From the night of May 23 to the early morning of the 24th, it is a busy time for both the Military Commission in Wuhan, China and the War Base Camp in Tokyo, Japan.

On this night, in the supreme command of two major powers that belong to East Asia, countless staff members were developing new combat plans in Tongxiaodadan. On the map, on the sand table, they were repeatedly calculated and deducing the development direction of the next battle situation based on the latest situation of the two sides in Huaibei.

Perhaps it is because there are still three Central Army divisions on the north bank of the River Bian River, which has been waiting for ferry (20,000 Central Army officers and soldiers crossed the River Bian River all day on the 23rd.) Since the war between China and Japan, the Military Commission, which has been half a beat slower than the Japanese base camp, was extremely agile and powerful this time, and it is rare to be one step faster than the Tokyo War Base Camp.

From 2:00 to 3:00 on May 24, the Military Commission issued emergency combat instructions from the Military Commission to all Chinese troops located on the north bank of the Bian River through the Fifth War Zone. This open command of the Military Commission is rare since the War of Resistance Against Japan. In this regard, the Commander of the Fifth War Zone, who always emphasized that the commander of the war zone should have absolute command of the troops, remained silent this time beyond everyone's expectations.

At 1:30 am on the 24th, the Military Commission also sent a special envoy to Suxikou overnight with the best plane. He was entrusted by the Chairman of the Military Commission to rectify the troops mainly dominated by the Central Army that were stranded there in a short period of time. General Chen, who has always known as the "small version of the Chairman", is a big figure in the Central Army. At the same time, General Chen was appointed by the Military Commission as the highest military commander of all Chinese troops in the Huaibei War Zone and was directly responsible to the Chairman himself.

The core content of the Huaibei Battle, which the Military Commission has formulated and prepared to organize and implement immediately, is actually just one word "retreat".

At this time, Xuzhou had been occupied by the 13th Japanese Division on the afternoon of the 23rd of this month. More than 200,000 Japanese troops who had woken up from the empty city plan of the Chinese army were heading south from the Xuzhou area, trying to chase and annihilate the hundreds of thousands of troops that had just jumped out of the Fifth War Zone in Xuzhou City.

Based on this, the Military Commission inferred that the Japanese base camp could not be uninterested in the 100,000 Chinese troops in Huaibei, and would definitely draw a large number of troops to encircle the Chinese troops still stranded in Huaibei. In this way, withdrawing all Chinese troops in Huaibei became an urgent priority.

However, the Military Commission did not just want to escape. The Military Commission would still be reluctant to seek the Japanese army, which was severely damaged or even eliminated on the western battlefield between Xiaoban River and Dai River.

Adhering to this will, after General Chen arrived at Bianxikou at 3 a.m. on the 24th, the first order issued by the plane was to allow the 97th Independent Brigade (the elite of the Sichuan Army Yangsen system.) and the two regiments stranded in the Central Army of Bianxikou that could still maintain a relatively complete system to advance quickly to the western front battlefield, and work with the existing troops there to form a north-south attack on the 30th Japanese Brigade.

It is also a bit of absurd that all the senior officers of the Central Army and the heads of the local army in front of General Chen were obeyed. This is certainly because this person has a high position and is highly valued by the commission, which makes everyone in the Central Army bend down to him. The heads of the local army were frightened by this person's strong hobbies and huge appetites when fighting the civil war in Jiangxi, and he dared not be negligent in this regard. (In the Battle of Shanghai, after participating in the war, they were crippled by the Japanese army, and the basic troops of the local warlords in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Lakes were almost "eat" by General Chen. Although his direct 18th Army was indeed outstanding in combat, he was also a powerful brigade when fighting against the Japanese army, but when eating miscellaneous cards, he was even more courageous.)

At 3:30 am on the 24th, Cheng Jiaji was holding a joint military meeting with Liu Tianlong, Hu Junquan and others in a panic.

It is said to be a joint military meeting, but in fact, several senior officers from three divisions and brigades were sitting in a small woods and striking their heads. Someone asked how these senior officers in the Great Front could have time to hold a meeting. That was because under the fierce attack of the 30th Japanese brigade, the positions of the 100th Independent Brigade had achieved real interreliance with the 56th Division and the 112th Independent Brigade, and the positions of the whole person were stuck together back to back. Therefore, there were objective conditions for this united conference.

