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Li Shucheng, the host of the "Falling the King Movement", personally contacted Zhang Hanqing on behalf of Hubei Province.

Hubei, which is separated from Shaanxi by a wall, has long been in Zhang Hanqing's eyes.Since ancient times, there has been a saying in China that "huguang is familiar, and the world is full".At that time, the provincial capital Wuchang was a famous city of Shouyi. It was located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and controlled the north-south transportation hub. It is not easy to cross the river and land on the shore by force.

Hanyang Arsenal is also another important factor: Hanyang Arsenal, together with Fengtian Arsenal and Taiyuan Arsenal, were known as the three major arsenals of the Republic of China. Fang Suo coveted - Hanyang made rifles during the Anti-Japanese War is also famous.Wu Peifu was not interested in the post of deputy envoy of Zhiluyu Tour, but he had a special liking for Hubei Province, and he also took a fancy to Hubei's military potential and financial and material resources.For the Northwest People’s Army, because the Lanzhou Arms Factory was under construction, and the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway and the Jinpu Railway were controlled by the Zhili, all the military supplies needed by the army had to be transferred from Beijing to Sui, and then transferred to Lanzhou via Ningxia and Northern Shaanxi. Everywhere, it is not easy.After winning in Wuhan, Zhang Hanqing's Northwest People's Army, one of China's earliest arsenals, had the opportunity to be supplemented nearby, thus forming a lasting combat effectiveness.

In terms of economic development, the Hanyeping Company located in the two lakes is the largest steel company in China's customs, and has unique advantages for the development of industry.From the east of Wuchang on the Yangtze River, 1000-ton ships can go to sea freely, with good water transport conditions, so it is also the last stop of Britain, the United States and other countries in the sphere of influence of the Yangtze River.There are also other important railway lines, the Beijing-Han Railway and the intersection of the Guangdong-Han Railway, which are also in Wuhan (currently due to the complex terrain and arduous engineering of the Shaoguan-Zhuzhou section of more than 400 kilometers, the Yue-Han Railway only extends to the Zhuzhou section. The opening of the Shao section has been delayed until 1936. At that time, it was known as a railway with high standards of railway engineering and construction in China. At the same time, due to the opening of the railway ferry on the Yangtze River section in Wuhan, the entire line of the Guangdong-Han Railway was announced to be connected.) Beijing-Han means Beijing to Hankou, Guangdong-Han That is, Guangzhou to Wuchang is the most important north-south railway in China. It connects six provincial capitals and dozens of large and medium-sized cities, and connects with many railways. It plays an extraordinary role in China's national economy. role.

Moreover, once Hubei Province is under the control, the Beijing-Han Railway, one of the two major transportation (and economic) pillars that Zhili relies on in China's political arena, will be shared by the Zhifeng (People's Army), declaring its advantage in the future rapid troop movement on the Central Plains battlefield reduced to nothing.

Zhang Hanqing had been planning for several months to march into Hubei, and it finally came at this time.In order to make the Northwest People's Army have the justice to send troops, and try not to make the Hubei people feel disgusted, Zhang Hanqing and Hubei representative Li Shucheng made the following guarantees:

1.After the success of expelling the king, "self-government" will be implemented throughout Hubei, the military governor will be abolished, and the election of the governor will be held immediately;

2.The Northwest People's Army only sent one division to station in Jiehankou, and the military expenses were provided by the provincial finance quota;

3.The Northwest People's Army only demanded the right to manage the Hanyang Arsenal;

4.The Northwest People's Army will ensure the security and economic stability of Hubei Province, as well as the interests of Chinese and foreign parties in Hubei.

5.Unless requested by the government, the troops stationed in Hubei will never interfere in local police and political affairs;

6.The Army Garrisoned in Hubei will negotiate with the North and the South and the warlords of all parties to ensure that Hubei is a neutral place and will not be disturbed by all parties.

In order to attract the Hubei army as much as possible, Zhang Hanqing sent representatives to lure Zhao Hengti from Hunan to send troops northward on the grounds of disharmony between Zhi and Feng, and promised that the Northwest People's Army and Fengjun would be a strong deterrent for Wu Peifu to join the battle group.

In addition, Zhang Hanqing also took the opportunity of Xu Lanzhou to return to Beijing to "report on his work", and sent him to communicate with Zhang Zuolin in Fengtian, Sun Liechen and Guo Songling in Tianjin to discuss the situation in Central China in detail, and asked the North China Army to prepare for the deployment along the Beijing-Han Road once Wu Peifu sent troops. Jinpu Road is determined to send troops to cover its rear.When foreseeing the prospect of the Northwest People's Army taking Hubei to increase the strength of the Fengjun, the key officials of the Fengjun and government almost went crazy.Zhang Zuolin even dispatched two divisions of the Northeast Road Guard Army to leave the border immediately, and made a high-pressure posture, so as to prevent Wu Peifu's troops from moving lightly when the war started in the south.

