readx; Just as the Kuomintang High Command was applauding and reveling in the air force's success, the Yue army captured Madang Fortress in one fell swoop, swept away the obstacles to the attack on Wuhan, and gave Chiang Kai-shek a heavy blow, so angry that he almost went crazy. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Chiang Kai-shek blew up the mouth of the Yellow River Garden, flooding the Yue army, so that the Yue army had to abandon the plan to go west to Pinghan Road and go south to Wuhan. Seeing that the Pinghan Road could not achieve its goal, the army changed its strategy and attacked Wuhan by road and water. On 29 May, the base camp of the Yue army ordered the Central China Dispatch Army to coordinate with the naval fleet to capture Anqing, Madang, Hukou and Jiujiang along both sides of the Yangtze River from Wuhu to the west, and use this as an advance base for attacking Wuhan.

After receiving the combat order from the plane, Yan Shunliu, commander of the Central China Dispatch Army, summoned Eijiro Kondo, commander of the 11th Naval Force, to his office to discuss a plan of action. The two finalized:

(1): The Taiwan Brigade, the 11th Naval Brigade, the Marine Corps, and the 2nd United Air Force will trace the river to attack Anqing, Madang, Hukou, and Jiujiang; (2): The 6th Division captured Shucheng, Tongcheng, Qianshan, Taihu, Susong, and Huangmei by land from Hefei, and planned to fight in response to the troops attacking west along the river; (3): The 3rd Flying Regiment of the Army and Air Force coordinated with the land forces to attack.

The 6th Division, which was already on standby in Hefei, and the Taiwan Brigade assembled in Zhenjiang, with the cooperation of the 11 th Naval Force, marched west by land and water.

Although the Sixth Division of the Chinese Army marched south from Hefei, although it was blocked by the air force and the 26 th Group Army on the way, the combat effectiveness of this group army was so poor that it could not be attacked at all, and it could be said that it would collapse at the first touch, and it would be crushed for thousands of miles. On June 10, when the Sixth Division arrived in Anqing, the Taiwan Brigade from Zhenjiang also arrived in Anqing, and after the two units met, they advanced westward, and on the 24th they captured Xiangkou and reached Madang Fortress.

Madang, located on the border of Anhui and Jiangxi, is a small town on the edge of the Yangtze River. Jiangbei is Wangjiang County in Anhui Province, Jiangnan is Pengze County in Jiangxi Province, and Madang belongs to Pengze, Jiangxi. Surrounded by mountains here, easy to defend and difficult to attack, it has always been the key to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and its military value is quite Jiangyin fortress. Chiang Kai-shek took a fancy to the important surname of Madang, and held many meetings to study how to guard Madang. Madang was the defense ground of the Fifth Theater, and every time Chiang Kai-shek held a defense meeting, he had to inform the Fifth Theater of the contents of the meeting.

20 years ago, when Li Zongren participated in a battle in the Protectorate War, his gum was injured by a stray bullet, and the broken tooth could not be removed, and he felt pain later. During the Battle of Taierzhuang, Li Zongren had to temporarily leave the headquarters and go to Wuhan for treatment because he commanded the battle day and night, worked hard day and night, relapsed from his old illness, and his right side of his face was severely swollen. Bai Chongxi commanded the acting commander. Bai Chongxi was a shrewd person and knew the importance of Madang Fortress, and he had visited Madang many times to inspect and told Li Yunheng, the commander of Madang Fortress, that is, the commander of the 16th Army, that he must concentrate his forces to ensure that Madang is safe.

In order to stop the westward advance of the Yue army, Li Yunheng asked the German consultants to design the fortification structure, and also set up 35 artificial reefs, 49 shipwrecks, and 1,765 mines at the bottom of the Siwuli River in Madang. In addition, 120 pillboxes were built around Madang. When Bai Chongxi asked him to ensure the safety of Madang, he shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile: "Our Madang is an impregnable wall, and the bottom of the river is full of mines. Moreover, there are anti-aircraft guns on both sides of the Yangtze River, and if I want to get to Wuhan from here, there is no way! ”

Bai Chongxi saw that he was full of confidence and returned to Wuhan with confidence.

The 16 th Army Headquarters is in Hukou, and in the past few days, the graduation ceremony of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University held by them will be held, and Li Yunheng, as the commander and president of the army, will rush back to Hukou to make a summary report.

