Chapter 27 4. He Long "asked for help" from the generals of the Kuomintang army

After He Long issued the combat order, the participating troops of the 120th Division immediately began to make intense pre-war preparations.At this time, the 34th Army of the Kuomintang Jinsui Army and the 1st Cavalry Army were stationed near the headquarters of the 120th Division.In order to implement the anti-Japanese national united front policy and win the Kuomintang army to fight side by side, He Long proposed: "This combat operation has a greater impact, and all the forces of the Chinese Communist Party and the Communist Party in Northwest Shanxi should be concentrated to drive the Japanese army out."

Unexpectedly, before the words fell, someone objected: "The Kuomintang army has been frightened by the Japanese, so we should fight by ourselves." "As soon as the devils come, the Kuomintang army will run away. How can we fight with them?" He Long said patiently: "As for the friendly army, we must take the initiative to unite. If they don't want to fight, we must find a way to push them to the anti-Japanese battlefield. This is also a question of the united front. I advocate uniting the Kuomintang army to fight together. If he doesn't do it, just pull him up." Fight. Let's unify Zhao Chengshou and Guo Zongfen."

Later, He Long personally visited Guo Zongfen and Zhao Chengshou. On this day, Guo Zongfen was sitting on the Taishi chair with his eyes closed and rested, when he suddenly reported the arrival of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, Mr. He.Guo Zongfen was startled when he heard this, and then he had an idea in his mind. "General He is honored to come here. I feel very honored, I don't know how to respect you..." Before Guo Zongfen finished speaking, He Long said straight to the point: "I came to ask for help. I have heard that Commander Guo's army is strong and strong. Now the Japanese are coming fiercely. Please let me know." Commander Guo thought of the righteousness of the nation and sent troops..."

Before He Long finished speaking, Guo Zongfen interrupted: "General He is too polite. It is his duty to resist the Japanese and save the country. My younger brother sees the suffering of the fathers and villagers in Northwest Shanxi. It's just that the major general under my command is weak, so how can I protect myself?" Dare to speak up?" He Long said with a smile: "Mr. Guo doesn't have to worry too much. Your army can only take on some support and cover tasks." "General Congratulations," Guo Zongfen said with a sad face, "Look, one of my divisions can't even cover one of its own artillery battalions. If we cooperate with your army, it will not miss a big deal."

Seeing Guo Zongfen's repeated evasions, He Long said, "Commander Guo, think about it first, and we will discuss it in detail when we arrive in Lan County in the future." He Long left Dongcun Town, and came to Jingle County with Guan Xiangying, Gan Siqi, Wang Zhen and others. In the 1st Army's military headquarters, Shang invited Zhao Chengshou, commander of the army, to send troops to join the battle. As soon as they met, Zhao Chengshou made two bows to He Long and said, "Ah! Mr. He, you are here. If you don't come back, I will leave too." He Long said: "Commander Zhao, don't leave, let's fight together. In a month's time, the north can be restored."

Zhao Chengshou looked distressed: "Master He, I can only draw 30 out of 100 cavalry to fight, and I need 70 to watch the horses. How can I fight?" He Long said: "Mr. Zhao, we are all stationed in Northwest Shanxi. At this time, we have to help each other, and we can't just walk away!" After repeated persuasion, Zhao Chengshou agreed to send an artillery unit with two cannons to cooperate with the Eighth Route Army. When talking about the command of the battle, He Long said to Zhao Chengshou: "You are the commander of the army and I am the commander of the division. Of course you should be the commander in chief!"

Zhao Chengshou said embarrassingly: "I am the veteran of the army commander, you still don't know? When you became the army commander, I was a small company commander. How can I command your troops?" The two pushed back and forth, and finally decided to share the command with Wang Zhen as the front-line command. On March 9, Zhao Chengshou and Guo Zongfen came to the headquarters of the 120th Division in Lanxian County, held a meeting with He Long, Guan Xiangying, Xiao Ke and others, and made a plan. This plan stipulated that one brigade of the 71st Division would pretend to attack Kelan ; The main force of the 120th Division is located at a suitable place east of Wuzhai and Kelan Avenue, and a part of it is west of the avenue to attack the enemies who may be added to Wuzhai; the 1st Cavalry Army is placed in the northwest of the line between Shenchi and Wuzhai, and strikes between Shenchi and Wuzhai Enemies who come and go; the guerrillas of the Zhandong Association are active in Baode and Sanchabao, and are under the command of the 120th Division.

However, both Zhao and Guo had no real intention of resisting the enemy.As soon as the battle started, Zhao Chengshou sent two artillerymen with two mountain cannons to cooperate with the 120th Division, and also sent some soldiers to the west of Shenchi and Wuzhai to deal with the errands.Guo Zongfen pushed three times and pushed four times, but did not send a single soldier.