readx; At the West Gate, the Chinese defenders used barricades and sandbag fortifications to block the enemy entering the city. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 However, due to the fact that the follow-up troops of the Japanese army had already climbed the city wall, they fired condescendingly into the city with light and heavy machine guns. Enemy tanks also rushed forward. The street fortifications were quickly destroyed. The officers and men of the squadron who were scattered had no choice but to rely on the broken walls and ruins to form their own formations, and bloody hand-to-hand combat unfolded in the streets and alleys, with the sound of gunfire, grenade explosions, and shouts of killing.

The fierce battle lasted until about 9 o'clock, and the Chinese defenders in the city were less than 1,000 people. Fu Liping and Lin Zuozhen were in danger, and led the personnel and guards of the command headquarters to rush to the line of fire and fight with the enemy. In the fierce battle, Lin Zuozhen was injured in the waist and was also hit by a bullet in the ear, and fell to the ground bleeding profusely. Fu Liping hurriedly led the guards to rescue Brigade Commander Lin and cover his retreat to the southeast corner.

However, because the city gate had been blocked in advance, the retreating officers and soldiers had no choice but to jump from the city wall, and many of them fell and were injured. Huang Qidong, chief of staff of the 23rd Division, saw that Heze was not guaranteed and that the life and death of the division commander Li Bifan were uncertain, and when the troops retreated in confusion, he jumped into the city in anger and committed suicide.

Heze, an important town in southwestern Shandong, was occupied by the Japanese army at about 11 o'clock on the night of the 14th.

Li Bifan, who was surrounded by the enemy outside the city, led his troops to fight a bloody battle with the enemy until 10 o'clock, and only more than 200 people remained with the division headquarters guard company and his retinue adjutant. Regiment commander Liu Guanxiong was also killed in the battle. Li Bifan had no choice but to lead the rest of his troops to rush and kill and break through to the northwest. During the battle, Li Bifan was shot in the abdomen and was desperately saved by the adjutant and the guards.

The officers and soldiers of the breakthrough retreated to a village more than ten miles away from Heze, and stopped to rest. At this time, Li Bifan had woken up from a coma, he looked around the house, and saw that in the dim light, the adjutant and several guards were in tattered uniforms, covered with dust, and his expression was sad, he couldn't help but sigh and said: "I failed to hold Heze, I'm guilty!" ”

After a while, he said, "Go out, all of you, and let me be quiet." ”

After the adjutant and the guards had gone, he took a military map through the pain and wrote in the margin:

The crime of misleading the country is as light as death; May my compatriots, work hard to kill the thief!

Li Bifan, last words.

Then, lying on the board, he held a pistol to his temple, pulled the trigger, and committed suicide.

Li Bifan, whose name is Ziqi, was born in 1892 in Jiahe County, Hunan Province, into a scholarly family. He graduated from the Baoding Army Military Academy in 1914. In 1926, he participated in the Northern Expedition. After many battles, he was promoted to commander of the 23rd Division in 1935.

In 1937, after the "77" incident, Li Bifan was ordered to lead his troops from Lintong to fight against the Yue, in September of that year, he went to Dezhou to participate in the Battle of Cangzhou, blocking the army from advancing south along the Jinpu line, and once defeated the army several times his own. After the Battle of Cangzhou, Li Bifan led his troops to garrison Tangyin, Henan, and refused to invade the Central Plains in the south. Chiang Kai-shek and Cheng Qian expressed their condolences to the 23rd Division for its achievements, and Cheng Qian gave the 23rd Division a generous bonus. In order to show the patriotic enthusiasm of the whole division, Li Bifan gave all the prize money to Ta Kung Pao as funds for the anti-Japanese propaganda.

