Chapter 76: Have lunch with Mrs. Jiang

The **36th Brigade left Anqing, headed west, entered Huangmei, Hubei, followed the Huang (Huangmei) Guang (Guangji) Highway to Guangji County, and then traveled west from Jiangbei along the Yangtze River through Qichun, Xishui, Huanggang to Hankou. On June 2, the **36th Brigade finally completed the transfer task and temporarily rested in Hankou.

Yang Hanxiu had already established the **36th Brigade Office in Hankou in advance. The officers of the two regiments Luo Qi and Han Puxuan had already arrived in Hankou and received new recruits supplemented by Sichuan. They were stepping up training. The two regiment commanders did not expect that the brigade commander actually brought 6,000 people back. Luo Qi understood that the brigade commander must have captured soldiers when he retreated.

The two leaders knew that Yue Hanping and his wife hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they walked away on the pretext. Yang Hanxiu hugged Yue Hanping tightly and cried with joy. Entering the inner room, Yue Hanping told Yang Hanxiu that he had encountered Guo Huaicheng in Anqing. Yang Hanxiu opened his eyes curiously, "Is there such a magical medicine? OK, I'll arrange for someone to take them back to Guizhou."

Yue Hanping nodded, "This is the most cutting-edge technology in the world at present, so you should keep it confidential. I told them that I bought the technology in the United States. As long as penicillin is successfully produced, we will make money. The most important thing is to solve the problem that the injured cannot prevent inflammation and can greatly reduce the mortality rate of the injured."

Yang Hanxiu gently stroked Yue Hanping's face and looked at him carefully, "You are really a mystery, it's so difficult to understand. But I definitely believe in you! Do you know that our shares in Guizhou Industrial Company have accounted for 75%?"

Yue Hanping asked softly: "Is it a share of the Yang family?"

Yang Hanxiu shook her head, "No, it's my shares, that is, yours."

Yue Hanping said in surprise: "So, isn't Guizhou Industrial Company already controlled by the Yang family?"

Yang Hanxiu nodded, "I also have to thank Chairman Wu Dingchang for helping us. In order to support our war of resistance, Chairman Wu helped me familyize the Guizhou Industrial Company, and you hold 75%. In other words, in the future, the arms of the Guizhou Arsenal and the penicillin that will be produced will be given priority for us."

Yue Hanping hugged Hanxiu affectionately, "Thank you for your hard work, I'm really sorry to ask you, a woman, to run around for me."

Yang Hanxiu covered his mouth, "You are not allowed to say that, you are me, I am you, we can no longer tell each other. I am very lucky that the country is in danger, I can meet you, marry you, and work with you to work for the country. How many women can have such glory."

Before the two of them could speak well enough, Tao Wenqing came in with a telegram, "Brig Commander, Chairman, Telegram, Chairman, please ask you and your wife to wait for the summons to come to Donghu Meiyuan."

Yue Hanping nodded and thought to himself, "It's so fast, I knew I'm in Hankou." He replied, "Okay, I'm ready to go see the chairman immediately. By the way, Wenqing, you go together, go find a car first."

Tao Wenqing saluted and turned around and went out to prepare. Yang Hanxiu helped Yue Hanping to tidy up his military uniform, changed into a dress, and accompanied Yue Hanping out. Wenqing had already found a jeep and was waiting at the door of the office.

Donghu Lake was in Wuchang. At that time, there was no Yangtze River Bridge. It took a ferry to cross the river. The ferry crossed the river and the driver drove straight to Donghu Lake.

In Wuhan in June, the weather was already very hot. Tao Wenqing was from Jiangsu and was a little uncomfortable with the stuffy weather and kept frowning. Yue Hanping glanced at her, "Why, it's uncomfortable?" Tao Wenqing shook her head, "It's just that the weather is too hot and I can't adapt. It's nothing." Yang Hanxiu quietly pinched Yue Hanping's arm. Yue Hanping was unprepared and couldn't help but say "Ouch". Tao Wenqing burst out laughing, dared not speak, and looked out the window, pretending to see the scenery. She felt sweet for no reason. She found that she cared more and more about Yue Hanping's every move.

The shores of East Lake are winding and the harbors are intertwined, and there is a saying that ninety-nine bays are said to be by the lake. The willows are shady and surrounded by green water. The heat disappears. Instead, the chairman is very good at picking places. There is no place for cooling off in Wuhan than Donghu. Stopped the car in Meiyuan, Tao Wenqing was waiting in the car. Yue Hanping held Yang Hanxiu's arm and walked in.

