After the remnants of the 35th Army crossed the Fen River, they did not dare to stop, and went all the way west, and then directly drilled into the West Mountain of Taiyuan and settled down in a small mountain village. The terrain here is complicated, and the Japanese army cannot control it for a while, so it is safe for the time being.

After this escape journey in the middle of the night, the soldiers were emaciated and wanted to lie down and rest immediately. Some soldiers found a sheltered hut and refused to get up when they lay down, no matter how the officers shouted and cursed, it did not work. The gendarmes had no choice but to drag these guys up one by one and assemble them for rectification.

It's not that it's unkind, it's just that the army is not allowed to be so casual, otherwise there will be a stir, and these thousands of defeated soldiers will have to bomb the camp. In addition, the village is too small and the housing is limited, so it must be uniformly deployed.

Fu Zuoy, as the commander of the first army, naturally someone helped him find a place to live, and it was still a small courtyard, but he had no intention of resting.

When Chief of Staff Chen saw that the oil lamp in his room was still on, he pushed open the door and walked in directly. They have been friends for many years, and they are obviously superiors and subordinates, but in fact they are like brothers, so they get along more casually.

Fu Zuo Y squatted on the kang head, looking a little decadent. He glanced up and saw that it was Chief of Staff Chen who lowered his head again, not knowing what Lu Dao was thinking.

Chief of Staff Chen said: "Military seat, it's late at night, you better rest early!" ”

Fu Zuoy sighed heavily and said, "Cough, how can I sleep in such a situation right now?" He paused and asked, "Have the brethren withdrawn?" ”

Chief of Staff Chen said: "Director Su is gathering troops and counting the number of people, and there should be results soon." ”

As he was talking, Director Su walked in excitedly and said, "The military seat, the staff seat, what a miracle!" All of our own brothers have withdrawn! After such a long journey, not a single brother has been left behind! ”

Fu Zuoy and Chief of Staff Chen were happy for a while, and suddenly felt that something was wrong. Chief of Staff Chen said, "What? Brigadier Zheng, haven't they come back yet? ”

Director Su shook his head and said, "Not yet!" However, when we retreated, we arranged for the first part of the newly formed First Regiment (not a descendant of Fu's department, so in the eyes of Director Su not his own brother) to stay on the east bank of the Fen River to receive the Zheng brigade. There shouldn't be any problems! Moreover, there was no gunfire near the Fenhe crossing, so they probably took a fork in the road. ”

Fu Zuoy frowned and said, "Didn't I order that people should be left at all intersections to answer before I left?" Evacuated everything for the sake of the Emperor! ”

Director Su was a little embarrassed when he heard this, and he said cautiously: "Military seat, I gave the order to retreat." At that time, the brothers had just left the danger and were panicked one by one, and if they could not withdraw to the village in time to assemble, they were afraid that they would be scattered. ”

Chief of Staff Chen sighed and said, "This breakthrough, Zheng Weiguo's department has made a great contribution. Isn't our withdrawal suspected of crossing the river and demolishing the bridge? Commander, let me take the spy company back to pick it up! ”

Director Su hurriedly said: "It's all to blame for the poor handling of the lowly duties, let me go!" ”

Fu Zuoy shook his head and said, "The terrain of Xishan is so complicated, and now it's dark and blind, where can I pick it up?" Xiao Su, you go and settle down the various departments first, let the brothers rest early, and wait for the dawn to talk about it! ”

Director Su had no choice but to salute and go out.

Chief of Staff Chen was a little uneasy and said, "But in case they are stuck to ...... by the Japanese army."

Fu Zuoy smiled and said, "Zheng Weiguo, that kid is fine, he will be fine." It's just that we owe a big favor to others this time, and I don't know when we will be able to pay it back. ”

Chief of Staff Chen said, "Yes! If this retreat had not been well planned by Wei Guo, and he had led his palace to stabilize the morale of the army, I was afraid that more than half of the brothers would have to be thrown on the road. ”

He was right. Historically, because the Great South Gate was blocked, the soldiers were panicked and rushed towards the city gate. Many people were trampled to death along the way, including officers such as the deputy commander of the 435th Regiment, Xie Zhixin (from Xie County, Shanxi).

