Chapter 1184 Eat until your belly is full (Part 2)
Under the order of Tang Tuanzuo, all the ministries that had occupied Shimen let go of their hands and posted notices on the streets of Shimen when it was already dark.
The content is probably to recruit young and middle-aged laborers to be civilian laborers, and they can be given food as compensation in advance. If you want to return to your hometown after moving the supplies, you will also be given travel expenses home. If you are willing to take your family with you from southeastern Shanxi to Shaanxi Province, you are welcome.
Not to mention, the food needed for the journey will also be distributed to the family members. If they are willing to help with transportation, the elderly, women, and children can be given half of the youth's salary!
As the most important transportation hub on the Ping-Han Line, Shimen is much larger than a small county like Licheng, and its population is definitely more than 100,000.
There are fools who can become the leader. They not only take a fancy to Shimen's mountains of seized materials, but also take a fancy to Shimen's population resources.
There are at least 20,000 to 30,000 young men out of a population of 100,000. As long as half of them can be fooled into going to the war zone, that will be more than 10,000, which is enough to make up for half of the losses of more than 20,000 people who died and were seriously injured and disabled in the Shanxi East War.
Moreover, it can also fundamentally eliminate the possibility of the angry Japanese army venting their anger on ordinary people in Shimen City.
The current Shimen ministries do not have much money, and it is impossible to hand out military expenses on the spot with the free money, but they have food in hand! Three million catties of polished rice and more than one million catties of white flour are their confidence.
In fact, after consulting the opinions of various ministries, General Baifa, the top commander on the Shimen front line, immediately took out 800,000 kilograms of white flour as a reward. For those who were willing to be civilian husbands, each person would receive 60 kilograms of white flour and 40 kilograms of wheat flour, which would be distributed on the spot.
By the time the war started, commodity prices had already soared. A pound of white flour had already grown from ten pounds a year ago to two pounds a year ago, a five-fold increase. Ordinary families were eating buckwheat noodles, let alone white noodles.
You have to eat sparingly.
This reward is worth 40 oceans, which is a sky-high price. If you miss this time, it is estimated that many people will never encounter such a good thing in their lives.
Moreover, as long as the elderly, women, and children are willing to move things, they will be paid the same, even if it is only half of the young and middle-aged people. But if a family of eight people go out together, and 3 young adults bring 5 old, weak, women and children, they can get all kinds of rewards.
There are 550 kilograms of grain, and with the careful matching of the hostess, it is enough to feed a family for at least half a year.
In order to attract young people to sign up, in addition to posting notices on the streets, various ministries also used teams of soldiers holding tin trumpets to loudly publicize along various alleys.
Most of the people were still watching for the first half hour, but as the young and middle-aged people who could not stand the temptation of white noodles registered their names, addresses and fingerprints and then went home carrying hundreds of kilograms of grain, the people became restless.
.
Human biology itself is a group animal, with a strong herd mentality. As more and more people take food home, more and more people choose to join in. After receiving the food, more than half of them discuss it with their family members at home.
, and even more resolutely took the whole family to join the team of transporting supplies.
The reason is simple. No one is a fool. They know very well that their transportation team, which joins the national army, may never have the chance to return to Shimen City until the war is over.
Rather than this, it is better for the family to be bound together and either live or die together. Although the people in Shaanxi Province are not familiar with the place, it is still a place for Chinese people. You don’t have to live in fear every day, as long as you are willing
With hard work and a few hundred kilograms of grain, as long as the family survives starvation, there will be a day when the clouds clear and the moon shines.
It is such a simple concept that by the afternoon of the 17th, a total of 70,000 to 80,000 ordinary people responded to the call and were willing to participate in material transportation, accounting for almost 80% of the total population of Shimen City.
This is a considerable number, and it is an extremely spectacular sight.
At least every family of the northern residents who participated in the transportation had a wheelbarrow. The few tattered belongings at home, pots and pans, mattresses, and infant babies were all placed on this wheelbarrow. The grey-haired old man at home carried them
pushing.
Young people, including women in their prime and even children in their teens, all carried grain bags on their shoulders, with an average weight of nearly 60 kilograms per person. They walked slowly but firmly along the roads and various paths towards Jingxing.
go ahead.
Along the transportation line of more than 40 kilometers, in addition to soldiers, there are more ordinary people carrying handbags on their shoulders.
The reconnaissance planes of the North China Front passed over such a spectacular transport army more than once, but not a single plane had the chance to shoot.
It's not that they didn't want to, but the air defense company of the Fourth Army Regiment had already been dispatched before, setting up defenses along the hilltops of this transportation line. All kinds of anti-aircraft machine guns and machine guns had already raised their muzzles.
The Japanese reconnaissance plane would be greeted by a hail of bullets if it descended not only to 1,000 meters, but even to 2,000 meters!
