"However, on the issue of shipbuilding alone, we need enough manpower, how can we ensure that after our people come, those foreigners do not carry the burden, and in addition, it is not enough to build ships, and someone has to buy ships. After our people come over, how will they be settled? Also, this place is the world of foreigners, and it is also said in foreign languages, even some equipment, the descriptions of parts are all marked in foreign languages, Jiangnan Shipyard hired some foreign technicians to teach, although there are also some people who can speak in foreign languages, but they can't solve the fundamental problem, you have to ask a few people to be responsible for handling our daily affairs, and teach others to speak, read foreign languages. ”

Wu Jishi was a professional in the end, so he just decided to stay, and immediately raised several issues that needed to be dealt with.

"You don't have to worry about the order of the ship, now that the production is at full capacity, I am afraid that the shipyard's production capacity will not be able to rise, and the ship built is not as good as the foreigners. So now the foreign technicians and technicians in the factory can't be dismissed for the time being, and they have to endure it when they should endure. When the day comes, the ships we build will be no worse than those of foreigners, and those foreigners will drive whoever they want. ”

Mr. Hu said with great pride that at this time, the world situation was changing, and whether it was munitions, medicine, iron and steel, or the shipbuilding industry, they all entered a golden age stimulated by the war. With the influx of refugees into the areas controlled by the Northwest Army, there was also the famine of the war years. The demand for grain in the northwest will not be satisfied in a short period of time. The food alone is enough to keep busy on the Yunnan-Burma Highway. Not to mention other large quantities of machinery and munitions. Although the group chartered some boats, the price of chartering them was also very high in those days. The group unites overseas Chinese in Nanyang and North America and is working hard to build an ocean shipping fleet, and the demand for ships is very huge. At least for the next few years, there will be enough for the plant to run at full capacity.

Hearing the prospect described by Mr. Hu, Wu Jishi's eyes also began to brighten, if it is really as Mr. Hu said, then the shipbuilding industry of the Republic of China can indeed be temporarily pinned on the development of the United States, and one day, the Republic of China defeats Japan, and then turns back to the mainland. And the ships they produced will continue to fight for the great cause of the Anti-Japanese War, which is not a curve to save the country

The Japanese army increased its troops in North China, which plunged the Nationalist Army in the southern Lunan region into a bitter battle, and at this time, the main force of the Japanese army with two divisions appeared in Huaibei to advance northward. Li Zongren began to feel that the situation was serious. It is believed that the terrain in the north is open, the area is vast, and the defense is difficult. Considering that the main force of the Northwest Army was contained by the Battle of Northern Henan and the Battle of Suiyuan at this time, it was unable to take care of the Fifth War Zone for a while. By this time, the situation in the Fifth Theater had become more and more difficult.

What is even more dangerous is that although Li Zongren is the direct commander of the Fifth Theater, the real command is that Chairman Jiang was remote control in Wuhan at this time. Chiang believed that the Japanese army had been defeated repeatedly from Taierzhuang and Lunan, and their morale had plummeted and they were terrified. Unexpectedly, the defense line was contracted, and Jinnan, part of the occupied areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang was abandoned. Only one is sent to hold the main points. Mobilize all available forces to move closer to the eastern section of Longhai Road. Its total strength is two Huai, and Lu Yu is no more than 150,000. The number of troops that the central government has successively mobilized to the Fifth Theater has approached 600,000, four times the superiority of the Japanese army. Moreover, the rear of the Japanese army was not appeased, and the supply was inconvenient. Wuhan miscalculated the situation and was overly optimistic. and directly commanded a large number of troops to rush to the eastern Henan region to cover the northwest flank of Xuzhou.

At this time, the Northwest spent a lot of energy helping millions of refugees from all over the world. At the same time, they are rushing to repair fortifications in Zhengzhou and other places. Although Jiang Li was a little unhappy about the Central Army's large-scale entry into eastern Henan, after all, he had forcibly occupied most of Henan before, and with his precedent, there was nothing wrong with Chairman Jiang's move. At this time, northern Henan, western Henan, central Henan, and even most of southern Henan were already under the direct control of the Northwest Army. And Zhengzhou, the traffic pivot that controls the Pinghan Road, is also under the control of the Northwest Army, and although there are many discordant voices in the field corps for the actions of the Central Army, Jiang Li at the top did not say anything, and he only pressed it temporarily.

The Fifth War Zone was under pressure and could not make adjustments to the plan, but Li Zongren finally kept a hand. It's just that the troops have not yet been mobilized and assembled, and the changes in the situation on the battlefield have exceeded everyone's expectations. Before the 1st Division of the Luoqi Division, which was ordered to defend Yongcheng, arrived, the 13th Division of the Japanese army occupied Yongcheng. The 9th Division captured the hundred. The 18th Brigade of the 9th Division then occupied Nanpingji. Although the Nationalist Army counterattacked that night, they were all repulsed by the Japanese army.

