When Liu Mingzhao led a large army to Changsha, it was the second day after Hunan Province announced the abolition of independence. At this time, the Forward Company was still stationed outside the city and maintained a high alert to Changsha. He ignored the fatigue of cars and horses and horses, personally conducted on-site surveys of the key military points around Changsha, and then prepared to return to the camp to rest after re-adjusting the military deployment.

As soon as he returned to the west of the city, he heard the follower report: "Brig Commander, Zuo Gongxianzuo, Deputy Speaker of Hunan Provincial Parliament, and General Yu Daonan, Commander of Hunan Provincial Defensive Garage, is here to visit!" Liu Mingzhao received a telegram on his way to Hunan. He already knew that Zuo Gong was his own, but he didn't know what kind of person Yu Daonan was. At that moment, he forced himself to cheer up and clean up his army and welcomed him out.

Zuo Gongxian seemed to understand what Liu Mingzhao was thinking, and as soon as he met, he introduced: "Brig Commander Liu, this Commander Yu was appointed by Governor Tan yesterday. He was ordered to come to contact you for the defense matters in Changsha."

Liu Mingzhao quickly saluted the military: "Please commander Yu instruct!"

Yu Daonan bowed to Liu Mingzhao casually and said, "Braft Commander Liu, don't be polite. We are all a family in the future. We don't have to be so disgusted. Brother Liu is really young, probably in his early twenties, right? He is already a brigade commander, and he is worthy of being a hero! Brother, although I am a few years older, my talents are really limited. Yesterday, I was just appointed as the commander of the Hunan Provincial Defensive Garage by Governor Tan. This commander is actually a false position, with only 700 people and 800 spoils under him, and he cannot compare with the elite soldiers under his command. I am afraid that my brother will inevitably rely on him in the future. I would like to ask Brother Liu for more help at that time!"

Liu Mingzhao thought to himself: As soon as he said one or two words, he started to call him brothers and brothers. Yu Daonan was familiar with him! But I don’t know if his mind is as loyal as the appearance of harmony?

Sitting in the hall, Zuo Gongxian asked first: "Mr. Sun's instructions on the southern attack on Guangdong and Guangxi, I think Brigade Commander Bo Cheng has received all of it? I wonder what you think? What are your opinions?"

Liu Mingzhao nodded: "Three days ago, Liu received a telegram from Premier Sun in Changde Prefecture. He knew that after the Hunan Army was settled, he would go south with the First Division of the Hunan Army and others to quickly go south to guide Guangzhou. The telegram stated that the specific combat plan will be discussed in detail by Mr. Yang Xizi from Beijing, Commander Zhao Yiwu, Brigade Commander Yin Shuoquan and Brigade Commander Yin, but at present, the following has not received further notice from Mr. Yang Xizi on this operation. It is expected that Brigade Commander Yin Shuoquan will lead his troops to arrive here tomorrow. There should be specific plans at that time. Liu will carefully plan the plan for the southward journey with Commander Zhao and Brigade Commander Yin. In short, Liu will resolutely implement the order to go up the peak!"

Zuo Gongxian said: "How much does Brigade Commander Bocheng know about Zhao Hengti?"

Liu Mingzhao said: "Before preparing to enter Hunan, the intelligence system sent a specific information about Hunan military and political leaders. As the commander of the first division of the Hunan Army, General Zhao Yiwu was naturally among them. According to the above introduction, he was from Hengshan, Hunan. When he failed the imperial examination, he was admitted to the Wuchang Dialect School. After graduation, he went to Japan to study in the sixth phase of the artillery department of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School. He was the same alumni as the governor of Yan Baichuan, the governor of Zhao Xingzhi, and the general director Chiang Kai-shek.

