At nine o'clock in the morning, the Baoding Military Station Special Line Railway was buzzing with orders, and the 12,000 soldiers of the 83rd Division of the Central Army's direct line troops boarded three special trains and rushed to the Miyun front line as quickly as possible.
The 83rd Division was one of the first three German armored divisions to be reorganized in the direct line units of the Central Army. The entire division was equipped with German-style equipment, and the helmet on its head was also an imitation German-style helmet produced by the Jiangnan Arsenal. It has been a German armored division for the past two years.
The main force in the encirclement and suppression of the Red Army in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Civil War, the division commander Liu Kan, who graduated from the first phase of Huangpu, fought bravely and led by example, winning the admiration of the general Wei Lihuang. He also won the trust and reuse of Chiang Kai-shek because of his tough anti-communist stance.
On the special line platform, the condolence group that had just arrived in Baoding by train had dispersed to various boarding gates. More than 200 members of the condolence group were serving tea and water to the soldiers, and enthusiastically encouraged them. The soldiers saw that Mr. Zhongshan called him
Zhang Jingjiang, the veteran of the "Party Saint", Zhang Zhizhong, the Education Director of the Central Military Academy who took time off from his busy schedule to come here, Song Meiling, wife of Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Jieyun, wife of Deputy Chairman An Yi, and many celebrities from all walks of life served him tea and water and gave him warm greetings and gifts with the words "
The towels with the words "Defend the Home and the Country" were so touching that they could not express their determination to fight to the death.
Still a regimental leader was smart and took the lead in singing "Serve the Country with Loyalty" which has become popular all over the country. The heroic singing voice attracted the attention of all the people in Baoding City. They came to see him off one after another. If they were not dissuaded by the guards of the military station, they would not come down.
, people may crowd the railway line.
"Morale can be used, morale can be used! Liu Kan is very good. He has brought out such an elite army. I, I feel so relieved!" Chiang Kai-shek sighed to He Yingqin, Huang Shaohong and other generals around him.
Song Ziwen smiled slightly and asked curiously: "Commissioner, Liu Kan seems to be a few months younger than An Yi, right?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked with interest at Liu Kan, who was chatting cordially with An Yi, Zhao Rui and others more than ten meters away.
Chiang Kai-shek nodded and introduced very proudly: "They are indeed of the same year. An Yi was born in the middle of the year and Liu Kan was born at the end of the year. In terms of months, An Yi is almost half a year older than him. It's just that Liu Kan entered school early and was my first-class student in Huangpu."
One of the youngest among them, the scene when I summoned him is still vivid in my mind.
"Liu Kan was born into a poor family. His parents died young when he was young, and he was dependent on his grandmother. However, he was diligent, eager to learn, and possessed both moral integrity and talent. He grew up step by step in the nearly eight years of battles. Especially during the sieges in Hubei, Henan, and Anhui, he fought smart and resolutely.
Even with bullets in his eyes and blood all over his body, he still charges without stopping. He is a warrior with both wisdom and courage, and he is the pride of Huangpu!"
Huang Shaohong was quite surprised. He looked carefully and shook his head: "I can't tell at all...General Liu Kan has bright eyes and an extraordinary bearing. He is almost no different from An Yi and others..."
"You don't know, Liu Kan has a fake eye. If you look closely, you can clearly understand."
He Yingqin had a smile on his face and looked very proud, because he was the chief of education in Huangpu Phase I, and Liu Kan served as a platoon leader under him during the Eastern Expedition. It can be said that He Yingqin watched every step of Liu Kan's growth.
Liu Kan also encouraged him many times, and Liu Kan was also a good person. Every time he saw He Yingqin, he would respectfully call him teacher, and would visit him from time to time to share experiences with his troops. Having such a respectful student won the respect of the principal.
, He Yingqin felt the radiance on his face.
Liu Kan and An Yi faced the train, listened to the high-spirited singing, and looked at the confident soldiers boarding the train. They did not notice that Chiang Kai-shek and others were looking at them, let alone what they were saying.
.
Liu Kan withdrew his gaze from Feng Jieyun, who was giving a towel to a soldier: "Junior brother, you are so lucky! There is a rumor in the army that both junior brother's wives are of stunning beauty. When I saw them today, it turned out to be true."
An Yi smiled: "If we really want to conquer the city, brothers don't have to go to the front line. I can just take my wife and climb up the Great Wall and walk around it. From Shanhaiguan to Nantianmen, the Japanese will immediately withdraw their troops when they see it. What's the use of it?"
Two hundred thousand soldiers shed their blood?"
Everyone burst into laughter. After Liu Kan finished laughing, he pointed at An Yi and said, "I am happy to be with you. It is a pity that I have not had the opportunity to fight side by side with my junior brother for so many years. If this opportunity comes, Brother Yu will cherish it even more."
