Xu Tingyao, whose original name was Qiyao and whose courtesy name was Yuexiang, was a pioneer in Kaocheng Town, Wuwei County, Anhui Province. He was born on October 9, 1892. He studied in Wanjiang Middle School in Wuhu in his early years. After graduating in 1912, he was admitted to the Wuchang Army Second Preparatory School. In 1914, he was admitted to Wuchang Army Second Preparatory School.

Entered the infantry section of the third phase of Baoding Army Officer School and was assigned to the fourth company. He was in the same section as Zhang Zhizhong, Bai Chongxi, Cai Tingkai and others.

He is currently the commander of the 17th Army of the National Revolutionary Army with the rank of general. Because he is both civil and military, he has participated in hundreds of large and small battles since graduating from Baoding Army Officer School and has accumulated numerous military exploits, so he is highly regarded by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek.

The 17th Army is composed of the 4th Division of the National Revolutionary Army and the 25th Division, which was expanded from the Duli Brigade of the 4th Division.

So far, there are a total of three divisions under its jurisdiction, namely the 2nd Division, the 4th Division, and the 25th Division. The commanders of each division are famous generals in history. They are Huang Jie, commander of the 2nd Division, Tang Enbo, commander of the 4th Division, and Tang Enbo, commander of the 4th Division.

The 25th Division Guan Linzheng, it is worth mentioning that the deputy commander of the 25th Division is Du Yuming.

The 17th Army alone has gathered several senior generals who are famous in history and have outstanding military exploits. It can be said that it is a gathering of stars.

You must know that Huang Jie, Tang Enbo, Guan Linzheng, and Du Yuming are all Chairman Chiang's confidants, and Xu Tingyao can be the commander of these people, which shows how much Chiang attaches importance to them.

With so many famous generals gathered together, they are also equipped with one of the best elite ace troops. The three divisions of the 17th Army are among the best in the battle order of the Central Army, regardless of equipment level, unit combat effectiveness, and the quality of their commanders and soldiers.

When the Japanese invaded Jehol, Xu Tingyao was ordered to lead the 17th Army north to defend North China. Later, after the situation changed, he led his troops to station in eastern Hebei. Once in southern Hebei, he became the only elite force of the Central Army north of the Yellow River.

From the garrison of Xu Tingyao's headquarters, it is not difficult to see that Chairman Chiang's intention was to restrict the development of Han Fuqu in Shandong and the Jinsui Army in Shanxi, and at the same time declare the actual control and presence of the national government in North China.

But now it has become the only fire brigade to deal with the Northeast Army and save the situation in Hebei.

At that time, Xu Tingyao's military headquarters was located in Handan, and his troops were scattered in Hengshui and other places. After receiving an emergency transfer order from Chairman Chiang Kai-shek.

Xu Tingyao immediately ordered Huang Jie's 2nd Division, which was stationed with the military headquarters in Handan, to set out south at night to rush to support Puyang. At the same time, he sent a telegram to Hengshui Tang Enbo's troops, Xingtai Guan Linzheng and Du Yuming's troops to set off immediately and rush south to help.

At the same time, Hu Zongnan also urgently dispatched reinforcements from all over the Central Plains to go north.

As the battle situation in Puyang became extremely critical overnight, Xu Tingyao led his army and set off with Huang Jie to the front line of Puyang.

The troops collected all the vehicles that could be requisitioned from Handan and other places, marched at full speed, and covered 59 kilometers in only three hours to reach Anyang.

On a mound on the north side of the highway in Anyang City, Xu Tingyao, Huang Jie and other adjutants, all dressed in military uniforms, were taking a temporary nap on the mound.

Looking at the own troops that kept rushing past them on the road next to them, Huang Jie's eyebrows showed concern about the unpredictable future of the battle. He turned to Xu Tingyao and said: "Military seat, the Northeast Frontier Defense Force is coming with a lot of force this time. It only lasts a few days."

