In a house on the outskirts of Jincheng, Zheng Lian was reporting on work.
"Commander-in-Chief, since last autumn, people have been migrating from the border of Shaanxi Province to our three provinces of Qingdao, Gansu and Ningxia. There are not a few people who are dragging their families with them. As of March this year, there are already tens of thousands of people. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that there is a famine in Shaanxi Province. Okay, how do you think this matter should be handled?"
Zhang Yunhan slapped his forehead and he actually forgot about this matter.
The Guanzhong Plain was called "Tianfu" in the Spring and Autumn Period. It has thousands of miles of fertile fields, pleasant climate, few natural disasters, and people's lives are prosperous and healthy.
However, according to historical records, in 1929, a severe drought swept across the land of Guanzhong. There was no harvest in the Qinchuan River for 800 miles, and starvation was everywhere. A large number of hungry people died or fled, and the population dropped sharply.
In fact, in 1928, there was a shadow of drought in the three northwest provinces, but with the support of the northwest military government, artificial rainfall was carried out. In fact, artificial rainfall appeared in the late 1940s, but Zhang Yunhan knew that dry ice condenses ice crystals and then produces rainfall. This working principle is not too simple. System researchers quickly launched corresponding rain bombs, which only need to be used at the right time. , can cause rainfall, so there is no major drought in the three northwest provinces. On the contrary, the neighboring Shaanxi Province has been experiencing a severe drought since the end of last year.
In almost all counties and districts in Shaanxi Province, water has not fallen, and there is no grain harvest in the summer. There is no grain to plant in late autumn, and there is no grain harvest for two consecutive seasons. In many cases, except for those from well-off families in the north, most farmers rarely save grain and usually harvest it. One crop means one season of food. With no food for two consecutive seasons, the disaster quickly spread. Thousands of hungry people searched for grass roots and tree bark in the fields to satisfy their hunger. What's more, they collect birds from everywhere, wash them with water, and then eat the undigested food in them. Some victims even swallowed Guanyin soil and died soon after. The cattle, mules and horses that were plowed were slaughtered and nothing was left. Cats, dogs, mice, not even a trace.
As the local situation became more serious and the Guo-Feng War was on the verge of breaking out, a large number of people began to drag their families and families away from their hometowns.
The three northwest provinces have publicly announced that refugees can come to the three provinces to settle down. The government provides food. As long as they work for the government, they can get houses, fields, and food.
For a time, most of the people in the entire Shaanxi Province rushed to the northwest.
Zhang Yunhan has not touched the war food reserve since he set it up last year. Now it is used to help the victims. A large number of refugees have been resettled. Brick factories in various places are firing red bricks. The government has come forward to organize the construction of houses for the refugees and provide meals. After the construction of the houses was completed, the construction of roads began. The people were almost starving to death. Now with the treatment of the Northwest Military Government, they not only have work to do, but also have food, food and housing, and are divided into fields and houses. Newspaper reports even Covered the Jinling government.
Due to Zhang Yunhan's policy support, ordinary people support him very much. For God's sake, Marshal Zhang is a living Bodhisattva.
Zhang Yunhan's intervention indirectly saved the lives of 5 million people. Shaanxi Province is already a populous province, and 5 million is a small number. There are also those who are unwilling to leave their hometown.
Why do so many people go to the three northwest provinces? The main reason was that when Feng Jishan left Henan and Shandong provinces, he blew up most of the railways and bridges to delay Huami's attack. This also prevented refugees from going to the Central Plains and the south.
And how did Feng Jishan do it? The food, bread, and biscuits provided for disaster relief were all used as military pay! They don't care about the life and death of the people at all.
People everywhere are in dire straits, and the National Army is in arrears with military pay! It's no wonder that the National Army was defeated quickly.
Knowing that Feng Jishan was about to be defeated, Zhang Yunhan began to plot for Shaanxi Province. Such a large area could not be taken away by peanuts. There were still 6 provinces away from the goal of 10 provinces. Take Shaanxi Province and then go north to take Suiyuan. , Inner Mongolia, and then go south to capture Sichuan Province. Sichuan Province must make arrangements in advance and prepare to build a mountain army. Mountain divisions are indispensable for operations in the south. This is very necessary.
At this time, Shaanxi Province was garrisoned by Liu Zhenhua. Of course, no matter who was garrisoned, he could win.
His team is called Zhensong Army, with a number of 100,000, but in fact it is only more than 60,000 people.
A military meeting was held soon. At the meeting, Zhang Yunhan first emphasized the drought in Shaanxi Province and the possible plague caused by a large number of deaths, and asked Zheng Lian to make preparations and dispatch medical and health personnel and garrison troops to take charge of post-war work. , wipe out bandits, bury corpses, spray and disinfect.
Finally, Zhang Yunhan asked the First Army to prepare to attack and capture Shaanxi Province.
The First Army has 4 divisions with more than 50,000 troops, including 3 infantry divisions and one armored division. The armored division is equipped with the newly developed Type 29 light tank, more than 240 tanks, 14 trucks, and more. There is an artillery regiment equipped with 105 howitzers.
It's not that Zhang Yunhan looks down on Shaanxi Province. If he didn't want to expose his strength too much now, he would have defeated Feng Jishan long ago.
Just after Feng Jishan left Shaanxi Province for Taiyuan, Zhang Yunhan sent the First Army to attack Shaanxi Province.
On June 19, 1929, there was a sudden burst of gunfire in the unprepared Shaanxi Province. As the elite of the army, the 1st Division was also the first batch of troops equipped with military trucks. Following the 1st Armored Division, there were more than 200 tanks and more than 500 trucks. , all the way to Chang'an in a mighty way, the 11th Route Army along the way was unable to resist at all. Where has the Zhensong Army seen such a thing as a tank? A rifle shot on it had no effect at all, and a Maxim heavy machine gun shot had no effect. On the contrary, the enemy's 75mm-caliber artillery destroyed the machine gun position in one fell swoop.
"Don't stop, keep charging!! Follow us."
"Attack! Attack!"
The second division attacked from the direction of Zhengning, with an unimpeded path. Huang Cheng said, "The enemy not only did not resist, but also dared to shoot at our army. I have sent artillery to attack them."
The third division attacked from the direction of Suiyuan and captured the northern part of Shaanxi Province. It was mainly to monitor the Yan clique in Jin Province and prevent them from joining forces.
While Yan Baichuan, Feng Jishan, and Hua Mi were still fighting against the Landlords, Zhang Yunhan's army arrived at Chang'an City that night. The 105mm howitzer was aimed at the city wall, and three rapid fires opened a gap. Tanks covered it, infantry charged, and the sound of gunfire resounded throughout Chang'an City.
boom! !
"Northeast, Shunzi! Hit him!!"
boom! !
boom!
"Follow me, Class 2!"
A 60mm mortar shell accurately landed behind the wall, and the patrol team of more than ten people who fired black guns was immediately wiped out.
"Division Commander! The frontline attack is going smoothly at present. The enemy's resistance is very weak. It is estimated that we can win it by dawn."
Li Zhi looked at the map and said: "Let the soldiers be careful. I don't want our first division to suffer any heavy casualties. We performed well in cooperating with the tanks this time."
The chief of staff smiled and said: "You are still capable, division commander. You have known for a long time that we will fight with the tanks and have practiced infantry-tank coordination in advance."
"Don't flatter me. This method is what the commander-in-chief said. Use trucks as tanks for training. If you encounter such a battle in the future, you won't be in a hurry."
