Chapter 36 Liu Xiang resigns

The "six-way siege" lasted ten months and twenty-two days. A total of 78,000 enemies were defeated, 72,000 enemies were annihilated, and more than 100 cannons of various calibers and more than 63,000 guns were seized. Shoot down an enemy plane.Tian Songyao's 29th Army was almost wiped out, most of Luo Zezhou and Li Jiayu's troops were wiped out, Liu Xiang and Yang Sen's troops suffered heavy losses, and Deng Xihou's and Liu Bangjun's troops were seriously injured.The places abandoned by the Red Army when shrinking their positions are now being recovered one by one. Bazhong was recovered on August 11, Tongjiang on August 17, Langzhong on August 20, Cangxi on August 22, and Cangxi on September 17. Recaptured Nanjiang on September 19, and Wangcangba on September 19. The Red Army pursued and fled the enemy until the city of Guangyuan.So far, the area on the east bank of the Jialing River from Guangyuan in the north to Langzhong in the south has been basically occupied by the Red Army. The Soviet area has basically restored the jurisdiction of the base area after the Xuanda Campaign, and some new areas have also been expanded.Shanghai's "Guowen Weekly" marveled: "The essence of Liu Xiang's 20 years was destroyed in one day." Completely declared a failure.

Suffering such a disastrous defeat, Liu Xiang felt ashamed. On August 23, Liu Xiang called Chiang Kai-shek, claiming that the "six-way siege" cost 19 million yuan, lost 5,000 officials, and lost 80,000 soldiers. Exempted from the post of commander-in-chief of "bandit suppression" in Sichuan. It has been more than ten months since he was ordered to suppress the Red Army; relying on the Central Dewei, the North Road fell into the towns and regained them; Nine Ren's achievements fell short.I sent troops from the Five Routes to forge ahead, risking their lives and attacking again and again, and suffered huge losses. At present, there is no danger of choosing danger to control it, but in the future, how to maintain the attack will be difficult to continue: the people of Gaichuan Province have exhausted their strength, Luo Excavation is exhausting, the original 4 million funds for the suppression of the Red Army has already been used up, and the additional funds have reached more than 15 million, which cannot be made up.But the war still needs to be prolonged, and since the localities have been searched and cleaned up, the central government has no reason to pour in; the belly is full of weapons and weapons, and it can only sit and wait for collapse.Xiangsu is stupid, not arrogant, and if there is room for self-improvement, he will not hesitate to ask for perfection.Over the past year, he has wracked his brains and vomited blood, exhausted his body and mind, and the gangsters have no way to make up for the difficulties, but the rumors outside the bureau are treated with unworthy hearts; if this is the case, the overall situation can be seen. The reason why this Xiang wants to say a lot, but dare not take the liberty to say it directly.However, the situation is so far, how can we be silent?Although Sichuan is far away, it is very important to the overall situation; the cotton power is exhausted, and there will be great difficulties in the future, so we should ask the central government to relieve all posts in Hunan and replace them with senior officials quickly, so as to plan for success.From today onwards, all the commanders-in-chief of suppressing bandits, the aftermath supervisors, and the commanders of the 21st Army will be entrusted to the chief of staff to act on their behalf;

This telegram was the first time that Liu Xiang told the truth about the disastrous defeat of the Sichuan warlords. For example, he admitted that the losses were huge, "the loss was huge", and if he admitted that the local economy suffered a huge deficit due to the war, it was unsustainable. I can only sit and wait to collapse." The "six-way siege" failed miserably, and Liu Xiang left Chongqing from Chengdu.When passing through Jumu Town, Neijiang, he felt ashamed to see Jiangdong's elders, and even ran out of the car and wanted to throw himself into the river.

