Chen Lai and the little girl's resoluteness made Sun Yumin very distressed, what would this battle be like, he knew too well, he couldn't even guarantee life and death, how could he ensure their safety?

Let him talk badly, but whether it was gentle persuasion or loud shouting, the two women were unmoved, and the topic of sending them away froze for a while.

The war waited for no one, just when Sun Yumin and Chen Lai were arguing, the five divisions of the first line of the Japanese army began to launch a general attack on the whole line in three routes to the area of Chongyang Zhi'an and Nanxian in the Ninth War Zone, and the first to exchange fire with the Japanese army was a regiment of the 27th Army of the 30th Group Army of the National Army; Immediately afterwards, the positions of the 20th Army of the 27th Group Army of the National Army, which were stationed on the south bank of the Xinqiang River, also began to be attacked by the Japanese army; Almost at the same time, the advance positions of the 99th Division of the 92nd Army of the National Army, which was stationed on the east bank of the Songzi River, were also attacked by the devil's troops. At the same time, Xue Yue, who had been reminded by Sun Yumin, sent a reconnaissance ship in advance, and found a large number of Japanese ships in Dongting Lake, which was sailing south of Yueyang.

The summary of various battle conditions shows that the Japanese 11th Army in Wuhan has begun to launch a full-scale offensive.

At this time, the 12th Army, which was directly under the combat readiness force, except for the 81st Division, which was the first to arrive, and the 139th Division was already approaching Changsha, and the other troops were either still on the way, or had not set off at all.

Xue Yue was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, he originally estimated that the two armies of the 27th Group Army at the forefront: the 27th Army and the 99th Army, could withstand the Japanese army for at least a week or so, but he did not expect that in just a few hours, the forward positions were broken through one after another.

So, Xue Yue called Sun Yumin's house one by one, asking about the situation of the troops on his side.

But no matter how anxious he is, what can he do, Sun Yumin is not a god, and his troops will not fly, besides, you have to give some time to prepare, so despite Xue Yue's repeated urgings, Sun Yumin is still studying and waiting at home unhurriedly.

The Japanese army quickly broke through the first line of the Nationalist army's position, and after forcibly crossing the Xinqiang River, they immediately launched a strong attack in depth, and they even changed the habit of fighting at night, and actually marched in the starry night and attacked everywhere, which shows Yokoyama's belief in the victory of this battle.

By June 1, the Japanese army on the East Route had captured Tongcheng, Maishi, Nanjiang, Longmenyi and Pingjiang; The new 13th Division of the Nationalist Army was forced to retreat to the Mufu Mountains east of the Nanjiang River, and the 20th Army, which had been scattered, was transferred to the vicinity of Zushiyan south of the Pingjiang River to contain the remnants and sort out the battle sequence, but they did not gather too many troops, and in fact they had no combat effectiveness.

Not to be left behind, the Japanese army in the middle of the road successively captured Yanglin Street, Huangsha Street, Guanwang Bridge, and entered the north bank of the Miluo River.

The 20th Army of the Nationalist Army, which had finally gathered the remnants, retreated again and laid a defensive line on the south bank of the Miluo River, while the 37th Army left only a small part of its forces to help the 20th Army defend its position on the south bank of the Miluo River, and the main force all withdrew south to Uesugi City.

At the same time, the Japanese army on the West Road also successively captured Nanxian, Anxiang, and Sanxianhu City, and advanced to the Chishan Peninsula.

The 63rd Division of the 100th Army of the National Army and the 92nd Division of the 99th Army had no choice but to retreat westward, and compared to the 20th Army and the 37th Army, they still defended with all their might, but they collapsed due to the defeat.

From May 27, when the devils launched a full-scale attack, the front-line troops of the Ninth Theater were defeated on all fronts, and the speed was beyond everyone's expectations, especially Xue Yue, who was still full of confidence before the war began, but in just four or five days, he was already anxious and full of sadness.

The only thing that made him a little relieved was that Sun Yumin's Twelfth Army had reached three divisions, that is to say, he now had the capital to have a real duel with the devil, a duel with men.

On 2 June, the Military Commission sent a telegram to the Ninth Theater Command: Chief Xue was transferred to all commanders-in-chief, corps, and division commanders, and the top and bottom were united to strive for the final victory. It is hoped that all ministries will stick to the place where the order is ordered, and shall not retreat without authorization, and violators will be punished according to the law.

At the same time that the Ninth Theater received the order of the Military Committee, it also received an edict from Lao Jiang personally to Sun Yumin: The 12th Army is the key to the success or failure of this battle.

Sun Yumin received the old Jiang handwritten message sent by Xue Yue personally in the temporary station of the new 34th Division outside Changsha City, and he did not utter a single bold word, but silently read this short telegram several times in a row.

