Chapter 66: Unhappy
Fu Zuoyi, who was inspecting the 35th Army's newly formed supplementary brigade in Lan County, received a dismissal order from the Northwest National Defense Government and a transfer order from the Northwest National Defense Army Headquarters. He felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Of course, he understood that this was Northwest 's revenge for his last refusal to accept a toast. However, Northwest's attitude was understandable, but Yan Xishan's final choice to abandon it seriously hurt him.
Fu Zuoyi was just disappointed, but the 35th Army was very excited. Many people demanded to appeal to Yan Xishan, some proposed to refuse to relocate, and some even shouted slogans of simply surrendering to the Japanese invaders.
In this regard, Fu Zuoyi, who had locked himself in his study for two days and pondered, painfully discovered that except for becoming a traitor, he had no ability to resist the combined forces of the two major forces. Becoming a traitor was certainly not what he wanted, and he believed that most of the officers and soldiers of the 35th Army would not follow him.
In the end, Fu Zuoyi was forced to call Lanzhou and the Shanxi-Chahar War Zone to express his obedience to orders, and then led his troops to Hunan, Hubei, Bashu and Sichuan.
Fu Zuoyi's statement was sent to Lanzhou. The vanguard troops of the 225th and 234th Divisions of the Northwest Army, which had already headed for the Shenfu line, immediately crossed the Yellow River and entered northwest Shanxi. The commander of the 234th Division, Qiu Zhaochen, who was also the commander of the Northwest Shanxi Group, took the lead and led the guard battalion directly to Wuzhai, catching Fu Zuoyi, who was in a bad mood, off guard.
"Brother Yulin, I have been ordered to go south. Lanzhou shouldn't be so impatient."
Looking at Qiu Zhaochen, who was wearing camouflage military uniform and was in high spirits, Fu Zuoyi, who came out to greet him, said with some dissatisfaction.
"Commander-in-Chief Dai, aren't you afraid that I, Fu, will turn against you and detain you as a threat?"
Qiu Zhaochen laughed, held Fu Zuoyi's hand tightly and said, "Brother Yisheng, this joke is not very good. Qiu is not an important person. Even if you detain it, you may not be able to extort anything, but it will ruin your reputation."
"Can't I just send you to the Japs?"
Fu Zuoyi said with a gloomy face.
"Up to now, the Japanese haven't captured any division-level cadres of the Northwest Army. I don't know if they have promised me something."
"In fact, you don't have to take me, but Brother Yisheng's reputation is there. If we surrender to Japan, the governor of the province and the commander-in-chief of the army group will be easily obtained."
Qiu Zhaochen's words obviously hurt Fu Zuoyi's nerves, but Qiu didn't take it seriously.
"Brother Yisheng, I am a guest from afar, you can't just leave me standing at the door like this."
"There's nothing I can do even if I don't welcome an evil guest."
Having said that, Fu Zuoyi still gave way.
"Brother Yulin, please!"
The two men entered the main hall accompanied by the 35th Army cadres who were glaring at them, and the orderly reluctantly brought them tea.
Qiu Zhaochen took a sip of the wine without any concern, and then he got straight to the point: "Brother Yisheng, I, an uninvited guest, have a few things to ask for advice today. First, my army has been ordered to enter Shanxi to replace Brother Yisheng's troops to defend the northwest of Shanxi. We have made some preparations in advance, but we are no match for your native army anyway, so there are many things I need advice on. It would be best if Brother Yisheng could send me some geography experts."
“That’s no problem.”
Although he was ordered to go south, his subordinates were all from Shanxi after all. They did not want to watch the Japanese invaders wreak havoc in their hometown. Moreover, some of Fu's troops were reluctant to leave their homeland and it was difficult to arrange for them. Since the Northwest needed people, Fu Zuoyi naturally went with the flow.
"If there is a first, there will be a second. If you want anything else, just tell me."
"The second thing."
Qiu Zhaochen paused and emphasized his tone.
"I am inviting you to the Suiyuan War Zone on behalf of Commander Chen."
This sentence was somewhat earth-shattering, but Fu Zuoyi remained calm: "Is it just Chen Shiqi's idea?"
