The 107th Division was originally part of the 67th Army of the Northeast Army. In the Battle of Songhu, the troops suffered serious losses and were unable to replenish, so they were canceled.

Most of the current personnel of the 107th Division are of Hunan origin, but most of the officers are Huangpu graduates, which can be regarded as a series of the Central Army.

In mid-February, the Military Command Department issued an official military order for the formation of the 107th Division. The 107th Division's combat sequence is also quite intriguing, and it was incorporated into Xu Yuanquan's 26th Group Army, which is easy to understand, the 26th Group Army belongs to the Fifth Theater of Operations, and is now stationed in the Lu'an and Huoshan areas, and its own troops are incorporated into this sequence, and I am afraid that they will have to jointly assist in guarding western Anhui in the future.

However, the Military Commission also issued a clear document asking him to obey the command of Li Pinxian, deputy commander of the Fifth Theater and commander-in-chief of the 11th Group Army, during the battle.

"Chief of Staff Zhang, will we report to Commander-in-Chief Xu or to Chief Li in the future?"

Chief of Staff Zhang that Xu Ming said in his mouth is called Zhang Shaofang, Huangpu Phase 5, and was the deputy brigade commander of the supplementary brigade. This time, he was transferred to the 107th Division, which was specially arranged by the Military Commission. Zhang Shaofang is very familiar with various military and political affairs, and he is also very stable and peaceful, Xu Ming regards him as a jack of all trades, and if he doesn't understand something, he has to ask him.

Zhang Shaofang saw that Xu Ming didn't know the Tao inside, and explained: "Commander Xu definitely doesn't have to listen to him. In the Battle of Nanjing, he left the Central Army behind and ran first, and the people of the Military Commission hated him and gritted his teeth. If you don't do him now, it's because he still has more than 10,000 soldiers under him, and when his troops are consumed one day, his fate will be miserable. ”

Zhang Shaofang said this completely from the position of the Central Army, after the defense of Nanjing finally broke off Xu Yuanquan, if Xu Yuanquan did so, the Central Army would be unharmed, but his troops had 100,000 Japanese troops in front of them, and the Yangtze River was rolling behind, and Xu Yuanquan's more than 10,000 people could run out of three or five. Xu Ming can quite understand Xu Yuanquan's approach, why did I sacrifice my miscellaneous cards and let the Central Army run first.

"That's to listen to Chief Li?" Since you don't have to listen to Xu Yuanquan, then listen to Li Pinxian, isn't this just a multiple-choice question.

Zhang Shaofang smiled meaningfully, "It depends on the situation, I usually listen to Chief Li, but if the Military Commission has other instructions, we must consider it." ”

Xu Ming now understands that the factions in the Kuomintang army are extremely complicated, and they have complicated what was originally simple. Xu Yuanquan is a standard miscellaneous card, just a cannon fodder. Li Pinxian belonged to the Gui family, and Lao Jiang was never at ease to hand over the troops to him. If he received two different instructions in the future, Xu Ming would have a headache.

Having said that, Xu Ming still took his main officers to Lu'an and Bengbu to meet Xu Yuanquan and Li Pinxian. This is different from when he was the battalion commander, and the relationship between the upper echelons is becoming more and more important.

Only Xu Ming doesn't know the Tao here, but everyone else understands it. Xu Yuanquan was very polite when he saw Xu Ming, a man in his 50s, a veteran of the Wuchang Uprising in 1911, a "thousand miles of little brother".

Xu Yuanquan personally introduced Xu Ming to his staff and two division commanders, Ding Zhipan, commander of the 41st Division, and Xu Jiwu, commander of the 48th Division. Xu Yuanquan is not stupid, although he is known as the commander-in-chief of the group army, he has only 2 divisions and more than 14,000 people, as many as Xu Ming. Whether it was in terms of strength or factional relations, he had no hope of restraining Xu Ming. People come to Lu'an to meet you to give you face, don't think that it is really your subordinate, if you really don't listen to you, you will not be able to get off the stage in the end.

