Chapter 41: The Sword Points to the Southern Sky

  Because all the formal work was scheduled for the next day, today was a series of tedious and ceremonial tasks, including banquets, dinner parties, and dance parties. Because Chiang Kai-shek and many frontier generals had not seen each other for some time, after the dance party began, he was basically monopolized by a group of old Huangpu students. Tan Xiao took advantage of the situation to slip away unnoticed. He had already learned about the news of the Hu brothers being ambushed and killed during the banquet, and also knew that they had caught a Japanese ninja. Having heard many stories about ninjas but never having seen one in person, Tan Xiao naturally wanted to see and interrogate him personally.

  However, he was soon delightedly disappointed - before he saw the ninja, his subordinates reported to him that the ninja had confessed everything! How could a ninja be so soft? "Who interrogated him? Is the confession reliable?" Tan Xiao didn't quite believe it.

  "At first, that ninja wouldn't say a word, but later someone mentioned that the mountain dog had a Mo San, who was in charge of interrogating the Japanese prisoners captured during the last mine closure. No one could withstand him, and he would make them surrender within an hour..."

  "Oh? Mo San still has such skills?" Tan Xiao felt that he had somewhat underestimated Mo San, so he first called Mo San over to ask him questions and see what method he used to pry open the ninja's mouth.

  "It's nothing, just scared him a bit..." That was Mo San's response. However, he soon told the process to Tan Xiao...

  What did Mo San do to scare that Japanese man? He let the ninja "appreciate" a few kinds of punishment: The first was to feed a captured Japanese man some **, then have two other Japanese women strip naked and tease him. When the Japanese man was most excited, his little bird was cut off with one knife! However, when the Japanese man's fresh blood sprayed out like a fountain and he was about to faint from blood loss, Mo San had someone stop the bleeding. Then, with a gentle face, he said to the ninja: "Don't worry, I won't let him die, you know? I'll give him some more water to drink, and soon he'll want to pee nonstop... Hehe... After two days, the wound will slowly scab over, and then I'll feed him ** again..."

  After this "appreciation", the words spoken by Mo San made that Japanese ninja wish he could die immediately! In his suddenly extremely shocked expression, Mo San knew that he spoke Chinese; and also, exposed him.

  Then, Mo San brought in the other three Japanese men and personally cooked a dish with his own hands. The main ingredient of the "dish" was the flesh on one of the Japanese men! As he made the dish fragrant and delicious, he started to let the other two eat it. "If you don't eat, the next dish will be you..." Mo San then walked over to the ninja and said: "Do you know? The ingredient used for cooking was the father of those two hungry ghosts..." At this time, the ninja was already on the verge of collapse. Mo San didn't say anything else, he started with the third one.

  Mo San's third punishment was to bring in a man with a chest as sexy as a woman's, then he took out a syringe and said to the ninja: "This is an American drug used to stimulate cow pregnancy, when injected into women it can promote milk secretion; when injected into men, it can make men quickly grow a pair of beautiful breasts, every day, after a month, this man will slowly lose interest in women, and his nipples will be very itchy, wanting people to touch, pinch, even want children to suck... I will use the three punishments you have seen on you one by one..."

  That Japanese ninja didn't suspect what Mo San said was true or false, he completely collapsed before receiving any punishment.

  "Everything you provide will be verified, if you dare to lie, I guarantee that you will taste more than thirty kinds of punishment." These were Mo San's last words to the Japanese ninja...

  Tan Xiao felt his scalp numb after hearing the whole process, he knew this was a ruthless killer, but he didn't expect Mo San to be so proficient in those perverted interrogation methods. Probably no one can keep secrets from Mo San, he thought. "Where did you learn these dirty tricks!?" He couldn't help but ask Mo San.

  "Before I became a bandit in Guilin, I had been to Vietnam and robbed some French farms; we would catch the farm owners and force them to tell us where they hid their money. Our leader at that time was a Japanese man who taught me." Mo San confessed honestly about his past under the Japanese man.

  "From now on, you're promoted to Lieutenant Colonel! From now on, all prisoners who refuse to talk during Military Affairs Department interrogations will be handed over to Mo San!"

