Volume 2 King of the Northwest Chapter 7 Stability (VII)
Although Dai Jiliang was temporarily unable to completely resolve the Shaanxi issue by force, he did not give up on using a political solution to temporarily quell the war in Shaanxi Province.
At present, there are three powerful groups in Shaanxi.
Dai Jiliang, who occupied the richest Guanzhong and Hanzhong areas, was undoubtedly the most powerful among them.
The weakest group was a large regiment led by Zhang Danping, an old subordinate of Chen Shufan, which was entrenched in six counties in southern Shaanxi, including Shangxian, Luonan, Shanyang, Shangnan, Zhen'an and Zhashui.
Zhang's army said it was a regiment, but because Chen Shufan took most of the main forces with him when he went north, the actual strength was only about 2,100 to 2,200 people, most of whom were local militia that were later incorporated.
As for the militia led by Hu Jingyi, Guo Jian, Geng Zhi, Cao Shiying, Gao Jun and others who fled north from the city of Xi'an, although they were stronger than Zhang Danping's troops in southern Shaanxi, they were not strong enough to confront Dai Jiliang's main force of the Shaanxi Army head-on.
However, they took advantage of Dai Jiliang's temporary inability to look north and quickly occupied the vast area from Yulin to Yaozhou. The total strength of their troops exceeded 6,000. However, the land under the rule of these militias was barren and the people were poor. Most of their troops were swordsmen and lacked food and ammunition. Apart from bluffing harassment, they did not pose a major threat to Dai Jiliang.
"Brother Liseng, Brother Wenyuan is here!"
Gao Jun walked in excitedly. Although the troops of Hu and Guo suffered a severe blow under the city of Xi'an, Gao Jun's troops did not suffer any losses Now this Kuomintang member who came from a swordsman background has officially become the third most important figure in the Shaanxi-Gansu militia.
"Brother Feng Wu, who did you say is here?"
Hu Jingyi, who was feeling depressed because of the failure, suddenly raised his head.
"Brother Wenyuan, where is Brother Wenyuan?"
"Hey, Brother Liseng, I'm such a big living person, can't you see me?"
Before anyone saw it, Jing Wumu's hearty laughter had already driven away the shadow in Hu Jingyi's heart.
"Why, not even a cup of tea, Brother Liseng, when did you learn to be as stingy as Lao Xi?"
"Others don't have tea, but since your brother Wenyuan is here, I'll serve you a cup of tea even if I have to."
Hu Jingyi hugged the other person.
"Okay, now that you're here, I feel relieved. Good brother, tell me, what should we do next?"
"Not urgent!"
Jing Wumu patted Hu Jingyi on the back.
"Sit down and talk slowly."
As he spoke, he looked at Gao Jun, who understood and stepped out. Soon, Cao Shiying, Guo Jian, Geng Zhi, Fan Zhongxiu, Zhang Yangcheng, Yang Hucheng, Jiao Zijing, Yue Weijun, Dong Zhenwu, Deng Baoshan and others came in one after another. It was obvious that a meeting related to the fate of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia militia was about to be held.
"Although we suffered a loss in Xi'an this time, the campaign against Yuan and Lu still achieved a phased success."
Jing Wumu set the tone at the beginning of the meeting: let the past be the past, the key now is what to do in the future.
"According to Mr. Ziyi's letter, it is not difficult to find that the newly appointed Shaanxi Governor Dai Jiliang is a modern figure who attaches great importance to industry and education.
I checked this person and found out that he studied in Japan and Germany.
We are not very clear about the situation in Germany, but when he was in Japan, he was either unrestrained or focused on military affairs and did not participate in political activities at all. He was a typical practical person. Such a person might be a much better governor of Shaanxi than Lu Jianzhang.
However, we must also recognize his loyalty to the Beiyang regime. We must make use of such people and be prepared for them."
"Brother Wenyuan, what do you mean?"
There were too many bigwigs present. People like Zhang Yangcheng, Yang Hucheng, Yue Weijun, Dong Zhenwu, and Deng Baoshan didn't even have a chance to speak and could only stand there and listen.
"Brother Junfu, I mean we should stop fighting for now and wait and see what he does."
Jing Wumu took out a thick letter from his arms and handed it to Cao Shiying who was asking questions.
"This is the letter of appointment that General Dai gave to you through Mr. Ziyi and Mr. Shizhai. You can take a look. His intention is to divide the territory and govern it accordingly. People from Shaanxi should not fight against people from Shaanxi."
"This guy named Dai is a shitty Shaanxi native!"
Fan Zhongxiu was the earliest Kuomintang member among the Shaanxi-Henan military. Therefore, although his Henan Army had only about 100 men, he still acted on his own in front of several bigwigs of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia militia.
"You still have the nerve to say that people from Shaanxi don't fight people from Shaanxi."
"Second Brother Fan, let's first see what conditions Dai offers us."
If someone else spoke, Fan Zhongxiu would definitely fight back, but who was Hu Jingyi? He was a man who could break through seven barriers with a snow knife. As soon as Hu Jingyi spoke, Fan Zhongxiu immediately retreated.
"Jing Xiuyue is the garrison commander of Yulin and the commander of the 1st Independent Regiment of the Shaanxi Army, Hu Jingyi is the garrison commander of northern Shaanxi and the commander of the 2nd Independent Regiment of the Shaanxi Army, Cao Shiying is the commander of the 3rd Independent Regiment of the Shaanxi Army and the commander of the 3rd Garrison District, Gao Jun is the commander of the 4th Independent Regiment of the Shaanxi Army and the commander of the 2nd Garrison District. Everyone really has a share. Huchen, you are the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Mixed Regiment, and Xingmin, you are the commander of the Cavalry Battalion."
