As soon as Liu Yimin returned to the division headquarters after he delivered his New Year's Day greetings on the radio, he received telegrams from Hu Laohu and Lei Ming.

After reading the telegram, Liu Yimin calculated that the 10th Division and the 10th and 8th Divisions had arrived in Cangxian, and the Kwantung Army's southward corps had arrived in Langfang. In this way, it seems that by about 7 o'clock in the evening at the latest, the southward corps of the Kwantung Army will arrive in Tianjin, and the 10th Division will not be much later.

Liu Yimin called Zhang Haitao and ordered that except for the soldiers standing guard on duty, everyone else should seize the time to rest and evacuate Tianjin on time at 6 o'clock in the evening.

Zhang Haitao asked for instructions, what should I do with some overseas Chinese?

Liu Yimin knew that what Zhang Haitao was talking about was those ordinary overseas Chinese who did not have any major crimes, which were originally used to deter the Chinese army from bombing Tianjin, but now they have achieved their goal, and the military planes did not dare to bomb Tianjin's commercial and residential areas, and the role of these overseas Chinese has been brought into play. According to the original idea, it was to take these expatriates with them when they retreated, so that they could exchange money and ammunition with the army. But now that the situation has changed, the enemy army is about to close in, and the task of the guard regiment is to defend itself to break through, and it is obviously not wise to bring these expatriates with them. Liu Yimin sighed, and had no choice but to tell Zhang Haitao to be temporarily detained, carry out the necessary ideological education, and let him go when he retreated.

After Zhang Haitao left, Liu Yimin made an appointment to meet with reporters from several radio stations in Tianjin, including reporters from the Three Kingdoms Concession Radio Station, to report on the battle report on our army's elimination of the main force of the 39th Wing of the 8th Brigade of the 10th Division of the Chinese Army in Cangxian County and the 1st Cavalry Wing of the 1st Division of the Chinese Army in Langfang, and assured that our army would continue to attack the enemy and inflict heavy losses on the enemy around Tianjin.

A reporter asked: Since our army has won such a victory, can we tell the people of Tianjin that our army will stick to Tianjin and live and die with Tianjin?

Liu Yimin thought for a while and replied carefully every word: "Although our army has won two battles, the balance of forces between the enemy and us has not changed significantly, and the enemy is still strong and we are weak. The War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression is a long-term war, and it is not possible to end it with one or two battles. Only when our people wake up, consciously unite, and actively struggle against the enemy can we completely change and change the situation between the enemy and ourselves. Judging from the current situation, our army's stubborn defense of Tianjin can only bring sacrifices and disasters to the people of Tianjin. Therefore, our army should fight the enemy around Tianjin, and even lead the flames of war to the northeast, establish a base between the white mountains and black waters, and maneuver with the enemy in the vast northeast land. ”

Speaking of this, Liu Yimin glanced at the reporter and continued: "Maybe you don't know, now, the Kwantung Army in the northeast has transferred three divisions to the south to join the North China battlefield, and now it is concentrating the rest of the main force to go south, in a vain attempt to block the passage of our army to the north. It can be said that in the hinterland of the northeast at this time, the strength of the army is extremely empty, and if the main force of our army breaks through the blockade of the Kwantung Army and enters the northeast, the forces of the Kwantung Army in the northeast will be wiped out in a very short time. In addition, with the cooperation of our army in sympathy and support for the powerful Soviet Red Army, which is fighting against our country, it is very likely that a situation will be formed in which we will sweep across the northeast. When the time comes, there will be no place for Xiao Yuben to cry! ”

Liu Yimin's remarks immediately attracted the attention of several concession reporters, including a reporter from the Italian Concession Radio, who immediately asked: "General Liu, do you mean that you are going to lead your troops to attack Manchukuo?" ”

Liu Yimin looked at the Italian reporter meaningfully, smiled and said, "Mr. reporter, first of all, I want to correct your language, your statement of Manchukuo is incorrect. There is nothing Manchukuo, that is our northeast. He said that his practice of supporting the puppet regime and splitting Northeast China is despicable and shameless, and it is doomed to be impossible to succeed. I am a soldier, and it is my responsibility and obligation to recover lost territory and defend the territorial integrity of the country. However, this is a military secret, and it is inconvenient for me to answer you directly, so I ask for your forgiveness. ”

The Italian reporter nodded, and then asked: "General Liu, as far as I know, the combat effectiveness of this army is very strong, and the 39th Wing of the 10th Division is an elite unit, I don't know how many troops your troops have used to eliminate them?" ”

Liu Yimin thought this guy was very cute, and the questions he asked were all about wanting to know some inside information, so he smiled and said: "Mr. reporter, please forgive me for asking about how many troops were used." However, I can tell you that the most elite unit in the army is the Fifth Division, and Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki who led the Fifth Division committed suicide by disembowelment because we eliminated his main force, the 21st Brigade. I want to tell those division commanders through your radio that during the Red Army's Long March, I led my troops to serve as the rear guard of the whole army, and I told those [***] generals who pursued us at that time that no matter whose troops were, they should not approach our army's rear guard for 200 miles. Otherwise, our army will be annihilated. This sentence is also applicable to today's anti-Japanese war, that is, where my instructor is located, if the army does not want to be annihilated, keep a distance of 200 miles from the rear guard of our army. Otherwise, regardless of whether it is the 10th Division or the 6th and 16th Divisions, our army will be completely annihilated. I never say big things, please report my words. However, I have to remind those commanders of the division that the next time they fight with our army, I am afraid that they will not have the honor of Itagaki Seishiro, and Itagaki can commit suicide, and they are afraid that their heads and bodies will be separated. Because I have an idea, if the heads of these generals who invaded China are cut off and made into specimens, they can be placed in our Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall in the future, which can enrich the collection of the memorial hall and better warn future generations. ”

