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Chapter 259 Returning Strongly
Bai Chongxi relied on Chiang Kai-shek's Huangpu clique to defeat Sun Chuanfang and achieved a great victory in the Longtan War.

At this point, the Zhili warlords who had dominated Beiyang for sixteen years had completely withdrawn from the stage of history.

This is undoubtedly good news for the people of the Beiyang era.

After all, the Zhili clique warlords were eliminated, and now only the Fengcian warlords in the Northeast remain.

Once the National Revolutionary Army continues its efforts and continues the Northern Expedition to eliminate the Fengcian warlords, it will completely end the turbulent warlord era.

Everyone knew very well that with the strength of the Northern Expeditionary Army, it was only a matter of time before the Feng clique warlords were eliminated.

Now that there is no threat from the Zhili warlords, the Nanjing National Government and the Wuhan National Government can work together to deal with Zhang Zuolin.

But everyone is not without worries. Sooner or later, the conflict between the Nanjing National Government and the Wuhan National Government will break out.

Once a civil war breaks out between the two national governments, it will be no less than a disaster for them.

The only thing they hope for now is that after the two national governments defeat the Feng clique warlords, they can minimize the impact of the civil war as much as possible.

"Although the battle of Longtan was successful, the losses of the Guangxi and Huangpu factions were not small."

"During the battle, the Guangxi clique suffered nearly 10,000 casualties, and the Huangpu clique lost more than 500 officers alone."

"After the bloody battle in Longtan, Li Zongren's waist became much tougher and he expressed his arrogance to Wang Jingwei."

"The strength is here. I can't keep a low profile. Just tell me, how do we merge?"

"Wang Jingwei was very dissatisfied when he saw that Li Zongren didn't respect him."

"What an attitude! What qualifications do I have? What qualifications do you have?"

"When I drafted the will for the former Prime Minister, your Gui clan had not even joined the party yet, and now you are talking to me like this."

"Because they can't reach an agreement, the two sides can only remain in a stalemate, but it's not a problem that the two governments in Nanjing and Wuhan are always at odds with each other."

"Later, at Sun Ke's suggestion, representatives from various factions in Nanjing and Wuhan established a special committee to discuss government reorganization, and the dispute came to an end temporarily."

"But after the merger of Nanjing and Wuhan, Wang Jingwei was quickly squeezed out and only received an empty title as a member of the national government."

"Wang Jingwei also gradually came back to his senses and realized that he seemed to have been fooled."

"The Wuhan government moved from Guangzhou and upheld the orthodoxy of Sun Yat-sen's legacy. The Nanjing government was a rebel who broke away."

"I was confused and asked them to set up a special committee, which is tantamount to denying my own legitimacy."

Wang Jingwei: These traitors in Nanjing are so cunning and deliberately dig holes for me to jump into. It’s really hateful.

He also knew very well that it was not a problem for the two national governments to be in constant confrontation, and he also wanted to merge as soon as possible.

But it is not so easy to merge the two into one. It is a difficult problem who calls the shots, and the two sides are at a deadlock with each other.

As an orthodox member of the National Government, he naturally wanted to maintain dominance after the merger.

He was already strongly dissatisfied with the Nanjing National Government, and because Nanjing disrespected him with the Longtan victory, it was even more impossible for him to give in.

But he also knew that dealing with the Feng clique warlords was the key, and the confrontation between the two national governments needed to be resolved as soon as possible to avoid affecting the Northern Expedition.

Therefore, under the advice of others, he agreed to the establishment of special committees by the two national governments.

He originally thought that it was not unacceptable to share power equally between the two sides, but he seriously underestimated Nanjing's ambitions and blatantly pushed him to the edge of power.

It was unbearable, and he absolutely could not accept this result.

"Soon, Wang Jingwei came to Tang Shengzhi to explain that I was deceived and we still have to fight with those people in Nanjing."

"Tang Shengzhi has a lot of troops, and he didn't want to succumb to the Gui clan."

"Wang Jingwei and Tang Shengzhi hit it off immediately, so the newly merged National Government once again became at war with Nanjing."

"The two groups of forces in the south are fighting each other, and Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan in the north are also annoyed to death."

"Especially Feng Yuxiang. Since May, his troops have been at war with Fengjun."

"It's just that I can't support myself, and I can't do much."

"Seeing whether there would be any big movement in the south for a while, Feng Yuxiang had no choice but to urge Yan Xishan to send troops quickly."

