Before the battle was over, condemnation had already arrived. Chongqing condemned the Yan'an battle as unfavorable, so it sent heavy troops to march into Shanxi. The original Central Army expanded its scale. Wei Lihuang was a rare good old man among the Kuomintang, and he was also very capable.
Outstanding, he made changes based on the Eighth Route Army's style, allowing the National Government to expand its garrison territory in Shanxi and completely stabilize the control area.
In fact, if this continues, as time goes by, this will be a headache for the Japanese. But compared to the results of the battle, Wei Lihuang's troops have not yet won a single victory. In terms of the overall strategy, he did the right thing.
But for Chairman Chiang who cherishes feathers, this is unqualified.
Wei Lihuang was forced to send troops to fight the Japanese head-on, but his orders were not accepted. Wei Lihuang ignored Chiang Kai-shek's imperial edict. If Wei Lihuang could not be summoned, he could only summon Zhang Zizhong, asking Zhang Zizhong to risk his life.
If you go to confront the Japanese, the price will be that the Japanese will send out heavy troops to encircle and suppress you.
"Quickly send a message to General Zhang and ask him to abandon his large forces and disperse to break out. We can't continue fighting like this."
Wang Zongyao was very anxious now. The war situation in North China left him with no hope. He did not want a very good general to lose on the battlefield.
Zhang Zizhong opened many gaps in the enemy's encirclement, and he drilled them in again, which caused great losses to the troops. Although Zhang Zizhong is now the commander of a group army, the troops he can directly command are no longer
One army, but two regiments. As for the nominal group army, those troops are under the orders of the Chairman of the Chongqing Committee. For General Zhang Zizhong, commanding them is simply not qualified.
"yes!"
The dispatcher quickly sent the message. Wang Zongyao was very decadent now. How could he not know what General Zhang Zizhong was going to do? This was to show his loyalty to Chongqing and to show his attitude to those literati who had slandered him.
It’s just that fighting is not a child’s play, and it’s not worth risking one’s life for the sake of temporary fame. When a scholar makes a mistake, at most he doesn’t say anything about it, but when a general makes a mistake, it is fatal, especially if he makes a mistake that cannot be defended.
when.
"Chongqing requested that General Zhang continue to fight in North China."
While he was talking, the order to go up the mountain arrived. After reading this order, Wang Zongyao felt so angry that his head hurt.
"Who came up with this? Didn't the General Staff already agree that the situation in North China should be prudent? Why did it suddenly change?"
"General Chen Cheng mentioned something when talking to the Chairman of the Generalissimo today, and he was very optimistic about the situation in North China. This gave the Chairman a lot of confidence."
A friend next to him said with some helplessness that it is easy to hear the scene and content of a conversation like this. Are there any secrets around the Chairman? There are no secrets at all. As for some decisions of the General Staff, they are not known in the alliance.
The generals of the army seem to make very rational choices, but there are always some people who make irrational actions.
"What does it matter what Chen Cheng said? If the battle is fought as he said, then it will be easy for us."
I don’t know why, but the commanders in the rear always talk about some ideal conditions. How can there be so many ideal conditions? You are looking at the top military academy students and experienced Japanese veterans who have been trained by the Japanese army for many years as children. It is obvious to you.
These people went to military academy and read military books?
"It is said that the higher-ups want him to take over Wei Lihuang's troops in Shanxi. The chairman of the committee still has some opinions on Wei Lihuang. It is probably mainly because Wei Lihuang disobeys orders. General Chen Cheng believes that Shanxi's current conditions are good enough to compete with the Japanese army.
A decisive battle has begun, and this view is consistent with the chairman’s judgment.”
"What kind of excuse is this? Didn't General Wei Lihuang do a bad job in Shanxi? He had to break the peace in Shanxi and finally stabilized the situation in a war zone. If there is a slight change, all the previous efforts will be wasted!"
In fact, Wang Zongyao's opinions on the Chairman are getting bigger and bigger. Judging from the intelligence coming from Shanxi, the Central Army's control area is constantly expanding, which is a good sign. But for a decisive battle, this condition is not met.
Yes, the current military strength of the Japanese is not just exaggerated, has it not been fully understood after so many years of fighting?
"Now we can't control so much. Since the Anti-Japanese War, we have lost so many people who can fight. Zhang Zizhong must not lose anymore. Once Zhang Zizhong is dead, who will contain the Japanese army in North and South China? I am afraid that the Japanese army will not be there immediately.
If we can connect the north-south communication line, if we want to protect Chongqing, we must protect southern China. If we want to protect southern China, we must rely on the elite troops of northern and southern China to contain it. Why can’t we understand this!”
Although the Japanese army in South China seems to be in uninhabited territory, they can use gunboats to wreak havoc on the Yangtze River channel at any time. There are many water systems on the Yangtze River, and they can launch a surprise attack at any time.
"General Wang Zongyao! After receiving the order from the commander, you have been dismissed. Next, Commander Chen Cheng will directly take over the staff."
While Wang Zongyao was still debating with his staff, a herald ran over and read out the latest order in public.
"Okay, okay!"
Feeling sorry for his misfortune and angry that he would not fight, Wang Zongyao suppressed his anger and did not throw the table in public, which was already a great honor. After receiving the order and taking a look at it, he shook his head and left with the order. He has been dismissed, and now
Everything here has nothing to do with you anymore.
South Korea watched the situation of the General Staff from a distance. He joined the General Staff as an intelligence representative for military control, but the current situation actually had a lot to do with him. Because Wang Zongyao's departure really had something to do with him, because this
The complaints in it were all made by South Korea, and the purpose was to protect their older brother-in-law.
"Let's go home. The situation has deteriorated and there is nothing more to say."
A staff officer next to him issued the last order to General Zhang Zizhong. This was thrown to the staff by Wang Zongyao before leaving. It was nothing more than a letter of persuasion. However, such a letter of persuasion may only have this one, or the only one, and he would not fight to the death.
Retreating is certainly a soldier's mission, but for the sake of final victory, shouldn't we retreat to preserve our strength? Most of the national army has done a good job of retreating to preserve its strength, but it is not as good as those in some places to fight to the death and not retreat.
A miscellaneous and excellent unit was turned into a third-rate unit by a mediocre airborne commander.
"Let's go, I believe our chairman will be ready to start his battle soon."
Wang Zongyao took one last look at the door of the General Staff Headquarters, and then left with South Korea.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon on May 16, 1940, Zhang Zizhong's entire army was wiped out and Zhang Zizhong died in battle. On the day he received the news, Wang Zongyao had not eaten anything all day, and he was holding tightly in his hand the piece of paper that said Zhang Zizhong died for his country.
A newspaper.
Han Cheng received the news in Shanxi and kept it with some silence, carefully putting it in a prepared box. This box was full of newspapers that criticized General Zhang Zizhong. He wanted everyone to know how big General Zhang Zizhong was at that time.
He was under pressure to fight against the Japanese army. Han Cheng, who grew up under the red flag, actually did not believe in ghosts and gods, but on this day, he bought some paper money and a bottle of liquor for the first time. He could only rely on this way to express his grief and express his part.