"Our army killed thousands of Japanese troops, blew up 18 cannons, and shocked the world inside and outside the Great Wall!"
With a cheerful smile on his face, the newsboy waved his newspaper and shouted throughout the street, quickly attracting the attention of many passers-by.
Duanmu Hongliang, who was sitting on the rickshaw, quickly shouted: "Stop the car quickly, stop the car quickly, I want to buy a newspaper!"
"okay!"
The coachman immediately turned around and ran back, got close to the newsboy, and asked impatiently: "Have we really won?"
"I won, I won!" the newsboy replied hurriedly.
Someone next to me asked: "Which general won the battle?"
Passers-by who had already bought the newspaper quickly browsed the article and read excitedly: "It's the sword team of the 29th Army. Four regiments of troops launched a night attack on the Japanese army. Each of the soldiers carried a shining sword. Zhao Dengyu and Tong Zeguang both
The brigade commander took the lead and rushed into the enemy's position, killing and wounding thousands of Japanese invaders. He captured 11 tanks, 6 armored vehicles, 18 cannons, 36 machine guns, 1 aircraft, and the Japanese imperial flag, map and
Cameras, wait!”
"good!"
"Well done!"
There were loud cheers in the streets, the newspapers in the hands of the newsboys had long been robbed, and many people ran quickly to buy newspapers elsewhere.
It was not easy for Duanmu Hong to buy a copy. He read the news report again and again, his whole body trembling with excitement, and he smiled with tears in his eyes: "Well done, the two brigade commanders fought really well! If our soldiers were
With such bravery, why worry about not being able to drive the Japanese invaders out of China?"
"This gentleman is right, our Chinese soldiers are not all cowards!" A middle-aged man agreed.
Someone else asked: "What are the backgrounds of those two brigade commanders who fought bloody battles against the enemy?"
"Of course it's the Northwest Army," someone knowledgeable immediately explained. "The newspaper said it was the soldiers of the 29th Army. The 29th Army was the Northwest Army before. Feng Yuxiang was defeated in the Central Plains War, and the 29th Army was recruited by Zhang Xueliang. These two
Most of the brigade commanders who have made great achievements came from the Northwest Army."
"The Northwest Army is still very powerful. It beat the Central Army to the point of crying."
"The naughty little Japanese has bitten a hard nut now!"
"Let me see, the two brigade commanders have made such great contributions, they should be promoted to generals!"
"..."
People were discussing with each other, and their joy was beyond words. Among the overwhelming reports of defeats, there was a shocking report of victory, which was enough to inspire people.
Duanmu Hongliang carefully folded the newspaper and placed it close to his chest in his pocket. The blood in his body seemed to be boiling.
At this moment, no matter Tianjin, Peiping, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan...as long as the city has received good news, it has become a sea of joy everywhere.
People from all walks of life formed condolence groups and went north to work for the army with the money and goods collected from donations. Reporters from various newspapers swarmed in, just wanting to take a photo of the anti-Japanese heroes. News films shot with the army were soon played in theaters across the country.
Whenever Song Zheyuan (the leader of the 29th Army) is shown in the movie, the entire audience spontaneously stands up and applauds.
The Broadsword Team of the 29th Army became famous all over the world. Composer Mai Xin composed "The March of the Broadsword" for this purpose. This song quickly became sung across the country, and even children could yell a few words: "The Broadsword is aimed at the heads of the Japanese."
Cut it off, brothers of the 29th Army, the day of resistance has come..."
This great victory at Xifengkou undoubtedly gave the Chinese people a stimulant.
Since the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War, China has always been the losing side. Even now, even the patriots who chant anti-war slogans are very unconfident and think that China cannot defeat Japan.
Now, the swordsman team of the 29th Army has finally made the Chinese people proud. We can still win the war!
Tianjin's "Yi Shi Bao" called the 29th Army's Xifengkou Anti-Japanese War together with last year's 19th Route Army's Songhu Anti-Japanese War. It wrote in the news: "The 19th Route Army fought in Songhu and the 29th Army in Xifengkou
The war has enabled us Chinese to still be human beings."
The Shanghai Times even shouted a slogan: "With ninety-nine steel swords in hand, we will stop after killing all Hu Er!"
An editorial in Peking's "World Daily" said: "The combat effectiveness of the Chinese Army and the self-defense capability of the Chinese nation have received new and powerful proof after the 19th Route Army. This is not the sword and spear that can destroy the enemy's machine guns and artillery, but the national spirit and morality.
The highest expression of strength."
Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" also reported and commented: "Since Emperor Meiji established his army, the reputation of the imperial army has been completely lost outside the Kifeng Pass, and it has suffered an insult unprecedented in sixty years."
