Chapter 63: The Failed Siege

  Thanks to book friend Qian Jiang Yue Ying for the reward, here is today's second update ^_^

  At this time, Hu Weidong suddenly bowed deeply to the audience and said seriously, "Here I want to apologize for my previous rudeness to everyone, but I do not regret or feel guilty, never will. Because without the participation of you outstanding talents, our industrialization would be difficult to start, and without evidence, even if we talk eloquently, few people would believe us, so we had to inconvenience you a bit, hoping everyone will forgive..."

  The audience was silent for a while, then suddenly erupted into thunderous applause. Shi Xingbei, the electrical expert who had been frowning at Hu Weidong, stepped forward and bowed to him, saying "It's easy to die for one's country, but it's hard to be wronged. Please forgive my previous rudeness..."

  "What's the use of apologizing?" Hu Weidong deliberately put on a stern face, "With this effort, it would be better to make those few projects (radar, walkie-talkies, airborne radio and wireless proximity fuze) successful earlier. At that time, I will be willing to polish your shoes every day."

  The people below the stage only then realized that Hu Weidong was joking, and suddenly there was a burst of laughter, but Shu Xingbei replied seriously, "Don't worry, even if I have to live ten or twenty years less, I will get them out!"

  When the laughter subsided, Hu Weidong continued to speak, "Although our industrial construction has achieved a certain degree of success, compared with advanced countries in the world, we are still far behind. If we cannot strive for progress, we will be left even further behind by powerful nations. Therefore, we need more scientific and technological talents here. So please ask your teachers, classmates, and younger generations to write letters inviting them to come here and work together for China's industrialization! The Chinese people are the most hardworking and intelligent nation in the world. As long as we follow the correct direction and strive generation after generation, there will come a day when we can make what foreigners can make, and we can also make what they cannot make!"

  The audience erupted into applause again, and later these experts indeed wrote letters to recruit a large number of excellent talents for the industrialization of Su District. Hu Weidong was no longer as overbearing as before, after all, there was already evidence, and kind-hearted scholars who were truly willing to devote themselves to China's industrialization would naturally flock to him upon hearing the news, while those who did not have their hearts in it he would not force (those world-class experts urgently needed by the industrial zone were a different story, Hu Weidong had never been someone who didn't know how to be flexible). After all, a forced melon is not sweet.

  After arriving in Gongxian, Hu Weidong was finally able to arrange suitable research projects for the vast majority of experts. For example, Shi Xingbei's four major research topics, Su Buqing and Chen Jianguo's collaborative project on trajectory computers and automatic coding machines (electronic computers were temporarily not feasible, and even electronic tube computers were terrifying in terms of power consumption, which was currently unaffordable in the Soviet area, so they could only start with mechanical computers), Wang Guosong's generator and motor project, Li Shouheng's penicillin separation and purification project, Bei Shizhang's penicillium strain ultraviolet induction and optimization topic, etc. In addition, Hu Weidong also invited psychologist Huang Yi to teach psychology to political workers and propaganda personnel.

  Wu Jianxiong, the future queen of physics, also began to change in the direction that Hu Weidong had hoped for. After arriving in Henan, a province where the Nationalist government was most unpopular, Wu Jianxiong was greatly shocked by what she saw and heard on her way. She finally realized that not everything that Mr. Hu Shi, whom she admired the most, said was correct. Instead, Hu Weidong's words had unknowingly gained her recognition. "Freedom is precious, but there has never been absolute freedom in the world. Mr. Hu said that under the Nationalist government, we are freer than in our Soviet zone, but that's because he only considered the wealthy. If you also count the poor who can't afford to eat and have to endure heavy taxes, the situation would be completely reversed. Under the rule of Chairman Chiang, these Chinese people living at the bottom of society only have the freedom to flee or starve to death..."