"After returning to China, he hosted the Guangxi Army Primary School with Cai Songpo, served as the Guangxi Standing Army Co-organizer and the Guangxi Training Office. In 1911, he led the new army to support Shen Youlan (Shen Bingkun), who was also a fellow villager in Hunan and then the governor of Guangxi, declared independence. After Governor Shen was excluded from Gui by Wang Tieshan (Wang Zhixiang) and Lu Ganqing (Lu Rongting), he led his troops north to support Wuhan, and was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the left-wing army by Lihuangpi. He stationed in Xiaogan and confronted the Qing army south until the peace talks between the north and the south, and his troops were ordered to travel to Nanjing.

"After the founding of the Republic of China, General Zhao Yiwu was appointed as the brigade commander of the 16th Brigade of the 8th Division and was awarded the rank of major general of the army. Then the central government moved north and President Yuan announced the reduction of the army. The army of his troops were withdrawn from their original hometown of Guangxi and reorganized. As a result, he was unable to tolerate Lu Ganqing and had to stay in Hunan. Governor Tan Zuan loved the heroes and obtained the consent of Huang Keqiang, who was left behind in Nanjing at the time, to leave General Zhao Yiwu's troops in Hunan and stationed in Changsha. He was then appointed as the commander of the 1st Division of the Hunan Army.

"This is roughly the case with General Zhao Yiwu's resume in the intelligence, and Liu only knows so much. I wonder what Speaker Zuo has to do with his advice?"

Zuo Gongxian praised: "Bocheng Brigade Commander Bocheng is well-informed and knowledgeable, and Zuo admires it! It is just that the intelligence focuses on Zhao Hengti's life and official career, but ignores his teacher-friendship and political tendencies. Just now, the Brigade Commander Bocheng mentioned that he and Yan Baichuan, Zhao Xingzhi, Chiang Kai-shek and others were classmates. In fact, he also has a famous classmate, Li Xiehe, the current governor of Jiangxi and the commander of the Yuan army in Jiangxi!

"In addition, he joined the Iron Blood Husband Group of Tongmenghui and Huang Keqiang during his study in Japan, and had always had a close relationship with Huang Keqiang. At that time, he led his troops to Nanjing, withdrew back to Guangxi, and stayed in Hunan. All of them were ordered by Huang Keqiang. Therefore, after Huang Keqiang and Li Xiehe announced their independence to fight Yuan, he prepared troops and vigorously encouraged Duke Tan to lead the army to the north. Fortunately, when your troops entered Hunan, he took the lead in blowing up the military uniform bureau, which left Zhao Hengti helpless.

"But he was always upset, especially after Governor Tan announced the abolition of independence and supported the central government and ordered soldiers across Hunan Province to put down their weapons, he was even more angry and privately colluded with revolutionaries inside and outside the provincial capital with misconduct. Therefore, Governor Tan appointed Brother Yu as the commander of the provincial defensive garrison to prevent accidents from failing."

Liu Mingzhao was shocked, but his face was still calm: "Does Premier Sun and Mr. Yang Xizi know at this time?"

Zuo Gong first took out a secret telegram from his arms and handed it to Liu Mingzhao: "They naturally knew that Zuo had reported this to Mr. Sun before. Their meaning was to let Governor Tan and Brigade Commander Bo Cheng deal with this matter together, as long as they did not affect the overall situation of the Southern Expedition, especially the plan to capture Guangdong, the time to attack Guangdong and Guangxi, the morale of the First Division of the Hunan Army, and the overall stability of the entire Hunan province!"

After reading the telegram, Liu Mingzhao silently thought about the solution to the problem.

Yu Daonan added: "Brother, I am a mediocre man, but I have been in the Hunan Army for a long time. I know a little more about some people and things under my influence. I hope it will be beneficial to Brother Liu. The current Hunan Army First Division is mainly composed of the 16th Brigade of the 8th Division of Nanjing, and it is composed of some new troops in Hunan Province before and after the Xinhai Revolution. The 16th Brigade's foundation is brought out by Zhao Hengti from Guangxi. Many of the middle-level officers were students of him when he was teaching in the Guangxi Army Primary School, so Zhao Hengti has a very high prestige in the entire division, and even said that "only know Zhao Hengti but not Tan Yankai". In addition, Zhao Hengti has always deliberately won his confidants and rejected and attacked dissidents. Now the First Division of the Hubei Army has become the Zhao family's one-man show. Brother Liu must be very cautious when dealing with it!"

