"Toot ......"

At the Xiaguan Wharf in Nanjing, a river ship sailed into the wharf with a long whistle. After he blockaded the northern China Sea, in the spring of 1932, Xiaguan Wharf, like Shanghai Tang Wharf, became the busiest port under the rule of the Nanjing Nationalist Axe, where goods and passengers from the north and south entered the port. Now that the war in the north is tight, the whole wharf has become more and more busy, except for some speculative businessmen who are ready to do the accident of Zhang Xueliang of the Northeast Army, a considerable number of passengers are enthusiastic young people who want to take the Jinpu Line Railway from Nanjing to the Northeast to join the army.

"Let's let, let's ...... trouble"

"Don't squeeze, don't squeeze, let the child pass ...... first"

When the river ferry docked, a bunch of coolies and rickshaw drivers surrounded them, and of course, there were some brokers from hotels and inns who were doing business, crowding the already small wharf.

Chai Chun and the others went to the dock first before taking the only small suitcase, and steadily stepped on the springboard, ready to go ashore.

"Be careful!"

The crowd was crowded, and a child in front of him suddenly broke free from his father's hand because he was squeezed, and he was about to fall into the water.

When it was too late, Chai Chun's left foot stretched out suddenly, and his right foot was fixed on the springboard, moving quickly and steadily, and he almost hooked the child's clothes and dragged her up.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Chai Chun smiled, signaled that there was nothing to do, and watched the two father and daughter go away, judging from their clothes and the packages they carried, it should be the so-called countrymen who came to Shanghai Beach to find something to do. It is really sad and lamenable that the child is only five or six years old, but he has to wander to the beach with his father, struggling for the distant dream of food and clothing. He couldn't help but think of the southwest, where not only did he go to school for free, but other children could also sit in spacious and bright classrooms when they were old, compared to them, this child was almost the epitome of the tragic fate of a rural child under the rule of Nanjing's political axe, very pitiful. "The old have nothing to rely on, and the young have nothing to teach. That will change one day. ”

"Really?"

As soon as Chai Chun finished speaking, a girl next to him who was also carrying a gift box looked at him with a smile. The girl is dressed as a typical middle school girl under the rule of the national political axe, with a short student head, a small melon seed face, very fair skin, and a bright water, at first glance, she is from a relatively good family. Just now she had already seen Chai Chunlisuo on the shore to save people, and now she heard him speak a little specially, and she couldn't help but be curious.

Chai Chun didn't reply, although this girl was more beautiful than ordinary people, but he didn't want to touch it, but walked forward with the box, summoned a rickshaw, and went straight to the city.

"You're rude." The girl stomped her feet, but she didn't expect to touch it boring.

The next day, on the train from the Jinpu Line to Tianjin, Chai Chun sat in a simple train car, compared with the train he had once taken in the southwest, even he, a child from a poor family, felt a little unaccustomed. In the southwest, although the train is not luxurious, it is much stronger than its own carriage overall.

Thinking of what the chief said before, Chai Chun was full of blood.

“…… I have helped you many times, and I don't have any other ideas, just to see how far a person can go by relying on his own strength after giving him a chance, or changing his fate. To tell you the truth, as long as I give an order, your future road will definitely be much smoother than others. However, I can't do that. Just as I had a lot of money but didn't give you real money, in this world, many things have to be fought for by yourself. Moreover, in my position, it is almost impossible to give you any special care, all I can help you is to provide you with opportunities. Just like back then, when I met you in Kunming, I gave you a chance when I was desperate. When your mother was wronged, I also helped you.

You are a very talented person with military talents, and you need to break your own way, giving you two choices, go to the Northeast, or go to Sichuan, only these two places can give you the opportunity to display your talents.

You can regard me as the chief chief, or as my benefactor, or call me the eldest brother, as long as you can contribute to this nation and achieve something, I will be proud of you. ”

"I went to the Northeast. What the chief has learned is to be a down-to-earth person and be patriotic in practical actions. I will definitely use my blood to defend this nation and contribute to the rejuvenation of the nation. ”

"Go ahead, as the best graduate of the Huaxia Military Academy, I am full of expectations for you. As for your mother...... No matter what happens to you in the future, even if you give your life for your ideals, I guarantee that she will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of her life. Go, men should be self-reliant, aim in all directions, and in the troubled times is your young people's opportunity. Whether it's to achieve your ideals, or to protect this nation, or to get ahead, this is a great opportunity. ”

Chai Chun clenched his fists, he believed that he would be able to do it, the four-year military academy career made him gain a lot, not only became the best infantry scientist among this class of graduates, but also in the final graduation simulation exercise, he was awarded the first certificate of outstanding cadet by President Cai himself.

