Southern suburbs of Chongqing, No. 23 Huangshan, the official residence of the chairman. Chang Kaishen stood in front of the window and said coldly: "Yu is thick, what is the task assigned to you that has not been completed?" ”

Dai Li stood aside respectfully and explained: "The students are ashamed, they were all about to succeed, but they didn't expect a little accident to happen suddenly. In addition, now that the Jicha Headquarters has been transferred to the southern suburbs of Lixian County, the operation has been forced to be suspended. We are currently working on a second package. ”

Chang Kaishen nodded and said, "Well, it is also beneficial to be delayed, so that Wen Bai and they can control the troops more effectively." He also sighed and said: "As soon as Zheng Huzi dies, the Northeast Army will be leaderless, and I will be relieved." ”

Dai Li hesitated and asked, "Headmaster, I heard that Zheng Huzi is preparing for a big counterattack against the Japanese army in North China, do you want to wait until this battle is over before starting?" ”

Chang Kaishen thought for a while, waved his hand and said: "That's not how to talk about it, there are many dreams at night, and the longer it drags on, the more bad it will be for us." Zheng Huzi is dead, can Wen Bai command the troops! ”

Dai Li hurriedly said: "The principal's instructions are correct, then the students will arrange it." ”

……

The southern suburbs of Lixian County, the headquarters of the Jicha Theater. Chief of Staff Zhou excitedly shook the telegram and said: "General, the Military Commission has agreed to our combat plan. This counteroffensive will be commanded by Wei Lihuang, the commander of the First Theater, and you will be the chief of staff, with full command over the troops in the North China theater. Hehe, I really didn't expect the chairman to be so happy! ”

Zheng Weiguo was overjoyed and said repeatedly: "Okay, great! With the cooperation of all theaters, the certainty of success is even greater. No way. I'll have to go to Mt. Nakajo myself and have a good discussion with Chief Wei. This operation is a rare opportunity, and it is better to completely destroy the enemy's transportation system in North China. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou was stunned for a moment and said, "At this time? ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said: "Well, now that Tada Jun has just taken office, he has inherited another mess, and he can't think of making a difference in a short time." We have to seize the gap, otherwise it will not be so easy to wait for the enemy to adjust. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou frowned slightly, and said, "But who will preside over this place after you leave?" What if they take the opportunity to seize power? ”

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment and said, "Of course, you are in charge." But if you have something to discuss, talk to Lao Cheng. Zhang Wenbai is quite kind. And this is Jizhong, even if someone makes waves, they can't capsize the boat. In addition, pay close attention to the surrounding forces, including friendly forces. If there is an opportunity to grab the land. We must resolutely exterminate! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou was shocked when he heard this. Busy said: "Yes, the total seat!" ”

Zheng Weiguo then quietly left Lixian County and went south in the name of inspecting the war preparations in southern Hebei. He was accompanied by a reinforced company of the Guards Battalion directly under the General Assembly. There are more than 200 people in total. This small army all rode on horseback, and there were local governments and troops along the way, and the speed was extremely fast, and it took half a day to reach southern Hebei.

When the troops arrived on the banks of the Fuyang River, they saw a small army in gray military uniforms greet them. Zhu Zi was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Boss, I'll take someone to take a look." ”

Zheng Weiguo stretched out his hand to stop it, and said with a smile: "No need, take a closer look, who is coming?" ”

Zhu Zi hurriedly picked up the binoculars and said happily: "It seems to be Brigade Commander Chen!" I heard that the 386 Brigade killed a brigade of little devils around here, I thought it had been transferred a long time ago, but I didn't expect to stay here. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said with a smile: "I guess it's the little devil who is eyeing it again!" I haven't seen him for half a year, and Chen Geng is becoming more and more cunning. Let's go, and we'll go up too, so as not to be looked down upon! ”

The two cavalry quickly rushed together, fortunately, both sides had good riding skills, otherwise they would have to hit a person on their backs. Brigade Commander Chen smiled, stretched out his hand to grab Zheng Weiguo's horse, and shouted loudly: "Commander-in-Chief Zheng, you are a rare guest, you can be caught after guarding for a long time!" ”

Zheng Weiguo quipped: "Lao Chen, I heard that you have won another big battle, you won't come here to show off, right?" ”

Brigade Commander Chen hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Go, Shaohan people!" What kind of big victory is it to annihilate a brigade? ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled and asked, "How much does it cost?" ”

