Chapter 6 1. To add insult to injury

Hengyang, an important town in central and southern Hunan, fell.Regarding the fall of Hengyang, the National People's Army did not make irresponsible remarks or accuse the 10th Army that was standing in Hengyang.The military and civilians across the country have steelyards in their hearts. The 10th Army of the Kuomintang in Hengyang is an honorable defeat.Even Wallace, then US Vice President, called Chiang Kai-shek, admiring and paying tribute to the Battle of Hengyang. The Japanese base camp even expressed admiration for the heroic resistance of the Hengyang defenders. They believed that the capture of Hengyang was the epitome of the capture of Lushun by the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War.The Japanese army killed and injured more than 59,000 people that time, but this time the Japanese army actually suffered more than 49,000 casualties. This figure was provided by the Japanese war criminals later, which really surprised the Chinese people.This is not to say that the Japanese army has a benevolent heart, but that they admire the loyalty and bravery of the 10th Army. It was the 47-day heroic resistance of the 10th Army that won the respect of its opponents.

After Chiang Kai-shek learned about Fang Xianjue's situation from various aspects, he immediately assigned the military commander to rescue Fang Xianjue with all his strength. Dai Li, the leader of the military command, ordered Jin Yuanxun, the station chief of Hunan Station, to make every effort and use all means to rescue Fang Xianjue at all costs.Stationmaster Jin transferred the order to Huang Rongjie, stationmaster of Hengyang Station, to handle it in detail.Huang Rongjie immediately invited all capable people in the Hengyang area, from local gentry, dignitaries, gangster bosses, to the three religions and nine streams of society, all were mobilized.They first grasped the basic situation of Fang Xianjue being guarded or placed under house arrest by the Japanese army, and then sneaked in to get in touch with Fang Xianjue directly.

The Japanese army did not massacre the officers and soldiers who stopped resisting like other places, but concentrated the officers and soldiers of the 10th Army as hard labor.The other party first felt that these senior generals were treated preferentially.Even after Sun Mingyu and Zhou Qingxiang tried to escape, the Japanese army did not pursue them.It may be that a sentence from Commander Yokoyama Isao played a role. He said that General Fang is a hero to be proud of in the world.Therefore, the Japanese army just turned a blind eye to their house arrest, otherwise, how could they escape?

On a rainy night, the military reunification agents at Hengyang Station launched a rescue operation after careful planning.Commander Fang Xianjue left the Catholic Church in Oujia Town where he was detained smoothly, left Hengyang via Hongluo Temple, and then went to Zhijiang, where he was warmly welcomed by Zhang Tingmeng, commander of the Air Force's 3rd Route Army.Then fly through Kunming and finally arrive in Chongqing. The "Five Tiger Generals" known as the "Battle of Hengyang" reunited in Chongqing. The newspapers in Chongqing published editorials, comments, news and articles with an unprecedented unanimous attitude, praising and welcoming their return.None of the newspapers had criticisms, only praises.

Changsha fell, Hengyang fell, the same failure, but a different evaluation.Fang Xianjue's results were completely different from Zhang Deneng, commander of the Changsha 4th Army.Chiang Kai-shek not only received Fang Xianjue, but also hosted a family banquet for him.Chiang Kai-shek looked at Fang Xianjue, as if seeing his own child returning to his side, and said very happily: "It's back! Good! Good! I pray for you every day, and hope you also believe in God." Chiang Kai-shek said with him When we had lunch together, the other party said, "I'm sorry for you!" He also reminded him that the situation in Chongqing is complicated, so don't speak casually to the outside world.This is the chairman's love for him.

Later, Fang Xianjue was appointed deputy commander of the 37th Army and commander of the 207th Division of the Youth Army, Sun Mingyu was appointed commander of the 36th Division, Zhou Qingxiang was appointed deputy commander of the 10th Army and commander of the 3rd Division, and Ge Xiancai, Rong Youlue and Rao Shaowei served as the Military Commission Major General Gao Shen; At the same time, Fang Xianjue, Zhou Qingxiang, Rong Youlue and Ge Xiancai were awarded the Medal of Blue Sky and White Sun. The defense of Hengyang won honor for the Chinese army.But the fall of Hengyang also made Chiang Kai-shek lose an important bargaining chip.Therefore, less than half a month after the fall of Hengyang, US President Roosevelt sent another telegram urging Chiang Kai-shek to hand over the command of the Chinese army to Stilwell.This was Roosevelt's fourth urging telegram.Chiang Kai-shek slumped on a chair. He had to make some concessions and asked Roosevelt to send a special envoy to China to coordinate the transfer of military power.This is essentially a trick played by Chiang Kai-shek, and it is nothing more than trying to delay some more time.

After the completion of the second phase of the "Operation No. 1", the Japanese aggressors took a short rest before starting the last goal of "Operation No. 1", Operation Guiliu. The purpose, according to their "Operation No. 1" plan, should be to occupy Hengyang in mid-July, and then advance south. Unexpectedly, the First Battle of Hengyang took 47 days and consumed a lot of troops and material resources, and its combat schedule was completely disrupted. The Japanese 11th Army rested in Hengyang, waiting for replenishment. At the same time, it also carried out a series of operations in peripheral strongholds, turning Hengyang into a base for continuing to attack Guiliu.As a result, the Japanese army marched from Hunan and Guangdong to Guiliu, Guangxi at the beginning of September.

