Chapter Twenty-Four: Lin Tong

  Thanks to friends who recommended and supported my "Ocean Vanguard" and "Superior Soldier 06", I originally thought that the unconventional works I wrote would only be read but not praised! Haha!

  ——————————————

  It's coming anyway!! On December 4th, although I vaguely pointed out whether Zhang Yang was reliable? After getting Old Chiang's "Han Ying is no problem", I raised again that except for Zhang Xueliang's guard in Xi'an city, all the troops were Yang Hucheng's; but Old Chiang still insisted on coming to Xi'an to direct the war! Only ordered to move the headquarters to Lintong, and changed the outer perimeter to be guarded by the Northeast Army, not even listening to San Jie's persuasion! Just delayed for a few days and set off again! According to San Jie, "he wants to save face", this damn Hu Zongnan! He really made me miserable! It seems that changing history is not easy! So, after experiencing the bumpy ride of "Rong Ke Tiao Ji" again, I finally arrived in Xi'an with Chairman Chiang's entourage!

  The stars are gathering at the airport, and the one leading them looks like the famous "Young Marshal"! However, don't dare to address him directly, this is as disrespectful as calling someone a "second-generation official" in person! I've been around for at least eight years, I wouldn't make such a low-level mistake.

  。。。

  "Vice Commander Zhang!"

  "Haha, is this Xiao An's younger brother? Indeed, he's young and promising!"

  Taking advantage of Zhang Xueliang and my elder brother's friendship, with an age difference that was not too great, we quickly drew closer - a few days later, there was an additional guarantee for life!

  After traveling for dozens of miles, I arrived at the Lin Tong camp and got off the car. When I looked up, I saw that the plaque above the main gate actually read "Huaqing Palace"?! Oh my god! Is this me changing history or history changing me?

  Just as I was about to doze off, the chairman wanted to convene another meeting. I knew it would be Chiang's lengthy nonsense again, so I quickly excused myself on the pretext of organizing and analyzing military intelligence reports.

  "Next topic, Zian, you introduce."

  "Yes. The conflict in eastern Suiyuan began last month. On the 10th of last month, the puppet army supported by Japan, led by Wang Ying and a division of Mongolian troops, launched a surprise attack on our Bailin Temple and Wulan Hua areas from the north of Suiyuan. The enemy occupied Bailin Temple, while Wulan Hua was defended by the 2nd Cavalry Division, which held out until reinforcements arrived; On the 12th, the main force of Wang Ying's puppet army, consisting of three divisions and a division of Mongolian troops, totaling over 5,000 men, launched an attack on our border with Chaha'er. They occupied Tuchengzi, but our border defense forces, consisting of the 218th Regiment of the 35th Army and a division of the 1st Cavalry Division, numbering less than 500 men, defended Honggetu to the death; On the 15th, a division of our 2nd Cavalry Division arrived to pin down the enemy. The enemy's attack was fierce, but our army fought back fiercely; On the evening of the 18th, General Fu Zuoyi led the 211th Regiment, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 25th Artillery Regiment to arrive at the front lines; On the morning of the 19th, our infantry and cavalry units launched a counterattack against the enemy under the support of artillery. We defeated the main force of Wang Ying's puppet army and drove them out of Suiyuan Province. The enemy left behind several hundred corpses on the battlefield. Our army successfully rescued the defenders of Honggetu and recaptured Tuchengzi; On the 23rd, General Fu led the main force of the 211th Regiment and a division of the 2nd Cavalry Division to arrive at the Bailin Temple area. At midnight on the 24th, they launched an attack against the puppet army occupying Bailin Temple. After fierce fighting until 8 am, we annihilated the enemy forces defending the temple and recaptured it. In this battle, nearly a thousand enemy soldiers were killed or wounded, including over 20 Japanese military advisers. We also captured over 400 enemy soldiers and seized more than 600 rifles and nine artillery pieces; On the 2nd and 3rd of this month, the enemy launched another attack on Bailin Temple but was repelled by our defenders. The enemy abandoned several hundred corpses, including that of their deputy commander, Lei Zhongtian. For now, the battle has subsided."