  The intelligence provided by that ninja is very important: First, their hideout; Second, the appearance of the two leaders and their Japanese names are Tanaka and Kimura; Third, they have infiltrated the Wild One Brigade Department, and are familiar with the actions of the department's senior officials, and can transmit intelligence at any time; Fourth, the first target of this operation is Chiang Kai-shek!

  The military flowers at the ball were still shuttling back and forth among those generals holding heavy troops, but Ye Xiangyun found that Tan Xiao had disappeared very early, which made her carefully prepared coldness completely useless. Instead, it attracted a large number of officers from various armies, making He Shaotang busy to the left and right... Ye Xiangyun also found that Chiang Kai-shek had retired early without knowing what time.

  Chiang Kai-shek and Tan Xiang are now in secret talks.

  "How did the Japanese know that Yuan Shuai was coming to Lingling? This needs to be investigated clearly, I have already started deploying a secret investigation within the First Division." Tan Xiao reported.

  "Hmph, after all these years, are there not enough people who want my life? A few more Japanese won't make a difference, and a few less Japanese won't make a difference either!" Chiang Kai-shek was actually quite relaxed, having been the target of assassination attempts many times before: "You did well this time, don't feel guilty... Haha, your life is also big, how did you think to rush over by plane? This is just fate not being extinguished!"

  He pondered for a moment and said, "As for the collusion between the Guangdong and Guangxi armies and the Japanese, the Central Government is not unaware of it. Of course, they have less evidence of treason. I also want to pacify the two Guangs! However, we also have concerns. Once the war starts, if it cannot be settled quickly, China will be thrown into chaos..."

  "Please rest assured, Premier. I, Feng Sheng, guarantee that within half a year, the First Route Army will be reorganized and ready to sweep across Guangdong and Guangxi in just one month!" Tan Xiao still had great confidence in quickly resolving the issue of Guangdong and Guangxi, his only concern was hurting the morale of the Guangxi army.

  "Oh, you're so confident? Bai Chongxi is known as the little Zhuge, and he's still got a trick or two up his sleeve in military matters..." Chiang Kai-shek seemed to be using the tactic of provoking him.

  Tan Xiao was afraid that Chiang Kai-shek did not have the determination to fight against the two Guangs, and he didn't care whether Chiang Kai-shek was a requested general or an angry general: "Principal, look at this, it's the military plan of the Guangdong-Guangxi allied army: they want to divide their troops into two routes, one route takes Wuhan and then advances eastward, the other route takes the road to northern Fujian, basically the same as the original Northern Expedition route. From this plan, we can see that they must have another internal response! Otherwise, Bai Chongxi himself knows that he can't even get through the Hunan-Guangxi Road!"

  "Are you referring to He Yunqiao?" Chiang Kai-shek asked coldly, his greatest dissatisfaction with He Jian being his relationship with the Guangxi clique.

  "Not bad, I guess Li Bai's intention is to let He Jian borrow the opportunity to support the Wild One Army and suddenly change sides in front of the formation, catching me off guard. Otherwise, even if he wants to take advantage of the two armies' pincer movement, it would be difficult for him to get any benefits from the Wild One Army!" Tan Xiao had full confidence in the combat effectiveness of the Wild One Army, even without considering those special tactics; fighting a conventional war, as long as they completed about half a year of intensive training, the Wild One Army could easily sweep Li Bai away."

  Chiang Kai-shek was thinking of something else, he didn't consider He Jian a major threat either. What he thought was that the original plan to balance and restrain each other among He, Tan, and Li would be broken again! Now it seems that not removing He Jian is not feasible, but if the First Route Army swallows up all of He's forces, then the First Route Army will become too powerful; at that time, Tan Yankai will definitely dominate Hunan alone.

  "What do you plan to do with He Yunqiao?" Chiang Kai-shek weighed the pros and cons, and finally chose Tan Xiao's loyalty over possible betrayal. Moreover, if a war really broke out with the Guangxi clique, putting Tan Xiao at the forefront would still leave many ways for him to increase his controlling power in Hunan.