It was different to meet Li Pinxian next, Li Pinxian's ranking in the Gui department was on the same level as Liao Lei in addition to Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi. On 26 January, he had just been appointed deputy commander of the theater, and he was so satisfied that he was ready to put on a good show in the fifth theater.

But he also knew that the task was not easy, and he received an order that the Huai River defense line must be secured, and for this purpose, four army groups were organized under his command.

The four group armies are very attractive at first glance, but in fact, they are all miscellaneous cards, and only the 31st Army of his Gui Department and the 51st Army of the Northeast Army Department have combat effectiveness. The rest of Liao Lei's troops were crippled in Songhu and had not yet recovered; Yang Sen's Sichuan army was in shambles; As for Xu Yuanquan's troops, he didn't expect it at all.

He still has expectations for Xu Ming's army of more than 10,000 people. Xu Mingneng commanded the troops to raid Wuhu with a thousand troops, at least he had a certain command ability, not to mention the assistance of people like Zhang Wenfang and Xie Jinyuan.

When Li Pinxian saw Xu Ming, he was not as polite as Xu Yuanquan, but made a straight face and took a copy of the war zone report to Xu Ming.

Xu Ming knows what's going on without looking at it, the latest enemy situation report in the war zone.

Although history has turned a corner in North China, it still has its own inertia. After the defeat of the ** team in the Battle of Pingjin, the Japanese soldiers divided into two routes, one way to attack Taiyuan, and all the way along Jinpu and Pinghan to attack Baoding, Shijiazhuang, and Shandong.

It is impossible to change people's personalities, and Yan Xishan is still the same negative. In fact, the Japanese high-level at that time did not advocate attacking Shanxi first, because Shanxi had complex terrain and was easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, the commander of the Fifth Division, Itagaki Seishiro, strongly advocated the attack, on the grounds that Shanxi was not difficult to fight, especially Yan Xishan was "conservative and rigid". Sure enough, in the early stage of the Battle of Taiyuan, Itagaki Seishiro's march was very smooth, and although it encountered stubborn resistance at Xinkou, the Japanese army still took Taiyuan at the end of November, only half a month later than in history.

Yan Xishan said that he was scheming, but he forgot one thing, the reason why the Japanese army invaded China was only one reason, that is, China was easy to bully. Or for the invasion of Shanxi, it is you Yan Xishan who is easy to bully! Compromise and weakness towards the aggressor only increase their arrogance. Only by resisting, making them painful, and even making them painful, can we truly stop aggression.

Yan Xishan can't change it, and Han Fuqu is the same, even worse than Yan Xishan. Yan Laoxi even took out his old book and fought a big battle with the Japanese army, and the final defeat was mainly due to strength. Han Fuqu did not let go of a single shot, and discarded important places such as Jinan and Tai'an in Shandong. Li Zongren asked him, and he said: "If Nanjing is not guarded, why should Tai'an be guarded", which made Li Zongren angry half to death.

As in history, Lao Chiang convened a military conference in Kaifeng, which was held for Han Fuqu alone, and in the end, he was ensnared and shot in Wuhan.

"How do you feel after reading this war zone bulletin?" Li Pinxian asked solemnly.

In Li Pinxian's view, Xu Ming's standard answer should be: "Han Fuqu, as the deputy commander of the theater, was executed because of the loss of important places, and his humble position must be taken as a lesson, and he will strictly abide by the military order in the future, and repay the country with death." ”

The first half of the sentence Xu Ming is still presentable, "Han Fuqu avoided the war to protect himself, and he died innocently." "Later, he went astray," but the main reason for Han Fuqu's death was that he and the chairman of the committee did not deal with each other, and there were contradictions for a long time. ”

Han Fuqu's death brought a great shock to the commanders of the ** troops at that time, and the positive impact lasted until the end of the Anti-Japanese War. But Xu Ming didn't care, he knew it many years ago. He even has a heart of gossip: Did Han Fuqu quarrel with Lao Jiang at the Kaifeng meeting, "The loss of Jinan is my responsibility, so whose responsibility is the loss of Nanjing!" ”

"Okay, okay, you can't talk nonsense about this kind of thing in the future." This kind of thing can only be said in private, not publicly. Li Pinxian saw that this kid was not on the road, and there was no way.