They defeated Dezhou, Liaocheng and several other cities, causing our Central Army and Shandong Army to lose troops and generals. The outcome of this battle is unpredictable."

A staff officer next to him nodded with deep sympathy and said: "Yes, Puyang now only has two regiments of Wang Yaowu's troops. I'm afraid it will be difficult to hold on."

Different from the central army in the Central Plains, the 17th Army has been stationed in North China for a long time and has known each other closely with the Northeast Frontier Defense Force. Therefore, they understand the strength of the Northeast Frontier Defense Force better than the former. In their view, Zhang Xinghan's Northeast Frontier Defense Force is stronger than the Japanese.

A more powerful existence, this is a common view among many generals of the 17th Army.

Xu Tingyao straightened his military uniform and said solemnly: "You feed the emperor and worry about the emperor. As soldiers of the country, we should complete the tasks assigned to us by the leader with determination without fear of life and death. If we don't succeed, we will be benevolent!"

"Order the troops to speed up their advance and reach Puyang before dawn."

"Yes." A communications staff officer behind Huang Jie suddenly stood up and responded, quickly turning around and taking the order.

……………………

In Puyang City, after encircling and attacking several reinforcements from the central army, Zhang Xinghan had taken the absolute initiative in the battle of Puyang and Xinxiang.

But now he is also facing a problem, that is, since Texas marched westward, the number of prisoners in his hands has exceeded 20,000.

Of the 20,000 central troops defeated last night, less than 1,000 were actually killed, more than 1,000 escaped, and 90% were captured.

Now Zhang Xinghan has nearly two divisions of prisoners in Puyang alone. The troublesome thing is that these prisoners are all his compatriots. If time permits, Zhang Xinghan will definitely transport them back to the rear, fully transform them, and completely transform them into

own troops.

These are well-trained elites of the central military. With a little modification, they can become rare elite troops.

But now he is busy attacking Puyang, Xinxiang, Jincheng and other places, and has no time to transport these prisoners away.

It was definitely not possible to kill so many prisoners. They were not Japs or foreigners, but his true compatriots. No matter how tense he was with the Nanjing government officials, Zhang Xinghan could not bring himself to attack these defenseless compatriots.

Letting go is not an option. The sudden release of so many prisoners can only have two consequences. The first is to escape back to a nearby city and be re-armed to fight against the Northeastern border guards. The second is to become stragglers who turn into bandits, robbing homes and harming one party.

.

Neither of these results is what Zhang Xinghan wants.

So after thinking about it, Zhang Xinghan decided to capture Puyang City first, firstly as a place to house these captives, and secondly, to leave a place for his troops to settle on the border of Hebei, Shanxi and Henan.

With the power of the tank division in his hands, even a hundred thousand central troops could not stop him in the field. Therefore, as long as Puyang is captured, it can become a stronghold for the army on the border of Shanxi, Hebei and Henan. It can advance, attack, retreat or defend.

.

In the temporary headquarters located in the east of the city, Zhang Xinghan and Liu Jianguo were redeploying their siege plan for Puyang.

Guo Zhong, who was ordered to take the guard battalion outside the city to shout for the surrender of the city's defenders, hurried back.

"Zhongzi, how are you? Will Wang Yaowu agree to surrender?" Zhang Xinghan asked casually when he saw Guo Zhong coming back. In fact, he did not really expect Wang Yaowu to lead his troops out of the city to surrender. This was just to further weaken the fighting spirit of the defenders in the city and weaken them.

It's just morale.

Sure enough, Guo Zhong shook his head guiltily and said: "No. Wang Yaowu is a very stubborn bastard. Not only did he not surrender, he also ordered the machine gunners to shoot at us. Fortunately, the brothers hid quickly."

"It seems that Wang Yaowu is still very loyal to Principal Jiang." Liu Jianguo joked.

"Hahaha, actually it is not necessarily true that Chairman Chiang is still the true president of the National Government, and we may have become rebels in their eyes.

