Since the Eighth Route Army launched an anti-recalcitrant struggle in the Hebei, Shandong and Henan areas and defeated the recalcitrant armed forces led by Sun Liangcheng, the New Eighth Route Army's attitude of not helping each other during the fighting between the two sides made the Eighth Route Army very satisfied.
Everyone unanimously felt that the New Eighth Army and even Gao Shuxun were candidates for development, so when the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region and the Western Shandong Military Region were occupying the territory of the stubborn armed forces, they withdrew the troops from Fan County in the northwest of Shandong Province in a tacit understanding, and headed towards
Two places in the city.
Gao Shuxun immediately became the local emperor of Fan County and Chaocheng. Relying on the tax revenue, grain and grass from the two counties, and the military pay and supplies from the New Eighth Route Army, supplies were effectively solved.
Zhou Weihan and Tan Lin had many discussions about Gao Shuxun.
In Zhou Weihan's view, Gao Shuxun was the same as most generals of this era. In his youth, he had the bloody spirit that a soldier should have, but in his middle age, he was mixed with the speculative behavior of politicians. He had a certain degree of weakness in the face of the Japanese army, and at the same time he had a certain degree of weakness.
It is inevitable to have a warlord style.
Gao Shuxun was certainly aware of the situation of the New Eighth Army in the Hebei, Shandong and Henan areas. It was surrounded by the Eighth Route Army on three sides: east, west and north. Southwest of Fan County was the Liangpu area belonging to the Japanese army.
To a certain extent, the situation of the New Eighth Army is somewhat similar to that of the Japanese army of the Independent First Mixed Brigade in the Liangpu area.
In exchange for the deal between Fan County and Guancheng, Tan Lin dispatched a dozen political cadres headed by Wang Zenan to secretly infiltrate the ranks of the New Eighth Army to develop new forces.
Late at night, the headquarters of the New Eighth Army in Fan County, northwest Shandong, are still brightly lit.
"Military seat, the commotion caused by the Eighth Route Army is quite big. The fighting in Heze has not stopped until now. The Japanese may have kicked the iron plate this time!" Zhang Hanquan, commander of the 29th Division, said with all his heart.
When the New Eighth Army detained local government personnel and Zhou Weihan came to ask for people, Zhang Hanquan and thousands of people suffered a loss at the hands of the reconnaissance company. How could Zhang Hanquan forget this lesson?
"Yes, the outside world may not know the actual situation of the Eighth Route Army in the Hebei, Shandong and Henan areas, but we know that the Eighth Route Army has developed too fast. I heard that many soldiers were captured by the Eighth Route Army and did ideological work, and they turned into
The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army don't even need military pay. You said the brainwashing methods of the Eighth Route Army are too terrible!" Ma Runchang, the new commander of the 6th Division on the side, said as if he was pointing.
Gao Shuxun sat on a chair, drank a sip of tea, and watched the two of them with cold eyes. They exchanged words with each other.
"What? You two have ideas?"
"No!" Ma Runchang immediately shook his head and denied: "My subordinates just think that the ideological work of the Eighth Route Army is too terrible and must be guarded against!"
"Huh, what you want to guard against are the people that Director Wang sent to your new 6th Division, right? Don't think that I don't know what your plan is to occupy a stable territory amidst the heavy siege of the Japanese army.
It’s not easy. Now the Eighth Route Army is protecting our New Eighth Army from the outside. As long as Wang Zenan doesn’t go too far, he can just turn a blind eye!” Gao Shuxun said with a cold snort.
After Wang Zenan entered the New Eighth Army, Gao Shuxun did not want to arrange for him to hold a position of real power, so he created a New Eighth Army Military Headquarters Attendance Department, appointed Wang Zenan as the director of the Attendance Department, and established an Attendance Section in the 29th Division and the New 6th Division.
Who would have expected that Wang Zenan's first step in carrying out his work was not to develop strength within the New Eighth Route Army. Instead, he led people to various villages all day long to chat with fellow villagers about their family problems, especially the families of some soldiers who were participating in the Eighth Route Army.
The Eighth Route Army already had a certain base in Fan County and Guancheng. Although all troops and local government personnel were evacuated, when Gao Shuxun and others became aware of it, Wang Zenan established military support committees in the two places in the name of the Attendant's Office.
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As for the New Eighth Army or the Eighth Route Army, specific issues need to be analyzed in detail.
Just when the atmosphere was a bit solemn, Gao Shuxun's adjutant pushed in the door and went forward to report: "Military seat, according to reliable information, the Eighth Route Army troops in the Liangpu area are suspected of going south!"
"Okay!" Gao Shuxun heard this and clapped his hands with a smile: "Didn't you two have an opinion just now? Now the opportunity has come. The Japanese defense force in the Liangpu area is currently empty, and our New Eighth Army is the only one of the national army in the Hebei, Shandong and Henan areas.
It is the duty of our department to use our armed forces to attack the Japanese army and recover the lost territory!"
"Now I order the 29th Division to march directly to Pu County, and the New 6th Division to capture Puyang. After the property of the Japanese puppet troops and traitors is inspected, they can withdraw from Puyang!"
After hearing this, Zhang Hanquan couldn't help but trembled: "Military seat, isn't this good? The Eighth Route Army has the spare strength to capture the two cities and regards the two cities as its own. If our troops capture them first, it will definitely intensify the relationship between our troops and the Eighth Route Army."
Contradiction, when the time comes, the gain will outweigh the loss!"
"What's more, the Liangpu area separates the Eighth Route Army to the south, northern Henan, and southwestern Shandong. If such important areas are occupied by us..."
"Don't worry, just go ahead and do it. I will have my own plan afterwards. It is the national justice for us to send troops to regain the lost territory. He, Zhou Weihan, absolutely dare not take the initiative to fight with us. Even if he holds a high position within the Eighth Route Army, all the newspapers in the mountain city behind will
You can even drown him!" Gao Shuxun said confidently.
"Yes!" Zhang Hanquan and Ma Runchang responded.
That night, the main force of the New Eighth Army began to assemble secretly. Wang Zenan's resident military headquarters did not know about it, but naturally such a big move could not be hidden from the staff of the Attendant Section of the division headquarters.
When the inquiry was unsuccessful, a responding officer directly approached Wang Zenan.
"Director, are they going to take action? While our Eighth Route Army is fighting with the Japs, are they going to stab us in the back?"
"No!" Wang Zenan categorically objected: "Gao Shuxun can't do such a thing, and he doesn't have the guts!"
"I will contact my superiors as soon as possible. You will return to your respective units immediately. Contact me via the radio at any time if there is any situation!"
At the same time, Harada Kumayoshi in the headquarters of the 35th Division at the rear of the battlefield was also a little confused at this time. Telegraph personnel contacted the Japanese troops of the 16th Division many times, but received no response.
According to common sense, Japanese troops from all walks of life must conduct daily contact at regular intervals to report progress and battle conditions.
Thinking of this, Harada Xiongyoshi suddenly felt uneasy: "Contact Shangqiu immediately and ask Araki Sadahiro to send personnel to contact the 16th Division to confirm his whereabouts!"
"Early tomorrow morning, Xinxiang Airport will send a reconnaissance plane to conduct low-altitude reconnaissance of Cao County in southwest Shandong!"
"Yes!" the Japanese telegraph operator responded.
"You guys, send out several search forces to conduct large-scale reconnaissance in three directions: north, west, and south. I suspect that the Eighth Route Army is encircling our unit, especially the movements of the group of Eighth Route Army retreating to the Liangpu area.
We need to find out its location!" Harada Xiongyoshi said to the adjutant.