Most of the defending units were scattered during the retreat. Dong Qiwu, commander of the 218th Brigade, and Yao Lixiang, commander of the new 1st Regiment, only two singles were left to go out of the city together. After dawn, there were enemies everywhere, so the two had to move forward in a southeastern direction, until they reached Qin County, and only after more than a month did they find their troops in Shilou. Han Chunfu, the battalion commander of the 421st Regiment guarding the Shuangta Temple, broke away from the army when he retreated, took a platoon of cavalry attached to the brigade headquarters, and ran to Wutai County in northern Shanxi, where he was disarmed by the Jin Xianzhang Department of the puppet army anyway.

In addition, when the troops crossed the Fen River at night, because there was a lot of mud at the bottom of the river, the officers and men did not know the situation of the river, and many people fell into the mud and died in the Fen River. This is how Xu Ruhe, a lieutenant colonel and staff officer of the headquarters (a native of Zhejiang, a student of the Baoding Military Academy), died. Some troops, due to the unknown situation of the enemy, strayed into several enemy dens such as Taiyuan County, Qingyuan County, Jinci Temple, and Xiaodian Town, and many were killed.

Therefore, Zheng Weiguo guarded the south gate this time, although he did not exchange a single shot with the Japanese army, but he successfully guaranteed the retreat of the army, and his merits were immeasurable.

Fu Zuoy thought back to what had happened these days, and said with some emotion, "Lao Chen, as far as you know, what kind of person is this Zheng Weiguo?" ”

Chief of Staff Chen said: "I don't have much contact with him. This man looks shrewd and capable, and he is a talent! But ......"

Fu Zuo Y said: "But what? ”

Chief of Staff Chen said: "I always feel that this person is a little strange, but I can't say it clearly. Uh, that's right! is just like Zhuge Liang in the play, it seems that he knows everything, ha! ”

Fu Zuoy was puzzled: "What do you mean by this?" ”

Chief of Staff Chen explained: "As soon as this kid entered Taiyuan City, he opposed the closure of the city gate, and also took the initiative to ask Ying to defend the Great South Gate, thus ensuring the rear road of our army. As soon as we had the intention of retreating, he came to offer advice, and as soon as we could, we all hit it. Uh, don't you think that's too godly? ”

Fu Zuo Y smiled: "Listening to you say this, I really feel a little wise and close to a demon, Ha Lu Ha!" Interesting, go back and send someone to check his details. ”

Chief of Staff Chen said: "You have summoned him many times, don't you know him well?" ”

Fu Zuoy shook his head with a smile and said, "I thought he was a guy who took advantage of the fire to rob, but now it seems to be so biased!" ”

Early the next morning, Fu Bujun's mind was already settled. They sent several troops to search back and forth along the road, hoping to find traces of Zheng Weiguo's department. But after searching for most of the day, I didn't find any shadows, and I almost encountered the Japanese army several times.

Because Xishan is too close to Taiyuan, it is not suitable to stay for a long time. They had to abandon the search and begin to evacuate. In the afternoon of the same day, they marched all the way to the southwest, reached Zhongyang, and then turned to Shilou County to reorganize the army.

After that, General Fu Zuo Y took all the responsibility for the loss of Taiyuan on himself, and telegraphed his superiors to give punishment. Yan Laoxi'er was ready to hold him accountable for the loss of Taiyuan, but fortunately, Wei Lihuang issued a warrant for "camera retreat", and Chang Kaishen's opposition gave up.

The loss of Taiyuan became the fuse for the breakup between Fu Zuoy and Yan Laoxi'er. A year later, Fu Zuoyi accepted Chang Kaishen's appointment and left the Jin army.

The words are divided into two ends, let's talk about Zheng Weiguo's side.

Zheng Weiguo and the others retreated relatively late, but the lantern soldiers who were responsible for guiding the way were still waiting for them on the east bank of the Fen River (they were no longer the ones led by Chief of Staff Chen). With these guiding lights, they went smoothly and touched along the way.

You must know that staying on the East Coast for an extra minute at this time is more dangerous. Once discovered by the Japanese army, none of the soldiers with lanterns in the dark night want to live. Yes, historically, the Japanese army did not raid the south of the city overnight. But the soldiers didn't know this, and they mustered great courage to stand here.

