Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Shifting Shapes and Changing Steps

Jigu Xiaoli is stingy, from a brigade to an alliance, it seems that he is always reluctant to fight for a big one in Taierzhuang.In fact, it is not that he does not want to do it, but that he dare not or cannot do it. After crossing the Yellow River, the Isogu Division first advanced all the way on the Jinpu line. Except for the first strong resistance in Teng County, they hardly encountered any decent and powerful enemies, but Itagaki has always been suffering. Hanging in Linyi like a bright moon. Seeing this scene, Jigu almost laughed out loud: Is this how you met me in Taierzhuang? Forget it, let me give you a hand.

While attacking Taierzhuang, Jigu sent a unit to Linyi, wanting to make some stunts in front of his star alumni. If this action is implemented, Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun will be even more dangerous under the attack from the north and the south. Just at this time, Isoya received a piece of information. The information was obtained by the Army Air Corps during reconnaissance over Weishan Lake.If you have seen the old version of "Railway Guerrilla", you should be familiar with Weishan Lake. Weishan Lake was supposed to be quiet, but the aviation soldiers looked down and found that the lake was very lively, with thousands of sails racing, which was spectacular.

This huge fleet carrying a mysterious force is heading towards the east of the lake—the rear base camp of the Isoya Division. After Isoya read the information, Ji Lingling broke out in a cold sweat.Because the Weishan Lake fleet was not sent by him. It is not yet known which Chinese army it is, but Isoya still feels scared. Fortunately, there is an aircraft reconnaissance, otherwise it will be miserable. He hurriedly withdrew the regiment that was about to show off, and the main force of the division also suspended going south. Soon Jigu obtained confirmation that the mysterious army on Weishan Lake was Tang Enbo's 20th Corps rushing to assist the Jinpu line.

Holding this important information, Isoya didn't dare to be careless. The main force of the division can no longer move, and should defend the base camp to prevent its attack.As for Taierzhuang and Linyi, each can send a brigade to try their luck. In fact, Tang Enbo's main force, Wang Zhonglian's 85th Army, had already arrived at the Jinpu battlefield, but it actually failed to attract much attention from Jigu. In the Battle of Nankou, the 13th Army of Tang Enbo's main force was almost wiped out, and there were not many veterans left.Although there are a few veterans in the 85th Army, most of them are recruits recruited during the Henan training period, and their combat effectiveness has long been different from what it used to be.

The Sichuan Army guarded Teng County, and received an order from Li Zongren. It was the 85th Army that planned to rescue Wang Mingzhang. However, it was not the size of the Jigu Division at all. After a few rounds, even Wang Zhonglian's army headquarters was rushed into by Japanese cavalry. If he hadn't reacted quickly and escaped by jumping into the ditch alone, he would have almost become a captive of the devils. Knowing that the Jigu division could not be stopped by the current two blows, Tang Enbo chose to dodge, and Wang Zhonglian was ordered to get out of the way to the south.

Everyone will retreat, but not everyone will dodge. The remnants of Wang Zhonglian's 85th Army still remain behind the Jigu Division, and gradually become Jigu's confidant. Due to the emergence of a large army of the Tang Army, Jigu retreated to the next best thing, and the troops attacking Linyi changed from a regiment to a brigade.At this moment, Wang Zhonglian, who was well-rested, suddenly appeared, and captured three nearby bunkers and a water tower in one breath, which made Jigu panic, so he had to give up the plan to reinforce Linyi, and withdrew a brigade. . The large army of the 20th Legion came. There were many people, tens of thousands in total, but they were not as strong as people imagined.

To put it bluntly, this large army is almost a hodgepodge. There are all kinds of troops in it. There are the Hunan Army originally commanded by Cheng Qian, and there are also Central Army troops that have participated in previous battles but have actually been disabled. Guan Linzheng's 52nd Army, but also lost soldiers and generals as early as in the Battle of Baoding, it is difficult to be regarded as a strong force. After landing in a boat, Tang Enbo commanded the 20th Army to launch a full-scale attack on the Isoya Division, but the effect made him unable to stand it. Zhou Jing's 75th Army attacked Teng County and did nothing. Zhang Zhen's 110th Division attacked Hanzhuang, but couldn't beat it. The Japanese army in Hanzhuang was only one squadron.

