Let’s not talk about the flaws in Xu Rui’s strategic concept. Let’s temporarily turn our attention back to the center of this storm, Jiujiang.
Xu Rui was worried that Zhao Baishi would not listen if he randomly sent someone to notify him, so he quickly had someone carry him to the dock.
Seeing Xu Rui, Zhao Baishi hurriedly came forward and said repeatedly: "Captain Xu, why are you up here? It's dangerous here. Get Commander Xu down quickly, quickly."
Zhao Baishi said this last sentence to the two Sichuan Army veterans who were carrying the stretcher.
When two Sichuan Army veterans were about to lift Xu Rui and leave, they were stopped by Xu Rui.
"Captain Zhao." Xu Rui stopped the two Sichuan Army veterans, stared at Zhao Baishi and said, "Do you believe me?"
"Believe it, believe it, of course I believe it. As long as it's Commander Xu, I believe it all!" Zhao Baishi nodded repeatedly. Indeed, if he had doubts before, now with the recovery of Jiujiang, there is only a trace of doubt.
It has long since disappeared, and Zhao Baishi now admires Xu Rui's judgment to the point of admiration.
Xu Rui said: "Very good, since you believe me, then order a retreat immediately!"
"Sure!" Zhao Baishi really listened to Xu Rui, turned around and shouted, "Send my order and the first battalion will withdraw from the battle immediately!"
The First Battalion of the Sichuan Army, which was fighting fiercely with the Japanese troops on the dock, immediately turned around and retreated all the way to the north gate of Jiujiang City. Half a brigade of Japanese Marines returning from the Madang Fortress wanted to take advantage of the victory and pursue them, but the result was the opposite.
Outside the north gate of Jiujiang, the Sichuan Army launched a counterattack and lost nearly half of its squadron in an instant.
After all, these prisoners of war in the Sichuan Army are all veterans of hundreds of battles. Whether they are prisoners of war from the Guangdong Army or Sichuan Army, they basically came all the way from the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Nanjing, and the Battle of Xuzhou. I dare not say that they came from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
He crawled out, but at least he waded through the bloody water.
What's more, the Sichuan Legion also has five Wolf Fangs to help out.
Especially Leng Tiefeng, who killed more than 20 Japanese soldiers by himself!
After repelling the pursuit of the Japanese Marine Corps, Zhao Baishi followed Xu Rui's suggestion and stayed at the north gate with four battalions of Cantonese prisoners of war, responsible for blocking the Japanese Marine Corps, and then took the remaining three Sichuan military battalions with him.
, turned around and headed straight for Jiujiang Station outside the west gate. On the way, they also collected the three infantry companies that had just been left to clean up the battlefield.
Zhao Baishi had just led the main force of the Sichuan Army to arrive outside the west gate when the commendation from the Military and Political Department arrived.
After listening to Xiao Taohong read out the promotion order and commendation order issued by the Ministry of Military Affairs, Zhao Baishi's face instantly turned red.
Commander! You son of a bitch, he was actually promoted to commander of the regiment, and he was directly promoted to an Army Major!
Li Sijin, Hou Zhigang, and Xue Laoyao were also very excited, because the commendation order issued by the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs was much more specific than the one dictated by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek. Chairman Chiang only mentioned Zhao Baishi, but the commendation order issued by the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs included
Li Sijin and his four acting battalion commanders were also considered, and all of them were promoted to lieutenant colonels and battalion commanders and promoted to army captains.
Oh yes, there are also bonuses. Each of their four battalion commanders will be awarded a thousand legal currency!
At this moment, Zhao Baishi and the four of them felt like they were in a dream, everything was so unreal.
Especially Xue Lao Yao. Two hours ago, he was still a prisoner of war. He didn't know how many days he could survive. But now, not only has he regained his freedom, but he has also transformed from a small platoon leader to a battalion commander.
It's a real teaching! Not only that, the wife of the family can also get a large bounty!
There is no greater change in life than this!
After Xu Rui read the telegram, he had to accept Chairman Chiang's method of winning over people's hearts. In this way, Chairman Chiang could stand out from so many warlords, big and small, in modern China and become the first person to formally unify China.
It's not a fluke. If nothing else, his method of winning over people's hearts is very powerful.
Previously, Xu Rui was thinking about waiting for the battle in Jiujiang to end and pulling this unit back to Damei Mountain.
Now it seems that this idea is destined to fail. Even if this army is still there after the Battle of Jiujiang, Xu Rui will not be able to take them away. You only need to look at the expressions of Zhao Baishi and the others to know this.
At this moment, it was obvious that Zhao Baishi and the others were determined to serve Chairman Chiang until death.
But Xu Rui never thought of trying to expose Chairman Chiang.
Because Chairman Chiang's intention was completely consistent with his original intention.
The reason why Chairman Chiang reused Zhao Baishi so much and rewarded Brother Zhao Baishi so much was, on the one hand, to reward the meritorious soldiers, and on the other hand, it was also to exchange for their service, because whether the National Army can gain anything next depends on the 799th Regiment.
Can Jiujiang be defended? If the 799th Regiment cannot defend it, then everything is an illusion.
Before leaving the city, Zhao Baishi called all the brothers in the regiment together and gave them a lecture.