At this time, some of the Japanese army's equipped cars, mules and horses, as well as controlled traffic arteries, were fully reflected at this time. The 13th Division's fast units consisted of a tank brigade, a squadron of light armored vehicles, two squadrons of vehicle infantry, and a squadron of engineers. Quickly advance to the area east of Wangge. Blew up the Longhai Road. The 3rd Division, which was transferred to Zhenjiang, repelled the first part of the Nationalist Army and occupied Hefei at the same time.

It can be said that at this time in Huaibei, the Japanese army has completely played its own rhythm. On the Lunan side, the Japanese army faced a relatively large number of national * troops, and the resistance of the national * army was extremely tenacious, and the progress was relatively slow.

On the Luxi side, the Japanese army advanced extremely rapidly, and the 16th Division retreated to the 75th Division after fierce fighting, and successively captured Yutai and Jinxiang. It quickly captured Yutai, Jinxiang,. The main force of the 14th Division crossed the Yellow River overnight. Repelled the 23rd Division and captured Caozhou.

In order to strengthen the attack force of the North China Front, the Japanese base camp was again transferred from the Kwantung Army into the 3rd and 13th Brigades to Xuzhou and assigned to the 2nd Army. The two mixed brigades had already arrived in Yanzhou at a time when the situation in Huaibei had changed drastically, and they were ready to go into battle at any time.

In short, the battle plan of the Japanese base camp to encircle and annihilate the main force of the national army near Xuzhou and occupy Xuzhou was basically completed at this time, and a situation of great encirclement had been formed in the campaign.

In view of the rapid deterioration of the situation on the battlefield and the prevention of the main force of the five or six hundred thousand national * army from being encircled and annihilated, Li Zongren began to order a retreat in batches. Due to the previous arrangement, although several large armies suffered some losses, they managed to withdraw from the encirclement of the Japanese army. Although the main force has been withdrawn, Xue Dong's troops in eastern Henan are still fighting fiercely with the Japanese army to cover the transfer of the main force, although there is still the Central Plains Field Army in the area further west, but it is related to the retreat of the main force of the Central Army, even if Jiang Li promised here, Chairman Jiang still can't believe it. After all, if you change your position, the Northwest Army will not let Chairman Chiang hold its lifeline. The two sides are on one front, and at the same time, they have not changed their fundamentally antagonistic relationship. In case if the Central Plains Field Corps released water on the way to the rear, the main force of the Japanese army would carry the retreating Central Army into it. Wuhan is too late to cry. I'm afraid that even Wuhan won't be able to defend it anymore.

The Japanese army successfully captured Xuzhou, which was a little easier than expected. After the occupation of Xuzhou, the Japanese base camp believed that the Battle of Xuzhou was basically over. In order to expand the results of the battle. The Japanese intensified their pursuit. Most of the Japanese troops achieved their stated operational objectives, but there were also inconsistencies in the pursuing troops. The main force of the pursuing Japanese 14th Division was due to the rapid advance. became a lone army. More than 10 divisions of Xue Yue's Yudong Corps surrounded the 14th Division in the Lanfeng area.

In this battle, the defense of the national army was still passable, but the serious lack of attack was once again unreservedly exposed. More than 10 divisions surrounded the Japanese army of 6,000 or 7,000 people, more than 10 times the strength of the force, and fought for several days, although they caused a large number of casualties to the Japanese army, they were never able to encircle and annihilate this Japanese army.

At this time, the Northwest Military Academy, the General Staff, compared the training and equipment of the Northwest Army and the Japanese army. After learning the lessons of the Nationalist Army, it was found that if the Japanese army defended one day and the Northwest Army was in an offensive position, the casualties of the Northwest Army would also be much higher than now.

Jiang called Jiang Li several times and ordered the Central Plains Field Corps to lead a force to support the operation in eastern Henan. However, it was not until the 16th Division and the mixed 13th Brigade captured Yucheng and attacked the periphery of Shangqiu at the same time, that Huang Jie's 8th Army first retreated to the outskirts of Shangqiu, and then retreated to the area around Liuhe, entering the jurisdiction of the Central Plains Field Corps. Although Huang Jie ordered the 187th Division to defend Zhuji Station and Shangqiu, it was effective from the top to the bottom. Huang Jie himself withdrew with the military headquarters. At this time, the fighting spirit of the national army was gradually fading, and a considerable part of the army had no intention of fighting the Japanese army again. On the night of the withdrawal of the 187th Division, the division also led the division back.

It was not until the 187th Division also left that Pang Bingxun's 43rd Army, which was subordinate to the Field Corps, arrived late in Shangqiu and took over the defense area of the 187th Division after completing the preliminary rectification. Blocked the flank of Xue Yue's legion. blocked the unprecedented crisis brought to Xue Yue's army because of Huang Jie's private withdrawal, and also enabled Xue Bing to continue to draw troops to encircle and annihilate the 14th Division. Although Jiang Li did only that, at the critical time, he finally made a statement, and the Northwest Army did not move, and once it acted, it happened to be blocked in the most dangerous war zone.

