Late at night, Yan Xishan's study was still lit, and due to the fatigue of the journey, Ouyang Jian was arranged to stay in Yan Xishan's official residence to show his sincerity. It was difficult to resist the enthusiasm, Ouyang Jian couldn't refuse, so he had to accept it happily. At this moment, Yan Xishan, Fu Zuoyi, and his confidants were sitting together to discuss. Yan Xishan said: "Ouyang Jian's trip to the west is completely prepared, and it is a strategic plan carefully planned by the Communist Party. General Ouyang is right, this is a Yang conspiracy. However, the strategy is the highest level, and it involves the situation in the coming years. Therefore, Yang Mou is also the most terrifying, he will unconsciously follow the other party's strategic design. ”

A staff member said: "Chairman Yan, General Ouyang is very straightforward and outspoken, I can't see anything behind the scenes?" "If you can see it at a glance, it's easy. However, I don't believe his words, and it is better to be cautious when working with Zhang Yang and the others, and wait and see what happens. As for how Chiang Kai-shek controlled the northwest and what measures were taken next, let's see. "Chairman Yan! How do we reply to General Ouyang! His subordinates judged that he really wanted to build a western base, and although this plan was beneficial to the Communist Party, it was also beneficial to us! Fu Zuoyi spoke.

"Brother Fu, I don't doubt General Ouyang's sincerity, he came to Shanxi to repair nothing more than to seek benefits for the Shaanxi-Gansu Communist Party. But did you find that when the news of Chiang Kai-shek's arrival in Xi'an came, everyone present was surprised to varying degrees, but I observed that General Ouyang was very calm. This shows that he had expected this result for a long time, which is the most terrifying. The ancients boiled frogs in warm water, and it is difficult to predict what kind of outcome it will evolve into in the long run. But Ouyang Jian's calmness tells us that they are already confident. ”

Yan Xishan continued: "The western region has developed, and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo region, where the Communist Party is entrenched, has also developed. The Communist Party's ability to confuse people's minds is all the more worrying. Zhang Yang and the two joined forces, plus the Communist Party, and we will be under more pressure in the future. If Zhang and Yang want to annex Shanxi, they can do so by using the areas controlled by the Communist Party. Therefore, in the next step, we must establish a good relationship with Zhang Yang, and even if we do not participate in the development of the western region, we must give him support. It is wise to spend money to eliminate disasters. The crowd agreed.

The next day, Yan Xishan accompanied Ouyang Jian to inspect the factories in Taiyuan City, but did not visit the arsenal. Since the host is afraid of the guest, it is not easy to bring it up, and both parties know it. On the morning of the next day, according to the schedule, he inspected the daily training of Yan Xishan's guard unit. On the exercise ground, the officers and men of the exercise worked even harder. Facing the hot drill scene, Ouyang Jian watched expressionlessly and was silent, "General Ouyang is very accomplished in military affairs, please comment!" Yan Xishan asked proudly.

"Chairman Yan, since I am not welcome to say that military training should be close to actual combat. You see, although the assassination training over there is neat and uniform, it is useless in the fist embroidered legs. Assassination training is a battle of blood, will, and courage, and it is necessary to catch and fight. The formation of your unit is very uniform and imposing, which is the basic level of primary training. The level of training in your unit is far from the requirements of actual combat. Yan Xishan was a little embarrassed when he heard this, Fu Zuoyi hurriedly relieved the siege and said, "General Ouyang, please explain concisely." ”

"Take assassination training, for example, not facing straw men, but having soldiers face each other until one side is defeated." "General Ouyang, training like this will hurt people!" "You can change to a wooden gun during training to add the necessary protective measures. Of course, it is inevitable that people will be injured in face-to-face combat, but it is extremely irresponsible for soldiers to engage in such fancy training for fear of being injured. The Japanese soldiers' stabbing skills are first-class, and how they are trained, Chairman Yan should know best! Then Ouyang Jian briefly introduced the method of using wooden guns to train and how to use protective measures.

