Chapter 46: The Wind Rises in Ji Nan (9)

  After handling this matter, Xiao Guodong began to report the situation of various matters after the war to Song Zhiwu: "All the lightly and seriously wounded soldiers of the Security Guard Army were treated at the First Division Field Hospital and then arranged to be sent back to the Baoyuan Security Guard Army Hospital for further treatment; The seriously wounded bandits and the 26th Brigade and 55th Division of the Northwest Army were also sent to Baoyuan for rescue and treatment. The lightly wounded soldiers continued to be treated at the First Division Field Hospital. According to your requirements, we are asking whether the officers under the age of 30 and soldiers around the age of 20 from the 26th Brigade and 55th Division are willing to join our Security Guard Army. The 24 75mm mountain guns, all mortars, part of the nearly new light and heavy machine guns, and all ammunition will be transported back to Baoyuan. Other materials, except for food, will also be transported back.

  Just now, Song Zhe-wu made a round on the battlefield. Neither the bandits' nor the Northwestern Army's weapons were impressive. Except for those few mountain cannons and several dozen light and heavy machine guns, he didn't think much of them. These men and guns would eventually have to be returned to Shi You-san and Han Fu-quan, no matter whether it was Shang Zhen or Chiang Kai-shek who wanted him to do so. Moreover, the key point was that Song Zhe-wu did not want to tear his face with the Northwestern Army at this time. So he wanted to pick up some good ones first, an idea he had discussed with Xiao Guo-dong long ago. These Northwestern Army soldiers could be said to be elite troops. As long as they were pulled back and given a little training, they could immediately join the Security Forces. Therefore, he would not return all of them. As long as the guns were returned, Shi You-san and Han Fu-quan would not hold it against him anymore, and they could recruit again. The reason for strictly limiting the age was that Song Zhe-wu was preparing for the war eight years later. Eight years later, these people would be around 30 years old, in their prime, with many years of good training. With them as the backbone, he could guarantee that his troops had strong combat effectiveness and also had the strength to confront the little devils head-on.

  These tasks were arranged by Xiao Guodong in an orderly manner, and Song Zhiwu was very satisfied. After thinking for a moment, he said to Xiao Guodong: "We also need to trouble the chief of staff to send telegrams to Beiping and Nanjing separately. In addition to reporting on the battle situation, we should pay attention to the following points: First, the 26th Brigade and the 55th Division crossed the border and launched a surprise attack on our army. Second, our troops suffered heavy casualties, and Han Fuzi and Shi Yousan want to return people and guns, they must compensate us for our losses of 1 million yuan. Third, this point is only mentioned to Nanjing, the bandit leader Liu Yu at Zengjiashan was a former subordinate of Sun Dianying, we obtained a batch of ancient books and paintings in Zengjiashan, please ask Chairman Chiang for instructions on how to deal with them."

  Regarding how to define what is a national treasure, Xiao Guodong knew Song Zhe Wu's idea. Although he did not agree with Song Zhe Wu's conclusion, he also acknowledged that his junior fellow, who had undergone tremendous changes in his thoughts and consciousness over the past few years, made some sense. As a descendant of a Jiangnan aristocratic family, Xiao Guodong was well-versed in ancient artifacts and treasures. He had long made up his mind that although Song Zhe Wu drew a line, it would be up to him to decide how to solidify it, and he would try his best to broaden the boundaries defined by Song Zhe Wu.

  While chatting with Song Zhe Wu and others about the differences between picking up people, guns and money, at this time in Kaifeng, Henan Province, in the office of Provincial Government Chairman Han Fuqu, it was a gloomy scene. Han Fuqu sat deeply on the sofa with a sullen face, his eyes fixed on several telegrams on the table in front of him, he had been sitting like this for an hour.

  These telegrams were sent by his 55th Division, Hebei Provincial Chairman Shang Zhen and his sworn brother Shi You San. All these telegrams told the same thing: that a certain Song Zhe Wu of the Hebei Security Forces, with only one division's strength, annihilated the 26th Brigade and most of the 55th Division in just two hours.

  This so-called 55th Division is now his **ah!** Feng Yuxiang's uneasy and sinister promotion of him as Henan Province Chairman, but relieved him of his 20th Division commander position, letting the Second Group Army, his chief of staff Shi Jingting take over. And this Shi Jingting, as soon as he arrived at the 20th Division, began to purge his old subordinates in the division, clearly trying to seize his military power.

  This provincial chairman looks very powerful and has real authority, but is actually unstable. As long as that day comes, with a single order from Nanjing, he will have to obediently relocate and exit the domestic political stage. Han Fuquang is only 40 years old this year! Fortunately, he received news in advance and used the excuse of downsizing to transfer some of his core troops, using various excuses to establish some local security forces in Henan.

  This so-called 55th Division was formed by taking away one regiment from Li Han Zhang's brigade, which was his trusted subordinate. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he stood up and paced back and forth in the room. He was not only angry at this damned 55th Division commander but also at Feng Yuxiang, who had let the local security forces of Hebei be defeated by a single blow.

  Feng Yuxiang's actions were clearly intended to get rid of him. Han Fuquang thought that since 1910, when he joined Feng Yuxiang in Liaoyang as a secretary, company commander, battalion commander, regimental commander, division commander, every step of the way was earned through his own blood and sweat, even risking his life. It wasn't something that Feng Yuxiang had given him for free.

