Chapter 14 Tai'erzhuang "Three-day Tour" Ticket (Part 2)

  After thwarting Yu Juncai's attempt to take the field personally, Cheng Jiaji had someone call in Xing Yusheng, the deputy commander of the 199th Division.

  Xing Yusheng was originally a regimental commander in the Sichuan Army. After being wounded during the later stages of the Battle of Shanghai, he was sent to Nanjing for recovery. Following the fall of Nanjing, he escaped under the protection of several old subordinates. He fled to southern Zhejiang and joined the 7th Independent Regiment of the Third War Zone, where he became a deputy battalion commander due to having only a few men under him. Later, when the regiment was incorporated into the Temporary 16th Army, Xing Yusheng naturally became a deputy regimental commander in the Temporary 1st Division of the Temporary 16th Army.

  This man mixed in the Sichuan army Liu Xiang's troops for over a decade, from a 17-year-old new recruit to become a captain battalion commander. If it were true that he had fought more battles than anyone else, then in the current Independent Hundred Regiment, if he said he was second, no one would dare say they were first.

  This person has a bad habit of being too cunning and deceitful, always trying to take advantage of situations and cheat others. However, this can't be blamed on him, as the Sichuan army had been fighting internal wars for 20 years. Except for a few intense battles, most of the time they just went through the motions, pretending to fight while actually holding peaceful gatherings. The battles in Sichuan often involved tens of thousands of soldiers clashing for dozens of days, with fewer than a thousand casualties. Moreover, the fighting would stop and start again, with friends and enemies constantly changing sides, sometimes even switching roles mid-battle. After being in such an army for over a decade, it's strange if someone doesn't become cunning and deceitful.

  However, Xing Yusheng performed quite well in the battle against Japan, otherwise he wouldn't have been seriously injured in the Battle of Shanghai. This time, Cheng Jiaji chose him to lead the vanguard, precisely because he wanted to utilize his cunning combat style.

  "These two regiments just need to hold on until this morning, and by noon I'll have other troops withdraw you. Remember, after charging in, first occupy a piece of land controlled by the Japanese without worrying about anything else. Then stabilize your position and don't make any rash moves. Use your Sichuan army's tactics for fighting internal wars, don't engage in a fierce battle with the little devils, just hold on!

  Cheng Jiaxi did not plan to have a real confrontation with the Japanese. In his view, as long as his troops could stall the Japanese, that would be enough. As for retaking the entire Tairazhuang, that would have to wait until the big counterattack."

  "What if those little devils attack fiercely?" Xing Yusheng asked.

  "Then give up the front position, hide and seek with the Japanese in the village. Remember, your main purpose is not to recover the village, that's the job of the Second Army Group and the 20th Corps. What we need to do is hold back the little devils, no matter what, don't let them occupy the whole village." Cheng Jiaji would not think of putting himself in a difficult situation until the last moment, he didn't want to lose the bit of capital he had just managed to scrape together again.

  Watching Xing Yusheng lead the troops into Taierzhuang, Cheng Jiaji led a few guards to turn back and go to the front of the division. After arranging this side, he felt more at ease, as for Jiang Feng's cavalry regiment, he didn't worry too much. As long as the cavalry regiment came and went like the wind, he believed that the little devils wouldn't be able to do anything about it. For Jiang Feng, this ambitious subordinate, he was still confident in his military abilities.

  It was still at the place where the 199th team got off just now, Gao Shiqi and Wen Songyuan were already preparing to get off with the rear team of Independent Hundred Regiment.

  Wen Songyuan is now a majestic regimental officer, and also the commander of a division, with 1,600 to 1,700 men under his command. However, this former rascal from Nan'an still apparently lacks the self-awareness of being a soldier, especially an officer. On the eve of a major battle, he actually played cards with several battalion commanders on the train for eight rounds.

  Perhaps it was because of his commander's nonchalant attitude that it affected the brothers of the 200th regiment. Compared to the general pre-battle tension of the 199th regiment, the brothers of the 200th regiment seemed much more relaxed and at ease. Not only were some company and platoon leaders playing cards and drinking below, but even the soldiers had a lot of fun and laughter, and the whole army did not have the tense atmosphere that should be present when facing a great enemy.