At that time, the higher authorities did not ask the ministries to set up any anti-military and political universities. Therefore, except for Li Yunheng, who ran the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, the other troops did not do it. Why did Li Yunheng come up with ingenuity to set up a military and political university? Where did he get his inspiration? It is ridiculous to say that every time Li Yunheng went to the headquarters for a meeting, the soldiers of the Whampoa department would never leave the school when they saw Chiang Kai-shek, and they seemed very affectionate, which made those officers who were not Whampoa very envious and jealous, and of course Li Yunheng was also among them. He decided to start a school of his own and live a principal's addiction. Therefore, he ordered the township and security chiefs in the Madang, Pengze, and Hukou areas, as well as the officers above the platoon level of the troops, to gather together and run a two-week "Kang Da" and appointed himself as the principal.

What courses the students learned and what the effect was, it didn't matter to Li Yunheng. The important thing is that no matter where he goes, there are people who respectfully call him president, and he has become the president of the anti-military and political university full of peach and plum, which can be comparable to Chiang Kai-shek, and he thinks that he has no regrets about his life and death.

Soon after Li Yunheng returned to Hukou, Bai Chongxi, who had returned to Wuhan, called him and asked him about his situation. Li Yunheng is still so confident, telling him that everything is as before, calm as water.

Bai Chongxi repeatedly emphasized: "The position in Madang is very important, and Chairman Chiang is very concerned, and you will move the military headquarters from Hukou to Madang in the next few days, and the sooner the better." ”

Li Yunheng agreed, but hesitated in his heart. Will the military headquarters move immediately? Will the graduation ceremony of the Anti-Military and Political University be held in Hukou or Madang? He didn't want to move with a word from his surname Bai. But he also knew that if he didn't listen to him and got out of Louzi, even if he had 10 heads, he wouldn't be able to withstand this mistake.

The next morning, Li Yunheng considered it again and again, but still did not have the courage to disobey Bai Chongxi's order, and moved the military headquarters and Kang Da to Madang.

On the third day, a grand graduation ceremony was held. In order to make the scene bigger and cause a sensation, Li Yunheng ordered the commanders of all units to attend the graduation ceremony.

On the morning of 26 May, officers at and above the platoon level of all units were ordered to attend the graduation ceremony. They rushed to Madang Town in groups of three or five as if they were rushing to a temple fair. Xiangshan, Huangshan, and Xiangkou to the east of Madang are all garrisoned by troops. Officers above the platoon level of these units were also ordered to attend the graduation ceremony in Madang, leaving only one division chief to be on duty

At about 9 o'clock in the morning, the deputy military commander announced loudly: "Now, the graduation ceremony of Kang University begins, and President Li is welcome to make a graduation ceremony report!" ”

Li Yunheng walked up to the podium amid bursts of applause and began to give his principal's report. The manuscript of the report was written by the clerk on his behalf, and he read it wrong, but fortunately, among the students, there were not many literate people, and no one would talk about it as he read it. At the middle of the sun, he stammered as he finished his speech. Then, it's time for the graduation feast. One or two hundred students took turns to toast Principal Li Yunheng. The students held wine glasses, one said that they wished Principal Li a long and healthy life, one said that they wished Principal Li a promotion and a fortune, and the other wished Principal Li a happy life for a while.

Just as he was drunk, Bao Changyi, commander of the Navy's Jiang Garrison, hurriedly came and reported to him in a panic: "Report to the military seat, incense"

"What kind of military seat?" Li Yunheng waved his hand, interrupted Bao Changyi's words, and said dissatisfiedly, "I am the principal now!" Call me Principal! ”

"Yes, Headmaster!" Bao Changyi changed his words and reported, "The forts of Xiangshan and Xiangkou have been occupied by the enemy!" ”

"Nonsense!" Li Yunheng was startled, he woke up more than half of his wine, and reprimanded loudly: "You lie about the military situation to kill your head, do you know?" Li Yunheng's mouth full of wine rushed to Bao Changyi

Bao Changyi almost cried, tears also came out, and repeated: "The forts of Xiangshan and Xiangkou have been occupied by the enemy, I am not lying, if you don't believe it, you can call and inquire!" ”

At this moment, Li Yunheng, who had passed the principal's addiction, was completely sober, and stared at Bao Changyi in fright.

