Nanchang, the General Headquarters of the Revolutionary Army", An Yi called. Confidential secretary Chen Lifu approached and whispered.

Chiang Kai-shek put down the brush, rubbed his sore temples, raised his head and said with a smile: "Oh? It seems that this kid must have something to decide again, so let's listen to it. ”

Chen Lifu smiled slightly, a little surprised that the strict Chiang Kai-shek called An Yi so, and even thanks to An Yi's thunderous military actions and brilliant achievements, President Chiang, who was the commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army, was overjoyed and happy, and gained a little psychological comfort and pleasure under heavy pressure.

Seeing this, Chen Lifu immediately decided to easily forward the contents of the telegram in the form of dictation:

It was an emergency call that hundreds of Chinese and foreign reporters had rushed to Kunshan County, surrounding his regimental headquarters, and Xu Tingyao, chief of staff of the Second Division, had already set off from Taicang to Kunshan after receiving An Yi's request. An Yi didn't dare to make his own decisions, so he immediately called the principal to ask for instructions, proposing three hows, that is, how to deal with it properly? How to determine the guiding ideology? How to grasp the scale of publicity? ”

Chiang Kai-shek let out a satisfied "um", stood up and paced slowly, moving his numb legs and feet, and then nodded slightly and said:

"That's right, this fully shows that An Yi has grown up, how can these three be mentioned very well! It tells us very clearly that he is fully aware of the severity of the whole situation at present, so he will ask the headquarters for instructions in a timely manner, which is very safe, and shows his excellent qualities of not being arrogant, not getting carried away, and being rigorous and self-disciplined. Compared with those generals who have little military achievements but are not ashamed, An Yi is a hundred times stronger, I am very pleased, this son is worthy of a big responsibility! ”

"Yes, An Yi is very good, not at all as the legend in the army is big and informal, but a very shrewd and steady person, during the Huangpu period, I have never heard him express any views related to the political situation, before entering the Zhejiang War, he came to see you to ask for a radio station, first asked me to understand the current situation of the military radio station configuration, seemed very modest and shameless to ask, without a little arrogance.

I talked to him for more than an hour, and when I learned that new equipment was extremely scarce, he immediately gave up the request and didn't come in to bother you again. Also, he still calls me an instructor like he did in Huangpu, instead of other Huangpu students, and he changed me to the chief or Secretary Chen early, which sounds heartwarming, very comfortable and kind! ”

Twenty-seven-year-old Chen Lifu laughed easily as he spoke.

Since the contradictions between Chiang Kai-shek and Wuhan became public, anti-Chiang rhetoric has become more and more intense, splits within the Kuomintang have become inevitable, and Chiang Kai-shek's situation has become more and more difficult, and his mood has become more and more depressed day by day. Therefore, Chen Lifu, who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in the United States with a master's degree in mining, seized this rare opportunity to make his world friend Jiang Sanshu as easy as possible to relieve the increasing psychological pressure.

Chiang Kai-shek smiled slightly, stopped and ordered kindly: "Call back and tell him that everything is focused on the great cause of the Northern Expedition, and when handling things, it is centered on establishing the lofty image of our revolutionary army. ”

"Yes!"

"Tell him again that I will order all divisions of the First Army to select and send a group of outstanding noncommissioned officers to the model battalion for centralized training, the number of which is about 500, and after his old Nanchang training base is completed, a permanent non-commissioned officer training regiment will be established, and his reading regiment and model battalion will be fully responsible for training matters. According to Cai Zhonghu's suggestion and the actual situation of An Yi's reading regiment, he was allowed to expand the artillery company under his command into an artillery battalion, and include the artillery company and mortar company in the artillery battalion for a period of trial and testing. ”

Commander-in-Chief Chiang can be described as well-intentioned, and this passage contains two very attractive hints, first, telling An Yi not to be distracted by the old Nanchang training base, and that he will support him in terms of money and power; Second, the expansion of An Yi's artillery company into an artillery battalion is tantamount to clearly telling An Yi that the expansion is imminent, so that An Yi can continue to make new contributions conscientiously while always cherishing good hopes.