The Italian reporter was dumbfounded and speechless for a long time. After a while, the reporter continued: "General Liu, please forgive me, you look very noble and cultivated. If I hadn't heard these words with my own ears, I would not have believed that they came from the mouth of a gentlemanly man like you. ”

Liu Yimin smiled: "Mr. Reporter, if your motherland is invaded by the devils, you will understand that a true gentleman is not only personable in front of his friends, but also very capable of fighting in front of the enemy, making the enemy fearful." If these invaders are afraid of separating their heads and bodies, then go back to their roots. Since you dare to invade China, you must have the consciousness of being killed and captured. I also want to ask you to write when you report that I am in Tianjin, and if there is a kind of Shouichi in the temple, let him personally lead the troops to attack Tianjin, and I am waiting for him here! ”

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, he no longer accepted questions from reporters, and asked reporters to go back and write and publish articles as soon as possible.

By noon, the chairman, Vice Chairman Zhou, Zhu Peng, and Luo Ronghuan sent telegrams one after another.

The chairman said in the telegram that the instructor had completed his task with honor, and that the intelligence from all quarters showed that the army's troops besieging Tianjin this time were astonishingly large, and that Liu Yimin and the guard regiment were already at the center of the storm. The question now is not how to expand the gains, but how to break out safely. It is hoped that Comrade Liu Yimin can consider the overall situation of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, save his useful body for the revolution, and quickly lead the guard regiment to break through the siege.

Vice Chairman Zhou's telegram was simple: a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.

The telegram of Zhu Peng and the two bosses was even more direct: It is absolutely impossible to let Yue Kou capture such a high-ranking general of our army, it will be a heavy loss for the whole nation. We can't afford to lose it.

Luo Ronghuan's telegram was also very short, with only one sentence: "The whole army is anxious for the division commander to break through victoriously." ”

Liu Yimin read the telegram and knew that the chief and his comrades were very concerned about his safety, so he called back one by one, explaining that he was scheduled to evacuate Tianjin at 6 p.m. Because it can't be early, if it's early, it will be bitten by the military plane.

In the afternoon, the radio stations in Tianjin were all reporting on Liu Yimin's conversation, focusing on the two wings of the instructor and Liu Yimin's statement that he might lead the army to fight in the northeast. Among them, the radio stations in the British, French, and Italian concessions also launched discussions, asking the military attaché of the consulate to deduce the feasible surname of Liu Yimin for marching into the northeast.

General Terauchi learned of the heavy damage to the 1st Cavalry Wing of the 1st Division and the 39th Wing of the 10th Division through radio broadcasts. He was a little unconvinced, so he sent a report to the two troops to verify the situation. The answer he received made General Terauchi Shouichi so angry that he wanted to go crazy, and strictly ordered all troops to hurry up and encircle Tianjin as soon as possible, and to gather and annihilate Liu Yiming in Tianjin no matter what.

Senior General Ueda Kenkichi, commander of the Kwantung Army, received valuable information from the radio station in Tianjin: First, it was possible for Liu Yimin's troops to wander to the northeast, and second, it was possible for Liu Yimin's troops to collude with the Soviets and win over the Soviets to attack the northeast. As a result, General Ueda Kenkichi sent a 100,000 urgent telegram to the base camp, strongly urging the Kwantung Army to return the Kwantung Army to the southward corps to ensure the security of the Northeast.

After receiving a telegram from Kenkichi Ueda, the headquarters conducted a careful study and came to the conclusion that the instructor must be eliminated in Tianjin, and if he was allowed to wander to the northeast, there would be endless troubles. Therefore, the base camp sternly asked Terauchi Shouichi why the army with hundreds of thousands of troops was slow to act, and whether the North China Front Army and the unlucky Earl Terauchi Shouichi had the ability to restore law and order in North China? forced Shouichi in the temple like a tiger in a cage, and he was restless in the headquarters.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, there was a continuous explosion at the Tianjin terminal.

Liu Yimin immediately called various radio stations, newspaper offices, and consulates of various countries, saying that two senior agents of the Chinese army, a man and a woman, had infiltrated Tianjin and blown up the Tianjin main station, and that the instructor had killed them. It is hoped that all radio stations will immediately tell the masses from all walks of life in Tianjin to heighten their vigilance and strictly guard against sabotage by the Japanese army, and ask the embassies and consulates of various countries to maintain law and order in the concession and not give the devils a chance to take advantage of it.

After making the phone call, Liu Yimin ordered Li Chengyi to hand over the printed "Letter to the People of Tianjin" to the comrades who had left behind the hidden struggle, and prepare to distribute it to the masses after the instructor evacuated.

At half past five, the instructor guard group quietly assembled and gathered in the Haiguang Temple barracks, waiting for the departure order.

By 6 o'clock, it was already dark. The huge city of Tianjin is shrouded in the chill of midwinter, and there are almost no pedestrians on the streets, only restaurants and taverns are still bustling as usual.

Liu Yimin, wearing the uniform of the cavalry of the Yue Army, walked out of the headquarters, came to the front of the neat team of the guard regiment, looked at the soldiers who were all dressed as the Yue Army, and said in a low voice, "Go!" He took the lead in getting on his horse and led the guard regiment to leave the Haiguang Temple barracks and gallop towards Jinghai.

(To be continued)