Chapter 2: The War of Resistance, Changes in the Sichuan Army

"Brother Zihui, why did you call us together for a meeting today? Why do all the people here seem to be our colleagues in Sichuan?"
The conference room of the headquarters of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan War Zone in Zheng County has now become a vegetable market. A group of Sichuan Army generals are sitting there talking at once. When they are excited, they wave their arms and spit everywhere, looking like a group of demons dancing wildly.
However, unlike the lively division commanders in the back row, the corps commanders and army commanders sitting at the long conference table had solemn or strange expressions on their faces, and it was obvious that even they were a little confused.
"You ask me, who should I ask? Who knows what tricks the Northwest has to bring us all here?"
The commander of the 11th Army had the highest seniority in the Sichuan Army, and Deng Xihou, commander-in-chief of the 9th Army Group who had been transferred to the Henan-Anhui Theater, did not attend the meeting. Naturally, he sat at the head of the Sichuan Army, but his status was not recognized by everyone. At least Leng Yindong, commander of the 10th Army Group who had just spoken, was not convinced by him.
"That's weird. Could it be that Ma Kang prepared a Hongmen Banquet?"
Sun Zhen, commander of the 41st Army, seemed to have a bad feeling.
"Keep us all here so that they can attack our troops outside."
"I don't think so. The war of resistance is at a difficult time. The Northwest will not destroy itself. Besides, I heard that the Northwest is digging out Chiang Kai-shek's roots. If they move against us at this time, it will scare outsiders. Your Excellency should not be so unwise."
Although Liu Cunchen, commander of the 23rd Army, did not dare to confirm it in his heart, he still responded with confidence.
"I think this should be a review meeting specifically aimed at improving the combat effectiveness of the Sichuan Army."
"Then wait, you will know after a while."

The commander of the 15th Army, Xiang Yuren, tried to make the final decision, but he couldn't help but take out his pocket watch as soon as he finished speaking.
"That's not right. They said the meeting would start at 10 a.m., but it's already 10:15. How come there's no sign of Chief Ma and his men?"
As soon as he said this, the noise in the room suddenly quieted down. Just when everyone was at a loss as to what to do, the door of the conference room was pushed open. Everyone thought that the theater commander Ma Kang had arrived, so they all stood up, dressed straight, and bowed respectfully. However, they never expected that the person who walked in was a major adjutant, so there was a slight commotion in the room.
"My Lords."
The major saluted everyone first, then continued.
"Commander Ma is dealing with an emergency, so the meeting will be postponed for now."
Everyone was in uproar, but the major hadn't finished speaking yet.
"The theater headquarters kitchen has prepared tea and snacks, and lunch is also being prepared. Officers, please be patient for a moment."
After that, a dining cart was pushed in from outside the door. The orderly poured tea in front of everyone, and then placed cakes, candied fruits, peanuts, dried fruits and even seasonal fruits on the table.
"please!"
After saying that, the adjutant retreated. The Sichuan Army generals looked at each other. After a long time, the commander of the 47th Army, Chen Guangzao, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Damn it, Brother Decao, you are such a bad mouth. It seems that you are right. There is no good banquet and no good meeting."
Upon hearing this, He Deyu, the deputy commander of the 161st Division, Major General, walked towards the door, but several armed guards blocked his way.
"What, what do you want to do?"
He Deyu shouted loudly.
"Ma Kang, why do you want to hold me here? I have fought against the Japanese and there are still Japanese shrapnel in my body. If you have the guts, come and tell me."
"What are you arguing about?"
A scolding sounded, He Deyu was stunned, and the head of the war zone chief of staff Zhou Guangyou appeared.
"Who wants to hold you hostage? What nonsense are you talking about!"
Zhou Guangyou waved his hand and the guards stepped aside.
"The legion commanders are so bold as to make a scene in the theater headquarters without any supervision!"
"Brother Wu Yi, you came at the right time."
Yang Sen walked over.
"I was just thinking of asking someone."
Yang Sen pointed at the food that had been delivered and the soldiers outside.
"What's going on? What does Commander Ma mean?"
"Commander Ma is waiting for Gao Lan's call."
Zhou Guangyou walked to the deputy's seat and sat down.
"Everyone, take a seat. Your Excellency has important instructions to convey, so I can't leave. Considering that you may have some thoughts, I, my brother, will come here to accompany you first."
Seeing Zhou Guang's behavior, Yang Sen and others had no choice but to sit down as well. After they returned to their seats, the division commanders and deputy division commanders naturally didn't dare to make any more noise, so they also sat down one after another.
"The reason why there is a cordon outside is also my idea. Although the war zone headquarters is not big, you can't just barge in casually. As for who can't hold it anymore, report to me and I will approve it, but you have to go one by one."
"So , the war zone is indeed preparing to take action against the Sichuan Army?"
Liu Yuanzhang, commander of the 1st Reserve Army, felt something was not right the more he listened, so he interrupted. When he said this, everyone pricked up their ears.