I have something even more exciting, the reason for Han Fuqu's death is said to be a conspiracy with Liu Xiang against Jiang, and Liu Xiang was also poisoned. But this really can't be said, Liu Xiang is still alive now, and it will be a big leak to say it. Xu Ming sneered.

"What are your plans for combat missions in the war zone?" Li Pinxian simply went straight to the point.

Xu Ming was a little surprised, and heard that Li Pinxian meant that he could freely choose the combat mission, which was a great care.

"Everything is up to you, Chief Li, what are your combat missions now?"

Li Pinxian gave a brief introduction to the current combat tasks of each unit: "The 11th Group Army of this commander is now located between the two banks of the Huai River 30 miles west of Dingyuan, and is responsible for flanking the enemy's flank threat at Linhuai Pass and Bengbu, so as to contain its crossing of the river; Liao Lei, commander-in-chief of the 21st Group Army, after assembling in the vicinity of Hefei and Zhangqiao Town, advanced to the area of Hanshan and Quanjiao, flanking the enemy in the southern section of Jinpu; The 27th Group Army and the 3rd and 4th Anhui Security Regiments, under the command of Commander Yang Sen, were the 3rd Field Corps, located east of Anhui, serving as the garrison of Anqing and the nearby rivers, and conducting guerrilla attacks between Anqing, Lujiang and Wuwei; Commander Yu Xuezhong commanded the 51st Army and the 31st Army as the Second Field Corps, which were deployed on the north bank of the Huai River. ”

After the introduction, Li Pinxian said: "Qianli, you can choose one of these four war zones. The chief of staff next to him explained: "For the other troops, Chief Li directly gave orders, but considering that Division Commander Xu, your troops have just been formed, Chief Li has allowed you to choose freely." ”

Xu Ming knew that this was a favor given to him by Li Pinxian, and smiled at Li Pinxian gratefully.

This is Li Pinxian's skill in employing people, and he has long known about Xu Ming's affairs in Jinshanwei, Nanjing and Wuhu. This is definitely an impulsive master, so you don't have to worry that he will avoid the battle to save his strength, but you have to prevent him from being disobedient. That's why he was stern at first, and then he was gracious.

Xu Ming thought for a while, Yang Sen's troops must have no battle in Anqing now, and they will have to wait until the battle of Wuhan; Hefei's Liao Lei Corps is actually resting; If he remembers it well, the main forces in the future defense of the Huai River will be the 31st Army and the 51st Army.

Xu Ming made up his mind, "I request to be deployed on the north bank of the Huai River, and ask Chief Li to give an order." ”

Li Pinxian was very satisfied, and sure enough, this person had the determination to fight. But Xu Ming dared, he didn't dare, the Huaihe defense line is too important, this is the southern gate of the Jinpu line. Jinan and Tai'an are lost, and the northern section of the Jinpu line is opened, and if there is any problem here, the five theaters of General Chief Li (Li Zongren) will be completely completed. After all, Xu Ming's troops had just been formed, and it was difficult to say how effective they were.

He groaned for a while, and gave Xu Ming a combat mission: "Qianli, your troops are assembled in Huainan, which is limited to March 15, and the enemy will be flanked on the southern section of the Jinpu line, and the combat area is the triangle of Dingyuan, Mingguang, and Chuzhou. ”

Xu Ming solemnly gave a military salute, "Resolutely obey Chief Li's military orders, the task cannot be completed, and I am willing to be a military lawyer." ”