Chapter 218: The Fall of Pingjin (I)

"The principal called back, and the central government sent Lu Zhonglin to Zhangjiakou to persuade Liu Ruming, asking us to gather in Datong first, and then be on guard." After reading the message, Sun Yuanliang said to Chen Xiuwen with a wry smile.

"The central government cannot command the Northwest Army, and the principal has no choice but to do it. I hope Lu Ruibo can convince Liu Ruming to let go." Then, Sun Yuanliang sighed again and said.

"Lu Ruibo is still in Wuhan. Even if he is on a plane, it will take at least four or five days to come and go. At that time, even the daylily will be cold." Chen Xiuwen shook his head and said.

"Then what you mean is..." Sun Yuanliang looked at Chen Xiuwen.

"Forced pass." Chen Xiuwen nodded and said firmly: "Not to mention whether Lu Ruibo can convince Liu Ruming, what if Liu Ruming doesn't agree? Are we going to be in Datong?" As he said that, Chen Xiuwen smiled again and said: "Besides, as soon as Fan Changjiang's article is published tomorrow, it will be guaranteed to attract attention from all parties. Let's take this opportunity to force it through Liu Ruming's defense zone."

Seeing that Sun Yuanliang was still hesitant, Chen Xiuwen continued, "Military, don't worry. At this time, the principal would have hated their Northwest Army for a long time. If it weren't for the overall situation of the anti-Japanese war, he would have dealt with them."

"Okay. But you should also take care of Teng Changqing and let him be careful and never make a fuss." Sun Yuanliang was a little shaken about his determination to force his way through Liu Ruming's defense zone after receiving a call from Chiang Kai-shek. After hearing what Chen Xiuwen said, he gritted his teeth and nodded.

The troops were replenished, and the train continued to march towards Datong overnight. Chen Xiuwen also got off the military special train and returned directly to his train. Before leaving, Chen Xiuwen learned from Sun Yuanliang's adjutant that reporter Zeng had returned to his private room, and Chen Xiuwen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Master's seat, I just received the news that the Japanese have taken action in Langfang." Chen Xiuwen had just returned to the carriage of the division headquarters. Chen Zui, who had already been waiting in the carriage, hurried forward to report.

Although Chen Xiuwen knew very well that the Neon Army, which had surrounded the Pingjin area, would sooner or later, was shocked when he heard the news and hurriedly said, "When? How is the situation?"

"Just tonight, the 20th Division of the Neon Army, which was transferred from North Korea not long ago, launched an attack on the 113th Brigade of the 38th Division of the 29th Army stationed in Langfang. However, according to the situation sent by the Peking side, the Neon Army was obviously prepared. The 113th Brigade was not prepared at all. He was in a hurry to fight, and the situation would never be optimistic." He said with a solemn expression.

Chen Xiuwen frowned and walked quickly to the map. He looked carefully. Langfang was between Peking and Tianjin. The intention of the Neon Army to attack Langfang was very obvious to cut off the connection between Pingjin, eat the 29th Army in one fell swoop, and occupy Pingjin. Obviously, the Neon Army has been preparing for this for a long time. Poor that the 29th Army is still relying on hopes to negotiate with the Japanese. Not only is it not actively prepared, but also retreat step by step in order to show sincerity.

"Teacher Commander, if Langfang is lost, Pingjin will be in danger. If we can arrive at Nankou in time, we can reinforce Peiping along Changping." Qiao Zhen pointed to the map and said to Chen Xiuwen.

There is a unit of the 29th Army in the Pingjin area. Once Pingjin is attacked, the nearest reinforcements are the second army composed of Sun Lianzhong's 26th Army and the guerrilla troops in southern Henan, Pang Bingxun's 40th Army, and the 72nd Army that can reach the Nankou in three days. Qiao Zhen also sets out from a purely military perspective.

However, the complex situation in North China is currently intricate, and Chen Xiuwen could only smile and say, "The Neon Army is fully prepared. The first thing to attack Langfang can explain this. There are also secret agencies of the Neon Army stationed in Peking and Tianjin, and they have long known the deployment of the 29th Army. Moreover, the 29th Army passively avoided the war from Song Mingxuan to the generals below. Do you think the 29th Army can face nearly 100,000 Neon Army and can hold Pingjin for three days?"

"In addition, there is another situation that you don't know yet." Then, Chen Xiuwen said again about Liu Ruming's ban on the 72nd Army from passing through Zhangjiakou, and his and Sun Yuanliang's response measures.

