1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

what?

You asked where Colonel Li, Lieutenant Colonel He, and Major Qin had gone? What were those large bags with human-like shapes and dripping blood for?

Well, that's a good question. Don't ask next time, or you might end up in the same situation as them. Although the division commander's explanation was rather simplistic, any soldier with a bit of common sense could guess what had happened. However, there wasn't even a hint of unrest.

Because what does this have to do with them?

To be honest, even if they had not participated in the Red Army's grievance meeting, the soldiers would not have cared much about what happened to the officers.

Moreover, after attending the Red Army's grievance meetings, understanding what class is, and knowing how they were exploited and oppressed, they no longer cared about these high-ranking officers.

Okay, making a living is no problem; do you want me to work hard?

Dream on!

You want me to fight the Red Army to the death? You want me to bully the common people?

I'm gonna beat you to death, you son of a bitch!!

To be fair, after Zhang Zhenhan took office as the commander of the 41st Division, the military discipline and appearance of the entire 41st Division did undergo significant changes;

Because Commander Zhang came from a poor family and, as a child, he was fed up with his uncle, an officer in the Beiyang Army, who bullied men and women and ran rampant, he still had a basic sense of justice in his heart;

(Incidentally, this kind of justice was shared by many KMT officers, especially those who had participated in the early revolution and the Northern Expedition, but this simple sense of justice can easily be distorted.) It is precisely for this reason that, faced with the double "blow" of being "defeated and captured" and the "grievance meeting," his transformation was so swift:

He quietly invited officers, quietly tested opinions, quietly set traps, and quietly... oh, and the killing at the end was a bit loud and ruthless. Therefore, the several Communist Party members assigned to become "Zhang Zhenhan's guards" were somewhat surprised and dissatisfied:

"...Comrade Zhang Zhenhan, killing someone without evidence... your behavior... violates discipline..."

All the cadres and masses who came from the Hunan-Hubei-West base area deeply detested the words "violation of discipline" and "arbitrary accusations to frame people."

There was no way around it. Xia Xi had done such an "excellent" job, so "excellent" that it cast a shadow on their hearts—even eating or drinking together could lead to accusations of "conspiring against the Party." Who wouldn't be afraid? If the new Central Committee of the Communist Party of China hadn't adjusted its policies in a timely manner, kept Xia Xi in the Central Soviet Area, and halted the previous erroneous policies, the hundreds of cadres who had already been imprisoned would have died. "If I haven't passed the test, I can't officially be considered your comrade!"

Zhang Zhenhan grinned, and his tone became serious again:

"Comrades, I know that according to the views you expressed yesterday, my practice of killing people without evidence is wrong..." "Then why are you still..."

"But, comrade, this is class struggle, a life-and-death struggle. Now is wartime, and there is no room for mercy!" "What if I let them go, and they realize what's going on, and run to Chiang Kai-shek to tell on me? That would be even more damaging to the revolution!" "...But you've indeed violated discipline."

"I've already said that I'm not a member of the Communist Party yet, so the Communist Party's laws don't apply to me for the time being, right? If there are any mistakes, I will bear the consequences.

Several Communist Party members remained silent and ultimately had no choice but to pretend not to see anything.

The Party organization's task for them was to assist Zhang Zhenhan in controlling the 41st Division and await further instructions from their superiors, not to interfere with his decisions or punish his actions. As long as it did not harm the people, they had no right to intervene.

As a result, dozens of colonels and lieutenants died "silently" and worthlessly on the shore of Honghu Lake; Commander Zhang "successfully broke through" with the "heavy-loss" 41st Division Headquarters, 121st Brigade and 123rd Brigade.

At this time, Huang Baitao, leading the 144th Brigade, was anxiously awaiting news from Division Commander Zhang Zhenhan and his men. "Brigade Commander, you said the Division Commander..."

"Master, you are blessed by heaven, nothing will happen to you."

Huang Baitao squinted his eyes and gazed southward, his expression filled with worry, sadness, and anticipation. Zhang Zhenhan, oh Zhang Zhenhan, you better not come back.

As long as you don't come back, I will be your commander. But, I guess you won't be able to come back, right?

Given that guy's arrogance and arbitrary nature, he sent a telegram for help in such a hurry. He must have been hit in a sore spot by the Communist bandits. Maybe he sent it just before his entire army was wiped out.

Huang Baitao was excited for half the night because of this.

