The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

But Yueyang and Dongting Lake are not an absolute blockade. The Guangzhou army and warships are naturally unable to maneuver in Dongting Lake, but civilian cargo transportation can go through Dongting Lake.

Just a few days earlier, while Chen Tianheng was still in Changsha, a 460-ton Yangtze River freighter happened to pass through Changsha, sailing upstream from the Xiang River. Because the Xiang River's depth gradually decreases upstream, after the freighter passed Changsha, it was escorted by teams of pilots, navigators, and lighting personnel, both on board and on shore, like a baby born only in ten generations.

On board the Yangtze River freighter were components of steelmaking converters ordered from Europe by the Zhuzhou Iron and Steel Plant. The largest single piece weighed 97 tons. While the converters could be disassembled further, given the current level of technical expertise in the steelmaking industry, the plant's management feared they would be difficult to reassemble in Zhuzhou, so they simply shipped them as a whole.

As everyone knows, this is a large industrial equipment shipped to Zhuzhou. It was lifted from an ocean-going ship to an inland cargo ship in the Shanghai Concession. The inland cargo ship sailed from the Yangtze River to Dongting Lake and then into the Xiangjiang River, with a smooth journey.

In addition to the industrial equipment of Zhuzhou Iron and Steel Plant, the equipment and instruments used in the Zhushao section of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway are now also transported in this way without any problems.

Therefore, whether inland cargo ships carrying revolutionary troops and logistical supplies can enter the Yangtze River via Yueyang in the future is a question worth discussing.

Although the Guangxi clique's current attitude is to keep its distance from Guangzhou, this attitude will change in the future.

"Chief Chen."

Zhou Shidi and Su Yu spent seven days inspecting the planned site of the Hunan section of the Sichuan-Hunan Highway and returned to Changde.

"The Hunan section of the Sichuan-Hunan Highway currently has the foundation of a horse trade route. Some sections are inaccessible to cars, but are passable by horse teams and carriages. If the Sichuan-Hunan section is completed in the next two years, army-level troops will be able to enter Guizhou from there. We have no way to investigate the situation in the Guizhou area."

Chen Tianheng: "The Hunan Transportation Department will be able to provide some information in the future. The General Staff has inquired with the Hunan Transportation Department and received information that regardless of whether Guizhou agrees to cooperate in building the Hunan-Guizhou Highway, the Hunan Transportation Department will build the highway to Xiangxi. This is infrastructure that will benefit the development of local productivity."

Zhou Shidi: "So Su Yu has been thinking about attacking Guizhou."

Su Yu: "General, before we set out, I studied the troops led by Mao Guangxiang and Wang Jialie in Guizhou. Given their current combat effectiveness, if we send one army into Guizhou, Mao Guangxiang will not be able to resist. Just to maintain the logistics line of this army, we have to send another army to cooperate along the way."

"Chief Chen, everyone, everyone,"

He Long pushed the door open and said, "We have a guest from Guizhou. Yu Qiong, secretary to Mao Guangxiang, chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Government, is traveling from Guizhou to Changsha and is passing through Changde today. I just met him, and he said he could meet with members of the revolutionary army. By the way, Yu Qiong went to Changsha to discuss the Hunan-Guizhou Highway with us."

"Hello, Mr. Chen, hello. Hello, everyone." "Hello, Secretary Yu."

Mao Guangxiang's secretary is very young, looks about the same age as Chen Tianheng, and is very polite when talking to people.

The current leader of Guizhou Province is not Wang Jialie, but Mao Guangxiang. Mao Guangxiang is the chairman of Guizhou Province and commander of the 25th Army of the Guizhou Army, while Wang Jialie is the vice chairman and deputy commander. Of course, Wang Jialie is working hard to bring down Mao Guangxiang.