Unconsciously, the train had arrived in Tianjin, got off the train, and before leaving the station, I heard someone shouting behind me, but I didn't expect it to be the beautiful girl I had seen at the Xiaguan Wharf.

"What's the matter?" Maybe it was the encounter again that made Chai Chun a little less ruthless.

"Why are you cold, you also went to Jinzhou to join the army, right?" Seeing that he always looked cool and refused to say more, the girl couldn't help but want to tease this young man in a new-style tunic, "Hehe, I'm also going to Jinzhou." ”

"Hello!" For the hot-blooded young people who dared to go to Jinzhou at the time of the war, Chai Chun still respected him very much.

"You speak so simply, giggles, I'm scared to go to Jinzhou alone, why don't you come with me?"

"Okay." Chai Chun nodded and agreed, this girl was reasonable.

"Don't be cold, maybe I can save your life in the future."

Chai Chun smiled slightly, when she goes to join the army, she always has to go to the battlefield, isn't this girl cursing people to have an accident. But he didn't care about her, he helped her pick up the box and strode forward.

A few days later, Chai Chun finally arrived in Jinzhou with this curious baby. He also figured out that this girl's name is Hangxi Lake, and it is the homonym of West Lake. She is actually the daughter of a medical family in Hangzhou, a girl who is studying, and when she heard that the war in the Northeast will start again, she and several classmates are ready to run to the Northeast to join the army. As a result, several adults ran to the dock and chased a few people back, but this Hangxi Lake got on the boat one step earlier, and one person dared to come to the northeast and prepare to be a medical soldier.

In her words, women can't fight, but they can help men fight, and they must be qualified to be a medical soldier with their own family background.

The two soon joined the Northeast Army. Because Chai Chun was an outstanding graduate of the Huaxia Military Academy, he was naturally assigned to the instructor team, and together with some other volunteer instructors of the Southwest Army, he trained the recruits of the Northeast Army. Hang Xihu also successfully entered the medical team and became a member of the Jinzhou Field Hospital.

At this time, it was already February 5, and the smoke clouds of war in the Jinzhou area were getting thicker and thicker.

With Jinzhou as the general striker, the entire defense line consists of three hurdles. The striker is naturally Jinzhou, which is also the place of the big war. Rather than the center of the defense line, connecting Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou in front, the entire defense line was reasonably built by the Northeast Army, and then stationed with heavy troops, completely blocking the western Liaoning corridor.

If the army wants to move south, it will not even be able to simply bypass the Ningjin defense line guarded by Zhang Xueliang's heavy troops, unless it makes a detour to Inner Mongolia, otherwise, even if it detours from the Chaoyang-Rehe direction, it will be blocked by the Northeast Army. The heavily guarded defense line is subject to the more complex terrain of western Liaoning, and it has been the boundary zone inside and outside the pass since ancient times, and the army can only smoothly advance to the Pingjin area by capturing Jinzhou and opening up the entire Ningjin defense line.

Chai Chun came to the instructor training team for a few days, and in addition to serving as the instructor company commander of a recruit company of the Northeast Army, he just happened to catch up with a battlefield analysis meeting of the instructor team. Because there are a lot of 'volunteers' from the Southwest Army, plus outstanding cadets and instructors from other military schools in China, the entire instructor training team has reached the scale of a battalion. Naturally, this battlefield analysis meeting was held privately by the 'volunteers' in the southwest.

“…… The army gathered heavy troops on the outskirts of Jinzhou, apparently trying to complete its work in one battle. Although the strength of the three divisions does not seem to be much, don't forget that the Northeast Army stationed in the Jinzhou area of the Ningjin defense line is only 100,000. Once the 100,000 Northeast Army is unable to hold back the three divisions, then retreat will become inevitable. ”

At the analysis meeting, an older officer was doing a simple analysis, Chai Chun had just arrived, and when it was his turn to speak, he did not speak, and when he first arrived, he had not yet fully understood the situation, so he decided to listen to what others had to say. Listening to the people next to him, he learned that the officer's name was Wang Gongliang, and it was said that he was the highest-ranking former southwest active officer who came to the northeast.

