108121908 Far Eastern madman

Xuzhou is located in the central region of Ganhe, which is a very important part of the central Henan line of the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway. With, on the importance, second only to Zhengzhou in northern Henan, ranked before Xinyang in southern Henan, due to convenient transportation, Xuzhou has become the rear military storage base of the second army of the Beiyang south, hoarding in Xuzhou City of arms and materials piled up, Xinyang to the direction of the Beiyang troops all rely on the military materials here to support combat effectiveness.

Now that Xu is occupied by the troops of the United Front, the Beiyang Army has not only lost its logistical supply depots. Moreover, the road back to the north was also cut off, no wonder Feng Guozhang would faint in a hurry.

A few days ago, when Feng Guozhang led the Second Beiyang Army south to Xiping and Xinyang, he ordered Wu Fengling, a veteran of the Beiyang New Army, to lead two infantry regiments of the First Division of the Beiyang Army to stay in Xuzhou and defend the logistics base.

Wu Fengling's First Division of the Beiyang Army was the former Fourth Town of the Beiyang New Army, which should have been reorganized into the Fourth Division. But Yuan Shikai waved his pen and gave the number of "The First Division of the Beiyang Army" to Wu Fengling's troops, mainly for two reasons, first, the soldiers of the original Beiyang New Army First Town were mainly banner people, after the republic, the first town was forcibly disbanded, and this number was vacant, secondly, Yuan Shikai launched a military admonition in the north, and Wu Fengling, who was leading the West Town to crusade against the revolutionary army in the south, responded positively, and sent a telegram to support Yuan Shikai as the regent at the first time, and after that, Wu Fengling quickly led his troops to go north to Beijing and Tianjin to return for reinforcements by means of the Jinghan Line. He made great contributions to Yuan Shikai to stabilize the situation in the north, so Yuan Shikai deliberately handed over the title of "Commander of the First Division of the Beiyang Army" to Wu Fengling, which can be regarded as a reward.

Originally, according to the southward strategy formulated by the Beiyang side, Wu Fengling should lead the first division of the Beiyang Army south to Xuzhou, according to the advance plan, his troops were taken by land in batches, and the forward troops had already arrived in Xuzhou, but the follow-up troops were still staying in Tianjin, the main reason for this was that the Jinpu Railway was not completed, and the secondary reason was that Yuan Shikai temporarily changed Ji Ge. It was planned to divide the first division into two divisions, one of which was led by Wu Fengling to Henan. The other was commanded by the brigade commander Meng Enyuan, and went south from Xuzhou to Nanjing. Joined the First Army of the Beiyang Southward Advance commanded by Wang Shizhen.

When Wu Fengling led his troops to Zhengzhou, Henan, Feng Guoqi, commander of the Second Army of the Beiyang Southward Advance, decided to incorporate some of the old troops of the First Division into the Fourth and Seventh Divisions in view of the fact that the newly formed Beiyang Fourth and Seventh Divisions were not strong in combat. As a result, Wu Fengling only had two regiments of troops left, and he was unwilling to command the Fourth and Seventh Divisions, nor did he want to go back to the north to go around Nanjing to command the other half of the First Division, so Feng Guozhang simply handed over the important task of defending the Xuzhou logistics base to Wu Fengling.

Although Wu Fengling had only two infantry regiments in the old troops of the First Division, the number of the Northern Army under his direct command in the entire Xuzhou area still exceeded 5,000 people, including the resolute troops of Zhao Qi, the governor of Henan, and some local troops reorganized from patrol battalions. Even when besieged by enemy troops. It is also possible to hold out until the Beiyang Army in the south comes back for reinforcements.

However, when the attacking force of the Southern Army arrived, it only took half a day to conquer Xuzhou, which made everyone feel strange, and Feng Guoji was even more puzzled.

In fact, the main reason why Xuzhou was conquered by the southern army so quickly was that some of the local troops stationed in the city mutinied, and they opened the city gates. was put into the commando team of the Southern Army, so from the beginning, the battle in Xuzhou was a street battle, and Wu Fengling, who was defenseless against it, was of course defeated.

What's even more strange is that, judging from the news that has arrived so far, the person who instigated the mutiny of the troops in the city is none other than Zhang Shaozeng, Wu Fengling's main assistant.

