Chapter 43 9. Escape: towards Chongqing

On the evening of August 7, Fu Neng, commander of the 3rd machine gun company of the 570th regiment of the 190th division, called together the surviving personnel of the company.There are only 28 people left in the company of more than 100 people, and 27 tired faces are looking at the company commander who was ordered in the face of danger in this battle. Fu Neng said: "The battalion headquarters, the regiment headquarters, and other battalions can't be contacted. The enemy has broken through the city defense position, and now it is at the last moment. I decided to lead everyone to break through."

The 28 people were divided into two teams, with Fu Neng and Special Agent Cai each leading a team. The rifle was already out of bullets, and Fu Neng ordered the bayonet to be tightened.Everyone looked for the martyrs separately, and found 8 grenades, 4 for each team. Fu Neng said to Special Agent Cai: "I am 25 years old and not yet married. My parents are far away in Hainan Island. The enemy has occupied my hometown. I don't know if they are dead or alive. If I die, no one cares about it." These words , so that Fu Neng persuaded the other party in the dispute with Special Agent Cai about which team was ahead, and walked in the more dangerous front team.

In the middle of the night, two teams, one behind the other, quietly walked out of the north gate along the rice fields and ponds.Fortunately, no enemy was encountered, and the team hurried forward in the dark night.I don't know how long I walked until I lost my way and stopped at a small village. Squad leader Wu of the vanguard reported that he heard an old man coughing in a thatched hut.Fu Neng gently knocked on the door, and an old man came out.Fu Neng said: "My fellow, I am a member of the 10th Army guarding Hengyang. I just broke out from the encirclement. Please show me a way."

The old man was very enthusiastic when he saw that he was a member of the 10th Army.He heard that there was a Chinese army in Hongqiao area, and the guide talisman could go west.The group of people did not dare to hesitate, thanked the old man and went west until dawn. In a mountainous area, just about to rest for a while, suddenly heard gunshots from nearby mountains.Fu Neng judged that it was the exchange of fire between the reinforcements and the Japanese army.The reinforcements were close at hand, and everyone was very happy, but because they had no combat capabilities, they could not follow the gunfire to find them, so they had to hide in the woods.Special agent Cai took out the only dry food he had - a pack of biscuits dropped by air a few days ago, and each person was given two biscuits.Sleepy and hungry.

That's pretty cool. The gunfire stopped, and everyone stepped on the path between the mountains and forests and continued westward.At some point, several fleeing fellow villagers with their children also followed behind the team.In war, soldiers can bring a sense of security to ordinary people—even if they are defeated soldiers. In the afternoon, we finally arrived at Hongqiao.In hindsight, with that physical strength, I was able to walk more than 100 miles without stopping. Li Yutang Corps headquarters is in Hongqiao.Li Yutang, the veteran commander of the 10th Army, heard that someone had broken through from Hengyang and summoned him immediately.

Fu Neng saluted Li Yutang first, and then saluted the US military major general advisor beside him.He reported: "The minor post is Fu Neng, commander of the 3rd machine gun company of the 570th Regiment of the 190th Division of the 10th Army, who broke out from Hengyang City last night." "Okay. Did Commander Fang and Master Rong break out?" Li Yutang asked. "The enemy has rushed into Hengyang City, our company has lost contact with our superiors, and the situation is unknown." Fu Neng reported truthfully. The independent mortar platoon of the 2nd Battalion of the 569th Regiment of the 190th Division was transferred to the 29th Regiment of the 10th Division shortly after the start of the Hengyang operation.

The platoon leader Fu Qidong led the whole platoon to closely cooperate with the infantry to repel the Japanese army and charge again and again until all the "August 2 Force" shells were fired. When the shells run out, the artillery becomes infantry.Fu Qidong was unequivocal and fought bravely.Sticking to Huxing Mountain, he was very wise and brave, and was promoted to the infantry company commander. He was injured twice in the battle, and the second time he was seriously injured and was admitted to the hospital. He said: "In the early morning of August 7, I came out of the hospital with injuries, and quietly left the city from Ximen, heading towards Hongqiao.