After Liu Xiang sent a telegram to resign and arrived in Chongqing, he neither went to work in the ministry nor avoided seeing customers, to show his firm intention to resign.In fact, Liu Xiang is advancing by retreating. He has stabilized the division commanders of his 21st Army behind the scenes, supplementing them with ammunition and funds, and recruiting soldiers to supplement the troops.Although he was hit, Liu Xiang was still the strongest among the warlords of all walks of life. The warlords in Sichuan knew that no one could replace Liu Xiang. Regarding Liu Xiang's resignation, Chiang Kai-shek tried his best to keep him. After all, Liu Xiang was the closest to him among the Sichuan warlords. On September 2, Chiang Kai-shek, who lived on Mount Lushan, sent a telegram to encourage Liu Xiang, hoping that he would be reinstated immediately: "Brother is the township and the country, and everyone should be responsible to the end. Even if it takes one shot and one bullet, the task must be completed. This is really a matter of the overall situation. , that is, where the great righteousness lies. The central government remembers the previous achievements, and it is especially ardent to rely on it, and it can be easily lured away, shaking the morale of the army."

Chiang Kai-shek persuaded Liu Xiang to stay, and Liu Xiang fell off the donkey. On September 7, Liu Xiang sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek: "Xuan and Da are in dire straits, and the third and fourth columns are in urgent need of reconnection. There are many holes and wounds, and there is no remedy. pending central processing." Retaining Liu Xiang is only to let Liu Xiang deal with the Red Army, but he still has to show some color to other warlords who gave up their positions without authorization in order to preserve their strength. On September 13th, Chiang Kai-shek telegraphed all the troops in Central Sichuan: Banditry in Central Sichuan has been rampant in recent days, and the troops from all walks of life have also returned to scatter.In addition to another call to Commander-in-Chief Liu, Luo Zezhou, the commander of the new 23rd Division who is about to report the war situation and flee, will be dismissed from his post to investigate and deal with it, as a warning and punishment...

Just when Chiang Kai-shek asked Liu Xiang to come forward again to clean up the mess, the news of another defeat on the western front came. Chiang Kai-shek was very annoyed by the failure again and again. On September 16, he gave Liu Xiang and the commanders of the Sichuan army A long telegram was sent, in which he bitterly criticized them: In the recent situation in central Sichuan, since the fifth and sixth roads were defeated, the one, two, three, and four roads have retreated again and again.Nanjiang and Bazhong fell one after another; Bahe was so dangerous that it gave up.The failure of the third road and the trauma of the second road made Cangxi, Langzhong, Yilong, Yingshan, Peng'an and other places all feel in danger;Break through each one, the foreword has been fulfilled, only heartache!Although Brother Gai and others vowed to work together in good faith, they never stated that a certain road was attacked, a certain road went to help, or abandoned the room to carry out a flanking attack; for war.In addition, all parties are greedy for their own survival and reluctantly deal with each other; they have the intention of protecting themselves, and they have absolutely no determination to turn their backs on the city and fight hard;Based on the above two reasons, the bandits know that there will be no hard battles ahead, and no worries about the future, so they can attack as much as they want, and chase after them freely;The banditry is rampant so far, brother, wait for the painful experience, rather than regret it on your own! ?

Now that the first, second, third, and fourth fronts are approaching the banks of the Jialing River, the final critical moment for the survival of the whole Sichuan and the life and death of the army is imminent.It is hereby stipulated that one road guards Changchi, two and three roads guard the line on the south bank of Enyang River to protect Yilong; Quickly sort out the pictures; I hope that brothers and sisters will follow them carefully.If the telegram arrives, those who have moved beyond the fronts of the above-mentioned key points should immediately try to restore them, and then desperately defend them.If you still don't work hard to recapture the prescribed front, or give up arbitrarily, or don't cooperate with rescuers, don't ask what the reason is?The central government will punish him severely.Brother Fu Cheng You should reinstate his post soon and take charge of everything; you must know that today, not only special responsibilities cannot be avoided, but You have no choice but to retire.What's more, bandits are like rabid dogs, if they run away in fear of them, they will chase and devour them ferociously, and will eventually be injured;Today, the wider the bandit area, the longer the front line, the more gaps there are; it is even more difficult to guard against it unless all kinds of officers and soldiers are dedicated to supporting them, treating others as their own, and saving each other when it hurts.Life and death, scramble for breath, but brothers and others punish the former police and the latter, deep self-examination!

