Chapter 6 06. The strategy of "Little Zhuge"

On November 13, 1934, the Central Red Army broke through the third blockade and continued to march towards northern Guangxi.When the Red Army passed through northern Guangxi, the local forces entrenched in Guangxi were the new Guangxi warlords with Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi as the core.Guangxi has always been famous in Chinese history for its troops capable of conquering and fighting.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom first emerged, the Taiping Army had only 30,000 soldiers, but it was these 30,000 Guangxi soldiers who fought all the way from Guangxi to Nanjing, and their power shocked the whole country.After the Northern Expedition of the Taiping Army, most of the soldiers were from Anhui and Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and their combat effectiveness was obviously inferior to that of Guangxi soldiers.Zeng Guofan once said: "The combat power of 300,000 in the middle and late period of the Changmao (Taiping Army) is far inferior to the 30,000 just out of Guangxi." Liu Yongfu's Black Banner Army fought against France in Vietnam and Japan in Taiwan. The great victory at Zhennanguan was achieved by soldiers from Guangxi.Guangxi soldiers know how to fight.So there was a rumor at that time: "In the war against foreigners in the late Qing Dynasty, almost all the people in the whole country were defeated, and only the Guangxi people won."

During the period of the Republic of China, Li Zongren's Guangxi troops were very powerful, especially the Guangxi Army's Seventh Army, which had the reputation of "Iron Army". At the beginning of the ten-year civil war, among the new warlords of the Kuomintang, the Jiang faction and the Guangxi faction split up and joined forces, competing for interests, and the conflicts between the two were fierce.But sometimes Chiang Kai-shek had to make some concessions to the tough approach of the Guangxi faction, a non-directed army, and cooperate with it to achieve his own goals. Therefore, the relationship of mutual use and mutual utilization was entangled in every cooperation between Chiang Kai-shek and the Guangxi faction.During the fifth "encirclement and suppression" of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek urged Bai Chongxi to send a division under the command of Yu Hanmou to participate in the fifth "encirclement and suppression".Before setting off, Bai Chongxi warned: "The land in Guangxi is barren and the people are poor, and they can't afford to raise soldiers, and Lao Jiang always wants to solve us, so he has to raise more soldiers in order to survive. Now you two regiments are sent to encircle and suppress, and you must replace them." Return the funds and supplies of the four regiments, and at the same time, you must not damage a soldier or a gun, this is the main principle."

The warlords of the Guangxi clique temporarily retreated to their old nests after repeated defeats in the war against Chiang Kai-shek.Since 1931, Li Zongren has been stationed in Guangzhou.Inside Guangxi, Bai Chongxi and Huang Xuchu were actually in charge of sorting out the provincial government, diverting financial resources, mobilizing horses and fighting hard, and expanding strength, hoping to make a comeback and compete with Chiang Kai-shek again. In 1931, the Guangxi warlords established the secret organization of the "Three People's Principles Revolutionary Comrades Association" within the group. The "Comrades Association" was very anti-Chiang. All our allies."

During the Long March of the Red Army, the strength of the Guangxi warlords had been greatly weakened.The Fourth Army led by Li and Bai had only the Seventh Army Liao Lei and the Fifteenth Army Xia Wei.The 19th Division of Zhou Zuhuang and the 24th Division of Qin Lianfang under the Seventh Army; the 43rd, 44th, and 45th Divisions under the Fifteenth Army.Each division has three regiments, and there is another guard regiment, a total of 16 regiments with more than 30,000 people.Since the conflict between the warlords of Jiang and Guangxi is extremely deep, the Guangxi faction regards Chiang Kai-shek as the main enemy, and only has 16 regiments in its hands, while our Central Red Army claims to be 100,000, and it has continuously broken through the three regions of Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Hunan. In this case, it is impossible for the warlords of the Guangxi clique to spend all their capital of only 30,000 people in the battle against the Red Army.In this regard, Bai Chongxi made it clear: "It's not that stupid to fight hard."

