An Yi stood up and replied loudly: "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, my subordinates don't know much about the Third Army's war zone. They can only briefly report on the enemy's and enemy's situation and war preparations of the Fifth Army."
"Huh? Your two legions are closely connected from east to west. They should understand each other and cooperate with each other. I am here this time to solve this problem. Well, since you have reservations about the battle situation of the third legion
, then let’s talk about the situation of your Fifth Army.”
Chiang Kai-shek glanced at An Yi in surprise, nodded after thinking for a while, and agreed to An Yi's request. This rare tolerance made the generals in the hall realize his preference for An Yi.
An Yi thanked him loudly, and then slowly explained his plan: "After repeated discussions and targeted exercises for one and a half months, my subordinates and my colleagues in the Fifth Army decided to immediately take over the provisional Seventh Army of the Northwest Army.
Division Pei Jingwen's troops occupied the Laohekou, and swallowed up this lone army to penetrate deep and occupy the Laohekou in northwest Hubei without any scruples.
The enemy has been arrogant for almost half a year, which has the effect of knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger. It pinned the enemy's Third Route Army Pang Bingxun on the Nanyang front line, and then tried to eat it bit by bit, making our General Feng Huanzhang sleep.
Thinking of the Nanyang front line will also share some of the pressure on the southern Henan theater faced by the friendly forces of the Third Army on the flank."
The generals did not expect that An Yi's countermeasures would be like this, and they started discussing among themselves animatedly.
He Chengjun seemed to have thought of something and turned to Chiang Kai-shek and whispered a few words. Chiang Kai-shek nodded frequently and asked again: "You mean to open another battlefield on the Western Front where both sides are on the defensive?"
"Commander-in-Chief Mingjian, this is what my subordinates and others think. Otherwise, the pressure faced by the Third Army cannot be relieved." After An Yi answered, the discussion in the room became more intense, with both approval and opposition. No one seemed to have the upper hand.
Advantage.
Chiang Kai-shek pondered for a while and couldn't make up his mind. He simply turned to his confidential secretary and asked his confidential secretary to bring him the battle plan that An Yi had submitted a few days ago. He read it carefully from beginning to end again, closed the document and thought hard, but still couldn't make up his mind.
In many previous operational meetings, it was unanimously agreed that the north and south areas of the middle section of the Longhai Line and the east and west lines of the middle section of the Jinpu Line should be the main battlefields. If the terrain in western Hubei and southwestern Henan is complex, it is not conducive to large corps operations.
If it becomes the main battlefield again, it will greatly increase the pressure on the already overloaded logistics supply. Once any of the battlefields is defeated, troops will not be able to be mobilized from other places for reinforcements. There are only three divisions.
It is still necessary to garrison the east and west sides of Jiangxi to fight against communism and defend against communism. Zhu Shaoliang's two divisions of the Sixth Route Army are still trapped in Guangdong and Guangxi, and are engaged in fierce battles with Li Zongren's troops. The previous battle plan of the Fifth Army also adopted an active defense strategy and did not propose
Although the plan to go north to attack southwestern Henan proposed the goal of recapturing Laohekou at the appropriate time, there was no detailed action plan or analysis of the various changes that might occur after this battle.
Chiang Kai-shek coughed slightly, and the whole hall fell into silence. He raised his head and remembered that An Yi was still standing upright and had not sat down. He nodded and asked again:
"An Yi, have you considered the possible risks and difficulties in facing logistical supply difficulties?"
"The Fifth Army Headquarters carefully made and reported the plan through repeated deductions. Considering the rapidly changing battle situation and the inability to grasp the progress of the friendly Third Army's war, the subordinates did not submit a more specific action plan in writing.
If we want to talk about the hardships of logistical support, the Northwest Army, which currently only has two meals a day of porridge and one and a half sesame cakes, is suffering more than other departments of our army. Take the more than 7,200 officers and soldiers of the Pei Jingwen Division occupying Laohekou as an example. After half a year,
Exploitation, Laohekou has been eaten up by them, and the division
The average number of guns and ammunition per soldier is less than 100 rounds. The six old-fashioned artillery pieces that can only fire four shells a minute have been out of use for two months. The two regiments scattered in the north and south of the city are now likely to be destroyed by using grenades to explode fish.
Shoot them because they have very few grenades.
On the other hand, our army is like a tycoon in comparison. Under such circumstances, what reason do we have to complain about insufficient logistics and materials? As for the risk, the two cities of Xiangfan and Xiangfan will be captured by the enemy, allowing the enemy to smoothly escape from the Han River.
