The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

"Cutting off the Nanxun Line is not that easy. After we cut off the railway line, Sun Chuanfang immediately sent his Soviet Fourth Division to attack me. It was really dangerous," said Chen Tianheng.

Liu Zhi: "Damn it. Did Sun Jun send Xie Hongxun's Fourth Division to attack you?"

Chen Tianheng: "Yeah. Fortunately, the Fourth Division was annihilated by me."

Liu Zhi and Hu Zongnan: ...

Chen Tianheng: "Xie Hongxun was killed by me in the chaos, as was a regimental commander. The chief of staff of the Soviet Fourth Division and two regimental commanders were captured. Now that the southern section of the Nanxun Line has been opened, I will send the prisoners here soon, starting with the wounded. The First Regiment doesn't even have enough gauze bandages right now. By the way, how is the battle for Nanchang going?"

Liu Zhi: "Don't mention this in front of the principal. The Second and Third Armies suffered a crushing defeat in their siege yesterday."

……

On October 5, the Northern Expeditionary Army attacked Nanchang. On that day, they successfully captured several key points outside Nanchang. The next day, October 6, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Second and Third Armies to attack the city.

Chiang Kai-shek was anxious for a reason. With Wang Jingwei as his core figure, the KMT's civilian wing held far greater influence than the military wing. Chiang Kai-shek's expansion of military power squeezed the civilian wing, leading to constant conflict between the two sides. The defeat at Nanchang nearly led to Chiang Kai-shek's impeachment. If he didn't achieve a decisive victory soon, the impeachment campaign against him would have continued.

The consequence of the hasty siege was that Tan Yankai's Second Army and Zhu Peide's Third Army lost nearly 3,000 people, including a regimental commander, at the gates of Nanchang.

The regiment commander was killed by Sun Chuanfang's army that went out of the city to counterattack. The force responsible for the counterattack was one of Sun Chuanfang's three main forces, Zheng Junyan's Soviet 10th Division.

When Chen Tianheng arrived at Niuxing Station in the north of the city and met Liu Zhi, Chiang Kai-shek was writing furiously with a look of grief and indignation on his face.

"My brother Tianheng..."

After writing to Chen Tianheng, Chiang Kai-shek opened a new page of letter paper:

"My brother Bo Ling..."

Chiang Kai-shek estimated that the First Division, advancing in two directions, should soon reach the Nanxun Railway. The First Division was more powerful than the Second and Third Armies, so the correct approach was to quickly move south along the Nanxun Railway and join the siege.

"Report to the Commander-in-Chief! Expedited mail from the post! From the First Regiment!"

……

Two expedited military letters were delivered to Chiang Kai-shek at the same time.

The first letter was written by Chen Tianheng during a forced march, reporting the marching position of the First Regiment and stating that he was speeding up his advance and would reach the Nanxun Line on October 4.

The letter was delayed for a long time because the post station returned to Changsha along the same route and then sent from Changsha to the outskirts of Nanchang.

The second letter was written on the evening of October 5, saying that the First Regiment had captured Yongxiu City and Xiushui Iron Bridge on the Nanxun Line.

"What? Does that mean the First Regiment can march southward and approach Nanchang? No, it should have already reached Nanchang?"

Chiang Kai-shek stood up excitedly.

Ding ding ding, Ding ding ding.

The secretary came over from next door: "Commander-in-Chief, Niuxing Station is calling."

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, I am Liu Zhi, Commander of the 2nd Division! The vanguard of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division has arrived at Niuxing Station!"

"Yes! Captain Chen Tianheng is among the vanguard!"

……

Morning of May 10th.

Chiang Kai-shek, Zhang Zhizhong, and Galen looked at the long line of prisoners arriving at Niuxing Station with an expression that asked, "Am I in the real world?"

The first group to get off the train were wounded prisoners. Those who could not walk were carried on stretchers by uninjured prisoners. After the wounded prisoners came the intact prisoners. The long line was in an orderly manner.

