"Do you want to guard Xuzhou?" Chairman Chiang suddenly stared at him.
Chairman Chiang's military abilities may be lacking, but his abilities in other areas are quite outstanding, especially in thinking. Otherwise, he would not have been valued and appointed by the former Prime Minister.
With the important responsibility of the principal of Huangpu Military Academy, as soon as Yue Weihan said that he wanted to guard Xuzhou, Chairman Chiang knew what he wanted to do.
Yue Weihan is obviously not optimistic about the prospects of the battle in Xuzhou, and is willing to stay in Xuzhou to break up the rear of the large army!
If the Battle of Xuzhou was ultimately defeated as Yue Weihan expected, then the Baoshan Brigade who stayed behind in Xuzhou would be absolutely unlucky.
For a moment, Chairman Chiang was touched and angry at the same time. What moved him was that Yue Weihan had truly dared to sacrifice himself for the country and the nation. At least this courage and sentiment were worthy of respect, but Chairman Chiang was extremely angry.
What is surprising is that Yue Weihan has always been pessimistic about the prospects of the Xuzhou Battle.
Chairman Chiang said: "Zhongshu, do you really think the Battle of Xuzhou cannot be won?"
Yue Weihan said without hesitation: "There is absolutely no possibility of winning, we will definitely lose!"
Chairman Chiang said expressionlessly: "If the Battle of Xuzhou is really defeated, have you thought about the consequences?"
"I have thought about it," Yue Weihan said very seriously, "The Baoshan Brigade will definitely be surrounded by a heavy Japanese army group, and it is very likely that the entire army will be destroyed!"
Chairman Chiang asked again: "You still insist on guarding Xuzhou?"
"Yes." Yue Weihan said solemnly, "The important task of guarding Xuzhou belongs to the Baoshan Brigade!"
Chairman Chiang looked at Yue Weihan coldly and remained silent for a long time, but Yue Weihan looked calm.
It is true that guarding Xuzhou meant a narrow escape, but Yue Weihan did not hesitate. From a large perspective, he was fighting for the future and destiny of the entire country and the entire nation. From a small perspective, he was fighting for the tens of millions of innocent people in more than 40 counties in the Huanghuai region.
Fighting for the common people, no matter from which aspect, this battle must be fought by the Baoshan Brigade!
There are many troops in the fifth theater, but who can shoulder the important task of guarding Xuzhou?
Once the Battle of Xuzhou was defeated, the situation suddenly became tense. If millions of troops and a large amount of baggage were to be evacuated, plus the deployment time for the subsequent Battle of Wuhan, Xuzhou would have to hold on for at least half a month!
Apart from the Baoshan Brigade, which other unit could hold Xuzhou for half a month?
Frankly speaking, even Yue Weihan himself is not confident enough to defend Xuzhou for half a month under the siege of dozens of Japanese divisions! But he is willing to gamble and risk his life! Regardless of winning or losing, regardless of victory
If defeated, at least the tens of millions of innocent people in the Huanghuai region can be saved, and at least the blood of the Chinese nation can be continued. That's all, death is worth it!
Chairman Jiang's expression finally softened. He turned back to Wang Shihe outside the door and said, "Shihe, please come in, Commander-in-Chief Li."
Wang Shihe took the order and left, and soon General Li entered the small conference room.
Chairman Chiang first looked at Yue Weihan, and then said to General Li: "Dear neighbors, the Battle of Xuzhou is about to begin. As the strategic support of the entire battle, Xuzhou has a vital stake. It also closely controls the Jinpu Line and the Longhai Line, as well as personnel and materials.
There is no room for any mistakes in the center of transportation, and elite troops should be deployed to guard it."
General Li has been the leader of the Guangxi clique for so many years. How shrewd is he? He immediately understood what Chairman Chiang was thinking, and he immediately followed suit and said: "As the committee member said, Xuzhou's geographical location is not trivial, and it is also the center of the Fifth War Zone.