Brigade Commander Chen said: "If you don't talk about it, you have to have a division!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said with a smile: "Don't dream, let's be honest, one brigade and one brigade will have to fight!" ”

The two walked while talking, and soon came to a temporary camp of the 386th Brigade. Zheng Weiguo observed and found a few unusual places, and couldn't help but say in surprise: "Are you really ready to fight?" ”

Brigadier Chen smiled and said, "How is it, are you interested in partnering?" ”

Zheng Weiguo asked rhetorically: "How are you going to fight?" ”

Brigade Commander Chen explained: "It's still the old way, lure the enemy deep, and then concentrate the three main brigades to make dumplings. If you send a few more troops to reinforce you, you will have a greater certainty. When the time comes, we can distribute the results according to the number of troops sent! ”

Only then did Zheng Weiguo understand that they wanted to eat the independent mixed 8th brigade that had just been transferred to Xingtai, and maybe there was also the independent mixed 1st brigade in Handan. These two devils are really annoying, not to mention that they are stuck on the Pinghan line, and they also cut southern Hebei and western Hebei in half. It is very inconvenient to mobilize materials and personnel in the base areas. Not to mention the Eighth Road, even the 41st Group Army suffered from it, and it was not smooth to transport arms during this time.

However, after thinking about it for a while, Zheng Weiguo still refused, and the most important thing at the moment is to destroy the railway. Otherwise, it would be useless to annihilate an independent mixed brigade, because the Japanese army would soon be able to transfer a division to fill it. And an independent mixed brigade is not so easy to annihilate. As the saying goes, if you kill three thousand, you will lose eight hundred. If the main force suffered too many casualties, what would the Japanese army do to block it when they counterattacked?

As soon as Brigade Commander Chen saw Zheng Huzi's expression, he knew that he didn't want to fight, so he hurriedly persuaded: "Hey, aren't you happy with such a good opportunity?" It's not like your style! I still remember that at the beginning, you drilled wherever there was a war, Taiyuan, Dongyang Pass, Changle Village, and the whole of Shanxi were about to be run by you. Now that the officials are getting bigger and bigger, and the soldiers are bringing more and more, how can the courage become smaller! ”

Zheng Weiguo scolded with a smile: "Don't use this kind of words to provoke me!" Seriously, I don't approve of such a massive war of annihilation right now. The key now is to destroy the railway, preferably so that there is not an inch of railroad tracks, not a single sleeper, or even a bridge with a load of more than a ton in North China. As soon as the railroad was destroyed, the Japanese army had to rely on automobile transportation. When the time comes, let's fight one, and we have to collapse the logistics of the little devil! ”

Brigadier Chen thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Hmm, what you said makes sense. I'll talk to the teacher about it when I find time. However, there are fighters appearing, and they still can't let go. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Hmm." Of course! He asked again: "Is the railway south of Shijiazhuang open to traffic now?" ”

Brigadier Chen slapped his thigh. Said excitedly: "How can it be so fast!" Not counting the destruction of the railroad tracks, more than 30 kilometers were removed by us alone, and eight bridges, large and small, were also blown up by the sappers you sent. In my opinion, it will take a month to get to work, to say the least. ”

Zheng Weiguo said happily: "You have to fight like this." After beating the little devil a few more times, he didn't even have the money to build the road. However, the intensity needs to be strengthened. From Shijiazhuang to Anyang. Only one-eighth of the more than 200-kilometer-long railway has been removed, which is too little. ”

Brigadier Chen said regretfully: "The main reason is that our transportation capacity is insufficient, and the stripped rails have not had time to be moved. ”

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment. said: "Don't worry about this, next time you tell the villagers that Jixi and Jizhong have opened up the purchase of railroad tracks, and the subsidized freight is far away." ”

Now the arsenal is developing its own shells, which require a lot of steel. Although the rail steel is on the soft side, it is not a problem to make an ordinary grenade warhead. And after processing, it can also be changed to gun barrel steel. After all, with a steel base, it is much simpler than smelting directly from pig iron.

Brigadier Chen nodded and said, "Cheng!" He smiled again: "In that case, let's make a deal!" ”

Zheng Weiguo glanced at him vigilantly and asked, "What deal?" ”

Brigade Commander Chen said: "I'll help you transport the rails, and you can add ten more artillery pieces to me!" That kind of Bailu type anti-aircraft artillery is done! ”

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment and said, "It's too small, let's just make a big deal." Ten kilometers of railroad tracks, one cannon, freight separately, how about it? ”

In later generations, the rails were about seventy or eighty kilograms per meter, so they were called 70 tracks and 80 tracks. During the Republican period, the rails were much lighter, about 40 kilograms per meter, and ten kilometers were 400 tons. And a Bailu type anti-aircraft gun is less than 300 kg. This business has also done a lot of blackheartedness.

