ebookland Chapter 1159 Again, sparing no expense.
Chapter 1159 Again, sparing no expense.
Vice Minister Wu has always held considerable influence with Li Shaoyi. However, today's situation is less certain. The main reason is that things have escalated too much; Li Shaoyi himself caused a scene right there in the meeting, a stark contrast to his usual behavior.
Of course, this is understandable. If everyone puts themselves in Li Shaoyi's position, they probably wouldn't be able to resist either. Last time, his appointment as commander of the Pujiang war zone was also due to pressure from these same people. If a proper solution isn't found now, this could become a huge international laughingstock.
"Old Wu, why haven't you left yet? Didn't I tell you to go to the airport?"
Minister He was about to make a phone call when Vice Minister Wu walked in with a long face, looking like something was not going to go smoothly.
“I called them, and they made it clear that they would not accept any talks and that they had already given us an ultimatum. Look at the planes in the sky right now; the number has increased from 6 to 12. As far as I know, a large number of planes that took off from the north have also arrived and can land within two hours at the earliest.”
Vice Minister Wu said with a bitter face, "I told him last night that the meeting couldn't be arranged like this. If it were, given Li Shaoyi's temper, he definitely wouldn't give them a good look, and might even cause a big problem." Minister He added, "Li Shaoyi always considers the big picture and won't cause any major trouble at this time. We just need to persuade him gently. In the end, Li Shaoyi will suffer in silence, just like before, and it will definitely pass."
But today's situation has made it clear to everyone that they don't want to suffer in silence, and they don't want to suffer in silence in the future either; otherwise, things wouldn't have turned out this way. You thought you had them figured out, but actually, they were only retreating in the past because of the war effort. Now that they see that retreating is useless because you people will continue to harass their territory, since we're not on the same side, it's better to part ways.
"Reporting to the lord, an urgent telegram from the mountain city: we must keep Commander Li at all costs."
Just as the two hesitated, a telegram arrived outside the door. Minister He should have been on the phone with Shancheng at that moment, but Vice Minister Wu's report had delayed things. Unexpectedly, the other side already knew about the situation and had bypassed Minister He to issue orders to some of the division and corps commanders.
When Minister He saw the contents of the telegram, his heart sank. It asked two infantry divisions to cooperate with the military police to take the airport. Wasn't that nonsense?
Although the airport's defenses are not strong enough, they have been reinforcing the defenses around the airport since they arrived in Hankou. Hundreds of planes have landed there recently, and nobody knows what the situation is like there. If the two sides really get into a fight, these people might not die on the battlefield against the Japanese, but rather in the infighting.
"Reporting to Minister He, this is Wang Nian, commander of the 15th Division. Our division is short 3500 men. Now, Shancheng has ordered us to launch an attack on the airport, and we must get the bullets. Currently, each soldier in the division has less than 5 bullets on average. We don't know how to fight this battle. Please give us your instructions, Minister He."
The 15th Division commander's lazy voice came through the phone. They had received direct orders from the old man, but the problem was they weren't stupid. Attacking the airport now would be tantamount to cutting off their own heads prematurely. "Don't you even look at the situation at the airport? Do you think we can take it?"
Moreover, back in Pujiang, all 600-plus seriously wounded soldiers of the entire division were evacuated to the rear by planes belonging to the 72nd Army. If it weren't for them, those 600-plus brothers would have all died on the battlefield.
We had no food, and they gave us canned food; we had no weapons, and they gave us bullets. Leaving aside how to repay them, now they're forcing us to fight them on the battlefield. Anyone with a conscience would do such a thing.
"The situation is the same for the 18th Division. It is said that their two regiments have already set off, but they are not clear about the location of the South District Airport. They have now moved to the east and are currently heading towards the South District Airport."
Another operations staff officer came over from the adjacent office; they had just received a report from the 18th Division. The old man hadn't relied on those miscellaneous troops for orders, so he directly issued commands to his trusted confidants—the Central Army's combat units. However, the old man hadn't anticipated that even these Central Army soldiers might not all obey him.
Minister He felt a surge of relief at this moment. Fortunately, these people hadn't followed the old man's orders; otherwise, there would have been far more bloodshed in Hankou today. He also felt that the old man's strategy was correct; even the division commanders of his Central Army were disobeying orders. If this wasn't curbed, Li Shaoyi's influence would likely continue to rise rapidly.
But what to do with this mess after Li Shaoyi leaves? The two ministers of the Ministry of Military Affairs felt a headache coming on. Logically, Li Shaoyi had already resigned from all his military posts, so he was now essentially a warlord. How to reorganize his troops seemed irrelevant.
As for winning over Li Shaoyi's men, some people have already said that it's simply impossible. The other warlords' generals were won over by us because they couldn't make a living under their former leaders, so they came to our side.
But can we afford to supply Li Shaoyi's men with all that food and drink every day? They live like landlords every day, would they want to come here and be poor?
That's simply impossible. Besides, what's their reputation like nationwide? People everywhere give a thumbs-up when they talk about the 72nd Group Army, including some of our own soldiers. But when they talk about us, do ordinary people praise us like that?
People live for either fame or fortune. If they have fame and fortune over there, why would they come to our side? Anyone with a brain wouldn't accept the central government's offer to come here and become a puppet.
Minister He stood by the window, watching the planes taking off and landing in the distance. He didn't know what to say at that moment. He just hoped that Li Shaoyi wouldn't announce the separation from the Nationalist government after he returned.