Chapter 5 Chapter Five: The Northern Expedition Settles the Central Plains

It should be said that Chiang Kai-shek's luck was good. Just when he "settled" the Guangzhou turmoil, the northern turmoil resurged and became a mess. Although Feng Yuxiang sent a signal of surrender by resigning from the field, Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin did not intend to let him go.Wu Peifu wanted to avenge Feng Yuxiang for stabbing him in the back, and Zhang Zuolin also wanted to avenge Feng Yuxiang for taking advantage of the fire to rob, so the two brothers formed the "Red Allied Army" and recruited Yan Xishan, who had a special liking for the "Downtown" card, to form a siege. The most powerful Feng Yuxiang blew the clarion call for the final battle between several major warlords in Beiyang.

With the expansion of the scale of the group fight, the flames of war reached Dagukou, Tianjin, a sensitive area in the "Xin Chou Treaty". spy". On March 18, 1926, Li Dazhao and Xu Qian, a leftist of the Kuomintang, launched a public and student demonstration in Beijing to protest the "eight-nation espionage" and asked Duan Qirui to abolish the "Xin Chou Treaty".Duan Qirui lost his head and actually used force to suppress the parade, resulting in the death of 47 people represented by Liu Hezhen, a student of Beijing Women's Normal University.Lu Xun, who was in the parade, later wrote an article "In memory of Mr. Liu Hezhen", nailing Duan Qirui to the pillar of shame in history.

After the incident, the group fight came to an end. Under the attack of the coalition forces, Feng Yuxiang was beaten back to his original shape, and all the food he had eaten before was vomited out.Feeling sad and even beginning to doubt his life, Feng Yuxiang accepted the invitation of the Soviet Union to go abroad to see the wonderful world outside.In the Soviet Union, he saw the magic of the "red wave", which would change his life. Wu Peifu regained his strength, and his influence spread across the two lakes and Henan. Zhang Zuolin took North China and occupied Beijing again.This time, Dashuai Zhang didn't pretend to be a good guy.The failures of these years have taught him a truth: it is more cost-effective to pursue pragmatism when people are weak.Therefore, the ideal of unifying China can be thought of in a dream, and it is more realistic to be a central leader for a few more days while you are young.So he tore his face, drove away Duan Qirui, and monopolized the Beijing government...

The target of the revolution - the Beiyang warlords are playing in the nest, the timing is so favorable, how can we not go to the Northern Expedition! The Central Committee of the Kuomintang quickly passed the resolution on the Northern Expedition. Tan Yankai, acting chairman of the Nationalist Government, appointed Chiang Kai-shek with full powers as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Army, responsible for the establishment of the General Command, and responsible for organizing all matters related to the Northern Expedition.In a word, everything related to the Northern Expedition was completely undertaken by Chiang Kai-shek alone.

Tan Yankai is very good at being a man, very interesting.So Chiang Kai-shek also reciprocated, allowing Tan Yankai to prosper all the way until he entered the coffin. The soldiers and horses did not move, but the food and grass went first.Although the Soviet Union is willing to provide part of the military expenses and weapons, there is still a big gap in the funds for the Northern Expedition. After all, once a war starts, the consumption of materials will continue. The commander-in-chief issued an order to finance minister Song Ziwen to raise military expenses. Song Ziwen is indeed an outstanding talent in economics.Since he took office for more than a year, he has not only ensured the normal operation of the Guangdong National Government, but also ensured the normal operation of the Guangdong National Government by borrowing funds from foreign businessmen and standardizing the system, such as establishing budgets, fiscal disclosure, taxation rectification, and issuance of public bonds. Great progress has been made, with a monthly turnover of nearly 100 million yuan.Compared with the financial distress of the Nanjing government in the early years of 1911, there is a world of difference.

After receiving the order from Commander-in-Chief Jiang, Song Ziwen worked hard to coordinate the expenditures of all parties, giving priority to meeting the military expenditure needs of the Northern Expedition, and ensuring the smooth progress of the Northern Expedition. The economy is in command, with a comprehensive layout. After discussing with Chief Military Advisor Galen, Chiang Kai-shek decided on the second of the three most outstanding military strategic plans in his life: the three-step Northern Expedition.The so-called "three steps", that is, the first step is to defeat Wu Peifu, stabilize Sun Chuanfang, and ignore Zhang Zuolin.If the first step is to successfully eat Wu Peifu from the two lakes, then immediately execute the second step and enter Jiangxi and Zhejiang to kill Sun Chuanfang.After completing the second step, the third step is naturally to go north to eliminate Zhang Zuolin and completely defeat the Beiyang warlords.