Warlords from all walks of life in Sichuan fought against each other, and it has become the norm to fight for merit and blame.For example, after the Red Army abandoned Yilong in the early days, both Luo Zezhou and Tian Songyao claimed that their troops "recovered" Yilong, and the two sides refused to give in to each other.According to the "Current Affairs Weekly" report at the time: Commander-in-Chief Tian made a successful telegram, and the original telegram reads as follows: "Immediately go to Chengdu, Commander-in-Chief Fu Junjian (Secret) Yaolu and Li Weiru's Department, and entered on the 29th of last month." Yilong County, due to the outstanding situation, was attacked by a large group of bandits and retreated to the dangerous city. Zeng Shigu's brigade should reinforce it and turn to the offensive. Liu Hanxiong and Wang Zhiyuan were ordered to contain the enemy bandits in the area to the left of Yilong. There was a fierce battle with the bandits in front of Odaiba. I, Li Weiru, took advantage of the momentum to counterattack, and indeed occupied Yicheng on the 10th day. The friendly army Luo Zezhou's division also entered the city. Now Liu and Wang's divisions are still advancing. I hope that all friendly troops will take advantage of it Attack at the right time, and pray for the effect of synergy. Tian Songyao kowtowed on the morning of the eleventh."

When Luo Zezhou learned of Tian Songyao's telegram, he was furious and "revealed" the truth to the "Sichuan Morning Post" in the name of the deputy commander: Luo Zezhou telegraphed the passage of entering Yicheng. After fighting hard for more than ten days, they even conquered the key passes, and seven or eight hundred officers and soldiers were injured. Yesterday they captured Gaojiashan and Wangjialou, and then chased into the city. After half a day of street fighting, Yicheng was completely occupied.Tian Jun Wang Brigade arrived outside the city today.Qingyue Tianjun Commander Zhen (11th) sent a telegram on the morning of the 11th, saying that Zeng Li, Liu Wang's various ministries Keyi City, and Luo Shi had a group to enter the same language.It is determined by the ups and downs of morale and the success of suppressing bandits, which cannot be said.First, the Zebu cleared Dajing, and was ordered to attack together with the Tian army, but was defeated by Jinzishan, relying on our Li Tuan's cover, and then lost to Shuangpan Temple, all supported by our Liang Tuan, three battles and three defeats, so far. , Master Zeng retreated to Zhongxing Field, Liu and Wang were still outside Danitun, and there was no Tian army within 30 miles.Using his usual skills, using his greed, messing with my chastity, and greed for the power of heaven, how thick is it.The people have been hanging upside down for a long time, and the rescue sighs that I am late;With this statement, Fu Hou Mingjiao.Deputy Commander Luo Zezhou knocked the real (eleventh) seal.

Regarding Luo Zezhou's defense, Li Weiru, the brigade commander of Tian Songyao's department, sneered: Li Weiru, like a telegram, said: We soldiers eat the food of the people and clothe the people. Fighting is the duty of a soldier. And the civil war against the bandits is not enough to claim merit... "Current Affairs Weekly" commented on this "public case": Luo Zezhou, deputy commander of the Third Route Army, telegraphed Yicheng to be conquered by Luo's troops and entered the city first, and Li Weiru also telegraphed the truth.It is naturally difficult to know who entered Yicheng first, but it is really a stain on the history of bandit suppression to fight for merit.

