As the Japanese army supplemented the main forces of the two divisions of the Second Army, the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, which had been staying in Lu'an, finally started to move. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoOnly this time, the 13th Division chose to advance directly into Macheng, Hubei.

In the face of the 13th Division, the 18th Division followed closely behind. Even the Sixth Division, which captured Huangmei in Hubei, also advanced in the direction of Macheng, and the strength of the three divisions could be described as a heavy attack.

In addition, the 3rd Division, which was also advancing from the direction of Fuyang. The troops of four divisions advanced to Wuhan in the form of assists. For a time, the Fifth War Zone commanded by Li Zongren seemed to have become the main battlefield again.

Under these circumstances, Li Zongren quickly convened a meeting of the commanders of the various armies in the theater to discuss the next defensive operations. It's just that for the comeback of the Japanese army this time, Li Zongren also felt a little tricky.

The previous defensive counterattack, despite a rare big victory in the fifth war zone. However, Li Zongren knows very well that the two units that can fight in the theater have basically lost their combat effectiveness now, and they are afraid that they will not be able to counterattack.

Even if you want to defend yourself, it will be difficult. When He Zhengdao arrived at the headquarters, Li Zongren also found a special room, hoping to hear He Zhengdao's opinion on the heavy attack of the Japanese army.

As far as Li Zongren is concerned, the fact that the Fifth Theater was able to achieve such a big victory in the previous time also had a lot to do with the surprise attack of the new 67th Army. But in the previous battle, the new 67th Army also suffered more than half of the casualties.

The only thing that has preserved its structure is the newly formed and expanded Third Division, and the remaining two divisions are basically disabled. This also shows that He Zhengdao undoubtedly did his best in the previous battle, even if Lao Jiang couldn't say anything.

Even after the battle, Zhou Enlai specially asked Lao Jiang to protest. So much so that Lao Jiang had to agree to give priority to the payment of pensions. After all, the new 67th Army can also be regarded as the main force of the Eighth Route Army with outstanding achievements!

It's just that Lao Jiang and Li Zongren didn't know that in the previous battle, the overall casualties of He Zhengdao's new 67th Army should be about 10,000. There is still a big gap between the casualty figures reported by the company.

Some of the fighters who had been only lightly wounded were more often shunted to guerrilla units in various places. However, in order to show it more realistically, the new 67th Army currently stationed in Huangchuan, the two divisions together are actually only more than one division of the previous division.

This situation, compared with the 71st Army, seems to be even more tragic. In addition, Li Zongren already knew that the previous victory of the 16th Division was actually the credit of He Zhengdao, but in the end it was given to the 71st Army.

For this kind of practice of equalizing interests, Li Zongren is still very admired. At least in his opinion, He Zhengdao, who joined the Fifth War Zone, was still very kind when dealing with other combat units in the war zone.

Even if some people are jealous that He Zhengdao has robbed the Japanese army of the most loot, in Li Zongren's opinion, this is also very normal. The Eighth Route Army has always been cleaner than other combat units in terms of collecting supplies.

According to what Li Zongren knew, when the Eighth Route Army was cleaning up the battlefield, it often wiped out the little devils. Don't even let go of those little devils' clothes, not to mention other weapons, ammunition and supplies?

As for the large amount of grain and other materials collected by He Zhengdao, according to what Li Zongren learned, a lot of grain was distributed to those areas where people had left their hometowns due to the war. He still admires this approach.

Compared with some troops in the current theater of operations, who even sell military rations supplied by the government for private purposes, He Zhengdao distributed the captured grain to the people for free. Although there is a suspicion of buying people's hearts, it is not something that everyone will do.

In troubled times, sometimes food is more important than gold. The materials that He Zhengdao snatched were not for his own selfishness. Such feelings and righteousness, at least in the troops of the Central Army, Li Zongren asked himself not to see much.

After the two of them sat down, Li Zongren also said politely: "Brother He, how is your recruitment work during this time?" ”

In the units that are divided according to the division of troops, all units that have received orders for rest and recuperation will also carry out conscription work on the spot. It's just that for Li Zongren, he knows very well that in the Dabie Mountain area, recruits are really difficult to recruit.

However, Li Zongren knew very well that the Eighth Route Army was good at ideological and political propaganda, and perhaps the efficiency of conscription would be better than that of the Central Army. At the very least, Li Zongren still hoped that the new 67 th Army would be able to regain its combat effectiveness as soon as possible.

As a result, He Zhengdao, who heard the inquiry, smiled bitterly and said, "Chief Li, can you not mention this matter?" If you talk too much, it's all tears! The actions you have carried out here a few years ago have really frightened the people.

In the past month, we have recruited less than a new battalion. In addition, our conscription is voluntary, and soldiers cannot be paid. If you want to recruit here, it's difficult! ”

Listening to He Zhengdao's words, Li Zongren remembered that when the Red Army switched to war, the Central Army also felt a little embarrassed about the persecution and suppression of the Red Army in the Dabie Mountain area. After all, he knew how bloody and cruel that kind of clearance operation was at that time.

