"Good news, Commander!" Political Commissar Cheng walked into the headquarters excitedly. Pushing open the door, I saw Zhang Wenbai, Chief of Staff Zhou, Kang Ze, Cai Wenzhi and several others were there. It's just that his face is heavy, Zhang Wenbai and there are tears on his face, he can't help but be stunned, and said, "Yo, everyone is here!" What's wrong, is this? ”

Zheng Weiguo sighed and said in a dumb voice: "The fire in Changsha burned the entire city to the ground, and the people suffered heavy casualties. ”

Although Zheng Huzi reminded the government many times, the Wenxi fire, one of the three major tragedies in the history of the Anti-Japanese War, still happened, but it was delayed by two months compared to history, and coincidentally it still happened on the night of the 12th. Zheng Weiguo also made a mistake in this matter, he always thought that the Wenxi fire happened in the first battle of Changsha, so he did not fully intervene, and when he received the news, the matter was irreparable.

Political Commissar Cheng was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "The little devils have all gone to Changsha?" How can it be so fast! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou smiled bitterly: "No, the little devil has only hit Yueyang, and it is nearly two hundred kilometers away from Changsha." Seeing that Political Commissar Cheng hadn't figured it out yet, he explained: "We did it ourselves!" Alas, the thousand-year-old city, a fire burned clean, this is a scorched earth war of resistance, not even a single devil hair was burned, and the lives of 30,000 compatriots were taken in vain! ”

In order to consolidate the periphery of Wuhan, the Japanese Central China Army ordered Okamura Ninji's 11th Army to attack northern Hunan and bombed Changsha and Hengyang. Subsequently, Linxiang and Yueyang fell successively, and Changsha suddenly fell into a panic. At that time, the Nationalist Government proposed a scorched-earth war of resistance, which was what Li Zongren said, "the whole country is unanimous." I made up my mind to shed the last drop of blood, and even more so to turn the whole country into a scorched earth in order to fight a desperate war against the invaders."

Chairman Chang Kaishen sent a telegram to the Hunan Provincial Government, saying, "If Changsha falls, the whole city must be burned down. "The telegram is very clear, it was set on fire after the fall.

The Hunan provincial government and the Ninth Theater also formulated corresponding plans, proposing that arson would only be allowed if the four conditions were met. One is an order from the provincial government. The second is the order of the garrison command. The third is the rhythmic long and short cry of the siren, and the fourth is that there is a pillar of fire on the Tianxin Pavilion. Tianxin Pavilion was the commanding height of Changsha at that time, and once the fire was raised, the whole city could be seen.

Supposedly, this plan is still very tight. However, the soldiers and civilians were terrified, and the Japanese army advanced to Yueyang. It is rumored that the situation in Yuezhou is unknown. Traffic in Changde has been cut off. Wait until the news of the enemy's landing on Chenglingji is confirmed. Legend has it that the enemy can reach Changsha within two days. On the evening of the 12th, when the fighting reached the Miluo front, some people panicked to such an extent. Say that the enemy's shallow-water warships can sail to the banks of the Changsha River in 3 hours!

As panic spreads, the situation spirals out of control. At about 2 o'clock in the morning of the 13th, a fire broke out in the wounded soldiers' hospital outside the south gate of Changsha, and Xu Quan, chief of staff of the Changsha City Garrison Command, quickly received a report from the soldiers and judged that it was careless. But within a quarter of an hour, three more fires broke out at the south gate. Xu Quan called the police chief, Wen Chongfu, to ask for firefighting, and Wen said: "The police have been evacuated, and the firefighters have also been evacuated." "And earlier, in order to implement the scorched earth policy, all the fire trucks also put water and replaced it with gasoline, and they couldn't save it even if they wanted to.

At this time, the officers and men of the 2nd Garrison Regiment in the city, who did not know the truth, saw the fire outside the city and thought it was a signal, so they threw the lit torches at the oil drums or the houses of the residents. Not long after, even Tianxin Pavilion was on fire, and then the whole city caught fire. That night, the phone of the commander-in-chief of the burning city, Yu Yi, was busy, and it was later found out that he had been sleeping.

The fire could no longer be extinguished, and the city could only be abandoned. In the end, the Changsha fire lasted for five days and five nights, and then it was extinguished by itself. What is even more tragic is that the military and political authorities of the state government only set fires but did not inform the citizens to evacuate, resulting in more than 30,000 people being burned in the fire. According to the post-disaster report of the Nationalist Government, some of the citizens who fled were trampled to death by the crowd, some were crushed to death by cars, and some were burned alive by the fire. An old lady in her 60s died tragically after being forced into a water tank by fire. A mother with her child took refuge in a water tank to avoid the fire and was both boiled alive. More than 30 employees of the Yutaihua Gold took refuge in the bomb shelter and were all scorched to death...... The tragedies make people dare not look at them directly.

