Chapter 9: Battle of the South and the North (I)

Gu Liangmin led his troops to join the escort army. This emergencies naturally caused different reactions from all parties involved, and among these parties, Li Zongren's Fifth War Zone was directly affected. (_《》)

Originally, the entire Shandong Province was part of the Fifth War Zone deployment area, but now northern Shandong was occupied by the Japanese army. Most of Shandong, south of the Yellow River and east of the canal, fell into the hands of the guards, leaving behind the 56th Army in southwestern Shandong, which really made Li Zongren upset.

After Han Fuju was detained, in order to clear Han Fuju's confidants, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the remnants of the Third Army to be transferred from Shandong, which had been stationed for eight years, to be placed in the combat sequence of the First War Zone, and ordered Sun Tongxuan, Cao Fulin, Gu Liangmin and other troops to go to Xuchang for training. As for the shortage of troops in the fifth War Zone, Chiang Kai-shek transferred Sun Lianzhong's Second Army from the First War Zone to fill the gap in the force. There was no problem with this order to adjust the defense, and Li Zongren had agreed before, but when Sun Lianzhong's troops had not arrived in southwestern Shandong and the Third Army was ordered to be placed in the First War Zone, the 56th Military Incident embarrassed Li Zongren.

If the Third Army was still under Li Zongren's command, he would naturally repair Cao Fulin, who caused Gu Liangmin to leave without hesitation. However, although southwestern Shandong is in the Fifth War Zone defense zone on the territory, the Third Army, which can be stationed, belongs to the first war zone sequence. Sun Lianzhong's troops, who were guarding southwestern Shandong, have not arrived yet. Li Zongren rashly interferes in the Second World War Zone troops. If he wants to transfer another troops, it is no faster than Sun Lianzhong's troops who are already on the road, so he can only do nothing.

After learning the details of the southwestern Shandong side, Li Zongren was so angry that he said angrily: "Our war zone troops fought hard against the Japanese army in the front, but Gu Liangmin made such a move in the rear, so he would choose the opportunity!"

In February, after the Japanese army in Central China occupied Bengbu, they were preparing to cross the Huaihe River north, but were hit hard by the fifth war zone Liao Lei and Li Pinxian. The Liao and Li teams worked together to not only annihilate more than 2,000 Japanese troops, but also recovered Fengyang and Kaocheng, forcing the Japanese troops to retreat to the south bank of the Huaihe River. Since then, Li Zongren commanded his troops to engage in many offensive and defensive battles with the Japanese troops on the front line of the Huaihe River, and the troops in the fifth war zone did fight hard.

"If Gu Liangmin didn't leave early, he wouldn't be able to leave even when Sun Lianzhong's troops arrived!" Bai Chongxi on the side smiled and comforted, "Brother Delin doesn't have to be angry about this. Gu Liangmin's departure is not all a bad thing. It would be much better for them to leave now than in the future when they were in a war in the future. Besides, Han Fuju had also set up a guard team at the beginning, and Gu Liangmin's house is now changing, and it is not necessarily welcome to everyone!"

"I don't care about Gu Liangmin alone, and the 56th Army is now under the jurisdiction of the First War Zone. What I am worried about is that it will lead to unstable troops in the fifth War Zone!" Li Zongren sighed and continued, "Jiansheng, you know that the troops in the fifth War Zone are in a complicated situation, and most of them have grudges and entanglements with the central government. In addition, when the guard defense zone is approaching, there is a precedent for Gu Liangmin. I am worried that it will trigger a series of adverse reactions!"

Among the troops in the Fifth War Zone, in addition to the two divisions of Liao Lei and Li Pinxian led by Li Zongren, there were also Yu Xuezhong's troops of the Northeast Army, Sun Zhen and Yang Sen's troops of the Sichuan Army, Zhang Zizhong, Pang Bingxun, Sun Lianzhong's troops of the Northwest Army, and Tang Enbo's troops who had just arrived in the Xuzhou area. There were also small hills under the big mountain, and Sun Lianzhong's troops of the Northwest Army were Sun Lianzhong, Zhang Zizhong, Pang Bingxun and other troops, and they had quite a grudge and entanglement between them.