Li Bifan's body was transported by his subordinates to Kaifeng for burial, and he was sacrificed three times in a row, and then his brother Fu Zi returned to the south. On May 29, more than 200 organizations and more than 1,000 representatives from all walks of life in Wuhan held a memorial meeting for Li Bifan, and He Chengjun, the head of the camp, officiated on behalf of Chiang Kai-shek and read out Chiang Kai-shek's memorial message. Dignitaries of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Shao Lizi, Yu Youren, Wu Yuzhang, and Luo Binghui, attended the memorial service; Chiang Kai-shek, He Yingqin, Chen Cheng, Li Zongren, Gu Zhutong, as well as Chen Shaoyu, Zhou Enlai, Qin Bangxian, Zhu De and others sent wreaths. Chiang Kai-shek wrote a letter to Li Bifan, "Turning to Xu Huai, early vision, loyalty, and being able to serve the country, being in the same boat through thick and thin, cherishing the martyrs, and writing with sorrow".

On the morning of May 15, the weather was very clear, and Gao Gao Xu jumped out of a touch of colorful glow, illuminating the open field in eastern Henan. In the green village, the smoke curls and the roosters crow, making it a peaceful scene.

Suddenly, more than a dozen military planes flew over Lanfeng City and concentrated bombing at the station. Several wagons parked inside the station were blown up, and the tracks were blown off in several places. Several civilians were killed. There was chaos in the county, and residents rushed to find shelter.

Subsequently, all stations along the Longhai Railway, such as Neihuangji, Minquan, and Biandong, were bombed by enemy planes.

At the same time, hundreds of cavalrymen of the 18th Cavalry Regiment of the 14th Division of Tufeiyuan were advancing from the northeast towards Neihuangji between Lanfeng and Minquan.

At about 7 o'clock in the morning, this cavalry arrived near Neihuangji, and after eliminating the resistance of the [***] team, the railway was blown up.

On the night of May 17, the main force of the 14th Division of Tufeiyuan entered the area east of Neihuangji and prepared to capture Lanfeng.

On May 18, Takabu Sakai, who was temporarily assigned to the 16th Division, arrived near Neihuangji and joined the main force of the division in accordance with the order of the front army to "return to the 14th Division."

So far, the Tufeiyuan Division has successfully completed the task of "cutting off the Longhai Road between Lanfeng and Guide" issued by the Military Division.

The East Henan Plain, which has always been the rear, has since become a battlefield full of gunpowder.

The "Battle of Lanfeng", in which more than 100,000 Chinese troops surrounded and annihilated the invading army, kicked off from there.

On the morning of May 13, Chiang Kai-shek woke up very late.

Last night, after Chiang Kai-shek sent Lin Wei, Liu Fei, and Xue Yue away, he ordered Wang Shihe, the chief of the guard, to find Cheng Qian and Yan Xunfu, asking them to report to him on the deployment of troops in eastern Henan, and to talk to them about the plan for the "Battle of Lanfeng" to listen to their suggestions. When he went to bed, it was after 2 a.m.

As soon as he got up, Wang Shihe, the chief of the guard, who had been waiting outside the door for a long time, came in and reported: The seven fighters that covered the chairman's visit to Zhengzhou flew to Luxi and northern Henan at dawn today to reconnoitre, but unfortunately all of them were shot down by the enemy!

"Niang Xipi, these rice buckets!" Chiang Kai-shek, who was still sleepy, was enraged by this news, he angrily slapped the case, scolded a word, and there was no follow-up.

The loss of 7 aircraft is quite heavy, because the entire Chinese Air Force has only about 300 aircraft that can be put into operation. And in one morning lost one-fiftieth of the air combat force! However, the chairman of the committee has nothing to blame -- it was he himself who took the initiative to propose to Cheng Qian last night that he wanted these seven planes to carry out reconnaissance missions, and who can he blame?

A guard brought breakfast for the chairman. But he had just eaten half of it when Yan Xunfu came to report to him again: Huangkou Station east of Dangshan was occupied by the enemy, and the Lizhuang Railway near the station was destroyed!

The news that seven planes had been shot down made the chairman feel distressed, and this news shocked him -- the Longhai Railway was cut off by the Chinese army, which would directly affect the war situation in Xuzhou. He didn't want Xuzhou to end in defeat. He changed color and said:

'How did this Yu Liangzhen do it, he couldn't even hold a small station! ”

"Chief Cheng has strictly ordered him to hold Dangshan, and wait for an opportunity to recapture Huangkou Station with one part and repair the Lizhuang Railway Bridge." Yan Xunfu said.