"Of course not. Your Excellency still hopes that Brother Yisheng can join the Northwest Army."
Qiu Zhaochen used himself as an example.
"Brother Yisheng knows that although I was born in Baoding, I have been serving in the Guangdong Army for so many years. I can be considered a latecomer in the Northwest. But how is it now? Your Excellency did not treat me coldly just because I was born in a side branch. For example, the commander of the 234th Division may not be worth mentioning compared to the army commanders and corps commanders outside, but my Baoding seniors who entered the Northwest earlier are only in this position now, not to mention that this time I was appointed the commander-in-chief of Northwest Shanxi."
Qiu Zhaochen tried to persuade him earnestly, but Fu Zuoyi just waved his hand and said, "Brother Yulin, please stop talking. I understand that Commander-in-Chief Dai is open-minded, but Yisheng's situation is different from Brother Yulin's. He doesn't want to forget the original. I told Commander-in-Chief Dai about this matter at the beginning, and I will say it again today. It's better not to mention it in the future."
"I know Brother Yisheng doesn't want to forget Chairman Yan's kindness, but Chairman Yan is good in every way except that he is a little narrow-minded. Otherwise, he wouldn't have forced Shang Zhen to leave, and he wouldn't have chosen the timid Yang Xingru today."
Fu Zuoyi clenched his fists under the table, but his face remained unmoved: "Brother Yulin, I've said it before, there's no need to repeat the old saying. It's better to be betrayed by others than to betray others. After all, Chairman Yan promoted me. Besides, wasn't this situation today caused deliberately by you in the Northwest?"
"Brother Yisheng is truly a gentleman."
Qiu Zhaochen praised it, but then changed the subject.
"But Brother Yisheng, if you don't consider yourself, you should also consider your subordinates. Once we reach Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Bashu, given Liu Wenhui's temper, I'm afraid he will definitely let the 35th Army be on the front line. By then, they will suffer heavy casualties and have no way to replenish their supplies. The future of the 35th Army will be worrying."
If it was bribery before, it was coercion now. However, Fu Zuoyi said firmly: "Fighting against Japan and saving the country does not allow us to sacrifice our lives. Even if the 35th Army is really wiped out, I will not hesitate."
Qiu Zhaochen shook his head, feeling incredible about Fu Zuoyi's decision, but since the other party would not listen to his advice, he could not force him, so he softened his tone and said, "Brother Yisheng is really loyal and courageous. I am ashamed of myself. However, this matter is of great importance. Please think carefully on your way south."
The muscles on Fu Zuoyi's face twitched, but he didn't respond. Qiu Zhaochen added, "Brother Yisheng, before I entered Shanxi, I flew to Lanzhou to report on my work. At that time, Your Majesty told me that as long as Fu Zuoyi could change his mind, he could come over at any time. Even if the 35th Army was wiped out, there would be a place for him in the Northwest."
Qiu Zhaochen advised with a hint of jealousy: "Your Excellency is so sincere. I hope Brother Yisheng will take care of himself." It is normal for Fu Zuoyi to be depressed because he lost the position of Chairman of Shanxi Province and was driven out of the province, but it is a bit strange that Liu Wenhui, the commander-in-chief of the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu War Zone who was about to take over Fu's troops, is also unhappy.
But upon closer analysis, this is understandable.
On the one hand, the arrival of Fu's troops did strengthen the strength of the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu war zone. On the other hand, Hunan-Hubei-Bashu sounds like a vast area, but Yizhou, Yuzhou and Hubei provinces all have provincial governors, and the financial resources of each province are directly concentrated in the northwest, so Liu Wenhui has no access to them at all.
Therefore, even if Fu Zuoyi's troops were sent from the Northwest, it would not help increase Liu Wenhui's own strength. Moreover, it completely ended the possibility of the Tenth Corps restoring its original organization of two armies and six divisions. In this case, how could Liu Wenhui be happy?