Since Shi Ziyi was not around, Jiao Zijing was the only one left to perform a one-man show.
"Wenyuan, just tell me, what do you want us to do?"
Jiao Zijing is 12 years older than Jing Wumu, so sometimes his words sound like an elder asking questions to his outstanding nephew.
"That's right, Brother Junfu, we will all listen to you."
Almost all the people present were developed into the Tongmenghui and the Kuomintang by Jing Wumu, so they all trusted this young leader.
"It's simple, just accept this letter of appointment.
Even though our territory combined is almost as large as Dai Jiliang's, the people in these areas are in dire straits. If a war really breaks out, the people in northern Shaanxi will suffer.
And I have been wondering why we failed in Xi'an? The key is that the militia is not very useful. "
Jing Wumu's words made Hu Jingyi and Guo Jian blush.
"Since Dai Jiliang has given us a chance to recuperate, then we should train our militia. If Dai and Lu Jianzhang are found to be the same species, we will immediately raise an army and defeat them completely."
"Will you have any objections to accepting Dai Jiliang's offer of amnesty, sir?"
Sun Yat-sen's Chinese Revolutionary Party has degenerated into a mafia organization. As long as the boss doesn't give the nod, everyone has to start all over again.
"So we have to ask Mr. Bing to go to Shanghai to meet you, Mr.
Jing Wumu had obviously considered this, so he suggested that Jiao Zijing go to Shanghai to consult the big leader.
"By the way, if Mr. Ren can come back to preside over the overall situation in Shaanxi, it will be a great boost to the Shaanxi revolution. Mr. Bing should strongly invite him."
"Okay, I'm going to Shanghai now."
Jiao Zijing nodded, but he was still worried.
"Don't be too careless. If Dai Jiliang is trying to buy time, we can't just sit there and wait for death."
"This is natural. We should be prepared for any eventuality."
Hu Jingyi nodded in agreement immediately. He was an expert in sneak attacks and he would not necessarily fall into the trap he was best at.
"Oh no!"
As a few people were talking, Li Huchen, a famous swordsman under Hu Jingyi and a native of Lintong who had made a great reputation with his spear and horse, ran in hurriedly, shouting all the way.
"Shisheng, what a disgrace!"
Hu Jingyi's face turned serious.
"Tell me, what happened?"
"Commander, it's bad! Niu Wenliang is heading south with his 400-odd men to join the Beiyang Army ."
Li Huchen's words contained both anger and fear. You have to know that Niu Cexun was also a good fighter. Back then, he led a group of students and captured the Shaanxi provincial treasury guarded by the elite Qing army with just a few old and broken guns, broadswords and red tasseled spears. Later, he fought desperately in Qianzhou to ensure that the west of Xi'an would not be lost. Such a brave general actually surrendered to Dai Jiliang. This was a big shock to the swordsmen.
"What did you say? How do you know that Niu Cexun joined the Beiyang Army?"
Hu Jingyi, Gao Jun and others stood up as soon as they heard it. The anxious Cao Shiying blurted out the answer without caring that Li Huchen was Hu Jingyi's man.
"I saw Niu Wenliang leading his men southwards. I thought a fight was about to start, so I went to ask him."
Li Huchen glanced at Hu Jingyi, who nodded, and then he answered.
"I didn't expect this guy to say that he received an order from the new military governor to serve as the chief cavalry officer of the Shaanxi Army, so he led his troops south."
Speaking of this, Li Huchen hesitated.
"He also said that Governor Dai was the highest official in Shaanxi recognized by the central government, not an illegal government. He didn't want the people of Shaanxi to kill each other, so he wanted to go to Xi'an. He also said that he would not be the director of cavalry. After handing over the troops, he would go to Baoding to study at the military academy."
"Go to Baoding to study at the military academy."
Gao Jun couldn't hold back and spurted out a mouthful of hot blood, which frightened everyone and made them panic again.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. Brother Wenyuan, do you think we should stop Niu Cexun or not?"
Gao Jun covered his chest and refused everyone's help, asking word by word with gritted teeth. He was unwilling to accept this, really unwilling to accept this.
"Forget it. The general trend is irreversible and people's minds are settled. It is better not to start this civil war by us for the time being."
Jing Wumu thought for a long time and finally shook his head.
"Brother Fengwu, Brother Liseng, it seems that these regiment leaders have to take up their posts. Let's prepare to send a telegram. Since Dai can pretend to let bygones be bygones, then we Kuomintang people should have an attitude of forbearance for the sake of the country. What do you think?"
"I agree with Brother Wenyuan's opinion."
Hu Jingyi was the first to nod in agreement.
"I agree!"
Next, Cao Shiying also expressed his opinion.
"I agree!"
Gao Jun covered his chest and thought about it, then finally nodded.
Since the big guys had no objections, the little guys below had to keep their other ideas to themselves even if they might have some, so Jing Wumu's decision was successfully passed by the vote.
On July 23, 1916, Hu Jingyi and others sent a telegram to the whole of Shaanxi, accepting Dai Jiliang's appointment. At this point, the war in northern Shaanxi came to a temporary end. Both sides accumulated strength and prepared for the next war.
