At the beginning of 1943, that is, in mid-February, the Japanese dispatched troops to central China took advantage of the Chinese traditional festival New Year to carry out an unprecedented large-scale raid on the northern Jiangsu area.
The Japanese troops deployed this time included one unit each of the 15th and 17th Divisions, the 12th Independent Mixed Brigade and nearly 20,000 puppet troops. The Japanese troops were so menacing that black clouds threatened to overwhelm the city.
At that time, there were two troops in the northern Jiangsu area, one was the Northern Jiangsu Military Region headed by the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army, and the other was the Han Deqin Department of the National Army's Lusu Theater Area.
Han Deqin was the leader of the die-hard faction in northern Jiangsu and a well-known friction expert. When the situation took a turn for the worse, he took the initiative to send people to negotiate with the New Fourth Army.
Although the comrades in the northern Jiangsu base area knew that Han Deqin's negotiations with the New Fourth Army were not in good faith and were done as a last resort, they still showed great enthusiasm in order to strive for the formation of a united anti-war situation in the northern Jiangsu area.
In the end, the two sides reached a provisional agreement: both sides should make every effort to cooperate in the war. If difficulties are encountered, Han can lead his troops to move to the New Fourth Army defense area, but must not harm local government agencies or mass organizations, and return to the original defense after the Japanese army's raids have stopped. For example, the Japanese army
In the sweep of the New Fourth Army, Han Deqin's Ministry will also provide the same facilities and several other provisions.
Under this background, except for one part of Han Deqin's troops who surrendered to the enemy, the rest of the main force began to move towards Huai'an and Lianshui. With the New Fourth Army's support of grain, ammunition, and funds, they began to garrison and rest.
The heroic act of the Third Division of the New Fourth Army was widely praised locally, and at the same time the officers and soldiers of Han Deqin were greatly grateful. The two sides were at peace with each other at first.
However, with the arrival of Wen Yu, the situation suddenly changed. At that time, the 43rd Division of the New Fourth Army was leading local people to carry out counter-mopping operations in the two base areas of Huaihai and Yanfu.
Han Deqin's mentality was wavering at this time. On the one hand, he had lost the territory he had managed for many years. Now it was a good opportunity to seize new territory while the New Fourth Army was fighting fiercely with the Japanese army. On the other hand, the officers and soldiers of his unit had not reached a unified thinking.
The officers and soldiers were grateful for the New Fourth Army's assistance and did not want to start a civil war.
Time came to mid-March, when Li Xianzhou's 28th Army was entrenched in northern Anhui, and the second advancing army of the Lu-Su-Henan-Anhui Border Region, that is, Wang Zhonglian's troops were stationed in Mengcheng and Fuyang.
In order not to arouse the resistance of the officers and soldiers, Han Deqin did not choose to launch an incident in the northern Jiangsu base area. Instead, he led the 89th Army, the Independent Sixth Brigade, and the Third Security Column to march westward and attack the Huaibei Base Area.
Sihong County.
After winning the battle, the Independent Sixth Brigade was responsible for supporting Wang Zhonglian's troops to advance eastward to the Lingbi area, and then the two troops carried out a pincer attack on the Huaibei base area.
The conversation was divided into two parts. Zhou Weihan was in Dangshan at this time. The cadres in the Huxi base area had originally been in contact with the 142nd Division. However, with the outbreak of the Huaibei Incident, the attitude of Li Xianzhou Division suddenly became tougher.
The two sides did not start fighting immediately, it was just the calm before the storm. Behind the scenes, they were constantly deploying troops. The first to arrive in Huxi with Zhou Weihan were the troops directly under the column and Li Yunlong's 16th Brigade.
"Old Deng, how is the situation?" Zhou Weihan asked.
When Brigadier Deng of the Fourth Teaching Brigade of the Huxi Base Area saw Zhou Weihan leading his troops, he suddenly felt at ease: "The situation is not very good. The national army has a very tough attitude and insists on entering Shandong from our base area. I am afraid it will be difficult to change its decision!"