Chen Tianheng: "Nanjing and we haven't signed any peace agreement yet, but the ceasefire is a tacit agreement between both sides, and this situation won't be broken anytime soon. The construction of the Hunan-Guizhou Highway shouldn't be affected by the relationship between Nanjing and Guangzhou. This road is essential for people's livelihood, and Chiang Kai-shek has no reason to criticize it."

Yu Qiong: "Yes, yes, there is no reason to blame."

Chen Tianheng: "However, when I was in Changsha, I heard from the Changsha government that Guizhou doesn't seem to be that impatient about the Hunan-Guizhou Highway. I wonder if Secretary Yu will bring different news to Changsha this time."

Yu Qiong smiled and said, "Guizhou Province is poor and barren, not only incomparable to Guangdong, but also far inferior to Hunan. Guizhou's economy is roughly equivalent to that of western Hunan, and it lacks the affluent areas of central and southern Hunan. Therefore, our biggest difficulty in building the Hunan-Guizhou Highway is funding."

Chen Tianheng: "If Guizhou and Hunan are integrated, money will not be a problem, and Guangdong will provide support."

Yu Qiong nodded and laughed, but did not respond to Chen Tianheng's words.

"Is it because Chairman Mao Guangxiang couldn't use the Hunan-Guizhou Highway to transport soil from Guizhou that he wasn't interested in building it?"

Chen Tianheng uttered this sentence in a sudden turn. Yu Qiong's mind was clearly stuck for a moment. After a few seconds, he sighed and said, "No, no, I'm not sure about this. Okay, this is a question."

Chen Tianheng: "Also, I want to know one thing: what impact did the battle between Zhou Xicheng and Li Ji in Qianxi in May of this year have on the political arena in Guizhou?"

Yu Qiong: "Zhou Xicheng and Li Shen started the war for their own selfish interests, which is difficult to evaluate. Zhou Xicheng was defeated and killed, and Li Ji also lost the support of the people of Guizhou. Therefore, just 18 days after defeating Zhou Xicheng, Li Ji also stepped down."

Chen Tianheng: "The Guangzhou United Government prohibits drugs throughout the territory. This is our law and cannot be changed. There is no such thing as leniency. Even if you guarantee that opium will only pass through the border and not be sold within the Guangzhou United Government area, it will not work. But I hope that Mao and Wang, the chief and second-in-command of Guizhou Province, will seriously consider whether Guizhou really only sells opium."

Opium is now a specialty of the northwest and southwest regions of China. According to the different water and soil in the place of origin, it is divided into Sichuan soil, Guizhou soil, Yunnan soil, Xi soil, Sui soil (Xikou soil), etc.

The only way for Guizhou to export its goods was to go overland into Guangxi and then go out to sea from Qinzhou. In between, they were subject to a high tax rate imposed by the Guangxi clique.

Since opium was the mainstay of Guizhou's finances, Mao Guangxiang and Wang Jialie, the current governors of Guizhou, wanted to eliminate middlemen or find one that charged lower fees. This was not a problem, but Mao Guangxiang's problem was that after discovering that the Guangzhou United Government refused to facilitate opium transportation, he immediately lost interest in cooperating with Guangzhou.

This man only has opium in his eyes, and nothing else matters to him.

"Can we take some measures to facilitate a leadership change in Guizhou Province?"

After Yu Qiong left, Chen Tianheng muttered to himself in a low voice.

Chapter 58, MI6

After returning from Xiangxi, Chen Tianheng immediately contacted the General Staff's Military Intelligence Bureau to discuss secret intelligence work in Guizhou.

"Premier Chen, Vice Premier Deng, and the General Staff's Military Intelligence Department believe that conducting offensive covert intelligence operations against the warlords in Guizhou Province may achieve our strategic objectives."

Chen Tianheng showed the special military intelligence plan drafted by MI6 to Chen Duxiu and Deng Yanda.

Deng Yanda: "…'The methods used include, but are not limited to, inducing internal strife among high-ranking officials, gang-on-gang violence, instigating rebellion among Guizhou troops, and false accusations, so that the local warlords in Guizhou will be well-intentioned and willing to cooperate with us.' This plan is excellent. How long will it take?"

