Approaching the Spring Festival, Huang Zhengzhong and his mother Zhao Xiaowan returned to Nanjing together. This is the first time that the mother and son have returned to Nanjing since the beginning of the defense of Nanjing.

Although Nanjing is still in ruins, its popularity is much better than before, many people have begun to return one after another, and new government planning and construction are also underway, and only the roar of planes and air defense sirens sounding from time to time have made everyone realize that they are still at war.

But most people are used to this.

After Huang Zhengzhong and the others came back, they did not go to the mansion on Fenglin Road, but were picked up and transported to the underground residence on the outskirts of the city. The Japanese air raids continued, and they were not allowed to stay at the mansion for safety reasons.

Huang Ke knew that their mother and son were coming back, and after dealing with official business that day, they began to prepare to go home and reunite with their families.

In the morning, he asked Chen Liewen to order the kitchen to add a few dishes, especially the braised pork trotters that his son Huang Zhengzhong loves to eat, and the seafood that his wife Zhao Xiaowan likes to eat.

In the afternoon, when he was about to go home, Bai Chongxi, deputy chief of staff of the General Staff, came over and said, "Chief Chief, the Japanese army on the other side of Shandong has moved. ”

"What's the situation?" Huang Ke stopped what he was doing.

Bai Chongxi said: "Just now Commander Liu Jian sent a telegram, saying that the Japanese army in Shandong had broken the balance and started an abnormal offensive since last night, and now Zhang Zizhong's troops have been fighting with the Japanese army in many places on the front line, and now many positions on the front line have been lost. ”

"How many troops did Okamura Ninji transfer this time?" Huang Ke knew that the comparison between the military strength of our army and the Japanese army in the North China Battlefield in Shandong was not superior, and he had been focusing on the East China front line in Nanjing, so there was less troop allocation and supply on other battlefields.

"The 1st and 2nd armies of the North China Front, the 5th Division, the 109th Division, the 11th Brigade and the Provisional Aviation Regiment directly under the jurisdiction of the North China Front, are initially estimated to have more than 200,000 troops." Bai Chongxi Road.

Huang Ke frowned: "Where is the battle line coherent from?" ”

"This time, the Japanese army dispatched troops are very concentrated, not only in the eastern and southern Ludong areas of the Shandong battlefield, but also in Xuzhou in northern Jiangsu and in the middle of the Soviet Union." Bai Chongxi Road

Huang Ke stood up and said: "It seems that the Japanese army's battle this time is to open up the front in the Sulu and Zhejiang regions. I'm not too worried about the Jiangsu front, the strength of the East China Front is shrinking, what is the situation in Shandong? Which units are now in contact with the Japanese army at the front line? ”

After hearing this, Bai Chongxi said: "Zhang Zizhong, who is now at the forefront of the 33rd Group Army and the 17th Group Army, is the two group army groups. Although we have an advantage in terms of troops, we have no superiority in terms of overall combat effectiveness. ”

Huang Ke pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then said, "Send a message to Liu Jian and ask about his follow-up troops." In terms of specific combat deployment, let him make a decision. If necessary, it is necessary to focus on preserving the vital strength of our army. ”

Bai Chongxi had some different opinions after hearing this, and he suggested: "The strategic location of Shandong is very important, and Lunan and other places are important railway lines connecting the north and the south, and once they are occupied by the Japanese army, it will be very unfavorable to our side. ”

"I know all this, but I don't have any soldiers at my disposal. If only there could be another First Army. ”

Speaking of this, Huang Ke sighed softly.

Bai Chongxi naturally knew that the troops with relatively strong combat effectiveness in the whole country had been put into the three major battlefields of East China, North China, and Northeast China, and although there were also quite a number of defensive troops left in South China and Southwest, they were all kept to guard against the Japanese attack from the south and southwest, and they could not be mobilized under any circumstances.

"Chief, is it possible to expand the scale of recruitment?" Bai Chongxi Road.

Huang Ke waved his hand: "It's not a problem in the current source of soldiers, our country's youth reserve is still a lot." But the difficulty lies in the quality of the soldiers. Our country has been poor and weak for too long, and the proportion of illiterate young people is quite large. It is difficult for such a recruit to explain clearly to him the problems of ballistics and wind direction, let alone technical arms such as artillery and tank troops. After recruiting soldiers, it is necessary to replace new and old soldiers, and if a separate unit is formed, it will be difficult to form an effective combat effectiveness in a short period of time. ”

"The chief is observant and can understand so meticulously, which is worth learning from." Bai Chongxi was a little surprised, he didn't expect Huang Ke to know so much about these aspects, so he casually flattered him.

"Forget it, let's not talk about it. Reply to Liu Jian, just tell to keep this principle. When necessary, ask Zhang Xueliang and Lin Zuoda in the Northeast, now that the pressure in the Northeast is much less, do they have any spare troops can they send support? ”

"Yes, I'll do it." As soon as Bai Chongxi went out, Chen Liewen walked in again. Watch him walk in with a notebook.