Chiang Kai-shek estimated that after the Central Red Army broke through, it was likely to pass through northern Guangxi along the route of the Sixth Red Army. Therefore, he ordered the Guangxi army to closely guard northern Guangxi, and ordered the Central Army and the Hunan Army to "pursue and suppress" the Red Army.Under the serious situation of Chiang Kai-shek's order to send troops and the Red Army's breakout, the Guangxi warlords are no longer faced with the problem of implementing or not implementing Chiang Kai-shek's order, but are facing two major problems: first, no matter what strategy they adopt, they must try their best to control the situation. The Red Army was blocked outside Guangxi; the second was to try to prevent Chiang Kai-shek's troops from following up in Guangxi under the pretext of "pursuing and suppressing" the Red Army.These two major problems are crucial to the Guangxi warlords who ruled Guangxi.For this reason, when our Central Red Army broke through the third blockade line in mid-November, occupied Linwu, captured Dao County, and approached Guangxi, Bai Chongxi, the main leader of the Guangxi warlord and known as "Little Zhuge", frequently traveled between Guilin, Quanzhou, Guanyang, Gongcheng and other places.He tried to use defense as an offense, first stepping up the mobilization of troops and laying out defense lines.

In early November, the warlords of Hunan and Guangxi held a meeting in Quanzhou, Guangxi to discuss the military deployment to block the Xiangjiang River.Finally, the "Whole State Agreement" was reached, that is, the so-called "Cooperative Suppression Plan" in which the warlords of the two provinces jointly fought against the Red Army.It was agreed that the Hunan Army would be responsible for the defense of the line from Lingling to Huangsha River; the Guangxi Army would be responsible for the defense of Quanzhou and the south of Xing'an, and connect with the Hunan Army at the Huangsha River on the border between Hunan and Guangxi.

After the Quanzhou meeting, the Guangxi faction urgently recruited 40,000 migrant workers in Quanzhou, Guanyang, Gongcheng, Hexian and other passes bordering Hunan and Guangxi, such as Longhu Pass, Leikou Pass, Gaomu Pass, Yong'an Pass, Qingshui Pass, etc. Construct blockhouse fortifications.There are more than 140 blockhouses built on both sides of the Xiangjiang River 130 miles from Quanzhou to Xing'an.By November 18, the deployment of the troops of the Guangxi warlords had also been completed.Xia Wei's 15th Army is the left wing, plus 3 standing brigades of the militia in Guilin, and 4 regiments of militia in each county. They are stationed at Qingshui, Gaomu, Yong'an, and Leikou. The main force is concentrated in Wenshi, Guanyang County. nearby.Liao Lei's Seventh Army was on the right wing, together with the Forty-Five Division of the Fifteenth Army, deployed in Hexian, Fuchuan, Zhongshan and Longhuguan in Gongcheng, with the main force placed on Longhuguan.The Seventh Army Independent Regiment defended Jieshou in Xing'an County, and the 71st Regiment of the 24th Division garrisoned the salty water of Quanzhou and guarded the Xiangjiang River.

Therefore, when the Central Red Army broke through the third blockade line, it was already in a strategically unfavorable situation. On the left, tens of thousands of Cantonese troops were stationed in Lianzhou and Xingzi; on the right, Xue Yue led five divisions of the "Central Army" to attack Lingling and the Red Army advanced in parallel; in front of it was the Xiangjiang River, which had been blocked by nearly ten divisions of the Hunan and Guangxi warlords; behind it, there were four divisions of the "Central Army" of Zhou Hunyuan, two divisions of Li Yunjie and one division of Li Yunheng of the Hunan Army.At this time, Chiang Kai-shek was elated and seemed to be sure of winning.He wrote the four sentences of the ancient military strategist Wei Liaozi-"The people have gathered together but not dispersed, and the soldiers have not returned in vain; if you seek the enemy, you are seeking a dead son, and if you attack the enemy, you are saving the drowning person", and wrote them into the mail distributed to each army. In the telegram, he hoped that the warlords of Hunan and Guangxi and the various departments of the "Central Army" could implement his plan, relying on favorable terrain and exerting superior forces to wipe out the Red Army east of the Xiangjiang River.

