Moreover, Shanxi is now nominally under the jurisdiction of the Peiping Branch of the Military Commission. Marshal Zhang's call is, at best, asking for help from an old friend, but at worst, it is an order for the Jin army to move out. You can't turn a deaf ear, can you?
What's more, the commander-in-chief was also somewhat enthusiastic after seeing the reputation of the Nineteenth Route Army in the eyes of the people nationwide after the Songhu Anti-Japanese War.
He just wanted to eat but was afraid of burning his mouth, so he was hesitant.
After thinking about it, I could only ask Zhou Wen, a person with experience in fighting the Japanese army. Another reason is that he and Zhou Wen now have a symbiotic relationship. They both need each other, but there is no major conflict of interest, so he On the contrary, he has more trust in Zhou Wen.
Zhou Wen asked again: "Whether we send troops or not, there must be a countermeasure and plan. We can't just rely on words, right? Does the Office of Appeasement have any plans to deal with these two different decisions?"
What Zhou Wen asked actually touched the sore spot of the commander-in-chief. Historically, the commander-in-chief had always been indecisive, and his staff did not come up with a plan to fight or not to fight.
Later, Fu Zuoyi's 35th Army stationed in Suiyuan sent telegrams to the commander-in-chief to invite him to fight. He even issued a "Letter to the People of the Province" in the name of the chairman of Suiyuan Province, calling on the compatriots in the province to "rise up to save the country and resist aggression." This made the commander-in-chief very upset. Passive and harboring resentment from then on.
As a result, the Peiping branch directly gave orders to the 35th Army, and then the 35th Army finally came out of Huairou and fought the last battle of the Great Wall War with the Japanese.
As a result, Fu Zuoyi became famous throughout the country, and together with Song Zheyuan, Zhao Dengcheng and others of the 29th Route Army who performed bravely, he entered the ranks of famous anti-Japanese generals. However, the commander-in-chief of the Jin army was not mentioned at all and had nothing to do with him.
Because of his two-pronged approach, he gained nothing in the end. Instead, he created a gap with his right-hand man, General Fu Zuoyi. In the end, General Fu Zuoyi was named the Jin Army. In fact, he became independent from the Jin Army and established himself. into a system.
Hearing Zhou Wen's unceremonious question, the commander became angry and said: "With plans and plans, what else does the old man want from you, a little bastard?"
Zhou Wen smiled bitterly in his heart, knowing that this was the result.
In this kind of strategic decision-making, the general's old concepts and thinking limited his vision after all, and he did not know how to make choices and sacrifices in the face of the general trend. This was true in the Central Plains War, the Great Wall War of Resistance, and the subsequent All-out War of Resistance.
After all, the King of Shanxi may have had passion and ambition in his early years, but now he has become an out-and-out miser, unwilling to give up and part with the pots and jars he has accumulated over the years. The name is not for nothing.
Zhou Wen said: "Now the anti-Japanese enthusiasm among the people across the country is getting stronger and stronger. Anti-Japanese resistance is the general trend and the will of the people. At present, the three most influential figures in the country, the principal, only wants civil war, turns a blind eye to the wolfish ambitions of little Japan, and ignores the League of Nations. Mediation and intervention are unrealistic and will ultimately lead to their own consequences.”
"Young Marshal Zhang from the Northeast has a strong army, he is in the Northeast, and he is a wolf in the pass. He was originally the second-ranked figure in the country. However, the September 18th Incident did not let go of a single shot, and the family business that Marshal Zhang had worked hard for decades was wiped out in one fell swoop. , surrendered to foreign enemies. Not only has his reputation plummeted and been criticized by thousands of people, but his troops have also become disloyal. At this time, if he wants to fight, it will be extremely difficult to defend Rehe. "
"As for you, the commander-in-chief who has been entrenched in Shanxi for many years and still has huge influence on the Central Plains and the North, now is a great opportunity to raise your arms and follow the trend."
Zhou Wen's analysis was actually correct. The principal was bent on civil war and ignored the strong calls and wishes of the people and the military across the country to stop the civil war and unite with the outside world, which resulted in the subsequent Xi'an Incident.
During the Songhu Battle of the All-out Anti-Japanese War, they were still counting on the League of Nations to mediate and intervene. Even though the Japanese army had already surrounded hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops, they still refused to order a retreat. In the end, the entire army was defeated and no soldiers could be found. Officials and officials could not find the troops, causing hundreds of thousands of people to retreat in a swarm towards Nanjing and Suzhou.
They were chased and intercepted by the Japanese army along the way, strafed by planes in the sky, and chased and bombed by tanks and artillery on the ground. The final losses in personnel and equipment were even equivalent to the losses in three months of fierce frontal fighting.
You must know that the largest Battle of Songhu during the Anti-Japanese War gathered hundreds of thousands of China's most elite troops at the time. As a result, more than half of the battle was lost. The National Government spent several years and countless funds to carefully build the Twenty The German weapon masters were basically all lost, and the most important thing was that they destroyed the heart and soul of the army. As a result, they were defeated again and again, and most of the country lost its opponents.
When the commander heard that Zhou Wen had raised him to the level of the third most powerful person in the country, he felt quite proud and proud. He thought that this little bastard still had some vision, but his vision was not high enough. Now Xiao Liuzi is a lost dog. My subordinates are disloyal and disloyal. Old man, I am actually the second best in the country now.
Zhou Wen actually wanted to flatter the old warlord in order to strengthen his determination to resist Japan.
Zhou Wen continued: "So in this case, if you always respond to the call from the Peking Branch immediately, organize the military assembly with great fanfare, and then let reporters and newspapers publicize it, let the people across the country know your determination and measures to resist Japan. You Think about it, will your political reputation and influence in the country undergo a fundamental change?"
Zhou Wen knew that it was useless to talk about national interests and national justice with such a warlord. Only interests would make him tempted.
The commander was also a little moved by Zhou Wen's words, but when he thought about his own family fortune, he frowned and said, "This is gambling! It's not easy for the old man to accumulate this wealth over the years, and once the army moves, it doesn't mean that he can take it back. If we can get it back, it will take a long time, but it will bring down our Shanxi finances. That principal will not give us a penny of military expenses, I have to pay for it all by myself!"
Zhou Wen sneered in his heart. The commander's IQ also dropped sharply in the face of interests, so he smiled and said: "Of course you have to deploy troops and generals for propaganda, but that is for the people to see, but in fact you don't need to send many. Send troops north."
Zhou Wen came to the map hanging on the wall, pointed to the Rehe area and said: "Shaoshuai Zhang has deployed seven legions with nearly 200,000 people in the Rehe area. In terms of military strength, it is enough, but the strategic deployment is Passive defense, the troops are lined up in a row, and the whole line collapses when it is broken. There is no enterprising spirit. In fact, the generals have no fighting spirit, the soldiers have no fighting spirit, and it will be a matter of time before Rehe loses."
Zhou Wen then stepped back with his finger, pointed at the line of the Great Wall and said: "The real battle is actually here. After the Japanese army occupied Rehe, in order to ensure their strategic depth, they definitely wanted to break through the Great Wall defense line and directly threaten the Pingjin area. This is where the enemy and us will win." Holding your hands behind your back is also the focus of this local war."
