Compared with the battle line from Fuyang to Huaibin, which had not yet begun, the Second Army, which was supplemented with a main division, officially launched a second offensive from the direction of Huoshan in Lu'an. The 6th Division of the Japanese Army, www.biquge.info also attacked in the direction of Yingshan in Hubei.

The war that had been calmed down for a period of time once again brought the Japanese army and the troops of the Fifth Theater together. But at this time, the New Fourth Army, which had been approved by the Nationalist Government, also officially announced its participation in the defense of Wuhan.

Of course, in order to ensure the success of the rear attack, the New Fourth Army's sortie was also very secretive. However, such news did not last long, and the Japanese army intercepted this telegram and began to make corresponding strategic adjustments.

The Sixth Division, which had arranged to cooperate with the Second Army in its offensive, had to turn back to the Huangmei line to ensure the stability of their rear. In the face of the sudden intervention of the New Fourth Army, the direction of the Japanese army also seemed very angry and helpless.

Angry, it was naturally the New Fourth Army that had been nesting in southern Anhui that suddenly stabbed them in the back at this time. And this knife is still pierced more ruthlessly. After the raid from Wangjiang, the forward troops of the New Fourth Army approached the rear of the Sixth Division.

Although the New Fourth Army dispatched only one division, for the Japanese army, they did not have many troops in the Taihu Lake and Huangmei areas. In the face of the sudden attack of the main force of the New Fourth Army, the defenders in various places also fell into a state of defeat and retreat.

Li Zongren, who had been paying attention to the form of the battlefield, also seemed relieved to see that the Japanese Sixth Division began to turn back. This also realized that He Zhengdao's battle plan had succeeded. The New Fourth Army really pinned down a main division of the Japanese army.

The remaining troops of the Fifth Theater only need to deal with the 13th and 18th Divisions. In this way, the pressure on the defense units in the theater will undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

But no one knew that the New Fourth Army had already deployed for this operation in the Anqing area. However, in the past, they had been operating in the local area in the form of guerrillas. And now, it is the appearance of the main forces in the open.

Even in order to attract the attention of the Japanese army, the New Fourth Army, which had been suppressed in southern Anhui, also transferred a main division and began to attack the defenders in the Ma'anshan area. For a time, the situation around southern Anhui changed dramatically in an instant.

The armed forces of the Central Army and the guerrillas formed by the New Fourth Army also began to operate frequently in the Suzhou-Anhui region. Many counties and towns controlled by the Japanese army have become dangerous, which is also a great headache for the direction of the Japanese army.

At this time, they really realized how much trouble this nail pierced in southern Anhui would bring them. Fortunately, Xi Junliu had also considered the situation of the New Fourth Army sending troops before, and immediately dispatched troops from all over the country to encircle and suppress the New Fourth Army.

In just a few days, many people discovered that the New Fourth Army, which had been developing in a low-key manner in southern Anhui, seemed to pose a major threat to the Japanese army this time. The entire Suzhou-Anhui region has also become a mess because of the New Fourth Army.

The Central Army, which had been focusing on Xinyang, gradually shifted its attention to the Suzhou-Anhui battlefield. It seems that not much attention was paid to the arrival of an additional garrison brigade sent by the Eighth Route Army in Huangchuan.

Xiao Jinguang and Luo Nonghuan, who were sitting in the rear, also saw Liu Shaoqi dressed as an ordinary soldier stationed in the barracks of the new 67th Army. This also means that the work of the Central China Bureau can be carried out immediately.

As members of the Military Party Committee of the New 67th Army, Xiao Jinguang and Luo Nonghuan are naturally no strangers to Liu Shaoqi. On the other hand, Liu Shaoqi is the same, he knows very well that if the work of the Central China Bureau wants to be carried out smoothly, the help of the New 67th Army is also indispensable.

After listening to Xiao Jinguang's report, Liu Shaoqi was also surprised and said: "Old Xiao, in such a short period of time, you have opened up so many base areas. And even more surprising that you guys are hiding so many troops in these places? ”

It has been learned that most of the counties in the Dabie Mountains have formed a guerrilla brigade, and in some places the main combat units have an independent battalion. Such an independent battalion is not an ordinary independent battalion.

To be precise, this is an independent battalion that can be expanded at any time. As long as there are enough recruits, these independent battalions can be expanded into independent regiments in the shortest possible time. Once the expansion is completed, the number of troops of the Eighth Route Army in Dabie Mountain will also increase dramatically.

Looking at Liu Shaoqi's surprise, Xiao Jinguang smiled and said, "Comrade Shaoqi, in fact, these are all arrangements made by Commander He. We fought with the Japanese army some time ago, and the casualty figures reported are also watery.

Most of those units that disappeared from the main forces were dispersed into the guerrilla brigades. These officers and men are the military backbone of our independent column. These units can be expanded at any time as long as there are new recruits.

To be precise, if we really fight with the Central Army, it should not be a problem for our independent battalions to cooperate with various local troops to deal with the main force of the Central Army. This plan to secretly cross Chen Cang was also planned by Commander He a long time ago.

