The guards went separately to the ministers, and soon a makeshift conference room was filled with officers, including the commanders of the brigades and regiments, as well as the leaders of the departments and units directly under the military headquarters.

It may be because of a bad breath in the early hours of this morning, and Brigade Commander Zhao Yunxiang is in a particularly good mood. When he came in, he was still joking: "Ha, guys are here, if this is bombarded by the little devils, Tu Feiyuan will make a lot of money." ”

When everyone heard this, they were all happy to laugh.

Duan Shuanghu patted him on the shoulder and said in a low voice: "Don't talk nonsense, something is wrong!" ”

Zhao Yunxiang has been cating in the direction of the ferry, and he still doesn't know about Lu Daolanfeng, and said with a blank face: "What's the big deal, aren't our people here?" ”

Duan Shuanghu explained: "It's not us, it's something wrong with the south." Last night, the Lanfeng garrison fled completely, and the little devils drove into the city early this morning. ”

Zhao Yunxiang was taken aback, his eyes widened and he said, "What? Gui Yongqing ran away again! ”

At this time, most of the officers in the room knew what was going on, and there was a lot of discussion for a while. Zheng Weiguo patted the table and said, "Be quiet, the reason for calling everyone here must be known to everyone." Early this morning, the Japanese army had already occupied Lanfengcheng, and the various units of the 14th Division were connected together. ”

Zhang Haiyan, commander of the 34th Brigade, said: "Military seat, then do we want to cross the river immediately?" ”

Zheng Weiguo shook his head and said, "The chairman's order is for us to stick to the north bank in case the Japanese army flees north. We can't act rashly until a new order arrives. Besides. Several major ferries on the south bank are controlled by the Japanese army, and it is difficult for us to cross the river! ”

Deputy Army Commander Wang Qifeng also did not approve of crossing the river. He said: "Junzuo, colleagues, in Wang's humble opinion, we must not cross the river!" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou said curiously: "Deputy seat, why is this?" ”

Wang Qifeng sneered: "Gui Yongqing is the direct descendant of the chairman of the committee, and the favorite general of the first phase of Huangpu. What about us? In the eyes of the chairman, it is just a remnant of the Northeast Army! What if I go to the south bank to wipe Gui Yongqing's buttocks, and the devil runs away from the north bank? A basin that is not strictly guarded, fears the enemy, and escapes the enemy will immediately be on the head! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou since the army. has been fighting in the central army. Although it was a little unsatisfactory, there were still some feelings. Hearing Deputy Commander Wang say this, he was busy snorting and said with a smile: "Deputy seat, you are too worried." Not so much the chairman! ”

Deputy Division Commander Zhang Dongkai rolled his eyes. Say, "Not to others." It's hard to say yes to us! ”

Seeing that the people on both sides were still arguing, Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and said, "Don't say these words!" Whether or not to go to the south bank depends on the situation of the enemy and our army. It also depends on the instructions of the war zone, not what we want. ”

Duan Shuanghu was puzzled: "Junzao, what do you mean by summoning us together?" ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "First, report the enemy's situation, lest you still think that victory is in sight and do not want to forge ahead; Second, whether we cross the Yellow River south or not, we must make preparations. Now most of the troops are resting. I know that the brothers are very hard, so I have no objection to rest, but rest is not recuperation, and you must all grasp your work when you go back, and be ready to fight at any time, and fight a big battle! Do you understand? ”

All the officers hurriedly stood up and said in unison: "Understood! ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said to Chief of Staff Zhou: "Chief of Staff, you assign tasks to various units according to the No. 1 Combat Readiness Order!" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded and said, "Okay!" ”

This combat readiness order was not formulated by the government or the military commission, but the 97th Army's own military action plan. According to the different enemy situations, this combat readiness order is divided into special, first, second, and third levels, and each level also has detailed plans and detailed rules, which can deal with a variety of complex situations and unexpected situations.

After receiving the order, the ministers and the heads of various units quickly went back to set up, and soon only a few high-level people remained in the conference room. Including Zheng Huzi, Deputy Commander Wang, Chief of Staff Zhou, Duan Shuanghu, Zhang Dongkai and other five people. After the pillar in charge of the guard duty poured tea for them, he also stood outside the door with the guards.

Wang Qifeng was a little anxious, and said: "Junzuo, your eyebrows are burned, you are still in the mood to drink tea!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said helplessly: "We have done everything that should be done, no matter how urgent it is, it is useless!" ”

Duan Shuanghu said with a smile: "Deputy seat, didn't you oppose the southern crossing of the Yellow River just now?" ”

Wang Qifeng waved his hand and said, "I'm not against crossing the river, I just want to remind everyone, don't fall for Lao Jiang!" You say, has our Northeast Army suffered less from Lao Jiang over the years? In my opinion, it is better to seize the ferry first, relieve the worries of the future, and then we will be invincible, or attack or defend, we can take advantage of the situation. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou blinked and did not speak. He didn't expect Deputy Army Commander Wang to hate Lao Jiang so much, for fear that if he talked too much, others would misunderstand that he was a fan of Jiang.

