Chapter 32: The Flying General Rushes to the King's Aid (Part 2)

  After a good half-day's sleep, Tan Xiao's spirits had greatly improved. After wolfing down a meal, he arrived at Chiang Kai-shek's study to report on the Sino-German negotiations in Lingling. When he presented all the true content and data, the three listeners in the study - Chiang Kai-shek, Yang Yongtai, and Lin Wei - were all stunned by the unexpected good fortune! Chiang Kai-shek knew that Hitler was coming to China, but he had not expected Hitler's gift to be so generous. He listened with great enthusiasm as Tan Xiao recounted the process of persuading the German delegation, and under Tan Xiao's slight exaggeration, the negotiations became even more vivid and exciting, with each step more thrilling than the last. Chiang Kai-shek was so excited that he couldn't contain himself, and insisted that Tan Xiao perform a Hitler-style speech before he would let him off. The old man was almost beside himself with laughter, his false teeth nearly falling out!

  Tan Xiao attributed the idea of imitating Hitler and the credit for training him in the Hitler style to Rong Hui, in order to get the principal's support for his and Rong Hui's affair. Chiang Kai-shek nodded repeatedly: "This Rong Hui is a strange woman! ... She's your virtuous assistant..." Tan Xiao felt relieved when he heard this.

  However, what he urgently wants to say is about his house arrest and the violent beating of Kong Xiangxi and Song Ziwen. After all, letting these two people accuse him in front of Chiang Kai-shek is not as good as clearing up the matter himself first. Now he has enough capital to ask Chiang Kai-shek to protect him: the German officer team that came was specifically ordered to train him! Moreover, Hitler also wants to see him; The third reason he has for his fearlessness is that he feels that Song Ziwen and even Soong Mei-ling are not as important in Chiang Kai-shek's heart as they are portrayed in later literary works. He had been thinking about this matter after dealing with Kong and Song, and from what he knew, Chiang Kai-shek's need for the Song family was more political. Before the war of resistance, he had always tried to disband Song Ziwen's tax police team, and after the victory of the war of resistance, Song Ziwen emptied the foreign exchange in the national treasury, and there might have been a struggle for power: After all, the Americans once wanted to abandon Chiang Kai-shek and support Chen Cheng, so what about Song Ziwen? Wouldn't he be one of the objects of consideration? Judging from the fact that Chiang Kai-shek later removed all positions held by Song Ziwen and even hurt the military's heart, putting Sun Liren, the first general of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, under house arrest for 30 years, it is possible that there were secret struggles between the two men that are not recorded in history. At least, Chiang Kai-shek thought that Song Ziwen was a huge obstacle to the succession of his son Chiang Jingguo, which should be no problem. Therefore, Tan Xiao felt that between an external relative who threatened him and a loyal and dedicated general who had made great contributions and posed no threat to his regime, Chiang Kai-shek would not abandon him. On the contrary, due to the one hundred million mark friendship bond project in this Sino-German cooperation, just this item alone could completely reduce Chiang Kai-shek's economic dependence on Song and Kong to a minimum. By extension, it can be inferred that Chiang Kai-shek will not only not do anything to harm Tan to help Song, but may even support Tan against Song! Therefore, Tan Xiao had long been prepared with his words.

  Chiang Kai-shek was aware of the soft detention of Kong Xiangxi, and he had guessed that Song Ziwen would also be locked up together. However, when Tan Xiao mentioned the incident where he violently beat Song Ziwen and Kong Xiangxi with a belt, Chiang was still shocked: "Tan Xiao is really not good at being tactful! He has offended these two as well!" Nevertheless, Chiang felt a sense of relief in his heart: Tan Xiao was only loyal to him, and didn't care about anyone else. He had clashed with He Jian, was on bad terms with Bai Chongxi, and now he had violently beaten the two most powerful imperial relatives of the Republic of China. If Chiang didn't protect him, he would eventually be killed by various factions. Good! This kind of person was reliable and wouldn't pose a threat to his power. Although Chiang frowned while listening, he had already decided to support Tan and suppress Song. With 100 million marks in foreign aid, why worry that Song and Kong won't let him issue public bonds in Shanghai? In terms of relations with the West, aside from America, Tan Xiao's relationships with England, France, and Germany were even better!