Chiang Kai-shek was sitting on a stone bench with a book and savoring it. He heard the footsteps and raised his head, "Oh, Hanping is here! Well, there is Hanxiu. OK, OK!" Yue Hanping hurried forward, his feet together, "pop", and the leather heels hit, "Hello, Chairman! Yue Hanping, the commander of the 36th Brigade, came to report!"

Chiang Kai-shek smiled and gently pressed his hand, "Don't be polite, okay, Hanxiu enjoys the scenery here, the plum blossoms here are very good. Hanping, just accompany me for a walk!" After saying that, he stood up.

Yue Hanping approached the Chairman's side, and Chiang Kai-shek turned around and walked towards the depths of the park. Yue Hanping followed closely.

"Hanping, you have worked hard all the way, right?" Chiang Kai-shek asked with concern.

"The Chairman is worried. My troops broke through on May 19 and broke all the way. Fortunately, the troops did not suffer any major damage." Yue Hanping replied.

"You are fighting very well in Xuzhou. Your troops need to rest and rest. Next, there are more important tasks to hand over to you." Chiang Kai-shek paused for a moment and then said: "Hanping, how many people are there in your troops?"

"Chairman, I was about to apologize to you. When I crossed the Bianxi River, the troops were in chaos. I forcibly arrested some troops and stayed to cut off the rear. So my troops still had more than 6,000 people in Hankou." Yue Hanping guessed in his heart whether someone had sued him, so he simply reported to Chiang Kai-shek first.

"Well, someone complained to me about this matter, saying that you arrested troops privately and expanded the team. I scolded them at that time. Since you, Yue Hanping, have ignored your safety and cut off the rear of each army, and the troops are in chaos, you took decisive measures to control the situation. Since you told me, don't mention it again." Chiang Kai-shek knocked Yue Hanping and immediately changed the topic.

Yue Hanping's vest was sweating, "Thank you for your trust, Chairman!"

"Hanping, for example, in terms of your military achievements and your abilities, it is more than enough to command an army, but you are too young and I cannot promote you too quickly. Many people are dissatisfied with this." Chiang Kai-shek said suddenly.

Yue Hanping quickly replied, "Chairman, I never thought that as a commander of the army, as long as I can fight the Japanese, I will have no problem even if I always become a brigade commander."

Chiang Kai-shek waved his hand, "It's so wronged you all the time to be a brigade commander. This way, your two regiments have been replenished. With your current troops, the force should be 10,000. I will draw two regiments from the Hubei Security Regiment to supplement your troops and upgrade your troops to division. Your division can be appropriately relaxed to reach a scale of one army. I will give you four brigade numbers, your position is a division commander, and your rank is temporarily major general. It's just that there are soldiers from a brigade that need you to recruit on your own. If you are full, you will have more than 20,000 troops. You should first consider the equipment of the brigade commander and report it to the Military Commission."

Yue Hanping was stunned for a while. After a while, he burst into tears and said with a choking voice: "Chairman, I will never repay you for your kindness of your understanding!" He raised his right hand and saluted respectfully. After a long time, he did not put down his hand.

Chiang Kai-shek gently pinched his hand and put it down, "Hanping, you are a military genius, I will definitely use you well. However, the tradition of China is about qualifications and seniority. I cannot be too out of order. This is not to help you, but to harm you. So please be considerate. I have tried my best to show your talents on a larger stage. Your division number is the second division. From today on, you will be the commander of the second division."

Yue Hanping was shocked. Chen Mingren should have served as the first division commander of the Preparatory Second Division (when encircled and suppressed the Red Army, Chen Mingren suffered a defeat because of his arrogance and was frozen by Chiang Kai-shek until the War of Resistance.) It seems that because of his arrival, General Chen Mingren's return was delayed.

Next, Chiang Kai-shek and Yue Hanping talked about the Battle of Xuzhou. After the Battle of Shanghai and Xuzhou, Chiang Kai-shek also became much more awake. He objectively summarized the success or failure of the two battles. Yue Hanping deeply analyzed the strategic and tactical application issues of the two battles, especially although the two battles eventually retreated, the elite troops were never annihilated. Moreover, the troops had increased their combat experience against Japan and the generals were trained.

Chiang Kai-shek listened carefully and thought, "Hanping, the next goal of the Japanese army is very clear, it must be Wuhan. Wuhan is located in the Central Plains and controls the artery of the Pinghan Line. Moreover, Wuhan is now the temporary capital. Occupying Wuhan is an immeasurable victory for the Japanese army, both politically and militaryally."

"Chairman, can I understand the Ministry of National Defense's combat plan?" Yue Hanping asked.