As a "defeated general" not directly under Chiang Kai-shek, he had originally thought he would have to wait at least five, six, seven, eight, or even ten years before he could be promoted to division commander. Unexpectedly, the opportunity was right in front of him! (Huang Baitao had been defeated and captured by Zhang Zongchang, who then defected to the Fengtian clique. After Zhang Zongchang was killed, he was forced to follow suit and defect to the Chiang Kai-shek clique, so his position was very awkward;)

(In order to change all this, he worked hard, endured hardships first, and enjoyed himself later. He did whatever Chiang Kai-shek asked him to do. Even so, he still waited until 43 to be promoted to lieutenant general.) As long as Zhang Zhenhan died!

As long as Zhang Zhenhan is arrested! Then...

"Master...Zhang...Master?"

Huang Baitao's disappointment was palpable as he watched the 41st Division, a friendly unit led by Zhang Zhenhan, appear in sight, despite being significantly reduced in numbers but still considered a "mighty" force.

Zhang Zhenhan's sneer "awakened" Huang Baitao. He shuddered and quickly put on a big smile:

"How could it be possible, Master! You have returned safely! I am so happy! You are indeed a lucky man! You will definitely reach a higher level in the future!" This is Huang Baitao.

Unlike the resolute and courageous image portrayed in some later films and TV dramas, the real Huang Baitao in history was actually a person who was very good at flattery and flattery, and he loved to flatter his superiors.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been appreciated by the Beiyang warlord Li Chun while serving as a messenger, becoming his son-in-law and even enrolling in the Jinling Officer Training Corps. Therefore, for Huang Baitao, bending over and begging for mercy was no pressure at all.

"Haha, Huanran, you still speak so nicely!"

Zhang Zhenhan smiled, and after relaxing Huang Baitao's mood, he suddenly took out a telegram from a leather hardcover bookcase and slammed it into his face, roaring, "Tell me! What the hell do you want to do! If you still insist on holding on, there will be a way!" I finally managed to hold on and break through, but how many of my brothers died! You tell me!!! You tell me!!!"

A hole had been punched in the corner of his forehead by the crust, and blood blurred Huang Baitao's vision. He didn't dare wipe it off. He immediately knelt on the ground, picked up the telegram, and raised it above his head, crying and begging for mercy: "Commander! It's not that I don't want to rescue you! It's really the Communist bandits who are blocking our way. Our army can't break through!"

Huang Baitao knelt very happily.

There's no way around it. Compared to Zhang Zhenhan, who "lacks background", Huang Baitao is the one who can truly be called "without background";

Zhang Zhenhan was a graduate of the third artillery class of the Baoding Army Officers School. His classmates included Bai Chongxi, He Jian, Zhang Zhizhong, Huang Shaohong, and others! What about him?

He has a dick.

At this moment, Huang Baitao deeply regretted that he should not have sent the telegram that night in his complacency, saying, "Hold on firmly and there will be a way!"

Otherwise, today's matter could have been easily brushed off! "The Communist bandits are stopping us? Haha..."

Zhang Zhenhan took out a piece of white silk, took the book clip from Huang Baitao's hand, wiped the blood off it, threw the silk on the ground, and shouted to the officers of the 144th Brigade: "Someone tell me! When our army was surrounded that day, how many Communist bandits tried to stop you!"

"."

The officers and soldiers of the 144th Brigade looked at each other for a while.

Looking at the extremely angry division commander, looking at the corpses covered with white cloth behind the division commander, looking at the black muzzles of the guns of the soldiers of the 121st and 123rd Brigades who had "broken out",

Soon someone knelt down:

"Commander! It was Brigade Commander Huang who prevented us from rescuing them! In fact, there were no Communist bandits that day!"

“Who are the people who support him in doing this?!”

"Have..."

As his confidants were exposed one by one, Huang Baitao, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled even more violently.

He knew he was doomed. The best outcome would be being stripped of his command of the 144th Brigade and transferred to another marginal unit. Damn the Communists!

How did you let him escape?

"Division... Commander! I was blinded by greed! For the sake of the Party and the country! For the sake of the commander, please forgive me this time!" "Haha, deserting the battlefield, framing friendly forces, not saving superiors, disobeying orders... Huang Baitao, how many times do you think you can die?"

