The Republic of Heroes

Yan Xishan was originally scheduled to arrive in Nanjing by plane on the morning of the 25th. Wu Xiaoliang, along with Chiang Kai-shek and other important officials of the Nationalist Government, rushed to the airport early, but they waited until the sunset and did not wait for Yan Laoxi's car to land.

Many people are complaining that the dignified member of the Military Commission and the general of the National Revolutionary Army is so unpunctual and makes everyone wait at the airport. What does this mean?Wu Xiaoliang did not think that this was Yan Xishan deliberately putting on airs, with Yan Laoxi's shrewdness, he would never add anything to such a meaningless matter. For example, tonight's point should be very meaningful, and he didn't even intend to Arrived in Nanjing before the situation became clear.

As soon as this idea popped into Wu Xiaoliang's mind, he almost immediately affirmed that this was the reason why Yan Xishan did not appear for a long time. If he arrived at this time, he would definitely not be able to stay out of it. Difficult problems cannot be bypassed at all. Once the wrong side is chosen, the consequences will be serious.Even if you don't vote, it's tantamount to walking a tightrope in the cracks between various forces. If you are not careful, you will still fall into the fire pit.Why not come to Nanjing when the situation is clear, and stand directly on the side of the winner, making the icing on the cake.

The air temperature in the simple terminal building of the military airport was very low. Dozens of party and state officials and their entourage suddenly squeezed into the small space and immediately became extremely crowded. Even though it was very crowded, many people were still rubbing their hands and jumping from the cold.

Outside the large and transparent glass window, the sky was terribly overcast, and light snow could already be seen faintly.

"Can the plane still land in this ghostly weather?"

It was Zhang Xueliang who spoke, and there was a hint of worry in his eyes. He stood half a step to the right behind Wu Xiaoliang, and his voice was very low, but it was just enough for Wu Xiaoliang to hear clearly.At this moment, he had completely given up on the idea of ​​standing with Jiang Zhongzheng. This rather willful Young Master Zhang finally bowed his head in the face of the cruel reality, chose to compromise, and cooperated with his competitor who had always been at the top of his list before.

In response, Wu Xiaoliang ordered Li Zejun to withdraw all the vanguard troops that had advanced to the southern suburbs of Beiping to the south to Shandong, which was regarded as letting him go.From Zhang Xueliang's point of view, Wu Xiaoliang's subordinates showed mercy. In fact, Li Zejun's troops were not many, no more than two brigades, that could actually be put into battle.The reason why Wang Yizhe was able to defeat Wang Yizhe in one fell swoop was that he took advantage of the surprise attack, and the second was that the Shandong Army's cannons were so powerful beyond imagination.And once the Northeast Army recovers, and there is no way to retreat behind them, it will inevitably inspire the determination to fight to the death. At that time, the 57th Division will definitely not take advantage of it. Even if it can overcome many difficulties and win the final victory, it will surely paid a very heavy price.

This is not what Wu Xiaoliang wants to see. The Shandong Army, especially the 57th Division, is an elite that has been honed through the Songhu War. He does not want to consume them all in a meaningless civil war, so he has always fought on the sidelines for the Northeast Army. With the side pull strategy, as long as Zhang Xueliang is on his side, everything is easy to talk about.

"Yan Baichuan won't be coming."

"What? Not coming? Didn't he just telegraph to come in person?"

Zhang Xueliang was very surprised by Wu Xiaoliang's statement. Although Yan Xishan was shrewd, he wouldn't go against his word on this kind of thing, let alone he had no reason to break his word?Coming or not coming will not fundamentally threaten his interests.

"At least until the situation is clear, he will not come to Nanjing."

Wu Xiaoliang added.

As if to make a footnote to this sentence, Jiang Zhongzheng's military attache pushed the door in from the outside, and brought in a few snowflakes that were gradually growing larger, and his body was also covered with a thin layer. Jiang Zhongzheng whispered in front of him.

The originally noisy hall suddenly became quiet as the military officer came in, and the sound of a needle falling could be heard. Dozens of eyes followed the military officer all the way to Chairman Jiang.

After a while, Jiang Zhongzheng let out a cold snort.

"It's all gone, Yan Baichuan won't come today." Then he underestimated a sentence as if talking to himself. "He can't come even if he wants to come in this damn weather."

"Go, go back to the city!" This sentence was said to the attendants beside him.

When passing in front of Wu and Zhang, Jiang Zhongzheng's pace seemed to slow down a bit, and then he sped up a few steps and went without looking sideways, without even looking at them.

Zhang Xueliang was obviously a little disappointed. He still had a good sense of this ally, but he had to make a choice in the face of interests.As for the reason why Yan Xishan didn't come, how clever he was, he immediately understood the meaning behind this behavior.He said before that he would come in person, because he, Yan Laoxi, miscalculated the situation. The two armies of Feng and Jiang attacked the Shandong army in Henan. Let's observe.

He really is an old fox, Zhang Xueliang slandered secretly, and then the worry in his eyes grew stronger.He was not worried about Yan Xishan, but Yan Xishan's statement made him very disappointed. His original plan to win him over to join the Northeast Army and the Shandong Army fell through. Only when the situation in Henan and Anhui became clearer could he be won. OK.

