At the end of March, Zhang Yunhan ordered the 15th Regiment of the 14th Army to arrive in Datong by train.
The 1st and 5th Army arrived in Jining, and 200,000 troops were assembled and on standby.
At this time, Chahar also had the 38th Division of the 29th Army, which was the 38th Division of the national hero and famous general Zhang Xingchen.
For Zhang Yunhan, this is his idol. Zhang Xingchen is loyal, chivalrous, upright, brave, good at fighting, and wise. Zhang Yunhan dreams of pulling him over and entrusting him with important tasks.
In April 1932, Zhang Yunhan sent Chang Naichao, commander of the First Army, to visit Zhangjiakou in person.
The 38th Division retreated to Chahar after the Battle of Xifengkou. After replenishment, the total number of the division was 15,400. It has jurisdiction over the 112th, 113th, 114th and 26th Independent Brigades.
A brigade only has more than 4,000 people, and some even have only more than 3,000 people, a total of 8 infantry regiments.
The brigade headquarters has a total of 73 officers and soldiers, the brigade's special agent company has 126 people, and the brigade headquarters and brigade-affiliated teams total 199 people.
Each infantry brigade has 2 infantry regiments under its jurisdiction. The basic organization of an infantry regiment is the regiment headquarters, a light mortar company, a light machine gun company directly under the regiment, and 3 infantry battalions (each battalion has 4 infantry companies). The total strength of the regiment is 1928 men.
Since Jin Province and Suiyuan returned to the rule of the Northwest Army, there has been an endless stream of trains from the two provinces to Chahar. For no other reason than the large-scale dumping of northwest products, and the Chahar government can also rely on tax revenue to obtain a certain amount of revenue. A wealthy tax can be used to recruit troops.
Especially after the eastern Chahar area was occupied by the Japanese army, many supplies were purchased from Suiyuan Jin Province.
The Intelligence Bureau sent someone to greet Zhang Xinchen in advance, so when they arrived in Zhangjiakou, Zhang Xinchen was already at the platform to greet him.
In fact, the platform during the Republic of China was very simple, just an iron shed.
Chang Naichao got out of the car under the protection of more than a dozen soldiers and intelligence personnel.
I saw a group of soldiers standing not far away, wearing gray military uniforms and carrying medium-sized rifles.
The person in the middle had the appearance of a native of Lu Province, with a high nose, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a heroic spirit between his eyebrows. Chang Naichao knew at a glance that this person was Zhang Xingchen.
When the two sides get close, they salute each other.
"Hello, General Zhang is indeed a great general. He exudes a heroic spirit even from afar."
"Commander Chang is joking. I see you are firm in your steps and sharp in your eyes. You must have made great achievements in battle."
"What's more, I am the division commander and you are the army commander. I should salute you."
Chang Naichao laughed: "No, no, no, I heard about your battle with the Japanese army at Xifengkou in Suiyuan. The commander-in-chief and I are eager to go to war with the Japanese army. We are very envious."
Zhang Xingchen was a little surprised. In the Guo Army, he would definitely be happy not to fight the Japanese. Why does the Northwest Army actually want to fight the Japanese so much now.
"Mr. Zhang, you are older than me, so I will call you brother."
"How did this happen? Your position..."
The group of people exchanged pleasantries and headed towards the Chahar Provincial Government.
…
In the reception hall of the Chahar Provincial Government, Zhang Xingchen and Chang Naichao were chatting.
"I wonder what Commander Chang wants to discuss with me during this visit?"
Zhang Xingchen was a little confused. He had no grievances with the Northwest Army in the past and had no grievances recently. Why did he come to visit him?
"Brother Zhang, what do you think of the war with Japan?"
Zhang Xingchen raised his head after thinking for a while and said: "The Japanese are ambitious. After the Japanese bombed Zhang Yuting to death, I knew that the Japanese would do anything for their own interests, so a war with Japan is unavoidable."
Chang Naichao shook his head: "The war with Japan is inevitable. Commander-in-Chief Zhang said that little Japan is very ambitious and will never be satisfied with taking over the Northeast. Therefore, the war with Japan will be fought sooner or later, and it will be a big fight. It will eventually turn into an all-out war between China and Japan."
Hearing what Chang Naichao said, Zhang Xingchen was a little surprised. He originally thought that Japan would take Northeast China and plot North China. Unexpectedly, the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Army had already figured it out.
"Little Japan has a small land area and scarce strategic resources, so it has been seeking resources from the mainland. We, China, are the closest and have far more population and resources than Japan, so Japan invaded China."
"General Zhang, I am entrusted by our commander-in-chief and hope that you will join our Northwest Army."
"Huh??" Zhang Xingchen was surprised.
He is a teacher, but he is taken so seriously.
"The military headquarters has issued an order. In Jin Province, Suiyuan has assembled nearly 200,000 troops. I believe General Zhang already knows some information."
"We will launch a battle against the Japanese army and retake Northeast China!"
Zhang Xingchen was a little shocked. At the beginning of the month, news came that the Northwest Army had mobilized troops in Suiyuan and Jin Province. I didn't know what the intention was. So that's it. That's it.
Seeing Zhang Xingchen's hesitant look, Chang Naichao took advantage of the victory and pursued it.
"Brother, the Jinling government cannot be counted on. It has always been weak in its stance towards Japan. If the soldiers do not protect the homeland, then what else should the soldiers do? The Northeast has been our Chinese territory since ancient times. Now it is occupied by the Japanese army. Commander-in-Chief I have long wanted to break into Northeast China and have a showdown with the Japanese Kwantung Army."
"The Jinling government is unreliable. Can't you see clearly what Huomi is doing?"
"What has he done in these years? Eliminate dissidents, rule as a dictatorship, do not engage in people's livelihood, do not engage in industry, and face Japanese aggression in the future! How to resist?"
Zhang Xingchen was silent. Yes, everyone saw what the Jinling government did, but looking at the whole country, besides the northwest government, who else could compete with peanuts?
"I have one more question."
"I want to know why you didn't declare war on Russia?"
Chang Naichao hesitated for a moment and did not answer quickly.
Then pointing to the door, Zhang Xingchen asked all his men to get out.
"Brother, this is considered a secret of our army. I admire your performance in the battle against Japan, so I will tell you this, but I don't want others to know about it."
Zhang Xingchen nodded in understanding. After all, this kind of thing is definitely a secret among secrets. As a patriotic general, Zhang Xingchen will of course keep it secret.
"Our army did win the counterattack against Russia, but how big is Russia? In such a large area, our industrial strength is completely inferior to Russia, and Russia can easily pull out millions of troops. What's more, Russia has a large number of An excellent pilot, I believe General Zhang felt something when he fought against Japan. In future wars, air superiority will be enough to change the outcome of a battle."
"And Siberia is an ice sheet area all year round, and it's extremely cold."
"So the war against Russia cannot be quick. Although we cannot fight it now, I believe that the commander-in-chief will definitely get back all the land we lost one day in the future."