Attack Suizhou and Jingzhou, thereby endangering the security of Wuhan. However, based on the Northwest Army's strength of about 270,000, the third and second
The legion endured 190,000 of them, and the Luyu front line moved 40,000. The fifth legion faced the enemy with only 50,000 even if the enemy was fully defeated, and it still had to be distributed in seven county areas in a 200-kilometer war zone, and the fifth war zone
There are only 50,000 soldiers in the four main divisions. If Xiangfan is still captured by the enemy under the command of 50,000 soldiers, the subordinates will have no choice but to commit suicide and die for the country, and live in shameless existence in the world."
Although An Yi's voice was plain, every word he said was absolutely perfect, leaving no room for himself.
The generals looked at each other, and then they all looked at the confident An Yi in surprise. He Yingqin looked away with disdain and hummed softly:
"Related to the overall war situation, the great cause of the party and the country cannot be persuaded by a few market curses and head-turning."
An Yi's eyes widened angrily, and he immediately retorted: "This is much more upright than some people who want to take over military power but dare not take responsibility. At least I can stand up and prove myself, while a person who calls himself a 'famous general' can't even do it."
I don’t dare to shoulder responsibilities. In comparison, I am still more noble than a member of the market.”
The whole hall was shocked. All the generals wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. Several of An Yi's best friends had their faces turned red and endured it. Only He Yingqin was so angry that his face was livid. I really didn't know how to argue with a villain like An Yi.
.
“Bah—presumptuous!”
Chiang Kai-shek got angry and hit the table with his palm, which shocked the generals: "Adjourn the meeting for half an hour, An Yi, stay!"
The generals remained silent, stood up, glanced at An Yi sympathetically, and left quietly. An Yi still stood there upright, looking straight at him without moving. From the corner of his eye, he saw Chiang Kai-shek pulling He Chengjun to stay, and placating him kindly.
After He Yingqin said a few words, He Yingqin shook his head angrily and said he had to go to the bathroom to get some fresh air and left.
"Come here!"
Chiang Kai-shek waited until An Yi came to stand in front of him, lowered his face and scolded in a low voice: "How handsome is Mu Wu Zun? Have you forgotten the instructions of propriety, righteousness, loyalty, wisdom and trust so quickly?"
An Yi lowered his head and apologized sincerely: "I'm sorry, principal, the student was confused for a moment and spoke indiscriminately. I beg the principal to punish him!"
"Punish me! Niang Xipi, you said the same thing last time..." Chiang Kai-shek was so angry that he wanted to kick An Yi.
He Chengjun smiled and smoothed things over: "Commander-in-Chief, since General An has admitted his mistake, let this matter go. My subordinates thought that General An seemed to have more than he wanted to say just now. Maybe General An was worried and did not express all his thoughts. From An
General Gang
Judging from the detailed information of Division Pei Jingwen of Laohekou mentioned earlier, General An and the others have worked hard. There is no one else around at the moment. We might as well listen to General An's opinions, which may help our Third Army.
The help is unknown!”
Chiang Kai-shek's face looked better. He stared into An Yi's eyes and ordered coldly: "Speak!"
"yes!"
An Yi lowered his voice and bent down to thank He Chengjun who brought him a chair. However, he still stood and had to report. When he saw Chiang Kai-shek shaking his head and pointing to the chair, he dared to sit down. He Chengjun saw this and smiled knowingly.
, I feel that An Yi is not ordinary smart, and his ability to figure out Chiang Kai-shek's thoughts is not comparable to others.
An Yi leaned forward slightly and whispered in a low voice: "Principal, Chief He, judging from the situation of the enemy and ourselves in the entire battle, the ones with the greatest pressure are Chief He's Third Army and Chief Liu's Second Army. Judging from the strength of both sides,
Comparison and combat capabilities of various armies over the past few years
Analysis shows that this will be a very difficult tug-of-war. Unless millions of people are killed on all sides, there may be no winner. When the war reaches its climax, mental strength is sometimes far more important than weapons and equipment.
This is my profound experience after serving in the army for several years.
Therefore, it is necessary to open another battlefield in another place to disperse the troops concentrated on the two main battlefields, so that through the war on the third battlefield, the balance between the enemy and ourselves can be changed, so that our army can gain morale and confidence.
This is the fundamental reason why my subordinates suggested opening a third battlefield."
Chiang Kai-shek and He Chengjun looked at each other, and An Yi continued: "The following subordinates will explain in detail the reasons for their confidence. First of all, there are lakes and rivers in southwestern Henan and western Hubei, and the mountains are undulating for hundreds of miles. The cavalry, artillery and other arms
Neither of them can be put to optimal use. In addition, our Fifth Army occupies the Han River Basin with advantages in equipment, logistics and other aspects. General Feng Huanzhang and the others dare not open up the Jingxiang area because of insufficient troops.
On the front-line battlefield, several divisions of veteran Pang Bingxun are not direct descendants of Feng Huanzhang. In the eyes of the Northwest Army, they are purely partial divisions. At least until the battle situation becomes stalemate or our side wavers, these divisions, like the four divisions under them, become decorations.