To put it simply, it is to concentrate superior forces to break through one by one, so as to avoid three fronts fighting at the same time. The distribution of the troops of the three brothers who will be sent to the Northern Expedition is as follows: Wu Peifu is about 200,000, Sun Chuanfang is about 200,000, and Zhang Zuolin is more than 300,000.The number of troops of the three looks extremely scary, but it is actually not that scary.Firstly, these brothers had to divide their troops to garrison the territory that they had finally won, and secondly, there were not many elites.The direct elite troops only accounted for 30% to 40% of its total strength, and as for Marshal Zhang, it only accounted for 20%.

Although the Northern Expeditionary Army had only about 100,000 troops, the proportion of its elite troops was higher than the above three, and the hope of winning the battle was still very high. Therefore, in order to form a local superior force, except for a part of the national army led by Li Jishen to stay in Guangdong, the rest of the national army participated in the Northern Expedition.A little explanation is needed here. The First Army of the National Army is mainly divided into two parts, one goes out with the army, and the other is led by He Yingqin to guard Sun Chuanfang in Fujian and Jiangxi.

In addition, in order to build a good relationship with the leftists of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Chiang Kai-shek also invited some leftists and Communist Party members back to the leadership team of the Northern Expedition. On July 9th, Guangzhou was empty for thousands of people, and the Northern Expedition swore an oath! More than 300,000 people from all walks of life in Guangzhou attended the meeting, and the stage was solemn and solemn.A large portrait of Sun Yat-sen hangs in the center, and on the left and right sides hangs "The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades still have to work hard".

The crowd, led by the leaders of the national government Tan Yankai, Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Ziwen, Sun Ke, Soong Ching Ling, Zhang Jingjiang and others, bowed three times to the portrait of Sun Yat-sen. Chiang Kai-shek was in full uniform, received the seal of the commander-in-chief from Chairman Tan Yankai, and the banner of the commander-in-chief from Zhang Jingjiang, and officially took office as the commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army. All of a sudden, drums and music rang out, and colorful flags fluttered, "Down with the warlords! Down with imperialism!" "Victory, victory!" The voice resounded through the sky!

Next is the troop review.Chiang Kai-shek's eyes were a little moist as he looked at the paraded troops with the Whampoa Student Army as the backbone.From 1924 to today, two years have passed, and now less than half of the hundreds of students in the first phase of Whampoa are left, and most of them died in the Eastern Expedition to suppress the rebellion.Fortunately, the fourth semester is about to graduate, and the fifth semester is about to enter... The National Revolutionary Army is another qualitative leap in the Chinese army after Yuan Shikai's new army.With the guarantee of sufficient military expenditure, armed with excellent weapons, and inspired by the spirit of "the party commanding the gun", "the party state" and "the party army", the Northern Expedition was in full swing! The good news first came from the two lakes: the Northern Expeditionary Army entered Changsha, Hunan Province, the stronghold of the direct lineage on July 11.How can progress be so fast? Swearing in on the 9th, and occupying Changsha in two days, isn't this speed too outrageous? There is naturally a secret to accomplishing such a difficult task.The secret is that the Northern Expeditionary Army has an internal response named Tang Shengzhi in Hunan. This person was 37 years old at the time and graduated from Baoding Military Academy. Together with Cheng Qian and Zhao Hengxi, he was considered an outstanding warlord representative from the Hunan New Army. The original boss was Zhao Hengxi. Although Tang Shengzhi believes in Buddhism, he is not only unable to be without desires and desires, but also very ambitious.He was unwilling to be the younger brother as a follower all the time, so he found a good opportunity to turn against his boss, Zhao Hengxi.As a result, Zhao Hengxi moved in the boss, Wu Peifu, who beat up the rebellious boy Tang Shengzhi for Zhao Xiaodi.In desperation, Tang Shengzhi, who had fled to the southern border of Hunan, asked the Guangzhou Nationalist Government for help, and found a new boss. Tang Shengzhi joined the revolutionary ranks in May 1926. His army became the Eighth Army of the National Army, and he himself became the commander-in-chief of the former enemy in the Northern Expedition.Among Tang Shengzhi's subordinates are two people who are very familiar to everyone: a division commander named He Jian, and a battalion commander named Peng Dehuai. There is reason to believe that Tang Shengzhi's motives for participating in the revolution were seriously impure, not only because he was suspected of taking revenge, but also because he was suspected of speculation - if he did not join the national army, he would definitely become the target of the Northern Expedition, and from