Chapter 69: Advance
In the last few days of 1940, the Tiancheng Railway was declared fully opened.
At the same time, of the Chongqing-Chengdu Railway connecting Chengdu and Chongqing, only the Rongchang to Jiangjin section has not yet been opened to traffic. The Neijiang-Zhaotong railway has already started construction. As for the Chengpan Railway, which is crucial to the northwest, it has also been built to the foot of Mount Emei and the banks of the Dadu River.
Once the railway was opened, the Northwestern Army naturally flowed into Sichuan.
On January 2, 1941, the Northwest National Defense Army Headquarters ordered the reserve army group headquarters to move to Chengdu.
The next day, Dai Jiliang ordered the establishment of the Kangzang Group under the Reserve Army Group and appointed Duan Yunfeng, the former chief of staff of the Reserve Army Group, as the commander-in-chief of the group.
Duan Yunfeng, a native of Lixian County, Hebei Province, graduated from the Beiyang Speed Training Military Academy and later enrolled in the 4th term of the Army University. He had served as an instructor at the Baoding Military Academy, deputy principal of the Northwest Army School, and chief of staff of the reserve army group. He was the backbone of the Baoding faction in the Northwest Army.
On January 7, Duan Yunfeng led the staff of the cluster command to Ya'an, and was immediately ordered to form the 1st Mountain Cavalry Army. Major General Zhou Minzhi, former head of the Second Section of the Northwest Army's General Staff and a second-term student of the Northwest Army School in Germany, was appointed commander of .
On January 8, the Reserve Army Group was officially renamed the Southern Army Group.
On the same day, the Northwest Military Commission assigned the Third Army, which was originally under the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu Theater, to the Southern Army Group. At the same time, the Fifth Army, Qinghai-Tibet Group, First Light Division, and Shaanxi-Gansu River Defense Army, which were originally under the Reserve Army Group, were directly under the Lanzhou Headquarters.
Because the Southern Army Group has two second-level units under its jurisdiction, namely the Third Army and the Kangzang Group, and is directly under the Third Light Division and the 220th and 251st Infantry Divisions.
The entire army group has a total of 8 infantry divisions, 1 light division, 1 mountain cavalry army, 4 combined artillery brigades, 1 mountain artillery brigade, 2 heavy artillery regiments and 2 independent heavy artillery battalions, 4 air defense regiments and 13 independent air defense battalions, 66 independent chemical companies, 17 railway engineering regiments, 7 independent engineering regiments, 15 mule and horse transport regiments, 4 motor transport regiments and 7 independent motor battalions.
At the tactical level, he commanded nearly 130 fighter jets of various types of the Northwest Air Force's Third Air Force; the total force exceeded 500,000.
"Fuck it, Northwest is putting a gun to my head."
Although it has been more than a day since the Northwest Army entered Sichuan, the arrival of the Southern Army Group Headquarters still caused great stimulation to the various factions in central Sichuan.
"If this continues, you and I will die without a burial place."
"You son of a bitch, you seem to be the only one who knows."
Tian Songyao, who had lost his military and political power, was now just an idler doing business and teaching. However, given his senior status in the Sichuan Army, people around him naturally did not dare to curse him.
"But knowing is of no use. Without soldiers, what can you use to fight against the Northwest?"
This goes to the root of the problem. Due to the Northwest's strategy of luring the tiger away from the mountains, the main force of the Sichuan Army was already on the front line of the War of Resistance. The Sichuan Army generals, who had only a few dozen horsemen around them, had no strength at all to oppose the Northwest Army's entry.
"Brother Jianlong is right."
Liu Cunhou, an old acquaintance of Dai Jiliang and the culprit who, in the eyes of the Sichuan Army generals, brought the Northwest into Sichuan, spoke up.
"Now I am at the mercy of others, so I should be patient. Besides, although we have occupied the territory in the northwest, we still have some money left for our brothers, which is better than Guiyang."
When it comes to the Qian Army, which has the same origin, everyone who was making a lot of noise just now is completely speechless.
Although the Guizhou Army is now organized into three army groups, namely Tang Shizun, Wang Zanxu and Wang Lingji, with a total of six armies and 15 divisions, each division has only 4,000 to 5,000 people, more than a thousand machine rifles, and no more than 20 cannons and mortars. Ammunition is in short supply, not to mention the military pay, the 70% discount on the national crisis pay for the entire army is often in arrears.
In comparison, the troops of Leng Yindong, Yang Sen and Sun Zhen could at least maintain a strength of 7,000 to 8,000 people per division. Although they had few cannons, they had a large number of mortars. As for ammunition and military pay, they could also be guaranteed, at least there would be no shortage. Therefore, they were better than the worst, but not as good as the best, leaving those present speechless.