It can be said that in addition to the Jinsui Army without Yan Xishan, the Fifth War Zone was a hodgepodge of various factions of the National Government! When Gu Liangmin, who had once belonged to the Fifth War Zone, ran away, Li Zongren was really worried that the miscellaneous brands under his command who had been resentful to Chiang Kai-shek for a long time, would follow suit and go to the guards.

"Brother Delin's concerns make sense." Thinking of the current situation of the troops in the Fifth War Zone, Bai Chongxi also frowned and pondered, "The situation of the troops will not be changed for a while, and now the rectification of the troops may be counterproductive. It would be better to transfer two reliable troops to deploy in northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui and the area near the Guard Defense Zone, which would also cut off other people's thoughts!"

"This is a solution." Li Zongren understood and nodded, "The Supreme Government suggested to transfer Yu Xuezhong's troops to Fengxian County in the name of the Military Commission. With Zhang Xueliang in the area, the northern Anhui can be handed over to them. As for northern Jiangsu, the eastern section of Xuzhou of the Longhai Line will be handed over to Tang Enbo. If there is a problem with the Central Army's direct line, it will not be blamed on me as the fifth war zone."

"These two troops are indeed suitable!" Bai Chongxi laughed and said, "Brother Delin, as the outer barrier of Wuhan, the original task was to defend Shandong, northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui regions and carry out a protracted war of resistance. But now, the scope of the war zone has been reduced to northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui and southwestern Shandong. Although the forces within the area have been greatly enhanced, it is conducive to defensive operations, the reduction of strategic circumference space will bring us great disadvantages. What's more, while facing the two major Japanese strategic groups in North China and Central China, the Fifth War Zone also has to distract itself against the guards nearby. The ambush that the People's Party has hid in Shandong for many years is difficult to deal with."

"I don't know the situation of the Fifth War Zone? But since I agreed to the Chairman, I have to take on the responsibility of protecting the country and resisting the war." Li Zongren smiled bitterly, then looked at Bai Chongxi and said, "Jiansheng, you have many ideas. There are no outsiders at the moment. Tell me if you have any good ideas. I can also lose my hair."

"I do have an idea, but there are certain risks." Bai Chongxi took a sip of tea and continued, "According to the current situation of the Fifth War Zone, as long as we can firmly defend northern Anhui and control the strategic points of Xuzhou, the intersection of Jinpu Line and Longhai Line, then in North China, the Japanese army in Central China will not be able to concentrate on attacking Wuhan with all their strength. In order to defend Xuzhou under the heavy attack of the Japanese army, the Fifth War Zone must have sufficient troops.

Now the Japanese army is still attacking southern Shanxi, and the First War Zone must also be prepared for the Japanese army to move south along the Pinghan Line. The central government is still busy raising troops to deploy them in Wuhan and its surrounding areas. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for our war zone to obtain too much military force to replenish.

If the external force is insufficient, we can only think of solutions from the existing force. My opinion is to shrink the force in Xuzhou and the periphery, and at the same time, we should lead the offensive of the Japanese army from the south and north to the guards as much as possible. In this way, the fifth war zone will have much more confidence in defending Xuzhou."

"Shrinking the troops in Xuzhou?" Li Zongren frowned and pondered, "Although the Chairman promised not to interfere with my combat command, it would definitely not work if he retreated without fighting. Otherwise, in the eyes of the outside world, wouldn't I become the second Han Fuju?

Besides, Yannong and Heling are in Huaibei, Huaixi and the Japanese army in Central China, and these two units cannot be moved. Sun Lianzhong's second army has not yet arrived in southwestern Shandong. Tang Enbo's troops have to be deployed on the Longhai Line, Yu Xuezhong's troops have to be transferred to northern Anhui, and Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun's troops have to be stationed on northern Jiangsu. The troops in these places are not easy to draw! Jiansheng, what are your thoughts? Tell me carefully."