"What do you mean by action?"
Zhou Guangyou asked back.
"The Sichuan Army fought many tough battles in Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and Anhui, and they worked hard, but what about the results? What about the merits? It's terrible! There are only a few of them! Do such troops need to be reorganized? Do those who have made contributions need to be rewarded, and those who are incompetent need to be dismissed?"
Zhou Guangyou didn't give anyone a chance to object and continued speaking on his own.
"Let's talk about the troops. Even though you are all corps commanders, army commanders, and division commanders, how many soldiers, guns, and artillery pieces does a division have? In this situation where there are many officers but few soldiers, should we reduce the organization and strengthen the frontline troops?"
Speaking of the Sichuan Army's insufficient manpower, of course the primary reason is that the various units of the Sichuan Army suffered heavy losses repeatedly in battles with the Japanese Army. The interception of new recruits from central Sichuan and the Sichuan Army's wounded returning to the army in the northwest also caused difficulties for the Sichuan Army's replenishment to a certain extent. But the most fundamental reason is the closed and exclusive nature of the Sichuan Army, which made the various units unwilling to accept new recruits who are not from Sichuan. Now that Zhou Guangyou brought this up, several corps commanders and army commanders were speechless.
"Do Chairman Liu and Mayor Tian know about this?"
Xia Shouxun, deputy commander of the 24th Army, asked this question.
Things have come to this point and it is irreversible for them. The only thing they can do now is to hope that the toughness of the bigwigs in central Sichuan can force the top leaders in the northwest to waver in their determination to rectify the situation.
"Your Excellency has already finished talking to Deputy Commander Liu."
Ma Kang's voice came from outside the door, and Zhou Guangyou stood up immediately. Under his leadership, the Sichuan Army stood up in unison.
"Everyone, please sit down!"
Ma Kang walked to his seat and pressed it with his hand.
"I just received a call from your Excellency. According to the results of the consultation between your Excellency and Brother Ziqian, Brother Ziqian will resign from the post of Chairman of Sichuan Province and become the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu War Zone. Brother Guangxiang and Brother Zhongshan will also resign from the posts of Mayor of Chongqing and Zigong respectively."
This series of changes shocked all the Sichuan Army officers present.
"In addition, 32 counties in East Sichuan, including Kaixian, Wuxi, Wushan, Fengjie, Chongqing, as well as 16 counties in Hubei, including Lichuan, Xianfeng, Enshi, Yichang, 10 counties in Hunan, including Shimen, Cili, Sangzhi, and 5 counties in Guizhou, including Songtao, Yanhe, Wuchuan, Daozhen, Zheng'an, and Tongzi, will be merged to form East Sichuan Province, with Brother Jinkang as the provincial governor. In addition, the status of Zigong and Chengdu Special Cities will be revoked and incorporated into West Sichuan Province, and three counties in Guizhou, including Chishui, Xishui, and Huairen, will be compensated to East Sichuan Province. As for the governor of West Sichuan Province, the former commander-in-chief of the Southern Group Army, Lieutenant General Peng Yuefeng and Peng Youchang, will temporarily serve as the governor."

When everyone heard this, they could not help but have a big question mark in their mind. Taking away a large piece of Hubei and Hunan while the Nationalist Government in Guiyang was busy with its own affairs could be said to be a better way to face the invading Japanese army. But taking away several counties in Guizhou would be like cutting flesh from the heart of the Chiang faction, which already regarded Guizhou as its last territory. Would the other party agree to it?
But Ma Kang did not answer any of these questions, and did not even mention the endings of Tian Songyao and Liu Cunhou. Instead, he took out a piece of paper and read it.
"Order No. 187 of the Northwest National Defense Military and Political Committee in the 27th year of the Republic of China. The order is as follows: A. The 23rd Army is abolished, and the 167th and 168th Divisions are transferred to the 17th Corps."
Liu Cunchen's face suddenly turned pale, but Ma Kang didn't even glance at him and just kept talking to himself.
"Appoint Peng Chengfu as Lieutenant General Commander of the 44th Army, Liao Zhen, former Commander of the 167th Division, promoted to Major General Deputy Commander of the 44th Army, Li Xiaju, former Chief of Staff of the 167th Division, appointed as Major General Chief of Staff of the 44th Army, Zhang Su, former Deputy Commander of the 167th Division, appointed as Major General Commander of the 167th Division of the 44th Army, Chen Shaotang, former Chief of Staff of the 23rd Army, transferred to Major General Chief of Staff of the new 19th Army, Liu Zhaohua, former Commander of the 168th Division, promoted to Major General Deputy Commander of the new 19th Army. In addition, the above two divisions will move south to Baokang within one month from the issuance of this order and merge with the 44th Army to form the 17th Corps."
As Ma Kang was reading, he seemed to feel a little dry in the mouth, so he passed the paper to Zhou Guangyou. Zhou Guangyou took it, scanned it, and then continued.
