Naturally, Yang Zhen, who was leading his troops south to Jingde at this time, would not know about the controversy that took place in the headquarters of the 32nd Army, let alone that his actions to lure the enemy had worked. After he repeatedly deliberately exposed the radio signal Under the temptation of the 32nd Army, the 32nd Army had already mobilized heavy troops on the front line of Huangzishan, preparing to enter the mountain to clear out the enemy.
And spent almost all his resources to mobilize heavy troops to go south to Jingde and blockade the border area between Jingde and Jingxian. For him, how could he attract more troops from the third theater area to his surroundings and minimize the already exhausted and heavy casualties? The possible interceptions encountered by the main force heading north are more important.
Because he knew very well that after the Forty Division lost traces of its main force, the Third War Zone would definitely mobilize and be stationed in Xuancheng, and the Second Guerrilla Zone on the Ningguo front line would fortify itself on the route that the main force must pass to go north. There is Nanyi Lake to the east of this route. On the large area of water, there are Japanese and puppet troops stationed in Wuhu in the west, and have blocked the line from Chenggu Lake to Gaochun.
Moreover, after passing the Shuiyang River, there is the Nanyi Lake plain area. If they cannot pass through this plain terrain before the second guerrilla zone can react, the military headquarters and the main force will be in a state of being attacked from both sides. If it is not for the Lang in the southeast of Nanyi Lake Xixi is the core area of the second guerrilla zone, and Yang Zhen would never choose to go to Hubei.
The Second Regiment of the Puppet Appeasement Army stationed in Wuhu, north of Nanyi Lake, is not within the scope of Yang Zhen's worries. Although this Second Regiment of the Appeasement Army is all captured Japanese equipment handed over by the Japanese army, it can be used by Jingliang. However, as a puppet army composed of some local indigenous armed forces and scattered stragglers before surrendering to the enemy, its combat effectiveness is not strong.
At this time, the Communist Party has not surrendered to become a puppet army. The Wang puppet government has just made its debut and has not yet had time to reorganize the puppet army. The combat effectiveness of the Jiangnan puppet army is generally not strong. , training, and even compared to the puppet Manchukuo army where a considerable number of officers are themselves Japanese, even the puppet army in North China has a higher combat effectiveness.
Even though the Second Regiment of the Pseudo Appeasement Army is the elite of the so-called Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui Appeasement Army, it can be used to stand guard, guard the gate, and scare the common people. If you want to fight with the main force of the military headquarters as a regiment, , this second regiment of the Appeasement Army at least needs to train well.
What really worries Yang Zhen is the 15th Division of the Japanese Army stationed on the line from Wuhu to Nanjing, guarding Nanjing where the headquarters of the Japanese invaders are located. Although this 15th Division was a special division established only in 38 years, it is Since the current Japanese army is at its peak, its equipment and combat effectiveness are among the entire Japanese army that invaded China. Although it is not as good as those old divisions, it is still considered the best. It is far from the old soldiers formed in the later stages of the war. There are old and small ad hoc divisions that are not equipped with even the most basic rifles.
As a field division used to siege cities and seize territory, it is well-equipped and has strong military strength. The division has three field infantry regiments and a field artillery regiment. Among the Thirteenth Army stationed in East China, it is definitely first-rate. Its division commander Kumagai Keiichi The lieutenant general has a fierce and cunning style, and is extremely good at using troops.
For the Japanese army, although it still focuses on frontal siege of cities and territories, the New Fourth Army's guerrilla warfare in its occupied areas also makes it feel like a thorn in the back, especially for its plan to support war with war, which poses a great threat. The Chinese will kill each other. , for Ri himself, he is naturally happy to see the success. If the third war zone fails to do its full work in this fight between the same room, I believe he will not mind helping out.
It not only completely eliminated the New Fourth Army, which was a close enemy, but also created a deep rift within the Chinese people. At the same time, it gave people the feeling that there was no difference between the National Government and the Japanese Army on the issue of dealing with the New Fourth Army. This kind of killing three birds with one stone I will never miss out on anything I get.
In fact, Yang Zhen also knew that it was absolutely impossible for the Third War Zone to openly join forces with the Japanese invaders to annihilate the New Fourth Army. The Third War Zone was not so stupid, and the National Central Military Commission was not so stupid. At this time, it would cooperate with the Japanese Army. They openly joined forces, but due to the same purpose, the two parties had inadvertently achieved strategic coordination.
Judging from Japan's ability to collect intelligence about the Communist Party, they would not be unaware of such a big move in the Third War Zone. At this time, they are also very aware of the subtle relationship between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. They will take this opportunity to let China People kill each other and weaken the resistance. No matter what the intentions of both sides are, it is the result of Japan's optimism.
Once the 15th division of the Japanese army stationed in Nanjing and the surrounding areas of Gaochun, Jurong, Lishui, and Jintan is dispatched, they will have an absolute advantage in firepower, equipment, and combat effectiveness, and the Japanese army with extremely strong maneuverability will be in Nanyi. In the plains north of the lake, the main force with tired veterans and insufficient troops will be difficult to deal with. This is why Yang Zhen is unwilling to go to Hubei whenever he has a glimmer of hope.
However, the commander-in-chief of the Huangpu Phase 1 of the Second Guerrilla Zone, who was an experienced friction expert, was very cunning. Even if he mobilized the main force of the Third War Zone of Southern Anhui to go south, he would not follow the orders of the 32nd Army Headquarters and go south with all his strength. He still has a division, a du li brigade, a second column advancing south of the Yangtze River, and some loyal rescuers. He will at least have a few regiments of troops around him.