"At this time, the Jinsui Army seized the special train of Fengjun inspecting envoy Yu Zhen at Yanggao Station."

"When Yan Xishan heard about it, he thought that if things got too big, Zhang Zuolin would definitely beat himself up."

"In line with the purpose of striking first to gain the upper hand, Yan Xishan simply went to war against the Feng Clan."

"On October 10, Yan Xishan issued a general attack order, and 1 Shanxi-Suiyuan troops were divided into two groups."

"Shang Zhen led the left army out of Datong, marched eastward along the Beijing-Suiyuan Railway, rushed to Zhangjiakou, and then attacked Beijing."

"Yan Xishan personally led the right army out of the Taihang Mountains eastward, attacked Baoding along the Beijing-Hankou Railway, and joined forces with the left army to attack Beijing."

"In addition to the two main forces, Yan Xishan also sent Fu Zuoyi and Li Fuying to lead a division each."

"Starting secretly from the mountains of northern Shanxi, entering the hinterland of Fengjun, and launching attacks on the north and south sides of Beijing to disrupt Fengjun's deployment."

Li Shimin: The south is fighting back and forth, and the north is also fighting back and forth. They are all falling into internal fighting. When will this end?
Calculating the time, the warlords' melee has been going on for more than ten years, and there has never been a moment of peace in the country.

However, according to the original historical timeline, it was not long before the end of the Beiyang Era.

Now that the Beidou and the South are fighting so fiercely, it is probably the final stage of madness.

No matter how he looked at it, he felt that the forces in the south and north were just a bunch of rabble, ignoring external threats and only focusing on infighting.

Before the forces in the north were completely wiped out, the two national governments in the south began to fight among themselves, which was more or less stupid.

The National Government in Nanjing and the National Government in Wuhan began to be at war with each other. The northern forces did not want to jointly deal with the Northern Expeditionary Army, but instead fell into mutual conquest, which also seemed stupid.

"After the war started, Feng Jun was caught off guard due to the sudden incident, and Yan Xishan got off to a good start."

"But because the Jinsui Army's usual training focuses on defense and does not pay attention to offense."

"When Fengjun shrinks the front line and relies on danger to hold on."

"The Jinsui Army failed to attack repeatedly, and the soldiers suddenly fell into a stalemate."

"Seeing that Yan Xishan's three-axe attack was finished, Zhang Zuolin immediately mobilized an army of 20 to counterattack along the Jing-Sui and Jing-Han railways."

"The Jinsui Army has only about 70,000 troops in these two directions. With such a disparity in strength, the results can be imagined."

"As of October 10, except for Fu Zuoyi who was still holding on in Zhuozhou, the rest of the Shanxi-Sui army had been driven back to Shanxi."

"Yan Xishan is not a person who acts rashly. He will never take risks without careful planning in advance."

"In Yan Xishan's view, as long as he takes action here, Feng Yuxiang and Li Zongren and Tang Shengzhi in the south will send thousands of troops to support him."

"But unexpectedly, the three-pronged army sent by Feng Yuxiang was entangled by Zhang Zongchang and fell into a bitter battle along the Longhai Railway."

"But Li Zongren and Tang Shengzhi were even more unreliable and actually started a civil war."

"In mid-September, Wang Jingwei, who was angry with the Guangxi clique, announced his resignation and went to Guangzhou to find Zhang Fakui to form a new Central Committee."

"After Wang Jingwei left Wuhan, the Guangxi clique arranged a high-ranking official position for Tang Shengzhi."

"This is obviously insulting. Tang Shengzhi said he would not accept the appointment."

Yan Xishan: I don’t have a single reliable ally, so I had to retreat back to Shanxi.

Having offended Zhang Zuolin before, he wanted to strike first and eliminate Zhang Zuolin in one fell swoop before the enemy could react.

In order to deal with Zhang Zuolin, he made careful arrangements, but he did not want to make mistakes, which led to his failure and the loss of a lot of troops.

Every time he thought of this, he was so angry that he missed such a golden opportunity.

According to his expectations, it was impossible for him to deal with Zhang Zuolin on his own. Only by joining forces could he eliminate Zhang Zuolin.

His Jinsui Army, Feng Yuxiang's army, Li Zongren of the Nanjing National Government, and Tang Shengzhi of the Wuhan National Government.

Under the joint attack of the four forces, Zhang Zuolin could only end up in complete defeat.