It's so sad, what kind of fighting power is this. Tang Enbo suggested to Li Zongren that he did not stick to Taierzhuang, but carried out mobile warfare in the rear of the Japanese army. To some extent, it was out of helplessness, because his confidence in defending Taierzhuang may not be greater than that of Sun Lianzhong. Mobile warfare is my specialty, and I am more sure of this. Before starting the mobile battle, Tang Enbo first drew out the strongest unit in the 20th Army, Guan Linzheng's 52nd Army, to defend the Jinpu Railway on the west side of Taierzhuang. Although the combat effectiveness of the 52nd Army has also been weakened to the point of disrepair, it is the main force of the Central Army who participated in the Great Wall War after all, and its weapons and equipment are still good.

The 12 howitzers lined up across the canal completely disrupted the offensive formation of the Isoya Division. Originally, Jigu also had the idea of ​​going directly south along the Jinpu line to speed up the maneuvering speed of the troops, but seeing the fierce firepower here, he had to adjust his troops to the direction of Taierzhuang. Tang Enbo's move was very important. It not only interrupted Jigu's desire to attack in a roundabout way, but also saved Sun Lianzhong from the troubles of his stomach and back. This lifeline was transferred over. After closing the door tightly, I feel much more at ease in outdoor activities, and I can basically do whatever I want.

As a member of the "16th Phase of Glory", Isoya knows as much about the art of war as Itagaki. Of course, he also knows the danger of Tang Enbo lurking behind him. The brigade withdrew back, all in order to concentrate their strength on a decisive battle with Tang Enbo, in order to solve their own worries. However, since Tang Enbo changed from offensive warfare to mobile warfare, he began to play "mushroom tactics", dodging around in Lunan's square inch, shifting his shape and changing steps, making Jigu still unable to find him—not only Ji Gu couldn't find it, and sometimes even Li Zongren didn't know where Tang Enbo was.

