When the military situation was urgent, Yu Xuezhong used the radio he carried with him to inform Zhou Congzheng, secretary general of the Commander's Department and director of the Political Branch, to notify the officers above the commander level of the 51st Army and the 57th Army Corps, Wu Hua, commander of the New Fourth Division, and Zhang Liyuan, commissioner and security commander of the Third District, to hold a meeting at the headquarters. As Xuezhong rushed back to the station, he quickly convened an operational meeting in the Sulu Theater and talked about the Eighth Route Army's determination to launch the Lunan War and recover the lost territory in Lunan Province.

Wang Jingxuan, chief of staff of the Sulu Theater, is a native of Xixia, Henan Province, and a graduate of the Huangpu Fourth Infantry Section and the Central Training Corps Officer Study Class.

After listening to Yu Xuezhong's deployment of Liu Yimin's Battle of Lunan, Wang Jingxuan thought about it for a while and said: "According to the deployment of the Eighth Route Army, the Battle of Lunan will definitely achieve results. At the very least, it can eliminate thousands of devils and drive the 10th Division back to the railway line. It's just that our army cooperated with the Eighth Route Army to fight this battle, and the losses are probably not small. This is not conducive to our protracted war of resistance in Lunan! ”

In history, Wang Jingxuan was fought over by our army during the Liberation War, and was killed by bandits during the rebellion. However, it was only because the general trend had gone that he realized it. Now, it is the early day of the Anti-Japanese War, and he has not yet realized it.

Wang Jingxuan said this, Chang Enduo, the commander of the 111th Division of the 57th Army, was reluctant, and immediately stood up and said: "Report to the commander-in-chief: I think what Chief of Staff Wang said is wrong. If it weren't for the Eighth Route Army's cooperation, we might have been driven out of Lunan by the little devils by now. Now that the Eighth Route Army has launched the Lunan War, it is a good opportunity for our army to take revenge on the devil. After the success of World War I, our army became famous all over the world, and completely washed away the infamy of the Northeast Army for not resisting and losing the three eastern provinces. I think that we must not only cooperate with the Eighth Route Army in combat, but also go all out, not be afraid of sacrifice, and show our military might in the counterattack, so as not to underestimate the Eighth Route Army. ”

At this time, Chang Enduo had secretly joined and kept in touch with the Shandong Bureau.

As soon as Chang Enduo's words landed, Miao Zhengliu, the commander of the 57th Army, stood up, pointed at Chang Enduo and shouted: "Commander Chang, is the chief of staff you can blame?" There's no place for you to speak. Sit down! ”

Chang Enduo was not afraid at all, and bumped into it: "If things are uneven, they will sing!" This is an operational meeting, which is related to the victory or defeat, and the commander-in-chief also wants to listen to everyone's opinions. What the chief of staff said is not right, why can't I say it? ”

Zhou Fu, director of the Political Department of the Sulu Theater and chairman of the executive committee of the Special Party Department, member of the education committee of the Cadre Training Corps, and member of the field party and government committee of the Military Commission, graduated from the third phase of Whampoa, participated in the establishment of the Fuxing Society, was one of the core leading members, and was also the real "supervising army" sent by Chiang Kai-shek to the Sulu Theater Command. Chiang Kai-shek sent Zhou Fu to the Sulu theater of operations, and his intentions were self-evident. It is said that Zhou Fu often eavesdropped on Yu Xuezhong's conversations with his subordinates, provoking Yu Xuezhong to tell a group of cronies that Zhou Fu was too bullying. Of course, Zhou Fu is doing his duty. In addition to monitoring Yu Xuezhong, Zhou Fu also devoted himself to the patriotic education of the troops, encouraging officers and soldiers to resist Japan and kill the enemy, which played a certain role in boosting the morale of officers and soldiers.

Historically, Zhou Fu died on the top mountain of Lu'an Hill in the 1943 Japanese puppet sweep, and was a famous anti-Japanese martyr.

