On May 27, 1938, Chen Liukou. The blue sky and white sun flag and the tiger pounce on the sheep flag were waved in the wind, and the soldiers under the military flag stood neatly and solemnly. There was also a military band playing next to it, and the majestic and loud tune suddenly sprinkled all over the banks of the Yellow River.

This was the first time that Zheng Weiguo inspected the various units participating in the war since the troops crossed the river. The surviving officers and men of the 33rd Brigade, under the leadership of Brigade Commander Zhao Yunxiang and Deputy Brigade Commander Huang, lined up in a neat line and waited for the review.

The faces of the soldiers showed a look of sadness and pride, and in this battle, the 33rd Brigade suffered heavy casualties. Of the five battalion commanders alone, two were killed, one was seriously injured, and one was poisoned and shocked. As a battalion commander who is in charge of himself, the sacrifice of ordinary soldiers can be imagined.

But these sacrifices were not in vain, the invincible Japanese army not only failed to capture the ferry, but also failed to destroy the 97th Army, but was beaten by the soldiers with more than half of the casualties.

Looking at the rows of bandaged and bloodstained soldiers, Zheng Weiguo raised his right hand and gave a solemn military salute. The soldiers also hurriedly returned the salute, some stretching out their scarred, gauze-wrapped right hands; Some people can no longer raise their right hand and can only bow with their left hand; There were also soldiers who were wounded in both hands and could only salute with their eyes.

There was a hero behind every military salute, and Zheng Weiguo shouted loudly: "Brothers, with subordinates like you, I, Zheng Weiguo, have not lived in vain in my life!" ”

The soldiers stood up straight, and tears couldn't help but flow down their cheeks.

Zhao Yunxiang thought of the subordinates who had sacrificed these days, and his nose was sour. I almost didn't shed tears. But he is the commander of the first brigade and the backbone of the soldiers of the 33rd brigade, his head can be broken, blood can flow, but he can't cry!

Deputy Brigade Commander Huang's cheeks moved a few times, and he suddenly shouted: "Military seat, let's not go to the new place to rest, our 33rd Brigade can continue to fight!" ”

The warriors also shouted, "Yes! We can still fight, we want revenge! ”

"Capture the soil alive and avenge the brethren!"

……

Look at the scarred but high morale of his subordinates. Zhao Yunxiang said to Zheng Weiguo sincerely: "Military seat." Let's stay on the South Shore, where we can complete the reorganization! ”

After some heart-to-heart negotiations, Zhang Qiaoling had agreed to integrate the security forces of northern Henan into the battle sequence of the 97th Army. They had four brigades, each with more than 1,000 people. Zheng Weiguo and Chief of Staff Zhou after they discussed. It was decided to replenish two of these brigades to the 33 brigade. The other two brigades were replenished to the 34 and 36 brigades, respectively.

Given that the 33 Brigade suffered more than half of the casualties. The combat effectiveness was greatly reduced, and Chief of Staff Zhou suggested that they be transferred to Xinxiang for rest and recuperation, and to be responsible for local defense and law and order. In this way, the 35 Brigade could be transferred to the south bank to participate in the war.

Although the 35th Brigade was the first of several main brigades to enter the battle. However, with the assistance of the special battalion and the sniper company, they took Xinxiang City lightly, and there were no casualties, but they took the big advantage of the Xinxiang military station in vain. The supplies that the Northern Branch Dispatch Army then delivered to the 4th Brigade and the 14th Division of the Independent Mixed Brigade by rail also fell to the 35th Brigade.

With these unique and convenient conditions, the 35 th Brigade swelled rapidly in Xinxiang and grew to eight battalions. Now that the war on the south bank is urgent, and a new force is urgently needed, this exchange plan was unanimously approved at the high-level meeting.

Zheng Weiguo patted Zhao Yunxiang on the shoulder and said, "This matter has been decided, don't fight anymore, carry out the order!" ”

Deputy Brigade Commander Huang was anxious and begged: "Junzao, let's fight with the devil before leaving!" ”

Zheng Weiguo comforted: "There will be a war in the future, why rush for a while!" He also explained: "The 35th Brigade has been ordered to move eastward, Xinxiang is the retreat of our army, and now the defense is empty, if you don't go, who will defend?" ”

As he was talking, a signal soldier hurried over and said, "Commander, there is an Eighth Road from the north bank, saying that he wants to see you!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said strangely: "Eight roads? Who is it? Didn't say a name? ”

The messenger lowered his head in embarrassment and said, "I forgot to ask, please punish me!" ”

When I asked the others, no one knew who was coming. Zheng Weiguo himself didn't understand that who had time to come to see him at this time, there was either a Japanese-occupied area or a nationalized area nearby, and there was no eight-way activity.

