The teacher, Zhong Jiushan, was holding a letter written to him by the Japanese, frowning and considering it.
At this time, it was already three o'clock in the morning. But the major general officer still didn't feel sleepy at all.
He lay awake all night, tossing and turning, and read the letter in his hand countless times.
However, at this moment, a guard came to report: "Report to the brigade, there are people coming down from the mountain. They say they are from the Independent Regiment of the 88th Division. They have been ordered by the special commissioner to come to supervise the battle."
"Supervising the battle? What? They still can't trust me, Zhong Jiushan?"
Zhong Jiushan felt very angry when he heard the word 'supervision of war'.
In order to stop the Japanese outside Yushan, he risked the lives of his family and children, but now, the higher-ups actually sent people to supervise the battle?
"Hmph! If they force me again, I will seriously vote for the Japanese."
Zhong Jiushan blurted out in anger, startling the guard.
Of course, they would all listen to the commander. What's more, some people in the 174th Division were really frightened by the Japanese. They wanted to join the Japanese.
Therefore, if Zhong Jiushan ordered the entire 174th Division to defect to the Japanese, it is not impossible.
But Zhong Jiushan is still hesitant. After all, being a traitor is not a glorious thing. And it is very likely that the Japanese will let him fight with the Japanese army. By that time, I am afraid that nothing will be left to him.
Zhong Jiushan thought for a moment and ordered: "Let them come in. I want to see who these people are."
"yes!"
The guard took the order to deliver the order, but at this time, Xie Jinyuan, who was at the foot of the mountain, noticed a series of eyes that were not friendly. Or maybe they were watching him.
Xie Jinyuan's intuition told him that something seemed to be wrong with the 174th Division.
When he arrived, Duanwu told Xie Jinyuan that the Yushan position may not be as simple as it seems on the surface.
Duanwu has always been very concerned about the words of the Japanese spy Colonel Yamamoto before he died. The phrase "fish, fish, three" has been echoing in Duanwu's mind for a long time.
Duanwu has been thinking, why did Yamamoto say Yushan in the end, instead of Changshu, or any place?
That means there is a problem here.
What's the problem? Is it the Chongteng detachment or the 174th Division? This is both possible. So Duanwu sent Xie Jinyuan to take a look at the 174th Division's position and allowed him to take advantage of it.
And what does it mean to act expeditiously? It means to do it yourself. Once Zhong Jiushan is suspected of collaborating with the enemy and treason, he will be shot immediately and executed on the spot, just like Liu Peixu.
So when he saw this, Xie Jinyuan already had his own plans in mind. He whispered to the guards beside him: "Everyone, be careful."
"yes!"
The guard captain responded in a low voice, and then winked at the dozen team members behind him.
These are well-trained veterans, and the guys in their hands are also German-style submachine guns.
The thumb of the right hand was always placed on the safety. Once there was any change in the 174th Division, they would immediately open fire to cover Deputy Xie's descent from the mountain. This was also their mission this time, to ensure the safety of Deputy Xie.
However, at this moment, a major staff officer ran over and saluted Xie Jinyuan: "Sir, our division commander has invited you."
"Lead the way!"
Xie Jinyuan signaled to the other party that the major staff officer was leading the way.
The Yushan position is very large and rugged. It can be seen that the division commander Zhong Jiushan really wanted to fight the Japanese army at Yushan.
However, there are still weaknesses. The trenches are not dug deep enough, and the bomb craters are not effective at all. Under the enemy's heavy artillery, these trenches will be razed to the ground by the enemy's artillery fire in less than half an hour.
Seeing this, Xie Jinyuan frowned slightly. Because of such a position, he really couldn't imagine how long the 174th Division could hold out under the artillery fire of Chongteng Detachment.
Before, Duanwu told him that if they didn't go, it would be difficult to hold the position of the 174th Division. Xie Jinyuan still didn't believe it.
Although the total strength of the 174th Division will not exceed 5,000 in continuous combat attrition, it still occupies an absolute geographical advantage.
But now it seems that the regiment leader was right. The trenches were not deep enough, which was one of the reasons for the defeat of the 174th Division.
One of the reasons for the defeat of the 174th Division is that the war against Japan was not determined and the morale of the troops was scattered.
Xie Jinyuan walked through many positions. The officers and soldiers responsible for defending the positions showed no intention of actively participating in the battle, and seemed more like they were just coping with the situation.
This is completely different from the Gui family's always fierce fighting style.
But Xie Jinyuan still doesn't know what the reason is. Everything will have to be said after meeting Zhong Jiushan.
After a while, the pre-war headquarters arrived. It was a civil bunker built with a large number of logs.
There is a transom on the top of the bunker, and with a telescope, you can overlook the entire position.
There was a faint light in the wooden house, and Zhong Jiushan was standing there with his hands behind his back, seemingly thinking about something. When the major adjutant reported, he slowly turned around.
This is a middle-aged officer, about forty-five years old. He has an upright posture and a slight stubble. But when he saw Xie Jinyuan arriving, he forced a smile and said: "Which army is my brother from? What do you call him?"
"The Eighty-eighth Division Independent Regiment, deputy commander Xie Jinyuan."
Xie Jinyuan introduced himself, and at this time, Zhong Jiushan also introduced himself: "Commander of the 174th Division-Zhong Jiushan."
"Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you!"
The two shook hands, and at this time, Zhong Jiushan said: "I heard from my subordinates that my brother is a supervising team sent by the special commissioner?"
