Chapter 8 Chapter 7 Breakthrough

Both Bai Chongxi and Chen Jitang knew the actions of the Red Army well.The subtle and unspoken accusation against Li Hanhun is all in the four words of "protecting the environment and the people".Not to mention Chiang Kai-shek's direction proposed by Yang Yongtai, even the Red Army itself did not realize it.Covering up the secret for 48 years, it still maintains the dust of the years in "Unforgettable Years". In 1984, a Chinese American named Chen Shubai returned to the mainland to give lectures and make preparations for running a school. In September, Deng Xiaoping met him in Beijing and said: "Your father has ruled Guangdong for eight years, and he has made great achievements. People of the older generation in Guangdong still miss him."

Chen Shubai's father was the new Guangdong warlord Chen Jitang.Deng Xiaoping's comment caused shock overseas. Chen Jitang monopolized the military and political power in Guangdong, carried out feudal separatism, and maintained Guangdong's semi-independent situation for 8 years. He was called the "King of the South".Moreover, on the Long March of the Red Army, Chen Jitang was the protagonist of the "encirclement" of the first blockade and the second blockade.Some people in Taiwan and overseas have long regarded him as a resolute "anti-communist hero". Why did the Communist Party rate him so highly?

In modern China, it goes without saying that the Eight Banners and Green Battalion Water Warriors practiced, and the modern military officers produced after the new type of training, from Yuan Shikai to Wu Peifu to Chiang Kai-shek, almost none of them did not initially show considerable revolutionary. In 1908, Chen Jitang joined the Tongmenghui through the introduction of Deng Keng, a revolutionary pioneer in Guangdong and an instructor of the Army Primary School. In November 1920, Deng Keng, chief of staff of the Cantonese Army, established the First Division of the Cantonese Army, and Chen served as the battalion commander of the Fourth Regiment of the division.Deng Keng was assassinated, and Chen Jiongming launched a coup against Sun Yat-sen. His general, Ye Ju, passed by Zhaoqing and forced the generals of the First Division of the Cantonese Army, the basic unit of Deng Keng, to pledge their allegiance to Chen Jiongming.Three generals in the First Division revolted: Deng Yanda, Zhang Fakui, and Chen Jitang.

The First Division of the Guangdong Army was later expanded into the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, the famous "Iron Army" in the Northern Expedition.Later, the main force of the Nanchang Uprising led by the Communist Party of China was formed in the "Iron Army". But on the issue of anti-communism, Chen Jitang was unambiguous. In 1927, he inspected the Soviet Union and heard that Chiang Kai-shek launched the "April 12" Incident, so he returned home immediately.When he arrived in Nanjing, he first reported his anti-Soviet and anti-communist opinions to Chiang Kai-shek, and then made an anti-communist report on the "Prime Minister's Memorial Week", saying that "the Communist Party is the opposition party of our party and the only enemy that endangers our party." In September 1927, troops from the August 1st Nanchang Uprising entered Guangdong.Chen Jitang, Xue Yue, Xu Jingtang and others led their troops to Chaoshan to stop the attack.Chen's troops belonged to the East Route Army, and marched eastward from Heyuan to seek a decisive battle for the main force of the rebel army. On the 28th, Chen Jitang led his troops to meet the main forces of Ye Ting and He Long's troops in Baishi, southeast of Tangkeng. They fought fiercely for three days and nights, causing more than 2,000 casualties to the rebel army, who were unable to fight any more and were forced to withdraw from the battle.

Chen Jitang is good at fighting. The strength of the Guangxi army is well-known at home and abroad, and it is also called "Little Zhuge" under the command of Bai Chongxi. Even Jiang Jun is afraid of him.The Fourth Army in the Northern Expedition was called the "Iron Army" because of its numerous military exploits, and the Seventh Army composed of the Guangxi Army called itself the "Steel Army" after hearing about it.It can be seen that there is nothing in his eyes. But this "steel army" was defeated by Chen Jitang three times in the subsequent conflicts.

The first time was after the Jianggui War, Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, and Huang Shaohong, who had returned to Guangxi, poured out their troops from Guangxi to attack Guangdong; Xu Jingtang, the Cantonese army, led the fifth army to respond in Guangdong, and went straight to Guangzhou.Facing a critical moment of life and death, Chen Jitang mobilized the entire Guangdong army to fight the Guangxi army with the call of protecting the environment and the people.He adopted a strategy of defeating each one, restrained Xu Jingtang with a force, concentrated the main force in Huaxian County, and attacked the Gui army with all his strength.Li and Bai were defeated and were chased into Guangxi by Chen Jitang.

The second time was Li Zongren and Zhang Fakui's joint attack on Guangdong in December of the same year.Chen Jitang, with the assistance of Jiang Jun Zhu Shaoliang's Sixth Route Army, inflicted heavy damage on Zhang's troops, losing 2/3 of his troops and was forced to retreat.Seeing Zhang Jun's defeat, Li Zongren's Eighth Route Army retreated across the board, trying to stick to Wuzhou.Chen Jitang chased his army and occupied Wuzhou first with his navy. He set up a general headquarters in Wuzhou and took the command in person.Huang Shaohong's department was also severely damaged by Chen Jitang.

The third time was during the Central Plains War. Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, Huang Shaohong, and Zhang Fakui led the entire army to fight northward in response to Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang in the north.Chen Jitang commanded the Cantonese army to dispatch suddenly after the Zhang-Gui coalition forces occupied Changsha and the vanguard arrived in Pingjiang and Yueyang to capture Hengyang, the strategic rear of the Gui army.Hengyang was occupied, and the Gui army could not take care of both the head and the tail. They were afraid of being cut off at the waist, so they returned to attack Hengyang.In the Battle of Hengyang, both sides devoted their best troops, the battle was unprecedentedly tragic, and the corpses of the Gui army were everywhere.With the support of He Jian's Ministry, Chen Jitang adopted the tactics of frontal attack and flanking detours, defeated Zhang Gui's coalition forces across the board, killed, wounded and captured more than 12,000 of them.

After this battle, Li Zongren said with great distress: "Hengyang has been unable to attack for a long time, and the enemy's reinforcements are gathering.... As a last resort, we retreated to Guangxi. The situation was in a mess. The officers and soldiers were very negative about the war. The situation was so difficult that our army was fighting. never encountered before.” So Chen Jitang's combat strength even impressed Chiang Kai-shek. But no matter how anti-communist he was, no matter how good at fighting, Jiang always regarded him as a pawn. Before Chen Jitang, Li Jishen was in charge of Cantonese.Li Jishen is a native of Wuzhou, Guangxi. Politically, he belongs to the Cantonese faction, but in his personal relationship, he leans towards the Guangxi faction.Guangdong has abundant financial resources, but its soldiers have poor combat effectiveness; Guangxi is poor, but its soldiers are brave.Li Jishen took advantage of his local relations to integrate with the Guangxi faction for a long time; Guangdong supported Guangxi's funds, and Guangxi supported the Guangdong faction's troops.The close cooperation between Guangdong and Guangxi made it impossible for Jiang to intervene.Chiang Kai-shek's big wish at the time was to find a chess piece from within Guangdong, which has many factions, and break it up to break up the Guangdong-Guangxi alliance.This chess piece is Chen Jitang.