The incident occurred when it was almost noon, when 12 enemy planes taking off from Hefei flew to the Xiangshan and Xiangkou forts, and a burst of indiscriminate bombardment destroyed the fortifications of the two forts. Almost at the same time, five enemy ships also drove in, fired countless shells into the water, detonated all the mines at the bottom of the river, and blew up the obstacles that had been erected. After the enemy cleared the obstacles in the water, they landed smoothly and captured the Xiangshan and Xiangkou forts, most of the Chinese [***] people were killed, and a few people fled, and Bao Changyi was one of the few who escaped

After Bao Changyi finished speaking, Li Yunheng shook his head, realizing that something big had happened, and the enemy would soon approach Madang. Therefore, he immediately took three contingency measures: first, immediately ordered the students who graduated from Kang University to quickly return to the army and command the troops to enter the battle; second, ordered the 313th Regiment to go to Madang; Third, the military headquarters was transferred from Madang to Hukou.

Li Yunheng moved to Hukou with the military department, and as soon as he put down his bags, the phone rang. This was a call from the commander of the 313th Regiment, Wang, who reported to him the course of the battle of Madang and told him that the enemy had occupied Madang.

When Li Yunheng heard the news, he collapsed on the chair like a blow on the head. Chief of Staff Zhao Hong reminded him and said: "Military seat, hurry up and send the 167th Division to recapture Madang!" ”

Li Yunheng hesitated.

Zhao Hong said anxiously: "If Madang is not taken back, Chairman Jiang will know about it, and he will never forgive us for our mistakes, and our heads will be moved." ”

Li Yunheng nodded in agreement. Zhao Hong called the 167th Division and ordered them to run to Madang, participate in the battle of Madang, and recapture the Madang position.

Xue Weiying, commander of the 167th Division, was a major general and division commander of the first phase of Huangpu. Because of his old qualifications, he didn't buy Li Yunheng in the second phase of Huangpu at all. After receiving the order, he didn't hear it at all, and played mahjong in a landlord's house. In the evening, Bai Chongxi learned that Madang was lost, and he didn't seem to believe it, so he called Li Yunheng to confirm. Li Yunheng told him the truth and comforted him, and had ordered Xue Weiying to fight for Madang

Bai Chongxi put down the phone and remembered a past incident in his mind. When he once inspected the 167th Division, he heard from the officers and men that Xue Weiying was not doing his job all day long and liked to play mahjong. Thinking of this, he was afraid that Xue Weiying would make a mistake playing mahjong, so he picked up the phone and called directly to the 167th Division stationed in Pengze to ask if the troops had gone to Madang. The officer on duty replied no, Bai Chongxi was anxious, and immediately explained his identity to the officer on duty, asking him to quickly convey his order to Xue Weiying, ordering him to recapture Madang as quickly as possible at all costs!

Xue Weiying glanced at the order sent by the attendant, regarded himself as the central army, and scolded: "What is Bai Chongxi, he is a miscellaneous army in the sky, he commands Lao Tzu!" ”

At this time, Li Yunheng's urging call also came, and Xue Weiying reluctantly left the table. After the army occupies Madang, the [***] team in the analysis will definitely come to fight. So, be ready for all resistance. When Xue Weiying Shanshan led the troops to Ma Shi, the army launched a fierce counterattack, and the troops could not get close. Xue Weiying looked up at the scarlet plaster flag fluttering above Madang, sighed repeatedly, turned his head, and led his troops back to Peng Ze.

The loss of Madang Fortress is equivalent to allowing the Yue army to open the door to enter Wuhan. The High Command was shocked. Bai Chongxi drove to Wuhan overnight to seek justice from Chiang Kai-shek, he stared at his blood-red eyes and asked loudly: "Xue Weiying missed the fighter plane and caused the loss of Madang, what should he be guilty of?" Chiang Kai-shek had nothing to say and was very embarrassed. According to the provisions of military law, Xue Weiying committed the crime of dereliction of duty, which is difficult to forgive. However, Chiang Kai-shek considered him to be a first-term student of Whampoa, and among the more than 500 students, most of them have sacrificed their lives for the country, and only a handful of them remain.

What to do? Chiang Kai-shek saw Bai Chongxi's inquiring gaze staring at him without blinking, so he avoided his aggressive gaze and lowered his head to think about a good strategy.

Bai Chongxi saw Chiang Kai-shek's hesitation and knew that he had always protected the Central Army. Then he said: "Chairman, why can Han Fuyu be killed?" You don't hesitate to kill him for half a second. And now you want to deal with Xue Weiying, a small division commander, according to military law, but you can't make up your mind, why is this? ”

"This" Chiang Kai-shek did not know what to say

Bai Chongxi was very angry, he recklessly exposed the secret in Chiang Kai-shek's heart, and said angrily: "You just feel sorry for him from the Whampoa family, right?" If everyone is not equal before military law, can this battle continue? ”

The secret of Chiang Kai-shek's heart was revealed, but he remained silent.