Chen Lifu nodded knowingly, quickly prepared a telegram and sent it to Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek very happily signed his name after reading it. Chen Lifu returned to the confidential room, handed the telegram to the director of the newspaper to send out, closed the door of the office and immediately fell into deep thought, he saw in Chiang Kai-shek's order the deep meaning that outsiders could not see.

Chen Lifu clearly saw that at this time, not to promote the An Yi Reading Regiment with outstanding military achievements to a division is definitely not limited by the establishment, just like how Yingqin was approved to establish a new army not long ago, and the number of each division in the First Army is also increasing, and giving An Yi the number of a division is just a sentence from Commander-in-Chief Jiang, and the most fundamental reason is that among the current main divisions of the First Army, such as the First Division and the 21st Division, the [***] personnel who serve as battalion, company, and platoon commanders and constitute the core of combat effectiveness are unprecedentedly active. There is a danger of losing control at any time. This phenomenon made Commander-in-Chief Chiang deeply jealous and worried, especially after receiving many secret reports from General Bai Chongxi, Commander-in-Chief Chiang was extremely disappointed and could not sleep well.

At this critical moment when the Kuomintang is about to split and the prospects for cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are bleak, An Yi's political position is confused and uncertain, and An Yi has a good relationship with both the [***] members of the army and the Kuomintang.

But people are fickle and will change with the change of the environment, therefore, no one dares to determine which camp An Yi will be attached to in the future, especially in the difficult situation of Chiang Kai-shek being more and more politically isolated and deprived of power in his hands, he will definitely not rest assured to give all his trust to An Yi, but he must win over and appease this wise and brave general who is invincible and has repeatedly turned the tide and created miracles.

Under the combined constraints of various factors, Chiang Kai-shek could only choose to give An Yi enough money and weapons, but could not give him complete trust and greater power.

Thinking of this, Chen Lifu let out a long sigh, deeply regretting that An Yi could not be promoted this time, he had never seen such a talented general in military affairs, and he was deeply impressed by An Yi's incredible command ability and superhuman military strategy, and was also very shocked, in comparison, those generals of the first army seemed so clumsy, so pale and mediocre, but it was a pity that everything had to be finally decided by Commander-in-Chief Jiang, Chen Lifu could only implement it obediently, and did not dare to have the slightest doubt.

…… Kunshan, the reading regiment is stationed in Tongfeng Daying.

Xu Tingyao and adjutant Long Muhan entered the camp with their servants and entered the courtyard in the center of the camp with An Yi and Yin Jinan, who greeted them.

Xu Tingyao sat down and didn't have time to drink a cup of tea, so she took the commander-in-chief's call back from An Yi, and smiled after reading it carefully:

"It's exactly what you expected, haha...... With this reply from the principal, we will be able to talk, otherwise after your and my remarks are quoted by the newspaper, it is very likely to arouse suspicion and even criticism from Shangfeng and colleagues. Xiao Yi, tell me, why don't you ask the Political Department of my First Army for instructions, but directly ask the principal for instructions? Aren't you afraid that the military will say that you have exceeded your authority to report? ”

An Yi shook his head a little helplessly, turned around and took the folder from the hand of Zhan Huanqi, a communications staff officer, opened it and sent it to Xu Tingyao:

"Look, this is the draft of the telegram sent by our department to the General Headquarters of the Eastern Route Army, but there was still no response for seven hours, and the reporters outside became more and more difficult to deal with, so my subordinates had no choice but to ask the chief of staff to report to the commander-in-chief...... I also know that this is not good, but how can I get rid of the many reporters gathered at the gate of the county government without this? If it is perfunctory for a long time, it will definitely make the press secretly resentful because of this, and it will not be good if a few news reports that are unfavorable to our army are written and affect the overall situation of the Northern Expedition, and the subordinates will have no choice but to do so! ”

"Oops! Look at my last name...... Remember, at present, the General Headquarters and the Political Department are busy with the serious conflict between the left and right factions in Hangzhou, and they have heard that the two factions have used knives and guns, and there have been many casualties, where do they have the time and energy to deal with such things? You're doing the right thing, there's nothing to give someone a handle, haha! Xu Tingyao let out a long sigh of relief, and secretly admired An Yi's caution.

