Chapter 56: The Army Advances on Wusheng Pass
On March 13, Li Jishen led the Guangdong representatives to attend the 3rd National Congress of the Kuomintang in Shanghai. Chiang Kai-shek used the excuse of mediating the Hunan case and asked Li Jishen to go north to Beijing by telegram. Despite the dissuasion from Li Zongren and others, Li arrived in Nanjing on March 13 and was imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek at Tangshan, a suburb of the capital, on the 21st. From then on, Chiang Kai-shek eliminated his worries about the Guangdong-Guangxi alliance and decided to send troops to suppress the Guangxi clique.
On March 20, Liao Yao's 53rd Division showed signs of instability. That night, Bai Chongxi disguised himself as Liao Yao's wife and left Tianjin by boat from Tanggu with Liao Yao's help. Bai Chongxi followed Song Zheyu's advice and first arrived in Japan before returning to Guangxi via Vietnam. On the 21st, Tang Shengzhi landed in Tianjin, and Chiang Kai-shek officially appointed Tang Shengzhi as the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Route Army, garrisoned in Shijiazhuang. Tang Shengzhi removed Liao Yao from his position as commander of the 53rd Division and formed the Eighth Army, with Li Pixian as its commander.
On March 21, Chiang Kai-shek formed a resolution at the Third Plenary Session of the Kuomintang to permanently expel Li Zongren, Li Jishen and Bai Chongxi from the party. On March 26, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the suppression of the Guangxi clique. In the name of the National Government, in the issued "Suppression Order", it was stated that Li Zongren, Li Jishen, Bai Chongxi and others "used the name of revolution to eliminate revolution", "actually hindered the national revolution and betrayed the Three Principles of the People".
After Ye Changgui left, Song Zhiwu found Xiao Guodong and Wang Xu to discuss the next action plan. Song Zhiwu believed that the war between Chiang Kai-shek and Gui was imminent, and the defeat of the Gui system was already settled. When Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing suppressed the Gui system, he would inevitably summon local forces to jointly attack and suppress the Gui system in order to highlight his orthodox position and central authority. This is a good opportunity for the Security Army to send troops. Except for the first division of the Security Army, which had fought a low-intensity battle, the second and third divisions had not yet been tested in a major war. It would be better to take the troops out to fight several major battles, temper the team, and also win the favor of Old Chiang.
Regarding this idea, Xiao Guodong and Wang Xu both disagreed, believing that Liangyuan must leave a division to guard the house. Although Song Zhiwu repeatedly stated that Yan Xishan did not dare to attack Liangyuan at this time, the two still disagreed. Helpless, Song Zhiwu had no choice but to agree. Since it was decided to send troops, arrangements had to be made first. According to the orders of the three men, the General Staff immediately took action. First, they ordered the 23rd Division to prepare for deployment, and transferred Wei Guanghui's cavalry regiment back to Liangyuan, departing with the logistics regiment at the same time. Various supplies were also gathered in Handan in advance. On March 21st, Chiang Kai-shek formed a resolution at the Third Plenary Session of the Kuomintang, permanently expelling Li Zongren, Li Jishen, and Bai Chongxi from the party. He immediately sent a telegram to Lin Yu, firmly supporting Chairman Chiang's suppression of the Guangxi clique, and demanding that troops be sent to quell the rebellion. Lin Yu quickly replied: "I have heard that my brother Wenwu supports the intention to suppress the rebellion, and the chairman is very pleased. I hope you will actively prepare for war, and orders will be issued soon. I hope my brother will fight bravely and build military achievements!"