However, Brigade Commander Chen obviously didn't see it that way, he was stunned for a moment, and said tentatively: "Count it according to a single track?" ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Well, the ten-kilometer-long double-track railway is forty kilometers of rails, do you want to do it?" ”

Brigade Chen was overjoyed, slapped the table and said: "Dry, just say this to you, I have to strip all the railways south of Shijiazhuang!" I'll do the math, hey, there's a 1,600-kilometer-long track, and you don't have to worry about artillery when the time comes, haha! ”

Zheng Weiguo couldn't help laughing, doing business is like this, it's good for everyone to think it's worth it.

Due to his hurry to Zhongtiao Mountain, Zheng Weiguo only rested for one night in southern Hebei, and hurried to western Hebei the next day. When passing by the Pinghan Line, I found that the Japanese army was desperately rushing to repair it. But it seems that I can't really fix it for a while. Historically, in order to build the Shide Railway from Shijiazhuang to Dezhou, the Japanese army spent eight months in less than 200 kilometers. Now not only has more than 30 kilometers of railways been stripped away, but a large number of sections and bridges have been damaged, which is enough for them to work for a while.

The Japanese army was busy restoring the railroad and was not heavily guarded. The troops easily broke through the Japanese blockade line, and then went straight from the Yuan clan to Zanhuang, and then came towards Ping'an County. Since he left Ping'an County last summer, Zheng Huzi has not been back for half a year.

"Boss, Head Zhang and Deputy Head Li are here to greet you!" The pillar stood on the horse and shouted excitedly.

Regiment Commander Zhang is the former commander of the 34th Brigade, Zhang Haiyan. Deputy Regiment Commander Li is Li Dazhuang, former deputy commander of the 34th Brigade. Zheng Weiguo had four main forces when he first entered Henan, although the strongest combat effectiveness was the 33rd Brigade adapted from the rest of the Northwest Army, but in the final analysis, the 34th Brigade composed of soldiers from the Northeast was the real old foundation, and it was the old buddies who had followed him for many years and raised troops in Ping'an County. Since the 34th Brigade was reorganized into the Ping'an County Anti-Japanese Security Corps, everyone has been on their own side, saying that it is false that they don't want to miss it.

"Headquarters!" Li Dazhuang galloped to Zheng Weiguo, made a sudden stop, jumped off his horse, and gave a military salute excitedly.

"Da Zhuang, you are still so reckless!" Zheng Weiguo punched him, and came to a bear hug again.

"Total, total!" Zhang Haiyan and Li Sanniu and several other old brothers also arrived one after another. Several people hugged each other excitedly. I couldn't help but burst into tears at the corners of my eyes. After a while, Wang Da, secretary of the county party committee, Li Zhenan, county magistrate, and others also arrived. After a long absence, everyone is very excited.

Li Zhenan said with emotion: "Mr. Zongzao, I didn't expect you to be gone for half a year, and everyone will miss you!" ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled: "Aren't I coming back?" ”

Li Sanniu said excitedly: "Yes, I have also been promoted to commander-in-chief of the theater!" I couldn't even think of it before! ”

Zheng Weiguo quipped: "Sanzi, do you want to promote you to an official?" ”

Li Sanniu's old face turned red, and he hurriedly said: "How can I be an official!" But can I also go out to lead the troops to fight, and I will be suffocated to death in this mountain lump! ”

Zheng Weiguo said apologetically: "Not yet." You should honestly stay in Ping'an County for two years! He also explained: "I know that this arrangement is very unfair to you. I think that several brigade commanders and even deputy brigade commanders have become the commanders of the main regiments, Duan Shuanghu is still the commander of the military division, and Zhao Yunxiang has become the division commander. But a few of you can only stay in the mountains. I have indeed wronged you. ”

Zhang Haiyan hurriedly said: "The general seat is serious. Ping'an County is the back road of our army. It is also an arsenal and the largest reserve of supplies. We don't guard who will guard! ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded with satisfaction, and asked again: "I have been gone for half a year, has Ping'an County changed a lot?" ”

Wang Da smiled: "Seeing is believing. It's a vain to hear, so please take a look for yourself! ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and smiled: "It's okay!" ”

After more than half a year of development, Ping'an County has indeed undergone great changes. In the past, the village was made of adobe houses, but now many new brick houses have been built.

