Chapter 193: The soldiers are in the verge of

All Zhang Xuewu's reaction was completely beyond the expectations of everyone in China. Zhang Xuewu understood that He Yingqin's original intention of tough attitude at this moment. He originally planned to assemble the troops of the first reorganization division Xu Guohui and the troops of the second reorganization division Wang Chuang to Ordos, and the second brigade of the third reorganization division Zhao Xinyu and the troops of the fourth reorganization division Hu Zhenglong to assemble in Zhangjiakou, ready to divide the troops into two groups to enter Jin at any time.

For this reason, Zhang Xuewu informed Yan Xishan that his Rehe Legion was preparing to take the way to Xi'an to rescue Chairman Jiang. Zhang Xuewu's notice made Yan Xishan very angry and he also thought hard about countermeasures. If he did not give in, then the Jin army would likely become history under Zhang Xuewu's army's sweep. However, if he gave in, Zhang Xuewu's Rehe Legion would probably be difficult to send the gods after entering Shanxi.

However, the impact of the Xi'an incident has expanded to an uncontrollable level. In addition, the outbreak of the Double Twelve Incident in Xi'an seemed to have given people some opportunity, so the people began to jump up in a big way.

Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng were really unable to let go of their power. They were confused by the beautiful prospects of the Northwest Alliance. In essence, they were united and protected themselves. However, in their righteousness, Chiang had to give up the policy of resolutely pacifying the country before fighting foreign countries, and implemented the policy of uniting the Communist Party and resisting Japan. They launched the so-called "military remonstrance", and were detained by Chiang Kai-shek who went to Xi'an to urge the "suppression of the Communist Party" and his accompanying personnel.

Chiang Kai-shek was not only the leader of the *** Party, but also the president of the Executive Yuan of the National Government and the chairman of the Military Commission, combining party, politics and military power. He was detained in Xi'an, which left the Nanjing government unleased and in chaos. On how to deal with and resolve the Xi'an Incident, there was a difference of opinions within the Nanjing government and the authorities, and quickly split into sharply opposed "main war" and "main peace" factions. With the support of some *** veterans and young Huangpu factions, He Yingqin, who was the Minister of Military Affairs, advocated a clear order to attack Xi'an, and served as the commander-in-chief of the "anti-rebellion Army", quickly organized the army to approach, and the air force bombed the suburbs of Xi'an, making the clouds of civil war shrouded in the northwest more and more intense, and a big fight suddenly became a trend of breaking out.

In this regard, most people from the outside world believe that He Yingqin did this to kill Chiang Kai-shek or fake Zhang. Yang killed Chiang Kai-shek with his hands and replaced him. However, in Zhang Xuewu's view, He Yingqin's real purpose in fighting at this moment should be to "force peace by fighting" and rescue Chiang Kai-shek in disguise.

After Chiang Kai-shek was detained, the Nanjing government implemented temporary collective leadership. In this group, He Yingqin obtained a power position that he did not have before the incident, but due to his qualifications and strength, he still did not obtain the possibility of replacing Chiang Kai-shek's status. He Yingqin should have been self-aware of this and could not have had the fantasy of "replacing Chiang" on this.

He Yingqin, then Minister of Military Affairs, naturally became one of the core figures of the temporary leadership group of the Nanjing government and mastered military command. However, this does not mean that He Yingqin had the ability to replace Chiang Kai-shek's position and mastered the center of the National Government with one hand. Because within the ***, He Yingqin had never had the experience of governing the party or governing the country since He Yingqin followed Chiang Kai-shek. In terms of qualifications, he naturally could not compare with the *** veterans such as Wang Jingwei and Hu Hanmin.

In terms of strength, He Yingqin is not a powerful party in any place, and has never had a tough private force that can stand alone. Although he is the second-ranked figure in the Whampoa Group of the Central Army of the National Government, the Whampoa Group is Chiang Kai-shek's most trusted direct force. For a long time, he "takes Chiang's will as his will" and regards Chiang as the only leader. Without Chiang Kai-shek's Huangpu Group, He Yingqin could not easily control and control it as the second-ranked figure. It cannot be regarded as the strength that He Yingqin has in his hands.

The Huangpu Group's central military rank was the first in the official rank. Hu Zongnan, who had a large military force, responded negatively to He Yingqin's military orders during the incident. He received an order from He Yingqin to command the central military units in Ning and Gansu areas to advance to Xi'an, "Hu Zongnan responded negatively. In history, it was not until February 1937 that the Hu army entered Fengxiang, Guanzhong, Shaanxi." During the incident, his command of the central military units could not even get rid of Kong Xiangxi's intervention. Therefore, he could not compare with local powerful figures such as Yan Xishan and Li Zongren.

