Three o'clock in the afternoon, Peking, Hebei-Cha Government Affairs Committee Building.
The major streets in Peiping have never been as depressed and silent as they are today. Due to the huge panic caused by the war, the terrified citizens closed their doors tightly, shops were closed, and trams were stopped. Under the scorching sun, there were garbage and paper scraps everywhere, and groups of gods.
The dust kicked up by the stern-looking patrol officers and soldiers swirled up, and soon went away with the wind, returning to calm. In front of the Hebei-Cha Government Affairs Commission Building, which was originally bustling with traffic, except for the dense sentries with live ammunition, there was no longer the busy place of the past.
scene.
Qin Dechun, vice chairman of the Political Affairs Committee, mayor of Peiping, and former deputy commander of the 29th Army, led several attendants and politely sent the British and American ministers out of the building. Four cars with British and American flags were parked on the left side of the door.
The cars soon arrived to pick up the respective ministers and counselors.
Qin Decun watched the convoy go away, gently wiped the sweat on his forehead, subconsciously loosened the style buckle of his pine and spruce robe, sighed quietly, and turned around to walk into the building.
In the chairman's office, Song Zheyuan, still wearing a military uniform, stood by the wide window. The armed belt around his waist had just been untied, and his open skirt was slightly swaying in the hot wind blown by the fan.
On the hottest day of the year, Song Zheyuan was still wearing brightly polished long riding boots. However, his slightly curved neck and slightly messy hair showed that this man had dominated North China for six years.
The famous general of the Northwest Army has lost his former glory.
Qin Dechun entered the office, waited for the attendant to pour tea, waved for everyone to leave, glanced at Song Zheyuan who was still standing silently in front of the window, and thought about it before sitting down to drink tea.
Song Zheyuan had long known who was coming from the sound of footsteps. Not wanting to be silent for a long time, he looked back and saw Qin Dechun silently drinking tea. He pondered for a while and managed to cheer up. He turned around and returned to the opposite side of Qin Dechun, sitting down at the back.
He picked up the tea cup and took a sip. He felt something was wrong with the tea. He frowned slightly and put down the cup gently: "Shaowen (Qin Dechun), what do the Americans and the British say?"
"It's still the same face as before, demanding that we ensure the safety of lives and property of nationals and diplomats from all over the world, strictly prohibiting Chinese troops from fighting the Japanese within three kilometers of Dongjiaomin Lane, and once again asking us to withdraw the garrison officers and soldiers who have blocked the exits of Dongjiaomin Lane, and at any time
Inform them of the current situation of the fighting between the Chinese and Japanese armies in the Pingjin area." Qin Dechun's Shandong accent seemed very thick.
Song Zheyuan nodded, remained silent for a moment again, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Shaowen, do you accept the position of director of the Review Committee of the Military Commission and general counselor of the First Army given to you by Chairman Chiang?"
Qin Dechun leaned weakly on the backrest, reluctantly raised his hand, straightened the thick beard on his upper lip, and asked: "Brother Mingxuan, do you think I have any other choices? I can't follow Qi Xieyuan's gang.
Are you going to flee to the Japanese side of Tianjin? I can't do this kind of thing like forgetting my ancestors!"
"well……"
Song Zheyuan couldn't help but let out a long sigh. This famous general who has dominated the battlefield for twenty years has been sighing more and more recently, and it has almost become a habit. He now feels very regretful about the continuous use of Qi Xieyuan's group of civil servants in the past two years, especially
Fifth Army
After the victory of Langfang with the cooperation of the 38th Division, he, the once famous anti-Japanese general, has faded. His former subordinate Zhang Zizhong, through the Battle of Huangcun and the Battle of Langfang, has replaced Song Zheyuan's position as the national military and civilian leader.
Singing heroes.
What's even more terrible is that Song Zheyuan himself made frequent mistakes. In the face of adversity with the Japanese invaders looking around, he even resorted to the strategy of "retreating in order to advance" and "resigned", but this was a strategy that had been tried and tested by all the local princes before.
Suddenly it didn't work, but it was replaced by Chiang Kai-shek.
Jieshi took advantage of the situation and threw out the organization of three armies and the numbers of several divisions at once, and easily made Song Zheyuan's lies come true. The departments under his command that had been suppressed also quickly collapsed and went their separate ways. Now Song Zheyuan was almost
The son became a loner.
