The ancient city of Nanjing glows with a unique charm in the drizzle of Feifei, and the handsome Zhongshan Mountain presents a vibrant spring and verdant vitality. The headquarters of the East Route Corps is located at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain, among a piece of cypress, which is heavily guarded and not allowed to be visited by tourists. At this time, the sound of horses' hooves came from the smooth stone road, and dozens of war horses were seen roaring. The horses came to a stop in front of an antique courtyard in the forest, and the sentry of the guard hurriedly raised his hand and saluted when he saw the comer.

I saw Bai Sheng, the commander of the East Route Corps, jump off the horse and hand over the reins of the horse to a guard. The war horse was dappled with sweat, and Bai Sheng's shoulders were covered with dust, and it was obvious that the horse and the master had come from afar. Without waiting for Bai Sheng to step into the door, Nie Fengwu, deputy commander of the East Route Corps, heard the news and greeted him. "Commander, you're back, everyone is in a hurry." When he saw Nie Fengwu, he was a little carried away with joy.

Bai Sheng didn't say anything, entered the war room, grabbed the herbal tea on the table, and poured it violently: "It's so happy, I'm dying of thirst for the road!" "Bai Sheng just came back from Wuhan, because Deng Zixuan wants to teach him face-to-face." Commander, look at your demeanor, the battle jihua has been approved! "Nie Fengwu can't hold back." Immediately inform the commanders of the divisions and convene a military meeting tomorrow. Bai Sheng didn't answer directly, but the meaning was very clear. Nie Fengwu didn't say a word, and immediately ordered the combat staff officer to inform the generals and rush to Nanjing.

At present, after the expansion of the East Route Corps, there are also 15 field divisions, that is, the 21st to 30th field divisions, and the expanded troops are tentatively numbered from the 16th to 20th field divisions. In addition to the artillery division, the near water tower was the first to get the month, and an additional heavy artillery brigade was equipped. The military meeting lasted for a day, and after it was over, the generals hurried back to their respective units. In the evening, the sunset sprinkled through the shade of the courtyard in the courtyard, and in front of a small table, Bai Sheng and Nie Fengwu were drinking.

It was obvious that Nie Fengwu had lost the energy to be happy yesterday. "Commander, is little Japan really that tough? At that time, the Middle Route Corps easily ate 8,000 Japanese troops in Hubei, and it was difficult for little Japan to grow three heads and six arms in the past two years. Nie Fengwu asked in surprise. Bai Shenghu said with a face: "You have this kind of thinking of underestimating the enemy, you annihilated 8,000 Japanese troops in Hubei back then, and the battle situation at that time was extremely favorable to us. When I asked the people involved about that battle, they admitted that the Japanese army had a stronger fighting capacity and will to fight than the British and French armies. ”

Bai Sheng continued: "Little Japan is not afraid of death and fights tenaciously. At that time, Little Japan was armed with an old Remington rifle. Now it is a shotgun for a cannon, equipped with a new German rifle, and the Japanese army has received formal training from foreigners, and its combat effectiveness is definitely not what it used to be. And we have to face the defense of 100,000 Japanese troops. Do you know that these 100,000 Japanese troops were transferred from Taiwan, and they were the troops of the coalition forces preparing to launch a landing operation on the southeast coast. ”

"According to the intelligence of the Central Intelligence Agency, the combat effectiveness and military quality of these 100,000 Japanese troops are stronger than those of the Japanese troops who landed a few years ago. This Japanese army unit was systematically trained by foreigners in the country, and it was equipped with the most advanced weapons, and it is said that the British and Americans spent a lot of money. This time I went to the headquarters, and Commander-in-Chief Deng specifically warned me that we must not underestimate this Japanese army. The commander-in-chief also said that the Japanese are a people who are good at learning, and their discipline and willpower are very tenacious, so we must not despise our opponents. ”