Bang! There was a sudden loud noise next to him, everyone was startled, and hurriedly looked back, but it was Zhang Wenbai who smashed his fist on the table, smashing his hand, but the blood flowed endlessly.

Zhang Wenbai said with a pale face: "Xue Boling misled the country and harmed the people, and his crime cannot be punished!" I must ask him to be reckoned with! ”

Zheng Weiguo's face couldn't help but become strange when he heard this, the Wenxi fire in history actually happened during Zhang Wenbai's tenure. Guo Moruo hated Zhang Wenbai very much for this, and made a couplet to satirize him. Said: Where is the performance? Two major schemes are on fire; What is the center? Three heads of eternal resentment. Horizontal criticism: Zhang was at a loss. The horizontal batch plus the lower link is Zhang Wenbai's name.

However, according to Zhang Wenbai, he did not know about the arson of the Second Garrison Regiment. Judging from the research materials of later generations, this can also be confirmed, but in any case, Zhang Wenbai is responsible, Chang Kai has criticized it: "Wenbai does not know where the responsibility lies, as if he is an ordinary sin, Shang Si shirks the blame, which means that the incompetence and ignorance are small, but the revolution and shame are ......."

In this time and space, Zhang Wenbai was transferred to the deputy commander-in-chief of the Jicha Theater to avoid this right and wrong, and the black pot fell on Xue Yue, the successor chairman of Hunan Province. If Zhang Wenbai knew the original trajectory of the history of Lu Dao, he didn't know how Lu Dao should feel.

In fact, the main responsibility for the Wenxi fire did not lie with a single person or a few people, but was caused by the poor organization of the Nationalist Government and the general incompetence of middle and lower-level officials. The plan is well formulated, but no matter how good the plan is, it must be implemented. Chang Kaishen once said: "This is all due to my improper use of people, and it is also caused by the lack of talent among the Chinese!" ”

"Zhilan!" Zheng Weiguo saw that Zhang Wenbai had a lot of blood on his hands, and hurriedly said: "Quickly find a hygienist and bandage the deputy commander-in-chief." Zhilan was also startled when she saw the blood on the table, hurriedly put down the hot water bottle, and ran to call the hygienist.

Taking advantage of the hygienist's arrival, Zheng Weiguo changed the topic again and said to Political Commissar Cheng: "Old Cheng, what good news did you just say?" ”

Political Commissar Cheng hurriedly took out a newspaper and said, "Oh. This is the newly acquired newspaper, and that old devil from Sugiyama Moto, who is angry with us. It is said that he had surgery first, and then the wound burst out, and his life was almost lost! ”

Everyone hurriedly gathered around to take a look, and they were all a little happy, slightly diluting the grief caused by the Wenxi fire. Only Zheng Weiguo sighed secretly, to be honest, he would rather Sugiyama Yuan be alive and kick around and work for a few more days as the commander of the North China Front. Of course, this kind of thinking is really unambitious. It's hard to pronounce it.

Chief of Staff Zhou suddenly sneered. said: "Boss, the little devil also mentioned you in the news, saying that your tactics are somewhat similar to Cao Cao's. ”

Zheng Weiguoqi said: "Where does this start? How did you get involved with the ancients? ”

Chief of Staff Zhou explained: "The Japanese army thinks that you all like to cut off each other's logistical supplies, and you should be vigilant against the commanders of the troops you are fighting with!" ”

Zheng Weiguo then remembered that Ah Bao was "accustomed to cutting off people's food". And he likes to sabotage the railway. Assault on military stations. There are indeed similarities, and I can't help but laugh dumbly.

At noon, Zhang Wenbai and others resigned one after another. Chief of Staff Zhou took the opportunity to ask, "Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zhang wants us to jointly impeach Xue Yue." Shall we say yes? ”

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "Don't!" On the contrary, we had better come forward to protect Xue Boling! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou said in surprise: "Ah! In general, Xue Boling's reputation is now a stinking street, and the gentry from Hunan even jointly wrote a letter demanding that he be shot. If we intercede now, will we not become the target of public criticism? ”

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and said: "The responsibility for the Wenxi fire is not him, at least the crime will not lead to death." Take 10,000 steps back, even if you damn it, the Ninth War Zone is now inseparable from Xue Boling. Apart from him, who is sure to hold off the enemy army in Hunan? ”

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded and said, "What the general seat said is reasonable, but what Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zhang is?" ”

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and said: "Don't worry about it, I will explain it to him clearly, now is not the time to be righteous." He also instructed: "Your staff should keep an eye on the movements of the Japanese army to see if there is no sign of retreat." ”

After that, in order to persuade Zhang Wenbai, Zheng Weiguo had to hand over the 24th Group Army (Pang Bingxun's Division) and the 39th Group Army (Shi You's 3rd Division) to him. However, these two troops are the remnants of the Northwest Army, and Zhang Wenbai may not be able to command them.