Compared with these ordinary soldiers, those officers who are in high positions but abandon the army and flee are not worthy of being killed! History likes to mock humanity in this way, and those who should be responsible throw it aside, but those who have been oppressed by society pick it up.

Gossip aside, under the guidance of the lantern soldiers, the troops soon arrived at the edge of the Fen River. Zheng Weiguo thanked the officer in charge of answering the matter and said, "Without you, it would be difficult for this black light to leave." This kindness, Zheng must remember it in his heart! ”

This officer was a battalion commander of the newly formed 1st Regiment of the 1st Brigade, named Qi Sixian, and he said: "Brigade Commander Zheng, you are too polite! The order we received was to ensure that all the troops defending the city crossed the river. You are the last to retreat in the whole army, how can we go if you don't go! ”

Zheng Weiguo gave a thumbs up and said, "A good man, he is worthy of being Commander Fu's subordinates." ”

Battalion Commander Qi was a little embarrassed to be praised, and smiled. He glanced at the Fen River, then at the armored car, and said, "Brigade Commander Zheng, although the river is shallow, there is a lot of silt at the bottom of the river. It's not easy for armored cars to get over! ”

Zheng Weiguo said with a smile: "It's okay, the mountain people have their own clever plans!" ”

When the soldiers evacuated from the city, each carried a sandbag, which can now be built into a simple "underwater bridge" by laying it on the riverbed. These sandbags make the riverbed more stable and also prevent the body from getting stuck in the mud.

The armored vehicle itself is more waterproof than ordinary vehicles, and the water level of the Fen River is very low, so it crossed the river smoothly. Qi Sixian was impressed and said, "Brigade Commander Zheng is really resourceful, no wonder Chief of Staff Chen keeps praising you!" ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled: "Do you want to learn? Come to our Dujiu Brigade, I'll teach you! ”

Qi Sixian thought that Zheng Weiguo was joking, so he laughed a few times and said, "Brigade Commander Zheng is really good at laughing." ”

In fact, Zheng Weiguo really has a heart of love for talent, but Fu Zuoy's corner is not good and it is too obvious. Seeing that Qi Sixian didn't agree, he sighed a pity.

After crossing the river, the troops marched westward, trying to catch up with the 35th Army. After all, at this time, the enemy situation is unknown, and it is necessary to huddle together to keep warm. But they walked for most of the night and did not catch up with the troops in front.

Qi Sixian patted his head in annoyance and said, "Oops, they must have gone the wrong way!" Brigade Commander Zheng, it's all the fault that you have led the wrong way, please punish you! ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled and said, "I don't blame you, in fact, I have long found out that I took the wrong path." ”

Qi Sixian almost didn't react, and said, "Huh? ”

Zhang Changgui was also taken aback and said, "Luzao, then why don't you say it?" ”

Zheng Weiguo sighed, kicked the armored car parked on the side of the road, and said, "I'm reluctant to let these three iron guys go!" Commander Fu and the others withdrew to the mountains. If we go along, we'll have to throw them away. ”

Duan Shuanghu couldn't laugh when he heard this, and said, "Luzao, you are really smart, you are confused for a while!" Now that most of Shanxi is in the hands of devils, can we take this iron guy back? There are a lot of mountain roads to go from here to the southwest of Shanxi! ”

Zheng Weiguo shook his head and said, "I don't want to go to the southwest of Jinxi and go around in such a big circle, when can I go back to Ping'an County?" ”

Duan Shuanghu scratched his head and said, "But how can we break through the Japanese defense line with more than a thousand of us?" Unless we travel lightly and throw away all these more than 100 big cars. ”

Zheng Weiguo pointed to his head and said with a smile: "You are too rigid here, you have to move well." It's so late today, let's find a place to rest first! Tomorrow morning, we will go around the vicinity of the highway, and Feng Kun will go too. ”

Feng Kun was suffocated during this time, and he was overjoyed when he heard this, and said, "Do I have a share?" ”

Zheng Weiguo glanced at him and said, "You can also choose not to go." ”

Feng Kun hurriedly said: "Go, go, of course go!" ”