In fact, this public case was originally very simple. Luo Zezhou and Li Weiru's troops attacked Yilong County in early January 1934. Since the Red Army had already planned to withdraw, Li Weiru's troops entered Yilong City on January 11, and Appointment of officials has already begun.The Xiong Fei regiment of the Luo Zezhou Division arrived later, and seeing that Li Weiru's division had already entered the city, they occupied the Jincheng Village in Yilong Gaoshan and fired guns into the city. It is surprising that such a warlord army does not lose a battle. If you fail, you will always be held accountable.Liu Xiang resigned by himself, which was regarded as giving himself a step down.But there are also quite a few people who focus on the "Immortal Liu" who is crowned with monkeys. For example, the famous "Ta Kung Pao" at that time attributed the failure of the "six-way siege" to "Immortal Liu": However, the main reason for the "bandits" to become powerful is actually due to Liu Shenxian (Congyun) who did not know the military and planned recklessly and commanded indiscriminately.Liu originally belonged to the witch religion, and was born in Weiyuan County, Sichuan. He tried to tell fortunes and fortune tellers.No matter the civil war or "suppression of bandits", Liu Congyun couldn't help watching the stars and predicting good and bad luck.In recent years, Congyun has caused a sensation in the whole Sichuan, even women and children do not know that there is Liu Shenxian.Up to the beginning of summer, he has openly served as the chairman of the military committee in front of the "suppression bandit", taking full responsibility for the "suppression bandit", and has repeatedly issued ridiculous, grotesque and unreasonable orders. "Bandits" are becoming more and more rampant. In Chengdu, Liu Xiang's hometown, those well-known officials and gentry criticized Liu Congyun even more, and asked Liu Congyun to call Liu Congyun in the name of the general headquarters, asking him to kill himself as a Xiechuan native.All the ministries in the front also criticized Liu Congyun for his ignorance of soldiers and improper command, which led to the defeat of the whole army.There are also many military officers who jointly signed a telegram asking Liu Xiang to kill Liu Congyun to calm down the army.When Guo Changming, chief of staff of the 21st Army, Liu Xiang's direct descendant, talked with Liu Xiang about Liu Congyun's problem, he actually argued with him face to face. Liu Xiang was so angry that he overturned the coffee table and left in a huff. Beating the dog to see the master, Liu Xiang relies heavily on Liu Congyun to control the minds of the generals, which has already aroused their disgust. Taking advantage of this big defeat to pursue Liu Congyun is just to express resistance to Liu Xiang, Liu Xiang naturally understands the whole story.Seeing the anger of the crowd, Liu Xiang had no choice but to write a letter to Liu Congyun himself. The main idea in the letter was: "I have not done things well in Sichuan, and I have already left Chengdu. I will meet you someday." Unsealed, Jiang Jiexian, Liu Xiang's adjutant, sent it in person.This is actually to blame Liu Congyun and drive him away.As soon as Liu Xiang's letter was delivered, Guo Changming, Yan Xiaohu and others immediately ordered Liu Congyun to leave the country immediately and drove him away. In Liu Xiang's eyes, Liu Congyun is just a tool, like asking for a fan in summer and hiding it in a high cabinet in winter.Now that Liu Xiang is defeated, he is just Liu Xiang's scapegoat.Without Liu Xiang, can Liu Shenxian sit in that seat? Liu Xiang's "six-way siege" ended in a complete failure, which was Liu Xiang's biggest defeat in fighting the Red Army in Sichuan.It is worth mentioning that after the outbreak of the all-out war of resistance, Liu Xiang actively advocated the war of resistance. On August 7, 1937, Liu Xiang went to Nanjing to attend the National Defense Conference.Liu Xiang made a generous statement at the meeting for nearly two hours: "In the war of resistance, Sichuan can send 300,000 troops, provide 5 million strong men, and supply tens of thousands of shi of food!" This time Liu Xiang was not empty talk. On August 20, 1937, Liu Xiang became the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Reserve Army, with nine armies under his jurisdiction. On August 26, Liu Xiang published the "Letter to the Army and the People of Sichuan and Kang", calling on the soldiers and civilians of Sichuan to make great sacrifices for the War of Resistance: "When the National War of Resistance has been launched, the responsibilities of the people of Sichuan are more important than those of other provinces!" In the face of the national crisis, the generals of the Sichuan Army were