Now from Zhang Xuewu's perspective, the Central Army's headquarters who can resolutely implement He Yingqin's orders may only be his Rehe Legion. Moreover, on the issue of ***, He Yingqin has always been a firm follower of Chiang Kai-shek's policy of "restoring the country first" to fight against foreign countries. It can be said that He Yingqin never changed his stance in his life. His "resolute attitude, stubborn position, frequent activities, and huge impact.

Just as people from all sides made unremitting efforts to resolve the peaceful resolution of the Double 12 Incident, the Communist Party of China also considered that due to the approaching and military pressure of various central military units from outside, the strong opposition of Zhang Xuewu of the Rehe Legion, and Yan Xishan's rebellion, there were signs of instability within the Northeast Army and the 17th Route Army. Zhou and Mao jointly issued a power to Zhang Xueliang. Given that Chiang Kai-shek was reborn, the wait-and-see atmosphere of all parties was very strong. We should quickly assemble troops with the determination to persevere to increase morale and mobilize the masses, "We must do it to the end!" The Red Army and the 17th Route Army immediately moved closer to the Northeast Army, concentrated their forces in the trinity, and first annihilate the invading Central Army to boost morale.

However, the aggressive formations put forward by various departments of the Central Army did make the CCP very worried, especially Yan Xishan's withdrawal, which made the Rehe Legion Zhang Xuewu's troops possible to borrow the situation of surrounding Xi'an from all directions. Hu Zongnan, Zeng Wanzhong, Mao Bingwen, Guan Zhenglin, Li Xianzhou and other units all enter a strategic position. Once the strategic deployment of the encirclement of Xi'an is completed, the Northeast Army, the 17th Route Army, and the Red Army will fall into an extremely passive position.

What is very important is that the Soviet Union has clearly expressed its dissatisfaction with the actions of Zhang and Yang, believing that this is a great damage to the overall situation of China's war of resistance. Without the support of the Soviet Union, Yan Xishan's introduction and Zhang Xuewu's clear opposition made the so-called Northwest Alliance stillbirth.

It can be said that the Soviet aid was the biggest bargaining chip for Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng. Now this bargaining chip is equivalent to a cake in the air. How can Zhang Xueliang not be anxious? In addition to sending electricity to scold Zhang Xuewu for being ungrateful, Zhang Xueliang found that he really had nothing to do? The Soviet aid and Zhang Xuewu's Rehe Legion were actually two bargaining chips for Zhang Xueliang. As a result, it was not said that Zhang Xuewu was still actively preparing to attack Xi'an through Shanxi. There is news that Yan Xishan had prepared 500 car wagons and fifty locomotives in the face of the large army of the Rehe Legion. The main force of the Rehe Legion could pass through Datong to enter Xi'an at any time, and his other route could also enter Shanxi from Ordos.

Zhang Xuewu naturally knew that the balance and attitude change of all parties in the Double Twelve Incident in history was very subtle. For example, the Red Army is still focusing on strategic concentration and preparing to fight against the Central Army with the Northeast Army and the 17th Route Army. However, by the end of the month, the CCP’s attitude will undergo a 180-degree turn. If it does not participate in all military operations, the Central Government Army of the Red Army will take all military actions. In this way, the so-called trinity strategy of the Northeast Army and the 17th Route Army will eventually go bankrupt.

Moreover, the remaining troops of the 17th Route Army in Yang Hucheng are not enough. The main force is the Northeast Army. Once the Red Army stops the trinity strategy promised before, the 30,000 rifles, 200 light and heavy machine guns and ammunition that Zhang Xueliang promised him to send to Yan'an would inevitably fail. Zhang Xueliang would feel that he had been betrayed by the whole world.

Yan Xishan's final decision was to give way to Zhang Xuewu's headquarters, but to give way also requires the skill of giving way. In June 1931, the Jin army was rearranged according to the Central Army number. Shang Zhen, the commander of the 32nd Army, Xu Yongchang, the commander of the 33rd Army, Yang Aiyuan, and Fu Zuoyi, the commander of the 35th Army. In addition, Yan Xishan felt the threat from Zhang Xuewu's headquarters. Later, a road protection army was formed, with Sun Chu as the commander, and a cavalry team equal to the division level, with Zhao Chengshou as the commander. In order not to stimulate the sensitive nerves of Nanjing, the former Jin army artillery brigade was changed to an artillery team and Zhou Dai was appointed as the commander. In addition, the Jin army headquarters also formed five independent brigades.

