SFS Chapter 371: The overall situation has been settled and the rebellion in Xiazhou has been quelled
Chapter 371: The overall situation has been settled and the rebellion in Xiazhou has been quelled
As Liang Jiaman also made the decision, the governors-general of the entire Northern Frontier, except for Xiazhou which was still in the midst of war, expressed their support for Su Zhengyang's decision. From then on, the military and politics in the Northern Frontier were separated, and the local governors no longer held the military and political power in their own hands. Instead, only the central government had the military power. This eliminated to the greatest extent the hidden dangers of local forces becoming too powerful and wars breaking out at any time, and also made it possible for government orders to be implemented, allowing the entire Northern Frontier to develop in the shortest possible time.
In the 13th year of the Republic of Dahua, Su Zhengyang, who was 24 years old (25 years old in lunar age), issued an order on May 4th of the Gregorian calendar that the Viking Division, the Storm Division, and the Fourth Army of the Northwest Revolutionary Army would enter Xiazhou in the shortest time possible to rescue the people caught in the war and resolve the chaos in Xiazhou.
At this time in Xiazhou, the melee that had lasted for more than a month had intensified. The First Army, the Second Army, Ma Jingze's party, and the border garrison had all started fighting. The capital of Xiazhou, Suiye City, changed hands several times, but was finally taken back by Ma Jingze with great difficulty.
More than a month of war has brought extremely serious losses to the Xiazhou army. Originally, the First Army, the Second Army, and the Border Garrison Corps, the entire Xiazhou cavalry troops, had nearly 300,000 people. But now, the First Army was completely destroyed, and the Second Army suffered more than 40% casualties. Ma Jingze was almost left alone.
The remaining cavalry troops in the entire Xiazhou are less than 170,000.
As soon as the Northwest Revolutionary Army entered Xiazhou, Ma Jingze, under the instigation of his staff officer Pang Hai, formed an alliance with the Northwest Revolutionary Army. The two sides joined forces and launched a continuous offensive like a tide against the First Army and the Border Garrison Corps.
On May 17th, after ten days, the two brothers Lu Yongan and Lu Yongtai were forced to come to Kashui City, northwest of Xiazhou, which was also their last piece of territory. At this time, they had less than two divisions left.
Late that night, the Viking Division and the Storm Division launched the final general offensive against the city of Kashui. The fierce battle lasted only three and a half hours, and the city of Kashui fell. The brothers Lu Yongan and Lu Yongtai were also ordered to be shot on the spot by Stein. At this point, the entire Xiazhou First Army and the Border Garrison Corps were completely destroyed.
At this time, the Viking Division and the Storm Division turned their guns around and launched a siege on the Xiazhou Second Army.
The Second Army had already formed an alliance with Ma Jingze. In their eyes, the Northwest Revolutionary Army should be their ally. They never dreamed that the Northwest Revolutionary Army would actually attack them.
After three days, the Second Army was destroyed, and the supreme commander He Liao committed suicide with his gunshot wounded.
At this time in the capital city of Suiye, Ma Jingze was sitting at the dinner table, feasting on his food and drinking happily.
"Mr. Pang! You are really the Zhuge Liang who is beside me. If it weren't for you, I, Ma Jingze, would have been beheaded long ago. Now that the Lu brothers have been executed and the First and Second Armies have been completely destroyed, as long as we hold on to Su Zhengyang and the Northwest Revolutionary Army, the entire Xiazhou will belong to me, Ma Jingze."
Pang Hai said calmly at this time: "No, no, although the chaos in Xiazhou has been quelled, in the future, the entire Xiazhou will not belong to General Ma, but to the territory under the jurisdiction of the Northern Frontier Government, and also the territory of President Su."
Ma Jingze was slightly startled, with a hint of displeasure in his eyes, but he quickly reacted, gave Pang Hai a look that said "I understand", and said in agreement: "Yes, yes, Mr. Pang is right, this is President Su's world."
Pang Hai was speechless. Was this what he meant? This Ma Jingze actually misunderstood what he meant.
After a moment of silence, Pang Hai was too lazy to play with this loser anymore. He stood up, took out his service gun, pointed it at Ma Jingze's head and said, "General Ma, what I mean is that the days when your Ma family acted like a local tyrant in Xiazhou are over. From now on, Xiazhou belongs to Beijiang and President Su Zhengyang. Do you understand?"
Ma Jingze said drunkenly: "Mr. Pang, have you drunk too much? Why are you pointing a gun at me? What if it goes off accidentally? Put the gun down quickly and drink a few more glasses with me."
After saying this, Ma Jingze's body suddenly went limp, and he fell directly onto the table, falling into a deep sleep.
Pang Hai shook his head helplessly, and nodded to another officer at the same table, saying, "Dig a hole and bury him!"
After lurking in the Sixth Army of the First Group Army in Xiazhou for a whole year, Pang Hai had already placed many of his own people in key positions. The battalion commander of the guard battalion sitting at the same table was actually a member of the Northwest Intelligence Bureau.
"I understand, Director Pang!"
At eleven o'clock late in the evening, in the backyard of the Ma residence, two men from the Northwest Intelligence Bureau were digging a hole diligently, while Ma Jingze was lying on the ground like mud.
Suddenly, a black shadow rushed out from the garden nearby and knocked the two intelligence officers to the ground with two sharp palm strikes.
"General! Do you want to kill them?!"
Ma Jingze got up quickly from the ground with clear eyes, and yelled at the big man in front of him: "Are you stupid? You killed Su Zhengyang's people. Are you going to fight him to the death? Have you packed the things I asked you to pack? Now go out of the city directly to the Persian border. Escape from China in the shortest time possible, and maybe I can save my life."
The big man was slightly stunned and asked, "General, don't you care about your wife and daughter?"
"What the hell do you care! I have money, I can find a wife anywhere, so get out of here!"
In the darkness of the night, Ma Jingze and his personal guards quickly climbed over the wall and disappeared into the night.
In fact, Ma Jingze is a very smart man. He had discovered the clues in Pang Hai a long time ago, but he did not make it public. Until the end, Pang Hai regarded him as a moody, brainless waste, and successfully bought him a glimmer of hope.
By the time Pang Hai discovered the abnormality here, Ma Jingze had already disappeared. Having lost his power, Ma Jingze, who could not even take care of his wife and children, could no longer pose any threat to the entire Xiazhou. So far, the rebellion in Xiazhou was quelled, and the Ma family, a powerful family that had been glorious in Xiazhou for two centuries, also completely declined. The new governor of Xiazhou will also be Su Zhengyang's absolute new man.
After a full month and a half, Su Zhengyang had initially achieved his goal. Military power was returned to the central government, and the Northern Frontier was completely freed from the absurd situation where the provincial governor had absolute power.
At the beginning of June, Su Zhengyang officially issued his own decree. From now on, the governors of the major provinces in the entire northern border would no longer have the power to command the army. Instead, a division-level force of up to 13,000 people would be stationed in the capitals of each province, and the division commander would be a direct descendant of Su Zhengyang who was trusted by him.
The specific matters of establishing four major war zones in the Northwest, Northeast, Central Plains, and South were also officially put on the agenda.