  I finished reading and paused for a moment, seeing Zhang Xueliang was actually excited, what a naive guy! Looking at Yang Hucheng being so calm and composed, it's obvious who's the master here!

  "What's the big victory of Bailian Temple? Apart from a few days' worth of advisors, it was just a fake army!" Old Chiang flipped through the materials and hummed. "Zi'an, summarize this!"

  "This is another example of the enemy's strategic intention to nibble at our territory. First, they use fake troops to provoke an incident, and if successful, occupy our territory. Then, through negotiations, they would legitimize their illegal actions and turn temporary occupation into permanent control. Fortunately, General Fu Zuoyi responded quickly and appropriately, and we were able to swiftly recover our territory.

  From a military perspective, the enemy formed two groups that attacked our garrison in Suiyuan from both the east and north sides almost simultaneously, supporting each other; they launched a surprise attack on our troops, trying to wipe out our forward defense units with overwhelming force. However, although the fake troops had the support of the Japanese army, their combat effectiveness was not strong, and even with ten times the number of troops, they were unable to quickly break through our main defensive positions in the front line, allowing General Fu to respond calmly and deploy his forces.

  General Fu did not assemble all his forces to delay the enemy but instead used a limited number of motorized infantry-artillery units, combined with cavalry units, to form an elite rapid response force to participate in the counterattack; in both the east and north, General Fu employed the tactic of hidden deployment, suddenly attacking at night or dawn, breaking through the enemy lines in one swift action, not giving them a chance to exert their strength. The difference was that the enemy in the east, being close to the border, managed to escape, while the enemy in the north, at Bailin Temple, were completely annihilated.

  It can be said that General Fu's peacetime training and preparation were well-planned, his wartime deployment and command were brilliant and decisive, which was the fundamental reason for this battle being quickly and successfully resolved."

  "Alright, no need to brag anymore! Fu Yisheng is very capable and excels at fighting tough battles, Han Ying has known this for a long time! Right? Han Ying!"

  "The chairman is right. In those days, I first made a name for myself in Tianzhen and rose to fame in Zhuozhou all at once. Yisheng and I have been old friends for a long time!" Zhang Xueliang said with a sigh.

  "You think I don't know the tricks you have up your sleeve? With your limited skills, you still want to learn from Fu Zuoyi and win battles on the battlefield? Now there's no Guo Songling to give you actual command, you're just a rookie! You'll definitely lose miserably!" I secretly laughed to myself.

  "Let's settle this small matter of Zian and Weiyuan, then let's prepare a reward for Yisheng. After that, we'll continue to discuss the bigger picture, specifically the strategy for the northwest campaign."

  "Yes! The enemy's 4th Route Army main force, estimated to be over 25,000, is advancing westward and apparently intends to enter Xinjiang through the Hexi Corridor. This is based on reports from Ma Bufang's cavalry who are currently engaging them."

  Enemy army

  The 4th Route Army Headquarters, which controls the 5th, 9th and 30th Armies as well as several independent divisions.

  Our army

  Northwest Command 5th Column

  The 100th Division

  Qingnan District Garrison Command

  Directly administer Qinghai and Gansu's various security corps and militia corps

  A total of over 20,000 troops, and more than 30,000 security guards and militia.

  "Since both sides started fighting in early November until now, Ma Bufang has reported losses of over 5,000 and estimated the elimination of enemy troops at around 3,000-4,000."

  "Zi'an, why did you infer that there was an intention to enter Xinjiang via the Hexi Corridor? Rather than developing locally in Gansu or returning to Shaanbei after a period of time?"

  "Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia are mostly ethnic minority areas and extremely poor. The enemy has no foundation in Gansu, and if they stay, more and more of our troops will join the battle, making it difficult for them to establish a base locally; The Soviet Union has great influence in Xinjiang and has the ambition to instigate Xinjiang to separate from China! I heard that the enemy's 4th Front Army and the Central Plains are not harmonious, and there may be purges when they return to northern Shaanxi."

  "Does 'zi an' mean we should eliminate them first?"

