As the deputy division commander, he had a limited understanding of the development of the battle situation, and Zhuang Jihua led the troops to Tongcheng to join the large army before he knew the evolution of the entire battle situation.

Sun Chuanfang organized the troops into five front armies, the first front army was composed of the original Jiangxi army, commander Deng Ruzhuo, distributed in Zhangshu, Xingan, Nanchang; Zheng Junyan, commander of the Second Front Army, concentrated in the southern section of the Nanxun Line on the Pingxiang First Line, preparing to go to the Hunan and Jiangxi borders; Lu Xiangting, commander of the Third Front Army, is currently assembling in the middle of the Nanxun Line; The commander of the Fifth Front Army, Chen Tiaoyuan, was stationed at Wuxue and Fuchikou, and this front army was mainly defensive; The Fourth Front Army was commanded by Zhou Yinren of Fujian, and its operational direction was in Fujian.

In addition to Zhu Peide from central Jiangxi and Li Jishen in southern Jiangxi, Cheng Qian will also lead the Sixth Army and the First Division of the First Army to attack northwest Jiangxi.

"According to the order of the General Headquarters, the Sixth Army and the First Division of the First Army formed a northern column to attack Jiangxi; The combat mission of our army is to cut off the Nanxun line, and the first phase of the operation is to conquer Tonggu and Xiushui, and then attack De'an to cut off the Nanxun line. The enemy in front of our army was Xie Hongxun's Fourth Division and Yang Zhendong's Seventh Mixed Brigade, Xie Hongxun and Yang Zhendong were both famous generals in Sun's army, and their divisions fought strongly. According to intelligence, the main force of Xie Hongxun's department is assembling in Xiushui, and Yang Zhendong's brigade has already been stationed in Tonggu, so our army's battle plan is as follows: After crossing the Mufu Mountain, the Sixth Army launched a frontal attack on Xiushui along the Pingxiu Avenue with the 17th Division, and the 19th Division outflanked the enemy after concealing the Xiushui flank from Fenggu Spring. The 1st Division attacked the Tonggu alone. Tang Python, chief of staff of the Sixth Army, briefed the generals of the Sixth Army and the First Division attending the military meeting on the enemy situation and battle plans.

Among the armies of the Northern Expeditionary Army, the Sixth Army was the weakest, only two out of the three divisions, and the Eighteenth Division was still training in Huiyang, and the equipment was even worse, and the whole army did not even have a single artillery. However, the Fourth Division of Jiangsu is Sun Chuanfang's descendant troops, well-equipped, and most of the soldiers have participated in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang War and Sun Chuanfang's Anti-Feng War, and they have rich combat experience. With such an even distribution of troops, Zhuang Jihua felt inappropriate.

Therefore, as soon as Yang Jie finished his introduction, Zhuang Jihua immediately stood up and asked: "Is this the final battle plan or let us discuss." ”

"This..., what is Deputy Division Commander Zhuang's opinion?" Tang Python's face was a little unpleasant, this plan was painstakingly drawn up by him, according to this plan, although the two divisions of the Sixth Army had some difficulty dealing with Xie Hongxun's Fourth Division, it was not invincible, and the First Division was known for being good at fighting, so it should be sure of Yang Zhendong.

"Deputy Division Commander Zhuang has nothing to say, this plan has not yet been finalized." Cheng Qianle, who was sitting in the first seat, said to Zhuang Jihua that he was slightly fat, with two beards and a slight hair loss on his forehead.

"The humble position thinks that this is a plan to evenly distribute the troops, and our army cannot gain absolute superiority in the two battlefields of Xiushui and Tonggu, and even if our army wins according to this plan, it will be a miserable victory, so the humble position thinks that this plan is inappropriate." After Zhuang Jihua finished speaking, he sat down directly, and to be honest, he didn't have such rules in front of Chiang Kai-shek.

Zhuang Jihua's words caused the generals present to whisper again, and Yang Jie, the general staff of the Sixth Army, turned his eyes on Zhuang Jihua's body, and there was also his hard work in this plan, so when Zhuang Jihua first raised his objections, he didn't think so, but he was close to the upper echelons, and he had heard of Zhuang Jihua's reputation, and when Zhuang Jihua put forward the reasons for his opposition, he also felt that the plan was inappropriate.

"What is Senior Commander Wang's opinion?" Tang Python ignored Zhuang Jihua and asked Wang Bailing, his meaning was very clear, as long as Wang Bailing agreed, Zhuang Jihua, as the deputy division commander, would naturally be invalid if he objected.