"Disperse, disperse. If you all gather here, it will be difficult for Jinkang to survive. After all, there are a whole division of soldiers in Chongqing. If they get angry and overturn the stage, then everyone's life will be miserable."
Liu Cunhou had said so much that everyone present knew there was nothing more to be done and they could only disperse reluctantly.
"Brother Jianlong, we are already idle, so why don't we stay here and get bored? How about we go back together?"
"Yeah, it's better to go home."
Tian Songyao touched his round head and smiled bitterly.
"Go back and play mahjong." In addition to the Sichuan Army Group who dared to be angry but not speak out, the Chiang faction occupying Yunnan and Guizhou also felt the pain personally.
In order to prevent the Northwestern Army from sweeping down, Chiang's faction was forced to withdraw precious military forces from the front battlefield and deploy them on the Yunnan-Sichuan and Guizhou-Sichuan borders.
At the same time, Chiang's faction also withheld additional troops and ammunition that should have been supplied to the front to form a new army in order to enhance its ability to defend the northwest.
Fortunately, on the surface, the Chiang faction also did not dare to turn against the Northwest.
In order to delay the war, Chiang quietly revoked Chen Cheng's concurrent post as the governor of Hubei Province, which was considered as tacit consent that Hubei would become the controlled area of the northwest.
In addition, important figures of the Chiang faction also came forward to leak that they understood the Anhui Provincial Government established in the Northwest based on the reasons of the War of Resistance. They suggested that the Dai-led Anhui Provincial Government actually control the area north of the Yangtze River in Anhui Province, while southern Anhui would be controlled by the Chiang-led Anhui Provincial Government. The issue of provincial political unification would be negotiated after the end of the War of Resistance. In fact, in addition to the Sichuan faction and the Chiang faction, there was a third force that expressed concern about the development of the Northwest, and that was the Lhasa regime.
Lhasa had fought with the Northwest in Yushu and other places before, and had received reinforcements from the Northwest during the Long March of the Red Army. Naturally, Lhasa knew how powerful the Northwest was. Therefore, when the Northwest deployed heavy troops in Qinghai and Xikang, Lhasa also felt the crisis.
In fact, the so-called heavy troops are just an illusion of the Tibetan local government. The terrain of the Tibetan area is not suitable for large-scale military operations. The Qinghai-Tibet Group stationed in Qinghai in the northwest has only one division of combat forces. As for the 1st Mountain Cavalry Army in Kangzang, it has just been established. It will take some time for it to truly threaten the theocracy of the Potala Palace.
Even Dai Jiliang himself had no intention of opening up a new battlefield when he was surrounded by enemies on three sides. It was really the Tibetan side that was guilty.
Of course, Dai Jiliang did have plans to resolve the Tibet issue when the time was right, and the Lhasa regime could not be said to be worrying unfoundedly.
Unfortunately, Lhasa wanted to prepare for a rainy day, but its master was not supportive. The British, who had been defeated on the European battlefield, had no spare energy to take care of this separatist regime.
Therefore, Lhasa could only send people to Jinshan Province to try to reconnect with the Panchen Lama and use the Panchen Lama to dissuade the Northwest Army from possible actions.
On the one hand, they continued to exploit the Tibetan people to raise funds and arm the weak Tibetan army as much as possible to resist possible unification.
In order to delay the Northwestern Army's advance on Lhasa, the Potala Palace repeatedly sent people to Qinghai, Xikang and other places to try to launch a rebellion. However, the transportation in Kang region was backward and the road to Lhasa was even longer. By the time Lhasa decided to resist, the Northwestern Army that entered Kang had already firmly controlled the main road from Ya'an to Batang.
At the same time, the Northwest also successfully used the influence of Ajia Living Buddha of Kumbum Monastery in Qinghai, Zhangjia Living Buddha of Youning Monastery, Jiamuyang Living Buddha of Labrang Monastery in Gansu, and the Living Buddhas of the Thirteen Hor Monasteries in northern Kang to offset the influence of the Dalai Lama in Qinghai and Kang regions, making Lhasa's plot come to nothing.
However, in order to build a good rear base for the southern army group in Xikang, it was impossible to make no personnel changes. For this reason, Lieutenant General Wang Zhixin, the former chief of staff of the Seventh Army, who succeeded Deng Xihou as chairman of Xikang Province, was ordered to swap positions with Li Shijun, chairman of Suiyuan Province.
