Chapter Thirteen: Leaning on a Big Tree is Good for Cooling Off

  Diqin smiled and said, "Oh, I see. So that's how it is. But I need to figure out who this commander-in-chief of the vanguard is. I don't know much about history or the details of the War of Resistance against Japan, but I do know some figures from the Nationalist Party." With a look of sudden realization, he said, "Oh, I see. Chief of Staff Xu, who is this commander-in-chief of the vanguard?"

  Seeing Diqin's arrogant appearance, Xu Supu was filled with anger. Is this a national army soldier? How can such a person resist the war? But looking at everything in this military camp, Xu Supu didn't get angry either. Within the National Army, there were many factions, each army appeared to be a national army on the surface, but behind the scenes, they all had backers and were private armed forces with their own brand.

  This Diqin doesn't look like a soldier at all, but rather has a big hooligan habit. Xu Supu knew that many people in the National Army came from the Green Gang. It's better to mind his own business and let the commander handle it once he understands the situation.

  "Regardless of who is the commander-in-chief, all troops within the Third War Zone must accept the command of the Forward Command Headquarters." Xu Supu said sternly, but finally added: "The Commander-in-Chief of the Third War Zone is General Xue Yue."

  Dai Qin was taken aback, wasn't the commander of the Third War Zone Gu Zhutong? When did it become Xue Yue? However, after being stunned, he was overjoyed. It's too damn good! I was just thinking about which family to surrender to.

  Gather these troops to live in Ningguo, Di Qiming knew that the national army had arrived in Ningguo, but he didn't go to contact or connect. He surrounded his soldiers at Guandi Temple, just wanting to figure out which family's troops had come.

  When he found out it was the 12th Temporary Brigade directly under the Tenth Army Group, he immediately dispelled the idea. The commander of the Tenth Army Group, Liu Jianxu, had never even heard of this person, and must be a motley crew.

  Diqin comes from a later generation, he knows far more than the insiders of this world. Those who received attention from Old Chiang and later became famous National Army generals, he also knew quite a few. This Liu Jianxu has never been heard of, Diqin would not join him.

  He deeply understood the principle of leaning against a big tree to enjoy the cool, and he became a young master of a wealthy family or a national army officer. Qi understood that he had to mix here for a while. Of course, fighting devils was still in the National Army, the Eighth Route Army was too hard, no guns, no artillery, everywhere bullied by Old Chiang. Qi certainly did not want to rely on the Eighth Route, although it would be his future master, but at least there were more than ten years left.

  Those National Army generals who fought against the Communist Party and killed many people were eventually pardoned, even the biggest traitor Puyi was released after serving his sentence. I only focused on fighting against the Japanese devils, not harming the Communist Party members. Besides, as a low-ranking officer, if I knew someone was a Communist Party member, I would still protect them, letting them go with a warning.

  The current task is to train our own troops well, train a fine army, and then find the little devils and vent our anger. Let them occupy the Ryukyu Islands, but also seize the Diaoyu Islands. For the devils, it's just one word: "Kill".

  Zhai Qin, who had been in the major construction companies for many years, of course knew the principle of waiting for a good price. As a small company itself, it was waiting to be acquired by a large company, but it certainly wanted to find a company with development prospects, and couldn't afford to be acquired today and go bankrupt tomorrow.

  This is the result of Zhai Qin's thinking over the past few days. Zhang Tongye, who also lives in Ningguo and temporarily leads the 12th Brigade, does not understand what this silent unit is all about. However, the unit's uniforms and food are indeed good, so they must have a strong backing, which is why Zhang Tongye did not dare to make any rash moves.

  When Daiqin heard that the commander-in-chief of the front enemy was Xue Yue, he immediately rejoiced. This is a company with a very bright signboard, not only has a deep relationship but also has real power. On the battlefield of the Anti-Japanese War, among the main generals of the National Army, there are few famous powerful ones. The only ones I know are Zhang Zizhong, Wei Lihuang, Li Zongren and Xue Yue. However, General Zhang Zizhong sacrificed himself, seemingly with the highest military rank among the National Army generals who died in battle. Wei Lihuang doesn't seem to be liked by Old Chiang very much. As for Li Zongren? He is just a warlord, still from the Guangxi clique, not orthodox. Others like Wang Yaowu, Zhang Lingpu, Sun Liren at this time are all lower-level people.

  Xue Yue, Xue Boling, the commander of the Tianlu War, this is indeed the best big tree, and Zhai Qin almost laughed out loud. It's really a pillow when you want to sleep, and it turns out that the third war zone was commanded by Xue Yue before. Not only is it Chiang Kai-shek's direct system army, but also an anti-war general.

  That's him. Zhai Qin made a decision in an extremely short period of time and immediately put on a smile: "It's Commander Xue, the Heavenly Furnace Warrior, a famous person!"