However, the 33rd Army has been directly under Yan Xishan, and Xu Yongchang has already handed over the military power to the Nanjing Military and Political Department to receive the order. Yang Aiyuan's 34th Army has long been severely damaged. Even with Yan Xishan's full recovery, the 34th Army can only be considered full of personnel. As for combat effectiveness, they can only be said to be a person of different opinions.

Shang Zhen's 32nd Army is now very close to the Nanjing Central Government. It was nominally returned to the Jin army, but in fact it obeyed the jurisdiction of the Nanjing Military and Political Department, so that Fu Zuoyi and Yan Xishan had no choice but to send any help to Yan Xishan. However, in front of the military and political department, the Rehe Le Corps was transferred to Shaanxi to quell the rebellion. Facing Zhang Xuewu who was eyeing Zhang Xuewu, it was still necessary to borrow this road. Therefore, Yan Xishan also came up with a seemingly clever countermeasure. He transferred all his Jin army troops to Zhongtiao Mountain in southern Shanxi for defense, because excluding the strategic focus of passes in various places in Shanxi, Zhongtiao Mountain can be said to have become Yan Xishan's only choice.

Zhongtiao Mountain is located in the southwest of Shanxi, on the north bank of the Yellow River, and it runs northeast and southwest, high in the northeast and low in the southwest, radiating horizontally for more than 170 kilometers and has a depth of 50 kilometers. Zhongtiao Mountain is a supporter with the three mountains of Taihang, Luliang and Taiyue, and its strategic position is very important.

Later generations when the Japanese invaded Shanxi, the Central Army and the Jin army also retreated here. Zhang Xuewu was really hesitant about Yan Xishan's choice. It was obviously not possible to attack and fight hard. Because after the Double Twelve Incident broke out, Yan Xishan jumped out to oppose Zhang and Yang's rebellion, so he openly entered Jin and explained the martial arts of all forces, Zhang Xuewu was also named Wuming.

Zhang Xuewu's troops entered Shanxi and called "Borrowing Road". In fact, many people thought that Zhang Xuewu would definitely take the opportunity to attack at this moment. Before, when Zhang Xuewu neatly annexed the 34th Army of the Jin army, many Zhuge Liang had anticipated this afterwards. However, what surprised the enemy was that two of the three divisions of Zhang Xuewu's Rehe Legion quickly passed through Shanxi and headed straight for Xi'an, giving Yan'an some siege from behind. However, the troops on the front line of Ordos did not move for the time being, because since Yan Xishan's Jin army had been reduced into a regiment, Zhang Xuewu lost the best chance to defeat one by one.

However, Zhang Xuewu also knew that even if he attacked the Jin army, Shang Zhen's troops and Fu Zuoyi's troops would not be able to touch them, and these were already regarded as their own army by Chiang Kai-shek.

The first, second, and the first of the mechanized brigade and heavy artillery. After the main force of the Second Brigade entered Shanxi, the fifth division of Zhanyang's reorganized immediately drew an elite brigade and quickly entered the Shanxi defense logistics line. Although the Jin army is now like an angry little wife, Zhang Xuewu was also afraid that Yan Xishan would suddenly become brave and bold. After all, the attitudes of all parties in the Double Twelve Incident are not particularly clear, and the people are ready to move again, so only by solving the incident immediately is the current priority.

The most important thing is that all parties in the Double Twelve Incident have made plans for their own selfish interests and seized Chiang Kai-shek or even killed him, which can only create a rare opportunity for the people who are trying to invade China, because no one in China has Chiang Kai-shek's prestige and leadership strength. If Chiang Kai-shek dies, China will be most likely to fall into warlord separatism. With the Japanese army's large-scale attack, what is the real possibility of warlords joining together?

I'm afraid that by then, the commander of the Kwantung Army, Minamijiro, might not have a single empty talk. Zhang Xuewu is still a little worried about the issue of armed rescue of Chiang Kai-shek, but Zhang Xuewu's starting point is to be afraid of hurting Chiang Kai-shek, that's all.