Chief of Staff Zhou said in surprise: "The general seat thinks that the enemy will retreat? ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said: "Well, several military stations have been destroyed in a row, and the traffic has also been blocked, and the enemy has only one way to withdraw in addition to increasing troops, so you have to keep an eye on it, if the enemy does not withdraw for a long time, it means that there is an attempt to increase troops, and we must be ready to fight a big battle." ”

Chief of Staff Zhou said happily and convincingly: "It is still far-reaching to think about the general seat. ”

As Zheng Weiguo expected, the 10th, 14th, and 110th divisions of the Japanese army really withdrew from the base area one after another. The main reason is that this style of play adopted by Jizhong made the Japanese army too nerve-wracking. With hundreds of casualties every day, the ever-present blows made them suffer hundreds of casualties every day, and with the main force watching in the shadows, and the deteriorating situation in southern Hebei and northern Henan, Yamashita Fengfumi, who temporarily took over the North China Front, finally decided to temporarily stop the offensive.

The 10th Division was sent to northern Henan, the 8th Independent Mixed Brigade was withdrawn to Xingtai, and the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade continued to garrison Handan after reorganization.

Cai Wenzhi, the newly appointed chief of staff, said: "It's a pity! The contraction of the little devil has reached a new balance in the situation, and there is no good opportunity for the time being. ”

Zheng Weiguo said with a smile: "Can't you create your own fighter if you don't have a chance?" ”

Cai Wenzhi said worriedly: "But the Japanese army is shrinking with all its might, and we are rash to attack, I am afraid that it will dampen our spirit!" ”

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and said: "Of course, you can't attack casually, this is also exquisite." Chief of Staff, bring out our latest research for everyone to see. ”

The so-called latest research was actually discovered by Zheng Weiguo by accident when he was collecting statistics. The intelligence department recorded the time and amount of transportation required for the logistical supply of the Japanese army in impassable conditions (trains, cars, carriages, manpower), and it clearly showed that without the railway, a division of the Japanese army would hold out for a maximum of three months, and this was still in the absence of a major war. Moreover, the more troops the Japanese army put in, the greater the logistical load, and the shorter the holding time.

This provided Zheng Weiguo with a new strategic idea, that is, to go all out to destroy the railway system and load-bearing bridges, and to attack the mobility and transportation capacity of the Japanese army. In fact, this style of play has achieved initial results in the previous counterattack operations on the Jinpu Line and the Pinghan Line, but it has not attracted enough attention.

Cai Wenzhi thought for a moment. His eyes lit up and he said, "The head seat has seen it thoroughly!" ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled: "Oh, tell me your reasons!" If you can't say it, it's a random slap on the back, be careful that I hit your baton! ”

Cai Wenzhi smiled awkwardly and said, "Where can it!" He also said: "I just thought about it, since the war of aggression against China, the Japanese army has basically advanced along the railway line. Any war that is not advanced along the railway line will have its combat effectiveness drastically reduced, and it will suffer losses many times. ”

Since the 918 incident. The Chinese army achieved sporadic victories. Like the battle of Jiangqiao led by Ma Zhanshan, the counterattack of Ji Hongchang on Rehe, Song Zheyuan's Xifengkou victory, and Fu Zuoyi's Bailing Temple victory. Then Pingxingguan and Guangyang fought in the mountains. Jin southeast anti-Nine Road siege and so on. All were obtained in areas far from the railway line.

During the Battle of Xuzhou, the Japanese army began to use the Jinpu Line and the Jiaoji Railway to advance, and the battle went very smoothly, but then abandoned the railway and suffered heavy losses in Linyi and other places. During the Battle of Lanfeng. The 14th Division of the Japanese Army was almost surrounded and annihilated by relying solely on automobile transportation. The victory was also the consequence of Okamura Ninji's decision to plunge the 106th Division into the mountains. After that, there was a counterattack on Yichang, the Battle of Shipai, the victory of Kunlun Pass, the Battle of Xuefeng Mountain, and so on. Almost all the victories have one characteristic, that is, they are far away from the railway. On the contrary, as long as there is a railway, even if the advantage is great, it will suffer, the most typical is the battle of Henan-Xiang-Gui, the Japanese army almost rampaged along the Beijing-Guangzhou line, as if entering a no-man's land.

