Black Flag Army

Chapter 141 Meeting before the war

Di Xiong asked: "Do you know why this Fani wants to assassinate Folajimir?"

Wu Chunfeng said: "Because the Brest-Litovsk Treaty caused strong dissatisfaction of the Tsarist Russian Socialist Party with him, they sent Fani to assassinate him. After the assassination, the second-in-command, Tolo Driver, and the third-in-command, Su Gangtie, blamed each other. Tolo Driver said that Su Gangtie's security work was too poor. Su Gangtie said that Tolo Driver wanted to be the boss and was suspected of assassinating Vladimir. If Vladimir died, Tolo Driver, as the second-in-command, would be the biggest beneficiary and of course the biggest suspect."

Di Xiong said: "From the perspective of the police investigation, there is indeed a saying about who benefits and who is suspicious. Now the Tolo driver has no way to explain himself."

After Wu Chunfeng left, Di Xiong said to Yang Lushuang: "Notify all the high-ranking members of the Justice Party to hold a meeting at 7 o'clock tonight to discuss the recovery of Boli and Temple Street."

Yang Lushuang was pleasantly surprised and asked, "Is the battle to retake Outer Northeast finally about to begin? Didn't you say last time that we would have to wait until next year?"

Di Xiong said: "There has been a major change in Tsarist Russia, so we must move forward."

The first stop of Zhang Shaozeng and his party's visit was actually Beihai Hospital, because as early as in Nankou Town, Zhang Shaozeng had consulted Yuan Suifeng because of his excellent medical skills, and the two were old friends.

Xian Yuji said: "Beihai Hospital is the largest hospital in Outer Mongolia, with more than 30 departments and more than 1,500 medical staff. It has branches in Mulun, Dalanza and other places."

Zhang Bingfu asked, "I heard that the former dean has several concubines?"

Hu Lin said: "It's pure rumor. Dean Yuan only had one concubine. Dean Yuan's only son, Yuan Xiaobao, died heroically in the battle to suppress the rebellion in Outer Mongolia. Dean Yuan's wife was too old to have children. In order to prevent the Yuan family from extinction, she took a concubine and gave birth to a son. Now the child is more than three years old."

Xian Yuji said: "Speaking of which, Yuan Xiaobao's death was related to me. The rebels shot at me at the time, and Yuan Xiaobao died because he blocked the bullet for me. Later, when I went to the Yuan family to pay my respects, I proposed to recognize Dean Yuan as my godfather, hoping to fulfill my filial piety on behalf of Yuan Xiaobao, but he politely declined."

Shao Fengping said: "As a prominent figure in Beitang City, it is normal for the former dean to marry a concubine. The senior leaders of your Justice Party should all have concubines, right?"

Xian Yuji said: "The former dean is just an ordinary member of the Justice Party, not a high-level leader. It is certain that his family is rich. After all, he has shares in Beihai Hospital, and his two daughters are also department heads there. No high-level Justice Party member has a concubine, although the Justice Party has not stipulated that high-level members are not allowed to have concubines."

Zhang Bingfu asked: "No concubines? Then there must be lovers, right? As far as I know, your party's intelligence chief Wu Chunfeng has many lovers."

Hu Lin said: "Wu Chunfeng is indeed a romantic man, but he only has two lovers. He is no longer the director. He was demoted to deputy director because of this incident, although his wife doesn't mind it."

Zhang Bingfu said, "Doesn't even Commander-in-Chief Di have a concubine or lover? Didn't Director Xian say at noon in the restaurant that Commander-in-Chief Di has the final say on everything in Beitang City? As the number one person in western Outer Mongolia, would he be so self-disciplined?"

Hu Lin looked at Xian Yuji and thought, you have to solve the trouble yourself.

Xian Yuji said: "I was angry and said the wrong thing in the hotel. As the saying goes, there are a hundred people in a family and only one person is in charge. There are millions of people in western Outer Mongolia. If there is no one who has the final say, wouldn't it be a mess? I just wanted to emphasize Di Juzi's authority, but ignored the drawbacks. In fact, Di Juzi is a very democratic person. He never makes decisions arbitrarily. When encountering major issues, he will hold meetings to discuss them together. If most people oppose his proposal, he will not do it. He has only one wife named Lan Jinchun, who is the vice president of Zhengqing School and a part-time special commentator of "Justice Daily". Her pen name is "Born as a Hero". She is a talented educator. I can prove that Di Juzi has no concubines and no lovers."

Xian Yuji thought to herself: I am the most qualified to testify for him. As long as I don’t admit it, you won’t be able to find any lover.

