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 cars were all filled with canned freight cars.
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 once again invaded our country and bullied our people, the 1,228 officers and men from Zhou Wen, the director of the Shanxi Provincial Party Headquarters Security Department, were filled with indignation and shared the same hatred of the enemy. I specially applied to the Central Party Headquarters to raise my own military expenses in the name of the armed forces directly under the Central Party Headquarters and go to the Songhu front line to participate in the Anti-Japanese War. The entire army is determined to carry forward the fearless revolutionary spirit and fight to the death against the Japanese aggression in order 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 truly holds the actual power over party affairs. The Organization Department was controlled by the Chen brothers under the authority of the principal, and it was 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" (no actual position in the administrative department). Not only are the first group of Central Committee members unable to participate in state secrets, they are not even clear about the nature and purpose of their 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 bluff local governments and ordinary people, but 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 was currently beyond the control of the Central Party Headquarters, it was nominally a subordinate of the Party Headquarters, right? Moreover, 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 changed from the past bureaucratic style of pushing and shoving, and rarely unanimously convened 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 was determined to take revenge was now very prosperous in Shanxi. Even Kong, Song, and Liu were all pulled into a group by him, and he opened a steel factory and a pharmaceutical factory. Yes, but they are all good things that benefit 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’s just let these two quarrels make trouble together.
When he received Liu Ruoshui's call, the principal had no intention of objecting. Why? Because although this time it is definitely necessary to support the Songhu front line, mobilizing troops will take time, not to mention that there is still a big problem that has not been solved, and that is money.
As the saying goes, before the soldiers and horses are moved, food and grass go first. What is fought in a war is money and food. 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 launching attacks, the principal had to announce his resignation to the people of the country, until the September 128th 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. When he came back, he was faced with a mess. The central government was short of finances. Now even his own direct branch of the Central Army was owed wages for two months. So the principal could not 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?
It is impossible to mobilize troops until military spending is in place. 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. No general dared to owe a few months' salary. Those who are paid to lead soldiers to the battlefield are simply seeking death, and they might end up being shot to death by their own soldiers.
What's more, before going to the battlefield, it is customary to pay a departure 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 logistics 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 worry-free.
Even though it is only a force of more than a thousand people, if it can arrive at the Songhu battlefield soon, it will be a great encouragement and boost 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 attaches great importance to them. support and determination to fight against Japan, and at the same time, it can explain the call and excitement of the people across the country who expect the central government to rise up to resist Japan.
However, the principal learned from the intelligence provided by the United Kingdom and the United States that a large number of Japanese troops and warships were leaving Japan and heading for Shanghai. At this critical moment, one more person means more strength. What's more, the principal is well aware of Zhou Wen's ability. He is indeed a good fighter. 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 me, I won't have that name. .
