On: the following morning we: learned at the transport headquarters that during the night the [Tupan had returned. to: Tsinan and that Gen, Hsu Kun. had: gone. }to the front headquarters: at Chiel hho, but we got from the chief of Staff in: charge: of transport a most interesting piece of information which might well account for the recent sudden retreat of the Northern armies after they had driven the 'Southerners over the border in two days' fighting. We learned that on July 10, the defection of two Brig-fadier-Generals had: seriously upset plans by placing a force of 20,000 the rear of the advance, It discovered that General Tu Hal: chien of the 22nd Division. had: been in traitorous communication' with the enemy and hed supplied the notorious. bandit chief Liu Hei-chih: with a quantity of arms and ammuni= tion, enabling him: to make a dotration north: of Lincheng, OG same time General Ho: We of the Sixth Army started a precipitate retreat, spreading the report that the advance had: been powerful army the railway north of Lincheng. The result was a rush to the rear where Liu Hel-chih (Black Liu the seventh) really was attack-jing the railway. When his forces were beaten back into the mountains and the plot had failed, both generals Ta Hei-chien and Ho Wen-liang. were apprehended and both were executed in Yengchow on the 13th. But they succeeded in obliging the offensive to fall back behind Lin-Jcheng for several da
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.