Chapter 12: Endless Scenic Beauty in Xuzhou (Part 2)
In a very spacious and bright small living room with a strong military style, the commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone was discussing with a middle-aged lieutenant general sitting opposite him about the storm stirred up by Cheng Jiaji.
"Jun Chen, you have had dealings with Cheng Jiaji several times. What do you think of him?" The commander-in-chief of the war zone asked his subordinate in a thick and powerful Guangxi accent, his voice not loud but steady. Perhaps due to his early experience as a role model, his tone was relatively calm and peaceful, without the usual domineering air often seen on high-ranking military leaders, making him seem more approachable than his old colleague who was currently serving as deputy chief of staff. Besides being a standard military man, he had a charming personality that made people want to get close to him.
The elegant middle-aged lieutenant opposite was Xie Hong, the high-ranking official who had helped Cheng Jiaji a great deal this time. When he heard the superior's question, he replied seriously: "General, although this person is young and relies on his family background to get ahead, and his reputation in his hometown is not very good... However, based on what I have seen and heard during my stay in Dawangzhuang, this person can be considered a brave and outstanding general. What's more, he has some strategic thinking. At present, due to his young age, he still appears somewhat immature in both military and political affairs, but given time, he will not be an ordinary person." The current Xie Gaopan had long lost the elegant scholar's demeanor he had in Dawangzhuang, nor did he show the merchant's cunning and smoothness in front of Cheng Jiaji. His behavior and speech all exuded a very pure military style, perhaps this was the true face of this former fierce general during the civil war.
"Jun Chen, you said he was brave and good at fighting. How does he compare to Zhang Xianghua's nephew?" (Here, Xianghua refers to the future Fourth War Zone commander-in-chief Zhang. His nephew Zhang Dechang was then a division commander in the Fourth Army, and among these powerful young men who came from family connections, he was considered one of the capable ones.)
"The scene at Dàwáng Zhuāng, Zhāng Dénéng would never be able to hold on. Regardless of the outcome, just the fact that this person can still control the troops and prevent them from collapsing in a situation where over 80% of the troops are casualties is already something that Zhāng Dénéng cannot match. This reminds me of someone from the past, Chéng Jiājì's combat style has some resemblance to that person's shadow."
"Who."
"Li Yusheng." (Li Mingrui, courtesy name Yusheng, originally the first fierce general of the Gui system, bravely crowned the three armies, later became the commander-in-chief of the Seventh and Eighth Armies of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.) As the youngest brigade commander in Sun Chuanfang's five-province allied army at that time, Xie Hong was killed seven times by this former first fierce general of the Gui army in Jiangxi Longtan. His brigade was also basically wiped out by Li Mingrui's troops, and after losing power, he could only be transferred to serve as a division chief of staff, and never directly commanded troops again. Of course, the Gui army didn't gain much advantage either. In that battle, one of the famous Yu brothers, Yu Zuoyu, was also seriously injured and almost died on the battlefield. With this experience, how could he not be deeply impressed by everything about Li Mingduan, his old rival?
Perhaps it was because he was too familiar with the name of Commander Zhang, and this person had passed away many years ago. Duke De sighed and said: "If Yu Sheng were still under my command, why would I worry about having no brave generals under me?"
Perhaps this topic was too heavy for the commander, and the room fell silent for several minutes.
"De Gong, do you think Cheng Jiaji can achieve his goal this time?"
"It should be no problem, I believe that this time treating the meritorious Minister so is the idea of those people in the Military Affairs Department, and the Chairman may not know about it. This time I let you secretly cooperate with him to perform such a play, also wanted to knock on those old masters in the Military Affairs Department, I think by today the Chairman will know about this matter."
"De Gong, if Chairman is not satisfied with Cheng Jiaji's wish, what about this matter?"
"It won't work, the war is imminent, and most of the troops in my battle zone are local forces. It's a principle that can be encouraged but not revealed. If the chairman doesn't understand this principle, he wouldn't be sitting in his current position today."
It turns out that the warlord still understood his old sworn brother. When the incident in Xuzhou happened, it was transmitted to the Chairman's ears through the Military Commission channel that afternoon. The busy Chairman did not take this matter lightly, and as soon as he learned of the beginning and end of the matter, he immediately summoned Minister He of the Military Affairs Department. Although no one knew the specific content of their conversation, a guard heard Minister He say goodbye after the meeting, and the Chairman was still fuming in his office, saying two "fool" words.
That night, a lieutenant general of the Military Affairs Department flew to Xuzhou on a small French plane without fighter escort. It's almost unthinkable that the deputy minister of the Military Affairs Department would take great "life risks" for such a trivial matter and rush to Xuzhou overnight. The next day, the Central Daily News, the Sweep News, and other mouthpieces of the National Government began to vigorously publicize the brilliant achievements of the Battle of Dawangzhuang by the Cheng Jiaqi Brigade. In a very short period of time, throughout Wuhan and the entire area still under the control of the National Government, Cheng Jiaqi's name became famous overnight!
Later, the news leaked from the Military Affairs Department said that when the battle report of Cheng Zhidui was reported to the Military Affairs Department, no one believed it. The vanguard of a local military system like Cheng Zhidui could actually win a bloody battle with a nearly full-strength Japanese army in a situation where they did not have an advantage in troops, and several lieutenant generals thought it was a false report. They first wanted to ignore this battle report and wait for changes. This can't be blamed on them entirely, as similar false reports had happened before, making the Military Affairs Department embarrassed several times. Later, the Fifth War Zone again called the Military Affairs Department to ask for credit for Cheng Zhidui, and the Military Affairs Department was forced to give Cheng Zhidui a pile of empty awards in the name of Li's official position.
Originally, if this matter were to be spread on someone else's head, it would be considered a misfortune. Even if the appeal was successful through normal channels, it would only be a matter of supplementing the troops with another name later. However, this time, the matter encountered Chiang Kai-shek, the stubborn one. The Military Affairs Department not only received a scolding from the Chairman but also had to deal with the consequences. If the matter were to be delayed and not handled promptly, it would disappoint the tens of thousands of non-Central Army troops in the Fifth War Zone and affect the upcoming battle. In that case, the Chairman would not just let it go with a scolding; someone's head would have to roll.
Under such pressure, the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, which usually takes several months to approve a supplementary report for a few hundred guns, has taken swift action this time.