"My little brother is also very happy. After finishing the things at hand, he rushed to the Miyun front line. A group of our brothers and sisters finally got together to fight against foreign humiliation. How can I easily miss such a once-in-a-century opportunity?" An Yi replied with a smile.
The brothers talked for a while, and Liu Kan wanted to take the first special train to leave first and could not stop any longer. An Yi and others accompanied him and came to Chiang Kai-shek to say goodbye.
Chiang Kai-shek gave careful instructions and once again strictly ordered Liu Kan not to charge in the front like a company commander, otherwise military law would be engaged. Liu Kan stood tall with gratitude, solemnly saluted a military salute, turned around and left, quickly under the watch of everyone.
Board the conductor car of the first train.
The train started slowly, headed north, and gradually disappeared into the sky. Chiang Kai-shek sighed slightly and whispered: "You can walk around as you like, you don't have to accompany me... An Yi, come with me to Jing Lao's place to see how old he is.
It’s not easy to come here when you’re old.”
"yes."
An Yi followed Chiang Kai-shek closely. This was the first time he had been alone with Chiang Kai-shek since he arrived in Baoding at 7 o'clock this morning.
Chiang Kai-shek walked very slowly: "Look, you and Zhao Rui have been discussing with Liu Kan for a long time. Is it about the front line?"
An Yi replied: "Yes, the students asked Senior Brother Liu to defend Nantianmen."
"Nantianmen?"
Chiang Kai-shek repeated the sentence unconsciously, and suddenly realized the problem, stopped, and asked with some surprise: "If the Japanese army attacks the Nantianmen line, wouldn't all the Gubeikou Guanbei position be lost?"
An Yi nodded and replied very worriedly: "Wang Yizhe's troops were guarding the key areas in northern Guan. Due to the sudden changes in the Northeastern Army and the lack of training of the Northeastern Army, the strategic and campaign thinking was rigid and backward. Both battles with the Japanese army suffered heavy losses and low morale.
It is very problematic, so after repeated weighings with Chief Xu Tingyao and other senior fellow students, the students have made preparations for contingency."
Chiang Kai-shek was silent for a while and looked at An Yi with a frown: "You mean, if the Japanese army launches another attack, Wang Yizhe is likely to be completely defeated?"
An Yi smiled bitterly and said: "It would be fine if they were completely defeated after a hard battle. Two divisions of the 17th Army could just attack them. What the students are worried about is that they will suddenly be defeated as a whole. This has happened twice in a row. There is no guarantee that this time...
Before the students came to see the principal, they and Commander Xu personally went to Wang Yizhe and offered to take advantage of the fact that before the Japanese army was ready to attack again, two brigades led by brothers Guan Zhenglin, Du Yuming, and Zhang Yaoming would take over the defense and establish a frontline headquarters to let Wang Yizhe's
The officers and men of the Sixty-seventh Army withdrew to the Nantianmen line of defense behind them, so that they could take the opportunity to rest and recuperate. However, the officers and soldiers of the Sixty-seventh Army were not willing. It is probably because they were mentally unbalanced and mistakenly thought that our Central Army looked down upon their Northeastern Army.
, and in the end fighting for unity, Chief Xu and the students had no choice but to give up. However, what the students saw in the eyes of Wang Yizhe and his generals was endless panic and laziness, as well as dissatisfaction with the young commander's going to the field, and their mouths
The expression on my face is not consistent with what I see on my face, so I’m very worried!”
Chiang Kai-shek nodded thoughtfully: "Your concerns are very reasonable and very timely... The positions in front of Gubeikou are vast in horizontal direction, but several key points are closely connected, lacking depth, narrow defensive surface, and large number of troops.
I couldn't get rid of it. I made a rough calculation and could only put down three brigades at most. If the Japanese army could really defeat Wang Yizhe's troops and occupy the position, it would be too late to go up for reinforcements. They could only rely on the passes of the Great Wall to defend the North Pass like a city.
Dongguan and Xiguan, but in this way, Nantianmen will be under the gunfire of the Japanese army... However, as the former enemy commander, you should have confidence in Wang Yizhe. He is a rare general in the Northeast Army.
He is also a confidant general that Han Qing values very much. He will definitely not be like Tang Yulin, an old thief who is selfish, greedy for life and afraid of death. Have you lost confidence in the Northeastern Army after two sudden changes in the battle situation?"
"Principal, the students are not taking this opportunity to complain, but after months of hard work, the students have not achieved any results, and they are still beaten to the foot of the Great Wall by the Japanese. Therefore, the students are sad more than they hate it. The principal also knows that students, the former enemy, are always
Command is actually just a decoration. How can you command those generals who are "high in moral prestige and prestigious"? I remember Tang Yulin once said to General Zhang Zuoxiang: An Yi boy's hair is not even long, and my grandson is almost the same age as him.