Although the two units of Liao Lei and Li Pinxian of the Guangxi clan delayed the 13th Division of the Central China Expeditionary Army in the Huaihe River area, the two units were also restrained by the Japanese army. In addition, the troops deployed in northern Jiangsu in the fifth theater should also be prepared for the Japanese army to attack the flanks along the east bank of the canal, as well as the Nantong to Ganyu Highway, and to detour the flanks of Xuzhou. Unless they abandoned some places, it would be impossible for Li Zongren to concentrate enough troops to defend Xuzhou.

"The abandonment of defense is indeed impossible to explain to the outside world, but the goal can be achieved by resisting one after another and retreating again. What I mean is to find a solution from the northern Jiangsu and southwestern Shandong." Bai Chongxi analyzed with a divine eyes, "In the direction of northern Jiangsu, after our army resists one after another, we can retreat to the west bank of the canal to defend. Let the Japanese troops go north and go directly to exchange fire with the southern Shandong guards. At that time, whether the Japanese attack southern Shandong or the escort army takes the initiative to send troops to northern Jiangsu, as long as the Japanese and the escort army go to war, our goal will be achieved halfway, and there will be an invisible guarantee on the east side of Xuzhou, and the pressure under the fifth war zone will be alleviated. In addition, if the northern Jiangsu is given up, our army can also transfer the big trouble of Japanese naval and air force to the escort air force to deal with it. This can not only attack the Japanese army, but also reduce the losses of our troops stationed in northern Jiangsu and even other battlefields in the fifth war zone.

In the southwest Shandong direction, once the Japanese army crossed the Yellow River, our army could also adopt a sequential resistance method, shrink to Cao, Dan, Yutai and other counties, and deploy defenses along the Baihua River.

I am sure that as long as the Japanese army takes over most of northern Jiangsu and southwestern Shandong, and cooperates with the 5th and 109th divisions on the north bank of the Yellow River, they will inevitably launch a full-scale attack on the areas controlled by the People's Army!

The Japanese army and the guards consume each other, and no matter which side wins, they will be unable to expand outward in the short term. By then, the Fifth War Zone will not only defend Xuzhou, but also take the opportunity to recover lost land in northern Suzhou and southwest Shandong!"

The Shandong area controlled by the Guards is facing the sea in the east and the Japanese navy is blocked outside. If Bai Chongxi's plan succeeds, the Japanese army will encircle the Guards' controlled area from the south, west and north directions, and the Guards will face the siege of all sides!

Considering that there are now three Japanese divisions on the north bank of the Yellow River, and there are basically no less than one Japanese division attacking northern Jiangsu, the guards will face at least four Japanese divisions! It is absolutely certain that both sides fight!

In Bai Chongxi's proposal, first, he was in trouble, then he sat in the mountains to watch the tiger fight, and finally sought the benefits of the fisherman. It was indeed feasible to be linked together. After thinking for a while, Li Zongren nodded and smiled: "Jiansheng is worthy of the title of 'Zhuge'. If this idea is implemented, at the lowest level, it is not a problem to defend Xuzhou. However, did Jiansheng think about it? The strength of the guards should not be underestimated. If they really defeat the Japanese army and then occupy northern Jiangsu and southwest Shandong, then we will be passive in the future."

Bai Chongxi smiled leisurely and said disrespectfully: "Brother Delin, if the guards can really defeat the heavy troops of more than four Japanese divisions and have the remaining strength to occupy northern Jiangsu and southwestern Shandong, then we will recognize it too!

As it is now, the supreme authorities will not hand over the Jiangsu and Anhui provinces to us. Since this is the case, as long as the strategic goal is achieved and it is beneficial to us, why bother to worry about that little territory? Besides, if what we said before can be realized, the fifth zone will not suffer much except for losing a few territories, and will also firmly defend the Xuzhou area. Brother Delin can also explain to all parties.

