Rise From Eight Hundred

Chapter 1402: Division of Troops (Part 1)

Even though the theater headquarters is only 200 kilometers away from the Dakouzidong station, the return time is longer than when a group of people cross two provinces.

The mountain road is rugged and it is in a war zone, so the speed of the convoy is much slower than that of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Finally, before sunset on the second day after crossing the Yellow River, the convoy met a cavalry company that came to greet them. Four hours later, under the protection of hundreds of cavalry, Tang Dao stepped into the gate of the station.

"Brothers, please wait for a moment. Let me go see my wife and children before I come and have a drink with the brothers!" Tang Dao and Lei Xiong, who had been waiting for him at the gate of the station for a long time, met with the battalion and company commanders and saluted each other. After paying tribute, he ran towards his cabin without saying a word.

Everyone laughed and didn't care about Tang Tuanzuo's behavior of "abandoning his brothers". This is Tang Tuanzuo's true temperament!

The regiment headquarters has obviously increased its security in the area where senior officers live. Not only are there more open sentinels, but after walking into the path leading to his wooden house, Tang Dao clearly feels that at least three groups of hidden sentries are looking at him.

Based on this warning intensity calculation, I am afraid that no less than 30 secret sentries have been deployed in this area alone. Although it is a bit labor intensive, Tang Dao can still feel the painstaking efforts of his brothers.

Walking to the courtyard gate and pushing open the small wooden door, Tang Dao tried his best to make his steps softer, and then saw the door of the wooden house being pushed open. Mrs. Yue, no, she should be called Mrs. Leng now, walked out with a pile of cloths. .

The first thing he saw was Tang Dao, who was suddenly startled.

Tang Dao had sent a telegram before leaving the mountain city, and he estimated that he would return around the 8th. This was only the sixth day after sending the telegram. Judging from his fatigue, it was obvious that he had traveled day and night to save nearly two days.

 No one came to inform Tantai Mingyue, so I'm afraid it would be a surprise for her.

As an experienced person, Mrs. Leng admires men like Tang Dao very much. She talks about all kinds of principles of protecting the family and the country every day, but she ignores her wife and children. Isn't that another kind of cold-bloodedness? And selfish?

Looking at Tang Dao's gentle manner, Mrs. Leng smiled slightly: "The child is asleep and won't wake up easily. As a father, you don't have to act like you are facing a powerful enemy. I will take these diapers back and wash them and dry them tomorrow. Bring it over again.”

"Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law. I'll treat your family to dinner tomorrow!" Tang Dao thanked him in a low voice.

“Sister, is Mingjing here? Tell him, I’m going to take Shanhe to bed, and we’ll talk about anything tomorrow.” Tantai Mingyue, who was in the house, heard the movement at the door and shouted softly.

Mrs. Leng smiled and glanced at a group member who had surprised her wife, then turned and left.

Tang Dao gently walked into the room, took off his helmet, and took off his upper body military uniform, and then walked into the bedroom.

"You have Mingjing." Tantai Mingyue, who was half lying on the bed, turned around, with a rather unhappy face.

The little guy Tang Shanhe kept crying for some reason today, and it took him a long time to coax him to sleep. If this unreliable uncle woke him up, Tantai Mingyue, who was also a first-time mother, felt that she would go crazy. The tone will naturally not be good.

As soon as she turned around, she saw her apologetic husband standing in front of her. Tantai Mingyue was stunned for a moment.

"Why did you arrive two days early? You must have had a hard journey along the way! Are you hungry? I'll cook you a bowl of noodles." Tantai Mingyue looked at her husband with surprise and joy.

"Mingyue, I'm sorry!" Tang Dao looked at his wife's tired face, and couldn't help but feel pain in his heart, and gently hugged Tantai Mingyue who was sitting up.

"You and I are one and the same, how can there be so many things that we can be sorry for? Shanhe is your son, isn't he also my son? It is my responsibility as a mother to give birth to him and raise him." Tantai Mingyue felt her husband's body temperature and felt full in her heart. It's sweet.

With her ice and snow intelligence, how could she not know that her husband was coming back two days early? She had traveled many nights under the stars and the moon.

The couple hugged each other and felt each other's body temperature. The swaddled baby seemed to feel that he was being ignored by his parents who were showing affection. He frowned and moved his little fists.

"You, the father, haven't hugged our son yet! Look, he's not even happy." Tantai Mingyue turned her head when she heard the noise, and couldn't help but smile when she saw the baby's little brows furrowed in his sleep.

“Yes, yes, I’m here to hold my silly son. This is too shameful. My wife is so tired that she’s lost weight.” Tang Dao nodded repeatedly and leaned his head over.