In the Jianggui War in 1929, Chiang Kai-shek replaced Li Jishen with him, and then used him to defeat the Guangxi faction three times. For a while, the Guangdong-Guangxi alliance really fell apart. Chiang Kai-shek, who used Chen Jitang as a pawn, admired Zeng Guofan. At the age of 27, Jiang read "Zeng Wenzheng Gong Collection" in Shanghai, and his eyes became ill. Since then, he can't put down Zeng Guofan's books.Mao Sicheng, who wrote the chronology for Chiang, said that Chiang's "military science is based on Balck's tactical book, while political science is based on the two collections of Wang Yangming and Zeng Wenzheng."

Chiang Kai-shek learned from Zeng Guofan, but Chen Jitang respected Hong Xiuquan.He believed in yin and yang since he was a child. He once bought Hong Xiuquan's ancestral grave in Furongzhang, Huaxian County at a high price to bury his mother's bones, saying it was the holy place for the emperor.Later, he specially sent his brother Chen Weizhou to Nanjing to meet Chiang Kai-shek, calling it a debriefing. In fact, he was looking at Chiang Kai-shek's luck, and even went to Fenghua to check the geomantic omen of Chiang Kai-shek's ancestral grave.After Chen Weizhou came back, he happily told Chen Jitang that Jiang's ancestral grave was not as far away as the dragon in Furongzhang. Jiang didn't know that this chess piece of his had sent someone to visit his ancestral grave, and that he wanted to become king. When Chen Jitang, who wanted to be the king of heaven, graduated from Guangdong Army Primary School, his grades were the last.It is a big difficulty for him to take the right step, and he is not good at it.Every time he proofread, he was kept indoors for sanitation.During the graduation ceremony, the students all toasted Liang Anbang, who was ranked first in his grades, and believed that he had a bright future.Liang was also very proud, saying: "Everyone has a solution, except Bonan." Bonan is Chen Jitang's word.Someone nearby said: "Don't underestimate Chen Jitang, he may go farther than others." Liang Anbang, who was drunk, said: "If Bonan can stand out, I will give him boots!" Chen only blushed and remained silent Voice. Chen Jitang, who was last in the army primary school, later took control of the military and political power in Guangdong.The first place, Liang Anbang, really supported him for 8 years—until Chen Jitang stepped down, he has been the traffic leader under him. Chen Jitang appeared in the Chinese political arena in the 1930s with this extremely resilient and unpredictable characteristic. He knew that he was not a direct descendant of Chiang Kai-shek.So he can replace Li Jishen, because he supports Jiang and opposes Guangxi, and is more pro-Chiang than Li.He relied on Jiang to obtain the status of "Southern Heavenly King". As a return to Jiang, he also contributed a lot in Jiang's previous wars against the Guangxi clique, which made Guangdong and Guangxi separate from then on. But those who rely on Chiang Kai-shek to get rid of others are most afraid that Chiang will use others to get rid of themselves.The Guangdong-Guangxi Alliance was dismantled, but the relationship between Ningyue and Guangdong was not any closer.From the first day Chen Jitang came to power, the deep-seated distrust and wariness between him and Jiang emerged. The Red Army and Jiang Army have always been the forces that Chen Jitang feared for a long time. He ruled Guangdong for 8 years, and confronted the Jiangxi Central Soviet Area in the north for 6 years.He considered the most and the most detailed about what countermeasures the Red Army should take.From the first "encirclement and suppression" campaign, he saw that Chiang used the opportunity of "encirclement and suppression" of the Red Army to kill people with a knife and annex others.If he did not participate in the "encirclement and suppression", he would lose Jiang's military pay and weapons, and would also give Jiang an excuse to question the criminals.Chen Jitang's final principle is: you can send troops into Jiangxi, but you can't be entangled in the war and make it difficult to get rid of; especially you can't let Jiang Jun take advantage of a false attack to take Guangdong while fighting the Red Army. In February 1932, Peng Dehuai's Red Army Corps besieged Ganzhou, and the Ma Kun Brigade of the Yunnan Army who defended the city repeatedly called for help.Under the urging of Chiang Kai-shek's repeated calls, Chen Jitang reluctantly sent the Cantonese Army Fan Dexing Brigade to help.When Fan Brigade arrived in Xincheng, he was ambushed by the Fourth Red Army led by Lin Biao, the Red Army's reinforcements, and lost two battalions.Taking advantage of the opportunity of the Fourth Red Army's main force to concentrate in the south of the city to defend against the Guangdong enemy, Chen Cheng ordered his main force, the 11th Division, to make a long-distance attack and break through and intercept from the north.Enter Ganzhou. Ganzhou rescued, and Chen Cheng became famous.The two battalions that Chen Jitang lost became bait on the hook to attract the main force of the Red Army. Afterwards, Chen Jitang earnestly explained to his subordinates that they must be particularly cautious in fighting the Red Army, and all the troops should stick to their defense and not attack lightly. In September 1933, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized the army to carry out the fifth "encirclement and suppression". With Chen Jitang as the commander-in-chief of the South Route Army, he commanded eleven divisions and one brigade. . For Chen Jitang, it was not only the Red Army, but also Jiang Jun who wanted to prevent his "development to the south". He took a double-edged approach. First of all, make an appearance for Chiang Kai-shek. In mid-April 1934, the Cantonese army entered Junmen Ridge.Although Junmenling was just an empty city and the Red Army had already evacuated in advance, Chen Jitang made a big publicity and reported his merits to Jiang.Jiang "delivered an order