War of Resistance: Glory of the Beasts

Chapter 664: Battle of Xuzhou
Why did Yan Laoxizi have the reputation of being stingy?

In fact, the reason is very simple. He has to be stingy. If he doesn't, there will be no place for him to stay in this area of ​​Shanxi.

How chaotic was Shanxi in 1938 in history?
In history, after losing Taiyuan, Yan Laoxizi retreated to an area in southwestern Shanxi and could not move. Wei Lihuang did not leave either and occupied southeastern Shanxi. In addition, there were the increasingly powerful Japanese invaders and the bases opened up by our party in the early days...it was a mess.

What was Shanxi like in the past? It was like Tuen Mun, a dinosaur, all the same. At this time, the territory that Yan Laoxizi could control was getting smaller and smaller. How could he not be stingy?
So, from a historical perspective, Yan Laoxizi is indeed becoming more and more stingy, but in fact, if you put anyone in Yan Laoxizi's position, when resources are becoming increasingly scarce and it is impossible to open up new sources, intercepting the flow will become the only option.

But what about the world that Xu Chaoyang lives in?
Wei Lihuang also did not leave. His troops were helping to defend Taiyuan. The Japanese occupied northern Shanxi, and Xu Chaoyang occupied Xinzhou. The Sichuan Army and Xu Chaoyang coexisted on the same land. Refugees from Chahar continued to run here, and Xinzhou was almost overcrowded.

At this time, the food that Li Wanchao had stockpiled in advance had begun to run out, but Taiyuan still refused to do business with them!
In other words, before the crops in the fields were ripe, 217 and the people of Xinzhou were watching the crops that were about to be harvested in Xinzhou being eaten up...

It's not that Xu Chaoyang is short of money, but at this critical moment, even if you have money you can't buy food; once the supply to the Sichuan Army is cut off, it will be problematic whether 217 can coexist peacefully with the Sichuan Army. When people are hungry, they can do anything.

"report!"

In the military sub-district office in Xin County, a message was delivered by a signalman: "A call from Yan'an."

Xu Chaoyang sat in a chair with his eyes squinted and sucking his teeth. Now he was cut off from the news and could only know what happened on the ground in Xinzhou, but knew nothing about the outside world. If Xu Chaoyang was not a time traveler, but a soldier of this era, after experiencing so many wars and growing to such a level, he would have panicked a long time ago once he fell into a situation of information isolation. But now?
Not only was he not panicked, he also knew what the call from Yan'an said.

Yang Jingyu walked over, took the telegram in his hand and exclaimed: "Chaoyang, something big has happened!"

Xu Chaoyang didn't even move: "Yeah." He responded.

"Don't act like an old man, this is a big deal!"

Yang Jingyu walked up to Xu Chaoyang with the telegram in his hand and said, "The government has decided to kill Crazy Han!"

Xu Chaoyang said without even raising his eyelids: "It's outdated news..."

Yang Jingyu was stunned for a moment: "What are you talking about? This is clearly a telegram that was just sent."

"Look, you still don't believe it." Xu Chaoyang slowly opened his eyes and said, "The gentleman in the government has always been good at finding scapegoats, but SH and Nanjing were defeated twice, who can he let be the scapegoat? It's not good to push himself to the guillotine, right? From him down, from officers to soldiers, everyone is brave, and there are countless heroic souls under the Yuhua Terrace!"

"Then, isn't it just about looking outside?"

"Where can he look?"

"Shanxi, the two great victories of Tuanchengkou and Xinzhou are here. Wei Lihuang, Yan Laoxizi, and our 18th Army are all heroes. Why should they target us?"

"Further east, Crazy Han was defeated one after another after the Japanese invaders entered Shandong. Just because the heavy artillery brigade that was to be given to them was given to Tang Enbo, not only did they lose Dezhou and even Jinan, but now they have voluntarily abandoned the Yellow River defense line. Who else can we deal with if not Crazy Han?"

"At this time, the North China Corps is advancing from north to south; the Central China Corps in SH and Jinling are advancing from south to north. Xuzhou has become a battleground. It is not only the hub of the north-south Jinpu Line, but also the transportation hub of the Longhai Railway that runs through the east and west. It is connected to Zhengzhou in the west and Lianyungang in the east. Taking Xuzhou means that the entire coastline in the east has fallen into the devil's pocket. Can they not put pressure on Xuzhou with all their might?" "At this time, if the master of the National Government does not kill two big figures as a sacrifice, and the people below do not work hard, you will not even have the chance to regret it."

Xu Chaoyang carried the map so smoothly because he had seen every step of the development of this war countless times.

Even so, he did not tell Yang Jingyu that the Japanese had gathered eight divisions with a total of 240,000 troops around Xuzhou. If he said this, there would probably be one more person in the world who would be worried about Xuzhou.

"Then, Xuzhou, do you think you can win?"

It is hard for Xu Chaoyang to say whether Xuzhou can win or not, after all, history has changed.

The Fifth Division, which was supposed to enter Shandong after taking Taiyuan in history, is not stationed in Weifang now. According to the previous news reported by Yan'an, when our army entered Shandong to open up a base behind enemy lines, the troops stationed in Weifang were the Second Army of the North China Army under Nishio Toshizo;

Under such circumstances, Rensuke Isogai captured Jining and Hisaichi Terauchi entered Jinan. The North China Front Army was about to put all its advantages in Xuzhou.

On the other hand, those from the National Government who have settled in Xuzhou are no ordinary people!

As the commander-in-chief, Li Zongren commanded the troops in Xuzhou properly. Otherwise, how could there have been the great victory of Taierzhuang?

What is more commendable is not only Li Zongren's command ability, but also his coordination ability. He was able to make the Northeast Army under Yu Xuezhong devote themselves to fighting for the country in Shandong after the Xi'an Incident, and he was also able to make Zhang Zhizhong obey his orders in his tent. These were all people who once dominated a region. Xu Chaoyang did not have the confidence to do this.

When that time came, even Yu Xuezhong couldn't figure it out. After all, when you were a soldier in Qi City, he was already a general. Now you are commanding him? What are you doing?
Zhang Zhizhong might listen to you for the sake of friendship, but what about after you finish speaking? Why? He watched you grow up in the Northwest Army.

If you, Xu Chaoyang, had really gone to Xuzhou, you would be a little kid in every way, hi hi hi hi hi, who are you talking about... Who can you command?

However, things were a little different now. The Fifth Division was pinned down by him at Tuanchengkou and could not move. The defeat in Xinzhou made the Fifth Division lose all its prestige in Terauchi Hisaichi's eyes. They did not participate in the Shandong campaign at all, let alone enter Xuzhou.
Under this circumstance, the boss of the National Government even sacrificed Han Fengzi. You don't have to say it, you really don't have to say it. Maybe the two families can make a mess in Xuzhou, but in the end, Xu Chaoyang felt that the best option would be a large-scale retreat.

After all, the Sichuan Army detained him...

If only the commander were still here!
If the commander of the 129th Division was still there, he would have to poke the Japs in some way, no matter if it was the Japs in Yangquan or the th Division. But now, he can only try his best to maintain the balance in Xinzhou and wait for Xiaoduo to return.

"report!"

"Come in!"

"Announcement from Yan'an: The battle has begun in Xuzhou!"

When Xu Chaoyang got the news that Xuzhou had started fighting, he was still busy with Xinzhou affairs. He hadn't sent his wife away yet. The whole Xin County was in a mess. It was this news that made Xu Chaoyang determined to send Yuan Fuzhen to the other side of the ocean. At that time, he still had food...

(End of this chapter)