  When he heard Tan Xiao say that Song and Kong's corruption might just be what the Germans wanted to bribe, but it wasn't a fact yet, and he himself was too impatient and rough in beating the two, making a big mistake, and repeatedly asking for forgiveness, Chiang Kai-shek couldn't help but secretly praise: "This child can be taught!" If Tan Xiao had insisted that the two were corrupt, then Chiang Kai-shek wouldn't have been able to handle it either. After all, in front of Yang Yongtai and Lin Wei, if he didn't deal with the two, it would be a black curtain scandal; but how could he deal with them? Now Tan Xiao admitted his rashness, which gave everyone an excuse: although rash, but eager for public affairs, things were done beyond imagination, can make up for mistakes. As for Song and Kong, as long as you don't move Tan Xiao, what can you do? Are you not afraid that Tan Xiao will come to a fish die net break? Good! This Tan Xiao is indeed loyal and honest, but also not just rough, really a material that can be cultivated!

  Yang Yongtai and Lin Wei listened on the side, also having the same feeling: Who thought that Tan Xiao was the kind of master who only knew how to rush forward recklessly? If so, he would definitely die at Tan Xiao's hands. This person is just a swordsman with a biased style! However, the two had no doubt about Tan Xiao's absolute loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek. Yang Yongtai was both happy and worried about this: He himself was Chiang Kai-shek's absolutely loyal minister, naturally not resisting others' loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek, but if in some future events, Tan Xiao misunderstood him Yang Yongtai, that would also be a very troublesome thing!

  Tan Xiao didn't know what others thought in their hearts, but after Chiang Kai-shek's serious criticism, he did not take any action against Tan Xiao. Instead, he said: "Wind Sheng, you also have a public heart, misunderstood the two of them, I think they will understand..." This made Tan Xiao realize that he had gambled correctly again: Chiang Kai-shek would protect him and even support him!

  He also secretly sighed: The art of speech of leaders! A misunderstanding, proved the innocence of Song and Kong, a consolation, and he himself was fine too! So in the end, he also brought out the fact that he had extorted 200 million from Song and Kong - He didn't dare guarantee whether Song and Kong would tell Chiang Kai-shek or not, so he just said it himself. He explained that the 200 million was only a temporary anger to intimidate the two, and he didn't expect them to admit their guilt.

  As for this matter, unexpectedly Chiang Kai-shek was quite pleased after hearing it. He burst out laughing and then said to Tan Xiao: "You have made such a great contribution to the country, I haven't even given you a reward yet, isn't this one enough? You can take it to buy arms or buy land, decide for yourself!..." It seems that he still had some resentment towards Song and Kong's desperate money-grabbing, and Tan Xiao helped him vent his anger. However, there was also a hidden meaning in his words: the sentence about buying arms meant that the military expenses for equipping the Wild One Division were included in these 20 million. Tan Xiao once again appreciated the art of speaking and doing things like a leader.

  Chiang Kai-shek's face had turned from gloomy to sunny, and he began to shift the topic to military reorganization. Regarding Tan Xing's military reorganization plan, Falkenhausen was in agreement, including the need to use "bandit suppression" as a pretext for the reorganization, and to avoid provoking Japan as much as possible. As a result, the original historical military reorganization plan underwent significant changes, and was largely carried out according to Tan Xing's plan.

  In terms of timing, it was decided that the next day would be the start of mobilizing the first batch of troops to be reorganized in Lingling. It was estimated that all troops would be assembled within about a month, at which point German equipment would also have arrived. In order to carry out military reorganization, Chiang Kai-shek decided to formally restore the Lingling Field Headquarters, and Tan Xing was appointed as its director on the spot; meanwhile, he himself took up the position of "Bandit Suppression Military Reorganization General Commander", with Falkenhausen serving as chief advisor, and two deputy commanders: He Yingqin and Tan Xing.

  Tan Xiang's official promotion is too fast: less than half a year from middle school to second-level general! Now, he suddenly has two real power positions in his hands: the director of the Lingling Garrison Command, which means he has become the highest commander of all military, political and civil affairs in the defense zone under its jurisdiction. Now, he is nominally the governor of half of Hunan, half of Guizhou, and northern Guangdong! At the same time, he is also the actual chief officer of the 20 divisions planned for this reorganization!