to reward" and awarded 50,000 yuan to the foreign labor force, and then ordered Chen Bu to attack Guangchang and go straight to Huichang in order to cooperate with Jiang's army on the northern line. The preoccupied Chen Jitang did not "go straight to Huichang", but invited his former enemy, the commander-in-chief of the Gui Army, Bai Chongxi, who was known as "Little Zhuge". There have been many bloody battles between Guangdong and Guangxi, but on the issue of preventing the Communist Party and Chiang Kai-shek, the two provinces and Guangxi have the same disease.Bai Chongxi was invited to travel non-stop to Ganzhou, Nankang, Dayu, Xinfeng, Anyuan and other counties, and finally arrived at Yunmenling.After returning from southern Jiangxi, Chen Jitang convened a meeting of military chiefs above the chief of staff and listened to Bai Chongxi's analysis of the situation. Bai remained silent for a while, and said unhurriedly: "Chiang Kai-shek adopted the opinion of the German military adviser and adopted a policy of road bunkers against the Communist Party, gradually narrowing the encirclement of the Red Army. This strategy has achieved remarkable results. If the Communist Party If we continue to stay in Jiangxi, we will face the danger of being defeated due to the shrinking of the defense line. If we want to make a living, we must make a strategic transfer. Where will the Communist Party transfer? This is a key issue.” The general of the Gui army made his opening remarks, and immediately grasped the nerve centers of the generals of the Guangdong army present. Bai Chongxi doesn't talk much on weekdays, but he is good at analysis.Once he enters into a certain role that he has devoted himself to pondering and thinking, he will set himself up to plot against and think in different places, and his thoughts will become a river, surging out of his mouth endlessly. He went on: Judging from the terrain, it is more likely to go to Hunan and Guangdong.From the area of ​​Nankang and Xincheng, you can enter southern Hunan, and from the area of ​​Gupi and Chongshi, you can enter northern Guangdong.According to the intelligence of the local defense forces, in the area of ​​Gubei recently, every ten days or so, Communist Party officers were found riding, ranging from five or six to as many as seven or eight. symbol.As for the timing of the Communist Party's breakthrough, it is estimated that it will be between autumn and winter, because that is the harvest season for farmers, and they can get food locally.Otherwise, it would be taboo for military strategists to carry food for thousands of miles. Before that, Chen Jitang also noticed the signs that the Red Army would implement a strategic shift, otherwise he would not have invited Bai Chongxi.But Bai's sophisticated analysis undoubtedly clearly showed the direction and time when the Red Army might shift in front of these senior generals. Especially for the judgment of the transfer time of the Red Army, after searching all the historical materials today, among the Kuomintang generals at that time, there was indeed no one who calculated it as accurately as this "little Zhuge". The failure of the Kuomintang is definitely not due to IQ, but there is a factor higher than IQ: balance. Chiang Kai-shek wanted to press the Red Army into Guangdong, and Chen Jitang had already been mentally prepared.The deployment of the fifth "encirclement and suppression campaign" itself was heavy on the north and light on the south.In the north, Chiang Kai-shek successively concentrated more than 50 divisions (14 divisions and 1 brigade in the East Route Army, 34 divisions and 2 brigades, 2 detachments and 5 regiments in the North Route Army, 9 divisions and 3 brigades in the West Route Army, and 3 brigades in the South Route Army. Army 11 divisions and 1 brigade), obviously wanting to push the Red Army into Chen Jitang's territory in Guangdong.Now the signs of the transfer of the Red Army are becoming more and more obvious, and the possibility of being forced into Guangdong is increasing. For Chen Jitang, a major crisis is coming. The battle with the Nanchang Uprising troops in Tangkeng 7 years ago has always impressed Chen Jitang deeply.At that time, the two sides were fighting for a high ground and throwing grenades at each other. You threw them over, I threw them over, and no one retreated.At dusk on the third day, both sides retreated simultaneously, at the cost of thousands of casualties. The fighting power of the Red Army is now much stronger than it was then.The 100,000 Red Army marched into Guangdong, which was by no means a match for the Cantonese army.Hundreds of thousands of Jiang Jun followed into Guangdong, and the achievements of Guangdong's business operations for several years were bound to be wiped out and destroyed. Chen Jitang took actions that would remain secret for decades.After entering Zhanyunmenling, he immediately stopped fighting and began to look for a direct connection with the Red Army. In July 1934, the Central Red Army negotiated an armistice agreement with Chen Jitang's troops and established a secret communication link. In September, the Kuomintang North Route Army and East Route Army approached the core area of ​​the Central Soviet Area.Bai Chongxi estimated that the "autumn and winter" of the Red Army's operations was already in sight.Chen Jitang sent a representative called "Li Jun" to meet Zhu De in the Soviet area and demanded secret negotiations. The Red Army is looking for a breakthrough in strategic shift.Zhu De immediately replied to Chen Jitang.Zhou Enlai appointed Pan Hannian and He Changgong as representatives to hold negotiations with Yang Youmin, Chen Jitang's representative, Huang Zhiwen, commander of the Eighth Division of the Third Army, and Huang Renhuan, commander of the Independent First Division of the Third Army.The Third Army is the foundation of Chen Jitang in the Guangdong Army.The reason why such an arrangement was made instead of allowing Yu Hanmou's First Army, which