  "Principal, the students think that dealing with He Jian doesn't require a big fuss or even bloodshed! This time, there are twenty divisions in the training troops coming to Hunan. Neither the Guangdong-Guangxi warlords nor He Jian dare to take action at this time. In my observation, some of the divisions in this training session, such as the Instructional General Headquarters and the 87th Division, have high quality themselves; they can complete the entire reorganization and strengthening plan of the troops and understand the new combat mode of the National Army within four months. The rest is just continuous reinforcement. At that time, we can let three or four divisions with high quality leave first to perform other military duties, and then put the 70th Army, 28th Army, and 73rd Army into the training sequence; in the process of reorganization, we can quietly eliminate He Jian's military power without making a sound. In this way, not only will He Jian not dare to move, but also the Guangdong-Guangxi armies will not dare to act rashly; then, we can directly take action to sweep away the two provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi!"

  Chiang Kai-shek listened and thought it was good. This was what he wanted most: to subdue the enemy without fighting! Moreover, this way, the crisis of Guangdong and Guangxi's rebellion might also be eliminated. After all, he himself did not want to fight; once the war started, the army would have to gather in someone's hands, which was not what he wanted to see; it was also why he often personally took on certain commander-in-chief positions! However, he still wanted to hear Tan Xiao's plan to deal with Guangdong and Guangxi, so he asked: "Since He Yunqiao went, the two armies of Guangdong and Guangxi had no internal response and did not dare to take action; why did Feng Sheng still want to attack them?"

  "Principal! I, the central government, bear the burden of national unity and ethnic revival. These warlords have repeatedly rebelled for personal gain. Think about Chen Jitang, Guangdong is known as the richest province in the country, and the Guangdong Army is also one of the wealthiest among the three armies. But when there was a severe drought in the northwest and flooding along the Yangtze River, did Chen Jitang ever donate a single penny or grain? My Huangpu Army fought to the death against the Japanese invaders on Shanghai Beach, while Li Bai only shouted slogans from behind! To defeat external enemies, we must first stabilize the internal situation. In my opinion as a student, Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, Hu Hanmin, Chen Jitang, and those in the north like Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang should all be included on the list of those to be stabilized internally!..." Tan Xiaoxian spoke with righteous indignation, what he said was indeed the truth from his heart.

  Chiang Kai-shek saw that he had also scolded Yan Xishan and others in the north, but did not stop him. Instead, he smiled slightly and glanced at Lin Yu and Yang Yongtai beside him: "Fengsheng, what you said is reasonable, but as the ancients said, 'Weapons are evil instruments, which sages use only when they have no other choice...' Once war breaks out, the people will suffer. I'm not unwilling to fight, it's just that I don't have confidence in a quick victory..."

  Tan Xiaodao said: "As long as the various armies are prepared for half a year, the students have confidence that they can pacify Guangdong and Guangxi within a month without harming the military or civilians!" He looked at Chiang Kai-shek who didn't interrupt him and continued: "Let's take a look at the Guangdong Army first. Chen Jitang, the commander of the Guangdong Army, was originally not good at fighting. In the past, when he fought against Ye Ting and He Long in eastern Guangdong, if it weren't for General Xue Boling's support, he would have been defeated long ago! After he came to power, he didn't know how to fight himself, and he also drove away capable generals like Chen Zhenru and Zhang Xianghua. Who did he use? The most famous general under his command was Yu Miaoqi, a good-for-nothing! As the saying goes, 'one general without strategy can exhaust an army of thousands.' It's strange that after being led by them for so many years, the Guangdong Army still has any fighting power at all! Therefore, the Guangdong-Guangxi Allied Army is actually just one army and doesn't need to be worried about!" Tan Xiaodao became excited when talking about war, as if he had been injected with chicken blood: "Let's take a look at the Guangxi Army. Although their two armies have much stronger fighting power than the Guangdong Army, their equipment is extremely poor, and they still haven't popularized the use of machine guns; in terms of firepower, compared to the Central Army's new equipment after training, there's simply no comparison! What they rely on are just two things: one is the mountains of Guangxi, and the other is that they have a reserve system that allows them to quickly recruit soldiers!"

