After the fall of Xuzhou in May 1938, the Japanese government planned a large-scale invasion of Hankou and the capture of Wuhan to eliminate the main force of the National Revolutionary Army. and set up a front edge defense line in Henan to delay the attack of the local Japanese army in Xuzhou, but due to the disparity in strength between China and Japan, the Henan defense line quickly collapsed; In order to gain more time to strengthen Wuhan's defenses, the Nationalist government blew up the Yellow River embankment at Huayuankou in Zhengzhou on June 9, known as the Huayuankou Incident. Although the Japanese attack on Wuhan was delayed, it also resulted in the deaths of 500,000 to 900,000 civilians, which led to the subsequent flooding of many cities in northern China in 1939.

On June 11, the Japanese landed and captured the city of Anqing with naval support, and the Battle of Wuhan began.

At the same time that Xue Yue carried out Chiang Kai-shek's order to withdraw troops to the mountains west of the Jinghan Railway, Lin Junxiong led the 45th Brigade back to the 73rd Army and stationed in De'an County, Jiangxi.

In 1938, the pro-Chinese German Defense Minister Schlenberg was dismissed by Hitler because of the turmoil caused by the remarriage issue, and Hitler became the minister himself. On May 21, Ambassador Todmann officially informed the Chinese government that the German government wanted to terminate the consultant's contract immediately and allow him to return to China in full. The German government would be responsible for the return travel expenses of the advisers and compensate for the loss of salaries in the future, and Chiang Kai-shek did not want the German advisers to leave at this time, on the one hand, because China was in the most difficult stage at that time, and letting the German advisers leave at this time would be a big blow to the morale of the people; On the other hand, most of the German advisers were Chiang Kai-shek's cronies and workers in charge of secrecy, and if they returned to Germany, they were afraid that their secrets would leak to Japan. However, the German government strictly ordered the advisory group to return to China, and if a few advisers disobeyed the Führer's order, they would be regarded as treason, they would lose their citizenship rights, all their property in Germany would be confiscated, and their families would also be implicated.

On June 28, Xue Yue called General Falcon to say that General Falcon was about to leave China from Hankou to Guangzhou, and because he was in military affairs, he had no way to see him off, so Lin Junxiong rushed to Hankou to see off this old German friend.

On June 30, Lin Junxiong met Falken in a Western restaurant in Hankou, only to see that he looked decadent, his eyes were bloodshot, and he did not show joy to see Lin Junxiong.

"Lin, thank you for coming to see me off, I only have two friends in China, you and Xue."

"Falken, Brother Xue is too busy with military affairs to take a break, please forgive me, when will you leave China from Hankou?"

"When the special train to take us off is arranged, we will go to Guangzhou first, and then return to Germany from Hong Kong, and we should stay here for two or three days."

"Falken, my friend, I haven't seen you for a few years, has it been time that has diluted our friendship, or has the parting aroused your sorrow, and it feels like you have changed."

"Lin, I haven't been sleeping well lately, I feel like I've indirectly become a butcher. You should know about the Huayuankou levee burst, and I proposed the Yellow River breach in 1935, and my conscience is deeply condemned to think that hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians died like that. However, Lin, you have to believe me, that is not my intention, when I proposed the Yellow River breach, I also proposed to build some dredging auxiliary measures to avoid causing flooding, I also proposed to relocate the people first, at that time they did not agree, maybe they were worried that the relocation and resettlement work would be too big, the impact would be greater, but I didn't expect them to do it suddenly, I regret, really regret. ”

"Falken, my friend, I understand your feelings, and I also know that the result of the matter is contrary to your original intention, you have your man's responsibility, I only hope you don't think about taking all the sins, God will forgive you."

"Lin, I once wanted to be a friend of the Chinese forever, but the German government used a lot of oppressive means, and many of my colleagues and I really didn't want to leave when China needed us, and I was thinking about whether to betray my country, give up German citizenship, and stay in China forever."

"Falken, I know that you have a lot of reluctance in your heart, you have guilt in your heart for China, and you have invested a lot of emotions here; You may have a dissatisfaction with the current government in Germany and want to go against their will, but if you don't go back you will be accused of betraying your country, but you are loyal to your country in your heart. ”

"Lin, my friend, thank you for understanding my distress."

"Falken, in the past few years in China, you have done a lot of things, trained excellent troops for China, done your best to defend China, smashed the Japanese conspiracy, and promoted long-term military cooperation between China and Germany, and the Chinese people will remember you and your team for your efforts."