  Due to Tan Xiang's explanation of Japan's estimates and Germany's surprising equipment supply, the first batch of troops to be reorganized has been changed from the original 10 or 14 divisions to 20 divisions at once. The Hunan Army, which has always had a good relationship with the Guangxi clique but is more obedient, is included in the reorganization sequence this time. After all, the obedient He Jian is not as loyal as Tan Xiang, and Chiang Kai-shek's intention is to centralize the entire Hunan Army!

  After the military affairs were settled, it was already around 11 o'clock in the evening. Chiang Kai-shek ordered his attendants to prepare a midnight snack and then planned to exchange views with Tan Xiaofei on the current Nationalist-Communist war situation. However, at this time, Tan Xiaofei threw out another matter that made Chiang Kai-shek extremely pleased: his secret agreement with Britain and France!

  Today, the good news alone is enough to keep Chiang Kai-shek awake! Twenty-dollar P-14 rifles! Not to mention whether they can be used or not, just bringing them back as strategic reserves and selling some at a discount when there's no money will be a great deal! He still doesn't know that Tan Xiao has already doubled the order through his "Dongfang Eyesnake" company! Tan Xiao isn't thinking of embezzling, he wants to raise more funds to buy more military materials. After all, besides him, who else would be willing to purchase large quantities of chemical raw materials and metal materials during peacetime? With these reserves, Tan Xiao can finally breathe a sigh of relief - who dares guarantee that the Japanese will wait until 1937 to start a war when the Chinese army is rapidly strengthening? The heavy industries built with German investment will take at least a year to produce, and it'll take at least two years to achieve a virtuous cycle!

  In addition, the DH-98 research and production project that he wanted to cooperate with the British also required a large sum of money. Although Chiang Kai-shek handed over the 20 million yuan extorted from Song Kong to him, it was still far from enough. He had no choice but to embezzle once. Moreover, the price of these guns would not be exposed by the British, who were still waiting for his tax-free port zone!

  When Chiang Kai-shek heard about the plan for the port of Qinzhou Bay, he was even more excited: this is a cut in the middle between Guangdong and Guangxi! It can also be said that the power of the Central Army finally took advantage of the opportunity to enter these two factions that had been difficult to enter! Tan Xiao's plan was equivalent to helping him basically control the two major warlords Chen and Li in the south! This is the most important thing, as for what high-performance aircraft made of wood, sea cargo transportation channels, etc., he thinks it doesn't matter...

  It was almost dawn when the topic, which had been unavoidable all along, finally came to the current military situation. Tan Xiao had been thinking about how to respond to this issue while discussing other matters earlier, and now he was fully prepared.

  Then Tan Xiao began to analyze the heavy losses of the Red Army in the Battle of Xiangjiang, combined with today's Red Army fake siege of Guiyang, and concluded that the Red Army would advance into Yunnan through a large detour. He also asserted that the Red Army would not counterattack again this time, but would advance to Yunnan in one breath. His strategic plan was to drive the Red Army into Yunnan, and simply swallow up the Yunnan warlord!

  As for how to truly bring Yunnan under control, it's not just a military issue. The student thought that after the Central Army entered Yunnan, they could ask Mr. Changqing for advice. Tan Xiao looked at Yang Yongtai with a smile. Yang Yongtai was currently in Sichuan, avoiding Liu Xiang's attention, and instead focusing on local officials to secretly strengthen the central government's control over Sichuan. Tan Xiao knew that Yang Yongtai had successfully isolated Liu Xiang, allowing Chiang Kai-shek to smoothly enter the "Heavenly Kingdom" after the start of the war and continue directing the resistance. It can be said that without Yang Yongtai's efforts, it's unknown whether China could have launched a unified resistance in the original timeline. Of course, he didn't dare say that Mr. Yang's methods in Sichuan were the reason, firstly because things had not yet been accomplished, and secondly because it would be too astonishing if he had figured out Yang Yongtai's intentions so early on.

  Yang Yongtai saw Tan Xiao move out of himself, and was somewhat unexpected. In his heart, he had a higher opinion of Tan Xiao: no matter what Tan Xiao's intentions were, this move made it clear that he was just a soldier who didn't ask about political affairs, which suited Chiang Kai-shek's meaning.