The 29th Army used to have 150,000 elite men under its command. After Song Zheyuan's strategy of "retreating to advance" was implemented, it lost control in just three days. The middle-level generals who had long been bullied by the Japanese army led their troops under the leadership of Zhang Zizhong and Feng Zhi'an.
, under the leadership of Liu Ruming, the 29th Army, which was originally managed as a monolith, quickly split into three major camps.
Today, Song Zheyuan has only two brigades and one guard regiment of the Peking Garrison, with a total strength of less than 13,000 people, except for the two big titles of member of the Military Commission and deputy commander of the First War Zone.
, if Zhang Zizhong and Feng Zhi’an hadn’t defended the
In Peiping, just the more than 300 Japanese invaders huddled in the Dongjiaominxiang Diplomatic Zone were able to turn the city into a smoky mess, not to mention blocking the originally murderous attack on Peiping. In the end, due to the sudden change in the situation, they were forced to go to Langfang to attack Anjia.
The Japanese 109th Division of the Japanese Army.
Qin Dechun saw Song Zheyuan's depressed look, and after careful consideration, he finally said what he wanted to say from the bottom of his heart: "Brother Mingxuan, the armies of Wei Lihuang and Tang Enbo have won a great victory at the south entrance, and now they have firmly defended the northern barrier of Beiping. Look,
The situation of Japanese troops withdrawing northward is short
No threat could be formed within a short period of time; the more than 3,000 Japanese troops on the Changxindian and Fengtai front lines in the south had collapsed under the heavy attack of the Anjia Army's independent division; Yu Changhai's 132nd Division counterattacked across the board under the powerful response of the Anjia Army, with only
Three hours to see Nanyuan
The army rushed to Wanping City; Anjiajun's elite independent brigade and the 37th Division, which have the iconic combat unit "Model Battalion" and 28,000 troops, have surrounded the main force of the riverside brigade in Wanping City.
Annihilate the riverside brigade that lost nearly half of its troops and take advantage of the situation.
Taking Wanping County is just around the corner. Under such circumstances, Brother Mingxuan should make a decision early. Otherwise, once Chiang Kai-shek orders Wei Lihuang or Tang Enbo to lead his troops into the city and take over the mess of Peking, we
You will become more passive."
Song Zheyuan felt a splitting headache. He unconsciously pressed his temples with his hands, stood up and walked around slowly, as if he had made a difficult choice before stopping: "Shaowen, what do you think?"
Qin Dechun finally stood up, smiled bitterly, and spread his hands: "Do we have any other choice? Brother Mingxuan, as the mayor, I have no one left, the order in Peiping has been completely paralyzed, and the situation is almost out of control because of the incomprehensible decree.
Even the police station has been closed down, and we have no choice but to compromise with Chiang Kai-shek or become a traitor."
"Oh, I regret it so much..."
Song Zheyuan looked up to the sky and sighed, and after a long time he turned to Qin Dechun: "Call back to Nanjing and tell me that you and I will go to Baoding as ordered, obey the leadership and command of the theater commander Cheng Songgong, and request Chairman Chiang to appoint a new Peking garrison commander as soon as possible."
"I understand, little brother, I'll go right away."
"etc!"
Song Zheyuan stopped Qin Dechun: "Add a message at the end of the message. No matter who serves as the military and political commander of Peiping, it is best to let our old subordinate Feng Zhi'an lead his troops to garrison in Peiping. We only have this little face left. If we let Wei Lihuang or Tang Enbo
Come in, our old Northwest Army doesn’t even have the last piece of crotch-covering cloth..."
...
The sound of artillery inside and outside Wanping City has stopped, but sporadic gunfire is still continuing. Wanping City, which has stood for hundreds of years, is already riddled with holes and dilapidated, and billowing smoke can be seen everywhere. More than a hundred people inside the west gate of the city
The houses have become burning ruins, and the city top is full of mutilated corpses of Japanese soldiers and flowing blood.
Surprisingly, the majestic and simple tower on the west gate is still intact and stands majestically.
Wanping City is 640 meters long from east to west and 320 meters wide from north to south. It has been a barrier to the south of Beiping since ancient times. It was first built in the 10th year of Chongzhen in the late Ming Dynasty. It was called "Gongji" City in the Ming Dynasty and was renamed in the Qing Dynasty.
