The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 243 The decisive battle: hugging thighs and cultivating relationships

He Wei strode into the command post in Xiaguan and walked towards General Xiao excitedly.

When he saw General Xiao, He Wei was about to salute General Xiao, but he saw a middle-aged officer with the rank of major general next to him smiling at him. With curiosity, He Wei stood at attention in front of General Xiao and saluted.

"Reporting to the commander, He Wei has honored his mission and has now led his troops back to the army. He has covered and organized the retreating troops of more than 10,000 people, rescued more than 2,000 civilians, and annihilated 40 Japanese troops from the 6th Division on Zhongshan North Road and Zhongshan East Road. The entire Third Infantry Brigade of the Fifth Regiment, a detachment of the artillery squadron directly under the Forty-fifth Regiment, and a squad of the Sixth Engineer Regiment have more than 1,000 people."

After He Wei finished his sonorous and powerful report, General Xiao looked surprised, but his expression quickly returned to normal. However, the major general officer next to General Xiao could not hide the shock on his face, and was quite a bit out of sorts.

General Xiao looked at He Shaozhou who had a big mouth, chuckled twice, and then said: "Shaozhou, don't be surprised, this He Wei can always do what ordinary people can't, I'm used to it, haha, He Wei, you fight Not bad.”

Just when General Xiao praised He Wei unstintingly, He Shaozhou slowly said: "A brigade, that is an infantry brigade."

Obviously, He Shaozhou couldn't believe it. Well, he didn't believe that He Wei could kill a large group of Japanese troops. He Wei was not annoyed and had a reasonable reaction.

He Wei nodded, gave a military salute to the unknown major general, and said: "Yes, sir, we did kill an infantry brigade of the Japanese army. The weapons and equipment captured are now installed in Suiwu Camp." If the commander doesn't believe it, he can check it at any time in the car of the tank company of the Armored Corps that went out together. Moreover, the officers and soldiers under my command also found the body of the Japanese infantry captain and searched for his ID. Unfortunately, this guy's saber was stolen. The car was crushed, otherwise it would have been used as a toy for Chief Xiao to play with."

"Hahahahahaha, Shao Zhou, don't worry. I definitely don't believe it when people say that they killed an infantry brigade. I believe this guy ten thousand times. Don't forget that he can drive back the Japanese tanks. His master also snatched the Japanese alliance flag. The current scene and atmosphere in Xiaguan, as well as the defensive positions and the plan to evacuate the people, all have a big share in this kid. Second Uncle Qi has a lot of respect for him. Appreciation is justified.”

General Xiao pointed at He Wei and said to He Shaozhou. Only then did He Shaozhou put away his shocked expression and nodded to He Wei with a warm smile.

"He Wei, this is Deputy Commander He Shaozhou He of the 103rd Division."

General Xiao and He Wei introduced.

He Wei was a little stunned when he heard the name.

It's him?

I didn't expect to meet another celebrity today. This one is not an ordinary person.

Of course, his second uncle was even more complicated. It was He Jingzhi, the Minister of Military and Political Affairs who personally awarded him the honor. He Wei was also quite familiar with He Shaozhou.

This first-year graduate of Huangpu is also famous in history books. Because his second uncle is Minister He, he is also nicknamed the handsome nephew.

But He Wei knew that although this person had a strong backer, he was by no means a well-connected person. He was a graduate of the first phase of Huangpu, and now he was just a deputy commander of an infantry division that had just been annexed by the central government. .

It can be seen that he did not rely on the connections behind him to pave the way for promotion, but relied entirely on his own personal ability. Some literary works before time travel once described He Shaozhou as an unruly, greedy for life and afraid of death. , Mr. He, who is mediocre and incompetent, is indeed a bit biased.

At least He Wei now feels that there is no arrogance or playfulness in this person at all. Instead, he is as approachable and good-natured as his second uncle, nicknamed Granny He.

Of course, He Wei's deepest impression of him was when he served as commander of the Eighth Army at the end of the Anti-Japanese War and commanded the famous Battle of Songshan within the combat sequence of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

The Battle of Songshan, which took place during the Chinese Expeditionary Force's counteroffensive in western Yunnan in 1944, was the first critical battle in which China won victory on the anti-Japanese battlefield. It was also the first so-called "jade-breaking" battle of the Japanese army in the Asian battlefield.

Although the Chinese army paid a heavy price in this battle of annihilation, there was no doubt that this battle gave the Japanese army an annihilating blow.

As the commander of the Eighth Army, the main offensive force in this battle, He Shaozhou also achieved the most glorious moment of his military career in this battle.

