The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

He Yingqin: "Just received the latest news. This morning, the Communist troops near Ji'an launched a siege and attack on Chen Jicheng's 20th Division of our army. By 4 pm, the entire 20th Division was defeated, and Chen Jicheng escaped with only 11 secretaries and guards.

Chapter 137: Guangzhou and Nanjing are both worried about money

With the destruction of Chen Jicheng's 20th Division, the dispute over the "real and fake" 20th Division in China was also resolved.

The 20th Division of the First Army was the garrison force in Guangzhou during the Northern Expedition. Chen Jicheng served as the division commander and Ye Jianying served as the chief of staff.

Ye Jianying, who had been recruited early into the Hunan Provincial People's Armed Forces Party branch, showed a strong interest in seizing control of the 20th Division, contrary to previous history. Furthermore, while controlling the lower-level officers and soldiers of the 20th Division, Ye Jianying also managed to convince Chen Jicheng that there was nothing unusual about the 20th Division.

In March and April, Chiang Kai-shek was plotting to purge the Communists. Chen Jicheng, a close confidant of Chiang, was summoned to Shanghai to advise. In May, the Nanchang Uprising broke out. Ye Jianying, the head of the Whampoa Military Academy's faculty and a close associate of the War Research Society, was summoned to Shanghai and Nanjing for investigation. He was released after more than two months. Shortly after returning to Guangzhou, the Fourth Army marched into the city, and Ye Jianying fled with his entire 20th Division.

Later, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the reconstruction of the 20th Division. Chen Jicheng used the Nanchang Camp Guard Regiment and the security teams of various places as the basis, and recruited soldiers in Jiangxi and Zhejiang to rebuild the 20th Division.

It was obvious that the 20th Division, which had been rebuilt only a month ago, was the least combat-effective division of Chiang Kai-shek's army participating in this battle. Of course, Zhu De's first annihilation battle in this battle was against it.

"The fake 20th Division was executed on the spot. The fake First Army is in Jiujiang. The fake Fourth Army is in Wuhan." Chen Mingren marked Jiujiang and Wuhan on the map.

"It should be called the Puppet 1st Army and the Puppet 4th Army." Cai Qingchuan corrected.

Chen Tianheng: "We may encounter the Fourth Army in the second or third phase. It's harder to say about the First Army. Chiang Kai-shek likes to keep his most loyal followers hidden. But there's a rather strange question. To this day, we still don't know Chiang Kai-shek's or Nanjing Headquarters' overall plan for this encirclement and suppression campaign."

Liu Bocheng: "Perhaps Chiang Kai-shek did not have any overall plan.

Chen Tianheng: "Hmm...

What Liu Bocheng said is very likely to be the truth.

Although I don’t know the military details of the current situation in Nanjing, I know the overall political and economic situation.

From January to September this year, Nanjing's fiscal revenue was 15 million silver dollars and its military expenditure was 18 million silver dollars.

In other words, even if all civil servants in the country did not eat or drink, and did not list any public expenses, and all fiscal revenue was used to support the army, they would still have to pay out 300 million silver dollars.

In fact, the amount that was lost was not 300 million silver dollars but 3000 million, all of which were collected by Chiang Kai-shek from wealthy businessmen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang under various pretexts.

In addition, from January to March this year, the Soviet Union also provided weapons and ammunition worth at least 4 million yuan.

Given the general political and economic situation, it is understandable that Nanjing has been slow to formulate plans for the second and third phases: Chiang Kai-shek must first determine how much military funds he can raise before he can determine how many armies he can send to participate in this encirclement and suppression campaign; only after determining how many armies to send can Chongxi formulate an overall battle plan.

Chen Tianheng: "Chief of Staff Liu, if we still don't know what Chiang Kai-shek is going to do, why not formulate a proactive second and third phase plan? How about the revolutionary army crossing the Yangtze River?"

Liu Bocheng: "We can send the 6th Division of the 2nd Army to cross the Yangtze River between Jiujiang and Daye and establish a Hubei-Henan-Anhui revolutionary base north of the river.

Cai Qingchuan: "The Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area is separated from us by the Yangtze River and is relatively isolated.

Chen Tianheng: "The Nanjing Navy and Yangtze River Fleet cannot block the river for 24 hours. The revolutionary base in the north of the Yangtze River can exchange personnel and a small amount of materials with the south of the Yangtze River. If we can gain a foothold in the north of the Yangtze River, we will basically tear apart the Nanjing government's current semi-encirclement of us, and it will be difficult for them to settle down.

Liu Bocheng: "We need to make a military plan for the Jiangbei strategy.

Chen Tianheng: "The Party Central Committee needs to carry out political mobilization and economic and fiscal planning for the Jiangbei strategy. ... In fact, compared with military planning, political, economic and fiscal planning are the real challenges."