"Gongbei" city was not called Wanping at that time. After the Revolution of 1911, the Wanping County Office, located near the Drum Tower in Beijing, was moved here and placed under the jurisdiction of Hebei Province.
, so it was renamed Wanping City. The shape and structure of Wanping City is different from that of ordinary county towns. There are no streets, alleys, markets, bell and drum towers and other facilities like ordinary county towns. The city only has two east and west gates, and there are urns and towers.
The city wall is thick and solid, which is very conducive to defense. There are crenels, observation holes, and shooting holes on the outside around the walls. Each crenel has a cover.
After withstanding four rounds of bombardment from two artillery battalions of the Thirty-seventh Division and the mortar battalion of the Independent Division, almost all the twenty-two 92 artillery pieces that the Japanese army had carried up to the top of the city were destroyed, and most of the ancillary facilities on the city wall had been destroyed.
Destroyed by artillery fire and dense bullets, the Japanese light and heavy machine guns suffered heavy losses under the fierce artillery fire. The remaining ones could only withdraw from the city head and shoot out through the shooting holes and lookout holes in the city wall.
The battle that had been going on for four hours was not as fierce as the Japanese expected. Instead, it was intermittent. After the smart Chinese army completed the encirclement, it did not launch any charge, except for the more than 20 minutes of fighting from the beginning.
artillery fire, the infantry immediately launched a fierce
In addition to attacking and wiping out the Japanese defenses outside the city, there was no large-scale assault on the city that the Japanese expected to see. Instead, they retreated to an area about 1,500 meters away from the city wall, and arranged their positions in an orderly manner in regiments.
, put up a formation to besiege Wanping City for a long time.
As a result, the Japanese machine guns completely lost their effect. As long as the remaining artillery fire in the city was fired, they would soon attract dozens of artillery shells in retaliation. The Japanese artillery trapped in the small siege completely lost its effect and repeatedly attacked.
Only sixteen cannons are left intact, but the cannons
The ammunition has been almost exhausted, not to mention that the arms replenishment warehouse set up in Fengtai has long been occupied by the New Third Brigade of the Anjia Army. Even if it had not fallen, the Japanese army would not be able to transport ammunition supplies into Wanping City. The small city has lost surrounding support.
After that, it was completely transformed into a lonely city and a dead place.
Before the war, Masami Kawabe, the commander of the North China garrison brigade who was very ambitious and tried his best to provoke the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, carefully climbed up the city wall again, used a telescope to observe the Zhengyang Gate of Peiping City, 3.5 kilometers to the east, and saw the sunset clearly.
The next thirty-six doors, one, two and five pomegranates
The black body of the artillery gun was aimed at Wanping City. A team of more than 6,000 people was passing in front of the artillery position and heading southeast along the flat carriage road.
The flaming red battle flags in the middle are very dazzling.
"Hebianjun, that must be the Anjia Army. Look at their clothing and equipment. Their helmets do not reflect light under the sun because they are covered with a layer of camouflage cloth of the same color as their clothes, and there are also marching lines.
The open-top personnel carrier in the middle and the assault vehicle with a machine gun mounted on it are the Anjia Army Independent Division.
The standard equipment of the infantry brigade; and the position of more than thirty large-caliber towed howitzers, which is undoubtedly the heavy artillery regiment directly under the 17th Army, and is probably driven from the direction of Fengtai." Yoshito Matsui, the staff officer of the brigade, was lying on the river.
Next to Major General Bian Zhengsan, he held a telescope and reported his observations and inferences in a low voice.
"Yes, that's how I judged it. If it is really the two brigades of the Anjia Army Independent Division that attacked Fengtai and Changxindian, then this means that Fengtai's Kurosawa Brigade, Ishino Engineer Brigade, and Ito's battle convoy have all been destroyed...
"
"Hebianjun, the shelling of the Chinese army has just ended. It is estimated that the shelling will start again in less than half an hour. We have already suffered heavy losses on the city. If we add the shelling of the heavy artillery regiment that just joined the battlefield, we will simply
There is no room for resistance, so we can only passively wait for death." The thin Yoshito Matsui looked at Shozo by the river sadly.
Hebeian Zhengzo put down the telescope, gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "The sun is going to set soon. In order to fight for the one percent chance of survival, we have only the last choice!"
