Just when Terauchi Shouichi was concentrating on what troops had caused the Dawenkou Incident, Chiang Kai-shek, chairman of the Military Committee of the Nationalist Axe and Generalissimo, held a military meeting in Xuzhou to further deploy the Battle of Xuzhou.

Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Xuzhou by train on the night of 24 March.

During this period, although the army was fierce, the focus of the attack was mainly concentrated in three places: one was the Shanxi battlefield, the second was the southern section of the Jinpu Road, and the third was the central Hebei region. Of these three battlefields, Chiang Kai-shek was most concerned about the battlefield in the southern section of the Jinpu Road. The reason is very simple, the Shanxi battlefield has the Yellow River in the west, the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line in the south, and the Taihang Mountain in the east. The central Hebei region had already fallen at the beginning of the war, and there were no regular troops there, and no matter how much the army tossed, it was just a move with the guerrillas formed by the army, and who lost or won had nothing to do with the overall strategic situation. Besides, there is Liu Yimin, the number one general of [***], who is hiding there, and the army's plot may not succeed. As the chairman of the committee had expected, as soon as Liu Yimin made a move, he hit the seven inches of the army attacking the Jizhong troops, and the little devil really came and went like a tide, and obediently cowered on the defensive line motionless. Only this battlefield on the southern section of the Jinpu Line is the most worrying. This is because once the army captures Xuzhou, it will be able to connect the two strategic areas of North China and Central China, and the Tianjin-Pudong Railway and shipping will greatly enhance the army's combat mobility capability. In the next step, the army will definitely do its best to attack Wuhan. And Xuzhou is a place of four battles that is easy to attack and difficult to defend, and it is very difficult for our army to defend.

To be fair, Chiang Kai-shek made great efforts to the Battle of Xuzhou.

In history, the great victory of Taierzhuang created the fame of Li Zongren I, but it was also the result of Chiang Kai-shek's strong support. Now compared with history, due to the stimulation of the Eighth Route Army's successive victories, Chiang Kai-shek placed greater hopes on the Battle of Xuzhou, and was bent on winning a big victory in Taierzhuang, reversing the bad image in the hearts of the Chinese people that the Eighth Route Army won battles every day, turned in every day, and lost its division.

After the establishment of the Supreme Command in January, Chiang Kai-shek resigned from the post of president of the Executive Yuan and took charge of the whole [***] team. At that time, the Supreme Command judged that the army would inevitably attack Xuzhou in the north and south, and attack Wuhan after success. At the Luoyang Military Conference, Mr. Zhu once again reminded Chiang Kai-shek to strictly prevent the army from making a breakthrough on the Jinpu Line.

Chiang Kai-shek was also worried that he would not be able to withstand the attack of the army in the north and south, but his focus was not on the gains and losses in Xuzhou, but on luring the enemy's main force to concentrate in Xuzhou to buy time for Wuhan to prepare for war and move the center of gravity of national strength westward. This idea was a strategic idea, which was of guiding significance for the Battle of Xuzhou at that time and a series of battles later up to the Battle of Wuhan.

In order to ensure that Xuzhou was not lost, Chiang Kai-shek adopted a series of measures, one was to transfer Li Zongren, commander of the First Reserve Army, to the post of commander of the Fifth Theater. Second, the three major strategies of protracted attrition, offensive defense, and guerrilla containment and coordination behind enemy lines have been determined. The third is to rectify military discipline and shoot Han Fuqu to boost morale. In Kaifeng, a meeting of officers at and above the regimental commander level of the First and Fifth Theaters was convened, at which they personally gave lectures, demanding that all units strengthen their political work, make sure that there is no enemy and that we are invincible, establish the determination to make sacrifices, carry forward the spirit of attack, and affirm that those who retreat without authorization will be held accountable according to the law of joint sitting, and that rewards and punishments will be honored for taking the initiative to attack the enemy. Fourth, it has strengthened the strength of the Fifth Theater and successively transferred troops from the First, Second, and Third Theaters to use them on the battlefield in Xuzhou, so that our army in Xuzhou is not only four times larger than the enemy in terms of strength, but also has five artillery regiments, more than 50 aircraft, and even ironclad trains to assist in the defense of Taierzhuang. In particular, Tang Enbo's 20th Army Corps, Li Zongren asked for instructions to transfer a division of Tang Enbo's 85th Army to serve as the reserve of Sun Zhen's 22nd Group Army, but Tang Enbo did not want the troops to be divided and used, so he reported to Chiang Kai-shek, who simply transferred the entire 20th Army Corps to the command of the Fifth Theater and used it as a decisive force in the battle. Fifth, it is necessary to strengthen the training of troops and improve the level of command. In Chiang Kai-shek's words, the defeat in the past was entirely due to the lack of scholarly study and offensive spirit of the senior generals, and the level of knowledge and combat technology of our commanders was not comparable to that of the enemy's regiment commanders, and the command of army commanders and division commanders was not comparable to that of the enemy's battalion commanders and company commanders. Sixth, the logistical support is relatively in place.

