Fan Hanjie's troops were marching at a slow pace. When Zhou Weihan received the report, the leading force of the 46th Division had already passed through Gaoping and was about to arrive at the southern suburbs of Changzhi.
The Kuomintang and the Communist Party had previously reached an agreement that once Changzhi City was captured, the Eighth Route Army would hand it over, but at this time both parties remained wary.
In June, the two sides were still fighting to the death in the Tainan area. The 27th Army almost marched directly to Tainan to join the war. If you think Fan Hanjie can relax, that's a joke.
After Zhu Dashan's cavalry regiment withdrew from the Japanese reinforcements in Gaoping, Zhou Weihan ordered the cavalry regiment to stay at the junction of Gaoping and Changzhi.
"Company commander, the leading troops of the national army are less than five miles away from our place!" A soldier from the first cavalry company galloped over on a war horse.
After receiving the news, Chen Jiandong, the commander of the first cavalry company, changed his expression. He thought of the matter yesterday when the regiment commander called him over to explain it in person, and then said: "Get ready, be tougher for a while, don't embarrass our Eighth Route Army!"
After the order was issued, Chen Jiandong personally led a few soldiers to guard the checkpoint, while the remaining more than 100 soldiers were stationed in the Japanese stronghold next to the road.
Not long after, I saw smoke and dust filling the air on the other side of the road, and a group of soldiers in yellow military uniforms showed their signs.
The leader was a company commander with the rank of captain, but his face was bruised and swollen. When they saw the checkpoint in front, several men in gray uniforms were looking at them with guns in hand.
The company commander of the national army wanted to curse a few words, but the abdominal pain in his back made his expression change. Last night, the officers of the Military Justice Department whipped him ten times in front of the entire regiment.
"Go and ask what's going on? The others are on alert!" The national army company commander randomly assigned a soldier to go to the checkpoint.
After hearing that the Eighth Route Army on the other side was the Eighth Route Army of the Tainan Military Region, the company commander of the National Army felt relieved a little, and then took the initiative to go up and talk.
"I'm Tian Guangbing, captain of the 261st Regiment of the 46th Division of the 27th Army of the National Revolutionary Army!"
"Chen Jiandong, the first company commander of the Cavalry Regiment of the Independent Detachment of the Tainan Military Region of the Eighth Route Army!"
Both sides saluted each other with a military salute, and Chen Jiandong said cheerfully: "Welcome to the friendly forces. I have been waiting here for a long time under the orders of the commander. I wonder where your army Commander Fan and his party are now?"
Tian Guangbing smiled and said haha. Don't tell me that I don't know. Even if I know, I can't reveal the location of the military headquarters casually.
"Company Commander Chen is joking. The location of the military seat is a military secret. How can a small company commander like me know it? But if there is anything, I can convey it to you first!"
"Tonight, our commander is hosting a banquet in the city to entertain the commanders of your army. This is the invitation!" Chen Jiandong said, handing over an invitation.
When Tian Guangbing heard this, his eyelids twitched, and then he said: "I will immediately send someone to report this to my superiors!"
.......
At this time, the 46th Division under the 27th Army was at the front of the marching column, with the 8th Preliminary Division and the military headquarters in the middle, and the 45th Division at the rear. The long marching column extended from the suburbs of Changzhi to the territory of Gaoping.
Fan Hanjie, commander of the 27th Army, and a group of officers were riding on tall horses. They were quite excited at the thought of taking over Changzhi City.
You must know that most of the troops in the first theater of the National Army behind enemy lines are in the ravines, and a few occupy some villages and towns built on the mountainous areas.
Fan Hanjie was personally appointed by Jiang to lead his troops to take over Changzhi City, which shows that Jiang had confidence in him.
"Brother Jianyi, in the future you and I will finally no longer have to hide in the ravines and suffer. The tax revenue from Changzhi alone is enough to support tens of thousands of brothers in our 27th Army!" Fan Hanjie raised the corner of his mouth slightly and raised his riding whip.
, pointing far away in the direction of Changzhi.
"Our 27th Army can enjoy today's treatment only because of its ability in commanding troops and being deeply trusted by the principal!" Liu Jin, the deputy commander riding a horse beside him, complimented.
While the two were talking, a fast horse came up in front of them, and then the military guards stopped them.
The visitor shouted: "Military, I am the adjutant of Commander Yu Jizhou of the 261st Regiment, and I have something important to report!"
When Fan Hanjie heard that he was from the 261st Regiment, he immediately realized that it must be related to the Eighth Route Army and said directly: "Let him come over!"
The visitor got off his horse and before he could speak, Fan Hanjie asked: "There is an urgent military situation, why don't you send a telegram?"
"Military seat, this is the invitation sent by the commander of the Eighth Route Army!"
"Invitation?" Deputy Army Commander Liu Jin was stunned, then smiled and said: "Military seat, is the Eighth Route Army doing this now?"
Fan Hanjie read the invitation and threw it to the adjutant beside him. He snorted coldly and said, "Humph, I'm afraid the person who came here is not kind. How can Zhou Weihan have such good intentions?"
"Is it possible that the Eighth Route Army still dares to hold a Hongmen Banquet? Do they have the courage?"
"Order the troops to stop advancing and station themselves on the spot. The division commanders will come to the military headquarters for a meeting as soon as possible!"
"But the military seat and the attendant's office ordered us to take over Changzhi quickly. If there is a delay, we will definitely not be able to do it today!" Deputy Army Commander Liu Jin reminded.