"Stand, what if the 143rd Division blocks it with force? Will Rongyi Brigade really do it with them?" Chen Zui said worriedly as soon as he heard it.

After walking behind his hands for two steps, a smile appeared on his face: "Originally, I was a little worried that Liu Ruming would take the blame for the world and stop us from forcing us through Zhangjiakou by force. Now the Japanese have taken action in Langfang, but they have helped us. Fan Changjiang's articles and the news of the Japanese attack on Langfang will definitely appear in the newspapers. Under this situation and the pressure of public opinion, Liu Ruming would never dare to take action. Besides, Song Mingxuan should be awake now, and he is probably regretting it now. My 72nd Army marched into Nankou, which is unsuccessful for him."

Finally, Chen Xiuwen sighed and said, "I hope that the 29th Army can last for three days. Not only can the reinforcements from Baoding have time to go north, but our army can also restrain the Kwantung Army and the 11th Mixed Brigade of Rehe as soon as our army reaches the south entrance, and reduce the pressure on the 29th."

...

Just as Chen Xiuwen said, when Song Zheyuan, who had arrived from Tianjin and was brought to Peking, received the news that the 20th Division of the Neon Army attacked Langfang, his hand relaxed and a "knock" sounded, and the valuable purple clay teapot in his hand fell to the ground and smashed it.

"Appoint the 113th Brigade to defend Langfang no matter what. Order the 38th Division to reinforce Langfang immediately and order the 132th Division to quickly enter Nanyuan." Song Zheyuan was shocked and quickly issued an order. If the Neon Army attacked Changxindian ten days ago, he could still sit still, but today the 20th Division attacked Langfang, he knew the Neon Army's intentions in his heart. The Japanese wanted to cut off the connection between Pingjin and surrounded and annihilate his 29th Army. The Japanese not only wanted to occupy their own territory, but also eliminate themselves.

"Immediately send a call to the Shijiazhuang camp and request the Second Army to enter Changxindian and Liangxiang to support Peiping, and request the forty troops to gather in Jinghai and Duliu Town to support Tianjin." At this time, Song Zheyuan no longer cared about being wary of other troops coming to steal his territory.

However, under the influence of Song Zheyuan, the entire 29th Army was in the idea of ​​seeking peace with the Japanese and did not respond actively. Before the reinforcements of the 38th Division set out from Tianjin, Langfang was declared lost, and the 113th Brigade suffered heavy losses. After capturing Langfang, the 20th Division took advantage of the victory to pursue and captured Yangcun, Beicang and other stations on the Pingjin line in the early morning of October 28, successfully cutting off the traffic between Tianjin and Beiping.

The news of the Neon Army's attack on Langfang spread across the country the next day, and major newspapers published the news on the front page. However, Wuhan's Ta Kung Pao, Peking's Morning Post and Tianjin's Yi Shibao also published a signed article by Fan Changjiang, stating that the 72nd Army, a heroic anti-Japanese force that went to the North China anti-Japanese front line, was refused to change defenses and deliberately made things difficult for friendly forces. Although there was no name in the article, from the content explained in the article, you can see at a glance that this friendly force that blocked the 72nd Army's anti-Japanese war was the 143rd Division of the 29th Army stationed in Chahar.

After reporting on the Double 12 Incident, the Battle of Songhu went deep into the front line again, and Fan Changjiang is now a famous war correspondent in China. This article was published in these three very influential newspapers, which caused a sudden uproar. The 88th Division and the Honorary First Division under the 72nd Army were both heroic troops in the Battle of Songhu and the Nanjing Defense War, especially the Honorary First Division, which was the troops that eliminated the most Japanese invaders. This elite ace force went to the North China anti-Japanese front, which fully demonstrated that China

The central government's determination to fight against Japan was blocked by the 143rd Division of the 29th Army, and public opinion was in an uproar. Given that the 29th Army had been widely criticized before and had initiated peace talks with the Japanese, the subordinate troops have now made such a similar treason for the country, and the crowd was excited for a while. In particular, the 29th Army rushed to fight, causing Langfang to fall to the two cities of Ping and Tianjin, and the finger pointed directly at the head of the 29th Army, which was passively resisting Japan. Students in Peking and Tianjin were even planning to march to protest.

The news soon reached the ears of Song Zheyuan who was in a hurry. Song Zheyuan, who had not been asleep all night, had no time to read the newspaper. Qin Dechun, deputy commander and mayor of Peking, hurried to Song Zheyuan's office with a copy of the Morning Post.