  Dai Qin's excited words left Xu Supu stunned. Commander Xue was indeed a famous person, what was the story behind the Tianlu War? Did Dai Qin know the commander? Impossible, how could the commander know a small regimental commander like him? He had been following the commander for a long time and didn't know about it. His puzzlement also confused Dai Qin.

  Seeing Xu Supu's dazed expression, Zhai Qin suddenly remembered that the Tianlu Warlord probably emerged after the end of the Anti-Japanese War, which was not yet at this time. With a decision in mind, Zhai Qin finally became serious and formal: "Reporting to the Chief of Staff, the situation is like this..."

  Dí Qín's troops were blocked at Yangjiapu, but the headquarters thought they had all been killed in action, so they retreated without notification. Without orders, they could only retreat all the way to Ningguo.

  Diaoqin showed off his eloquence, recounting the entire process in detail. Xu Supu didn't believe it at all - that someone who had annihilated nearly two companies of devils in just two battles could be so boastful, he simply didn't trust him.

  However, as the Chief of Staff, Xu Supu knew about the Huangtugang blocking battle. Originally planned to block for ten days and a half month, covering the Eighth Army and Tenth Army that retreated from Hangzhou, but the troops had no combat effectiveness at all. The front line was breached, if not for the 19th Division Li Jue's troops stubbornly blocking, the loss would have been even greater.

  The battle that took place near Yangjiapu was indeed like this, a squadron of devils retreated and escaped, according to Yang Zhenzhong's report, it was his 625th regiment that annihilated the squadron. However, the devils brought in another battalion, but the front line Huangtugang lost, the troops defending on the Qing Shan position were completely wiped out. The regiment commander Xiang Wending led the entire regiment to be killed, of course, no one cared about the Yangjiapu position anymore. Was what Zhai Qin said really true?

  Looking at Zhai Qin's garrulousness, Xu Supu said: "Why not report to the headquarters and withdraw from Hangzhou, but first withdraw to Ningguo?"

  Diqin wanted to leave a good impression on Xu Supu, so that in the future he could rely on Xue Yue this big tree. As for his own military achievements, Diqin didn't care much. Hearing Zhao Kai say that such a battle result would be unbelievable if told to others.

  Xu Supu didn't believe it, but Zhai Qin didn't care. He was arrogant and had a bad habit of being resistant to advice. When Xu Supu said this, he immediately became angry: "Director Xu, the devils are attacking Hangzhou as their target, and most of our troops have already retreated. We're surrounded by the enemy. If we retreat to Hangzhou, aren't we sending ourselves to death? We don't have a radio or telephone, how can we contact headquarters? As long as we stay alive, there's hope to destroy the devils. You think we should charge into the devil's den and show that we're not afraid of death, but isn't that just stupidity?"

  "Flatulence" Xu Supu has the demeanor of a Confucian general, usually with a very refined appearance, and along with the Chief of Staff of the First War Zone Xu Zuyi, they are known as the "Two Cultured Xus", both being highly capable Chiefs of Staff.

  At this time, he was also scolded by Zhai Qin's explosive foul language, but what Zhai Qin said made sense and was not wrong tactically. A small company commander could see the big picture and think ahead to a safe retreat direction, which was quite good. In anger, he said: "Since you retreated to Ningguo, why didn't you report your unit number? And what's with these over a thousand people?"

  Dai Qin did not restrain himself because Xu Supu did not pursue his responsibility, and he said in the same tone: "I have nowhere to report, who should I report to? Ningguo is just a security team, we are the central army, what can we report to him? These thousands of people are our scattered soldiers and bandits gathered here, their military discipline is poor, causing trouble everywhere. Moreover, this is the national army's strength, I gather them together for intensified training, and when there is an opportunity, I will take them to the battlefield to fight against the devils. Is this wrong?"

  Xu Suping understood that this guy was just a regimental commander, and he had already done a good job. Gathering the scattered soldiers to form a unit was the most basic method. However, he also found it strange that Zhai Qin, who was only a captain and a battalion commander, could gather over a thousand people. Would these soldiers listen to him? Moreover, they had been here for over ten days, where did their supplies come from?

  Since Dai Qin did nothing wrong and didn't commit any mistakes, Xu Supu's expression improved a bit as he said: "Since you knew the 12th Temporary Regiment entered Ningguo, why didn't you contact us and join the National Army ranks?"

  Dai Qin said these words while observing Xu Supu's expression, seeing the relaxed expression on Xu Supu's face, knowing that his argument had passed, and now it was time for his purpose. Hearing Xu Supu's question, he sneered: "What unit is Temporary 12th Brigade? I haven't heard you mention it before. Even if I trained these troops myself, I wouldn't let them command, I'm not at ease. Don't get these troops wiped out."

  "Boldly" Xu Supu said: "Look down on superior officials, disobedient and not following orders, I will remove your position."