"Lin, I hope that we, and Xue, will always be friends, you have the opportunity to come to Germany, you must come to me, before leaving, I swear to you in the name of God that I and my colleagues in the advisory group will never divulge any military secrets of your country to the Japanese."

"Falken, the matter of His Excellency Schellenberg, I think it is a conspiracy, Hitler is a conspirator, I think he will lead Germany on a road to war, and Europe will soon be centered on Germany again, and the Second World War will break out, my friend, I hope you are prepared in your heart."

"My friend, I knew that the Nazi Party was going to bring the German people into disaster, but I was only a soldier and I could not do anything politically. I don't want to betray my country, but I'm really confused about what my loyalty is to. ”

"People's loyalty is to be loyal to their own beliefs, to be loyal to their own hearts, as long as you stick to your beliefs, stick to your own hearts, you are loyal."

"Faith can be my country, my people, my heart can be my ideals, my kindness, kindness, etc., I seem to understand, thank you, Lin."

"There is a lot of helplessness in life, and there are many things that I can't control. Just like the Chinese people love peace, but they have been caught in war for nearly a hundred years; Just like the German government's choice of position, on the one hand, there are good friends who can bring you needs, and on the other hand, ordinary friends who can bring more needs to you, you may choose good friends, but the German government chooses ordinary friends. Since you can't control it, my friend, why not go with the flow? ”

"Lin, I regret the sins that my country has committed, but please believe me, I came to China with the sincere intention of helping China become strong, but my ability is limited and the time is too short."

"Some people are on the wrong path, no matter how much you help, it will be in vain, they will not become strong, and they will only let you down constantly. I believe that China will have a right path, a bright road to a strong rejuvenation. ”

"Shhhh The conjecture that you mentioned last time about Japan's full-scale invasion of China made you snubbed in his heart for a long time, and now you have finally made him pay attention to it again, and try not to say these words to others for the sake of your future future. ”

"I know, it's just that I think of the loyalty and betrayal you just said."

"My friend, do you know why you didn't get a reward for your big win at Pheasant Hill last time? Your chairman is not sure, many people he trusted in the past have turned red, and you have resisted and questioned him, and he wants to look at you again to see if you will show signs of turning red. When you go back, you should be careful of the people around you, especially the secret services in your army, there may be someone who is carrying out Chiang Kai-shek's orders and secretly investigating you. ”

Lin Junxiong was shocked, he suddenly thought that when he led the troops to be stationed in De'an County, Xiao Zanyu said that he was ordered by Shangfeng to equip Lin Junxiong's 45th Brigade with a special service platoon to better help Lin Junxiong fight and perform some special tasks. Now it seems that Chiang Kai-shek should have begun to investigate himself, these spies are pervasive, if it were not for Falken's reminder, he might really be careless.

"Falken, my friend, is there anything else you would like to do before you leave China?"

"I want to get drunk with you and Xue, I really miss the scene of us together, although it is short, but it is also unforgettable. The first time I saw you, I was still a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, the second time I saw you, you were already an outstanding military academy graduate at the age of twenty-one or twelve, and this time I saw you at the age of twenty-five or sixteen, and I was already hailed as the most dazzling general in the future. You're rising, but I'm always standing still, hey, come, drink! ”

"Then I am here to borrow this glass of wine to wish you a smooth journey, and it also means that Brother Xue wishes you all the best."

"Lin, there is an old Chinese saying that 'the wood is beautiful in the forest, and the wind will destroy it', you are now sharp, and you must beware of the competition in the dark. I hope we can meet again one day, and thank Xue for taking care of me during this time in China. ”

After bidding farewell to Falken, Lin Junxiong originally wanted to visit Lin Ruigang, but when he arrived at the troop station that Lin Ruigang said, he found that the building had already been empty, and he got the information left by Lin Ruigang before leaving from the shopkeeper Wu of Wangyunxuan, and it turned out that Lin Ruigang's unit was also transferred to Jiangxi more than a month ago.

On July 5th, Lin Junxiong bid farewell to Falken at the Hankou Railway Station, looking at Falken's tearful expression, Lin Junxiong also had a sour nose, this German general who wanted to help China build a strong army, with the reluctance of his unfulfilled wishes, with his suggestion that the Yellow River break be delayed and destroyed The Japanese offensive strategy was implemented, resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians, embarked on the road back to China, and he was greeted not by peace, but by another bloody storm.

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