  As soon as the train stopped, Wen Songyuan showed his true colors as a rascal from Nan'an Street. He kicked the mahjong table with one foot and shouted loudly: "Everyone hurry up! Fifteen minutes later, line up at the door of the car for me. Whoever is late, I'll knock on their rice bowl!" Several battalion commanders rushed to take orders. Of course, no one would dare mention the issue of the regimental commander's unpaid gambling debt at this time.

  Fifteen minutes later, nearly three thousand officers and soldiers were divided into four parts and gathered under the train.

  Gao Shiying still frowned as usual, his head slightly tilted to the side, looking at the four piles of soldiers in front of him.

  The first group was naturally the two hundred troops under Wen Congyuan's command, and this was also the most disorganized group. Whether they were old soldiers or new recruits, officers or men, they all looked like they were about to die from laziness. Gao Shiying looked at this military bearing, his already furrowed brow tightening even further. He had a mind to say something to Wen Congyuan, who was still reeking of alcohol, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He owed his current position to Wen's introduction, and he didn't dare offend this trouble-prone commander.

  The officers of the independent regiment all knew in their hearts. Although Yu Juncai and Gao Shiqi were deputy commanders, one was the chief of staff and the other was the commander of the main force team, but Yu Juncai was still a bigger official than Wen Songyuan. However, in front of Cheng Jiaji, this big and rough Wen Songyuan was indeed the closest confidant. It's worth noting that Cheng Jiaji and Wen Songyuan had grown up together since childhood, and this kind of relationship was something that others who joined halfway couldn't compare to. In recent days, Wen Songyuan had been causing trouble in Xuzhou, but if it weren't for Cheng Jiaji covering for him, Wen Songyuan wouldn't have his current status. As a result, no one in the entire independent regiment dared to offend Wen Songyuan, the "cannonball".

  The second group looked much better. This was a battalion of the 199th Division, with several hundred men standing in neat and silent formation. Yu Juncai was indeed a man from the elite troops of the Central Army, and his team was well-organized.

  The third stack is Gao Shiying's own travel team. Although the troops are not as neat as those of the 199th Division, they still look like a team.

  The remaining group of people was the smallest, with only three or four hundred people, wearing brand new uniforms. These were three new recruit battalions urgently allocated to Independent Division 100 by the war zone headquarters before boarding the train. Gao Shiying didn't pay much attention to them, just glanced at them and that's it. Anyway, in his opinion, following Cheng Jiaji's habit, these three or four hundred people would definitely be replenished into various troops after this battle. Their current military appearance was really nothing to look at.

  After letting the troops disperse and rest in place, Gao Shiying and Wen Songyuan led a dozen guards on horseback under the guidance of a deputy officer who came to greet them at the division's forward command post.

  At this time, the Japanese spy lurking in Xuzhou sent a secret telegram to the 10th Division of the Japanese army which was fighting against Chinese troops at Taierzhuang.

  In the telegram after the battle, which was accused of seriously misleading the 10th Division's combat actions, it only mentioned that one Chinese army brigade had been dispatched to the Tai'erzhuang front line. However, for some reason, the number of people in this brigade was not indicated in the telegram. At that time, the independent 100th Brigade invested nearly 5,000 troops in the Tai'erzhuang frontline, while normally a Chinese army brigade had only around 2-3,000 people. This small oversight in intelligence would soon bring great trouble to the Japanese.

  At the same time, the Fifth War Officer also received a telegram from the Independent Brigade.

  The telegram roughly says that on April 5th, 1928, the entire 100th Independent Division arrived at Taierzhuang, and one of its units had already begun fighting with the Japanese army.

  Looking at the newly born sun, Cheng Jiaji's heart was not relaxed. This is Taierzhuang, but it's not that Dawangzhuang where a chaotic battle can be supported. The Japanese have planes and heavy artillery on this battlefield, and they are not easy to deal with. If he couldn't hold up and led to a complete collapse, then he would be an unforgivable sinner.

  With the determination to die for the country if all else fails, (who doesn't want to live on? As long as one can survive), Cheng Jiaxi summoned all regimental officers including Wen Songyuan and Gao Zhenheng who had just arrived, and held the first combat meeting since arriving at Taierzhuang.