Chapter 5 1. A quiet home

In March of Yangchun, in the endless wheat fields, the green wheat seedlings have just tillered, and the strong stems and leaves are bathed in the warm sunshine. The spring breeze blows, and the rustling sounds are one after another.Along the vast wheat field, a sand river bends and stretches forward.On both sides of the Shahe River, the old willows spit out new emerald greens, and the branches are wrapped in groups of pale yellow colors. Under the sunshine, the beauty and softness make people's heart beat. There is a village beside the Shahe River, and a group of peasant children are cutting grass in the willow forest.

The baskets and baskets they carried were full of fresh grass, and it was time for the midday meal, and it was time for them all to go home to eat.After all, children are children, and it is natural to play.They piled the baskets and small baskets containing grass under the tree, broke a willow branch, cut it with a sickle, and twisted it with their hands to separate the layer of willow bark on the branch from the branch, and then pulled out the branch, which was tubular. Willow bark can be used to make willow flutes.An older child played the willow flute in his mouth, tick tick tick tick tick tick tick.The sound of the flute is very crisp. He wanted to play a Shandong minor tune, but the sound from the willow flute was very monotonous.Even the monotonous sound of the flute makes the children happy.They lined up one by two, blowing in circles in the woods.

The innocent children don't know that a bad luck is coming to them. Just as the group of children were having fun, four or five planes suddenly flew in the sky.They haven't seen this thing before, what is this thing?They ran out of the willow forest, stood in the wheat field with their heads upturned, and played the willow flute to the big silver bird hovering above their heads.A plane swooped down on them, machine guns rattled their emaciated bodies, and there was a loud bang.After the smoke and dust passed, a large hole was left in the wheat field, a group of children disappeared, and two small willow flutes were scattered along the edge of the hole.Before the people in the village had time to shout, bombs fell in their own yards, and the village instantly became a sea of ​​flames.

This is Teng County in March 1938. At that time, in this ancient land of China, there were countless tragedies like this village on the bank of the Shahe River in Teng County.The group of children playing in the willow forest on the bank of the Shahe River did not know that a group of cannibalistic demons had set foot on the coast of China from Japan, with their bloody mouths open, trying to annex China.They didn't know that Han Fuju, their provincial chairman, who was greedy for life and afraid of death, had already fled under the strong ships and guns of the Japanese invaders, and gave up large areas of Shandong to the invaders.It was Han Fuju who retreated without a fight and fled without a fight, which led to the empty front of the Jinpu line, and the Japanese army quickly occupied southern Shandong.Zou County, north of Teng County, has been occupied by the Japanese army, and they are eyeing Xuzhou covetously.

Xuzhou is located in the northwest of Jiangsu Province, near the junction of Anhui, Henan, and Shandong provinces. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times, so there is a saying that "dragons and tigers fight for thousands of years". In 1938, Xuzhou was an important fortress town in China. It was not only a transportation hub between North China and Central China, but also a passage from the Yellow Sea to the Central Plains. The Jinpu Railway and the Longhai Railway intersect here, and the Grand Canal also passes nearby. Here There are transportation conditions for transferring materials and troops in all directions.

The Supreme Command of the Nanjing National Government saw this, and when the situation in the Songhu battle became more serious, they began to form a fifth theater centered on Xuzhou.If the Chinese army controls Xuzhou, on the one hand, it can cut off the Jinpu Road and isolate the Japanese troops in North China and Central China; Zhengzhou and Pinghan Road gave the rear of Wuhan sufficient time to re-arrange strategically, which was conducive to the protracted progress of the War of Resistance. Of course, the Japanese base camp also saw this point. If the Japanese army quickly occupied Xuzhou, they could join forces from the north and the south, advance westward along the Longhai Road, and take Zhengzhou directly. Lu Nanjin, before Wuhan had time to deploy, occupied Wuhan in one fell swoop.In this way, China can be destroyed in a short period of time, or at least the Chinese government can raise its hand and surrender in the face of an unstoppable attack.

After the fall of Nanjing, the Chinese army strategically defended the important barrier of Wuhan, the military command center, and Xuzhou must be defended. This is the determination of the Nanjing government's highest military command. After occupying Nanjing, the Japanese army was eager to open Jinpu Road, pass through the two battlefields in the north and the south, cut off the Longhai line, capture Zhengzhou, and attack Wuhan. Xuzhou is bound to win.This is also the determination of the Japanese base camp. A bloody battle for the transportation hub is inevitable. This is the famous Battle of Xuzhou on the frontal battlefield of the Chinese army in the Anti-Japanese War.

The Battle of Xuzhou was composed of countless battles and battles, the most famous of which were the Bloody Battle of Teng County, the Great Victory of Linyi and the Great Battle of Taierzhuang.