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Chapter 1243 The war escalates

The main force of the 4th Brigade of the 20th Division of the Japanese Army rushed to the battlefield, and it was already noon, and the angry artillery brigade launched a fierce artillery bombardment on the position of the 17th Division of the Anjia Army. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

The sudden attack of the An Jiajun and the great results achieved caused a strong shock throughout China and within the Japanese army, and once again triggered a fierce confrontation between the two factions of "going north" and "going south" in China. The "southbound faction" insisted on sending troops to North China again to punish the 17th Army of the "evil" squadron, while the "northbound faction" believed that Manchuria was the foundation of the country, and once Manchuria was cleaned up, it could take advantage of the fear of the British, American and other regimes of the Red Soviet Union to launch an attack on the Soviet Far East, and then occupy the resource-rich Far East and Siberia, turning the sea into an inland sea. However, when the lawsuit came to the emperor, it was still the "southbound faction" that had the absolute upper hand, after all, the Japanese army succeeded in adventuring again and again, and it was obtained from the squadron, and there was no need to change the established national policy. Subsequently, the representative of the "Beishang faction", Ishihara Wan'er, the head of the military command department of the General Staff Headquarters, was dismissed, and the war machine of *** was once again accelerated.

Affected by this great victory, the Chinese people rejoiced and took to the streets to celebrate the victory, and when the Japanese North China Garrison Army Headquarters received the news, they could hardly believe that this was the truth. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly reunified with the Ministry of Military Affairs, and in the shortest possible time, it shouted at the Chinese Government, angrily denounced the "despicable sneak attack" of the squadron, and sternly warned the Chinese Government that it must fully assume responsibility for the all-out war between China and Japan.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, after suffering nothing from the An Jiajun, Kazuki Kiyoji changed the direction of the operation, and the 3rd Infantry Wing and the 1st Artillery Wing of the 2nd Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army stationed in Tianjin drove to Langfang and launched a fierce attack on the garrison brigade of the 38th Division of the 29th Army stationed in Langfang. The garrison brigade of the 38th Division was not afraid of the enemy being outnumbered, and the fierce battle lasted for more than an hour and 20 minutes, and the defenders, who had suffered heavy losses, withdrew from Langfang and retreated to Daxing under the order of the headquarters of the 29th Army.

After the Japanese occupied Langfang, the ground offensive was temporarily stopped, and the Japanese fighters began unscrupulous bombing, reconnaissance, and deterrence operations.

Song Zheyuan and his entourage, who had thought that they had achieved the results of the negotiations and were about to leave Tianjin and return to Beiping, once again faced the intimidation and abuse of the invaders such as the commander of the Japanese garrison in Tun, Kiyoji Kazuki, and began another difficult negotiation.

In order not to let themselves be labeled as "causing war", the various units of the Anjia Army waited for them in their own strong fortifications, and although the Japanese planes were frequently wreaking havoc, they could not hurt a single hair of our soldiers, but wasted countless bombs.

Encouraged by the news of victory, Wan Fulin's troops seized the Liuli River, a strategic place south of Tianjin, Hu Jialin, commander of the Fifth Army held an emergency military meeting in Bazhou, and all the generals of the 17th Army, the 40th Army, and the 53rd Army attended the meeting, and the two divisions of the 32nd Army led by Shang Zhen, the governor of Henan Province, successfully arrived in Shijiazhuang, and the 10th Division, the main force of the Central Army led by Li Mo'an, also arrived at the Baoding front line at a rapid pace, and the follow-up five divisions of the Central Army under the command of Liu Zhi were divided into three routes and quickly went north to join the sequence of the War of Resistance in North China.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nanjing Government sent memorandums to Britain, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, the Soviet Union and other countries, accusing the Chinese army of violating North China, undermining China's sovereignty, and violating the Nine-Power Convention, the Non-War Convention, and the League of Nations Treaty. Britain and the United States sent separate notes to Japan, advising them not to expand the North China dispute.

US Secretary of State Hull promptly issued a statement and sent notes to various countries, stating the US attitude toward the international situation and advocating non-use of force, non-interference in internal affairs, and observance of national treaties. This weak and powerless statement greatly disappointed the Chinese government and Chiang Kai-shek, and also saw clearly the true face of the so-called ****** state.

Chiang Kai-shek immediately made a public statement to Chinese and foreign journalists in Lushan, affirming his solemn position on the settlement of the North China issue: 1. No solution shall infringe upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity; 2. The administrative organization of the Inspectorate shall not be subject to illegal changes; 3. Local officials appointed by the central government, such as Song Zheyuan, cannot be removed by anyone; 4. The area where the 29th Army is currently stationed cannot be subject to any constraints.

