Chapter 25 Chapter 25

Chiang Kai-shek, wearing a military uniform and a dagger on his waist, flew to Xuzhou secretly by plane.After meeting, Li and Bai reported to him that Chi Fengcheng had been ordered to continue the counterattack. After they finished speaking, Chiang Kai-shek remained calm, and only asked: Is the telecommunications connection with Taierzhuang connected? Li and Bai were speechless. That's right, you said one thousand and ten thousand, but you can't establish a telecommunications connection with Taierzhuang. How can you order? A colonel and adjutant in Chiang Kai-shek's attendant was ordered to set off quickly to Taierzhuang to find out what happened.

Fortunately, at this time, the railway line was still in the hands of the Fifth War Zone, so the adjutant didn't have to risk crossing the river, but just took the train north. The adjutant set off with an uneasy heart, but what he saw and heard surprised him. The west of Taierzhuang and the interior of Taierzhuang have been connected. Although Chi Fengcheng and other frontline commanders have hoarse voices and bloodshot eyes, they are very energetic.While Chi Fengcheng was directing the war, he was still playing chess with others. The atmosphere is very good. In this state, how could Taierzhuang fall?

Hearing from the adjutant that Chiang Kai-shek had arrived in Xuzhou in person, Chi Fengcheng hurriedly dispatched additional communications troops to repair the line, and after the line was connected, he reported the battle situation to Chiang Kai-shek on the phone. Chiang Kai-shek's heart finally settled down. In the short term, there is no problem in sticking to Taierzhuang. If the bottom of the bag is not broken, it will wait for the bag to be sealed. This is the best time. The one at the mouth of the bag had to be tapped, because he had to sing all the following plays. Tang Enbo couldn't be contacted some time ago, it was a hasty move, in fact, the radio connection between the two parties was connected very early.

Chiang Kai-shek called Tang Enbo, and what he said at the beginning was extremely blunt. I have equipped you with 10 divisions, so many troops, but it has been more than a month, but you have not been able to deal with half of the Japanese divisions, and you have not even achieved any results. What did you do? This is derogation, and of course it will be praised again. Now I know that you kid has gone to the side of the Sakamoto Shun Brigade, and you have done a good job, so that the situation has become favorable, then you must hand me a beautiful report card this time, otherwise, as a general, you How should I explain it to me?

Chiang Kai-shek's request is: don't have the slightest hesitation, attack from all fronts.As the saying goes, the store will disappear after passing the village, and the chance to win is to see the outcome within two days. To fight a war, you need determination, and this determination must be made at the right time, not sooner or later. Tang Enbo could cock his tail in front of Li Zongren, but he couldn't ignore Chiang Kai-shek's voice, so he immediately issued an order to move south from the Baodugu mountain area, and at the same time directly telegraphed Chifeng City in Taierzhuang: I am determined to defeat the enemy troops on the periphery of Taierzhuang as soon as possible. , to meet you, if unsuccessful, willing to serve as military orders.

This is the one who told the bottom of the bag, I am going to seal it, you must not leak the bottom at this time! At this time, Taierzhuang was not as bad as you imagined, but it was not as good as everyone saw.If it wasn't for Chiang Kai-shek who personally went to Xuzhou to supervise the division, Chi Fengcheng really didn't want to set up that telephone line again. Although Taierzhuang was not completely occupied by the Japanese military radio station, at least 2/3 of it was owned by the enemy, and the city was no longer habitable by strangers. Coupled with the internal and external attacks of the Japanese army, it was almost reduced to the headquarters of the regiment leader. Even if Chifeng City is made of steel, there are times when it can't support it.

If we continue to defend like this, the entire army will definitely be wiped out. Can you move the position and let me temporarily retreat to the south bank of the canal? Chi Fengcheng didn't dare to tell Sun Lianzhong directly, so he could only pass the word to his good friend who was the chief of staff. He changed his pretense of being leisurely and impassioned towards Chiang Kai-shek when he faced the colonel and adjutant, and kept saying in a low voice on the phone: My troops suffered too many casualties, I want to retreat, I must retreat! The chief of staff can no longer refute Chi Fengcheng as before.

Before Chifeng City, Huang Qiaosong had already retreated to the south bank to rest after changing defenses.In terms of suffering, all the people here are not as miserable as Chi Fengcheng. He hasn't rested for a moment since the battle of Tai'erzhuang. Shouldn't he take a break instead? The chief of staff went to find Sun Lianzhong, who was lying on the bed with empty eyes and a sad face. But when he heard this, he immediately turned over and got out of bed, his eyes were as big as copper bells, as if he wanted to eat people. What, Chi Fengcheng, is he going to retreat?He dares, he dares!