Bai Chongxi did not give up, and said angrily: "A Xue Weiying has made a big fuss in Wuhan, they say that if the chairman of the committee does not decisively execute Xue Weiying, I am afraid that you will not be able to command any troops, even the guards around you." If such people are tolerated and accommodating, it is a carbuncle problem, which is also a latent crisis. ”

"Count him unlucky!" Chiang Kai-shek waved his hand, turned his face away and said, "Shoot immediately, never tolerate!" He wrote a warrant at his desk:

Xue Weiying missed the fighter plane and was immediately executed!

Chiang Kai-shek endured the pain and beheaded Ma Yan, and a gunshot sounded to end Xue Weiying's surname

After Chiang Kai-shek finished doing this, he called Chen Cheng. Chen Cheng received the call, he didn't know what was going on, and as soon as he entered the door, he shouted respectfully: "Hello, principal, is there anything you want to tell the students?" ”

"Good what? What a fart! Chiang Kai-shek's annoyance vented to Chen Cheng. He reprimanded, "You are the commander of the Ninth Theater of Operations, responsible for the entire operational command of the defense of Wuhan. At the beginning, I repeatedly explained that Madang's position was important, and that a brave and loyal general should be sent to defend it no matter what, and you also assured me that Madang's defense was impregnable and could be held for at least three months, but it was occupied by the enemy in less than three days, how do you explain it to the people? ”

Chen Cheng lowered his head and lowered his hand, not saying a word. After Chiang Kai-shek's reprimand, he quietly left Chiang Kai-shek's office, returned to his office, and issued a battle order to Luo Zhuoying, commander-in-chief of the Wuhan garrison, to recapture Madang, with the following orders:

Xiangshan Madang is the gateway to Anhui and Jiangxi, and its gains and losses affect the victory or defeat of future battles. Zhuo Ying, commander-in-chief of Luo, supervised the 16th Army, the 49th Army and the 11th Division to restore the position of Madang in Xiangshan as soon as possible to ensure it. It also stipulates that those who conquer the fortress areas of Xiangshan and Madang will each receive 50,000 yuan. If the war is not effective and the former is not cowering, it will be carried out by military law. All our officers and men must fight bravely to be the first to annihilate the enemy in front of them. Yang is to supervise and encourage the unity of the belonging, which is to be the most important!

After the order was issued, Luo Zhuoying, Li Yunheng and Wang Tiehan, the commander of the 49th Army, became nervous, and Luo Zhuoying took a capable team to Pengze in a jeep to open a command post and command the 16th Army, the 49th Army and the 11th Division to counterattack Madang.

It took several years to build the Madang reinforced concrete fortifications, but in the hands of the [***] team, it did not cherish it, let alone play its defensive role. Now that it has fallen into the hands of the devil, it has become the strongest shield in the hands of the devil. The squadron counterattacked more than a dozen times in a row, suffered heavy casualties, and had to give up after repeated attacks. On the contrary, he said that he used the Madang fortifications as the basis for his progress and steadily advanced towards Pengze. The [***] team could not stop the powerful offensive of the Yue army, and retreated step by step. The army occupied Pengze, Hukou, and approached Jiujiang

Jiujiang and Wuhan are close at hand. The army was approaching Jiujiang, and Wuhan was in danger. Chiang Kai-shek reached the critical moment of burning his buttocks, and called Chen Cheng to the office again.

Chen Cheng felt very guilty about the loss of Madang. As soon as he entered the door, he lowered his head and said, "Headmaster, Ma Dang has lost his position, and he has misappointed, so he requests punishment." No matter how severe the punishment is, the student will never complain. ”

Chiang Kai-shek was originally angry, but when he saw Chen Chengcheng's frightened appearance, his heart softened again. He pointed to his head and said, "When the horse is lost, I am in a hurry. Today, I want to repeat to you again, Wuhan is very important to us, it is connected to Henan in the north, Hunan in the south, is a big city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and is also the heart of the Central Plains. What I hate is that Wuhan is surrounded by water, there is no danger to defend, and it is not a place for a long time to fight. Therefore, half a year ago, I decided to fight in the distance of Wuhan and defend Wuhan instead of fighting in Wuhan. The core of this policy is to destroy the enemy attacking Wuhan on the periphery of Wuhan, do you understand? How did you forget this policy? ”

(To be continued)