Thirty kilometers west of Xuzhou, Xiao County.

Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi led the Fifth Theater Command and the Zhili garrison to withdraw here overnight, although this was a complete retreat, but the personnel of the Fifth Theater Command also needed to rest and set up a radio station to contact the troops, so they stopped.

The Fifth War Zone was completely defeated, and the people of the entire Xiao County fled in despair, and the vast majority of the people fled with their families with their old and young, and many people fled directly to the south into northern Anhui, and some fled west into Henan.

Therefore, the Fifth Theater Commander's Department easily found a courtyard in the city where people went to empty buildings, and Li Zongren's temporary headquarters was located here.

In the courtyard, Li Zongren was sitting on the ammunition box, smoking a cigarette and frowning in contemplation, suddenly, a rush of footsteps sounded from behind him, and Chief of Staff Xu Zuyi walked quickly in front of Li Zongren with a telegram in his hand, and stood up and saluted: "The general seat, the commission seat is calling." ”

"Huh?" Li Zongren stretched out his hand to take the telegram, and after reading it in a hurry, he fell into deep thought.

Xu Zuyi saw that Li Zongren was silent for a long time, so he opened his mouth and asked, "General seat, what should I do?" Is it necessary to change the original retreat route of our army? ”

Li Zongren pondered for a long time, and through this telegram, Chairman Chiang's intention was already clearly revealed: If he did what he said, the retreating troops of the Fifth Theater were not allowed to withdraw from northern Anhui, then the Tiger Ben Army alone would absolutely not be able to block the northern and southern attacks of the two major strategic front armies of the Chinese Army.

After a fierce ideological struggle, Li Zongren said in a deep voice with an awe-inspiring expression: "The original retreat route remains unchanged!" ”

"But, the general seat, this is the commission......" Xu Zuyi looked a little hesitant.

"There is nothing, if northern Anhui is lost, the Central Plains will definitely not be protected! The Central Plains is flat, and there is no strategy from the Tiger Ben Army in northern Anhui, so what can we do to resist the attack of hundreds of thousands of troops? Li Zongren roared with some anger.

"Yes, I understand," Xu Zuyi had never seen Li Zongren get so angry, and hurriedly stepped forward and responded loudly.

……………………………………………………………………………………

North of Xiangcheng City, south bank of Xiangcheng Bridge of Xinbian River. (Xiangcheng, present-day Suzhou City)

Qiao Anbang led the armored brigade and guard regiment of the Tiger Army to line up along the south bank of the Xinbian River, and on the bridgehead on the south bank of the Xiangcheng Bridge, dozens of No. 4 tanks were lined up majestically, and the high muzzles of the guns were facing the north bank, which invisibly formed a solemn atmosphere.

Qiao Anbang set up his temporary headquarters not far from the bridgehead, and he placed his troops on the south bank of the Xinbian River, with a clear goal, that is, to wait for the defeated [***] troops and stragglers from the direction of Xuzhou, to absorb them, and then establish a strong defense line in northern Anhui along the Xinbian River to block the attack of the North China army.

In the command center, Qiao Anbang took another puff of the cigarette butt in his hand, then flicked the cigarette butt out, and after slowly spitting out the smoke in his mouth, he said to Liang Jiahan who was standing aside without anger: "Adjutant Liang." ”

"Yes!" Liang Jiahan hurriedly stepped forward, snapped his chest and responded happily.

"In my name, immediately send a telegram to the special operations battalion, order Liang Yiyu, and the special operations battalion will rush to reinforcements, and let them escort a batch of combat materials over by the way, all the medicines, guns and ammunition to eat and drink, and tell them that they must be delivered before dawn tomorrow!" Although the Longshan military camp is two hundred miles away from the Xinbian River, there are flat and smooth cement roads along the way, and the speed of the wheels of the Tiger Ben Army can be exerted to the extreme, except for the time to raise the shipment, it will be enough for them to arrive by tomorrow evening.

"Yes!" Liang Jiahan knew that the enemy was at present, and without the slightest hesitation, he immediately stepped forward again, and immediately turned around and walked towards the communication radio.

………………………………

Pheasant and set, Tiger Ben army Longshan camp.

