Chongqing, the headquarters of the Japanese army.

When Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, commander of the 5th Army of the Central China Front, walked out of the office with a solemn expression, he saw that the operational staff officers of the headquarters were packing up and preparing to evacuate.

The order to retreat from the headquarters of the Front was given five days earlier.

However, the retreat of nearly 200,000 troops was not an easy task, and all preparations were carried out for three days, and it was not until yesterday that the divisions and mixed brigades on the front began to retreat one by one, and now, most of the main divisions and regiments have retreated to the vicinity of Chongqing, and the corps headquarters should also be evacuated.

At this moment, Yoshio Shinozuka's heart is full of unwillingness and helplessness.

More than half a month ago, the 5th Army paid a great price to occupy Chongqing, the capital of China, but now, it is about to return Chongqing to the people of China in vain, although this is a strict order from the headquarters of the Front Army and General Okamura, but Yoshio Shinozuka still feels extremely regretful in his heart, and there is a trace of inexplicable anger.

If it were five years ago, when the Sino-Japanese War had just broken out, Yoshio Shinozuka would definitely choose to disobey his orders, even if the troops under his command had only one infantry wing, Yoshio Shinozuka would not hesitate to continue to advance, and before the complete destruction of the "China" country, Yoshio Shinozuka would never stop advancing.

The young Zhuang officers of the Japanese army have always had a tradition of disobedience.

Now, however, the strength of the Empire and the Imperial Army is no longer as good as fighting.

If Yoshio Shinozuka chooses to disobey his orders and leads his troops to continue to advance regardless of the situation, he may be able to destroy the [China" army in front of him, but the "China" expeditionary force that has returned from Burma and the "China" army that is massing in North and South China will also in turn surround the Japanese army that is fighting on the southwest front until it is completely annihilated.

The current armed forces of the Chinese countries are only a part of the armed forces of the Chinese countries, and their destruction will not affect the strength of the Chinese countries.

However, the Japanese army on the southwest front is almost all the main force of the Japanese army in Central China, and once the collective is broken, it means that the Japanese army's rule over Central China will completely collapse, and it will go down "The Japanese army's rule over North China, Nanyang and even Manchuria will also collapse, this is not alarmist, for the strategic vision of General Okamura, Shinozuka Yoshio is still quite trusted."

Yoshio Shinozuka did not contradict General Okamura's order: "It's just a pity that the battle of the southwest that was launched with a lot of manpower and material resources has just won the decisive victory, but he is about to withdraw his troops in a hurry, which is like just recording all the clothes on a huā Shinshao fù, and when he sees that he is about to enter the port, he is leaving, who can stand this?"

Just as Yoshio Shinozuka was full of resentment, Nobuo Otake, the chief of staff of the corps, hurriedly walked in.

"Your Excellency, Commander." Nobuo Otake suddenly retracted his feet and stood upright, bowing his head and saying in a deep voice, "The aviation scouts reported that the Zhina Army of the Brigade was found near Suining and Nanchong that the Zhina Army was rapidly advancing in the direction of Guang'an and Wanxian, and the whereabouts of the Zhina Army were very suspicious, I judged that they were trying to seize Guang'an and Wanxian and encircle the Imperial Army!" "What? Seize Guang'an and Wanxian and besiege the imperial army!? Yoshio Shinozuka's face changed slightly, and he immediately strode to the map that the combat staff officer had not had time to put away.

Nobuo Otake followed and walked to the map, and immediately pointed to the map and said: "Your Excellency Commander, please see, this is Guang'an and Wanxian, which are the only way for the imperial army to go out of Sichuan along the Yangtze River" If the Chinese army occupies this place before the imperial army, it will be able to block the imperial army's eastward road out of Jingmén, and force the imperial army to take the Sichuan-Yunnan Highway to go south to Guizhou. "Baga Yalu, this group of stupid pigs who don't know whether they are alive or dead, it's just that the imperial army doesn't chase them, they dare to turn around and besiege the imperial army!? The muscles on Yoshio Shinozuka's face twitched violently twice, and he immediately roared angrily, "Order, the 1st and B Divisions immediately go north to intercept the China Army, and the 106th Division immediately return to the aid of Guang'an and Wanxian!" ”

"Hello!" Nobuo Otake bowed his head suddenly, and immediately took the order away.

Suining "Yang Sen Temporary Command."