An Yi looked at his watch and said with a wry smile: "It's already three o'clock in the afternoon, and there is still half an hour to hold a press conference, and I can only rely on you later, my subordinates have no experience, at most I can only change into a military uniform and sit next to you to foil you." Senior Brother Long, you can go with you, I will ask someone to bring you a new set of military uniforms to change into, you follow the chief of staff to the hall all day long, and you are more knowledgeable than the younger brother in dealing with reporters. ”

Long Muhan, who is also from Anhui Province with Xu Tingyao, came from the first phase of Huangpu, and stayed in school as a tactical instructor after graduation and was promoted to captain of the colonel, after the Battle of Nanchang, Xu Tingyao was transferred to his side as an adjutant, and when he heard An Yi's words, he hurriedly resigned:

"I'm still exempt, who doesn't know that you, a bandit, are more slippery than anyone else, Brother Junshan (He Zhenhanzi) is so talented, it's not that you have been tricked around, what is it to deal with a few reporters?"

Everyone laughed, An Yi couldn't help but laugh when he heard the title of bandit B again, remembering the intimate relationship between his comrades at that time and the opposition and division that was forming at this time, An Yi sighed and stood up, and ordered the orderly Zhang Cheng to bring his general uniform.

Xu Tingyao also took the general's uniform that the guards took out from the suitcase and entered the inner room, put it on and put it on neatly, put on the polished long riding boots, hung up the short sword with the help of the guards and checked it again, and then walked out of the small room and returned to the main hall with satisfaction.

Seeing An Yi's outstanding image of wearing a straight general's uniform for the first time, Xu Tingyao couldn't help but cheer loudly, An Yi smiled and buttoned up the general's hat, called Yin Jinan, who was neatly dressed, and Qu Muchen, who was thoughtful, steady and prudent, walked side by side with Xu Tingyao to the side door leading to the backyard of the county government.

"Everyone is silent, General Xu has arrived-"

"General Ann has arrived—"

When the voice of the officer on duty fell, the more than 120 Chinese and foreign reporters in the main hall of the county government consciously stopped talking and returned to the rows of chairs to solemnly sit upright, and the more than 30 photojournalists had already squatted on the empty space between the reporters in the first row and the rostrum.

As soon as Xu Tingyao and An Yi walked out of the passage and stepped on the rostrum, they triggered a burst of "crackling" photographing sounds and flashing lights "poof" exposure sounds, and the entire main hall was suddenly filled with white smoke, which frightened the well-informed Xu Tingyao, and saw such a grand scale of reporters, and had to be nervous.

Xu Tingyao, An Yi and others hurriedly saluted the audience, and sat down on the rostrum one by one according to the seating order. Trying his best to calm down his excitement, Xu Tingyao took out the opening speech prepared in advance and read it out in a formal manner, which was nothing more than some scenes of how to hold high the banner of Sanming Cooking Righteousness and go all out to devote himself to the great cause of the Northern Expedition.

The hastily prepared press conference did not set up a master of ceremonies to host at all, looking at the Chinese and foreign reporters who were eager to ask questions, An Yi whispered Xu Tingyao's opinion in a timely manner, and then turned to Qu Muchen beside him to explain.

