Chapter 39 Chapter Thirty-Nine

In October 1943, the Battle of Changde began, and the 10th Army went to aid from Changsha.Due to the difficulty for the troops to move in the swampy area beside Dongting Lake with complex terrain, coupled with the strict orders of the commander of the theater Xue Yue.Fang Xianjue, the commander of the 10th Army, ordered Sun Mingjin, the commander of the 10th Preliminary Division, to seize the embankment on the south bank of the Yuan River first. At this time, Sun Mingjin, the commander of the Pre-10th Division, still accepted the task knowing that the enemy in front of him was very strong and a bridgehead firepower network had been built on the other side.Finally, after five consecutive offensive failures, he personally led the troops to charge.Finally captured the Japanese bridgehead.The teacher Sun Mingjin also died heroically when he rushed to the river embankment.Then Zhou Qingxiang's 3rd Division, which belonged to the 10th Army, successfully occupied Deshan, and took over the 57th Division.

In this battle, Fang Xianjue was outstanding, powerful in China, and respected by the people of the country.For this reason, Chiang Kai-shek gave him a plaque with the inscription "Loyalty represents the world". After the war, Sun Mingjin, the division commander, was buried on the southern slope of Mount Heng in Nanyue.When the coffin was going down the well, Fang Xianjue personally pulled the rope and lowered the coffin down the well.And in front of the coffin of Master Sun Mingjin, he swore to "kill all the Japanese invaders and avenge the dead soldiers and civilians".

In the winter of 1943, the whole army was reorganized in Hengshan, and Fang Xianjueyin lived near Huangchaling in the southern suburb of Hengyang City.When he got off from the train station, the sound of firecrackers resounded throughout the city.People from all walks of life in the city held a grand condolence banquet hosted by Mayor Zhao Junmai in the auditorium of the Ministry of Social Services. After the Battle of Changde, the 10th Army became a household name, and Fang Xianjue, as the commander of the army, naturally became more famous.Guangfang Xianjue was summoned by Chiang Kai-shek as many as five times during the half a year of training in the Chongqing Central Training Corps. This situation was enough to make other generals in the direct line look envious.The rest of the party, government and military dignitaries, such as Chen Lifu, Zhang Qun, Kong Xiangxi, Li Jishen, etc. also hosted Fang Xianjue one after another.Among these people, both Chen Cheng and He Yingqin wanted to draw Fang Xianjue into their faction, and even launched a conscious fight for this.These were enough to double Fang Xianjue's self-confidence, and he began to feel a little arrogant in dealing with others.The little wife took it for granted and married into the family, and even Xue Yue, the commander of the theater, was gradually looked down upon by Fang Xianjue (this caused the consequence of Fang Xianjue being dismissed from his post in the reorganization of the 88th Division). The yang and the yin are violated.

Xue Yue also hated Fang Xianjue's behavior, but due to Fang Xianjue's reputation, he couldn't move him for a while.So he decided to take over the 10th Army by infiltrating sand and digging corners.He first appointed Rong Youlue, who was originally from Zhuhai, Guangdong, as the chief of staff of the 10th Army. When the commander of the 190th Division became vacant, he named Rong Youlue to take over as the division commander. Although Fang Xianjue accepted the appointment superficially, shortly after the start of the Hengyang Battle, he emptied Rong Youlue's division commander.Others appointed by Xue Yue were dismissed, prosecuted, or sentenced with excuses.

All these actions made Xue Yue furious and determined to withdraw Fang Xianjue.When meeting with Chiang Kai-shek, he often said that Fang Xianjue sympathized with the Communist Party, excluded the military and political personnel he sent, disobeyed his command, withheld military pay, abused soldiers, harmed the people, appointed private individuals, had different opinions, and so on.Chiang Kai-shek didn't believe it at first, but in the end, due to Xue Yue's ability and important position, he ordered Fang Xianjue to be removed from the post of army commander and transferred to the senior councilor of the Military Commission; Xue Yue's confidant, Fang Riying from Canton, was also appointed as the Commander of the 10th Army.

