Chapter 10: Expansion of Troops in Cangshan Town II
After reaching an agreement with Xu Chongzhi on the expansion of the independent division, Chiang Kai-shek, accompanied by Luo Yiqun, went to Cangshan Town, which is just across the river from Fuzhou, to meet with Luo Yaoguo
"The officer should be asked how many such officers there are in our China," Luo Yaoguo replied with a smile
I have a nephew who graduated from West Point and is currently serving as a battalion commander in Huang Dawei's army. However, during the recent battle in Fuzhou, he happened to enter the Hongshanqiao Arsenal, and now he has a batch of military equipment in his possession. Unfortunately, his foundation is too weak, so he is looking for someone to collaborate with. Luo Yiqun whispered in Chiang Kai-shek's ear: "There are more than 3,000 rifles, 101 machine guns, and 12 cannons, enough to form a division. I wonder if you are interested, Mr. Jiang?"
Chen Jiongming does not understand military affairs, but he is adept at winning people's hearts. Chiang Kai-shek became infuriated when mentioning Chen Jiongming: "There are still many generals in the Guangdong Army who harbor illusions about Chen Jiongming."
Upon returning to Fuzhou, Chiang Kai-shek immediately sought out Xu Chongzhi with Luo Yiqun to discuss this matter. Xu Chongzhi and Chiang Kai-shek were sworn brothers, and he held a considerable trust in Chiang. Moreover, upon hearing that a new division could be obtained, he was naturally overjoyed, feeling that his sworn brother was truly assisting him in dealing with Huang Dawei. Thus, he readily agreed.
The program arranged for Chiang Kai-shek typically included a military review, with the review site set in an open area southwest of Cangshan Town. Approximately one thousand officers and soldiers stood in neat rows, holding rifles to receive inspection, and there were also machine guns and twelve 75mm quick-firing guns displayed. Observing this army in which he held a significant stake, Chiang Kai-shek's eyes revealed an uncontrollable excitement.
Immediately dispatch Wei Lihuang's supplementary regiment to merge with Luo Yaoguo's supplementary regiment, and then recruit soldiers to expand into the Second Army of Guangdong's independent division, comprising two brigades. Wei Lihuang will serve as the commander of the 14th Brigade, while Luo Yaoguo will take command of the 15th Brigade. The division commander will be concurrently held by Jiang Jieshi, the chief of staff of the Second Army, with the deputy division commander assigned to Luo Yiqun. Additionally, Jiang Jieshi will recruit a group of non-Guangdong officers, including Jiang Dingwen, Qian Dajun, Liu Zhi, Gu Zhutong, and Chen Jicheng, along with Wei Lihuang. On Luo Yaoguo's side, there are Wang Bao, Gao Shaojie, Li Shun'en, Wu Ziliang, Wang Guodong, Liu Dezhu, and soon after, Luo Zhuoying, who will arrive from Dapu to seek refuge, as well as Chen Cheng and Zhou Zhirou, who were recruited by Luo Zhuoying. Furthermore, Jiang Jieshi will again recruit a group of non-Guangdong officers, including Jiang Dingwen, Qian Dajun, Liu Zhi, Gu Zhutong, and Chen Jicheng, along with Wei Lihuang. On Luo Yaoguo's side, there are Wang Bao, Gao Shaojie, Li Shun'en, Wu Ziliang, Wang Guodong, Liu Dezhu, and soon after, Luo Zhuoying, who will arrive from Dapu to seek refuge, as well as Chen Cheng and Zhou Zhirou.
Without an army of one's own, any chief of staff is merely a figurehead. I am indifferent to this, but does Jiang Jieshi, with his grand ambitions, have no thoughts on the matter? There is indeed an opportunity at hand.
"These cannons, are they all captured by you?" Chiang Kai-shek, being of artillery background, naturally had a greater interest in artillery than in other weapons
Chiang Kai-shek rarely smiled at this moment: "The headquarters will be formed as soon as possible, and Wei Junru's troops will cross the river tomorrow. As for the reorganization plan, you can make the decision."