"Although the Northeast Army is uneven, is it possible to concentrate elite troops and intersperse the enemy in a large depth and detour during positional warfare?" An instructor asked.

Wang Gongliang shook his head, raised his baton and gestured on the map behind him and said, "The tactics of interspersing with detours in great depth are indeed effective against this kind of enemy who is attacking fortifications, and it is also easy to form a situation where a large army surrounds a large army in World War I. However, you must not forget that even if you do not consider the combat effectiveness of the Northeast Army, in the absence of air supremacy, even if you send a few divisions to make a detour, you can only be discovered by the enemy's reconnaissance planes, and then calmly mobilize troops to block the attack, and finally be surrounded and annihilated by the superior army. The situation of the encirclement of the large corps in World War I is not easy to appear in the Jinzhou area. ”

"So, the head of the Ningjin defense line is already in jeopardy?"

Wang Gongliang nodded, "The worst thing in the Northeast Army is the Air Force, but the Yue Army has concentrated a large number of fighters, and in this regard, the Northeast Army is doomed to suffer, which is also one of the reasons why we take air defense facilities as the focus of defense line construction." However, I heard that General Zhang sent a batch of anti-aircraft guns and volunteer artillery this time, and he may be able to slightly counter the bombardment of the Yue Army. In the past few months, the defense line around Jinzhou can be said to have been built very strong, and whether it can be held depends on only one thing, that is, the will to fight of the Northeast Army. ”

Wang Gongliang is the deputy captain of the instructor team, responsible for managing the volunteer officers of the Southwest Army, and he is also valued by Zhang Xueliang, and he will be allowed to participate in combat meetings. Of course, this is also a kind of respect for the Southwest.

Before coming, Chai Chun had repeatedly discussed the upcoming battle in Jinzhou with everyone at the military academy, and the most discussed thing about this offensive and defensive battle was how to hold the defensive line.

Thinking of this, he asked, "Report, I have a problem!" "Huh? The new arrival, what's it called? "Chai Chun, the twenty-first session of the Huaxia Military Academy."

"You're Chai Chun? The Chai Chun who ranked first in the entrance score and the first in the graduation grade. I'm a few years ahead of you, and I'm your senior, so let's say, what's wrong with you. "Wang Gongliang, a senior, was quite surprised, but he didn't expect such an excellent army seedling to come.

Chai Chun: "I think the Jinzhou area can be defended. They were afraid that if it took a little longer, the entire Jinzhou area would be built into almost permanent fortifications.

Everyone has seen the weather recently, and the whole Jinzhou is icy and snowy. However, he launched an attack at this time, obviously thinking that the Northeast Army had low combat effectiveness and would be able to break through the defense line in one fell swoop.

Personally, I think that the biggest problem is not in Jinzhou, but in Guannai. As we all know, the naval power of the Yue army is very strong, and the whole of northern China is almost their own front yard. If the army's offensive in Jinzhou is frustrated, then they will definitely launch a landing war, outflank the rear of the Northeast Army from the sea, and counter-encircle the 200,000 Northeast Army. ”

"There are as many as several divisions of the Northeast Army stationed on the front line of Shanhaiguan, and there are also a large number of troops of the Northeast Army in Ningyuan, and the 18th Division of the Kuomintang will follow up. I think they're still going to attack head-on. Supplemented by superior air force and artillery forces, elite army divisions broke through the defense line of the Northeast Army. ”

Everyone expressed their opinions, and now the war is about to start, but there are many variables. The main reason is the will and combat effectiveness of the Northeast Army, and before the battle situation begins, the officers of the Southwest Army's teaching team are generally not very optimistic. Wang Gongliang didn't speak, and the other instructors expressed their opinions one after another, basically thinking that the defense line was not easy to defend, and sooner or later it would be broken by the Yue army with superior forces, and then go south. Wang Gongliang's meaning is a little more conservative, believing that it depends on the will of the Northeast Army to resist. After all, the line of defense is dead, and people are alive.

