Chapter 69: Battle of Wuhan (2)

  Outside the Jianghan Restaurant, security guards stood like a forest, heavily guarded, and sandbag fortifications were piled up on the street in front of the door, with several machine guns mounted on top. This is now the residence of the Fourth Route Army's Wuhan Front Command.

  This restaurant is a typical French three-story building, with a mansard roof covered in iron tiles, a very large slope, and asphalt felt on the iron tiles, painted black. The round old-fashioned windows on the facade and the pilasters on the facade have a clear French style, as well as floor-to-ceiling windows that lead directly to the garden, and the entrance is a revolving door with a circular shape, showing a luxurious and elegant atmosphere. Xiao Guotang and Zhang Yafei set up their forward command post here, not for luxury or comfort, but simply because they required a quiet and spacious place, and as a result, the staff of the headquarters directly brought them to this place.

  In a conference room on the second floor, Xiao Guodong and Zhang Yafei were listening to Ye Changgui, Chu Feng, Wang Xinggang, Han Guang, Gao Tianyuan, and Chief of Staff Feng Jianmin report on the completion of their respective tasks. According to Song Zhiwu's idea, he wanted Chu Feng to focus on civil administration, preparing for his future territory. This time, bringing him along was to let Chu Feng participate in receiving a big city like Wuhan, accumulating experience.

  At this moment, Hankou and Hanyang are completely under the control of the security forces. The special brigade infiltrated into the city last night and took control of important areas and departments in small units. When Liu Dayong, chief of staff of the 4th Army Group, and Xia Wei, commander of the 7th Army, crossed the river, they were just arriving at the dock and could not stop them. Now most of the controlled regions have been handed over to the 1st Regiment, except for the Hankou Telegraph Bureau, the Jizhong Water and Electricity Co., Ltd., the British Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the British Chartered Bank, the British Mercantile Bank, the French Banque de l'Indochine, the British Lloyds Bank, the German Deutsch-Asiatische Bank, the French Banque Franco-Chinoise, the Russian Donskoy Bank, the Japanese Shokusan Bank, the Chinese Commercial Bank, the Bank of China, and the Zhejiang Industrial Bank, etc. in Hankou, which are still under the control of the special brigade; The troops stationed in Hankou by the 1st Regiment, except for taking over the military and political departments, military warehouses, and setting up a warning line outside the Russian, French, and Japanese concessions along the Yangtze River, also deployed troops to guard the Hankou Railway Station, the Dazhi Gate Terminal, and the airport. They also set up checkpoints at each road, dock, main street, and intersection in and out of Hankou; Wang Xinggang's patrol team and the 2nd Cavalry Regiment formed 100 patrol teams with mixed cavalry units to patrol and maintain order in various parts of Hankou city; The troops stationed in Hanyang focused on controlling the Hanyang Arsenal, the Hanyang Iron Works, and the Yangtze River Bridge connecting Hankou and Hanyang, and set up a position on Turtle Mountain.

  Song Zhe-wu's idea was only understood by Xiao Guodong, so as soon as he entered Wuhan, Xiao Guodong handed over the guard troops he brought with him to Chu Feng, a regiment, and asked him to take over the municipal affairs immediately. Chu Feng did not disappoint Song Zhe-wu either, and quickly arranged for the water and electricity supply in Hankou and Hanyang, as well as transportation. He also soon found Liu Wentai, the mayor of Hankou Special City, who was under house arrest by the Guangxi clique due to his inclination towards the central government. With Liu Wentai's appearance, he persuaded the director of the Hankou Police Department, ordering all police officers to hand over their weapons and only carry batons on the streets to maintain order with the assistance of some personnel from the special brigade.

