Chapter 121: pacify the rebels
That evening, Zhang Xinghan, Li Du and others led a cavalry battalion brought by Zhang Xinghan to the Zhangjiawan front line secretly.
After this period of gathering, most of the officers and soldiers of Li Du and Xing Zhanqing's troops who were defeated in the Changchun battle were gathered back into the army.
In addition, Zhao Zhenhe, who stayed in Harbin, continued to recruit new soldiers and expand his troops with his remaining regiment. At this time, the strength of Li Du's 24th brigade had barely recovered to 4,000.
Including most of Xing Zhanqing's brigade and Feng Zhanhai's self-defense regiment, the total strength of Zhangjiawan's three brigades, Li Xing and Feng, reached 12,000.
That night, at Zhang Xinghan's suggestion, Li Du, Xing Zhanqing, and Feng Zhanhai each led their troops to march toward Changchun overnight.
By Yaoming, after a night of rapid march, Li Du, Xing Zhanqing and other troops successfully arrived in the northern suburbs of Changchun.
In Changchun City, just after dawn, Li Guilin, commander of the 23rd brigade, and Gu Xing, commander of the 27th brigade, were urgently summoned to the Office of the Commissioner by Xi Qia.
In the office, Xi Qia said to the two with an anxious look: "According to the scout report, Li Du, Xing Zhanqing and other bandits have made a comeback and quietly approached the northern suburbs of Changchun last night. What do you think we should do?"
"After the last defeat, Li Du and Xing Zhanqing still dare to come again?" Li Guilin was a little surprised.
"Chief of Staff Xi, we have an advantage in terms of military strength and our artillery fire is stronger than theirs. After the last battle, Xing Zhanqing and Li Du's troops were severely injured and have not recovered yet. What is there to be afraid of?" Gu Xing didn't care.
Dao, obviously after defeating Li Du and Xing Zhanqing last time, he had already ignored them and thought they were vulnerable.
"Furthermore, hasn't Japan announced that it has mobilized more than 300,000 troops to enter the Northeast? Didn't Zhang Xinghan of Shenyang escape Shenyang because he is so capable?
Li Du and the others are so overestimating their capabilities, they are simply looking for death. We only need to hold Changchun, and when the Japanese invade Shenyang and heavy troops arrive, they will die."
"However, I have just received news that Ding Chao's troops, which were routed to Songyuan, were suddenly wiped out by Zhang Xinghan's duli division two days ago, and Ding Chao himself was beheaded." Xiqia said worriedly.
"Xiqia Shenzhen means that Li Du's comeback this time is supported by Zhang Xinghan?" Li Guilin asked.
"It's very possible. I'm now afraid that Zhang Xinghan will also lead his troops to attack Changchun. The combat effectiveness of his Du Li division is unparalleled. Even Japan's powerful troops will be defeated by him. If his troops really participate in the attack,
Chang Chun, that is definitely not a good thing for us." Xi Qia said with a worried look on his face.
Just as Xiqia finished speaking, the roar of an airplane engine suddenly came from outside.
When Xi Qia and others heard the sound, their expressions changed greatly, and they hurried out of the house. They saw some black spots in the sky in the north direction of the city, approaching quickly and getting bigger under their gaze.
The roar of the engine became more and more harsh.
"Where did this plane come from?" Xiqia's voice was trembling.
"It can't be the air force of Zhang Xinghan's Duli Division, right?" Gu Xing looked towards the north of the city with a somewhat frightened look.
Under their suspicion, Liu Cuigang led ten Zero fighter jets and five Stuka fighter jets to fly over the north of Changchun City.
Under the guidance of the ground troops, carpet bombing and fierce dive sweeps began towards the northern defense line of the Changchun rebel city.
Under Stuka's accurate and powerful bombing, all the rebel fortifications in the north of Changchun City were destroyed, and several city walls were blown down.
The Zero fighter jets that constantly flew past, circled, dived and swept at low altitudes, causing unimaginable damage to the rebels.
The entire North Gate instantly turned into a sea of flames, with the rebel soldiers' howls before their deaths and the continuous firing of the Zero fighter's 20mm machine cannons coming one after another.
The air raid lasted for more than half an hour, and the rebel defenses were plowed several times. There were fire and thick smoke everywhere, and it was impossible to see the city head within a hundred or ten meters.
At this time, Li Du and Xing Zhanqing issued an order to the troops to attack across the entire front, and thousands of officers and soldiers, holding guns and roaring, launched a charge towards the north gate.
Feng Zhanhai, the leader of the Self-Defense Regiment, was extremely brave and led his men to charge with a light machine gun in hand.
Inspired by him, the officers and soldiers of the Self-Defense Regiment bravely took the lead and were the first to rush into the city through the gap in the city wall that was destroyed by the air force.
By this time, the rebels at the North Gate had already lost all their casualties, and the few survivors were so frightened that they fled in all directions, unable to organize any decent resistance.
In this way, the officers and soldiers of the Self-Defense Regiment and Du Li's 24th and 26th brigades rushed into the city with great ease. The 10th Artillery Regiment of the city's defenders had no time to fire to suppress it, and the artillery advantage was unable to be used.
In panic, Xiqia and Gu Xing were forced to lead some troops to withdraw from Changchun from the south gate. Li Guilin and Mu Chunchang, the commander of the 10th Artillery Regiment, were all captured alive.
After capturing the entire city, the Xing Zhanqing command post headed south to pursue the remaining troops of Gu Xing and Xiqia.
They were overtaken and annihilated in the Gongzhuling area. Xiqia and Gu Xing managed to escape to Siping through the mountain path with only a few guards.
