As the Minister of Military Affairs of the National Government, He Yingqin's trip to Shaanxi was also entrusted with a number of missions. After telegraph communication between the two sides, the Nationalist Government finally dispatched an observation group of nearly 100 people from Chongqing to Shaanxi in a low-key manner.

The so-called low-key means that there is not much publicity. As for what to do in Shaanxi this time, the members of the delegation can also be said to have their own tasks. However, the reporters who visited Shaanxi with the delegation also shouldered many tasks during this trip.

It's just that for these journalists, whether they can fulfill the mission entrusted to them by the national government is not easy. Basically, there is no need to think about it, although the Eighth Route Army will welcome them out of courtesy, it is impossible to let them mess around.

Compared with the historical Eighth Route Army, which originally only controlled northern Shaanxi, Xi'an and Hanzhong were heavily garrisoned by the Central Army during the Anti-Japanese War. And now, the whole of Shaanxi is under the control of the Eighth Route Army.

Even the vanguard of its forces has taken control of Hanzhong. As for Ankang and other places in Shaanxi, some of them are controlled by the central army. When the Shaanxi Defense Area was taken over before the Anti-Japanese War, the Eighth Route Army did not force the Central Army stationed here too much.

Ankang is also a strategic frontier to enter the land of Sichuan and Chongqing. In addition, it borders both Hebei and Henan, and it is naturally very important for the Central Army to hold here.

In the name of inspecting the front line, He Yingqin and his entourage arrived in Zhengzhou, which is currently being guarded by the elite of the Central Army. At this moment, the 14th Division of the Japanese Army, which was unable to get through with the Shanxi Dispatch Army, also launched an attack on the Zhengzhou front.

If it weren't for this time, the Central Army had gathered a large number of troops in Zhengzhou, but I was afraid that Zhengzhou would also be unsafe. In view of the low morale of the front-line troops, He Yingqin also issued a secret order to the commander of the troops stationed here.

Of course, this secret order is naturally secret. It's just that many people have seen that after sending away He Yingqin, who only stayed in Zhengzhou for a short time, the Central Army's attack on the Japanese army does not seem to have been improved, but has begun to shrink its forces.

After He Yingqin and his entourage entered Shaanxi through Tongguan, which was heavily guarded by the Eighth Route Army. The troops guarding them were also rejected by the Eighth Route Army. For this point, it is naturally agreed by both parties before.

Looking at Mr. Zhu, who came to greet him, He Yingqin, who was also a general, said with a smile: "Brother Yujie, I really didn't expect that I would have to trouble you to come over in person." It seems that this time, I have caused you a lot of trouble! ”

'Minister He is so polite! You are the first general to visit after the cooperation between our two armies! Just send a general to greet us, but I'm afraid that if it gets out, someone will say that we are rude. It's just that our conditions are poor, and I ask Minister He not to mind! ’

'No problem! This time, we have indeed caused you trouble. Speaking of which, I was here once a little over a year ago. When I came back a year later, I found that there had been quite a big change here, and it seems that your army has made great achievements in governing the place! ’

More than a year ago, in order to welcome Lao Jiang, who was detained due to the Xi'an Incident, He Yingqin also led his troops outside the Lintong Pass. After negotiating with Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, he also entered Tongguan, but he didn't stay long.

In the face of He Yingqin's slightly meaningful words, Mr. Zhu said very freely: "Local affairs, it is the local people who are responsible." I'm just a martial artist, and I don't know much about things in this place, except for knowing how to lead troops to fight.

At present, in this world, not to mention our Tongguan place, the whole country is undergoing great changes, and it is normal for our small city to change a little. What's more, this section of the railway is still quite useful to us here. ”

As an important place for soldiers in Shaanxi, Tongguan also has a railway station. Although this railway, a long section of the railway has been blown up. But this one in Xi'an, the Eighth Route Army still protected it.

Although the railway has not yet been built into Lanzhou, Gansu. The railway from Tongguan to Baoji still played an indispensable role in the transportation of nearby surrounding cities.

Most of the materials entering Shaanxi will be transported to Tongguan and then transported to Xi'an and other cities. And a lot of materials in Shaanxi will also be transported from Tongguan to other places.

As a result, this small railway, which belongs to the control of the Eighth Route Army, is currently running very prosperously. Many railway workers recruited from Shanxi still found jobs on this small railway and are still doing the work of railway workers.

In order not to let this delegation of the Central Army, see too many things. This time, Mr. Zhu personally came to Tongguan to greet him, and he also took a train. In this way, a certain degree of confidentiality can be achieved without having to travel hard.

If you walk, it will take about a day to get from Tongguan to Xi'an. If you take the train, you can get there in a few hours. For such an arrangement, He Yingqin naturally didn't say anything.

Sitting on the train, He Yingqin also sighed and said: "It seems that you have protected this railway very well!" ”

We can't control it, we can only blow it up, and we can't let the little devils use our railroad to transport troops and things." Now this section of the railway, we actually put a lot of effort into protecting, and the little devils will occasionally send the air force to bomb it.