As early as late August, Chiang Kai-shek focused on deploying the Battle of Guiliu. He sent a telegram to Commander Chen Shunong of the 93rd Army to stick to the whole state with the main force and cooperate with friendly forces to block the enemy in the northwest.He also ordered Bai Chongxi to order the main force of the 46th Army to stick to Guilin, and to transfer the 31st Army, 63rd Army and an army from the Seventh Theater to participate in the Guilin Battle. When the Japanese army was advancing, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Xue Yue and others to use Li Yutang's troops to try their best to prevent the Japanese army from advancing westward, and Wang Yaowu's group army should ensure the safety of Shaoyang.At the same time, the main forces of the 20th Army, 26th Army, and 44th Army must go all out to stop the advance of the Japanese army and quickly complete the deployment of fortifications and strategic defenses across the state.

However, these Kuomintang troops could not stop the advance of the Japanese army. On September 11, the Japanese army occupied the entire county of Guangxi's important area without any effort, and opened the northeast gate of Guangxi.The Chinese army has no place to defend along the way, and the Japanese army can go straight into Guilin from the whole county. Guilin and Liuzhou in Guangxi, unlike Hengyang, not only did not have the heroic spirit of the Hengyang defenders, but also did not have that kind of social environment. The Kuomintang’s constant consumption and waiting on the sidelines not only eroded the institutions in the front, but also destroyed the anti-Japanese order in the rear.When the Japanese army was still thousands of miles away, Guilin, Liuzhou and other places had already begun to flee in a hurry, and the cities were in chaos.What is particularly ridiculous is that the local authorities issued an evacuation order without planning or organizational procedures. All shops, restaurants, etc. were closed, and the citizens were at a loss as to what to do.

Government agencies were relocated in a hurry, they controlled the means of transportation, and even the toilets and bidets had to be transported away, but the citizens could not squeeze on the train, they trampled on each other, and countless people died.This caused even more panic among the citizens.The institutions are paralyzed, the citizens are panicked, and the poor defenders of the city cannot even get the necessities of life such as vegetables and tea.The rich and powerful officials took the opportunity to disperse money and extort 6 million yuan before they approved two wagons. In response to this situation, countless righteous people have written articles to criticize the current malpractices. Major media across the country have also exposed the ugliness of the frontline. All parties and localities demanded the reorganization of the Nationalist Government and the Command.Rumors about the collapse of the front line and local plots to separate from the central government spread throughout the mountainous city of Chongqing, causing panic throughout the country.Chiang Kai-shek exclaimed: "The war situation is critical. Not only are the hearts of the southwestern provinces shaken, but the United States has asked to evacuate its nationals, which has also caused social anxiety. The danger of the eight-year war of resistance has never been more dangerous than it is today."

In October 1944, the Japanese army used five divisions to advance side by side, broke through the outer positions of Guilin, and then launched a general attack on Guilin.The actual strength of the city guards is only the 131st Division with poor combat effectiveness, and the 170th Division, which is almost entirely composed of recruits, a regiment of the 79th Army, and a howitzer company. The rest of the troops have already run away.The rest of the troops were demoralized and disciplined. Supported by aircraft, artillery, and tanks, the Japanese attacking force first used a large number of poison gas bombs, causing heavy casualties to the defenders, and then launched a strong attack, besieging the city from the northwest, east, and three sides, and occupied Guilin.Guilin's solid defense fortifications, as well as sufficient food and ammunition, were too late to be used, and all fell into the hands of the Japanese army. While the Japanese army besieged Guilin, Liuzhou was also attacked by the Japanese army.Seeing that Guilin was about to fall, Zhang Fakui, the commander-in-chief of China's Fourth War Zone, called the 26th Army defending the city to break out of the city on the pretext of avoiding unnecessary sacrifices, while most of the other defenders remaining in the city died. It was unexpected that Guilin and Liuzhou fell in a short period of time, and Chiang Kai-shek was heartbroken about this ending.What will the Americans think, and what will the allies think?The Chinese army is no longer an army, and Chinese soldiers are not considered soldiers.What makes people laugh out loud is that the Japanese army entered Nanning without firing a single shot. The Japanese "Operation No. 1" won the victory and achieved the expected goal, but at the same time precious time was lost, and the strategic value of this victory has been greatly reduced. In the battle of Henan, Hunan and Guangxi from April to December 1944, the Kuomintang army lost about 600,000 troops and lost most of Henan, Hunan, Hubei, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and other provinces, with a total of about 200,000 square kilometers of land. Lose the four provincial capitals of Luoyang, Changsha, Fuzhou, and Guilin and 146 small and medium-sized cities including Zhengzhou, Xuchang, Baoqing, Liuzhou, and Wenzhou, as well as 7 air bases in Hengyang, Lingling, Baoqing, Liuzhou, Guilin, Danxing, and Nanning and 33 airports. More than 60 million compatriots fell under the enslavement of the Japanese army, causing huge losses in the lives and property of the Chinese people. Facing China's disastrous defeat on the Eastern Front, Chiang Kai-shek was dumbfounded.In a fit of rage, he shot Chen Shunong, the commander of the 93rd Army, and it would be hard for the common people to be angry if he didn't shoot the commander who fled the battle.Leaning on crutches and wearing a black cloak, Chiang Kai-shek stood on the wharf of the river bank in Chongqing with a painful expression on his face. A white mist rose from the river and shrouded the mountain city.Chiang Kai-shek's heart was completely chilled. This was the first time since the outbreak of the Pearl Harbor incident that he felt that his fate was more confusing and unpredictable than that of Chongqing in the thick fog. Chiang Kai-shek went to Mount Emei. He did not go to Mount Emei to hide from devils, but to worship Buddha and divination, and let Master Zhikong give him a divination to see if there would be good luck in the coming year. However, Chiang Kai-shek was out of luck, and at the end of 1944, he drew a lottery.