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment, touched his chin and said, "Well, that's good!" This is indeed a law of ordinary existence. It seems that it is necessary for us to put the sabotage war in the first place in the future war of resistance. This is the focus of our work in the future, and the first thing we do every time we capture a place is to tear down the railways, destroy the roads, and blow up the bridges that are a little bigger. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou quipped: "Elevating the sabotage war to a strategic position is only the first initiative of the General Seat." It seems that the general seat is planning to carry out Cao A's spirit of hiding and cutting off people's food to the end? ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled and said, "No matter what tactics it is, it is a good way to win!" He thought to himself that Taizu raised guerrilla warfare to a strategic level, thus leaving a strong mark in military history, and I raised the sabotage war to a strategic level, I am afraid that there will also be a place! I can't help but feel a little proud when I think of this.

Subsequently, Zheng Weiguo put forward this strategic concept to the Central Military Commission, hoping to concentrate on the First Theater, the Second World Theater, the Eighth Theater, the Jicha Theater, and the Lusu Theater at the same time, and at the same time launch an attack on the enemy's communication lines in the theater. In particular, the Jinpu Line, Pinghan Line, Pingsui Line, Tongpu Line, Zhengtai Line, as well as some sections of the Beining Line and Longhai Line. According to Zheng Weiguo's idea, it is best to strip them all naked. In this way, the Japanese army did not want to gather heavy troops in North China, and even if they came, they would not stay long.

While Zheng Weiguo was calculating the Japanese army, the Japanese army was not idle. A week later, the commander of the Japanese Third Army, Tada Jun, officially became the commander of the North China Front in place of the "fool Yuan".

This is a difficult opponent, and he is the one who created the famous "cage policy" in history. Tada Jun used railways, highways, and strongholds to intensively divide the Japanese base areas, which greatly reduced the room for maneuver of the Eighth Route Army. Militarily speaking, this line of thinking was correct, and Okamura continued this tactic after that, almost forcing Hachiji to a dead end. It was only due to the lack of troops that the Eighth Route Army fought a hundred-regiment battle in his rear.

In the face of the expansion of the strength of the Eighth Route Army, Tada Jun's way of dealing with it is also very unique. He did not choose to "cure the head for headaches and cure feet for sore feet", but fought a battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, which cleared the strength of the Chinese central army in North China, freed up the Japanese army of at least three divisions, and gave a great margin of strength, laying the foundation for his successor Okamura Ninji to sweep the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines. From this point of view, its strategy and tactics are worthy of vigilance, far from being comparable to the fool's moto, and it is also more powerful than the first commander, Shouichi Terauchi.

Moreover, in history, he advocated "no expansion", believing that the long-term war with China "has a bleak future", and was scolded by the fool Yuan for a while. At that time, the Japanese Army was in a frenzy, and it was rare for a general to be able to look at the problem so calmly.

After Tada Jun took office, the first thing he did was to ask for more troops. Although Japan's domestic economy began to have problems, the base camp still agreed, and in one go to organize six divisions, namely the 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, and 37th divisions, except for the 33rd and 34th divisions to supplement the Central China Front, the four divisions were all assigned to the North China Front.

As soon as the Japanese army began to be formed, Zheng Weiguo got information from Feng Kun, so he immediately called an emergency military meeting, demanding that an attack be launched in advance to destroy the railways in North China as much as possible, so that the Japanese army could not afford to supply them.

"Train six divisions in one go?" Zhang Wenbai's face changed slightly, and he questioned: "Didn't you say that Japan's national strength is already very tight?" How can there be so much potential? ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said: "The Japanese army is indeed overdrawing its national strength, but they are industrial countries and have a strong ability to withstand it, not to mention the formation and training of six divisions, even sixteen, or even sixty is not a problem, but the logistics are unbearable." And what we have to do is to put a heavy hand on its tight logistics, and become the last straw that breaks the camel's back. ”

As he spoke, he took out another piece of information and said: "According to the information we have gathered, there is already a division in Tokyo, Japan, codenamed 32D, that is, the 32nd Division, which will arrive in North China by next month at the latest." ”

Zhang Wenbai frowned slightly, and said, "What does the general seat mean?" ”

Zheng Weiguo explained: "We can't deal with the North China Front Army in the Jicha Theater alone, and I hope you can help persuade the chairman of the committee to let the North China theater act together to disrupt the deployment of the Japanese army." (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you very much for the monthly ticket voted by hugetiger! There is a place where Tada Jun is written as Sugiyama Moto, and it has been specially modified.