February 10, 19th year. Shanxi, Taiyuan.

Yan Xishan, general of the Republic of China Army, Shanxi Overseer and Commander-in-Chief of the Third Group Army, was neatly dressed and strode into the Shanxi Overseer's Office.

In the conference room of the office, at this time, the stars were already shining, and the senior officers of the Jin army were all gathered together. As Yan Xishan approached, everyone stood up and saluted. Except for a man in his fifties wearing a green cloth robe, this person is Wu Peifu, who was invited by Yan Xishan to Xiangzan for military affairs.

All the people were solemn and worried. Because just yesterday, the president of the Republic of China, Mao ZD, issued a presidential decree in Beijing, dismissing Yan Xishan from all positions, and at the same time listed the Second Group Army as a rebel on the grounds of disobedience to the central order, and also announced the formation of a rebel army in a high-profile manner, with Minister of War Feng Yuxiang as commander-in-chief, Deng Yanda as chief of staff, and Ye Ting, commander-in-chief of the Fourth Route Army, as deputy commander-in-chief. Send 200,000 soldiers (claimed), and come to Shanxi to find your bad luck against **......

Although the Jin army has long been prepared to resist stubbornly, but when the real thing comes to an end, the hearts of the big guys are still up and down, and there is no bottom at all. How many catties and taels are there in the Jin army, these people in the conference room can't understand it very well, and they are short of defending and attacking, and defending the fortified city is still so-so, and it is really not enough to pull it out for field battles. Therefore, for the Jin army, the best tactic is to shrink the main force of more than 100,000 to Taiyuan City and wait for reinforcements......

But that would be tantamount to handing over the whole of Shanxi to GCD. And with GCD's ability to mobilize and organize the people, in a few tens of days, Shanxi Province will be planted all over the red flag, and there will be a bare pole provincial capital, how long can it last? Besides, if you want to be helped, someone has to come to help. But where is this "aid" now? Kuomintang? Are they different from the G? Isn't it the same to confiscate the territory and reorganize the army?

At this time, for the first time, the Jin army had a feeling that the end was coming. GCD, the Kuomintang, that end is not something that the weak Jin army can handle...... And at present, these two seem to have sharpened their big knives, and they are waiting to slaughter Yan Xishan, a "harmless" old white rabbit

I have just received information from Beijing that Feng Yuxiang has taken a sworn oath and is on his way to Datong. And Datong, the Xiongcheng of northern Jin, was occupied by the Third Route Army of the central government last night, of course, it was bloodless, the militia group left behind opened the city gate, and a few trembling "enlightened gentlemen" led a city of businessmen and people, and welcomed the Third Route Army into the slogan of welcoming GCD. The central government's crusade was the first victory.

However, what Taiyuan is most worried about is not the menacing Feng Yuxiang, the three route armies brought by Feng Yuxiang are just newly attached to the Central G, although they are already the same as the Fourth Army in terms of system. But after all, the main officers are still those old men, and the weapons and equipment are not good, no matter how strong they are, how strong can they be? The most feared by the Jin army is the fourth and eighth route armies in the direction of Zhili, which is the elite of the descendants of the middle G, and it is this strong soldier who has lost the armor of the Jin army in the fifteenth year of the Republic of China, and now this army is just hiding on the side of the main force of the Jin army. Although there is a dangerous barrier between Taihang Mountain on the border between Zhili and Shanxi, the mountains are vertical and horizontal, and it is not a convenient place for the army. However, the prestige of the main force of the Zhongg descendant line all the way still made the generals of the Jin army shudder

All units of the Jin army are even preparing for the final contraction of defense. Today, Yan Xishan convened a meeting of officers above the brigade level, and everyone was speculating whether Yan Dujun had made up his mind and was ready to abandon the plan of the first-line decisive battle in Xinkou and transfer the main force back to Taiyuan to defend - one more day would be counted as one day?

Yan Xishan's face turned pale, and he slowly sat down, looking at the eager gazes of the generals under his command. Motioned for everyone to sit down.

