The reason why the Eighth Route Army can win the support of the broad masses of the people is, in essence, because the Eighth Route Army stands on the standpoint of the broad masses of the people and protects the class interests of the broad masses of the people, thereby establishing a powerful people's armed forces and base areas.
Many of the commanders and fighters who taught the Fourth Brigade were from Huxi. After learning about the mobilization order from the headquarters, they all volunteered to contact the local people.
Each village in the Huxi base area also implemented the militia mutual defense policy. Each village had its own militia team. After learning about the needs of the Eighth Route Army's main force, the local people rushed to tell the news, tearing down the door panels of their homes and cutting down the big trees in the courtyard.
, came to the battlefield in groups.
"Comrade ***, let me introduce to you, this is Comrade Zhang Guohua, the political commissar of the Fourth Brigade whom I teach, and who also serves as secretary of the Huxi District Party Committee!" Deng Keming said.
Before Zhou Weihan could speak, Zhang Guohua took a step forward, stretched out his hand and said proactively: "Zhou **, I have long admired your name!"
The two hands were tightly clasped together. Zhou Weihan felt the thick calluses in the other's palms. Knowing that this was also a tried and tested old comrade, Zhou Weihan quickly said: "I don't dare to do it, I don't dare to do it, I almost let this group of national troops escape!"
"How can it not be possible? Although I am not on the front line, I heard Comrade Cheng Qiwu in charge of logistics say that it took only three days to successfully separate the nearly 50,000-strong national army, and only half a day.
Two brigades devoured the enemy's full division and two regiments, such a rare achievement!" Zhang Guohua said cheerfully.
Zhou Weihan couldn't help but praise him. Fortunately, he had a clear understanding of this point about himself, so he hurriedly talked about business.
"After receiving the notice from Lao Deng, Comrade Cheng Qiwu and I urgently dispatched 300,000 kilograms of grain and mobilized 3,000 people from Dangshan. In addition, comrades from the county committees of Feng County and Shan County were also carrying out mobilization work. Each county sent out
Five thousand people will arrive around midnight!"
"It's great, I really didn't expect so many people to come!" Zhou Weihan made a mental calculation and pulled out from Dayangji. Since it was an emergency march, plus the 15th Brigade stationed at Dayangji and the national army prisoners were also
We need to eat, so each unit only carries the rations for that day, which means that after eating, we will almost be without food tonight.
The number of ordinary people mobilized by the Fourth Teaching Brigade in the initial stage was about 6,000. Zhang Guohua brought 3,000 people, plus the ordinary people from Feng County and Shan County, the total was nearly 20,000 people.
"It's getting dark soon. Whether you're a soldier or a fellow villager, you can't help but have no food in your stomach. Food has just arrived, so we'll arrange for someone to cook immediately!"
"When I passed by just now, I saw many fellow villagers carrying food with them. This is not okay. Lao Luo, you are responsible for the logistics support work on site. Each person has three kilograms of food per day according to the standard of soldiers. If you can't finish it, you can ask the fellow villagers to
Bring back!"
"Old Zhao, there are more and more people on the scene. You must lead the staff office to do a good job of coordinating the situation and try to ensure it is as orderly as possible so that the enemy cannot take advantage of any loopholes!" Zhou Weihan said.
The food standards of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Column are high, and the company is organized as a collective. Each person has three kilograms of food per day, plus a certain amount of salt, sugar, and oil, and meat and eggs are distributed regularly.
In peacetime, they are uniformly allocated by the military region. In wartime, they can be urgently mobilized from local areas or purchased collectively according to the situation. Now they are urgently mobilized by the Huxi base area.
Other Eighth Route Army units cannot meet this standard, and even the direct troops of the Central Army are far inferior in terms of treatment, not to mention layer upon layer of exploitation and misappropriation, which has been greatly reduced in the hands of grassroots officers and soldiers.
For ordinary people, they only had two meals a day in good harvest years. In the current disaster year, they may be helping the army on an empty stomach.
Zhou Weihan was a pragmatic man, how could he not understand the reason? Since most of the commanders and soldiers were responsible for the security mission, and only a few soldiers worked with the fellow villagers as guides, Luo Benzhong asked each cooking team to give priority to providing food to the common people.
Fortunately, the fellow villagers all acted as a village unit. The village chief or militia captain of each village took the lead. Some even brought cauldrons and buckets in advance, followed by the district committee and county committee. The layered organizational structure made Luo Benzhong invisible.
This reduces a lot of arrangement pressure.
After dark, the atmosphere on the Eighth Route Army positions became more and more lively. The villagers became more energetic after eating. Each team shouted slogans. Even though the National Army was on the opposite side, the villagers did not seem to be afraid.
In contrast, the national army position opposite was silent, and the crackling sound of the firewood pile was extremely harsh. The momentum created by the people seemed to be more powerful than the spears and cannons, which gave the officers and soldiers of the 12th Army a spiritual shock.
They didn't understand why there was such a big difference between the two teams that were fighting against the Japs.