Li Yuntong, chief of staff, hurriedly walked into the war room and reported to Yang Sen: "General seat, there is an urgent telegram from Siye" Their aviation scouts found that the first army division was passing north, and it seemed that they wanted to intercept the main force of our group army" In addition, there was also a military division that was advancing lightly in the direction of Guang'an and Wanxian! "Huh? Yang Sen said awe-inspiringly, "Ge Laozi, xiǎo devil reacts tǐng fast?" Li Yun channel: "General seat, what should we do now?" Are the troops still moving forward? "Why don't you move forward?" Yang Sen glared at each other and shouted, "Order all departments, speed up and move forward, if anyone dares to drag the back of the Sichuan army, don't blame me Yang for not remembering the old feelings!" At this point, Yang Sen said again, "Order Fan Ha'er, the first division to throw away all the radial weights, advance lightly, and seize Wanxian before dawn in the future, and lock Jing Mén!" ”

Li Yuntong said hurriedly when he heard this: "General seat, what should we do with today's military division regiment if you go north?" ”

"That's none of our business." Yang Sen snorted, "Our flanks are protected by Xue Yue's Group Army. On the dirt road leading from Nanchong to Guang'an and Wanxian, more than 7,000 officers and soldiers of the 4th Division of the 2nd Group Army are marching forward in a hurry.

"Brothers, don't be afraid of hardship, don't be afraid of tiredness, speed up and advance, and when you arrive in Wanxian, the division commander invites you to eat and drink spicy food, everyone has a share of ............", Fan Shaozeng, the commander of the 4th Division, was out of breath because of his fatness, but he still did not forget to cheer for the Sichuan officers and soldiers of the 4th Division.

Fan Shaozeng, nicknamed "Fan Ha'er", can also be regarded as a veteran general of the Sichuan army.

In the early years, Fan Shaozeng was a close confidant of Yang Sen, and later rebelled against Yang Sen because of the tobacco and soil, and defected to Liu Xiang, and after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he led the 88th Army out of Sichuan to resist the Japanese, and also fought several battles with the Japanese in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Xuzhou, and later Liu Xiang died of illness, and the damage was slightly exhausted, Fan Shaozeng then transferred to Yang Sen's command and was appointed as the commander of the 4th Division.

Fan Shaozeng had joined the robe brother club in his early years, and he knew Li Shu's suffering, so he knew how to sympathize with the officers and soldiers, although he was a division commander, he did not sit in a car, did not ride a horse, and preferred to run and march with the officers and soldiers.

After running less than ten kilometers, Master Fan fell down tired.

The commander of the guard battalion, Fan Xiǎoha, had no choice but to find a sliding pole and let the eight young and strong guards take turns to carry it.

Division Commander Fan was lying on the slide bar panting, and Chief of Staff Gao followed out breathlessly and reported: "Division, the general seat orders our 4th Division to throw away all the radial weights, advance lightly, and seize Wanxian before dawn!" ”

"What are you talking about?" Master Fan's face changed dramatically, ""Seize Wanxian before the day after tomorrow?" Make no mistake? No wonder Master Fan was surprised, from here to Wanxian, there are still more than 600 miles of land, and it takes more than 600 miles to march more than 600 miles in two days, two nights and more than 40 hours, and let people live?

Chief of Staff Gao shook his head and said miserably! i, the general seat also said that you can't get to Wanxian County before dawn the day after tomorrow, and military law is engaged! "Ge Lao Tzu drops, Yang is not alive? Commander Fan sat up from the slide bar at the instigation of the commander, motioned for the two guards to put him down, and then said to the chief of staff of the high, "Order the troops, throw away all the radial weights, and move forward at full speed!" Then tell the brothers to run for Lao Tzu, withdraw the tuǐ Yazi and run to death, "even if you die, you will also die on the way to the march!" "Yes. The senior chief of staff snapped and straightened up, and took the order.

When the two guards were about to lift Commander Fan to continue the march, Commander Fan was furious and said, "Didn't you hear Lao Tzu's order just now? Let you throw away all the weight, and lift Lao Tzu to do what? Run, run for Lao Tzu! The two guards were stunned, and then immediately withdrew and rushed forward.

Division Commander Fan's order was quickly conveyed, "More than 7,000 officers and men of the 4th Division have accelerated their march.

After more than 40 hours of arduous marching, more than 500 miles of road was finally left behind, ......and the officers and soldiers of the division finally entered the territory of Wanxian County, and after entering Wanxian, the terrain began to rise and fall, and the road began to become rugged and difficult to walk.

On the rugged mountain road, a group of Sichuan soldiers were running forward panting.

In the previous rapid march of hundreds of miles, the spare straw sandals worn on the feet and carried with them had already worn out, except for the officers above the battalion level who wore leather boots, the rest of the officers and soldiers could only march barefoot, the hard ground and sharp stones had already cut the soles of the officers and men's feet to bloody blurred, and the rugged mountain roads were already bloodstained.

