"I plan to send the 63rd Army to Suiyuan!" Zheng Weiguo glanced at everyone and said slowly.

The reason why heavy reinforcements were dispatched was to return Fu Zuoyi's favor, and secondly, the darker idea in my heart was that I would rather beat Suiyuan to smash it and keep Jizhong. Not only because Jizhong is its own territory, but also because Jizhong is the largest granary in the whole of North China. The evil consequences of Jizhong's loss have already been performed once in history, and Zheng Huzi doesn't want to try it a second time.

"Ah, how can this be? I don't agree! Unexpectedly, as soon as the words fell, there was a lot of opposition, and everyone's reasons were also very good. Because the situation in Jizhong was not much more relaxed than that in Suiyuan, although the 9th Division and the 10th Division retreated one after another, the Japanese army still retained a huge army on the periphery of Jizhong. Moreover, with the formation of a large number of puppet army garrison units, the field divisions and regiments are about to free up. If the Japanese attack again, it is likely that it will be not just two divisions, but four or even six. In this case, it is too late to protect oneself, how can we save others?

But if Suiyuan is not reinforced, once Baotou falls again, Fu Zuoyi's troops may be blocked in Suixi. In history, except for the first sneak attack on Baotou, Fu Zuoyi's department failed to take another step east of Baotou for nearly five years. It's not that I don't want to, but Baotou City is too strong, and the location is extremely important, and I can't beat it down and can't get around.

Zheng Weiguo believes that fighting a war is the same as playing Go, and there must be more than two eyes. If there is only one eye, it is a dead chess piece, and it cannot last long. Now that Jizhong counts one eye, where is the next eye? The most suitable location is Suiyuan. It is backed by the great northwest and bordered by the Soviet Union, which can be attacked and defended, and it can advance and retreat. And if you want to keep Suiyuan's breath, the most important thing is to keep Baotou, otherwise you will be excluded from the chessboard and will not be able to form a joint force with Jizhong.

Political Commissar Cheng was also a little uneasy at first, but he considered the problem from the perspective of the overall situation, believing that reinforcing Suiyuan could better unite Fu Zuoyi's troops and help stabilize the united front. So quickly changed the mindset. expressed support for Zheng Weiguo's opinion.

Chief of Staff Zhou then agreed to send troops. He relied on the problem from a purely military point of view, and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, I think that the Japanese army will not be able to invade the base area again in a short period of time. And Baotou is in danger of falling at any time. So it is imperative to reinforce Baotou! ”

Everyone was a little puzzled when they heard this. Why do you say that the Japanese army will not invade Jizhong in the short term? Deputy Chief of Staff Li asked directly: "What is the basis for the remarks of the Senate?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou casually took out a secret telegram and said with a smile: "This is sent by Chief Wei Lihuang, you will understand after reading it!" ”

Zheng Weiguo has sharp eyes. Glancing at the contents of the telegram, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and said excitedly: "Is Chief Wei going to do it too?" ”

If Suiyuan is the second eye, Zhongtiao Mountain is the third eye. The terrain here is dangerous, the outside strangles North China, the inside is in the Guanzhong, there are mountains and rivers, and it is backed by Shaanxi and Henan, and it is also an important material supplement place for the various ministries in North China.

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded and smiled: "Yes, Chief Wei has decided to officially launch a full-front counteroffensive against Jinnan in two days, striving to defeat the 20th Division in one fell swoop and completely recover more than a dozen counties in Jinnan." ”

"yes, that's great!" When they heard this, they all shouted and cheered. Since both Political Commissar Cheng and Chief of Staff Zhou supported Zheng Weiguo's opinion, the dispatch of troops was quickly approved.

Subsequently, the 63rd Army quickly set out and forcibly crossed the Pinghan Line through the encirclement of the 14th Division and the 110th Division. This caused a lot of turmoil on the Japanese North China Front. In particular, the 14th Division and the 110th Division used to only need to deal with the central Hebei side, but now they are under the enemy's back, and they suddenly feel constrained, and they have to temporarily stop the erosion of the base areas in central Hebei.