"Because I was too close to the enemy, I could only hide in the mountains during the day, and then searched for the road until night fell. I walked like this for two days. On the third day during the day, I walked to a valley 15 li away from Hongqiao. I met a group of ordinary people who were fleeing to the mountains with the old and the young. They saw me and talked with me enthusiastically. "I said: 'I was a company commander in the 10th Army. I fought against the Japanese devils in Hengyang and was wounded. Hengyang fell. I escaped here from the hospital and am going to return to the army. Please give me your advice.'

"The common people were very sympathetic to me, took me to a village, and introduced me to a famous middle-aged man in the village. This man's name was Liu Qiong. He asked me to stay in his house temporarily, and found herbs to heal my wounds. After staying for three days, he guided me to the direction of Guandi Temple, the boundary of Qiyang. "Don't thank Liu Qiong again and again. His enthusiasm for fighting against the Japanese soldiers is still admirable and grateful to him, but it is a pity that we cannot keep in touch. "I walked for another two days, and finally met the front assault detachment of the 74th Army at the junction of Shaoyang and Qiyang. The detachment leader telegraphed the Hengyang enemy situation I reported to the military headquarters. I was very happy because I finally found the team."

Mao Xiaofeng, the intelligence staff officer of the Pre-10th Division, escaped three times after being captured.He said: "Around 10 a.m. on August 9, four U.S. military planes flew over Hengyang. I took advantage of the opportunity of the enemy guards to retreat, and quickly sneaked to the riverside to hide. I found two roadblocks used in street fighting and tied them tightly with wire. At both ends, forming a letter, I hid until midnight. After I put the wooden frame into the river, I went down into the water. "Shortly after entering the water, I saw a large group of Japanese soldiers on the opposite bank, holding torches, and shooting randomly at the center of the river from time to time. I didn't know if I had been discovered, and I was very frightened. What's worse, the river water in the midsummer night was icy cold. After a while , I trembled all over my body and was exhausted, so I had to swim back to the original place and 'return to the team'. The first escape operation failed.