  In November 1924, when the National Army attacked Tianjin, Han Fuquang led the vanguard and broke into Tianjin, and was subsequently promoted to commander of the First Army's First Division and Tianjin garrison commander. In 1926, during the Zhili-Fengtian War, Feng Yuxiang was forced to go into exile in the Soviet Union, and Han Fuquang followed him reluctantly.

  However, he also preserved the largest force of the Northwestern Army. When Feng Yuxiang returned to China, it was Han Fuquang who brought Shi You San, Chen Xi Sheng, and others back under his command. In July 1927, when the Second Group Army marched into Hebei, Han Fuquang led his troops from Luoyang, crossed the Yellow River, and defeated the enemy in Yuxian County in September.

  In October of that year, Zhang Zongchang's forces launched a large-scale attack on eastern Henan, but Han Fuquang led his troops to victory between Lankao and Kaifeng. In November, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the central route of the Second Group Army and defeated the Zhili-Lu coalition army. In December, he cooperated with the First Group Army to attack Xuzhou and annihilate the main force of the Zhili-Lu coalition army.

  In April 1928, when the Fengtian Army's 12 divisions attacked Henan, Han Fuquang led his troops to defeat them and occupy Beijing's Nanyuan Airport, becoming the first Northern Expeditionary Army to reach Beijing. However, Feng Yuxiang thought too simply, and Han Fuquang's troops were not so easily taken away by others.

  Now, with the 20th Division stationed in Luoyang and Zhengzhou, every day there were things happening that he didn't dare to say he was completely clear about, but at least he knew eight or nine out of ten. That is, as long as he gave the order, the 20th Division would still return to his side.

  This point, Nanjing's old Jiang (Jiang Jieshi) understood more clearly than Feng Yuxiang. Now, in his provincial government, there were representatives sent by Nanjing to win him over, such as Lu Zuo. Thinking of these things, Han Fuquang's irritable mood slowly calmed down a bit.

  Many people mistakenly believe that Han Fuqu is an illiterate martial artist, but in fact, Han Fuqu was born into a scholarly family and has a deep foundation in classical studies. He is not only skilled in calligraphy, but also writes well with great literary talent. As a child, Han Fuqu entered private school to study with his father for seven or eight years, where he excelled in poetry and writing, especially in calligraphy. By the time he was in his teens, he could work as a "posting writer" at the county government office, and after joining the military, he received recognition from Feng Yuxiang and became a confidential secretary, all thanks to his exceptional handwriting skills. Han Fuqu's calligraphy even earned praise from Yu Youren, a renowned calligrapher and elder statesman of the Nationalist Party. Han Fuqu had participated in the Luanchuan Uprising, and later, in 1937, the National Government approved the establishment of the "Xinhai Luanchuan Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Cemetery" in western Beijing to commemorate the event. The inscription on the memorial stele, "The Xinhai Luanchuan Revolutionary Martyrs' Mausoleum Inscription and Preface", was written by Han Fuqu at Feng Yuxiang's request. After being dispatched by the National Government to work in Shandong Province for a period of time, Lu Lizhi, who had served as the chief advisor to the Gansu Provincial Government, wrote an article in 1994 in "Yanhuang Chunqiu" magazine, recounting his impressions after meeting Han Fuqu. He said that when he first met Han Fuqu, "I felt that people had misunderstood him." He also stated: "Based on my personal observations and the various attitudes he showed towards people and things, his speech and expression, and his mental state, I believe Han is an extraordinary person. At that time, it was difficult to find a second person among the so-called 'Confucian generals' of the Nationalist Party."

  He knew that now was not the time for him to get anxious and flustered, the top priority now was to get back the guns of his captured men. Resorting to force was absolutely out of the question, let alone he was no longer the commander of the 20th Division, even if he were, it wasn't something that could be solved with military might. His division may not be as good as the 20th Division, but it definitely wasn't an ordinary local unit either. Yet this division had been defeated by the Hebei Security Forces, which was established just over two years ago, and had fled in disarray after just half an hour, and had run wildly for over 40 miles before regrouping. Han Fuju didn't believe that the division's chief of staff had said in his telegram that he had managed to rally his troops and repel the Security Forces, he believed even more that it was because the enemy had stopped pursuing them on their own accord. After running wildly for tens of miles, not to mention heavy weapons, how many rifles could they have left? What were they going to use to repel the Security Forces with?

  The current situation at home is very delicate. On the one hand, Nanjing is actively preparing to take action against the Guangxi clique; on the other hand, it is pulling in Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang, the two largest forces in the country, and has even begun to secretly pull in these mid-to-high-level military officers. It's laughable that Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang, who think they are smart, not only refuse to lend a hand to the Guangxi clique but also want to get a share of the spoils for themselves, unaware that Jiang Jieshi's next target will be them. All the big and small forces in the country are hiding from the rain and wind in the hut built on the three pillars of the Guangxi clique, the Northwestern Army, and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. Once the Guangxi clique collapses, this hut will also collapse, and there will be no intact eggs under the collapsed nest. How many of these self-proclaimed party-state pillars can see through this point?

  Thanks to all friends who care about this book! Two chapters are specially sent today.