"Tell him to ensure that the Longhai Road is unblocked, otherwise he will be engaged in military law!"

"Okay, I'll immediately convey the instructions of the commission to Commander Yu."

After Yan Xunfu left, Chiang Kai-shek asked the guards to remove the half-eaten breakfast, and he had completely lost his appetite.

In fact, Cheng Qian, Yan Xunfu and Wang Shihe all concealed one thing from Chiang Kai-shek, that is, the bombing of Zhengzhou in the early morning by military planes. They feared that the chairman would not only be angry but also upset when he learned of this.

At about 5 o'clock in the morning, as soon as the faint morning light outlined the outlines of the buildings in Zhengzhou, the air raid sirens woke up the citizens who were still asleep. Immediately afterwards, 18 enemy planes attacked the airspace over Zhengzhou. The anti-aircraft artillery unit that served as the defense of the city fired a burst of fire at the group, but unfortunately failed to hit a single enemy aircraft. The 18 enemy planes were divided into several teams and dropped bombs at low flying in the downtown area, and the sound of the "rolling" motors could be clearly heard. At the sound of the explosion, shops and houses collapsed one after another, and frightened citizens rushed to the east in the smoke of gunfire, looking for a place to hide. Enemy planes flew low and swooped down the streets, dropping bombs and strafing civilians fleeing for their lives. These enemy planes bombed and strafed for a long time before they flew away from Zhengzhou.

The area around Datong Road and Dehua Street in the downtown business district, as well as several streets and alleys densely popped with residential houses, and large areas of houses were razed to the ground. On some of the ruins and broken walls and tree trunks, the flesh and blood of the victims burst into it, and some of the branches hung bloody broken legs, broken arms, braids, and wisps of blood-stained clothes. Among them was a pregnant woman, whose fetus was blown out of her womb and burst out several meters away. Some improvised air-raid shelters were blown up, and several families were suffocated in the holes. All 15 people who took refuge under the Minggong Bridge were killed.

Rotary Middle School, where the Political Training Office of the Commander of the First Theater Command is located, was also bombed, killing and injuring several journalists and propagandists. The U.S.-run Huamei Hospital and the Catholic Church were not spared by the air raids.

However, the violent explosions in the center of the city did not alarm the Supreme Commander, and the layers of earth several meters thick and the solid concrete arch walls separated him from a "paradise", allowing him to sleep soundly in silence.

On the morning of the same day, a certain division that had been ordered to assemble from the rear to Lanfeng and Guide passed through Zhengzhou, and when the division commander drove to the basement of Longhai Garden to meet Chiang Kai-shek, he briefly described to the chairman the chairman the tragic situation of being bombed by enemy planes along the way.

"The blood debt owed by Kou is to be repaid with blood!"

The news of the fall of Heze reached the headquarters of the commander of the First Theater at about 2 o'clock in the morning of the 15th.

On the 14th day, Chiang Kai-shek's full attention was on Heze's side, and he asked Yan Xunfu to report to him every two hours on the situation of Heze's battle, and twice went to the office of the Governor's Department to ask Cheng Qian whether Heze could ensure that if he did not defend it, how he would deal with the enemy next.

When the news of Heze's loss came late at night, Chiang Kai-shek was already asleep. Cheng Qian did not dare to delay, and immediately went to the basement to report to Chiang Kai-shek. The chief of the guard, Wang Shihe, knew that it was a major event for the military aircraft, and he did not dare to stop the commander from disturbing the sleep of the supreme commander. In normal times, as long as the chairman sleeps, no matter who he sees, he will be blocked by the chief of the guard.