had been defending against the Red Army all the year round, to participate in the negotiations was naturally because Chen knew that the success or failure of such negotiations was no small matter, so he had to be careful. The negotiation was held in a quiet mountain forest near Xunwu, lasted for three days and three nights, and reached five agreements: 1. Cease fighting on the spot and cancel the hostile situation; 2. Exchange information and report by cable; 3. Unblocking; 4. Trade with each other. If necessary, the Red Army can set up a rear area in Chen's defense area and build a hospital; 5. When necessary, we can borrow from each other. If we have any action, we will tell Chen in advance, and Chen will evacuate for 20 miles. For the sake of confidentiality, the agreement was not formed into a text, and the representatives of both parties recorded the agreement in their own notebooks. Most high-sounding formal agreements are prepared for who will bear how much responsibility after a breakdown.Those exquisite bronzing signatures, notarized and authenticated texts are not even as good as a knowing look at extraordinary moments. What really works is tacit understanding. The basis of tacit understanding is the alignment of interests. The core of Chen Jitang is to prevent the Central Red Army from entering Guangdong.After reaching an agreement, he understood that the Red Army's intention was not to enter Guangdong territory, so he conveyed the agreement to the officers of the Guangdong Army above the brigade, telling the Red Army that they were only taking the road to the west and guaranteed not to invade Guangdong territory; The subordinates did not have a good grasp of it, so an order was added, requiring the subordinates to do "If the enemy does not shoot at us, do not shoot; if the enemy does not attack me, do not attack." In fact, it is to delineate passages on the Hunan-Guangdong border for the Red Army to pass through. When Chiang Kai-shek used Chen Jitang as a chess piece, he must have never imagined that this chess piece has so many unpredictable characteristics. At the beginning of the Long March, the first blockade line that the Central Red Army had to pass was the Cantonese defense line between Anyuan and Xinfeng in southern Jiangxi.At that time, under Chiang's order, Yu Hanmou's First Army of the Cantonese Army and Li Yangjing's Third Army were both blocking the Guangdong-Jiangxi border.The First Division of the First Army happened to be stuck at the key point of the road that the Red Army passed. After all, it's a battleground where you live and die.Although the agreement was signed, there are still doubts between the Red Army and the Cantonese Army.I doubt whether you really give way, and you doubt whether I really do not enter Guangdong.It is necessary to be careful, and time is not waiting for me.Article 5 of the agreement requires the Red Army to notify the Cantonese Army in advance when it takes action, which is impossible when the military situation is in full swing and military secrets are high and secret. In mid-October, the Red Army suddenly began to move. Yu Hanmou of the Cantonese Army urgently ordered the First Division to retreat westward in the direction of Dayu and Nanxiong to make way for the Red Army. But the action was a bit late, and Peng Linsheng, the commander of the third regiment, came out of the first division with arrogance.Peng Ben was ordered to command his regiment and the teaching regiment to take a shortcut to retreat quickly, but he thought that the large Red Army troops would not arrive so soon, and he could fight a battle to get some money before leaving. He underestimated Lin Biao's advancing speed. On October 22, Peng Linsheng's regiment and the teaching regiment were attacked by the forwards of the Red First Army, who were advancing rapidly, and fell into a predicament they could not escape from. They were extremely embarrassed and suffered a lot of losses.Especially the teaching group suffered heavy casualties when they finally escaped, and lost all their luggage. Peng Linsheng was furiously scolded by Yu Hanmou, and Chen Kehua, the head of the teaching group, was dismissed for his ineffectiveness in combat. The remaining Cantonese troops immediately retreated to Anxi. But generally speaking, the First Division of the Cantonese Army did take the initiative to retreat.The division is the anti-blocking center of the southern line. Once the position is moved, the southwest gate will be opened.The Red Army strode through Anyuan and Xinfeng, and by about October 25, they all crossed the Xinfeng River. The first blockade was not so much a breakthrough as a passage. The second blockade line is the defense line of the Hunan Army and the Guangdong Army between Rucheng in southern Hunan and Renhua in northern Guangdong. At that time, Chiang Kai-shek judged that the Central Red Army would follow in the footsteps of the Sixth Army of Xiao Kehong, and join He Long from southern Jiangxi via the border of Jiangxi, Guangdong and Hunan. Intercept. He Jian was quite caught off guard because the Red Army passed Yu Han's line of defense too quickly.The main force of the Hunan Army had no time to move closer to Guangdong, so it could only gather between Hengyang and Binzhou in succession. In Rucheng, only one brigade of the Hunan Army served as a garrison. So the protagonist of the second blockade was still Chen Jitang of the Cantonese Army. After Chen Jitang received Jiang's telegram, he first defended the gate of northeastern Guangdong with Li Yangjing's third army and the only three divisions under Yu Hanmou's command, preventing both the Red Army and Jiang's army from entering; Several independent divisions and brigades gathered in the area north of Qujiang (Shaoguan) to prevent blockage.During the pursuit, Yu Hanmou marched westward to Lechang with his first division to prevent the Red Army from entering Guangdong. The Cantonese army consisted of 11 divisions and 1 independent brigade. Only Ye