Wannan, Chungu County, Japanese blockade
After eighteen days of forced march, the "Jinghong" action team led by Chu Xiong has arrived in Chungu County, less than 50 kilometers away from Yunling, where the New Fourth Army headquarters is located.
In front of the New Fourth Army headquarters is the blockade established by the Japanese 114th Division in Spring Valley. The other three sides are the defense lines of the four stubborn army divisions. They have been surrounded by enemies on all sides for a long time and are in a very dangerous situation.
Yanzhou has warned the New Fourth Army headquarters many times that Zhongcai is a man-eating tiger, and he must not have any illusions about them at any time;
Jiangnan has always been the ruling center of the country. How can we allow others to snore next to the bed?
As long as the New Fourth Army stays in southern Anhui, they will have trouble sleeping and eating, and it will only be a matter of time before they take action. This is a historical necessity. Yanzhou has long seen this, so it has sent them telegrams more than once, persuading them to go north to fight with the army. Detachments meet.
The political commissar was extremely reluctant to leave Wannan. He believed that Wannan was located in the hinterland of the Central Plains and could threaten Jinling. It would be a battleground for military strategists in the future, and it could realize his "southern advance plan", so he could not give up under any circumstances.
What he didn't know was that precisely because Wannan's strategic location was so important, Zhongcai would not tolerate the New Fourth Army occupying it for a long time. As long as he could free his hands, he would definitely take action.
Lao Xiang still underestimated Zhongcai. In his eyes, the interests of his small circle came first. The cooperation between the two parties and the interests of the nation far exceeded the interests of his small group;
The cooperation agreement between the two parties is just a piece of paper in his heart. If necessary, he can tear it up if he wants. This was true on 4.12, and it was also true during the first anti-organization climax.
This time, for Wannan, he was ready to tear it up again!
When Chu Xiong and others arrived in the Spring Valley area, it was already the end of December, the stubborn troops had been deployed, and Sima Zhao's intentions were known to everyone on the road.
After nearly twenty days of forced march, everyone in the action team was exhausted and in urgent need of rest;
There are only 8 days left before the battle starts. For Chu Xiong, time is life now.
Chungu County is an enemy-occupied area, and it is the core area where the Japanese blockade the New Fourth Army headquarters. They have built a solid blockade and gathered heavy troops. There is a Japanese brigade in Chungu County alone, and there is a main Japanese regiment in Wucheng.
The Japanese built a large number of artillery towers and bunkers along the railways and highways, and Chuxiong seemed to have returned to southeastern Shanxi.
The strength of the New Fourth Army cannot be compared with the Eighth Route Army in Hedong, so there is no good way to deal with the steel blockade built by the Japanese around Wucheng. Therefore, both Yanzhou and the New Fourth Army want to withdraw from the stubborn army's defense area to Jiangbei. .
The seven divisions of the stubborn army are all there. Even if they can stand out, they will definitely suffer heavy casualties. It is not cost-effective to have to fight against the stubborn army;
As a time traveler, he had previously studied the map of the situation between ourselves and the enemy before the incident, and he was considered a person with a God's perspective. He had a better plan, and he only needed to convince Political Commissar Xiang.
And Chu Xiong is confident to convince him, because this plan is consistent with the northern Jiangsu he wants to go to.
The biggest obstacle to this plan is the Japanese blockade...
He decided to go directly to Yunling. Before coming, he asked his boss for the contact code of the New Fourth Army headquarters. The boss also agreed to inform Xiang and Ye about his trip south to assist the New Fourth Army in breaking out. The rest was left to Chu Xiong to deal with on an ad hoc basis.
After the action team settled in, Chu Xiong took the radio and personally sent a contact message to the New Fourth Army headquarters. The rest was to lie down and wait for their reply.
Yunling, New Fourth Army Headquarters
The military branch is holding a breakout deployment meeting. Because the matter is so important, several leaders of the military branch and personnel above the leader of the directly affiliated team are participating in the meeting.