Of course, Sun Lianzhong knew what kind of situation Chifeng City had fallen into.Otherwise, even if someone spread the word, Chi Fengcheng would not dare to back down easily. He picked up the phone and almost roared: I tell you that Chifeng City and Taierzhuang are very important. I am determined not to retreat, never to retreat! Isn't there not enough people? I'll take the headquarters staff north immediately. Sun Lianzhong sent an order that all those under the age of 40 in the group army headquarters were prepared to follow him into Taierzhuang to fight. Just as he was about to set off, Chi Fengcheng called to report his victory. It turned out that the defenders in the village launched a counterattack and sent the Japanese army back.

Finally, the commander-in-chief of the group army was not taken to Taierzhuang to go shopping. On April 5, Sun Lianzhong asked to speak directly with Li Zongren. The first sentence he came up was: Can I temporarily replace my group army? These words came out of Sun Lianzhong's mouth, and the taste of bitterness and helplessness could be heard clearly. It's not only Chifengcheng who wants to retreat now, even Sun Lianzhong can't bear it anymore.Because at this time Sun Lianzhong's army had suffered more than half of the casualties after continuous bloody battles, Sun Lianzhong hoped that some veterans could be left behind as seeds for rebuilding the army in the future.

What came on the phone was not a plea, but a whine. But Li Zongren could not agree. Chiang Kai-shek is in Xuzhou, and he has issued an order to withdraw the enemy within a time limit, and he calculated that the Tang army will arrive at the designated location at noon tomorrow, which means that it has now entered the countdown stage of the encirclement. You can change your defense at any time, but you can't change at this time. If you are careless, you will lose Taierzhuang if you lose your defense. Pocket array, pocket array, from conception to establishment, has gone through many twists and turns, and almost failed many times, and now it is at a critical point, if the bottom of the bag is still leaking, let alone Chiang Kai-shek wants to spank, I can't forgive myself. So Li Zongren also brought out the "five-minute theory" like Zhang Zizhong: the winner or loser is determined in the last five minutes, and you must watch until dawn tomorrow.Tomorrow morning, I will personally come to Taierzhuang to supervise the battle. This is an order, those who disobey the order, beheaded! A "beheading of those who disobeyed the order" shattered Sun Lianzhong's only hope. Well, until my army is finished. Li Zongren's request is not limited to this: don't hang up the phone in a hurry, let me tell you, not only will you have to watch until dawn tomorrow, but you will also launch a night attack tonight. The night attack was still to defend Taierzhuang.After the Japanese army was beaten, at least it is impossible to launch another attack before dawn tomorrow. In this way, they can buy some time for the Tang army to go south to encircle them. Before the encirclement is fully formed, every second and every minute is so precious. Li Zongren is scheming, but Sun Lianzhong has a bitter face, as ugly as he wants. My reserve team has been exhausted, how can I attack at night, or you can send some more troops? Li Zongren had no soldiers, so he asked Sun Lianzhong to develop them himself. Old Li has already settled an account. Most of your army's casualties are true, but those are combat soldiers. Don't you still have stretcher soldiers? With such a large number of casualties, there are not a few stretcher soldiers. These people can be used. If Yan Laoxi was in Xuzhou at this time, he might have widened his eyes: Dude, when did you learn how to play the abacus? Anyway, it's the last one-off deal.Li Zongren spared no expense and offered a reward of 100,000 yuan: Except for the stretcher soldiers, all the soldiers who can hold guns in the rear, including the cooking soldiers, you gather together and form a death squad. Putting down the phone, Sun Lianzhong began to organize the rear death squad according to his words.While he was busy, Chi Fengcheng called again, vaguely wanting to change his defense. switch?dream you! Sun Lianzhong uttered a classic sentence to Chi Fengcheng viciously: After the soldiers have finished fighting, you can go forward and fill in by yourself.You have filled it out, and I will fill it in.Anyone who dares to retreat across the canal will be killed without mercy! At the end, Sun Lianzhong added loudly: Even if there is only one person left, you still have to fight. If you want to withdraw, you can take your head to see me first, and then I will take mine to see "Mr. Li". As soon as these words were thrown out, Chi Fengcheng completely gave up his mind, relying on the only remaining troops until dusk. Arriving at Taierzhuang, the rear death squads joined the front death squads. There were hundreds of people in total. After midnight, they began to divide into groups. As the war dragged on like this, not only the defenders had been dragged like dead people, but the Japanese army who had been drilling around in the village all day long was not much better. In the past, they didn't dare to sleep at night because of the death squads. There was the Death Squad organized by Chifengcheng in the front, Wu Dehou Death Squad, Wang Fantang Death Squad, and other death squads of all sizes. When you closed your eyes just now, your head might be gone immediately, so your nerves are always tense. Rest in less than a moment. The past two days have been much better, and