Chiang Kai-shek briefly told him the Wuhan battle plan formulated by the Ministry of National Defense. In fact, Yue Hanping had known the combat plan for a long time, but he still couldn't help but want to ask. Overall, the plan of the Ministry of National Defense has not changed much from history. Chiang Kai-shek's vision this time was much longer. He no longer stuck to defending one city and one land, but tried his best to rely on Tongbai Mountain, Dabie Mountain, and Mubu Mountain to delay the Japanese attack and consume the Japanese army's strength as much as possible.

Yue Hanping suggested, "Chairman, why not imitate the Battle of Shanghai? Order Guangdong and Guangxi to make a war-firing attitude, lure the Japanese army to divide their troops again and attack Guangzhou?"

Chiang Kai-shek looked at Yue Hanping, "What if Guangzhou cannot be kept?"

Yue Hanping said softly: "Guangzhou is our important import port. Half of our imported materials come from Guangzhou. The Japanese army will not let them go. Sooner or later, they will attack Guangzhou. Instead of waiting for the Japanese army to be fully prepared, it is better to force the Japanese army to attack in advance now. Whether or not they can defend Guangzhou depends on the Guangdong army. This is not important. The key is to let the Japanese army lengthen the front line and disperse their troops as much as possible."

Chiang Kai-shek nodded, "Well, your idea is very good, I'll consider it."

The two of them walked and chatted, and had already walked out of the Meiyuan Garden, and now they had arrived at Tingtaoxuan. Chiang Kai-shek smiled, "We have gone far away, let's do it. At noon, the lady cooks herself and cooks a few dishes. Please have lunch with Hanxiu, let's go back together."

Yue Hanping said flatteredly, "Chairman, how dare you take this? How dare you bother your wife to cook in person."

Chiang Kai-shek said happily, "Madam also wants to see you, a famous anti-Japanese general in the country, and express your feelings."

Back at Meiyuan, Mrs. Jiang had already prepared lunch, and Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Mei-ling, Yue Hanping, and Yang Hanxiu sat down one after another.

The dish is a dish that combines Chinese and Western styles, with five dishes and one soup.

Chiang Kai-shek didn't like Western food. His eating habits were authentic Chinese, while Soong Mei-ling was different. She loved both Chinese and Western delicacies. Chiang Kai-shek first personally picked up a dish for Yue Hanping, "Hanping, try it. Ze Gu (this) is our famous dish in Jiangsu and Zhejiang." Yue Hanping picked up the meat, which was red in color and transparent in the marinade. Put it in his mouth and chew it carefully. The ham was crispy and sweet, and had a deep aftertaste. "It tastes delicious, this is delicious."

Soong Mei-ling first picked up a dish for Yang Hanxiu, "Come on, how is this steak grilled?" Yang Hanxiu had eaten Western food. After looking at the quality of the steak, she knew that the steak was grilled very well and 70% mature. It seemed that this was to take care of the taste of Chinese people. Put it in her mouth and taste it carefully. The beef was tender and fragrant. Yang Hanxiu nodded, "I guess this dish was made by my wife. The heat was very good, the taste was mellow, the meat was tender, and there was no uncooked feeling when chewed." Mrs. Jiang nodded happily, "Yes, this was made by me. Come and try this, West Lake vinegar fish, but the fish is from East Lake." Then she picked up another dish for Yang Hanxiu.

Chiang Kai-shek never drank alcohol in his life, so the same is true for treating people to dinner. But today, Chiang Kai-shek made an exception and picked up a glass of red wine, "Hanping, this is French wine, very authentic. You rarely have the chance to taste it when you are fighting on the front line. Try it quickly." As he said that, he gently touched Yue Hanping's wine glass with a wine glass. Yue Hanping's heart was irritated, and he had never drunk authentic French wine at all, so how could he taste any taste? Before Yue Hanping could speak, Chiang Kai-shek said, "I don't drink, I'm happy today, I only drink this glass."

Yue Hanping saw Chiang Kai-shek having dinner in later film and television materials, but he was really at a loss when he accompanied Chiang Kai-shek to dinner himself. Chiang Kai-shek saw his nervousness and smiled slightly, "It's common to eat, don't be nervous, be casual." After all, this is to accompany the Chinese head of state to have dinner, so how dare you be casual.

After carefully ate lunch with Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling, the intriguing Soong Mei-ling insisted on playing a piano himself. Chiang Kai-shek sat on a chair, squinted his eyes, and listened quietly to Soong Mei-ling's playing. Soong Mei-ling looked at Chiang Kai-shek with a smile. It seemed that the rumored Chiang and Song-song political marriage was incomplete. At least, between Chiang and Song, there was still a love element between Yue Hanping's observation.
Chapter completed!