Two days later, the national army of Nakajo Mountain launched a massive counterattack. The strength of the national army in Jinnan is still quite abundant, there are the 4th Group Army Sun Weiru Division, the 5th Group Army Zeng Wanzhong Division, the 14th Group Army (Wei Lihuang is also the commander-in-chief), the 36th Group Army Li Jiayu Division (because of the early promotion of Dongyang Pass), a total of 11 armies, compared with the same period in history, although there are some discrepancies, but the strength is only strong but not weak.

The Propaganda Department of the First Theater (note: at that time, Zhongtiao Mountain had already been assigned to the First War Zone) announced that a total of 150,000 troops had been dispatched, supplemented by the Air Force, which was unprecedentedly huge. The Japanese army was only deployed on the front of Zhongtiao Mountain, with only one brigade each of the 20th Division and the 108th Division.

I thought it would be a one-sided victory, but I didn't expect the result to surprise everyone. The Nationalist army was not only unable to counterattack, but was broken by the concentrated forces of the Japanese army. The Fourth Army and the Fourteenth Army, which attacked the most fiercely, suffered heavy casualties, but only took three county towns. And two of the counties soon fell in the Japanese counterattack.

What is even more depressing is that in the whole battle, except for the original 20th Division and the 108th Division, the Japanese army did not reinforce a single soldier, and even the 109th Division stationed in Taiyuan, which was close at hand, did not move.

In this way, the expected mass mobilization of enemy forces will certainly not be realized. The pressure has returned to Jizhong, where the Japanese forces on the periphery have barely decreased, while Jizhong has only three main divisions and one armored cavalry division that is running low on fuel.

Everyone was very puzzled and said, "Chief Wei is a rare tiger general in the national army, and there are many elite troops under his command, how can he fight like this!" ”

Zheng Weiguo had a dark face and said, "Go, call Zhang Cunshi to me!" Zhang Cunshi, the director of the intelligence department, arrived quickly.

"What the hell is going on?" Zheng Weiguo asked in a deep voice.

Zhang Cunshi hurriedly reported: "Report to the general seat, according to our reconnaissance, collection, statistics found that there are many problems, I have summarized them, there are three main points! ”

Zheng Weiguo hurriedly asked, "Those three points? ”

Zhang Cunshi replied: "First, the act is not secret, so that the Japanese army can master the battle plan in advance!" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou was taken aback and said in a lost voice: "Ah, how is this possible? ”

Political Commissar Cheng's face changed suddenly, and he exclaimed: "Could it be that there is a traitor!" ”

Zhang Cunshi smiled bitterly: "It's not necessarily a traitor, but the Japanese puppet spies must have penetrated into the interior of Zhongtiao Mountain." This time, thankfully, we attacked. If the Japanese attack the consequences, it is simply unimaginable! ”

Political Commissar Cheng said in surprise: "Is it so serious? I listened to the people from the field work group, uh, Chief Wei Lihuang, that their political propaganda work and the discipline of the troops are doing a good job! ”

The field work group is a political propaganda unit jointly established by Wei Lihuang and the underground party of China G, so the Eighth Route can obtain a lot of information through this. However, this kind of thing is not good to be hyped up, and Political Commissar Cheng felt speechless, so he hurriedly changed his words to cover it up, and was relieved to find that everyone was not paying attention.

Zhang Cunshi smiled bitterly: "Maybe Chief Wei's descendants of the 9th Army and the 14th Army are okay, and the Fourth Army may be okay." It is difficult to say about the other troops. According to the report of the troops we sent to build the factory. The 3rd Army had already blatantly cultivated opium. ”

Deputy Chief of Staff Li said bitterly: "How can this be done! Then he asked, "Does Chief Wei know about the situation of Lu Dao, why didn't he stop it?" ”

Zhang Cunshi was stunned for a moment and said, "Chief Wei should know some of the circumstances, but I don't know what he is doing." Spying on friendly forces is a taboo thing to do. Our people don't want to ask too much! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou sighed. "Alas," he said. I'm afraid that Chief Wei is also in a dilemma! ”

