On the evening of February 8, 1932, under dusk, a heavy train on the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway was roaring strangely from west to east. The formation of the train was very strange. Only one passenger car was near the front of the train, and the others were
The twenty-odd carriages are all stuffy-tank truck carriages.
At this time, in the passenger car, under dim lights, several officers were looking at a map around a table. The leader was Zhou Wen.
It turned out that Zhou Wen, who had already foreseen that the Songhu Anti-Japanese War was about to break out, was determined to lead the mercenary group into the war this time. He began secretly conducting internal mobilization and various preparations as early as mid-January, and waited until January 29
After receiving the news that the Japanese army had attacked, Japan sent a telegram that had been drafted to the Central Party Headquarters that morning.
The content of the message is very simple. It means that after hearing that the Japanese invaders invaded our country again and bullied our people, the 1,228 officers and soldiers of the Shanxi Provincial Party Headquarters Security Department from Zhou Wen on down were filled with indignation and shared the same hatred of the enemy. We specially applied to the Central Party Headquarters to be directly under the Central Party Headquarters.
In the name of armed force, they raised their own military expenses and went to the Songhu front line to participate in the Anti-Japanese War. The entire army was determined to carry forward the fearless revolutionary spirit and fight to the death against the Japanese aggression, so as to enhance the prestige of our country and the prestige of the party.
As soon as this telegram was sent to the Central Party Headquarters, it immediately caused an uproar.
Why?
I was shocked.
If you think about it, although the Central Party Headquarters has a great name in the Nanjing government, it is only in name only. Among the Party organizations at all levels, it is the Organization Department that really controls the actual power over party affairs. Who is the principal of the Organization Department?
Giving the Chen brothers control is considered the principal's sphere of influence.
The Party Executive Committee, which is supposed to bear important political responsibilities, has no power or even "no position" (it has no actual position in the administrative department). Not only is the Central Committee unable to participate in state secrets, it is not even clear about the nature and purpose of its work.
In addition, there are many internal factions and they are keen on infighting. The power they do not have much in the first place is broken up and divided by many factions. The name of the Central Party Committee can be used to frighten local governments and ordinary people. However, among the top leaders in Nanjing, it has become
A powerless paper tiger.
Now this paper tiger suddenly discovered that his subordinates had quietly developed an armed force of more than a thousand people. Even though this armed force is currently not under the control of the Central Party Headquarters, it is nominally a subordinate of the Party Headquarters, right? And
He will also go to the front line to fight against Japan on behalf of the Party. This is a good opportunity to enhance the reputation of our Central Party Committee. This can be used to demonstrate to the whole party and the whole country the determination and measures of our Central Party Committee to serve the country and bravely fight against foreign enemies.
As a result, the big bosses of the Central Party Committee, who had been pushing back and forth and passing the blame in the past, were rarely able to unanimously convene a special meeting that afternoon.
After some earnest and dry discussions and persuasion by several committee members, except for the objection from the representative of the Organization Department, the other committee members unanimously agreed to approve Zhou Wen's request, and even named the armed force, which was called "
Central Party Headquarters Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army".
So several big bosses from the Central Party Committee took Zhou Wen's request for instructions and the approval document from the Central Party Committee and came to the Military Commission of the National Government, which was just established. They gave the principal a burst of ideological and political work education. Anyway, he looked like you
We didn't intend to leave if we didn't agree, but we didn't know that Zhou Wen had already instructed Liu Ruoshui, the principal's confidant, to send a telegram requesting instructions to the principal at the same time.
Of course the principal knew that the thorn-headed little bandit who always wanted to take revenge was now very prosperous in Shanxi. Even Kong, Song, and Liu were all drawn into a group by him, and they were running steel plants and pharmaceutical factories.
Yes, but they were all good things that benefited the country and the people. He also vaguely felt that he might have underestimated this little bandit back then.
But it's fine now. The more capable Zhou Wen is, the more he will make a fuss. The one who has a headache is not himself, but the King of Shanxi. Let these two quarrels get together and make trouble.
When he received the call from Liu Ruoshui, the principal had no intention of objecting. Why? Because although this time it was definitely necessary to support the Songhu front line, it would take time to mobilize the troops, not to mention that there was still a big problem that had not been solved. Then
It's money.
As the saying goes, before the soldiers and horses are moved, food and grass go first. In a war, money and food are needed. But the current situation is that there is no money and no food.
You must know that due to the failure to respond to the September 18th Incident, facing the general tide of condemnation and indignation in the country, and several political opponents also taking the lead in attacking, the principal had to announce his resignation to the people, until the September 18th Incident a few days ago
After the explosion, he came out again.
As a result, he had only been out of office for a few months, and he had to face a mess when he came back. The central government was short of finances. Now even his own direct branch of the Central Army was in arrears of pay for two months. So the principal couldn't do anything in the past few days after he came back.
Raising military expenses everywhere. Fortunately, several major financial groups in Jiangsu and Zhejiang that have been supporting him have agreed to provide money, but it will take some time, right?
Before military spending is in place, it is impossible to mobilize troops. You must know that in the old army at that time, there were only a few officers and soldiers who had national justice and national sentiments. Most of them came here for the little military pay that could support their families.
Yes, no general dares to lead his troops to the battlefield despite being owed several months of military pay. That is simply an act of seeking death, and he might even be shot to death by his own soldiers.
What's more, before going to the battlefield, it is customary to pay a deployment fee to calm the morale of the troops, and to set aside a portion of cash as bounties and rewards to boost the morale of the soldiers in some key battles. There are also various logistical supplies.
, battlefield consumption, etc. Money is needed everywhere.
However, Zhou Wen's telegram made it clear that no cent from the central government was needed and the military expenses were raised by oneself. This was really a worry-free situation.
Regardless of the fact that there are only more than a thousand troops, if they can arrive at the Songhu battlefield soon, it will be a great encouragement and encouragement to the morale of the officers and soldiers of the 19th Route Army who are fighting bloody battles on the front line. It shows that the central government has great support for them.
support and determination to fight against Japan, and at the same time, it can also explain the voice and excitement of the people across the country who expect the central government to rise up to resist Japan.
The principal learned from the intelligence provided by the British and American sides that a large number of Japanese troops and warships were leaving Japan and heading for Shanghai. At this critical moment, one more person would be more powerful. What's more, the principal knew Zhou Wen's ability, and the war was indeed
He is a good player. As long as he goes to the battlefield, there will be unexpected surprises.
At this time, the principal was just pretending, just to control these party bosses. They were also the ones who forced me to step down. Today, if you don't let you tell the truth, I won't have that name.