  Yang Yongtai thought for a moment and said: "The ethnic situation in Yunnan is complex, the number of troops is not large, and Long Yun has always been supportive of the central government. He himself is a Yi person and has received support from the minority nationalities. If the Central Army insists on entering Yunnan by force, it may not be the best strategy..." As soon as he finished speaking, Tan Xiaocai realized that his understanding of this era in China was still too superficial. He had thought that the Central Army had not overthrown Long Yun simply because they were unable to reach him or did not have the opportunity. Now, after hearing Yang Yongtai's words, he understood that it was not that simple. It is likely that the Nanjing government has weighed the pros and cons and allowed Long Yun to reign in Yunnan all along.

  Yang Yongtai thought for a moment and said, "Today, after hearing Feng Sheng's report on the major cooperation plan with Germany, I think that we can use the entry of German enterprises into Yunnan to develop mineral resources as an excuse to send more security troops into Yunnan, only occupying some key points outside of Kunming. This way, we can exchange economic benefits for greater central control and strengthen our rule over Yunnan. Such a trade-off will not make Long Yun overly dissatisfied, while also allowing the central government's orders to be carried out more smoothly, and making full use of Yunnan's mineral resources. It's a good strategy!"

  Tan Xiao is now deeply admiring Yang Yongtai's great talent: the other party was able to make a reaction based on just hearing the news, and was able to sensitively discover that using German investment would be a more gentle and stable way to centralize Yunnan step by step. This method is obviously more stable than relying solely on military force to subdue and then figuring out how to govern. It seems that the "Contemporary Sleeping Dragon" is indeed not an empty reputation! However, in his heart, he was puzzled: why hasn't such a talented person been widely known in later generations? He hadn't seen him in movies or TV shows, and his understanding of this character was only from listening to two staff members discussing him at the base, as well as Chiang Kai-shek's evaluation of him... But then, Tan Xiao suddenly had an ominous premonition: could it be that this person died young due to bad luck?

  For this former first strategist of Chiang Kai-shek, who once gave him great mental stress, Tan Xiao does not feel resentful now. On the contrary, he appreciates this person's insight and strategy. "After hearing Mr.'s words, Feng Sheng feels ashamed, Feng Sheng only knows the way of military conquest, compared with Mr.'s foresight and wisdom, it is really like a firefly shining in front of the sun and moon..." Tan Xiao said sincerely.

  Yang Yongtai was quite surprised, but he also clearly felt Tan Xiao's sincerity and responded with a warm smile.

  Because Yang Yongtai always only took Chiang Kai-shek's interests as the starting point, he often suggested that many special areas be directly under military control, and the people sent were either loyal military personnel or graduates of his political training classes. As a result, he often offended many powerful individuals who controlled their own territories, with Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu's Central Party Department being the most deeply offended. Although he was a close confidant of Chiang Kai-shek, he had few people trying to curry favor with him because he was not willing to compromise or give in, and he was at odds with the leaders of various factions, rarely getting along even with someone like Tan Xiang. Chiang Kai-shek watched from the side, delighted: "The officials are fighting!"

  "Chiang has Yang Xingye, and military power has Tan Fengsheng. What worry is that the Red Bandits will not be exterminated, and the Japanese pirates will not be eliminated!" Chiang Kai-shek's words, spoken with great joy, left Yang and Tan in a state of pleasant surprise.

  "The students thought that the Yunnan army was a bit like a startled bird, and if they were allowed to pursue on their own, they might not even be able to catch up with the Red Bandits' footprints. If we want each unit to speed up its advance, or have the Central Army's main force, including our Wild One Division, pursue at full speed, forcing the Red Bandits' main force to accelerate into Yunnan, then the Yunnan army will have no choice but to rush back." Tan Xiangxue suggested. He thought to himself, currently around Guiyang it is mainly the Yunnan army, and Xue Yue's unit won't arrive for another day or two, I still don't believe you, Old Chiang, would really let the Wild One Division, which has only rested for one night, go in pursuit.

  But the butterfly's wings gave Tan Xiao a hard slap! Chiang Kai-shek, taking advantage of his excitement, decided to "lead the expedition personally"! This decision made Tan Xiao jump with surprise! It's over, history won't change completely, will it?!

  The next morning, Chiang Kai-shek wore a general's uniform, with a black velvet cloak lined with gold trim, and gave a simple inspection of the First Division before ordering them to set out!

  Old Chiang personally led the team to pursue and suppress, who dares to slack off? Scared, Sun Du, the Yunnan army commander, hastily ordered his four divisions to speed south!