It was also taking into account the little devil's plane, and we had no anti-aircraft weapons, so we could only drive in the evening. In this way, the safety of the train can also be ensured. Usually the plane of the little devil appears, and our railway stops running. ’

Just when Mr. Zhu briefly introduced the current Eighth Route Army to the Tongguan to Baoji section of the Longhai Railway, briefly made some explanations. He Yingqin suddenly asked a question that the Nationalist Government was also very concerned about.

'Brother Yujie, I heard that you are currently building a railway, do you plan to repair this railway all the way to Lanzhou? ’

In response to such an inquiry, Mr. Zhu smiled and said: "It seems that Minister He is very concerned about our military and political construction in Shaanxi!" This railway, which itself ends in Lanzhou, is currently in this idea.

We had already found a lot of railroad tracks from other places and wanted to try to continue building the railway. It's just that Minister He should know that the section of this railway from Baoji to Tianshui is difficult for foreign devil experts to repair.

Not to mention the road conditions are very poor, the most important thing is to build bridges or dig caves, and our technical level is not enough. In addition, in terms of funding, we have prepared a batch, but if we want to build this railway, I am afraid that it will be a bottomless pit.

At present, we have selected a group of people to carry out exploration, hoping to choose a new line that is relatively easy to repair. If the results of the exploration are not optimistic, perhaps we will have to give up the railway that has not yet been built.

If we can build this railway, it will still help us. In fact, if we can build the railway from Tongguan to Lanzhou, it will be beneficial to us. It's just that there are financial and technical difficulties! ”

Such a thing as building railways, although it is not very new in the Republic of China. But for the Eighth Route Army, which cries poor all day long, it is undoubtedly a big project. After all, if you want to build a railway, you need to spend a lot of money.

But at present, the Tianshui area of Gansu is also controlled by the Eighth Route Army. If the railway transportation line from Xi'an to Tianshui can be opened, it is still very important for the Eighth Route Army.

However, it is naturally impossible to say that there is no benefit to the Central Army at all. At least if the Central Army and Gansu transport some supplies, it will be much more convenient, and there is no need to transport everything by land.

Seeing that Mr. Zhu did not deny the matter of repairing the railway, He Yingqin thought about it, and it was actually normal. It is almost impossible to hide such a big thing from the Central Army. Even in the Central Army, there are still many people who hope that the Eighth Route Army will repair it.

At least in the eyes of some, if the Eighth Route Army had spent money on building railroads, they would have less money to invest in the expansion of their troops. After all, if you want to build a section of railroad, the amount of money you need to spend is not small!

Even now, the Eighth Route Army has dismantled a lot of entire railroad tracks from other places and transported them to Shaanxi. However, the Nationalist Government also knows that the section of the railway from Baoji to Tianshui is very difficult to build due to geographical restrictions.

In this way, the amount of money needed to build this section is naturally more than in other places!

'Yes! If this railway can be built, it will still help both of us. It's just that if this railway is built in the future, if we want to transport something, I hope your army can provide more help! ’

As long as it is conducive to the war of resistance, we are duty-bound! ’

In fact, the Nationalist Government also thought of sending people to take over the railway. But for the Eighth Route Army, such a thing will naturally not be agreed. At present, the railway is in the area controlled by the Eighth Route Army, so what is the matter with letting the Nationalist Government send someone to manage it?

As for the construction of the railway in the future, if the Central Army wants to send troops to Gansu, it also needs to obtain the consent of the Eighth Route Army. At least the current Gansu, for the Eighth Route Army, is also only close to attacking it.

The areas bordering Gansu and Sichuan basically belonged to the base areas of the Eighth Route Army. The central army and the local army stationed in Gansu also did not dare to easily clash with the Eighth Route Army, but devoted themselves to defense.

As for the Ma Jiajun in Ningxia and the Ma Jiajun in Qinghai, even if they have the power to infiltrate Gansu. But in fact, the overall description of Gansu today is very unfavorable to the Central Army, and their right to speak is also the smallest.

In addition to the two horses, the Eighth Route Army already controlled nearly half of the Gansu region. It's just that the Central Army doesn't attach much importance to a barren place like Gansu, but hopes to retain their right to speak.

If there is a change in the description in the future, the remaining areas that are not controlled by the Eighth Route Army will become a place where the two horses and the Eighth Route Army will compete with each other. In this way, it is inevitable that the Eighth Route Army will fight with the two horses.

Regarding this calculation, the Eighth Route Army also knew about it. It's just that now, the Eighth Route Army doesn't want to stiffen the relationship. As long as the two horses and the Central Army stationed in Gansu do not provoke, the Eighth Route Army will also defend its own territory and bury its head in development.

After all, after the start of the all-out war of resistance, anything that started a civil war would be condemned by the whole people. The Eighth Route Army knew this, but why didn't the two horses know it? (To be continued.) )