In addition, if the guards really have the strength to occupy northern Jiangsu and southwestern Shandong, and say that it is taboo, for future considerations, we must also find a way to establish a channel of contact with the People's Party."

"Jiansheng, be careful!" Although there were only Li and Bai in the room, and the guards stood outside the door, no one heard the conversation between them, Li Zongren still stood up and looked at the door, before turning around and talking to Bai Chongxi, "Some things are unreasonable, especially before things are done, not to mention them! Gu Liangmin joined the escort army, which provided us with an opportunity to take the opportunity to observe the reaction of the People's Party, but also made Mr. Jiang more vigilant. The Military Commission suggested that my theater of war was transferred to the Xuezhong headquarters in Fangfeng, and Pei counties were proof!"

Li Zongren is indeed not as good as Bai Chongxi in combat, but he is much better than Bai Chongxi in political struggle. He has already noticed Chiang Kai-shek's wariness from the telegram from the Military Commission. After sighing, Li Zongren said with emotion: "Jiansheng, we are called the heads of the Guangxi clan, but the people in this family may not be united! In the 18th year of the Republic of China, if it weren't for Li Mingrui, Yang Tenghui was secretly bribed by someone Jiang and turned against him in the last battle, how could we be like today? The lessons of the past must be taken care of..."

When Bai Chongxi mentioned the old story back then, he was shocked and asked quickly: "Brother Delin, are there still people who are stingy now?"

Li Zongren shook his head and sighed, "There is no definite evidence. But don't forget that Li Heling is Tang Mengxiao's old classmate, and he was the opposite of us back then. There are not many people like Liao Yannong who would rather resign from his military post than protect you from danger..."

"Brother Delin reminds you that you should be more cautious in the future!" Bai Chongxi nodded and responded.

Shortly after Li and Bai discussed the Fifth War Zone and the future situation, the Central China Expeditionary Force launched a new combat operation in the north of Jiangsu.

After the 13th Division occupied Bengbu in early February, the Japanese army in Central China planned to expand the occupied area on the north bank of the Yangtze River. However, when they advanced north from Bengbu, they were attacked by Liao Lei and Li Pinxian. After the losses, the Japanese army retreated back to the south bank of the Huai River. In mid-February, the Japanese army abolished the Central China Front Army and formed the Central China Expeditionary Army, and the relevant combat operations were temporarily suspended.

After Hata Shunrok became the commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army, he decided to open up the situation in the north of Jiangsu, so he sent the 101st Division stationed in Shanghai to attack northern Jiangsu. After accepting the order, the commander of the 101st Division, Masaki Ito, did not move lightly, but based on the discovered information, the time for attacking northern Jiangsu and Nantong was set on March 17, and the time for attacking Chongming Island was set on March 18.

To attack Nantong first and then Chongming, in addition to the consideration of the tide, Ito Masahi also cut off the retreat route of the defenders on Chongming Island. The south bank of the Yangtze River was occupied when the Japanese attacked Nanjing last year. If Nantong and other places on the north bank were occupied, the south and north retreat routes of the defenders on Chongming Island would be cut off, and the ending would be self-evident.

According to Ito Masaki's combat plan, the Japanese army landed in Nantong should expand in the east and west directions after attacking Rugao. However, the commander of the 101st Brigade of the 101st Brigade, Masasaburo, who was performing the attack mission, was unwilling to stop there, but instead staged a "lower defeat" and commanded the 101st Regiment, the 149th Regiment, as well as the cavalry, artillery, etc., to attack northward.

It was about 140 kilometers from Nantong to Dongtai. Sato commanded his troops to burn, kill and loot along the way, and walked for a week.

"Your Excellency, the Dongtai defenders are the troops of the 33rd Division of the 24th Army of the China Fifth War Zone. However, according to the information found out in the front, the enemy's 33rd Division Jia Yunshan's troops have evacuated from Dongtai." After the commander of the 101st Regiment, Colonel Iizuka Kiyogoro reported the news, he asked in confusion, "Our army has been exploring more than 100 kilometers deep, and the enemy retreated without fighting. Is there any fraud? Can we make it clear before moving forward?"