"you mean……"
"Don't worry about the east side for now. To the west is Song Zheyuan's Thirty-seventh Division. Let's go down immediately and escort Master Huiyuan and several monks from Xinglong Temple in the city to the West Tower. I want to talk and negotiate with Feng Zhi'an!"
"Hiyi!"
...
In the trench outside the west gate, Han Changxing, commander of the 223rd Regiment of the 37th Division, did not dare to neglect after receiving the emergency report. He immediately rushed to the forward position, passing through the dusty officers and soldiers on the front line, and ran to the forefront.
In the trenches of the first battalion, as soon as I raised my telescope, I saw Wan
Three monks were escorted up by the Japanese troops from the Pingxi Gate Tower. Probably to attract attention, the monks actually put on bright red cassocks, which were particularly eye-catching in the sunset. A Japanese officer raised a pole with a red stamp on it.
The flag with the cross sign kept waving.
A gust of east wind blew, and patches of dust rose up in front of the empty position. Han Changxing looked a little puzzled. He put down the telescope, turned around and bent over and spit out a mouth full of sand. He rubbed his eyes and asked loudly: "First Battalion Commander, what the hell are you doing?"
Damn it, tell me, what does "Little Japan" mean?"
"It is estimated that Little Japan was waving a flag and wanted to negotiate with us, but it was worried about being bombarded by us, so it simply took the great monk of Xinglong Temple in the city to the top of the city as a hostage." Heizhuang's first battalion commander laughed happily.
express your speculations.
Han Changxing thought for a while, raised the telescope and looked at it for a while, nodded in agreement, turned around and punched the first battalion commander on the right shoulder:
"You have made great progress, and you can actually use your brain. Yes, yes, that must be the case! The stupid little Japan wants to play tricks of negotiation if it can't defeat us. It's delusional! How about today, our 37th Division also wants to fight with us?
Together with Brother An Jiajun, we will definitely suffer the fate of the riverside brigade!"
"In this case, we should rush into the city! Our division brother Wan Yu spent the whole day lying on the bare ground. Not only did the hot sun peel off his skin, but he also had to endure the bombings of Japanese planes.
, it won’t be a problem if this continues, leader.”
A battalion commander shouted loudly, and the dozens of company and platoon commanders who surrounded him also shouted.
"What are you doing? What are you doing? Go back to your position! Damn it! You just fired a few shots and cannons and you lose your temper? We have just completed the expansion of the army and are fully equipped. Why do we have to eat and drink all day long? The Japanese invaders are so full
Really want to be with us
There are still many big and tough battles to come. Are you grandsons afraid that there will be no more battles to fight? Hum! After defeating the little Japan in Wanping City, there will be little Japan waiting in Xianghe, Tangshan, Tianjin and other places.
Let’s go and fight, we’re nothing to worry about!”
Han Changxing scolded the officers and soldiers under his command loudly, his dirty face became darker and darker, but his cunning eyes showed joy. It was better to say that he was scolding than to encourage him.
The company and platoon commanders immediately dispersed upon hearing the sound and returned to their posts. The first battalion commander took off his cotton military cap and chuckled: "Commander, are you going to launch a general offensive tonight?"
"Little Japan's marksmanship is extremely accurate. In addition, we are in a tough battle. We will start street fighting after entering the city. In order to avoid unnecessary casualties, this was originally planned. But now a great monk has appeared at the top of the city. I don't know how many ordinary people there are in the city.
Being held hostage by the enemy, I am afraid that the commander will not dare to order the artillery attack. After I finish the phone call and report the report, I will go to the headquarters behind to have a look. You boy, please keep a close eye on me. If there is any situation, report it to Staff Officer Tang immediately.
, Do you understand?”
"yes!"
...
Three kilometers southeast of Wanping City, Dujiazhuang, the frontline headquarters of the Independent Brigade of the Independent Division.
The last rays of the sun finally faded away. Standing on the half-burnt hillside after the enemy air raid in the afternoon were more than a dozen soldiers. They all held up telescopes and carefully observed the motionless and lifeless east gate of Wanping City in front of them.
Zhang Lingyun, Chief of Staff of the 77th Army, and Lu Xiong, Commander of the Independent Brigade, were stunned after receiving the urgent call from Feng Zhi'an. They thought that all Wanping City had escaped, but there were actually more than 400 civilians and more than 20 monks who had not evacuated.