Unexpectedly, in order to preserve his strength, Bai Chongxi suddenly withdrew his troops from Xing'an, Quanzhou, and Guanyang on November 21, which created a gap in the Xiangjiang defense line jointly defended by the Xianggui warlords. On the 18th, before the vanguard of the Fifth Red Army arrived at Longhu Pass, a battle broke out with the 44th Division of the Guangxi Army. On the 20th, the Ninth Red Army approached Jianghua. On the 21st, Jianghua County was captured.Bai Chongxi learned that the Red Army occupied Jianghua, and received a report that more than 20,000 Red Army soldiers were coming to Jianghua and Yongming, and they were about to attack Fuchuan, Hexian, and Gongcheng.Bai Chongxi was extremely nervous, fearing that the Red Army would enter He County or Fuchuan from Jianghua, and go deep into central Guangxi.Bai Chongxi weighed the pros and cons and decided to immediately abandon the Xiangjiang defense line.Therefore, in addition to leaving one regiment in Guanyang to support, the 71st regiment was transferred from Xianshui to guard Quanzhou County, and all the main force of the 15th Army and Qin Division of the 7th Army were transferred to Fuchuan and Hexian County.The 19th Division of Zhou Zuhuang was responsible for the defense of Longhu Pass.So far, there are only three regiments of the Gui Army in Quanzhou, Xing'an, and Guanyang in northern Guangxi. From Quanzhou to Xing'an Jieshou, there are no regular enemy defenses on both sides of the Xiangjiang River between Quanzhou and Xing'an Jieshou.

The Guangxi warlords withdrew their defenses from the front lines of Quanzhou and Xing'an, causing He Jian to be in a hurry. On November 23, He Jian sent a long telegram to Chiang Kai-shek, complaining endlessly, stating that the Hunan Army was unable to take over the defensive tasks left by the Gui Army, and his anger was beyond words.The reason why He Jian was so desperate was because the warlords of the Guangxi clique withdrew their defenses from Xing'an and Quanzhou, which put the Hunan army in a very embarrassing and extremely unfavorable situation. He Jian, the upstart who betrayed the Great Revolution, had already owned an armed force of more than 100,000 in 1934, and became a powerful figure in the local warlords ruling Hunan. On November 12, 1934, Chiang Kai-shek appointed He Jian as the commander-in-chief of the "Pursuing and Suppressing" Army, and the nine divisions led by Wu Qiwei and Zhou Hunyuan of the Xue Yue Department of the "Central Army" were the second and third divisions respectively.Chiang Kai-shek's order changed the nature of the Hunan Army, from the original West Route Army to the "Pursuing and Suppressing" Army.He Jian was flattered and felt that the Hunan Army had a great responsibility in chasing down the Red Army. He had to work harder than before.However, the reason why He Jian was keen to unite with the Guangxi Army to block the Xiangjiang River was not only out of his sense of responsibility, but more importantly, the Hunan clique was afraid that the Central Red Army would join the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps and gain a foothold in Hunan, posing a direct threat to Hunan. .It was He Jian's established policy to prevent the two Red Army from converging. In order to prevent the Central Red Army from passing south of Lingling, He Jian concentrated the direct descendants of the Hunan Army on the line from Lingling to Huangsha River.The main force of the Hunan Army was gathered near the Huangsha River from Lingling to the border of Hunan and Guangxi. Rather than carrying out Chiang Kai-shek's order that He Jian must annihilate the Red Army "in the area east of the Hunan and Li Rivers", it is more to prevent the Central Red Army from Dao County goes northward and goes straight to Xiangxi.The so-called "Cooperative Suppression Plan" reached by the warlords of Hunan and Guangxi in the whole prefecture, in the final analysis, is still self-serving in terms of troop allocation, and each guards the door.The Xiangjiang River in the Guangxi section was defended by the Guangxi Army, and the Xiangjiang River in the Hunan section was defended by the Hunan Army.Neither side is willing to go outside the province.However, He Jian was very satisfied that the Guangxi troops who were not part of the "pursuing and suppressing" army were willing to cooperate with He Jian to block the Xiangjiang River.Because this has allowed He Jian to free up more troops to protect Hunan's security.