Cheng Jiaji and others have received good news that thousands of reinforcements will be launched, but this good news that the far water cannot save the near fire will not be of substantial help to their current situation.

"Two guys, the Japanese are now crowding our three troops into a group. If you can't solve it, the little Japanese you have on hand will be driven down to Daihe and feed fish and shrimps by the Japanese!"

Cheng Jiaji smiled without any force, and said loudly to the two brothers sitting opposite him who were at least ten years older than him.

Among the three brigade commanders of the divisions, the troops under their jurisdiction fought the longest time, and the casualties were the worst. Cheng Jiaji was in a relaxed mood. If a person thinks about it, there is nothing to worry about. By this time the war was over, Cheng Jiaji had already put his own life and death aside, so he would not be as sad as Liu Tianlong and Hu Junquan.

"Brother Haoran, you can really laugh now!" Liu Tianlong is not as good as Cheng Jiaji. After a night of bloody battle, the casualties of his Independent One-One-2 Brigade were almost thousands. This number may have been injured in Hu Cheng and his two men's troops. He was spread on his Independent One-One-2 Brigade, which had only more than 3,000 people, but it was just a trauma. He was so heartbroken that he just wanted to cry now.

Liu Tianlong is indeed the weakest among the three brigade commanders of the division, which is certainly because his independent 112 brigade has too few troops.

On the other hand, it has a lot to do with the two infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment of the predecessor of this unit, the 9th Division of the Puppet Manchukuo Army, who surrendered. Liu Tianlong himself was the lieutenant general commander of the Puppet Manchukuo Army.

Such a unit incorporated by the former puppet Manchukuo Army is naturally not popular among the national army, and Liu Tianlong has no basic connections in the pass.

If the troops are really exhausted, then the number is to withdraw. As for Liu Tianlong himself? Most of them were taken to the Ministry of Military Affairs to take up a free job and retire. That kind of life is as good as the glory of thousands of soldiers in his hands now.

Liu Tianlong, who was very worried about his future, was undoubtedly the most pessimistic among the captains of this army at this time.

"Haoran, tell me what should I do next!" Hearing the tone of this veteran Yunnan Army Hu Junquan, who was in his fifties, it was as if Cheng Jiaji was his chief of staff. His words even made a little ask the children of his nephews.

Hu Junquan is not Liu Tianlong. This veteran from the Yunnan Army was born. He joined the army for more than 30 years after Zhu Peide was defeated from Yunnan and went out of Yunnan. He has never seen anything before. It is so easy to be as restless as Liu Tianlong.

It is said that the 56th Division has the largest number of people in the Chinese army on the battlefield, accounting for nearly half of the total number.

When Hu Junquan was in charge of Liu Tianlong, he mainly focused on Hu Junquan. This time, when Cheng Jiaji invited him to make a military plan, he had long regarded himself as the leader of the three. With this thought, his tone would inevitably be a little condescending.

'This old guy is also a soldier for decades. Why is his thinking still stuck to the old thought of the boss who has more guns in the Beiyang period? I have a two-four-type German rifle made by him and three Hanyang, not to mention that there are still many people in the 56th Division who are singles this time. It really makes me fight any regiment under my subordinates enough for him to drink a pot of 56th Division."

Cheng Jiaji thought this in his heart, but he said a long list of humble words like a cannon.

While complaining about others in his heart, he also said good things with a smile on his face. Cheng Jiaji still learns this kind of trick that is bothering and disagreeing in the officialdom.

In fact, what Cheng Jiaji looked down upon most was the 56th Division, the Yunnan Army unit with a long history. Cheng Jiaji seemed to have many people and guns, but even the murmur was still the old tactics of the old men who participated in the Northern Expedition, and there was no vitality at all. It was not so much an army, but it was more of an armed tribe.

Even Hu Junquan, the chief officer, had already issued a dead order when fighting against the Japanese army today. The veterans of this army were still attacking slowly without any effort. In Cheng Jiaji's opinion, the attack power of this army was not only inferior to his own independent 100 brigades, but also worse than Liu Tianlong's troops. Poor Hu Junquan was still ignorant of the veterans and was arrogant and always wanted to get a leader of the alliance among these three troops based on their qualifications.

He didn't think about what his battles were like. Faced with less than a thousand Japanese soldiers who had been killed and injured by the Independent 100 Brigade, Hu Junquan's 56th Division devoted three regiments to fight for five or six hours with the cooperation of the Independent 112 Brigade. He couldn't solve the battle.