On March 26, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the suppression of the Guangxi clique. On the 28th, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Zhu Peide as the commander-in-chief of the First Route Army to suppress the rebellion, leading the Third and Fifth Armies from Jiujiang and Nanchang to attack Wuhan and Changsha, in order to cut off the retreat route of the Guangxi army; Liu Xiang was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army, leading the First and Second Armies along the Anhui-Hubei border to take Wuhan from the west; Han Fuju was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Third Route Army, leading the Sixth and Seventh Armies from Nanyang and Xinyang to attack Wuhan from the south; Song Zheyu was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Route Army, leading the newly formed First and Second Divisions to cooperate with Han Fuju's army in attacking Wuhan from Xinyang; Chen Diaoyuan was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the reserve forces. Chiang Kai-shek set up a headquarters for suppressing the rebellion in Jiujiang, personally directing the campaign, planning to fight in two phases: the first phase aimed at taking Wuhan, and the second phase aimed at clearing out the Guangxi army from southern Hunan and the two Guang provinces. At the same time, he issued an order that the First, Second, and Third Divisions of the Hebei Security Forces, as well as the Cavalry Division, would be reorganized into the newly formed First, Second, and Third Divisions of the National Revolutionary Army, as well as the newly formed First Cavalry Division. The original unit designations were abolished. From this point on, Song Zheyu's security forces jumped from being a local force to becoming an official part of the National Revolutionary Army. This also marked that Song Zheyu was formally recognized as a powerful local warlord with control over significant military forces.
Upon receiving the telegram, Song Zheyu felt that he must send a telegram to Yan Xishan. Without Yan's consent, if he were to easily deploy troops, he would immediately fall out with Yan, and it would not be just a matter of being on guard against him, but rather resolving the issue once and for all.
Song Zheyu's telegram to Yan Xishan roughly said: After receiving the order from Nanjing, you personally led the 1st and 2nd Divisions, the Heavy Load Brigade, and a part of the Cavalry Division to send troops to Wuhan. As for when to send troops, please decide, Chairman Yan.
Song Zhiwu knew that Yan Xishan had sent the first telegram supporting Nanjing's suppression of the Guangxi clique on the 29th, and he would not risk offending Chiang Kai-shek by stopping him from sending troops.
Although Yan Xishan privately agreed to support Chiang Kai-shek's expedition against the Guangxi clique, he neither issued a telegram nor sent troops. However, after seeing Chiang's mobilization order for 100,000 troops from the Northwestern Army, while scolding Feng Yuxiang, he also regretted not sending troops to participate and share in the spoils. At this time, he received a telegram from Song Zheyu, and Yan Xishan's eyes lit up as he slapped his forehead, thinking: "How could I have forgotten him? Isn't he my subordinate?" Excitedly, Yan immediately ordered his subordinates to issue a telegram supporting Chiang Kai-shek's expedition against the Guangxi clique and commanding Song Zheyu's troops to head south to Wuhan to attack the Guangxi clique. Later, he also sent a secret telegram to Song Zheyu, providing him with a large amount of ammunition and allocating 10 million yuan in military expenses. In the telegram, he also hinted to Song Zheyu to be cautious of Chiang Kai-shek and Feng Yuxiang absorbing his troops, and to preserve his strength as the top priority. He instructed Song to maintain contact with him at all times to prepare for coordinated action.
Yan Xishan's punitive expedition was telegraphed a day earlier than history, and Song Zhiwu felt uneasy when he received the telegram. His wings finally made some changes to history!
According to the plan made by the Operations Department, not all combat materials can be carried. Song Zhiwu sent a telegram directly to the Military Affairs Department in Nanjing, requesting the establishment of a military station in Zhengzhou. The Military Affairs Department was asked to coordinate with Henan Province. On the same day, the Military Affairs Department sent a telegram saying that Han Fuqu had agreed to set up a military station in Zhengzhou. At the same time, it was reported that the fourth route army's train had arrived in Handan. Due to the importance of this military station as the general military station for Song Zhiwu's Fourth Route Army during external operations, Xiao Guodong personally led a regiment of the Logistics Brigade and a battalion of the Special Forces Brigade to set out ahead of time to arrange matters at the military station.
Song Zhiwu knew that Chiang Kai-shek issued a general attack order on March 30. On April 4, he advanced into Wuhan. He must strive to arrive in Wuhan around April 4. Therefore, Song Zhiwu, who had already brought the command department to Handan, immediately ordered the Second Division, which had arrived in Handan, and the First Division stationed in Handan to set off immediately. Led by Wu Jin, the logistics brigade and cavalry brigade escorted hundreds of trucks on land towards Zhengzhou. To speed up the march, all personnel took vehicles, and materials that could not be carried were first transported to Handan and then taken to Zhengzhou by train. Song Zhiwu's troops arrived in Zhengzhou on the 29th.
