Bright Sword: Leading the Special Operations Squadron to Fight the Japs

Chang Guangzhou breathed a sigh of relief, and his flushed face finally returned to normal.

"I'll listen to you. I will bear the humiliation and tell the petitioning representatives outside that our Central Army has mobilized a large number of troops to defend Hengyang and we are confident that Hengyang will be safe!

In addition, we should mobilize our public opinion to attack Li Zongren and his followers!"

Chang Guangzhou was particularly agile in internal strife, and that evening the radio station controlled by the central government broadcast a series of letters of denunciation against Li Zongren.

It was said that he was suspected to be a spy for the Japanese, who, at a time when the enemy was at the doorstep, stirred up trouble in the rear, disrupted public order and undermined the economic order.

There were also reports that in order to seize a position, he spent a large sum of money to bribe party elders and students who were unaware of the truth to join him in fighting against the central government.

The most important one was a report that the editor-in-chief of the Women and Children newspaper, Zhou Guiying, was his niece, and that the newspaper was his tool for making money and his accomplice in disrupting order.

However, Li Zongren was well prepared for all this. Early the next morning, a letter from Li Zongren was published in a special issue of the Women and Children newspaper.

He openly acknowledged Zhou Guiying's identity and prepared to publish the newspaper's account books on helping women and children for everyone to read.

The despicable method of throwing dirty water on the central government aroused more people's disgust, and finally more people chose to stand on Li Zongren's side.

Strike while the iron is hot. At 4 p.m. that day, Li Zongren and other progressive people set up a stage on the streets of Chongqing and issued a harsh statement:

On behalf of the 400 million Chinese compatriots, he requested the independent column to join the war. If anyone tried to stop him, they would have to step over his dead body first.

Chang Guangzhou was so angry that he was fuming. Telegrams of petition were delivered to his desk one after another.

"Damn it, it's fine if the students just joined in the commotion, but why are the officials from various provinces and the presidents of various universities getting involved too?"

Chang Guangzhou felt an unprecedented crisis. In the past, most of the attacks on him were from the opposition forces, which were not worth mentioning. After all, it was normal for people to curse each other in the political arena, so there was no need to make a fuss.

But this time, Li Zongren seemed to have a small number of supporters within the party, and there was a trend of changing.

"Xun En, what's the situation outside?"

"Sir, now the streets and alleys of Chongqing are full of criticisms of the Central Army and the Central Government, making the call for the Independent Column to go south to fight the war stronger and stronger!

This may be the biggest public opinion crisis the central government has encountered since its establishment. I suggest you treat it with caution! "

Chang Guangzhou's face turned purple and he pounded the ground twice with his cane, as if the cane had infinite magic power and could smash Li Zongren's "reactionary group" to pieces.

"Damn it! As the leader of a country, I don't even have this much power and authority. There are constant wars in the front and disasters in the back. No wonder some people say that our central government is a mess! This country is not just mine!"

Chang Guangzhou, who was furious, waved his cane and expressed his dissatisfaction wildly when he got excited.

Everyone around, including Chen Bulei, was silent as a mouse.

Chang Guangzhou's heaving chest finally slowed down. He sat on the sofa, and the expression on his face returned to normal.

"Send a telegram to Xue Yue. Hengyang is a key point connecting our east and west, and is also an area of ​​focus for the M Army's military observers. In order to gain more assistance and let the allies see the central government's determination to fight the war, we must ensure that Hengyang is absolutely safe!

If there are any more officers who fail to fight effectively or disobey orders, regardless of their rank, they will all be punished by military law without reporting to the Ministry of Military Affairs! "

The telegram was delivered to the anxious Xue Yue. He had the "imperial sword" in his hand, but he was not happy at all.

Originally, it was a good thing to have the power of life and death over the officers and soldiers of the Ninth War Zone, but now it is extremely heavy.

As a "micro-control master", Chang Guangzhou crossed the Ninth War Zone many times and directly commanded the troop movements at the division level before the Battle of Hengyang began.

Moreover, many of the orders he issued were contrary to those issued by the Ninth War Zone, leaving those commanders at a loss as to what to do and running around like headless flies across the entire Xiangjiang River.

Whose orders are we resisting? Whose orders are we obeying?

Xue Yue was helpless and could only watch as the Ninth War Zone, which had once been able to fight, was beaten to pieces.

"Reply, the entire Ninth Theater is determined to obey orders. The only way to repay the country is to die on the battlefield!"

1944年4月15日，小鬼子东部突进兵团第34师团与第68师团突破外围防守，彻底将衡阳围住。

The five divisions and one brigade of the Northern Assault Corps moved south along the Xiangjiang River like a big net, continuously seizing one stronghold after another in the Ninth War Zone.

On April 1944, 4, the Japanese 16th Division built a pontoon bridge in the narrow part of the Xiangjiang River, and also seized a number of civilian boats from nearby villages and forcibly crossed the river.

Lieutenant General Ban Jianxiong, commander of the 34th Division, stood by the Xiangjiang River, looking at the swarms of Japanese soldiers who were like dung beetles jumping into a cesspool, and felt particularly heroic.

If Hengyang could be captured, the 11th Army would be able to march straight into the hinterland of Hunan and Guangxi, where there would be countless M Army aid, including artillery shells, bullets, food, and gasoline.

It seemed that Nagatomo Ken'ao saw the delicious rice ball waving at him.

"Kill them! Charge for the empire!"

After crossing the Xiangjiang River, the 34th Division took the lead in launching an attack on Hengyang City, but was met with fierce attack from the Hengyang defenders.

Because Fang Xianjue had done a lot of preparatory work, he demolished most of the houses in the city and built a large number of brick-concrete fortifications outside Hengyang City, and also deployed a large amount of direct firepower in stages.

Therefore, the first wave of attack by the 34th Division was thwarted.

Ken'ao Nagatomo saw the yellow corpses all over the ground through the telescope, and his back teeth were broken. He had originally planned to take Hengyang before having breakfast, but it seemed that he had better just shut himself up and have breakfast in Xiangjiang River.

"Order the troops to stop the attack, build simple fortifications outside the city, and wait for the 68th Division to arrive before launching another attack!"

"Hayi!"

Nagatomo Ken'o observed the fortifications outside Hengyang City again and found that the bunkers and trenches were built neatly and their firepower was stronger than that of ordinary troops.

"It seems that this unit has obtained a lot of American equipment, and the number of machine guns is even greater than that of the Imperial Army! It seems that the Central Army has made a lot of preparations!"

After learning that the attack on Hengyang had been blocked, Yokoyama Isamu, who was stationed in Hankou, immediately ordered the 68th Division to cross the river, and ordered the troops sweeping the north to speed up and approach Hengyang immediately, cutting off Hengyang's contact with the outside world and ensuring that no supplies could enter.