"Brother Yumin, my brother shouldn't be in a hurry, but the front-line war is too tight, and the urgency of rejecting the enemy's soldiers is already imminent, I hope you don't blame it." Xue Yue didn't know how many times he had urged Sun Yumin these days, and he was here in person at this time, which showed his anxiety.

Sun Yumin still didn't say anything, just nodded silently.

"Yumin, do you have any concerns? If there is, as long as you say it, do your best for your brother. Xue Yue couldn't figure out what Sun Yumin was thinking, and guessed his thoughts.

"You're right, I do have concerns." Xue Yue asked the point, but Sun Yumin did not hide it, and replied directly.

"If you have any concerns, just tell me."

"Chief Xue, I'm worried, the various departments in front are frightened by the devil's attack, even if our army goes up, it will be useless." Sun Yumin said frankly: "Even if I lead my troops to defeat the devil's soldiers, I am really afraid that I will be betrayed by friendly forces and give up the sides of my department, even the back, to the devils. He didn't say that he was worried that he would be betrayed by friendly troops, but directly said that he was afraid that he would be betrayed by friendly troops, the purpose was to give Xue Yue a preventive shot now, if someone really did this, you don't blame my Twelfth Army for running faster.

"The Military Commission has issued a clear telegram today that all those who escape from the battle will be seated together, and the division and brigade commander will be responsible for the regiment's escape, and the entire division and brigade will follow suit......

"Chief Xue, do you think it can be implemented?" Sun Yumin didn't let Xue Yue continue, interrupting him.

"Of course, there is no joke in the army." Xue Yue Zhengse said, his appearance at this time is really a bit majestic.

"Hehe, then I'll wait and see." Sun Yumin is willing to believe his words, but what is the use of being willing, this telegram will still turn into a piece of waste paper in the end.

"You just need to fight with peace of mind, and leave the rest to me, who dares to bubble up against the wind, I don't care about killing a few division and brigade commanders to correct military discipline."

"Naturally, this is the best, Yumin has bowed to Chief Xie Xue."

"Is there anything else besides this concern?" Xue Yue asked again, and when he asked this question, his eyes dodged slightly, as if he was hiding some purpose.

Sun Yumin originally wanted Xue Yue to help take care of his daughters, but after seeing this slight abnormality, his thoughts moved, and he was no longer ready to say this, so he shook his head.

"After you go to the front line, what will Miss Chen do?"

Xue Yue's tone was a little weak when he said this, and he was also a little slurred, as if he didn't want to say it, but he had to say it.

What does he mean by that? Do you really want to help take care of it, or do you have some other ulterior motives? Sun Yumin was puzzled for a moment, and soon he figured out that someone must have asked Xue Yue to keep his daughter and relatives and use them to control himself, which is the so-called hostage. Xue Yue is not that kind of person, otherwise he would not have lost his temper and let himself find out, it must be someone he can't refuse who has this meaning, so he will say this. Perhaps, Xue Yue's puff and gaffe were deliberately made by him to show himself so that he could understand his hardships, or maybe he was deliberately reminding himself to settle his family before leaving.

For Xue Yue, Sun Yumin prefers to believe that his gaffe is the latter possibility. So he smiled at him and said, "My family has made arrangements, thank you for Chief Xue's concern." ”

"That's good!" Xue Yue took a long breath, and the slightly embarrassed expression that he had before disappeared in a flash, it seemed that he was indeed completing the task given to him by "someone".

Although Sun Yumin didn't know who that person was, he could understand it with a guess, after all, there were only a handful of people who could make Xue Yue obey the instructions.

"Yumin, I received many telegrams asking for help before I came, and now the most critical situation is the defense area where Liang Hanming's 99th Army is located, according to my and Chief of Staff Wu's military chess deduction, the Japanese targets attacking the 99th Army will be Yiyang and Ningxiang." No longer talking about his family, Xue Yue's tone returned to his previous sonorous tone, and he said: "Therefore, I have decided that your department will meet the enemy and start the first battle of our army's counterattack in northern Xiangbei." ”

"Yes, Chief Xue."

"When are you going to go?"

"When do you want me to go?" Xue Yue asked directly, and Sun Yumin's rhetorical question was not ambiguous.

"You decide for yourself, I just ask you to do it as soon as possible." Xue Yue sighed, and then his tone was even better: "We need a victory now, not only to boost the hearts of the people, but also to stop the weaker and weaker courage." ”

After sending Xue Yue away, Sun Yumin called Zhao Lei and Qian Jin over again, and also called Gang Lengzi, asking them to do their best to send Chen Lai, Xiao Yatou, and Chu Jiu to Huoshan and Liu Wenzhi.

"What if Miss Chen and they refuse to go?" Zhao Lei asked, he had already touched the nail in front of the three women, two big and one small, and he was really a little embarrassed at this time.