Qu Muchen nodded and stood up, announcing to the participating reporters the rules that An Yi ordered:

"Distinguished reporters, gentlemen and ladies, the following is the time to answer questions, General Xu Tingyao, chief of staff of our division, General An Yi, head of the Reading Regiment, and Colonel Yin Jinan, commander of the model battalion of the Revolutionary Army, will answer your questions respectively. 2. Strict noise, please forgive me if there is anything unsatisfactory, and do not roar at the venue and disturb the order; 3. The Q&A time is half an hour, and we will try our best to reply to the unfinished matters by raising objections or requests in writing. Today is a special press conference, we will refuse all interviews, thank you for your understanding and generous cooperation! ”

As soon as the words fell, the audience raised their hands, and Qu Muchen was dazzled, but fortunately, An Yi reminded in a low voice, and Qu Muchen generously signaled to He Jing, a reporter from the Central Daily, to ask the first question.

He Jing stood up happily and said loudly: "I, He Jing, work for the "Central Daily", may I ask General Xu, how do you think the Northern Expeditionary Army can capture Nanjing and Shanghai?" What are your plans for the next phase of the war? ”

Xu Tingyao raised her head proudly: "Four words: it means that it is okay!" Under the powerful offensive of our revolutionary army, the stubborn resistance of any reactionary warlord can only be a death struggle, and it will inevitably end in defeat! The morale of the officers and men of our army is like a rainbow, and they will obey the call at any time, and they will surely smash the last resistance of any warlord with an indomitable revolutionary spirit. ”

An Yi listened to the fun, thinking that the chief of staff was worthy of being the chief of staff, but saying it in a grand manner was equivalent to saying nothing, who knew that before a smile on the corner of An Yi's mouth unfolded, the second young reporter who was approved to ask a question had already stood up and looked at An Yi with blazing eyes.

"I, Zhou Chong'an, now working for the Shanghai "Declaration", am very honored to ask General An, who has made great achievements, two questions, first, what is General An's political position? How do you view the current KMT-CCP cooperation? Second, I have learned from a series of reports in the "Central Newspaper Daily" under the jurisdiction of the Nationalist Axe that a new and effective new training method is being implemented in General An's model battalion. ”

After speaking, Zhou Chongan nodded politely and sat down slowly, but his two sharp questions immediately resonated with most of the reporters present, and everyone focused their expectant eyes on the young and handsome An Yi's face.

An Yi smiled politely: "It turns out that you are Mr. Zhou Chong'an, I have admired the name for a long time, I have read Mr. Zhou's documentary serialization of the Tonglu Battle published in the "Declaration", and I admire Mr. Zhou's professionalism, talent and keen perspective, and I still remember it vividly. It's a pity that the military affairs were busy at the beginning, and it was just as the start was imminent, so it was a pity that I couldn't ask Mr. Zhou for advice. Fortunately, when the tens of thousands of defenders in Tonglu City abandoned the city in panic and fled, the nearly 10,000 shells carefully prepared by our army could not find the target, and the artillery brothers of our army who failed to display their talents are still scratched, but it is okay, if the artillery really fires in unison, it will accidentally injure the innocent, maybe we will be sorry for Mr. Zhou, haha......"

The reporters at the venue didn't expect An Yi to be so funny, and after being stunned, they burst into laughter one after another, and Zhou Chongan couldn't help laughing.

An Yi put away his smile and said quite seriously: "Mr. Zhou just said to ask two questions, but after I recalled, I found that there were three questions, so I can only answer Mr. Zhou's two questions here, otherwise the next respected reporters are likely to draw gourds in the same way, and I will have a headache." ”

Everyone laughed again, Xu Tingyao also grinned, and An Yi continued:

"My political position is very simple and very clear, that is, to inherit the legacy of Mr. Sun Yat-sen, devote myself to the great cause of the Northern Expedition, and strive for the reunification and prosperity of the motherland for life! As for the training methods of our regiment's model battalion, in fact, they are much the same as those of various units in the revolutionary army; if we really want to distinguish the slight differences, it is estimated that our training volume is slightly larger, and we have a stronger surname; through a series of actual combat tests, the officers and men have understood this truth: sweat more in peacetime and shed less blood in wartime. Thank you, Mr. Zhou, for your question, I'm done! ”

An Yi's wonderful answer won a round of applause from the reporters, and many senior reporters realized An Yi's cleverness and tactfulness, and were deeply worried about whether their questions could get satisfactory answers.