It's just that we still need to be responsible for stopping the Japanese invasion, and the coordination and political propaganda work of the various base areas cannot be carried out smoothly. You are an expert in this area, which is why the commander specially asked the central government to invite you to sit in charge! ”

The sedan chair was carried by everyone, no matter what, Liu Shaoqi's status in the party is still very high. Even the political commissar Xiang of the New Fourth Army is also an old Red Army leader and party member, but his qualifications are still a little worse than Liu Shaoqi's.

In addition, Liu Shaoqi is also one of the standing committee members of the party. Such an identity, for Xiao Jinguang and Luo Nonghuan, the necessary respect still has to be done. This is also the reason why He Zhengdao will suggest that the central government invite him to sit in charge.

On the other hand, Liu Shaoqi, who heard these words, shook his head and said: "In such a short period of time, you have created such a situation, to be honest, I am surprised." Even if it was me, I couldn't do so much in such a short period of time.

This time, the central government proposed that I come over to form the Central China Bureau, and to be honest, I was also surprised. This is a nationally controlled area, and the united front work is still more complicated than that in the north. But your results still give me a little more confidence.

Most importantly, you have a long-term plan for the situation in Central China. If I come here now, I'm really afraid of disrupting your arrangement! By the way, I want to go to the front line tomorrow, so it should be fine, right? ”

'The commander should have sent you a telegram, right?' ’

'It's gone! On the way here, I also received an apology telegram from him. It's just that I don't think it's necessary at all. Everyone is doing revolutionary work, and there is no need to talk so much about courtesy.

You should be more familiar with the situation here than I am. So, I'd like to talk to Commander He first. When he came, the Central Committee also appointed Commander He as the deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Central China Bureau. Comrade Jinguang is also one of the members of the party committee.

In addition, Comrade Ye Ting and Comrade Xiang Ying of the New Fourth Army will both serve as members of the party committee of the Central China Bureau. Regarding the work of the Central China Bureau, we still need everyone to work together to do a good job in the future.

The New Fourth Army is still a little far away from us at the moment, and it is not easy for me to go there for the time being. The short-term work of the Central China Bureau will also be carried out around the Dabie Mountain base area. This is also our old Soviet district, and there is still some mass base. ’

Liu Shaoqi, who said these words, also knew that the central government sent him over, more because of his identity and qualifications. But if you want to really do a good job in the work of the Central China Bureau, He Zhengdao and Ye Ting, the two army commanders, need to fight for it.

In particular, He Zhengdao became an alternate member of the Central Committee at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Central Committee held not long ago, but I am afraid that it is a sure thing. This also means that in addition to holding important positions in the Eighth Route Army, He Zhengdao in the future will also have a lot of weight in the party.

What made Liu Shaoqi sigh the most was He Zhengdao's age. In his early twenties, he had such a status and prestige in the party and the army. This also means that He Zhengdao's future is only limitless.

It's just that as Liu Shaoqi said this, Xiao Jinguang said with a wry smile: "Comrade Shaoqi, there is a situation that you may not know much about. Dabie Mountain is our old Soviet area, but the mass work here is really not easy to do.

In the early years, after the Red Fourth Front Army left here, the Nationalist Government adopted a very cruel purge policy here. It can be said that many people were frightened by them. Previously, some fortress villages in the Soviet area even directly turned into white land.

This time, the guerrillas we sent to various places, as long as they say that we are the former Red Army, many of the people are like snakes and scorpions. They were frightened by the purge of the Central Army in the early years, which is why I said before that I was doing political propaganda. ”

Hearing this, Liu Shaoqi also frowned and said, "There is still this situation? ”

Luo Nonghuan, who was sitting on the side, also said in a timely manner: "Yes, Comrade Shaoqi!" I have been in charge of the mass propaganda and organization work here. In the Dabie Mountain area, the more old the Soviet area, the more afraid the people are of us.

To be precise, the Einsatzgruppen organized by the Central Army back then carried out a frenzied slaughter policy, which really frightened these people. If we hadn't fought well on the front line this time, I am afraid that it would have been difficult to form some militia units.

The reason why the commander sent fighters from the main force to join the guerrillas in various localities was that we did not have many armed forces in the local area, and it was extremely difficult to recruit new recruits. At present, most of our troops in various places are still mainly engaged in suppressing bandits.

It is also hoped that with such actions, we can restore the trust of some people. But this is the national control area, and the troops of the Central Army are also active as the military command agents, and we want to do something, but sometimes we hold back! ”

Luo Nonghuan, who said these words, also carefully handed some of the information from the previous investigation to Liu Shaoqi in the form of a document. He was well aware that sometimes words could be more convincing than words.

Looking at these statistics, Liu Shaoqi, who looked polite, couldn't help but say angrily: "These damn guys! ”

Being able to make Liu Shaoqi say such things is enough to show how bloody and cruel this investigation report is. Even if Liu Shaoqi had heard about the purge of the Soviet area by the Central Army's Einsatzgruppen, he didn't expect these Einsatzgruppen to be so brutal.

In dealing with those Red Army fortress villages, some of them even adopted a bloodbath policy of massacring entire villages. In Liu Shaoqi's view, this is no longer a simple political struggle, but a very cruel and bloody massacre! (To be continued.) )