Chen Tianheng's final sentiment rings true. Finances are a concern not only for the Nanjing government but also for Guangzhou. Of course, the Guangzhou coalition government's current worries aren't the same as those faced by the Central Soviet Area in 1933 and 34. Guangzhou is far from financially collapsing. However, considering the long term, several long-term investments made shortly after the liberation of Guangzhou have left it deeply in debt.

The Shijing Arsenal is currently undergoing its second phase of expansion. Production is continuing normally at the existing plant, while a large plot of newly acquired land near the old factory is being used to construct a factory building.

To the west of Guangzhou Xiguan, a large (large by domestic standards) arsenal, the Guangdong Second Arsenal, is also under construction.

A year after the second phase of the Ishii Arsenal, a new large-scale bullet production line was put into operation; two years later, at the end of 1929, the mortar factory and the 75 mountain gun factory were put into production. In 1930, the main parts and main materials of the mountain gun were self-produced.

The construction of Guangdong Second Arsenal also took about three years.

It is like the old saying: The best time to plant a tree is ten years ago, the second best time is now.

Industrial and agricultural investments in Guangzhou and Guangdong Province. Of course, these investments are not financed by the joint government, but a bank must be established to guide the flow of private currency.

The Guangdong Development Bank was established with 50 silver dollars from Mao Runmin's Huarun and 350 million from Chen Ying. After operating for a period of time and building a good reputation, the bank could issue its own banknotes or jointly issue banknotes with other banks in Guangdong.

As part of the financial adjustment policy, the "National Joint Reserve Committee" has been established.

"We have just ordered a batch of ammunition from the Soviet Union, including 500 million rounds of bullets, which should be enough for the revolutionary army to fight for a while.

Mao Runmin, a member of the Finance and Economics Committee, reported the good news.

Chen Tianheng: “When will the goods arrive?

"It's already been loaded in Vladivostok. It's a British-flagged ship, absolutely reliable. It'll arrive in Guangzhou in a week."

Chen Tianheng: "I'm a little sorry for the money. Our own arsenal is undercapacity, so we have no choice but to buy a batch of imported bullets for now."

Mao Runmin: "But this batch of Japanese bullets, 5 million rounds, only costs 800,000 silver dollars, 0.16 yuan. The bullets from the Ishii Arsenal cost 0.2 yuan a round."

He Long: "And the Japanese guns and bullets are also good.

Chen Tianheng: "As long as we continue to place orders with Ishii or the Second Arsenal, sooner or later their production costs will drop to 16 cents, or even lower, and the quality might even be better. ... Let's see how the new soldiers are recruited."

Three people at the National Defense Service conscription site in Guangzhou. After the situation in Guangzhou stabilized and reconciliation with the Federation of Trade Unions and the Machinery Union was reached, the coalition government gradually gained the recognition of workers, and conscription work among Guangzhou citizens, especially the working class, could begin.

"Physical examination? What are the items?"

Chen Tianheng asked the recruitment officer on the scene.

"Commissioner Chen, the main tests are height, weight, and eyesight. We'll also test the coordination of our limbs, and finally, we'll check if we have any infectious skin diseases.

Chen Tianheng saw a height-measuring pole and suddenly became interested, so he stood on it.

“182.5 cm.

Chen Tianheng: "Oh my! I've grown taller again. At the beginning of this year, I measured my height and it was almost 181cm.

Mao Runmin:

This is true.

One of the four members of the Joint Military Commission and also a member of the Central Committee of the Fifth Congress, he is still growing.

Mao Runmin: "From the Soviet side, their consul brought news that Moscow had sent us a gift package, roughly like aid to underdeveloped countries. After using diplomatic channels instead of the Communist International, many of our cooperation with the Soviet Union has become more convenient.

Chen Tianheng: "The Soviet Union's economy isn't doing well right now, yet they're still giving us a gift package. That's really not easy. What are the main ingredients?"

"The funding for our international students isn't from the Communist International's Oriental University, but from a polytechnic university. They pay the tuition and train our students. Oh, and the biggest donation is 6000 tons of finished steel, mainly ordinary carbon steel bars for construction and bridges. If we want to sell them in the future, they can export them."

Chen Tianheng: "In the future...the cost of smelting steel in the Soviet Union will be 20% higher than that in the United States. Will they be willing to export at the international market price?

"I don't know about that. We'll see next year. This year we have about 6000 tons of steel. Oh, and there's also oil. The Soviet Union drilled a lot of oil, but I don't know what they're going to do with it. They can't sell it, so they're willing to sell it at a very low price. But it's crude oil."

Chen Tianheng: "Looks like we need to build a crude oil refining plant...