"The superiors have instructed that since Li Xianzhou's troops are coming, we sincerely welcome them. We must put up slogans in the base area, collect food and condolences for them, and organize a welcome party!" Zhou Weihan said with a smile.
Brigadier Deng also had a bad temper, and his eyes widened: "You guys come here to beat us, and we welcome them in return? What's the point of this?"
"Comrade Keming, don't get excited. From your point of view, your idea is right, but your superiors have also considered it. This is not just a military battle, but also a political battle. We must fight it with reason and evidence!" Luo Benzhong comforted him with words.
He said that the Southwestern Shandong Military Division is adjacent to the Huxi Military Division, and the two of them often interacted with each other.
It was not easy for Li Xianzhou's Central Army to enter Shandong. In addition to the Japanese puppet troops and the Eighth Route Army along the way, it also needed to cross the Longhai Railway and Jinpu Railway, which were heavily defended by the Japanese army.
After the Huaibei Incident broke out, Chiang Kai-shek sent a secret telegram to Li Xianzhou to attack the Huaibei base area where the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army was located eastward. However, the Japanese troops of the 21st Division in Xuzhou were worried that the arrival of the Central Army would cause the local puppet troops to rebel, so they intercepted it.
So Li Xianzhou's goal did not succeed.
The two sides fought many small-scale wars, which then came to an abrupt end and had no choice but to continue heading north.
Li Xianzhou's troops intended to invade Shandong in the name of entering the Shandong area to resist the Japanese. Naturally, the Eighth Route Army could not block it openly and should wholeheartedly welcome it.
The Japanese army in the Huaihai area with Xuzhou as the core is affiliated with the Central China Front Army, while the Japanese army in the Shandong area is affiliated with the North China Front Army, adhering to the principle that as long as it does not harm itself, it has nothing to do with them.
On that day, the 142nd Division of the 92nd Army crossed the Longhai Railway at dawn, and the Japanese troops in Xuzhou allowed it to pass smoothly with only slight obstruction.
"On behalf of the Eighth Route Army, I welcome friendly troops!" Zhou Weihan and Liu Chunlin, commander of the 142nd Division, held their hands together and shook them hard twice.
Zhou Weihan is well-known within the National Army, especially among the National Army in surrounding areas. Zhou Weihan is a well-known anti-friction expert in the Eighth Route Army. Shi Yousan in southern Hebei and Zhu Huaibing in Tainan both fell into the hands of Zhou Weihan.
Liu Chunlin felt a little scared subconsciously, which was why Li Xianzhou did not let all the main forces enter Huxi, but sent the 142nd Division to test the waters first.
On the surface, the two sides were doing fine. Even if they were itching with hatred, it was all behind their backs. Liu Chunlin said, "Commander Zhou is not in Tainan now. Why did he come here? Could it be that he abandoned his troops and neglected his duty?"
"Haha!" Zhou Weihan laughed. He did not expect that Liu Chunlin would suddenly take this matter to task. He was the lieutenant general and commander of the 97th Division in the national army, and logically he should be stationed in Tainan.
"If your army wants to enter Shandong to fight against Japan, our department will naturally welcome you wholeheartedly. In accordance with the orders of my superiors, I am ordered to lead my department to escort you all the way!"
The first meeting between the two sides ended like this, except that the 142nd Division was already surrounded by the Eighth Route Army. The two regiments of the 4th Teaching Brigade were located on the east side, and the 11th and 12th Regiments of the 16th Brigade were located on the west side, which were adapted from the new regiment.
The 10th Regiment blocked the retreat of the 142nd Division.
Zhou Weihan personally led the column organization and guard regiment to station in the direction of the 142nd Division. The Eighth Route Army blocked the 142nd Division from four directions.
The next day, the 142nd Division wanted to continue its march, but failed. Zhou Weihan stopped Liu Chunlin on the grounds that he was mobilizing a batch of food and grass, and sent medical staff to treat the wounded of the 142nd Division. Upon seeing this, Liu Chunlin could only