, why should we old guys listen to him? The meaning is very clear. Most generals of the Northeast Army cannot accept the command of students. They have crossed more bridges and walked more roads than An Yi, and they eat more salt than An Yi.
They had plenty of food, and when they were carrying guns and fighting in all directions, An Yi didn't know where he was. At most, he was still eating milk, peeing, and babbling... In fact, the students had already thought that such a situation would happen, but they didn't know
The situation would be so serious, causing such heavy losses, and leading to such passive consequences... It is a painful experience and a profound lesson. Strictly speaking, the reason why students suffer repeated setbacks cannot be blamed on others, but on overestimating the spirit of the Chinese people.
I overestimate my own ability and the power of money, alas——" An Yi sighed in frustration.
Chiang Kai-shek stretched out his hand and gently took An Yi's arm: "You are so young, why are you sighing? At this time of national crisis, you must not lose heart. If you give up, I'm afraid the situation will be really bad."
An Yi smiled: "Principal, please don't worry. When the last person is left, the students will definitely fill it in without hesitation. I am afraid that there will be no chance to fill it in. The Japanese army has already arrived behind the students."
Chiang Kai-shek's expression suddenly changed and he said sternly: "If that happens, I will personally chop off the heads of a group of generals who retreated!"
"If that time comes, even if the principal cuts off the heads of 10,000 sinners, it will not work! Remember the Battle of Heshengqiao during the Northern Expedition. The Zhili army was attacked by the soldiers of Li Zongren's 7th Army and Zhang Fakui's 4th Army without fear of death.
Commander Wu Peifu cut off the heads of dozens of generals with his own hands, but in the end he was still defeated, and his glory was no longer the same.
"The situation today is quite similar to that of He Shengqiao back then, except that the offensive and defensive sides have been reversed. The students have often been thinking these days, can the Northeastern Army, which is under the watchful eye of the Japanese army, compare to Wu Peifu's army back then? In the end, it was discovered that not only
It's not as good as it is, and it's even worse. This is the only reason why the students suggested recruiting five divisions from Sichuan, Hunan, and Yunnan to go north to join the war. The students had a premonition that a war that would determine the fate of North China was about to happen." An Yi said what was deep in his heart.
idea.
Chiang Kai-shek looked at An Yi with some displeasure: "If this is the case, wouldn't it mean that the entire Great Wall has been lost?"
An Yi calmly replied: "The students dare to use their heads to assure the principal that if the entire front is really lost, Gubeikou and Nantianmen will definitely be the last great passes to be lost. As long as other friendly forces do not let the Japanese invaders get behind the students and more than 30,000 soldiers,
Even if Gubeikou and Nantianmen become a piece of scorched earth, they will still be trampled under the feet of students and soldiers."
Chiang Kai-shek stared at An Yi for a long time, sighed slightly and said in a low voice: "It seems that you really have no confidence, right?"
An Yi put away his smile and replied solemnly: "Principal, please forgive the students for speaking out. Under the current situation, few people have confidence. The confidence in words is completely useless under the fire of airplanes and cannons. The students just want to confess to the principal: Confidence
Comes from trust.
"The reason for the current extremely passive situation is that the students dare to say that the Northeast Army generals did not give the students due trust. It is not that they do not know the students' abilities, and it is not that they have not seen that the students have led their troops to defeat the Japanese in the past few years.
There are powerful opponents in the country. The reason why they don’t trust students is because they think that students are just as duplicitous as they are. The interests of the country and the nation are only talked about on their lips instead of engraved in their hearts. They think that students are just as selfish as they are.
, driving thousands of soldiers to advance and retreat, just for their own reputation and status."
Chiang Kai-shek stared blankly at An Yi, whose face was full of sorrow, with a myriad of thoughts and mixed feelings in his mind.
"Hey - why are you two, master and disciple, standing here in a daze?"
A gust of fragrant wind drifted by, followed by Song Meiling's sweet voice.
An Yi quickly smiled and called "Master's wife". Song Meiling nodded cordially and went up to ask Chiang Kai-shek to go with her to see off the second batch of soldiers heading to the front.
Feng Jieyun came up excitedly and took An Yi's hand, wanting to meet Zhang Jingjiang together. An Yi politely said goodbye to Chiang Kai-shek and his wife, and walked to the second platform in front with his beloved wife.
Song Meiling was very surprised when she saw the complicated look in Chiang Kai-shek's eyes: "What's wrong, Darling? Is the front line tight?"
Chiang Kai-shek shook his head: "No, it was An Yi's words just now that touched me a lot."
"What words make you so heavy?"
"An Yi said that confidence comes from trust... This sentence contains too many things..."