In Xingzi County, after defeating the Japanese army in Ma Tou Bay, under the command of Ye Zhao, the 36th Brigade was divided into two groups. One group was led by brigade commander Gao Yongxiang and went straight to Bailu Town. The other group was led by him personally to kill directly. There were two brigades of Japanese troops in Xingzi County, of which only one remained in the county. The Japanese commander was courageous. After receiving the intelligence sent back by the Japanese troops in Ma Tou Bay, he immediately recalled all the Japanese troops scattered in the periphery, and immediately Taking the initiative to march towards Ma Tou Bay, it seemed that they wanted to rescue the Japanese troops in Ma Tou Bay. Of course, because the Japanese troops in Ma Tou Bay had been defeated, the two sides encountered each other in Tanjia Village, about ten kilometers northeast of Xingzi County. Because they were marching at night, Therefore, after the encounter started, the vanguard troops of both sides even rushed directly into the depth of the opponent's sequence, which intensified the cruelty of the encounter. After more than an hour of fierce fighting, the vanguard troops of both sides were dispersed, and the main force immediately The confrontation began with Tanjiacun as the center.
This encounter was beyond Ye Zhao's expectation, but he did not panic. After confirming that the Japanese army on the opposite side was the main force of the Japanese army in Xingzi County, he commanded the troops to enter the defense while generating electricity for the 35th Xuexue Brigade stationed in Duchang. Chang Guangfa was asked to immediately lead his troops to march to Xingzi County from the waterway.
The 35th Xuexue Brigade was stationed in Duchang, originally to prevent the 106th Division from cutting off the Xuebing Army's retreat. However, because the Japanese army did not have such grand ideals, they focused their attack in Jiangnan on Hukou from the beginning. Whether a certain number of troops should be left behind in Duchang has become a question for many officers of the Northward Army. Although everyone said nothing on the surface, they all expressed doubts in their hearts, thinking that Duchang was useless and there was no need to garrison it like this. The size of the main force, and among them, the regiment and battalion commanders of the 35th Brigade had the biggest opinions. Also, watching the brother troops of the 34th Brigade and the 36th Brigade fighting the Japanese army in Hukou, the brothers were like this and that I have received a lot of credit, but I have to stay in Duchang and enjoy the landscape. Anyone who is a little ambitious will definitely not be satisfied with this situation.
Ye Zhao and Chang Guangfa are the only people who know Ouyang Yun's intention. However, because this intention is shady and will affect the stability and unity with friendly forces, it is difficult for them to tell it. In the current China, the Xuebing Army's exists, no matter what role it plays, but because it is not affiliated with the central government, and even opposes the central government, in the mind of someone who has always believed that in order to fight against external forces, one must first settle the internal affairs, the Xuebing Army is always a scourge, and They are not trustworthy allies. The army heading north only has five divisions in total. The troops are not rich, but they have to put a brigade in Duchang, where there is basically no fighting. Ouyang Yun has no choice but to do this. People who know the situation Everyone knows that this is not so much to prevent the Japanese army from cutting off the retreat of the Xuebing Army, but rather to prevent some people in the country from adding insult to injury.
The person who was most deeply touched by Ouyang Yun's move was Xue Yue from Nanchang. After all, although he now belongs to the direct line of the Central Army, he is the most peripheral one. In the past, he was also excluded from the Central Army. Therefore, he quite understood the situation of Ouyang Yun and the Xuebing Army. Since the Battle of Madang, Xue Yue had been paying close attention to the development of the battle. When the Chinese and Japanese sides fought in Hukou, he suddenly fell ill. Xue Yue Now he is the chairman of Jiangxi Province. The chairman is ill. Although he claims that it is just an old problem and nothing serious, the division leaders under him and the squires in Jiangxi do not dare to treat it as nothing serious. Almost everyone He sent his heartfelt condolences as soon as possible. In this way, he had only been ill for two days, and the entire Jiangnan military and political system knew that Xue Yue was ill at the right time. This is nothing. The most important thing is that he After falling ill, he never recovered. When the news reached Ouyang Yun's ears, he smiled and said to Chen Shichang and others: "It seems that Duchang is worry-free and the 35th Brigade can move."
Almost at the same time, Chen Cheng from Changsha also sighed with relief. As soon as the Battle of Madang started, he received the highest instruction from the Chairman of the General Committee, asking him to strengthen military control in Jiangxi. The Chairman said this euphemistically, and it didn't sound like much at first. , but as his confidant, Chen Cheng cannot only think about the superficial level. As the current commander of the Ninth War Zone, Chen Cheng is only responsible for the war in Jiangnan, but in fact, the troops he can mobilize are from Jiangxi and The largest and most elite person in Hubei and even Hunan, as long as he is willing, he can actually set off a storm in this area. Of course, if he does that, he will definitely be recorded in history. However, his name But it can't be positive. Xu was worried about this, so when he received this order, he was in a very low mood. Many times he just stared at the military map in a daze. His various performances fell into the eyes of his subordinates, which naturally aroused They had all kinds of reveries, but no one really understood the secret. When the news came that Xue Yue was ill, his subordinates were surprised to find that the sick little chairman seemed to be alive again, so they took On this day, he convened a meeting of senior military officers early in the morning, and the first order announced at the meeting was: "The student army is fighting bloody battles in Madang. It's time for us to take action. Pass on my order. All troops in Hunan Province will cancel their vacations from now on, and the front-line troops will be ready to regain Jiujiang at any time."