"I have already discussed with Yushuai, this battle is beneficial to Shanxi for a long time, and China G is conducive to a quick decision. Therefore, I have made up my mind to continue to divide my troops into two ways to resist the Central Army in accordance with the original plan, and strive to delay and drag the war into a protracted war. I, as long as we can delay, the situation will definitely turn in our favor. What is the operational plan of each ministry, and then it will be issued, and all ministries are invited to work together to tide over the difficulties. ”

These words stirred up a lot of waves.

"Marshal, the main force of the Central Army is deployed east of Taihang, and the eastern front of our army is the most dangerous, and we must strengthen our troops."

"Marshal, the total strength of our army is insufficient, and it is difficult to take care of it, so it is recommended to shrink the troops to Taiyuan as soon as possible."

"Dashuai, now the underground party activities in China and G are frequent, and the order in the rural areas is chaotic. The squires and tyrants either fled, or organized militia groups to protect themselves, and now it is very difficult for the government to collect grain and taxes. In the long run, I'm afraid that we will be in chaos without a fight."

"It's better for our army to concentrate its forces and take the initiative to attack and break through Feng Yuxiang's army on the North Road. Then turn back to the east road and fight with the main force of the Central Army...... Or after defeating Feng Yuxiang's army, he will negotiate peace with the central government. ”

Yan Xishan's complexion has sunken, and Leng Leng said that now the enemy is strong and I am weak, and the Jin army is good at defense, so it is the best tactic to stick to the important place and keep the enemy out. Whether it is the northern front or the eastern front, we must hold it, as long as we can hold it firmly, we will have a way, this is my final decision, you don't need to argue anymore, as long as you fight hard."

Seeing Yan Xishan's face, the officers below were silent for a while. At this time, Wu Peifu stood up and smiled deeply, you must understand that our opponent is always GCD, the central government in Beijing, not just the Third Army or the Fourth Army, the most powerful GCD is not only the army, but their propaganda and agitation and organizational ability to the people, so we can only try to find a way to resist the enemy, and we must not hand over the people into their hands, but the Chinese G is not completely without weaknesses at the moment, their weaknesses are economic depression and lack of military resources, And there is also the Kuomintang on the sidelines. Therefore, G will definitely strive for a quick victory in the second battle, and we will have to try our best to delay. As long as we can drag it out until China G is exhausted, we will be able to keep the situation of Shanxi's autonomy, so in this current battle, we are not seeking to win, or even to keep a draw, but to strive to lose less and lose slower. ”

Listening to Wu Peifu's words, the officers in the room couldn't help but feel a little deflated. This is ...... Although it is a big truth, it is still a bit of a long morale and destroys his own prestige. However, the Jin army was different from other warlord forces, that is, although they could not fight, they were firmly united around Yan Laoxi. Now that Yan Xishan has made up his mind, everyone can only carry it out.

Yan Xishan stood up, leaned on the table, and looked coldly at the solemn officers in the room with the corners of his mouth, this battle is related to the survival of our Jin army, everyone must unite and struggle, and our future can only rely on us to fight to the death."

The Jin army has really reached the moment of life and death now, and the financial, material, and military resources accumulated in the past 18 years of hard work must be exerted to the limit in this battle. If it still fails...... The Jin army will be slumped and difficult to rise again, and there is only one way to perish

Thinking of this, Yan Xishan's eyes were full of tears, and tears fell uncontrollably. Suddenly, he saw a full house of Jin army generals, almost all of whom had tears in their eyes. Maybe the Jin army has really become a mourning soldier now......

……

The blue-gray procession marched on the yellow ground, and the three route armies of the Third Army of the Central Army did not stop advancing from the moment they crossed the border of Shanxi Province. Because the main force of the Jin army in northern Jin Province shrank to the first line of Xinkou early in the morning, all the large and small towns in northern Jin were swept away by the 100,000 army commanded by Feng Yuxiang without bloodshed, so after the official start of the Shanxi crusade, there were good news in Beijing's newspapers every day. Zhongnanhai was also jubilant, and a big victory seemed to be just around the corner, provided that the Kuomintang reactionaries in the south would not send troops to intervene in the war when the Jin army was defeated

The route chosen by the General Staff of the Crusading Army led by Deng Yanda was to take Datong first, and then go all the way to Xinkou through Huairen, Shanyin, and Daixian. Then in a decisive battle with the main force of the Jin army at Xinkou, after breaking the Jin army, he broke through to Taiyuan again. It is estimated that there will be the fiercest resistance of the Jin army, so it will have to wait until the fourth route army on the eastern front to attack Taiyuan.

