Volume 2 King of the Northwest Chapter 44: Northern Expedition (IX)
It is said that illness comes like a mountain falling and goes like a thread being pulled.
Even though Dai Jiliang was physically strong, he was not made of iron. When he regained consciousness, he had already arrived in Yichuan.
"Marshal, Mr. Ziyi heard that you were ill, so he came to see you."
It seems that Wang Danping has persuaded Li Yuanding, otherwise this leading figure of the Shaanxi Democratic Party who has been staying at home due to illness would not have appeared here.
"Don't stand up, Marshal."
Seeing Dai Jiliang struggling to get up, Li Yuanding hurriedly pushed him back onto the bed.
" Mr. , tell Hu Jingyi and the others that they can still beat me up."
Dai Jiliang spoke in a weak but firm voice.
"But millions of dollars have been spent, and thousands of people have died on both sides. Is this good for Shaanxi? When the time comes to increase food and wages, the people of Shaanxi will suffer. My request is not excessive. As long as they cancel the name of the National Salvation Army and send a telegram to support the central government, I can leave the several counties currently occupied by the militia to them. We can all work hard to build it separately and see which side of Shaanxi Province will be better built in a few years."
"Don't worry, Marshal. I will definitely pass on your message."
Li Yuanding smiled bitterly and nodded.
Although Dai Jiliang's words were beautiful, the essence of Shaanxi was in his hands, and the poor counties in northern Shaanxi could not even afford to support thousands of soldiers, so how could they build? However, he was just a messenger, and the final negotiation would require both parties to sit down and talk face to face, so he naturally would not say no in front of Dai Jiliang's illness.
"Have a good rest, I'll be leaving soon!"
"Marshal, Pastor Zuo Huanzuo of Yichuan Church heard that you were ill, so he specially invited a Western doctor from the church to treat you."
As soon as Li Yuanding left, Li Dingzhang ran in again.
There are no regular Western hospitals in Shaanxi at present. The only way to seek Western medical advice is through the Catholic Diocese of Central Shaanxi.
"Do you think you should invite them in?"
Dai Jiliang nodded, and soon a Chinese pastor and a Western pastor walked in.
After a while, he checked the tongue and listened to the music with a stethoscope, but the medicine he finally prescribed was aspirin.
Of course, for Western medicine in the early 20th century, aspirin was already the best antipyretic and analgesic drug.
"Priest."
Dai Jiliang closed his eyes and listened to their manipulation. It was not until he took the western medicine handed to him by the doctor that he mustered up enough energy to signal the two men to stay.
"Can you ask the Vicar Apostolic Bishop Egenio Massi (1875-1944, Italian) to invite a few Western doctors from Shanghai to set up a church hospital for me? Youyan, ask Director Sima to allocate 10,000 yuan per year to sponsor the church and promote Western medicine in Shaanxi."
"Praise you, respected Lord Commander!"
The pastor originally wanted to expand the influence of the church by treating Dai Jiliang. Now Dai Jiliang has taken the initiative to offer a sponsorship of 10,000 yuan per year. Although the money is earmarked for building a hospital, the hospital is also under the name of the church, which naturally makes the two believers of the Lord overjoyed.
"Please rest assured that the church will definitely help you realize this wish."
"Very good. Tell the bishop that if we can help Shaanxi build a western medicine factory, the Shaanxi Provincial Government can allocate 30,000 yuan every year in the next 20 years to help the diocese."
Dai Jiliang threw out another big pie, but the effect of the aspirin began to take effect. He was really exhausted, and fell asleep again in a daze after he finished speaking. Naturally, he had no way of noticing that the two pastors were already ecstatic.
When Dai Jiliang woke up again, he had already arrived in Huanglong.
After sweating all over, I felt much better. It seems that Western medicine is more effective, Dai Jiliang sighed.
Of course, Dai Jiliang did not mean to belittle traditional Chinese medicine, otherwise he would not have funded both aspects at the same time.
"What's going on lately?"
"Marshal, the Chief of Staff called me two days ago. Zhang Xun sent someone to negotiate a ceasefire, but was rejected by the Chief of Staff. In the past two days, the First Brigade and the Second Brigade have cleared out seven or eight villages around Shizui. In addition, a company of my Ninth Regiment has already taken control of Anding County."
Li Dingzhang picked out the most important things to report.
"Where are the second and third regiments? Where are the sixth and seventh regiments? And has Li Yuanding arrived in Qingjian?"
Dai Jiliang half leaned on the pillow. The Shaanxi Army was his lifeblood, so naturally he would ask as soon as he woke up.
"The second regiment has entered Zhongbu County, the third regiment has just arrived in Luochuan, the sixth regiment is still in Fu County, and the seventh regiment has already arrived in Yichuan."
In order not to hinder the advance of the Seventh Regiment, all the regiments that retreated for replenishment took the left line. However, the Seventh Regiment had already arrived in Yichuan, so the retreating troops could also be diverted.
"As for Mr. Ziyi, he has just reached Yanchang, and it will take another two days to reach Qingjian."
Li Yuanding's speed was not slow, but it was still not fast enough for Dai Jiliang.
"Telephone the Chief of Staff."
Dai Jiliang closed his eyes and thought for a while. "Zhang Xun's peace talks have profound implications. I suspect that there are still disputes within the Kuomintang. This is of great benefit to us. Our army should not be limited to the Shizui line. We can concentrate the forces of three regiments to take the granaries of Suide, Mizhi, and Wuding River for ourselves, which may intensify their internal conflicts. Li Yuanding is on the way and will arrive in two days. We should advance before he arrives to increase the momentum of our army."
With Dai Jiliang's telegram, the war in northern Shaanxi, which had been easing, suddenly became tense.