Chen Tianheng: "MI6 has deployed agents, divided into Group A and Group B. Group A's primary target is potential leaders, while Group B is the action group. The plan was launched around the Spring Festival. MI6 estimates that it will take about two years to see results after implementation."

Deng Yanda: "Two years."

Mao Runzhi: "It's not too late. At our current pace, we might not even be able to capture Sichuan in two years. I just don't know who can pull off such a task."

Chen Tianheng: "MI4 has assigned four comrades to Groups A and B. Because these individuals belong to the Secret Intelligence Service, they are not listed in this report. We will see these comrades when they are awarded medals for their meritorious service in the future."

MI6 is still far from being a "world-renowned intelligence agency". Not only does it not carry out work abroad, but Chiang Kai-shek's military and political factions in most parts of the Nanjing-controlled area in China probably have never had any dealings with MI6.

Because MI6 wasn't working for him. MI6's staff was now as lean as the rest of the General Staff's Military Intelligence Department. This Guizhou operation was MI6's largest operation since its founding a year ago—four agents were deployed at once, including two covert operatives from MI6 who weren't required to have their real names on the payroll.

"The mission of the Secret Intelligence Service is to conduct the most confidential military intelligence work that should not be made public. The Secret Intelligence Service's actions can be formulated by the Intelligence Service itself or by the General Staff based on needs and submitted to the Military Commission for approval; or the Military Commission may make a request, and the Secret Intelligence Service will translate this request into action."

Li Kenong: "The Intelligence Bureau has its own needs? Does it also need to be reported to the Military Commission for approval before taking action?"

Chen Tianheng: "Yes. For example, if our Secret Intelligence Service encounters another Secret Intelligence Service, then your work needs will require you to take action against your opponent. This will definitely happen in your future work. However, such actions must be reported and approved, just like any action taken by the Sixth Bureau. The Sixth Bureau is still small now, but it will be different in the future. ... When you take action, it will be no small matter."

Send people out, and then just wait for the results.

This kind of thing does not require Chen Tianheng to micro-manage, nor is it possible to micro-manage it.

By the way, the code names of these two secret agents who did not write their real names on the payroll were 001 and 002. 001 was Hu Di and 002 was Zhu Jinming.

Bureau Six's operations are long-term, but Military Intelligence Bureau One's strategic intelligence reports are frequently submitted, one every three to five days. The conclusion of the intelligence submitted by Bureau One today is:

Chiang Kai-shek wanted to take action against Feng Yuxiang.

"Please circulate this strategic intelligence from the First Military Intelligence Bureau first." Chen Tianheng convened a meeting of staff at the General Staff Operations Department.

"Now we are in a truce and at peace. We are preparing for the liberation of the whole country, and Chiang Kai-shek is also making his own preparations. The preparations made by the Nanjing government are to wipe out the new warlords and local powerful groups in the areas under its rule, strengthen Nanjing's military and political power and financial capabilities, and establish a highly centralized political system to allocate national resources to the war."

"At present, Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Zuolin have divided their power boundaries. These two shrewd warlords are temporarily satisfied with the status quo. The New Guangxi Clique has expanded its power, but due to the strong combat effectiveness of the troops under Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, Chiang Kai-shek cannot do without the New Guangxi Clique for the time being."

"As a semi-independent force entrenched in Shanxi, Yan Xishan had no interest in competing for the throne."

"Weakening Feng Yuxiang would allow Chiang Kai-shek to gain access to numerous Northwest Army units, bringing these high-quality Northwest soldiers and generals under his actual control. Chiang Kai-shek believed this would greatly enhance his power. Therefore, the target Chiang Kai-shek would most likely prioritize dealing with Feng Yuxiang."