In Zhengzhou, Xue Guodong said. Han Fuqu led Li Zhongxing, Wei Fenglou, Zhang Zizhong, Cheng Xixian and other seven divisions to advance on Wushengguan. He only met with Han Fuqu and several division commanders. He had ordered Wang Xinggang to bring a vanguard team to follow the command of Han Fuqu's third route army to Xinyang in advance to arrange for troop deployments. "Ji Hongchang?" Song Zhiwu was somewhat surprised. Although he had seen many famous people since coming to this era, and had developed some immunity to these historical figures, he really wanted to meet Ji Hongchang, who was very famous later on. Ji's final poem before his execution made him deeply respectful: "I regret not dying in battle against the Japanese. I am left to live today in shame." When a man is about to die, his words are good; when a bird is about to perish, its cry is mournful. Song Zhiwu believed that this farewell poem was absolutely Ji Hongchang's true and heartfelt words.
The train refueled and replenished water at Zhengzhou Station before heading straight to Xinyang.
The train arrived in Xinyang on the 30th at 5:00 pm. Wang Xinggang, along with personnel from the advance party and a staff officer from the Third Route Army headquarters, greeted them at the station. The deputy commanders and chief of staff of two divisions arranged for troops to accompany the advance party personnel to their quarters to rest. Song Zhiwu, Xiao Guodong, Zhang Yafei, Gao Zongbao, Wang Xinggang and others held a meeting on the train.
Wang Xinggang first introduced the situation of the advance group: "The work of the advance group is still going smoothly. Han Fuqu has not made any difficulties for us. Although the Northwest Army is not very enthusiastic, they are still cooperating with us. However, Shi You San's troops have some hostility towards us. There are also two pieces of news. One is that when Han Fuqu was in Zhengzhou, Feng Yuxiang wanted to take away his only armed force, the handgun team. Han Fuqu refused and was punished by Feng Yuxiang to stand guard for over two hours. It wasn't until the Northwest Army colleagues persuaded him that Han Fuqu apologized to Feng Yuxiang on his knees. The second thing is that Ji Hongchang had a big argument with Han Fuqu today. According to what he knows, Ji Hongchang's 22nd division rushed in urgently and their logistics and supplies have not arrived yet. The troops are already out of food and they asked Han Fuqu for some. Han Fuqu refused to allocate any, citing that the military grain commander had already distributed it. He even refused to lend them any, which made other units dare not lend to Ji Hongchang either. It is said that Ji Hongchang's logistics will arrive in two days at the earliest."
Feng Yuxiang gave Han Fuju the position of Henan Provincial Chairman, but he removed Han's 20th Division commander. Han was left with only a hand-picked team of soldiers from various units. Feng would give him whatever he wanted, but what Feng did was too extreme - he even had Han, a provincial chairman, stand guard for him! Song Zhiwu was shocked by Feng's patriarchal style and thought it was strange that Han didn't rebel against him. However, the matter of Ji Hongchang weighed on his mind. Ji had previously been under Han when he was a brigade commander, and the two did not get along. Feng had transferred Ji out, so it would be strange if Han didn't give him a hard time. Song thought that in the future, Ji's troops would be the main force of the Righteous and Brave Army in the Eastern Chahar Anti-Japanese War...
Everyone raised a few more questions, and Song Zhe-wu ordered the first and second brigades to make good defensive positions according to wartime standards that night. This is not Laiyuan, let alone surrounded by friendly troops, and we must be highly vigilant. He also said to Xiao Guodong: "Our supplies are transported along the railway line and can be replenished quickly. You will send 30,000 catties of grain to him tonight, and also give him 300,000 cans of meat."
Last year, due to the large number of cattle and sheep brought back by Wei Guanghui, Song Zhe Wu suddenly built a canning factory. The canned products were tasted by Zhang Yafei and others, who all said they were good. However, Song Zhe Wu did not allow any of them to be distributed or sold. It was all for the preparation of this expedition.
Xiao Guodong thought for a moment and said, "Wen Ge, tonight you should go see Han Fugui. Is it suitable for us to send grain to Ji Hongchang's unit?"
Song Zhe thought for a moment and said: "Let's do it this way, I have a plan." "Xing Gang, after dinner, you accompany me to see Han Fu Quan."