  "Unless they stay, our troops will not be able to catch up! Except for Ma Bufang's division, the closest is the 6th column of Mao Zhenwu's division, which governs the 8th and 24th divisions. Calculating that even if the enemy does not move, it would take more than 5 days for this division to catch up with the Western Route Army. Therefore, my idea is that since we cannot quickly eliminate the enemy in the Gansu Corridor area, why not follow the example of Chairman's Southwest strategy, send a force to tail and pursue, take advantage of entering Xinjiang, and open up the political situation for Zhongyang."

  "Who does Zian think can take on this heavy responsibility?"

  "This requires haste, and there are only Divisions 1, 3, 37, 51 and the 25th Brigade available nearby, please make a decision, Chairman."

  "Since it's a heavy responsibility, let the 1st Army go! Mu Yin, draft an order, and make sure supplies are sufficient, don't mess up like what happened in Xifandi again. Next is the last and most important agenda item! Annihilate the main force of the enemy army in Shaanbei! Zi An, continue!"

  "Yes. Please look at the map, this is the enemy area in northern Shaanxi. Our army's northeast sector is led by Bian Quanjiao, east sector by Yan Zhiwen, southeast sector by Yang Hucheng, south sector by Zhang Xueliang, west sector by Zhu Baoyi, and northwest sector by Ma Hongbin. Each unit will soon form a siege against the enemy in northern Shaanxi.

  In light of our previous setbacks with separate attacks, the Chairman has decided to restore the stable and steady attack strategy used in Jiangxi. The eastern units will hold a solid defensive position along the Yellow River, while the southern and western main forces will advance steadily without dispersing or rushing forward. Each unit will maintain tactical contact with neighboring friendly forces during advancement.

  Stop advancing by 4 pm and take up defensive positions using favorable terrain, constructing night defense positions according to 'field fortification methods'. After completing defensive deployments, have dinner, and at night keep one-tenth of the troops on high alert.

  The objectives are: 1) Force the enemy into a decisive battle with us; 2) Force the enemy to flee north into the desert. These are the specific routes and action plans for each unit, please review them as you see fit."

  Anyway, after a few days Zhang and Yang will be at war, the civil war will end, and they will unite against outsiders. Otherwise, I'm really afraid that history will be turned upside down, haha!

  Commander-in-Chief of the Northwestern First Route Army Zhu Shaoliang, under his jurisdiction are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Column Troops and the New 1st Army.

  The First Column was commanded by Zeng Wan-zhong, who led the 7th, 12th and New 14th Divisions as well as local troops.

  The Second Column Chen Jixiang was in charge of the 1st, 43rd, 78th and 97th Divisions as well as the Supplementary Brigade.

  The Third Column was commanded by Mao Zedong and consisted of the 8th and 24th Divisions.

  The 4th column is under the jurisdiction of Ma Hongbin's 35th Division.

  The Fifth Column Ma Bufang controlled the 100th Division and local troops.

  Deng Baoshan New 1st Army

  Commander-in-Chief of the Northwest Second Route Army Xuexiang Zhong, jurisdiction over the 6th, 7th and 8th Corps and Cavalry Corps.

  The 6th Corps was led by Wang Yi Che, consisting of the 107th, 117th and 129th Divisions.

  The 7th Column is under the jurisdiction of Dong Yingbin, consisting of the 111th, 112th and 115th Divisions.

  The 8th Column was under the jurisdiction of Xue Zhongxun's 113th, 114th and 118th Divisions.

  He Zhongguo Qibingjun

  Yang Hu-cheng, Commander-in-Chief of the Northwestern Third Route Army, controlled the 9th and 10th Corps and the Xi'an Garrison's 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions.

  The 9th column is under the jurisdiction of Sun Weiru's 17th Division.

  The 10th column is under the jurisdiction of Feng Qincai's 42nd Division.

  Northwest Headquarters of the Army Directly Under

  The 11th Corps was led by Guan Lin and controlled the 25th, 49th, 51st, and 140th Divisions.

  The 12th Corps was commanded by Sun Zhen and consisted of the 122nd, 124th, 125th and 127th Divisions.

  The 1st defensive zone was defended by Ma Hongkui's new 7th Division.

  The border areas of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Suiyuan and Ningxia provinces are under the jurisdiction of the 21st, 84th and 86th Divisions.

  Headquarters directly under

  Headquarters directly under the Air Force Zhang Yougu controls the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 15th Divisions.