Seeing that Chang Enduo and Miao Zhengliu were arguing, Yu Xuezhong, who was sitting upright on the main seat, had a gloomy face, and Zhou Fu spoke: "Commander Miao, Master Chang, don't be impatient!" What Chief of Staff Wang said is reasonable, the instructors of the Eighth Route Army are elite, and if this battle is fought, the 10th Division of the Japanese Army will suffer heavy losses. However, our army is newly defeated and the battalion is full of wounded soldiers, so we have to discuss it carefully. Besides, if you cooperate with the Eighth Route Army, I am afraid that you will have to report to the Military Commission for approval. Without Chairman Chiang's order, we will cooperate with the Eighth Route Army to fight, I'm afraid it's not appropriate, right? ”

Zhou Fu opened his mouth, and the conference room immediately fell silent.

Mu Heng, commander of the 51st Army, pondered for a long time and said: "Liu Yimin is determined to fight this battle, I am afraid that the combat order of the Eighth Route Army has been issued at this time. In fact, just to deal with the 10th Division, the Eighth Route Army can fight without our cooperation. Commander Yu just said that the Eighth Route Army will dispatch four infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade to participate in the battle, and it will also use two artillery regiments to support our army's operations. I estimate that this is all the main force of Liu Yimin's department. Lunan is a mountainous area, the Eighth Route Army is good at mountain warfare, if our army launches a counterattack from the front under the cover of artillery fire to attract the attention of the devils, and the Eighth Route Army attacks from behind the devils, the little devils are tantamount to falling into an encirclement. If this battle is not fought again, I am afraid that everyone will regret it for the rest of their lives. ”

When Yu Xuezhong introduced the operational deployment, he did not give a detailed account of the strength of the various groups of the Eighth Route Army in Luxi, Lu, and Lunan. The reason is that when Liu Yimin told him, he did not say the specific number and strength of the troops, but only told him the concept of a lead war in other directions. That's it, Yu Xuezhong had already judged the size of the Eighth Route Army's instructor's strength, and he was shocked.

After Mu Heng finished speaking, Wan Yi, the colonel of the 667th Regiment of the 334th Brigade of the 112th Division of the 57th Army, stood up: "Report to Commander-in-Chief Yu, Chief of Staff Wang, and Director Zhou: What my Commander Mu and Division Commander Chang said is reasonable, when will I not fight at this time?" If our army does not cooperate with the Eighth Route Army, when will Fei County and Cangshan County be recovered? Once the main force of the Eighth Route Army turns to other directions, and the Japanese army concentrates its forces to attack our army, then our army will fight alone, and the casualties may be even greater! Our 667th Regiment is willing to serve as the vanguard of the counterattack operation in the Lunan War and take the lead in the attack. Please approve the commander-in-chief and Commander Miao! ”

Underground party member Wan Yi directly asked for battle!

Miao Zhengliu said coldly: "There are more and more rules. Just now, a division commander accused Chief of Staff Wang, and now a regiment commander has appeared to ask for battle. In my opinion, the first task of the 57th Army is not to fight a counterattack, but to rectify military discipline! ”

Yu Xuezhong spoke: "What's wrong with taking the initiative to ask for battle?" A soldier should have the heart to kill the enemy and serve the country. ”

Yu Xuezhong's meaning has been expressed very clearly from this sentence, but the troops are complex, and the Sulu theater is especially complicated, and Chiang Kai-shek has made great efforts. Otherwise, Chiang Kai-shek would not have let Yu Xuezhong lead two armies to Shandong with confidence, what if he surrendered to the enemy? What if I am pulled away by the Eighth Route Army?

Sure enough, after a while, there was a lot of noise in the conference room, most of the people demanded an immediate counterattack against the Japanese invaders, and a small number of people advocated reporting to the Military Commission first and waiting for the orders of the Military Commission.

Zhang Liyuan, the commissioner of the third district and the commander of security, was a local powerful faction, and he originally obeyed the command of Shen Honglie. Shen Honglie's resignation, Zhang Liyuan felt that Yu Xuezhong was unreliable, and it was better to do it alone. Therefore, he was ingenious and proposed that the Eighth Route Army should be given conditions, and after this battle, let the Eighth Route Army give up Linyi, and the Sulu Theater Commander's Department, the provincial government, and the Third District Administrative Office should be moved to Linyi, so as to better command the Lunan War of Resistance.