The reason is very simple. His second guerrilla zone is not only bordered by the New Fourth Army base area on the Shuixi front line, but also bordered by the Japanese Army on the Gaochun front line. Although he is not reluctant to cooperate with the 32nd Group Army to eat up the New Fourth Army in southern Anhui, he is also He would not risk being taken advantage of by the Japanese and destroy his lair by going out in full force. As a veteran, he would not leave a life-saving asset beside him.
The troops currently following the military operations have only four regiments, and after a hard battle, the casualties are not light. The troops have been marching for a long time and are extremely tired from fighting. The terrain there is flat and densely covered with water networks. The military headquarters There are many non-combatants there, so it is not a good idea to pass by their lair at this time.
So on the one hand, Yang Zhen ordered the military headquarters and the main force to go to the north bank of Nanyi Lake. Although the terrain here is narrow, it is located at the junction of the Japanese-occupied area and the second guerrilla zone. In that area, the deployment of troops in the second guerrilla zone is relatively weak. Even if it is discovered that Regarding the whereabouts of the military headquarters and the main force, the commander-in-chief of the Second Guerrilla Zone would not take the risk of conflict with the Japanese and puppet troops at this time and send all the capital in his hands to intercept it.
Even if the 15th Division of the Japanese Army dispatched some troops to intercept, there are still southern Jiangsu troops on the north bank of Nanyi Lake that can cooperate with the operation, and that route was once a secret communication line with the New Fourth Army, and the mass base there is still good. Recruitment It is not difficult to get enough ferries. If necessary, it is also a good choice to retreat into Nanyi Lake and use the lush reeds there as cover, or to use the lake to evacuate.
But there is a prerequisite, that is, you must be able to attract as many troops from the Second Guerrilla Zone southward as possible to create conditions for the military headquarters to pass quickly. Otherwise, if it is delayed, you will not even need to dispatch the main force from the Second Guerrilla Zone, and the Wuhu front line The possibility of Japanese puppet troops taking advantage of the situation and looting is quite high.
Although he knew that his move would put him in danger, Yang Zhen's southward movement, although he carefully avoided it, was still somewhat unhurried. He even entered Jingde territory and reinforcements came from western Zhejiang. We only made it to the front line of Jingde and had not yet gone north.
At this time, Shangguan Yunxiang, who was in a hurry, captured the young man. The 368th Regiment of the 62nd Division, which went north to participate in the encirclement and suppression, fought a battle. Taking advantage of the opportunity before the main force of the 368th Regiment could arrive, they used an ambush. After giving a meal of fried rice to the captured leading company of the 368th Regiment, Yang Zhen released all the prisoners on the spot on the pretext of being unable to carry prisoners during the march.
However, before their release, Yang Zhen still made some illusions. Not only did he give these prisoners a short speech in the name of the political commissar of the New Fourth Army, but of course he also interspersed some deliberately created illusions, successfully making these prisoners After receiving two yuan of ocean tolls and bursting with gratitude to the New Fourth Army, I believed that these people in front of me were the New Fourth Army headquarters.
Of course, in this fake show, the army commander will not appear. He is only responsible for the rearguard containment task. Of course, in order to enhance his persuasiveness, Yang Zhen also asked Li Huilan, the only female soldier in the army, to be present at the scene as a propaganda officer. Accompany yourself to talk to these prisoners.
After sending these prisoners on their way, Yang Zhen avoided the marching route of the 386th Regiment as stated by the prisoners, and went around to the junction of Ningguo and Jingde, communicating with the military headquarters on the command radio, and monitoring the enemies around him. After learning about the military mobilization, Yang Zhen stared at the map and frowned.
Looking at the mountains and rivers of Jingde marked on the map, Yang Zhen didn't put any thought on the map. Instead, his thoughts were far away. At this time, he was not only thinking about the troops who should have crossed the Shuiyang River. Department, as well as the old troops thousands of miles away in the Northeast. In the blink of an eye, it has been nearly three months since I entered the customs, and I don’t know if anything has changed in the Northeast.
In these three months, how is the military industry construction going? Have the materials and equipment that the Soviets promised to exchange have arrived? Have the aircraft transferred by the Americans achieved combat effectiveness? How is the training of the troops going? How many troops have completed the training? , combat effectiveness has been formed, the most important thing is whether there is any change in the Japanese army.
Only then did Yang Zhen realize that he really thought about having entered the icy and snowy Northeast. He missed his old troops and his old comrades. He didn't know how the commander-in-chief was doing. Did Li Yanping and Guo Bingxun have another reason? Working day and night, my body became even thinner.
Seeing the young military political commissar who had acted decisively and decisively after arriving in Wannan, and who was almost the same person as the former deputy commander, looked a little distracted. Li Huilan, who came to report the situation, looked at the telegram in hand, and then looked at the absent-minded person. Although Yang Zhen didn't want to interrupt Yang Zhen's train of thought, due to the importance of this telegram, she could only wake up Yang Zhen who was in a state of confusion.
Yang Zhen, who had recovered from his daze, looked at Li Huilan in front of him and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Xiao Li, I was just thinking about something and was a little distracted. How about it? If there is any situation, please contact the commander and the others. No, they are there now and have not crossed the Shuiyang River."
Listening to Yang Zhen's barrage of questions, Li Huilan couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled before saying: "The political commissar has not yet contacted the military department. It has not yet reached the prescribed contact time, but here is an email from northern Shaanxi. The incoming telegram was named for you to sign for in person. We don’t have the password in our hands, so you can only translate it yourself.”