Liu Wenhui was unhappy, and his trusted general Leng Yindong was also dissatisfied. The Tenth Corps had been reduced in size all the way, and now it only had two armies and four divisions with less than 50,000 guns. The independent artillery regiment was also completely lost in the Zaoyi Campaign. If it were just that, it would be fine, but the Northwest put the blame on him, which made him unbearable.
"Commander Liu, I am against transferring Fu Zuoyi's troops here."
Leng Yindong said.
"The 35th Army has only 20,000 soldiers. Even if it is expanded into a corps of four divisions, it will only have 30,000 to 40,000 people. It does not add much to the entire theater of operations, and it squeezes out the reinforcement quota of other troops."
This is one of the key points. You must know that the Northwest Reserve Command strictly prohibits the practice of conscription. Therefore, there are only so many reinforcements sent every month. If they are given to Fu Zuoyi, they cannot be given to Leng Yindong. If Leng Yindong competes with Fu Zuoyi, the winner is self-evident.
"In my opinion, rather than mobilizing a large army to transfer Fu Zuoyi from Shanxi, it would be more beneficial to the development of this theater of war to request the Northwest to restore the original structure of the Tenth Corps."
"Brother Xunnan, can't you see the purpose of transferring Fu Zuoyi out of the northwest?"
Liu Wenhui gave a bitter smile to his direct descendants.
"Therefore, no matter what you say, it's impossible to take back the decision. You and I don't need to waste our time. In the end, it's because we are not up to the task. We are taking advantage of others and gossiping."
"Captain Liu, whether it's useful or not, you still have to tell me about it."
Leng Yindong doesn't think so.
"The crying child gets the milk. Even if the Northwest does not agree to restore the Tenth Army Corps, at least they should be appeased by the supply of weapons and ammunition."
Although Liu Wenhui was the commander-in-chief of the theater, the replenishment of troops was under the jurisdiction of the Reserve Command, and the replenishment of ammunition was under the responsibility of the Joint Logistics Command. Even though he was not completely sidelined, he had to swallow his anger and bow to the northwest in many places.
Therefore, when he heard Leng Yindong's suggestion, he also had an idea: "That makes sense. Come on, I want to send a telegram to Lanzhou." Liu Wenhui used the transfer to Fu Zuoyi's troops as a bargaining chip to bargain with Lanzhou, but he never expected that someone would interfere.
Just before he sent the telegram to Lanzhou, Chen Youliang, deputy commander-in-chief of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone, had already called Dai Jiliang directly, asking him to intercept Fu Zuoyi's troops on the grounds of strengthening the defense of Nanyang and other western routes.
"Look at what nonsense Chen Qiankang said."
Dai Jiliang threw the telegram in front of the Chairman of the Military Commission, E Tao.
"If all else fails, use the 11th Legion as a replacement. If Yang Sen knew this, he would be furious."
Yang Sen has made no contributions over the years but has worked hard, and even sacrificed his sons and nephews for the war of resistance. But now he is treated as an insignificant bargaining chip by Chen Youliang. Anyone would be furious.
"This request cannot be granted to him."
After reading the telegram, E Tao explained for Chen Youliang: "Chen Qiankang probably doesn't know about the conflict between Yang Sen and Liu Wenhui."
"How can it be."
Dai Jiliang laughed.
"Chen Qiankang is a well-known scoundrel. I think he wants Fu Zuoyi's troops but doesn't want to give up the 11th Army Corps. He is just using this as an excuse."
As he was speaking, Liu Wenhui's telegram arrived. Dai Jiliang took a look at it and smiled even more.
"Some people know the goods, some don't. How can you say that the visitor is either blind or a frog in a well?"
E Tao took Liu Wenhui's telegram, scanned it, and sneered, "Liu Wenhui's calculations were wrong this time."
"Then call the two companies separately and emphasize that the deployment of Fu's troops is decided by the overall situation and that each war zone cannot act on its own."
After giving someone a slap in the face, you should also give them something sweet in return.
"How about this, the Military Commission considers it . The 11th Corps has been one army for a long time, and Yang Sen must be upset. So give him another title and appease Chen Youliang. As for Liu Wenhui, let the Joint Logistics Department transfer a company of mountain artillery and a company of small artillery to him, so that he won't have to complain every day."