Before traveling through time, He Wei personally went to the National Memorial Cemetery in Tengchong, western Yunnan, to pay homage to the gravesites of the martyrs who died in the Battle of Songshan, and was deeply impressed by the battle.

Of course, what He Wei is rapidly thinking about is the factional issue that is closely related to the future development of himself and his brothers. He Wei's goal has always been to lead his troops to develop independently, which means that he does not want to join other regular field troops. Instead of serving within the system, he pursues to build his own army into an independent field force affiliated with high-level units.

Although he had good intentions, if he wanted to achieve this situation, he would need to have a certain level of connections and backing on top of having military exploits that were superior to others. He Wei had no shortage of military exploits, but what he lacked was a backer. This The best backer is Da Tianting, a heavyweight who can decide whether to establish or disband a large-scale field force with a wave of his hand.

To put it crudely, He Wei must hug his thighs. This is a common truth at all times and in all countries. It doesn't matter. Sometimes it is really difficult to accomplish something. After thinking about it, among the generals who have dealt with him, , He Wei felt that only Minister He of the Military and Political Department met this qualification.

But how to hold this thigh, what opportunity and method to hold it, He Wei was a little at a loss.

But meeting He Shaozhou today was the best opportunity. Now that I have the opportunity to get along with and fight with this handsome nephew, isn't it a God-given opportunity to join this line?

So, He Wei suddenly changed the topic and said with a smile: "It turns out to be Commander He. I have been admiring his name for a long time in my humble position. Speaking of which, I just wanted to use the sword of the bastard captain to borrow flowers and present Buddha statues after eating the Japanese brigade. A gift for the general, but I can’t give you the captain’s sword, but I still have a gift to give.”

Speaking, He Wei looked at He Shaozhou and said, "Minister He also takes good care of me. I happen to have two family heirloom knives seized from Japanese military officers. The workmanship and steel mouth are very good. I have to meet He today." Deputy Commander, I am also very happy. I will give these two sabers as gifts to General Xiao and Deputy Commander He. I hope you two will not dislike them."

General Xiao laughed immediately, nodded and accepted He Wei's gift. Needless to say, the friendship between General Xiao and He Wei, apart from the relationship between superiors and subordinates, the two already had a special friendship that lasted forever.

Therefore, General Xiao would naturally not be polite to He Wei. He Shaozhou looked flattered and said eagerly: "I have no merit and no reward. How can I accept this gift from Battalion Commander He for no reason?"

He Shaozhou waved his hands to refuse. General Xiao was also a veteran who had been in the military and official circles for many years. He Wei gave He Shaozhou a gift when he first met him. What kind of Xiao Jiujiu was in his belly? General Xiao How could one not see that for He Wei, a junior whom he admired very much, General Xiao was naturally willing to help him at critical moments.

So he helped and said: "Shao Zhou, just accept it. This kid is very capable. He only has a few sabers. After a while, you will know that he has done something shocking. Besides, You two are destined to be together, your second uncle admires this boy very much, your surname is He, and you are both from Whampoa, besides, you have to fight together in the future, so we should communicate more."

After General Xiao's chanting and beating, He Shaozhou no longer refused. In addition, he had heard of He Wei and was quite interested in He Wei, so his tone became much more friendly and he said: "In this case, Then He would be ashamed to accept it."

After a brief chat, the three of them immediately shifted the topic to the upcoming battle. After General Xiao's introduction, He Wei finally understood the current situation.

It turned out that before he came, General Xiao had just held a meeting with the chief officers of the garrison units that had retreated to Xiaguan. The attendees were the chief officers and chiefs of staff of the divisions and above of the garrison units,

During the meeting, many people criticized General Xiao's policy of sticking to the spot and covering the people's retreat. Some even came out to sing the opposite, but with the cooperation of He Shaozhou, they all pushed back, and finally formed the current situation. The situation of holding on to the spot.

The retreating units have now entered the preset fortifications near the Xiaguan defense circle. Although the various units of the garrison suffered a lot of losses and confusion during the retreat, among the military police units and the 78th Under the organization of the military and other departments, order was finally restored, vitality was preserved, and most of the combat effectiveness was retained.

Of course, there were also some mistakes and dangerous unexpected situations. For example, something went wrong with the Central Military Academy Teaching Corps that retreated from the front line of Guanghua Gate.

Although the main force of the teaching corps withdrew safely, its headquarters was first attacked by a small group of Japanese troops during the retreat, and then was bombed by Japanese bombers. The losses were considerable. Captain Gui Yongqing was injured by Japanese bomb shrapnel during the bombing and fell into coma, losing his command ability.

