Jingxingguan, Headquarters of Shanxi-Sui Army Shangzhen Division..

Jingxingguan is one of the eight passes in Taihang and is the most important thoroughfare from Taihang to the North China Plain.

Therefore, it is the most strategic important point in the Hebei-Shanxi thoroughfare.

Since the Northeast Army moved south, Shang Zhen was ordered to supervise the troops along the Zhengtai Road and the 32nd Army and other units under his command, a total of 100,000 troops, to resist the main attack of the 1st Group Army of the Northeast Army commanded by Huang Xiansheng.

On the Zhengtai Road, due to the lack of effective anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons and equipment by the Jinsui Army, Huang Xiansheng, who had the advantage of air force, tanks and artillery fire, was defeated one after another.

Important places in Hebei such as Shimen (Shijiazhuang) and Zhengding were lost, especially Shimen, which is the intersection of the Zhengtai Railway and the Beijing-Hankou Railway.

The strategic location is self-evident, but fortunately, when Shang Zhen's troops retreated, they destroyed as many railways and highway bridges as possible along the way.

The great constraints slowed down the Northeast Army's pursuit speed.

But it is impossible to completely block the Northeast Army's attack with those means alone.

In the past few days, Huang Xiansheng personally led his troops to continuously launch fierce attacks on Jingxingguan and other important places that Shang Zhen was holding.

The battle was extremely brutal, with both the offensive and defensive sides suffering heavy casualties.

Since there was no air superiority and the artillery and tank units did not have the advantage, the generals under Shang Zhen fought extremely hard.

He complained to Shang Zhen many times and asked to retreat.

They were all suppressed by Shang Zhen.

However, today, several division commanders and brigade commanders under Shang Zhen gathered at his headquarters again to propose a retreat to Shang Zhen.

The reason is simple. They all learned about the fall of Yanmen Pass.

In their opinion, once Yanmen Pass is lost, Taiyuan's rear will be in danger. What's the point of them fighting at Jingxing Pass and losing blood.

And another reason is that the First Army of the Northeastern Army they fought with was too powerful. Whether it was ground firepower or aerial firepower, they were the only ones they had ever seen in their lives.

Many of these generals who had fought in the Central Plains War and followed Shang Zhen in the east and west to conquer the Jinsui Army for many years were really afraid of being beaten. They would rather face the Central Army and the Northwest Army that were ten times larger than the Northeast Army.

The army exchanged fire with such a powerful opponent.

"Commander, please don't hesitate. The firepower of Huang Xiansheng's First Army is too fierce. Each unit has suffered heavy casualties. All the veterans who fought with us in the Central Plains War are almost dead!" A major general brigade commander looked sad.

persuade.

Several other brigade commanders, division commanders, chiefs of staff and the like all agreed.

Shang Zhen had a gloomy face and said nothing. His grudges with Yan Xishan could not be explained clearly in a few words.

After the Northern Expedition, the country basically formed a superficial unity, and Shang Zhen also benefited from his performance in the war and was named chairman of Hebei Province.

Shang Zhen entered the society in his early years. After various experiences, he was not far behind others in literary, Taoist and military strategies. He had to join Yan Xishan as a last resort. The reason why he worked hard for ten years was just for the unforgettable kindness of knowing and encountering him.

However, as far as his surname is concerned, things

When things are controlled by others and you are unwilling to do so, it is inevitable to look for opportunities to gain reading skills.

When he acted as the governor of Suiyuan, Shang Zhen made an attempt in this regard. In view of the bad habits of poor quality and outdated consciousness developed by the Jin army after not fighting for a long time, Shang Zhen returned to Sui in a short period of time to plan for future development.

Founded Suiyuan Military and Political School and served as its principal. The school enrolled more than 200 students in the first phase.

After the Northern Expedition was completed, he believed that all factions had been unified under the banner of Chiang Kai-shek, and obeying the central government was the key to the problem. Therefore, when he took office as chairman of Hebei Province, Shang Zhen began to show centrifugal tendencies with Yan Xishan: first,

The original Suiyuan Military and Political School was moved to Huangsi, Beiping, and renamed Hebei Military and Political School. Experts with high salaries were hired to teach.

Enrollment was expanded; an instructor was established in Nanyuan to train the backbone of the army; a party affairs training institute and a political training academy were also opened to prepare cadres.

At the same time, he secretly purchased a batch of firearms through Zhang Xueliang and actively prepared to form a division by himself at the appropriate time.

However, Shang Zhen's approach seemed a bit naive compared to the complex political situation at that time. He did not see that Chiang's unification was only superficial and the result of political compromise between various political forces. Chiang would not and could not completely change

The relative pronunciation of each power group.

In this situation, his position as chairman of Hebei Province is essentially a piece of Yan Xishan's share of the political struggle between various groups. In other words, it still belongs to Yan Xishan's sphere of influence. Yan Xishan is not interested in his attempts to read.

Will turn a blind eye.

Just when Shang Zhen was intoxicated with the bright prospect of getting rid of Yan Xishan's fetters, on August 10, 1929, a "transfer order" changed him from the chairman of Hebei Province to the chairman of Shanxi Province.

Changing Shang Zhen to be the chairman of Shanxi Province was a trick used by Yan Xishan. He quietly put Shang Zhen under his nose, completely wiping out Shang Zhen's efforts in the past period.

However, on the other hand, it also became a turning point in the relationship between Yan and Shang. It is impossible to say that there is no grudge in my heart at all.

After more than a year of hard work in Hebei, a certain political, military, and economic foundation was laid. However, Shang Zhen could only surrender to the sudden transfer. Yan Xishan's energy and influence cannot be underestimated.

