Chapter 38 Chapter 8 Lure the Enemy Deep (2)

It turned out that long before the meeting in Zhengzhou, Gui Yongqing, the commander of the 27th Army, had asked the chairman face to face; sacred mission.and so on. Chiang Kai-shek highly praised and encouraged him.Unexpectedly, Minister of Military and Political Affairs Chen Cheng suggested that Song Xilian's 71st Army, which had arrived earlier, should be assigned to Gui Yongqing's unified command on the grounds of concentrating troops to fight.Both Song and Gui are graduates of the first batch of Whampoa. They are both the main force of the Central Army and the ace commander. , are all rising stars in the Kuomintang military circles.In terms of combat strength, the two armies are equal, and in terms of status, both of them are popular young and strong generals, but their current situation is slightly different. He vigorously trained troops in Hunan, implemented a new type of troop training campaign, and built a modern army, which was highly appreciated and valued by Chiang Kai-shek.

The suggestion of the Minister of Military and Political Affairs really worked. Chiang Kai-shek finally decided to use the 27th Army as the main attack after careful consideration. The division was temporarily placed under the command of Gui Yongqing.In this way, Gui Yongqing not only completely surpassed his competitors, but also got Song Xilian as a main teacher.If this battle is a big victory and the Japanese ace Doihara Division is wiped out in one fell swoop, the 27th Army will of course be famous all over the world, and the number one hero of the Chinese War of Resistance is Gui Yongqing.In contrast, the 71st Army was drained from the bottom of the pot, leaving only two divisions out of the three divisions. Even if Commander Song had the heart to take on the important task of killing the enemy and making meritorious service, he probably had more than enough energy.

But the person who signed the order was the principal, and Song Xilian dared not speak out.The young and energetic Commander Song still couldn't help arguing at the subsequent Kaifeng combat meeting, venting his resentment and dissatisfaction.Commander-in-Chief Xue Yue came forward to mediate, and he extinguished Song Xilian's anger with one word. The commander-in-chief said meaningfully: The principal ordered the transfer of one of your divisions. Song Xilian came to his senses like enlightenment. If the principal simply abolishes the Seventy-first Army and deprives him of his power, what can he do as the commander of the army?After all, the 71st Army is not his Army Commander Song, and the 27th Army is not Gui Yongqing's army. They are both the principal and the Central Army of the Nationalist Government.Until a few years later, Song Xilian, who became a war criminal of the Kuomintang, still brooded over this past in prison. He wrote: Jiang directly ordered the 88th Division to be placed under the command of the 27th Army... This is Gui Yongqing and the others. I didn't like the ghosts played in front of the old man (Chiang Kai-shek), so I just had to endure it. ("Song Xilian's Self-narration", China Literature and History Publishing House, 1987 edition)

On the eve of the war, the base camp temporarily adjusted the army's battle order, and the superior command unit of the 88th Division changed. This seemingly inadvertent episode laid an important foreshadowing for a series of events that occurred later and even the fate of Commander Long. 3 The army is advancing eastward, and the enemy's situation is reported without delay.The 88th Division turned into Lanfeng County overnight, and the avant-garde troops encountered the Japanese army outside the city that day. The majestic Eastern Henan War broke out in an all-round way. At the beginning of the battle, the two sides started a desperate fight, and the battlefield immediately became intense.The division commander, Long Muhan, rushed to the front line in person. He saw through the binoculars that hundreds of enemies had rushed towards our army aggressively under the cover of tanks.The enemy's arrogance is very arrogant. They believe that they have tanks to open the way, and they charge without bending their backs and holding the sun flag.Seeing this, Master Long couldn't help secretly thanking the principal for his wise decision on the phone call. If the 88th Division hadn't arrived in time, the consequences would have been disastrous if the enemy drove straight in.

The chief of staff reported that the artillery had arrived and was ready to fire.With a wave of his hand, Master Long ordered all the soldiers to fire, resolutely destroying this group of enemies. How do the arrogant enemies know that their opponents at this moment are no longer those vulnerable local miscellaneous troops, but the well-equipped and experienced "No. 1 Division in the World".Our army's artillery roared, and a hail of shells flew towards the enemy. Soon one tank was shot and paralyzed, and the other tanks turned around and retreated seeing the bad situation.At the same time, the light and heavy machine guns of our infantry fired at the same time, and the powerful firepower storm swept across the enemy infantry in an instant.

How can the officers and soldiers of our army let the enemy go easily? The commander gave an order, and the commandos who had already moved to the flanks quickly attacked and outflanked them. They opened up like a big net to catch rabbits, and they were about to catch those who escaped slowly or had no time to escape. All the Japanese devils were put into the net.At this time, an enemy tank suddenly turned around and rushed to the rescue. The machine guns and cannons on the vehicle fired at the same time, and many commando officers and soldiers were shot and fell down.Master Long couldn't help but his eyes were burning with anxiety, because the cannons of the two armies were no longer effective. If we couldn't destroy the enemy's tanks, our army would suffer greater losses.At a critical moment, a figure suddenly jumped up from the side of the enemy tank and threw a bundle of cluster grenades wittily and calmly. As thick smoke rose, the enemy tank was blown into the fuel tank, and a raging fire suddenly ignited.

The first battle was won, and the enemy was defeated and fled.The 88th Division achieved a major victory in killing more than a hundred enemies and destroying and injuring many tanks.Master Long was excited and excited. Accompanied by the head of the avant-garde regiment, he went into the trench to meet the meritorious officials who blew up the enemy tanks.To the general's surprise, the brave and fearless soldier standing in front of him turned out to be a shy soldier with a baby face. His name was Gao Jingyuan, and he was a trainee platoon leader less than three months after graduating from the military academy.The general couldn't help praising and encouraging.Long Muhan served as an instructor at the Whampoa Military Academy for many years. He advocated that the foundation of building an army lies in the spirit of arming and improving the quality of soldiers.Therefore, in the 88th Division under his command, non-military school graduates are not allowed to be promoted to serve as officers.In other words, he believes that an excellent trainee platoon leader is a future general, and the starting point of a commander is the platoon leader.Gao Jingyuan's composure fully shows that the enemy's tanks are not terrible, as long as the tactics are used properly, they can be completely destroyed. If everyone in the division can be like this trainee platoon leader, then it is by no means impossible to wipe out the Doihara Division or even defeat the Japanese invaders. An empty phrase.Master Long immediately ordered Gao Jingyuan to be promoted to the official platoon leader, and he was rewarded for his meritorious service, and his military salary was raised by one level.