Zuo Gongxian also said: "Commander Yu is not an exaggeration, but Zhao Hengti has been in the army for a long time, and has been in a mixed manner, which can affect his whole body with one blow. It is really careless to deal with it. Of course, if Zhao Hengti is not so powerful, he doesn't have to bother Brigade Commander Bo Cheng."

After pondering for a moment, Liu Mingzhao said with a careful sentence: "Previously, Premier Sun and Mr. Yang Xizi asked the Hunan Army First Division to go south together with our Hubei Army Second Division. Given that there are two divisions and one brigade in Guangdong, we will inevitably go south alone and cannot resist four hands. With the help of the Hunan Army First Division, we can at least not lose in terms of military strength. But from the moment, it is obvious that we did not expect the complex situation in the Hunan Army First Division, nor the difficulty of replenishing the division's weapons and equipment, nor the huge hidden dangers that the two armies may have in their coordinated combat.

"As Speaker Zuo said, General Zhao Yiwu and Huang Keqiang have a close relationship. Now the guns and ammunition in Hunan are destroyed by bombing. Even if they are willing to do things, it is hard to cook without rice. If we fight with them and do not equip weapons, it is tantamount to a group of young and strong civilians, and they will not have much tonic for combat power. If we are supplemented with weapons, once they collude with Jiangxi and Guangdong and turn against each other, they will easily collapse the front line and become corrupt. We will weigh the gains and losses, but it is better to let the Hunan Army First Division stay in place and wait for the post-war adaptation!"

"Teacher Bo Cheng is preparing to go south alone?" Zuo Gong couldn't help but lose his voice in surprise.

"Brother Liu plans to ignore the First Division of the Hunan Army? What if Zhao Hengti launches a rebellion?" Obviously, Yu Daonan is most concerned about the safety of Hunan Province.

Liu Mingzhao explained: "I don't plan to go south alone, nor do I ignore the First Division of the Hunan Army. After all, Hunan is the rear of the attack on Guangdong. If the situation in Hunan is deteriorating, wouldn't we become an isolated army that cannot advance or retreat? Now our third brigade has been exhausted after a long-distance attack of six or seven days and is ready to rest in Changsha for several days before going south. During this period, according to the order announced by Governor Tan, I will reorganize the troops stationed in Changsha and surrounding areas, and confiscate all the guns and ammunition in their hands, so that they will become toothless tigers.

"The key to attacking Guangdong this time is to have the word "fast". It is likely that the battle will be determined in about 30 days, but this time rhythm is not entirely controlled by us. Whether Zhao Yiwu's troops can launch a rebellion can be decided by us. Because if they want to launch a rebellion, the guns and ammunition required will not be a small amount, and the money they will need will not be a small amount. As long as Brother Yu, the commander of the provincial defensive garrison, strengthens the inspection, it will definitely be difficult for them to replenish enough weapons and equipment in the short term. Without enough weapons, how can the rebellion start?"

Seeing that Yu Daonan wanted to speak but stopped, Liu Mingzhao continued: "Besides, Brigade Commander Yin Shuoquan will lead his troops to the south through Changsha later. Speaker Zuo and Commander Yu can telegraph Prime Minister Sun to let the Fourth Brigade leave some of the troops to help Governor Tan maintain the situation in Changsha. Moreover, Prime Minister Sun will soon issue an order to summon students from Hunan and Hubei provinces to reorganize the First Division of the Hunan Army. At that time, the department was mixed with so much sand by Prime Minister Sun, and I am afraid that Zhao Yiwu would be powerless to launch a rebellion.

"Speaker Zuo doesn't have to worry that we have too few troops to go south. Although there are two divisions and one brigade in Guangdong, they are scattered everywhere. In addition, some troops are transferred to Jiangxi, and Long Zicheng is involved in some troops. The enemy we face rarely has more than one brigade's troops. In addition, with planes to help, we should be able to barely fight!" (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!