, are now being used as life-saving human shields by the shameless Kawabe Brigade. The general offensive originally scheduled to be launched at eight o'clock has been canceled. The Japanese brigade leader Kawabe Shozo actually asked for negotiations with Feng Zhian.
Zhang Lingyun felt that the matter was difficult to handle, so he quietly approached Lu Xiong, who was powerful and rough: "General Lu, have your Anjia Army encountered this situation before?"
"Well, we encountered them twice, and our Commander An personally handled them all. The final result was that the other party surrendered. However, this little Japan is very cruel and resilient. It usually refuses to surrender even to the death. Today, this is strange.
, Do they have some conspiracy?" Lu Xiong scratched his head and replied in a low voice. The reckless soldier ten years ago has all the way to the position of major general and brigade commander. His character has also been tempered and calm, and his resourcefulness has also increased a lot.
.
Zhang Lingyun likes Lu Xiong's character very much, and he also knows that the man next to him, who is tall and powerful and can shoot a machine gun very accurately, has followed An Yi step by step to create a kingdom. After ten years of journey, he has experienced hundreds of battles and been promoted from a veteran ruffian to a general. He is
A tiger general that An Yi loved and valued very much. After listening to Lu Xiong's words, Zhang Lingyun thought for a while and then asked: "General Lu makes sense. If it were replaced by General Lu, I wonder what decision he would make?"
Lu Xiong glanced at Zhang Lingyun, grinned and said: "Sir, you want to ask how our teacher Yang will react, right?"
"Haha! I can't hide my little thoughts from General Lu. Yes, I want to know how our military commander and your Commander Yang will deal with it at this moment. Although this battle is said to be under the full command of our military commander, in fact, from the beginning to the end,
Finally, our two armies fight side by side, regardless of affiliation.
I think at this moment, at the command center in the west of the city, our military will definitely seek General Yang Guan's opinion on this, and we need to make a decision in the shortest possible time, because we all know in our hearts that the Japanese army will never put down their weapons obediently.
What does General Lu think about leaving the city and surrendering?"
Zhang Lingyun no longer said any polite words, but got to the essence of the problem.
Lu Xiong understood what Zhang Lingyun meant, and after thinking about it, he answered truthfully: "Since the Japanese are so shameless in doing such things, it is definitely necessary to negotiate and meet with each other. No matter what happens in the end, we must first take advantage of the word 'morality', otherwise
Rumor has it that instead of blaming the Japanese, foreigners will blame us for not caring about the lives of civilians.
. Nearly 30,000 brothers from our two armies surround Little Japan's 8,000 or 9,000 people. Little Japan will definitely not dare to mess around. And I believe that Commander Feng will have the same opinion as our Commander Yang. Little Japan will not only lay down its arms but surrender unconditionally.
, there is only one way to start a fight. In fact, if we meet and exchange a few words, it is just a show."
Zhang Lingyun nodded: "It seems that this is the only outcome. However, General Lu, the Anjiajun has a reputation as a benevolent and righteous army. Will he have other choices because of the safety of the lives of hundreds of civilians in the city?"
"If it were your army, would they stop fighting?" Lu Xiong asked without answering.
Zhang Lingyun was a little embarrassed, shrugged and said mockingly: "Fight! I have to fight! However, I have to consider the impact and worry about being criticized by outsiders."
Lu Xiong smiled faintly and leaned close to Zhang Lingyun's ear: "Sir, there is no need to be polite when you whisper these words to me. I still remember what our Commander An said: There can be no kindness to women on the battlefield, and you can't do it out of intolerance.
Let more soldiers lose their lives, no matter men, women, old or young, who die on the battlefield should be counted as sacrificing their lives for the country."
Zhang Lingyun opened his eyes wide and looked at Lu Xiong in surprise. Lu Xiong nodded slightly, walked away with a smile, and ordered his chief of staff to immediately send orders to all regiments to prepare for battle.
"Good! What a man to die for his country!"
Zhang Lingyun looked at Lu Xiong's tall body leading his troops down the mountain, and in his heart he admired An's army's decisiveness in killing them.
Indeed, during the war, the lives of soldiers are more important. We cannot indulge the enemy because of scruples, nor can we use more soldiers' lives to do so-called moral deeds. In any case, destroying the enemy and preserving ourselves is the greatest goal. Victory
Whatever you say makes sense, otherwise it will only harm others and yourself.