In another time and space, this meeting lasted for three days, wasting three days of the most precious time. It was not like a retreat at all, but like moving. It was so similar to the breakout during the fifth siege. This laid the foundation for the tragedy that would follow. Foreshadowing.
Chief of Staff Zhou reported the retreat plan formulated by the headquarters to the military branch:
"Comrades, there are currently three routes to choose from:
1. The route designated by the war zone to southern Jiangsu must pass through the defense lines of the 52nd Division and the 108th Division. According to the situation, the troops of these two divisions and the Lengxin Division of the 62nd Division have been concentrated respectively and have been constructed. What a strong fortification;
2. Go slightly south behind the 52nd Division and the 108th Division, and still need to attack two divisions;
3. Go south again, go south of Jingxian, Ningguo, and north of Jingde, break away from the 52nd and 108th Divisions, and have the possibility of encountering the 40th Division. "
After Chief of Staff Zhou finished speaking, he sat down. The Chief of Staff was only responsible for providing feasible plans. How to make decisions was a matter for the political commissar and military commander.
The political commissar nodded and then said to the others:
"Let's talk about it, three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang."
In fact, the situation is already very clear. Most people's opinion is to take the third route. The only enemy we may encounter is a division of the Suffering Army. Even if we fight, the hope of standing out is high.
At this time, there are still people who have no hope of fighting, and they are still not very vigilant about seeding.
Seeing that everyone's opinions were basically unanimous, the political commissar agreed to implement the third plan and go to Jing County.
The plan was finalized, but the political commissar did not order the move north immediately because he was still hesitant in his heart.
The general direction of moving north has been decided, but he has not made up his mind whether to go to northern Jiangsu or northern Anhui. He prefers to go to northern Jiangsu, but northern Jiangsu is separated by the Japanese blockade;
This was not included in the plans of the military branch and Yanzhou, because with the strength of the military headquarters, it was almost impossible to break through the Japanese blockade.
"Political Commissar, make up your mind. Before the 40th Division is deployed, it is possible to avoid the enemy by taking the third route."
The political commissar was noncommittal and continued to stare at the map. He had not yet made up his mind.
Chief of Staff Zhou could only wait patiently. Lao Xiang had not yet given the order to set off, so he could only remind him that time was very tight. At this time, he was still struggling with the lack of bullets. He was waiting for Commander Gu to dial the bullets for him before executing the withdrawal. Order from Wannan.
Neither of the two chief officers was in a hurry to leave, and the commanders and soldiers below were anxious to death. They could only continue to wait. This is organizational discipline.
Half an hour later, Chief of Staff Zhou returned again, holding a message in his hand, but his expression was very strange.
"Why is Lao Zhou looking like this? Is Yanzhou urging you again?"
During this period, Yanzhou received almost a few days' worth of calls, all of which were to persuade them to leave quickly, so Lao Xiang's first reaction was another message from Yanzhou.
"Political commissar, this is the call from Chu Xiong, commander of the Independent Brigade of the 81st Division of the Eighth Route Army. He has arrived outside the Japanese blockade. He is less than fifty kilometers away from us. Please ask for permission to see you."
Chief of Staff Zhou's words surprised the political commissar. Before he could react, he asked suspiciously:
"Chu Xiong? Why is he running here?"
After the political commissar finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that his boss had sent him a telegram some time ago, mentioning Chu Xiong. He couldn't help but shook his head and said:
"Nonsense, how many nails can he hit with the few people he brings?"
Chief of Staff Zhou also felt that this Chu Xiong was a bit unreliable. It was too natural for a brigade commander to not stay at the base and go thousands of miles away to support the New Fourth Army in breaking out.
"Political commissar, call me back and say you won't see me?"
The political commissar thought for a while and said:
"He has traveled thousands of kilometers here. Even though it's a bit nonsense, we still need to meet him. After all, he is the main brigade commander of the Eighth Route Army and is a comrade of the same level as us;
Call Brigadier Chu back, and then send a company to pick him up. Make sure to ensure his safety. "
