eurekapd Chapter 254: Lu Gang acts as a lobbyist and Zhuang Mingqi is crazy
Chapter 254: Lu Gang acts as a lobbyist and Zhuang Mingqi is crazy
In Minglu City, the capital of Yuzhou, Lu Gang, dressed in military uniform, stood straight in front of Su Zhengyang.
Su Zhengyang looked at Lu Gang, who was tall and had a righteous face, and felt quite emotional.
Lu Gang is a veteran general from the first batch of Zhang Chengxiang's subordinates who followed the Northern Frontier Army to conquer the world. He is known for his calm personality, long-term strategic vision, and outstanding command ability. Lu Gang is also a leader among the first batch of students in the Northern Frontier Military Academy, and he stands out from the crowd.
Originally, a capable senior general like Lu Gang should have replaced the flashy Zhuang Mingqi as the supreme commander of the Jiaozhou Army.
As everyone knows, Zhang Chengxiang's investment and contribution in the Jiaozhou Army and the Central Plains Army were completely disproportionate. If there were any new equipment, the Jiaozhou Army would be equipped first before the Central Plains Army would get its turn. Therefore, the Central Plains Army was also jokingly called the stepmother-raised army among the armies of the three provinces of Zhili.
The fundamental reason was that Lu Gang was an upright person and never supported Zhang Chengxiang's move to get close to Fuso, which went against Zhang Chengxiang's ideas. That's why he was gradually alienated and placed in Yuzhou, one of the three provinces of Zhili, to command the First Army of the Central Plains.
In Su Zhengyang's mind, in the memories belonging to the original owner, he was not unfamiliar with Lu Gang. When he was in the Yunzhou Military Academy, this Lu Gang had once made a friendly guest appearance as their army instructor. This man's battlefield response and command capabilities were second to none among the older generals of the entire Northern Frontier government.
Now, after Zhang Chengxiang's death, Lu Gang finally let go of the so-called gratitude in his heart. Su Zhengyang has always admired such top military talents, but Lu Gang is a senior general in Zhang Chengxiang's rebel army after all. If he lets him go easily, it will probably lead to criticism.
"Teacher Lu, long time no see."
After a moment's silence, Su Zhengyang spoke first, looking into Lu Gang's eyes with a meaningful look.
Lu Gang said calmly, "I never thought that the most outstanding student among the fifth class of Yunzhou Military Academy would be you, a second-generation rich kid who has always been recognized as a good-for-nothing. You deliberately concealed your incompetence and managed to deceive everyone."
"I once taught you in the Military Academy that if you do something wrong, you must pay the price. As the senior commander of the rebels in the three provinces of Zhili, you can do whatever you want to me. I only ask that you can spare the lives of the middle and lower-level officers under me. Many of them have a passion for serving the country, and they are forced to work for Zhang Chengxiang. Give them a chance, and they can also become iron-blooded men who fight bravely on the battlefield and resist foreign aggression!"
After a moment of silence, Su Zhengyang finally nodded.
"In addition, I have a great gift for the Northern Frontier government and the people of the Northern Border of China. Since the war began, the entire Northern Border of China has been filled with smoke and the people are living in misery. I have repaid Governor Zhang's kindness, but I feel sorry for the Northern Frontier, for China, and for the people of the world."
"You only need to agree to my three conditions. I can go to Fengzhou and persuade the commanders-in-chief of the Second and Third Army Groups of the Central Plains to abandon the dark and join the light and return to the Northern Frontier Government. The constant civil war will only make China's situation worse and worse. If I can convince them, I can also help you take over the three provinces of Zhili as soon as possible and let the Northern Frontier Government return to peace."
Seven days later, the Third Army of Jiaozhou, led by Division Commander Guo Yumin, advanced eastward from Jiaozhou and entered Fengzhou to provide support to the Central Plains Army guarding Fengzhou.