  Tan Xiao paused for a moment, and what he said was indeed the capital of Guijun's negotiations with the central government in later generations. Seeing that everyone present nodded slightly but did not interrupt his speech, he continued: "If our army simply launches a unilateral attack, and Guijun defends itself by relying on its advantageous position, it will indeed cause relatively heavy casualties. However, our army has another tactic! In the past, Chairman Mao used the navy to coordinate with the army, forcing Li Bai to flee to Vietnam, which was an example of avoiding the strong and attacking the weak. This tactic can still be used today!" Tan Xiao explained his tactics while also giving Chiang Kai-shek a high hat: "My tactics are still derived from the precedent set by our school principal..."

  Chiang Kai-shek indeed revealed a triumphant smile: "But won't this time the Guangxi army be unguarded?"

  Tan Xiaodao said: "But now our army is a hundred times stronger than it was back then in terms of equipment. Back when the principal single-handedly fought against all those heroes, there weren't that many air forces!" Tan Xiaodao had more than 200 planes, although they were outdated DH10s; the Central Army also had quite a few; moreover, he had already included Chen Jitang's Guangdong army, which was China's strongest air force.

  Then, Tan Xiao quietly told Chiang Kai-shek the strategy of using troops to sweep away the two Guangdong warlords (selling a suspense, otherwise there would be no book to read when the real fight comes...), this set of strategies was referenced from the US military's plan to sweep through Iraq in the future, leaving Chiang Kai-shek and others stunned! Tan Xiao is indeed a military genius of today! The intelligence just received today, and tonight he came up with such an extremely brilliant plan, and he even accompanied himself to attend banquets, dinner parties, and dance parties along the way!

  Just wait another half a year, and at least South China will be unified! Chiang Kai-shek was extremely excited in his heart, he agreed with Tan Xiao's plan, Tan Xiao used troops, and the two Guangs must be pacified! However, on the surface, he still looked calm. He still had worries, the only worry; he was worried about Tan Xiao alone, would Tan Xiao still be so passionate, so loyal after pacifying the two Guangs? The Tan Xiao who could pacify the two Guangs was naturally more difficult to deal with than Li Zongren and Chen Jitang! This man's military talent is too amazing!

  Yang Yongtai watched as Tan Xiao's eyes gradually became stern...

  It takes a very "difficult" process to complete the arduous task assigned to you! Tan Xiao completed it too easily! Although this is not yet a fact, but even a plan can make people hear the grip of victory, isn't that more terrifying?

  Tan Xiao didn't know how much shock his strategy would bring to others, but he was worried that Chiang Kai-shek wouldn't be willing to launch a war against Guangdong and Guangxi. War isn't just a fight between two people, it requires long-term preparation, and in this era of China, the reserve forces of various factions are not strong. Usually, one strike is enough to make the opponent either retreat or die. Now, because Tan Xiao wasn't clear about the situation in Guangdong and Guangxi at that time, he thought he had pushed them against him, so he wanted to save them, he wanted to pacify Guangdong and Guangxi before fighting Japan! So, he could only put out his strategy of quickly defeating Guangdong and Guangxi, even if it would make Chiang Kai-shek wary of him. When he met Yang Yongtai's gaze, he responded with a hint of a gentlemanly smile.

  That night, Tan Xiao did not go to rest after bidding farewell to Chiang Kai-shek. He went to see the weapon samples brought back by Huang Xiaoxun and Lin Yintang; and at the same time, he had someone call Huang Xiaoxun, Lin Yintang, and Ren Pingwei to discuss matters.

  He contentedly stroked the 56-1 type light machine gun that could change barrels - because it could change barrels, this machine gun's rate of fire had been adjusted to 800 rounds per minute, and the actual rate of fire reached as high as 400 rounds! It can be said without exaggeration that the Chinese army is about to equip itself with the best squad machine gun in the world today! This gun was called "Miss Container's Lollipop" by the British engineer who made it in this space-time. Is "Lollipop" a good name? Tan Xiao smiled when he heard it. As for heavy machine guns, he chose two models: one is the civilian 24 Markov that can fire continuously for four hours, and the other is the MG34 that will be brought over by the Germans and remade by him to quickly cover the enemy's flank with his machine gun squad! Of course, what he wanted was not the expensive MG34 but its derivative MG42; as a light machine gun it was too heavy, but as a rapid mobile heavy machine gun squad, it was excellent!