"Nonsense, our son won't be stupid. He will inherit his father's bravery and wisdom." Tantai Mingyue pretended to be angry and patted her husband gently, then looked down at the little baby and said softly: "I said this The little guy can't sleep no matter how hard he coaxes him to sleep. It turns out he sensed that his father is coming back. Do you want to see him, Xiao Shanhe?"

It was the first time in Tang Dao's life that he was a father. He didn't know what it was like to be a father, but when he carefully and at a loss he held the fragile little guy in his hands, it was like holding an extremely delicate child. Expensive porcelain, fearing that his rough hands would stab him, Tang Dao finally confirmed that this was his son.

 The baby, who is 8 days old, looks very cute. Although he is white and fat, there are already vague shadows of his parents in his appearance.

In terms of face shape, both Tang Dao and Tantai Mingyue have square faces, but Tang Dao is more tough and tall, while Tantai Mingyue is a vigorous and bright type, and their eyebrows are like the poem "water is like eye waves, and mountains are like eyebrows." The beauty can only be described in words.

 The baby does not have many eyebrows and his eyes are closed, but there is a shadow of his mother between his eyebrows. He will definitely be more handsome than his father when he grows up.

Perhaps it was because he was held in his father's hands and could not smell his mother's scent. The little baby's little hands exposed outside the swaddling clothes danced gently. Tang Dao looked interesting and put his fingers in it, being held by the little hands like this. .

The little hands were soft and small, and an indescribable feeling poured into Tang Dao's chest, and Tang Dao's eyes suddenly became moist.

 This is his son!

Seeing that her husband, who was usually cheerful and even a little unconventional, but ruthless on the battlefield, turned out to be as tender as water, Tantai Mingyue felt warm in her heart and gently hugged her husband's waist.

With his beloved wife by his side and his baby in his arms, this may be one of the rare happy moments in Tang Dao's life. Looking at the baby's delicate little face, Tang Dao couldn't help it any longer and leaned forward to kiss his face gently. The stubble that hadn't been shaved for a week pricked the child's face.

Tang Shanhe, who was stung by the pain, opened his eyes suddenly and burst into heart-wrenching tears. Tang Dao was startled, and the sweat on his forehead started to fall: "What's going on, what's going on! "

Tang Dao dared to say that this was an unprecedented predicament for him. Even when he crossed the Songhu battlefield and found himself in a desperate situation that was almost certain to die, he was never as clueless as he is now.

 Why is my son crying? How can I stop him from crying? The new dad is really confused!

"I couldn't sleep well because I was pricked by your beard! What else could it be? Maybe it's because I don't like being held by you, my father!" Tantai Mingyue couldn't help but feel a little funny when she saw her husband holding his crying son at a loss. , opened his arms to take the child, and shook it gently.

Tang Shanhe, who smelled his mother's scent again, regained a sense of security, and his wailing voice became much quieter. Within a few dozen seconds, he fell asleep again.

“This little guy scared me to the point of sweating!” Tang Dao breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his voice as he watched his wife put the child on the bed, patting and comforting him gently. "Mingyue, you go to bed first. You don't have to wait for me. The military meeting tonight may be held very late."

"Is there a new mission? Then you go, I'll wait for you, just in time to read Mr. Lu Xun's articles!" Tantai Mingyue knew Tang Dao so well, and one look at his expression knew that it must be a military mission promulgated by the theater level. , otherwise, with the Tang Dao's characteristic of not changing color despite being overwhelmed by the mountains, he would never have held a military meeting overnight as soon as he came back.

"The Four Lines Regiment will be transferred from the Second War Zone to fight in the Fifth War Zone. The Dakouzidong garrison will be retained, and the Zishan Defense Zone will be retained. Some of the main forces of our regiment will still be in southeastern Shanxi and southern Hebei. This has become a mature base for defense. The measures and mass base are very good, there won't be any major security problems, and all the military family members will stay here, you have to be mentally prepared," Tang Dao took a deep breath and said briefly to his wife.

Tantai Mingyue's expression changed. Of course she knew what Tang Dao meant, which was that she hoped that she would continue to stay in the southeastern Shanxi Province with her children, and the husband and wife would be separated from each other from now on. Seeing the depression in his wife's eyes, Tang Dao felt hurt in his heart, but he had nothing to do. He was still small in the face of the cruel war. For the safety of his children, leaving his wife and children in southeastern Shanxi was his only choice at the moment.

 Gently hugged the sad Tantai Mingyue, stretched out his hand to touch the delicate face of Tang Shanhe, who was sleeping again. Tang Dao turned around and went out, picked up his military uniform and helmet and left home.