It is a pity that establishing a true revolutionary army is not an overnight task; given the current situation, we can only rely on warlords, or even become warlords ourselves. Luo Yaoguo's words carry a certain depth of meaning. Indeed, at present, Luo Yaoguo is a warlord, and with the addition of two supplementary regiments, Chiang Kai-shek is also on the verge of becoming a warlord.
After listening to Chiang Kai-shek, Luo Yaoguo naturally thought of the Whampoa Military Academy. However, can the officers trained by the Whampoa Military Academy be considered revolutionary soldiers? What should revolutionary soldiers be like? With this in mind, Luo Yaoguo also felt some confusion: "What kind of officers can be regarded as revolutionary officers? And how should they be trained?"
The officer mentioned that we should still focus on expanding and consolidating our troops. By the way, when will the division headquarters arrive on the island? When can the regiment leader's troops come over? I would like to reorganize the troops as soon as possible. In order to prevent Huang Dawei from annexing, Luo Yaoguo had no choice but to incorporate Li Houji's guard into his ranks to strengthen his forces. However, he now finds it difficult to control the troops, as the newly recruited soldiers have formed their own factions and are hard to command. After much consideration, he realizes that further reorganization is the only option.
Due to the overwhelming workload of Xu Chongzhi and Huang Dawei, it was his predecessor, Luo Yiqun, who went to the dock to welcome Jiang Zhongzheng. The two exchanged a brief handshake and engaged in a few pleasantries before getting into a car.
"Comrade, the luck of our troops in the battle of Fuzhou was astonishingly good. Li Houji, for reasons unknown, actually stored 42 units of 75mm rapid-fire guns in the warehouse of the Fujian manufacturing plant without equipping the troops. " At this point, Luo Yaoguo had a look of luck on his face: "This time it is not that we are so powerful, but that the enemy is too foolish. How could they not know how Chen Jiongming compares to Li Houji?"
"The gentleman is being overly modest; the department merely had better luck, advancing one step ahead to the Hongshan Armory and ambushing Li Houji's guard, which led to this situation." After confirming that the opponent was Chiang Kai-shek, Luo Yaoguo felt that his livelihood for the latter half of his life was secured, and his mood improved significantly
Upon hearing this, Chiang Kai-shek found the other party's demands to be entirely reasonable. Moreover, he had heard of Luo Yaoguo's esteemed reputation; a graduate of West Point, he carried a prestigious credential. With such a diploma, a brigade commander position was certainly attainable, albeit he was somewhat young. However, youth could also be advantageous, as he would likely be more compliant.
"Hehe, knowing that you cannot control the troops and the - map - book, is just being able to control the beginning of the troops; there is nothing to be embarrassed about. Yichen, you have a good nephew." Chiang Kai-shek, having struggled in the military over the years, understands that troops are actually very difficult to control, especially since their guards have been captured by you; this is something Luo Yaoguo underestimated.
"Everything is difficult at the beginning. As for the auxiliary troops, we must first expand this warlord army before we can have a say. The revolutionary officers can be trained once they return to Guangzhou. For now, we still need to appease them; securing the troops is the most important thing." Chiang Kai-shek's words revealed a hint of sincerity, which immediately increased Luo Yaoguo's goodwill towards him.
Indeed, to establish a revolutionary army, the first step is to cultivate revolutionary officers, and to train these officers, a reliable base of operations is essential. Chiang Kai-shek gazed towards the southeast, as if he could see the flourishing revolutionary military academy.
What thoughts does Brother Yichen have after serving as Chief of Staff for Xu Ru for several months? Chiang Kai-shek's expression darkened, clearly troubled in his heart
Upon hearing such wonderful news, Chiang Kai-shek could no longer contain his excitement. He grasped Luo Yiqun's hand and said, "Brother Yichen values Zhongzheng so highly; Zhongzheng is immensely grateful. If Brother Yichen has any suggestions, please feel free to speak. Zhongzheng will certainly do his utmost."
What are your thoughts on the Guangdong Army this time, Mr. Jie?" Luo Yiqun and Chiang Kai-shek were sitting side by side in the back seat of the car, and with nothing much to do, they engaged in casual conversation, exchanging remarks back and forth.
