Chapter 64: Raiding Greater Wuhan (5)
Chiang Kai-shek spoke, and Yang Yongtai knew he had said too much today. In his excitement, he forgot his usual cautious and prudent approach. As Chiang's chief aide, Yang knew that although Chiang was still being careful around Song Zheyu, he could see that the chairman had a good impression of him. Moreover, after Lin Ju's trip to the source, he had always thought that Song Zheyu was someone he had brought in, and now he was speaking about this newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Fourth Route Army, which would offend Lin Ju. Although Lin Ju did not fight for power or position, he was highly trusted by the chairman, and offending him would not be a good thing. Thinking of this, Yang Yongtai stole a glance at Lin Ju, who seemed to be thinking deeply about something as if nothing had happened.
He Yingqin said with some puzzlement: "Chairman, He Jian's request for a telegram is a good thing! As long as he supports the Central Government's telegram, not only will Ye Kui's troops in Hunan be defeated and flee, but also several armies of the Guangxi clique in Hubei will have their morale shaken, which would be beneficial to the Second Route Army's early capture of Wuhan. I think we should agree to let him send the telegram now, the sooner the better."
Chiang Kai-shek nodded slightly and shifted his gaze to Yang Yongtai, seeing that Yang had a thoughtful expression, his eyes then moved to Lin Wei.
Lin Wei knew that Chiang Kai-shek had called them to discuss, and it wouldn't be so simple. However, He Yingqin had already made his attitude clear, and he couldn't express a different opinion. Although He Yingqin wasn't in good favor with Chiang Kai-shek, after all, he was the second most important person in the Huangpu faction. Offending him would bring no benefits to himself, so he just ambiguously said: "Director He's words make sense."
Chiang Kai-shek did not express his opinion, and instead looked at Yang Yongtai. Yang Yongtai thought for a moment before saying: "What Commander-in-Chief He said is correct. If General He sends out an open telegram, Hu Zongnan, Tao Zhendong, Xia Wei, and others in Hubei will immediately become disorganized. At that time, Li Mingrui and Yang Tenghui can send out another telegram to overthrow the Guangxi clique, making it impossible for them to gain a foothold in Hubei. However, this would cause Hu Zongnan, Tao Zhendong, Xia Wei, and others to immediately lead their remaining troops to escape to Guangxi. Once they return to their old nest in Guangxi, it will be more difficult for the central government's next military action to eliminate Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi's forces in Guangxi. I think we should ask General He to temporarily delay sending out the telegram, and instead have him move his troops to the line of Yueyang, Changde, and Shimendu, blocking the escape route of the Guangxi clique's troops from Hubei. Then, he can send out the telegram. At the same time, we should order General Zhu Peide, commander-in-chief of the First Route Army, to speed up his march and quickly arrive at the aforementioned region, striving to annihilate Hu Zongnan, Tao Zhendong, Xia Wei, and others within the borders of Hunan. This way, not only will we eliminate the main forces of the Guangxi clique, but also Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi will no longer have any troops outside of Guangxi, creating favorable conditions for the central government's subsequent campaign to pacify Guangxi."
Chiang Kai-shek nodded in satisfaction and said, "Still, Chang's method is good! Weiwen, send a telegram to He Yingqin, asking him to arrive at Tongshan by tomorrow evening. The most urgent task now is to get his troops to move as quickly as possible to the line of Yueyang, Changde, and Shimendown, blocking the retreat route of these several armies of the Guangxi clique. These several armies are the main force of the Guangxi clique and still have considerable combat effectiveness. You send someone to tell Hu Zongnan, Tao Zhendong, and Xia Wei that as long as they issue a telegram announcing their retirement and hand over their troops, I, Chiang Zhongzheng, will absolutely not make things difficult for them. If they want to go abroad to study, I will provide them with funds in the name of the Central Government, and after one or two years, when they come back, I will still use them." Then, he turned to He Yingqin again: "Jingzhi, send a telegram to Jing Fucheng, asking him to speed up his marching pace."
The two men stood up to leave, but Chiang Kai-shek waved his hand and said: "Not in a hurry, I still have something to tell you. Although Han Fuju is stationed at Wushengguan, Wen Guo has already sent troops. This afternoon, we received a telegram from Li Mingrui that Wen Guo's troops arrived in Xiaogan at noon today and clashed with Yang Tenghui's troops. Before 1 pm, they had eaten up one of Yang Tenghui's regiments in less than an hour. Yang Tenghui couldn't hold on and asked Li Mingrui to issue a telegram ahead of time."
He Yingqin was somewhat surprised: "The Fourth Route Army was in Xinyang yesterday, and today they are fighting in Xiaogan? This is more than 200 miles! Lin Wei smiled and said: "Wen Ge brought more than 400 trucks with him this time, these cars were used for transportation in his factories, almost all of them were brought here. It's no problem to transport several regiments at a time, I guess this is his vanguard fighting against Yang Tenghui."
He Yingqin nodded: "This Song Zheyu is quite generous, if the reinforcements also have so many trucks, Hu Zongnan's troops would have gone up long ago." After thinking for a moment, he said again: "Chairman, it seems that Song Zheyu is really following your orders sincerely. Those local warlords we bought guns and brought in with money are all just shouting slogans but not taking action. Song Zheyu, on the other hand, has traveled thousands of miles to launch a surprise attack, and with only his vanguard troops, he dares to attack the main force of the 7th Corps of the Guangxi clique. This is truly not easy, Chairman should send a telegram to commend him, to show encouragement." At this point, He Yingqin suddenly became somewhat dazed, his vanguard troops could devour in less than an hour a main force regiment of the 7th Corps that had always been good at fighting...
"Yes, what you said is right. Jingzhi, you can issue a commendation order in the name of the General Headquarters for Suppressing Bandits, to let those who are hesitating and watching see that the Central Government still has the power to mobilize." Chiang Kai-shek said in agreement.
At this time, the Imperial Guard Commander Yan Dao brought in a telegram that had just been received and then retreated.
After reading the telegram, Chiang Kai-shek's face was somewhat heavy, and he stood still for a moment before silently putting the telegram on the desk in front of him. He got up, walked around the desk, and began to pace slowly with his hands behind his back in the center of the room. The three people looked at each other, knowing that this was Chiang Kai-shek's habit whenever he encountered something that made him uneasy.
"Take a look at the telegram first." Chiang Kai-shek said in a low voice.
He Yingqin walked over and picked up the telegram first, and after the three of them finished reading it, they were all stunned. The telegram was sent by Li Mingrui, and its content roughly stated that the Fourth Route Army's offensive was fierce, and an hour ago, another division led by Yang Tenghui had been eliminated. Yang Tenghui once again requested to issue the "Overthrow Chiang" telegram ahead of schedule; or asked the Central Committee to order the Fourth Route Army to stop its attack.
They were all surprised by the combat effectiveness of Song Zheyu's Fourth Route Army! Song Zheyu's troops should have arrived in Xiaogan at noon and immediately wiped out one of Yang Tenghui's regiments. Although they didn't know the specific situation, they all thought that Song Zheyu must have caught Yang Tenghui off guard, which was why he lost a regiment. But to wipe out an entire division, that was a real clash of steel! In just a few hours, they wiped out a division from the Guangxi clique, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi's old unit, the Seventh Army! Such powerful combat effectiveness couldn't help but surprise them.
Three people did not make a sound, Chiang Kai-shek slightly frowned and asked: "Weiwen, you are more familiar with Wen Ge's troops. His troops have some special features. Tell me how one of his divisions is organized."
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