After listening to Cheng Qian's report, Chiang Kai-shek did not express shock, he sighed and said: "It seems that the battle of Lanfeng must be fought. After a pause, he changed his tone and said: "You can't let Tufeiyuan drive straight into it like this, you order Shang Zhen to ask his troops to ensure the right flank of Dongming, and those who retreat must not cross the south of Dahuangji, and those who violate the order will be shot." ”

Cheng Qian knew very well that this order was difficult for Shang Zhen to carry out, and the 20th Group Army was responsible for the defense of the river for hundreds of miles, and it was difficult to dispatch powerful troops to block the enemy's southward movement overnight. But it was not good for him to get Chiang Kai-shek to retract his fate. After returning to the commander's office, he hesitated again and again, and at 4:30 a.m. he relayed Chiang Kai-shek's dictation to Shang Zhen by radio.

As expected, a few hours later, the news came from Lanfeng that the cavalry troops of the Tufeiyuan Division had arrived near Neihuangji and blew up the railway. This is a travesty of Chiang Kai-shek's orders given in disregard of reality.

The news that the army had once again cut off the Longhai Railway near Neihuangji made Chiang Kai-shek furious, and he thought it was time to put the plan of the "Battle of Lanfeng" into action.

On the morning of 16 May, Chiang Kai-shek convened an emergency military meeting in the conference room of the Commander's Department. Present at the meeting were Cheng Qian, Yan Xunfu, Zhang Yuxing, generals of the troops directly under the theater, and more than 20 members of the staff office of the commander's department.

Before the start of the meeting, the loss of Heze and the bombing of the Neihuangji Railway were topics of discussion. But some generals were at a loss as to what to do next. Cheng Qian and Yan Xunfu knew it in their hearts, but because the chairman told them in advance that he would attend the meeting, it was not good to "leak the secrets". Everyone was whispering in the room, when they heard the sonorous sound of footsteps outside the door, and the guards shouted "The chairman has arrived-"

The attendees were immediately silenced and all stood in silence.

Chiang Kai-shek, dressed in military uniform and without a military cap, walked into the conference room proudly. Due to his poor health for several days, his eyelids were a little puffy, and his face became more and more pale. But in order not to lose the prestige of the leader, he still cheered up, walked vigorously, and was magnificent. He motioned for everyone to sit down, then glanced at the participants with a grim expression, and said, "First of all, please ask Chief Cheng to introduce the current situation of the enemy and us." ”

After Cheng Qian briefly introduced the deployment of troops in eastern Henan and the attempt of the Tufeiyuan Division to move south, Chiang Kai-shek cleared his throat and said: "Now, our army has gathered superior forces in Lanfeng and Guide to Germany, and is preparing to hold the Battle of Lanfeng. With the existing strength in eastern Henan, we are fully sure that the 14th Division of Tufeiyuan will be wiped out in a short period of time. The fifth war zone has Taierzhuang's victory first, and I believe that the first war zone will definitely have Lanfeng's victory behind. This battle is not only related to the battle situation in Xuzhou, but also related to the entire anti-Japanese war situation, I hope that everyone will tell the important surname of the Lanfeng Battle to the generals at all levels, stimulate the loyalty and patriotic enthusiasm of all the soldiers, and quickly and completely eliminate the enemy who invaded eastern Henan! ”

Chiang Kai-shek gave everyone an overview of the specific plan for the Battle of Lanfeng, and then said, "If you have any requests or good suggestions, you can put them forward now." ”

There was a brief silence in the room.

The specific plan for the Battle of Lanfeng was discussed by Cheng Qian two days ago. But now that the tide of the war had changed, Chiang Kai-shek had not spoken to him about the new disposition, which made him doubt whether he would be able to achieve the great victory of Lanfeng. He pondered for a moment and began to speak: "Now, the Tufeiyuan Division has broken through our defense line in southern Lunan, and it is impossible to annihilate the enemy outside the Yu Territory, and the time is ripe to organize the Battle of Lanfeng. However, although our army concentrated a strong corps between Guide, Dangshan, and Lanfeng, there were only Song Xilian's 71st Army and Shang Zhen's 32nd Army near Lanfeng. Although they were able to form a flanking attack on the enemy with the 74th and 64th armies of the Gui and Dang sides, the weak forces on the north and south lines of Lanfeng still left the enemy with a gap to take advantage of. If the Tufei Yuan Department avoids the main force of our Xue Corps, bypasses Lanfeng, and rushes into the north and south areas of the Longhai Road east of Kaifeng, our army will not have a strong force to inflict heavy losses on the enemy, and the Xue Corps will not be able to lose its tail, and it will be difficult to encircle the enemy again. It will also be impossible to completely annihilate the original part of the soil and fertilizer. ”

"What does Chief Cheng mean," Chiang Kai-shek asked.