Even so, the border between Shaanxi and Hubei is far away from Wuhan, and there are Wudang Mountains and uninhabited Shennongjia. Not counting the criss-crossing rivers and lakes, the big ones include the Han River, Duhe River, Tangbai River, Tianmen River, etc. all the way. Passing through Shiyan, Xiangfan, Jingmen, and Xiaogan are all sparsely populated, and the distance is not less than a thousand miles.The direct line can pass through the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway, and it only needs to pass through Chenjiahe, Xiaogan, and Hengdian Liaoliao Stations to reach Hankou directly, and then wait for work at leisure, posing a threat to the lone army entering the northwest into Hubei.Zhang Hanqing has always believed in "despise the enemy strategically, and attach importance to the enemy tactically", and he is not arrogant enough to resist the pincer attack of the northern and southern direct armies with two divisions.

On the Beijing-Hanzhou line, the closest to Hubei is Feng Yuxiang who is stationed in Xinyang.He and Wang Zhanyuan have mutual filth, and are deeply dissatisfied with Wu Peifu.If he can be persuaded to be impartial in this battle of attacking Hubei, or to deliberately delay possible aid operations in Hubei, it will be very beneficial to stabilize the situation in Hubei Province.For Wu Peifu, Feng Yuxiang is a sudden rise, and he has always been very careful.Wu Peifu expressed his intention to replace Wang Zhanyuan with his trusted 25th division commander Xiao Yaonan when the Hubei people drove Wang Zhanyuan away.In the battle to exorcise the king, Feng Yuxiang would definitely not make wedding clothes for others, and lose troops and generals for this master.However, in the Central Plains, no one can compete with Wu Peifu, so there is no guarantee that he can stick to his conservative ideas under Wu's heavy pressure.

Feng and Wang's disagreement is a long story.After the outbreak of the Zhili Warlord War, Duan Qirui, the leader of the Anhui Warlord, ordered Zhang Jingyao, the governor of Anhui Province, to lead his Seventh Division to abandon Hunan and go north to join the war; The No.16 mixed brigade went north to join the war.Feng Yuxiang delayed his trip and did not intend to leave Xiangxi.However, Zhang Jingyao's troops had retreated from Hunan to Hubei, and Wu Guangxin's troops, the commander-in-chief of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in Anhui Province, also withdrew eastward from Yichang to Wuchang.Wang Zhanyuan, the governor of Hubei, who belongs to the direct line, has only a 2nd division in Wuhan. The combat power is weak, and he is afraid that he will lose his territory if he can't resist. Quickly leave Wuhan.So Feng Bu had to leave Changde and go north.After Feng's troops arrived in Hankou, the Zhi-Anhui War near Beijing had come to an end, and Feng's troops did not need to go further north, so Wang Zhanyuan designated the No.16 mixed brigade to be stationed at Chenjiaji on the Yangtze River.

There is a paper mill in Chenjiaji, the yard is huge, but there are few vacant houses, so the officers and soldiers had to set up tents in the yard to live.Hankou is one of the famous hot cities in my country. Staying in a tent during the scorching red sun in July and August is like staying in a steamer.Feng Yuxiang had repeatedly asked Wang Zhanyuan to change his residence, but Wang Zhanyuan always ignored it.The Beijing government had no money to send food and salaries to the Ministry of Feng. It once ordered Wang Zhanyuan to help with the salaries nearby, but Wang Zhanyuan refused to give even a penny in cash.Zhang Jingyao's troops withdrew northward by boat from Hunan. When the warship was moored on the bank of the Chenjiaji River, Feng's troops attacked at night, but Zhang's troops did not dare to fight back, and obediently surrendered.The Feng Department seized 27 seven-fifth field artillery, a whole battalion of heavy machine guns, a whole battalion of heavy soldiers, and a whole battalion of rifles and countless bullets.

When Wang Zhanyuan saw Feng Bu seized so many weapons and equipment, he felt itchy and hot-eyed, and said arrogantly and unreasonably that these spoils should belong to him.On the one hand, Feng Yuxiang wanted to calm things down, but on the other hand, he couldn't twist his thighs, so he finally handed over all the captured items to Wang Zhanyuan.Because of this, Feng couldn't help feeling a little helpless.Due to the above reasons, Feng Yuxiang hated Wang Zhanyuan deeply.However, Wang Zhanyuan repeatedly issued orders to evict Feng's troops from Hubei Province. The relationship between Wang and Feng had become incompatible, so Cao Kun, the leader of the direct line, transferred Feng's troops from Chenjiaji to Henan.

After repeated arguments with Hu Jingyi and Han Linchun, Zhang Hanqing came up with an almost genius plan: use Yu Youren, who is well-known in the Kuomintang, to come forward secretly and personally persuade Feng Yuxiang to sit back and watch the war in Hubei Province.It is promised that after the pacification of Hubei Province, Feng Yuxiang will be used as the envoy of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui border protection army to make it stand on its own.Before the war, they seized Danjiangkou and Laohekou in northwestern Hubei, made a gesture of threatening Nanyang, and secretly recruited ships for the transportation of artillery and luggage.In the early stage, a light loader was sent to Hubei, and under the leadership of Li Shucheng, it organized the preparation of military supplies and grass in the towns along the Han River.

Before the war started, the Zhili lineage was already torn apart, which made the people's army have a very high chance of winning this war and their confidence doubled.