In order to celebrate the victory of the Battle of Wanjialing and the coming of the "Double Tenth Day" of the Republic of China (the National Day of the Republic of China), the three towns in Wuhan held parades during the day and set off fireworks at night for three full days. The momentum was incredible. vast.
The entire country celebrated this victory, and as the First Guard Regiment of the Ninth Theater District that had made great achievements on the front line, it began to come into people's sight. As the leader of this unit, Zhang Tianhai was even more... Known as the "victorious regiment commander" in the national army, he is vaguely the first regimental commander in the national army.
At the same time, Zhang Lingfu's reputation also rose among the national army because of his flying capture of Zhang Gushan, but in the end he was outshone by Zhang Tianhai.
What Zhang Tianhai didn't know was that his name had become very famous after the fifth phase of Huangpu, and he even became the student representative of Huangpu's seventh phase.
Of course, these are just undercurrents and will not be mentioned for now.
The main force of the 3rd and 10th Divisions of the Japanese Northern Front, led by their commander, King Higashino Miyazaki, broke through the Luoshan position in one fell swoop and was rapidly advancing towards Xinyang, while the commander responsible for guarding Xinyang It is Hu Zongnan.
The Japanese center troops also broke through Guangji and directly threatened the Tianjia Town fortress in the south. The forward troops had launched several attacks on Songshan Pass, the forward position outside Tianjia Town, but failed due to the stubborn resistance of the national army.
Part of the Japanese army on the southern front, such as the Ninth Division, has already marched to the Monk Nao and Bijiashan front lines. The Botian detachment occupied Fuchikou. The third-line troops approached Wuhan at the same time, and Wuhan's defense line was completely shaken.
Although Wuhan is in the middle of a great celebration, the senior officials of the National Military Commission and the Ninth Theater Command and Commander's Department have not gone to their heads. They are studying how to maximize the benefits in this Wuhan battle.
The first conference room of the ninth theater commander's headquarters.
At this time, the door of the conference room was closed. As the supreme commander of the National Revolutionary Army, Chiang Kai-shek was sitting in the middle of the conference table. His eyes were closed, as if he was resting his mind. He was waiting for Chen Cheng to speak.
Chen Cheng was not the only one present. Chen Cheng was sitting on the right hand side of Chiang Kai-shek, while He Yingqin, the Minister of Military and Political Affairs, was sitting on the left hand side of Chiang Kai-shek. Below him were a bunch of senior officials from the Ninth War Zone, about ten people in total.
"Commissioner, the current battle situation on the front line is not going well. The main force of the Japanese 9th Division on the southern Yangtze River Front has already stationed on the Monk Nao and Bijiashan front lines. If they move forward, they will cut off the southern front line of Wuhan. In addition, the Xinyang front line is also there. Under great military pressure, nearly 100,000 Japanese troops from the North Route Army are pressing down on Xinyang. We don’t know how long Xinyang can hold out. Our Tianjia Town Fortress, the gateway to the east of Wuhan, is also in great danger. Please chair the meeting. !" Chen Cheng said loudly, and the audience was filled with solemnity.
At this moment, Chiang Kai-shek opened his eyes and spoke in the familiar Jiangsu and Zhejiang accent: "The Japanese army is coming fiercely. There are probably three armies of our troops in the direction of Xinyang. Counting the losses, there will be no time to replenish them in the future. There are only 50,000 to 60,000 people left. I think it is impossible to defend the northern fortress of Xinyang with just these people. We can only delay for time. Minister He, what do you think?"
After Chiang Kai-shek finished speaking, he turned his attention to He Yingqin next to him. He Yingqin took a deep breath and said: "What the commissioner said does make sense. Our troops in the north are quite weak. If the Japanese army breaks through Xinyang, then their main force can follow The Pinghan-Han Railway goes all the way south, directly to the city of Wuhan. We should be prepared for the fall of Xinyang. I'm done."
After listening to He Yingqin's words, Chiang Kai-shek nodded. He looked at Chen Cheng solemnly and said, "Cixiu, you are the commander-in-chief of the ninth theater. I want to hear your opinion."
“In the Wuhan Defense War, including Chief Zongren’s fifth theater and our ninth theater, our army invested a total of 1.1 million troops in the battle, but most of our main forces were involved in the southern and middle lines. We The troops have been over-exploited, with hundreds of thousands of casualties, and there are no reinforcements to support Xinyang. I propose to mobilize the mobilizable troops to engage in a city defense battle with the Japanese army, and use the city of Wuhan to consume the Japanese troops. ." Chen Cheng said.
"This proposal is okay, but what if Wuhan falls?" Chiang Kai-shek asked, with a heavy look in his eyes.
"Then burn the city!" Chen Cheng's tone was very firm. He had already communicated with Chiang Kai-shek privately and received strong support from the latter. "If the Japanese army invades Wuhan, we will burn the city immediately! No useful materials will be left to support the enemy. !”
"Do you have anything to add?" Chiang Kai-shek looked at everyone.
At this moment, Liu Fei, director of the First Department of Operations of the Military Command Department, said: "Commissioner, I think it is feasible to defend Wuhan. However, most of our troops have suffered heavy casualties. If we want to deploy troops to defend Wuhan, it must be A large number of troops will be required to defend. Which troops will be responsible for the defense is still undecided at this time."
After hearing Liu Fei's words, in order to ensure that the proposal could be implemented smoothly and to prevent Chairman Chiang's intention from being rejected on the spot, Chen Cheng said: "As long as the determination to defend Wuhan is determined, the deployment of troops will not be a problem. Our Ninth War Zone We are willing to take the lead in setting an example and take the lead in the battle to defend Wuhan, mainly with combat troops directly under the theater!"
As soon as Chen Cheng's words came out, most of the generals present were a little surprised: after all, the main force of the troops directly under the ninth theater was not many, only about one division. The first regiment of the theater guard was crippled by the enemy on the Wanjialing battlefield. He How dare you have such courage!
Don't forget, this troop directly under the war zone is the only troop that Chen Cheng can control besides the troops from the civil engineering department. Although they are not large in number, they are better than the elite.
Since Chen Cheng had already spoken to this extent, He Yingqin had nothing to say, so he said, "I think it's feasible."
The two big men in the national army have already expressed their opinions, and the opinions of the supreme commander seem to be relatively close, so the senior generals at the conference table all agreed with Chen Cheng's opinions.
There was almost one-sided support at the conference table.
Seeing that the time had come, Chiang Kai-shek said: "Since everyone has agreed to the plan to defend Wuhan and burn the city, the meeting should take the plan to defend Wuhan and burn the city as the main guidance!"
"Yes!!" the generals straightened their backs and responded.
"Okay, very good. Let's get started!" Chiang Kai-shek nodded.
"Commissioner, now that the direction of the war has been decided, we should quickly draw up the troops participating in the war and quickly restore the strength of the troops participating in the war. Then we can formulate a defense plan and a plan to burn the city. Once the Japanese troops approach the city, Wuhan will definitely not be able to hold it. We The direction of our operations should also be to ensure the consumption of Japanese troops and try to ensure the integrity of the main force of our troops." Liu Fei said, as the chief think tank from the Guangxi faction, his suggestions are generally very constructive.
Well, like this proposal.
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PS: Updates are coming!
Thanks to Qidian book friend Supreme Real Ghost for tipping the character "Zheng Man" with 1,000 points.
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Thanks to Qidian book friends Kailong 183 and Mr. Tan for their 100-point reward each!