Zhao's second division and Chen Zhang's second brigade were really chasing after the Red Army. At the beginning of November, the vanguard of the Red First Army lightly captured the center of the second blockade line and the city gate at the junction of Hunan and Guangdong.Most of the defenders at the gate of the city were security forces, which could not compete with the main force of the Red Army; the Hunan Army in Rucheng in the north had only one brigade, staring blankly, and doing nothing but guarding the isolated city; The Nanxiong, Renhua, and Lechang lines in the depths are trying to protect themselves, and they are not at all willing to extend the defense line northward to connect with the Hunan Army's defense line. So the second blockade opened a big gap between Rucheng and Renhua. On November 8, the Central Red Army passed through the area south of Rucheng and north of Chengkou.Under the watchful eyes of the Cantonese Army parading across Renhua and Lechang, they slowly passed the second blockade line. Chen Jitang once again made way for the Red Army to advance. The Cantonese army could have caused great damage to the Red Army. On the night of October 27th, the first regiment of Chen Jitang's Guard Brigade discovered that the Red Army was wading across the Jinjiang River at night. The team was huge, and included horses and luggage.Mo Furu, the head of the regiment, immediately called to report and asked Bandu to attack. The answer he got was not to be attacked, not to attack. Mo Furutuan received such an answer, so he could only watch the Red Army brigade flowing in front of him through the night. It was night, and the Red Army team was safe and unimpeded on the Jinjiang side, and kept going westward. Within the blockade formed by the two Cantonese armies, you can see bunkers of all sizes built on both sides of the road, hillsides, and other key locations.These blockhouses or masonry or steel bone cement structures are divided into row forts, chain forts, and battalion forts according to the terrain and shooting range, or into squares or hexagons. Dodge.Crossfire formed between the fortresses, blocking roads and blocking key passes.If there is a fight, it will definitely hinder the Red Army.But these bunkers were all abandoned by the retreating Cantonese army.The Red Army and some local people demolished and burned it, and the smoke and dust covered the sky. From a distance, it looked like a beacon tower on an ancient battlefield. Therefore, in Chen's defense zone, the forward troops of the Red Army were able to open up passages at a rapid march speed of nearly a hundred miles a day.The rear team of the Red Army was able to move forward in a moving and tunnel-like manner, and kept the altars and pots all the way to the Xiangjiang River. If Chen does not give way, it will be impossible. So 50 years later, Deng Xiaoping still praised Chen Jitang in Beijing. In the "Historical Journal of the Republic of China" compiled by the "Institute of Modern History of the Academia Sinica" in Taiwan, there is such a record: "On November 12, 1934, Soul Master Li Han of the South Route Army broke the First Army of the Red Army in Lechang, northern Guangdong. During the prolongation of Feng Jiu's life, he got 6,000 guns and recovered the city entrance." This was the most meaningful "battle of life extension" that Chiang Kai-shek attached great importance to at the time and considered it the most meaningful way to find out the situation of the Red Army.Chiang Kai-shek was convinced that the Red Army "did go all over the country"; "The first and third armies were in the front, the fifth armies were behind, and Zhu and Mao were indeed in the army. Annihilation of this unit is related to the success or failure of the country. Special attention should be paid to it, and we should be more courageous." This is also the mistake that Chen Jitang made when he was about to complete his mission of giving way. The cause was his nephew, Chen Shuying, head of the Fifth Regiment of the Second Division of the Guangdong Army. The Second Division of the Cantonese Army and the Second Brigade, which were originally in charge of tail pursuit, were always a day or half a day away from the Red Army. On the middle of November 6th, a report was received: A large group of Red Army troops were found resting in cover in the mountainous forest near Yanshou.Upon hearing the news, Chen Shuying immediately led the fifth regiment to rush forward, and engaged the Red Army at Yanshou Jinzunao in Rucheng. Chen Shuying used to rely on her uncle's power, making great achievements and domineering, but she didn't know that Chen Jitang kept the arrangement with the Red Army secret even to his nephew.On the way of pursuit, Chen Shuying once scolded the other troops for not blocking them, and letting the Communist Party pass by under their noses, they are all idiots.This time, he thought it was time for him to show off his talents, so he pounced on him without any hesitation. The scale of the battle was small, and it lasted only a day and night, but the Red Army fought tenaciously, and Chen Shuying's regiment suffered a lot of losses.Casualties among officers and men of the 1st Battalion of the regiment were particularly severe.The battalion commander was wounded, and the deputy battalion commander was also captured by the Red Army, and escaped only after concealing his identity.The whole regiment was extremely embarrassed.The Second Brigade of the Cantonese Army also suffered considerable losses.Chen Shuying caused trouble, but she couldn't clean it up independently.The Red Army withdrew from the position at night, he dared not follow and chase, and he didn't even know the whereabouts of the Red Army. The one who took advantage was Li Hanhun who led the independent third division to catch up and join the battle. During the battle, Li Han's soul department attacked the rear of the Red Army with an overwhelming force and captured dozens of prisoners.It is said that the numbers