Huang Ke knew that he should have something to report, so he asked bluntly, "What's the matter?" ”

Chen Liewen spread out his notebook and said: "I just learned the news that the 55th and 33rd divisions of the Japanese army launched an attack from Thailand to Dawei and Mawlamyine in southern Burma respectively, and the British troops defending on the Burmese side could not effectively resist, and now they have begun to retreat to the north. In addition, the US and British heads of state have sent a note to our side through their embassies and consulates, hoping to hold a meeting on the situation of the war in Burma. ”

After the report, he added: "I didn't expect the Japanese to attack Burma at this time, it seems that they are not reconciled to the defeat in Nanjing." ”

"Burma has a China-Burma transportation line, this is a blood vessel, the Japanese occupy Southeast Asia, and it is only a matter of time before they attack Burma. The note replied to the heads of state of the United States and Britain, telling them that I could hold consultations with them on the Burma issue, and that they would decide the time and form. ”

……

After dealing with these affairs, it was already past dinner time, and Huang Ke told Chen Liewen to inform the family not to wait for him to eat anymore.

At around 10 o'clock in the evening, Huang Ke drove back to his home in an underground bunker located in the suburbs. His wife Zhao Xiaowan and son Huang Zhengzhong were still waiting in the living room, and when they saw Huang Ke coming in, their wife and children got up and stood up.

Zhao Xiaowan stepped forward and took the tweed coat on Huang Ke's body.

"Have you eaten? There's still food in the kitchen, and I'm going to heat it up for you? ”

"No, I've already eaten in the cafeteria. Have you eaten? Huang Ke untied the tie around his neck, took off his leather shoes and replaced them with cotton slippers.

"I've eaten it." Zhao Xiaowan took all these things.

"Father, are you back?" Huang Zhengzhong also came over to greet his father.

"Well, have you eaten?" Huang Ke asked.

"I've eaten it, I've eaten it with my mother." Huang Zhengzhong said.

"Okay, tell me about your recent studies, are you ready?" Huang Ke is very strict with his children, and he has to listen to reports on his studies and life, so that he can judge what his son has been doing and what he has learned recently from these words.

Zhao Xiaowan didn't say much, after packing up her things, she went to make some tea and walked away.

During this period, Huang Zhengzhong made a report to his father on his study and life over the past period of time. He was concise and to the point, but the point was not missed. Among them, he also interspersed with some of his own observations, including the soaring prices in Kunming, as well as student demonstrations.

Huang Ke didn't comment after hearing this, just nodded simply.

For more than ten minutes, Huang Zhengzhong barely stopped. At the end of the report, Huang Ke nodded and asked, "Have you been reading any books lately?" ”

"Recently, I've been reading some foreign classics, from the Soviet Union to Europe and the United States, and what I'm reading during this time is Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Huang Zhengzhong is telling the truth, he has indeed been reading English novels recently.

"Hemingway's books can be dabbled in, but domestic classics should also be read. If you have studied abroad for a long time, you can also learn more about the culture in China. Wen Yiduo and Zhu Ziqing in your school are some literary masters, and they cherish the opportunity to learn from them. Of course, the most important thing is to understand it yourself. Different from his attitude towards Huang Zheng's education, his hope for Huang Zhengzhong is to guide him.

"Yes, I wrote down my father's words." Huang Zhengzhong is still standing.

Huang Ke said casually after a few more words: "Okay, there's nothing wrong." These days in Nanjing, if you can go out to help, you can help, and if you don't want to go out, you can study at home. Okay, if there's nothing to do, you can go and rest first. ”

After speaking, Huang Ke got up and prepared to go back to the bedroom to sleep.

"Father, there's one more thing I want to report to you." Huang Zhengzhong asked.

Huang Ke stopped, which was a bit unusual, so he turned around and asked, "Say it." ”

"It's about students joining the military." Huang Zhengzhong told him about Senior Mu Dan's thoughts, and raised the concerns of Zhu Jingxing and other students about joining the army.

"The enthusiasm of the students to join the army is quite high, but part of it is just lip service. It's okay for them to go to the parade and make trouble, but I'm afraid it won't work on the battlefield. However, there are still many students who are still very enthusiastic about serving the country, but there are also people who are worried about the problem of not being able to continue their studies after joining the army. Or give corresponding financial subsidies and other means to eliminate their worries? Huang Zhengzhong said.

Huang Ke thought about it, he didn't answer his question directly, just smiled and said: "You can think about some practical problems and put forward your own plan, this is good, okay, go to bed early, after getting up early tomorrow, I will ask Chen Liewen and Fourteen Tsai to arrange it, you go to see their day's work, I believe it will be helpful to the ideas you put forward today, and after that, you will propose your specific solutions." ”