So many people moved frequently without stopping, and it was not a day or two, which was very difficult for both sides. Tang Enbo was tired from running, and Jigu chased very hard, but after the hard work, they still got nothing. On the one hand, Isoya can't catch people, and on the other hand, he can't get away. As in the Battle of Nankou, Tang Enbo organized a large number of small troops, but most of their members were not regular soldiers, but green forest heroes. To say that the Tang Army is a hodgepodge is actually not wrong at all. Not only are the field troops miscellaneous, their original designations and origins are varied, but there are also many civilian armed forces among them. They constitute an important part of Tang's guerrillas. A closer look will open your eyes. For example, the espionage team, it is said to be an espionage team, but none of them are sitting there wearing earphones and sending telegrams. There are roles. Another example is the spear dart team of the Red Gun Club. The so-called Red Gun Club is similar to the Boxer Group. They all drank "fairy water" and thought that bullets could not penetrate the flesh.Of course, this thing is very superstitious, but superstition depends on where it is used. It is good if it is used to kill devils. The most aggressive is the martial arts brigade. Like the spear dart team, they also have a red-tasseled gun or a big knife. The only difference is that although these people don't drink "fairy water", everyone has a good martial arts, which belongs to fighting The kind where three or five people can't get close. Normally, Tang Enbo led the main force of the Isoya Division in a circle in front, and the small troops bloomed in all directions behind him, and the division of labor between the troops was very clear: the spy team was responsible for collecting information, and the armed forces team and the spear team were responsible for collecting information. Use the night to come out to harass the Japanese stronghold. There weren't many devils staying in the stronghold, and after such a commotion, they were so scared that they didn't dare to go out to pee alone at night. The role of guerrillas is not as simple as launching night raids. In the Battle of Taierzhuang, the Japanese aircraft could not play much role because a gasoline depot of the Army Air Force in Zaozhuang was burned down.Airplanes are machines, and machines live on gasoline.The plane from the north to the south arrived in Zaozhuang, but there was no gasoline to fuel it, so it was naturally boring to fly to the front line of Taierzhuang. The hero who burned the Japanese gasoline depot was the Tang's guerrillas. Isotani was given headaches by Tang Enbo's ghostly style of attack, and the process of going south was delayed again and again because of this. He was able to increase the strength of the attacking Taierzhuang from a squadron to an alliance, which had almost reached its limit. He also once wanted to transfer another regiment, which is the main force of the division, to Taierzhuang, and upgrade the offensive force to a brigade size, but Tang Enbo immediately jumped out from behind to launch a counterattack after realizing this intention, so he had no choice but to resent canceled this plan. The Taierzhuang battle has not progressed for a long time, and a strengthened special forces unit still cannot complete its mission. Not only Isotani is troubled, but the commander of the 2nd Army, Hisao Nishio, can't sit still. The problem, of course, is that there are too few soldiers. At the beginning, when the Jigu Division crossed the Yellow River and went down south, it was very enjoyable to go to a city in three days and seize a town in five days, but now it has become a burden on the body-because the troops have to be divided into garrisons, the front-line troops are divided more and more. Even no matter how careful the budget is, it still feels not enough. Originally, it was hoped that Itagaki would be able to take Linyi quickly, so that he could join forces with Jigu in Taierzhuang. That would probably be enough people, but at the critical moment, Itagaki, the "first general", seemed to be out of luck. Was beaten back again and again by the opponent. In order to capture Taierzhuang, Nishio decided to temporarily abandon Linyi and transfer the main force of the Itagaki Division directly to Taierzhuang to alleviate the shortage of troops in the Isogu Division. On the night of March 29, the 21st Brigade of Itagaki Division Sakamoto Shun arrived near Taierzhuang, which made the Japanese army attacking Taierzhuang suddenly exceed the size of the brigade and became a brigade and a half. Now Sun Lianzhong's life became sad again. Sun Lianzhong was a general known for his bravery and bravery. He participated in the Taierzhuang Battle, and he did have the determination to "die in Shandong". He once pointed to Taierzhuang and told his subordinates: This is the glorious place of the Northwest Army and our grave! At that time, in order to correct the shortcomings of some commanders who did not understand the battle situation on the front line, the Chinese High Command had special regulations on the location of the group army headquarters, that is, it should not be more than 40 miles away from the front line. Sun Lianzhong put pressure on himself. He placed the headquarters in a small village just a dozen miles south of Taierzhuang, which was more than three times shorter than the regulations. This village is only separated from Taierzhuang by a river, not