Sato thought that he had been following the order of the division commander and went deeper for more than a hundred kilometers. It should be almost the same. In addition, he had to ensure smooth transportation in the rear, so he nodded and said, "Yo Xi! Order the troops to enter Dongtai and contact the division commander. At the same time, he sent a search team to find out where the Chinese army was going!"

The Japanese troops heading north stopped at Dongtai, which was beyond Han Deqin's expectations.

"Why did you stop suddenly?" In the Huaiyin command center, Han Deqin was both confused and annoyed after receiving the telegram sent by Jia Yunshan from the front. This stop of the Japanese army caused the plan to divert the north of the Five War Zone to fall into the empty space. After Han Deqin sighed, he had to report the situation ahead to the Fifth War Zone Command Center.

"This Han Deqin asked him to resist one after another before retreating. He was fine. The 33rd Division had not even seen the enemy and evacuated Dongtai!" After receiving the telegram, Li Zongren was so angry that he slapped the table, "You really treat the Japanese army as a fool?!"

"Brother Delin, the Japanese army stopped moving forward not necessarily because they were worried about ambushing ahead, or because they were concerned about the in-depth development of the isolated army, and were worried about the logistics support problems, or because they were sent to the Central China Expeditionary Army." Bai Chongxi comforted, "This time there is an omission, and the next time it will be corrected. Unless the Japanese army no longer attacks northern Jiangsu, we will always have a chance. However, this military discipline should be emphasized carefully to avoid any orders that will not be followed in the future!"

Li Zongren thought it and felt it made sense, so he turned to Chief of Staff Xu Zuyi and said, "Yan Mou, call Han Deqin and Jia Yunshan in the name of the War Zone Command, telling them that if there is another next time, they will do it according to military law!"

...

The news that Sato commanded the 101st Brigade to attack and enter northern Jiangsu and the response to the Fifth War Zone was soon mastered by Gu Haichuan and others. With the communication code provided by Zhou Mingyuan to decipher the Japanese and Kuomintang troops from the Japanese army, and the escort army also dispatched the air force to investigate the relevant situation south, the surrounding battlefield was almost one-way transparent for the escort army.

"Li Zongren is very thoughtful and wants to lead the disaster to us!" Du Yishan sneered, "Are he not afraid that we have a good appetite, and then bite them hard after taking it all?"

"Anyway, no matter how much territory you lose, it will be painful for Jiang Jiang. Li and Bai are the Gui clan, so they don't care!" Chief of Staff Sun Guantao smiled, "Besides, Li Zongren still took precautions. Pang Bingxun and Tang Enbo's two units were deployed along the Longhai line and could retreat west at any time; Zhang Zizhong and Sun Zhen's two units had already deployed defenses on the west bank of the canal; although Han Deqian was deployed north of Huaiyin, he was also ready to run away at any time. This was obviously to let the Japanese army go north to fight with us, so that they could reap the benefits of the fisherman!"

"What a pity, the Japanese did not cooperate with them and stopped at Dongtai!" Liu Chengshan joked and asked again, "Haichuan, should we wait for the Japanese army to attack, or take the initiative?"

"Although our army moves southward, Pang Bingxun, Tang Enbo, and Han Deqin will definitely take the opportunity to retreat to the west bank of the canal. However, since the Japanese army has already headed north, there is no need for us to go on an expedition. After the Japanese come up, when Li Zongren's troops retreat to the west bank of the canal, we will attack again!" Gu Haichuan looked at the signs of the troops on the sand table of the command headquarters and said confidently, "From the actions of the Japanese army, the sir's previous judgment that our army had no large-scale war before the end of April is reliable! We must use this period of time to prepare for the battle, so that the Japanese can't come and go!"

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Chapter completed!