Chen Tianheng personally brought the chief of staff of the 4th Soviet Division and the commanders of the 14th and 16th Regiments to Chiang Kai-shek.

On the morning of October 5, our army captured Yongxu. On October 6, Sun Chuanfang's army in Jiujiang dispatched the Soviet 4th Division from De'an southward, intending to attack Yongxu and the Xiushui Bridge. Our 1st Regiment took the initiative and dealt a devastating blow to the Soviet 4th Division in the area north of the Xiushui Bridge. The 13th, 14th, and 16th Infantry Regiments, the artillery regiment, and the supply unit were all annihilated by our army, and over 4,500 enemy soldiers were captured. In the battle, the commander of the Soviet 4th Division, Xie Hongxun, and the commander of the 13th Regiment were killed, and most of the other senior officers were also captured by our regiment.

After bringing the captured senior military officer over, several soldiers behind Chen Tianheng pushed over a long box made of carriage boards, which contained two hundred kilograms of sea salt and Xie Hongxun.

Chiang Kai-shek: “…”

Garen: ... ""

Zhang Zhizhong: "Commander-in-Chief, we are not attacking the city to stop the reinforcements, we are surrounding the points and attacking the reinforcements! Surround the points and attack the reinforcements!"

Chapter 110

On October 7, the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the 10st Division also arrived at the Nanxun Railway Line.

They arrived three days later than the first regiment, but they still managed to complete the 330-kilometer long-distance march within nine days.

By the fourth and fifth days of the march, both regiments were complaining bitterly. Xue Yue disciplined the two regimental commanders, forcing them to march 35 kilometers a day without any discounts. To reach the battlefield on time, the 2nd and 3rd regiments even achieved a daily march of over 40 kilometers on the eighth day of the march.

Xue Yue now faced a situation where the entire line from Xiushui Railway Bridge to Nanchang Niuxing Station was under the control of the Northern Expedition Army. The trains running back and forth facilitated the logistics and personnel rotation of the Northern Expedition Army.

According to Chiang Kai-shek's order, Xue Yue and the Second Regiment were stationed in Yongxiu County to defend the iron bridge. The Third Regiment was stationed south of the Second Regiment to support Yongxiu at any time. The First Regiment arrived at Niuxing Station and faced Nanchang directly.

On the side of the Five Provinces Allied Forces, Sun Chuanfang has not yet recovered from the shock of the near-complete annihilation of the Soviet Fourth Division.

You should know that on October 6, Zheng Junyan's Soviet 10th Division, one of Sun Chuanfang's three main forces, inflicted heavy casualties on the Northern Expedition Army attacking Nanchang. The 10th Division also launched a counterattack and pursued the enemy, seizing a considerable amount of spoils. How could the Soviet 10th Division suddenly disappear on the battlefield south of De'an?

The Soviet 4th Division, which was originally composed of two brigades and four regiments, now had only one regiment left. This regiment had also suffered a severe blow to its self-confidence due to the annihilation of its neighboring troops.

Sun Chuanfang faced more than one trouble.

On October 7, Bai Chongxi commanded the 4th and 7th Armies to set out from Wuhan, advance by land and sea to occupy Huangshi, and had the momentum to continue down the Yangtze River to attack Jiujiang.

During the military expansion in Wuhan, the 4th Army was divided into two into the 4th and 11th Armies, but the current combat effectiveness of the 4th Army is still strong because Ye Ting's Independent Regiment (73rd and 74th Regiments of the 25th Division) is in the 4th Army.

"'Xie Hongxun's troops were wiped out on the Nanxun Line; Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek surrounded and attacked the reinforcements and sent in special forces.'" Puff,... puff."

Bai Chongxi, Chief of Staff of the Northern Expedition Army, glanced at the newspaper and was immediately shocked by the headline on the front page.