Until the situation changes completely, these people will not give up their allegiance to Bald Jiang easily, and he refuses to surrender. This is also expected." After Zhang Xinghan finished speaking, he suddenly paused and added: "There is another possibility.

The reason why Wang Yaowu so resolutely refused to be photographed by our army was that he did not even use this opportunity to delay time. That is enough to show that there must be reinforcements coming to Puyang. Otherwise, since Wang Yaowu did not surrender, he should have led his troops to break out at night.

That’s it.”

Guo Zhong was a little surprised, but also said with admiration: "General Manager Yingming, when I came back from my humble position, I happened to meet Xiao Li, a communications soldier. He said that he had just received the latest intelligence message from the Secrecy Bureau, and I would forward it on his behalf."

"What is the content of the message?" Zhang Xinghan asked anxiously.

"According to intelligence, Hu Zongnan is deploying troops stationed in Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and other places to urgently assemble. He is preparing to cross the Yellow River north again for reinforcements.

In addition, Xu Tingyao's troops of the central army stationed in Hengshui, Handan, Xingtai and other places suddenly gathered one after another last night. The Secrecy Bureau estimated that they probably received an emergency military order.

Not long ago, the latest information sent by agents from the Anyang branch of the Secrecy Bureau to the headquarters of the Secrecy Bureau confirmed that the Huang Jie Department of the 2nd Division of the 17th Army stationed in Handan arrived in Anyang overnight and continued southward without stopping. It was obvious that they came to rescue Puyang.

." Guo Zhongdao.

"Xu Tingyao? The 17th Army?" Zhang Xinghan heard this and quickly unfolded a corner of the rolled up map, found Handan and other places, and said: "He really dares to move, but judging from the current situation, the Nanjing government is still there

Hebei only has such a fresh force to use."

"Chief Commander, according to my understanding, Xu Tingyao's three divisions of the 17th Army are all elites of the Central Army, and their strength cannot be underestimated. If they really rush to Puyang, and there are reinforcements from the Central Plains to attack from the north and south, with our

With the troops we have now, the situation may really become unoptimistic."

Liu Jianguo saw Zhang Xinghan frowning after hearing what he said, and quickly explained: "I'm not saying that the 17th Army can defeat our army, but with their joining, our plan to capture Puyang, Xinxiang and Jincheng may be

put off.

According to the intelligence provided by the Secret Bureau, hundreds of thousands of troops from Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Guangxi are moving northward at a rapid pace. Once the war drags on until their arrival, it may be difficult for our army to complete the strategic plan to encircle the Shanxi-Sui Army.

"

Zhang Xinghan nodded unequivocally and said: "Jianguo, your analysis is very reasonable, so we must kill this 17th Army and eat Chairman Chiang's last remaining force in Hebei."

"Ah? Eat the 17th Army?" Liu Jianguo was shocked and said: "Chief, we have nearly 20,000 prisoners now, and we have to divide our forces to besiege Puyang. The three divisions of the 17th Army are all Category A divisions.

There are at least 40,000 to 50,000 troops, is that possible?"

Zhang Xinghan said with confidence: "There is no question of whether it can be done or not, only whether you dare or not. You all think so. Xu Tingyao will even think that our army is insufficient. Coupled with Wang Yaowu's constant urgency and the Nanjing government's urgent order of 100,000, it will inevitably speed up."

The marching speed must be such that we can reach the destination as quickly as possible, so our vigilance will inevitably relax, and our army will have an opportunity to take advantage of it."

Zhang Xinghan continued: "Send my order and the troops will immediately assemble and prepare for battle. I also telegraphed Gao Zhihang to dispatch a bomber brigade tomorrow morning to blow up the Yellow River Railway Bridge for me. Another Zero fighter plane flew along the Yellow River within three hundred miles from east to west.

Block the river and deny Hu Zong the chance to cross the river and go north!"

ps: Happy New Year to all book friends. I spent a day playing with my family today. There is no coding, so there is only this update. There will be three updates tomorrow to make up for it. Thank you!

..
Chapter completed!