Chai Chun: "I have an almost certain intuition that the Northeast Army will definitely not retreat without a fight in this battle, but will fight to the death in Jinzhou." Although I have only been here for a few days, the atmosphere of the Northeast Army has given me a feeling of fighting to the death. In particular, some of the top echelons of the military are not as vacillating as they were during the warlord melee in the past. When I was in the southwest, I listened to the instructor of the military academy and said that General Zhang Xueliang was already removing a group of officers who were not firm in the will to resist the war. Generally speaking, I think the Northeast Army will perform differently this time. ”

The prince nodded brightly, "Yes, the whole country is watching, Zhang Xueliang has also made up his mind to fight to the death, at this time, whoever is unfavorable in the war of resistance is a national sinner." Even Zhang Xueliang has to be careful of the mouth of the people. ”

"The times make heroes." Chai Chun said with almost certainty that even if there will be some people in the Northeast Army who are afraid of death, or who are unfavorable in the War of Resistance, more people will be forced by the current situation to fight Jinzhou to the death, which may become a fact.

"I hope so." Wang Gongliang talked about some things about the upcoming war, and finally said something more important, "At the morning combat meeting, General Zhang Xueliang mentioned the instructor corps and the recruit unit. If there is an instructor from the instructor team who wants to go to the front line, he can now report to the Northeast Army company on the next line and serve as the company deputy or platoon commander. If you don't go now, you can also be prepared to go directly to the battlefield with new recruits if the war doesn't go well. ”

Many instructors discussed one after another, and some decided to serve as company deputy officers, after all, so that they could go to the battlefield earlier. After all, Chai Chun came late, and in the end, he stayed in the instructor team to continue training recruits, because some instructors went to the front-line companies, and there were too many recruits who joined the army to resist the war, Zhang Xueliang did not refuse to come, and as a result, the training instructors were seriously understaffed, and he would directly serve as the chief instructor of a recruit battalion.

In the next half month, he did not launch an offensive, but continued to mobilize troops from the rear, and there were more and more fighters over the entire Jinzhou defense line. Chai Chun seized every day and personally trained a new battalion under his command.

What makes him feel gratified is that almost all of these recruits are young people who have joined the army, full of enthusiasm, and have been trained in military and shooting for half a month before he takes over, and what he needs to do is to teach them more things in the next half a month. He was also very satisfied with the results of the training, the only problem was that he was worried about the performance of this group of recruits after they went to the battlefield.

He knew that this was not the southwest, and there would not be so much time to train the recruits in various categories of military skills, so he just asked everyone to do a few things.

The first is to prohibit the order, and all recruits who violate this first article will be subject to military law, of course, military law is not to kill, but to let the other party be covered and leave. At first, some people were not convinced by the commander of the recruit battalion, but gradually, when some troublesome recruits cried and begged to be driven away, the recruits finally became more obedient. For these people who are aspiring to serve the country, being driven away is even more cruel than being beaten with a military stick.

Then, Chai Chun carried out almost wasteful shooting training, and every day, until the soldiers had weak hands and severe pain in their shoulders, he would not order to stop shooting training. At this time, the Northeast Army was not short of bullets, and he had no scruples. The same as shooting training is grenade throwing training, which he also requires very strictly, every day the soldiers practice consolidating shooting in the morning, and the afternoon is crazy training to throw grenades, in addition to these two killing skills, he also picked out a group of training stabs in the recruit camp, most of these recruits are a little brute force, carrying a batch of big knives that he specially sold, it is really more murderous than using bayonets.

Finally, he also paid special attention to training recruits to defend themselves against artillery and enemy fire. Overall, the time is too short, and the training is also compact and efficient. What he had to do was seize any little time left to learn a little more before these recruits hit the battlefield.

On February 24, 1932, the long-prepared army finally launched an attack. The air force's fighters and divisional artillery were the first to strike, and the entire sky over Jinzhou was enveloped by the rumbling sound of artillery and the screams of fighter planes, and the army's heavy artillery shells and aerial bombs began to rain down like a torrential rain and smashed into the solid defense line outside Jinzhou City.

The war has finally begun again.

(To be continued)