Yan Xishan didn't come, he put up such a big fight for nothing, waited another day, and some people already started cursing his mother.With the sound of cursing, the important officials filed out of the crowded terminal hall, Zhang Xueliang took half a step forward, and stood side by side with Wu Xiaoliang.

"Yan Laoxi is very slippery, we can't count on him anymore, what should we do next?"

In Zhang Xueliang's mind, without the intervention of a third party, it would be difficult for the Northeast Army and Shandong Army alone to compete with Jiang Zhongzheng. What's more, his Northeast Army was newly defeated, severely injured, and its morale was low. Restored combat effectiveness as before.Therefore, on the current battlefield, it is better to say that Wu Xiaoliang is fighting against Chairman Jiang with his own strength, rather than the two parties joining forces to fight against Chairman Jiang.All he could do was sit on the sidelines and cheer, which really made him blush a little.

"It doesn't matter if you don't come, the key depends on us. The teams of Qian Ting and Yi Ru should already be in their positions, and we should see the outcome in the next few days."

You need to be strong yourself to strike iron. Wu Xiaoliang has never been so confused as to put the hope of victory on others. This is the most unreliable. No one will dare to take risks to make others out of the fire. It is not easy for these big guys to add to the icing on the cake. , and expect them to send charcoal in a timely manner, is that a dream?

While Zhang Xueliang was still full of worries about the future, a battle in Su County, more than [-] miles north of Nanjing, had just begun, and the rumbling gunfire seemed to tear the earth apart, one after another.

This was a positional offensive and defensive battle without fancy. As the sound of artillery became more and more intensive, the fine snowflakes floating in the gloomy sky turned into heavy snow, and it was almost impossible to see things a few meters away from the bottom of the visibility.But the war did not end because of the bad weather. After the bombardment, in the confusion, the screams of killing all over the mountains and plains rose into the sky, as if a black tide was rushing southward, hitting the embankment repeatedly.

This is Dong Haibin's No.17 Division launching the first attack against Su County.Dong Haibin was originally a battalion commander of Yuan Shikai's model regiment in the Beiyang era, and later met Wu Xiaoliang at Baoding Military Academy. Subdued by Wu Xiaoliang.

It wasn't until the Fourth Mixed Brigade assisted Hunan that Wu Xiaoliang returned to Beijing alone. Fu Zuoyi dismantled Taiwan and occupied the magpie's nest and split the Fourth Mixed Brigade.Although he has lived in Tianjin for ten years, his keen military vision has not deteriorated because of this, but has become old and spicy.

At the beginning of the outbreak of the Songhu War, the entire Jianghuai region was in chaos, and all troops, whether they were miscellaneous or the Central Army, were transferred to the vicinity of Nanjing to deal with the Japanese.After Wu Xiaoliang left, the Seventeenth Division Dong Haibin was ordered to form formed an army in southern Shandong.And precisely at this time, a mutiny occurred in Xuzhou in the south, and there was no other team within a few hundred miles apart from his [-]th Division that could put down the rebellion.Therefore, he thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and quickly led a part of the newly formed [-]th Division to go south to attack the Xuzhou rebels.

At first, the rebels didn't pay attention to the [-]th Division, which was composed of new recruits. They were veterans who had experienced many battles, so they were very arrogant. The size of a division was later incorporated during Jiang Zhongzheng's Northern Expedition. After several reorganizations and abolitions, it has been reduced to the security brigade of the Jiangsu Provincial Defense Army. It's long gone.

When the Japanese army invaded Shanghai and the Great War broke out, Chiang Kai-shek transferred away the Third Division of Liu Zhi's First Army, which was originally stationed in Xuzhou, and the Third Division of Chen Chengji. These people, instigated by some officers who were extremely dissatisfied with Chiang, took the opportunity to mutiny and occupy Xuzhou.

It is well known that the Dongyang people are powerful. They think that Lao Jiang offended the Dongyang people. I am afraid that Nanjing will not be guaranteed, and they will not have the energy to manage the affairs of Xuzhou.Unexpectedly, Lao Jiang has no time to manage the mess in Xuzhou.But there is a guy named Dong Haibin in the north who wants to share a piece of the action even if he is beyond his limits.

The battle was fought without any technical content. Large-caliber artillery shells hit like hail, continuously, and then the infantry charged. After two repetitions, the Xuzhou rebels were quickly frightened by this terrifying formation, and surrendered with a white flag, so Xuzhou was easy. fell into the hands of the Shandong army.

Xuzhou is located at the intersection of Longhai Line and Jinpu Road. It is a transportation hub and an important military town. Holding it in your hands is equivalent to strangling these two railways running from east to west and from north to south, and occupying the gate of Anhui. If you fight Shandong in the south, you can't get around Xuzhou no matter if you go north from Jiangsu or Anhui.

Because Dong Haibin occupied Xuzhou, Chen Cheng had to stay in Bengbu after leading the [-]th Division to the north. However, Chen Cheng did not expect that the Shandong Army would take the initiative to stroke the beard of his [-]th Division and attack Su County blatantly.