After the headquarter of the teaching corps arrived at Xiaguan, his life was saved after being treated by military doctors of the gendarmerie. General Xiao immediately sent a boat to send him across the river after learning about it. The current acting commander of the teaching corps is related to He Wei. Qiu Qingquan, the chief of staff of the Corps, whom he had met once.

During the retreat, some troops fought and attacked each other for the retreat route. Fortunately, they were controlled in time and did not turn into large-scale internal strife.

In short, the retreat of various troops now seems very dangerous, but fortunately there was no large-scale collapse in the end, and they all withdrew safely.

After understanding the basic situation, General Xiao also issued the combat order to the special agent battalion troops to He Wei. Currently, the garrison troops have entered the established positions of the Xiaguan Defense Circle,

He Wei was responsible for commanding the special agent battalion, as well as the tank company and tank defense artillery platoon of the Army Armored Corps, which were organized into the reserve battle order according to the pre-war presets.

Also included in the reserve team was He Shaozhou's 103rd Division.

His division, together with the troops commanded by He Wei, as well as the Gendarmerie Regiment and the Gendarmerie Direct Team under the Gendarmerie Headquarters, were deployed in the second-line established fortification positions of the Xiaguan Defense Circle to serve as a reserve team, acting as back-up and fire-fighting for the forward units. team, and at the same time, he also serves as the supervising team.

In addition to the various units, there are currently more than 100,000 civilians and more than 2,000 wounded soldiers from various units gathered in Xiaguan. What the garrison has to do is to hold on until all the civilians and wounded soldiers have crossed the river.

Based on the current number of ships and transportation capacity, this persistence time is about a week.

In other words, during these seven days, the dozen or so dilapidated infantry divisions in the Xiaguan defense circle had to withstand the all-round attack of the Japanese Central China Front's elite land, sea and air forces. This task was actually quite arduous, but For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of people and the more than two thousand wounded soldiers in various units, this battle must be fought and must be persisted.

After understanding the mission and basic situation from General Xiao, He Wei and He Shaozhou left the command post together, preparing to organize their respective troops to enter the predetermined position.

After walking out of the command post, He Shaozhou still wore the same friendly smile as his second uncle and expressed his gratitude to He Wei for the knife.

"Captain He, you gave me a sword today. I feel ashamed to receive it. Thank you very much."

He Wei said respectfully: "Sir, why did you say this? Minister He has taken great care of me. You are also an advanced senior student in the first phase of Huangpu. Moreover, in the military meeting just now, if it weren't for you, Sir He, to assist Xiao General, I'm afraid that the troops under the garrison may not enter the position so honestly and obediently. I have both selfishness and justice. For the hundreds of thousands of people in Xiaguan, I should also thank you, but I am a poor major. I don’t have anything to give, so I’ll just express my love with a saber.” “If you’re interested in something yellow and white, I really can’t give it to you.”

"Hahahaha, it's nothing, it's nothing, it's just a few words to help General Xiao."

He Shaozhou said with a smile.

He Wei once again used some tricks to build a relationship, constantly narrowing the distance between him and his nephew. Since both of their troops were reserve teams, they had quite a lot of free time. After a few polite words, the two of them got together. The conversation quickly turned to combat.

From He Shaozhou, He Wei also learned the basic situation of the 103rd Division where he served as deputy division commander.

The 1935rd Division was originally the 5st Division of the th Army of Wang Jialie's Department of the Guizhou Local Army. In May , it was ordered to be reorganized into the rd Division. The first division commander was He Zhi, who graduated from the second phase of the Guizhou Lecture Hall. Chong, this person was originally a general in the Guizhou Army. After Wang Jialie's resignation, he switched to the central government. He also relied on his fellow villagers to have a good relationship with Minister He and took control of this division.

The division was originally composed of two brigades and four regiments. In June, it was transferred to Huangpi, Lishan, Macheng, Huang'an and other places in Hubei for garrison. In February 6, he was ordered to be transferred to Sichuan for training as a division commander of the third regiment.

At the end of August, the division was ordered to set off from Luotian, Hubei, and took a ship from Wuxue, Guangji to Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. After landing, it was transported by truck and troops, and walked to Jiangyin, where it was assigned to the battle order of Liu Xing, the "Commander-in-Chief of River Defense in the Lower Yangtze River".

Served as the Jiang defense defense on the south bank of the Yangtze River between Changshu Fushan Town, Bawu Port and Twelve Weg Port.

During the defense for more than February, although it was bombed by the Japanese, naval and air forces, no land battles occurred. After the Battle of Songhu, he was responsible for the defense of Jiangyin Fortress, Zhenjiang and other places. A heavy price was paid in casualties during the battle.