later history Looking at the process, his performance at many important junctures can only be described as unreliable. Although Tang Shengzhi is unreliable, but fortunately he is still useful for the Northern Expedition.Under the support of Tang Shengzhi, the Fourth and Seventh Armies of the National Army successfully arrived at the front line of the Hunan Northern Expedition at the end of May.With the combat effectiveness of the Fourth and Seventh Armies, facing Zhao Hengxi's Hunan Army and Wu Peifu's non-directed troops, it is reasonable to invade Changsha in more than a month. The Battle of Changsha was won, and Commander-in-Chief Jiang visited Changsha to guide the work, and rewarding the three armies was an indispensable procedure.However, when Chief Chiang Kai-shek inspected the heroic troops at the Changsha school grounds, an episode occurred. Chiang Kai-shek rode slowly past the other phalanxes, safe and sound, but when Chiang Kai-shek walked to the front of the Eighth Army, the military band drums and music blared. The horse Chiang Kai-shek was riding probably had never heard such a sound. run wildly.Chiang Kai-shek was caught off guard and fell off his horse, with one foot hanging on the stirrup. The horse dragged him for more than ten feet, and finally his riding boots fell off, so he survived. Let's not talk about the fact that Commander-in-Chief Jiang endured pain and anger and insisted on completing the review. Let's take a look at what Tang Shengzhi, the commander of the Eighth Army, did. After the review, Tang Shengzhi did not go home, but went to the "Second Academy".The Second Academy is the place where Monk Gu (real name Gu Jingyuan, after Gu Yanwu) lectured on scriptures and Taoism. This Monk Gu is a bit special. In the eyes of many people, this guy is an out-and-out liar. He can't even speak a few words of Buddhist language, which is equivalent to learning English and can only "nod, yes, shake his head, NO, come, come, go, go." "The half-baked child. Actually, Monk Gu is a bit level.It's just that what he believes in is Tantra, which is difficult for ordinary people to understand. Moreover, he has a calm temperament and is a hermit. Whenever someone doubts him, he doesn't bother to defend himself.very cool!So everyone thought he was a dead liar. Of course, there are also many people who admire Monk Gu quite a lot.Tang Shengzhi is one of Monk Gu's fans.Tang Shengzhi himself believed in Buddhism, and he still preached Buddhism in the army. If he wanted to be his soldier, he had to accept the motto and receive the precepts, so his army was also called the "Buddhist Army". After seeing Monk Gu, Tang Shengzhi told him what happened today in detail. Monk Gu said softly after hearing the words and making calculations: It seems that Chiang Kai-shek will not be able to pass the Eighth Army. Tang Shengzhi was immediately elated, and since then he has the ambition to replace Chiang Kai-shek. It seems that Monk Gu is a man with real talents and real learning, not a person who fools around for a living. Didn't the later Red Army be reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Army? Apart from the strength of the Northern Expeditionary Army, there is also Wu Peifu's own reason for losing Changsha-he underestimated the Northern Expeditionary Army. Originally, Wu Peifu put most of his main force in the north to attack Feng Yuxiang and guard against Zhang Zuolin.It wasn't until he lost Changsha that he realized that he had made a big mistake.Since Feng Yuxiang had been beaten to death by him and Zhang Zuolin, Wu Peifu boldly mobilized the main force to go south, intending to start a decisive battle with the Northern Expeditionary Army at the junction of Hunan and Hubei. Just as he was dispatching troops, the Northern Expeditionary Army had already broken through the northern line of Hunan and entered Hubei. Wu Peifu knew that this was a life-and-death battle, so he personally organized a counterattack. The two dangerous Guan Tingsi Bridge and Hesheng Bridge in Xianning, Hubei Province were full of his direct troops. He wanted to resist the enemy from the gate of Wuhan! Naturally, Commander-in-Chief Jiang is not a simple person. Long before Wu Peifu made adjustments, he had ordered all the troops in the Northern Expedition to seize the favorable opportunity when Wu Peifu's troops were scattered and the elite had not yet arrived, and quickly opened the door to Wuhan! Tang Shengzhi, the former commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, quickly responded to the call of Commander-in-Chief Jiang. In the spirit of the warlord "Leave the difficulties to others and the advantages to himself", he sent Wu Peifu's elite soldiers to Tingsi, a dangerous city on the way forward. The Bridge, Hesheng Bridge and Wuchang City were all left to the Fourth and Seventh Armies, and he led the Eighth Army to go straight to the surging Han River and the Yangtze River, because the opposite side of the Yangtze River is Hankou and Hanyang, which are weakly defended by the enemy. Therefore, Wu Peifu's main opponents are the Fourth Army and the Seventh Army. Because the army commander Li Jishen stayed in Guangdong, the deputy army commander Chen Keyu was able to become the supreme commander of the Fourth Army.Chen Keyu is an excellent general. The Fourth Army led by him has been at