It should be said that Chiang Kai-shek's deployment and guiding ideology for the Battle of Xuzhou were relatively correct from a strategic point of view. Chiang Kai-shek was still not at ease about this, and frequently summoned the generals of various units to admonish and encourage them, and even personally instructed and inquired about such tactical matters as how to prevent the troops from discharging poison gas.

With these preliminary works, Chiang Kai-shek was full of confidence in the prospects of the Battle of Xuzhou, and was determined to inflict heavy losses on the enemy near Xuzhou and fight a great victory that would be exciting to the people of the whole country.

At this time, after capturing Tengxian, Lincheng, Hanzhuang, and Yixian, the Segu detachment of the army formed the Taierzhuang detachment and was attacking the front line of Taierzhuang. All units of our Second Group Army are fighting fiercely with the enemy on the front line of Taierzhuang.

After Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Xuzhou, he met with Li Zongren, Sun Lianzhong and other generals, and expressed his encouragement. In particular, when he met with the officers above the division commander level of Sun Lianzhong's department, Chiang Kai-shek shook hands with everyone and greeted the old people at home, which moved these old Northwest Army generals.

After the meeting, Chiang Kai-shek met with Sun Lianzhong alone, affectionately called him a "fool", praised Sun Lianzhong for his repeated miraculous contributions to the country, and decisively intercepted and pursued Zhang Xun's "pigtail army" in those years, which made great contributions to the maintenance of the republic. In particular, since it came under the command of the central authorities, it has been able to obey the leader in all operations, and the central authorities have placed trust in Sun and have high hopes for the Second Group Army to create extraordinary fighters on the front line of Taierzhuang.

Chiang Kai-shek has always attached great importance to Sun Lianzhong, and Sun Lianzhong felt that the chairman of the committee had the grace of knowing him, and solemnly saluted Chiang and assured him that as long as there was still one person in the Second Army, the army would never think of crossing Taierzhuang.

Chiang Kai-shek was very satisfied with Sun Lianzhong's attitude and encouraged Sun Lianzhong to command his troops to fight a bloody battle with Yue Kou to the end, ensure the safety of the Xuzhou defense line, and make a national contribution.

When talking to Li Zongren alone, Chiang Kai-shek inquired in detail about the casualties of the 22nd Group Army, and when he learned that Sun Zhen led the troops of the remaining three regiments to stay in Tengxian County to fight guerrillas and was ready to seize the Jiehe River at any time, Chiang Kai-shek was overjoyed and asked Li Zongren to send a telegram to Sun Zhen and give him a general order to commend him. After the war, the 22nd Army was allowed to rest and replenish.

Subsequently, Chiang Kai-shek convened a military conference at the Fifth Theater Command.

Chiang Kai-shek nodded frequently after hearing this, and carefully inquired about the terrain of Taierzhuang and the tactical countermeasures of our army's entrenched troops, and then proposed that the defense of Nanjing was fought very beautifully, and although Nanjing was lost, the people, organs, factories, and materials were smoothly transferred, which severely damaged the Yue army and gave the Yue army an empty city, and its attempt to destroy the main force of our army under the city of Nanjing was completely shattered. Some of the tactics of the defense of Nanjing are worthy of reference by the Fifth Theater.

Speaking of this, Chiang Kai-shek was afraid that the generals would misinterpret his meaning, and he also abandoned Xuzhou and did not defend it, so he said: "Delin, now that the 10th Division of the Yue Army is advancing alone, and our army is gathered around Taierzhuang, which has formed a pocket, we should supervise all troops to fight bravely, annihilate the army on this road, and ensure that Xuzhou is not lost." With Liu Yimin winning successive battles in front and Wang Mingzhang and Teng County in the back, our army's morale is high at this time, and the Fifth Theater should make up its mind to achieve the campaign goal. ”

Li Zongren nodded yes, and proposed that the only thing to worry about was the direction of Linyi, although our army defeated the attack of the Yue army on Linyi, but the reinforcements of the 39th Wing of the 10th Division of the Yue Army had arrived, and our army fell into a bitter battle. If the 16th Division of the Chinese Army joins the attack at this time, our army will definitely not be supported. Is it to inform the 18th Group Army of the front-line battle situation, and ask Liu Yimin's division in Luxi to launch an attack on Dexian on Jinpu Road, attract the enemy's 16th Division to reinforcements, and ensure the smooth progress of the first-line battle in Taierzhuang.

As soon as Liu Yimin was mentioned, Chiang Kai-shek had a doubt in his heart, since he annihilated the main force of the 21st Division and the Fourth Brigade of Reading Power and frightened away the heavy army group in Jizhong, this Liu Yimin actually disappeared again. Some time ago, he also sent a telegram to himself, asking for the release of Chen Yaoguang's parents, but now that they have also released them, why don't they even send a thank you message. It seems that this [***] person is ruthless.