In this battle, the 103rd Division lost one regiment commander Luo Yibin, one regiment attachment member, and two battalion commanders. One regiment commander Zhou Xiangkui, one regiment attachment member, and three battalion commanders were injured. More than half of the officers below the company were lost.

However, the division commander He Zhizhong, the chief of staff Wang Yugao, and the regiment commander Zhou Xiangkui transferred directly to Hankou after the war and lost contact with the division.

With the chief officer and chief of staff running away, He Shaozhou, who served as deputy division commander, withdrew to Jinling with more than 5,000 remaining officers and soldiers of the division.

After the collapse of the Jinling defense line, He Shaozhou originally took the remnants of the division and the troops of the Second Army to break out from the Mufu Mountain line and cross the river. However, before arriving, the area had been captured by the Japanese army.

Then they turned to attack near Xiaguan. After a bloody battle, they were able to escape safely. After arriving at Xiaguan, only about 4,000 officers and soldiers of this division remained.

He Wei is no stranger to the 103rd Division. Although this unit is still a miscellaneous force from the Guizhou local army and has just been annexed by the Central Military System, in a few years, this unit will become a force with continuous centralization. An elite unit of the Central Army.

At the end of the Anti-Japanese War, they were equipped with beautiful weapons and equipment and became a powerful force in the Chinese Expeditionary Force. In the end, they delivered a crushing annihilation blow to the Japanese army in the Battle of Songshan, and achieved their own glory on the banks of Cangshan Mountain and the top of Erhai Lake. .

Of course, that was after times had changed, and now, this division is still very weak.

In the conversation with He Shaozhou, He Wei could feel that he really wanted to control an army and make a difference. Although he was only a deputy division commander now, not even a chief officer, he was very good at leading and training troops. He has his own set of experiences and is very interested in He Wei's combat experience in the Battle of Xinkou.

He Wei naturally followed suit, sharing his combat experience in the Battle of Xinkou, how he captured the Japanese tanks and regiment flags, and even his combat experience in Jinling and his experience in command and training and leading troops. He Shaozhou praised He Shaozhou for his generous use of tactical training methods, and the relationship between the two gradually warmed up.

During the conversation, He Wei also felt that this person was definitely not some young man, but an experienced officer, with both command and training skills.

Later, He Wei took He Shaozhou to visit the troops of the secret service camp. When they arrived at the position of the secret service camp, He Shaozhou was attracted by the capable and strong officers and soldiers of the secret service camp and the neat military equipment. What surprised him even more was that the secret service agents The battalion's trophies loaded on the tanks of the tank company.

"This, this is really the result of defeating a Japanese brigade."

He Shaozhou looked at the bundles of Type 38 rifles, a dozen Type 89 heavy grenade launchers, five or six crooked light machine guns, and various bits and pieces of supplies and ammunition, and couldn't stop staring. of admiration.

"Hey, not all of this has been taken away. A lot of the equipment left by the Japanese army was crushed by the tanks. Speaking of which, I also captured two Japanese Type 92 infantry cannons, which ate up the main force of this brigade. At that time, I directly used the two infantry cannons to turn their muzzles to bomb the Japanese, but unfortunately all the shells were used up, so I had to blow up those two cannons, otherwise, sir, you would have seen more Yangluo."

He Wei said with a hint of pride.

He Shaozhou looked at the officers and soldiers of the special agent battalion and said with envy: "It is true that the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead. You junior Huangpu students are indeed the ones with the most talented people."

"Sir, we don't dare to compare with you advanced ones. On the contrary, I envy you Huangpu first-year students even more. Your expedition to the east and north and your pioneering career are really the envy of us latecomers."

After He Wei finished speaking, He Shaozhou laughed loudly, pointed at the soldiers in the special agent camp and said: "Don't be humble, haha, our first phase in Huangpu was trained at the military academy for less than half a year before we went to the battlefield. To put it bluntly, we were just trying to catch up." , all depends on courage to fight the war, and your current students from Huangpu are extraordinary. If I remember correctly, students from Huangpu now have to train for three years in the military academy. Look at the soldiers you brought out, they are really good."

After saying that, He Shaozhou said again: "No wonder General Xiao praised you. I also like this guy like you. How about it? After this battle is over, do you want to come over and do something with me?"

He Wei was stunned for a moment and thought to himself, well, this relationship is going to go hand in hand, and another person comes to extend an olive branch.

"To tell you the truth, after the battle at Jiangyin Fortress, the division commander, chief of staff and a regiment commander of our division moved to Hankou on their own without gathering the troops after the war. This was actually the same as deserting the troops before the battle. According to the basic command order, I will take control of this division after the war. This 103rd Division is a unit of the former Guizhou Army, and the situation of the unit is very bad."