"Don't guess, who else will I have besides my brother?" It didn't take long for an eighth-way officer with glasses and a little limp but fast walking to rush over with a smile.

When Zheng Weiguo saw it, he was surprised and delighted, and said, "Brigade Commander Chen, didn't your old man make a fortune in southern Hebei?" How do you have time to run to northern Henan? ”

Brigadier Chen smiled and said, "Isn't this a blessing from you!" "It turned out that the rule of the Japanese army in northern Henan was all supported by the independent mixed Fourth Brigade. It was precisely because of the presence of this army that the Eighth Route Army only dared to operate at the junction of Shanxi, Hebei and Henan provinces, and did not dare to go deep into northern Henan.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Weiguo completely annihilated this independent brigade as soon as he made a move, and a huge vacuum suddenly appeared in northern Henan and Shanxi, Hebei and Henan. The Japanese army has no troops to defend, the puppet army is not a climate, and the main force of the national army is on the south bank, how can the Eighth Route Army let go of such a good opportunity? So he urgently dispatched troops to the south, and sent several batches of troops in a company, determined to win!

Brigade Commander Chen was originally active in southern Hebei, and not long ago he fought several battles with the Japanese army, and there were casualties among each other. The headquarters of the Eighth Route Army felt that it was better to stab them in the weakness than to fight with the Japanese army, so it sent the 386th Brigade to northern Henan.

Zheng Weiguo thought for a while, and quickly figured out the joints inside, so he grabbed Brigade Commander Chen and said, "Pingbai took such a big advantage from me, shouldn't I give some benefits?" ”

Brigade Commander Chen's face changed, and he was busy pulling around, wanting to slip away. The last one really couldn't force it before he glared and said: "What benefits do you want, I'll say ugly things in front, if you open your mouth, don't blame me for turning my face with you!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "Help me transport another batch of arms from the base area, and help me raise a month's rations for 40,000 troops." "The amount of ammunition consumed every day in a battle of tens of thousands of people is very staggering, and Rao is Zheng Weiguo has formed a huge baggage force, but it still can't meet the requirements.

Except for ammunition. The consumption of food is also a headache. Northern Henan, especially the prefectures and counties near the Yellow River, were not rich in the first place, and the sandy areas on the south bank were even poorer, unable to support the troops at all. If they can't get any more food, Zheng Weiguo and his subordinates can only go back to Ping'an County hungry.

Brigade Commander Chen's eyes lit up, and he immediately patted his chest and said, "No problem, but let's add five to one for two arms, and one and a half." ”

Zheng Weiguo shook his hand and said categorically: "Impossible!" ”

Brigade Commander Chen salivated and smiled: "Brother Zheng, don't talk so deadly!" Do we have a branch of Sanqi? I'm three, you're seven. Interesting enough! ”

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment. He said, "The arms are not negotiable, but I can give you a piece of land." ”

Brigadier Chen smiled and said, "If you had told me this a few months ago, we wouldn't be able to defend our territory now." Still rare for your broken ground? ”

Zheng Weiguo glanced at him. said flatly: "What about Xinxiangcheng?" It's a big city. There is also a certain industrial base! ”

Brigade Commander Chen's heart jumped violently, and he said in surprise: "You don't want Xinxiang City anymore?" ”

At that time, Xinxiang was the economic center of northern Henan, with fields, mines, railways, and factories. Don't look at the many places occupied by the Eighth Route Army at the moment. There really isn't a place like Xinxiang.

Brigade Commander Chen consulted with his superiors, and soon agreed to exchange Xinxiang for food, and promised to help the 97th Army transport the wounded and supplies free of charge. With the eight ways to attack, the 35th Brigade can get out of the place and rush to reinforcements. It doesn't matter if the 33rd Brigade doesn't want to go, just rest directly on the south bank.

At the same time as the 97th Army dispatched troops, all units of the Nationalist Army had already launched the most rear-end attack on the Japanese army, and in the words of the chairman of the committee, they wanted to complete their efforts in one battle, annihilate the 14th Division in one fell swoop, and crush the arrogance of the Japanese army.

Among them, the First Army, the 64th Army, and the 97th Army were responsible for attacking Quxingji, and the 27th, 71st, and 74th armies were responsible for attacking Sanyiji. Qu Xingji is currently being surrounded and beaten by the First Army, and it is not the turn of the 97th Army to play for the time being, so Zheng Weiguo took this opportunity to let the troops rest and recuperate.