Zhou Shidi read the intelligence and said, "General, if Chiang Kai-shek attacks Feng Yuxiang, he will suffer at least some setbacks. He doesn't have strong control over his troops. I know the performance of the three armies of the Northwest Army during the second counter-encirclement and suppression campaign."

Chen Tianheng: "Feng Yuxiang was extremely frugal with his troops. This was determined by his own circumstances. The area occupied by the Northwest Army was relatively barren. He had considered controlling Tianjin and Beijing, but ultimately failed. Without money but wanting to maintain a large army, he could only 'cut back'. If a conflict between Chiang Kai-shek and Feng Yuxiang had broken out, many of Feng Yuxiang's troops would have been bribed by Chiang Kai-shek."

Zhou Shidi: "The 41st, 42nd, and 46th Armies still stationed near Wuhan... I think they will be the first to be bribed."

Chen Tianheng: "We should speculate on the specific process. For example, Chiang Kai-shek bribed Feng Yuxiang, Feng Yuxiang became alert, the Northwest Army hesitated, Feng Yuxiang mobilized troops to prevent bribery, Chiang Kai-shek pursued them relentlessly, and ultimately the Northwest Army collapsed. But the key hand was not the three armies around Wuhan. The most fatal blow to Feng Yuxiang must have come from Shi Yousan and Han Fujia."

Su Yu: "Then Feng Yuxiang will naturally hold on to these two capable generals, Shi Yousan and Han Fujia."

Chen Tianheng: "The Operations Department has formulated a plan. The Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area can now prepare to reclaim Huangan."

During the second counter-encirclement and suppression campaign, in order to concentrate troops and reduce the weak points of the base, the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base took the initiative to give up Huangan before the counter-encirclement and suppression campaign began and only defended Macheng.

Huang'an, west of Macheng, was too close to the Beijing-Hankou Railway and too far from the Dabie Mountains. During the Second Counter-Encirclement and Suppression Campaign, Qichun County was captured and became another plain county in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Base Area. Macheng was initially abandoned and then recaptured, but Huang'an was never recaptured and remained under the control of the 41st Army's Zhenwu Division garrison.

On January 1, 1930, Chiang Kai-shek began to make major adjustments to the national military deployment.

New military administrative regions, known as "Pacification Zones," were established to blockade the Guangzhou Coalition Government and maintain local stability. Guangxi, northern Hunan, and the area south of the Yangtze River in Hubei were designated the First Pacification Zone. Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian were designated the Second Pacification Zone. Northern Hubei, southern Henan, and Anhui were designated the Third Pacification Zone.

The First Sui District was mainly aimed at Hunan and western Guangdong of the United Government, with Commander Chen Cheng as its commander.

The Second Suiyuan District targeted the coalition government's Jiangxi Province and eastern Guangdong Province, commanded by Li Zongren.

The San Sui District is aimed at the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area, and the commander has not yet been designated.

一、二绥区计划各下辖12个军，三绥区下辖8个军，41、42、46军均在三绥三区编制下。

At the same time as the order to establish the pacification zone was issued, the three armies of the Northwest faction also received reorganization orders. Chiang Kai-shek asked them to concentrate in Wuhan so that the army could be reorganized.

Chiang Kai-shek planned to establish a system of Party representatives under Nanjing control in these three armies, replace some officers, strengthen the political education of the troops, and completely control these three Northwestern Armies. After achieving complete control of the troops, he would re-equip the three armies and retrain them in accordance with the new military tactics developed by the German advisory group at the Nanjing Military Academy.

The plan to replace officers and politically control the Northwest Army has not been announced yet. The Military Intelligence Bureau is aware of it, but the 41st, 42nd and 46th Armies are still unaware of it.

Fang Zhenwu soon received an order from Nanjing, ordering the three divisions of the 41st Army to concentrate in Wuhan for "new-style military reorganization."

On the same day that Fang Zhenwu received the telegram from Nanjing, news also came from his secret communication line with the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area.