unambiguous, and they all volunteered to fight against the Japanese. On September 1, Liu Xiang led his troops out of Sichuan to fight against Japan.The Sichuan army fought bravely against the enemy in the Songhu battlefield and sacrificed terribly.When leaving Sichuan, Deng Hanxiang (Liu Xiang's main counselor), Secretary-General of the Sichuan Provincial Government, and others advised the sickly Liu Xiang not to conscript himself, but to stay in Sichuan to take command.Liu Xiang said: "In the past, many years of civil wars have been fought, and the face is not very honorable. Today, I serve the country, how can I stay safe in the rear?" On September 22, Liu Xiang took a boat to Nanjing.At this time, the Japanese army had landed in Jinshanwei, Zhejiang, broke through the defense of the national army in Shanghai, and the Battle of Songhu failed.Liu Xiang ordered all the troops and divisions under his command to block the Japanese army invading Zhejiang. On October 26, Chiang Kai-shek adjusted the chief officers of each theater, and Liu Xiang served as the commander-in-chief of the seventh theater. The combat area was west of Taihu Lake in Jiangsu and parts of northern Zhejiang and southern Anhui. On November 23, Liu Xiang had a sudden relapse of stomach problems, vomiting blood, and was escorted to Wuhu Hospital in a coma.Before he died, he left a will: "The war of resistance will continue until the end, and the enemy will not withdraw from the border for a day, and the Sichuan army will never return home!" During the Anti-Japanese War, the Sichuan Army had seven group armies with a total of more than 400,000 people, who went to the front line of the Anti-Japanese War to fight bloody battles. The number of young and strong soldiers that Sichuan sends to the front every year ranks first in the country.He Yingqin, who was the Minister of Military and Political Affairs of the Nationalist Government, once wrote the book "Eight Years of Anti-Japanese War", which records: "During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, Sichuan (including Xikang Province, more than 100,000 people recruited by special forces and military schools) provided Nearly 3 million soldiers have been recruited to enrich the front-line troops, accounting for more than one-fifth of the active recruits in the country during the same period!" The anti-"six-way siege" was a major battle with the largest scale, the longest duration, the most intense fighting, and the most brilliant results since the Red Fourth Front Army entered Sichuan. Although great achievements have been made, the Red Fourth Front Army itself also suffered heavy losses. When the war started, there were more than 80,000 soldiers in the army. huge. In October, the Northwest Military Commission and the Fourth Red Front Army made organizational adjustments to the formation and chief officers of each unit. The leaders of each division are as follows; Fourth Army: Army Commander Wang Hongkun, Political Commissar Wang Jianan, Deputy Army Commander Liu Shimo, Director of the Political Department Hong Xuezhi.Subordinates: Tenth Division, Commander Wang Naigui, Political Commissar Ye Daozhi, with the 28th, 30th, 34th, and 36th Regiments; Eleventh Division, Divisional Commander Chen Zaidao, Political Commissar Ye Chenghuan, Deputy Divisional Commander Chen Xilian, There are 31st, 32nd and 33rd regiments.The original 12th Division Headquarters, the 29th Regiment, and the 35th Regiment were merged into other divisions and regiments. Ninth Army: Army Commander He Wei, Political Commissar Zhan Caifang, Deputy Army Commander Xu Shiyou, Chief of Staff Wang Xueli, Director of the Political Department Wang Xinting.Under the jurisdiction: 25th Division, division commander Xu Shiyou (concurrently), political commissar Chen Haisong, deputy division commander Pan Youqing, organized into the 73rd, 74th, and 75th regiments; 27th Division, division commander Liu Liyun, political Committee member Mei Huafan has the 79th, 80th, and 81st regiments.The original twenty-sixth division headquarters and the seventy-sixth, seventy-seventh, and seventy-eighth regiments were merged into other divisions and regiments. Thirty Army: Army Commander Cheng Shicai, Political Commissar Li Xiannian, Political Department Director Li Tianhuan.Under the jurisdiction: 88th Division, division commander Xiong Houfa, political commissar Zheng Weishan, deputy division commander Ding Jicai, and the 263rd, 265th, and 268th regiments; 89th division, division commander Shao Liekun, political commissar Zhang Wende, deputy division commander The division commander Wang Chenggong has the 262nd, 264th, and 266th regiments; the 90th division, the division commander Wang Naigui, and the political commissar He Lichi have the 267th, 269th, and 270th regiments. The 