"Military, look at this report, Fan Changjiang's article, publicly accused Liu Ruming of refusing friendly troops to prevent defense and affecting the anti-Japanese war. I received the news that the students were preparing to march to protest." Qin Dechun put the newspaper in front of Song Zheyuan and said anxiously.

"When is this? The war is about to go to the streets. Students are absolutely not allowed to march on the streets. The Peking Public Security Bureau is ordered to enter various schools and not let a student come out." Song Zheyuan said impatiently, but he was stunned halfway through the speech and hurriedly said: "What? What did you say? Who refuses friendly troops to take over and affects the anti-Japanese war?"

Since the 20th Division of the Neon Army captured Langfang, the Riverside Brigade of the North China Garage Army was not idle either. One of their infantry brigades arrived at Toyota early this morning, and then he changed to 26 trucks without stopping to rush straight to Guang'anmen, trying to scramble into Peking in chaos. Liu Ruzhen's troops, the 69th Regiment of the 25th Independent Brigade, who was guarding Guang'anmen at that time, stepped forward to intercept and stop it. With the Neon Army taking the lead in firing, they fought back and forced the city gate to forcefully close the rain of bullets. This did not allow the Riverside Brigade to succeed.

Moreover, just before Qin Dechun arrived, Xiangyue Qingsi, the highest commander of the Neon Army, issued an ultimatum to Song Zheyuan, limiting the 29th Army to withdraw to Changxindian on October 29th, that is, before noon tomorrow, the 37th Division had already gathered in Lugou Bridge and Babaoshan to Changxindian, and scattered all the troops of the 37th Division in the city outside the city, and then retreated to Baoding one after another. He also threatened, "If it is not implemented, it is believed that your army is not sincere and has to take action alone to deal with it."

At this time, Xiangyue Qingsi thought that Song Zheyuan would retreat when he was scared, just like when the September 18th Incident and then occupied the entire Northeast, Xiangyue Qingsi also wanted to occupy the entire North China at the lowest price. Therefore, he made this ridiculous request. At that time, according to the Neon Army's requirements, the Chinese national team wanted to surrender to Peking. Song Zheyuan, who had originally negotiated with the Japanese in order to protect his territory, certainly would not agree to this request. He regretted that he believed in the Japanese too much before, which led to his passiveness today. Now that he wanted to fight, he thought that Peking has been surrounded by tens of thousands of Neon Army and has long lost the opportunity.

Just when Song Zheyuan was in trouble, Qin Dechun heard this bad news again. Song Zheyuan quickly picked up the newspaper and read Fan Changjiang's article quickly.

"Bang." Song Zheyuan slapped the newspaper heavily on the desk and cursed angrily: "Liu Ziliang's pig brain, this time he was still making such a demon moth. The Seventy-Two Army is the ace army of the Central Army. They are stationed in the south entrance, which can restrain the invading enemy in the west and north directions of Beiping. Immediately send a call to Liu Ziliang and release it immediately." Song Zheyuan was still angry and panted and ordered Qin Dechun, saying, "Shaowen, please clarify to the press immediately that Fan Changjiang's article is a malicious attack on our 29th Army. The 143rd Division has absolutely not refused to take advantage of friendly troops and destroy the anti-Japanese move. On the contrary, our 29th Army is very welcome to friendly troops to fight against Japan."

Hearing Song Zheyuan's words, Qin Dechun smiled bitterly. Before yesterday, I'm afraid all the generals of the 29th Army were guarding the Central Army and the Japanese. If the Japanese had not launched an attack last night and pointed the finger directly at Beiping. Maybe, you, Chief Song, would have praised Liu Ruming for a few words. However, Qin Dechun did not dare to put this idea on his face, but said with a bitter face: "Military throne, as far as I know, the 72nd Army has reported to Chairman Jiang. In addition, Fan Changjiang and the 72nd Army commander Sun Yuanliang are not only fellow Sichuan people, but also have a close relationship. He himself is in the 72nd Army. This article is likely to be instructed by Sun Yuanliang."

"The Japanese force us, and the Central Army will force us too." When Song Zheyuan heard this, he immediately sat on the chair with anger on his face. After thinking for a while, he pointed to the newspaper on the table and said, "Then tell them that all this is a misunderstanding. My 29th Army will swear to defend Pingjin and North China to the death. It is impossible to do these things that the relatives are painful and the enemy is happy." As he said, he grabbed his head and said helplessly: "Shaowen, the affairs in the city will be left to you. Especially those students, you must not let them come out to cause trouble at this time. If possible, you contact the GCD in the city and explain the situation clearly. Such things are probably what they did."
Chapter completed!