If you want to destroy this large-scale transport-type "retreat" jointly constructed by more than 100,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians, let alone reconnaissance aircraft, even a fleet formation, I am afraid that at least 20 sorties will be required.
In the afternoon, Yuan Shanshan received the news reported by the Army Aviation. He knew what consequences would be caused if so many supplies were snatched by the Chinese. He gritted his teeth and asked the North China Front Army's Provisional Army Aviation Corps to overcome all difficulties and dispatch at least 20 troops.
A bomber bombed this large-scale transportation convoy that carried the hopes of the Chinese!
If this is the case, this transport team composed of civilians and tens of thousands of soldiers will suffer losses of at least 20%.
There may be mountains where people can hide near the simple highway, but the loss of materials will inevitably be huge.
In this situation, not even Tang Tuanzuo can do anything.
This is the tragedy of losing air supremacy. The Chinese army on the ice sheet in the next ten years will also face the same situation. The only thing they can do is to blow up as many as you can and transport as many as you want. Even 60,000 apples can eventually be destroyed.
Only one was sent to the front line.
Although the Four Lines Regiment Air Defense Company was deployed along the way, the white-haired general and Tang Tuanzuo also made psychological predictions of losses of more than 20%.
For this reason, the three trains that already had train drivers were still parked in the suburbs near Shimen Railway Station. They did not start loading immediately, but planned to wait until nightfall.
However, perhaps due to God's blessing, the Shimen area, which was still sunny and sunny at noon, began to become gloomy in the afternoon, and by three or four o'clock in the afternoon, it actually started to rain continuously, similar to that in Jiangnan.
The rain was not heavy, but it was enough to make the mountain roads slippery, adding more difficulty to the Chinese soldiers and civilians who were struggling to move forward on the mountain roads.
But the smiles on the faces of the Chinese soldiers who were on guard along the way were much stronger than before.
Their journey was difficult, but compared to the countless casualties caused by the Japanese air raids, they were much happier.
There are no all-weather pilots nowadays. Fog and rainy days are obstacles for aircraft to take off. Even if the visibility is 100 meters on the ground, it will be blind to aircraft at high altitudes.
The bombers of Japan's Provisional Army Aviation Corps of the North China Front, which were already at the airport preparing to take off or even already taking off, faced this kind of weather. They could either continue to wait for the weather to clear or return in despair.
Shan Shanyuan, who is located in Pingbei City, was so angry that he even threw several of his favorite tea cups. Faced with this sudden drizzle, he could only look at the rain and sigh!
As the supreme commander of the entire Japanese North China Front, he knew very well that if he missed this afternoon, he would have lost the best opportunity for air strikes.
When the Chinese's huge transport team arrives in the Shandong area during the day tomorrow, even if their fighter planes can take off, the Chinese's crazy ground firepower will set off, and the mutton will not be eaten, which will make them irritated.
The Provisional Army Aviation Corps, which has lost dozens of fighter planes in a row, can no longer withstand such hardships. If it loses this last trump card, the Chinese army in southern Shanxi may launch a major counterattack inspired by the victory in the Shanxi Eastern War.
Although there are more than 100,000 troops deployed there, without air support, the outcome of the two sides will be 50-50.
He has been losing wildly for a while in Eastern Jin Dynasty. The battlefield in Southern Shanxi is his last bottom line, or the last bottom line of the base camp. If there is another problem there, no matter how hard His Majesty the Emperor supports him, he will probably have to take the initiative to submit his resignation.
, left this battlefield in despair.
"Without my military order, not a single bomber is allowed to take off!" As darkness approached, the Provisional Army Aviation Corps, which had been waiting all afternoon for no improvement in the weather, received the last military order from Yuan Shanshan regarding the Shimen battlefield.
The two mixed brigades and an infantry division that were ordered to assemble also slowed down their march towards Baoding.
Wanting to keep his bottom line, Yuan Shanshan completely gave up on Shimen, a battlefield that was rotten to the core.
For the armies in eastern Shanxi who were stepping up transportation on the Shimen battlefield, it became a complete carnival of transporting supplies.
Taking advantage of the darkness, almost all the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Regiment and the 772nd Regiment who were left behind at Shimen went into battle. In addition to 800 Japanese prisoners of war and more than 4,000 young men, more than 10,000 people loaded all kinds of materials that had not been moved into the train.
The load capacity of a wagon is 60 tons, which can hold 20 wagons.
One locomotive couldn't pull it, and finally it took two locomotives working together, spewing black smoke all over the sky, to pull a train of supplies to Jingxing County.
In one night, three trains were loaded, containing almost all the captured light and heavy weapons, ammunition, and machine tools, but thousands of tons of materials were still left in the warehouse.
