Nine hundred and fifty-four chapters heavy pressure
Most of the people in Gaoyou City were evacuated to the countryside by Yang Ling and others. The gray and black walls of Gaoyou City were covered with bullet holes, and large areas of ruins blocked the streets. The city looked desolate and dilapidated after the war.
At the gate of Gaoyou County House, a group of senior officers of the Sulu Guerrilla Corps stood on the steps with deputy commander-in-chief Li Changjiang, facing the war reporters holding cameras.
"Everyone, look here..."
With a click, the group photo of the generals who recovered Gaoyou was frozen. These photos will be published in newspapers soon. As expected, they will all be on the front page, and everyone will be happy.
The officers quickly walked aside after taking the photo, and the well-dressed local gentry and celebrities also stood on the steps with humility and took photos with deputy commander Li Changjiang.
Since the fall of Gaoyou, this is the first time that the flag of the Chinese Communist Party has been flying over the city of Gaoyou, and Gaoyou has once again returned to the hands of the Chinese.
While deputy commander Li Changjiang and everyone were taking photos and chatting on the steps at the gate of Gaoyou County House, an officer with a hurried look strode over.
As soon as the group photo was finished, he strode up to deputy conductor Li Changjiang and whispered a few words in a low voice.
The smile on the smiling deputy commander Li Changjiang's face froze. Although it quickly returned to its original state, the commander of the third guerrilla regiment next to him noticed something strange.
"Sir, is that all?" the leader of the third guerrilla regiment asked in confusion.
"It's okay, it's okay. You take a photo with them. I'll leave first if I have something to do."
Deputy Commander Li Changjiang told the commander of the third regiment, and then strode away with his adjutants and staff.
The Japs' vanguard had already reached a position ten kilometers outside Gaoyou City. The Japs had arrived so quickly! This shocked deputy commander Li Changjiang when he received the news.
Although Yang Ling reminded him before leaving that Japanese troops had appeared in Shaobo Town in the south and asked him to pay attention, in the blink of an eye the Japanese had arrived on the outskirts of the city, which still caught him off guard.
"Sir, according to the report of the cavalry reconnaissance company, the Japanese marching team stretches for several miles and has many artillery. The strength should be no less than 2,000 people..." The intelligence staff officer's face turned pale.
They knew what the scale of more than two thousand Japs meant, that was at least two brigades, and they didn't know if there would be more behind them.
Thinking of facing two brigades of well-equipped Japanese soldiers, the staff members felt bitter in their hearts. How could Gaoyou be such a hot potato?
It is a pity that they were short-sighted and only saw the benefits of regaining Gaoyou, but did not see the huge risks contained in it.
Gaoyou is the gateway to the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River. How could the Japs allow them to recover it? If it is occupied by the Chinese Communist Party, the Japs' plan to turn the Sulu area into a stable ruling area will be in vain.
Now deputy commander Li Changjiang regrets it endlessly. Why should he be greedy for credit and get this hot potato into his own hands? If he hadn't come to Gaoyou, nothing would have happened.
It's a pity that they are now the heroic unit that liberated Gaoyou. The commendation telegram from the theater headquarters has been sent, and they can't leave now even if they want to.
If they give up the newly acquired Gaoyou now, not only will their previous glorious image plummet, but they will even be reprimanded by the theater headquarters. Removal is not a big deal, but if they are shot for losing Gaoyou, it will be a huge loss.
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"Sir, do we want to withdraw?"
The staff officers indeed did not maintain Gaoyou's confidence. Seeing that deputy commander Li Changjiang was sullen and silent, they cautiously asked.
"Withdraw, withdraw the hell!"
Deputy Commander Li Changjiang has always been very shrewd and has expanded his troops, but he always uses various reasons to shirk the responsibility and refuses to fight the Japs because the troops are his lifeblood. If the troops are lost, his own glory and wealth will be lost.
But this time, for the sake of gain, he put himself on the crater of a volcano. There was no way to retreat. Once he retreated, sooner or later, he would end up with the reputation of a runaway general and be caught.
Now the Sulu Theater is not monolithic. Although the Guerrilla Corps, the 89th Army, and the 6th Independent Brigade are all nominally subordinate to Chongqing, in fact they often have conflicts due to issues in the defense zone.
Moreover, the theater headquarters is in Lunan and the deputy theater headquarters is in Xinghua. If he withdraws this time, his opponents will definitely take the opportunity to launch an attack.
Historically, Li Changjiang surrendered to the enemy and became a puppet army, and was appointed by the Wang puppet government in Nanjing as the general commander of the first puppet army. In addition to his greed for glory and wealth, another reason was that he wanted to preserve his strength, and someone wanted to remove him from his post.
The officers and soldiers at the grassroots level in China are fighting bloody battles with the Japanese, but many high-ranking officials do not care at all about the survival of the country. They only care about their own interests.
Yang Ling and the others voluntarily gave up Gaoyou to the Sulu Guerrilla Corps this time. Since Yang Ling and the others needed to rest and replenish their forces before fighting again, they needed the Sulu Guerrilla Corps to help them for a while.
Second, Yang Ling was not sure whether Li Changjiang, the deputy general manager of the Sulu Guerrilla Corps, still had the idea of ​​surrendering to the enemy, which was considered a test.
Although Yang Ling and others evacuated Gaoyou, they actually led the troops north to Jieshou Town and stopped there. They joined the reinforcement battalion from Huaiyin southward and were setting up a new battlefield while resting at Jieshou.
Once deputy commander-in-chief Li Changjiang flees without a fight and voluntarily abandons Gaoyou, the Japanese will march straight in. Once central Jiangsu falls, northern Jiangsu will be in danger.
Therefore, once Gaoyou falls, Yang Ling and others will rely on the new battlefield to block the Japanese in the Gaoyou area and not allow them to harm the people of Huaihe and Huaihe.
If deputy commander Li Changjiang fights the Japanese to the death in Gaoyou, it will leave more time for Yang Ling and others to set up a new battlefield, and the time required for the Sulu Guerrilla Corps to resist the Japanese does not need to be too long, one week is enough.
Yang Ling believed that once the new battlefield layout was completed, there would be a natural chasm standing in front of the little devils. Unless they risked their lives to fill it, they would not even be able to step into Lianghuai!
Yang Ling was now well prepared. Although Gaoyou was facing a formidable enemy and even the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder, Yang Ling and the others were not idle in the Jieshou area behind Gaoyou.
"Send small teams to the countryside and recruit as many local people as possible to help. We need a lot of manpower now."
"Our wounded will also be transported back to Huaiyin tomorrow morning. Zheng Gang, you are responsible for this matter. You must ensure that every injured brother returns home safely."
"Changqing, you are responsible for the training of the troops. Companies that are short of men will go directly to the battalion to recruit men. Within a week, the troops will regain their combat effectiveness."
"Blacksmith, you are responsible for talking to the local anti-Japanese armed forces and asking them to bring people to assist us in the fight. If you encounter anyone who hinders the resistance on the way, you can kill them first and then report them..."
In a one- or two-story wooden building in Jieshou Town, Yang Ling, who had retreated here, was holding a combat meeting of the Northern Jiangsu Corps. Although they had withdrawn from Gaoyou, it did not mean the end of the war.
The Japs were coming in force, and Yang Ling needed the Sulu Guerrilla Corps to help them delay the Japs so that he could free up his hands to implement his plan to annihilate the enemies.