Xinhe is located on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, very close to Changsha City. Therefore, as soon as everyone heard that the Japanese army was about to reach Xinhe, several people, including Yu Ti, Wen Chongfu, Shi Guoji, and Xi Chulin, panicked for a while, and where did they still have a little bit of military and political dignity.

Changsha Police Chief Wen Chongfu even jumped up from his chair and said in a non-dominant manner: "Ah, it's all at the door?" How good is that..."

As he spoke, he was about to run outside, and after running a few steps and seeing that everyone was still standing still, he stopped again in embarrassment.

The garrison commander also wanted to run, but because Bai Fei was standing at the door, his footsteps moved and stopped, coughed to cover up, and asked the staff officer who came in to report with an ugly face: "Is this news true?" ”

The staff officer said: "The news was sent by Director Xu Quan of the General Staff Office personally, and it should not be wrong." ”

Shi Guoji's face was slightly unnatural when he heard this, and he hurriedly opened his mouth to persuade him: "Commander, even if the Japanese army does not reach Xinhe at the moment, it is not far away, and once the Japanese army invades Changsha, it will be too late for us to complete the task of clearing the wilderness..."

He nodded as if he had just woken up from a dream and said, "That's right, notify all confidential units to withdraw from Changsha immediately, and then proceed as planned..."

Bai Fei was furious, and he shouted loudly: "I got the news before, the Japanese army was still in the Xinqiang River at that time, how could it be possible to cross a hundred miles to Changsha in the blink of an eye?" Commander Xu, I advise you to check with the front line again, whether it is Xinqiang River or Xinhe, don't cause a catastrophe because of the difference of one word! ”

Although the Xinqiang River is one word different from the Xinhe River, the two places are far apart. The Xinqiang River is located in the south of Yueyang, and it is still one or two hundred miles away from Changsha City.

"This—" When he heard this, his brow furrowed immediately, apparently even he himself doubted.

Shi Guoji's face changed greatly, and he hurriedly said: "Commander, I'll go and check it in person immediately." So saying, he hurried out.

Changsha Police Chief Wen Chongfu said in fear: "Regardless of whether the news is true or not, I think it is important for us to go out of the city first, if the news is not true, at most we will come back, otherwise once we are blocked in the city, everything will be over." ”

He nodded and said, "What Director Wen said is reasonable..."He said, glanced at Bai Fei again, and saw that Bai Fei was unmoved, so he coughed, turned his eyes to Xi Chulin again, and said, "Brother Xiangping, what do you think?" ”

Since Xi Chulin heard that the Japanese army had entered Changsha, he was already in turmoil at this time. He naturally wanted to withdraw as soon as possible, but he was afraid that he would agree with him, and he was afraid that Bai Fei would look down on him, so he simply raised his official tone and said: "I think it's better to determine whether the news is true first, and then make a theory. ”

coughed heartily, exchanged glances with Wen Chongfu, and cursed Xi Chulin in his heart. At this time, since Xi Chulin has already said such high-sounding words, as the commander of the garrison, if he mentions retreat, he will not only be ridiculed, but he will also be afraid of leaving people to talk about it afterwards, and even affect his career.

Of course, Bai Fei's purpose in coming here at night was to prevent them from making the wrong decision to burn Changsha City, and naturally he would not let them leave easily.

Just as the others were struggling to find a way out, a soldier suddenly ran in and reported that there was a fire in the south of the city.

"What?!" Bai Fei was shocked, and rushed out, and when he came outside, he saw that the fire in the south of the city was soaring, which was particularly eye-catching in the dark night.

At this time, Yu Yi, Wen Chongfu, Xi Chulin and others also followed, and everyone showed shocked and incredible expressions on their faces.

Xi Chulin said urgently: "Liyu (酆悌字) Ah, Liyu, you... Confused, how can you set fire to the city in such an unclear state, once it causes a tragedy, there will be endless troubles! ”

The anxious face turned white, and argued: "Brother Xiangping, this... It's not my order, how could I be with you all the time..."

Wen Chongfu was also frightened at this time, and hurriedly said: "This must be a fire caused by carelessness, and it has nothing to do with us..."

"Yes, yes, yes! It's carelessness, it must be carelessness! He wiped the sweat from his face and said.

Bai Fei's face turned pale, and he turned back to Yu Yi and said: "It doesn't matter whether you are careless or not, the important thing is that you are ready to burn the city, the grease fuel and the manpower to set the fire have been prepared by you for a long time, at this time, if other soldiers think that the fire point in the south of the city is the signal for the whole city to set fire, think about what will happen!" ”

Hearing this, Yu Yi and Wen Chongfu showed panicked looks.

Just wanted to confirm what Bai Fei said, as soon as his words fell, two more fires broke out in the direction of the south gate.

He gasped for air, suddenly woke up, and shouted at Wen Chongfu and several of his subordinates: "Quick! Organize people to fight the fire! In addition, the whole city was notified to stop setting fires, and if there was any disobedience, severe punishment would be given. ”

Wen Chongfu said with a sad face: "All the fire trucks in Changsha City have been replaced with gasoline, how to save such a big fire!" ”

When he heard this, he also scratched his head anxiously, and scolded, "No matter how you save it, you must control the fire as soon as possible, otherwise you and I will not be able to protect our heads!" ”

Wen Chongfu was so frightened that he hurriedly went to call for people.

Bai Fei snorted and didn't speak.

At this moment, Li Hu ran over with two battalions of people, came to the front and back, and saluted Bai Fei: "Tuanzuo, according to your order, the brothers have all brought, just now on the road, there was a fire in the south of the city, and Deputy Wang Tuan had already rushed to fight the fire with a battalion of brothers, and the rest were all here." ”

Seeing that Bai Fei had pulled out all the regiments directly under his Central Military Police, although he was dissatisfied, he only frowned.

He and Bai Fei both belong to military positions, although he is now the administrative inspector and security commander of the second district of Hunan and the commander of the Changsha garrison, in terms of real power and subordinate troops, he is much larger and more numerous than Bai Fei. But Bai Fei's military rank is the same as his, both are major generals, and Bai Fei's major general is still the rank of Quanxu, which is much stronger than him. In addition, Bai Fei, as the head of the regiment directly under the Central Military Police, can still exercise supervision over him in terms of the functions and powers of the military police. Moreover, Bai Fei's outstanding exploits and soaring reputation on the front line of the Anti-Japanese War are better than him.

Therefore, although he was dissatisfied in his heart, he only frowned slightly, then put on a smiling face and stepped forward and said: "Brother Zhenyu, the situation is urgent at the moment, I hope to help my brother as much as possible, and I will thank you again in the future!" ”

Seeing that Bai Fei had already transferred the troops out, he knew that it would be difficult to stop him from interfering, so he simply asked him for help, but he was thinking in his heart that once he got involved, if there was anything that needed to be held accountable at that time, it would not be a bad thing for him to help share it.

Bai Fei didn't have as many twists and turns as him, and at this moment of speaking, several fireheads appeared in the city. He knew that the current situation was urgent, and if he didn't handle it well, it would be the end of the tragedy. Therefore, he didn't say much, and only gave orders to his subordinates: "Immediately take over the security in Changsha City, inspect the main roads in various districts of the city to divert traffic, and if you encounter someone who sets fire to the city for no reason or takes advantage of the chaos to do evil, immediately arrest them, if you dare to resist, shoot them on the spot, and make sure that the fire in the city is controlled tonight!" ”

Everyone in the regiment directly under the gendarmerie shouted in unison: "Yes! ”