"Commander, the Communist Party has asked me to tell you that when your 2nd Division of the 41st Army evacuates Huangan, it is best to take away everything you want to take with you."

The messenger quietly came from Yingshan County to the 41st Army Headquarters in Huangpi, Hubei, and delivered the news to Fang Zhenwu.

"Hiss, ...tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, what does the Communist Party mean?"

Fang Zhenwu knew what this meant. It meant that once your 41st Army leaves, don't come back.

Messenger: "That's what it means."

Fang Zhenwu: "Hey, Nanjing and Guangzhou are currently in a state of truce and peace. It would be bad for the Communist Party to stir up trouble."

Messenger: "Yes, now no one wants to be the first to start a civil war. That's why both sides need to communicate and exchange ideas. Commander, you only controlled the county town in Huangan before, and you had no control over the rural areas. The 41st Army didn't make much money in Huangan, right?"

Fang Zhenwu: "My troops in Huangan don't collect donations. Not only do we not receive much money, we don't receive any money at all in Huangan."

"Yes, yes," the messenger said, "I just made a slip of the tongue. The 41st Army's discipline in Huangan County is excellent, far superior to other Nationalist units. However, Chiang Kai-shek has ordered you to evacuate Huangan and concentrate in Wuhan for reorganization and training. Given this, it's only natural for the Communists to take over the county."

Fang Zhenwu: "Then, in addition to moving, I also have to evacuate the Huangan Security Group as well. It will take a while, and I'm afraid we won't be able to leave until January 12th."

Messenger: "No problem, let's make an appointment for January 12th."

"Then I have another question," Fang Zhenwu said, "Have you ever considered what would happen if we were transferred back to Hubei for reorganization, and then Chiang Kai-shek asked us to return to Huangan? The two sides would still resort to armed conflict."

Messenger: "Commander, um, I have one more thing to say. It's from above. After your troops are transferred back to Wuhan, there is no need to consider returning to Huangan for the time being. You may have to choose sides in the conflict between Chiang Kai-shek and your Marshal Feng."

(Make up for yesterday's update, and continue with two more tonight)

Chapter 59: Han Shi rebels against Feng

Due to the existence of the Guangzhou Coalition Government, Chiang Kai-shek now feels a greater sense of urgency than in his previous historical dimension. He is working extremely hard and urgently to "cut down the power of the vassal states," eliminating the independence of the new warlords and local powerful factions, strengthening centralization, and enhancing the power of the Nanjing central government.

The current Guangzhou Coalition Government is no mere peasant from the countryside. According to the Japanese magazine "Review News," China's current political landscape can be described as consisting of six major factions: the Guangzhou, Nanjing, New Guangxi Clique, Northwest Clique, Shanxi Clique, and Fengtian Clique. The Guizhou, Fujian, and Yunnan Cliques are too weak to be included for now.

These six groups were divided into two camps: Guangzhou was on the side of the "Social Front United", while Chiang's Nanjing faction and the New Guangxi faction, the Northwest faction, the Shanxi faction, and the Fengtian faction formed the "Anti-Socialist Alliance".

Although Guangzhou only occupied two and a half provinces and an enclave, the Guangdong people were extremely fierce and won great victories in the two encirclement and counter-encirclement wars, thus establishing a military balance with Nanjing.

In the "Anti-Socialist League" camp, Chiang Kai-shek and his direct followers are the base.

The Fengtian clique mainly provided arms to Chiang Kai-shek. Zhang Zuolin and Chiang Kai-shek had conflicts of interest, but the two old foxes chose not to tear each other apart and each ran their own business. Chiang Kai-shek was basically satisfied with this status quo.

Yan Xishan's Shanxi faction had weak military strength and was not active in any affairs outside Shanxi. It did not help suppress the Communists nor opposed Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek was basically satisfied with the current situation of the Shanxi faction.