When Zhang Liyuan was defending Linyi, he once fought with the Japanese invaders, made war exploits, and wrote the most glorious page of his life. When the Eighth Route Army swept through Lunan in the previous period, Zhang Liyuan and the Eighth Route Army cooperated well. It is precisely because of this that the Eighth Route Army not only did not reorganize his remnants, but also sent him several cadres to help him reorganize and train his troops. Zhang Liyuan also knew it, and with his brand of commissioner of the third district and the commander of security, he integrated some local armed forces in southern Lunan and swelled his strength. Especially after Shen Honglie met with him, Qin Qirong conveyed to him the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Fifth National Congress and instilled the idea of "suppressing the Communist Party first and resisting Japan second", which made Zhang Liyuan's thinking change a lot. That's why he put forward the idea of asking the Eighth Route Army for Linyi.

Wu Hua is an old man of the Northwest Army, and he came to Shandong with Han Fuqu. After Han Fuqu was killed, Wuhua's pistol brigade basically became a motherless child. It was precisely when Shen Honglie saw this that he reported to Chiang Kai-shek that he had sent the Wuhua Ministry to Shandong to serve as a guard for the provincial government. Now that Shen Honglie is gone, the Nationalist Government has not appointed a new provincial chairman, and Wu Hua and his new Fourth Division have once again become motherless.

Speaking of which, Shen Honglie has the grace of knowing Wu Hua. Although I don't know why Shen Honglie resigned as chairman of Shandong Province by telegram, Wu Hua is not stupid, and he judges that it must be inseparable from the Eighth Route Army and Yu Xuezhong. At this time, Wu Hua had not yet surrendered to the enemy, and was still resolutely resisting Japan. But he was not happy to let him lead his brothers to use their blood to add glory to the credit book of the Eighth Route Army and Yu Xuezhong, who drove away Chairman Shen.

Therefore, as soon as Zhang Liyuan said that he wanted Linyi from the Eighth Route Army, Wu Hua also moved, and immediately echoed it, saying that what Zhang Liyuan said was reasonable. The headquarters of the commander of the Sulu Theater and the Shandong Provincial Government should go to Linyi, the heart of southern Lunan to work. Linyi has good terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and relatively safe. Since the two armies are cooperating in battle, the Eighth Route Army should be a little sincere, and Linyi should be ceded after the war.

Linyi is now the headquarters of the Lunan Military Region of the Eighth Route Army and the headquarters of the Fifth Brigade and the New Fifth Brigade.

As soon as these two people said this, the people in the conference room felt incredible, so what if the Eighth Route Army didn't let them? Do you still have to fight with the instructor of the Eighth Route Army? This is an operational meeting to discuss the cooperation between the two armies, not a mobilization meeting to fight a civil war.

The room was even louder.

Zhou Fu glanced at Zhang Liyuan and Wu Hua deeply.

In the end, Yu Xuezhong was annoyed, slapped the table and stood up, and shouted loudly: "It is the duty of a soldier to kill the enemy and serve the country!" All the actions of the Eighth Route Army to contain the enemy were aimed at encircling and annihilating the 10th Division of the Japanese Army in Lunan, and the entire campaign plan could not be affected by the poor coordination of our army. The two artillery regiments of the Eighth Route Army could soon arrive, and the fighters were fleeting. This commander is responsible for the Sulu War of Resistance, and he will definitely not miss the fighter. In this Lunan Campaign, our army must pounce on it with the whole army, use counterattack operations to attract the main force of the Japanese 10th Division to come to help, and create conditions for the Eighth Route Army to encircle the devils. Director Zhou, immediately report to the Military Commission that our army is about to cooperate with the Eighth Route Army to launch the Lunan Campaign. Chief of Staff Wang, please organize the General Staff Office to break down the tasks of each unit in accordance with the Eighth Route Army's operational plan. ”

Yu Xuezhong only showed the courage of a general commander at this time.