"A few days later, the Japanese army selected 30 of the more robust prisoners to participate in the restoration of the grass bridge on the steamed water in the northern suburbs of Hengyang. I mixed with the bridge repair team. One night, taking advantage of the sleepiness of the enemy, I lurked in the rice field, and then In the way of step by step, rush to the northwest. After a night's trek, the shadow of Hengyang is no longer seen when looking back. "Out of danger, I felt hungry and sleepy. I found a farmhouse. The owner didn't know where to go. I saw a tragic scene of looting inside the house. I found some beans and melons in the vegetable garden. After devouring them, I took them out. He lowered the door panel and fell asleep in his clothes. "When I woke up, the sun was already in the west, and I hurried on the road. Because I was doing intelligence work, I knew that General Li Yutang commanded the 62nd Army and the 100th Army to reach the line from Hongqiao to Zhangmu Town. The problem was solved. I threw off my big strides and hurried all the way, and at the corner of a hill, I accidentally ran into three Japanese soldiers. "Two of the three Japanese soldiers were carrying bloody beef and pork legs. The other had a knife on his waist and wore glasses with high myopia. He was probably a sergeant. I was crying in my heart. We met on a narrow road and couldn't avoid it, so I had to bite the bullet and move forward." Go, try to get away with it, this idea is too naive! "Without saying a word, the Japanese soldiers asked me to turn back and put the burden on my shoulders. I walked in front, and they followed behind, babbling Japanese, laughing wildly from time to time. I actually saw Hengyang City again after we parted not long ago. My second escape failed again. "Not long after I was sent back to the prisoner camp, I encountered another opportunity to be a laborer. When I passed by a market town, I acted decisively again, mixed with the group of 'good people' who were going to the market, and was guided by the kind folks. I almost went all the way. Run, go through Quanxi City to Tiesitang at the junction of Hengshan and You County. "In Tiedang, I found an anti-Japanese guerrilla team. A leader surnamed Chen issued me a route and sent me on the road from Yongxing to Chenzhou. It was already the second day of the Mid-Autumn Festival (October 2nd - Note by the author). "At that time, the Chief of the Ninth War Zone was in Chenzhou, and I was comforted here as a soldier who broke through the siege of Hengyang. A few days later, I boarded the train from Chenzhou to Pishi, Guangdong, via Lianxian, passing Hexian and Lipu in Guangxi, Trekking on foot, crossing the Liujiang River, going straight to Yishan, and reporting to the 10th Army reorganized by General Li Yutang. When I finally saw the sentry at the gate of the 10th Army, I couldn't help crying. After the 47-day earth-shattering defense of Hengyang, he braved all kinds of hardships and dangers, escaped from the tiger’s mouth three times, crossed the three provinces of Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi, and finally returned to the anti-Japanese team.” When the tragic and tragic defense of Hengyang failed, there were about 3,000 Chinese officers and soldiers in the city, and more than 1,000 of them died successively due to injuries and persecution by the Japanese army. After all, there are not many people.As time goes by, the fate of Fang Xianjue and other senior generals has attracted more and more attention from the people of the country, the army and the highest military and political authorities.So how does history develop on them? According to historical records, after the Japanese general Fang Xianjue and other captured generals were detained for more than a month, under the direction of the General Command of the China Expeditionary Army and the Wang puppet government, a scandal of reorganizing the 10th Army into the Puppet Peace Army was staged.The Japanese puppet took the word "Xian" from Fang Xianjue and the word "He" from the Peace Army, and named the newly formed army "Xianhe Army".With Fang Xianjue as the commander and Sun Mingyu as the chief of staff, there are 4 divisions under it. The division commanders are Zhou Qingxiang, Ge Xiancai, Rong Youlue and Rao Shaowei, the division commanders of the original 10th Army who defended the city in Hengyang.The Japanese and puppet conferred a "appointment letter" and a Japanese saber to each of the generals, and removed the inner sentry post of the garrison, leaving only a few traitors named "liaison officers" who were actually monitoring their actions . One night in early October, Zhou Qingxiang and Sun Mingyu escaped through the window.The Japanese army did not hunt them down, and resumed the inner guard post of the military headquarters. At 10:00 p.m. on November 21, Rao Shaowei, who was under house arrest on a small island in Dongzhou, burned the letter of appointment as "Commander of the 4th Division of the Xianhe Army" and threw the brand-new Japanese saber under the bed. Together with Gan Yinlin, we braved the drizzle and drove a dilapidated wooden boat to the other side. This was an escape carried out by Rao Shaowei and his adjutant Lin Quan after many days of planning and preparation.When the boat docked, two farmers picked them up, and several people quietly crossed the Leihe River, and got in touch with the intelligence team of the 99th Army at the home of a farmer in Quanxi City.Escorted by the spy team, they arrived at the Chief's Department of the Chenzhou Ninth War Zone. The records of Fang Xianjue's escape from Hengyang are scattered in some historical materials on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Japan.Among them, the "Complete Works of Mr. Dai Yunong" compiled and printed by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense Intelligence Bureau is more complete: Fang Xianjue, the commander of the 10th Army defending Hengyang, led his troops to resist resolutely and unyieldingly. His troops suffered all casualties and were captured after exhaustion.Mr. Dai (Dai Li, courtesy name Yunong) immediately ordered Jin Yuanxun (the head of the Hunan Station of the Military Control Bureau) to try to save him from danger at any cost, so as to encourage his loyalty.Jin Zhuan ordered Huang Rongjie, the leader of the Hengyang team, to handle it. ...Huang Rongjie found out the truth, understood the surrounding environment of the Catholic Church, and drew up a careful action plan. Taking advantage of the stormy night of September 5 (lunar calendar), the enemy army was negligent, sneaked into the Catholic Church in person, rescued the party from danger, and completed the arduous task. Later, Ge Xiancai and Rong Youlue also fled Hengyang. After the establishment of the "Xianhe Army", the army commander and the division commanders were separated. According to historical records, the escape operations also went their own way and were carried out separately. However, the generals who escaped from Hengyang coincidentally returned to Chongqing.Have they ever thought about what is waiting for them in Chongqing? Takushiro Hattori, Chief of the Operations Department of the Army Operations Department of the Japanese Army Base Camp, said in his "Comprehensive History of the Great East Asian War": The attack on Hengyang made me feel the strong fighting spirit of the Chinese army, especially the senior officials who had surrendered in the past, after cleverly disguising their attitudes, they finally escaped suddenly and returned to the Chinese side. Resist, surrender, flee. A huge bend formed the biggest question mark in the history of China's war of resistance. As the author of this book reviewing this period of history, I feel chest tightness, shortness of breath, and dripping with cold sweat from this question mark firmly hanging on my heart and aorta.