We really can't make any mistakes here, I think the non-Baoshan Brigade is not enough to guard Xuzhou."
"Hmm." Chairman Chiang nodded gently and said, "It's up to you, De Lin, to handle this matter."
General Li immediately said to Yue Weihan: "Zhongshu, are you confident in defending Xuzhou?"
"Yes!" Yue Weihan stood up at attention and said loudly, "As long as I still have breath, Xuzhou will never be lost!"
"Okay!" General Li applauded happily, "With these words of loyalty and forgiveness, the committee can rest assured and I can sit back and relax."
Yue Weihan immediately raised his hand to salute Commissar Chiang and General Li each with a military salute, and said: "Commissioner, Chairman, if there are no other orders, I think I will go back to deploy the defense of Xuzhou."
"Go." Chairman Jiang waved his hand, and Yue Weihan immediately turned around and walked away.
Watching Yue Weihan's figure disappear outside the door of the small conference room, General Li suddenly said quietly: "Zhongshu is a rare tiger general, and the Baoshan Brigade is an elite soldier made of iron. Are you really willing to accept the appointment?"
Chairman Chiang frowned and said, "De Lin, even you don't think highly of the Xuzhou battle?"
"At least there is no hope of victory." General Li shook his head and said, "But then again, it is indeed unjustifiable to abandon Xuzhou without fighting a battle, but it seems a pity to leave Baoshan Brigade to defend Xuzhou.
If such a force can be preserved, it will be of great benefit to the overall situation of resisting Japan."
Chairman Chiang was actually very unhappy in his heart, but he still did not show it on his face, saying: "Don't worry about this virtuous neighbor. Since I dare to leave Baoshan Brigade to defend Xuzhou, I will naturally have a way to make them escape.
How can I sacrifice such a tiger general and such an elite team so easily?"
…
In the suburbs of Xuzhou, Baoshan Brigade Headquarters.
Yue Weihan strode into the war room, tossed his general hat on the table, and immediately said to Liu Yi: "Chief of Staff, immediately notify the commanders of all regiments and directly affiliated battalions to come to the brigade headquarters for a meeting, right away!"
Liu Yi quickly ordered the staff members of the general staff to make separate phone calls to convey the order.
In less than a meal, all the commanders of each regiment and the directly affiliated battalions arrived at the brigade headquarters.
In the conference room, Yue Weihan stood up suddenly, and the commanders of each regiment and directly affiliated battalion also stood up immediately. Everyone's eyes turned to Yue Weihan.
Yue Weihan said: "I have just received an order from the superior department. I will serve as the Xuzhou garrison commander, and the Baoshan brigade will serve as the Xuzhou garrison brigade!"
"What? Xuzhou Security Brigade?"
"Why did our Baoshan Brigade become a security brigade?"
"Yes, isn't the garrison brigade a local force? We are regular troops!"
"Brigade, what the hell is going on? Chairman Chiang and the Chief's Department just silenced our Baoshan Brigade like this?"
As soon as Yue Weihan finished speaking, several regiment commanders and battalion commanders immediately exploded. They were obviously very dissatisfied with the title "Xuzhou Garrison Brigade".
"What are you shouting about?" Yue Weihan said coldly, "Isn't it just a troop number?"
Yue Weihan coldly glanced at several regiment commanders and battalion commanders, and then said: "Your military pay is not missing, let alone your ammunition and supplies. What is there to fight for?"
Several regiment commanders and battalion commanders immediately fell silent.
This has gradually become a habit at the military meetings of the Baoshan Brigade. No matter how big the matter is, before Yue Weihan speaks, everyone may brag and argue vigorously, but as soon as Yue Weihan speaks, all the different voices must immediately
Disappear, and must disappear willingly and unconditionally!
Yue Weihan asked Liu Yidao again, "Chief of Staff, have the casualties been counted?"