"Brothers, I won't say any more unnecessary words." Zhao Baishi's stern eyes swept over the more than 1,200 Sichuan Army veterans one by one, and said, "Since the day we were kicked out of Sichuan, we no longer regard ourselves as
As a living person, we have all died three times in the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Nanjing and the Battle of Xuzhou!"
More than a thousand veterans of the Sichuan Army, wearing tattered military uniforms and ill-fitting rubber-soled cloth shoes, were silent.
These rubber-soled cloth shoes were stripped off the bodies of the captured Japanese soldiers. As for the leather shoes of the Japanese soldiers, they belonged to the officers.
Zhao Baishi went on to say: "We have all died three times, and this life was picked up in vain. Chairman Chiang and the Nationalist Government think highly of us so much, so there is only one thing left for us, that
It's like a dog's business. If you kill one of them, you'll make a profit. If you kill two of them, you'll make a profit. If you accidentally kill three of them, you'll make a lot of money!"
More than a thousand veterans of the Sichuan Army laughed loudly when they heard this, but a strange chilling atmosphere filled the air among the laughter.
From Zhao Baishi's lecture, every veteran of the Sichuan Army has already felt that a fierce battle is about to take place!
Zhao Baishi took a deep breath, flipped the military cap on his head down to his feet, and shouted sternly: "Brothers, listen to my order and knock down that stupid Jiujiang Station!"
"Fuck the dog to death!"
"Fight with the little devil!"
"It's my son's fault, let's fight!"
"Dear me, count me in!"
More than a thousand veterans of the Sichuan Army immediately started shouting and shouting. Zhao Baishi raised his box cannon and fired it forward. More than a thousand Sichuan Army soldiers immediately rushed out of the city like a flood that had burst the embankment.
Xu Rui's stretcher was carried by Han Feng and Zhuan Shanbao, who also followed him out of the city.
Leng Tiefeng followed the stretcher and said to Xu Rui: "The morale is pretty good."
Xu Rui shook his head and said: "Writing in a war depends not only on morale, but also on strength to the end."
Leng Tiefeng nodded and said: "Old Xu, honestly speaking, how confident are you in fighting the battle at Jiujiang Station?"
"I don't know." Xu Rui shook his head and whispered, "I don't know how many Japs there are at Jiujiang Station, nor do I know when the little Japs like Yoshimoto Seiichi will be able to come back for reinforcements. I don't even know what it's like outside now." The situation is like this, how do I know how confident I can be at Jiujiang Station?"
After a pause, Xu Rui continued: "But one thing is certain! That is, if we don't attack the station, we will definitely die. We will soon be surrounded and annihilated by the Japanese who are crazy to come back for reinforcements. If we attack the station, we will be surrounded and annihilated." , there is still a glimmer of hope, so even if there is only one chance in ten thousand, this battle must be fought!"
Leng Tiefeng's expression changed slightly and he said, "Old Xu, you are really trying your best."
"Desperately?" Xu Rui said suddenly, "Fighting is meant to be desperate."
(Dividing line)
At the same time, the long-range bomber that Itagaki Seishiro was aboard took off from the Kaga aircraft carrier. After a long flight of more than two hours, it finally arrived over Anqing.
The captain piloting the plane slowly lowered the bomber's flight altitude, then turned to Seishiro Itagaki, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, we have arrived in Anqing!"
"Yo Xi." Itagaki Seishiro took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Then let's get started."
"Hai!" The captain nodded heavily, then turned around and gestured, and the machine gunner in the middle of the cabin opened the door with force. Once the door was opened, the air in the cabin leaked out wildly due to the pressure difference, and some Without a fixed knitted piece, it immediately started flying in the air.
Itagaki Seishiro calmed down and walked to the cabin door holding the handrail.
It was a cloudy and rainy day, and when I looked out through the hatch, I could see nothing but white.
Although Itagaki Seishiro is known as the bravery of the army, it would be absolutely false to say that he is not afraid at all at this moment.
Although the height has been reduced to one thousand meters, parachuting is very dangerous for the technology of this era. The accident probability of high-altitude skydiving in this era is basically the same as that of wingsuit flying in later generations, as high as more than 20%. , which means that for every five people skydiving, one person will be killed.
During the Mandy landing in World War II, the survival rate of airborne troops was less than 60%! Of course, a considerable number of these paratroopers did not die from parachute malfunctions, but were shot and killed by German troops on the ground during the landing. But this The terrifying survival probability is enough to show how dangerous high-altitude parachuting is in this era!
So it is absolutely false to say that Itagaki Seishiro is not afraid at all.
But no matter how scared he was, Itagaki Seishiro had to jump down.
Gritting his teeth, Itagaki Seishiro closed his eyes, jumped forward, and flew out of the hatch.
Once he flew out of the cabin door, Itagaki Seishiro was no longer afraid. When he opened his eyes, he saw clouds and mist all around. Everything in front, back, left, right, up and down was completely blurry. Only the whistling wind kept pouring into his mouth and ears, making it difficult to breathe. Even though it was difficult, Itagaki Seishiro estimated that he had reached a certain altitude and opened the parachute.
Fortunately, the parachute opened smoothly, and the body that was falling rapidly slowed down immediately.
After falling for more than a minute, the clouds and mist under our feet began to fade, and then an ancient city began to reveal its huge outline.