"Boom! Boom!"
Along with the crisp sound of the 2-pound cannon firing, the thin layer of snow was immediately dyed black by the gunpowder smoke. Since the winter clothes had not yet arrived, the Shaanxi Army soldiers wore thin summer clothes and launched the attack with a sip of ginger soup.
Of course, their enemies were even worse. The militia, wrapped in old sheepskin, did not even have as reliable supplies as the Shaanxi Army. They often went hungry and carefully preserved almost every bullet.
Therefore, facing the Shaanxi Army's offensive, they could only fire two shots from a distance at most, and then scattered under the sharp bayonets of the Shaanxi Army.
With such efficiency, the Shaanxi Army quickly captured Zhangjiabao, Zhangjiagou, Sijiaping, Peijiawan, Jiangjiawan, Wangjiazhuang, Zhangjiashan, and Tianzhuang Town, and then pushed the front line to Haojiagou and Dengjialou areas along the Wuding River. The situation of the Shaanxi-Gansu militia became urgent.
"What, give up Suide?"
Gao Jun and other generals of the Yasukuni Army looked at their deputy commander-in-chief in surprise. They could not believe that such a proposal came from the mouth of the top leader.
"Yes, give up Suide!"
Zhang Xun glanced at everyone calmly.
"Have you forgotten that when we discussed the matter last time, we had already decided to wait and see what happens?"
Zhang Xun brought up Hu Jingyi's words.
"What we need to do now is to uphold the banner of the Shaanxi National Salvation Army and echo the actions of the National Salvation Army in Hunan, Sichuan and other places. The most important thing is to preserve our strength."
The more Zhang Xun spoke, the more proud he became, because he saw that everyone present was speechless because of what he said.
"Moreover, according to the report from our brothers on the other side, the Shaanxi Army is also at the end of its strength, and they are still wearing summer clothes.
When December comes and the north wind blows, they will retreat without us having to fight them. Therefore, I decided that the headquarters should retreat towards Mizhi.
Minego and Toshio, you leave and head towards Yokoyama. Brother Kasanobu, please take the responsibility of covering our retreat.
Then we will get rid of most of the Shaanxi army and move towards Dingbian."
In fact, there is nothing wrong with what Zhang Xun said. Persisting in a long-term struggle is the only thing the Shaanxi National Salvation Army can do at present.
But the problem is that on the one hand, the militia had no theoretical guidance for guerrilla warfare, and on the other hand, his previous selfishness made everyone think that he was killing someone with a borrowed knife.
"I obey the orders of the deputy commander-in-chief."
Hu Jingyi was the first to stand up. Amid the puzzled gazes of the crowd, he gestured to Zhang Xun, then turned around and walked out.
Since Hu Jingyi had expressed his obedience, what could Cao Shiying and the others do? After everyone expressed their opinions, the meeting ended successfully.
"Brother Liseng, why did you agree to this old fellow Zhang Boying?"
After the meeting, Gao Jun and Cao Shiying came to Hu Jingyi to settle the score.
They originally thought that they had reached an offensive and defensive alliance with this monk Hu Liseng, but they didn't expect to be betrayed in the blink of an eye. Naturally, they were a little furious.
"Brother Fengwu, Junfu, there is news from Brother Songsheng."
Unexpectedly, Hu Jingyi avoided the question.
However, this news was indeed very important and it immediately attracted the attention of both people.
"Zhang Boying asked Brother Songsheng to express his opinion on whether he would obey his orders or not. Brother Songsheng agreed for the sake of the overall situation."
Looking at the frightened faces of Gao Cao and the other man, Hu Jingyi sneered and continued speaking.
"To show sincerity, Brother Songsheng has sent a regiment to welcome Zhang Boying into Yulin. That's why Zhang Xun wants to avoid fighting. By the time they reach Yulin, the Shaanxi Army will surely be at the end of its strength."
It was also ironic for Hu Jingyi to be at the end of his strength.
"We are just going to watch our brothers starve to death?"
Gao Jun sat weakly on the chair, a look of despair on his face.
"I never thought that my Yasuo Army would end up like this. I can't accept this. I really can't accept this!"
“In fact, this problem is easy to solve.”
Hu Jingyi is still so indifferent.
"As long as we hand over most of our brothers and do not threaten Zhang Boying 's position as deputy commander-in-chief, everything will be solved."
"I will wipe out the entire family of Zhang Boying."
He passed the imperial examination at the age of 17 and later studied at Sanyuan Hongdao High School. The usually gentle Cao Shiying couldn't help swearing.
"This old bastard had this idea from the beginning. No wonder he didn't enter Shaanxi before. After we were defeated, he showed up from Shanxi. Brother Liseng, you won't let this old bastard Zhang Xun succeed "
As he was cursing, Cao Shiying suddenly came to his senses, then raised his head and looked at Hu Jingyi with hope.
"Yes, Brother Liseng, it's not fair for you to beat around the bush at this time. Just tell me what to do. Junfu and I will listen to you."
"listen to me?"
Hu Jingyi looked at the two of them coldly.
"Well!"
Hu Jingyi was also angered by Zhang Xun's unscrupulous means. Several hundred of his subordinates, including Kang Ziding, were also taken away by Zhang Boying, so he had to take action.
"Then you two should go to Yulin first."
Seeing the two people looking puzzled, Hu Jingyi nodded.
"Brother Songsheng will be waiting for you there."
"I understand! All right, Brother Fengwu and I will assemble our team and head north right now."
Cao Shiying suddenly realized and understood it.
"What about you, Brother Liseng?"
"I, I am here to cover our retreat. If we don't stop the Shaanxi army, none of us will have a good life!"
Hu Jingyi's mouth curled up, revealing a ferocious smile.