"This time it's thanks to the Northwest Army! Huang Jie rolled the calf, and when he went back, he would definitely sue the chairman of the committee. Hearing the battle situation on Shangqiu's side, Xue Yue was relieved at this time. However, in a sense, it is not only Pang Bingxun who led his troops to block the shortage of the Yudong Army that can make Xue Yue and even Chairman Jiang breathe a sigh of relief. It is Jiang Li's attitude, the current movement of the Central Plains Field Corps is enough to cover the gradual retreat of the main force of the national * army in the Xuzhou Theater.

"More than a dozen divisions surrounded the Japanese army of two multi-wings and fought for several days without success, and I really don't know what to say." Zhang Zizhong put the telegram aside, looked at Song Zheyuan, who was a little pale next to him, and said, "The Japanese army in the Xuzhou Theater has the tendency to take advantage of the situation to attack the west and plunder the Central Plains. ”

"I'm afraid it's not going to get better during this time, I have applied to Director Jiang, and you will temporarily take the position of commander of the 29th Army, and the 29th Army will be handed over to you later, don't fall into the reputation of the 29th Army, I hope I can see the moment when the 29th Army continues to grow in the future." Song Zheyuan waved his hand, since he withdrew to Henan, his health has deteriorated, and he has to make some arrangements at this time. After all, the 29th Army is the old Northwest Army. Song Zheyuan didn't want to be in the chaos of war like this. The old Northwest Army, after all, has to leave some footprints of its own.

"Rest assured, the military seat will inevitably preserve the inheritance of the 29th Army, and the number of the 29th Army will always survive in the Northwest Army sequence."

Zhang Zizhong's face was solemn and authentic, Qin Dechun has been transferred to the post of Luoyang Garrison Director, to talk about the post of army commander, Feng Zhi'an's qualifications are not weaker than him, but the new commander of the group army, Zhang Zhibang, is an old acquaintance he has known since the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War. In Song Zheyuan's heart, he became the best candidate for army commander, and at this time, the Northwest Army also gave a considerable degree of autonomy to several armies. However, Zhang Zizhong did not think that it was a good idea to let the 29th Army maintain a close relationship with the main force of the Northwest Army, since the 29th Army had experienced several heavy casualties in the previous Anti-Japanese War, more and more Northwest training troops were replenished into the 29th Army. As time went on, it was difficult for the 29th Army to remain as autonomous as before.

"Your tone is a little reluctant, but I understand what you mean, this north, sooner or later, will be the Northwest Army. But we can't get over it, we're too anxious. Let's take a look at Pang Bingxun and Sun Dianying's reactions first. Song Zheyuan's words broke Zhang Zizhong's thoughts.

"The people in the south, I had some contact before, but after you acted as the commander, you don't need to pay attention to them. Director Jiang, I have been thinking about it for a while. At the critical moment, the killing is decisive. Very human. It is also very set in terms of construction. If the old chief could have had this hand, he wouldn't have ended up in such a field now, it's a pity. Okay, everything that needs to be said has been said, let's fight the battle in the future, our old Northwest Army can't be embarrassed on the battlefield. ”

"Yes, Throne!" Zhang Zizhong said solemnly.

After explaining the military affairs, Song Zheyuan went to Xinxiang to recuperate. It's just that it didn't take long for this veteran of the battlefield in the prime of life to suffer from liver disease and suffer from cerebral thrombosis, and in the traces of dying, Song Zheyuan heard that Pang Bingxun fought hard in Shangqiu, blocking the crazy counterattack of the Japanese army, and at the same time, Xue Yue's Yudong Army completely annihilated the news of the two multi-wing Japanese troops in the encirclement. After that, his condition deteriorated, and Song Zheyuan died suddenly after being rescued.

The Battle of Xuzhou, on the whole, still develops in accordance with the general course of history, and the previous Battle of Taierzhuang was fought beautifully, but it still did not change the outcome of the fall of Xuzhou. In the final analysis, the war potential of the Japanese army was not comparable to that of the Republic of China at this time. Even if they fall once, twice, three times, the Japanese army can still come back. It's just that unlike history, in the Battle of Taierzhuang, several detachments of the Japanese army failed to withdraw, and the main force of the 14th Division was not rescued as in history, and survived under the encirclement and suppression of more than a dozen national * army divisions. In this large-scale battle, the Japanese army lost nearly 40,000 casualties, reaching an astonishing 50,000 people, which can be described as the heaviest loss since the beginning of the war. Moreover, the main force of the operation was completed by the Wuhan Central Army, which saved Jiang Li a considerable part of the trouble.

The most important thing is that under the threat of the Northwest Army, the Japanese army did not let go of its hands and feet to pursue the retreating national * army. Chairman Chiang did not need to dig the embankment of the Yellow River for a time to intercept the pursuit and fierce attack of hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops. Jiang Li's Northwest Army would not allow the other party to do so. (To be continued.) )