After entering the conference room, everyone sat down on both sides of the long conference table, and Wang Haitao's position was relatively backward. Not long after sitting down, someone shouted at the door, "Chairman Chiang Kai-shek has arrived!" Everyone stood up, and Chiang Kai-shek, accompanied by He Yingqin and Chen Cheng, two close generals, walked into the venue with a smile. Lao Jiang stood in front of the main seat of Hengtou, and He Yingqin and Chen Cheng also stood on the left and right.

Lao Jiang raised his hands, pressed down, and motioned for everyone to sit down, and everyone sat down. After looking around at everyone, Lao Jiang said: "Ladies and gentlemen, Japan's aggression against China has reached the point of being strong, and now it has frantically launched a war of aggression against Southeast Asian countries, and the United States has declared war on Japan, and China's form of resistance against Japan will usher in a major turning point. In order to prevent the main force of our Central Army from sending troops to rescue the campaign it launched along the southeast coast, the Japanese army, commander of the 11th Army, Anan Weiji, gathered a large number of troops in the area south of Yueyang in an attempt to carry out a large-scale invasion of our Chongqing gateway and Hunan region.

The officers and men of our army should bravely kill the enemy in the spirit of defending the territory and fighting for every inch of land, and strive to inflict heavy losses on the Japanese army in Hunan and Jiangxi. This campaign will be under the full command of General Xue Yue, commander of the Ninth Theater Command, and I hope that you will sincerely unite and cooperate with each other to lay the foundation for our army's counteroffensive in the future. Next, I would like to ask Commander Xue Yue to announce the battle plan. ”

After Lao Jiang finished speaking, Xue Yue stood up, first signaled to Lao Jiang, He Yingqin, and Chen Cheng, and then opened the folder and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, according to reliable information, the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, General Anan Weiji, has mobilized the 3rd Division, the 6th Division, the 40th Division, the 34th Division, the 10th Independent Mixed Brigade, the 5th Independent Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, the 44th Flying Brigade and other troops, totaling 150,000 troops, in an attempt to capture Hunan and open the door to Chongqing.

Our army should make careful preparations and rely on the vigorous fighting spirit of the military and the people to deal a heavy blow to the Japanese army. Our army's tactical thinking is to establish three solid defensive lines on the basis of the Xinqiang River, the Miluo River, and the Liuyang River, to block the Japanese attacks one by one, and to deploy heavy troops on both sides and fronts of the Japanese army that will penetrate deep into the interior of northern Hunan Province. When the Japanese army attacked under the city of Changsha, the troops on both sides surrounded the Japanese army and tried to annihilate the Japanese army in the area between the Liuyang River and the Miluo River. ”

Speaking of this, Xue Yue paused for a moment, looked around at everyone, and then continued: "In this operation, our Ninth Theater will use the 19th Group Army, including the 18th Army, the 53rd Army, and the 90th Army, the 27th Group Army, including the 20th Army and the 58th Army, the 30th Group Army, including the 72nd Army and the 78th Army, and the 37th Army and the 99th Army directly under the theater, with a total of 170,000 people to respond to the battle. Now I announce the positions of the defensive forces of each unit.

The 27th Group Army was responsible for guarding the area south of the Xinqiang River and the Miluo River, the 30th Group Army was responsible for guarding the area between the south of the Miluo River and the Liuyang River, the 37th Army and the 99th Army directly under the Central Theater were responsible for defending the area south of the Liuyang River, and the 90th Group Army was responsible for defending the Changsha area. After the meeting, a written military order will be issued to the military headquarters of each army. ”

Xue Yue finished reading the battle plan, closed the folder, and then said: "This battle is related to the survival of the party and the state, and I have the determination to fight to the death. I also hope that you will unite sincerely as requested by Chairman Chiang and fight to the death the enemy. After Xue Yue's words were finished, the meeting had come to an end, and then He Yingqin, as the chief of the general staff, also gave some encouragement to the officers participating in the battle.