of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 9th Army Corps of the Red Army were found in it. It turned out that after the Central Red Army passed the second blockade line, because there was no map to follow and the inaccurate reconnaissance information, Lin Biao's First Army Corps and the subsequent Ninth Army Corps fought in the deep mountains and valleys between Yanshou and Jiufeng in the northeast of Lechang. I took a detour on the narrow path and almost wasted a week.After bypassing these natural obstacles, the columns of the Central Committee and the Military Commission and other fraternal troops walked ahead. The First and Ninth Army Corps changed from forwards to rearguards. Li De recalled that Mao Zedong, Zhang Wentian, and Wang Jiaxiang launched a fierce attack on the three-member regiment, especially Li De, because of the mistake in the command of the Military Commission.Li De said, "We admit that we made a mistake when determining the direction of the First Army's march"; "It caused the Fifth and Ninth Army to fall into a rearguard battle with huge losses for several days." In fact, Li Hanhun did not meet Lin Biao's main force.Most of the prisoners of the Red First Army captured by him were wounded, sick and separated.The Ninth Army after the First Army lost more. Until 1949, when Lin Biao led the Fourth Field Army to the south with millions of people, Li Hanhun was still talking about the campaign with others.He believed that he was the only one who had caused great damage to Lin Biao's First Army of the Red Army. Does he know that Lin Biao used to be his subordinate?Was the battle of prolonging life and Jiufeng the third encounter between him and Lin Biao? The Linying battlefield in the Northern Expedition for the first time was the place where Li Hanhun became famous. At the end of April 1927, the Wuhan government held the second Northern Expedition, and Li Hanhun was the commander of the 36th Regiment of the 12th Division of the Fourth Army.As the advance team, the 12th Division occupied Zhumadian, Henan Province for the first time.At this time, Zhang Xueliang led more than 50,000 people from the Fengjun's elite third and fourth armies to attack.Zhang Bu forcibly crossed the Lue River, and Wei Yisan, the third column of the Northern Expedition Army, was invincible and retreated without a fight.The 12th Division was alone, and Borodin, the Soviet adviser who accompanied the army, also advocated a temporary retreat, and a foregone conclusion was reached at the meeting. There was only one Li Hanhun who resisted all opinions and insisted on not retreating.He united the officers of the various regiments to petition the division headquarters, repeatedly stated the pros and cons, and suggested sticking to it and waiting for help.In the end even the stubborn Borodin was persuaded by him. Facing this Northern Expedition force standing alone, Feng Jun was quite shocked.Because he didn't know the details, he attacked in the future. Li Hanhun became famous in the army. On May 27, the Northern Expeditionary Army launched a decisive battle with Fengjun in the Linying and Yanling areas of Henan.Li Hanhun led a group of starry nights into battle.In the night battle, both sides suffered heavy casualties, and the battle was so tragic that the Northern Expeditionary Army's battle line was almost shaken.After dawn, the commander-in-chief Zhang Fakui came to the front line in person, and was greatly moved when he saw Li Hanhun's firefighting team rushing to the left, center, and right to block the breakthrough and try to save the critical situation. Under the command of Li Hanhun.Under the fierce artillery fire, Feng Jun gradually felt overwhelmed.Upon seeing this, Li Hanhun immediately suggested to the headquarters to launch a counterattack.Without waiting for the research and approval of the headquarters, he gave an order, and couldn't wait to lead the 36th regiment to jump out of the trench and attack bravely.Seeing the thirty-sixth regiment launching a charge, the friends on the left and right wings clamored together.Suddenly the ground shook, and the Northern Expeditionary Army formed a general offensive across the board without orders.The Feng army collapsed, and the wolves ran wild.Li Hanhun wore the steel helmet that one of his signal soldiers buckled on his head, and led the team all the way to the south gate of Linying City.At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the revolutionary red flag of the Northern Expeditionary Army was planted high on the head of Linying City by Li Hanhun. After the battle of Linying, the Feng army was invincible, and Xuchang fell without a fight. The Northern Expeditionary Army occupied Xinzheng and went down to Zhengzhou, and attacked Kaifeng at the same time as Feng Yuxiang, and the northern and southern armies successfully joined forces. Lin Biao was also on this battlefield, and his battlefield style was quite similar to that of Li Hanhun.The 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion of the 73rd Regiment of the 25th Division where he belonged was ordered to pursue the retreating Fengjun to the edge of the Wei River. The company commander suddenly ordered to stop the pursuit. So as not to go deep into Yunyun alone.Lin Biao insisted on continuing the pursuit, and without waiting for the company commander's order, he led the platoon he commanded to the north bank.The other platoons also dropped their company commanders and followed up with Lin's platoon, forcing the North Bank Fengjun to disarm and surrender before they had time to blow up the bridge or deploy their defenses.After one battle, Sanlian even captured more than 800 Fengjun soldiers. Both Li Hanhun and Lin Biao dared to take the initiative and fight against orders. Li Hanhun was promoted from the commander of the 36th Regiment of the 12th Division of the Fourth Army to the commander of the 25th Division of the Fourth Army. Lin Biao was promoted from the platoon leader of the third company and the first