nucmednet Chapter 137: Change of Principle 3
Chapter 137: Change of Principle 3
At the beginning of January 1916, fierce fighting broke out between the National Protection Army and the Beiyang Army along the Yangtze River from Sichuan and Yunnan to Jiangxi. Hundreds of thousands of troops confronted each other and fought fiercely. Military intelligence and war reports from all over the country were flying everywhere like snowflakes. Baizhang and Bazhong District were important transportation hubs on Migang Road. Various military clerical personnel passed by continuously. Du Chenyu set up post stations everywhere to provide various conveniences, and was praised by the Beiyang government.
However, the documents for conscription and taxation were also flying around, and Du Chenyu simply dragged his feet, dragging all the regular troops to the mountains for training, or making them take off their uniforms, work in the fields, and become civilians.
All the garrisons in Sichuan and Shaanxi went to support the National Protection War. The garrison stationed in Taoyuan area at the junction of Sichuan and Shaanxi was the last to evacuate, and bandits began to run rampant again.
"Send an order, Zhou Kui from Chongqing, gather a team of 500 people, and start marching southward to Ganchang area in the north of Jizhou, and suppress the area around Jizhou county; Li Haoran and He Jiacheng will send troops from Heishuitan and Luojiaba to suppress Luoping area; Xue Chen will send troops to Wuya area, control Lianghekou, and march towards Shentan River in the northeast to encircle Jizhou." Du Chenyu decided not to wait any longer. There were no powerful forces around that could pose a danger to him. The first step was to occupy Jizhou and then occupy Bazhong District to complete the first phase of the strategic goal. With a population base of over one million and the ability to support tens of thousands of troops, he could be considered a small warlord. Moreover, he would occupy the important area of Bashan, which would be easy to defend but difficult to attack. After Xiong Kewu occupied Chengdu and implemented the defense zone system, he could also ask for an Inspector General of Northern Sichuan.
The Spring Festival of 1916 was spent in the midst of war. In January and February, the Beiyang Army suppressed the National Protection Army. In mid-February, Du Chenyu ordered to start "resisting the allocation of military pay expenses", gradually expelling the tax collectors from various forts and townships, and gradually strengthening the internal rule of the jurisdiction.
In February, my father in Baizhang welcomed an unexpected guest, an envoy sent by the National Protection Army Revolutionary Government, who began to persuade my father to raise the banner of revolution and join the National Protection Army. As long as we send troops to take over the Migang Road and then send troops to occupy Cangxi and cut off the Jialing River water transportation, the Beiyang Army's logistics will face serious difficulties. Therefore, Xiong Kewu in Chongqing sent an envoy to find Du Zongyi, the leader of the Du Family Army who actually controlled the Baizhang area, to discuss the uprising.
My father sent someone to deliver a letter to me overnight. This was unexpected. I never thought that our strength could be recognized by Governor Xiong. Since someone came to negotiate, we immediately wrote back to my father:
One is to hold a small-scale military parade to let the envoys understand our strength from the side. Of course, we cannot reveal too much and should stop at the right time.
The second is to do a good job in reception and not treat them unfairly. No matter which government official in the Republic of China, as long as there is an ocean to pave the way, they can be received in a friendly manner.
Thirdly, we requested that they help us purchase a radio station and hire a radio operator. We paid the full amount as the lack of a radio operator had seriously affected our communication with the outside world.
After we got the radio station, we immediately issued a telegram to Baizhang, Jizhou and Bazhou to support the National Protection Army, overthrow the Beiyang autocratic government and uphold the republic.
In fact, they also want some arms support. I can also imagine that the National Protection Army is also poor, haha. Never mind, Fang Zheng will rebel sooner or later, so this is just a favor.
In late February, the Beiyang Army's defense line and land acquisition were continuously broken through by the National Protection Army, and the war advantage was gradually taken over by the National Protection Army. On February 2, Du Chenyu ordered three armies to move into Jizhou County, and sent Shen Shiyu and Du Qian to Jizhou to be in charge of civil affairs. Zhou Kui formed the Sixth Battalion to be stationed in the northern part of Jizhou, and Xue Chen was responsible for the defense in the southern part.
There were only a few hundred members of the joint defense team in Jizhou. Under the siege of the three armies of Li Haoran, Xue Chen and Zhou Kui, they liberated the entire territory basically without any resistance, confiscated the weapons of the joint defense team members, and recruited new members.
This was the first time that Du's army officially captured a county-level administrative region. Baizhang was only a first-level left-hand unit, and Jizhou was a formal county-level unit. The original county magistrate Zhou Shirong continued to serve, but without real power. Shen Shiyu was the deputy county magistrate, Zhou Kui was the captain of the joint defense brigade, Du Qian was the chief of the civil affairs section, and Wang Shuwen was transferred to Jizhou to serve as the chief of the finance section.
Several bandit gangs in the Dahekou area were also eliminated, and by late February the entire area was basically under control. Du Chenyu decided to go to Jizhou for inspection on March 2.
In 1916, when spring came, there was life everywhere. The land reform in Changchi area was basically completed, half of the people got land, and the order to reclaim wasteland had been issued. Production movements were in full swing everywhere. Du Chenyu stayed here for three months, quelled all resistance forces, and continued the conquest. He rode a donkey, accompanied by a team of cavalry and more than 200 special forces, guards, and female guards, all the way north to Gongshan and Jizhou to consolidate the garrison in the new district.
We set out in the morning and arrived at Luopingbao at noon, passing through the yellow cypress forest. Du Chenyu immediately ordered to strengthen the protection of the tall and sturdy imperial cypress trees and strictly prohibit unauthorized felling. We jogged all the way and arrived at Gongshan at 3 pm. We visited Gongshan Academy outside and then arrived in Jizhou. No reception was arranged this time. During the war, it is safest to keep a low profile.
That night, Shen Shishiyu reported on various situations. In fact, the gains from the recapture of Jizhou were not much, neither was there much money or grain, because the resistance was not serious and most of the people who surrendered, including the Yue family, did not put up any futile resistance. Therefore, it was considered a peaceful takeover, and as a result, there was no chance to confiscate their property.
"It's okay. We are not short of money and food for the time being. If we stop paying taxes to the Beiyang government, we can save a lot of money. When we wait for the garrisons to be established in various forts, our rule will gradually stabilize," said Du Chenyu.
"Sir, we have no shortage of money, but we do lack people. We need to deploy at least 200 experienced headmen, military academies, and technical schools from all over Baizhang. Every fort and township must have management talents, and we must also prepare for the future march into Bazhong," said Shen Shiyu.
Du Chenyu did not think of this in advance and forgot to mobilize a large number of reserve cadres to support Jizhou, and all of them were double-deployed. Later, half of them were transferred to Bazhong District, so that there would be no familiarization period.
"Okay, I will write a letter immediately to transfer all the reserve talents we have trained over the years. All the military academy students who are one year old and 16 years old will also be transferred ahead of schedule to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the expanded army." Du Chenyu wrote a letter and sent it to Baizhang overnight.
As soon as Du Chenyu's radio station arrived, he sent out the first telegram in clear text, announcing the independence of Baizhang, Jizhou and Bazhou, supporting the National Protection Army, abiding by the Three Principles of the People, and supporting Governor Xiong Kewu.
As soon as the power was issued, troops were immediately mobilized in Bazhou. After all, there were still some city defense troops in Bazhou, so a fierce battle was bound to break out.
On March 3, the radio station supported by the National Protection Army finally arrived in Baizhang. On March 5, the manuscript prepared in advance, "A Manifesto to Defeat the Beiyang Government's Historical Reversal and Support the Republic," was officially released.