Li Shijun is a member of the Renaissance Party and a senior administrative cadre in the Northwest system. Dai Jiliang believes that he may cooperate with the work of the Kangzang Group and even the entire Southern Army Group.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
Li Shijun, who flew back to Lanzhou from Suiyuan to accept his new position, made a solemn promise to Dai Jiliang.
"I will definitely obey the needs of the overall situation, fully cooperate with Commander Li and Commander Duan, and serve as an assistant to Chairman Peng of Yizhou, so that Sichuan and Kang can be united as one and become a reliable rear base for our Northwest Army."
"The situation in Xikang and Yizhou is different."
Looking at Chairman Li who was sitting respectfully in front of him, Dai Jiliang waved his hand to indicate that he didn't need to be so reserved.
"Yizhou has always been a land of abundance. What Peng Yuefeng needs to do is to develop industry, protect agriculture, and actively contribute to the frontline war. But you are different. Xikang is located in a remote area and is an economically assisted province. Your main task is to stabilize the border. Therefore, you are definitely not Peng Youchang's assistant. You have your own tasks."
Dai Jiliang picked up the enamel teacup in front of him and took a sip.
"You are an expert in government administration. I won't say much about how to govern a place. If you do a good job, you will be rewarded. If you do a bad job, Chairman Wang and Brother Baichuan will find fault with you. But from the perspective of the Northwest National Defense Army Headquarters, I hope you can do the following things well."
Li Shijun listened attentively to Dai Jiliang's sermon.
“First, we need to organize Xikang manpower to cooperate with the engineering troops of the Kang-Tibet Cluster to build roads within the province, preferably all the way to Batang and the Tibetan areas.”
Dai Jiliang put down the cup and said in a serious tone: "I don't need to hide it from you. Our army will enter Tibet sooner or later. Of course, building roads is a consideration in this regard, but the Xikang Provincial Government should make it clear that building roads is also a way to develop the economy. Don't say that Kang region has few resources. Can you transport them without roads? Only when the roads are unblocked can Kang region's yak skins, lamb skins, snow lotus, cordyceps, and plateau horses be exchanged for real gold and silver, and the people of Kang and Tibet can receive real benefits."
Li Shijun nodded repeatedly, and Dai Jiliang continued, "Second, the political system of Kang region should not be disturbed for the time being, even if the benefits are only to lamas and some upper-class nobles, so as to avoid unnecessary unrest."
Dai Jiliang explained: "Some things cannot be rewarded just because we are kind. The serfdom system is indeed inhumane and behind the world trend, but people are used to it. If you don't let people who are used to being slaves be slaves, they will blame you. Therefore, we can't be too close, but can only influence them subtly, through economic means, so that the upper class can accept the reform, and it will come naturally from top to bottom. Brother Hanshan, Xikang is not just a Kang area, there is also a Yi area."
Li Shijun immediately responded: "Please rest assured, Your Excellency. Hanshan knows how to do it."
"Don't be impatient, I haven't finished speaking yet."
Dai Jiliang signaled Li Shijun to stay calm.
“Not touching the feudal serf system does not mean sitting back and watching the Tibetan and Yi feudal serf owners live in the past. You have to find ways to arrange for them to leave the mountains and plateaus, go to Chengdu and Xi’an to see the market, so that they can be touched.
Of course, being touched is just the beginning. You also need to find ways to establish Chinese-Tibetan and Chinese-Yi schools and take the power to spread knowledge away from temples and wizards.
As for the method, it can be more moderate, such as a business school or a non-commissioned officer training class. In short, don't overly stimulate the temples. "
Since we are talking about temples, Dai Jiliang simply said: "You need to communicate more with the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission. Du Pigong and Fu Penghai have extra funds for repairing Yellow Sect temples, which is very helpful for controlling local public opinion. You can apply for it. You and Pigong are both backbones of the Renaissance Party. He will give you this face."
Li Shijun once again solemnly promised: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, Hanshan will apply to the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission right away. After arriving in Xikang, Hanshan will travel all over the province, visiting every temple and every chieftain's home."
"It's good that you have this determination."
Dai Jiliang nodded.
"The final step is the construction of the Chengdu-Panzhihua Railway and Panzhihua."
The Panzhihua area belongs to Xikang geographically, but just as the former provincial chairman Wang Yishan was unable to interfere even though he wanted to, Dai Jiliang also did not want Li Shijun to interfere too much in the work of the Panzhihua-related construction committee.
"Let Zhou Xiwu and the Southern Army Group handle the specific details. You should concentrate on this."
"Hanshan understands."