But what was beyond the expectations of the Jiaozhou Army was that the Third Army had just arrived at Fengshan City when it suffered a sudden attack from the Central Plains Army. The Second and Third Armies of the Central Plains suddenly launched an attack when the Jiaozhou Army was caught off guard, bringing unimaginable damage to the Third Army of Jiaozhou.
The war lasted less than three days. The casualties of the Jiaozhou Third Army reached 20,000. The remaining troops all surrendered and became prisoners. The commander of the Third Army, Guo Yumin, was also imprisoned.
Five days ago, Lu Gang came to Fengyang City, the capital of Fengzhou, alone. He met with Jia Qinghu, the commander-in-chief of the Central Plains Second Army, with the charge of betraying the Central Plains Army and the three provinces of Zhili.
In fact, Jia Qinghu was once a powerful general under Lu Gang, and was a soldier trained by Lu Gang.
After Lu Gang explained the national justice and accurately analyzed the current situation, Jia Qinghu was finally convinced. Jia Qinghu then set up a Hongmen Banquet in Fengyang City and invited Zhuo Fei, the commander of the Third Army in Fengshan, to Fengyang City, where he placed him under house arrest and forced him to hand over the military power of the Third Army.
Lu Gang and Jia Qinghu jointly directed this drama against the Third Army of Jiaozhou.
Without any preparation, the Jiaozhou Third Army was completely wiped out, which not only dealt a heavy blow to the Jiaozhou Army, but also made Zhuang Mingqi, the commander-in-chief of the Jiaozhou Army, furious and felt deeply powerless and fearful.
On September 18, the six towns in northern Xinjiang, the main force of the Duan faction, the Second Army of the Northwest Revolutionary Army, the main force of the Feng faction, the coalition forces of the Li faction of Kuanzhou, the Liang faction of Houzhou, and the Yan faction of Yunzhou, totaling 750,000 troops, launched the final general attack on Jiaozhou.
Zhuang Mingqi gathered the remaining nearly 200,000 troops in Jiaozhou, intending to make a final desperate effort.
As the war continued, Jiaozhou lost eighty percent of its territory in just seven days. Facing tremendous pressure, a large number of Jiaozhou troops surrendered directly. Only Zhuang Mingqi was left, like a gambler who had lost all his money, garrisoning in Qingyun City with the remaining two army-level troops.
At this time, Zhuang Mingqi had completely lost his mind. He gathered tens of thousands of civilians in the city, escorted them to the city wall, and threatened that as long as the coalition forces dared to launch an attack, all the people in Qingyun City would be buried with them.
Under Zhuang Mingqi's crazy behavior, the Northern Frontier government was afraid to act rashly, and the battle to attack Qingyun City temporarily came to a stalemate.
After more than four months, Su Zhengyang met his father-in-law Yang Jiakai for the first time in Fengyang City, the capital of Fengzhou. Yang Jiakai had lost almost two times less weight than he had half a year ago. His face was full of stubble, and he looked unkempt and extremely haggard.
Facing his son-in-law Su Zhengyang, who almost single-handedly turned the situation in Northern Xinjiang around, Yang Jiakai could not help but sigh: "Zhengyang, Northern Xinjiang was able to step out of danger this time, attacking Fusang in the north and defending against the Northern Expedition Army in the south. The Northwest Revolutionary Army played an indispensable role. Maybe I am really old. If I had not been indecisive and listened to you to take action against Zhang Chengxiang as soon as possible, maybe the current series of problems would not have occurred, causing the entire northern border of China to fall into war."
Su Zhengyang looked at Yang Jiakai, who was standing in front of him, looking a little older, with complicated and guilty eyes. He shook his head and said, "Dad, you don't have to blame yourself. If Zhang Chengxiang had been dealt with directly, those governors of various provinces who were hiding in the dark and had ulterior motives and were trying to overthrow Northern Xinjiang with Zhang Chengxiang would not have surfaced. Although Northern Xinjiang suffered serious losses after this disaster, it also eliminated the worrying hidden dangers."