Shao Fengping exclaimed: "Commander-in-Chief Di has not only made such a huge contribution to the country! But he is also perfect in his personal morality. He holds all the power of life and death in the western part of Outer Mongolia. If it were other warlords, they would have had dozens or hundreds of women, but he does not have any concubines or lovers. He is so self-disciplined. Not to mention comparing him with other warlords, even the ancient saints would feel ashamed of themselves! Such a person was actually framed as a bandit. It is really unfair. After I go back, I must promote him in the newspaper."

Xian Yujie was very happy to hear this, although this was not true at all, but as Hu Lin said, facts are facts as long as they are not spoken out.

Zhang Bingfu said, "I must read every issue of the Justice Daily. I have also read the articles written by 'Born to be a Hero'. Every article is very interesting, especially the one that scolded Yuan Shikai to death. It was very sharp and refreshing to read. I originally thought it was written by an old scholar who was well-read in poetry and books, but I didn't expect it to be written by Commander-in-Chief Di's wife. Only she is worthy of Commander-in-Chief Di! She should be less than 30 years old, right?"

Hu Lin said: "She is only 23 years old this year. We are honored to have such a talented wife!"

Zhang Bingfu was amazed again and said, "According to the time, she was only 20 years old when she wrote the article that cursed Yuan Shikai to death. She was a woman of extraordinary talent!"

Yuan Suifeng, the director of Beihai Hospital, is almost 60 years old. After receiving the phone call, he hurried to the gate to greet Zhang Shaozeng and his party. He shook hands with Zhang Shaozeng first, and then shook hands with other people after Zhang Shaozeng introduced him, and then invited everyone into the hospital for a tour!

At seven o'clock in the evening, the conference room in the Justice Party building was brightly lit. The Justice Party's bigwigs and Mohists walked into the conference room and saw the enlarged version of the map of Outer Northeast on the front wall of the conference room. They knew the content of the meeting without asking.

Di Xiong spoke first: "Today, Beiyang's special envoy Zhang Shaozeng came to formally recruit us. He appointed me as the governor of Beihai Province and Mr. Wu as the governor. I wonder what everyone thinks about this matter? If you have any opinions, please raise them!"

Lan Jinping said, "We have already tried to recruit people last time. Some people opposed it at that time. You convinced them. But not long after, the Beiyang government turned against us. Then there was a siege campaign by the five provinces. Fortunately, we won. Otherwise, everyone present would have died without a burial place. Now they are trying to recruit people again. Who knows how long it can last?"

Di Xiong said: "This time is different from the last time. Last time, Li Yuanhong was the president. He was a puppet president and was easily overthrown. This time, Xu Shichang is the president and will not be easily overthrown."

Li Fei said: "What's the difference? Xu Shichang is the president, and he is still a puppet president."

Di Xiong said: "Xu Shichang has a deep friendship with several Beiyang elders. They will not overthrow him easily. The only variable is Zhili Governor Cao Kun. When President Feng and Prime Minister Duan were fighting for power, both sides tried to win over Cao Kun and promised him great benefits. Cao Kun switched back and forth between the two sides, becoming stronger and stronger, and his territory is getting bigger and bigger. If someone wants to overthrow President Xu in the future, it will most likely be this Cao Kun. We have a friendship with President Xu, so we naturally have to do our best to keep him. If we really can't keep him, we can send a plane to take President Xu to Beitang City and set up an exile government to fight against the illegal Beiyang government in Beijing. With President Xu's influence, he will bring us a large number of professional talents."

Wu Zhong said: "That's all for the future. The biggest benefit of this recruitment is that we have temporarily solved our worries and can focus on the Northern Expedition to recover Outer Northeast. Is this the reason why the boss decided to start the battle to recover Outer Northeast in advance?"

Di Xiong said: "There are reasons in this regard, and there are two other reasons. One is that on the 30th of last month, the top leader of the Burmese Party, Folajimir, was assassinated and seriously injured. He could not manage the affairs. The second-in-command, Tolo Driver, and the third-in-command, Su Gangtie, fell out for power. If Su Gangtie seized power, given his character, he would probably order the Burmese army north of Temple Street to go south with all their strength and attack Temple Street. If we go to recapture Outer Northeast at that time, we will directly clash with the Burmese army, and the consequences will be very serious, so we must recapture Outer Northeast in advance. Another reason is that Chief of Staff Chiang wrote to me and said that if Kolchak wanted to return to Outer Northeast, carrying a large amount of baggage and family members accompanying the army, it would take at least half a year to return to Outer Northeast. He is confident that he can recapture all areas of Outer Northeast, including Sakhalin Island, within three months."

Lan Jinping said, "The No. 2 figure, Tolo Driver, and the No. 3 figure, Su Gangtie, are fighting for power. It should be Tolo Driver who is more likely to win. Why are you worried about Su Gangtie winning?"

Di Xiong said: "Driver Tolo is an excellent military strategist, but he is good at foreign wars, not civil wars, and is not good at internal political struggles, so he cannot defeat Su Gangtie. If you don't believe it, just wait and see!"

