Chapter 867: Opening up the base area in northern Anhui
The clouds of war that shrouded the land of Hebei, Shandong and Henan have dispersed, and the vast plains are full of vitality. The fields are full of farming figures, filled with laughter and laughter.
Yu Xuezhong was riding on a tall horse, with about seven or eight thousand officers and soldiers. The lazy marching team looked very dull. Although they had escaped from the fire pit on the battlefield behind the enemy's rear, there was no joy at all on the faces of the officers and soldiers.
As the Commander-in-Chief of the Lusu Theater, Yu Xuezhong was equally burdened. He insisted on leading his troops to withdraw from Shandong despite Chiang Kai-shek's objections, which had long been dissatisfied by his superiors. He was deeply confused about the way forward for the Northeast Army, and even more
I feel worried about my future.
Facing the massive sweep by the Japanese and puppet troops, the Northeastern Army was in danger of being destroyed, and there was also the possibility of being split up if it retreated to the rear. Yu Xuezhong could only choose the lesser of two evils.
The direct line of the Northeast Army includes the 51st Army and the 57th Army, but the personnel establishment has been incomplete in the past two years. In addition, during the period of the Japanese army's sweep, all the national troops were unable to withdraw from Shandong.
"Commander, the Eighth Route Army has sent someone!" an officer stepped forward to report.
The visitor was Zhu Guoming, deputy director of the Political Department of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Column, who was entrusted by Zhou Weihan to come to contact Yu Xuezhong. According to the agreement between the two parties, the Northeast Army would obtain the last batch of supplies in Dayangji, but Zhou Weihan decided to give them to Yu Xuezhong.
Xuezhong made a great gift and sent more than 2,300 officers and soldiers of the 12th Army from Dayangji to the Northeastern Army.
Sure enough, when he learned the news, Yu Xuezhong was very surprised. He excitedly held Zhu Guoming's hands and expressed his gratitude again and again.
The army in hand is Yu Xuezhong's capital to fight against the upper echelons of the national army. Naturally, the more the better. Although the Hebei, Shandong and Henan Branch strictly ordered all ministries not to actively recruit Northeastern officers and soldiers, the Northeastern Army continued to have soldiers during its stay in Juye.
After leaving the team, how could Yu Xuezhong not be happy when the pie hit him?
"Commander-in-Chief, after your army moves south, Li Xianzhou and others will continue to stay in Dayangji for five days. This is the maximum time our army can fight for!" Zhu Guoming said.
"The sincerity of your army will be engraved in my heart. Our officers and soldiers will resolutely resist Japan from now on and never participate in the civil war!" Yu Xuezhong said. The five days were an opportunity for Yu Xuezhong to reorganize his troops. He naturally understood this.
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The primary problem of the revolution is to make more friends and fewer enemies. The Eighth Route Army implemented this point extremely thoroughly. The united front work against the Northeastern Army had already been carried out before the Xi'an Incident. It included both cooperation and cooperation.
Struggle, but in the end there is more cooperation than struggle.
As the Northeastern Army moved south, the internal pressure in the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region was greatly reduced. At this time, Hou Jingru's troops of the 92nd Army also advanced into Shandong, and the base area could safely engage in production and start training troops.
Zhu Guoming came back to deliver a mission, but Zhou Weihan immediately assigned him another task.
"Lao Zhu, the comrades of the four local armed forces under your command cannot leave yet. Except for the assault regiment that continues to be stationed in Dayangji, the rest of the troops are under your command to help the comrades of the local government carry out land reform in the Yucheng area and resume production as soon as possible!"
Zhou Weihan said.
The Yucheng area is the future bridgehead against the Japanese army, and a strong mass base must be established. However, this area is close to the Longhai Railway, and the local situation and fighting environment are complicated. It is difficult for the local government alone to clarify the relationship in a short time, so the assistance of the army is needed.
The 13th Brigade, the 15th Brigade and the remaining 16th Brigade continued to set up defenses along the Longhai Railway. In addition to preventing the Central Army in Xiayi and Yongcheng areas from moving, it also cut off the Japanese army's railway transportation.
