Chapter 41: Defense of Tong County

  After a week of rest, Zhang Mingyu received a telegram from General Li Zongren, the commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, asking him to lead his independent division to defend Tong County.

  Zhang Mingyu immediately gathered Zhang Biao, Lai San and Wang Tiehan after receiving the order.

  Everyone arrived soon, Zhang Mingyu read the telegram to them all, and then said: "The Japanese General Headquarters has mobilized more than 200,000 people to open up the Jinpu Railway and connect the northern and southern battlefields. The Independent Division received the order from General Li Zongren, Commander of the Fifth War Zone, to set out for the Shandong front line today to resist the Japanese enemy!

  Everyone exclaimed in unison: "Yes!"

  "Everyone get ready! Assemble the troops! Depart immediately!" Zhang Mingyu ordered with a wave of his hand.

  Zhang Biao stepped forward and said: "Master, what about those twenty or so female fellow students?"

  "Didn't I tell you to give each of them two dollars for transportation and let them all go home?" Zhang Mingyu asked.

  "Master, I've done everything you said, but they say their families were all killed by the devils and now have no home to return to. Even if we give them a lot of money, they don't want it. What can we do?" Zhang Biao said with difficulty.

  "Let them all stay behind and send a squad to escort them to Xuzhou!" Zhang Mingyu said with a frown.

  Zhang Biao nodded and said: "This is a good idea, I'll go and do it now." After finishing speaking, he ran out.

  Soon, 3,800 warriors gathered and stood in neat rows outside the village. Zhang Mingyu led Fang Jun and other key members out of the village, wearing gloves. Zhang Mingyu stood at the front of the troops and shouted loudly: "Brothers, this time we will rush to Shandong to fight against the Japanese devils, supporting our Sichuan army brothers who are fighting bloody battles with the devils in a certain place, do you have confidence?"

  More than three thousand warriors shouted in unison: "Yes!"

  "Good! Everyone is present, turn left! March in step. Destination: Teng County." Zhang Mingyu also shouted loudly.

  At this time, the garrison of the independent division was at least 300 miles away from Teng County, Shandong. On the battlefield in Shandong, due to the presence of a great enemy, Han Fuqu, the deputy commander of the Fifth War Zone and chairman of Shandong Province, prioritized preserving his strength and made small calculations. On December 23, after a portion of the Japanese army captured Yan'an Town and Guiren Town, Han retreated without fighting. On the 27th, Jinan fell, and the Japanese army launched a surprise attack on Tai'an from Boshan and Laiwu. On January 1, 1938, Tai'an fell into the hands of the Japanese Northern Army under the command of Matsumoto Shigeharu. Han Fuqu suffered consecutive defeats and lost territory, causing the northern section of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway to be wide open, allowing the Japanese army to advance along the line.

  After several days of rapid march, Zhang Mingyu finally led the independent division to Tong County, where the 122nd Division of the Sichuan Army was stationed. The division commander was the famous anti-Japanese general Wang Mingchang. In the original history, General Wang Mingchang led three thousand Sichuan soldiers with the sacrifice of their lives to win four days for General Li Zongren and pave the way for the Battle of Taierzhuang.

  "As General Li Zongren later said in his memoirs: 'If there had been no heroic defense of Teng County, how could there have been the great victory at Taierzhuang? The fruits of the Battle of Taierzhuang were actually created by the martyrs of Teng County.'"

  He sincerely admired the anti-Japanese hero Zhang Mingyu, who didn't know if his arrival could change the history of Teng County or save the lives of 3,000 soldiers and General Wang Mingchang. However, he was determined to make the Japanese army attacking Teng County pay a heavy price. With Zhang Mingyu's arrival, Teng County gained an independent division, and the 122nd Division would no longer be doomed to annihilate the entire army.

  When Zhang Mingyu led the independent division to reinforce Tong County, Wang Mingchang, the commander-in-chief, personally came out of the city to greet him. The two men hugged each other when they met, and Commander Wang, with a flat head and a square face, smiled and said in a thick Sichuan accent: "General Zhang's great name is like thunder in my ears!"