battalion of the 73rd regiment of the 25th division of the Fourth Army to the commander of the 7th company of the third battalion of the 73rd regiment of the 25th division. Li Hanhun became the superior of Lin Biao's immediate superior. Because of Lin Biao's low status at that time, Li Hanhun didn't know that Lin Biao, the commander of the famous Red First Army, was actually one of his subordinates for quite some time afterwards. The second time the two interacted was the August 1st Nanchang Uprising. The main force of the Nanchang Uprising came from Zhang Fakui's Second Front Army.Zhang Fakui, Commander-in-Chief of the Front Army, Ye Ting, Commander of the 24th Division, and Li Hanhun, Commander of the 25th Division, were all students of the sixth phase of Huangpu Army Primary School.Li Hanhun was ranked second in the school when he graduated, and had the best academic performance among the three. The three classmates met each other in battle in Nanchang. Ye Ting, a member of the Communist Party, participated in the Nanchang Uprising and was still the backbone and main force of the uprising.The Kuomintang members Zhang Fakui and Li Hanhun wanted to stop the uprising, and they agreed to detain Ye Ting during the meeting in Lushan. Ye Ting led his troops to Nanchang instead of Lushan, and Li Hanhun became an ant on the hot pot.The three regiments under him, except the 74th regiment, the 73rd and 75th regiments were based on Ye Ting's original independent regiment, and Li Hanhun couldn't control it at all. On the morning of August 1, he called in Zhou Tudi, the head of the 73rd regiment, to make a final fight.He whispered to Zhou: "Commander Zhang praises you very much and wants to use you more. I hope you will go with him and not with the Communist Party." The conversation was ineffective, and the heavy machine gun companies of the 73rd, 75th, and 74th regiments of the 25th Division pulled out of the station on the afternoon of August 1 and headed straight for Nanchang.When Li Hanhun got the news, he and the commander-in-chief Zhang Fakui jumped on the train with the guard battalion and chased after him, trying to pull the troops back.After chasing to the north of De'an Station, they shouted to the insurgents, but they were met with fierce firepower.Zhang Fakui and Li Hanhun were so embarrassed that they jumped out of the car and fled. The guard battalion was surrounded and disarmed at De'an Station. At that time, it was Lin Biao's 73rd Regiment who was responsible for the rear mission and opened fire on the train of Zhang Fakui and Li Hanhun north of De'an Station. This is the second contact between Li Hanhun and Lin Biao. Only in the same trench can there be divisions between superiors and subordinates.The road is different, it is the opponent. Li Hanhun didn't know about Lin Biao's two exchanges with Li Hanhun for a long time. The third time is this life extension battle.At this time, Company Commander Lin under Commander Li was already the commander of the Red Army's main force, the First Corps, while Li Hanhun was adrift in years of warlord melee and factional strife. Compared with the twenty-five divisions, they are completely different. Lin Biao, who served as the commander of the main force of the Red Army, was no longer the Lin Biao who commanded only one platoon and one company. Li Hanhun was no longer the innocent Li Hanhun who only knew how to move forward. On the second day of the Battle of Yanshou, on the way from Yanshou to Jiufeng, due to dense fog and drizzle, and the poor communication between the two sides, a misunderstanding occurred between the Dusan Division and Ye Zhao's Second Division. The conflict lasted for two hours. Small.Li Hanhun was working on the battle report for the battle of prolonging life, so he conveniently added the number of casualties from this misunderstanding, turning the battle of prolonging life into a battle of considerable scale. The battle of prolonging life can not only free Chen Jitang from the responsibility of losing two lines of defense in a row, but also make his agreement with the Red Army and the arrangements for the Guangdong Bureau come to naught.Chen Jitang immediately drafted two telegrams.One to Generalissimo Chiang to report the achievements of the Cantonese Army: "6,000 guns were obtained, and the city entrance was recovered"; the other was to beat Li Hanhun and others: Brother Bohao: Regarding the report on the battle of Jinzun'ao, please note.Our army focuses on "protecting the environment and the people". Chief Staff Officer Chen Bonan Sui ×× Li Hanhun who received the telegram is definitely not a fool. Chen Jitang's subtle and unspoken accusations against Li Hanhun are all contained in the four words "protect the environment and the people". The Battle of Yanshou discovered the designations of the Red Army's 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 9th Army Corps. Chiang Kai-shek believed that it was the most meaningful battle to find out the situation of the Red Army.Before this campaign, Jiang Jun's air force was responsible for reconnaissance of the Red Army's movements, but it was always unable to grasp the real and specific situation.The battle of prolonging life made Jiang finally judge that the Red Army's breakout was not a tactical operation, but a strategic shift. Chiang Kai-shek's campaign to prolong the life of the Cantonese army was praised again and again.Therefore, Li Hanhun is more important than Jiang. But since then, although Soul Master Li Han was ordered to follow and pursue the Red Army's westward path, he never fought the Red Army again. Later, Yu Hanmou and Li Hanhun, who were not directly related to Chen Jitang, supported Jiang and opposed Chen successively, but they still knew what to say and what not to say in front of Jiang. They did not reveal to Jiang the secret of Chen Jitang giving way to the Red Army.Not because of faithfulness to the promise, because I also participated in it. As for the people directly involved in the