However, Liu Ruzhai received the order of the army commander to strictly guard and never let the New Fourth Army pass through his own defense area, and the military order was difficult to disobey, Liu Ruzhai took the letter and didn't know what to do for a while. After thinking about it for a long time, Liu Ruzhai still decided to report this matter to the army commander Fan Ziying, and how to deal with the New Fourth Army and the Ninety Army was to let Fan Ziying have an idea.

Liu Ruzhai sent an urgent telegram overnight that made Fan Ziying, the commander of the 50th Army, also sleepy, and the consequences of meeting the 90th Army on the battlefield were too serious, Fan Ziying understood that the 90th Army that appeared here would not have too many troops, but several divisions in Guangxi were like a mountain, and he couldn't breathe. With the three divisions in his hands, he may be able to block the 90th Army and the New Fourth Army with all his might, but once he makes a feud with Wang Haitao's 90th Army, it will be a big trouble.

The strength of the 90 th Army is that even the small Japanese divisions and regiments can eat one after another, and there are 1 or 20 Japanese generals who died at the hands of the 90 th Army, and this combat strength is unparalleled in the national army, and even the Chongqing side is powerless against it, so what can the Sichuan army of its own army do? In case something happens to Wang Haitao here, as soon as the 90 th Army makes a fuss, I am afraid that I will not be able to escape from my identity as a scapegoat, and then don't expect someone to come forward to speak for me.

But just let them go over, but he couldn't explain to Commander Gu, such a tricky thing happened to him, Fan Ziying felt a little hatred in his heart for the regiment commander who had reported that he had discovered the New Fourth Army troops. The people below can still push this matter up, but who can he, the commander of the first army, push to? If it is reported to Commander Gu, then it is certain that he will go all out to block the attack, then he will have to confront Wang Haitao's troops.

After thinking about it, Fan Ziying remembered his old commander, General Tang Shizun, who is now the commander of the 23rd Group Army. The 50th Army was subordinate to the 23rd Group Army, and Tang Shizun concurrently served as the deputy commander of the Third Theater, so it was appropriate to report this matter to him. Thinking of this, Fan Ziying didn't care about being in the middle of the night, and immediately drafted an urgent telegram and asked the confidential officer to send it to Commander Tang Shizun.

Since Tang Shizun took over part of the Sichuan army from Liu Xiang, the king of Sichuan who died of illness, the war of resistance was still very active. This person was very loyal to Chairman Chiang, and also won Chairman Chiang's trust and appreciation, but he did not have any ability in combat, and the weapons and equipment of the Sichuan Army were extremely poor, although he had tens of thousands of horses and horses of the 23rd Group Army and was also the deputy commander of the Third Theater, he was not reused by Commander Gu Zhutong.

However, Tang Shizun was resolute*, mainly because most of his family's property was confiscated by the Communist Party, and his relatives were also criticized a lot. Receiving an urgent call from his confidant Fan Ziying late at night, Tang Shizun also muttered, if it was only the New Fourth Army, then the 50th Army would have to be ordered to block it anyway, but with a 90th Army in it, things are not so simple.

The 90th Army's reputation in the army and its own combat effectiveness are incomparable to those of the Sichuan Army, and if they really want to face each other on the battlefield, they are afraid that their 23rd Group Army is not an opponent at all. But now that the 90th Army has made it clear that it wants to support the communist army, it will inevitably offend the 90th Army if it wants to deal with the New Fourth Army. However, if Chairman Chiang of Chongqing let go of the New Fourth Army, he would not be able to explain, and if Chairman Chiang suspected that he was a communist, he would be completely finished.

After thinking about it for a long time, Tang Shizun still thought that he would rather offend the 90th Army than offend Chairman Jiang, so Tang Shizun replied to Fan Ziying that the 50th Army must go all out to block the New Fourth Army, but if the 90th Army wants to pass through the defense area, it should be released immediately. After Fan Ziying received the telegram, he immediately forwarded it to Liu Ruzhai, who was also stunned when he saw the call back.

The 90 th Army made it clear that it was with the New Fourth Army, and let the 90 th Army cross the border, but blocked the New Fourth Army, what could Wang Haitao do? There is no way, it seems that there will be a fight. The New Fourth Army has already captured Fengxing Mountain, which is only a few dozen kilometers away from itself, and the construction of the blocking position is urgent. Liu Ruzhai immediately issued an order to Bai Liang, the commander of the 109th Brigade in the city, and asked Bai Liang to lead the 109th Brigade out of the city overnight to repair the fortifications in Baishapu Town in the east of the city and block the troops of the New Fourth Army.

Brigade Commander He Zhengliang in Maya Town waited fearfully until dawn, not waiting for the 90th Army to attack, but waiting for Liu Ruzhai's division commander to order him to withdraw to Baishapu Town to garrison. At this time, He Zhengliang still had more than one regiment of troops in his hands, and after receiving the order of the division commander, He Zhengliang immediately retreated to Baishapu Town. When Wang Haitao came to Maya Town with his troops, there was no defender in Maya Town.

Wang Haitao did not stay long in Maya Town, and led more than 4,000 men and the second detachment of the second column of the New Fourth Army to Guichi County in the west. It is only 20 kilometers from Maya Town to Baishapu Town, Wang Haitao and they are all elite soldiers, and it only took three hours to arrive, He Zhengliang's team just entered the town on the front foot, and Wang Haitao's team also arrived outside the town.