  The National Army's main force suddenly rushed down, and the Red Army's rear troops hastily dodged its edge and retreated into the mountains. The main force, which had already been marching for a day and a night, also accelerated its southward advance. Along the way, except for occasional warning shots ringing out in the distance, the First Regiment's march was basically a leisurely stroll, with only occasional wounded or stray Red Army soldiers falling into the hands of the Yunnan Army on the periphery.

  The vanguard of the First Army, led by Peng Hanbo and nicknamed "Flying Army", was in the middle army, with Tan Xiao wearing camouflage uniforms, holding two Mauser guns, carrying a submachine gun on his back, and personally guarding Chiang Kai-shek. The whole army advanced at a speed that made the generals feel like they were warming up, and stopped at the banks of the Lianmen River in Huishui County by dusk.

  Although there was no remarkable achievement, just a tour along the way, Chiang Kai-shek's psychology was greatly satisfied - pursuing and defeating the enemy, washing away the shame of being besieged in Guiyang was the greatest gain; as for other things, it didn't matter.

  "Whatever, let's leave the rest to Xue Boling!" The committee chairman, still looking quite dashing on horseback, turned around in a circle twice. He hadn't been to battle in years and was starting to feel like he was back in his Eastern Expedition days, commanding the Huangpu troops on the front lines; it was exhilarating. But now he could clearly feel the acid reflux, it was time to retreat!

  Tan Xiao finally put down the big stone in his heart, he knew that Chiang Kai-shek would not take another step forward this time. Having received strict training and served as a bodyguard for Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek was slightly sore from lack of exercise, but otherwise fine. However, the group of literati around him, led by Yang Yongtai, were already exhausted from the day's excursion, which seemed like a leisurely stroll to the soldiers. Upon hearing the Chairman's words, they felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty, and with the support of the soldiers, they stumbled down to the ground, trembling with fear...

  Chiang Kai-shek now has the utmost appreciation for this branch of troops, the Wild First Division: as soon as they stopped and announced that they would be setting up camp, the soldiers of the Wild First Division began frantically building fortifications. Before the literary men had even finished expressing their heroic emotions in poetry, a tight defensive position had already been constructed. At the same time that the soldiers were building fortifications, all the staff officers had taken their positions and begun making contact with each unit. In less than ten minutes, a completely new map of the battle situation and a sand table model had been created. This left the other Central Army commanders who were following along secretly shocked: Is this Wild First Division still a Chinese army?!

  Seeing the performance of the Wild One Division, Chiang Kai-shek felt that promoting Tan Pao to the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the entire army was an absolutely correct decision: if after reorganization and training, the whole army could reach the level of the Wild One Division, or even just half of it, the Central Army would completely ignore other warlords' collaborative rebellion.

  Xue Yue's troops are rushing over at full speed, and it is estimated that they will arrive by midnight. Thinking back to when he used the "Filial Son Cries for His Father" to ask Xue Yue for equipment until now his own General rank, Tan Xiao suddenly felt as if he was in a different world. Afterwards, he exchanged views on the battlefield situation with the staff of Chiang Kai-shek's general headquarters, and after completing the next combat order from the general headquarters to Xue Yue's troops, he hastily returned to his own headquarters - the play of "Saving the King" had already been performed, and it was time to find an opportunity to leave the stage.

  Tan Xiang wanted to return to Lingling, but he didn't need to find an excuse for himself. That night, Chiang Kai-shek let him wait until Xu Yue's division arrived and then brought the First Division back to prepare. Because today, the first batch of troops had already received the order to depart, and the nearby troops would arrive in Lingling within a week or so. Chiang Kai-shek also wanted to personally command the encirclement and pursuit of the Red Army, while He Yingqin was only assisting with logistical adjustments. The real main character, Tan Xiang, had to hurry back to Lingling.

  Tan Xiao finally revealed his reluctance to part with the Imperial Guard brothers, repeatedly instructing them to be careful in protecting the Emperor before issuing the order to return to Ling Zero tomorrow.

  He had just arrived at the headquarters of the First Army in the wilderness when he received a telegram from Lingling, and Xie Te also transported a large number of six-pound cannons and a large batch of aircraft. In addition: Rong Hui is leaving.

  As promised, I've updated an extra chapter today and will continue tonight. Thank you for your support, book friends!...