Under the spring sun, long and endless lines rolled forward, rolling up dust on the dry road. Infantry, cavalry, baggage soldiers, 75mm mountain guns pulled by eight large mules, and migrant workers in old cotton jackets pushed wheelbarrows and drove pack carts all the way to the south. However, the speed of the march was not fast, about 20 kilometers a day. It's not that Feng Yuxiang deliberately delayed, but that the infantry marching speed in this era was so slow.

The 100,000-strong army commanded by Feng Yuxiang set out from Datong on 13 February and marched more than 200 kilometers to Xinkou.

……

"Brother Baichuan, the deployment of our army is: the second division and the eighth brigade of the Jin Army form the Central Corps, commanded by Fu Yisheng (Fu Zuoyi), responsible for guarding the front-line positions of Caijiagang, Lingshan, Nanhuaihua, and Yangmingbao; With the 9th Brigade and 10th Brigade of the Jin Army as the right wing corps, commanded by Zhang Tongxuan (Zhang Yinwu), guarding the first-line positions of Wutai Mountain; The first division of the Jin Army was used as the left wing corps to defend the first-line position of Heiyu Village to Yangfangkou; With the 11th Brigade and the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army as reserves, commanded by Yang Xingru (Yang Aiyuan), they responded to all parties in the area of Dingxiang and Xinxian. In this battle, the Jin army concentrated a total of two divisions and five brigades, as well as four artillery regiments, with a total strength of nearly 80,000 people and more than 140 artillery pieces. It should be enough to fight."

Yan Xishan sat in the command post of the former enemy in Xin County, staring at the military map in front of him with his eyes straight and listening to Wu Peifu, the "chief adviser," give him a briefing on the deployment of troops.

The total strength of the Jin army before was only 100,000 people, and after the sound of the middle G sharpening the knife was heard, the army was hurriedly expanded by 50,000 and organized into three divisions: the fourth, fifth, and sixth divisions. However, these recruits are not enough at the moment, there are not enough officers, nor strictly trained soldiers, the whole is a shelf, and now they are all thrown in Taiyuan to train slowly, so they can be used by 100,000 people, 80,000 are already in Xinkou, and the troops defending the passes of Zhengtai Road and Taihang Mountain are only 20,000. As for the western route along the Yellow River...... is responsible for the militia group, whether it can be kept depends on the will of heaven, anyway, Yan Xishan is out of line.

I said...... Yu Shuai. We are now concentrating our forces on the northern front, in case the main direction of attack of Zhong G is the eastern front, we can ......" Yan Xishan didn't ask how many times he said this. After looking at the map for a while, I started asking questions again.

Wu Peifu touched his chin and smiled lightly, if the main direction of attack of the G army is the eastern front, then we can only retreat back to Taiyuan City and wait for death, but there is no way to do it, who makes our Jin army weak...... There is no way to defeat Feng Yuxiang in an offensive battle, so he can only let him meet in a defensive battle and break the bloodstream? Just take a gamble. ”

Wu Peifu had a smile on his face, but he was a little helpless when he said it. Yan Xishan peeked at the figure in front of him who was once famous all over the world and was known as "China's Ludendorff" - although he suffered a lot of defeats later and no longer had the prestige of the past, he was still much stronger than this general who couldn't fight at all, right? No small number of words

"Bet?" Yan Xishan shook his head, and said to himself, then take a gamble. 80,000 people defending and 100,000 attacking, it should be a victory......"