He had a very good idea, but the two national governments in the south actually started a civil war at this time.

It completely disrupted his deployment and caused all his arrangements to be burned.

After countless calculations, he failed to calculate this point, and there was nothing he could do about it. He could only feel deep regret.

"On October 10, the Nanjing National Government ordered Tang Shengzhi to be brought to justice."

"Tang Shengzhi was not convinced and sent his troops to march eastward."

"Li Zongren had been waiting for Tang Shengzhi to take action for a long time, so he joined forces with the Huangpu clique and the warlords of Sichuan and Guizhou provinces who had caused trouble earlier. They were surrounded on all sides and defeated Tang Shengzhi in a row."

"The war ended in November, and Tang Shengzhi ordered to shrink the front line, preparing to fight to the death."

"However, Tang Shengzhi's only direct descendant is the Eighth Army, and the rest of the troops are miscellaneous armed forces collected during the Northern Expedition."

"And the Fourth Army, which was originally strong in combat, was also severely damaged due to the Nanchang Uprising."

"Tang Shengzhi wants to kill everything, but his motley crew doesn't want to die with him."

"As a result, when the Guangxi army came to Wuhan, Tang Shengzhi's men defected one after another."

"On November 11, Tang Shengzhi saw that the situation was over, so he had no choice but to electrify and go to the field."

"At this point, the Guangxi-Tang War ended, and the Guangxi clique's power expanded to the two lakes."

"The people in the south were fighting back and forth. Yan Xishan, who originally thought he would not fight alone, actually did so alone."

"On November 11, the Feng army launched an attack and occupied Datong, and then attacked Yanmen and Wutai from the south of Datong."

"On November 11, another group of Feng troops advanced along the Beijing-Suiyuan line and entered Baotou."

"On November 11, all the dangerous strongholds in northern Shanxi were lost."

Tang Shengzhi: Hey! If I had known better, I would have just taken a step back, and I wouldn't have become a prodigal dog now.

He originally thought that he could compete with the Nanjing National Government with the heavy troops at hand, but he did not want to seriously underestimate the strength of the Nanjing Revolutionary Army.

After the Nanjing National Government and the Wuhan National Government merged, the leading power was in the hands of the Nanjing National Government.

Not to mention that Wang Jingwei had to be controlled by others, even he had to submit to the Nanjing National Government.

It is clear that the Wuhan National Government is the orthodox one, but now they have to be overpowered by the Nanjing National Government. Naturally, he is unwilling to do so.

After Wang Jingwei left power, he became the spokesman of the Wuhan National Government.

But the Nanjing National Government humiliated him and gave him a high-ranking official position.

They are both the National Government, and at the very least they must be treated as equals. This senior official's position clearly means that he, the spokesperson of the Wuhan National Government, is not taken seriously.

It was precisely because he was so humiliated that he decided to march eastward, hoping to teach the Nanjing National Government a lesson. But he didn't expect that the final outcome would make him sad. Not only did he lose his troops in successive battles, but his subordinates even turned against him in battle.

If he had known that the Nanjing National Government was so powerful, he would not have been so impulsive. At worst, he would have to tolerate it for the time being and wait until he had the opportunity to fight again in the future.

However, it is too late now. He has lost his troops and will never be able to make a comeback again.

"Next, as long as Fengjun makes a desperate move, it is very possible to capture Taiyuan."

"However, Yan Xishan's life should not be cut off. At this moment, Zhang Zuolin ordered a ceasefire."

"Zhang Zuolin has always wanted to break up the cooperation between Yan Xishan and the National Government, and was unwilling to push Yan Xishan too hard."

"In this case, when Fengjun gained the upper hand, Zhang Zuolin ordered a ceasefire."

"And gave up Zhuozhou peacefully, accepted the conditions of reorganization, and asked Fu Zuoyi to give up resistance."

"Fu Zuoyi has been staying in Zhuozhou since mid-October."

"All the friendly troops ran away, except Fu Zuoyi."

"This was not because he was stubborn, but when Yan Xishan gave the order to retreat."

"Fu Zuoyi did not receive the telegram, so his army went deep alone and was surrounded."

"Since he can't run away, Fu Zuoyi can only fight to the end."

"During the period of being trapped in Zhuozhou, Fu Zuoyi relied on his superb city defense skills to command more than 8,000 people."