"Chairman Yan, General Ouyang's method is feasible, I think we can give it a try!" Fu Zuoyi praised. Yan Xishan was a little unimpressed, hand-to-hand combat was a product of the era of cold weapons, and now it was the era of firepower supremacy. Ouyang Jian knew Yan Xishan's thoughts and said, "Chairman Yan should know about the Japanese troops, the Japanese army's weapons and equipment, and firepower strike capabilities far surpass ours. However, the Japanese soldiers' skillful assassination techniques were still improving, and the purpose was to cultivate the soldiers' bloody nature, tenacious fighting style, and the spirit of treating death as home. ”

Ouyang Jian continued: "General Fu fought against the Japanese army on the Great Wall last year, presumably the combat effectiveness of the Japanese soldiers should be clear. "What General Ouyang said is not wrong, the fighting quality of the Japanese army far exceeds ours." "General Fu, maybe there are some situations you don't know, the Japanese troops who fought on the Great Wall last year were at best second-rate troops, that is, the B division. The combat effectiveness and weaponry of the Japanese Army's Division B were one grade lower than that of the Division A. Why did the Japanese army not use the A Division, presumably the two should be clear. Yan Xishan and Fu Zuoyi couldn't help but be surprised when they heard this.

"General Ouyang Jian is really extraordinary, no wonder the troops under his command are invincible, please give advice to General Ouyang!" Fu Zuoyi was outspoken. "Chairman Yan, in order to be more convincing, let's conduct an actual assessment. The training ground is about 400 meters in circumference, pull out a team and run ten laps around the playground to test the training of your troops, and then I'm giving advice. "It's too easy to run circles around the playground, Yan Xishan ordered, pull out a company and run ten laps around the playground. Soon, under the command, the officers and men of the company ran around the playground.

The first three circles of the Jin soldiers ran with vigor and vigor, and shouted loudly under the officer's command. Seeing this scene, Yan Xishan's face showed a smug expression again, Fu Zuoyi was leading the troops, and he guessed Ouyang Jian's intentions, and he was a little nervous in his heart. The officers and men began to lose their physical strength on the fifth lap, and the formation began to lengthen, and on the sixth lap they fell behind. By the eighth lap, two-thirds of the soldiers were lying on the ground with asthma, and only a dozen soldiers insisted on finishing the race. Yan Xishan's face turned blue with anger, and it was not easy to attack in front of Ouyang Jian.

Ouyang Jian said politely: "Chairman Yan, this is caused by the lack of systematic training. If the troops carry weapons and ammunition, I am afraid that even half of them will not be able to escape. To tell the truth, when the wake-up horn sounded, the officers and men of our unit assembled in full gear within two minutes to run a 5-kilometer cross-country run and meet the standard within 40 minutes, which was the first training content of the day. Yan Xishan and Fu Zuoyi were shocked when they heard this. Then Ouyang Jian briefly introduced the training content of the department, so that Yan Xishan and Fu Zuoyi had to be convinced.

Two days later, in the evening, Yan Xishan had a drink with Ouyang Jian. In just two days of contact, Yan Xishan lost his former self-confidence in front of Ouyang Jian. "General Ouyang, you are really extraordinary in military affairs, and Yan deeply admires you. There will be a war between China and Japan, but I don't know when it will break out. If the Sino-Japanese war starts, what kind of situation will Shanxi be in, please speak up? "This is the question that Ouyang Jian is looking forward to, and it is also the question of letting Yan Xishan go to the road. Ouyang Jian thought for a moment and waved.