The only thing the Guangdong government could offer the Soviet Union was non-ferrous metals; nothing else. Honestly, trade between the Soviet Union and Guangzhou wasn't particularly complementary. Conversely, Guangzhou's trade with Indochina and Southeast Asia was highly complementary.

The headquarters of the Third Division.

"The Third Division's firearms have finally been standardized. How are the soldiers reacting?

Chen Tianheng and He Long were at the training site of the 7th Regiment of the 3rd Division, and the soldiers were all holding Type 38 rifles.

No, some of them are imitations of Fengtian, but they have similar performance. The Fengtian Arsenal makes guns, and not only are the barrels and bolts imported from Japan, but even the handguards are imported.

"Good, good, the soldiers of the Third Division are all very happy now.

Zhou Heyong, the commander of the 7th Regiment of the 3rd Division, was the only surviving commander of He Long's Independent 15th Division.

Chen Tianheng had no recollection of this man; he was probably one of the officers who deserted He Long's 20th Army after the Nanchang Uprising. In addition, Li Mo'an, commander of the 8th Regiment of the 3rd Division, and Wang Yaowu, commander of the 9th Regiment, were both transferred from the 1st Division.

Zhou Heyong picked up a Type 38 rifle and pulled the bolt repeatedly: "The Type 38 rifle shoots really fast! Fast and accurate!"

Chen Tianheng: "You think the Type 38 rifle fires faster, that's because the Hanyang rifles you used before were so bad."

The Hanyang rifle is a bolt-action rifle with a 5-round magazine. The Type 38 rifle is also a bolt-action rifle with a 5-round magazine. The Type 38 rifle also does not use the straight-pull action of the Lee-En rifle, so theoretically, their rates of fire should be comparable.

However, this was only theoretical. In reality, due to inferior materials, crude craftsmanship, and age-related poor maintenance, the Hanyang rifle rarely fired five rounds in a row. On average, a malfunction would occur every two or three rounds, preventing the cartridge case from being extracted. The rifle would need to be pounded on the ground several times to release the cartridge case.

If the shell still won't come out after a few hits, you have to use a cleaning rod. Sometimes you have to use a cleaning rod to poke the shell out after firing several rounds in a row, making it look like a muzzle-loading flintlock rifle.

Basically, if a soldier at the shooting range could fire five rounds of bullets in one breath with a Hanyang rifle without any malfunction, his comrades around him would applaud and come over to watch, hoping to share in his luck.

He Long: "Jinlian!

He Jinlian came running over: "Commander He, what's going on?"

Chen Tianheng: "...Shouldn't you call him "Dad"?

He Long: "In the military camp, she had to address me by my title, that was the rule.

Chen Tianheng looked at the girl. She seemed to be 14 or 15 years old this year.

There were two Mauser pistols on his waist. Judging from the residual gunpowder at the muzzles, they had fired a lot of bullets just now.

He Long: "Jinlian joined the Third Division in Hengyang and walked to Guangzhou together. She is now firing guns and cannons in the barracks every day. Well... I think she should go to school.

Chapter 138: Do you believe I can eat up all three of your armies?

He Long's eldest daughter He Jinlian is basically a replica of He Long.

Maybe it was just his family genes, because He Long's eldest sister He Ying was also a heroine.

在陈天衡面前，不满15岁的贺金莲表演了驳壳枪左右开弓射击，右手90环左手82环。大正11年机枪200米射击，15个短点射全部上靶。最后贺金莲还表演了一套贺家刀法。

After some deliberation, He Long and Chen Tianheng decided that it would be best to send He Jinlian to Guangzhou No. 1 Municipal Middle School. Both the teachers and students at this school were relatively well-mannered, and this school would be able to cultivate He Jinlian's character and character.

Chen Tianheng came to the Third Division mainly to "inspect and test" it. Since the reorganization in Xinyu, the Third Division has been fighting, adjusting, and training while fighting, and has spent a lot of time in Guangzhou to hone the troops. Now it has finally taken shape.

The Third Division is no longer a junior brother following the First and Second Divisions, but a powerful force that can be used as a main division.

"Hasn't the Second and Third Armies finished fighting in Ji'an? I think if it were the First and Fourth Armies that went out to fight, they should be taking the prisoners back by now.

He Long was also very proud at this time. After all, his division was a powerful force that was far ahead in the country.

Chen Tianheng: "The enemy is already losing ground. We have the initiative on the battlefield, but winning this battle will take some time. This is indeed because these two armies are not as strong as the First Army. However, as extremely lightly armed mountain infantry, the Second and Third Armies cannot have too much equipment, otherwise they will lose flexibility."

From north of Ji'an to south of Zhangshu, the battlefield in central Jiangxi suddenly became the focus of Nanjing's attention.