With a click, a pistol was pressed against Huang Baitao's forehead. He looked up in shock, only to hear a soft voice: "I do want to kill you because I hate you, but I also want to thank you."

"division..."

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a Communist..."

Um?? ?

"boom!!"

194 After the Left Route Army, Now the Right Route Army

The fact that Huang Baitao and his trusted officers were all executed by order of their immediate superior, the 41st Division Commander Zhang Zhenhan, to restore morale did not cause much unrest within the Nationalist Army. Even when Xu Yuanquan heard about it, he simply called to inquire about the situation. Far from reprimanding them, he even offered Zhang Zhenhan some words of comfort.

Because Huang Baitao's actions were too unethical. Any soldier with a bit of temper would have wanted to kill him, let alone his superior. If you had successfully killed Commander Zhang and then dealt with everyone else, it wouldn't have been a big deal. After all, "the victor is the king, the loser is the bandit," and there's nothing wrong with that.

But who made Commander Zhang break through the Red Army's encirclement, escape successfully, and even obtain witnesses and evidence that you deliberately did not rescue him? Then you deserve to be killed, and your killing is absolutely justified.

Because you didn't rescue so many officers and killed them, so many troops were lost, and the encirclement and suppression operation failed, someone has to take the blame, right? Naturally, Commander Xu and Division Commander Zhang tacitly put the blame on Huang Baitao.

Anyway, Mr. Huang is a nobody with no background and no one cares about him.

Incidentally, when Hu Zongnan, the commander of the First Division who was participating in the encirclement and suppression of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area, heard about this, he gave a command to his lieutenant colonel, Zhang Lingfu, who was also a deputy regimental commander:

"See? You must never be such a ungrateful bastard, and you must stay away from such ungrateful bastards, otherwise you will be killed sooner or later." (Historically, the Chief of Staff of the 74th Division, Wei Zhenyue, called Huang Baitao for help and uttered the famous phrase "For the sake of the party and the country") Let's get back to the topic.

Now, the 41st Division of the 10th Army, which was supposed to be responsible for encircling and suppressing the Hunan-Hunan base area, but was actually transferred back and forth several times, suffered a major defeat and had low morale. It could only temporarily enter Wuhan for rest and recuperation.

Leaving aside the question of how this had planted a major internal minefield, facing a new round of harassment from the Red Third Army, Xu Yuanquan had no choice but to consult with Chairman Chiang and redeploy the 48th Division, the only mobile unit, to defend the southwest of Wuhan. After some thought, he felt this was unsafe and requested the newly formed 2nd Brigade (now the independent 37th Brigade), which had previously been separated from the 10th Army, to assist in the defense.

This is not because he overestimates He Long and the Red Third Army, but because Xu Yuanquan was frightened by the experience of the 41st Division being almost wiped out.

You know, the combat effectiveness of the 48th Division is far inferior to that of the 41st Division!

What about the newly formed 3rd Brigade, which originally belonged to the 10th Army?

Last year, he was severely beaten by the Red Army and became paralyzed on one side of his body. He has not recovered yet. He is just a group of new recruits who are scared of "bandits"... So, after several twists and turns, the "10-strong army" of the Left Route Army that was originally used to encircle and suppress the Hunan-Hubei-West Hubei base area was completely ruined.

So, what were the "Right Route Army" in Anhui and the "Central Route Army" in Henan doing at this time?

The answer is, I am slacking off.

Well, that might not be an accurate description;

To be precise, they were "disobeying orders"; it felt even weirder.

In short, due to Chiang Kai-shek's "I'm coming to Hebei Province", the overall strategy of this encirclement and suppression campaign was completely disrupted, and all troops were ordered to encircle and suppress the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area at a nearly frantic pace. Those who were either brainless or too obsessed with licking the Chairman's boots, of course, had no idea what was going on and just attacked frantically according to orders.

But those cadres with brains or generals who were not on the same side as Chairman Chiang Kai-shek had strong objections to this.

Especially Li Jishen, the nominal commander-in-chief of the Right Route Army.