When a telegram was sent to the headquarters of the 10th Army, Fang Xianjue almost fainted when he saw it.But he has no choice, he can't scold his headmaster for being stupid, can he?Helpless, he had no choice but to go home and rest after completing the handover procedures, waiting for the arrival of the successor commander. Just when Xue Yue was triumphant and thought that the 10th Army was about to be obtained, the Japanese army advanced the forward command post in Nanjing to Wuhan in late May 1944, and the commander-in-chief of the dispatched army, Hata Shunroku, began to attack the national army. battle. On May 18, the Japanese army captured Changsha, and then successively captured Liling, Youxian and other places, and the sword pointed directly at Hengyang.

In the 10th Army headquarters in Hengyang, the successor commander has not yet arrived.Seeing that the situation was critical, Xue Yue had no choice but to lower his face and personally ordered Fang Xianjue, who was still waiting for the handover procedures at his home in Hengyang, to act as the military affairs officer of the 10th Army and take charge of commanding the defense of Hengyang. At first, Fang Xianjue wanted to make it difficult for Xue Yue, and told him that Fang Xianjue was not the kind of coward who would come and go when asked, so he refused.This made Xue Yue anxious, so he had to ask Chiang Kai-shek, the chairman of the committee in Chongqing, for instructions.Chiang Kai-shek personally called Fang Xianjue after learning the ins and outs of the matter.

At this moment, Fang Xianjue, who was laughing happily at his apartment in Hengyang, suddenly received a call from Generalissimo Jiang.Sure enough, Chiang Kai-shek on the other end of the phone scolded Fang Xianjue for being stupid, and reprimanded sharply: "The Japanese army has already approached Hengyang, and you, Fang Xianjue, are still fighting with the commander of the war zone, disregarding the righteousness of the country and the nation, what a shame! Are you still I am a student of the Whampoa Military Academy?” Fang Xianjue scolded Fang Xianjue to the point of embarrassment, so he declared to Chiang Kai-shek that he must actively deploy, stick to Hengyang, carry forward the fine traditions of the Tenth Army, and resolutely resist the Japanese invasion.

Before the offensive and defensive battle of Hengyang, Fang Xianjue specially invited the Hengyang press to inspect the whole city, expressing his determination to defend Hengyang city.When the Japanese army was about to enter the city wall and was in a state of tension, General Fang said goodbye to friends in the press, picked up the Browning pistol in his waist, and said, "This is the one that killed me." As he spoke, tears fell like rain. At the military meeting at night, Fang Xianjue also stated to all the participating military officers that he would stick to Hengyang and win glory for the 10th Army again.

After the meeting, Fang Xianjue took the participating officers to cross the Xiangjiang River in the dim night, and went to the Nanyue Hengshan Martyr's Shrine to pay homage to all the soldiers of the 10th Army who died in the third Changsha battle, and prayed to the cemetery: "Martyrs, rest in peace! I feel that this time I personally led the entire army to participate in the Battle of Hengyang, vowing to serve the country with my death, resolutely wipe out the Japanese invaders, avenge the martyrs, and win glory for the 10th Army! If you have this heart, you can show it to the sky. If you have a different ambition, heaven and man will not spare you!"

After finishing speaking, he burst into tears.At this time, all the officers were shedding tears. While Fang Xianjue was meditating, he suddenly felt chest tightness, shortness of breath and irritability.It turned out that the sky had changed drastically, and the clear sky had been covered by dark clouds. Unknowingly, the wind gradually picked up.It's really like the rain is coming and the wind is covering the building, and the black clouds are overwhelming the city and want to destroy it! A few swallows seemed to be doing an air show. After circling several times, they suddenly swooped down and passed by the water surface of the Xiangjiang River. In an instant, thunder and lightning, strong winds, and torrential rain poured down, and the entire Hengyang City was shrouded in a hazy rain curtain. What's the matter?this is…… At this time, Fang Xianjue actually recalled the "Xiangjiang River Farewell Poem" written by Wen Tianxiang, a famous general of the Song Dynasty and a famous national hero, when he passed by Hengyang: Xiaoxiang rains overnight, and Jianghai has clouds for ten years.When you meet, you will become old, and when you meet again, you will be divided. The singing cuckoo is mighty in spring, and the returning Yan Xiao is attentive.Jiang Kuo is Fang Jian, and Mingyue thinks of the king.