  And with the active cooperation of Liu Wenti, a disaster relief center was set up at the Six Nations Foreigners' Horse Racing Ground in the First Special Zone (formerly Hankou German Concession) and north of the Japanese Concession. A porridge hall was opened to distribute food and a small amount of money to mainly refugees from Shaanxi. The personnel for disaster relief have all arrived, just waiting for the grain to arrive, this is what Song Zhiwu entrusted him to do. What puzzles him is that Song Zhiwu repeatedly emphasized that it must be loudly publicized that the Commander-in-Chief of the Fourth Route Army, Song Zhiwu, was acting on the orders of Chairman Chiang. The notice of pacification by the Fourth Route Army after entering Wuhan has been posted on streets and alleys, now according to Song Zhiwu's suggestion, more than a dozen trucks equipped with loudspeakers are repeatedly patrolling Hankou and Hanyang, reading out the notice of pacification by the Fourth Route Army and the announcement of disaster relief.

  Finally, Chief of Staff Feng Jianmin reported the situation: "In Hankou and Hanyang, a total of 36 warehouses belonging to the Guangxi Army were found, including 12 weapon and ammunition depots. The main types of weapons included rifles, machine guns, and various bullets and shells. Preliminary estimates indicate that there are approximately 7,000 rifles, more than 400 machine guns, tens of thousands of rounds of 60mm mortar shells, and over 30,000 rounds of 75mm mountain gun shells. In addition, there were 12 Type 92 infantry cannons, which are new and have not been used yet, and should have arrived recently. There were also 12,000 rounds of ammunition for the Type 92 infantry cannon. The other warehouses contained food, uniforms, cloth, medicine, and several hundred barrels of gasoline. Additionally, in the warehouse of the Hanyang Arsenal, 7,400 Type 79 rifles, 1.2 million rounds of 7.9mm pointed bullets, and a large quantity of military supplies were found."

  The number reported by Chief of Staff Feng Jianmin surprised everyone except Xiao Guodong. As the chief of staff of the security forces, Xiao knew that his warehouse didn't have much more than this place, and he had already developed immunity. But others were different, their first thought was to get rich! The security forces got rich! This trip to Wuhan was absolutely not in vain!

  Looking at everyone's surprised look, Xiao Guodong still wanted to tease a few people, but now time is tight and there are many things that need to be done immediately. Not only is Hu Zongnan's 19th Army about to arrive in Hankou, but the Central Army will also arrive soon.

  He now not only has to stop the 19th Army, but also rush to transport the large amount of materials seized before the Central Army arrives in Hankou. After all, it's not quite proper to transport such a large quantity of materials in front of the Central Army.

  Xiao Guodong coughed, and everyone knew that Xiao Guodong was about to assign tasks, so they all quieted down. Xiao Guodong said seriously: "From last night to now, all our actions have gone very smoothly, and everyone's tasks have been completed outstandingly. When we return, I will report everyone's performance to Wen Ge in full. However, what I want to remind you all is..." At this point, Xiao Guodong emphasized his tone: "Our mission has not yet been completed. According to the intelligence from the Central Army that Wen Ge passed on, Hu Zongnan's 19th Corps broke away from their position last night and are rushing back to Hankou; although we have captured a large amount of supplies, which can largely make up for our losses and even earn us more, I want to remind you that this is also what Wen Ge is worried about. These supplies will not be ours once the Central Army arrives in Hankou, only if we transport them away before they arrive will they truly belong to us. The logistics brigade's trucks are currently transporting the troops led by Gao Shilong to support the 3rd battalion in blocking the 19th Corps' return to Hankou. What we need to do now is as follows: First, Zhang Yafei will lead the 1st battalion, cavalry brigade, and special forces to maintain order in Hankou and Hanyang, and closely monitor the enemy's movements from Wuchang, preparing to block their crossing of the river. Second, all captured supplies from the Guangxi Army must be transported away; the 792-caliber bullets in the Hanyang Arsenal warehouse must be transported away, while the remaining supplies should not be moved."

  "Halt. Xiang Guodong looked at several people slowly and solemnly, saying: 'For anyone who dares to challenge the authority of our security forces, they will be executed on the spot. No leniency will be shown. I bring this to your attention. These are the original words from Wen Ge's telegram to me.'"