After receiving Qiao Anbang's order, Liang Yilu quickly assembled the special operations battalion, and with the help of the Reading Garrison Brigade and the arsenal personnel, he began to pull out the combat materials stored by the Tiger Ben Army one after another and began to load them.

In a wheat field less than five miles away from the Longshan camp of the Tiger Ben Army, Chuan Guangzuo and several agents of the special high school of the Huben Army quietly touched here last night under the cover of night, because the Tiger Ben Army replied that the camp was heavily guarded, so Chuan Guang and they could not continue to approach, so they could only hide in the wheat field and rely on binoculars to quietly observe the movement of the Tiger Ben Army barracks. "Your Excellency, from last night to now, there has been no movement in the Shina military camp except for the occasional vehicle entering and leaving. Our goal is the airport for the people of China, and we don't get any useful value here, so are we going to stay any longer? A ghost agent next to Ryōda Nakagawa asked in a low voice.

"Kobayashi-kun, this is the base camp of the Tiger Ben Army, if you reconnoiter the situation here, the value obtained will definitely not be lower than their airport!" Chuan Guangzuo continued to hold the telescope without looking back. In fact, he was still holding a trace of illusions, imagining that Qiao Anbang would come out of it in a car, so he could ambush him again and kill Qiao Anbang, and the value of killing Qiao Anbang was far greater than the value of the sneak attack on the Tiger Benjun Airport.

'But have you ever thought about it, Your Excellency, that if we don't destroy the airport of the people of China this morning, more Imperial soldiers will die as a result. The devil agent named Kobayashi Izumi continued to whisper.

"Yaga, I am the commander of this operation, and I have the final say in all operations. As an emperor [***] person, you just have to obey orders, you understand? Chuan Kusa reprimanded very dissatisfied.

"Hay! Humble duty understands! Xiao Lin Yiquan hurriedly bowed his head and answered.

After a long time, just when Chuan Guangzuo just wanted to order a retreat, the Huben army camp moved again, Chuan Guang hurriedly raised the binoculars again, and looked around, only to see three military motorcycles first drive out of the barracks, followed by military trucks full of goods.

"Your Excellency Dazuo, what are you doing here? Looks like it should be their convoy. Kobayashi Yiquan watched the huge convoy slowly drive out, and hurriedly lowered his head and asked.

"I don't know, judging from the size of this transport team, these equipment and materials are enough for one or two divisions of the Zhina Army. I really don't know what the Zhina Army is going to do when it suddenly transports so many supplies to the north, isn't their main force all on the southern front? Chuan Guang held the telescope and said in a deep voice in confusion.

It took about half an hour for all the transport vehicles of the Tiger Ben Army to drive out of the barracks.

Chuan Guang thoughtfully put down the telescope in his hand and muttered for a moment, then turned to Kobayashi Ichizumi and said, "Let's go, let's attack the China airport!" ”

"Hay!" Xiaolin Yiquan was already impatient, and as soon as Chuan Guang's voice fell, he hurriedly bowed his head and answered, and then the group quietly withdrew along the wheat field.

…………………………………………

Xuzhou City.

Since Li Zongren gave the order for a comprehensive retreat, the stragglers who withdrew from the front line and the scattered small troops rushed to Xuzhou City, and the entire Xuzhou City was already boiling and chaotic at this time.

However, more troops, such as Sun Lianzhong's Second Group Army, Pang Bingxun's 40th Army, and Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army, were in slightly better order, and they alternately covered the retreat according to the retreat route predetermined before the war, of which most of Sun Lianzhong's group army headquarters withdrew into Henan, and the 31st Division Chifengcheng headquarters was responsible for covering the retreat of the whole group army, and its retreat route was northern Anhui.

Like Chi Fengcheng's 31st Division, Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun also wanted to evacuate northern Anhui, in fact, even if the retreat route formulated by the Fifth Theater Commander's Department was not northern Anhui, Zhang Pang's second division would take the initiative to withdraw to northern Anhui, because there was a tiger army there, and their relationship with Qiao Anbang was also good.

And for all the above troops, and to hold Xuzhou City is the 65th Army of Liu Ruming of the Northwest Army, which has the same roots and origins as Zhang Pang.

All the troops on the front line retreated in an all-round way, and the fifth, tenth, and fourteenth main divisions of the army pursued them one after another despite fatigue, and they chased to the city of Xuzhou, and Liu Ruming personally led the officers and men of the 65th Army to fight bloodily, and the fierce offensive and defensive battle of Xuzhou was staged.

