In the two counties of Rift River and Shirakawa, which border the government area, two brigades are normally stationed. The 1st Brigade of the Self-Defense Forces was stationed at the Rift, and the 2nd Brigade of the Self-Defense Forces was stationed in Shirakawa. The 1st Brigade has 7 regiments and the 2nd Brigade has 6 regiments. There is also a third brigade in Ji County, northeast of Shirakawa, which has four regiments under its jurisdiction and controls five garrison regiments directly under the headquarters of the Self-Defense Forces. There were 22 regiments and more than 50,000 men in the entire southern region, which was very tight from a defensive point of view. Mo said that it was very difficult for the national army to break through the natural barrier formed by the eight mountain passes including the Jiejia Gorge and enter the mountain, and even if it entered the mountain, it would be extremely difficult to push through the blocking troops of the self-defense forces of the three southern counties and march north to Guangren. As soon as the self-defense forces start a war, they can either rely on the favorable terrain of the eight mountain passes to keep the enemy out of the mountains, or they can go deep into the enemy, and then cut off the rear road and encircle and annihilate them. Four years ago, when Sun Zhongxiao was in charge of the southern defense area, he lured the enemy into the urn and ate a reorganized regiment of the national army in one fell swoop, and even the regiment commander was captured alive.

However, this war is very different from four years ago, because of the local friction in Shuangnishan caused by the war, the offensive and defensive sides are fully prepared, and the national government is facing the pressure of the Japanese puppet and the Communist Party, and is unwilling to expand the situation, Sun Zhongxiao is likely to put the regiment of the national army in to fight, and if it is defeated, it will be defeated. First, the government and the national army were fully prepared for a surprise attack, while the self-defense forces were basically not ideologically prepared; Second, the scale of this war was very large, from the rift river to the Shirakawa Kanzi Pass, almost the entire front of the war. As soon as the fire was received, the Nationalist side threw in 12 regiments of the 37th Division and 4 regiments of the 523rd Brigade. Third, the main attacking national army units were all replaced with American-style equipment, each with a ***, which was lethal, and the brothers at the front were shocked to scream, saying that it was a person who was holding a small machine gun to charge. As soon as the guns of the attack rang out, Qi Zhenjia immediately understood that his only choice could only be to strengthen the defense and keep the enemy out of the mountain.

Fortunately, his father, who was far away in Guangren, was like a god, and called him three hours before the start of the war, and also allocated the five garrison regiments of Ji County to him. Otherwise, not only will the Pingchuan area of more than 20 miles from the Rift River to the Jiejia Gorge be unable to hold on, but I am afraid that two or three of the eight mountain passes will have to be lost. In this way, he not only ruined his father's career, but also disgraced himself.

After noon, the first battles were fierce. Before the soldiers who had rushed into the position could catch their breath, the powerful artillery fire of the national army pressed over. As soon as the machine gun was set up, the overwhelming number of national soldiers rushed up, and the bullets flew indiscriminately. A part of the 523rd Independent Brigade of the National Army broke through the defensive battle and attacked Zhouzhuang along the road along the Split River, and advanced 11 miles in an hour and a half. Weishan and Kanzi Pass were almost lost, and the reinforcements only held their positions at the last moment with bayonets and portable light machine guns.

After 3 p.m., he saw the operational intentions of the national army. Obviously, the Nationalist army's offensive was focused, and one of the key points was the 20-mile Pingchuan area to the west, which was easy to attack and difficult to defend, and once it broke through, it could quickly advance north by means of the Shunhe Highway and another road directly to the county seat of Guangren. Another key point is not in Weishan, but at Kanzikou, the road of these two mountain passes is the closest to the Shunhe Highway, and from these two mountain passes into the mountain, you can meet with the left wing troops in the direction of the Split River Highway within half a day, and enter the central area of Guangqing. The central region has always not stationed heavy troops, and the Kuishan Mountain in the central part of the country stretches for more than 200 miles, which is impossible to prevent, and the invading enemy can directly penetrate into the county town of Guangren County, advance to the northern area of Shelu, and put Sun Zhongxiao's fourth and fifth brigades in the northern region in the belly and back of the enemy's death.

He made a quick decision, quickly adjusted the battle line, transferred the three garrison regiments to the Split River and Pingchuan area, blocked the gap in the defensive line, recaptured Zhouzhuang, and wiped out all the invading enemies. The defensive forces of Weishan and Kanzikou were also strengthened, and in addition to the reinforcement garrison regiment that had been the first to go up, two more battalions were transferred from the two flanks.