  Zhang Mingyu humbly said: "General Wang is an anti-Japanese hero, and I have long admired his great name. The Sichuan army soldiers are all good men! General Wang doesn't need to be polite, just call me Mingyu."

  Wang Mingzhang patted Zhang Mingyu's shoulder and said loudly, "Good! Indeed refreshing! Looking at your age, you should be younger than me. I'll call you Brother Mingyu, and you just call me Old Brother!"

  "To be honest, what you did in Nanjing was really impressive! First, you took out that whole regiment of devils, and then you took care of that bastard Goro's minions. It's truly exhilarating!" Wang Mingzhang exclaimed loudly: "Today, being able to fight the devils together with Brother Mingyu is truly fucking awesome!"

  Zhang Mingyu said, "Brother Wang is overpraising me. As a soldier of the party and country, defending our land against the enemy is our duty. Being able to fight alongside Brother Wang against the Japanese invaders, I feel it's one of the greatest fortunes in my life."

  "Good! You and I will join forces, and those Japanese pirates will never return!" Wang Mingzhang said excitedly.

  At this time, the Japanese army's Huazhong Expeditionary Force (reorganized from the Shanghai Expeditionary Force) 13th Division attacked Anhui Fengyang and Bengbu. The defending troops, the 11th Army Group's 31st Army, resisted at Pool River and then retreated west of Dangtu and Fengyang. By February 3, the Japanese army had captured Linhuaiguan and Bengbu. On the 9th to 10th, the main force of the Japanese 13th Division crossed the Huai River from Bengbu and Linhuaiguan, launching an attack on the north bank. The 51st Army engaged in fierce battles with the Japanese army, suffering heavy casualties, and retreated towards Xihua and Quhe on the 12th. The Fifth War Zone's 59th Army commander Zhang Zizhong led his troops to reinforce, advancing to the Guting area, coordinating with the 51st Army to tenaciously resist the Japanese army on the north bank of the Huai River. Meanwhile, on the south bank of the Huai River, the 21st Army Group's 48th Army defended the Lubei area, while the 7th Army coordinated with the 31st Army to attack the Japanese army's flank and rear in Dangtu, forcing the main force of the Japanese 13th Division to return from the north bank. The 59th and 51st Armies took advantage of the situation to counterattack, recovering all positions north of the Huai River by early March. The 21st Army Group and the 31st Army then concentrated on the north bank from the south bank. Both sides faced off across the river.

  While the Japanese army on the northern route began to divide and march south in late February, the 5th Division of the Eastern Route marched south from Weixian County (now Weifang City), Shandong Province, successively capturing Yishui, Ju County, Rizhao, and directly attacking Linyi. The 40th Army of the 3rd Army Group resisted step by step. The 59th Army was ordered to rush to reinforce, arriving at the north suburb of Linyi on March 12, where it coordinated with the 40th Army to launch a counterattack, fiercely fighting for five days and nights, heavily damaging the Japanese army and forcing them to retreat to Ju County.

  The Japanese army's Western Route, led by the 10th Division (Division Commander Matsumoto Rokui), launched an attack on Jiaxiang from the Jinan area, but was strongly resisted by the 3rd Army Group and its attack was thwarted. The Matsumoto Detachment marched south along the Tianjin-Pukou Railway, attacking Teng County (now Tengzhou) from the two lower shops south of Zoucheng on March 14.

  At this time, the outer defense position of Tong County had become a solid fortress under Zhang Mingyu's design. Zhang Mingyu's independent division guarded the outer defense of Tong County, Wang Mingzhang's 122nd Division guarded the city, and the 124th Division responded outside the city. At this time, the Japanese 10th Division was fiercely attacking the outer defense position of the 45th Army at Liujipu, Zhang Mingyu left behind Zhang Biao, Lai San led the 1st and 2nd battalions to guard the outer defense position of Tong County, and he himself took the cavalry regiment to rush to the front line to support.

  Another route of the Japanese army, Hata Hikosaburo led the 5th Division to attack Linyi, and General Li Zongren ordered Peng Bingxun's troops to intercept the 5th Division in Linyi.

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