Bai Sheng continued: "Commander-in-Chief Deng also talked about the shortcomings of the Japanese. The Japanese are short-sighted in their strategic vision due to the narrow-mindedness of the island nation. The long-term closed island culture has caused them to have a very strong sense of distress, and they have expansion ambitions in their bones, the purpose is to find a safer home. In addition, the Japanese are rigid and do not know how to be flexible, and at present they have fully accepted the Western way of thinking, and it is estimated that the command system and tactical application of the Japanese army are the same as those of the foreigners. ”

Nie Fengwu said: "It seems that we will face a difficult battle, the degree of difficulty can be imagined, I really think it is simple." Bai Sheng continued: "The headquarters requires us to occupy Lianyungang within a month to prevent the coalition forces in Henan, Anhui and other places from escaping from the coast of Jiangsu. So our task is daunting. Commander-in-Chief Deng said that this battle is a time to test our East Route Corps, and if we can take Lianyungang on schedule, we can ensure that we can eat the main force of the coalition forces in the Central Plains, and at the same time we can coerce Shandong. In the face of Commander-in-Chief Deng, I made up my mind to resolutely accomplish the glorious and arduous task entrusted to us by the General Headquarters. ”

"Commander, I will personally take the lead, even if my head is pinned to the waistband of my trousers!" Nie Fengwu swore an oath. "Nonsense, pin your head to the waistband of your trousers, you're probably done kid. Commander-in-Chief Deng often admonished us to learn to fight with our brains. Brainstorming, there are 5 days left before the campaign starts. You have consulted extensively with the officers and men of the General Staff Office and the divisions on how to pull out the camps all the way and complete the tasks in accordance with the operational tasks, so that we can bring into play the wisdom of the vast number of officers and men and come up with a plan as soon as possible. ”

The two of them were drinking and discussing, and one of the subordinates came in to report: "Report to the commander, emergency!" After his subordinates finished speaking, he handed a piece of information to Bai Sheng. After reading it, Bai Sheng casually handed the information to Nie Fengwu and said: "Zhao Xuan is a little anxious, he told us to lead our troops to cross the river!" Nie Fengwu finished reading the intelligence report: "Didn't you let him wait for the order?" This kid is actually more anxious than us? Bai Sheng said helplessly: "We understand Zhao Xuan's mood, since he has already led his troops to surrender and let him stand still, anyone will be anxious." ”

Bai Sheng continued: "You ask the CIA to inform Zhao Xuan that you must not act blindly, you must play a role at a critical time, and you must calm down." As for when to act, wait for orders. "Zhao Xuan, whom Bai Sheng mentioned, was the target of the Qing army on the front line that they successfully rebelled against. As we mentioned earlier, Zhao Xuan, the commander of the 10th Division of the Qing Army stationed in Taizhou, decided to surrender due to his disappointment with the Qing court and the continuous efforts of our intelligence department.

A small market town near Taizhou, Jiangsu, the defense of the 10th Division of the Qing Army. At this time, Zhao Xuan, the commander of the 10th Division of the Qing Army, was sitting in the lobby in a somewhat anxious mood. Zhao Xuan was an overseas Chinese in Nanyang and went to the UK to study in his early years. After the outbreak of the war, the British side considered that he was an overseas Chinese, and it happened that the Qing court formed a new army, so they recommended Zhao Xuan to the Qing court. Zhao Xuan returned to China with a heart to serve the country and joined the Great Fresh Army.

Because Zhao Xuan performed very well and was born in a military class, with his own efforts, he was promoted to division commander in a few years. Although Zhao Xuan had never fought face-to-face with the Northern Expeditionary Army, he gradually understood what kind of army the Northern Expeditionary Army was. At all, as the Qing court preached, the Northern Expeditionary Army was a rebellious rabble. In particular, his growing understanding of the Guangzhou military government made him realize that the military government was the hope of China in the future. Coupled with his disgust with the corruption and incompetence of the Qing court, Zhao Xuan deeply regretted that he had chosen the wrong person.