Wang Bailing said with a smile: "Since there is no final decision, let's discuss, discuss, and express our opinions." ”

Slippery head, General Staff Yang Jie scolded in his heart, then glanced at the venue and said: "Xie Hongxun's department is about 7,000 people, and the Sixth Army has nearly 10,000 troops, which has a slight advantage in comparison, Yang Zhendong has about 4,000 men and horses, and the first division has a total of more than 5,000 people, which also has a certain advantage. ”

After Yang Jie finished speaking, he looked at the Soviet Russian adviser Garekin who was sitting on the side, and every army of the Northern Expeditionary Army had Soviet Russian advisers, and the battle plans of each army must be approved by the Soviet Russian advisers.

"Our army is poorly equipped, and there is not a single cannon, is this advantage enough?" Without waiting for Galekin to speak, Deng Yanhua, the commander of the 17th Division, asked suspiciously.

"General Cheng, generals, although our army's equipment is poor, we have excellent political work, our soldiers have high morale, Sun Chuanfang's soldiers are just mercenaries, and the soldiers don't know why they are fighting, and these gaps will make up for our lack of equipment, so I think this plan is feasible." Galekin said.

Whether he is a military adviser or a political adviser, Zhuang Jihua is a little puzzled: "If we suffer too many casualties in the battle of Xiushui Tonggu, then how can De'an fight, Lu Xiangting's main force can be concentrated near De'an." ”

Zhuang Jihua's uneasiness in his heart became even stronger, after the Sixth Army conquered the Xiushui Copper Drum, it continued to advance westward to cut off the Nanxun line, and the main forces of the enemy on the Nanxun line gathered, Zheng Junyan and Lu Xiangting were both on the Nanxun line, how to complete this task with the meager strength of the Sixth Army.

Zhuang Jihua's words made the generals suddenly change color, and they now remembered that after conquering Xiushui, they would attack De'an in the west, and De'an was in the middle of the Nanxun line, so didn't he rush into a hornet's nest.

"Then Deputy Division Commander Zhuang, how do you think we should fight?" Tang Python asked unconvinced.

"He thinks that he should concentrate superior forces to attack any part of the bronze drum of repairing water." Zhuang Jihua thought as he spoke: "If you let the lowly job choose, the lowly job will choose Yang Zhendong of the copper drum." ”

"Xie Hongxun is not a fool, won't he come to reinforce when we attack Yang Zhendong? That's not the same. Tang Python retorted.

"Then let him not come to help." Zhuang Jihua said calmly: "We can send a small force to advance towards Xiushui with great fanfare, inducing Xie Hongxun to come to fight or hold the city, but the main force sneaks the copper drum and annihilates Yang Zhendong in one fell swoop." ”

Cheng Qian's beard curled and asked with great interest: "Xie Hongxun is brave and good at fighting, I'm afraid he won't stick to Xiushui." ”

"That's even better, take him around in the mountains." Zhuang Jihua smiled.

"Commander-in-chief, I see that it is okay, concentrate the whole army to take down the copper drum first, and then repair the water." Yang Yuanjun, commander of the 19th Division, said that the Sixth Army was formed by the reorganization of various miscellaneous units living in Guangdong, and that the attacking army directly under Cheng Qian did not have an advantage in numbers, and he had always won over the Hunan people in the army, and Yang Yuanjun was the target of his courtship.

Yang Yuanjun is also willing to rely on Cheng Qian, Cheng Qian's qualifications in the Kuomintang are very deep, and he has relatively high prestige among the Hunan soldiers, and he is more willing to trust Cheng Qian than Tan Yankai, another representative of the Hunan military.

As soon as Yang Yuanjun's words fell, Yang Jie also agreed, but raised a new question: "If you can induce Xie Hongxun to stay in Xiushui, it will naturally be the best, but who will go to this task of luring the enemy?" ”

All the generals at the venue suddenly focused on Zhuang Jihua, the meaning is very clear, the idea is yours, and you should naturally do such a dangerous job.

"If the commander-in-chief can trust me, I'll go, I'll take a regiment." Of course, Zhuang Jihua will not sweep everyone's interest and recommend himself.

"Well, I have heard for a long time that the Huangpu Twin Heroes are extraordinary, and today it is really extraordinary." Cheng Qian laughed and got up, his beard shaking up and down: "Chief of Staff Tang, make a plan according to what you just discussed." ”

"Wait, General Cheng," Galekin hurriedly stopped Cheng Qian, then turned his head and asked Zhuang Jihua: "Please wait, General Zhuang, can you really drag Xie Hongxun in Xiushui?" Can you guarantee it? ”

How can this be guaranteed, Zhuang Jihua burst into flames: "No, how can this kind of thing be guaranteed." ”

"General Cheng, I think it's better to act according to the original plan, this plan is too risky." Galekin shook his head and said.

