Although he expected in advance that Wuhan would still not be able to hold on, He Zhengdao still underestimated the retreat speed of the Central Army. www.biquge.info It was not without reason that the retreat of the Central Army was not without reason, because Guangzhou had fallen two days earlier.

As soon as Guangzhou is lost, the Guangdong-Hanzhou railway will be cut off, and Wuhan will be even less worthy of heavy defense. In the face of this unfavorable situation, it seems wise for Lao Chiang to learn the lessons of the defense of Nanjing, not to be trapped in a lonely city, and to decide to abandon Wuhan.

At least Chen Cheng and the troops of the Fifth War Zone bought a lot of time for the evacuation of Wuhan. Even many people living in Wuhan were relocated to Chongqing and Sichuan by the Nationalist government before the withdrawal of the Central Army.

It can be said that by the time the Central Army leaves Wuhan, the whole of Wuhan will only be an empty city. This was also a headache for the Japanese army that occupied Wuhan at that time.

What is the use of an empty city without people, even if it is occupied? The Japanese did not seem to have any benefit other than the capture of some territory. At such a great cost, the Japanese army was still defeated even though it was victorious!

Perhaps knowing this situation, it is inevitable that it has happened. The Japanese Second Army, which originally attacked Macheng, finally began to divide its forces. The 13th Division, which had fought with the Eighth Route Army before, went straight to Xinyang.

In the face of such an unfavorable situation, the 77th Army, which cooperated with the new 67th Army to defend Xinyang, also seemed a little flustered. Even if Feng Zhi'an scolded his mother when he received the telegram, he also ordered the people in the command to keep this secret.

But this kind of thing, after all, can't be kept secret for long. It was only when Feng Zhi'an sent a telegram to He Zhengdao, asking what to do next. He Zhengdao gave Feng Zhi'an a choice that made him a little entangled.

At this time, we will not be able to evacuate safely, and the 3rd Division, which will attack at that time, will definitely pursue and kill us. In order to preserve its strength, the only way to do it was to find a way to inflict heavy damage on the 3rd Division and begin to withdraw its troops from the city.

Before receiving the telegram instructions from the Nationalist Government, retreating without permission would cause serious consequences, and I was afraid that Lao Chiang would not spare us. If it causes heavy casualties among the people, then we will not be able to atone for their sins.

In this case, the only way to keep this secret is to order the front-line troops to resolutely counterattack the invading Japanese army. Began to evacuate the people, inform the Japanese army of the imminent attack of the city, let the people start to evacuate, and find a way to stay away from the fighting.

If they retreat now, the people will not have time to evacuate. When the time comes, something like Nanjing will really happen. For our two armies, the situation will be even more unfavorable. At worst, we can still fight guerrillas here. ’

Faced with such a reply, Feng Zhi'an cursed Li Zongren in his heart and did not notify him to evacuate from the front line in time. But he knew in his heart that perhaps by the time he gave this task, the end should have been doomed.

And the situation was as expected by the righteous path, after the 3rd Division launched the attack, it found that it was really difficult to break through the blocking position of the new 67th Army. The troops responsible for the attack suffered very heavy casualties.

On the other hand, the positions of the 77th Army, although the troops also suffered casualties. But judging from the effect of their offensive, the 77th Army seems to be better at fighting. This discovery allowed Fujita to receive a telegram from the Second Army and finally made a choice.

'Pass my order to launch a general attack on Xuji's defenders tonight. The 5th Infantry Brigade, the 2nd Heavy Artillery Wing, and the 3rd Cavalry Regiment were sent over. I hope that in the evening, in the morning, our main force will be able to successfully capture Xuji.

Once the troops made progress, the 25th and 26th Cavalry Wings launched an attack on the 77th Army and the new 67th Army from the left and right flanks. Strive to take Gushi City in the shortest possible time and serve as the forward position of my Third Division. ’

The chief of staff of the division standing beside him also said in a timely manner: "General, according to the information we have obtained, the 77th Army should have concealed the fact that Macheng was captured by our army. Their troops, should not have known this news.

Before attacking in the evening, spread the news appropriately, believing that it would break their fighting spirit. If possible, it could cause chaos in their rear. That way, our attack will be a little bit smoother. ”

Listening to the suggestion of the chief of staff of the division, Fujita Jin thought for a while and said: "This news, don't spread it in Xinyang for the time being, you just need to publicize this news among those resistance forces to break their fighting spirit."

If this news spreads, I fear that the people of Shina who are now staying in the city will be frightened and go into hiding. In this way, we will not gain much from occupying these counties in the future.

According to the telegram coming from the military headquarters at present, the Chinese army intends to publicize what we are doing in Nanjing. The people here are very scared of us. If the city of Wuhan is big, I can't see how many people there are now! ”

In Fujita's view, the people of the occupied areas are also a kind of spoils of war. If there are people, it will bring more benefits to the Japanese army. If they had to rely on the troops to do everything, they simply didn't have that many troops.