In the past two years, Zhao Xuan has secretly crossed the river several times to enter the area occupied by the Northern and Southern Expeditionary Army of Jiangsu, and personally felt how the Guangzhou Military Government cares about the people's weal and woe and how it cares about the people of Limin, and Zhao Xuan has a strong shock in his heart. When the CIA learned about him, they began to turn against him. Because he was already disappointed in the Qing court, the rebellion was very successful, and Zhao Xuan decided to lead his troops to defect to the Northern Expeditionary Army without hesitation. However, the Northern Expeditionary Army did not let him surrender immediately, but asked him to wait patiently. This is half a year, and Zhao Xuan's anxiety naturally increases day by day under the agitation of his subordinates.

At this moment, Zhao Xuan was depressed, and an adjutant walked in and muttered a few words in his ear. Zhao Xuan heard this, swept away the gloom, and said, "Bring the guest to my study immediately!" Soon, a man in his thirties in the study saluted and said, "General Zhao, Commander Bai of the Eastern Route Corps of the Northern Expeditionary Army greets you, and let me tell you not to worry, the Corps headquarters will issue an order soon." Commander White apologized for the military secrets involved. ”

Zhao Xuan was keenly aware that the Northern Expeditionary Army was going to take a major action, and said with a smile on his face: "Please tell Commander Bai to obey the order and wait patiently." "After sending off CIA agents. Zhao Xuan was in a good mood and immediately called the adjutant and said, "Pass my order, and the officers above the regiment level will immediately go to the division headquarters for a meeting!" He had just sniffed something out of the agent's words, so he had to prepare in advance.

As is often the case, the closer the pre-war approach, the more tense the atmosphere becomes. On the Zhenjiang front, Tie Ning, commander of the 24th Division of the East Route Corps, and Wei Tianxiong, commander of the 25th Division, who were responsible for crossing the river, were even more in this mood. The task of their two divisions was to serve as the river crossing operation and to serve as the pioneer for the entire Eastern Route Corps. At this moment, Tie Ning and Wei Tianxiong were studying the combat plan. "Commander Bai and Deputy Commander Nie have arrived!" Outside there were loud shouts from the guards.

Tie Ning and Wei Tianxiong hurriedly straightened up, only to see Bai Sheng and Nie Fengwu striding in one after the other. "Report to Commander Bai, Deputy Commander Nie, welcome to the front line for guidance and instructions!" Tie Ning and Wei Tianxiong raised their hands in salute almost in unison. Bai Sheng asked straight to the point: "There are still 2 days before the official attack, do you have any difficulties?" "Please rest assured, Commander Bai, we will guarantee that we will cross the river and ensure that the main force will cross the river smoothly."

Bai Sheng said majestically: "In order to ensure a smooth crossing of the river, Deputy Commander Nie stayed in Zhenjiang and personally commanded your two divisions to fight. We did not choose to cross the river in Nanjing, which was guarded by the Qing army, but chose Zhenjiang, which was guarded by the Japanese army. The purpose is to take the enemy by surprise and act in a place where the enemy does not expect. As long as we succeed in forcibly crossing the border, we will quickly open up the situation and speed up the pace of in-depth development. ”

Nie Fengwu added: "If we break through at Zhenjiang, which is defended by the Japanese army, the Qing army in Nanjing will flee without a fight, and this is the purpose of our breakthrough in Zhenjiang." In order to increase the power of artillery fire, in addition to the 3rd Field Artillery Division, which was engaged in artillery strikes, the independent heavy artillery brigade was also engaged in the operation of crossing the river. In order to increase the intensity of artillery fire, the headquarters transferred eight gunboats from the East China Sea Fleet to support us. ”

Tie Ning and Wei Tianxiong glanced at each other and said in unison: "Commander Bai, please rest assured, under the command of Deputy Commander Nie, his subordinates will guarantee to complete the task." ”

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