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154
4-.
provinces of Kwangtung, Kwangsi, Hunan and Hupeh, and
Marahal Li Chai-sum, a native of Kwangsi, was regarded
The Kwangsi group at present holds the
The
as overlord of the Liang Kwang provinces until his
departure from Canton on the 2nd January, 1929, to
attend a demobilization conference at Hanking. In his
absence the province of hwangtung is governed by a
Cantonese General, Ch'an Ming-shu, who is reputed to be
more loyal to Marshal Chiang than to Marshal Li. The
province of Kwangsi has for some time past been
governed by the Kwangsi General, Wong Shiu-hung, whò
is undoubtedly loyal to Marshal Li. The provinces of
Hunan and Hupeh are governed by the Kwangsi General,
Li Tsung-jên, whose headquarters are at Hankow.
fourth of the principal Generals in the Kwangsi group,
Pai Chung-hsi, is now at Tientsin. It was he who
entered Peking ahead of Marshal Chiang with the
vanguard of the Nationalist army, and I understand that
Marshal Chiang has not forgiven him for winning the
race to Peking. The weakness of the Kwangsi party is,
however, the very fact that so many of their troops are
still isolated in the north of China under General Pai
Chung-hsi and are, therefore, unavailable for the
succour of the other three Kwangsi generals in the
event of a renewal of the civil war.
5.
Marshal Chiang's political strategy is
apparently to keep General Pai and his menaway in the
North, to undermine the position of Marshal Li Chai-sum
in Kwangtung by supporting General Ch'an Ming-shu, and
to undermine the position of General Li Tsung-jên at
Hankow by encouraging General T'ang Shang-chih to
recover the lost allegiance of the Hunan armies, which
he once commanded, but which have since been absorbed
into