No one understood why Chen Cheng suddenly became motivated to fight, and those who knew about it naturally would not speak out because of their status. However, later there was news that because of Xue Yue's illness, the Central Committee might move Jiangxi to All the heavy responsibility for the defense of the southeast is given to the Xuebing Army. From this, as long as Xue Yue's army is willing, Ouyang Yun can obtain certain command and coordination rights.
Looking at the overall situation, the Battle of Hankou was a game of chess between China and Japan. However, if we focus solely on the Madang area, there are several forces at play here. Xue Yue is the chairman of Jiangxi Province and the deputy commander-in-chief of the Ninth War Zone. After learning about Chen Cheng's arrangements, he smiled and said to his entourage: "I have done everything I have to do. The next step is up to Ouyang Yun. I hope Xuebingjun will not let me down."
In the past, Xue Yue, as the acting commander-in-chief of the Ninth War Zone, once led the first battle of Changsha and achieved good results in this battle. However, in this time and space, because the acting commander-in-chief did not appear as scheduled. ,So, so far, he has not been able to jump onto the military stage,
It was different from the Battle of Nanjing because the battle area of Hankou Battle was larger, China and Japan invested more troops, and the overthrow of Chiang Kai-shek had just occurred in Chongqing, so the Xuebing Army was not fighting alone from beginning to end.
War is a continuation of politics. Ouyang Yun's previous operations not only gained Xue Yue's support, allowing him to pretend to be ill at critical moments to ensure the safety of the Xuebing Army's rear, but he also gained support from the Guangxi and Sichuan Cliques. Allies, these two allies did not give much help to the Xuebing Army at first, but when the Battle of Madang officially started, their role began to be reflected.
The Xuebing Army sent troops to Anqing, which disrupted the historical pace of the Battle of Hankou and at least temporarily caused the Japanese army's troop deployment to fall into chaos. In the eyes of Li Zongren, who was very experienced in combat, this disordered situation of the Japanese army was their opportunity. ,
The Gui Clan suffered heavy losses in the previous Battle of Nanjing. If it weren't for Ouyang Yun's help, the Gui Clan would have been doomed. For this reason, Li and Bai were very grateful to Ouyang Yun and always wanted to return the favor. As for Yang Sen, Because he and Ouyang Yun had reached an understanding, the two sides had formed an offensive and defensive alliance, and signed a series of cooperation agreements. Even for these agreements, he did not want the Xuebing Army to suffer too much in Madang, and thus be disgraced by some people. Take the opportunity to knock him down,
Li, Bai, and Yang paid close attention to the battle situation in Madang. In their opinion, Ouyang Yun's most outstanding command during this period was to mobilize the army to sneak attack Anqing, which turned the Jiangbei battle situation into a pool of muddy water. Ouyang Yun's In fact, there is a danger of dancing on fire. A careless move may cause the collapse of the Madang defensive battle. However, there are advantages and disadvantages. On the other hand, because the main force of the Xuebing Army appeared in Anqing, the war in Jiangbei became complicated. , which gave Li Zongren's troops more opportunities to choose. If at the beginning of the Battle of Hankou, China's northern defenders were completely passive, now, they have gained a certain amount of initiative.
Li Zongren and Yang Sen had an agreement with Ouyang Yun. The two sides would exchange information regularly during the Battle of Hankou and do their best to support each other. After Ouyang Yun decided to let Ye Zhao recover Jiujiang, he sent Li Zongren a crazy secret message, hoping that they would To take action in Hankou, it is best to contain a Japanese army. Of course, if they seize the opportunity to surround or even annihilate a Japanese army, it will be a blessing to the entire Chinese people.
The fact that Li Zongren can be regarded as a patriotic general in later generations, among other things, at least proves that he did a lot on the road to resisting Japan and saving the country. Although he does not have direct troops under his command now, because there are six divisions of the Sichuan Army, the Sichuan Army still has six divisions. There are two divisions of the Yunnan Army, so if he really wants to do something, he has the ability.
Just after receiving the secret message from Ouyang Yun, at noon that day, Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, Yang Sen, and Lu Han, commander of the Sixtieth Army of the Yunnan Army, gathered together for a military meeting. Here, I would like to specifically mention the Sixtieth Army. , in that time and space, the 60th Army was ambushed by the Japanese army in the Battle of Taierzhuang due to the negligence of friendly forces, and suffered serious losses. However, in this time and space, two divisions of the Xuebing Army joined the Taierzhuang battlefield, which directly changed Taierzhuang China. Due to the garrison structure, the 60th Army did not rush to Xuzhou immediately, and thus luckily escaped the disaster that should have occurred.
Li Zongren first showed the secret message sent by Ouyang Yun, and then said: "The latest information from the Xuebing Army is that the 108th Division has now arrived in Luotian County, and according to Commander Ouyang's analysis, their final destination should be Taihu Lake County, Commander Yang, Commander Lu, since we entered Hankou, we have not officially started a war with the Japanese army. I think we can take the initiative to attack once the Japanese army has a weak link in its strength in the northeast of Hankou."