That would be excellent, but regarding the reorganization, the department already has a preliminary plan and I would still like to seek your opinion, Mr. Jie. This is the first time Luo Yaoguo is undertaking such a task and lacks experience, so he has presented the plan he envisioned. Luo Yaoguo intends to divide the six hundred captured soldiers from Li Houji's guard into two halves, with three hundred being integrated into Wei Lihuang's supplementary regiment, while simultaneously transferring three hundred from Wei Lihuang's regiment into his own forces. This way, he aims to dilute the three hundred with seven to eight hundred personnel. After the reorganization is completed, the unit will be expanded into a brigade, increasing the troop strength to 4,000. Additionally, the twelve artillery pieces are planned to be organized into an artillery battalion directly under the division headquarters. However, the artillery and artillery officers will need to be arranged by Chiang Kai-shek.
There is no need for you to be so formal, to be honest, this proposal was put forward by my nephew, Luo Yaoguo. He hopes that you can pull out a reliable regiment from the Guangdong Army, along with a batch of dependable officers, to merge with my nephew's troops, and then expand it into a division. The division commander would naturally be you, but my nephew is requesting a brigade commander. Given our connections, Xu Ruwei should not refuse, right?" Luo Yiqun also suggested appointing Luo Yaoguo as brigade commander. At the age of 23, achieving the rank of brigade commander is quite rare in the chaotic times of the Republic of China, isn't it?
Zhi Bu Luo Yaoguo had met... Jiang Jieshi. Luo Yaoguo could hardly believe that the middle-aged general before him, who exuded a strong military presence, was actually the frail "former president"! It was hard to reconcile this image with the old man he had in mind! How could Jiang Jieshi be so handsome? Could there have been a mistake? Could it be that there were actually two Jiang Jieshis in the history of the Republic of China?
Chiang Kai-shek turned to glance at the young man who had posed the question and said solemnly: "Revolutionary officers should uphold the Three Principles of the People, respect their leader, obey orders, and not fear sacrifice. How many such officers are there in your troops"
On October 22, 1922, Chiang Kai-shek, the future big boss of China, who was more reviled than praised, was appointed by Sun Yat-sen to serve as the unfortunate Chief of General Staff in Fujian. Lacking an army, this big boss's path as Chief of General Staff turned into a grand tragedy. The Guangdong troops, known for their xenophobia and inability to distinguish right from wrong, largely disregarded Chiang Kai-shek, with the exception of Luo Yiqun
This matter is somewhat difficult to address, as my nephew's team has incorporated Li Houji's guard, so he now dares not leave the station easily. If Mr. Jie wishes to see him, it would require Mr. Jie to personally make a trip to Cangshan Town. At this point, Luo Yiqun's face turned slightly red.
"Good, good, Brother Fu Wen is indeed young and promising, having trained such elite troops at such a young age." A distinctly difficult-to-understand and characteristic Ningbo dialect confirmed that this imposing middle-aged general, with piercing eyes, was none other than Chiang Kai-shek, whom Sun Yat-sen relied upon as a bulwark.
"What do you mean by 'contract brother'?" Chiang Kai-shek was momentarily taken aback, but soon understood Luo Yaoguo's intention. He nodded and said: "Indeed, we do not yet have a true revolutionary army; instead, we have various warlords of different sizes. The military is in the hands of individual generals, and soldiers serve for their pay. The commanders treat the army as a tool for profit, showing no loyalty whatsoever, changing their allegiances at will."
Haha, at the same time, he is a big shot. My fellow countrymen from Guangdong all refer to Chen Jiongming as the big shot and the Prime Minister as the old joker. Luo Yaoguo said half-jokingly: Now our trouble is probably not this big shot, but a group of scoundrels
What Brother Yichen said? Chiang Kai-shek doubted whether there was something wrong with his ears and quickly asked again
This matter is on me. I have heard that Xu Ruwei's Second Army has suffered heavy losses this time, and Huang Dawei has recently developed ambitions to replace him. If an additional division could be formed, it would certainly be something he desires. As for Huang Dawei, I am not worried; with you, me, and Xu Ruwei, we should be able to suppress him. Chiang Kai-shek quickly weighed the situation and soon made a decision: "Oh, when can I meet this outstanding graduate from West Point?"