In fact, Deputy Commander Wang's hatred of Lao Jiang was mainly because of the young marshal's imprisonment. Speaking of which, Deputy Army Commander Wang is not a descendant of the young marshal, and he is not even a descendant within the Northeast Army. But he was very loyal to the young marshal and the Northeast Army.

After the Xi'an Incident, Wang Qifeng personally went to Xi'an to participate in the aftermath, and after the young marshal was detained by Chang Kaishen, he advocated the rescue of the "deputy commander". It's a pity that the "22" incident occurred in 1937, which led to the Northeast Army being torn apart due to internal strife, and he had to return to the army depressed.

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "The ferry is definitely going to be taken." It's just that Chen Liukou is still in the hands of the Japanese army, and their heavy artillery can provide strong fire support for the defenders of Guantai. If we attack by force, not to mention the casualties, we may not be able to defeat it. ”

At present, the 1st Brigade of the 33rd Brigade is covering the engineer battalion and the people to build fortifications in the villages outside the ferry. These fortifications consisted of jagged trenches and S-shaped communication trenches, with specially reinforced anti-artillery holes at regular intervals. Although very rudimentary, it can effectively reduce the threat posed by heavy artillery.

Duan Shuanghu said: "Does the military seat want to dig all the way to the Guantai ferry in the way of earthwork? The casualties are small, but the action is too slow, and I am afraid that it will take ten days and half a month to take effect. ”

Zheng Weiguo sighed and said, "Hmm." If only the national army on the south bank could send a unit to cooperate with our army's attack. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou slapped his thigh and said, "That's right! Why didn't I think of that? Commander, did you make a suggestion to the chairman? ”

Zheng Weiguo shook his head and said, "Forget it, if Lan Feng is lost, the chairman must be urgently discussing countermeasures, let's adapt to the situation!" "The 97th Army independently annihilated a brigade and regiment, and the limelight has been enough, so it is better to keep a low profile now, so as not to suffer from unwarranted suspicion.

In Zhengzhou, Henan. The chairman of the committee was yelling at the phone: "I am Jiang Zhongzheng. Pick me up Commander Gui Yongqing! ”

When the operator heard this, he was immediately frightened and hurriedly went to find Gui Yongqing. Gui Yongqing picked up the phone tremblingly, and immediately heard the chairman's angry and hoarse voice: "Gui Yongqing! How did you become a military commander? Who told you to retreat from Lanfeng? Who gave the order? How do you bring the soldiers? What did the Japanese army do 2. Occupied the Chenliukou (ferry) of the Yellow River in 3 days? Why don't you fight back right away? ”

The chairman of the committee asked every question. The officers in the room trembled. Gui Yongqing himself tilted his head back desperately, as if he had been blown by a strong wind.

Gui Yongqing said nervously: "Commission, my troops have been disrupted. The 97th Army refused to send troops to support us on the north bank, so I could only recapture Chenliukou after gathering troops in Qixian. As for Lan Feng's situation, I don't know, it was the commander of the 88th Division, Long Muhan, who was in charge of the defense, and I didn't order him to retreat. ”

The chairman of the committee was even more annoyed when he heard this, and he continued to scold: "Niang Xipi! Long Muhan disobeyed the military order and retreated without authorization, and should be immediately escorted back to Wuhan for execution. As for you, I will give you two days to recover Lan Feng! ”

After a pause, he shouted stiffly: "If you can't take the Lan Feng within two days, hand over your head to Wuhan!" Then Gui Yongqing heard a snap on the earpiece, the phone signal was cut off, and he knew that the chairman had dropped the phone.

Gui Yongqing breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, "This level has finally passed!" Suddenly, his leg was weak and he was about to fall, but fortunately, the adjutant next to him quickly held him up.

With the help of the adjutant, Gui Yongqing barely stood firm and said, "I'm fine!" Go, immediately notify the ministers to hold a meeting, and order us to immediately counterattack Lanfeng. He suddenly felt some wetness on his forehead, and when he reached out to wipe it, he was already sweating profusely, and even his back was wet.