Xie Jinyuan smiled and said: "I don't want to supervise the battle. I just came here to take a look and coordinate the battle. I wonder what Master Zhong thinks about this battle? I also took a look on the way here and saw that the fighting spirit of the brothers is very high!"
"
Zhong Jiushan's face moved for a moment, but then he returned to his original state and said: "Where, where? Brothers are holding back their energy to fight the Japanese invaders to the end! By the way, where is the special commissioner? Why didn't the special commissioner come?"
Xie Jinyuan smiled again and said: "You will see the special commissioner, but not now. Now I just want to see Commander Zhong's battle plan, hahaha!"
Xie Jinyuan laughed loudly, and the guards did not leave his side.
Zhong Jiushan frowned and thought: "It's true that the person who came here is evil."
But he, Zhong Jiushan, is not a vegetarian. He can't just say that he was sent by a special commissioner, right?
Zhong Jiushan smiled and said: "Commander Xie, I have something unclear. I heard that the 88th Division has withdrawn to the Xicheng line. Why are you still here?"
Xie Jinyuan smiled: "Because we fought out of the Sixing Warehouse. Our regiment is in the Dragon Boat Festival, and now we are appointed by the Chairman as War Supervisor, responsible for the defense of the Wu-Fu Line, including, but not limited to, combat command."
"·············"
Zhong Jiushan was speechless, because he had indeed heard of the name Dragon Boat Festival. He heard that there was a big commotion at Sihang Warehouse. But he really didn't know about him becoming a special commissioner. And a colonel commander actually
He became a special commissioner and was responsible for supervising and commanding the front lines. Isn't this a bit too childish?
He sneered and said: "Do you, our group, have a letter of appointment?"
Xie Jinyuan shook his head and said: "The letter of appointment is gone, but our delegation is directly led by Secretary-General Yang of the Commission Office. If you don't believe it, you can give Secretary-General Yang a call."
"Brother, you are joking. I, a young senior from the Gui family, can't even make a phone call to the committee office."
Zhong Jiushan said speechlessly. He even thought to himself that this world is really unfair. He, Zhong Jiushan, had endured hardship for more than twenty years. He carried a gun and fought in the war at the age of sixteen, and now he has become a major general and division commander.
But what about others? A small regiment leader can run to his own position and yell at others, and he also has to direct himself. This is really ironic.
He even felt that it would be better to surrender to the Japanese, who could also appoint him as an army commander.
Of course, he just thought about this idea. Even if the Japanese kidnapped his wife and daughter, he did not make up his mind to join the Japanese.
Yes, Zhong Jiushan's wife, daughter, including his parents were betrayed by traitors and abducted by the Japanese army. The Japanese army was forcing Zhong Jiushan to surrender, otherwise when they attacked the Yushan position tomorrow morning, the heads of her wife, daughter, and parents would be sacrificed to the flag.
.
He has been hesitating about this matter. On the one hand, the safety of his family and country is at stake, and on the other hand, he is concerned about his relatives. He has no idea what he should do.
Moreover, he also noticed that there were Japanese spies in his army. I am afraid that every move he made was under the surveillance of the Japanese. Including the arrival of this special commissioner, I am afraid that the Japanese also knew about it.
How does he choose? Should he stick to his bottom line, give up his parents, his wife and daughter, or kill the commissioner in front of him and then join the Japanese?
There are less than three hours left, and in three hours, he will make this decision.
···············
At the same time, on the outskirts of Yushan, Duanwu had already led his men to a place less than 500 meters away from the Chongteng detachment.
Duanwu only led a reconnaissance team, with a total of no more than twenty people. The others were on standby two miles away from him.
Nowadays, the situation of the enemy and the 174th Division is unclear, and Duanwu cannot make his own judgment.
As mentioned before, the old Japanese soldier Chongteng was cunning and cunning. After learning that the 30th Brigade was frustrated in Changshu, he rolled his troops like a ball.
This makes Dragon Boat Festival unable to take action. Unless there is chaos within the Chongteng detachment and a flaw appears, or in other words, this flaw will appear when the Chongteng detachment is preparing to attack, otherwise it will be difficult to kill with one blow.
Zhu Shengzhong, who was on the side, saw Duanwu frowning, so he said, "Tuanwu, why don't I lead him and charge at him? If the Japanese show a weakness, you'll hit him again?"
"No, it's useless. A small group of troops can't rush in. If a large group of troops rush in, they will die. We don't want to do this loss-making business."
Duanwu directly denied it, and then said to Zhou Dabang: "Take all the sharpshooters in your team and monitor the 174th Division's position for me. If anyone comes down the mountain to tip off the Japanese, kill them immediately."
"Tuanzuo, will this expose our target?"
Zhou Da Bang said with some worry. But at this time, Duan Wu smiled and said: "Grandma, if he doesn't get into chaos, this battle can't be fought. And it was a mistake for me to let Lao Xie go up the mountain. When he encounters a problem, he follows principles.
He will not take action until others take action. If there is really a problem with the 174th Division, Lao Xie will suffer a loss."
"What should we do about the regimental seat? How about I go and support the regimental deputy?"
Zhu Shengzhong was a little anxious. After all, Xie Jinyuan was his old commander.
Duanwu said disdainfully: "What a support! You bring me some people and continue to monitor every move of the Japanese. I will go back and make arrangements. Remember, no one is allowed to act rashly without my order!"...