Li Zongren: "Chiang Kai-shek failed to capture Nanchang the second time he attacked it, and the 2nd and 3rd Armies also lost many men. If Chen Tianheng had not defeated the 4th Soviet Division on the Nanxun Line, not only would Chiang Kai-shek have lost face, but Sun Chuanfang's reinforcements would have arrived outside Nanchang, and with the help of internal and external forces, they would have defeated the eastward advance outside Nanchang."

Bai Chongxi: "So Chiang Kai-shek was just lucky. Among the Whampoa students, there emerged an outstanding Chen Tianheng who single-handedly saved the entire battle."

"Jiansheng, it seems like you interact more with Chen Tianheng. How strong is this junior?"

"Chen Tianheng..." Bai Chongxi touched his chin. "He is extremely skilled in training and managing troops, and his tactics are extremely methodical. In this respect, he is probably second to none in the country. In the field of campaign strategy, he may be younger, so he naturally has less experience, but he has a high level of understanding."

Li Zongren: "If that's the case, why are you still teaching him so much? Aren't you afraid that when Chiang Kai-shek attacks us in the future, Chen Tianheng will become our victim?"

"In the future—not necessarily. I think," Bai Chongxi said, "it's just a hunch. If the Northern Expedition breaks out into civil war, and our Gui army fights Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Tianheng may not necessarily side with Chiang Kai-shek, or even not participate."

……

Nanchang.

"I'm still going to capture Nanchang!"

"If Nanchang is not recovered, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces will not be liberated. Warlord Sun Chuanfang will continue to oppress the five southeastern provinces. The Northern Expedition strategy will have no foundation to sweep across China. The Premier's legacy of unifying China and realizing the Three Principles of the People will become a distant prospect!"

Chiang Kai-shek was emotionally agitated and discussed the possibility of attacking Nanchang again.

General Galen also believed that the attack on Nanchang should continue. The overall strategy of the Northern Expedition had been implemented at this point, and Nanchang had to be fought, and they could not get stuck here.

"Davarishi Chiang, the capture of Nanchang requires the full participation of the First Division. I suggest that over the next two days, the First and Second Divisions rotate defenses. The Second Division's Fourth Regiment and the newly rebuilt Fifth and Sixth Regiments will defend the Yongxiu Railway Bridge, while the three First Division regiments will march south and assemble outside Nanchang to await orders."

Chiang Kai-shek: "Yeah, I think so too."

Galen: "Nanchang's walls are tall and strong. We need to transport field artillery outside the city and bombard the walls directly from close range. After two to three days of fire preparation, we can launch an attack."

"Uh-huh."

Garen: "Captain Chen Tianheng, your 1st Regiment of the 1st Division performed exceptionally well in the attack on Wuchang City. In the assault on the Nanchang city walls, you will be the primary force. All of your mountain artillery and howitzers will support your attack, while the 2nd and 3rd Armies' attack points will primarily serve as a diversion."

Chen Tianheng, who was attending the meeting, stood up and said, "General Galen, I think the most likely scenario right now is that the Nanchang defenders will break out and retreat northward."

Garen: “…”

Chen Tianheng: "In the Nanxun Railway Battle, Sun Chuanfang's Soviet 4th Division suffered a devastating defeat. Currently, Sun's forces within Jiujiang City consist of Zhou Fengqi's Soviet 3rd Division, with a total of 5,000 men, and Bai Baoshan's Soviet 5th Division, with a total of only 3,000 men. The only unit capable of taking the lead in the battle is the Central 2nd Division. Given that we destroyed the Soviet 4th Division in one fell swoop during the Nanxun Railway Battle, Sun Chuanfang should have realized that he could no longer rescue Nanchang while maintaining the stability of Jiujiang's defenses."

"The 4th and 7th Armies from Wuhan have already moved down the Yangtze River and will soon threaten Jiujiang. Sun Chuanfang is now even less likely to send elite troops to rescue Nanchang. Instead, he needs to withdraw the Nanchang garrison to Jiujiang and strengthen Jiujiang's defenses, especially Zheng Junyan's Soviet 10th Division currently in Nanchang."