"With all due respect, Chairman Yan, Shanxi and Shaanxi are important provinces in the western region and are also provinces with large resources. To put it bluntly, the two provinces belong to the richest provinces in the west, especially Shanxi. It should be said that Chairman Yan has managed Shanxi in a good way, the provincial government decrees are unified and relatively stable, and the economic development of the western region is the only one. At present, Shanxi has formed a relatively complete industrial system with Taiyuan as the center, and belongs to the western part of the province. The Japanese know better about these situations, as far as I know, the Manchurian and Mongolian battle plan formulated by the Japanese army covers Shanxi! ”

"General Ouyang, is it difficult for the Japanese army to attack Shanxi?" Yan Xishan was slightly surprised. "If the Japanese army wants to attack the west, it must seize Shanxi and use it as a springboard to advance westward, there is no doubt about it. In particular, the industrial base in Shanxi had to be used by the Japanese army. Chairman Yan, Shanxi is the territory you have worked hard to manage, and it will be in front of you to stick to and give up the two roads at that time! "Shanxi's geographical location is excellent, and there should be no problem in sticking to it." "It is admirable that Chairman Yan has such confidence. If China and Japan go to war, it will be difficult to hold North China, and if the Japanese army chooses to attack Shanxi, there are two directions, one is the northern direction, and the other is the Niangziguan direction. I estimate that the Japanese will attack in both directions at the same time for the sake of safety. ”

Ouyang Jian walked to the map and continued: "Chairman Yan, please see, the first line of defense can be set up on the Tianzhen and Datong lines in the north, and if the Japanese army chooses to attack in the north, it must be in this direction." "General Ouyang is really extraordinary, he actually knows so much about the topography and landforms of Shanxi, we judge each other consistently, Tianzhen and Datong are strategic points in the north." "Chairman Yan, for the sake of security, you must set up the second line of defense." "Set up a second line of defense?" Yan Xishan was surprised, with a confused expression on his face.

"The second line of defense is selected in Wutai Mountain, and with the second line of defense, the northern defense will be worry-free. Even if the Japanese army crossed the first line of defense, it would be stopped in the face of the second line of defense. "General Ouyang is very perceptive, and what he said makes sense." "Chairman Yan, the most important thing for Shanxi is the Niangzi Pass defense line. Although the Niangzi Pass defense line is very steep, but once broken through by the Japanese army, it will quickly threaten the safety of Taiyuan, once the Japanese army breaks through the Niangzi Pass defense line, the entire east of Taiyuan will be in no danger to defend, so the Niangzi Pass line must be deployed heavy guards. ”

Although the Jin army was good at defense, the entire army was uneven, especially the officer corps, which could not be changed. Fu Zuoyi's troops can fight well, which does not mean that the entire Jin army has the combat capability of Fu Zuoyi's troops. At present, whether it is the National Army or the Eighth Route Army, the role of the commander is extraordinary, and it will directly affect the combat effectiveness and fighting spirit of the troops. Even if the Jin army adopted Ouyang Jian's military training methods, its command system would not be greatly improved. The confidence of commanders, generals, and officers directly affects the confidence of soldiers.

Ouyang Jian's purpose was nothing more than to state the interests and put pressure on Yan Xishan in advance, so that he would pay special attention to Shanxi's defense. In fact, Ouyang Jian's biggest purpose was to make Yan Xishan make up his mind to stick to Shanxi, even if he couldn't hold it, he would inflict heavy losses on the Japanese army, and he couldn't let the Japanese army easily occupy Shanxi. In the future, in the face of the Japanese army's frantic three-dimensional attack, the Chinese battlefield paid huge sacrifices, which could not be avoided. Ouyang Jian's purpose was nothing more than to make Yan Xishan pay more, which was a strategy of desperate consumption.

Later, Ouyang Jian continued to cheer Yan Xishan up, and talked about the importance of Shanxi and how to effectively defend on the topic of both sides. Ouyang Jian swore that as long as Chairman Yan guarded the Niangzi Pass, Shanxi would be impregnable. Yan Xishan naturally went to the road, hoping that Ouyang Jian would give more advice on defense. Please enter the urn, the purpose is this, Ouyang Jian naturally worked hard.