"Quick" brothers, and then speed up "Grit your teeth and support Lao Tzu!" The front is Wanxian, and it will be Wanxian soon! The captain and company commander shouted loudly to his company while running, his company had more than 100 people, and there were less than 60 people who could hold out until now, and all of them were like dirt and panting like cattle.

"Don't stop, don't stop, hold on, hold on no matter what, the master said, even if you die, you will die on the way to the march!" , The company commander of the Sichuan army was also panting, but he was still trying his best to encourage his soldiers, "Don't forget that we are the Sichuan army, we are the Sichuan army, don't embarrass the fathers and elders in Sichuan!" ”

"It's the Sichuan army, don't embarrass the "Chinese father!" A man in his fifties repeated the words of the company commander in a low voice, and before he finished speaking, he fell straight forward, and when he fell, the marching cauldron weighing dozens of catties on his back was so dazzling, even if it was a rapid march, the marching pot must not be thrown away!

"Old squad leader, get up, get up!" Two soldiers rushed forward and tried to pick up the old man.

The company commander of the Sichuan army stretched out his hand to probe the old man's snort, and then said coldly: "Leave him alone, he is dead!" "Let's go! The company commander of the Sichuan army laboriously untied the army pot from the old man's back and put it on his back, and then shouted at the two young men, "Run! Guangxi Bai Sè, Southwest Campaign Front Command.

Yue Weihan didn't sleep all night, so he woke up from a casual nap, and then róu róu's astringent and red eyes, and asked Mr. Xu, who also hadn't slept all night, next to him: "Old Xu, what time is it?" Mr. Xu raised his wrist and looked at his watch, and said, "Four past five minutes." "Four over five? Yue Weihan nodded, and said, "I don't know where Yang Sen's troops are now?" ”

"Boss, don't worry." Mr. Xu raised the dry tobacco pipe and chōu fiercely. , and then comforted Yue Weihan Dao, "The Red Fourth Front Army has also moved to Sichuan, and I also know a little about the terrain in eastern Sichuan, where the road conditions are very bad, and the heavy equipment of the Japanese army cannot go fast at all, plus the Sichuan army is familiar with the terrain, it is not a big problem to rush to Wanxian before the Japanese army." Yue Weihan was silent for a moment, and then said to Mr. Xu: "Order the aviation division, all fighters to take off in advance, delay the Japanese army's marching speed at all costs, and win time for Yang Sen's troops to seize Wanxian!" ", Yan'an, Wayaobao.

Máo and Mr. Zhu also didn't sleep all night.

The Southwest Campaign is the first offensive battle organized by the Chinese army since the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, and it is also the first strategic decisive battle launched since the CCP led the Anti-Japanese War.

Of course, the political courage of Chairman Chiang was by no means comparable to that of Chairman Chiang, who often overstepped the level and directly intervened in the specific tactical command of the front-line commanders, but he was good at delegating power and dared to delegate power, and he only paid attention to the latest progress of the campaign, but never pointed fingers at the front-line commanders.

"It's dawn." Mr. Zhu looked up at the whitened window, then suddenly blew out the oil lamp on the table, and then raised his head to the máo seat and said, "Old máo, do you think that Yang Sen's 2nd Army can rush to Wanxian before the Japanese army?" ”

The host did not answer, but silently took a cigarette out of the cigarette case and lit it for himself.

"If Yang Sen can't stop the ......", seeing that the main seat did not answer, Mr. Zhu said in a deep voice, "The Japanese troops on the north and south roads can calmly retract back to the Lianghu area, then the fighters of the Southwest Campaign will be completely lost. ”

It wasn't until a cigarette was finished that the máo [Lord] table dusted off the ashes from the beech, and said lightly, "Hey, wait and see." ”

After that, the máo [Lord] said to Mr. Zhu again: "Boss, you have also stayed up all night, and you should be tired, hurry back to the kiln dòng and do your best, otherwise, Comrade Keqing should find me to report the problem, hehe."

"You, you can really hold your breath." Mr. Zhu shook his head and smiled, and then turned around.

East Sichuan, Wanxian.

Wanxian County is located in the eastern part of the Sichuan Basin, bordering the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, and is known as the "Mén household in eastern Sichuan".

More than a month ago, after the Japanese army occupied Wanxian, under the premise that the army was not abundant, it still left a garrison brigade, which shows that Wanxian still has a lot of weight in the heart of the old devil Okamura Ningji.

As soon as the sky was brightened, the Hihei sentry outside the city found an anomaly.

A group of about 100 Chinese troops is rushing along the road to the county seat of Wanxian in the formation of Ling Luàn, and between the mountains and hills in the distance, there are more figures faintly in the thin morning thunderbolt, seeing this situation, the Japanese sentry did not hesitate to blow the whistle, and the sharp whistle suddenly broke the silence of the early morning.