Chapter 38 Chapter Thirty-Eight

Don't think that Fang Xianjue is just a warrior who only knows how to fight and kill. In fact, he was also a persistent pursuer of industrial national salvation back then.When I was young, I was also full of poetry and books, full of economics.He was born in Lanlan District, Suxian County, Anhui Province, that is, a gentry family in the 10th District of Xiaoxian County, Jiangsu Province.He studied in his hometown when he was young. After graduating from high school, he was admitted to Xuzhou Provincial Middle School in Jiangsu Province. Later, he graduated from Nanjing No. 1 Industrial School and the Department of Electrical Engineering of Central University Engineering College.

Sun Yat-sen, the great pioneer of the democratic revolution, prepared to build China's first new type of military cadre school - "Army Officer Academy" in Huangpu Island, Guangdong, which was later called "Whampoa Military Academy" based on the location of the school.With the help of the Communist Party of China and the Soviet Union, the school became the most dynamic and revolutionary military academy at that time.The military academy takes "creating a revolutionary army to save China from peril" proposed by Sun Yat-sen as its purpose, takes "dearness and sincerity" as its school motto, and adopts an educational policy of emphasizing both military and politics and combining theory with practice. Military and political talents.

Mr. Sun Yat-sen once said, "All patriotic Chinese should work hard for the peaceful reunification of the motherland!". During the Great Revolution, as a passionate young man full of ideals and ambitions, Fang Xianjue admired Mr. Sun Yat-sen's "Three Principles of the People" very much.So he resolutely voted to join the army, and was admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy with excellent results. In 1926, he graduated from the third infantry department of Whampoa Military Academy.Later, he entered the second phase of the higher education class of the Whampoa Military Academy and the fourth phase of the second-level general officer class of the Army University.Gradually grow into an excellent general in the national army.

After Fang Xianjue graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy, he was sent to the 20th Division of the National Revolutionary Army as a platoon leader.At this time, the 20th Division belonged to the 1st Army, and the division commander Qian Dajun.After the 1st Army participated in the Second Northern Expedition, this division was left in Guangdong for garrison. In September 1927, the Nationalist Government formed the 32nd Army with this division as the backbone, and went to the Fujian-Guangdong border to intercept the Communist Party troops who had risen in Nanchang.Because of Fang Xianjue's outstanding performance in battle, he was promoted to company commander.The next year, the 20th Division went to southern Jiangsu to serve as the rear guard of the Northern Expedition.Soon, Fang Xianjue was transferred to Tuanfu.In the autumn of that year, when the national troops were reorganized, Fang Xianjue's 20th Division was downsized into the 8th Brigade of the 3rd Division. Cai Xisheng, the brigade commander, and Fang Xianjue served as the battalion deputy of the 16th Regiment of the brigade.Since then, he has successively participated in the Central Plains War and military operations against the Red Army, ranging from official to regimental deputy.

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, Fang Xianjue was transferred to be the head of the 28th Regiment of the newly formed Reserve 10th Division.This division was compiled and trained by recruits from Fujian, and the division commander Xuan Tiewu.In September of the following year, when Jiang Chaoxiong took over as division commander, Fang Xianjue was also promoted from regiment commander to deputy division commander.Since this division is composed entirely of recruits, the division has been training in the rear for a long time.It was not until November 1940 that the division was ordered to go to Anhui to fight the Japanese army.

In December of the same year, the division encountered the Japanese army on the Chenjia Mountain between Qingyang and Guichi, and both sides fought fiercely for the mountain.At that time, the division commander Jiang Chaoxiong decided to divide the troops into two groups. Jiang Chaoxiong personally commanded the left side, and Fang Xianjue, the deputy division commander Fang Xianjue, commanded the right side.After a day and night of fierce fighting, the right wing led by Fang Xianjue successfully captured the peak on the right side of Chenjiashan, but the right wing was seriously threatened due to the failure of the left attack.In the end, Fang Xianjue was forced to abandon his position and retreat across the board.After the war, the division commander Jiang Chaoxiong was dismissed, and Fang Xianjue, who had made great achievements in the battle, was promoted to division commander as a matter of course.

From the day Fang Xianjue took over as the division commander, he reorganized the troops in response to the weaknesses of the troops' officers' poor quality and soldiers' combat effectiveness.First of all, he replaced all the officers above the Lilian level in the army with students who graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy and officers with combat experience; then he stepped up training for the troops and strictly enforced military discipline, which greatly improved the morale of the entire division.At the same time, he also set up a military band in the division headquarters, which enriched the life of the troops.

In 1941, when the troops were stationed in Zhuzhou and Lukou, the Japanese army dispatched from Wuhan and crossed the Xinqiang River to invade the south.The commander-in-chief of the 9th theater immediately ordered the 10th Army to go to northern Hunan as soon as possible to stop the Japanese army.The 10th Preparatory Division assigned to the 10th Army when deploying Zhuzhou, and the officers and soldiers arrived at Jinjing Township, Pingjiang County after three consecutive days of rapid march after receiving the order.Just in Jinjing, the division commander Fang Xianjue received an order from the commander-in-chief to "build fortifications on the spot and prepare to meet the invading enemy."In the early morning of the next day, the 10th Pre-Division was attacked by the Japanese army. Under the leadership of the division commander Fang Xianjue, all officers and soldiers fought desperately against the Japanese army. Although they suffered heavy losses, they still effectively delayed the Japanese army's invasion of Changsha.However, because the Japanese army in front of the 10th Army had the superior strength of 3 divisions, the 3 divisions of the 10th Army eventually withdrew from their positions.