Deputy Chief of Staff Li said curiously: "How do you say this, can't the dignified commander of the theater still manage this kind of thing?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou explained: "Now that there is a shortage of materials, many troops are not even able to pay enough for the national hardship salary (that is, discounted on the original basis). It can be said that there is a shortage of food and ammunition. For example, the 3rd Army can not only improve the life of the troops, but also reduce the pressure on supplies. ”

He added: "What's more, even if the 3rd Army is stopped, it may not be able to listen." For example, if Zhang Dashuai wanted Yu Zhishan, Zhang Haipeng and others to ban growing big cigarettes, would they do it? ”

Yu Zhishan and Zhang Haipeng were both minor warlords within the Northeast Army, and later took refuge with the Japanese. When Zhang Dashuai was alive, he could only barely maintain the master-slave relationship.

Deputy Chief of Staff Li sighed, shook his head and said, "This naturally can't be, cut off people's money, and they don't work hard?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou sighed: "This is the difficulty of Chief Wei!" ”

Everyone said indignantly: "The warlord has misled the country! ”

Director Zhang Cunshi said: "It's not enough to just grow opium, but the problem is that the garrison departments still have to buy and sell it, and there is nothing they dare not sell grain, munitions, and tobacco." The entire Zhongtiao Mountain has become a place for business, and the defense is useless, and Japanese secret agents, secret agents, and even caravans can enter and exit in a big way. What else are you talking about military secrets? The troops have not had time to move, and the enemy has already found out clearly, isn't it not the first defeat before the battle? ”

Everyone sighed and asked, "What about the second reason?" ”

Director Zhang said: "It's still an old problem, the wolf can't go to the dog." After the Japanese army grasped the offensive plan of our army, it focused on attacking the troops that were rising, such as the 9th Army and the 14th Army after being ambushed by the Japanese army, the 3rd Army on the right flank deliberately refused to reinforce, and the 17th Army on the right flank was also suspected of slacking off! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou sighed with emotion: "Chief Wei is so good, but his control over the troops, especially the miscellaneous cards, is too weak. It's also to blame the old man for not trusting him, and he can't use the heavy code. Speaking of which, the four armies have their own plans, alas! ”

He asked again: "The third reason is that some troops can't do their work, right?" ”

Director Zhang nodded and said, "What the senza said is right! If it's just a wolf and a dog, there are still quite a few troops in the various departments of the Zhongtiao Mountain Army who are willing to be wolves and eat meat. However, some generals only eat meat and do not gnaw bones, and they can't take a stronghold for a few days, and at the end of the day, they only killed and injured dozens of people. ”

Political Commissar Cheng said curiously: "Why is this? ”

Chief of Staff Zhou smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid that the loss will be too big and I won't be able to replenish it!" "For warlords, the root of all power and interests is the troops in their hands, how can they let their strength be damaged? And Chang Kaishen likes to borrow knives to kill people, and those miscellaneous soldiers dare not let go of the fight.

Zheng Weiguo was silent for a moment, and said regretfully: "It seems that it is not easy for Zhongtiao Mountain to become a living eye for a while. Then he asked, "The factory we built is going well, right?" ”

The so-called troops who built factories actually went to the mines. There are very few copper mines in North China, among which the only one that is more convenient to mine and relatively safe is Zhongtiao Mountain. Therefore, Zheng Weiguo built a military-run mine in Zhongtiao Mountain in the name of the 41st Group Army, and said that he would give Wei Lihuang two percent of the cadre shares. This is a major event for the benefit of the country and the army, and Chief Wei simply invested dozens of machines and 100,000 oceans of share capital, with each side accounting for 50 percent of the shares. The output is split between the two sides in half.

Director Zhang hurriedly said: "Yes, with the support of Chief Wei, the mining is very smooth." Moreover, copper mining, smelting, and rolling are relatively simple, and bullet shells can be officially produced in a month at most. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said with satisfaction: "Well, that's good!" In my opinion, this unit will be expanded in the future, and we will strive to build a garrison brigade of 10,000 people. In this way, if something goes wrong with Zhongtiao Mountain, we can also intervene in time. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly persuaded: "This is not good, Chief." Chief Wei has been kind to you and has been the most friendly to us, so would it be counterproductive to do so? It's not good for Chief Wei to think that we have ulterior motives. ”

Political Commissar Cheng also expressed opposition. After all, Wei Lihuang is the most friendly to China among the generals of the national army. The distribution of 1 million rounds of ammunition in one go is truly unprecedented. Such a person naturally belongs to the scope of unity, how can he give people eye medicine?