only the sound of guns and shouts of killing can be clearly heard, but also within the range of Japanese artillery.When the battle was fierce, the shells often roared and landed on the head of the village, and everyone turned pale. Sun Lianzhong was advised to step back, but he remained unmoved. Seeing that there were too many people coming to persuade him, he said, you go, I can't leave here. Sun Lianzhong took the risk, not for show, but because he had to. Although he focused all his strength on Taierzhuang, he did not neglect Linyi for a moment, because he knew that once Linyi was lost, the Banyuan Division would go south to Taierzhuang. So he kept in touch with Zhang Zizhong, who was also from the old Northwest Army, by telegram, but the news from Zhang Zizhong was that the battle in Linyi was very fierce, and the 59th Army was on the verge of being exhausted. If Zhang Zizhong's words are true, Sun Lianzhong may face a catastrophe: Jigu Division, this big stone slab is already enough, if another one is pressed on, wouldn't it be crushed to the point of breaking bones and spitting blood? For Sun Lianzhong, the only hope is to survive in Taierzhuang day by day, and for a while, before Linyi is destroyed, waiting for the Tang Army to go south. This is the reality that Sun Lianzhong must face. Like Pang Bingxun, the reason why he refuses to leave the front line is because he wants to fight for the way out of "putting to death and living later" with the determination of "putting to death and not living". However, the main force of Banyuan directly came to Taierzhuang before breaking through Linyi, which he had never thought of before. After the Sakamoto Shun brigade arrived at Taierzhuang, Chi Fengcheng was forced to issue an order to tear down all the bridges leading to the canal behind him.If he didn't dismantle it, the Japanese army might have passed along the bridge that day, because the latter had actually circled to the north bank of the canal south of Taierzhuang. Taierzhuang is under siege on all sides, like the monster in the movie, Jigu can't wait to eat Chifengcheng's sandwiches who are trapped in a corner of Taierzhuang, and the latter is indeed almost a snack when surrounded in the middle. Sun Lianzhong could see clearly across the canal, and his expression changed. For soldiers like Sun Lianzhong, fighting is as common as eating and sleeping. Even if the headquarters is within the fire range of the Japanese artillery, they will not frown. A tough style with no expression of emotion or anger. If one day, even he panicked, imagine how serious the situation is. At the critical moment, Sun Lianzhong was in a hurry, and Li Zongren was also in a hurry. Before the mouth of the bag was tied properly, the bottom of the bag was about to burst, and the bag array was in danger of ending in a blink of an eye.There is nothing to say, the bag must be sealed quickly before the bottom of the bag is broken, without delay for a minute. On the night of March 29, he issued an order to Tang Enbo, asking the 20th Army to advance southward as soon as possible. After Tang Enbo received the order, he used Guan Linzheng's 52nd Army as the main force to carry out an anti-encirclement from the north, thereby attracting the Sakamoto Shun Brigade who had just arrived outside the village, and relieved the defensive pressure on Taierzhuang. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Sun Lianzhong quickly dispatched death squads into the village overnight to support Chifengcheng. The captain of the death squads was Wu Dehou, who later moved countless people. After Wu Dehou entered the village, he found that the streets and streets of the village were full of devil soldiers, and Chi Fengcheng didn't know where to fight in the street. If you were later, even if you invited Hua Tuo in, Taierzhuang would not be saved. The appearance of Wu Dehou saved the dying fate of Taierzhuang.But Sun Lianzhong's heart is still hanging, because he knows that after getting rid of Tang Enbo's entanglement, the Sakamoto Shun brigade is bound to come to the city again. You must use all your strength to launch another big counterattack before the opponent arrives, otherwise things will be difficult to handle. On April 1, hearing the order, the three armies jumped up together and launched a fierce attack on the Japanese army in Shonai from the northeast and northwest corners. Sun Lianzhong had no other magic weapon for attacking, nothing more than continuing to organize death squads to attack at night. Among the death squads established this time, the Wang Fantang death squad that attacked the northeast corner is the most famous. Before departure, Sun Lianzhong ordered to reward each death squad member Dayang with 30 yuan, but the death squad members looked at Dayang in their hands and shook their heads: We fight to fight for the survival of the nation, so that future generations will not be slaves to the Japanese. Why do you want money? ? Throw it on the ground and go out generously. As the death squad rushed into the northeast corner of the village, the inside immediately boiled like water. An hour later, the Japanese army abandoned more than 60 corpses, and the rest were so scared that they fled. Of the 57-member death squad, including Wang Fantang, there are only 13 heroes left. Everyone is like a bloody man, and they can no longer be identified. This kind of crazy fighting and intense stimulation is not something ordinary people can endure. Even these soldiers who have fought countless battles