Li Zhen'an explained: "It was mainly repaired by the engineering troops, and the villages also provided some strong labor. Everyone worked together, and it didn't take long. The houses that were burned down by the little devils have been rebuilt, and the villagers who used to live in grass huts and cowsheds have also moved into new houses. ”

The troops in Ping'an County are roughly divided into three systems, the first is the anti-Japanese security regiment, about 3,000 people; the second is the militia with the county brigade, the district squad, and the militia company of each village as the main body; The third is the engineering troops, which are mainly responsible for construction. This force is organized in the form of a force, but is managed as a worker, effectively equivalent to a construction company.

Zhang Haiyan explained: "Tunnels have been dug between the villages, and there are auxiliary traffic trenches. After organizing representatives to visit the Yongqing Underground Great Wall last time, we are working on the reinforcement work, which will be completed by next summer at the latest. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded with satisfaction, and asked again: "There are so many troops, and the tasks are so heavy, is the burden on the villagers great?" ”

Wang Da said with a smile: "Although there are many troops, most of them are militiamen, and there are not many people who are out of production, so we only collect land tax and value-added tax now, which is much lower than the burden on the surrounding base areas." Many ordinary people from the surrounding districts and counties came to us, causing the Eighth Route Army to complain to us several times. ”

Zheng Weiguo couldn't help laughing and said, "If they have any opinions, you can come and learn our policies!" Then he asked, "How is the arsenal developing now?" ”

Zhang Haiyan said: "I have been to see it a few times, and it is quite prosperous, but they are managed independently, and we don't know the specific situation. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "You guys make arrangements, and I'll go to the arsenal tomorrow to have a look." ”

Wang Da said in surprise: "So anxious? ”

The arsenal is built on the westernmost Taihang Mountain in Ping'an County, the mountain is high and the road is far away, although it is in the same county, it has to walk for a day or two. This is the result of continuous road construction later, and it is difficult to move an inch in the snowy mountains if it is put on hold.

Zhang Haiyan also persuaded: "General seat, there is still a lot of snow on the mountain now, so let's rest for a day and then enter the mountain!" ”

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and said: "You don't need to persuade me, time is pressing, I have to go far away, I can save a little time!" ”

On the same day, Zheng Weiguo and his entourage rushed to Qiliba in one go, rested only for one night, and rushed to the mountains early the next morning. The original mountain road has been expanded tenfold due to the frequent entry and exit of vehicles to transport products and raw materials.

Zhang Haiyan said with a smile: "Boss, how do you see this road being built?" A lot of the lots were blown up directly by the sapper demolition unit! ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Well, the road surface is still very good." It's just that it's built so spacious, what if the Japanese army attacks? ”

Zhang Haiyan explained: "Our defense plan is divided into three parts, the first is to intercept the enemy in the east of the county through the layers of Ping'an County; The second is to block all the passages into the mountain, and the transportation of materials is also unified in Qiliba transit, so that it is difficult for outsiders to find out the location of this road, even if they break into the mountainous area, they will not be able to find the road for a while. ”

Zheng Weiguo asked: "What if the enemy not only breaks through your blockade and breaks into the Eighth Division, but also finds this way?" ”

Zhang Haiyan said calmly: "Then you can only use the fortifications on this road to fight with the little devil!" Please see, on both sides of this road, we have built a lot of hidden forts, some are hidden in the caves on the mountainside, and some are hidden on the opposite mountain, all of which have been specially reinforced with reinforced concrete. ”

Zheng Weiguo observed it for a moment and said with interest: "Good job!" I'll send you a few defense experts when you get back, and you can strengthen this place a little more, maybe it will really come in handy! ”

After walking for most of the day, I finally arrived at Mingren Village. Because he came secretly this time, Zheng Weiguo did not disturb the reclusive mountain people, but went directly to the arsenal hidden in a nearby cave. Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived outside the arsenal, Zheng Weiguo saw an extremely annoying thing. Dozens of machine tools are placed outside the cave, and it is exposed to the wind and sun, frost and rain.

Zheng Weiguo was angry at that time, and called the person in charge of the arsenal to scold: "What's going on!" Do you know where these machines came about? Every machine is stained with the blood of martyrs! How dare you treat them like this, believe it or not, I'll kill you! (To be continued......)