  Hu Weidong could rely on the Special Warfare Brigade's surprise attack to occupy the Gongxian Arsenal, but it was impossible for such a small number of people to hold onto it. Fortunately, the main force quickly cleared the obstacles along the way and arrived in Gongxian to join forces, and under Su Yu's command, they continuously captured several counties, further expanding the Soviet area.

  When Old Chiang learned that Gongxian had fallen, he was shocked and at a loss for what to do. For the time being, he couldn't do anything about the Red Fifteenth Army because the Dabie Mountains base area lay in between, and if they didn't first remove this thorn, the main force of the Nationalist army advancing to suppress the Henan-Western Hubei region would be at risk of having their supply lines cut off.

  Moreover, the Min-Gan-Zhe-Yue-Wu-Su Soviet area, with its tens of thousands of troops, occupied a significant part of Jiangxi's tungsten-producing areas, making it difficult for the Nationalist government to fulfill its agreement to supply Germany with sufficient amounts of pure tungsten sand. Additionally, this Soviet area was too close to Old Chiang's core governing region of Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai, and it was also the place where Zhu Mao's Red Army had risen to power in the past, so it held great strategic importance. Therefore, Old Chiang placed even greater emphasis on it.

  As a result, although the Gongxian Arsenal was also important, for the time being, it could only be put off. After all, the Central Army's weapons and ammunition mainly relied on foreign purchases, and Old Chiang had three other large arsenals in his hands anyway.

  In early September 1935, Old Chiang personally went to Nanchang to preside over the military situation and mobilized a force of 400,000 troops to encircle and annihilate the Fujian-Guangdong-Zhejiang-Guangxi-Anhui-Sichuan Soviet Area. Xue Yue was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Route Army, responsible for the main attack, Chen Cheng as the commander-in-chief of the Western Route Army, and Hu Zongnan as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army. The main task was to prevent the Red Army from breaking through the blockade line and jumping to the outside to attack the major cities along the southeastern coast. Last time Hangzhou fell, it really scared Old Chiang...

  Around the same time, He Yingqin also received the order to attack, but although he had more than 300,000 troops under his command, among his subordinates there was only Gu Zhutong, a mediocre and overly cautious second-rate general. As for He Yingqin himself, his level of competence was even lower. Against Gao Jingting who had only over 30,000 men but excelled at guerrilla warfare, the outcome was predictable...

  In terms of military talent, Ye Fei, who was left to guard the Jiangnan Soviet area, still had a good grasp of things, but compared to Xue Yue, a first-rate general in the country, there was still a significant gap. The difference in troop strength was even more pronounced, with several times more troops on the other side. Although the Red Army had some advantage in terms of equipment thanks to the support of the arsenal, it was not enough to make up for the disparity.

  At first glance, the Red Army seemed to have no chance of winning. However, they were fighting on their home turf and were highly united internally, unlike the Nationalist army where different units often refused to come to each other's aid due to personal interests. Moreover, Chiang Kai-shek, who was commanding from Nanchang, had again fallen into his old habit of frequently issuing orders directly to lower-level commanders, bypassing Xue Yue and leaving him frustrated.

  Hu Weidong, on the other hand, had a clearer understanding of the situation. He knew that the old Soviet area was already too far away for him to control effectively, so he immediately requested that the Central Committee put the area under the direct command of the First Front Army. Chiang Kai-shek not only had exceptional military talent but also dared to delegate power and trust his subordinates, in contrast to Xue Yue who was constrained by Chiang's excessive interference and the insincere obedience of his subordinate commanders.

  As a result, despite having outstanding talent, Xue Yue was unable to achieve his goals due to Chiang's meddling and the lack of cooperation from his own troops. After several months of fighting, tens of thousands of casualties, and the consumption of thousands of tons of ammunition, they had only managed to capture a few peripheral counties in Jiangnan Soviet area, falling far short of their original objective.

  At this point, the Nanjing government was no longer able to continue supporting the encirclement campaign economically, and Xue Yue was forced to withdraw his troops with regret.