He Shaozhou continued with some worry: "You are from the Northeast and don't know the traditions of Guizhou's local troops. I am a native of Guizhou. This Guizhou Army has poor equipment and an even worse atmosphere. People give it the nickname Double Spear Soldier. This Two guns, one is a rifle and the other is a pipe. More than half of the soldiers in this division are smoking cigarettes. After the division was centralized and transformed, the equipment was much better. All the home-made rifles in the army were replaced by Made in Hanyang, the light machine guns and heavy machine guns were also replaced with Czech and Maxim guns, but the quality of the soldiers was still too poor."

"Alas, during the War to Protect the Country and the Northern Expedition, the Guizhou Army performed well. However, after Wang Jialie took control of the military and political power in Guizhou, governance was ineffective. The Guizhou Army was internally divided, and the Guizhou Army and the Yunnan Army (or "The Guizhou Army and the Sichuan Army) said the two sheep, I, a Guizhou native, feel very uncomfortable and must take good care of it."

"Now I urgently need outstanding cadres from Huangpu to transform this army. How about it? He Wei, if you are interested, you and your people can come over. I will definitely put them to good use."

He Wei smiled and said: "Thank you for looking up to me. Thank you very much for your humble position, but I would like to control a small army independently and do some things by myself. This will be more beneficial to me and the army. I His commanding characteristic is that he is too arbitrary and unrestrained. If I join a certain field infantry division, such a characteristic will be harmful to no one. It will not be good for me or anyone else. Of course, it cannot be done even if I am in a humble position. If I don’t know how to praise, no matter how I develop, I will always remember Minister He’s appreciation for me, and Minister He will always follow his lead.”

"Although I want to do something on my own, if you think highly of me, when you advocate for this division, I can help you train officers and sergeants as long as you need it. I will do my best to teach everything I know and never hide anything. Only in this way can I somewhat repay Minister He for his appreciation and help to me. Of course, if I encounter difficulties and troubles in the future, my humble position will inevitably disturb you and Minister He."

He Shaozhou nodded thoughtfully. They are all shrewd people. He also understood what He Wei meant. This was a clear indication that he wanted to serve Minister He, and the requirement for He Wei to serve was to lead an army independently.

And in return, He Wei will not only serve Minister He, but also try his best to help He Shaozhou, Minister He's nephew, to train the troops.

Youdao is not sweet, and He Wei is very sincere. Besides, although He Shaozhou appreciates He Wei very much now, there is no need to take him under his command immediately. After all, he has not yet Take control of this 103rd Division.

"Okay, I am a man with ambition. Since you want to go out on your own, I won't force you to do it. Don't worry, I will tell the minister about your matter when I have the opportunity. Besides, the minister appreciates you very much and wants you to lead the way." My wish to build a small army will not come to fruition, but you said you would help me train cadres and sergeants, I have remembered this, so don’t try to shirk it when the time comes."

He Shaozhou said with a smile.

He Wei immediately stood at attention, saluted He Shaozhou with a military salute, and said: "Please rest assured, sir, I will do my best in this humble position to repay the service of your commander and Minister He."

In just a short time, He Wei successfully connected with He Shaozhou and Minister He. Things went much smoother than He Wei imagined.

And this also means that from now on, the development of He Wei and his troops will reach a new level. From now on, He Wei's future will not be smooth sailing, but it can be said to be a smooth road without any worries. And this A smooth road is enough for He Wei to build an iron-blooded army to protect his family and country with peace of mind.

At this time, Tao Heiwa, the messenger, ran over with two Japanese sabers on his back, stood at attention in front of He Wei, saluted He Wei and He Shaozhou respectively, and reported: "Report to the battalion commander, the sabers have been fetched."

He Wei brought a saber that he had captured in Tangshan. The original owner was the Japanese Army Second Lieutenant Takeshi Noda who was beheaded by him.

"Sir, if you don't mind, I will give this sword to you. I captured it in Tangshan. It is a family heirloom sword of a Japanese army officer. The original owner was a Japanese second lieutenant. I used this sword to chop him in pieces. This is not Japan." Those mass-produced machine-made sabers, serious heirloom swords, the swords and steel mouths are all excellent."

He Shaozhou took the sword and pulled it out. A bloody aura emitted from the delicate blade.

"A good knife, really a good knife."

He Shaozhou praised.

He Wei and He Shaozhou looked at each other and smiled.

Boom - In the distance, several artillery shells fell outside the defense circle. Amidst the rumbling sound of the artillery, the Japanese attack was getting closer and closer.

(End of this chapter)