In the city of Xuzhou, the military headquarters of the 65th Army.

"Junza, the offensive of the army is too fierce, when can we withdraw? If we continue to fight, our entire 65th Army will be cut off here. A division commander reported to Liu Ruming with an anxious face.

"We can't withdraw, withdraw now, not only will we be bitten by the devil, but even Pang Cripple and Zhang Zizhong will also be bitten by the devil! So go back and tell the brothers that if you want to retreat alive, hold on to me until tonight, and at night the devil's planes, tanks, and artillery will have to be blinded, and then it will be the best time to break out! Liu Ruming was silent for a moment, and immediately said in a deep voice.

"But, military seat, the devil has planes in the sky, tanks and heavy artillery on the ground, and we don't even have a decent artillery, if we don't come with some air support, I'm afraid it will be difficult to hold out until dark." The division commander said in a deep voice with a sad face.

"Air support?" Liu Ruming thought for a while and said: "I'll do my best for this, a few days ago, the air force of the Zihu Ben Army did not support my fifth theater, I don't know why it suddenly disappeared in the past few days, I immediately sent a telegram to General Qiao Anbang, asking him to send the air force to support us again." ”

"The military seat is wise! I take the brethren to thank the throne! The division commander said aloud excitedly.

"Okay, hurry back to your post, before dark, you must resist Lao Tzu, and you must not let the little devil step into Xuzhou City half a step!" Liu Ruming waved his hand.

"Yes!" The division commander hurriedly stepped forward to respond, and then turned around and left quickly.

……………………

Xiangcheng and Xinbianhe Tiger Ben Army Temporary Headquarters.

Qiao Anbang was frowning and pondering around the map, and Liang Jiahan, the personal attendant adjutant, walked over quickly with a telegram, and saluted and reported: "Military seat, there is an urgent telegram from Liu Ruming's headquarters of the 65th Army. ”

"Who?" Qiao Anbang looked up and asked.

"Liu Ruming's Department of the 65th Army of the Northwest Army." Liang Jiahan replied to Qiao Anbang's inquiring gaze.

"Read!" Qiao Anbang waved his hand disapprovingly, although the second is a human being, he really doesn't have much impression of Liu Ruming.

"The telegram said that they were being ordered to hold Xuzhou City alone to cover the retreat of friendly troops, but the position was repeatedly hit by the ground and air firepower of the Japanese army, and the troops suffered heavy casualties, and General Liu Ruming asked us to give them some air support!" Liang Jiahan read concisely and clearly.

"Huh? Xuzhou now has only one of his 65th Army left? Qiao Anbang said in surprise.

"Yes, after the loss of Linyi, Haizhou and Taierzhuang were also lost one after another, and the main forces of the Fifth Theater were ordered to retreat, and now only Liu Ruming's department is left in Xuzhou City to cover the retreat of the whole army." Liang Jiahan nodded and replied.

"Order the flying regiment to immediately dispatch fighters to reinforce the 65th Army. In addition, send a telegram to the 65th Army, telling General Liu Ruming that the isolated city of Xuzhou is dead and should not be defended for a long time, let him lead the troops to break through as soon as possible, and our Tiger Ben Army will send ground armored troops to meet them to break through! Qiao Anbang thought about it and immediately commanded in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Liang Jiahan straightened up his chest again and happily responded, and then turned around and walked away quickly.

…………………………

That night, Liu Ruming led the main force of the 65th Army to disperse and break through, and Qiao Anbang also sent a tank armored regiment to cross the Xinbian River to the north to meet Liu Ruming's 65th Army.

And just at night, the small force and stragglers who retreated from the direction of Xuzhou finally entered the territory of Xiangcheng, Qiao Anbang ordered the guard regiment to collect them all, these stragglers and small stragglers have been fighting on the front line for a long time, not only exhausted, but most importantly, all of them are so hungry that their chests are close to their backs, so the guard regiment did not bother at all, but just took out a lot of food and drink, and it was very easy to gather the rout.

