The route back to Yanzhou has already been planned. It only needs to start from the north of Xijian City, pass through Sanyuan County, Tongchuan, and finally enter the base area from Yijun.
After the two sides temporarily stopped making peace, Hu Zongnan originally planned to send a car to send Zhou Weihan and his party back. However, because he wanted to pick up a few Americans in Sanyuan County, the brigade commander declined in the end on the pretext that he had to travel around.
After arriving in Sanyuan County, Zhou Weihan said goodbye to the brigade commander again. He had already applied to his superiors to meet his eldest brother Zhou Weiguo.
Although the two are brothers, they belong to different camps after all. In order not to cause unnecessary trouble, after entering Xijian, the two brothers only met once in private except in formal occasions.
The two brothers had not seen each other for many years. Now that Zhou Weiguo was reorganizing his army in Lantian, Zhou Weihan naturally wanted to go see him in person, taking only the monk and Wan Jingang with him.
Lantian is located in the southeast of Xijian. It is famous for the Lantian Camp of the Qin State, which was the gateway to guard Guanzhong.
That night, the two brothers, who had been separated for many days, finally met at Zhou Weiguo's residence outside the city.
"I heard that my sister-in-law and Wen Xing have returned to their hometown in southern Hunan?" Zhou Weihan asked.
Zhou Weiguo is still the same as before, wearing a white shirt on his upper body and a military uniform on his lower body. He has a crew cut and looks very capable.
"Yes, you and I have been taught by our father since childhood to serve the country, but we have been away from home all year round. This time Hu Zongnan offered to let your sister-in-law and Wen Xing return to their hometown, so that they can serve our parents for us as a filial duty!"
"Wen Xing must be 18 years old this year. I always held him in my arms when I was a child. In a blink of an eye, he is now so old and has reached the age to start a family!" Zhou Weihanpo said with some regret.
Zhou Weiguo is the eldest son in the family. In this era, the requirements for the eldest son are different from other children. He will inherit the family business in the future, so Zhou Weiguo got married when he was 17 years old, and his wife became pregnant in the same year.
My elder sister-in-law, Cheng Wenhua, was born in a wealthy local businessman's family in southern Hunan. She was the niece of Cheng Qian, a veteran of the National Government. The two families were well matched, so she married Zhou Weiguo.
In 1924, before the child was born, Zhou Weiguo left home and applied for the Whampoa Military Academy. After that, his sister-in-law Cheng Wenhua ran the family business and took good care of his two younger brothers.
Zhou Weiguo smiled when he heard this: "Hey, back then my father was so strict with me and had to marry a wife and have children before I could leave home. It was better for you and the second child to run away quietly and turn around and join the Eighth Route Army!"
The two brothers talked a lot about their childhood while drinking, and they also mentioned the second brother Zhou Weimin. Zhou Weihan only knew that the second brother was working underground in Taiyuan.
As for the current situation, whether he would marry and have children, Zhou Weihan didn't know because of organizational regulations.
"Brother, when will you lead your troops to leave?"
"The order from the Ministry of Military Affairs is to set off on the 20th and arrive at the expeditionary force headquarters in Spring City at the end of the month. Then, they will conduct a three-month training, replenish their troops, and change their uniforms!" Zhou Weiguo did not hide anything from his little brother.
Just say whatever you say.
"Although I have never been to Myanmar, I have heard about the local conditions. The local climate is hot and humid and mostly rainy season. Especially the rainforest in northern Myanmar is full of miasma and there are many mosquitoes, snakes and ants. The locals can adapt to the expedition.
The officers and soldiers of the army may not be able to adapt!" Zhou Weihan said.
"Well, I have learned that most of the troops sent to Chuncheng this time are locals from southern Yunnan, and some are backbones transferred from various departments of the expeditionary force. I hope things will improve!" Zhou Weiguo was also worried about this.
The various units of the expeditionary force experienced considerable non-combat attrition after entering Myanmar to fight. The officers and soldiers were not accustomed to the local environment and have not improved. This is one of the reasons why many troops are unwilling to enter Myanmar to fight.
"Brother, one more thing, the Burma Highway is in our hands now, but if it is unexpectedly occupied by the Japanese army, it will be equivalent to cutting off the expeditionary force's way back. Where should we go then?"
Zhou Weiguo frowned when he heard this, and then said: "You are a bit unfounded. The Yunnan-Burma Highway is the lifeblood of transportation, how can it be lost?"
"If this happens, maybe I will follow the arrangements of my superiors, but of course it depends on the situation!"
Zhou Weihan used tricks to deliberately transfer Zhou Weiguo from Shaanxi Province, because he did not want the situation of brothers to fight each other in the future, but he also did not want Zhou Weiguo to succeed Du Yuming and stage the tragedy of Savage Mountain.
"Before thinking about victory, think about defeat before thinking about gain, and before thinking about gain, think about loss first. No matter what the situation is in the future, it is always right to consider one more step. The rainforest in northern Myanmar cannot be underestimated. The locals do not dare to break in easily, let alone outsiders.
, If one day we really need to return to the country, I hope my brother will consider it carefully and not let the troops lose their lives in vain!" Zhou Weihan persuaded again.
Zhou Weiguo knew that Zhou Weihan had always been thoughtful and had many achievements, so he wanted to ask for advice: "What do you think of the situation in Myanmar?"
"Since ancient times, fighting has not only relied on fighting on the battlefield, but sometimes the victory or defeat has been decided before the battle begins!"
"How to say?"
"Look at why our Eighth Route Army has more victories than defeats against the Japanese army. It is due to the people's hearts. Internally, everyone is united, the morale of the army is stable, and externally it has the support of the people!"
"There are a lot of constraints for the expeditionary force to enter Burma. I think it is still a problem whether the internal military orders of the expeditionary force can be passed smoothly. Moreover, Jiang and Stilwell did not get along, and he was also suspicious of the commander of the guard. As the commander-in-chief of the group army, you
It’s not easy to be in the middle!”
"There are still British troops fighting in Myanmar. I heard that the British troops have repeatedly betrayed friendly troops and used the expeditionary forces as cannon fodder. We should take more precautions and not be careless!" Zhou Weihan said.
"You know it very well. I even doubt whether there are people from the Eighth Route Army at the Expeditionary Force Headquarters?" Zhou Weiguo joked.
Zhou Weihan laughed dryly and did not continue speaking. Zhou Weiguo always acted vigorously and resolutely, and was by no means an indecisive person: "Chief Wei is a veteran general in the army and a rare commander-in-chief. I have always respected him. If he is in the first theater, he will be in the center."
Tiaoshan will definitely not be occupied by the Japanese army!"
"There are many factions within our army, but they are all under the jurisdiction of the Military Committee. This war into Burma should be unified to the outside world and promote our country's prestige. When I go to Chuncheng, I will definitely have a good relationship with the chief of guard. Only if the generals are harmonious and the troops are united can we be united.
Be victorious!"
Early the next morning, the two brothers said goodbye regretfully. Looking at Zhou Weihan's retreating figure, Zhou Weiguo looked heavy and said: "I hope you and I won't have to fight each other on the battlefield one day!"
Zhou Weihan was also thinking heavily on his way back. He tried his best to mention what he could and hoped that the expeditionary force led by Zhou Weiguo would have a good result.