The next day, Sun Chuanfang took action.

Two dark shadows floated over the misty surface of the Ganjiang River.

The larger one is the Jiangyuan-class Yangtze River gunboat "Jiangzhen", and the smaller one is also a Yangtze River gunboat (gunboat), the 250-ton "Jiangxi".

Behind the two gunboats was a long line of inland river cargo and passenger ships of varying sizes, all of which Sun Chuanfang had collected in Jiujiang. They sailed from Jiujiang via Poyang Lake and, after entering the Gan River, docked at the riverside pier in Nanchang.

As expected, the defenders of Nanchang are about to run away!

The Northern Expedition Army's field artillery fired at the warships entering the Gan River, but the two gunboats also fired back in the direction of the shells, with 120mm, 88mm, and 76mm shells flying one after another.

At that time, the Gan River channel had not been artificially expanded, and the 500-ton "Jiang Zhen" could only move forward and backward along the center of the deepest channel. The "Jiang Xi" was not much better. However, these two warships stubbornly stood in the Gan River to cover the withdrawal. Their main guns suppressed the land artillery groups, and their machine guns and heavy machine guns on the side of the Gan River strafed the west bank of the Gan River, preventing the Northern Expedition Army from attacking the Soviet and Gan troops who were frantically boarding the ships.

On the first day of Sun Chuanfang's Ganjiang River retreat, more than 3,000 people were evacuated. On the second day, even more ships arrived at the Ganjiang River dock.

The Northern Expedition's artillery continued to fire into the Gan River, and the two gunboats also fired a barrage of rapid-fire guns. This time, a Northern Expeditionary mountain artillery shell hit the Jiang Zhen, startled, and the latter reversed its course to retreat from the Gan River. However, a short while later, the Jiang Zhen returned, likely receiving a death order from Sun Chuanfang: "Don't even think about going anywhere, you must cover the retreat of the Nanchang defenders."

The two sides exchanged blows for a while before a 120mm shell from the Jiangzhen struck the Northern Expedition's artillery. With a thud, several gunners were killed by shrapnel. Fortunately, the shell didn't directly hit the cannon, otherwise the Northern Expedition would have lost its artillery.

Xu Xiangqian: "I am sure that the first wave of Sun's army to retreat must be Zheng Junyan's 10th Division. This is Sun Chuanfang's treasure."

Chen Tianheng: "The artillery regiment should push the field guns directly to the shore and aim directly. If they can fire well, they can hit 8 out of 10 targets. It would be even better if they have armor-piercing shells."

Chen Tianheng and others are now just watching the show, lying in the high grass by the Ganjiang River and watching the exchange of fire between the shore guns and the naval guns.

Xu Xiangqian: "But the artillery regiment doesn't dare. Pushing the field guns to a very close range can cause fatal damage to the warship, but it will also be easy for the warship to hit you. Look, the 37mm machine guns on the side of the Jiangzhen ship, bang bang bang, the rate of fire is very fast. One burst of fire can destroy a field gun."

Chen Mingren: "Yes, that's why our First Regiment is reluctant to use mortars. Mortars are also short-range cannons."

……

Upon learning that the Nanchang defenders were fleeing in droves, General Galen suggested that the Northern Expedition attack the city immediately. However, this suggestion was strongly opposed by the 2nd and 3rd Armies, who had suffered heavy losses in the previous siege. Both armies agreed that they should wait until the defenders had retreated a bit, until only a small number of enemies remained, and then attack to take advantage of the remaining enemy forces.

The 2nd and 3rd Armies strongly opposed this, and Chiang Kai-shek wasn't keen on a hasty attack. What if a few enemies escaped Nanchang? So what if they fled to Jiujiang? The planned campaign to capture Jiujiang was a joint effort of the 4th, 7th, and 1st Armies. It wasn't just the 1st Army that was suffering.

