On the evening of August 26, the Japanese concentrated the main force of the division to continue the onslaught, using the defeated fighters of the 128th Division to break through the position of the 19th Division in one fell swoop.

On August 26, the Japanese army attacked the 15th Division of the 8th Army, which had just arrived near Yaque Mountain, and the 15th Division was not firmly established and suffered heavy losses under the attack of the Japanese army, so the army commander Li Yutang had to put the 3rd Division of the fortune army into the battlefield to maintain the situation. That night, the Japanese Botian detachment continued to attack the 8th Army, and Yaque Mountain was completely lost, so Li Yutang had no choice but to set up a blocking battlefield in Caijialang behind Yaque Mountain, in an attempt to stop the Japanese advance.

The squadron invested a total of 6 divisions on the line from Gutang to Puquan Mountain in Yaque Mountain, and the strength was not small, but all of them were invested one by one, except for the main force of the 3 divisions dispatched on the 24th to jointly attack, the rest of the time were all fighting separately, and the result was broken by the Japanese army, and in just three days, the initiative in the Jiujiang Theater had fully fallen into the hands of the Japanese army.

On the 27th, the Japanese army continued to attack in the north and south, and in the morning, under the cover of naval artillery, the marines landed in Jiujiang, and the Jiangbin defense line of the squadron finally collapsed.

At the headquarters of the First Corps in Mahuiling, all the personnel looked at their deputy commander with sympathetic eyes.

Because Deputy Commander Xu Ming has been trained on the phone for a full 1 and a half hours!

"Mother, Xipi! Where is Zhang Xianghua! Why can't I contact him! What do you eat..."

"Why didn't the 4th Army go up with reinforcements? Go and ask Zhang Xianghua, if you want to maintain your strength, the 4th Army must arrive at dawn tomorrow..."

"Jiujiang is lost, how did you lose it! Are you all rubbish! You go to find him and tell him that Jiujiang can't be taken back, from him Zhang Xianghua to you Xu Ming, all the front-line officers must be dealt with severely, severely! ”

"Xu Ming, what are you doing these days? Heard that a road is being built? Harvesting rice? Niang Xipi..."

…

Xu Ming's left hand holding the phone was sore, so he switched to his right hand, and then to his left hand after a while.

When someone's phone call finally ended, Xu Ming shook his sore arm, and at this moment, a soldier who didn't have long eyes came to report.

"Report, deputy commander, the grain has been harvested, and now it is..." As soon as the soldier said this, a confidential staff officer finally couldn't help laughing, but in an instant, he found that there was silence around him, and he hurriedly looked up and found that Xu Ming was looking at him coldly.

"Isn't it funny?"

"Get out!"

The staff officer immediately slipped out like a lost dog.

The soldier who caused the trouble also turned pale and bowed his head, and did not say the rest of the words again.

Xu Ming didn't anger the soldier, he took a sub-map, marked a few points on the map, and said, "According to this direction, sink the grain into the lake." ”

Xu Ming rode a horse and set off with a few retinues, walking on green hills and green grass, skimming over paddy fields. Suddenly, Xu Ming stopped and laughed at himself: "The rice is really clean." ”

Adjutant Zhang next to him wanted to comfort his chief, and said: "The chairman doesn't know the situation here, if it weren't for the devils attacking these days, this more than 1 million catties of grain would be of great use." ”

Xu Ming said lightly: "Let's go, a general who has lost a battle is not qualified to explain." ”

The group soon arrived at the military headquarters of the Fourth Army in Shilipu, just outside just now, Xu Ming had already seen a column of soldiers turning south, and now in the military headquarters, it was also a busy scene, everyone was carrying packages, loading items, and looking like retreating.

Sure enough, here, Zhang Fakui, commander-in-chief of the Corps, was found.

Zhang Fakui didn't seem surprised to see Xu Ming, and said, "What instructions does the chairman have?" ”

Xu Ming handed him a stack of telegrams, Zhang Fakui glanced at them, and said, "It's late, the troops have already withdrawn." ”

"The chairman's order is that Jiujiang must be recaptured."

"It's impossible, the troops are moving back, and then letting them turn back and attack is to send them to death! When the chairman of the National People's Congress met in Songhu, it was clear that the troops had already retreated, and what kind of "Nine-Power Pact" should be considered, so that the troops would turn back and hold their positions, which would shake the morale of the troops, and the result would be a complete defeat. ”

Xu Ming saw that Zhang Fakui insisted on giving up Jiujiang, and said eagerly: "Commander-in-chief, Jiujiang cannot be lost, once Jiujiang is lost, not only will the Ninth Theater lose its important town, but the Japanese army will use Jiujiang as a supply base, and it can also support the Japanese army attacking the Fifth Theater."

Zhang Fakui snorted, "You think I don't want to defend Jiujiang, but there are dozens of warships and hundreds of planes, how can I defend it?"

"Fortifications can be dug near the suburbs, and street battles can be prepared in the city."

"Okay, you can call your 26th Army to defend."

"I reported to the Military Commission on the 25th that the 26th Army had set off from Changsha and would be able to reach Jiujiang at the end of the month."

Zhang Fakui was stunned, he just said that letting the 26th Army defend was just a mockery, but he didn't expect Xu Mingzhen to put his troops in Jiujiang to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army, and he felt very "ridiculous" in his mind.

"Xu Ming, Jiujiang is not Anqing, you are acting rashly."

Xu Ming didn't argue with Zhang Fakui anymore, but said, "Commander-in-chief, have you reported the retreat to the chairman?" ”

Zhang Fakui did not hesitate, and replied in a very ordinary tone: "No, you go and report." ”

Because the 4th Army had already been transferred, the radio could not be used, and it reported to the Military Commission that it would have to go back to Mahuiling, 20 kilometers away.

Xu Ming did not go back, but moved to the south with Zhang Fakui, fortunately, the Japanese planes did not appear, and the march of the troops was relatively smooth.

A herald flew over on horseback, and after exchanging orders with the soldiers in front, he galloped in front of Xu Ming.

"Deputy Commander, order from the Military Council."

Xu Ming didn't look at this military order, but said to the herald: "You go and hand it over to Commander-in-Chief Zhang." ”

The herald sped away again.

"Chisato,"

Xu Ming stopped his horse and looked back, it was Zhang Fakui who called him.

Zhang Fakui handed over the telegram to Xu Ming, Xu Ming had actually guessed what it was, and when he sent someone to Ma Huiling to send a telegram to the Military Commission, he knew what would happen.

This was a telegram ordering Zhang Fakui, commander-in-chief of the First Corps of the Ninth Theater, to return to Wuhan to report on his work.

The war situation is precarious, and the commander-in-chief returns to the rear to report on his work? Obviously, this was a military order to dismiss him from his post in disguise.

Zhang Fakui's face looked like he was 10 years older, he beckoned to Xu Ming, dismounted with both hands, and walked to a small mound next to him.

Zhang Fakui said with emotion: "Qianli, you came on the 14th, it's been almost half a month, but unfortunately we don't have much time to really talk." ”

Xu Mingyan said insincerely, "The commander-in-chief has always been busy with official business, and I don't dare to disturb it easily." ”

Zhang Fakui shook his head, "No matter how busy I am with official business, you Xu Ming and I still don't dare to slack off, during this time, there is a gap between the two of us, all because of our positions."

Xu Ming nodded, this is indeed true, he and Zhang Fakui have always had no grudges, if it wasn't for Lao Jiang sending him to replace Zhang Fakui, the two would not be so half-cold and half-hot.

Zhang Fakui said: "The chairman of the committee has always disbelieved in us people and thinks that I have the intention of preserving my strength. Hehe, I, Zhang Xianghua, have been taught by Mr. Zhongshan for many years, and the national disaster is at the head, how can I be this kind of villain! ”

Xu Ming agreed, "The commander-in-chief has been known all over the world for his loyalty and courage since the beginning of the Northern Expedition, and in the Battle of Jiujiang, I think your original intention was not to defend Jiujiang, but to retreat to the decisive battle and fight with the Japanese army on the terrain favorable to us, which I have reported to the Military Commission twice. ”

Zhang Fakui looked at Xu Ming, as if he wanted to see the truth from his face, and finally sighed, "If I hadn't defended the Jiangbin defense line and Jiujiang City according to my opinion, and made a long-lasting defense in the area of Jinguanqiao and Mahuiling, this battle would never have been fought so badly; If you Xu Ming were the commander-in-chief, he (Chiang Kai-shek) would never send telegram after telegram to tell you what to do. ”

Xu Ming was silent, Lao Jiang was not at ease with Zhang Fakui, but he was very relieved at Xu Ming. On the one hand, Xu Ming is too young and feels that he is still very simple, on the other hand, Xu Ming's performance is not blameless.

Zhang Fakui said, "You advocate defending Jiujiang, and I advocate retreating for a decisive battle, which is a purely military disagreement. I don't have any doubts about you Xu Ming himself, the battle of Tan Yuanpu, I know very well that I can't fight like this; During this time, I let you be in charge of logistics, you are known as Xiaobaiqi, but you are building roads and cutting rice, doing your best and without complaints, which I admire very much, I think if I were you, I am afraid I would not be able to do it. ”

Xu Ming replied: "I don't think I'm a novice, "Ta Kung Pao" attracts people's attention, just messing up names, I never think I'm amazing." In terms of command ability, Fu Zuoyi, Wang Yaowu and your commander-in-chief Zhang are stronger than me, even my subordinates Hu Lian and Xie Jinyuan are no worse than me, in terms of moral cultivation, I don't know how many are better than me, my brilliance is not only the absurd actions of the Japanese army, but also the loopholes caught by our army, and the concerted efforts of my officers and soldiers and capable subordinates, I am lying down to become famous. ”

Zhang Fakui thought that Xu Ming was humbling himself, and asked, "Do you really want to counterattack Jiujiang?" The Japanese had already occupied it, and it would be more difficult to counterattack than before. ”

Xu Ming looked in the direction of Jiujiang and said, "There is no position in the world that cannot be attacked, and there is no place that cannot be defended, it is just man-made." ”

Zhang Fakui looked at this young general, so stubborn and so confident, he pondered for a while, and said:

"I won't say much else, if you really want to counterattack Jiujiang, I will transfer the positions of the 4th Army and the 25th Army, and when the 25th Army arrives at Mahuiling, I will let the 4th Army go to the Xingzi front line to deploy defenses, and in the gap between the Xingzi defense line, I will contact Boling (Xue Yue) and let him be the agent temporarily."

Xu Ming looked at Zhang Fakui gratefully, as soon as Zhang Fakui returned to Wuhan, he Xu Ming of the Fourth Army could not be mobilized, so let this unit go to Xingzi to transfer the 25th Army, and he had another new force in his hands, Zhang Fakui really helped Xu Ming a lot in this matter.

Zhang Fakui only rode away with a few entourages, and watching him leave the lonely back, Xu Ming felt an indescribable feeling.

Jiujiang is lost, but who is responsible? Zhang Fakui, as the commander-in-chief, is of course responsible for the battle situation, but the old man in Luojia Mountain, Wuhan, since he didn't trust Zhang Fakui, he asked him to command the troops, and he also sent Xu Ming, the supervising army, to make it up and down; What about Xu Ming himself, what did he do here, build bridges and pave roads, well, all of them have been done, and now he has just ordered to go down and destroy all those bridge sections! Giving this order, Xu Ming felt extremely ironic. Rice harvesting, cutting very successfully, more than 1 million catties of grain has been sunk in Qili Lake, if Jiujiang can't take it back, just wait for those rice to feed the fish in the lake.

"Commander-in-Chief, Commander Li of the 8th Army is calling."

Xu Ming was stunned for a moment, and then thought that now he was already the acting commander-in-chief of the First Corps