Chapter 629 Liu Houfeng's Change

Now Chengdu is just around the corner. Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and even Guangxi are all planning how to divide interests after the war. Liu Cunhou has surrendered to join the southern camp, which means there is an additional person to divide interests. In addition, Liu Cunhou himself is an influential figure in Sichuan Province, so it is naturally not a good thing to have such a competitor.

Wu Shaoting did not take Liu Cunhou's surrender too seriously. At present, whether Liu Cunhou surrendered or not had any impact on the overall situation. At most, Liu Cunhou would be used to restrain Xiong Kewu and the power of the southwest provinces in the future. Of course, even without this restraint, he could still control the overall situation.

Tang Yuguang's face was extremely gloomy and he couldn't speak for a moment!

Wu Shaoting sighed leisurely and said again: "Adminton Tang, put my heart in mind. I, Wu Shaoting, are not an ungrateful person. As long as I am my own person, I have always been kind to say. On the contrary, if I am not my own person, I may be an enemy. I have never been ruthless in dealing with it. Do you understand?"

Tang Guangyu swallowed a saliva and said for a long time: "President Wu, as you said, put his heart in his heart. Since our Commander Liu decided to surrender, he will definitely support the leadership of the Southern Government and President Wu. The ancient saying goes, "You don't have to use people without doubt. Since President Wu accepts our Commander Liu's surrender, why can't he be honest with each other?"

Wu Shaoting sneered. Liu Cunhou's nickname in history is "Liu Houfang". It is precisely because this person is busy and changing with the wind. He felt that Tang Guangyu, the adjutant, was also shameless. Liu Cunhou had reached this point and wanted to maintain his current power and position. It was simply a fantasy. He said indifferently: "Adjutant Tang, what you need to consider now is you, not me. If you think the conditions are inappropriate, then there is no need for us to continue talking. I still have something to do, so I won't treat it more." After he said that, he looked up and greeted the door, "Shi Yuan, send Adjutant Tang to the guesthouse to rest."

Tang Guangyu was stunned, looking unwilling, but he was helpless.

On March 29, Liu Cunhou officially issued a telegram to support the Southern Government. A day ago, the troops he deployed around Mianyang had already accepted orders and began to adjust the direction of the combat and turned the attack to Chengdu.

Earlier, Liu Cunhou deployed a logistics force in Chengdu, and later the 18th Division entered Chengdu. In order to avoid conflicts, it was divided into districts. In fact, this left a very unhappy thing in Cunhou's heart. He was all in charge of the power of Chengdu, but in order to take into account the overall situation, he had to tolerate the Beiyang Army's involvement.

Now that he has turned against the Beiyang government, Liu Cunhou's army can go directly to Chengdu to fight.

The next morning, Gu Pinzhen's vanguard also began to attack Chengdu. Liu Xianyu was attacked before and suffered heavy losses, but victory was in sight. He would not miss the opportunity to divide the spoils, and he also hurriedly started the war in the south.

The 18th Division in Chengdu was truly in dire straits, with no reinforcements outside and no supplies inside. More importantly, Liu Cunhou's betrayal opened up the Chengdu defense line, and even if the 18th Division wanted to defend the enemy, it would be impossible.

The battle lasted for two days. In the early morning of March 30, the Yunnan Army, Guizhou Army and Sichuan Army successively attacked the city, wiped out the remnants of the 18th Division, and finally completed the meeting. The whereabouts of the 18th Division were unknown. More than 100 officers above the regiment headquarters were captured, more than 430 soldiers who fought stubbornly, surrendered, and captured more than 4,000 troops.

Wu Shaoting was not happy after receiving the good news. These people were able to unite during the war, but the conflicts after the war must have emerged one after another. He issued an order overnight, taking advantage of the situation in Chengdu that the various armies were still somewhat rational, and announced that Xiong Kewu would be responsible for establishing the Chengdu Aftermath Command, inviting Gu Pinzhen, Liu Xianyu, Wang Wenhua, Liu Cunhou and armed leaders from all over the Sichuan Province to appease the overall situation.

News from Chengdu flowed down the Yangtze River. Within a few hours, it passed through Luzhou and then spread to Chongqing and Wuhan.

Wu Xiangzhen and Ma Longbiao in Luzhou knew that Sichuan was in a desperate situation, and their situation was not good. Opposite the Yangtze River was Yang Ximin's troops, bombing day and night, and even the day of Chengdu's victory did not stop. In the direction of Hejiang, there were the 15th Cavalry Regiment and the 16th Cavalry Regiment that had arrived in Guangdong. The combat effectiveness of these two regiments was comparable to that of two divisions. If they had not received the order that they had to defend Hejiang and ensure the safety of the rear of the 7th Division, Luzhou would have been breached long ago.

For the remnants of Luzhou, the most urgent task is to ensure safe escape, and the choice facing Wu Xiangzhen and Ma Longbiao is to surrender or break through!

Ma Longbiao was stubborn and relied on his seniority to be a veteran. He was loyal to the Qing court in the past, but now he is loyal to Yuan Shikai. Even though he knew that the situation was irreversible, he still did not intend to surrender and made up his mind to break through.

Wu Xiangzhen didn't want to surrender easily. His relatives were all in the north. If he surrendered, he would never be able to overcome this knot. However, the telegram line outside Luzhou was cut off and could not contact the outside world, so he did not dare to take the risk of leading troops to break through.

On the last night of March, Yang Ximin was ordered to contact the city of Luzhou and sent a telegram to persuade the surrender. As long as Wu Xiangzhen and Ma Longbiao led their troops to surrender, the safety of the entire 19th Division and the 6th Central Division will be guaranteed. However, there was no call back until the next morning. Yang Ximin did not have so much patience. Since he could not persuade the surrender of the division commander, he had to instigate his subordinates.

The Secret Service sent several agents to sneak into Luzhou City and contacted several uneasy Beiyang Army generals, promising them to high-ranking officials and generous salaries. At the same time, it also guaranteed that after the uprising was successful, it would be good for the entire army, and even the stubborn elements would not be embarrassed.

Several battalion commanders gathered together in the early morning, complaining and drinking. They rushed into the headquarters while drinking, and used guns to close Wu Xiangzhen and Ma Longbiao to surrender. Ma Longbiao vowed to die and scolded the rebels for being ungrateful. Wu Xiangzhen remained silent, no matter how the rebels asked, begged, or threatened, they just didn't say a word.

In desperation, the rebels pushed out the Chief of Staff of the 18th Division and asked the Chief of Staff to send a telegram on their behalf.

The two divisions in Luzhou City had about 7,000 troops. The battle was now gone. The division headquarters knew this. If they continued to fight, they would undoubtedly seek death. Even if the soldiers did not rebel, they would escape in the face of battle. Under the general trend, the Chief of Staff had no choice but to draft a telegram and hand it over to the rebels to send a telegram.
Chapter completed!