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and smiled: "You have misunderstood, this matter must first obtain the consent of Chief Wei." I'll take the time to go to Mt. Nakajo myself. There are some things that you will know later. ”

There is Wei Lihuang in nature, and there is not much problem in the middle of the mountain. Even though the offense is weak. The defense can still hold out for a while. But Zheng Huzi knew that Wei Lihuang and Zhong G were too close. Sooner or later, he will be transferred by the chairman. The situation was similar to that of Sun Weiru of the Fourth Army. If you don't plan for a rainy day now, it will be too late to prepare when the time comes. And Zheng Huzi has a bigger plan in his heart, that is, the integration of North China. Of course. There is too much resistance to this plan at the moment, so we can only take it slowly.

Deputy Chief of Staff Li interjected: "General Seat, everyone, I don't think there is a rush on the side of Zhongtiao Mountain, but the pressure we are facing in Jizhong is even greater. Now that the situation in Baotou is not so tense, should we withdraw the 63rd Army? ”

After several days and nights of rapid marching, the 63rd Army has now rushed to the northern part of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, which is the so-called southern Chahar-Ji region. It is very close to Zhangjiakou and can directly threaten the headquarters of the Mongolian army. Although he did not directly participate in the offensive and defensive battles in Baotou, he forced the troops stationed in Mongolia to transfer the independent mixed second brigade back to Zhangjiakou, which effectively responded to the battle in Suixi.

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment and said, "Wait a minute!" ”

After waiting for a few days, the Japanese army formed a confrontation with our army in Zhongtiao Mountain, and then fought with various units of the national army in the area of Chanan and Suiyuan. At the same time, the pressure on Jizhong is increasing. As a result, more and more people will demand the withdrawal of troops. Zheng Weiguo also began to waver. To withdraw or not to withdraw? If you don't withdraw, what if Baotou is not saved, but Jizhong suffers huge losses?

Just when the two sides were arguing about this, Chief of Staff Zhou suddenly flew a telegram and shouted excitedly: "Everyone, everyone, don't fight, the latest information has come from the front line in Baotou, and the Japanese army has withdrawn!" ”

"What, retired from the army? It doesn't make sense! Political Commissar Cheng grabbed his hair, feeling incredible, his face suddenly changed, and he exclaimed: "Is Sugiyama Yuan going to besiege Jizhong again?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou put the information on the table, shook his head and said: "It shouldn't be, there is no reason to let the troops go back and forth, even if the fool Yuan can do it, the Japanese army base camp can't get through!" ”

Political Commissar Cheng nodded and said: "That's right, no matter how many troops the Japanese army has and no matter how strong its transportation capacity is, it can't withstand such a toss!" ”

Deputy Chief of Staff Li thought for a moment and hesitated: "Could it be because of Jinnan?" Chief Wei Lihuang's side has exerted force? ”

Chief of Staff Zhou sighed slightly and said, "It shouldn't be this reason, I contacted it just now, and both sides are exhausted." It is enough for the Japanese army to reinforce and transfer the 109th Division, so why let the troops stationed in Mongolia retreat! ”

Deputy Chief of Staff Li hummed, agreed, and said suspiciously: "What is the reason for that?" ”

It took them a few days before they got a piece of information from Feng Kun, but everyone couldn't believe it after reading it. Because the explanation given by the North China Front Command was "to let all units celebrate the New Year safely." From this glance, we can see that the road is nonsense, and the Japanese army has never had the practice of making a truce for the New Year. For example, in the 37th year of the Japanese New Year, the Japanese Central China Dispatch Army was spent in the sea of corpses and blood in Nanjing.