"Nothing, I will explain it in the attendant's room!" Fan Hanjie waved his hand and said.
After the order was issued, the teams directly under the 27th Army's military headquarters quickly set up camps.
In the tent, in addition to the chief and deputy commanders, the participants also included Chief of Staff He Pengju, Commander of the 46th Division Huang Zuxun, Commander of the 8th Preliminary Division Chen Sunong, and a number of combat staff officers from the military headquarters.
After hearing Deputy Commander Liu Jin state the contents of the meeting, the national army officers present immediately exploded.
"You can't go to the military seat. According to past practice, the Eighth Route Army has never dealt with this kind of thing. In my opinion, this group of Eighth Route Army entrenched in Changzhi must have bad intentions!" Chief of Staff He Pengju said.
"Yes, according to the intelligence from the military commander, the Eighth Route Army has many troops stationed near Changzhi!"
Regarding the Eighth Route Army's troops in Tainan, the National Army has been seeking information about the independent detachment through various channels.
The Independent Detachment was first known to the National Army when it was fighting Zhu Huaibing's 97th Army in Tainan. After the war, Jiang knew about the Independent Detachment and Zhou Weihan.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! And among the participants in this autumn offensive, the independent detachment is among them.
The officers present were arguing over the banquet. Seeing the delay in coming to a conclusion, Fan Hanjie scolded him and then looked at Chen Sunong, the commander of the Pre-8th Division who had been silent.
"Shulong, what do you think? It seems that you have a close relationship with Zhou Weihan!"
Chen Sunong graduated from the third class of Huangpu. During his schooling, he had a close relationship with Zhou Weihan's eldest brother Zhou Weiguo. He had visited Zhou Weihan's hometown in southern Hunan many times.
The Pre-8th Division is the real direct lineage of the Central Army. It was formed by Hu Zhongnan himself. The entire 27th Army can be counted as members of the Hu Zhongnan faction within the Central Army.
Although the Forty-sixth Division is composed of part of the teaching corps, everyone within the Twenty-seventh Army knows the details of the Forty-sixth Division, which is still far behind the Eighth Division.
"Military seat, I don't think we need to argue about this. Our trip is to take over Changzhi. Changzhi will eventually be handed over to our 27th Army. This will never change!"
"We don't know why the Eighth Route Army acted, but we don't need to care. After all, the Nationalist Government is orthodox and has great righteousness. How dare the Eighth Route Army destroy the united front?"
"We just have to wait and see and wait for the development of the situation. The Eighth Route Army is also under pressure. Isn't the Handan-Changchang Highway at war with the Japanese army? They should be more anxious than us!"
"As for how to explain to the summit, it is easy to handle. At present, the Forty Army and the New Fifth Army are still "fiercely fighting" with the local Japanese army. The principal must be dissatisfied with the situation. Our Twenty-seventh Army can use this as an excuse to stay in Gaoping.
Supervise the battle in Huguan, Lingchuan and other places and assist friendly troops in the battle!"
"Firstly, it can solve the principal's problem, and secondly, we can wait and see the changes in the situation around Changzhi!" Chen Sunong analyzed one by one.
Fan Hanjie was overjoyed after hearing this, and immediately said: "Okay, Shulong's words are really a good idea. Let's do it like this. The Telecommunications Department will report it to the Attendant's Office immediately!"
Why is Fan Hanjie so afraid of the independent detachment? In the final analysis, the record of the independent detachment is too dazzling.
It has heavy troops. The 27th Army has three divisions and nine regiments. Not counting the troops directly under the military headquarters, there are nearly 15,000 people. However, the national army has always had a style of preserving its strength. Fan Hanjie does not want to let the troops appear easily.
casualties.
Secondly, allowing the Eighth Route Army to hold Changzhi for an extra day or two would also consume the Eighth Route Army's strength.
Inside Changzhi City.
When Zhou Weihan heard that the cavalry regiment reported that they declined the evening banquet on the pretext of being busy with military affairs, he couldn't help but smile: "How about it, I was right!"
Xing Zhiguo on the side was very curious: "How can you be so sure that Fan Hanjie will not come?"
"Fan Hanjie was the first division commander in the first phase of Huangpu and was deeply trusted by Chiang Kai-shek. However, he was very suspicious. In the invitation, I specifically mentioned inviting all the senior officers of the 27th Army to the banquet, even though he knew
Our Eighth Route Army will not cause many troubles, but do you think he dares to bring a group of people here?" Zhou Weihan said with a smile.
Xing Zhiguo had some understanding of Zhou Weihan's relationship with the national army, so he did not doubt why Zhou Weihan knew Fan Hanjie so well.
"Okay, let's carry out all the work as soon as possible. At the same time, let the cavalry regiment block the news from Changzhi. What we are doing now cannot let the 27th Army know in advance!"
The story breaks down into two parts, when there was a fierce battle with the Japanese army in the Changzhi area east of Zhongtiao Mountain.
Within the National Army's First Theater Command, staff members were also busy planning.
"Brother Junru, you have the foresight to anticipate the chairman's next deployment in advance!" the deputy chief of staff joked.
"Hey, I can get a pretty good idea of what the old man is thinking. However, the old man has always been changeable. It is common for military orders to change from day to day. I just hope that the old man will not interfere with the specific military deployment, otherwise the hard work of all my colleagues will be in vain!"
The corners of Chief Wei's mouth twitched, as if he recalled some bad memory.
This time, it stands to reason that the Twenty-seventh Army belongs to the first combat zone, but this transfer directly crossed the first combat zone, and the guards had no way to do it.