Zhang Shaozeng's identity is very special, he is not only a non-commissioned officer in Beiyang in Japan, but also a cadre of the League, when Song Jiaoren formed the Liaodong branch of the League in the northeast region, Zhang Shaozeng and Lan Tianwei, Wu Luzhen were the same branch leaders, and they were the leaders of the anti-Qing forces in the new army.

Like most members of the League, after the establishment of the Republic, Zhang Shaozeng also disclosed his membership in the League, which once aroused suspicion on the Beiyang side, but when Song Jiaoren reorganized the League and merged with the Guangfu Society to form the Kuomintang, Zhang Shaozeng did not announce that he would join this political alliance, so he regained the trust of Beiyang, Wu Fengling also took this opportunity to promote Zhang Shaozeng to chief of staff, specializing in assisting the military, this time he was ordered to defend Xuzhou, Wu Fengling let Zhang Shaozeng command a part of the troops defending the south of the city, is to take advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Shao had instigated a mutiny among the defenders and took control of the radio station.

In the words of the Southern Army, this is not a mutiny, this is called an "uprising", and Zhang Shaozeng was the general of the uprising.

But this news is just a rumor, whether Zhang Shaozeng really fell to the United Front, Feng Guozhang's staff is not very sure, after all, now the news of the fall of Xuzhou has just arrived, and because the telegraph line near Xuzhou has been destroyed by the Southern Army. Wireless telegraphy also did not work, and in this chaotic situation, all kinds of contradictory information were intertwined, and it was impossible to distinguish which information was true and reliable, and everyone was at a loss.

"Zhang Shaozeng is a white-eyed wolf! Wu Fengling is really eye-catching! It's a shame that he still sponsored Zhang Shaozeng at the beginning, what a waste! A bunch of rubbish! ”

Feng Guozhang doesn't have the good concentration of the staff officers. Zhang Shaozeng and Wu Fengling were scolded, and after scolding, I am afraid that even these staff officers standing in the headquarters also scolded them.

Rubbish? Perhaps. But then again, the officers and staff officers below are rubbish. So are you, Feng Guozhang, Feng Dashuai, a waste? The whole four main Beiyang divisions insisted that a group of southern troops that had not even unified their military uniforms could not find the north, and if the commander and commander of the Beiyang army were not wasted, then the staff officers present could write their names here.

Most of the officers present were slandering. Everyone's face is not very good-looking, one is dissatisfied with Feng Guoji's sentence of "a group of waste", and the other is worried about the future of the Southern Henan Campaign.

Now the old ... Can't attack it, the southbound Lidao can't be beaten, and the Xuzhou fork in the north falls into Nanwuxiao, not only the way back is cut off, but even the arms and heavy can't be replenished, in this situation, even Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui rushed to Changle Pass to assist Feng Guozhuan in commanding, I'm afraid they can't do anything. This strategic initiative has completely changed hands.

How to take the strategic initiative back into your own hands? Since Feng Guozhang woke up from his coma just now, everyone in the headquarters of the Second Beiyang Army has been thinking about this small problem.

Now there are only two ways in front of the Beiyang Army: first, concentrate troops and go south to rescue the Beiyang Fourth Division and the Seventh Division that are surrounded north of Xinyang, and then the whole army retreats westward, and returns to Zhengzhou from Chenzhou Mansion, or simply goes directly to Kaifeng in northeast Henan to rest; Second, concentrate troops. For the time being, ignoring the Fourth Division and the Seventh Division that were surrounded in Xinyang, the whole army attacked to the north, taking advantage of the fact that the southern army troops occupying Xuzhou City had a unstable foothold, recaptured Xuzhou in one fell swoop, opened up the northern railway line, and then received reinforcements from the north, and then the whole army turned south and rescued the fourth and seventh divisions from the encirclement of the southern army. Continue to attack, and if you can't capture Xinyang, turn around and go west. Return to Zhengzhou or Kaifeng from Chenzhou to rest.

Of these two strategic choices, most people prefer the second option, because in their opinion, if they launch a counteroffensive against Xuzhou now, even if they cannot recapture Xuzhou, they can bypass Xuzhou and withdraw Zhengzhou, strengthen Zhengzhou's defense before the southern army has no strength to attack Zhengzhou, and control northern Henan in the hands of Beiyang.