In order to prevent these routs from making trouble or disobeying the control after they have eaten and drunk, Qiao Anbang had the foresight that all the routs must hand over their weapons and equipment in order to get food, so that even if the number of routs in the area of Houxiangcheng exceeds the strength of the Tiger Ben army, there will not be any major crisis.

Without weapons, Qiao Anbang can educate them and mobilize them to go to war again.

In the middle of the night, the Tiger Ben Army had gathered more than 2,000 defeated soldiers in Xiangcheng, Qiao Anbang smiled almost from ear to ear, these defeated soldiers are veterans with rich combat experience who have crawled out of the pile of dead people after bloody battles, as long as they can re-stimulate their fighting spirit and distribute them with advanced German-style equipment, they are a powerful fighting force.

On the south bank of the Xinbian River, from evening to the present, from time to time some routs will retreat from the north bank, and the soldiers of the guard regiment who have been waiting for a long time suddenly stepped forward to take them back to Xiangcheng, and then collected weapons and distributed food.

Although there were some ruffians and veterans who were reluctant to follow the guard regiment along the way, when they saw dozens of machine guns aimed at them at the bridgehead and dozens of huge tanks lined up, they honestly handed over their weapons and followed the guard regiment into the truck that had been prepared long ago.

Qiao Anbang was patrolling the bridgehead with Liang Jiahan and a few guards, and suddenly there was a rush of footsteps in the distance, Qiao Anbang looked back, and saw Zhang Xudong, the commander of the armored brigade, running over with a hurried look.

"Throne, armored with a cloud of electricity." Before he arrived, Zhang Xudong reported loudly in a hurry.

"What's wrong? What's the situation? Qiao Anbang stopped and asked.

"A regiment reported that they had encountered the 59th Army and the 40th Army in the vicinity of Guanqiao Town, Xuzhou, and they were approaching us." Zhang Xudong replied quickly.

"Oh? What is the situation of the 59th and 40th armies now? Qiao Anbang asked eagerly, since he and Zhang Zizhong exchanged a phone call during the day, probably due to the inconvenience of communication during the retreat, Qiao Anbang has not been able to contact Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun so far.

"The military seat, the 59th Army and the 40th Army were originally recruited and lacked training, this time they pulled up to the battlefield in Xuzhou, and more than half of them were killed and wounded soon after the battle with Yue Kou, and on the way to retreat, they were pursued and bombed by the planes of the Yue Army, and the small units of the Yue Army disguised themselves as our army, mixed into Pang Bingxun and Zhang Zizhong and other units, Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun's military headquarters were attacked by a small group of devils, Pang Bingxun was seriously wounded, Zhang Zizhong was spared, but the entire military personnel and the communication radio station were all lost." Zhang Xudong replied with a heavy face.

"What? Two military headquarters were attacked by the Japanese army at the same time? How could it be such a coincidence? Qiao Anbang asked in disbelief,

"Junzao, don't you know, in order to facilitate the command, when retreating, the two generals Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun merged their military headquarters into one, so ............," Zhang Xudong explained.

"Oh! I see. Qiao Anbang nodded with a heavy face, and then said: "Gather the second regiment immediately, and I will personally go to meet the two generals Zhang Pang." ”

"Junza, let's go, I don't know how many small groups of devils have infiltrated along the way, they and our people have been mixed together, it's hard to distinguish between friend and foe!" Zhang Xudong said.

"Less damn nonsense, go and gather the troops, you leave me here to be on guard, and once you find a suspicious small force, destroy it on the spot! We must not let them infiltrate our base! Qiao Anbang scolded angrily.

"Yes!" Zhang Xudong immediately stepped forward and immediately turned around and walked away quickly.

Soon, more than 70 No. 4 tanks of the 2nd Regiment of the Armored Brigade received the order to assemble, and all the tanks started to move closer to the bridgehead.

Qiao Anbang took Liang Jiahan into an armored car and took the lead towards the north bank, followed by more than 70 No. 4 tanks, and drove to the north bank.

After not going far in the armored car, Qiao Anbang picked up the walkie-talkie in the armored car and ordered: "All companies pay attention, whenever they encounter a large and small group of routs on land, immediately warn them to lay down their weapons, otherwise we will destroy them on the spot regardless of the enemy!" ”

"Roger!"

"Roger!" The intercom sounded one after another the responses of the military commanders at all levels of the Second Regiment.

(To be continued)