Here, he is a husband and a father, but when he walks out of the house, he is a commander in charge of tens of thousands of officers and soldiers. In the huge cave dug out of the mountain three miles away, his closest comrades are waiting for him.

All members of the Sixings Regiment Headquarters except Gong Shaoxun were present. Director of the Political Office Ye Chenghuan and Chief of Staff Shangguan Yun, who were originally in Zishan, also returned to their base the day before yesterday after receiving the news that Tang Dao was returning from the mountain city.

Lei Xiong, Ye Chenghuan, Shangguan Yun, Zhuang Shisan, as well as the two infantry battalion commanders Guo Shouzhi and Leng Feng, the artillery battalion commander Pang Panghai, the air defense battalion commander Cheng Tieshou, the guard battalion deputy battalion commander Yang Xiaoshan and all the people stationed at the station. The infantry company commanders were all waiting in the combat conference room.

It was a great joy for the regiment to return safely, but after Tang Dao and the cavalry company met, the cavalry notified the regiment headquarters to convene a military meeting of all company commanders and above at the station. These soldiers who were familiar with Tang Dao's temperament immediately knew that they had another big task. .

For these iron-blooded soldiers who have seen strong winds and waves, they have all fought against several Japanese Class A divisions. What other military tasks can scare them? The atmosphere of the military meeting of the Four Corps has always been very active.

But obviously this time Tang Tuanzuo's solemnity was slightly different from the past. Even Li Jijin, who loved making jokes, became a little silent. In the half hour while Tang Dao came home to visit his wife and children, this guy With Cai Dadao, one by one and one by one, we finished half a pack of cigarettes. Others also smoked less, and the air in the entire conference room was blue.

Tang Dao strode into the conference room and almost fell over.

Seeing Tang Dao walk in, everyone stood up and saluted! The Tang sword was still intact, and he glanced around with a smile on his face: "What's going on today? The atmosphere is a bit heavy! Captain Jiu Jin, you didn't follow my cigarette, why are you willing to throw cigarette butts all over the floor? Is it the food and fodder provided by Captain Dadao?"

"The regimental commander must be so knowledgeable about things! Lao Li is not smoking his own cigarettes anyway. The key is that he just caught me, the regiment commander. If you come a little later, don't tell me. It’s so hairy that even Old Li would cut it off,” Cai Dadao said with a big grin.

The whole audience burst into laughter, and the atmosphere instantly became lively.

"Okay, our regiment has a new mission, but it's not a big deal. I haven't been here for the past few months. Although there have been telegrams, I want to hear first what little tricks the newly appointed Okamura Koji has done. "Tang Dao waved his hand and sat down first.

It can be regarded as setting the tone of the meeting first, listening to the reports of various departments in recent months, and then issuing the orders. Seeing that Tang Dao didn't particularly care, everyone's anxious hearts were completely relieved.

Since Tang Dao left southeastern Shanxi in May, it is now early September. In almost four months, there have been no new changes in the war in North China.

Okamura Koji, the newly appointed commander of the Japanese North China Front, has seemed too calm in the past few months. The Japanese army on the front line of Nakatiao Mountain only launched an attack with a scale of no more than 50,000 people. The Chinese dispatched two armies, a total of about 10 Thousands of people resisted the enemy, and the entire battle ended in less than 10 days. The casualties on both sides were not large. The Chinese side counted about 7,000 people.

The Japanese army in the Taihang Mountains in southeastern Shanxi tightly guarded the city and communication lines, and never mobilized troops to carry out any mopping up operations. They played a trick with the Chinese army in the Taihang Mountains to keep the water in the well. Seeing that the Japanese were so honest, the Japanese in southeastern Shanxi The Chinese army is done with it.

The 80th Group Army launched more than 30 large and small attacks on communication lines in succession. The Japanese army's baggage convoys were not protected by an infantry brigade and basically did not dare to pass. The Handan-Chang Highway became a dead end for the Japanese baggage troops. Faced with this It was a completely provocative attack. The Japanese troops of the 108th and 109th Divisions actually chose to play the war-free card and did not make a decent counterattack.

As for the three main bases in southern Hebei, northern Hebei, and eastern Hebei, the Japanese army first dug deep trenches and built a group of bunkers around the city. It seemed that they were more defensive than offensive.

"Okamura Koji is probably a tortoise. He has been in office for almost half a year. He is either building bunkers or on the way to build bunkers. If he is capable, I think he can pave the whole of North China with bunkers." Cai Dadao said in Shangguan Yun After finishing the report to Tang Dao, he made a summary.

 The whole audience burst into laughter again.