Wu Peifu smiled coldly, Feng Yuxiang is not a descendant after all, who will come if he doesn't come to this hard-bitten errand? ”

Yan Xishan was stunned when he heard this, and when he thought about it carefully, it seemed to make sense. Although Feng Yuxiang's team has accepted the transformation of Zhong G, it is still not thorough. This battle is naturally a time to test them, who can fight and who can't, who should stay and who can't...... Only a battle can. Yan Xishan said in a low voice, saying this, Xinkou is still somewhat sure of the battle. ”

Wu Peifu nodded and walked to the front of the large map hanging in the command room. Fingers slid around Xinkou Feng Yuxiang commanded an army of 100,000 to storm on this line, firmly attracting the main force of our army...... "He pointed his finger to the line of Zhengtai Road and Taihang Mountain...... Another elite broke through from here and destroyed the Third Division of Jin. The door of Taiyuan is wide open. This should be the tactic of the middle G. It's a pity that my 15th Route Army has already been given to Zhang Hanqing, otherwise it would have been foolproof on the Eastern Front. ”

Yan Xishan's eyes stared at Wu Peifu, unspeakably worried Yushuai, what should we do? ”

Wu Peifu smiled bitterly, and he could only inflict heavy losses on Feng Yuxiang in the defensive battle. He stared blankly at the map that G's Eastern Route Army would most likely suddenly launch when the northern front was stalemate...... However, if Feng Yuxiang is defeated by us, they should slow down, and when the time comes, ask Zhang Hanqing to come out, and Shanxi will be saved. But this is just our wishful thinking, Feng Yuxiang's rebellious war still has a ......"

……

Feng Yuxiang, who had gone all the way south, was now resting in the Third Group Army. It was also lunchtime. The original Beijing central government's army food standard was poor, and it was only 24 taels of noodles a day, and it was only 3 yuan a month. Now is the time of hard struggle, and it is naturally more difficult. Only two meals a day are served, once at 10 o'clock and once at 7 o'clock. It's still a dry meal, and the dry meal is still a nest. However, fortunately, the officers ate the same food as the soldiers, and shared weal and woe, so it did not affect morale.

However, the food that came from the march made the troops cry bitterly. After all, the physical exertion of marching outside is completely different from being in the barracks, and this meal is thin...... It was indeed a little bitter, Feng Yuxiang circled around the troops with his hands behind his back, and Zhang Guotao, the new political commissar of the Third Group Army, walked with him with a gloomy face.

The two of them turned around, watching the cadres and soldiers who were obviously a little emaciated gobbling up their eyebrows with two small nests in their hands. Feng Yuxiang sighed to Zhang Guotao with his hands behind his back, "The supply of troops is really too difficult, and this battle looks like it needs to be resolved quickly. Comrade commissar, the mood of the fighters is okay? There are not many words, there is no ...... because the food is too bad."

Zhang Guotao lifted his glasses and swept them around with a slightly cold look, coldly saying Comrade Commander, political and ideological work has always been the strong point of our party. You don't have to worry about this, the soldiers' families are all poor middle peasants who have divided the land and turned over to become masters, and this is not a bit of hardship at all. Yes...... Some cadres of the old army are very unaccustomed to it, and they complain all day long, disturbing the morale of the army, and in my opinion, the Third Army still needs to be properly reorganized."

Feng Yuxiang was silent for a long time, and finally waved his hand away, let's eat...... Now it is too late to reorganize the troops. However, my brothers are accustomed to eating habits, and Comrade Political Commissar should also be considerate of them. When you get to the battlefield, you will be able to defeat the main force of the Jin army entrenched in Xinkou in ten days at most, and maybe you can even arrest Yan Xishan's rebellion. ”

Listening to the partner's confidence, Zhang Guotao smiled and glanced at the mighty division of the Third Army of the Central Army who couldn't see the edge from the end to the end, eating on the side of the road. Nine divisions of the three Route Army, plus an artillery brigade with forty-eight cannons, looked like a blue-gray dragon. Moreover, after the initial transformation of the Central G, political work cadres such as political commissars, instructors, and instructors have been put in place, and the party branch has also been set up to the company. The only thing that is lacking is that a group of old officers who finally Feng Yuxiang are still in their seats...... However, as long as this army can smoothly defeat Xinkou, destroy the main force of the Jin army, and take the lead in the Shanxi campaign. He Zhang Guotao's alternate member of the Politburo is estimated to be able to become a regular, right? If there were no more words, those old officers would not bother with them. He shook his head and smiled, followed behind Feng Yuxiang, and his heart was completely filled with the joy of his imminent victory.

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