"Two brothers, if you can solve the remnants of the 38th Japanese Army's 38th Regiment within two hours, then brothers will keep guarding until you return to the army to join our army. Otherwise, it would be better to let these two Japanese troops join, so that this might be able to fight this battle better."

As soon as Cheng Jiaji said this, everyone was shocked.

The three troops fought overnight, just to destroy most of the Japanese army's regiment? Now that they have reached this point, Cheng Jiaji actually spoke out two Japanese troops to join forces, which did not make everyone stunned.

Among the few people present, Qian Shen flashed a knowing smile on his face.

I don’t know how Cheng Jiaji convinced Liu Tianlong and Hu Junquan to agree to let the two Japanese troops merge.

In short, more than half an hour later, Sasaki "defeated" the Chinese army in front as he wished, and took out the remnants of the two brigades under his jurisdiction, with less than 400 people left, and finally successfully saved the throne of his brigade commander.

When Major General Sasaki found that the Chinese army that had just been "defeated" could still fight against the Japanese army, he was not too nervous. If this Chinese army was really vulnerable, the losses suffered in front of the 38th Regiment would be difficult to understand.

When Major General Sasaki launched several attacks to defeat the Chinese army, but the other party did not fight head-on with the Japanese army, but just led the main force of the 30th Brigade to the north step by step, Sasaki began to have an ominous premonition in his heart, whether the reinforcements of the Chinese army were about to arrive.

Frightened by the fate of the Sakamoto Brigade, Major General Sasaki felt the huge danger hidden in the dark at this time.

After confirming that the number of Chinese troops in front of him would not be able to be wiped out within a few hours, the commander of the Sasaki Brigade decided to retreat and retreat to the vicinity of the pontoon bridge first. When he got there, he could be backed by Xiaoba River.

Even if there is a large number of Chinese troops attacking, as long as the floating bridge is still there, the 30th Brigade will be able to obtain continuous support from the west bank of the Xiaoban River. At that time, with the cover of the air force in the sky and the support of reinforcements on the ground, he will be afraid of nothing.

If the Chinese soldiers did not have any reinforcements, they could also attack Huaibei during the day after receiving the replenishment of troops and ammunition from the West Bank. In a few hours, his chariots and heavy artillery could cross the river. It would be easy to defeat this Chinese army.

An hour ago, the base camp had made the mission of the 30th Brigade very clear, that is, it was to stand up towards Huaibei. As long as it could occupy the entrance of the Suxikou and seal the Chinese army in Huaibei, it would be a victory.

After a whole night of battle, Major General Sasaki had no idea whether the 30th Brigade could complete the tasks just assigned by the base camp if he had no support from heavy artillery and chariots.

After making up his mind, Major General Sasaki immediately gave up his attack on the Chinese army in front of him and commanded more than 4,000 Japanese troops to move closer to the pontoon bridge.

Seeing that the Japanese army retreated, the Chinese army did not pursue it, but just followed it far away. If the Japanese army returned, the Chinese army would escape again.

This trip made the Japanese army go on and off. This "rogue" behavior of the Chinese army seriously affected the speed of the Japanese army's return to defense, and also aroused Sasaki's suspicion. He was afraid that the retreat would be lost, so he immediately ordered the Japanese army not to pay attention to the Chinese army hanging behind and just headed towards the floating bridge.

However, the Chinese army behind the Japanese army was very "crawling". Seeing that the Japanese army's defense was relaxed, they immediately dispatched a large group of cavalry to attack the Japanese army, and they defeated the last squadron walking in the Japanese army. They all lost almost all the remaining ones.

The furious Sasaki was about to return to the army to teach the Chinese a lesson, but the gunshots from the direction of the pontoon bridge shocked Sasaki. At this time, Major General Sasaki's heart was all tied to the pontoon bridge. If the pontoon bridge was lost, not only would the 30th Brigade's heavy artillery not be able to pass the heavy artillery, but it would be possible that the Chinese army would eat it on the east bank of the Xiaoba River.

There is only one reason why Sasaki wants to blow up the bridge at this time, that is, the main force of the Chinese army is coming, and the 30th Brigade has lost all its strength. If it meets the main force of the Chinese army again, it will be all over!
Chapter completed!