On the other hand, that is Zhang Xuewu's personal selfishness, because if Zhang Xueliang was really discouraged and decided to apologize and escort Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing under the betrayal of the people, then the conflict between the top leaders of the Northeast Army and the middle and lower-level officers who had frequent contact with the CCP before would inevitably erupt in full. All of this was what Zhang Xuewu wanted to see. He had to directly lead the team to join the CCP's young and strong radical faction to kill Wang Yizhe, represented by the stable faction. In fact, Wang Yizhe died unjustly. Between war and harmony, Wang Yizhe was actually from the perspective of the interests of the Northeast Army, and agreed that if a trinity-like strategic cooperation relationship could be reached, he could indeed fight. The real peacemaker He Zhuguo ran to Yang Hucheng Mansion. Wang Yizhe's unjust death caused his friend's subordinates to kill these young and strong radical factions, which directly led to the possible failure of the final cooperation between the Northeast Army and the CCP.

For Zhang Xuewu, there is no fish when the water is clear, and it is easy to catch fish when the water is muddy. The more chaotic the situation, there seems to be great potential. Zhang Xuewu is preparing to take advantage of the biggest stake in the troubled water. He will first grasp the various units of the Northeast Army who are trapped in chaos. Anyway, Zhang Xueliang is now hating himself, and many things are useless to say too much. Holding the Northeast Army in his own hands can also increase his bargaining chips. After all, only if he is enough, Chiang Kai-shek will not rush himself. Otherwise, he may have to face his first major crisis after the Double Twelve Incident.

As the foothold of Zhang Xuewu's frontier command, Yuncheng, the distance from Yuncheng to Xi'an has slightly eased the atmosphere in Xi'an. Song Ziwen hurriedly contacted Zhang Xuewu through He Yingqin, saying that he was communicating with all parties and was not allowed to act without authorization. If the consequences of civil war were triggered, it would be unimaginable.

Soong Mei-ling, located in Xi'an, also sent a telegram to Yuncheng, harshly scolding Zhang Xuewu for his uncontrollable actions, saying that his execution of the orders of the Ministry of Military Affairs was to demand the chairman's life, and ordered Zhang Xuewu's troops to retreat to Linfen and even Taiyuan to stand by. Soong Mei-ling only had Chiang Kai-shek in his eyes at this moment. Chiang Kai-shek's safety was crucial to him, and everything else could be ignored.

Zhang Xuewu's troops were still able to accept the withdrawal of Yan Xishan from Linfen. Isn't it equivalent to asking Yan Xishan for his life? Soong Mei-ling's telegram was in the format of military orders. Yan Xishan, who always pays attention to the situation in Xi'an, could not sit still.

Zhang Xuewu was sneering at Soong Mei-ling's telegram at this moment. It was not that Mrs. Chiang's orders could not be ignored. Moreover, the situation in Xi'an can change three times a day. Chiang Kai-shek was not safe to leave one day, so Zhang Xuewu could not be completely relieved. Moreover, Zhang Xuewu also planned to make a big profit after the Double Twelve Incident. Zhang Xuewu believed that Chiang Kai-shek was just too concerned about punishing the rebels.

Just like in history, except for the public surrender of the Northeast Army in Nanjing, the Northeast Army was demoted from the A-level Army to the B-level Army after the incident, with very few supplements. After the Battle of Changsha and Wuhan, the Northeast Army could only exist in people's memory, and their troops were completely different from people.

After careful study by Zhang Xuewu, Xu Guohui, Wang Chuang, and Tang Ziqiang, he believed that the main force of the Central Army was still on the front line of Tongguan. Hu Zongnan, who had heavy troops, did not obey He Yingqin's order. If his troops went deeper, it would be easy to become a pioneer, and Yan'an in his main attack would become a roadblock. Zhang Xuewu's principle was that he would never trigger a civil war, because the Northeast Army had not yet split, and Zhang Xueliang's remaining power was still there. If he forced it too hard, he might be his cousin first, and the 17th Route Army would come to him and fight him, the hawk of the Nanjing Military and Political Department, to stand out.

Zhang Xuewu was afraid that Yan Xishan might make small moves behind him at that time. It would be difficult for Zhang Xuewu to swallow the existing troops in such a huge Shanxi to be in one bite. And at this moment, there was not much time before the ready-to-go people launched a full-scale war of aggression against China. Zhang Xuewu also lacked time to manage and build and defend Shanxi. Moreover, Shanxi is Yan Laoxi's Shanxi. He had no strategic idea to eliminate the main force of the Jin army, nor did he have the righteousness of the Nanjing government, nor did he have the support of all local forces in Shanxi. Zhang Xuewu asked himself that the time to enter Shanxi was far from ripe.
Chapter completed!