In an instant the sky turned white.
Zhou Weihan went to the front line to observe in person and found that the construction of the national military fortifications was getting slower and slower: "There are still more people and strength. We have the help of the fellow villagers. The fortifications have already taken shape and are expected to be completed by tonight!" "After breakfast,
Although we cannot launch an attack, we must conduct a sufficient propaganda offensive to disintegrate the enemy's will to fight!" Zhou Weihan said to Li Yunlong.
"I understand!" Li Yunlong nodded and replied.
"Last night, I had a phone call with the Military Region. To see what the Deputy Chief of Staff was thinking, this war might not be able to go on. In addition, Ding Wei learned an important piece of information from Li Xianzhou. The Nationalist Government was organizing talks, but it just didn't work.
Do you know if the headquarters has received the news?"
Zhou Weihan was trying to give Li Yunlong a break in advance. After all, the 16th Brigade might not be able to win the battle in the end after struggling for a long time.
Sure enough, Li Yunlong was stunned for a moment after hearing this: "What, you won't fight now?"
"I'm not complaining, but you can spit out the meat in your mouth right now? What are we trying to do by mobilizing so many fellow villagers and spending so much food?"
Zhou Weihan smiled slightly and then said: "What are you talking about? The goal is to defend the base area, protect the fruits of victory, and consolidate political power!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "If the hope of the national army is not strangled, can they stay in the village safely? Besides, since the superiors have not given clear orders, our actions will not stop for a moment!"
"You have to keep this matter a secret. I tell you to prepare yourself mentally. If we can capture this group of national troops before the two sides negotiate, that would naturally be the best!"
In a blink of an eye, it was dark again. Zhou Weihan and others were talking at the headquarters, when suddenly a burst of gunfire came from the front line.
At first, everyone didn't care. The national army could not sit still and wait for death. They launched probing attacks from time to time, especially after dark. However, the gunfire did not stop afterwards, but spread wider.
"Listen to the gunfire, it started in Majiatun, and now it's also ringing in Zhouzhuang. I'm calling to ask how to get back!" After Luo Benzhong said that, he immediately called the 16th Brigade Headquarters.
Before the communication here stopped, another phone rang at the headquarters. After the staff member got through, he said: "It's Brigadier Deng who teaches the Fourth Brigade, asking what's going on?"
After hearing this, Zhou Weihan said: "Tell him, the headquarters doesn't know what happened. If he is curious, he can go to the 16th Brigade and ask!"
Deng Keming on the other end of the phone was deeply confused and muttered: "What's going on? What happened to the 16th Brigade? Send someone to the 16th Brigade to ask what's going on?"
However, Luo Benzhong failed to contact Li Yunlong. The staff officer on duty replied that the brigade commander was out to observe the situation and could not be contacted temporarily.
About ten minutes later, the 4th Teaching Brigade responded to the 16th Brigade. The two attack groups simultaneously launched attacks on Zhouzhuang-Majiatun and Zhouzhuang-Duanzhuang from the north and south directions, and dispatched effective troops.
Penetrating and intersecting at the junction of villages.
Seeing that the momentum was intensifying, but the headquarters was in a state of confusion, Luo Benzhong lifted the door curtain and walked in. Zhao Bingzhang asked hurriedly: "What's going on!"
"Forget it, I haven't seen Li Yunlong. I don't know where he is hiding!" Luo Benzhong said, looking at Zhou Weihan who was sitting aside and reading a book. He seemed to understand something, and then said: "But it sounds lively, but in fact it's just for three people."
A tentative attack on the peripheral fortifications of a village, but the war did not affect the people in the village!"
Yesterday, the Hebei-Luyu Column received a telegram from the military region. After Zhou Weihan connected the phone line, he spoke directly to the Deputy Chief of General Staff. The Deputy Chief of General Staff instructed on the phone that there should be no fight if possible, and that the situation should be resolved peacefully if it can be resolved peacefully.
Said that the war with Hou Jingru’s troops of the 92nd Army has ceased.
That is to say, not long after the passing, Ding Wei called the headquarters to report the situation he learned from Li Xianzhou. Originally, Zhou Weihan only planned to delay the time to trap the remnants of the 12th Army, but now time may not wait for anyone, and it is unclear when the superiors will
A ceasefire order will be issued.
At the same time, Zhou Weihan contacted the Tainan Military Region through the radio and learned that the fighting was still fierce there, and both sides had even invested more troops.
After summarizing the information from all parties, Zhou Weihan made it clear that Chiang Kai-shek wanted to organize talks between the two sides. Maybe only a few of us on our side knew about it, or maybe the headquarters knew about it but did not order a ceasefire. There must be a reason, and our frontline troops would continue to fight.
First, the members of the leadership team of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Column had differences of opinion. Zhou Weihan insisted on eliminating the remnants of the 12th Army before the armistice order was issued. One group laid down its weapons and surrendered, while the other group was eliminated.