After receiving the news, Brigadier Cheng, who led another main regiment under his command, the 771st Regiment, had arrived in Jingxing County, and called the front line overnight. As the commander-in-chief of the Shanxi East Counterattack Army, Commander Liu was unable to mobilize manpower, but the order was already sent to his wife.
The entire army of the 12th Division and the 101st Division, which was resting after Guan's rear wing, rushed to Jingxing.
The two infantry divisions all marched quickly with light equipment, and all baggage was left at the rest area.
Following the military orders, the two infantry divisions marched 40 kilometers at night and arrived at Jingxing County in just six hours!
Ordinary officers and soldiers didn't know it, but the two infantry division commanders knew that they were not going to fight this time, but were going to be porters.
This batch of materials must be unloaded from Jingxing County Railway Station and moved into the mountains as quickly as possible. Otherwise, when the weather improves, a plane bomb will wipe out everyone's joy.
These two are not only top-notch warriors in battle, but they are also top-notch in heart and mind.
As early as noon on the 17th, I had received reports from the commanders of my regiments from the Shimen front line, and I knew that the number of seizures in Shimen was astronomical.
Although Master Zhao over there has promised that the supplies will be distributed to each regiment participating in the Shimen Battle according to the number of troops sent and military merit, but until the things are distributed, it is all a mirage, and it may be just a beautiful dream.
In this battle of Jindong, the two infantry divisions that fought against the Fifth Division both suffered heavy losses. If they don't get some seizures to compensate, it will be hard to explain to their respective commanders and they will not be able to provide necessary pensions to the soldiers.
The division commander has been continuously sending power to the headquarters since the afternoon, hoping to participate in the Shimen material transport mission.
However, in order to prevent the Japanese troops from moving and protect the rear wing of Niangziguan, which was already empty of troops, Commander Liu had been reluctant. Now he suddenly received a military order to arrive at Jingxing. The two infantry divisions were not allowed to go into battle lightly for fear of running too slow.
If you don't, you won't be able to distribute supplies.
Good guy, the mountain roads were slippery under the drizzle, and it was night time. Two infantry divisions with a total of 20,000 horses were covered in mud and covered nearly 40 kilometers of mountain roads in only 6 hours. The cliffs created their greatest success since the founding of the army.
Record.
However, this trip is definitely worthwhile!
The soldiers and civilians who set out from Shimen, under the threat of death, managed to carry rice, flour and other supplies across nearly 50 kilometers in only 13 hours. At around 6 a.m. on the 18th, two people had just rested.
After three hours of eager anticipation, the infantry division officers and soldiers gradually arrived at Jingxing County.
This may also be the busiest day since the small town of Jingxing was founded. Including the indigenous people, more than 120,000 people and up to 5 million kilograms of grain and other materials gathered inside and outside the small county town.
The whole morning, Jingxing County, which was still raining lightly, was shrouded in blue smoke. Not to mention that there was no chance to arrive, even if there was a chance, it would probably be in vain.
Because I can't see clearly at all.
That was the green smoke rising from at least more than 10,000 fires, which were used both for cooking and for necessary heating.
It was also the first time in this era that Chinese people ate freely. Bags of rice were opened and rice porridge thick enough to be used as rice was served as breakfast, and each person was given a spoonful of sugar!
What would have been an extremely simple breakfast in the future has become an unforgettable memory for the 120,000 soldiers and civilians in Jingxing County.
Really, eat until you feel full.
It is said that Lieutenant Colonel Zhuang Shisan, who was in charge of the distribution of supplies that day, almost cried. How could a person use 50,000 kilograms of polished rice and 3,000 kilograms of sugar for one breakfast? Even the Si Xing Group had never been so extravagant.
The millions of kilograms of grain certainly made the two masters who had seen the world feel happy, but they would be gone after they were eaten, and there were still 80,000 transferred Shimen people who needed to be resettled. The food consumed was not small.
Not to mention that one-third of this batch of grain will go out.
Twenty thousand young men are also a rare resource, but what if each army cannot score a single point? For them who are still on the battlefield, weapons and ammunition are what they value most.
Especially those artillery pieces, when they think about it, they feel itchy and anxious.
Then, the two masters who were personally stationed at Jingxing Railway Station saw such a spectacular scene.
To be precise, it was a scene where the 50,000 Chinese troops, who had already eaten and drank enough, were collectively stunned.
Two locomotives were emitting black smoke, dragging a train with no beginning or end, traveling from the direction of Shimen at a speed of no more than 15 kilometers, and there were actually three trains like this.
The interface of the carriage and even the roof were full of people. This was definitely not the main reason for the slow speed of the train. When the soldiers opened the door of the canister carriage, there were countless weapons and equipment and everyone wrapped in wooden boxes.
Man, maybe that's the main reason why both locomotives can't run fast.
Preliminary estimates indicate that the three trains carried more than 3,000 tons of materials, which is a terrifying figure just in terms of weight.