The New Guangxi Clique has the potential to challenge Chiang Kai-shek, especially in terms of military strength. However, the New Guangxi Clique is currently the main force in the resistance against Guangdong. If the Nanjing government does not want to lose another province or two in the next war, it is best not to attack the New Guangxi Clique first.

Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Clique, however, constantly undermined Chiang Kai-shek's efforts, lacked the fighting prowess of the New Guangxi Clique, and was not as aggressive in suppressing the Communists. Furthermore, while the Northwest Clique possessed numerous but unskilled troops, the region they occupied had historically produced elite troops, and this was Chiang Kai-shek's primary concern: an ample supply of manpower.

Guangzhou.

"Call from Hubei, Henan, and Anhui! Three hours ago, representatives from the Huangan Farmers' Association and the Agricultural Armed Forces entered the county seat and made contact with the county's caretaker government and security forces! The 50th Regiment of the 17th Division of the 6th Army has marched to a position 6 kilometers south of Huangan City!"

The General Staff Operations Department was unusually busy. Although the purpose of this operation was to peacefully take over Huangan County, and the entire process should not involve fighting, "how to take over the county without a hot battle" required the General Staff Operations Department to control and coordinate at the top level.

It was now January 12, 1930. In the morning, Fang Zhenwu withdrew the last of the food and supplies of the 2nd Division of the National Army, and most of Huang An's security corps was also evacuated. The remaining dozens of people were pro-communist elements in the security corps who had been greeted and left to the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area to receive them.

At 11 a.m., the farmers' association and armed forces near the county seat sent two local cadres, who walked into Huangan County in a dignified manner to carry out "handover preparations" with the last batch of troops to be withdrawn from Fang Zhenwu's army.

After receiving the confirmation that Fang Zhenwu's troops were indeed not defending Huangan, the 50th Regiment set out from the rest camp south of Huanan City to prepare to enter the city.

Regardless of whether the Jiang and Feng families fought or not, Hubei, Henan and Anhui profited from this situation.

Chen Tianheng calculated the time and realized that when he saw the telegram, the 50th Regiment was already on its way to the city. According to the pre-operation plan, the first thing the 50th Regiment did after entering Huangan County was to set up a telegraph to communicate with the military headquarters in Yingshan County, which would then forward the message to Guangzhou using a high-powered radio.

Sure enough, at 4:30 p.m., Guangzhou received a second telegram from the Hubei-Henan-Anhui region, announcing that the 50th Regiment had entered Huangan County without a single exchange of fire and was stationed at the barracks left by the 2nd Division of the Northwest Army. The barracks and exercise yards were intact, except for the pots, pans, and utensils Fang Zhenwu had taken away.

Chen Tianheng: "Reply to Yingshan. The 50th Regiment will maintain order in Huangan County. Inspect the defensive fortifications left by the Northwest Army in Huangan, make appropriate modifications, and occupy Huangan."

...Now it's Feng Yuxiang's turn to make the decision.

Xi'an.

After the Northern Expedition was successful, Feng Yuxiang established his headquarters in Xi'an, the largest city in the northwest, and the people of Xi'an were very friendly to Feng Yuxiang: At the end of 1926, Feng Yuxiang defeated the Zhensong Army and rescued Xi'an, which had been under siege for eight months and had caused the death of countless residents by starvation.

Feng Yuxiang currently commands the largest number of troops in the country. At its peak, the Nationalist Army (Northwest Army) boasted 40 troops. Even after a round of layoffs, Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army still boasts 26 men. The Guangxi Clique, renowned for its ferocity, currently boasts only 22 troops. Zhang Zuolin in the Northeast commands 20 troops (though he nonetheless maintains a large and well-equipped local militia).

Feng Yuxiang tolerated Chiang Kai-shek's previous round of disarmament because he simply couldn't afford to support 40 soldiers in his territory. But he couldn't tolerate this round.

Guess how many troops Chiang Kai-shek will leave for Feng Yuxiang this time? - Basically none.