Five days passed in a blink of an eye. During this period, Wang Zhonglian of the Central Army south of the Longhai Line repeatedly asked the Eighth Route Army to immediately release Li Xianzhou and others. However, Zhou Weihan always acted as a scapegoat on the grounds that the Japanese army seemed to have unknown movements and was worried about the safety of Li Xianzhou and others.
Excuses for not releasing him for a long time.
Such a poor excuse can be seen through by a discerning eye, not to mention that after Yu Xuezhong led his troops to Xiayi, he quickly replenished the personnel establishment and mixed the original 12th officers and soldiers with the Northeast Army. This inevitably made Wang Zhonglian wonder whether the Eighth Route Army was
A secret agreement was reached with the Northeastern Army.
Judging from the current situation, the Eighth Route Army undoubtedly wasted an extra batch of food to feed the Nationalist officers and soldiers, including Li Xianzhou, but the enemy of the enemy is a friend. In the long run, Yu Xuezhong and Lao Jiang certainly cannot be called enemies.
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However, the conflict between the two people is obviously irresolvable. If we do a good job in united front work now, there will be higher profits in the future. Zhou Weihan thinks it is worth it.
When the time came, Zhou Weihan released them without any hesitation and took strict precautions on the road from Dayangji to Laowangji.
According to the agreement between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, after Li Xianzhou and others returned safely, all the Kuomintang military camps south of the Longhai Line were withdrawn to the area south of the Yellow River. However, it was impossible for only Zhou Weihan to play tricks, and it was obviously impossible for the Kuomintang army to hand over the defense area smoothly.
"Brigade Commander, the column headquarters ordered that Niuwang Lake and Xiaoyangji strongholds be taken over by the 16th Brigade, and the 13th and 15th Brigades will move south quickly according to the planned plan!"
"Okay, here comes the work again, this time it's our turn to eat meat in the 15th Brigade!" Ding Wei said with a smile.
Zhou Weihan's order was quickly spread to all brigades, with the purpose of forcing the national army to withdraw south. Then three regiments of the 13th Brigade and two regiments of the 15th Brigade took Yongcheng as the core, including Xiayi, Boxian, Woyang, and Mengcheng.
The northern Anhui base area included.
At present, the remaining 28th Group Army's temporary 30th Division and the main force of Wang Zhonglian's troops are located in the Chenguanzhuang area of Yongcheng area. Due to the weak strength of the Japanese and puppet troops here, the two brigades advanced all the way to Chenguanzhuang despite the obstruction of the national army.
At this time, Li Xianzhou's buttocks were not yet warm, and he couldn't help but be extremely angry when he heard about the actions of the Eighth Route Army. He was ten years older than Wang Zhonglian, but he was a classmate of Huangpu No. 1, and they were both powerful members of the Tang Enbo faction within the Central Army.
"Brother Jieren, I am the general of the defeated army. I don't dare to be adept at it. You still need to make the decision whether to leave or stay!" Li Xianzhou knew that he had lost all his prestige in the army, not to mention that his direct troops suffered heavy losses. How could there be anything left?
What right to speak.
Wang Zhonglian was a little hesitant. He had already received a hint from Tang Enbo that the current priority was to preserve his strength and not to have another dispute with the Eighth Route Army. However, Chiang Kai-shek was unwilling to let the Eighth Route Army expand its territory smoothly.
"The principal has instructed that the Eighth Route Army must not be allowed to continue to grow. However, our current strength alone will never be able to compete with the Eighth Route Army. According to my wishes, a small group of troops should be left to fight guerrillas in the northern Anhui area to gain opportunities to go north in the future!"
"The number of people should not be too large, but they must all be elite. I see that it is better to let my brother's guard group stay. I will have people equip them with weapons and leave some supplies. How about that?"
The situation was not as good as others. Li Xianzhou could only nod his head when he heard this, agreeing to Wang Zhonglian's suggestion. The best outcome for him in the future would be to be idle at home, so what's the use of leaving the guard regiment behind.