Chapter 29: Jiang Fangzhen's Decision

  As for the name Liu Yuan, Jiang Fangzhen had already heard of it when he visited Germany because in the textbook of the Berlin Military Academy, there was an article discussing the possibility of tank group warfare, which was well received by the military instructors at that time, and the author of this article was Liu Yuan.

  Later, Jiang Fangzhen stayed in Japan for a while and found that in this country where the emperor should be worshipped, many young people were worshipping a young man named Liu Yuan. They were used to reading a book called "How the Steel Was Tempered", they were used to discussing what new works this young man Liu Yuan had, they discussed how this young man Liu Yuan had made outstanding achievements in China, and even in the mouths of Japanese young people, Jiang Fangzhen could hear the names of Hu Zongnan and Yu Jishi. It was clear that Japan's younger generation was very familiar with China's young people.

  Jiang Fangzhen returned to China last year and first served Wu Peifu for a period of time. During his days in China, Jiang Fangzhen found that the name Liu Yuan was not very popular because in newspapers and teahouses, there were all sorts of debates between factions or legends about high-ranking officials, which seemed to be of little concern to the younger generation.

  When this Northern Expedition began, when the Huangpu Third Division appeared as the first batch of vanguard troops on the battlefield in Hubei and Hunan along with the Fourth Army, Jiang Fangzhen realized that these armies were different. They were too fast, they were too strong.

  He visited Sun Chuanfang several times, hoping he could support Wu Peifu. Jiang Fengzhen had a strong premonition that if they did not support Wu Peifu, this former giant would quickly fall and Jiangxi would become the new battlefield.

  This former student of mine doesn't seem to be very self-aware, greed fills his mind, he seems confident that he can sit back and watch the tigers fight, and ultimately reap the benefits.

  But the fact is that when a large number of troops were defeated in Nanchang, Sun Chuanfang almost fell down. At this time, Wang Yuanzhi stood out and asked to take down Nanchang, giving the Southern Army a lesson.

  As for Wang Yuanyi, Jiang Fangzhen was relatively at ease, with less courage but sufficient strategy, as war is fought with the brain.

  Yesterday, Wang Yuyi asked Sun Chuanfang for support and requested to mobilize 50,000 to 80,000 troops to annihilate the remaining one division of Chiang Kai-shek's most elite troops and three divisions of 10,000 men.

  Sun Chuanfang was still a bit hesitant, at this time Jiang Fangzhen stood out and said to Sun Chuanfang, "The Southern Army is like a sharp arrow shooting from the south to the north. Although it has just left the bowstring, its sharpness is already evident. The sharper the arrow, the higher the requirement for the sword cluster. The Southern Army is brave, but there are not many arrow clusters, only two, namely the independent regiment of the Fourth Army and the Third Division of the First Army. If we can gather heavy troops to destroy one of them, then this arrow of the Southern Army will not fly far."

  Upon hearing Jiang Fangzhen's analogy, Sun Chuanfang nodded and said, "Teacher, I'm not at ease with entrusting 50,000 men to others. Can you personally take a trip? In my opinion, although the young generation of Huangpu is very formidable, the old veterans are also not to be underestimated. If their reinforcements arrive in time, I think our losses will certainly be significant. Now that things have come to this pass, we can only preserve Jiangxi and I, Sun Chuanfang, do not dare to think about contending for the world."

  Although Jiang Fangzhen looked down on Sun Chuanfang for lacking great ambitions, he also knew that the warlords were declining day by day, while the revolutionary government had been rising since the Communist Party joined. It seemed that taking over the world was only a matter of time. However, Sun Chuanfang made himself the Chief of Staff, and if Jiang betrayed him, it would be hard to justify in the eyes of the people.

  Chiang Fangzheng silently looked at Sun Chuanfang in the house and sighed in his heart, "The warlord's politics is proud of its strength, but it will inevitably fall into weakness and self-destruction. It appears strong on the outside but weak inside, with a hard exterior and soft interior, this is its characteristic."

  Jiang Fangzhen's first move upon arriving in Nanchang was to relocate the command center to a hill not far from Niuhao, where he could overlook and clearly see the defensive positions of Niuhao. This simple action earned him Wang Yuanqi's recognition.

  That day, Wang Yuan-yi personally came to Jiang Fang-zhen's barracks and said, "Although I think I have some skills, but compared to you, it's like a small trickster seeing a great one. Now we are all sacrificing for the general, my skills are not enough, so I will give you the command, I Wang Yuan-yi will go to the front line, I'm afraid those little ones don't have enough skills."

  Jiang Fangzhen nodded and said, "I heard that the commander of the Niu Hang's troops is a young man named Liu Yuan. The young commanders around him are all very skilled in commanding battles, each with their own style. When you arrive at the front line, be extra careful and don't wear military uniforms. There is a group of people in their army called snipers who specialize in killing officers, causing chaos in the troops."

  After listening to Jiang Fangzhen's words, Wang Yuanyi nodded, "The sniper you mentioned, I've already heard of it. Last time we clashed, I thought they relied on snipers to quickly break through my position and almost destroyed my command center. Now this young man is getting more and more skilled."

  "Brother Yuan Yi, don't be discouraged. Although the young people in Guangzhou have talent, their positions are occupied by the older generation, and the quality of their military officers is very poor. Take this counterattack in Nanchang as an example. We can easily retake Nanchang. Their commanders couldn't even contact their troops. It's clear what kind of ability they have. Although this young generation can occupy Niuxing, but being surrounded by us, how long do you think they can survive?" Jiang Fangzhen said with a smile.

  "But they are so excellent, the future hope of the country. Although they are now at odds with each other and can't come to an agreement, killing them would be a waste. You know those foreigners who are assisting the General, and you also know their attitude towards China. I'm afraid that one day when we need young people for national war, they will all have died in the civil war." Wang Yuan-yi shook his head and said, actually there were also far-sighted people under the warlords, but their names had been covered up by the glory of the victors and disappeared into the dust of history.

  "Originally, brother, there's no need to be like this. If they really have skills, they can survive from our encirclement and pass the test. The problem between the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party is ongoing. As far as I know, there are many Communist Party members in the three divisions. Whether they can continue to grow or not is still a question. Don't be so entangled." Jiang Fangzhen pointed on the map and continued, "At dawn today, your troops launched a frontal attack from here. Try to hit the target with cannonballs. They have dug artillery caves, giving them direct pressure. Then select 2,000 elite soldiers from the troops in Nanchang City, equipped with light weapons such as submachine guns. I heard that the young commander on the opposite side is best at concentrated firepower. Today we learn from them and give them a taste of what it's like to be attacked from both front and back."

  Wang Yuanyi's eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "You mean we cross the Gan River and launch a surprise attack from behind them, giving them a powerful blow."

  "Yes, between Nanchang and Niubang there is the Gan River. Generally, people would never think that we can go down along the rope and cross the Gan River directly. And you see, their defenses on three sides are quite good, but on the opposite bank of the Gan River, there are no fortifications. As long as we occupy these two warehouses, we can build a pontoon bridge, and our soldiers can depart from Nanchang and cross the Gan River continuously."

  "Why go down the rope, can't we just take a detour?" Wang Yuanyi asked in puzzlement.

  "It's impossible. I've heard that there is an organization on the opposite side, specializing in gathering enemy intelligence. As soon as you send troops out of the city gate, I think the opposing army will receive news and be prepared."