Luo Benzhong and Zhao Bingzhang expressed their disagreement due to various concerns. Zhou Weihan said that the military region had its own considerations and did not explicitly say that it could not fight. It only said that it would not fight if it could be avoided. If the 12th Army on the opposite side could surrender in full,
Will I take the initiative to let the soldiers sacrifice themselves?
Although there was no consensus, the matter to be negotiated by the National Government was reported to each level step by step, but there was no reply.
Zhou Weihan has become more and more politically aware over the years. He thought that the headquarters' true strategic intention had not yet been achieved and that he needed to work with the National Government. Therefore, when the leadership team had different opinions, he gave some hints during his conversation with Li Yunlong.
.
The Communist Party member and political commissar of the 16th Brigade were both Li Yunlong. After he returned, he thought for a long time and decided to compress the living space of the national army and put greater pressure on the national army.
There are communication trenches extending from the front-line fortifications, which can greatly reduce the attack distance, thereby reducing the casualties of soldiers during the charge.
Perhaps because the will to fight was worn away, or maybe because they were hungry, the attack of the 16th Brigade and the 4th Teaching Brigade went surprisingly smoothly. More than half an hour after the battle started, the Eighth Route Army successfully occupied the peripheral fortifications of Zhouzhuang, compressed the National Army soldiers into the village, and cut off contact with
The connection between the two villages behind.
The news quickly spread to the headquarters. After Zhou Weihan achieved his initial goal, he suddenly stood up and said: "Okay, what's the fuss at night? The troops have done their best to be vigilant and take a break when it's time to take a break!"
Although the Eighth Route Army on the offensive side had stopped, the National Army on the defensive side did not dare to slack off at all, and the tight string was about to break.
On the 23rd, He Cuizhi led the 81st Division to stay in Dayangji as the rear troops, and each person was given three days of rations. As a result, Li Xianzhou led more than 6,000 people to withdraw to Dayangji, which suddenly accelerated food consumption.
During the day on the 24th, the remnants of the 12th Army withdrew to the vicinity of Zhouzhuang. They did not carry much food. They originally planned to have a showdown with the Eighth Route Army, but unexpectedly Zhou Weihan adopted the tactic of encircling rather than attacking.
It is now late at night on the 25th. Even though a batch of food was replenished on the spot in Zhouzhuang, Majiatun, and Duanzhuang, and He Cuizhi ordered to repeatedly reduce the rations, the national soldiers still did not have food at night.
Another night passed like this, and soon at dawn, Zhou Weihan ordered the cooking team to prepare breakfast at the forward position.
This is a risky behavior. If the 12th Army uses mountain artillery, they can hit the artillery shells to the forward position, but the National Army soldiers can also see the Eighth Route Army cooking.
At the same time, the political cadres began to shout to the national troops on the opposite side, saying that as long as they came over, there would be hot steamed buns for them to eat three or five at will.
This was an attempt to wear down the will of the National Army officers and soldiers until noon, when the white flag was raised on the National Army position in Duanjiatun. Zhou Weihan was informed that the person who came was He Cuizhi's adjutant, who sent word that He Cuizhi wanted to talk to Zhou Weihan.
talk.
Zhou Weihan readily agreed, and the place of conversation was set in the middle of the two sides' positions. He Cuizhi was in his forties, so he was in his prime, but his hair and beard were gray, and his eyes looked bright.
"General Zhou, I have admired your name for a long time and have long wanted to meet you, but I didn't expect it to be like this!" He Cuizhi said.
Zhou Weihan actually has a good impression of He Cuizhi, or he has been admiring him for a long time: "The 12th Army is also famous, and Commander He is also a famous anti-Japanese general. He fought in Zhengzhou in a bloody battle, and although he was temporarily defeated, he recaptured Zhengzhou from the Japanese army.
The delay in moving south along the Ping-Han Railway must be attributed to all the officers and men of the 12th Army!"
"Why are roommates fighting each other?" Zhou Weihan suddenly changed his tone.
He Cuizhi had a complicated look on his face, but he didn't hide it: "Chiang Kai-shek was worried that our 3rd Army Group would gain strength in the Jincheng area, so he transferred away the only organic 12th Army!"
"Of course, most of our 12th Army are descendants of Shandong, so they naturally want to return to their hometown to fight the Japanese army, but the situation has suddenly changed and everyone has his own master!"
Zhou Weihan was holding an oil paper bag in his hand. When he opened it, there were two steamed buns. The steamed buns were stuffed with bacon. He said to He Cuizhi: "You old man is probably not as good as the young people in fighting hunger. How about one? Don't worry.
Not poisonous!”
He Cuizhi had long noticed what Zhou Weihan was carrying, and without any hesitation, he picked up a steamed bun and ate it.
"You can't eat these steamed buns with meat for free. You and I don't have food to eat. Let's release all the fellow villagers. I don't want you to let them go for free. I can exchange them for food. How about it?"
He Cuizhi gave Zhou Weihan a deep look: "You Eighth Route Army taught me a lesson. I have been wondering why the local people support you so much. Now I finally understand why?"