Although the gaps created in Xing'an and Quanzhou after the withdrawal of the Gui army were within the territory of Guangxi, He Jian, who had the "major mission" to annihilate the Red Army in Hunan and on the east bank of the Lishui River, was also responsible for following Chiang Kai-shek's order.Just when He Jian was anxious and annoyed, he again received an order from Chiang Kai-shek to let the Hunan Army advance south to take over the original line of defense of the Gui Army.If this order is implemented, it will inevitably weaken the strength of the Hunan Army on the blockade line from Lingling to Huangsha River.This is what He Jian is most reluctant to do.If this order is not implemented, he is afraid of losing Chiang Kai-shek's trust and being accused by Chiang.For this reason, He Jian was very troubled.In the end, He Jian regarded the interests of maintaining the Hunan clique's rule over Hunan as higher, and would rather bear the suspicion of "disobedience". On November 23, when He Jian received Chiang Kai-shek's telegram to advance southward, the actual situation was not what He Jian said in his reply, that is, the Hunan Army's southward advance was "unacceptable in terms of strength and timing."In fact, it is entirely possible for the Hunan Army in Huangshahe to go south in terms of time and strength.Huangsha River is only 25 kilometers away from Quanzhou, and only more than 80 kilometers away from Xing'an Jieshou.If the Hunan Army takes immediate action, it will be able to take over this section of defense on November 24.It is only because the Guangxi warlords gave up the defense of Quan, Xing, and Guan due to their own interests, and the Hunan warlords also did not fill this gap quickly out of consideration for their own safety. In order to shirk responsibility, He Jian immediately sent an urgent telegram to Chiang Kai-shek in a "regretful" tone, emphasizing the objective reasons, absolving the Hunan Army, and shifting the responsibility to Chiang Kai-shek for allowing the Guangxi clique to withdraw.Chiang Kai-shek had nothing to do about the withdrawal of troops from the Guangxi faction, and He Jian's complaints and telegrams to shirk responsibility were not unreasonable. Both the army and the Hunan army cursed.Unexpectedly, Bai Chongxi did not buy Chiang Kai-shek's account at all, and immediately sent a telegram to Chiang.In the telegram, Bai Chongxi criticized Chiang Kai-shek for his improper command and ineffectiveness in "suppressing bandits".Specific to the failure of blocking the Xiangjiang River, Bai Chongxi refused to take the slightest responsibility, satirizing the sluggish and incompetent response of the "Central Army" to the Red Army.He believes that if the "pursuing and suppressing" armies can "painfully suppress" the Red Army in southern Hunan, there is no need to blockade the Xiangjiang River at all. It is not the Guangxi Army that should be responsible, but the Hunan Army and the "Central Army."Bai Chongxi's tough attitude was determined by the special historical relationship between the Guangxi warlords and Chiang Kai-shek. At that time, Bai Chongxi was the only one who dared to fight back against Chiang Kai-shek in such a tone among the entire southwest warlords. In fact, the desire of the Guangxi clique to unite with the Hunan Army at this time is more urgent than that of He Jian. To block the Red Army outside Guangxi, it is not enough to rely on the strength of Guangxi alone, and must rely on the strength of the Hunan Army. When it was more beneficial for the Red Army to pass through northern Guangxi, Xia Wei's 15th Army immediately withdrew from Guanyang in northern Guangxi to Gongcheng.Chiang Kai-shek's plan to gather and annihilate the Red Army was shattered again. Due to the contradictions between Jiang, Guangxi, and Hunan, the Xiangjiang defense line in northern Guangxi was unguarded within 7 days from November 21 to 28.If our Central Red Army can cross the Xiangjiang River and break through the fourth blockade line at this time, the losses can be reduced to a minimum.However, due to the wrong leadership of the "Left" central government at that time, the Red Army missed this favorable opportunity, and the bloody battle on the Xiangjiang River inevitably occurred.