  Will this machine gun, which will first appear on the Chinese battlefield when he gets the MG42 out, still be called "Hitler's electric saw" or "cloth tearing machine"? Perhaps it is more suitable to call it "Tan Xiao's cloth tearing machine".

  6.5mm caliber, using the same rifle cartridge as the Type 38, the "Wild Kid" semi-automatic rifle derived from the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, plastic explosives, triangular bayonet... These are the equipment of China's most elite troops in Tan Xiao's mind!

  Huang Xiao and the other two arrived, they did not expect to be called by Tan Xiao in the middle of the night for a meeting. They all knew that today Tan Xiao would accompany the Chairman. So when they came, seeing Tan Xiao inspecting new weapons, he looked particularly excited: this is truly a soldier who has devoted himself wholeheartedly to resisting Japan!

  "In the dead of night, I called everyone here to ask you all a question." Tan Xiao said: "Is it possible for you to continue monitoring the interactions between the Guangdong and Guangxi armies and the Japanese through your connections in Hong Kong?"

  "It should be possible. In fact, Chen Lianbo's bodyguards have my friends in them, I can get in!" Ren Pingwei replied. He was the biggest gain that Huang Lin brought back this time.

  "Alright, that's what we'll do. I not only want to monitor them in Hong Kong and the two Guangs, but also establish my own spy network throughout Nanyang. This task is now assigned to you three...” Tan Xiao was regretful of his previous work on secrecy, security, espionage and counter-espionage after learning that Japanese spies had infiltrated Ye Yizhi's division, and he decided to make up for lost time.

  "We'll definitely be fine." Lin Yintang replied: "Right, Master, if there's one person who can help, things will become much easier!"

  "Who? As long as they're reliable and useful, I'll use them!" Tan Xiao didn't mind boldly using outsiders: "However, including you guys, I'm going to arrange some special training courses for agents. This isn't a game!"

  "This, this person once said... if, if one day..." Huang Xiao suddenly became hesitant in his speech: "Master has something to ask of her, unless... unless Master goes personally to invite..."

  Tan Xiao Zhang was puzzled: Who is it? When did he unintentionally offend someone?

  Huang Xiao finally spoke out, it turned out that this person was actually Wen Xiangting, the one who opened "Wenxiang Ting" wine house in Dong'an! The **young woman who was being teased by Tan Xiao to the point of being at a loss on her own turf!

  Tan Xiao found that he still had a relatively deep impression of her devilish figure! As soon as the name was mentioned, the fiery-bodied young woman appeared in his mind... Ah, men... He immediately moved Rong Hui's image into his mind to rescue him.

  "Xiang Ting's former husband, Huang Bao Long, was a junior fellow apprentice under the same master as 'Five Province Knife King' Sun Yu Feng in Beiping. He was originally from one of the four major Chinese families in Southeast Asia, the Huang family, and also one of the two guardians of the 'Bamboo Net Dragon Hall'. Later, during a conflict with local indigenous people, he was shot by the Dutch and died from his injuries. Xiang Ting was heartbroken and returned to her hometown to recover. If Xiang Ting is willing to help, the entire Southeast Asia can quickly develop!"

  A woman who can open a store on the side of a big road far away from Dong'an County is certainly not simple! But Tan Xiao didn't think that this young woman would have such a large background, although he didn't know what Nanyang Four Families and "Bamboo Net Dragon Hall" were; but as soon as he heard it, he could understand that this was definitely the most powerful organization of Nanyang Chinese in both white and black societies.

  Alright! Tan Xiao Xiang will take care of this spicy girl then!

  (The author: Those perverted punishments were noted from Japanese pervert crimes I saw before, let them taste their own medicine...)