But this plan was not approved by Feng Guozhang, who and others understood it well. This strategic choice was actually a gamble on the Beiyang Fourth and Seventh Divisions, on the victory of the Beiyang Army's counterattack on Xuzhou, and on the fact that the Fourth and Seventh Divisions would be able to hold out in Xinyang until the reinforcements rushed back.

However, on a battlefield with airplanes and armored trains on the ground, will the Beiyang Fourth and Seventh Divisions be able to hold out until reinforcements rush back? Feng Guozhang had no confidence in this, and most of his staff members shared his views.

If the Beiyang Fourth Division and the Seventh Division failed to hold out until the reinforcements rushed back, but were eaten by the Southern Army under Xinyang City, then Feng Guozhang must take responsibility for this, and the lower fields are all light, and if it is not good, it will be taken out by Yuan Shikai as a scapegoat, so, in his heart, Feng Guozhang is more inclined to the first strategic choice, that is, to concentrate on saving the Beiyang Fourth Division and the Seventh Division from the encirclement first

come

However, this strategic choice is not without worries, in case the southern army troops occupying Xuzhou send the main force south to search and attack, then, the Beiyang Second Army, which is confined to the line from Changle Pass to Xinyang City, will be attacked by the north and south. The Second Army of Beiyang Southward was in danger of being completely annihilated.

Therefore, Feng Guozhang was a little undecided. He himself didn't know which combat plan to choose, so he could only walk around the headquarters with his hands behind his back.

Feng Dashuai hesitated, and the staff officers were like ants on a hot pot, but they didn't dare to urge Feng Guozhang to make a decision as soon as possible, but everyone also understood that at present, they must quickly make up their minds, whether they are going south or north, they must make a decision immediately, and if they delay any longer, even the 3rd and 9th Beiyang Divisions will be in danger, because they are still in Xinyang, maneuvering with the armored train, and preventing the troops of the Southern Army of Xinyang from attacking north.

When everyone was anxious, they heard a strange "buzz" from outside the carriage. Sound, don't look around, most people already understand what the sound is all about.

"Airplanes! The planes of the Southern Army are coming! ”

Someone shouted outside the carriage, confirming the suspicions of the staff officers of the headquarters.

That's right, it's a plane flying from south to north, with the iron-blooded republican flag painted under the wings. Subordinate to the Air Force of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of the United Front.

It was a twin-engine plane that could carry small bombs for bombing, but this plane obviously did not come to this Changle Pass to bomb, it circled a few miles east of Changle Pass at a low altitude of more than 200 meters, and then flew back south.

Apparently, the plane came for reconnaissance.

Although he couldn't see the details of the plane clearly, Feng Guozhang still stood outside the headquarters, watched the thin little plane go away, and stayed for a few minutes, until the roar of the engine was completely inaudible, then he turned around and gave an order with a blank face.

"The order, all the Changle Pass troops are assembled, and as soon as the order arrives, they will immediately counterattack Xinyang! Then telegraphed Wu Peihu and Cao Key, ordering them to find a way to deal with the breakthrough of the Fourth and Seventh Divisions, and if they could not break through during the day, they would break through at night, and the commander would lead the army back to Xinyang tonight at the latest to meet them. In addition, send a cavalry regiment, divided into small groups of rangers. Search eastward, be sure to find out if there is an enemy main force lurking on the road to Chenzhou! ”

Listening to Feng Guozhang's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, this strategy has set the direction in the end, but at the same time, everyone also feels that the future is even more confused, they are not stupid, and naturally understand why Feng Guozhang made such a choice.

In the final analysis, Feng Guozhang was unwilling to bear the responsibility of losing the Beiyang Fourth and Seventh Divisions, and he wanted to break through the encirclement of the Xinyang Southern Army in one go before the southern army in the direction of Xuzhou came, rescue the besieged Fourth and Seventh Divisions, and then quickly retreat eastward, at least to preserve the frame of the Beiyang Southern Army.

However, according to Xinyang, will the southern army watch Feng Guozhang succeed? Will the southern army occupying Xuzhou miss the opportunity to capture Changle Pass? Perhaps, Feng Guozhang's idea is simpler, either he loses the essence or leaves a chance to turn the book, which is in line with his character and the characteristics of the Beiyang Army.

No one dared to continue to think deeply, they all understood that this battle was no longer fought according to the battle, this was following the feelings, this was not a war, this was a gamble. This is a desperate gamble with the last bit of capital.