In Changchun City, officers and soldiers of Duli's 24th and 26th Brigade escorting prisoners were passing by everywhere.
Zhang Xinghan led Sabli, Li Du and others into the city, looking at the scene of the city with traces of war and ruins everywhere.
Li Du couldn't help but sigh: "Xiqia, these traitors from Han Dynasty in Guxing have harmed the people of Changchun like this. They really deserve death."
"Brigade Commander Xing personally led the cavalry to pursue them. He will definitely be able to kill these two thieves and avenge the sacrificed officers and soldiers and the innocent people of Changchun who died in the war." Sabu said forcefully.
"I hope so." Li Du nodded, and then said to Zhang Xinghan: "General Zhang, the battle in Changchun was all thanks to your air force assistance. Li expresses his solemn thanks to you on behalf of our 24th Brigade and other departments."
"No need to thank you. When Xinghan was trapped in Shenyang, didn't you all give your full support at all costs? We are both heroes. In this great Patriotic War, we should join hands to fight the enemy and help each other." Zhang Xinghan said.
While they were talking, the leader of the Self-Defense Regiment, Feng Zhanhai, covered in blood, strode over with a group of subordinates.
"General Li, General Zhang." Feng Zhanhai couldn't help shouting excitedly from far away...
Seeing Feng Zhanhai covered in blood, Li Du stepped forward with concern and asked: "Captain Feng, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Feng Zhanhai turned around and pointed at the several officers behind him who were being escorted by his subordinates. "These are the prisoners I captured. They are Li Guilin, commander of the 23rd brigade, and Mu Chunchang, commander of the 10th Artillery Regiment.
."
Li Du walked over and looked at the middle-aged officer at the head, and said with some regret: "Brother Xinshan, you and I are both highly regarded by the commander-in-chief and the young commander-in-chief, and are entrusted with the important task of border defense. How can we betray the country and surrender to the enemy and become a traitor to the Han Dynasty?"
Li Guilin looked at Zhang Xinghan behind Li Du and wanted to explain, but he opened his mouth and finally did not say anything.
Seeing Li Guilin's silence, Li Du said to Feng Zhanhai: "Captain Feng, imprison them all first, and we will deal with them later."
"Yes." Feng Zhanhai responded immediately. With a wave of his hand, his subordinates escorted Li Guilin, Mu Chunchang and others away.
Watching them leave, Li Du couldn't help but sigh: "This is so bad. One mistake will bring eternal regrets. You can't lose your backbone at any time, otherwise you will be infamy for thousands of years and it will be too late to regret."
"General Li, the top priority now is that you should surrender prisoners as soon as possible, recruit new soldiers, expand your troops, and strengthen Changchun's defense. In addition, you must also take over all the artillery and artillery of the 10th Artillery Regiment. This can greatly enhance your combat effectiveness." Zhang Xinghan.
reminded.
"Yes, I will arrange it as soon as possible." Li Du nodded in agreement.
"Hey!" Not long after, Xing Zhanqing roared over on his war horse with a group of cavalry, and he got off his horse.
Sabli couldn't help but ask: "Commander Xing, how are you? Have you caught Xiqia and Gu Xing?"
Xing Zhanqing said angrily: "No, I have wiped out the remnants of the 27th Brigade, but I haven't found these two bastards Xiqia and Gu Xing. They may have taken advantage of the chaos and escaped."
"Du Li's 27th Brigade has been completely wiped out. They will no longer pose a threat within a short period of time for the next two days. Brigadier Xing does not need to be upset." Zhang Xinghan advised in due course.
That day, Li Du, Xing Zhanqing, Feng Zhanhai and others formally moved the headquarters from Zhangjiawan to Changchun City and began to send in new soldiers.
They recruited and surrendered prisoners, repaired the damaged Changchun fortifications, and at Zhang Xinghan's suggestion, pushed the field defense positions to Gongzhuling.
Mobilize civilian labor to build semi-permanent fortifications at Gongzhuling to cope with future Japanese attacks.
Seeing that the Changchun war has ended, Li Xing and other troops have also taken control of the situation.
Zhang Xinghan took Sabuli to bid farewell to Li Du. Li Du, Xing Zhanqing, Feng Zhanhai and others went in and out of the city to see each other off.
Before leaving, Zhang Xinghan suddenly remembered something and said to Li Du and others: "By the way, there is something Xinghan would like your help with."
"Oh?" Li Du and others looked at each other and said, "General Zhang, even if you say it bluntly, I will definitely comply with it within the scope of my ability."
"As you all know, our Du Li division evacuated from Shenyang, and most of the people in Shenyang, Xinmin City and nearby areas also followed us, totaling more than 500,000 people. The amount of food required for daily life is huge.
At present, we don’t have much grain purchased from Shenyang and other places, so I would like to ask all brothers to purchase and raise a batch of grain from various places in Gulin to help our more than 500,000 elders in Tongliao survive the winter.
Of course, I can't ask you to pay for food. I will send you a batch of weapons and equipment later, which will be used to purchase food and help you expand your troops and strengthen your strength." Zhang Xinghan said.
Li Du pondered for a while and said: "That's okay. A large amount of grain has been seized in Changchun City, and there is also a lot of grain in Harbin and other places. If we purchase some from the private sector in various towns, it should not be a problem to supply the 500,000 people in Tongliao for the winter."
"Then I'll leave it to you. The weapons and equipment will be delivered within half a month. Xinghan took his leave." Zhang Xinghan saluted them and got on his horse.
"Thank you, General Zhang. Take care of yourself, General." Li Du, Xing Zhanqing and others saluted each other.
Chapter completed!