Finally, Chiang Kai-shek reiterated that China wanted peace rather than peace, was prepared for war but never went to war, and that the Japanese army must stop increasing its troops in North China and unconditionally retreat to the area where it was stationed before the "Lugou Bridge Incident", otherwise any form of negotiation would be meaningless.

......

At seven o'clock in the evening, Lushan Meilu.

Due to the flocking of many Chinese and foreign reporters, strict security posts have been set up at various intersections leading to Meilu, and around Meilu, you can see fierce guards with loaded guns everywhere.

After the simple dinner, Chiang Kai-shek took a walk on the grass in front of the villa with Bai Chongxi, An Yi, and He Yingqin.

The only surprise to Chiang Kai-shek was that he did not expect that this small-scale local counterattack "to push Song Zheyuan's troops to make a choice as soon as possible, to achieve the goal of the entire war of resistance, to boost morale, and to show the indomitable determination of our army", two main divisions and a heavy artillery regiment would be dispatched, and he did not expect that the results would be so huge. So much so that Chiang Kai-shek, who was brushing his teeth, was stunned for a long time when he received the good news from the front, allowing his mouth full of bubbles to slide down his chest.

At this time, Chiang Kai-shek has been very calm, after a day of emergency handling, all aspects have been straightened out, the overwhelming anti-Japanese wave throughout the country in the past few days, gave Chiang Kai-shek a deep confidence, the Central Party Department and the Military Commission Department of the rapid and efficient propaganda control and guidance work is very satisfactory, re-enablement of Chiang Kai-shek's re-use of the passionate He Jinhan performance is particularly prominent, this especially comforts Chiang Kai-shek, so that at the noon enlarged meeting of the Military Commission, Chiang Kai-shek is extremely confident and very emotionally saidThe words "the will of the army can be used, the will of the people can be used".

"Jingzhi, can you take the next step in recruiting and training recruits across the country?" Chiang Kai-shek, who had talked about the war situation in North China, suddenly asked He Yingqin's opinion.

He Yingqin lowered his head and thought for a moment, knowing that he could not refuse Chiang Kai-shek at this time, so he immediately said: "Yes, but it is better to maintain the status quo in the recruitment and training of recruits in the Yichang and Hanzhong battalions." The situation in Yichang is a bit special, General An Yi persisted for a year, and also built the largest short-term training base in the whole army, and General Yang Bin in Hanzhong has just started, and with the vigorous assistance of the non-commissioned officer school, the political training office of the Second Route Army Headquarters and the quartermaster logistics department, the second recruit training base of our army has been built. Looking at the overall situation, the weakest areas in the recruitment work are still in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian, and their subordinates have long considered this aspect and hope to establish a unified system as soon as possible. ”

Chiang Kai-shek nodded with satisfaction, the reason why he proposed such an arrangement was nothing more than to reduce the heavy burden on An Yi, so that An Yi could get rid of the cumbersome but heavy logistics such as recruit recruitment, industrial relocation, etc., and concentrate all his energy on military command: "An Yi, how is the work of the Yichang camp?" ”

"Report to the principal, General Cheng Guang, chief of staff of the camp, has been in full charge, and General Wu Liheng, commander of the Yichang training base and commander of the Joint Logistics Command, has been assisting on the side, and they have done a good job, especially in today's large-scale strategic transfer, they have done a very good job, but they have exhausted General Cheng Guang's river defense fleet. The soldiers haven't taken a breath for a month, and it is estimated that it will take another month to relax. An Yi replied.

Chiang Kai-shek said "um" and continued to stroll, Bai Chongxi looked at An Yi who was casual beside him with a smile on his face, and he had to admire this thoughtful and tough young general in his heart, a few seemingly ordinary words, not only sang praises for his subordinates, but also blocked the recent motion of He Yingqin's generals to "suggest An Yi resign from the post of director of the Yichang camp so that he can devote all his energy to planning the military of the whole army", forcing Chiang Kai-shek to consider An Jiajun's long-term effective control of the choke point in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, It's almost impossible to say the sentence "Lao Tzu has no merit and hard work".