"I hope that the commission can increase the number of heavy troops near the east of Kaifeng for the Western Route Army, and be ready to flank the enemy with the Eastern Route Army at any time, so that the battle of Lanfeng can be won."

Chiang Kai-shek thought about it for a while and said: "Commander Cheng's suggestion is very good, I can transfer Hu Shoushan's 17th Army to the vicinity of Kaifeng, and order Gui to immediately organize and form the 27th Army and go to the vicinity of Lanfeng to participate in the battle." ”

Cheng Qianluo said excitedly: "Great, in this way, there are more than 100,000 troops that can be invested in the front-line army from Kaifeng to Guide, even if you eat, you can also eat a Tufeiyuan division!" ”

When Chiang Kai-shek heard this, he smiled and said, "Sir Cheng, you must not underestimate the enemy." ”

After the meeting was dismissed, Chiang Kai-shek returned to the basement, took off his military uniform, changed into civilian clothes, hastily wiped the sweat on his face with a towel, walked into the next room, dictated the message to the confidential personnel, and dispatched troops.

When Chiang Kai-shek went on tour, he was not very particular about the furnishings of the place where he stayed, as evidenced by the fact that Chiang Kai-shek's bedroom in Huaqing Pond, Xi'an, which had been visited by tourists for many years, of course, if his wife, Mrs. Chiang Soong Meiling, accompanied him, it would be another matter, and he rarely asked about his wife's extravagant and luxurious hobby.

However, he could not tolerate the slightest ambiguity about the communication equipment in his residence. Radios were essential, of course, but he used telephones more often. In addition to sending telegrams by radio, Chiang Kai-shek preferred to use the telephone to communicate directly with the front-line commanders. Sometimes, from the position to the shell hit rate, he had to use the telephone to inquire about it.

In Nanjing, the Capital Telephone Bureau made it convenient for the chairman to use long-distance telephones, and specially set up a long-distance special line for him. However, because the female operators were all Nanjing girls, they often could not understand Chiang Kai-shek's Ningbo official dialect, so they made mistakes many times. At the height of the Battle of Songhu in August 1937, an incident occurred that greatly annoyed Chiang Kai-shek.

At about 9 o'clock in the evening, Chiang Kai-shek said to the long-distance station operator: "I want Commander-in-Chief Gu to call Gu Zhutong." When it was connected, it was Commander-in-Chief Zhu Shaoliang's. Chiang Kai-shek questioned the operator: "I want Commander-in-Chief Gu in Suzhou, why?" Unexpectedly, the operator asked: "Did you talk about Suzhou?" Because Chiang Kai-shek omitted to report the place name, and the Ningbo official dialect was difficult to distinguish the pronunciation, the female operator from Nanjing misheard "Gu" as "Zhu". Of course, this seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl may not have known that she was the supreme commander she was fighting against, let alone that her mistake prevented an important military order from being issued to Gu Zhutong in time.

At that time, the four commanders-in-chief of the Songhu front were: Commander-in-Chief Zhu Shaoliang was stationed in Anting, Commander-in-Chief Zhang Zhizhong was stationed in Qingpu, Commander-in-Chief Zhang Fakui was stationed in Jiangwan and commanded artillery, and Commander-in-Chief Gu Zhutong was stationed in Suzhou as the general reserve.

After the phone asked for by Chiang Kai-shek was answered by the female operator, he was so angry that he smashed the receiver, lay on a rattan chair, and roared and ordered the guard officer to go to Yu Feipeng, the minister of transportation, to ask him how he was deployed!

(To be continued)