Thinking about it, I feel that this guy has been planted again this time, Chen Yaoguang can make Liu Yimin send a telegram to him asking for the release of her parents, indicating that she has been influenced by Liu Yimin and explaining her identity to Liu Yimin. This is another modern version of the loss of the lady and the loss of the army. This Liu Yimin seems to be determined to work hard for [***], and it is too difficult to pull him over and become his own person.

Thinking in his heart, Chiang Kai-shek said: "In this battle of Xuzhou, the siege and annihilation of the Segu detachment on the front line of Taierzhuang is just a prelude, and there will be many follow-up fighters." All units of the Eighteenth Group Army could be ordered to actively conduct guerrilla attacks behind enemy lines to hold back the army and prevent it from reinforcing the Xuzhou battlefield. As for Liu Yimin, there is no need for him to join the Xuzhou battlefield for the time being, if you don't have enough troops, you can use reinforcements. When to use Liu Yimin's department, I have already said with Zhu De and Peng Dehuai, that it is to be used in case the tide of the battle is reversed, so that he can attack a certain strategic point that the army has to save and relieve the siege for our army. ”

Speaking of this, Chiang Kai-shek suddenly had a thought in his heart, if Liu Yimin could capture Jinan, wouldn't the main force of the army have to return to the reinforcements again? When the time comes, maybe you can take advantage of the situation to recover the lost territory in Shandong. It's best if Liu Yimin's mentor can fight a little harder, eliminate more devils, completely annoy the devils, and fight hard with him, and end up together, so how much trouble can be saved!

Not to mention Chairman Chiang's calculations, so many generals are sitting upright waiting for his instructions! Chiang Kai-shek didn't dare to think freely, cleared his throat, and said loudly in his unique Ningbo dialect: "The battle of Xuzhou this time is related to the overall situation of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. ”

Chiang Kai-shek paused, and his eyes swept to the generals one by one: "A few days ago, our 22nd Group Army, with eight regiments of less than 20,000 troops, resisted the Yue army on the front line of the Jiehe River, and then held on to Teng County for three days, and at the cost of heavy casualties, severely damaged the Yue Kosegu detachment. 5,000 athletes were blood-stained in Teng County, and Wang Mingzhang, the former enemy commander of the 22nd Group Army and the commander of the 122nd Division, was martyred, setting an example for the [***] soldiers. The Military Commission decided to posthumously present Wang Mingzhang with the rank of general, hold a public memorial service in Xuzhou, and transport his body back to Sichuan for burial. I solemnly warn you to learn from Wang Mingzhang and not from Han Xiangfang. Death is also going to die on your own ground! ”

Seeing that the generals were listening carefully, Chiang Kai-shek said: "In this battle of Xuzhou, our army will win." There are four reasons: First, our army has a strong strength, several times that of the enemy, and there is an air force to participate in the war. Second, our army has a certain deployment, whether it is in Shanxi or in the direction of the Yangtze River, there are troops blocking and attacking the army, and it is impossible for the army to deploy a large number of troops to rescue Taierzhuang in the short term. The third is that the army is arrogant, and the strength of a large brigade dares to take the lead in attacking Taierzhuang, and the arrogant army will be defeated, which is an unbreakable truth since ancient times. Fourth, after a series of battles in Jiehe and Teng County, the Seya detachment of the army suffered heavy casualties and could not be replenished for the time being. It is because of these three points that the command is determined to fight a big victory in Taierzhuang and make Taierzhuang the grave of the army. ”

Next, Chiang Kai-shek particularly emphasized the importance of the front line of Taierzhuang to the defense of Xuzhou, and the importance of defending Xuzhou to the preparation of Wuhan and even the overall situation of the War of Resistance against Japan, and asked generals at all levels to deeply understand it.

After the meeting, Chiang Kai-shek ordered that all the newly purchased 100,000 gas masks be shipped to Lunan, and soldiers were strictly forbidden to drink cold water and unboiled water, so as to prevent military dogs from jumping over the wall and discharging poison gas. Li Zongren was instructed to train more detectives and actively carry out night battles. All units must keep reserves, especially those stationed in Taierzhuang, and they must keep enough reserves and pull them up at a critical time.

In order to strengthen the guidance of the Battle of Xuzhou, Chiang Kai-shek left Bai Chongxi, deputy chief of staff, Lin Wei, deputy director of the Military Command Department, Liu Fei, director of the First Department of the Military Command Department, and Wang Hongzhao, senior staff officer, to form a staff group to stay in Xuzhou to assist Li Zongren, commander of the Fifth Theater, in commanding the operation. I took the car back to Kaifeng.

After Chiang Kai-shek left, Li Zongren immediately ordered all units to quickly deploy in accordance with the theater battle plan, preparing to use Taierzhuang as a bait to attract the main force of the Segu detachment of the army to gather and annihilate it.

On the morning of that day, the Chinese Air Force, which had been ordered to arrive, made several sorties to bomb the attack contingent and positions of the Chinese army, which caused the soldiers to cheer excitedly and take off their military hats to salute the air force.

(To be continued)