there are fewer death squads.Fighting all day during the day, at night, put your eyelids on your eyelids, let's close your eyes. However, a death squad suddenly appeared out of nowhere, like magic soldiers descending from the sky. They didn't know what was going on, they immediately became a mess, and hurried away with their heads in their hands. The streets captured in one night, the Japanese army will not be able to take them back for at least one morning. In the middle of the night, Li Zongren received a report from Tang Enbo at the Chief of the Fifth War Zone that the Tang Army had arrived north of Taierzhuang ahead of schedule.This news made him very excited, and the pocket could finally be closed. I want to see with my own eyes how Jigu's misfortune happened in Taierzhuang. Li Zongren immediately took the train to the outskirts of Taierzhuang and began to direct the siege that shocked China and the world. Since Tang Enbo suddenly disappeared from the sight, Sakamoto Jun has been restless. Tang Enbo is not an ordinary "China" general. He can compete with his immediate boss, the famous General Itagaki. The opponent's tactical awareness and battlefield sense are no less than any Japanese general. The man left, where he was going, and what he was doing, he didn't know anything about it. Two armies confront each other, what is known is not terrible, the real fear is the unknown. Jun Sakamoto believes that Tang Enbo will definitely come back, but he doesn't know when this god-man who comes and goes without a trace will come back. It was precisely because his ears were standing up all the time that he was the first to sense the crisis. After Tang Enbo reappeared, he ate the cover unit of the Sakamoto Shun Brigade in one bite, and then surrounded them from three sides... In the early morning of April 6, when he learned that Sun Juntuan had launched a counterattack in Taierzhuang, Seiya Qi could no longer find Jun Sakamoto, and the telegram was sent to the sea, but there was no reply. After investigation, it turned out that Sakamoto Shun was not in Taierzhuang at all, and he withdrew to Linyi last night. Jun Sakamoto had to run away.Because he found that the encirclement circle of the Tang Army was closing, the connection between the army and the rear was completely cut off, and the supply even had to rely on the nearby Seya Kei for alms. What's creepy is that before that, Tang Enbo had actually been marching parallel to him in the north, but he himself didn't realize it. In this case, if you don't run away, isn't it tantamount to sitting and waiting to die. Jun Sakamoto's slippage made Seya Kei feel his head buzzing, and sweat dripped down his back. Obviously, Sakamoto Shun didn't say hello, just slipped away for no reason, he must have sensed something in advance. Looking around again, I was stupid, the big hunting really started. Li Zongren waved the flag, Tang Enbo led the main force of the Tang Army from the north, Zhou Que from the east, Zhang Zhen from the west, and Sun Lianzhong from the south. The horns blew together, and the shouts of killing resounded through the wilderness. Sakamoto shunned his foresight and escaped from the siege in one step, but he hurt Seya Kai, who was belatedly aware. The Tang Legion rushed forward, passing through a large area vacated by the Sakamoto Shun Brigade, and approaching the headquarters of the Seya Qi Brigade. Seya Qi hurriedly asked for instructions from the division commander Isoya Rensuke who was sitting in the rear, and asked to "temporarily evacuate" Taierzhuang and gather to the rear. Pigs and sheep are going to be slaughtered here in Taierzhuang, but Jigu, who feels good about himself, is still dreaming of his Spring and Autumn Dream.In his opinion, even a "temporary evacuation" is unacceptable, Itagaki wants to fuck him, and I, Isoya, must not lose face. Reporting to the commander of the 2nd Army, Hisao Nishio, Nishio also pouted. What's the matter with your two divisions? Speaking of which, they are the two best troops in the "Imperial Army". How can it be so useless under my command? Isn't there only one Tang Enbo? As for scaring you like this? Provoking Nishio, Isoya even disagreed with the "temporary evacuation". Not only could he not withdraw, but he had to attack and continue to attack. When he called back, Seya Kai had already withdrawn. Sending a telegram to Isoya for instructions was actually just a show.Kei Seya was at the scene, and he thought clearly about the serious consequences of the siege of the entire army. He even expected that the two old boys, Isoya and Nishio, would definitely not let them retreat, and would want him to work hard here. . Grab the soil from Taierzhuang, it smells of blood, and you can speak beautiful words, dare you not be surrounded by you, right? In fact, due to the lack of cooking and ammunition in the rear, the Seya Kai Brigade even had to concentrate the bullets of the wounded soldiers. While asking for instructions, Seya Qi issued an order, no matter how the superior responded, he would definitely retreat that night. His judgment was accurate.If it was one step later, the encirclement would be completely closed, and he and his brigade would be hard-pressed to escape. Hearing that Kei Seya was also fleeing, Jun Sakamoto, who had just walked halfway, patted his chest, feeling very grateful. Don't look back and watch the fire in Taierzhuang, run away! Seya Qi was not as lucky as Sakamoto Jun, because he withdrew late and in a hurry, and a considerable number of troops did not have time to jump out of the encirclement. Among them, the most unlucky ones