With the situation in the northwest and north China, it seems that calm has returned again. The battle around Xuzhou is still ongoing. Even though the Japanese army had begun to march to Hubei, it was still pursuing the retreating Central Army troops.

The Tufeiyuan Division, which was almost encircled and annihilated by the Central Army, was blocked by the Eighth Route Army and the Shanxi Dispatch Army was unable to capture Jincheng, so it could only give up the idea of opening up this strategic supply line in the end.

In fact, after the Eighth Route Army invaded the Changzhi region and became involved in a war with the Shanxi Dispatch Army there. The Jin Sui army, which was originally in danger, also turned its gun and aimed at the little devil who planned to attack from behind.

Considering the heavy losses of the troops, even if Yan Xishan felt that he could not let the Eighth Route Army capture Changzhi, he could not do anything. If the Eighth Route Army is not involved, the strength of the Shanxi Dispatch Army alone is enough for them to be unable to bear it.

In view of this situation, the Dongzhen Hall of the 127th Division of the Eighth Route Army also transferred the main force into the Changzhi area. The 117th Division led by Xu Xiangqian and the 129th Division entered Xingtai launched a joint attack.

The joint action of the three main divisions of the Eighth Route Army also made the Shanxi Dispatch Army feel threatened. In desperation, Itakami Seishiro could only choose to stabilize the existing occupied area, and no longer ordered the troops to storm the Jincheng area defended by Fu Zuoyi.

Under these circumstances, the Tufeiyuan Division, which had already moved in the direction of Shanxi, began to turn its guns and attack the troops of the Central Army stationed in Zhengzhou. In the face of the strong attack of the Tufeiyuan Division, the Central Army guarding Zhengzhou was also a little anxious.

In order to ensure that Zhengzhou is not lost, and at the same time buy time for the Wuhan war. Originally, in He Zhengdao's view, history that should have changed was eventually repeated. Even the actual situation surprised He Zhengdao, who learned the news.

At the inaugural meeting of the new 67th Army, a message spread that shocked the Eighth Route Army. In order to strike at the blocking forces of the Central Army, the Japanese army finally blew up the embankment of the Yellow River under continuous bombardment.

Looking at the news sent back by the intelligence department operating in Henan, Mao Taizu and Mr. Zhu, who attended the establishment of the new 67th Army, also felt incredulous. They knew very well what it meant for the Yellow River to burst.

Is the news true? ’

'The breach of the levee has been confirmed! However, the specific cause of the embankment has not yet been ascertained. However, according to the information reported by our intelligence officers in Henan, there were indeed little devil bombers at the time of the levee break.

Recently, the 14th Division of the Japanese army has been fiercely stationing the Central Army troops there. Their bombers in North China would also cooperate with the troops in attacks from time to time. Now that the Yellow River has breached, it is said that the 14th Division has also suffered heavy losses. ’

He Zhengdao, who was also on the side, still couldn't calm down when he heard the news: "I finally understand now why the Central Army would withdraw their troops stationed in Kaifeng and other places before the Tufeiyuan Division attacked. ”

As soon as these words came out, Mr. Zhu said with a bright look in his eyes: "Xiao He, what do you mean?" ”

'Commander-in-Chief, I hope I'm too careful! However, from the telegram sent by the Central Army, even if we know the truth, we are afraid that we will not be able to tell it. At this time, if the people are allowed to know the truth, what will be the consequences? ’

Although there is no clear evidence to prove that the Yellow River burst is still a tragedy directed and staged by the Central Army in order to stop the Japanese army. But He Zhengdao felt that this matter was inseparable from the Central Army.

But the most important thing is that he now finally understands why the incident of the embankment burst at the mouth of the garden in his previous life has been kept secret. Now that I think about it, if the Eighth Route Army made the truth public at that time, it would be able to hit the Central Army.

But in the end, it will only be the little devils who will benefit. Replacing soldiers with water seems helpless, but it hurts thousands of ordinary people. Since then, the people in the Yellow Flood Area have also suffered a lot of disasters.

Listening to He Zhengdao's words with a hint of anger, Mao Taizu also understood the meaning of He Zhengdao's words. If the people who burst the embankment of the Yellow River knew that this was what the anti-war troops did, how sad and hateful they would be.

After half a ring, Mao Taizu said: "Our nation is really full of disasters and difficulties!" ”

He Zhengdao couldn't say anything about such an exclamation, but he still said: "Chairman, what we can do now is to do our best to rescue these refugees." The great flood will be followed by a great calamity, and this matter must be treated with caution.

Although we are able to do so now, we cannot save all the people in the disaster area. But I still hope that we can lend a helping hand and help more people in the disaster area. There are still many places in our base area where people can be resettled.

In addition, Mr. Xu's 117th Division must also be careful about the impact of the flooding of the Yellow River. The fire and water were ruthless, and the Central Army had long been prepared to withdraw the troops in the Yellow Flood Area. And our troops must also be withdrawn as soon as possible.