On the Zhengzhou side, the chairman finally realized that he could no longer let a few armies and divisions go their separate ways, so he hurriedly invited Xue Yue and said to him: "Boling, now that the situation has deteriorated, you must shoulder the burden of the commander-in-chief (then commander-in-chief of the Eastern Henan Corps)!" ”

Xue Yue smiled bitterly: "Bench, I'm afraid that no one will listen to my orders!" ”

The chairman of the committee blushed and said with some embarrassment: "Boling, don't worry, this operation is under your command, whoever dares to disobey will be engaged in military law!" ”

Xue Yue was overjoyed, thinking that he finally had a chance to show his talents. He immediately took out a battle plan from his bosom and said, "This is a humble opinion, please take a seat!" ”

When the chairman of the committee looked at it, he was overjoyed and said: "Okay, Boling, with you on the horse, the big thing is decided!" ”

At 6 o'clock that night, Xue Yue issued an order to his troops to recapture Lanfeng and Luowang Station to the west, and to encircle and annihilate the enemy of Quxingji and Sanyiji north of the railway, mainly as follows:

(1) Shang Zhenzhi's 32nd Army attacked the enemy on the line of Lanfengkou and Chenliukou north of Lanfeng with 1 brigade to prevent the enemy from fleeing to the north bank and help the 97th Army to cross south;

(2) Yu Jishi's 74th Army (lacking the 58th Division) and the 20th Division, on the southern flank of the 32nd Army, attacked the enemy on the first line from Sanyizhai to Lanfeng City, and cut off the enemy's communication inside and outside the city;

(3) Song Xilian's 71st Army captured Lanfeng;

(4) Gui Yongqing's 27th Army (missing 1 regiment) and the attached 21st and 106th Divisions attacked the enemy in Zhuzhuang and Dingzhai south of Sanyi Village on the southern flank of the 74th Army;

(5) Li Hanxun's 64th Army (lacking the 187th Division) and the attached 58th Division attacked the enemies of Houyi Wang and Luowangzhai in the railway west of Lanfeng, and cut off their connection with the enemies in Lanfeng City;

(6) Hu Zongnan's 17th Army Corps attacked the enemy in Quxingji north of Luowangzhai, and the main force attacked the enemy's flank in Luowangzhai in a roundabout way to the south;

(8) Zheng Weiguo's 97th Army cooperated with the 32nd Army to recapture the crossings on both sides of the strait and attacked southward;

(7) The general attack began at 18:30 on the 25th, and all units were to destroy a small number of enemies in front of them on the night of the 24th and complete the preparations for the attack;

(9) At 7 a.m. on the morning of the 25th, the General Headquarters of the Eastern Henan Corps rushed to Yangqiji, which is located south of Lanfeng.

The chairman of the committee was not willing to be lonely, and issued another warrant: The battle of Lanfeng has a bearing on the entire anti-Japanese war situation, and the armies of Hu, Li, Yu, Gui, Song, and Zheng should follow the tasks indicated by Commander-in-Chief Xue, and must carry out a general attack on the whole front at 6:30 p.m. on the 25th of this month, and must annihilate the enemy in the areas of Lanfeng, Sanyizhai, Lanfengkou, Chenliukou, Quxingji, and Luowangzhai before dawn on the 26th. If there is any cowering and ineffective attack, it will be severely punished according to the law; If the most meritorious deeds are built in the battle or the most captured by the enemy, a special award shall be given. I hope that the department will obey and not disobey.

The order soon reached the 97th Army, and the officers received a telegram of joy, because according to this combat deployment, it was too beneficial for the 97th Army's operation, and there was almost no risk.

Zheng Weiguo was also very satisfied, and said: "The military order has finally come down, let's talk about it!" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou shook the telegram and said happily: "In the end, it is Chief Xue, who is slightly the same as the heroes of the military seat!" With the 32nd Army coordinating on the south bank, our army can throw off its arms and fight the devils! ”

Duan Shuanghu said: "Counselor, the 32nd Army has only sent a brigade, isn't it a little little?" ”

Staff Chief Zhou waved his hand and said, "It's a lot!" After the 14th Division occupied Lanfeng, the number of troops was seriously insufficient, how many people could be arranged on the front line of the ferry? ”

Deputy Army Commander Wang Qifeng also agreed, saying: "The Japanese army attaches great importance to artillery, and if the commander loses the artillery, it will be a crime to kill his head. Now they do not have enough forces to protect the artillery positions, there is no second way except to retreat! Without artillery cover, the defenders of Guantai are a piece of cake on our plate! ”

Zhuzi listened fascinated from the sidelines, and couldn't help but ask: "Deputy seat, can't that devil give up some places and concentrate his forces to hold the ferry?" ”

Wang Qifeng was in a good mood, and the pillar was a junior in the army, so he patiently explained: "There is no danger to defend the ferry, once it is surrounded by the army, it is a dead end, and Tu Feiyuan will never dare to do this." ”

Seeing that all the officers had reached an agreement, Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Okay!" Pass my order, carry out the second battle plan, and prepare to attack the Guantai Ferry! ”

The officers hurriedly stood up and said in unison: "Yes, military seat!" ”

One after another, orders quickly reached all departments, and a new round of war was about to begin! (To be continued......)