It is inevitably a relatively cumbersome thing for a large army to go on an expedition, and for the army in the Republic of China era, many times the march is carried out on two legs. But even so, sometimes it is a very dangerous thing to march in large groups during the day.

As the reconnaissance brigade became the vanguard of the new 67th Army, it left Yulin one after another as a regiment. The three newly reorganized infantry divisions and the artillery regiment directly under the corps also set off one after another to the garrison area of the new 67 th Army.

As the commander of the army, He Zhengdao set off with the artillery regiment. This time, the artillery regiment carried 16 75-caliber cavalry field guns that were easy to transport, and the rest of the artillery was large-caliber mortars.

As for the artillery carried by the infantry division, most of them were mortars and 92 infantry guns. The rest of the artillery that was not very convenient to transport, He Zhengdao also did not let the artillery regiment carry it. It's just that in the artillery regiment, a lot of elite artillerymen were still selected to accompany them.

These elite artillery, which temporarily served as infantry, were more used by He Zhengdao as an artillery reserve force, and when it was possible to capture Japanese artillery on the battlefield, he could use these extra artillery to expand the scale of the artillery regiment as soon as possible.

If the captured heavy artillery was pulled to the front line, He Zhengdao felt that the time spent on the march alone would only be afraid that by the time they arrived at the garrison, the battle would have already begun. For this reason, the equipment carried is conducive to transportation.

The logistics baggage troops also arranged some cars to help transport supplies. It's just that these car convoys returned after arriving at the border defense area between the Eighth Route Army and the Central Army. The supplies transported by car will also be transported to the front line by horse-drawn carriages.

Overall, this batch of self-prepared materials is more of the materials that He Zhengdao used as a reserve. Even at this time, the Central Army had already begun to prepare supplies for the new 67th Army, but those supplies could not last long.

The follow-up Central Army will also successively allocate materials to the new 67th Army, but when exactly will it be delivered, and whether it can be delivered according to it, He Zhengdao also feels uncertain. For this reason, in his opinion, there is nothing wrong with preparing more supplies.

Even if this batch of materials is not needed for the time being, He Zhengdao will transport all these materials prepared by himself to the guerrilla base areas that have been established in the Dabie Mountain area one after another. With these supplies, the guerrillas could also be rapidly expanded.

When confirming the departure time and sequence, He Zhengdao also called a meeting of the three main division commanders and said: "According to the information we have so far, the attack group composed of the Japanese Second Army has begun to attack the Lu'an and Huoshan areas where the Fifth Theater is stationed.

In order to ensure that our main force can rush to the Xinyang area as soon as possible, I decided to set off with divisions about half a day apart on this troop march. The first division is in front, and the third division is behind.

I led the 1st Division to set off first, the Chief of Staff was responsible for uniting with the 2nd Division in the center, and the Political Commissar and Director Luo were in the rear of the 3rd Division and the baggage troops. Given the current uncertainty of the situation on the front line, our march must be cautious.

Before the departure of the main force, the advance team and the reconnaissance brigade had already taken the lead. Therefore, all our divisions must be able to arrive at the battlefield and be ready for battle. In this battle, everyone is ready to fight a tough battle. ”

'Yes, Commander! ’

After waiting for the three main division commanders to reply, He Zhengdao continued: "The Japanese army that will fight against us this time is the 13th and 16th divisions of the Japanese army that committed heinous crimes in Nanjing, which are also the ace divisions of the Japanese army.

Some time ago, we have completely annihilated a Japanese 12th Division, and our next task is to fight these two ace divisions again. This battle was fought in the national control area, and our advantages were relatively small.

But no matter what, since these two little devil divisions let us run into each other, we can't let them run anymore anyway. Even if we pay some more price, we have to avenge the souls who were slaughtered by them in Nanjing City! ”

'Yes! ’

Although He Zhengdao knew that the little devils along the way were difficult to bite, since he wanted to represent the Eighth Route Army, He Zhengdao had to fight some beautiful battles. It's not difficult, the Central Army will still think that their good news is watery!

Fighting a tough battle also means that there will be a lot of casualties and costs. But no matter what, it is rare to have a chance to bump into these two divisions, and He Zhengdao will gnaw off a piece of fat from these two divisions no matter what.

After everything was ready, the 1st Infantry Division of the New 67th Army set out from Yulin that night. The next morning, the Second Division will set off under the leadership of Luo Ruiqing. The 3rd Division, on the other hand, will set off in the evening of the next day.

If you want to march all the way from Yulin to the Dabie Mountain area, this road will naturally not be too easy. Fortunately, the advance team and reconnaissance brigade were dispatched before, and it was relatively safe and faster for the large troops to take those routes, and He Zhengdao still knew it.

At this moment, Li Zongren, who was organizing defensive operations in Zhengzhou, looked at the telegram sent by the Eighth Route Army, informing him that the new 67th Army had begun to set off. I also feel that I hope that the new 67th Army can rush to the Wuhan battlefield in advance.