If conditions permit, let the 117th Division assist in the evacuation of the victims. In addition, I will contact Yan Xishan, hoping that the Jin Sui army can open an opening to let the victims enter our base area from Xinxiang and other places. In terms of food, we have to raise a batch. ”

When he said this, Mr. Zhu quickly said: "Xiao He's suggestion is very necessary!" It is believed that it will be impossible for the Central Army to plug the gap in a short period of time, and the lives and property of the people downstream will be threatened.

If this is really done by the Central Army, I am afraid that they will not be able to accept too many affected civilians in terms of disaster relief. Although our current conditions are not very good, we have stored a lot of grain in the past two years, and we should be able to help a group of people. ”

'Yes! Regarding disaster relief, the boss is in charge of the army, and I will instruct the logistics side to raise food, and also liaise with the Jin Sui army. Also, take this opportunity to let the 127th Division send a regiment of the main force to Xinxiang.

If Tufeiyuan's division suffered heavy losses, he ordered Dong Zhentang and Xu Xiangqian to do everything possible to encircle and suppress this Japanese army. When attacking the Japanese army, the troops went all out to camp the people in the disaster relief area. Do what we can, save as much as we can! ’

Because of this sudden incident, Mao Taizu and Mr. Zhu could only leave Yulin in advance. Regarding the establishment of the new 67th Army, the two also announced their appointments, and all subsequent matters were handled by He Zhengdao himself.

Seeing off the two men who had come and left in a hurry, He Zhengdao summoned the members of the party committee of the new 67 th Army and the responsible persons of the political commissars of the border areas to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the work of forming the troops.

Of course, it is also important to raise a batch of grain to be transported to the Hanseong area, which is relatively close to the victims. It will also be the front line of relief for the victims of the disaster, and through that there will be a steady stream of people who have fled.

As for the expansion of the troops, I and the chief of staff will be fully responsible for the rest of the matter. The political commissar and Director Luo are afraid that they will have to spare a little energy to organize food preparations and accept the work of the victims.

In this matter, Shengjun also stayed in Yulin at that time and was responsible for related work. If any of the victims received by the central government are assigned to us, they will be given priority to be resettled in Suiyuan and those places with reclamation conditions.

As for the expansion of the troops, I and Chief of Staff Luo will produce and select them from the garrison units in the base areas. The garrison units at and above the regimental level of the entire column will participate in the next large-scale competition in the army, and the outstanding ones will be added to the three infantry divisions.

At this time, it is just the season for our base areas to rush to harvest wheat, and the work of the governments of the border areas is to do a good job in collecting and storing grain. Not only wheat, but also coarse grains that can be eaten, how much can be harvested.

Tell the garrison troops that from now on, private purchase and sale of grain as a special material is prohibited, and it will be strictly restricted as a military management material. In these years, only when you have food in your hands can you not panic. ’

Listening to He Zhengdao's words, the person in charge of the political commissar of the border area said with a little surprise: "Commander He, we can be responsible for the work of collecting grain. But in terms of funding, we may have certain difficulties.

The wheat output in the Yulin area alone is much higher this year than last year. In addition to paying a certain amount of tax grain, the people may not be willing to sell the extra grain to us if they do not have the funds to buy it. ”

Although the government of the border region does not collect much tax, it naturally collects a certain amount of public grain for many fields that are distributed to the people. In the past two years, the garrison units have also done a lot of work, so that the people have also gained a lot of convenience in growing grain.

Among them, the water cellar operation launched by He Zhengdao has made many people convenient. The construction of some water conservancy projects has also increased the output of the people's originally barren land.

It's just that the common people are still a little reluctant to collect grain. In their view, if the government can't pay for grain, they prefer to sell it to grain dealers, which can make a lot of money.

At present, He Zhengdao is using grain as military supplies for special management, and he realizes that the merchants who are engaged in grain trading in Yulin will not be able to receive a grain from Yulin. And He Zhengdao actually has a certain amount of preparation for doing this.

First of all, food is indeed a life-saving thing in this era. In addition, after the Yellow River bursts, Henan will usher in a real natural disaster. Many Henan people will also flee for their lives in the next few years.

If we can store more food, we may be able to help more victims. If there is a population, I believe it will also play a big role in the livelihood of Yulin and Suiyuan.

'As for the funds, I will apply for a batch with the central government at that time. In terms of grain purchase prices, we should not let the people suffer too much. It is necessary to carry out more propaganda on the private sale of grain during the period of military control.

Merchants engaged in grain business in the base areas should encourage them to collect grain from other places. As for us, we are afraid that they will have no food to harvest in a short time. In the next few years, we will only have to produce and sell our own food! ’

With He Zhengdao's words, the responsible persons of the border areas also know that if the government cannot control the grain channels during the disaster year, it is very likely to cause great chaos in social order. In this case, it is also very necessary to manage the grain! (To be continued.) )