  Xiao Guodong, who was usually gentle, gave orders in a rare tone of voice. Everyone's spirits had already been lifted. Upon hearing that it was still Song Zhe Wu's intention, they dared not to slack off even more. Zhang Ya Fei stared at Xiao Guodong and asked: "Chief of Staff, can I understand it as... no matter who, as long as they hinder our maintenance of law and order, we can do this?" Xiao Guodong hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "You can understand it that way."

  Zhang Yafei remained silent. Xiao Guodong continued, "Have Commander Zhang dispatch a company to Chu Feng. Immediately transport grain from the Gui Army's granary to the Six Nations' horse racing track to provide disaster relief. Take as much as needed." "Also, Xing Gang, Wen Ge has entrusted you with recruiting soldiers. You must handle it immediately." Xiao Guodong said, looking at Wang Xinggang.

  Wang Xinggang said, "Chief of Staff. The arrangements for recruiting soldiers at various universities and among refugees have been made. However, the person we sent to the Hanyang Arsenal's Army Department's Hanyang Specialized School encountered trouble. The principal said that they belong to the Nanjing Ordnance Bureau and are under the central government. They do not allow us to recruit people there." Zhang Yafei glared with dissatisfaction, saying, "I say, Director Wang, is this matter also troubling the Chief of Staff? I'll send someone to arrest him first, then you can go recruit people again."

  Xiao Guodong thought for a moment and said: "There's something special here. Director Chiang specifically mentioned in his telegram to Wen Ge that we need to protect the Hanyang Arsenal well. I think this way, the logistics team's vehicles will arrive this afternoon. As soon as they do, you arrange for people to quickly load up. Tonight, all the supplies must be transported away. If there aren't enough vehicles, you can think of a solution in Hankou. Tomorrow morning, you'll find that principal and bring him to Hankou. No matter what method you use, just make sure he doesn't return to Hanyang tomorrow. Xing Gang will go recruit people again while he's not around. The treatment has already been discussed with Wen Ge, but you can decide on your own to offer more if needed. Everything is focused on recruiting people."

  Xiao Guodong saw that everyone was fine and asked: "Have you all understood? Then let's go and make arrangements immediately."

  As soon as the crowd left, Zhuang Mengxi came to find Xiao Guodong with a telegram. The telegram was sent by Sun Li, reporting that he had already made contact with the vanguard of Hu Zongdong's 19th Army of the Guangxi Army.

  Xiao Guodong furrowed his brow and asked Mengxi: "How much longer will it take for Gao Shizhang and the others to arrive at Zhujihe?" "At least 2 hours," Mengxi replied.

  Xiao Guodong glanced at his watch, now 8:10. After a moment's thought, he ordered: "You immediately send someone to ride a horse to tell Gao Shizhang to hurry up and get to Zhujihe River. If they're late, the three battalions might not be able to hold on. That's an entire army plus the Seventh Army's division!"

  Xiao Guodong, who had not slept all night, was just about to lean back in his chair and take a nap when Zhang Yafei pushed open the door and came in, looking gloomy. "Chief of Staff, I didn't want to disturb you, but this matter requires someone with your experience abroad to handle it." Zhang Yafei was usually an optimistic person, so it was rare to see him looking so glum. Xiao Guodong quickly asked, "What's happened?" Zhang Yafei replied, "The American Consul in Hankou, Mr. Wei Li, has requested a meeting." "The American Consul? What did he say the matter was about?" Xiao Guodong was somewhat surprised - had some kind of diplomatic dispute arisen?

  Zhang Yafei said: "I did ask him, but this big nose won't say anything, just saying that he must see our highest leader, so it's up to you now."

  However, I heard that translator say there was something very important and also a telegram from the President of Yenching University in Beiping, Leighton Stuart, to Wen Go, asking us to hand it over to him.

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