agreement between Chen Jitang and the Red Army, from the mysterious "Li Jun" to Yang Youmin, Huang Zhiwen, Huang Renhuan and others, they have kept their mouths shut for many years, and no one has written about this matter until their death. The mystery was not solved until 1982.In October of that year, He Changgong, a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Committee, published his memoir "Unforgettable Years". This little-known inside story. After all, times have changed, and those who regard the memories of the old man He Changgong as repeating old stories must have closed the book before reading this chapter.The secret that has been hidden for 48 years still lies in "Unforgettable Years", keeping the dust of the years. Nearly four years later, on September 13, 1986, Hong Kong's "Ta Kung Pao" published Teng Wen's "Chen Jitang Gives Way" based on He Changgong's memoirs, which revealed the secret truth of Chen Jitang and the Communists half a century ago.海外人士方才领悟，邓小平夸赞陈济棠的建树，除了珠海桥、西村水泥厂、中山纪念堂、市政府大楼、中山图书馆、中山大学这些有形物之外，还有这个异常重要的贡献。 中国现代史上，屠杀共产党人最为凶狠的，一是蒋介石，另一便是何键。 大革命时期，两湖的工农运动在其部下许克祥、夏斗寅的屠刀下，备受摧残。工农苏维埃割据兴起后，对苏区的进剿、会剿、“围剿”，回回少不了何键。他颁布“十大杀令”，对苏区人民实行血腥屠杀，反复扫荡。 都把他当做罪大恶极的刽子手去恨了，没想到这个新军阀竟也是打游击出身。 1916年，29岁的何键毕业于保定军官学校第三期步科，分配到湖南陆军第一师。师长赵恒惕嫌他岁数过大，不想接受，后见其体格魁梧，才勉强任命为少尉排长。 何键与蒋介石同岁，皆生于1887年。这年29岁的蒋已做到中华革命军东北军参谋长了，29岁的何键才刚刚出任排长。 如果没有军阀混战，其军旅之途绝非光明。 1918年3月，北洋军阀张敬尧进攻湖南，湘桂联军战败。何键在战斗中连枪都丢了，逃到长沙后，赵恒惕给他一纸手令，叫他去湘东收集溃兵散枪。 他创造性地发挥了赵恒惕的本意。他回到家乡醴陵之后，打起“保境安民”旗号，联络同乡、保定军校同学刘建绪等人，组织起游击队来了。 他看准了时机。对张敬尧在湖南的暴行，当地人民恨之入骨。当时上海《民国日报》报道说：“醴陵全城万家，烧毁殆尽，延及四乡，经旬始熄；株州一镇，商户数百家，同遭浩劫；攸县黄土岭一役，被奸而死者，至女尸满山，杀人之多，动以数万”；“人民流离转徙，死不能葬，生不能归”。何键未到前，当地一些青壮年已聚集起来，以梭镖、鸟铳、锄头、竹竿等为武器之行自卫。听说何键组织游击队保卫家乡，便纷纷投效。何键这支山地游击队发展很快，依托醴陵西南险要山地，还多次挫败了张敬尧的进剿。 队伍的迅速扩大，引起退驻衡阳的湘军总部重视。1918年5月31日，湘军总司令程潜任命何键为“浏醴游击队司令部”司令兼第一支队队长。 何键做起了20世纪湖南游击武装的开山鼻祖。 这位游击司令游击了不到两年便被收编，从此在唐生智部下飞黄腾达。 醴陵以东，即著名的罗霄山脉。后来离当年何键游击区不远的罗霄山脉中段，另一支游击武装迅猛发展起来，震动了整个中国。它的领导人是毛泽东。 当年何键被张敬尧“围剿”，后来何键则加入了对毛泽东的“围剿”。 对何键来说，也许终生最为艰难的任务，就是对红军的“围剿”。 现在他带领湘军布防于湘南良田、宜章间的第三道防线，阻止朱毛红军西进。 湖南有过长沙失守的例子。这在全国各个省会之中，是唯一的一例。得知中央红军向西南方向突围，湖南统治阶层上上下下极为紧张，皆认为数十万蒋军都不能将红军剿灭，现在让湘军完成正面防堵，风险太大。此时不光是何键，连蒋介石也最担心中央红军在湖南重建根据地，与贺龙、萧克部会合。正因考虑到这一招，结果湘军主力集结得过于靠北，在粤汉线南段兵力配置较弱，反而违背了蒋介石的初衷。 由于前述原因，红军通过前两道封锁线很快，致使何键部因时间局促，散于衡阳以南的粤汉铁路、湘桂公路线上各要点的兵力，来不及向湘粤边境靠拢。 何键转而期望陈济棠予以积极配合，设法弥补。 在这种问题上，国民党内部从来是一个靠一个，一个推一个的。 虽然粤军云集粤北边境，但陈济棠不向北面的何键伸出接力棒。周恩来亲自布置红一军团一师抢占郴州以南、坪石以北湘粤两军的接合部白石渡。距白石渡仅数十里的坪石即有粤军重兵驻守，但陈济棠不为所动，不向北面延伸入湘协防。随后红军攻占郴州以南的良田及粤汉线西侧的宜章；尤其是宜章县城，仅有些地方保安队在驻守，这确是湘军防线上的严重漏洞。 何键叫苦不迭。 11月15日左右，红军全部越过良田至宜章间的第三道封锁线。 第四道封锁线是桂北全州、兴安间的湘江防线。 这是蒋介石真正清醒过来、腾出手来布置的第一道防线。 蒋介石对第五次“围剿”的结局想过很多，就是没有想到红军会置经营7年之久的苏区于不顾，贸然突围。在江西全部解决的计划落空了，他只有对身边幕僚说：“不论共军是南下或西行、北进，只要他离开江西，就除去我心腹之患。” 从内心深处，他最希望红军留在被围成铁桶一般的江西，等待覆灭。 1934年9月是蒋介石剿共以来最为轻松的一个月。他认定江西围攻的大势业已完成。 国民党的《中华民国史事日志》记载：“7月25日，前红军湘鄂赣军区总指挥第十六军军长孔荷宠向驻泰和之剿匪军第七纵队周浑元投诚。” 8月7日，红六军团九千七百余人，在任弼时、萧克、王震等率领下，从江西遂川之横石、新江口地区出发，开始突围西征。 蒋介石迅速把这两件事联系在了一起。他得意扬扬地对部属说：“湘赣边红六军团是在西路军围攻下站不住脚才不得已西移的。孔荷宠投降是红军瓦解的先声。” 他认定江西中央苏区的红军已是穷途末路了。 9月2日，蒋介石踌躇满志地严令各路将领，于12月中旬召开国民党四届五中全会前，肃清江西红军。 9月4日，蒋介石电西路军总司令何键：从速绵密构成碉堡线，坚密守备，以防红军向西突围。 这一时期，蒋介石周围可谓捷报频传。 9月11日，北路军薛岳部之第九十、第九十二、第九十三、第五十九师，以堡垒推进之法，向兴国和古龙岗地区发动进攻。 9月中旬，北路军樊崧甫部，从广昌驿前南下攻占小松后，向石城发动进攻。 9月下旬，国民党东路军李延年部第三、九、三十六、八十三师，汤恩伯部第十师和刘和鼎部第八十五师，在猛烈炮火掩护下会攻松毛岭。红九军团和红二十四师激战数天后撤退至汀州、瑞金。 中央革命根据地仅存瑞金、会昌、于都、兴国、宁都、石城、宁化、长汀等县的狭小地区，形势更加险恶。 面对定局，蒋介石把“围剿”之事委托部下，偕宋美龄下庐山去华北视察。 他在察哈尔向宋哲元表示信任，在北平与莫德惠、马占山握手，在归绥接见傅作义及蒙旗德王、云王、沙王，在太原与阎锡山会谈时双方都屏退左右，在西安拍杨虎城、马鸿逵的肩膀。 得意潇洒之中却突然接到南昌行营发来的急电：红军主力有突围模样。前锋已突过信丰江。 蒋介石急忙赶回南昌。此时红军已经突破了第一道封锁线。 红军向南突进的举动，是战术行动还是战略行动？需要作出迅速判断。 难为了刚从华北归来的蒋介石，空中侦察红军动向，也未提供满意的情况。 10月23日，蒋介石给各路总指挥发电，“该匪此次南犯，是否主力或先以一部渡河？”问总指挥们，也是问他自己，叫大家跟他一起思考。 10月25日，蒋以南昌行营名义再发电：“查匪此次南犯系全力他窜？抑仍折回老巢或在赣南另图挣扎？刻下尚难断定。” 他成了热锅上的蚂蚁。红军南窜是否是主力？是否动用了全力？这是蒋估算红军动向的两大疑点。红军声东击西的战术给他印象太深了，他不敢再次上当。 蒋介石把身边的智囊们召集起来，共商对策。 蒋介石的智囊人物中，南昌行营秘书长杨永泰、行营第一厅厅长贺国光、参谋部第二厅厅长林蔚值得一提。 1934年3月蒋介石创设侍从室，就是杨永泰的主意。这是他对蒋家王朝的重大贡献。杨永泰政治经历非常复杂，与各派政治人物如黄兴、段祺瑞、陈独秀、邹鲁等都有不薄的交往。年轻时考中秀才，即逢科举报废；先参加了国民党，后又与人组织民宪党；拥护孙中山出任非常大总统，并当了南方政府的财政厅长，又接受北方政府委任，就任雷州安抚使伪职；先因提倡共和，被袁世凯明令停止议员职务，后因为北洋军阀张目，被孙中山通令缉拿……多年来杨永泰像一条不知疲倦的鱼，穿梭沉浮于政波宦海，硬是在其中熬练出一双敏感的火眼金睛。蒋介石专门把他请来，出任军事委员会的秘书长。 林蔚，参谋部第二厅厅长，具有扎实的军事学及参谋理论功底。早年是孙传芳的部下。平日深含不露，工于谋人，善于度势。统治集团内部皆认为“京官、幕僚、副职”都是无权、无财、无势的苦差事，林蔚长期处于这种地位，毫无怨言。中原大战后蒋介石编遣战败的西北军，他提出“高官少兵”原则，即对归降的西北军将领官可以给得很大，兵却编得很少。蒋介石采纳后，顺利平安地解决了西北军部队，深得蒋赞许。他是蒋解决棘手问题的重要帮手。 贺国光，行营参谋长。北伐前就职于吴佩孚鄂军系列。投靠蒋介石后便交出军权，宣布不再带兵，以做蒋幕僚高参为职业。1928年北伐中，向蒋介石提出“切忌顿兵坚城”的建议，云“我军每城必攻，则将耗费时间，徒增伤亡”；“凡非战略要地，切忌顿兵坚城，不如留置一部监视，大军仍然绕道前进”。蒋按其建议使北伐军绕过敌军坚守的临沂、泰安等城，直取济南获得成功。“围剿”江西红军中所谓“稳扎稳打，步步为营”为方针，也是出于贺国光的心计。 现在必须为蒋最头痛的红军动向和去向问题作出判断了，杨永泰、林蔚、贺国光三个脑袋凑在一起，提出了以下几种可能： 一、由赣南信丰入广东。 二、从赣南经粤湘边境入湘南，重建苏区。 三、先入湖南，后出鄂皖苏区再北进。 四、经湘西入黔、川再北进。 蒋介石认为第一种可能对自己最为有利。红军进入粤境，逼得粤军拼命抵抗，将很难立足；红军、粤军两两相拼杀，蒋将坐收两利。 第二种可能令蒋最为担心。湘南地区即使对当地的湘军来说，也是政治和军事的真空地带。红军入湘后一旦与贺龙部会合，便如漏网之鱼，将不得不重新开始一轮耗时费力的“围剿”。 第三种可能蒋介石认为是当年太平天国北进的路线。政治上威胁较大，但消耗大，红军担负不起。 第四种可能是老谋深算的杨永泰提出来的。他不但提出红军有可能经湘西入黔、川再北进，且进一步提出要考虑红军而后渡长江上游金沙江入川西的可能性。 杨永泰这番估算，对蒋家王朝的重要性决不亚于当初建议组建侍从室。但平素对他言听计从的蒋介石，偏偏这回不屑一顾：“这是石达开走的死路。他们走死路干什么？如走此路，消灭他们就更容易了。” 杨永泰提出的可能，便被放在一边，不予考虑了。 蒋介石的追剿部署，则按照争取将红军压入粤桂、严防红军入湘与贺龙会合的战略意图实施。 而红军最初的战略意图，也是入湘与贺龙会合。 真是国共所见略同。 世间许多事情就是如此奇异。红军认准的方向因为也被蒋介石也认准，全力防堵，便无法成为最终走向。 杨永泰提出的方向，别说是蒋介石，当时红军自己也没有意识到。 又正因为都没有意识到，最终成为了红军真正的走向。 十多年后，当钟山风雨起苍黄，百万雄师过大江时，从凄风苦雨的溪口飞往台湾的蒋介石，不知能否回想起当初杨永泰那番老谋深算的预见。 从蒋介石方面反证，红军长征前的保密工作，是做得相当成功的。所以蒋介石手中即使有了叛逃的中革军委委员孔荷宠，有了为保住性命愿意讲出一切的中共上海局负责人李竹声、盛忠亮，也仍旧对红军形将采取的战略行动一无所知。 不利的一面，是同时也阻碍了广大红军干部战士对这一战略方针的理解。 直到红军突破第二道封锁线后，李汉魂师在延寿之役发现红军一、三、五、九军团番号，几乎与此同时李默庵师占领瑞金，掳得的部分红军资料，蒋介石才最终得出两个结论：第一，红军的突围行动不是战术行动，而是战略转移；第二，红军的突围方向不是南下，而是西进。 为时尚不算晚。委员长南昌行营像一台突然获得动力的机器，笨拙而迟缓地转动起来。 蒋介石每隔十几分钟就向行营打电话，催问围堵计划搞出来没有，每次挂电话的声音皆很重。行营上上下下极为紧张。 摔电话声音重，因为他认为出现了一个绝好机会。他怕稍纵即逝，要不遗余力抓住它。 此时红军已突破第二道封锁线，正在向第三道封锁线逼近，进入湘粤桂边境地带。这正是利用粤军、桂军、湘军与中央军联合作战，利用湘桂边境的潇水、湘江之有利地障，围歼红军的大好时机。 他反复踱步中对部下反复说：“红军不论走哪一条路，久困之师经不起长途消耗，只要我们追堵及时，将士用命，政治配合得好，消灭共军的时机已到，大家要好好策划。” 对南昌行营制订的中央军与湘、粤、桂军联合作战的湘江追堵计划，从出任的指挥官到动用的部队，蒋介石无不费尽心血。 首先是中央军方面参加追剿的统帅。 蒋介石点将北路军前敌总指挥陈诚。 对蒋来说，陈诚在第五次“围剿”中可谓首功。 陈诚却向蒋推荐薛岳。 其实薛、陈之间，并无多少交往。且薛岳资格老，与陈诚的恩师严重同辈。1927年北伐军向上海挺进之时，薛岳为第一师师长，严重为第二十一师师长，陈诚不过是二十一师下面一个团长。 使陈、薛接近的，是第四次“围剿”中陈诚空前的失败。 第四次“围剿”中陈诚任中路军总指挥，统帅中央军嫡系12个师，担任主攻。但中路军出师不利。先有五十二、五十九两个师被歼，五