are the troops in Taierzhuang.They were surrounded by Chifeng City and couldn't escape, and they refused to surrender. They were forced to set fire and set themselves on fire. By the early morning of April 7, the Japanese army in Shonai had been completely wiped out of Chifeng City.On the outskirts of Taierzhuang, Tang's regiment exerted all its strength to chase and annihilate the remaining Japanese troops still in the circle. How arrogant was the Isotani Division, which claimed to be a first-rate main force, but it has collapsed in such a situation. As the lightning roared, strands of desperate Japanese soldiers shuddered amidst the trembling of the earth. This is the time for vengeance. For those kind but bleeding lives, for the weeping orphans, for the heartbroken mothers, for Shanghai, for Nanjing... Tang Enbo secured the victory in one fell swoop, but the main force also paid a lot of sacrifices. In the battle of Nankou, the regiment leader Luo Fanggui, who was once known for his bravery, died in the pursuit. The Battle of Taierzhuang has been completely won so far, and it is recognized as the biggest victory in the early days of the War of Resistance. Excluding the Linyi battlefield, the Japanese army killed and injured more than 7,000 people in Taierzhuang alone, while Western observers believe that the actual number of casualties should be around 16,000. Knowing that the Battle of Taierzhuang was won, Du Yuming, the commander of the 200th Division in Hunan, first thought of asking Li Zongren to pay him interest. The battle will continue, and the anti-war artillery units can't withdraw for the time being, so the original has to be kept, but the interest must be calculated. This interest naturally refers to the tanks and artillery left on the battlefield. Before and after, there were more than 30 tanks and armored vehicles damaged by war defense shelling and death squad bombing.Li Zongren searched all over, and picked out those that were no longer scrap iron, and picked out those that looked a little more square. In this way, he picked out eight small and medium tanks, and took them back to Xiangtan, Hunan by train. Du Yuming and his old boss, Xu Tingyao, the supervisor of the mechanized army, ran out to see with great interest, and found that in addition to the tanks, Li Zongren had also brought two heavy artillery pieces and four crawler tractors. This old Li has always been the face of the leader of the beggar gang, when did he become so generous: Of course he doesn't know how to use tanks, but he can use heavy artillery and chariots, how can he give it away? After a closer look, I understand, dare you, it turns out that the gun carriage is only an empty frame, and the important parts have been dismantled by the Japanese army. The intact tanks, heavy artillery and tractors are all because after a protracted bloody battle, they are out of ammunition and fuel, and there is no other way but to discard them. In fact, how many devils were killed and how many tanks and artillery were seized is secondary. The most important thing is that in terms of spiritual balance, China and Japan win one and lose one. Prior to this, the Japanese army had never retreated in the war of aggression against China. On the Taierzhuang battlefield, from Zhang Zizhong's two great victories in Linyi to the final iron-armed encirclement, Isoya and Itagaki are known as the most powerful soldiers in the Japanese military circle. The bulls of the bulls have all tasted the taste of defeat one after another. We may have seen this sentence many times in the book: "Break the myth that the Japanese army is invincible".This sentence first originated from the Battle of Taierzhuang. In Japanese war history, it was clearly admitted that since then, the myth of "the Imperial Japanese Army is invincible" has been shattered, and the Japanese have also tasted the bitter fruit of failure. All the generals in Xuzhou were overjoyed. After Li Zongren arrived in Taierzhuang, he still didn't forget to pose as a chic brother next to the station sign, and then asked the reporter to help him take the famous photo. Among the generals of the older generation, Lao Li did a good job of fighting for himself, proving that "Although Lian Po is old, he is more capable of fighting." Chiang Kai-shek received the battle report, which said that 10,000 enemies were wiped out. With a swipe of his pen, it became "30,000 or more enemies were wiped out." We have finally won a battle, let's blow it up if we can. For this reason, a seemingly strange "backflow" phenomenon appeared in the southwest rear. After the fall of Nanjing, the rear offices moved to Chongqing one after another. Whether it was personnel or materials, they all went upstream along the river. There were very few ships going downstream. Boat. When the news of Taierzhuang's victory came, public opinion began to think that Wuhan could be defended, and that China might be able to "quickly win". As a result, many people who could not settle down in Chongqing returned to Wuhan by boat. One night after the Taierzhuang victory, Chiang Kai-shek, accompanied by Sun Lianzhong, sneaked into the Chifeng City command post in Taierzhuang with a few entourages and adjutants, to express condolences to the frontline soldiers. A poem from the Tang Dynasty said, "Tonight I know that the spring air is warm, and the sound of insects shines through the green window screen."On this night, although the smoke of war is still everywhere, everyone's spirits are exceptionally good. In the spring of 1938, Taierzhuang, a tiny place, warmed the hearts of countless people.