As long as there are civilians in the occupied territories, they can find people who will work for them and generate profits for them. In this way, they can also compensate for the losses they have waged through this occupation and exploitation.

If the people of these places are allowed to flee, they will not get the goods that the people have. At that time, even if you want to recruit some laborers, it will become very difficult. For this reason, it is also Fujita's plan to prevent the people from escaping.

After listening to Fujita's words, the chief of staff of the division also felt that it made sense. Soon the plan was revised, so that those bribed spies began to spread the news of the fall of Macheng and their siege and annihilation in the 77th Army.

Upon learning of this situation, Feng Zhi'an directly scolded his mother and said, "Who leaked this information?" ”

The adjutant who reported this intelligence also said with a bitter face: "The news did not spread from our military headquarters, but from the front-line troops. There are a few officers who should have been bribed by the little devils.

We caught a few of them, and a few of them escaped after the news was leaked. At present, the troops blocking the front line are already somewhat unstable. If we continue to fight, I'm afraid we won't be able to resist the little devil for too long! ”

'If you can't resist it, you must also stop it!' Now the little devils have just captured Macheng, and they haven't entered the city yet! It's going to take a while for them to get here. What's more, the new 67th Army also deployed a lot of troops in the back.

It is not easy for the little devils to copy our back road. Tell the troops on the front line, and they all cheer me up. When it was time to retreat, I would naturally give the order to evacuate, and whoever dared to retreat without permission Lao Tzu killed him.

Pull those guys who were bought by the little devils to the front line to set the record straight. Tell our officers and soldiers on the front line that this is a conspiracy of little devils who want to shake our determination. Hold out for a few more days and we'll be able to evacuate safely. ’

Even if he was very anxious in his heart, Feng Zhi'an also knew that if the morale of the army was unstable, the 77th Army was likely to be defeated. Once this happens, the 77th Army will also suffer a catastrophe!

Even after issuing these combat orders, Feng Zhi'an called Qiu Jingshan and said, "Jingshan, now I need you to lead the military training regiment and station the troops on the front line in the name of the supervision regiment to supervise the defensive operations of the troops.

Whoever dares to retreat without permission, I will give you the right to cut first and then play. If the front line really can't withstand it, I also hope that you will lead those withdrawn troops to find a place on the front line to temporarily avoid guerrilla warfare, and try to preserve the blood and bones of our 77th Army. ”

When he said this, he undoubtedly prepared for the worst. Or in Feng Zhi'an's view, most of today's military training regiments are officers and soldiers who are dedicated to the Eighth Route Army. These officers and soldiers went to the front line to supervise the war, which can be regarded as taking over the troops.

Once the war turns sharply, these withdrawn troops will have personnel from the military training regiment in charge of commanding and guiding, and I believe that the hope of survival will also increase a little. At least Feng Zhi'an knew that there were many guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army operating in Xinyang.

With the protection of these local snakes, I believe that those withdrawn troops will have a little more hope of survival. If there is no protection from the guerrillas, even if they retreat to the rear, it is estimated that they will not be able to run far, and they may be surrounded by the Japanese army!

Qiu Jingshan, who heard this order, also understood the unspoken meaning of Feng Zhi'an's words, and immediately said, "Commander, don't be so pessimistic, right?" Now that we're doing a good job, the little devil shouldn't be able to bargain too much. ”

It's not called pessimism, it's called worst-case scenario. No matter how the situation changes next, I hope that the 77th Army can preserve more combat effectiveness. As for me, the military commander, I actually didn't do much fun.

Since Li Zongren and they are unkind this time, then don't blame me for being unjust. This time, not only our 77th Army, but also your new 67th Army will also be fighting here. You're better at this kind of thing than we are.

Now we are in the same boat, and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my old men safe. In contrast, you have guerrillas and bases, and my troops follow you, at least you will have a bite to eat.

Even if there is a chance to withdraw to the rear, our 77th Army is afraid that it will be less than one in ten. Without troops, what is I, the army commander, in the eyes of Lao Jiang? I just hope that you will be kind to these men of mine. ’

Making such a decision is undoubtedly difficult for Feng Zhi'an. But he knew that this was the time when he had to make a choice. led the 77th Army to retreat to the rear, and he asked himself that he was afraid that he would not be able to do it.

The reason is that he did not receive the order to withdraw from the Fifth Theater of Operations, and the consequence of his private retreat was to be dealt with by military law. If he waited until the Japanese broke through their blocking positions and then withdrew, how many troops would he be able to bring to the rear safely?

Under such circumstances, handing over all those defeated troops to the Eighth Route Army to take care of and command them is not a way to survive. At least Feng Zhi'an knew that it was not easy for the little devil to clean up He Zhengdao.

With the care of these guerrillas and the Eighth Route Army, I believe that his scattered troops will also be properly arranged. Even if those troops may be annexed by the Eighth Route Army in the end, it would be better than taking them to be hunted down by the little devils! (To be continued.) )