Chapter 66 Lead by example

The 57th Division has been stationed in Changde since the Battle of Western Hubei. Although it has only been stationed for half a year, this unit still left an excellent impression on the people of Changde. In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, some troops of the central military system were very strict in terms of military discipline. Many troops even used the death penalty to punish soldiers who robbed or harassed the people. Killing - in the eyes of Westerners, this also shows that the Chinese army does not respect and cherish the lives of soldiers. After all, it is just a bucket of water, and it can be punished by confinement or other methods.

During the Battle of Wuhan, the British reporter Atri once stayed in Tang Enbo's troops for a while. She saw soldiers living in farmers' homes helping with housework and playing with children.If a young man of a family is conscripted to fight, the soldiers will help the family harvest rice.As for the situation of forced buying and selling, she had never seen it before, but several families killed pigs and placed them at the entrance of the village, preparing to sell them to soldiers. However, this only reflects the situation in the early days of the War of Resistance. As the war has become longer and more difficult, troops that can consistently maintain strict military discipline have become rare.Yue Qilin, who was the head of the construction section of the Changde County Government at the time, received many Kuomintang troops stationed in Changde. He bluntly said that the 57th Division is rare in the Kuomintang army, because this army never buys or sells by force, and does not take part of the common people. Needless to say, none of the officers and soldiers would harass and make trouble in entertainment venues.

Not only that, when the autumn harvest season comes, the 57th Division will also assign soldiers to help farmers harvest rice.All the soldiers who went to help brought their own farm tools and food, and cooked their own meals, and refused to entertain and pay from the local authorities. As a major general, Yu Chengwan himself has set an example.Unlike some Kuomintang officers who only sit in the headquarters and play mahjong or accompany their wives, he often goes deep into the people and understands the people's conditions. Changde is an important town in western Hunan and the gateway to Sichuan and Guangxi. It has always been a battleground for military strategists.After the fall of Wuhan, its strategic position became more prominent. Therefore, the garrison continued, and all the garrison troops had to build fortifications without exception. This was a very heavy burden for the local government and the people.Whenever the garrison needs local assistance, they only send junior officers to deal with the county government. Although these officers are not high in rank, they often play bureaucratic, put on airs, and yell.

This is not the case with Yu Chengwan. He always visits in person, and his attitude is kind and approachable.If there is a need for local supplies of materials for construction of the fortifications, he will definitely ask if there is any difficulty and whether it is necessary to send troops to help transport them. Yue Qilin once suffered from malaria, and quinine was not available in Changde to treat malaria. Yu Chengwan actually found a herbal prescription for him and brought it to him during a visit, thus saving Yue Qilin's life.This is true for an ordinary county government employee, let alone other people.

Before the war came, Yu Chengwan naturally put the protection of the lives and properties of the common people in Changde as the first priority. When the situation became increasingly tense, he, with the cooperation of the county government, mobilized the residents in the city to evacuate. Ever since Changde was bombed by Japanese planes in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, rich businessmen and wealthy households in the city had moved to the countryside with their families, and the only people left in the city were government officials, the poor, and small merchants.Yu Chengwan's request was that all the people should be evacuated this time, no one should be left in the city, and if they refused to leave, they would be forced to evacuate.

In order to evacuate quickly, the 57th Division also sent soldiers to help the elderly and weak residents carry supplies, during which they did not charge any compensation to the people.The south of Changde City is the Yuan River, and you need to cross the river to get out of the city.Soldiers from the 57th Division were also on board the river crossing boats to maintain order, with one soldier per boat. The boat owners were not allowed to be greedy for money and overloaded, and they were not allowed to take the opportunity to extort more boat fares from passengers, so there was order when crossing the river.

The county government got along well with the 57th Division, and the personal relationship between Dai Jiufeng and Yu Chengwan, the county magistrate, was also very good. Dai Jiufeng not only tried his best to assist the 57th Division in deploying defense and preparing for war, but also said to Yu Chengwan: "You Keep Changde, I will fight against the enemy with you, and we will live and die together with the city." Dai Jiufeng did what he said.After the secretary of the county chief led the county government personnel to evacuate out of the city, he, the chief of police, Yue Qilin and a hundred policemen stayed behind to assist the 51st Division in defending the airports inside and outside the city.

As of November 10, the people in the city had been evacuated.The officers and soldiers of the 57th Division were stationed at the first and second lines of defense at their respective positions. They only set up guard posts at Dou Wharf and Xiaoximen. On the night before the encirclement by the Japanese army, Yue Qilin, who was in charge of the airport, entered the city with a special pass in order to ask Dai Jiufeng for instructions.At this time, the whole city was pitch black and eerily quiet. He used a flashlight to shine a light on it, and found that green moss had grown in some places on the street because no one was walking.Under such circumstances, no soldier dared to break into houses or steal property without authorization.