the forefront of the Northern Expedition. Fearless courage and keen military sense are his characteristics. Now, as the first general to arrive at Tingsi Bridge, Chen Keyu decided to take advantage of the fleeting opportunity that Wu Peifu's main force had not reached Tingsi Bridge, and storm Tingsi Bridge.In order to reduce the loss of the storm, he asked Chen Mingshu to lead the main force to attract the enemy's firepower from the front, and sent Zhang Fakui to lead his most capable Huang Qixiang 36th regiment and Ye Ting's independent regiment to detour behind the enemy to launch an assault, flanking the Wu army back and forth. Objectively speaking, the combat effectiveness of the defenders of Tingsi Bridge is quite good. Facing the pincer attack of the Fourth Army, they actually persisted for nearly two days and one night, which is considered an impressive achievement. Wu Peifu, who had just arrived at the Hesheng Bridge, heard the news that the Tingsi Bridge had fallen before he had time to get off the bus. Wu Peifu was furious, and decided to command the army himself. He wanted to fight the Northern Expeditionary Army to the death at Hesheng Bridge! At this time, Wu Peifu was over 50 years old, Chiang Kai-shek was only 39 years old, Chen Keyu was only 44 years old, and Li Zongren was even younger, only 35 years old. It was not easy for him to completely defeat these opponents who were in their prime.But Wu Peifu does have the capital of self-confidence. Except for losing to Zhang Zuolin because of Feng Yuxiang's betrayal in the second Zhifeng War, he has never lost a second battle in his life! Chiang Kai-shek didn't dare to be careless, so he moved his headquarters to Xianning and commanded the battle of Hesheng Bridge at close range. He wanted to combine the forces of the Fourth Army and the Seventh Army to defeat Wu Peifu! The elite of Marshal Wu - Liu Yuchun and Chen Jiamo's troops and the elites of the Northern Expedition Army Chen Keyu and Li Zongren fought the most tragic battle since the Northern Expedition in this not wide area. Wu Peifu's army has a good combat effectiveness and is superior in number, but the problem is limited by the terrain - the Hesheng Bridge is dangerous, with many mountains and rivers. Wu Peifu was forced to put up an echelon defensive formation, and the superiority in numbers could not be fully utilized, while the Northern Expedition Army Resolutely implemented the tactics of concentrating superior forces to break through a point and then attacking, occupying a local advantage. The two sides fought extremely fiercely, breaking through, counterattacking, and fighting hand-to-hand. The soldiers advanced but never retreated. After two days and two nights of bloody battle, the battle was decided.Liu Yuchun and Chen Jiamo were defeated and retreated to Wuchang. Within five days, Wu Peifu lost two key battles at Tingsi Bridge and Hesheng Bridge in a row, and the situation was over. After two fierce battles at Tingsi Bridge and Hesheng Bridge, the Northern Expeditionary Army successfully arrived at the foot of Wuchang City. The Northern Expedition, which was progressing very smoothly before, would never have imagined that what awaited them ahead was an extremely tragic offensive and defensive battle-the Battle of Wuchang. Wu Peifu can't lose Wuhan. Wuhan is his base camp and also his strategic base. If he loses Wuhan, he will become a bereaved dog and be completely finished. With no way out, Wu Peifu decided to rely on Wuchang, which has the best defensive facilities, to give it a go! Chiang Kai-shek, come on!Laozi and brothers vow to live and die with Wuchang!Wu Peifu's voice was like thunder and lightning, sweeping every corner of Wuchang. How dare Chiang Kai-shek underestimate Wu Peifu, he has a good understanding of this opponent, he decided to invest all the elites he can invest in - the Fourth Army, the Second Division of the First Army, and the Seventh Army, and must not give Wu Peifu a chance to stand up! Wu Peifu's defenders, who had no way out, exploded with amazing energy.They understand that when the strength is not as good as their opponents, daring to work hard is the best way! The heroic and invincible Northern Expeditionary Army stepped up to the city, and the defenders went forward without fear, fighting hand-to-hand with the Northern Expeditionary Army. Some soldiers who were seriously injured even fell off the city wall with the Northern Expeditionary Army soldiers, exchanging their lives for their lives! Under the desperate resistance of the defenders, the powerful Fourth Army suffered heavy casualties-more than half of Huang Qixiang's 36th regiment lost more than half, and the first battalion of Ye Ting's independent regiment, including battalion commander Huangpu's first-year student Cao Yuan, basically all sacrificed. The First Army and the Seventh Army also suffered considerable casualties. Looking at the majestic city walls of Wuchang, Chiang Kai-shek's heart was bleeding. Every time a Northern Expedition soldier was sacrificed, his heart twitched.He didn't expect Wu Peifu's army to have such a fierce side, such a heroic enemy, even Chiang Kai-shek felt that he should take off his hat and pay tribute. After the Northern Expeditionary Army failed to attack the city several times, that is, at the end of early September, Chiang Kai-shek