31st Army: Commander Sun Yuqing, Political Commissar Zhang Guangcai, Director of the Political Department Zhang Chengtai.Under the jurisdiction: the 91st Division, division commander Yu Jiashou, political commissar Yi Liangpin, deputy division commander Wang Youjun, and the 272nd, 273rd, and 275th regiments; the 93rd Division, division commander Chen Youshou, political commissar Wang Dean, Li Deming, director of the Political Department, organized the 271st, 274th, and 279th regiments.The former 92nd Division Headquarters, the 276th Regiment, and the 277th Regiment were merged into other divisions and regiments. The 33rd Army: Army Commander Wang Weizhou, Political Commissar Yang Keming, Deputy Army Commander Luo Nanhui, Political Department Director Li Baixuan.Subordinates: The 98th Division, commanded by Ran Nanxuan, has the 294th and 295th regiments; the 99th Division, commanded by Wang Bo, has the 296th and 297th regiments.The original 97th division headquarters and the 289th, 290th, 291st, 292nd, and 293rd regiments were merged into other divisions and regiments. Directly subordinate troops: Yu Jiangzhen, commander of the Shengzhong Independent Division, and Han Zhaokai, political commissar.Independent First Division, division commander Yuan Keke, director of the Political Department Wang Dacheng.Independent second division, Wang Zhenya, deputy division commander, and Zhao Bisheng, director of the political department.In addition, there are artillery regiments, guard regiments, women's first and second regiments, and the Sichuan-Shaanxi Military Region. Over ten months of fighting against the "six-way siege", more than 80,000 troops from the 32 regiments of the five armies of the Red Fourth Front Army, plus tens of thousands of local armed forces, totaled more than 100,000 people and more than 200,000 enemy troops in the Sichuan-Shanxi Soviet Area. The arduous strategic decisive battle was carried out throughout the territory and won a complete victory, which opened a precedent for a large corps in the history of our army to fight and win a complete victory.Through the war practice of blood and fire, Xu Qianqian's superb art of war command was demonstrated, a large number of outstanding senior military and political generals were cultivated, and a team loyal to the party and the people was trained and forged. of Steel Division. Xu Xiangqian gave an incisive summary of the ten-month campaign against the "six-way siege": The practice of the ten-month anti-siege campaign shows that to carry out revolution and war, we must have the revolutionary courage and strong endurance to dare to overwhelm the enemy, and we must not be intimidated by the aggressiveness of the superior enemy. ... If at that time you only see the enemy's superiority and despise your own strength, if you only see the inferior position of our army and ignore the favorable conditions, if you only see the danger of a reversal of the battle and ignore the possibility of victory, you will easily fall into panic. , helpless situation, the consequences are unimaginable. ... The practice of the ten-month anti-siege campaign also showed that: taking advantage of the favorable terrain in northern Sichuan, the strategic tactics of tightening the position, fighting step by step, waiting for counter-offensive, and key breakthroughs, are effective means to smash the enemy's step-by-step and protracted siege tactics. . ... Finally, the ten-month anti-siege campaign practice also showed that the victory of the war comes from the great strength of the people. A revolutionary war is a war of the masses.The great power of the masses is the source of the Red Army's combat effectiveness.In the corner of Sichuan and Shaanxi, the reason why the Fourth Red Army was able to fight such a protracted defensive battle, why it was able to persist in the revolutionary courage and amazing endurance of the proletariat, and why it was able to use active defense strategies and tactics to crush the superior enemy's "" Fundamentally speaking, the new strategy of "encirclement and suppression" is because the Red Army's operations have won the support, support and cooperation of the broad masses of the people in the base areas.Without the powerful backing of the people, it is unimaginable for us to win this war. ... The sacrifices, suffering, and pressure suffered by the masses in the Sichuan-Shanxi Revolutionary Base Area during the war have in fact far exceeded what they can bear.However, relying on the leadership of the party, relying on the awareness of the masses, relying on the unity of the army and the people, and relying on the spirit of arduous struggle, the people finally survived the ten-month war, dealt a heavy blow to the enemy, and successfully defended the fruits of the revolution.