After the war, Li Yutang, commander of the 10th Army, was dismissed from his post for retreating without permission.The Pre-10th Division was rewarded by Chiang Kai-shek because of a day and night bloody battle with the Japanese army, which effectively destroyed the Japanese army's attempt to occupy Changsha.The division commander Fang Xianjue summed up his experience during the retreat and training of the troops, emphasizing that officers and soldiers should fight steadily in any difficult and dangerous environment, and strengthen their beliefs that "I am not afraid of the enemy, but the enemy must be afraid of me" and "Persistence is victory".Later, this belief became the operational concept of the 10th Pre-10th Division and even the 10th Army.

At the end of 1941, the Japanese army in Wuhan attacked Changsha again, threatening to send 430,000 troops to Changsha to celebrate the New Year.At this time, because the new commander of the 10th Army, Zhong Bin, had not arrived, Chiang Kai-shek sent an urgent message to Li Yutang, the former commander of the 10th Army, to continue commanding the 10th Army to defend Changsha.But Li Yutang was ordered to "wear a sinful body and shoulder a heavy responsibility" when he was in danger. On December 28, Fang Xianjue, the commander of the 10th Division, held an emergency meeting at the division headquarters to report the enemy's situation according to the military's combat plan.He said at the meeting: "The task of defending Changsha this time is arduous but will be accomplished."At the same time, he instructed all divisions and subordinate departments to prepare for combat immediately.At the combat meeting held by the military department, Fang Xianjue insisted on not being a reserve force, and asked Li Yutang, the commander of the army, to grant a fixed task. If he failed to achieve it, he was willing to be punished by military law.After repeated research, Li Yutang finally decided to prepare the 10th Division to guard the south gate of Changsha City.

On December 31, the Japanese army learned through reconnaissance that the 10th Division was guarding the south gate of Changsha.Because this unit had the word "preparation" before its designation, the Japanese army mistakenly believed that the division was a reserve unit with weak combat effectiveness and a weak link in the entire city defense, so they set the combat plan as "Changsha South Gate as the key attack target".Shortly after the pre-10th Division entered the position, the outpost of the 29th Regiment to which it belonged came into contact with the Japanese cavalry.At dawn on New Year's Day, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack on the 29th regiment's position with infantry, cavalry, artillery and aircraft.Under the leadership of the regiment leader Zhang Yuequn, the officers and soldiers of the 29th regiment fought bravely and repelled the Japanese attack many times. However, the team also suffered heavy casualties. After Fang Xianjue learned the news, he immediately ordered Ge Xiancai, the head of the 28th Regiment, to lead his troops to plug the gap.He said in the phone call with Ge Xiancai: "Yiyuan! It's up to you now. Now that the head of the regiment Zhang has withdrawn, you should immediately send someone to contain it and put it under your command. I will fully support you. If you want troops, I will reinforce them at any time. You must hold on!"Yipu is Ge Xiancai's name.Fang Xianjue's face suddenly became relaxed after receiving a firm reply from the group leader Ge Xiancai. After the troops insisted on going into the night, the commander-in-chief Xue Yue called to inquire about the battle situation, and finally asked Fang Xianjue Zishan, how many days can he guard? Fang Xianjue replied: It can be guarded for a week! Xue Yue then asked: How to guard? Two days on the first line, three days on the second line, two days on the third line!" After the phone call, Fang Xianjue wrote the will and asked Zhang Guangkuan, the director of the adjutant, to deliver the will to his family.The next day, "Changsha Daily" published the headline on the front page: "Mr. Fang vowed to defend the land to the death and made a will." and published the full text of the will.The will reads as follows: Yun body my wife: This time our army was ordered to defend Changsha. The task is heavy. The survival of Changsha is related to the overall success or failure of the War of Resistance.Make sure that the five sons can all graduate from college, be a good person, follow my will, and serve the party and the country, then I will be smiling forever.I hope my wife will not be sad! Master Shan.The thirty-first year of the Republic of China New Year's Day. On January 2, 1943, the fighting intensified.The 28th Regiment fought side by side with the 30th Regiment led by Chen Xiyao. The 30th Regiment used a battalion to surprise the Japanese army in Baishaling and killed the Japanese squadron leader.This record was reported by various newspapers in Changsha the next day.The 10th Pre-10th Division fought bloody battles with the Japanese army at the South Gate for four days and nights, making the Japanese army unable to attack for a long time.The Japanese army was forced to change its original target and instead attacked the other gates of Changsha City.As a result, due to the dispersion of troops, the situation became more favorable to the national army. In the end, the 10th Army forced the Japanese to give up their goal of capturing Changsha after receiving reinforcements from friendly relief forces.After the war, Army Commander Li Yutang was promoted to Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the 27th Group Army, Fang Xianjue was promoted to Commander of the 10th Army, and concurrently served as Changsha Garrison Commander.The post of commander of the 10th Preparatory Division was promoted by deputy division commander Sun Mingjin.