn around.

  "Next, Ah Lian, I think you're the most suitable person to go to Liuyuan. Why don't you make a trip there tomorrow?" Zhao Daiwen hastily shook his head: "No way."

  Seeing Yan Xishan's puzzled expression, he quickly explained: "Brother Bai has given orders, and I wouldn't dare not go. However, we can't be too hasty. The people from Nanjing just left, and if we go right away, it will be too obvious that we're trying to win him over. If he makes excessive demands, we'll be at a disadvantage. I think it's better to wait until after the 15th of the first month before going."

  Yan Xishan listened attentively and said seriously: "Brother Bai, I have something to ask you, please agree to it." Yan Xishan was somewhat taken aback - their relationship was extremely close, and Zhao Daiwen had always been his loyal assistant. He not only considered him a trusted aide but also a friend. Today's solemn expression was one he hadn't seen in a long time.

  "Next, Ah Lian, why are you being so polite? What is it that you want to say?"

  Zhao Daiwen said seriously: "Once this Song Zhe Wu joins the Jin Sui Army, I hope that Brother Bai Chuan can take the cases of Shi You San, Han Fu Rong and Shang Zhen as a warning."

  Yan Xishan thought for a moment: "Alright, let's do it your way. As long as he can surrender to Meng, Meng will not treat him unfairly."

  Although the collection of Deep Blue is not as many as that of the authors in the same group, it has been growing stubbornly and slowly. Here, Deep Blue sincerely thanks all friends who care about this book!