After the meeting, General Chen Cheng called Luo Zhuoying, Huang Wei, Guo Rudong, and Wang Haitao together and announced that the 18th Army, the 53rd Army, and the 90th Army would jointly form a new 19th Group Army, with General Luo Zhuoying as the commander of the group army and General Wang Haitao as the deputy commander of the group army. He also told Wang Haitao that in order to ensure the victory of the battle, Commander Xue Yue personally ordered the 90th Army, which had the strongest combat effectiveness, to defend Changsha City.

Changsha City, as the most important place in this battle, cannot be lost, and it will also be a city that the Japanese army will do its best to conquer, this Wang Haitao knows very well, and he also understands what it will mean to lose Changsha, General Xue Yue really handed over the most powerful and important task to his 90th Army, it seems that General Xue Yue really believes in himself.

Over the next two days, Chen Cheng and Xue held separate operational meetings, at which General Chen Cheng only formally announced the establishment of the new Nineteenth Army, appointed officers at all levels, and increased supplies to the Fifty-third and Eighteenth Armies. At the meeting, General Xue Yue announced the specific defensive positions of each army and division. The 90 th Army will also dispatch three divisions and two brigades to participate in this campaign, and the heavy artillery brigade and armored brigade will be temporarily transferred to the units directly under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Theater and will be under the direct command of the headquarters.

Commander Xue Yue gave Wang Haitao 20 days for the whole army to arrive in Changsha City and complete the preparations for the campaign. Wang Haitao originally planned to directly ask Su Zuxin and Tang Renxin to take the 90th Division, the 210th Division, and the 211th Division, as well as the Heavy Artillery Brigade, the Armored Brigade, the Guard Brigade, and the Reconnaissance Brigade to Changsha City, but considering that a lot of ammunition and supplies had to be put into the storage ring, he would have to go back to Longzhou once.

Wang Haitao immediately found General Chen Cheng and General Xue Yue and asked to return to Longzhou immediately to mobilize troops, and both agreed to Wang Haitao's request, but General Xue Yue also emphasized that within 20 days, the 3rd Division and 2nd Brigade of the 90th Army must all arrive in Changsha City. Wang Haitao did not dare to disobey the military order, and before leaving Chongqing, he sent a telegram to Tang Renxin to rush to Changsha City with the 90th Division, the 211th Division, the armored brigade, and the heavy artillery brigade.

Wang Haitao also specially told Tang Renxin to bring the engineer regiment of the logistics department with him to build roads and bridges along the way to ensure the smooth passage of the 210th Division behind. After arriving in Changsha, the ground type was repaired and fortifications were repaired. In addition, Su Zuxin asked the 210th Division, the Guard Brigade, and the Logistics Office to make preparations for departure as soon as possible in Longzhou County, and as soon as he returned to Longzhou, he would take these troops to Changsha City.

After filming the telegram, Wang Haitao calculated that the time was enough, so he stayed for one more day, and that night, Wang Haitao changed into civilian clothes and came to the Zhou Mansion at No. 50 Zengjiayan again, and said goodbye to Zhou Xuan. Zhou Gong was as generous and enthusiastic as ever, and repeatedly told Wang Haitao to pay attention to safety when participating in the war, and wished Wang Haitao and the 90th Division to fight bravely and make new contributions.

Early the next morning, Wang Haitao took Tangshan Leopard and the guard company to Longzhou County, but the reconnaissance company did not return to Longzhou with Wang Haitao and them, they were led by the commander of the reconnaissance company, and went directly to Changsha City to understand the situation in Changsha City, find out the shape of Changsha City and the surrounding areas, and prepare for Tang Renxin's arrival. This is also the reason why Wang Haitao has always had relatively high requirements for battlefield intelligence and geomorphological survey.

As soon as Wang Haitao's telegram arrived at the military headquarters of the 90th Army in Longzhou County, Longzhou City suddenly moved everywhere like a pot of boiling water. The 90th Division, the 211th Division, the Heavy Artillery Brigade, and the Armored Brigade, which were about to be deployed, all sounded battle sirens, and the commanders of several units were also ordered to immediately rush to the military headquarters of the 90th Army to accept the task.