  Diaoqin didn't have a hint of fear: "Withdraw if we must, what's the big deal? Being led by incompetent generals is still a death sentence."

  Xu Supo had never seen such an officer, just a company commander was so arrogant. He himself was a major general and the chief of staff of the war zone's forward command post. Even when a division commander met him, he spoke very cautiously. This guy really didn't fear being removed from office? In anger, he said: "So no one can command you?"

  Dai Qin shook his head and said: "That's not it, it depends on who the person is. If I admire him, I will charge forward and resolutely obey orders."

  Dai Qin's words piqued Xu Supu's interest. If it were a division commander or a brigade commander who said this, there would be some reason to it. But he was just a regimental commander, and yet he dared to speak such arrogant words. Xu Supu wasn't born yesterday, and Dai Qin had always been acting strangely - there must be a reason for it. However, this was just clever talk, and it remained to be seen whether he had the ability to back it up. Zhang opened his mouth and asked: "Who can command you? Do you think you can directly take orders from the Military Affairs Committee?"

  Diqin still shook his head: "No, I still don't trust those people, but if it's someone like Commander Xue, Commander Cheng, General Zhang Zizhong, or Commander Wei Lihuang in command, I will resolutely obey orders."

  Xu Supu was not angry or puzzled this time, but shocked. These people were all famous generals, and Zhai Qin was good at being arrogant.

  However, the people he mentioned are certainly very capable. Especially when Zhai Qin put Xue Yue in the first place, although there is a suspicion of flattering, but as the saying goes, "a thousand holes and ten thousand holes can be pierced, but flattery cannot be pierced".

  Dí Qín piqued Xú Sùpǔ's interest, and then he came in to see the map on the wall, which was a current enemy situation map. The level of mapping was very unprofessional. However, there were many lines and arrows that he didn't understand, but it seemed to be explaining some problem. He was a high-level chief of staff, and this guy directly said that they were all first-class commanders in the war zone, including Zhang Zizhong, who was also a military commander.

  "Who made this battle map?"

  Dai Qin was slightly stunned. He immediately understood and showed an embarrassed expression: "Sorry, I drew this, isn't it very unprofessional?"

  Xu Supu smiled, up to now, this guy was the first time showing such an expression. He curled his lips and said: "You still have some self-awareness, hanging such a map on the wall is useless except for losing face."

  Dai Qin lost his temper and immediately forgot who was in front of him: "How can you talk like that? I didn't attend a military academy, nor did I study these things. Besides, I'm just a company commander, not someone to be looked at by others. As long as I understand myself, it's enough."

  Xu Supu thought so too. Curiously asked: "Indeed only you understand, I didn't even see it clearly, what do these dotted lines mean?"

  Dai Qin said: "Then you certainly don't understand, that's the direction of the devils' attack."

  Xu Supu was startled: "The direction of the devils' attack? How did you know?"

  Dai Qin couldn't say that Laozi was a time-traveler who knew the direction of the enemy's attack. But he also couldn't explain, so he just said: "The devils don't think they can win by just fighting one battle and then giving up; they want to annihilate China, this is the inevitable way of strategic attack. Because they have always wanted to wipe out the main force of the Chinese army, forcing the government to surrender."

  Xu Supu naturally understood Japan's strategy, which was a major strategic direction. But how could Zhai Qin be certain that this was the enemy's line of attack? After thinking for a moment, he said: "Advancing along the Yangtze River to Wuhan is possible, and advancing into Jiangxi is also possible. However, landing in Guangzhou, Japan does not have that kind of military strength, they are worried about Western countries, and do not dare to. Moreover, you think Xuzhou will fall? That's simply nonsense."

  Diqin may not understand all the details of the war, but he knew about the Battle of Xuzhou, where the famous Taierzhuang victory took place. However, he couldn't explain it and didn't want to argue with Xu Supu because there were many things he couldn't clarify either. He could only say stubbornly: "This is my judgment, don't believe me? Just wait and see. I can tell how many eggs the little devil lays just by looking at his tail."

  Xu Supu also thought it was possible that if Japan launched a full-scale attack, intending to destroy China, this would be a highly likely line of attack. However, this was the defensive strategy set by Chiang Kai-shek, and he couldn't say anything about it. As a lieutenant general and chief of staff, he couldn't decide the Military Committee's thinking.

  This conversation made Xu Supu feel that Zhai Qin had great potential as a strategist. Let's take a look, if he really has some brains, bring him to the strategy department and cultivate him, maybe he'll become a talent.

  His expression turned serious and he said, "Since you think no one can command you, I'll temporarily turn your group into the Third War Zone Frontline Command Independent Regiment. You will act as the temporary regiment commander until the Commander makes a decision."

  Diqin let out a long sigh of relief and leaned against the big tree. This time, he was no longer an orphan. Since that's the case, it's time to start his own plan.