The reason was that Chiang Kai-shek suffered a series of critical attacks at his own wedding, which ruined his good mood for the day.

Under Chiang Kai-shek's strict orders, the 17th Army stationed in Nanchang marched out of the city that very day. Of course, only one division could be deployed at that time. By the next day, all three divisions of the 17th Army were on their way to rescue Zhangshu and Ji'an.

In addition, the 59th Division of the 20th Army stationed in Fuzhou was also mobilized to march towards Zhangshu because Chiang Kai-shek saw the division number when looking at the map.

This 20th Army is not the 20th Army that He Long participated in the Nanchang Uprising in the original historical dimension, because He Long's Independent 15th Division revolted before it had time to expand into the 20th Army.

The pressure came to Zhu De, who was in charge of the overall situation in this battle (including the participating troops of the Second Army).

According to the requirements previously put forward by the Military Commission, the mission of our army in the Ji'an Campaign was first to repel the invading enemy, and secondly, if there was spare strength, to prevent the invading enemy from having the ability to attack Ji'an within a short period of time.

In other words, it is not actually required to completely annihilate the enemy. As long as these two groups of enemies are defeated and scattered, the mission can be completed.

"After the enemy's 20th Division was completely wiped out, the enemy forces in the battle zone were divided into two groups: the 26th Army in Xiajiang County, and the 21st and 22nd Divisions of the 32nd Army in Zhangshu. The two enemy groups were quite far apart, and we occupied Jinchuan Town in Xingan County between them, so they were definitely unable to support each other."

"The main problem now is that the 17th Army, which is coming to reinforce from Nanchang, will arrive in Zhangshu within three days and join up with the 32nd Army.

Chief of Staff of the Third Army, Yan Kui, pointed out the new changes in the current battle: the enemy's rescue is likely to rescue the remaining two divisions of the 32nd Army.

Liu Chouxi: "But the Military Commission sent a telegram yesterday instructing that under these circumstances, it would be sufficient to annihilate the enemy's 26th Army and the 20th Division of the 32nd Army. With six divisions, annihilating four would mean the enemy forces in Jiangxi would have to prepare for a long time before launching their next offensive."

Zhu De: "How do we know we can't completely annihilate the enemy if we don't try? We must act as if we are ready to swallow the enemy whole. This momentum will force them to make inappropriate advances and retreats and reveal weaknesses. If they reveal weaknesses, we will seize them."

Yan Kuiyao: "Then, how should we adjust?"

Zhu De: "Let the late 2nd Army 6th Division change its marching direction and go through here to Fengcheng.

Yan Kuiyao: "Fengcheng? That's too close to Nanchang!

Zhu De said: "According to the marching speed of Chiang Kai-shek's 17th Army, by the time the 6th Division of the 2nd Army arrived at Fengcheng, the 17th Army had already left Fengcheng and was approaching Zhangshu. We will directly attack the 17th Army's rear. The 9th Division will send a regiment in this direction to block the 59th Division of Chiang Kai-shek's 20th Army from reinforcing its troops towards Zhangshu. Except for the four regiments that will monitor the 26th Army Headquarters, the rest of the Third Army, plus the 5th Division of the 2nd Army, will all be concentrated in Zhangshu to prepare for the capture of Zhangshu in one battle.

In October, central Jiangxi is full of autumn atmosphere, and the climate is neither too cold nor too hot, which is suitable for marching.

However, the march of Chiang Kai-shek's 17th Army after leaving Nanchang was not smooth.

Pang Bingxun was a veteran Beiyang warlord. After the forces of Wu Peifu and Sun Chuanfang were successively annihilated, Pang Bingxun, under the persuasion of the Kuomintang, changed his flag and his troops were reorganized into the 17th Army of the National Revolutionary Army. Apparently, Pang Bingxun's troops, originally operating in Henan and Shandong, were not very familiar with the terrain south of the Yangtze River.

This caused Pang Bingxun to be nervous and anxious all the way.

"Oh wow! What a huge mountain!

"Oh my! Another huge mountain!"

Pang Bingxun was on horseback, looking at the mountains in front of his left, one after another, as if the land of Jiangxi was made up of mountains.

To his right, the Gan River lay in front of him. The 17th Army's route ran along the eastern bank of the Gan River valley, with mountains to the left and the river to the right. This made Pang Bingxun feel particularly uneasy. He felt that at any moment, a monster from the mountains might overtake him, forcing his entire army of more than 20,000 men into the Gan River for a bath.

"Commander, our scouts have encountered enemy troops in the mountains ahead. They must be Communists!"

"What? Are the Communists planning to assassinate me?" Pang Bingxun was shocked: "Stop advancing!"

Adjutant: "Commander, we only walked 12 kilometers today."