"The 170th Division of the 23rd Army has been disbanded and will be transferred to the 20th Army effective immediately. The former 170th Division Commander Wei Kejian has been promoted to the 20th Army Major General Deputy Commander, the former 170th Division Colonel Chief of Staff Wang Jie has been promoted to the 20th Army Major General Chief of Staff, the former 20th Army Deputy Commander Yu Mengqun has been promoted to the 11th Army Lieutenant General Deputy Commander, the former 20th Army Chief of Staff Major General Yang Jianli has been promoted to the 11th Army Major General Chief of Staff. The former 23rd Army Commander Liu Cunshen has been promoted to the Second Deputy Chief of Staff of the Mongolian Border Group Army, and has been allowed to study at the Northwest Army School National Defense College for one year."
The veteran cadres of the 23rd Army frowned and dared not speak out, but the generals of the 20th Army led by Yang Sen who benefited from it also seemed to feel some kind of pressure. Their faces were as gloomy as water, and the atmosphere in the meeting hall was extremely depressing.
"B. The 41st Army's designation is revoked, and its 161st Division is incorporated into the 45th Army, the 160th Division into the 66th Army, and the 156th Division into the new 6th Army. Sun Zhen, former commander of the 41st Army, is appointed as deputy commander-in-chief and acting commander-in-chief of the 9th Army Group. Wei Bangwen, former deputy commander of the 41st Army, is transferred to deputy commander of the 66th Army, and Yuan Changjun, former chief of staff of the 41st Army, is promoted to deputy commander of the new 6th Army."
This appointment brought great relief to Sun Zhen and his subordinates.
Although the 41st Army is gone, it is not easy for each division to be fully incorporated into the 9th Army, and Sun Zhen seems to have been promoted because of this. Although there will inevitably be some , it is still a thousand times better than the situation of Liu Cunchen's troops.
Of course, everyone understood that Sun Zhen's troops were able to achieve such an outcome not only because Deng Xihou and Tian Songyao were one and the same, but also because the 41st Army and the 9th Army Group did their best in several battles, which could be regarded as part of the reward for merit in the Northwest.
However, compared to the ease of the generals of the 41st Army, the generals of the two corps and three armies under Liu Wenhui's system were very nervous. No one knew what Liu Wenhui talked about with Dai Jiliang. However, Liu Wenhui even resigned as the chairman of Sichuan Province, probably to keep the military power in his hands. The Northwest would probably take this factor into consideration. However, no one would be sure until the bottom card was revealed.
"The designation of the 1st Reserve Army was revoked. Liu Yuanzhang, the former commander of the 1st Reserve Army, was promoted to deputy commander of the 15th Corps, Lieutenant General. Su Huazhou, the former deputy commander of the 1st Reserve Army, was transferred to the position of major general deputy commander of the 24th Army and commander of the 18th Reserve Division. Xia Shouxun, the former deputy commander of the 24th Army and commander of the 18th Reserve Division, was promoted to deputy commander of the 10th Corps, Lieutenant General. Huang Ao, the former chief of staff of the 1st Reserve Army, was transferred to the position of chief of staff of the 47th Army. Xiong Cihou, the former chief of staff of the 47th Army, was promoted to chief of staff of the 10th Corps."
What is coming will eventually come, but it seems that the price Liu Wenhui paid for his transfer was not in vain. Apart from the reduction of one army number, the loss of the two corps does not seem to be too great.
"Tang Ying's 151st Division was transferred to the 15th Corps, and Xu Siping's artillery regiment, which was originally directly under the 10th Corps, was transferred to the direct jurisdiction of the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu War Zone."
Leng Yindong's face fell instantly, but he was not sure whether this was Northwest's intention or Liu Wenhui's effort to prevent himself, the deputy commander of the theater, from becoming a hollow shell. Therefore, he just breathed heavily through his nose and finally bowed his head and obeyed the order, handing over the biggest trump card of the 10th Corps.
"After receiving the order to reorganize, each unit should effectively streamline its cadres, strengthen its front-line combat troops, and step up tactical training to deal with the invading Japanese army."
Ma Kang's words brought an end to today's meeting.
"Okay, meeting adjourned!"
Watching Ma Kang and Zhou Guangyou walk out the door, Liu Cunchen, unwilling to give up, approached Leng Yindong.
"Brother Xunnan, the Northwest has taken action, what should we do?"
"What should we do? Let's just do what we have to do."
Leng Yindong is not a fool. Liu Cunchen didn't look for Yang Sen or Sun Zhen, but chose to look for him. How could he be fooled?
"Brother Junda, you should send a telegram to ask Lord Zhong. I also want to ask Lord Qian for an explanation."
Having said that, Leng Yindong stood up and winked at Liu Yuanzhang and Xiang Yuren.
"Let's go, let's talk about it when we get back!"

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