More than 80% of the officers of the Fourth Army did not take the former commander of the Japanese 11th Army seriously.

 Only Tang Dao and a few others did not laugh.

"Don't underestimate Okamura Koji. He is stabilizing the morale of the army and conducting experiments. Captain Dadao, your guess is probably what Okamura Koji imagined." Tang Dao shook his head.

In one time and space, Duo Tianjun invented the famous cage tactic. The specific operation is: first send troops to seize certain tactical points (such as county towns, important villages and towns, and transportation hubs), and build strongholds there. On the periphery of each stronghold, build multiple satellite-like towers at a certain distance (500 meters or 1,000 meters), and then build dense spider web-like roads between each stronghold and towers to form several circular lines. , once a certain turret is attacked, adjacent turrets and strongholds immediately come to reinforce it.

In order to implement this "cage policy", the Japanese invaders repaired and built 2,347 kilometers of railways and 15,600 kilometers of roads within one year, and built 2,479 artillery towers and strongholds, thus gradually dividing the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines such as Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei into non-connected areas. They tried to make the 80th Army lose its mobility due to the reduced room for maneuver until it was eliminated or withdrew.

In order to break this "cage", the Eightyth Army concentrated more than 200,000 troops and launched a Hundred Regiment War on the land of North China. They uprooted transportation lines such as the Zhengtai Railway and the gun towers and strongholds along the lines one by one, and annihilated more than 25,000 Japanese and puppet troops.

Duo Tianjun was dismissed sadly because of the failure of his tactics. His successor Okamura Koji did not overturn this seemingly failed tactic, but made a new upgraded version of 'Iron Wall Encirclement' based on it. tactics.

　To put it bluntly, it means building more bunker groups. In less than a year, more than 7,700 bunkers were built.

What is even more cruel is that this person divided all parts of North China into "security areas" (i.e. enemy-occupied areas), "quasi-security areas" (i.e. guerrilla areas fought between the enemy and ourselves), and "non-security areas" (i.e. anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines), respectively. The policies of "clearing the countryside," "cannibalizing," and "mopping up" were implemented; in particular, the "big sweeps" of "stationing and clearing out" were carried out in the anti-Japanese base areas, and the extremely brutal "Three Lights" policy of burning everything, killing everything, and robbing everything was implemented.

Under this tactic, the Eightyth Army's base area shrunk significantly and suffered huge losses. The entire land of North China became a **** on earth where "you can see watchtowers when you look up, you can walk on the highway, there is no village without filial piety, and there is smoke everywhere."

 In terms of cunning and cunning, Okamura Koji is definitely the best commander of the Japanese North China Front Army. You may not be afraid of him, but you must not underestimate him, including Tang Dao, otherwise you will pay a heavy price.

 The whole place fell into silence.

"If we and the 80th Army had no artillery, these tortoise shells all over the place would be a real trouble, but now! As long as Okamura Koji, the old devil, has the money to repair it, I will bombard him as much as he repairs it, it looks like it is a bunker Expensive, my shells are still expensive," Tang Dao said again.

If Okamura Koji still does the same thing as in the past, the current Fourth Army and the Eightyth Army will not be afraid.

The former 80th Group Army was left helpless by Okamura Koji. That was because the entire group army only had a small number of mountain artillery, not even 82 guns. Naturally, it could not do anything with bunkers and gun towers built of reinforced concrete.

Now, not to mention the equipment of the Fourth Line Regiment, each unit of the Eighty Group Army has captured 92 infantry guns and the 37mm combat anti-aircraft guns eliminated by the Fourth Line Regiment. Those are hard guys that can penetrate steel plates. If they get closer, If the Japanese army tried to withstand the 200-meter bombardment by relying on bunkers alone, it would be a toad on a frog - they were ugly but they were also playful!

Really, the elite group of the 80th Army could put the Japanese infantry squad in the bunker into dozens of fancy poses.

 Everyone is happy again!

"I am reading a transfer order." Tang Dao stood up, took out the transfer order stamped with the seal of the Ministry of Military Affairs and read it out.

 This is a change of war zone? The officers of the Four Lines Regiment looked at each other and felt that it was no big deal.

 For these soldiers, no matter whether they are in North China, Central China or South China, isn't it just a matter of changing places to fight the Japanese?

 But what Tang Tuanzuo said next made the whole place quiet, and the atmosphere suddenly became solemn.

"According to the order of the Ministry of Military Affairs, the number of troops in our Fourth Army Regiment that can set off for the fifth theater is 5,060. Therefore, one part of our regiment needs to be divided into units to stay in southeastern Shanxi!" Tang Dao's voice sounded in the conference room.

 (End of this chapter)