Xian Yuji said: "If we send troops now, there is a very disadvantageous aspect. Zhang Zhenyang from Suwu City was originally scheduled to be transferred to the front line of Hailanpao, but he suddenly fell seriously ill and cannot go."

After the Black Flag Army increased to 16 divisions, it was divided into three groups. The First Group Army in Su Wucheng, with Commander Zhang Zhenyang, Deputy Commander Liu Zhendong, and Chief of Staff Zhang Shusheng, had five divisions under its command, three of which were new recruits. The Second Group Army in Hailanpao and Nerchinsk had seven divisions under its command, three of which were new recruits. Jiang Hongyu concurrently served as the group army commander, Wu Chunlei served as deputy commander, and Leng Hanbing served as chief of staff. There were four divisions plus a security division in western Outer Mongolia, forming the Third Group Army. Di Xiong personally served as the commander, and Subuda was the deputy commander. Most of the Third Group Army were new recruits, and only Subuda's cavalry division and Li Laoshi's security division were veteran divisions.

Di Xiong said, "Once the battle starts on the Hailanpao front, there will be a serious shortage of troops, especially for the divisions composed of veterans. There is no war in Suwu City for the time being, so it would be a waste to release five divisions. It is enough to keep two divisions of new recruits. The other three divisions will go to the Hailanpao front. Zhang Zhenyang is seriously ill, so Wu Chunlei will be the commander of the First Army, and Deputy Commander Liu Zhendong will go with the army. Chief of Staff Zhang Shusheng will lead two divisions to stay in Suwu City. The Third Army on our side will also transfer all its elite troops, leaving only two divisions of new recruits to guard the old nest. Subuda's cavalry division will go, and Li Laoshi's security division will also go. Sister Lan, do you have any objections?"

Li Laoshi is Lan Jinping's husband, so of course her opinion had to be sought before sending him to the front line.

Lan Jinping said solemnly, "This is a battle that will determine the fate of Outer Northeast China. It is also the best opportunity to recover Outer Northeast China. Both sides will go all out and use all the elite troops they can. Our Justice Party has been preparing for this battle for six years. Now, let alone transferring Li Laoshi, even if they transfer me to the front line, I will go to Hailan without hesitation."

Lan Jinping's words caused everyone to applaud. Di Xiong said to Tian Mengxue: "The Intelligence Department will introduce the situation of our opponents!"

Tian Mengxue, director of the intelligence department, walked to the front desk, picked up the thin wooden stick on the table, and pointed to Miaojie Street on the map: "This is the headquarters of the Outer Northeast White Guard Army. Before Kolchak left the Outer Northeast, he appointed his most trusted brother Alexander as the acting commander-in-chief, leaving him 100,000 troops, of which at least 80,000 were elite troops. There were also a large number of American, British, and Japanese military advisers in the army. There were more than 180 aircraft supported by the United States and Britain, and five heavy artillery regiments. In addition, if we fight to the seaside, the warships of the United States, Britain, and Japan on the seaside will fire to help them. Ivandov, Semenov and others who fled after being defeated by us also defected to Alexander. Alexander incorporated more than 20,000 remnants, and now the actual army has exceeded 120,000. Although we have sent intelligence teams to Miaojie, Birobidzhan, Vladivostok, and Shuangchengzi, due to the strict precautions of the Tsarist Russians, the intelligence team could not penetrate the enemy's high-level forces. The beautiful battle like the one in Chita Province could not be replicated, and the battle would be a hard-fought and fierce battle."

Everyone felt very heavy after hearing this. A hard and fierce battle meant huge casualties. In the last battle to retake Hailar, more than 5,000 people were killed because there were too many new recruits. In the several streets in Beitang City where the families of the new recruits lived, almost every family hung white banners to hold funerals, and the wailing was deafening.

Di Xiong said: "Although we have 16 divisions, minus the garrison troops in various places, there are only 12 divisions that can be mobilized on the front line, including a security division. We have brought all the elite troops this time. Whether we can recapture Outer Manchuria depends on this battle. In addition, the Japanese have completely controlled Sakhalin Island and stationed about 20,000 troops on the island. If the war situation is unfavorable to the White Guard Army, this Japanese army may directly participate in the war."

Tian Mengxue said: "It is also worth noting that there are about 50,000 Tsarist Russian Bolshevik troops in the north of the Greater Khingan Range. Although they are poorly equipped, they are brave and tenacious. If we and the White Guards are both defeated, they will probably rush over to reap the benefits."

Li Fei sighed and said, "I didn't expect that we would have to deal with so many enemies to recover Outer Northeast. No wonder Di Juzi didn't issue orders for a long time, allowing the frontline troops to rest for half a year."

Tian Mengxue said: "This is when the main force of the White Guards is out. If Kolchak returns with a large force, it will be really troublesome."