Chapter 12 Infinite Scenery in Xuzhou (Part 1)

  On the third day after the Battle of Taierzhuang, on March 16th, 1928, a group of officers and soldiers returning from the front line arrived in Xuzhou, Jiangbei, the headquarters of the Fifth War Zone Command, causing a stir throughout the city.

  Before 7 am, many citizens who had received the news were waiting on the main streets of Xuzhou for a victorious unit returning from the Linyi battlefield to pass through the city. The news had spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys of Xuzhou, and naturally, no one wanted to miss this opportunity, especially since there was also rumored to be captured devils to see. By 8 am, the entire city of Xuzhou was packed with people.

  Even the War Zone Headquarters and the Xu State Police Command sent people to maintain order at the scene, but the Xu State Police Command was also confused and did not know which unit was said to be escorting Japanese prisoners of war around the city walls of Xu State.

  There were only a few people in the Fifth War Zone Command who knew the truth, but these people either colluded with them or pretended to be unaware and let it happen. It can be said that this time the Wuhan Military and Political Department did something so despicable that they really offended the majority of the Fifth War Zone.

  At 9:10, a team of about 700-800 people slowly entered the city of Xuzhou. Tens of thousands of citizens saw this team, which was much smaller than they had imagined and not as mighty and majestic in its pace, and most were slightly disappointed, making the scene somewhat chilly for a while.

  However, this situation only lasted for a few minutes. When the Japanese soldiers with their heads bowed and the various types of captured Japanese weapons appeared before the eyes of Xuzhou citizens, the entire city of Xuzhou almost instantly erupted in excitement. The slogan "Resist to the end, China must win" echoed throughout the skies above Xuzhou. It's no wonder that the people of Xuzhou were so excited. In recent days, the citizens of Xuzhou had only heard bad news about the front lines, such as the fall of Jinan and the danger in Linyi. Just a few days ago, they learned that Teng County was also on the verge of danger. How could this not make the people of Xuzhou worry about the war situation? If these places fell one after another, the Japanese army would immediately attack Xuzhou. The people of Xuzhou had never hoped to hear news of a victory on the front lines like they did now, and what's more, they could see it with their own eyes. How could they not be overjoyed? In the midst of this joyful atmosphere, Chinese and foreign reporters who were quick-witted and sharp-eyed were busy taking photos. The Japanese had always boasted that they were invincible on the battlefield in China, but this iron-clad fact was a loud slap in the face for Japan, and it was also the best news material.

  Apart from the Japanese prisoners of war and various Japanese weapons being carried, what could be most worthy of the reporters' film was the battle flag of today's victors who were at the forefront of the entire team. This tattered flag still had legible characters, which read "Provisional 16th Army of the National Revolutionary Army vanguard detachment" in 15 large characters.

  It was the team led by Cheng Jiaji that brought the whole city of Xuzhou into a crazy festive atmosphere, which was the temporary 16th army vanguard detachment that had just been annihilated by the Shanmu Brigade in Dawangzhuang.

  Cheng Jiaji was now mingling with the officers and men of his own brigade, secretly laughing to himself that his plan had gone so smoothly up to this point. At the same time, he was also deeply moved by the enthusiasm of the people of Xuzhou for the war effort. In his heart, he even felt a little uneasy about using some means to take advantage of the enthusiasm of the Xuzhou civilians in order to gain the greatest benefits for himself and his subordinates in the bloody battle at Dawangzhuang.

  Fortunately, Cheng Jiaji is not a person with political squeamishness, and soon he used the reason that all this was also for the sake of better fighting against the devils to free himself from guilt.

  Not bad, today's scene is exactly what Cheng Jiaji carefully planned. To achieve this effect, Cheng Jiaji can be said to have exhausted all his tricks and schemes.

  Firstly, Cheng Jiaji knew from history that tomorrow, the 17th, would bring a major breakthrough in the battle of Linyi. By then, his own military achievements would not be so conspicuous. In order to implement his plan, Cheng Jiaji had to rush to Xuzhou on the 16th and force the highest authorities to increase their rewards for him. If successful, he might even gain nationwide fame. The battle reports from Linyi would take at least two or three days to come out, by which time Cheng Jiaji believed that the highest authorities' decision on his own and his troops' rewards would have been settled long ago.

  Cheng Jiaji made arrangements to achieve this goal, having Gao Shiying contact Xie Gaopan with a large sum of activity funds. After spending a lot of money, he finally managed to get cars for his troops. To make the advance party look more impressive when entering the city, he had Gao Shiying secretly return to the outskirts of Xuzhou to inform the garrison troops left behind by the advance party to prepare for today's action. He also received in advance the three new companies promised by Commander Li of the war zone with the help of Kong Fangge, so that there were seven or eight hundred people entering the city today. Even those who spread the news of a victory parade with Japanese devils being captured alive today were hired by Cheng Jiaji through Gao Shiying for money. Many Chinese and foreign journalists also came today after secretly receiving travel expenses; otherwise, almost all reporters from newspapers and radio stations would not have come for an uncertain piece of news.

  Cheng Jiaji knew he had made a risky move, although he thought his arrangement was not flawless, but it could be considered detailed and thorough. However, to make the old foxes in the war zone and Wuhan unable to see through this, Cheng Jiaji did not think he had the skill yet. At this time, whether it was the War Zone Command or the Supreme Command, they needed to publicize a great victory that would stabilize the people's hearts.

  Although the two high-level military organs had no intention of publicizing the Battle of Dawangzhuang to the national people before today, Cheng Jiakui believed that as long as he stirred up the emotions of the Xuzhou people and created momentum through news media, both the Supreme Command and the Fifth War Zone would follow suit and vigorously promote this brutal battle. The scale of the Battle of Dawangzhuang was indeed insignificant, but from the perspective of enemy and our numbers, there were still some places that could be used to boost morale and encourage soldiers. Cheng Jiakui became more and more pleased with himself as he thought about it, but suddenly a question popped up in his mind, had his little plan gone too smoothly? The more he thought about it, the uglier his face became.

  When the armed parade of Zhang's troops pushed the emotions of the people of Xuzhou to a boiling point, there was a big shot in the headquarters of the Fifth War Zone Commander-in-Chief who was discussing Cheng Jiaji with his subordinates, this small figure who could only be considered a novice on both the battlefield and in officialdom.