The sudden withdrawal of Japanese troops from Baotou and the inexplicable stay of the German army outside Dunkirk for two weeks were later known as the two major suspenseful events in the history of World War II. It was not until after the war that the archives of the Japanese army were declassified that it was discovered that the road was related to logistics, and that it involved the competition for resources between the army and navy, the contradictions between the Eastern Army and the North China Front, and the internal strife between the Mongolian army and the First Army. The immediate reason for this is that Japan's national strength is in danger of being exhausted. It turned out that the Battle of Wuhan in this time and space was much more tragic than in history, and the loss of the Japanese army, especially the consumption of materials, was also much greater. Not to mention anything else, even the field rations and ammunition for a month of the hundreds of thousands of troops are also extremely staggering.

Originally, after the Battle of Wuhan, both the military and the government agreed that they should recuperate for a period of time, and as long as they digested the fruits of the victory in the Battle of Wuhan, Japan's strength would be able to rise to a higher level. At that time, whether it is to clear North China, stabilize Central China, or continue to advance westward, it will be a matter of being able to capture it.

However, what the base camp and the government did not expect was that the scale of the war in North China was getting bigger and bigger, and there were many troops lost, almost a brigade was lost before and after the Third Division of Jizhong, and a cavalry brigade stationed in Baotou was also killed and wounded. In addition, the restoration of the Pinghan Line required a large number of railroad tracks, and the army took the opportunity to eat more and occupy more, which finally stimulated the contradictions. The final result is to play 50 boards each, and then "go home for the New Year".

This result was extremely beneficial to the various units of the Nationalist Army in Jizhong and North China, and a total of one month was won from the Japanese New Year to the Chinese New Year. However, at that time, the Jizhong side did not know the real reason for the road, who would have thought that the seemingly powerful Japanese army would have a period of material depletion at the end of 38?

Of course, everyone didn't believe the New Year's statement, and Political Commissar Cheng said at the time: "Basically, it is certain that this is a pretext for the Japanese army." ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Well, I think this too, and I have ordered all departments to step up investigations." ”

Chief of Staff Zhou also said: "In order to guard against a possible surprise attack by the Japanese army, we also carried out emergency mobilization, and recruited 50,000 new recruits in ten days last week and this Monday. ”

Political Commissar Cheng hurriedly asked: "Will recruiting so many people at once have any impact on agricultural production in the base areas?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou said with a smile: "Lao Cheng, this is the north, in the winter, how can there be any agricultural production?" Do you think it's your hometown? ”

Political Commissar Cheng smiled awkwardly and said continuously: "That's good, that's good!" He asked Zheng Weiguo again: "The siege of Baotou has been lifted, can the 63rd Army be transferred back?" It's always bad to have an empty base! ”

Zheng Weiguo explained: "There is a new batch of supplies in Suiyuan, there are more of them, and I plan to let the 63rd Army pick them up." The rotation is half a month, and the problem should not be big. ”

Political Commissar Cheng was puzzled: "Isn't there a 34th Division?" ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled: "Didn't I say it? There are a lot of supplies in this batch! As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper and showed it to Political Commissar Cheng and Chief of Staff Zhou, and the eyes of the two immediately burst into surprise.

Chief of Staff Zhou said with surprise and joy: "General seat, how can there be so many?" ”

Zheng Weiguo explained: "I was worried that the material channel would be exposed, so I made a few big deals in one go! When they heard this, they both laughed with joy.

Chief of Staff Zhou said happily: "With this batch of materials, it will not be a problem for us to build two more armies!" ”

Zheng Weiguo shook his head and said: "I also want to give half of the eight roads, which is what I said at the beginning!" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded, oh, and didn't ask again.

However, Political Commissar Cheng quipped: "With so many supplies, I'm afraid that a few CEOs will also be in a hurry, so don't fight when the time comes!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said with a smile: "Well, Mr. Peng said the same thing, so he decided to put it in Jinchaji first, and then distribute it after everyone has negotiated." It is said that several CEOs set off overnight when they heard the news, and it is estimated that they will not be able to sleep tonight. (To be continued......)

PS: I'm sorry, it's so late every time, I must be earlier tomorrow, this is the promise of the mountain people!