Now the two parties have joined forces to resist the war, and the Eighth Route Army has returned to the Dabie Mountain area. If you want to recruit soldiers, it is normal for those people to have concerns. But this kind of thing, Li Zongren is also difficult to comment on.

smiled and said: "This side of Dabie Mountain is vast and sparsely populated, and it is indeed difficult to recruit troops. It's just that now that the Japanese army is attacking in a big way, if your troops are not replenished, I am afraid that it will affect your combat effectiveness, right? ”

We have also taken this situation into consideration, and I have already sent a telegram to the headquarters asking for a part of the local troops to be drawn from the headquarters to replenish it. It's just that Chief Li also knows that if they want to come over, they still need you to coordinate.

In order to ensure that the combat effectiveness of our two main divisions is restored as soon as possible, I intend to transfer one local brigade from Shaanxi to supplement the two divisions. When the troops come, I hope you can give me some convenience.

There were several batches of supplies in the previous period, and when they arrived in Xixia and other places, your troops were strictly checked. This approach is somewhat chilling. I hope that Chief Li can mention it above.

If we go too far in some things, I am afraid that it will only affect the cooperation between our two armies. The headquarters of the Eighth Route Army gave us supplies because they were worried about our situation. In terms of material distribution, our new 67th Army has always been at the bottom.

If nothing else, just take the food that should have been supplied to us last month, and you also did not distribute it in time. If it weren't for the food reserves of our troops, it is estimated that our troops would have starved to death long ago. When this matter is put in wartime, does Chief Li think it is appropriate?

Since our army joined the Fifth War Zone, it hasn't caused you any trouble in combat, right? If you are more vigilant against us in this way, it will not be conducive to the joint resistance of the two armies. To be honest, our central government and headquarters are still very angry about the damage caused by the previous war. “

In the face of He Zhengdao's accusation, Li Zongren also said helplessly: "Brother He, although I am the commander of the Fifth War Zone. But as you know, there are some things that I can't decide.

But this time the Japanese army is coming, and we are afraid that we will still need to tide over the difficulties together. I am grateful that you are willing to send more troops this time. As long as your troops come out of Shaanxi, I will personally negotiate with Jiang Dingwen.

If he dares to obstruct him again, I will personally send a telegram to the chairman. As for your previous efforts, I am very grateful. But this time, I hope my brother can pay more attention. ”

Please rest assured that on the issue of resisting Japan, our party and our army, including myself, are very clear about this. That's why, in matters involving disputes between the two armies, I will hand them over to you first.

If it weren't for the overall situation of unifying the anti-Japanese resistance, I would still have a very bad temper. Regarding Jiang Dingwen's situation, I still hope that Chief Li can tell me about it. Don't take our forbearance as fear of Him.

The previous big burst of the Yellow River allowed him to protect most of Zhengzhou. Now the attention of the Japanese army has shifted to Wuhan, but he has shifted his attention to the matter of guarding against our army, which is not conducive to the joint resistance of the two armies.

If he's provocative, I don't mind bringing my new sixty-seven back in due course. I would like to see if his Fourth Army is really capable of provoking my entire Eighth Route Army. ’

The threat in his words could still be heard by Li Zongren to some extent. In the past, He Zhengdao only protested, but he did not threaten as he does today. Undoubtedly, he also knew that if he wanted to fight against the Japanese attack next, he needed to use the new 67th Army.

Thinking of these, Li Zongren also felt that the young man in front of him was indeed not simple. It seems that when the talks between the two are over, it is really necessary for him to send a telegram to Lao Jiang, asking him to warn Jiang Dingwen not to make any more moves to provoke the Eighth Route Army.

Otherwise, it would really provoke He Zhengdao and the Eighth Route Army, and it would not be beneficial to the two troops. Even a bad one gave the Eighth Route Army an excuse to march into Henan. If things really turn out like that, then the gains really outweigh the losses.

quickly shifted the topic to deal with the Japanese attack, but He Zhengdao said very directly: "With only our fifth war zone, if we want to deal with the Japanese army's large-scale attack, I am afraid it will be very difficult." Don't we have reinforcements? ”

Yes, but there was only one division of the Fourth Army, and their main task was to block the Japanese Third Division from the direction of Fuyang. Nominally, it is a blockade, but in fact, I am afraid that I am still worried about the Japanese army attacking Zhengzhou! ’

When these words came out, Li Zongren also felt a little helpless. It seems that the Central Army has gathered a large number of main forces this time, but all theaters are reaching out for reinforcements. But the problem is that Lao Chiang also has not many troops at hand, and he can't take out too many troops.

As a result, the Fifth Theater of Operations will have to rely on itself if it wants to deal with this crisis. But the problem is that it is really not easy for the troops under the command of the Fifth Theater to deal with the attack of the four main divisions of the Japanese army!

It was this hidden worry that made Li Zongren attach great importance to the role of He Zhengdao's troops. Fighting big with small and winning more with less is also what the Eighth Route Army is good at. It's just that this time, He Zhengdao didn't give a very good solution.

At least judging from the overall situation of the current war, the result of the defense of Wuhan is afraid that it will still be the same as in history. Since he knew that Wuhan could not avoid the fall, it was impossible for He Zhengdao to really lose the entire New 67th Army here! (To be continued.) )