decided to change his method - to attack the heart. He wanted to "surround Wuchang without attacking" and cut off all ties between the defenders and the outside world. How long can you last without food and ammunition! As it turned out, Chiang Kai-shek was right. With no food, no ammunition, and facing the blockade of the Northern Expedition, a few days later, Wu Peifu, who still heard his rhetoric, took the lead in fleeing to Henan. Could it be that Wu Peifu's high-spiritedness, pride in unifying China, and tenacity to recover from defeat have all gone, and he has suddenly transformed from a hero into a coward? In view of the fact that after Wu Peifu left, his direct descendants Liu Yuchun and Chen Jiamo persisted in Wuchang for nearly a month and did not surrender, there is reason to believe that there was a reason for him to leave Wuhan, at least not for the simple purpose of fleeing for his life, otherwise the coach would lead by example and flee for his life in a hurry, and the armed forces would The soldiers rushed to follow suit, and the city of Wuchang would be destroyed without attack. Although Liu Yuchun and Chen Jiamo's will to fight is still there, and they can fight and hold on, there are also some people who can't hold on. On October 8, another subordinate of Wu Peifu, Wu Junqing, led his troops to surrender. On October 10, Wu Junqing took over the Fourth Army and entered the city. More than 20,000 elite troops under the command of Liu Yuchun and Chen Jiamo were either wiped out or surrendered. The Northern Expeditionary Army finally captured Wuchang City, which had been besieged for more than forty days.Hankou and Hanyang were captured by Tang Shengzhi in mid-September.So far, the three towns of Wuhan have all fallen into the hands of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Wu Peifu, Marshal Wu, who lost Wuhan, has been jumping for a few days. In the battle to conquer the two lakes, the Fourth Army performed the best, winning itself the title of "Iron Army" with its record of defeating powerful enemies and being invincible.Among them, the Ye Ting Independent Regiment, which was expanded from the armored convoy formed by Zhou Enlai, performed particularly well. This army, with graduates from the Whampoa Military Academy Zhou Shidi, Cao Yuan, and Xu Jishen as its core cadres, basically has a casualty ratio of one to ten. Great victory over the enemy.What needs to be explained is that the Ye Ting Independence Regiment was the only unit fully controlled by the Communist Party during the Great Revolution, because most of the backbone of this unit were members of the Communist Party, Youth League members, and activists of the Workers and Peasants Movement. Although Li Zongren's Seventh Army performed very well, it was still a bit inferior to the Fourth Army, but they will soon have the opportunity to justify themselves on the Jiangxi battlefield. The Northern Expeditionary Army advanced triumphantly all the way, smashed Hunan, and entered Hubei. Wu Peifu was beaten to death. Why did Sun Chuanfang, another tycoon in the direct lineage, stand still and watch the success or failure? Although Chiang Kai-shek once sent the genius lobbyist He Chengjun (that is, He Chengjun) known as "Little Mengchang" to negotiate with Sun Chuanfang, fooling the other party: Our national government recognizes your position as the commander-in-chief of the five-provincial coalition forces. Please remain neutral, but this is definitely not the case. Sun Chuanfang's reasons for not participating in the war.Sun Chuanfang has his own ideas, and his trick is to wait for the Northern Expeditionary Army and Wu Peifu to fight for both sides, while he waits for work and reaps the benefits. This did not wrong Sun Chuanfang. In fact, when the Northern Expeditionary Army was still in Hunan, his military adviser and Baoding Military Academy teacher Jiang Baili pointed out a clear way for him: While the Northern Expeditionary Army was fighting Wu Peifu in Hubei, you led the army to march westward with all your strength. Capture Changsha and cut off the Northern Expeditionary Army's back route. The Northern Expeditionary Army will be defeated without a doubt. But Sun Chuanfang did not accept it. He decided to be a spectator first, and let the two boxers, Chiang Kai-shek and Wu Peifu, fight to the death in the ring. In the face of a powerful opponent, it is undoubtedly fatal and stupid to dismantle the allies and make small calculations.However, Sun Chuanfang can be regarded as a smart battlefield veteran, and he will not carry out stupidity to the end. In late August, Sun Chuanfang saw Wu Peifu, a senior who was good at fighting tough battles, lose consecutive battles against the Northern Expedition Army, and finally realized that the Northern Expedition Army was really too powerful an opponent. , must act! Sun Chuanfang was really extraordinary, and it was a big fight when he made a move. Send people to negotiate peace with Zhang Zuolin, the opponent who just fought in the "Zhefeng War", and form a united front to avoid being stabbed in the back by Zhang Zuolin. He dispatched more than 100,000 troops into Jiangxi, captured Hubei and Hunan, and cut off the return route of the Northern Expeditionary Army. He himself commanded from Jiujiang. He dispatched the veteran Xia Zhou Yinren to lead nearly 