Bai Chongxi believed that after listening to An Yi's words, Chiang Kai-shek would not move the idea of replacing the director of the Yichang camp, even if he did not consider An Yi's interests, he also had to consider the feelings of the group of fierce generals in the An Jiajun, not to mention that most of the largest military industrial enterprises in the whole army are in the southern Sichuan region, the largest military logistics material production base in the whole army is also in southern Sichuan, and the Fuling military airfield, which has been put into use, has been firmly occupied by the Anjia Army Air Force and Air Defense Forces. Mastering the largest tax source in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River undoubtedly touched the backlash of An Jiajun, how could An Yi agree? Chiang Kai-shek considered from the perspective of the overall situation, and would not make a replacement decision because of a small loss.

He Yingqin's face was still calm, but he was so angry in his heart that he wanted to scold his mother.

After the Xi'an Incident, the power in He Yingqin's hands was greatly weakened, the position of Minister of Military Affairs has become no longer important, and he has to endure the constraints of Chen Cheng and his family, wanting to take down the fat shortage of the director of the Yichang camp, and the young An Yi is like a mountain in front of him, making him unable to move an inch and at a loss.

Chiang Kai-shek, of course, knew how to choose between his two generals, so he no longer brought up the topic, but focused his attention on the North China issue:

"Ladies and gentlemen, Song Mingxuan is afraid that there is no way out now, three battles in two consecutive days, the 29th Army, which passively defended and did not know where to go, suffered heavy losses, although Song Mingxuan did not send a detailed battle report to the Central Committee, but from the secret report sent by the Fifth Army Headquarters and the Military Command Bureau, it is certain that the 29th Army has lost at least 4,000 people, countless wounded, and even more than 10,000 people who have escaped. On the surface, it seems that only two brigades of the 29th Army had a fierce battle with the Japanese army, and the actual losses are almost equivalent to two divisions! If they do not come to their senses and fight with all their might, the current state of chaos will probably continue to intensify, and at that time, more than two divisions will be lost. ”

Bai Chongxi shook his head with regret: "General Mingxuan has committed a taboo in the army!" According to our analysis, the 29th Army is actually on the verge of falling apart, the whole situation at this time is very delicate, but also extremely grim, the 29th Army, which has been sharply expanded from more than 60,000 people in two years, cannot still have the strong combat effectiveness and cohesion of the Great Wall War of Resistance, the long-term co-optation and corrosion of the Japanese army and the best spies in China has caused the division within the 29th Army. Turn the muzzle of the gun to help the abuse.

"But because of this, our Fifth Legion, which has taken the lead, has scruples, and never dares to let go, and we don't feel good about seeing the fighter disappear day by day!"

"Judging from Jiansheng, will the Japanese army in North China launch a large-scale attack on our army again in three days?" Chiang Kai-shek groaned and asked with some hesitation.

Bai Chongxi knew that Chiang Kai-shek would need a few days to continue to persuade Song Zheyuan, and after thinking about it, he still said his true thoughts: "According to the current situation, it is still difficult to determine. Langfang, located in the heart of Pingjin, has fallen into the hands of the Japanese army, and the Japanese army has the initiative in the strategic situation, but the Japanese North China Garrison Army Headquarters knows that with their current strength, they will not be able to shake our Fifth Army Corps at all, so in addition to using frequent bombing by planes to save face, they can only silently endure the great shame of being suddenly hit hard by the Fifth Army Corps, and exert further pressure on Song Mingxuan and other political dignitaries of the Jicha Army, in an attempt to force the 29th Army to divide and disintegrate at the same time, and at the same time buy more time for the arrival of Japanese reinforcements.

"In this case, even if our Fifth Army does not take the initiative to attack, the whole situation is difficult to predict, because we do not know whether the various units of the 29th Army, which have shown serious signs of ***, will suddenly burst out when they can no longer bear it, and then promote a comprehensive escalation of the war."

Chiang Kai-shek nodded again and again, thinking deeply: "An Yi, what is your opinion?" ”

"The students believe that a big war is about to break out, and it will be within the next three days, because everyone knows from the intelligence that came in the afternoon that General Zhang Zizhong can no longer bear it, the 38th Division in Tianjin under his command has been fully mobilized, the three brigades of the Japanese army are pressing the 38th Division's stations, and the Japanese Fifth Division has also rapidly moved south. An Yi answered clearly.

Chiang Kai-shek's face was heavy: "The situation is grim...... How are the units of the Fifth Army preparing? ”

"It's ready to be launched." An replied resolutely.

Chiang Kai-shek nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, we don't fight unprepared battles." Let's go, let's go to the conference room together, we can't wait for Song Mingxuan's attitude any longer, since the big war is coming, what else do we have to worry about......"