Sure enough, most of the questions asked about An Yi were cleverly avoided by him, and when he asked the big questions, An Yi was not worried about the damage to his image, and humbly asked Xu Tingyao beside him, and then relayed Xu Tingyao's words, and when he encountered political problems, he asked Yin Jinan, the commander of the model battalion and the instructor of the regiment, to answer with a smile, and when he encountered military problems, he pushed it to Qu Muchen, who was stable and stable, which made a group of reporters hate but helpless.

Connie, a beautiful British female reporter with blonde hair, saw that Qu Muchen had not given her a chance to ask questions, so she stood up while Qu Muchen was looking at her watch, and asked loudly in Chinese, which was quite fluent:

"Generals, please forgive me for being abrupt, my name is Connie. Fryer, from the British News Agency, do you revolutionaries harbor prejudices against foreign journalists? Why didn't we get a fair opportunity for European and American journalists who had traveled across the ocean to ancient China during the 35-minute exchange time? ”

Xu Tingyao, Yin Jinan, and Qu Muchen on the stage didn't know how to answer for a while, after all, it was very sensitive when it came to diplomatic issues, and the questions raised by Connie were very sharp, and this press conference really didn't provide too many opportunities for foreign journalists to speak.

Many reporters in the audience were quite surprised, and they all looked at the generals and colonels of the revolutionary army on the rostrum, and the venue immediately quieted down and was extremely embarrassed.

I saw An Yi unhurried, smiled slightly and kindly motioned to Anne to sit down: "If we have something that we don't do enough, please forgive Miss Fryer, but I don't agree with Miss Fryer's point of view, we have no prejudice against anyone, even if we still suffer silently in the face of the consistent discrimination and brutal aggression of an imperialist country, but don't forget that there is a wise saying in China, that you should not do to others what you do not want to be done to yourself, the aggressor will eventually be invaded, and the slaughterer will eventually be slaughtered!"

You should remember that I took this opportunity to convey to all the good-hearted American people through the newspaper where Mr. Huntley worked my way to convey to all the good-hearted American people the more than 5,000 officers and men of our Reading Corps, and to the American Bishop Lockheed, the missionary Alfred, and the nun Jenny, who work in the diocese of Quzhou, Zhejiang, with the highest respect and deep gratitude.

In addition, General Xu, chief of staff of our division, also very happily answered the questions of the French journalist Mr. Como and the Swedish journalist Mr. Hansen, and the commander of the model battalion, Colonel Yin Jinan, seriously answered the questions of the German journalist Mr. Caruso.

In fact, strictly speaking, we have taken great care of our journalist friends from European and American countries, and if we had done it on the principle of fairness, I am afraid that there would not have been so many foreign journalists who would have had the opportunity to ask questions, because among the more than 120 reporters present, the number of foreign journalists was only seven, accounting for only about 6 percent of the proportion, including Miss Fryer, and the vast majority of nearly 94 percent were Chinese journalists. I myself have no apologies at all for Miss Fryer.

Thank you for your question, I would like to understand to some extent that the requirements for your question today have been preliminarily met, haven't they? ”

The audience was amazed, and then burst into warm applause, and all the Chinese reporters deeply admired An Yi's humble and unobtrusive words, quick thinking, and coherent words.

An Yi politely stood up to thank everyone, and Qu Muchen took the opportunity to announce the end of the meeting. An Yi, who was extremely confident with a smile on his face, motioned to Xu Tingyao to go first in the long-term applause, and then walked away calmly with his head held high.

(To be continued)