"Mr. Advisor, can you guarantee that the original plan will win the battle?" Zhuang Jihua asked rhetorically, Galekin was stunned, and he spread his hands: "At least it's more reliable than this plan." ”

Zhuang Jihua shook his head: "Wrong, this plan is more appropriate, fighting, attacking the city is only secondary, annihilating the enemy's living force is the main purpose, even if Xie Hongxun finds out that he is fooled, the whole army rescues Yang Zhendong, and when he arrives at Tonggu, Yang Zhendong may only have one breath left, and he has a regiment in his humble position, a regiment is said to be more or less, and he does not leave a brigade in the repair of water, I am afraid he will not rest assured, when he arrives, our army will fight if it is willing to fight, and if it is not willing to fight, it will leave, it is not a big deal." ”

Yang Jie had an epiphany: "Well said, Xie Hongxun is here, we can eat it if we can, if we can't, we will study water in the west and let Xie Hongxun run again." ”

Cheng Qian stood up, he was not tall, and Fa Fu's body made him look very powerful: "No need to discuss it anymore, it's decided." Deputy Division Commander Zhuang, you take a group to repair the water, and the rest of the departments take the copper drum. ”

"No, it was the lowly duty who led a regiment with the 17th and 19th divisions to Xiushui, and went to the Makufu Mountain, where the 17th and 19th divisions went south to Tonggu, and the lowly duty continued to advance towards Xiushui." Zhuang Jihua added that Cheng Qian was stunned for a moment, and his heart was a little unhappy, why is the popularity of the Huangpu Military Academy so big, even if your opinion is right, you have to be modest, but now he doesn't want to care about this, but nods approvingly: "Well said, who has other opinions now." ”

Silence represents agreement, the most difficult task has already been resisted, and at least it will not be too much of a loss to follow the large army.

In the dense forests of the Makufu Mountains, the two armies are parting ways, one army flag is fluttering, and people are shouting and neighing; The other group died down and quietly set foot on the mountain road to the south.

Xiushui is located between Makufu Mountain and Jiuling Mountain, surrounded by mountains in the county, and the hills are widely spread, known as "eight mountains and half water and one field, half roads and manors".

Xie Hongxun's fourth division is mainly composed of Jiangsu children, the land of Jiangsu is flat, even if there are some hills, it is not big, it is rare to see such high mountains and mountains, and it is extremely unsuitable for the mountains that repair water.

Although Xie Hongxun was stationed in Xiushui, he sent people to collect taxes from various transportation arteries according to the custom, and then waited for the Northern Expeditionary Army to come to the door. Xie Hongxun did not take the Northern Expeditionary Army seriously, according to his thoughts, he should take the initiative to attack, enter Hubei, and take Wuhan, instead of staying here and waiting to be beaten.

When the news of the Northern Expeditionary Army's march into Jiangxi came, he immediately geared up, thinking that Sun Chuanfang was about to give the order to march into Hubei, but the battle in Pingxiang was in full swing, and Deng Ruzhuo was defeated in successive battles, but he didn't see Sun Chuanfang's order, which made him anxious and dare not complain. I had to smoke a lot of cigarettes in the Guanxiang Garden every day.

"It seems that the handsome is right, let's forget, what's the point of staying in this place where birds don't all day." Xie Hongxun said to the deputy division commander Gan Shijun lying on the couch.

Gan Shijun and Xie Hongxun's surnames are completely different, his hair is gray and nearly half a hundred years old, and he can no longer be impulsive after half a lifetime of tempering.

"Xin Shuai may have other ideas, just wait."

Xie Hongxun let out a puff of smoke: "This ghost place, it's a mountain when you go out, and you can't collect a few dollars a day, if you wait any longer, Lao Tzu will be used as pants." ”

"Looking at the situation, I guess I won't have to wait long," Gan Shijun said with his eyes narrowed: "Master, think about it, since Pingxiang has already started fighting, how long can our side be calm, either they come or we go, Xin Shuai will have a showdown with them." ”

"I think so, but these Guangdong barbarians are also powerful enough, and the majestic Yushuai actually beat them down like this." Gan Shijun's words made Xie Hongxun happy: "You said that you took Wuhan, can Xin Shuai let me be the commander of the Wuhan garrison?" ”

Gan Shijun glanced at Xie Hongxun, there are more people who want to be the commander of the Wuhan garrison, Lu Xiangting is afraid that he is staring at the position of the Hubei overseer, Chen Tiaoyuan and Zheng Junyan also want an overseer, but with Lu Xiangting there, it is estimated that they have nothing to do, but if they can't be the overseer, then they will retreat to the second, and the Wuhan garrison commander can also comfort and comfort, but Gan Shijun doesn't want to spoil his interest now: "It depends on how our battle goes." ”

As if to prove Gan Shijun's judgment was correct, the chief of staff hurriedly ran in from outside the door: "Division, here, here, division." ”

"Come, come, what's coming." Xie Hongxun stared at him, his face full of impatience.

"The Northern Expeditionary Army is coming!"

Xie Hongxun sat up as if he had been beaten with chicken blood.

(To be continued)