"Withstood repeated sieges from Fengjun artillery, aircraft, tanks, iron trucks loaded with explosives, and even poison gas bombs."

"But Zhuozhou is just a small city two miles wide from east to west and about three miles long from north to south."

"There was a shortage of food in the city. After more than three months of persistence, Zhuozhou City ran out of ammunition and food."

"Fu Zuoyi felt that it was pointless to hold on, so he negotiated to give up the city."

Zhang Zuolin: If I could swallow Yan Xishan in one go, I would not order a ceasefire. I would definitely take down the opponent in one go.

He also coveted the territory of Taiyuan, and he also coveted Yan Xishan's military strength. It would be best to recruit Yan Xishan to enrich his own strength.

But he also knew that Yan Xishan had already retreated to Shanxi, and it was impossible to force Yan Xishan to surrender.

Forcibly taking Taiyuan will not only compromise their strength, but also force Yan Xishan to completely surrender to the National Government.

So after much deliberation, he ordered a ceasefire to avoid being taken advantage of by the National Government.

"On January 1928, 1, the Battle of Zhuozhou, which lasted more than 12 days, ended."

"Fu Zuoyi's troops were reorganized by Fengjun and later transferred to the northeast to guard the border."

"Fu Zuoyi himself was ordered by Zhang Zuolin to be placed under house arrest in Baoding."

"After the First World War in Zhuozhou, Fu Zuoyi became famous all over the world, and various factions tried to win over him with heavy payments or official appointments and promises."

"Among them, Chiang Kai-shek's appointment was the most sincere, appointing Fu Zuoyi as a member of the Central Military Commission of the Kuomintang."

"Didn't Chiang Kai-shek step down? How could he still appoint Fu Zuoyi? Because he is back now."

"Chiang Kai-shek has not been idle since he left power."

"Chiang Kai-shek first went to Shanghai to visit Soong Meiling and expressed his love for her."

"Then he went to Japan to meet Mrs. Song Ni Guizhen who was recuperating in Kobe, Japan."

"The old lady of the Song family originally disagreed with this marriage, but she finally agreed after Song Ziwen's efforts."

"After taking care of his prospective mother-in-law, Chiang Kai-shek set off to return to China, and then began to prepare for his marriage to Soong Meiling."

"On December 12, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling held their wedding at the Dahua Hotel in Shanghai."

"The nominal witnesses are Cai Yuanpei and Yu Rizhang, and the introducer is Tan Yankai."

"But the people who really brokered the marriage between Chiang Kai-shek and Song Dynasty were Kong Xiangxi and his wife. From this, Chiang Kai-shek also established a relationship with the two major families of Song and Kong."

Liu Che: Chiang Kai-shek wanted to use the influence of his relatives to strengthen his own power. Although the hidden dangers were considerable, it had to be said to be a wise choice.

He finally understood that Chiang Kai-shek was able to come back thanks to the help of his relatives.

Strictly speaking, he was able to become the emperor of the Han Dynasty also thanks to the help of his relatives.

But despite this, he also hates his relatives deeply and is fully aware of the dangers of his relatives interfering in politics.

In his opinion, Chiang Kai-shek's move undoubtedly left huge hidden dangers for himself, and in the end he would certainly not be able to avoid the dangers of the Song family's interference in politics.

But he also understood Chiang Kai-shek's intention of seeking help from his relatives. After all, in the era of warlords' melee, if a weak person wanted to gain a foothold, marriage was undoubtedly the best way.

Putting aside the constraints of foreign relatives for now, we must first return to the Nanjing National Government to take power.

Then again, the Kong family who helped Chiang Kai-shek made him feel strange and confused.

He was thinking whether the Kong family was related to Confucius. After all, big families with the surname Kong were not uncommon.

"Obviously, this marriage is a success."

"Because this incident gave Chiang Kai-shek control of the money bag, it also made him the sole agent of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Consortium and the British and American forces behind it."

“Money is not everything, but having no money is absolutely impossible.”

"Especially for warlords, only when they have money can they buy weapons and equipment."

"If you have money, you can spend a lot of money to win over others to work for you, but if you don't have money, you can't do anything."

"Later, Li Zongren also commented that Mr. Jiang was not good at fighting, but he was very good at making money."

"After the marriage ended, Chiang Kai-shek began to think about reinstatement."

"Before reinstatement, Chiang Kai-shek still has one thing to do, and that is to find some reliable military talents to assist him."