almost lost their minds when they watched their comrades who had been with them day and night fall by their side, so that after the battle was over, The headquarters had to confiscate the guns and arrange special guardians to avoid any accidents. After regaining the northeast corner, Sun Lianzhong regained the northwest corner at the cost of killing five death squads one after another. For these two corners, the troops suffered almost all casualties, but they finally gained a firm foothold in Taierzhuang. As long as Tang Enbo continued to attack south, the pressure on him would become lighter and lighter. What Sun Lianzhong never expected was that at this critical juncture, the life-saving straw suddenly disappeared. Tang Enbo suddenly gave up his attack and disappeared without a trace overnight. Even for a period of time, neither the Chief of the Fifth War Zone nor Sun Lianzhong could get in touch with him by radio. After Tang Enbo withdrew his troops, not only the Sakamoto Shun Brigade was able to escape, but even the main unit that Isoya was entangled in had a chance to go south. Like a roller coaster, Sun Lianzhong fell from short-term luck to endless depression. Could it be that Tang Enbo still wanted to preserve his strength, so he would not save him? In the headquarters, facing his chief of staff, Sun Lianzhong even lost his pretended composure: We fight day and night, and the casualties of officers and soldiers are so heavy, but Tang Enbo refuses to come to rescue us, what should we do? The chief of staff had no choice but to comfort him with words. Tang Enbo told us in person that Tang's army and Sun Lianzhong's army are close brotherly armies, and everyone should take care of each other.We have been making the bottom of the bag, and we have been suffering for so many days to take care of him.At this time, I don't think Tang Enbo will leave us alone. Sun Lianzhong nodded. In any case, Tang Enbo is the only one who can save us now, and the most important thing is to get in touch with him as soon as possible. In the Chief's Department of the Fifth War Zone, Li Zongren was also running around in a hurry because Tang Enbo could not be found. Li Zongren has always had great opinions on Tang Enbo. Tang Enbo is good at fighting, but he also has many shortcomings.For example, he likes to put on airs and talk about ostentation, so that the military division commanders and brigade commanders under him are all arrogant, and when dealing with people, they seem to be the elite main force of the Central Army. Tang Enbo was never particular about his clothes, and even made people feel a little sloppy, but it was true that "Zhuang Tang" loved to eat, even when he was playing sports.When eating, there are high-end tobacco and alcohol, canned food, so-called frying, cooking, and everything else. The trouble is, he still doesn’t know how to avoid people’s eyes and ears. When there are guests visiting, he also invites people to eat together, which greatly affects himself. image. If Tang Enbo was a foreign general like Enbo Tang, it would not be a big deal, as long as you fought well, drank champagne every day, and no one would say anything about you, the key was that the environment was different, and his This kind of living habits is very different from Li Zongren, of course the latter will feel particularly awkward from the bottom of his heart. Private life is still on the one hand, and on the other hand, Tang Enbo's personality is too strong, not ordinary. If he thinks it is right, he will resolutely do it, and it is not easy to listen to other people's words. For the former, Li Zongren may turn a blind eye to it. After all, he has been in the officialdom for many years. It is not too difficult to be disgusted with others and laugh on the surface to cope with the situation, but the latter is not good, because he may Will not listen to your command, if you want him to go east, he will go west. The current situation is obvious here, Tang Enbo just said hello and disappeared without calling, does he still think of me as a leader?It's abominable! From Li Zongren's point of view, Tang Enbo is nothing more than relying on himself as a direct descendant of the Central Army, with Chiang Kai-shek as the backer, so he can act alone and refuse to obey orders. So far, what else can the commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone do? What he can do is to use the radio to keep calling like Sun Lianzhong until Tang Mou shows up. Everyone was complaining about Comrade Tang, but what everyone didn't know was that this man's own situation was once extremely dangerous. The battlefield is like a kaleidoscope, countless changes will occur in an instant. When he was fighting fiercely with the Sakamoto Shun brigade, Isoya's main unit was led by the brigade commander, Major General Seya Kei, but came from the side, and gradually formed a situation where the two encircled Tang Enbo. You are holding a pocket here to trap someone, but the other party is using a pocket to trap you in turn. In terms of the combat capabilities of both parties, who is easier to trap? Of course, Tang Enbo could also choose to repel Jun Sakamoto, and his first reaction was indeed to do so. It's a pity that he can't fight back at all. If Sakamoto Shun doesn't retreat, Tang Enbo will be in danger. Sakamoto Shun and Seya Kei will pinch you to death. Tang Enbo had no choice but to get out, and the whole army headed towards the Sakamoto Shun Brigade—but they passed by each other, moving towards each other, and