40,000 troops, marched from Fujian to Guangdong, pulled out the base of the Northern Expedition Army, surrounded Wei and rescued Zhao. On the surface, this is indeed an impeccable plan, but it is a pity that Chiang Kai-shek has long been prepared against Sun Chuanfang.His tactic against Sun Chuanfang is called "offensive defense". Simply put, it is: I am ready to beat you, but I can't do it first because of some objective reasons.However, once you want to make a move, I will strike first, and I will beat you to death resolutely! Chiang Kai-shek looked up to Sun Chuanfang very much. He prepared nearly 50,000 Northern Expeditionary troops for the opponent on the Jiangxi battlefield. This is why almost only the fourth, seventh, and eighth three armies were active in the Lianghu battlefield. Not working, but because they were arranged by Commander-in-Chief Jiang at the border between Lianghu and Jiangxi, ready to enter Jiangxi at any time to beat Sun Chuanfang. After receiving the news that Sun Chuanfang was going to do it, that is, in early September, the Northern Expedition Army took the lead in entering Jiangxi and began a brilliant two-front battle! Because the Northern Expeditionary Army moved fast enough, Sun Chuanfang's more than 100,000 main force had not had time to enter Jiangxi, so the Northern Expeditionary Army played triumphantly all the way, winning many battles while the enemy's troops were empty.It seems that the two divisions of the Sixth Army and the First Division of the First Army led by Cheng Qian had the greatest military exploits, because they captured Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi. From a record point of view, this is a very good result.But from a tactical point of view, this army has been several days away from the main force, and it is a lone army that goes deep and advances greedily.What's more serious is that they were surrounded by Sun Chuanfang's main force who had just arrived in Nanchang, and they were already in trouble. Enemies several times larger than oneself, a lonely city with no friendly troops around, should be impossible to defend. Sure enough, Cheng Qian's Sixth Army only lasted for three days, not only lost Nanchang, but also lost most of its troops, which was a disastrous defeat. The performance of the 1st Division of the 1st Army also fell short. In fact, the so-called first division only came with two regiments—the first regiment and the third regiment. Famous Taiwanese actor Sun Hsiang-chung, whose stage name is Qin Han’s father, Sun Yuanliang, led the first group to follow Cheng Qian into Nanchang. Later, when Cheng Qian was defeated, Sun Yuanliang also ran away, but the first group was the elite of Whampoa after all. When some were surrounded and wiped out, they successfully broke out of the encirclement.Because of this, Sun Yuanliang got the nickname of "parachutist", which means that he ran away at an extraordinary speed. Xue Yue's third regiment has been attacking a strategically important stronghold - Niuxing Station - the terminal station of the Nanxun Railway connecting Jiujiang, De'an, Tujiabu, and Nanchang in Nanchang, but they fought for several days and nights , more than half of the casualties, but also failed to take down this seemingly inconspicuous station. As the elite of Whampoa, the third regiment is naturally superior in combat effectiveness. Why can't it win a mere railway station?There are two main reasons. First, leadership is incompetent.According to Li Zongren's textual research, at such a bad time, Wang Bailing, the commander of the first division, not only failed to find a way to send reinforcements to the third regiment, which was fighting alone, but the male hormones exploded, and he stole half a day's leisure to spend half a day with the popular kiln sister in Nanchang city. Go to Wushan together.Later, when the war situation was unfavorable, he and the party representative Miao Bin (please remember this person) left the army and ran away without a trace.The Chief of Staff of the First Division, Ye Jianying, had nothing to do with these two idiot leaders. Second, the enemy is very strong.The main opponent of the First Division and the Sixth Army is Lu Xiangting, the first general under Sun Chuanfang's command. This person has been mentioned in the previous "Zhefeng War". He is quite powerful and a powerful and brutal opponent. The defeat in Nanchang was the first major defeat of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Blessings never come, but misfortunes never come singly.The battle in Jiangxi was not going well, and the life of Commander-in-Chief Jiang in Wuhan was also not going well.Because someone makes him unhappy every day. This person is Tang Shengzhi. Mr. Tang gained a lot of military exploits by virtue of the strategy of "picking the weak persimmons", and thus strengthened his ambition to replace Chiang Kai-shek. in the eyes.This high-spirited performance reached its apex after he captured Hankou and Hanyang and followed Wu Peifu who retreated to Henan to occupy several cities. Chiang Kai-shek wrote down many times in his small diary how his subordinate Tang Shengzhi committed crimes and how much he hated him, such as "I hate the subordinates to bully the superiors the most, embarrassing people, such a shame, how can I bear it?" At this time, the defeat in the battle of