Seeing that the Sichuan army troops in Baishapu Town made a gesture of blocking, Wang Haitao knew that he was afraid that he would have to do it today. The location of Baishapu Town is right next to the road, and a few machine guns on the wall of the town are enough to block a kilometer-long section of the road, and the Sichuan army has also built a position outside the town, and the troops in the position and the troops on the wall of the town rely on each other, so it is difficult to attack.

Wang Haitao also really didn't want to meet the Sichuan saber soldiers, so he sent another soldier to negotiate with the Sichuan army in the position, hoping that the Sichuan army brothers would let him go. The soldier came back and reported that the people of the Sichuan army said that there was an order from Shangfeng, if only the brothers of the 90th Army and Commander Wang wanted to cross the border, they would not only not stop them, but would also send people to escort them, but the troops of the New Fourth Army would never let go.

After listening to the soldier's report, Wang Haitao no longer thought about letting the Sichuan army let him go without doing anything. So since you are going to fight, you have to let the Sichuan army see your strength. Wang Haitao again ordered all mortars to concentrate on setting up artillery positions, and then the 1st and 2nd battalions of the independent regiment prepared to launch an attack on the positions of the Sichuan army. This time, all 100 large and small-caliber mortars were concentrated on the artillery position, and several thousand shells were also ready.

Seeing that the 1st and 2nd Battalions were already in position, and the machine gun positions composed of dozens of heavy machine guns were also ready to cover, Wang Haitao ordered the artillery to be fired. The scene of hundreds of mortars firing at the same time was also very spectacular, and in the continuous sound of artillery, one shell after another flew towards the position of the Sichuan army. The Sichuan army only rushed to repair the fortifications outside Baishapu Town for several hours, and did not even have time to dig the trenches.

After only five minutes of shelling of the positions on the outskirts of Baishapu Town, the artillery fire extended to the wall of Baishapu Town, and in just these five minutes of covering artillery fire, a regiment of Sichuan troops on the position was blown up and disabled, and the officers and men with combat effectiveness added up to the strength of one battalion. When the artillery fire hit the wall of Baishapu Town, dozens of heavy machine guns opened fire on the heavy machine gun position, and under the cover of heavy machine gun crossfire, the officers and men of the 1st and 2nd Battalions launched a charge against the Sichuan position.

There were also officers on the position who were organizing soldiers to counterattack, but most of the surviving soldiers had not yet recovered from the ferocious shelling, and the gunfire of the counterattack on the position was also sparse, and there were also one or two machine guns that would open fire to block the fire, but often they were completely suppressed by the covering heavy machine guns after not firing for a while. Originally, the machine guns on the wall could still provide fire support to the positions outside the town, but now that the wall has fallen into a dense *, it is difficult to protect itself, how can it still provide fire support.

The two brigade commanders of the 148th Division in Baishapu Town couldn't help but look at each other when they heard the indistinguishable sound of shell explosions outside the house. Listening to the sound of artillery gradually moving towards the town, Bai Liang, the commander of the 109th Brigade, couldn't help but say to He Zhengliang, the commander of the 108th Brigade: "Old He, I didn't expect the artillery fire of the 90th Army to be so fierce, if it goes on like this, I'm afraid that we, the soldiers, will not be able to stop others." ”

He Zhengliang sighed and replied: "The 90th Army can destroy the main of one or two divisions of the small Japanese army at once, can it be done without two strokes? I am afraid that this time the division seat has made a wrong decision! You must know that the 90th Army outside the town is only a small number of troops, and at most the size of one or two regiments, if there is a main division, I am afraid that our 50 armies together will not be enough to destroy everyone!"

Bai Liang asked with a frustrated face: "Then what do you say? The division has an order to resolutely prevent the New Fourth Army from passing through our jurisdiction, and the 90th Army has made it clear that it wants to support the New Fourth Army. As soon as Bai Liang grabbed the telephone, the shouts of the regiment commander defending the position outside the town were heard inside.

The regiment commander shouted hoarsely on the phone: "Brigade seat, the enemy's firepower is too fierce, and the brothers have suffered heavy losses in the artillery fire, please send troops to support the brigade seat immediately, otherwise the position will not be able to hold!" Although he was still a few steps away from the telephone, He Zhengliang, the regiment commander's shout on the phone, could be heard clearly. Bai Liang was also a little flustered at this time, and just ordered the head of the regiment to resist.

Putting down the phone, Bai Liang looked at He Zhengliang, and He Zhengliang saw the panic in Bai Liang's eyes. He Zhengliang said: "Lao Bai, the wall of this Baishapu Town is short, and our army is not well prepared, I am afraid that it will be difficult to block the attack of the 90th Army, so it will be defeated by the 90th Army, it is better to withdraw now, so that most of the soldiers can be saved." ”

Bai Liang thought for a moment and asked: "How can I explain where I withdraw from the division seat now, and if the Ninety Army chases after me, the brothers will not be able to fall well." He Zhengliang replied: "It's easy to explain there, the troops and firepower are at a disadvantage, coupled with the ferocious artillery fire of the 90th Army, it is normal to be defeated, and it is good to be able to keep most of the soldiers." The 90th Army is afraid that it will not chase after it, first, Commander Wang Haitao is not willing to exterminate our Sichuan army, and second, they are mainly to cover the New Fourth Army crossing the river, not to deal with us. ”