headed for the Baodugu mountain area north of the Sakamoto Shun Brigade. He wants to jump out and cover a big bag again. Today's pocket formation has reached the third level, that is, Tang Enbo sets Sakamoto Shun, Seya Kei in turn sets Tang Enbo, and Tang Enbo sets Sakamoto Jun and Seya Kai again. This is a decision that needs to be made by a general in a hurry. You still have to hesitate and ask for a report. If it is too late, you may be surrounded by opponents already. But this is a truly unique move, since the Taierzhuang war, this can be described as the finishing touch. The main force of the Tang Legion was going to make pockets. Tang Enbo transferred the 75th Army of Zhou Qi, which was originally near Teng County, to contain the Sakamoto Shun Brigade from the side. Zhou Rong's strength was limited, so the so-called containment could only mean meaning. The situation Sun Lianzhong actually faced was that the size of the Japanese army in front of Taierzhuang had risen from a brigade to a division—the 33rd Brigade of Seya Kai in Isoya, plus Itagaki's Sakamoto Jun 21st Brigade. When Chi Fengcheng first arrived in Taierzhuang, he asserted that a brigade of the Isogu Division would need three Chinese divisions to cope with it. They triple jumped and became a division. Can Taierzhuang be able to hold on? Huang Qiaosong's 27th Division, which defended Taierzhuang in the northeast, was the first to be hit. Among Sun Lianzhong's three divisions, Huang Qiaosong's division is the most distinctive.One is that there are the most Death Squads, and Wang Fantang Death Squad is one of them.The second is to dare to blow up tanks.The anti-war artillery cannot be at the forefront all the time. Sometimes the members of the Death Squad will roll under the tank with cluster grenades and blow up the tank until it cannot move.The third is to use military band accompaniment during the war. When charging against the Japanese army, at most others put a trumpet player in front of the formation, and when it blew, there was a beep, beep, beep, but Huang Qiaosong had a teacher's band, clattering and clattering, the scene was spectacular and very lively. If the attack goes well, then play—a big knife, and chop off the heads of the devils... If you can't stand, then sing - there are volunteers from the Northeast in front, and people from all over the country behind... Of course, it's not all these tunes. When everyone takes a short break in the fortifications, they will also play lighter tunes. Anyway, the military band can do everything, Beijing opera, folk music and Western music, except that they can't be on-demand, everything else is available. Some officers and soldiers laughed when they heard it, and even hummed a few sentences to the rhythm.In a battlefield filled with death and terror, the Sound of Music finally made people feel the beauty of this world. When the Japanese army invaded the border, Huang Qiaosong was so anxious that he stopped the music accompaniment in an extremely difficult situation. What the musicians held were not gongs, drums and suonas, but guns, and their positions became a front line of trenches. . After being divided and surrounded, the courage shown by the Chinese army surprised the Japanese army.When the translator went up to persuade them to surrender, no one on the battlefield agreed, and everyone fought in the trenches until the last moment of their lives. The Japanese commander saw from the position that in the narrow and crude skirmisher trenches, the corpses were piled on top of each other, all in the state of fighting to death. Although they are opponents of life and death, Ji Gu and others have to sigh: the iron-blooded spirit that dares to fight to the sea of ​​corpses is not unique to the "imperial army". Division Huang Qiaosong fought bloody all day long, and was finally disabled and had to switch defenses. The other two divisions also suffered heavy casualties, and the situation became more and more dangerous. On April 3, the communication between Chi Fengcheng and the Chief of the Fifth War Zone was suddenly interrupted. This is an extremely ominous sign. A few days ago, Li and Bai were planning a strategy, but a few days later, even they were at a loss. Is Taierzhuang already fallen, and is the Japanese army trying to cross the canal? Once these two things become reality, even if Tang Enbo shows up, who else can he cover with his big bag? In the Japanese radio station, it has indeed been announced in a grand manner that Taierzhuang has been completely occupied by it. Li and Bai immediately planned to send a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek who was far away in Wuhan. Chiang Kai-shek was eating lunch. After watching the urgent call, he was taken aback for a moment, his expression changed suddenly.Suddenly he slammed the telegram on the table: Prepare the car to the airport and fly to Xuzhou immediately! Chiang Kai-shek's inner tension and resentment can be imagined. Since the battle of Songhu and the fall of Nanjing, the whole country has been gloomy, and pessimistic arguments can be heard even sitting in the room.Right now, let's put aside what strategy or not. The most urgent thing is to win a battle to rejoice. He placed infinite expectations on the Taierzhuang Battle.For this reason, he did not hesitate to resign his part-time job and become a full-time military officer. He beat Han Fuju, reused Zhang Zizhong, and even broke the boundaries of the theater. This is still not enough, and I still have to lose. I really saw a ghost.