The great victory at Xifengkou aroused violent repercussions both in China and Japan.
…
Sanletang.
After leaving the country, Zhang Xueliang was taking his wife Yu Fengzhi to quit opium at Zhou Hexuan's house. He had been arranged by the Central Party Committee to visit Europe. In order not to be ridiculed by foreigners as the "sick man of East Asia", Zhang Xueliang came to Zhou Hexuan to help him quit smoking.
.(There are descriptions in the previously deleted chapters, so I don’t want to say more here. Anyway, Zhang Xueliang is staying at Zhou Hexuan’s house.)
"A great victory, it really is a great victory!" Zhang Xueliang held the newspaper and smiled while crying.
Zhou Hexuan also took the newspaper and read it again and again, and said with a smile: "Congratulations to the Sixth Commander."
Zhang Xueliang waved his hand helplessly and said: "It was all done by the soldiers and has nothing to do with me."
To be honest, the victory of the 29th Army at Xifengkou this time really had a lot to do with Zhang Xueliang.
When Zhang Xueliang first recruited the 29th Army, he only paid 500,000 yuan in resettlement fees and then left it alone. The 29th Army was stationed in Shanxi under the help of others, with no military expenses and poverty. The soldiers were like beggars.
It was not until last year that Zhang Xueliang took the initiative to transfer the 29th Army to Chahar in order to guard against the Kwantung Army's attack, allowing these homeless Northwest Army to have their own territory. When the 29th Army moved to Chahar, it even had to
Marching at night, because their equipment and military appearance were so poor, they were afraid that they would be seen as bandits during the day.
Who would have thought that this group of beggars dressed like bandits could actually achieve such a great victory on the Great Wall.
Zhou Hexuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart, the Northwest Army is really capable of fighting. If Yan Xishan hadn't deliberately held back during the Central Plains War, it is estimated that the Central Army would have been crippled by the Northwest Army. It is hard to say whether Chiang Kai-shek could have successfully ruled China.
What a pity!
Zhou Hexuan couldn't help but sigh when he thought of what happened to the 29th Army in history.
After this battle, Song Zheyuan returned to Chahar with the 29th Army. The military strength quickly expanded to more than 60,000 people. It also received a large amount of equipment from the People's Anti-Japanese Alliance and Tang Yulin's Ministry, becoming a pivotal military force in North China.
This army, which could have been the backbone of the anti-Japanese army, was dismissed by the Nanjing government from the post of Chairman of Chahar Province, Song Zheyuan, because of its constant dealings with the Japanese aggressors. On the grounds of "repeated troubles," the 29th Army was even stationed there.
Was ceded to Little Japan.
Song Zheyuan, a dignified national hero and anti-Japanese general, was forced to live in Tianjin as an apartment house. He was so angry that he publicly criticized: "Whoever believes in Chang Kaishen's resistance to Japan is a fool!"
Later, the 29th Army expanded to 100,000 people, which was equivalent to the security barrier of Peiping and Tianjin. However, Song Zheyuan himself was once forced to defect to Japan and become a traitor. The Japanese invaders in front were enemies, and the Nanjing government behind them was also an enemy. Song Zheyuan thought about it all day long.
What matters is not how to fight, but how to preserve his 29th Army.
By the time the July 7th Incident broke out, Song Zheyuan had been exhausted physically and mentally and was tired of the long-term dealings with the Japanese. He simply ran back to his hometown in Shandong to recuperate, just when the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out.
Caught off guard, the 29th Army suffered heavy losses and was ordered to withdraw to Baoding.
Chang Kai promoted his promotion and secretly surrendered, and sent Feng Yuxiang to the 29th Army (which had been upgraded to the First Army at that time) to seize power. Feng Yuxiang was the old commander of this army, but he was completely unable to command. There were many conflicts within the group, and the generals were suspicious of each other.
, every time there is a war, it often breaks down at the first moment.
The anti-Japanese army, which originally had high morale, was forced to become a warlord force that only wanted to protect itself and had extremely poor combat effectiveness. This is the history of the transformation of the 29th Army.
Of course, Song Zheyuan, as the leader of the 29th Army, is also to blame. He had too many selfish thoughts and always wanted to preserve his strength.
Fortunately, the spirit of the 29th Army in the Great Wall War of Resistance has never been extinguished. Later, Liu Ruming's 68th Army, Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army, Feng Zhi'an's 77th Army... These troops are the continuation of the 29th Army and have repeatedly made military exploits in many battles.
The heroic sacrifice of General Zhang Zizhong was the last afterglow of the 29th Army on the anti-Japanese battlefield. The remaining 29th Army troops gradually became second-rate motley crews.