Chief of Staff Zhou looked at the newly arrived battle report, and when he saw that the situation was in my favor, he said happily: "Hehe, if the 14th Division is annihilated, the little devil will not dare to use a brigade to chase after one of our divisions in the future!" ”

Brigade Commander Chen was a little surprised and said, "Can you really annihilate the 14th Division?" "He has fought a lot of battles with the Japanese army, and has independently commanded many battles, so he knows the difficulty of the Japanese army.

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "It is indeed very promising, as long as Shangqiu's friendly forces hold on for another day, it will be enough!" "Historically, Shangqiu fell on the 29th, and now although the Japanese army launched an attack two days in advance, it always takes time for the troops to temporarily change their operational plans, so Zheng Weiguo believes that there is no problem for the Eighth Army to hold on to the 28th.

The commander of the communications battalion hurriedly came, handed over a telegram, and said: "Military seat, the First War Zone has asked our headquarters to set off immediately, ready to take over the First Army and continue to attack Quxingji!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said to Chief of Staff Zhou: "Have the field artillery crossed the river?" "Although Quxingji is a dirt enclosure, the Japanese army is good at building fortifications, and it is really difficult to deal with without field artillery.

Chief of Staff Zhou said: "There are only four guns, two cavalry guns, and two 38 guns." "The field cannon is too heavy, and even if it is disassembled, it is very troublesome to transport it across the river. In particular, the barrel and base of the gun can be carried away by more than a dozen people.

Zheng Weiguo said in high spirits: "Two close bombardment, two long-range cover, and four guns are enough." Inform the 34 and 36 brigades to leave immediately! He said to Brigadier Chen again, "Do you want to go and observe it together?" ”

Brigade Commander Chen said excitedly: "This opportunity is rare, how can you miss it? So he changed into a national military academy officer uniform and quietly mixed in the military headquarters.

After a rapid march all the way, the troops quickly arrived at the periphery of Quxingji, and the commander of the 17th Army Corps, Commander Hu Zongnan, personally came to meet them. Zheng Weiguo asked, "Sir Hu, I don't know how the war is going?" ”

Hu Zongnan said a little depressedly: "Cough, don't mention it, the little devil obviously only has one breath left, but he always can't die!" The brothers rushed into the village three times and were driven out! "If it is easy to fight, he will never give up this opportunity to make meritorious contributions.

Zheng Weiguo frowned, it seemed that it was not easy to interrupt the last breath of the Japanese army. But since it's here, no matter how difficult it is, you have to take it. After discussing with Chief of Staff Zhou, he quickly commanded the troops to deploy and prepare to attack Qu Xingji. There is no way, Director Xiong is sick, and these things can only be done by himself.

Hu Zongnan was about to leave, but he stopped and stayed. He secretly looked at the tactical movements of the 97th Army, and the more he looked at it, the more interesting it became, so he was reluctant to leave. Zheng Weiguo knew that he was stealing from him, but he didn't interfere.

At this time, an officer of the First Army suddenly walked up to Hu Zongnan and whispered a few words. Hu Zongnan's black face suddenly turned pale, and he almost fell down.

Everyone didn't know what was going on, so they were startled and hurriedly stepped forward to support them.

Hu Zongnan pushed everyone away, stared at the officer and shouted, "Is this serious? Don't lie to me! ”

The officer couldn't laugh or cry, handed over the draft telegram in his hand, and said, "How dare you lie to this kind of thing?" ”

Hu Zongnan took the telegram and read a few lines, and he was on his toes, and suddenly scolded: "Huang Jie misled the party and the country, and the crime cannot be punished!" ”

Zheng Weiguo's head exploded, and his face became extremely ugly. can make Hu Zongnan scold, what else can he do? Shangqiu must have been lost!

After receiving an urgent order from Terauchi Shoukai, the 16th Division and the 13th Brigade of the Mixed Brigade captured Yucheng on the 26th, and at the same time attacked the outer positions of Shangqiu overnight.

That night, Huang Jie led the 8th Army to retreat to the suburbs of Shangqiu. Cheng Qiandian ordered Huang Jie: You must defend Shangqiu to the death, and you must not give up until the enemy in the Lanfeng area is annihilated. However, Huang Jie did not carry out the orders of the commander of the theater at all, and led the 40th and 24th Divisions to retreat to Liuhe and Kaifeng without authorization, leaving the 187th Division to defend Zhuji Station and Shangqiu. At noon on the 27th, the Japanese army attacked the city, and Peng Linsheng, the commander of the 187th Division, also led the division to retreat, and Shangqiu fell! (To be continued......)