That old guy Shan Shanyuan must be crying with snot all over his face right now! The Chinese officers and soldiers thought so in unison.
After the train arrived at Shimen, it could no longer be driven. It was not because Tang Tuanzuo was reluctant to part with the coal, but because of the stingy old man.
When this thief was in charge of Shanxi Province, in order to prevent someone from stealing his home, he actually made a cunning operation. The original narrow-gauge railway tracks in Shanxi Province were retained at the original 1-meter wide standard. This is worse than Shimen
The standard track arriving at Jingxing is almost 43 centimeters narrower.
This means that any materials and personnel who want to enter Shanxi Province via railway must transfer trains.
Without the train, these 3,000 tons of materials would have to be transported by manpower. Fortunately, after yesterday's light rain, a large number of soldiers and civilians have arrived in Jingxing County. The air defense company of the Fourth Line Regiment can shrink its position. 24 anti-aircraft guns and 48 anti-aircraft machine guns are in place.
At 10 o'clock in the morning, the defenses around Jingxing County were completed.
As long as more than 30 bomber formations do not attack at once, the air defense position is fully confident that it can protect most of the materials in the city.
The tens of thousands of people here only need to transport these materials to Snowflake Mountain. Basically, this large-scale transportation of materials and personnel is considered a victory.
Large equipment such as machine tools were wrapped in wooden boxes, transported by the third train, and guarded by officers and soldiers of the Fourth Line Regiment and the 772nd Regiment. Although the two division commanders did not know what was inside, they knew that the weapons and ammunition were contained in the Four Lines
After the group didn’t want these things, they were wise enough not to investigate, or even ask.
Both of these men are smart and know their own value. The all-Japanese equipment of an infantry regiment, sufficient ammunition, and three months of food supplies are enough to make up for the losses in the Jindong counterattack and even exceed it.
Moreover, the theater headquarters has promised to pay soldiers’ pensions and various military exploits. It can be said that this war did not suffer losses but made a lot of money. Why bother to be so tough with the 921st Division and the Fourth Army Regiment for a few seizures?
The friendly forces are causing an unpleasant scene!
However, if the senior commander from the 101st Division of the Jinsui Military Department knew that all the guys in this train were his boss's pet peeves, he might not be so kind.
That was the foundation of China's largest arsenal at the time. Who wouldn't feel sad if it were replaced?
However, the dazzling array of Japanese-style ordnance and ammunition made this smart man overwhelmed with joy at the time, and he missed the opportunity to make up for the wealth of a stingy old man.
With the arrival of tens of thousands of civilians and more than 10,000 regular troops organized by the 80th Army of the Southeast Shanxi Province, this round of transportation has entered its final climax.
The transportation in Shimen was completely finished by the 19th. The entire Shimen luggage belonging to the Japanese army was moved away, and there were less than 50,000 Chinese people left in the city who were unwilling to leave their homes.
The transportation from Jingxing County to the southeastern Shanxi region lasted for 20 days. A large number of transport teams composed of civilians and regular troops passed by on the mountain roads and in the dense forests almost every day.
But no Japanese army dared to harass them. The number of Chinese regular troops operating throughout Shandong to transport this huge batch of materials even exceeded 100,000 at its peak, which was two more infantry divisions than when it fought the Japanese army before.
The 108th Division and the 109th Division, which were huddled in the county seat, could only tremble when looking at this number. Even if they could see the huge transport team in the mountains through the telescope, they did not dare to send out a single soldier or even dare to do so.
Fire one shot after another.
For fear of angering the Chinese who were busy transporting supplies, they even captured Shimen. Isn't it a piece of cake to capture a small county town with only one or two thousand troops?
Unprecedented aggrieved, this was the mentality of the Japanese troops in southeastern Shanxi at this time, but they could not be beaten again and again, and no matter how aggrieved they were, they could only suppress it.
As for Jindong, except for the remnants of the 18th Division and the 20th Division, which have ended their confrontation with the 921st Division and the 104th Division, the rest are all corpses!
The 21st Division, which retreated to the mountains, reoccupied the deserted important town of Shimen on September 23, six days after the entire Shimen was captured.
It was not until October 6th that the Jindong Counterattack Command, which had basically shipped supplies back to southeastern Shanxi, officially announced that the Jindong Counterattack was over successfully!
At the same time, the "Jin Province Anti-Japanese War Briefing" led by the Second Theater Command began to massively publicize the victory news!
...
ps: Feng Yue didn’t expect that traditional etiquette is so complicated, especially as Feng Yue’s nephew, she had to participate in the whole process. So Feng Yue didn’t get home until 10 o’clock yesterday evening because she stayed up all night the night before and was really exhausted. Time
It was also urgent, which made it impossible to fulfill the promise. I apologize to everyone here!