Nanchang, especially the performance of the two regiments of the first division of the direct line of the first army, made Chiang Kai-shek, who had high expectations for the Jiangxi battlefield, lose face even more in front of Tang Shengzhi, who often did not give him face. , so Chiang Kai-shek decided to leave Wuhan and go to Jiangxi to supervise the war. He wants to go out in person, quickly defeat Sun Chuanfang, and give the arrogant Tang Shengzhi some color. Therefore, after determining the strategy for besieging Wuchang, Chiang Kai-shek handed Wuchang over to the Fourth Army, bid farewell to Tang Shengzhi who had left with joy, and arrived at the Jiangxi battlefield in late September. The first thing Commander-in-Chief Jiang had to do was to punish Wang Boling who escaped and Sun Yuanliang who retreated without authorization, so as to calm the hearts of the troops.According to military law, the two should be punished. Wang Boling wants to put it aside today, just like a "Wang Paopao".I ran down Danshui City once, was spared, and changed from regiment leader to division commander; now I ran away again, whereabouts are unknown.However, when Wang Boling reappeared, his official career was still prosperous, and he was even elected as the executive member of the Kuomintang Central Committee.Escaping once and getting promoted once is also a Guinness World Record.Is it just because he is Chiang Kai-shek's old classmate and sworn brother? Looking through the history of the rise and fall of Chiang Kai-shek, we can see that he was very loyal and valued the friendship between classmates, brothers, teachers and students, and kindness.Of course, Chiang Kai-shek's loyalty is also to be reciprocated-this group of classmates, brothers, and students are all important career helpers for him to establish the "Jiang Family Dynasty".However, he usually does not pay much attention to the ideological and moral education of these people. As a result, many career assistants like Wang Boling whose overall quality is not up to standard became corrupt later on. The corruption of his subordinates was the key reason why he lost to Taiwan later. As for Sun Yuanliang, after the incident, Chiang Kai-shek "handled it impartially" and arrested him, but before shooting him, he sent Jiang Xianyun to let him go quietly, and at the end he returned 3,000 yuan for his travel expenses to study at a Japanese military academy.Of course, this is unknown to the outside world.It wasn't until Sun Yuanliang made another public appearance a few years later that the Chinese knew that he had been tricked by Chiang Kai-shek. Although Commander-in-Chief Jiang likes to play favoritism, it is just a hobby. His main purpose in coming to Jiangxi is to win the war.In order to ensure victory, he brought in the elite divisions of the First Army, Second Division and Seventh Army. In the first half month when he personally supervised the battle, the Northern Expeditionary Army did not make breakthroughs, and lost battles from time to time. Only Li Zongren's performance was as stable as ever: the Seventh Army won three good-quality victories. Li Zongren's opponent and defeated general—the veteran Beiyang warlord Chen Tiaoyuan was also completely conquered by the performance of the Seventh Army: Your Seventh Army is really a steel army! Chen Tiaoyuan's fighting skills are mediocre, but his ability to engage in advertising planning is quite good. With his mouth, the "Seventh Steel Army" became famous all over the world. The overall situation of the Northern Expeditionary Army on the Jiangxi battlefield did not improve because of the success of the Seventh Army, but continued to slide into the abyss. One of the culprits who caused all this was Lu Xiangting, the number one opponent of the Northern Expedition.He led his troops around the Nanxun Railway, and almost all the Northern Expeditionary Army who encountered him were defeated, even Li Zongren's Seventh Army was no exception. Sharpen, retreat to a safe area. Strangely enough, Commander-in-Chief Chiang seemed to ignore all this.It turned out that his strategy was to "take the central city of Nanchang first to stabilize his position, and then wipe out the peripheral enemies", so he kept his eyes on Nanchang City, his head was a little hot, and he had no time to think about other things. Nanchang has a tall and solid city wall, surrounded by water on three sides. Wang Bo, the head of the Four Heroes of the early Tang Dynasty, once commented on it in "The Preface to the Pavilion of the King of Teng" as "taking care of the three rivers and leading the five lakes, and controlling the wild thorns to attract Ouyue". It can be seen that this is indeed a A key point that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Although Nanchang is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it also depends on whether the combat effectiveness and fighting spirit of the defenders are as difficult to deal with as the terrain.If the former Cheng Qian Sixth Army is used to defend, a Nanchang city is nothing.But the current situation is completely different. The defenders have strong cities and deep moats to defend to the death, and there are powerful friendly troops outside to support them at any time.Therefore, the siege party will definitely encounter the most tenacious resistance and bear the greatest