Bai Chongxi pondered for a while and then said: "Chairman of the Chairman, I think what Degong said is quite reasonable. Although the Japanese have suffered a big loss in the past few days, Japan's military service system is very sound. In a short period of time,
Replenishing tens of thousands of people will put no pressure on them at all. Therefore, it is normal for the North China Front to regain its combat effectiveness so quickly.
But looking at our army, this is not the case. Our country has a weak foundation, very little military industry, and almost zero heavy industry. Although Xuzhou has gathered an army of 500,000 to 600,000 people, it may not be the opponent of the Japanese army in a real fight, and the more powerful it is.
The more advantageous it is to the Japanese army if the corps fights, so..."
At this point, Bai Chongxi stopped talking. The rest of the meaning was understood by everyone. He naturally supported Zizongren's opinion.
"Um……"
The Chairman nodded noncommittally, then turned his head to He Yingqin and Chen Cheng, who served as Minister and Deputy Minister of the Military and Political Department respectively, and asked: "Jingzhi, Cixiu, what do you think?"
He Yingqin, who had a peaceful face and a pair of eyes that looked like a good gentleman, thought for a while and said: "Chairman, although the Japanese army is coming fiercely, we have 600,000 troops near Xuzhou, why can't we still fight the Japanese army?"
Really? Besides, even if we can’t defeat them, it’s not too late for us to retreat.”
"Absurd!" Bai Chongxi on the side became angry when he heard it. "What layman's words did Minister He say? What does it mean that it is never too late to retreat if you can't defeat it? The retreat of a 600,000-strong army is so easy. If you are not careful, it will cause a serious disaster."
Make the same mistake as the Battle of Songhu. If an army of 600,000 was surrounded and annihilated, what would you ask the Chairman to use to fight the war?"
"Um……"
Minister He, who was scolded by Bai Chongxi as an amateur, had a flash of light in his eyes, and a trace of anger flashed across his face. However, his level of authority was much higher than that of Deputy Chief of Staff Bai, whose military and political wisdom were inversely proportional.
He just smiled and stopped talking.
On the contrary, Chairman Jiang and Minister He said something for him, "Jiansheng, if you have something to say, don't curse others!" Then he turned around and asked: "Ci Xiu, what do you mean?"
Chen Cheng, who had not yet spoken, said: "Chairman, the Ministry of Staff also believes that what Degong said is reasonable. The Japanese army is coming fiercely. Although our army has three times more troops than the Japanese army, there is no danger to defend the vast plains near Xuzhou. If it is really there,
The prospect of an all-out war near Xuzhou is really worrying."
When Chairman Jiang heard that two of the three senior counselors present agreed with Li Zongren's opinion, he couldn't help but feel...
He became a little irritated. Originally, he wanted to fight another hearty battle of annihilation in Xuzhou. If he could wipe out a few regiments or even a division of the Japanese army, then the situation of the country's war of resistance could be completely reversed. The international community's response to
China will naturally look at it with admiration.
But now it seems that his thinking was not thorough. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became, and a hometown dialect immediately blurted out, "Mother Xipi! If we don't fight, we will fight. Order Li Delin to retreat from Xuzhou immediately!"
The telegram from the Military Commission was quickly sent to Commander Li. After receiving the order from the Military Commission, Commander Li did not dare to neglect and immediately held a military meeting of the entire army and brigade and above overnight. All officers above Major General and above near Xuzhou participated.
On May 3rd, stars gathered in the largest conference room of the theater headquarters. Dozens of generals with shining golden collar badges gathered together to sit in the conference room. There were people's noises, laughter and smoke.
The whole conference room was filled with smoke.
Even though Su Rui is a major general and can speak for himself in the 300 brigade, no one among the more than 7,000 people in the brigade would dare to assassinate him when he speaks. However, among the generals in this room, his military rank is the lowest. People can use it casually.
A person's seniority is higher than that of others.
Therefore, he honestly moved a small bench and sat in a remote corner from the beginning, preparing to play low-key. However, he wanted to play low-key, but someone next to him disagreed.
Who is Su Rui? Su Rui is the most popular person these days. He led the 300 brigades to set a record of annihilating two regiments and capturing two regiment flags. This feat was admired by countless generals.
Eyes red.
Moreover, I heard that a large number of cheap and high-quality medicines appeared on the market in Xuzhou some time ago, which were also produced by him. How could they not make friends with such a colleague who was capable of fighting, had money and a strong backing? So, they
Suddenly, Su Rui, who was sitting in the corner, was surrounded by several division commanders and brigade commanders. "Brigadier Su, I am Huang Shengri of the 31st Independent Brigade. From now on, we will have to rely on your guidance."
This brigade is affiliated with the Yunnan Army faction and showed an intention to cooperate from the beginning.
"Brother Zhongxin, I am Zhao Weiguo of the 128th Division. If you find a way to get rich in the future, you must not forget me!"