After returning to Shanxi, Shang Zhen was still the provincial chairman, but he was caught in the dilemma of having positions but not having power from the beginning, and all he had to do was "put stamps and accompany guests."

It was not until the September 18th Incident broke out a few years ago that this situation was able to change. Due to historical changes, the five northwest provinces as well as Pingjin, Baoding and Cangzhou were occupied by Zhang Xinghan.

In order to resist possible attacks by Zhang Xinghan's Northeastern Army, Yan Xishan reactivated Shang Zhen. After all, most of the generals in the 320th Army were loyal to Shang Zhen's old troops.

This force cannot be ignored.

In addition to Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, Zhang Xueliang promoted and supported him, Shang Zhen still served as the commander of the 32nd Army, and the force's strength had expanded compared with before.

The Northeastern Army moved south to attack North China and Shanxi.

Yan Xishan's military deployment was also based on small calculations. Regardless of whether Shang Zhen preferred Nanjing or Taiyuan, a battle with the Northeastern Army was inevitable.

Therefore, Yan Xishan discussed with his confidant Yang Aiyuan that the Shangzhen Division would be the main force, supplemented by several divisions of the Zhengtai Railway Guard Corps, to guard the area from Shimen to Jingxingguan.

Xu Yongchang and Fu Zuoyi led their troops to guard Datong and Yanmen Pass.

Yang Aiyuan, Sun Chu and other Yan Xishan's confidants led their elite Jin troops to station in Taiyuan. They were the governor of the overall situation and could also be the second echelon troops to monitor Xu Yongchang and Shang Zhen's troops.

With Yang Aiyuan's arrangement, even if Shang Zhen lives on top in the front, Yang Aiyuan and Sun Chu can also go up behind. There is no need to worry about Fu Zuoyi and Xu Yongchang at Yanmen Pass in the west.

But the change in the battle situation was beyond Yang Aiyuan and Yan Xishan's expectations.

Zhang Xinghan led a partial army from Cangzhou to the south, attacked Dezhou, besieged Puyang, and fought thousands of miles away. Finally, he captured Tianjingguan and Jincheng, two important places in southern Shanxi, in one fell swoop.

This forced Yan Xishan to order Fu Zuoyi, Yang Aiyuan, Sun Chu and other troops to station in southern Shanxi to ensure Shanxi's retreat.

In this way, Shang Zhen's headquarters in Jingxingguan was extremely important. Yan Xishan basically sent three telegrams a day in Taiyuan, expressing condolences, commendations, and encouragement.

All the food, fodder, ammunition, etc. needed by the Shangquan headquarters will be fully supplied.

The purpose is to stabilize Shang Zhen and hope that he will not make any mistakes at this juncture.

With all the grudges and grudges from the past in my heart, coupled with the unfavorable war situation, the officers and soldiers who depended on them for their livelihood suffered heavy losses.

At this time, his subordinates all tried to persuade him again, and Shang Zhen was a little moved, so he said: "Our army fought a bloody battle at Jingxing Pass, no matter we win or lose, for us,

If we win, Shanxi will have no worries, and Mr. Yan can still be the local emperor of Shanxi.

If they fail, not only will they suffer heavy losses, they may not even have a place to stay.

Therefore, it can be said that winning or losing has no benefit to us, and I understand your concerns.

But if we retreat at this time, we must first find a way out for ourselves, otherwise tens of thousands of our brothers in the 32nd Army will have no way to survive?"

An officer said: "Commander, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing is coming to pay attention to you. Why don't we lead the army back south and directly return it to the central government for deployment."

"In normal times, Chairman Chiang would definitely make arrangements, but now he is eager to eliminate Zhang Xinghan and will definitely not let them abandon Jingxing Pass.

Because once the Shanxi battle is lost, the Northeast Army will gain power, which is something Chairman Chiang cannot allow," Shang Zhen said.

The officer then shut up, saying that there really was no good way out to choose from right now.

Of course, the generals present were not all mediocre. Some of them thought of a way, which was to join the Northeastern Army who was fighting fiercely with them, let them enter Shanxi, and attack Taiyuan from a double attack.

However, this idea is too rebellious at present, and no one dares to be a pioneer. If Shang Zhen resents it, he will get into trouble.

Just when Shang Zhen and everyone else were at a loss what to do, a communications staff officer hurriedly ran in with a telegram in his hand. Seeing that all the people present were Shang Zhen's confidants, he saluted directly to Shang Zhen and said: "Military seat, I have just received the message from the General Secretary of the Northeast Army."

A call from Zhang Xinghan, Commander-in-Chief, Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Army and Air Force."

"Oh?" Shang Zhen and others were surprised, and immediately reached out and took the message.

After reading the telegram, it was circulated to all the confidant generals. Someone on the spot said: "Military seat, this may not be an opportunity. If we lead the Northeast Army into the pass and attack Taiyuan City, what will happen to Zhang Xinghan?"

, he has made a great contribution, and in the future, he will be able to serve in the New Deal and gain a foothold in the army."

The conditions offered by Zhang Xinghan are not unreasonable. If Shang Zhen, as the commander of the army, can really serve on the Military Commission, then their closest subordinates will be able to find good jobs no matter what.

If there were any difficulties in the future, Shang Zhen, who was in a high position, would be able to take care of him, so he changed his attitude on the spot and suggested that Shang Zhen rebel.

The same is true for Shang Zhen. The position of the Military Commission has entered the central level of political power, which is not unfair.
Chapter completed!