Due to the urgency of the military situation, Yu Xuezhong did not let the officers disperse, but urged Zhou Fu to call the Military Commission over and over again to urge the Military Commission.

Yu Xuezhong didn't know that after Zhou Fu sent a telegram to the Military Commission that he had signed, he sent a separate sealed telegram to Chiang Kai-shek, reporting to Chiang Kai-shek that Zhang Liyuan proposed and Wu Hua seconded to ask for Linyi from the Eighth Route Army.

The telegram from the Military Council arrived very quickly. At this time, the First Battle of Changsha had just ended victoriously, and Chiang Kai-shek and the bigwigs of the Military Commission were on the rise.

Chiang Kai-shek thought that Liu Yimin had a desire to win and did not want Xue Yue to be in front of him, so he decided to launch the Lunan Campaign. Therefore, he appreciated the plan of the Lunan Campaign, whether it was the Chinese battlefield or the North China battlefield, Chiang Kai-shek liked to make the little devils unlucky. Besides, the Eighth Route Army is willing to fight to the death with devils, what is Chiang Kai-shek not willing? Therefore, the Military Commission's reply instructions were very clear, ordering the Sulu Theater Commander's Department to unify the command of all units in Shandong to launch the Lunan Campaign, and to annihilate the 10th Division rebuilt by the Japanese army and open up the situation of Lunan to resist Japan.

Chiang Kai-shek was also happy and confused, and let Yu Xuezhong command all the troops in Shandong in a unified manner, isn't that nonsense? It is almost the same to let Yu Xuezhong command the 51st Army and the 57th Army to cooperate with the Eighth Route Army.

However, Chiang Kai-shek was angry that Shen Honglie was driven out of Shandong, and after climbing on the map and discussing secretly for a while with He Yingqin and others, Chiang Kai-shek sent a secret telegram to Yu Xuezhong, asking Yu Xuezhong to concurrently serve as the chairman of Shandong Province, and asking him to secretly transfer a division after the Lunan Campaign was launched, seize the opportunity of all units of the Eighth Route Army fighting on the front line, and enter Linyi.

Chiang Kai-shek told Yu Xuezhong that Linyi controlled Lunan and had an important strategic position. Entering and occupying Linyi can echo with the Deloitte Department of North Korea and support each other. Therefore, the Sulu Theater Commander's Department must be stationed in Linyi. At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Yu Xuezhong that after the two artillery regiments of the Eighth Route Army were completed, he could consider ordering Liu Yimin to transfer the two artillery regiments to the command of the Sulu Theater Commander's Department. At least one artillery regiment should be left for the Sulu theater of operations.

Yu Xuezhong couldn't cry or laugh after reading the telegram, what kind of people are these, this side is fighting with the Eighth Route Army, and there is sharpening his knife Huo Huo is preparing to seize the territory of the Eighth Route Army and detain people's artillery regiments. Isn't it righteous?

If he had not entered Shandong, Yu Xuezhong might have carried out Chiang Kai-shek's orders. But now the situation is different, Yu Xuezhong will definitely not carry out this order of Chiang Kai-shek. Because he knew that once Chiang Kai-shek's order was carried out, it would be tantamount to a war with the Eighth Route Army, and Yu Xuezhong was unwilling and did not have the courage to do so.

Yu Xuezhong immediately called Chiang Kai-shek back, stating his interests and refusing to serve as chairman of Shandong Province.

When Chiang Kai-shek saw that Yu Xuezhong did not carry out the order, he also refused to serve as the chairman of Shandong Province, and on the one hand, he called Yu Xuezhong back, asking Yu Xuezhong to recommend two subordinates as candidates for the chairman of Shandong Province for selection; On the one hand, he sent a secret telegram to Zhou Fu, and ordered Zhou Fu to take the opportunity to mobilize Wu Hua and Zhang Liyuan to be stationed in Linyi after the Lunan Campaign began.

Chiang Kai-shek was a master of scheming, and he was talking about stationing in, not capturing or occupying.

The Lunan War has not yet begun, and it is full of weirdness!