pressure! However, Commander-in-Chief Jiang did not seem to see these unfavorable factors. In mid-October, he took the Second Division of the First Army of his direct line as the main force, and together with the Second Army and the Third Army, stormed Nanchang again, which opened the second time of the Northern Expedition. The prelude to the attack on Nanchang. Although the combat effectiveness of the Second Army and the Third Army is average, there is no doubt that the combat effectiveness of the Second Division of the First Army is strong. However, in the face of the defenders' tenacious defense and counterattack on the water in the dark night, although the Northern Expeditionary Army is not afraid of being tired or afraid He died, sacrificed like a mountain, but was defeated again at the city of Nanchang. Chiang Kai-shek, who was calmed down by the defeat, finally had time to think about the reasons behind the consecutive defeats of the Northern Expedition Army. Is the reason really that Sun Chuanfang's army is too powerful? No, even the Second Beiyang Division led by Lu Xiangting, the most powerful, probably has the same combat effectiveness as the First, Fourth, and Seventh Armies, so this is definitely not the real reason, but where is the problem? Through careful analysis and in-depth exchanges with the staff team - Galen, the deputy chief of staff of the Northern Expedition Army Bai Chongxi and others, Chiang Kai-shek finally found the core of the problem: the Nanxun Railway.The Northern Expedition Army marched on the 11th, and Sun Chuanfang's men took the train to drive, could they pass the train faster with two legs?Lu Xiangting and others relied on the speed advantage brought by this railway to quickly and timely transfer troops in Jiujiang, De'an, Tujiabu, Nanchang and other places, and reinforce each other, forming an absolute superior force at any time to besiege the Northern Expeditionary Army. This is the secret of Sun Chuanfang's victory where. Seeing this, victory is not far away. Chiang Kai-shek decided to adjust his strategy: first cut off the Nanxun railway traffic line, and finally capture Nanchang! In order to add another insurance to the victory, Chiang Kai-shek transferred the Fourth Army, which had successfully captured Wuchang, to the Jiangxi battlefield. Having found the correct strategy to defeat the enemy, the elite also gathered in Jiangxi, and the time has finally come for the Northern Expeditionary Army to counterattack in an all-round way! In the face of the Northern Expeditionary Army's full-line attack on the Nanxun railway line, Lu Xiangting, who had no avatar skills, was overwhelmed, and Sun Chuanfang finally had no choice.Sun Chuanfang, who lost sight of the other, failed to withstand the full-scale counterattacks of the still brave Fourth and Seventh Armies, the restored First Army, and the bloody Second, Third, and Sixth Armies.The positions were lost one after another, Nanchang was defeated in the first battle, and the main force was lost one after another. Even Sun Chuanfang's absolute elite, the Second Beiyang Division, suffered heavy casualties. At the end of November, Sun Chuanfang's nearly 150,000 troops who had invested in Jiangxi were almost wiped out. Jiangxi's Northern Expeditionary Army could go north along the Yangtze River at any time to threaten Nanjing, Jiangsu. When the Northern Expeditionary Army in Jiangxi reaped the victory, He Yingqin also sent good news. When the Northern Expeditionary Army was in trouble in Jiangxi, that is, in early October, He Yingqin led the rest of the First Army to successfully disintegrate Sun Chuanfang's other army, Zhou Yinren's offensive against Guangdong, and saved the Northern Expeditionary Army's backyard. In late October, He Yingqin stayed in Guangdong with the students of the Whampoa Military Academy as the army, and with half of the First Army as the main force, he sent his troops into Fujian.Facing the mighty First Army, Zhou Yinren was defeated in a row and had little power to parry. There were many people under his command who surrendered in anticipation, and lost the whole of Fujian in two months. Subsequently, He Yingqin's soldiers pointed directly at Zhejiang and Shanghai. Relying on the performance of He Yingqin and his First Army, Commander-in-Chief Jiang finally regained some face. So far, Sun Chuanfang, the commander-in-chief of the five-provincial coalition forces, has existed in name only. Next, all the departments of the Northern Expedition requested to supplement the loss of troops and expand the army.Chiang Kai-shek had little control over the other armies other than the First Army, so he had to agree one by one. First of all, Tang Shengzhi's eighth army, who had long been rebellious, expanded into four armies. With the expansion of the eighth army, other armies also expanded on their own. Among them, the fourth army expanded into the fourth and eleventh armies, and the commanders were Zhang Fakui and Chen Mingshu.Not to be outdone, Chiang Kai-shek also doubled the size of the First Army. The army was expanded, and Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Fujian were basically recovered.At this moment when the victory should be pursued, the Northern Expeditionary Army stopped its offensive across the board, because there was another problem within the Kuomintang.