After six o'clock, he repelled another attack by the Nationalist army at the Kanzi Pass, and not only stabilized the entire defensive line, but also had three mobile regiments at hand, and he decided that the enemy would not be able to enter the mountain at least until his father came to Shirakawa in person.

Facts have proved that he is a well-deserved deputy commander, no worse than the deputy commander Tian Jiafu, who was killed by the Kuomintang in those years, and no worse than the deputy commander Sun Zhongxiao, who is now sitting on the northern front of Shelu. Sun Zhongxiao could deal with an invading enemy, but he might not be able to deal with a sudden outbreak of all-out attack. Not only is he no worse than Sun Zhongxiao and Tian Jiafu, but he is even better than them. Even if one day my father is gone; He can still be the commander, and he can also practice local self-government.

He was ready to inherit his father's business. The father also revealed this meaning in a trance. However, his father, who was very smart in everything, was confused in this matter, and his old man did not see clearly that Sun Zhongxiao was his son's most powerful competitor. To pave the way for the son to succeed his father, the first thing is to kill Sun Zhongxiao, or take away the military power in Sun Zhongxiao's hands.

He told his father what he meant.

At that time, his father reprimanded him with a black face:

"You know an egg! Leading troops to fight, you are not as good as Deputy Commander Sun by half! People have been brigade commanders and led soldiers outside the mountains! If I get rid of him, can I count on you to guard Guangqing for me? Can you be counted on to deal with Chi Nanjiao's Kuang Han Righteous Army? Besides, Deputy Commander Sun's father is my Mr. Enlightenment, and Deputy Commander Sun is my classmate and student, and he has no fault, so why should I engage others?! Others think of you so badly, do you think so fucking of Lao Tzu?! ”

He was stunned, standing under the portrait of his father, facing his father, he didn't dare to breathe.

The father sighed and said:

"Zhenjia, you have to remember, whether you are the commander today or tomorrow, we are not for the honor and disgrace of the surname of the Yan family, we have to think about everything and everywhere: we are the masters of the people, ask for the people's lives, and support the people for the sky! Without the support of 420,000 people in the eight counties of Guangqing, you can't be the commander! Local self-government can't go on either! ”

He thought about his father's words for a long time, and finally understood his father's painstaking intentions. No matter what his attitude towards Sun Zhongxiao is, his father will only hand over the family to him in the future. My father is now worried that he is too young to command 100,000 self-defense troops and will not be supported by 420,000 people. In just three years, because of his assertive praise, he went from regiment commander to brigade commander, and deputy commander, and the people below him were unconvinced. Qian Fenglong, the commander of the Fourth Brigade, said in private: A deputy commander like him can find a platoon in the Fourth Brigade alone. Wu Tianxiong, the commander of the Fifth Brigade, also said, and said publicly, that Xiao Gong is far worse than Lao Gong, and when Lao Gong was as old as Xiao Gong, he had already led all the brothers to set up Lianzhuang for self-protection, and his prestige was high!

He desperately needed to build up his prestige, but his father deliberately or unconsciously undermined his efforts and never used him as a serious general. In the early years, the southern front was in suspense, and his father transferred him from the southern line and let him go to the northern front; Later, the Kuang Han Righteous Army was established, and the northern front was dangerous, so his father transferred him from the northern line and put him on the southern front; deprived him of the opportunity to show his talents, and gave it to Sun Zhongxiao with both hands.

He asked his father why?

The father said it was for his good.

He knew that in his bones, his father was not at ease with him, not because he was worried that he would rebel, but because he was worried that he would be eager to seek merit, recklessly, and ruin his self-government plan.

This time, the situation was different, in the face of the enemy's full-line raid, he calmly commanded, stabilized his position, and fought well, my father probably had nothing to say! If he became famous in the first battle on the Southern Front, he would not be afraid that his brigade commanders would not be convinced.

This battle was of paramount importance to him, and he had to fight it well anyway, and if possible, it would be not just a matter of holding, but preferably launching a counteroffensive to burn the flames of war to the government districts, and then to eat into one or two more counties at the end of the war.

The hot thought burned him dizzy. After dinner, he summoned Deputy Chief of Staff Jiang and Wang Dabeard, commander of the Second Brigade, and a group of staff officers to the Southern Front Headquarters in Baichuan County to discuss the possibility of launching a counteroffensive before dawn......

It was about 10 p.m.