Chapter 9 out on a limb

Seeing that the situation in the battle was taking a turn for the worse, in order to avoid being copied by the Japanese army, the Chinese Command decided to retreat across the Shanghai theater. A hasty retreat in a bad situation is a very complicated problem for any army, let alone the Chinese army, which is relatively backward in organization and training.German advisers could tell the Chinese how to build positions and increase defensive density in the narrow Yangtze Delta, but they did not teach them how to withdraw large troops in an orderly manner.The hundreds of thousands of troops retreating westward were in chaos like a pot of porridge. The troops were all over the mountains and plains, rushing westward like a tide, and the necessary military discipline and order disappeared.

On the afternoon of November 8, the Seventy-Fourth Army (which no longer included the Thirty-Fourth Brigade alone) was ordered to cover the westward retreat of the army.The 58th Division took the lead in a fierce battle with the Japanese forward troops who were chasing up, and the troops suffered heavy losses. The defense line was subsequently breached by the Japanese army, and Wu Jiguang, the commander of the 174th Brigade, was killed in battle. Wu Jiguang loved to sing Beijing opera as an amateur, and he was especially good at making faces. There are different opinions about his death.Some people say that after the defense line was breached, the troops were eager to cross the river, but there were few ferry boats. Wu Jiguang hurriedly sailed before all the soldiers came up.As a result, the soldiers on the shore who hadn't boarded the ship yelled: "You officials are fighting and hiding behind, and now you want to run ahead when you run away. It's not that cheap!" Guns fired indiscriminately, killing Wu Jiguang on the ship.

Although this rumor may not be true, it can also be seen how chaotic and disorderly the troops are.The Wu Yafu Battalion belonging to the 174th Brigade walked at the end of the main force as a covering force. On the way, Wu Yafu heard a rumbling sound from behind. When he looked back, he saw that the air was covered in darkness, all of which were Japanese planes catching up. Wu Yafu hurriedly shouted: "Get down!" As soon as the words fell, the Japanese plane launched a machine gun fire, and the ground was beaten up with dust, and many people fell headfirst into a pool of blood.Among the survivors, many were shot. Wu Yafu was shot in both legs, and the blood continued to flow out along his thighs. Fortunately, the guards escorted him to a nearby hospital in time, so he was rescued.At that time, no one could control this chaotic situation, and some senior generals could only look up to the sky and sigh, in vain.

On November 11, the 74th Army retreated to Suzhou as a whole, and the order was initially stabilized at this time.As the general cover team, the 306th Regiment of the 51st Division was ordered to rush to Qingpu and Songjiang for delayed cover.Early the next morning, Qiu Weida led his troops to Zhujiajiao, west of Qingpu, but learned that Songjiang had been occupied in advance by the Japanese advance team. Some of these Japanese advance teams followed the retreating troops, and some took shortcuts and made detours, so they advanced extremely fast. Their non-stop harassment and attacks caused confusion to the retreating army again.

The Japanese army occupying Songjiang then approached Zhujiajiao and launched an enveloping attack on the 306th regiment.The 306th Regiment was single and weak, and withdrew to Qingpu after a little resistance. There is a city wall in Qingpu, which can be raised first.After almost losing a battalion, Qiu Weida ordered to move to Kunshan. Unexpectedly, the road leading to Kunshan was cut off by the Japanese army, and the troops had no way to retreat. In a critical situation, Qiu Weida recruited two local farmers.Leading the way through them, the 306th regiment was able to get in touch with the brother troops after two days and two nights of marching along remote country lanes.

When the Chinese army retreated, it was originally prepared to continue to organize resistance with several "defense lines".These "defense lines" were also constructed under the guidance of German consultants. The first one is the Wufu line, which is the defense fortification line from Suzhou to Changshu Fushan. However, because the Japanese army landed near Fushan Port, the defense of Fushan Positions were lost before they were exploited. After the Wufu line is the Xicheng line, which is the defense line from Wuxi to Jiangyin. On November 16, the Seventy-Fourth Army was ordered to deploy troops on the line from Suzhou to Wujiang, while covering the flanks of the retreating army, while buying time for the defensive deployment of the Xicheng Line.

Knowing the heavy responsibility, Yu Jishi, the commander of the Seventy-Fourth Army, personally surveyed the defense line, and finally selected Wangting Town, located in the northwest of Suzhou, as the key point of defense, and asked Wang Yaowu to send troops to guard it. At this time, most of the regiments of the 51st Division were severely damaged, and the 306th Regiment, which was responsible for the first phase of the cover task, had not yet returned to the team. this regiment. Before entering the Songhu battlefield, the 51st Division had already decided to expand from the B Division to the A Division, increasing from three regiments to four regiments, and the increased regiment was the 305th Regiment.The predecessor of the 305th regiment was the security regiment of the Shaanxi Garrison Brigade. Because of the need for training, the regiment did not come to Shanghai until October.

The head of the 305th regiment was Zhang Lingfu, who was formerly attached to the colonel's division.Similar to the English-speaking private soldier Carlson met, Zhang Lingfu in the early days was an intellectual youth full of idealism, and he even worked as a teacher for a while.However, Zhang Lingfu's more widely known experience is the "Wife Killing Case in the Ancient City". At that time Zhang Lingfu was the head of Hu Zongnan's First Army.It is said that the cause of the incident was as follows: the First Army fought against the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, and the officers and their families lived in the ancient city of Xi'an.One of Zhang Lingfu's colleagues went to Xi'an to visit relatives. After returning to the army, he chatted and bragged with Zhang Lingfu. He didn't know which string this man had made a mistake. He even joked that he had seen Zhang Lingfu's wife walking on the road with a man.

In dealing with such matters, Zhang Lingfu's heart is not much wider than the heroes described in the novel. Not only does the wind blow, but he also thinks that he was instantly dazzled by the anger of wearing a cuckold.During the Spring Festival holiday, Zhang Lingfu brought his wife and children back to his hometown from Xi'an. On New Year's Eve, when his wife was bending over to cut leeks to make dumplings in the backyard, he pulled out a pistol from behind and beat her to death. After killing his wife, Zhang Lingfu returned to the army.Naturally, the woman's natal family refused to let him go, and kept suing upwards. The pleadings were handed over from the First Army Headquarters, the Northwest "Suppression General", all the way to the Shaanxi High Court, but they did not get an immediate response.After some twists and turns, the Xi'an Women's Association, which accepted the complaint letter, found Zhang Xueliang's wife, Yu Fengzhi.

The Northeast Army was stationed in Shaanxi at this time.Yu Fengzhi asked Zhang Xueliang to take care of it, and Zhang Xueliang replied very simply: "This is a matter of the Central Army. I can't control it, and I can't control it." You can't control it, someone else will.Yu Fengzhi told his best friend Song Meiling exactly what happened, and Song Meiling told her husband Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek has always cared about the reputation of his Whampoa students outside the world. Hearing this, this is not bad: "Immediately escort Nanjing to a military court trial!"