Fortunately, these units are well-trained troops, and although they are emergency operations, they are also busy and not chaotic. After several commanders arrived at the military headquarters of the Ninety Army, Su Zuxin and Tang Ren Xinji were waiting for a few at the military headquarters. Su Zuxin read the telegram from Wang Haitao and said: "According to the military command, tomorrow morning, Deputy Army Commander Tang will lead the 90th Division, the 211th Division, the Heavy Artillery Brigade, and the Armored Brigade to Changsha City first, and the 542nd Regiment Escort Engineer Regiment of the 90th Division will be the vanguard of the whole army. ”

In addition, the Guard Brigade, the 210th Division, and the logistics department made all preparations for departure, and after the military seat returned to Longzhou County, they would set off with the military seat. One regiment of the reconnaissance brigade will wait for the military seat in Longzhou, and the other two regiments will also set off with the troops tomorrow morning, paying attention to doing a good job of reconnaissance work along the way. Do you all understand?" and several officers replied at the same time, "Yes, Chief of Staff." ”

After receiving the order, the commanders returned to the unit to prepare to go, Su Zuxin and Tang Renxin were just about to leave the conference room, and a "report!" came from the door, and Su Zuxin saw that it was Li Yuanhong, the commander of the 93rd Division, standing at the door. After Su Zuxin asked Li Yuanhong to come in, Li Yuanhong opened his mouth and asked, "Chief of Staff, Deputy Commander Tang, why didn't our 93rd Division receive the task?"

Su Zuxin and Tang Renxin glanced at each other, and Su Zuxin replied: "The telegram from the military seat did not mention the specific task for your 93rd Division, according to my thoughts, the military seat is to leave your 93rd Division and supplementary division in Longzhou to garrison. Li Yuanhong said unwillingly: "Little Japan here in Longzhou doesn't dare to come at all, isn't it enough to leave a supplementary division?

Before Su Zuxin could speak, Tang Renxin glared and said, "Senior Commander Li, why do you have any opinions on the arrangement of the military seat?" Not to mention, there is respect for Su Zuxin and Wang Haitao's subordinates, but they can't talk about fear, but Tang Renxin is different, he is an old man who followed Wang Haitao when he started his family, and Wang Haitao still has to shout "cousin". Tang Renxin's prestige in the Ninetieth Army was very high, and Li Yuanhong was still a little stunned in his heart with this glare.

Li Yuanhong hurriedly said with a smile on his face: "Deputy Commander Tang, how dare I have an opinion on the order of the military seat? Did I just say that it is necessary to send so many troops to stay in Longzhou County?" Tang Renxin said with a straight face: "Don't you know how important Longzhou is to the military seat and to our 90th Army? Little Japan is just going around Qinzhou Bay, and if you send troops to attack Longzhou County, do you think that with the eggs of those recruits who have not been on the battlefield in the supplementary division, you can stop Little Japan?" Tell you Li Yuanhong, after we leave, this place will be handed over to you, if there is anything wrong in Longzhou, I will not let you go first!"

Tang Renxin's words came out, Li Yuanhong also figured it out, and said after standing upright: "Deputy Army Commander Tang and Chief of Staff of the Su can rest assured, with my 93rd Division, Longzhou will be foolproof. Seeing Li Yuanhong say such words, Tang Renxin's face softened. Tang Renxin said: "Okay! Yuanhong, I believe you! After we leave, you must pay close attention to arranging Longzhou's defense system, and you must be more vigilant, and you must not be careless. Okay, you can also go down and prepare for the defense of Longzhou. ”

After Li Yuanhong left, Tang Renxin said to Su Zuxin: "Old Su, I will lead the troops to leave tomorrow, and I will hand it over to you for the time being. I'll go first, and we'll see you in Changsha. ”