Facing the commanders of the subordinate army, Li Zongren also said in a timely manner: "Regarding the 67th Army of the Eighth Route Army, since you participated in the battle to defend Wuhan, I believe that several of you already know about it.

I don't care what your relationship with the Eighth Route Army was before, I will treat everyone equally in this defensive operation. This time, the leading general sent by the Eighth Route Army was He Zhengdao, who annihilated the 12th Division of the Japanese Army some time ago.

For this youngest military general in the Eighth Route Army, who is also a newly promoted national general of the Nationalist Government, I also hope that you will not be too easy on the other side. If you are so young, you must have something outstanding.

According to the information I have received, the strength of the newly reorganized 67th Army is about 50,000. With three infantry divisions and an independent brigade and an artillery regiment directly under it, the firepower of our troops is about the same.

At present, the Japanese army has launched an attack on our defense area, and I also hope that you can show a little bit of military blood. At least I don't want to see them lose the perimeter of Wuhan before they reach the battlefield. ”

Hearing Li Zongren say this, Song Xilian, the commander of the 71st Army, which also belongs to the command of the Fifth Theater, also said in a timely manner: "Sir, this time the Eighth Route Army really sent this He Zhengdao?" ”

'Yes, according to the telegrams received earlier, the Sixty-seventh Army has already departed. The first to rush to the battlefield should be an infantry division led by this Commander He. The remaining two divisions will arrive one after another. ’

As an old acquaintance of He Zhengdao, Xu Youchang, the commander of the 51st Army, said with a little surprise: "Didn't they act together?" ”

'There are so many troops in one army, and the goal is too big if you march together. As for the Eighth Route Army's dispatch of troops to the war, it is currently only known to people at the level of generals of the participating troops. The longer this matter is kept secret, the better.

The shadow of the tree, the name of the person, since the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, there have been two Japanese divisions and regiments that have been annihilated by him. If the Japanese knew that the troops they were bent on destroying had arrived, I was afraid that they would also adjust some combat arrangements and advance more cautiously.

Judging from the current offensive posture of the Japanese army, the defense area for which our Fifth Theater is responsible will also become the key area for the Japanese army's offensive. In short, we need to be prepared for hard battles and tough battles, the second army of the little devils is very strong! ’

After saying such a thing, Sun Lianzhong, another commander of the 42nd Army who belonged to the Fifth War Zone, also said with some self-deprecation: "It seems that this time, our Fifth War Zone is really full of heroes!" ”

The reason why this is a bit self-deprecating is actually very simple. Except for the 71st Army, of which Song Xilian served as the commander, it was regarded as a descendant of the Central Army, and most of the other troops belonging to the Fifth Theater were from the Northeast Army and the Northwest Army.

Now that there is an additional 67th Division of the Eighth Route Army, it is no wonder that Sun Lianzhong will say that there are many heroes. In the final analysis, the 42nd Army similar to him and Xu Youchang's 51st Army have actually fought several hard battles.

Compared with the current elite of the 71st Army, most of the troops of the Northwest Army and the Northeast Army have suffered heavy casualties. Even after the subsequent replenishment of soldiers, how can the newly expanded troops compare with the previously well-trained veterans?

can really say that for the arrival of the 67th Army of the Eighth Route Army, I am afraid that Sun Lianzhong and Xu Youchang are the happiest. For them, the arrival of this army under the command of He Zhengdao means that they have a real friendly force.

If they really want to choose a partner, it is estimated that they are more willing to believe in the Eighth Route Army. It's just that Sun Lianzhong and Xu Youchang both know that they can only cooperate with the Eighth Route Army, but they can't join for a short time.

The reason is that the Eighth Route Army is only afraid that it will not be able to annex them. The most important thing is to feed their troops, which is not a small burden for the Eighth Route Army. What's more, now in the two armies, the Central Army is also very infiltrated.

Not long after Xu Youchang returned to the county seat where he was stationed after attending the combat meeting, a personal guard said in a timely manner: "Commander, someone over there sent you a letter, it's General He's handwritten letter!" ”

As soon as he heard this, Xu Youchang's heart tightened and said with concern: "Apart from you, is anyone else knowing?" ”

'Report to the commander, no one can say anything about this matter as you commanded. I was also very careful when I was out to contact me. I heard from the other party that the letter was written by General He himself, and there were not many people who knew about it. ’

'Okay, I got it!' I'll call you again when there's something! ’

Until now, Zhang Xueliang, who was detained by Lao Jiang, has still not been released. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the reorganized units of the Northeast Army were either disabled or annexed by the Central Army. Nowadays, there are not many complete Northeast Army troops.

But for Xu Youchang, establishing a good personal relationship with He Zhengdao is also a thing that Xu Youchang feels is very necessary. At least judging from the current situation, the Eighth Route Army has become a force to be reckoned with in the anti-Japanese war forces.

Especially this year, the Eighth Route Army regained Suiyuan, and even advanced the offensive front to Chahar. Such a situation makes many officers and men of the Northeast Army who are interested in the Eighth Route Army feel that they may really have a chance to fight back to the Northeast in the future! (To be continued.) )