"I don't care what method you use, I'm going to tie them up!" For the three of them, Sun Yumin really didn't have any good way, so he had to throw this problem to Zhao Lei.

"Yes, Commander, I must complete the mission." Zhao Lei should admit it.

"Junzuo, it's good that this task is completed by Director Zhao, I'll stay with you, logistics and supply seem simple, but you really can't be sloppy in the big war, I don't worry about handing over the survival of our army to others." Although Qian Jin is a member of the Communist Party of C, he has followed Sun Yumin since the time of the second battalion and the second company, and his feelings are deep and not comparable to ordinary people.

Seeing that what he said was indeed the truth, Sun Yumin nodded and agreed: "Then according to what you said, arrange manpower and do a good job of supplying the whole army." ”

"Don't worry, Gunza!" Qian Jin's face smiled slightly, this is a sign of self-confidence, after a few years of experience, he is no longer the little secretary who has no knowledge.

Ganglenzi also wanted to stay, but Sun Yumin only said one sentence: "Send a few of them safely to Biandanshi, and hand them over to Liu Wenzhi, Sister Gu, and Zhou Shanjun to take care of, and you will come back." ”

He did not return to Changsha City, but only wrote a short letter, handed it to Zhao Lei, and then notified the troops to go on the expedition.

Dai Cunxiang's new 34th Division, as the vanguard of the whole army, set off first, and then Shi Zhonghua's 81st Division, Sun Yumin and the military headquarters set off in the third group under the protection of the guard regiment and Dong Wenbin's department, and Wang Heng's 139th Division was cut off. As for Zhang Xiaohu's 20th Division, Sun Yumin ordered them to temporarily enter the outskirts of Changsha and prepare to participate in the defense of Changsha, knowing that even if he led three divisions to the front line first, it would be impossible to stop the enemy's offensive.

Xue Yue urgently ordered the 183rd Division to go to support, but they did not reach Tongmu about 60 kilometers southeast of Liuyang until the 6th; However, the 26th Army, under the order of Xue Yue, rushed to Pingxiang, Jiangxi Province in the starry night, to respond to and assist the national troops in Liuyang and Liling.

However, the 37th Army, which was defending the right flank, put up only a slight resistance, and then gradually retreated in batches to the mountains east of Liuyang. The 99th Army, which was left alone to defend the left flank, still held to the death the strongholds on both sides of the Xiangjiang River, such as Qingshan, Qiaokou, Jinggang, Lanxi, Yingtian, Xiangyin, and Zhangshu, and stubbornly resisted the Japanese army.

Sun Yumin's prophecy really came true, what can be done with the express telegram of the Military Commission, Luo Qi, the commander of the 37th Army, directly ceded the right wing of the 99th Army to the Japanese army in a completely silent situation, and all this is not only Xue Yue does not know, even the 99th Army is the right wing When it was attacked by devils, it was found that the friendly army had run away, Liang Hanming scolded his mother while reporting to Xue Yue.

Luo Qi is also a good person, a few minutes after Liang Hanming reported to Xue Yue, he also reported the battle situation to Xue Yue, saying that his 60th and 95th divisions suffered heavy losses, and even reported that the 140th division under his command was only left with only the 419th regiment, and was forced to retreat to the mountains in desperation. Xue Yue knew that he was tired, but he also felt helpless, who made the 37th Army of Luo Qi's department in the limelight during the Third Battle of Changsha, and received awards for his merits, and the scenery was infinite, only slightly inferior to Li Yutang's Tenth Army, even if he said that the whole army was about to be wiped out, no one else would doubt it.

The gate on the right side of the east bank of the Xiangjiang River was wide open, which made Yokoyama overjoyed, so he ordered the Japanese troops on the west route and the Japanese army on the middle route to encircle and annihilate the 99th Army.

When the 99th Army was forced to fight alone, the new 34th Division was still some distance away from Yiyang, and in the face of the attack of the Japanese army of three divisions, Liang Hanming, the commander of the 99th Army, felt so powerless, he did not dare to learn from Luo Qi, and dared to really give up the position, so he had to lead his troops to fight desperately.

On June 8, the Japanese army on the west route captured the Yuanjiang River and then captured the mouth of Huahu, approaching the White Horse Temple.

The 92nd Division of the 99th Army and the 99th Army of the National Army could only withdraw to the south bank of Weishui.

The Japanese army on the middle route was like a bamboo, first breaking through the defense line of the Miluo River quickly, and then storming the Shuidu River and Chunhua Mountain areas on the north bank of the Laodao River.

The 99th Division of the 99th Army, before the powerful offensive of the devils, fully retreated to the mountains near the Sanjie Bridge.

In this way, Sun Yumin's Twelfth Army was still far away, and Yiyang City was completely exposed in front of the devil's soldiers.