"Soon after, German Lieutenant General Powell was hired by Chiang Kai-shek as a military adviser."

"It is probably because of the psychological shadow caused by Bai Chongxi's previous humiliation. From then on, every Friday night."

"Chiang Kai-shek had to listen to the lectures of German military advisers to supplement the military."

"While Chiang Kai-shek was preparing for his comeback, Wang Jingwei took the initiative to come to him based on the principle that the enemy of his enemy is his friend and said that we should join forces to deal with the Gui clique."

"Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi are also having a hard time at this time."

"Although they can fight, they can't get money."

"The military pay is not available, let alone the Northern Expedition, and even the hearts and minds of the army cannot be maintained."

Chiang Kai-shek: This time, I must take back what I lost.

After he was forced to step down before, he had been holding back his anger and secretly vowed to make a strong comeback.

Wanting to make a strong comeback is not just talk, it requires not only strong troops, but also abundant money.

There is no need to worry about military strength, the powerful Huangpu faction is his confidence.

As for the source of his money, he chose to marry into the Song family.

The Song family is a big family and has plenty of money, so they can provide him with financial support.

Moreover, by marrying the Song family, he can also win over the Kong family, which is also a big family.

With the troops and money, and with the support of Wang Jingwei, it was easy to regain control of the Nanjing National Government.

But these alone are not enough. The most important thing is to improve your military command capabilities.

For this reason, he specially hired military consultants with high salaries in order to win the subsequent military battles.

Only in this way can he convince his subordinates through his real achievements, so as to avoid being forced into the palace by his subordinates again.

"At this time, Chiang Kai-shek was holding the money bag in one hand, and Wang Jingwei was standing behind him."

"It means we want to come back. Who among you is in favor and who is against?"

"The Gui family does not know how valuable food and rice are when they are not a family member. After being a family member for half a year, they found that they are not the material, so they are very self-aware and ready to let others go."

"At exactly this time, a revolutionary uprising broke out in Guangzhou."

"Since most of the uprising members were Zhang Fakui's subordinates, Zhang Fakui stepped down due to the influence of the Guangzhou Uprising."

"Wang Jingwei was also labeled as a communist by his political opponents and was forced to go abroad."

"Chiang Kai-shek's luck is so good. They used to share the same buntou, but now Wang Jingwei doesn't need to split it when he goes abroad."

"On January 1928, 1, Chiang Kai-shek made a strong comeback in Nanjing and regained control of the military and political power in the five southeastern provinces."

"The Guangxi clique took the initiative to withdraw from the southeast and manage the two lakes."

"After Chiang Kai-shek came to power again, in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of his resignation, he decided to balance the forces of all parties."

"Political branches were established in Guangzhou, Taiyuan, Wuhan, and Kaifeng. The chairmen of the branches are Li Jishen, Yan Xishan, Li Zongren, and Feng Yuxiang respectively."

"At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also appointed Yan Xishan as the commander-in-chief of the Third Army and Li Zongren as the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army, recognizing the status of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Guangxi Clique."

"After some integration, the various factions of the Kuomintang that have been fighting among themselves for more than half a year have once again reached a consensus."

"The great cause of the Northern Expedition has not yet been completed, and we still need to continue to work hard."

"Since we have decided not to bother and deal with Zhang Zuolin first, a war is inevitable."

Chiang Kai-shek's strong return made the people of the Beiyang era look up to him with admiration.

Chiang Kai-shek had been defeated repeatedly before, and everyone thought that the final fruits of victory had nothing to do with Chiang Kai-shek.

But now it seems that Chiang Kai-shek's outstanding performance at this time convinced them all at once.

At this moment, everyone is extremely convinced that Chiang Kai-shek is not only the founder of the Nanjing National Government, but also the founder of the end of the Beiyang era and the beginning of the Nanjing National Government period.

Chiang Kai-shek made a strong comeback in Nanjing and regained power.

And Chiang Kai-shek had the experience of being ousted from power last time. This time he balanced the forces of all parties and completely integrated the internal fighting parties into one rope.

Not only that, Chiang Kai-shek himself also made up for his deficiencies in military command through learning.

In addition, Chiang Kai-shek obtained help from the big families Song and Kong through marriage.

It can be said that Chiang Kai-shek was so powerful at this time that it was only a matter of time before Zhang Zuolin was eliminated and the Beiyang Era ended.

(End of this chapter)