Seeing such "enthusiastic" colleagues, what else could Su Rui say? He could only say repeatedly: "Absolutely. Don't worry, brothers, I will never forget you if any good things happen in the future!"
Just when Su Rui was struggling to deal with these enthusiastic generals, a loud shout sounded at the door: "Chief Li is here!"
"Crash..."
Soon, the noisy conference room suddenly fell silent. The generals who were smoking, drinking tea, chatting and slapping each other jumped up like frightened rabbits, and stood up straight.
Soon, Li Zongren walked in with his hands behind his back, and behind him were Xu Zuyi, Sun Lianzhong, Li Pinxian and other big guys from the war zone.
Chief Li, who was always smiling, had a serious look on his face today. When he came to the first seat, he whispered: "Everyone, sit down!"
"Crash!"
Everyone sat down.
Chief Li looked around at everyone and said slowly: "I'm calling everyone here today. I believe everyone knows why. Yes, the Japanese are surrounding us, and we have to break out this time. The Military Commission also ordered us, all troops
Evacuated Xuzhou and arrived in western Anhui and southern Henan.
But if we want to break through, we must have someone who is willing to take the rear position. Therefore, today’s topic is to find a team that is willing to take the rear position for our hundreds of thousands of troops in the fifth theater. Everyone is discussing who is more suitable to take the rear position?"
As soon as Chief Li said these words, everyone in the room was shocked.
Anyone who is a soldier knows what it means to go to the rear. When 200,000 Japanese troops are chasing the rear, it means heavy casualties or even the annihilation of the entire army.
The Japanese are not good men and women, they are a group of devils with red eyes for murder. Whoever takes on the task of being the queen will probably be eaten by the Japanese sooner or later, and no bones will be left.
Seeing that the whole place was completely silent, Chief Li's brows gradually wrinkled, and he sighed secretly in his heart. There was no one here who was not a human spirit, and no one was willing to do the work that would lead to death.
Finally, Chief Li couldn't bear it any longer and stood up and said, "Well, since no one is talking, let me do the roll call."
In fact, Chief Li already had a candidate for the throne in his mind, but he still wanted to see who would stand up, but the reality was cruel, and no one was willing to do the job of risking death.
"Wait!"
At this time, a voice rang out. A solemn-faced general in his forties stood up and said to Chief Li: "Sir, our 59th Army has taken over this job. Let us do the job behind the scenes."
.”
"Brother Xin Chen, you!"
Chief Li never expected that Zhang Zizhong would stand up at this moment. He looked at Zhang Zizhong in surprise and said: "Xin Chen, your 59th Army has not recovered from the last battle. How can I let you bear this responsibility?"
Such a difficult task?”
Zhang Zizhong's face was full of solemnity, "The task is very difficult, so I took the initiative to volunteer. If the task was not difficult, what would we soldiers do? What is the use of ordinary people raising us soldiers?"
These simple words made all the generals present lower their heads in shame, including our Su Da Brigade.
When Chief Li was asking about the mission just now, he was hiding in the corner with his head lowered like a quail. It is estimated that even if someone came to look for him specifically, he would not be able to see him. After all, the quality of self-sacrifice for others is very important to him from later generations.
It's really too far away.
But when he saw Zhang Zizhong standing up with an expression of indifference to life and death on his face, his heart seemed to have been hit hard by something, and it hurt so much.
"Suri, Su Rui, have you really become that kind of selfish villain? Have all your previous ideals and ambitions gone to the sky?"
When Commander Li on the stage saw Zhang Zizhong volunteering for military service, he couldn't help but show a touch of emotion on his face. He asked, "Brother Xin Chen, how many troops are left in your 59th Army now?"
Zhang Zizhong thought for a while and said: "Sir, we still have more than 7,000 troops in the 59th Army. It is enough to serve as the rear guard for this time."
"What? More than seven thousand people?"
Chief Li couldn't help but feel moved. Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army had 38 and 1802 divisions under his command. According to the organizational structure, there should be about 20,000 people. Now two-thirds of them have been lost in the battle. He still demanded
Your Majesty, what kind of spirit is supporting him to do this?
After a long silence, Commander Li asked: "Brother Xin Chen, do you have any other requirements for this combat mission?"
Zhang Zizhong shook his head silently: "No more!"
"etc……"
Just then, a voice sounded again.
"Chief Li, please include our 300 brigade in this back-up mission!"
Everyone turned around and saw that it was Su Rui who stood up in the corner. He strode up to Chief Li and said, "Mr. Li, there are only more than 7,000 people left in Chief Li's Fifty-ninth Army. We have to deal with the troops coming from all over the world."
The Japanese troops on the road are probably very weak, and the ministry is willing to give him a helping hand to jointly defend the hundreds of thousands of troops in the war zone."
"Zhongxin... you..."
Chief Li found that each of today's events surprised him more and more. He originally thought that he would have to rely on a roll call to designate the troops behind the palace, but he didn't expect that two of them came forward at once. This was really beyond his surprise! (
To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)