General Galen had no choice but to postpone his plan to attack the city immediately.

After waiting for two more days, the Nanchang defenders fled by water at a rate of four to five thousand people a day, retreating under the cover of warships during the day and sneaking away in the dark at night. Chiang Kai-shek finally waited until Nanchang was almost deserted.

General attack!

The artillery group turned to bombard the Nanchang city wall. When the Northern Expedition Army's 75mm field guns had just pushed to 800 meters away from the city wall, ready to aim directly at the wall,

——The defenders of Nanchang City raised the white flag.

……

"Welcome the Northern Expedition!"

"Welcome the National Revolutionary Army!"

"Down with the imperialist powers, down with the imperialist powers, get rid of the warlords, get rid of the warlords..."

During the Northern Expedition Army's entry ceremony, thousands of Nanchang citizens lined the streets, holding banners and hanging lanterns.

Chiang Kai-shek walked at the front of the team. Looking at the Nanchang citizens lining the streets to welcome him, he was so happy that he was even a little at a loss.

Nanchang City has been captured!

The Northern Expedition captured another provincial capital! This provincial capital was captured under my personal supervision!

"Hey, wasn't it said that when the Northern Expedition last occupied Nanchang, Cheng Qian and Wang Bo-ling spent all day in the city drinking and watching opera, only to be defeated by Sun Chuanfang's counterattack?" Xu Xiangqian asked. "Why are the people of Nanchang still so welcoming when the Northern Expedition comes again?"

Huang Wei: "Maybe, it's probably because even though Commander Wang and Commander Cheng act like this, they are still much better than Sun Chuanfang and the Five Provinces Allied Forces..."

……

The first thing Chiang Kai-shek did after entering Nanchang was to move the Northern Expedition Army Headquarters from Changsha to Nanchang.

Chiang Kai-shek was not familiar with Changsha...

From the Republic of China to the present, Changsha has produced a large number of Sun Yat-sen's loyal followers and veterans of the National Revolution, including Cheng Qian, Tan Yankai, and the recently rising Tang Shengzhi. None of them is easy to fool. In short, Changsha is not Chiang Kai-shek's territory. If you feel uncomfortable staying there, just move away.

In addition to relocating the headquarters, Chiang Kai-shek also redeployed troops from the First Army.

Originally, the 3rd, 14th and 20th Divisions were left behind in Guangdong. Now it was proved that the rear of Guangdong was quite stable and there was no need to leave so many troops behind, so He Yingqin took the 3rd and 14th Divisions to attack Fujian.

The two newly formed replacement divisions were now fully trained and named the 21st and 22nd Divisions, bringing the First Army's divisions to nearly the size of a group army. However, due to the original rule of "one army for the Party Army and one for each of the other provincial armies," the First Army was not easily split and replicated, so the number of divisions was increased.

"Xue Yue, commander of the 1st Division of the 1st Army of the Northern Expedition, is hereby transferred to command the 22nd Division of the 1st Army. Xue Yue must depart for Guangdong within three days to take command of the 22nd Division and march north to join the battle."

Chiang Kai-shek

Chapter 111

"Is this the Tengwang Pavilion? Is the Tengwang Pavilion this small building?"

Chen Tianheng looked up at the Tengwang Pavilion, an ancient building in front of him that was not shabby but really small.

The Pavilion of Prince Teng is located in the northwest of Nanchang City, on the east bank of the Gan River. It was originally built by Li Yuanying, the son of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan. Li Yuanying was given the title of Prince Teng, and the Pavilion of Prince Teng refers to Li Yuanying's villa in the suburbs of Nanchang (Yuzhang).

Throughout its history, Tengwang Pavilion has been repeatedly destroyed by fire and war, necessitating 27 reconstructions. The most recent restoration occurred in 1908, when it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1909. During this period, the Qing Dynasty was facing internal and external difficulties and financial hardship, and the rebuilt Tengwang Pavilion was a scaled-down version, significantly inferior in both size and style.