"The statistics have been calculated." Liu Yi said hurriedly, "The total number of casualties in the entire brigade was more than a thousand, including more than 600 killed in action!"
"More than six hundred people were killed in battle?" Yue Weihan felt extremely distressed when he heard this. These are all veterans of hundreds of battles who were rushed out of the blood. Every one of them dies, one is missing, and there is no place to replace them! But then again
, after the Baoshan Brigade wiped out the main force of the Jigu Division, it was already quite remarkable that it only suffered casualties of more than a thousand people!
You must know that when the Baoshan Brigade launched the general offensive, the Isoya Division still had more than 3,000 field infantry and more than 2,000 communications teams, health teams, artillery and other directly affiliated troops. Although these Japanese soldiers were exhausted, they were all experienced
It is not easy to kill the veterans of the war. Only the Baoshan Brigade can annihilate the more than 5,000 remnants of the Isogaya Division at such a small cost of casualties.
"Now I order." Yue Weihan did not have time to be sad. He quickly put the number of casualties behind him and ordered, "The 1st regiment guards the east gate, the 2nd regiment guards the north gate, the 3rd regiment guards the south gate, the independent battalion and the bayonet battalion.
After guarding the west gate and the train station, and delineating the defense area, each regiment and battalion immediately began to repair the fortifications!"
"Repair fortifications?" Cao Xinglong said in astonishment, "Brigade, it seems that our army is on the offensive now."
"This is not something you should be concerned about." Yue Weihan said, "Just execute the order."
"Yes!" Cao Xinglong quickly straightened his body. Since Yue Weihan said so, he had nothing to say.
"As for the fortifications..." Yue Weihan said again, "we must collect as much cement as possible and build the strongest reinforced concrete fortifications as possible. Under the fortifications, we must also build strong enough anti-blast holes and tunnels, especially the tunnels.
We must build a complete tunnel network outside Xuzhou!"
"It's his grandma's fault." Chi Chengfeng said unhappily, "Why do we need to dig tunnels again? If we dig any more, our brothers will really become groundhogs."
"What's wrong with the groundhog?" Yue Weihan snorted and said, "At least the groundhog has a hole in the ground to hide in. You don't have to be a groundhog if you don't want to. When the time comes, the enemy's planes and heavy artillery will be furious at your position.
Indiscriminate bombing, let me see where you are hiding? By then you and the officers and soldiers of your 2nd Regiment will all be dead rats, but don’t blame me for not warning you."
Chi Chengfeng didn't dare to say anything anymore. He just kept talking.
In fact, after experiencing the battles of Sihang Warehouse, Jiangpu and Hanzhuang, all the officers and soldiers of the Baoshan Brigade have deeply realized the power of tunnel operations. At this stage, the national army lacks air force cover and heavy fire support.
, we can only expand the battlefield underground. Only in this way can we offset the lethality of Japanese aviation and artillery.
Yue Weihan sighed softly again and said: "You must make it clear to your brothers when you go back, so that everyone should not be afraid of tiredness, let alone hardship, and must use all their strength to dig tunnels fiercely and dig tunnels hard. There are many tunnels at this time.
Sweat and dig more tunnels, and when the enemy comes knocking, we will bleed less and many fewer people will die!"
"Yes!" The six battalion commanders stood at attention and agreed loudly.
"By the way, where are those two war reporters?" Yue Weihan finally remembered the familiar female reporter again.
Liu Yi said hurriedly: "The man has left, but the female reporter is still here, and she is currently helping in the field hospital."
"Who asked about the man?" Yue Weihan said angrily, "As for the woman, that reporter Zhao is very good at mobilizing the masses. Chief of Staff, go discuss with her and ask her to find a way to mobilize people inside and outside Xuzhou City.
The folks in the villages and towns are mobilized. It is best to help the national army dig tunnels on a voluntary basis, but if it is not possible, just give a small amount of wages."
"Okay." Liu Yi nodded, "I'll go find her after a while."