This man was from Wuzhou, Guangxi, and was a leader of the Guangdong Army. He had followed Dr. Sun Yat-sen in his early years and was a veteran of the National Government. He was known as "all the army officers in the country are his students, and all the famous generals in Guangdong and Guangdong are his disciples."

reputation;

As early as the time of Sun Yat-sen, he had always disliked Chiang Kai-shek, believing that he was treacherous and incompetent, and would only undermine the revolution;

After the 1927 Party Purge, he broke with Chiang Kai-shek directly because he believed that the purge was acceptable, anti-communism was acceptable, but not to such extremes, let alone direct massacres. In addition, due to some power struggles, he went to persuade Chiang Kai-shek to take the initiative to cease fire during the conflict between Li Zongren of the Guangxi clique and Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang, resentful, announced that he would be "expelled from the party forever."

Later, because Li Jishen's foundation was too deep, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to announce that he would be reinstated in the party. However, the two men were already completely at odds with each other, fighting openly and secretly.

Historically, he would organize the "Anti-Japanese Military Association" this year, plot against Chiang Kai-shek for the second time, and then be "expelled from the party forever" for the second time, and then in 1947 he would face the "third forever... well, "Chiang's forever."

Such a person, seeing Chiang Kai-shek's current miserable situation, naturally wanted to add fuel to the fire and pour some American military happiness drug on it.

So, when Wang Jun, deputy commander-in-chief of the Right Route Army and commander of the Third Army, was about to leave for Lu'an, Anhui to command his troops and came to say goodbye to him, Li Jishen said meaningfully, "Brother Zhiping, when you go to Lu'an, it is best to protect yourself and don't act radically."

".."

Wang Jun, who was full of ambition and vowed to make great contributions, frowned: "Brother Ren Chao, what do you mean? Do you have any strategy to share?"

"Alright, alright, brother Zhiping, although I am the commander-in-chief of the right wing army, you know what's going on. I have never thought of commanding anyone. I am just reminding you out of friendship as we were both members of the Northern Expedition." Li Jishen waved his hand.

"For example, this time, I didn't support you going to Lu'an. Since you insisted on going, I also suggested that you take a boat or a car to go slowly. Why do you have to go by plane? The Communist Party's Air Force..." "Brother Ren Chao, you worry too much. The Communist Party's planes haven't appeared for several days. I guess they have run out of fuel and are unable to fight again;"

Wang Jun said confidently:

"Besides, Wuhan is not far from Lu'an. The flight only takes half an hour. What could go wrong in such a short time?" "Haha, then I wish you success, Brother Zhiping..."

".…."

Looking at Wang Jun's confident and high-spirited back as he left, Li Jishen sighed heavily.

This bandit suppression campaign started off badly, and the original strategy was forced to change... Brother Zhiping, don't you feel like you're being played around with? Because, we really have been played around with...

"...Comrade from the Communist Party, you can come out now."

After Li Jishen finished speaking, a figure walked out from the inner room and said clearly, "Mr. Li, I wonder what you have thought about it?"

If anyone from the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area were here, they would be shocked to find that the speaker was actually Chen Changhao, the political commissar of the Red Fourth Front Army!

This person was from Wuhan, grew up in Wuhan and studied at Wuchang University. After the failure of the Great Revolution, he persisted in underground struggle in the Wuhan area for a period of time and was very familiar with Wuhan. So this time, he was sent out to sneak into Wuhan and contact Li Jishen, but he didn't expect that Wang Jun would come after just a few words, so he had to hide in the room.

Looking at this heroic, courageous, fearless young man, Li Jishen felt that he was really old, but he replied:

"You Communists want me to rise up against Chiang Kai-shek or even join you, but I can't do that now..."

"Mr. Li, we in the Communist Party have no such intentions. We have always insisted on respecting your ideas." Chen Changhao shook his head.

"However, we hope that you will not get involved in this campaign to encircle and suppress the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area."

"Please rest assured, even if you don't tell me, I won't really get involved." Li Jishen said self-deprecatingly:

"Besides, Chiang Kai-shek didn't give me a single soldier or any real power. Even if I wanted to participate, I couldn't!" "We also have some suggestions for your current predicament."

"Oh? I'd like to hear more about it."

"I wonder if Mr. Li would be willing to go to Fujian?"

“…”

After the two men finished their discussion, Chen Changhao was about to say goodbye and leave. Li Jishen couldn't help but say, "Comrade... could you please... could you please not kill Wang Jun? He is a..."

".…."

Chen Changhao's body trembled, and he turned around with a sharp look in his eyes: "Mr. Li! This is war!"

After leaving Li Jishen's residence, Chen Changhao quickly disappeared into a corner. However, when he passed by a prostitute who was posing coquettishly, he said lightly: