In the face of the resurgence of the Japanese Second Army, as the commander of the Fifth Theater, Li Zongren also convened a meeting of the commanders of all armies in the theater for operational deployment. The overall combat idea of the pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info is to fight a defensive counterattack war.

It's just that for the commanders who participated in the meeting, it is a thing worthy of affirmation to be able to stop the Japanese army and buy time for the transfer and relocation of Wuhan in response to the heavy attack of the Japanese army.

As for the so-called counterattack, unless the Nationalist Government will send more main forces to fight. Otherwise, it is almost impossible for the troops of the Fifth Theater to fight another battle of encirclement and annihilation.

Even according to Li Zongren's deployment, or the combat order issued by the Lao Chiang General Staff, He Zhengdao's new 67th Army, as well as Feng Zhi'an's 77th Army, will be responsible for defensive operations in the Xinyang area.

The other units of the Fifth Theater will go to Macheng and other places to be responsible for blocking the Japanese army. This means that even if He Zhengdao can create an opportunity to encircle the Japanese army again, it is estimated that when other troops arrive, the daylily will be almost cold.

So much so that after the meeting, Feng Zhi'an, who found He Zhengdao, said helplessly: "Brother He, the next brother's troops, I'm afraid that I will have to take care of my brother more." Isn't this kind of operational arrangement an obvious treat us as outcasts? ”

In the face of Feng Zhi'an's indignation, He Zhengdao smiled very calmly and said, "Commander Feng, maybe things are not as bad as we imagined. What we have to do is to block the 3rd Division of the Japanese army.

As long as we don't let them break through from where we are defending, our mission is complete. As for how to block it, it's up to us to decide. I think it's hard to get rid of them, but it's still possible to stop them.

As for the matter of abandoning the son, it is better for Commander Feng to be cautious. Now is the period of the joint war of resistance, it is good to know some things, or not to say them. If people listen to it, it is estimated that my brother will also suffer! ”

Being at the location of the headquarters of the Fifth Theater, the military commanders naturally have a lot of ears and eyes. If it is really passed on what Feng Zhi'an said before, it is estimated that Lao Jiang will also feel unhappy, and then Feng Zhi'an's 77th Army is afraid that it will be even more unhappy.

Even if many people know that most of these troops adapted from the Northwest Army will not be taken seriously in the sequence of the Central Army. But in any case, the Nationalist government has been paying their troops.

In contrast, most of the salaries of the Eighth Route Army were self-raised and captured. The only difference may be that the Eighth Route Army has its own base area, and it can also obtain the tax rights of the base area and solve part of the expenses.

And the 77th Army, which often has to be mobilized, has no fixed territory and base area at all. If they want to maintain the daily expenses of the troops, and if they want to ensure the food and military expenses of the officers and men of the troops, they need the support of the national government.

Even if the 77th Army and the 51st Army have their own small coffers, they also feel powerless to feed the troops of an army. If this were not the case, how could they be willing to accept the jurisdiction and dispatch of the Nationalist Government?

As long as they still want to lead troops and ensure the jobs of their subordinates, they must make a certain degree of forbearance and not ignore the authority of the Nationalist Government too much.

'Alas! This is all the disadvantage of not having a mother! ’

Regarding Feng Zhi'an's exclamation, He Zhengdao really didn't know how to answer. In the eyes of many people, the integrated troops of the Northwest Army and the Northeast Army are really the same as those raised by their stepmothers.

But if you really want to talk about it, you can't blame Mrs. Jiang for slamming the door. In fact, in order to maintain the eating, drinking, and tearing of so many troops, and to ensure the normal operation of the government, Lao Jiang had a little money in his pocket, but he also had to be careful in his calculations.

Sometimes, if he wants to choose between a descendant army and a miscellaneous army, he will naturally give priority to his own descendant troops with limited funds and materials. If this is to be replaced by other people, it is estimated that they will do the same, human nature!

Seeing that Feng Zhi'an was really worried, and the situation of their 77th Army next, He Zhengdao said with a smile: "Commander Feng, if you don't mind, I'll go to your defense area in two days to have a look, and our two armies will also communicate privately."

This time, I still want to fight a good battle with the Japanese army in Huaibin, with our new 67th Army in charge of the front and you in charge of the flanks. As long as our two armies cooperate well, I believe that there should be no problem in completing the task of blocking the attack.

Compared with our two armies, the Third Division, which was responsible for blocking the Japanese army, had the same task as the other troops. The battle is fought like this, and it depends on who can hold out to the end. I think in the future, this battle will still be fought! ”

"Okay, Brother He wants to visit my defense area, then I will naturally welcome it with both hands." How to deploy at that time, I hope that Brother He will help him more. There are a lot of recruits in my troops, but there are not many troops who can fight tough battles! ’

Hearing that He Zhengdao took the initiative to take over the heavy responsibility of frontal defense, Feng Zhi'an also felt very moved. In any case, the pressure of blocking one of the main divisions of the Japanese army head-on is much safer than blocking on the flanks.

The two chatted a few words outside the headquarters, and after discussing the defense strategy in two days, Feng Zhi'an also left before He Zhengdao. The other military commanders who came to the meeting did not forget to greet He Zhengdao one by one and leave.

No matter what these people think in their hearts, if the participating units in the Fifth War Zone were rewarded and affirmed in the previous time, they would inevitably owe He Zhengdao a favor. And this time, they are also powerless about the tasks of the new 67th Army.

The reason is simple, the task of their troops is no less light. The person who was added to He Zhengdao to deploy the battle plan was not Li Zongren, but the combat order directly issued by the Lao Chiang Operational Staff Headquarters.

Even if Li Zongren sometimes felt that Lao Chiang was interfering in the command and operation of the front line, he did not dare to go against Lao Chiang's wishes. After all, he knew very well what Lao Jiang's intentions and intentions were in such an arrangement.

It's just that for He Zhengdao, this time he can let Lao Chiang transfer the New Fourth Army out to cooperate with the battle, which is a victory in political struggle. Fighting guerrillas in the occupied areas, He Zhengdao believed that they had a better chance of victory than the Central Army.

Moreover, this time Lao Chiang's arrangement seems to have opened the communication channel between the New 67th Army and the New Fourth Army. But in fact, He Zhengdao's troops did not appear to be on the surface at all. He believed that the same would be true of the units formed by the New Fourth Army.

Even after receiving this new task, He Zhengdao felt that this was an opportunity, an opportunity to unite with the anti-Japanese base area in Shandong. If it can converge with the front of Xu Xiang of the 117th Division that entered Shandong, then this triangular defensive formation will be established.

In the future, whether it is the Japanese army or the Central Army, if they want to attack any battle, the troops of the other two points can give a response. This also made He Zhengdao plan that maybe through this defensive operation, the troops could be slowly spread out.

Even if it is currently from Fuyang to Shangqiu, some places are still yellow flood areas, and there are few large gathering places for people to be displaced. But this kind of place is just right for the activities of the Eighth Route Army, which can effectively avoid the monitoring of the Japanese army and the Central Army.

Once this line is connected, plus the results with the New Fourth Army, then a triangular defensive base is formed. In this way, it will play an inestimable role in fighting behind enemy lines in Henan, Shandong, Anhui, and Hebei.

Listening to Li Zongren's slightly apologetic words when he saw him off, He Zhengdao said with a smile: "Chief Li, although we are troops of the Eighth Route Army, we also know the principle of obeying orders.

Since the theater has entrusted us with the task of blocking the Japanese Third Division, we will definitely complete this task well. There is only one point, which I must make clear in advance, that I hope you will guarantee the route of our retreat.

If the Japanese army really invades Macheng and other places, even if there is no order from the front, I will command the troops to retreat. At this point, I also hope that Chief Li can tell the troops defending in Macheng and other places not to do chilling things.

As for how long I can resist on the front line, then I can only say that I will do my best to keep the Japanese army in Henan and let it run for its life in my defense area. As long as you are fighting, we will not retreat in advance.

But if you retreat, I would like you to let us know in advance. At least I don't want to see someone stab me in the back. If that happens, you're trying to harm your allies! ”

This is very straightforward, not even polite. But Li Zongren knew that He Zhengdao was expressing his dissatisfaction with the order. Lao Chiang should know that at present, the new 67th Army has a serious shortage of personnel, and the combat effectiveness of the 77th Army is even weaker.

It seems that two armies are blocking one division of the Japanese army, which should be an easy thing. However, it is really a worrying thing how long two armies that are not fully staffed can hold back one of the main divisions of the Japanese army.

Now He Zhengdao has made it clear that as long as they do not retreat, they will always be on the front line with the Japanese Third Division. This also means that they do not have to worry about the breakthrough of the third division, and they can specifically defend against the remaining two Japanese troops.

If they retreat first, they will not be able to withstand it, and they will not be able to notify the Eighth Route Army blocking the front line in time to retreat. Then the New 67th Army and the 77th Army, which were in charge of blocking in Xinyang, were really in danger of being dumplings by the Japanese army.

Not to mention, this time, the Central Army also stationed a 68th Army in Zhumadian. But they were only defending in the direction of Zhumadian, not on the attack route of the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army. Then why did Lao Jiang transfer them over?

Perhaps they can explain that the 68th Army's entry into Zhumadian was actually to ensure that the Japanese army would not break through from this direction, so that the Japanese Third Division would not threaten the security of Zhengzhou.

However, in He Zhengdao's view, the 68th Army actually came to serve as a battlefield supervisor. Once the new 67th Army dares to withdraw from the battle ahead of schedule, then the 68th Army will be able to wait for an opportunity to move and cut off the right way back.

If the Japanese army captures Macheng and bypasses it from the rear to outflank. At that time, the new 67th Army assembled in the Xinyang area will really fall into a situation of encirclement on all sides, and then the end will naturally be self-evident! (To be continued.) )