, it’s a bit like trying to fight a wolf with both ends. As for the four main divisions of the Fifth Army led by his subordinates, except for the 51st Division of General Fan Xiaoquan, each of the other divisions has a mountain brigade that is skilled in mountain warfare...
…”
"I understand! I understand... I should have thought of it a long time ago!" Chiang Kai-shek sighed frequently while stroking his forehead with his hand.
"The principal was busy day and night, and the students did not explain in detail in the report." An Yi helped Chiang Kai-shek out of trouble in a timely manner.
Chiang Kai-shek moved his chair forward, looked into An Yi's eyes, and asked solemnly: "I'm afraid it's not just the short-term goals in the report, right?"
An Yi nodded: "The principal has a keen eye. It is indeed not just as simple as taking Laohekou. The students' purpose is: to surround Laohekou with two divisions of troops, and make a fierce attack first to consume the enemy's strength. When they are about to capture it,
Retreat immediately, besiege but not attack, wait for the reinforcements sent by Pang Bingxun, and make full use of the mountains where our three main divisions are located.
The ground brigade has the advantage of rapid firepower and strong firepower in moving over mountains and ridges, and can set up ambushes at selected locations to eliminate its reinforcements. This strategy is the siege and reinforcement strategy taught in military schools. The purpose is to eliminate the opponent's effective forces and pave the way for the next move. The students' idea is,
If you don’t hit him, that’s it. If you want to hit him, hit him to hurt him. Instead of hurting ten of his fingers, it’s better to cut off one of his fingers..."
"What a plan!"
He Chengjun's praise came out of his mouth.
An Yi smiled modestly: "This is just the first step of my subordinate's plan. In the second step, I will ask the principal for permission to recruit the Second Teaching Division of the 44th Army of Western Hunan to temporarily take over the defense of counties around Yichang, and transfer nine of Yichang's garrison troops
The regiment formed a main division, which together with the newly mobilized 44th Army
Division, the 1st Teaching Division, Yin Jinan's 16th Division, Gu Changfeng's 44th Division, and Zhu Shigui's 17th Division, together with the most determined and rapid large-scale attack, broke through Pang Bingxun's front line and quickly passed through the relatively empty Henan-Shaanxi border.
, the troops are divided into two groups and march straight to Tongguan without hesitation!"
After hearing this, Chiang Kai-shek suddenly stood up and stared blankly at the daring An Yi for a while. He Chengjun sat on his chair and was shocked.
An Yi said in a low voice: "Principal, although this move is very risky, it is very effective. Even if our army cannot win Tongguan and is almost depleted of all its troops, the blow to the enemy's morale will not be that big.
Secondly, due to the strong support of the Central Party Headquarters and various departments of the General Headquarters, students and people from all walks of life in several provinces in the northwest have continued to demonstrate and protest, and people in northwest Henan and Shaanxi have riots one after another. The Northwest Army has completely lost the support of the people.
The students don’t know how high the earth is. As long as the troops shouting An Yi all the way are coming to rescue the people under the orders of the Central Committee, they need to open up roads to deliver food and medicine and save the people from dire straits. It is estimated that there are so many followers along the way, and they are still afraid.
What is the Northwest Army? People's hearts
They are all grown from meat. What’s more, the millions of tons of food ordered by the students from the United States have indeed arrived one after another. The principal only needs to order the central disaster relief department to make overall plans and announce to millions of people that the central government has the benevolence of the world and is still afraid of the students.
Can’t stand firm?”
"It's worth the risk... It's worth the risk! It turns out that you have been working hard for this day since the beginning of the year. Very good! Very good... You are worthy of being my good student!"
Chiang Kai-shek was filled with emotion and stretched out his hand to pat An Yi on the shoulder to show his commendation.
An Yi thanked him humbly: "Then, An Yi kindly asks the principal, Chief He, to keep it secret for the time being. This plan has not been explained in detail even to my chief of staff. Since my subordinates uncovered those groups of spies from various forces in western Hubei,
, my subordinates no longer dare to be careless! If the principal agrees, the students will start preparations after the meeting is over, and will submit the three-stage specific plan to the principal for review within three days."
Chiang Kai-shek took a few steps, paced back and forth for several minutes, returned to An Yi and whispered: "That's right! When do you plan to take action? Once the Battle of Laohekou starts, I'm afraid the entire battle situation will undergo subtle changes. From the current point of view,
Come on, the faster you attack Laohekou, the better, don’t make my brother General Feng Huanzhang too comfortable... When do you plan to take action?"
"Principal, I guess the battle of Laohekou has already started by this time." An Yi said with a smile.
"What……"
Chiang Kai-shek and He Chengjun exclaimed at the same time.