The news that Jiangdong had annihilated thousands more Japs greatly stimulated Wei Lihuang's brothers, and the troops' marching speed unknowingly accelerated a bit.

At the current pace, they will arrive at their scheduled location around June 18th.

It was one day earlier than the Japanese troops arriving from Hebei, Chahar and other places.

One day is a very short moment in the entire time latitude, but on the battlefield this will mean a huge advantage.

You can replenish supplies, survey the terrain, and build positions earlier than the enemy...

Jiang Dong was also very satisfied when he received Wei Lihuang's telegram. The performance of the South Route Army was a little better than he expected.

The division commander of the 20th Division and the soldiers of the 39th Brigade were all wiped out, leaving only two to three thousand men of the 40th Brigade in this division that was struggling to survive in the north.

There was no problem with Koto's announcement that the 20th Division had been completely wiped out.

Even if someone has an opinion, Jiangdong doesn't care.

………

In addition to Wei Lihuang's troops, there was another person who couldn't sit still after receiving the news that Jiangdong had annihilated the 20th Division.

Chairman Chiang!

In the opinion of the chairman, Jiangdong's consecutive battles and victories stole the show both domestically and internationally.

Although he has also gained a sense of presence among them and increased some prestige, this is far from enough.

Therefore, the Chairman made a prompt decision and decided to leave for Shanxi on the 17th to personally command the battle in Licheng.

As a leader of a country, the Chairman's travel is naturally a big deal.

The military commander and attendants notified Jiangdong immediately and asked him to make preparations.

Looking at the telegram in his hand, Jiang Dong's face was filled with helplessness.

"This time, Vice President Bai is accompanying the Chairman. Your worries should be unnecessary!"

Xie Chengrui and Jiang Dong have been working together for a long time, and he can still guess a little bit of what the old man is thinking at the moment.

As a student from Huangpu, in Xie Chengrui's heart, Chairman is not only a leader, but also a teacher.

There is no need to bring any deliberateness or falsehood, respect and admiration will naturally arise in his heart.

Of course, Xie Chengrui also knows how Jiang Dong views the Chairman. His attitude can be seen from last year when Jiang Dong used the Zhongzheng sword given by the emperor to peel an apple.

The chairman's commanding ability was indeed somewhat unsatisfactory, but in Xie Chengrui's opinion, Jiang Dong's helplessness was a little too much with Vice President Bai accompanying him.

Jiang Dong threw the telegram on the table, looked up at Xie Chengrui, and asked casually:

"Lao Xie, if one day I break up with the Chairman, who will you stand on?"

Xie Chengrui's eyes suddenly widened as big as bells. He had speculated about this matter, but he didn't expect Jiang Dong to point it out directly, still with such a casual attitude.

He looked at Jiangdong, wanting to confirm if the other party was joking.

But Jiangdong was studying the map by himself, as if he hadn't said what he just said.

Countless thoughts flashed through Xie Chengrui's mind. After a long time, he asked in a stiff tone:

"You want to take your brothers to vote for the Red Party?"

Jiang Dong shook his head, still not looking at Xie Chengrui.

"Will you continue to fight the Japanese? Or will you become a warlord who only takes care of your own one-third of an acre of land after occupying Shanxi?"

Hearing this question, Jiang Dong put away his casual look, looked into Xie Chengrui's eyes and said:

"I have said from the first day we became partners that everything I, Jiangdong, do in this life is only to achieve one goal:

Kill the Japanese and avenge blood!

Cooperate with Germany and the Soviet Union, contact the Communist Party, or one day break with the Chairman...

I do all this so that I can better defeat the Japs, regain my homeland, and protect the people!"

Xie Chengrui was also looking into Jiang Dong's eyes. He believed that the old man was telling the truth. He raised the corners of his mouth and uttered a few words,

"Then I'll follow you!"

Jiang Dong also smiled, stretched out his right hand and held it tightly with Xie Chengrui's.

He knew that it was extremely difficult for Xie Chengrui to choose sides. After all, the person standing opposite him was a leader, a division commander, and the person he respected the most in his heart.

But Jiangdong must get the answer today,

Because the equipment of the two divisions has been transported from the rear, the Chairman of the General Committee will arrive in Shanxi soon.

After tomorrow, there will be three divisions in Jiangdong based on the German Army Division.

The equipment is unprecedentedly sophisticated, the combat effectiveness far exceeds that of the ordinary national army, and the number will reach more than 60,000.

In less than a month, the size of the force will be expanded, this time by 2 to 3 times.

But he only has one independent division, which is far from enough.

No matter how much the Chairman trusted him, it was impossible to directly promote him to Army Commander or Theater Commander.

He will not hand over the equipment and troops in Jiangdong's hands, so there will definitely be a negotiation with the Chairman.

When it comes to military command, it would be difficult for the Chairman to give in given his personality.

Therefore, it is very likely that the two parties will collapse!

“Finally we’ve come this far!”

Jiang Dong thought bitterly.

Among the entire Unified Division, the ones that worried him the most were Xie Chengrui and Li Zhaoying.

Now that Xie Chengrui has expressed his stance, Li Zhaoying will probably make the same choice in the future.

The remaining officers and soldiers of the army Jiangdong were not worried.

The junior officers came out of his officer training class, and most ordinary soldiers chose to join the army because of his superior.

Jiang Dong smiled at Xie Chengrui, turned around and sat back on the chair, thinking deeply.

Since you want to negotiate, you have to think about what kind of bargaining chips you have in your hands.

You also have to consider what the worst-case scenario will be if the two parties fail to negotiate.

Although the time for negotiations between the two parties may be delayed because of the upcoming war, that day will arrive sooner or later.
Chapter completed!