Rise From Eight Hundred

March 18 afternoon!

As Lei Xiong led the first battalion to withdraw from the Dongyangguan area, the battle of Jindong, which shocked the entire North China battlefield, came to an end!

The curtain fell, and the aftermath of the battle of Jindong was not small.

The Japanese North China Front, which was on the losing side, was greatly shocked, and the senior officials at all levels on the Chinese side were also confused.

They were really not confused by the exaggerated battle report reported, that must be inflated, this was their first reaction.

Inflated results? This is not uncommon, many people have done this.

But do you think we are all fools? You killed more than 400 people and you played a trick of adding a zero to the end?

Isn’t it said that you people with lofty ideals and beliefs have noble sentiments! What's the matter, seeing that you are really not good enough, why don't you do this? Bully us because we can't reach the Jindong battlefield to inspect the results of the battle?

At dusk on March 17, when the 921st Division had basically returned to its base, the 80th Army officially reported the results of the battle to the Second War Zone Command.

The battlefield was only a few hundred kilometers in radius, and the total number of troops deployed by the two warring parties was only more than 10,000, but they actually won a great victory by recovering two county towns and annihilating more than 4,500 enemies.

And all this was accomplished by an infantry division under the 80th Army, which they usually looked down upon. This infantry division entered eastern Shanxi with only four regiments, and with the attached troops, it was only a little over 10,000. Then, they claimed that the entire division attacked and annihilated half of their total Japanese troops. Do you think the senior officials of the Second War Zone think that the 80th Army is reporting false accounts?

Anyone with a little bit of brains might think so.

After all, in this period, if you want to fight the Japanese army, unless it is a forced city defense battle, in field battles, if you don’t have more than two or three times the superior force, 90% of them will be defeated.

The senior officials were confused and called back to ask the 80th Army to confirm the results again. No one noticed that the battle report barely mentioned the establishment of the Four-Line Regiment, one of the protagonists of this battlefield.

Yes, the name of the Four-Line Regiment only appeared once in this battle report, and it was in an extremely inconspicuous corner. This was Tang Dao's initiative.

Originally, the Four-Line Regiment stayed in Taihang Mountain, and some people above had an idea. If they knew that the Four-Line Regiment and the 921st Division fought side by side and had such brilliant results, they would be more vigilant and do small actions behind the scenes!

What kind of military exploits does the Four-Line Regiment need to prove itself now? The four levels of military exploits evaluated by the regiment, "one, two, three, and four", do not need to be reported to the upper level. With the Four-Line Regiment's current good financial resources, it can completely reward itself.

So this time, Tang Dao chose to hide the Four-Line Regiment behind the scenes, and did not mention it in the battle report. Even if someone asked, he would only say that it participated in the battlefield alert.

After all, after the war broke out, at the request of the 921st Division Headquarters, an infantry division of the 22nd Army of the Sichuan Army stationed in eastern Shanxi and an infantry division of the Shanxi Suiyuan Army entered the positions along the Handan-Changzhi Highway as if they were facing a formidable enemy. In order to prevent the 108th Division from gathering troops to invade their garrisons, the Four-Line Regiment was affiliated with the Sichuan Army, and it was normal to be on battlefield alert.

Tang Dao did not need to explain the reason in detail. The senior officials of the 80th Army Group understood it. In the battle report, the Four-Line Regiment and a certain infantry division of the 22nd Army Group were listed as friendly forces for gratitude, and the war zone was requested to commend these friendly forces who heard the news and deterred the Japanese army!

Originally, not to mention that the Military and Political Department would not believe such a brilliant military exploit, even the generals of the Second War Zone who had been defeated again and again on the battlefield in North China and needed a victory to prove their value did not dare to believe it.

However, an intelligence blunder from Pingbei City directly proved the authenticity of the battle report of the 80th Army Group.

On the afternoon of March 17, "The enemy's Northern Command held two high-level military meetings in a row, and there are suspected large-scale military operations!" This top-secret intelligence from Pingbei City made many Chinese generals stand up.

Because it was the intelligence sent by the spy code-named "Nightingale" who was lurking in the Japanese North China Front Command of the largest spy organization.

The importance of a spy who can lurk in such an important enemy organization and has a code name is self-evident. If there is no major incident, Nightingale is asleep most of the time.

This time, he took the initiative to wake up and sent this top-secret intelligence through his single-line contact.

It can be seen that in the mind of this senior spy, the Japanese are going to make trouble, big things.

The Japanese North China Front Command held two high-level military meetings on March 16 and March 17, which could only be attended by major generals.

With Nightingale's rank, he naturally couldn't participate in it, but he instinctively felt that the North China Front Command had made a big move. Thinking of the battlefield of the Xuzhou Battle, which was in full swing, Nightingale immediately issued a warning.

Admiral Li, who was in charge of the Fifth War Zone, was almost frightened by the top-secret intelligence handed over by the headquarters, and his blood pressure soared. He was now waiting for the Japanese army, which was advancing from the direction of Tengxian, to crash into his carefully designed pocket formation.

In the three-day bloody battle in Tengxian, more than 3,000 people in an infantry division of the Sichuan Army were killed or wounded, and two-thirds of them were killed or wounded. Fortunately, a part of the main force of the 58th Army arrived before the city was broken, attracting the main force of the Japanese army, so that the remnants of the Sichuan Army Infantry Division could evacuate.

The sacrifice of the Sichuan Army Infantry Division was not in vain. It was during these three days of buffer that he had deployed nearly 10,000 people of a main infantry division of the Northwest Army in Taierzhuang, and would use this Xuzhou gate to resist the main force of the Japanese army.

At this time, the two Japanese troops approaching the area had more than 20,000 people. Just like in the past, the commander judged that no matter whether it was the proud 5th Division with the title of "Steel Army" or the 10th Division, known as the first mechanized division of the Japanese Army, they would not give up their ambition to occupy the important city of Xuzhou just because there was a Chinese infantry division in front of them.

But one thing is completely different from the past. In the past, no more than half of the more than 600,000 troops under the commander's command could really obey his command, so that when there were no troops to be transferred during the war, he had to pin all his hopes on that person's confidant, but he obeyed orders but not announcements, and missed the opportunity to fight.

And eventually led to the remnants of the two elite infantry brigades that had been crippled in front of Taierzhuang to occupy the city and finally wait for reinforcements.

If you were in the wild, with the 20th Division's 60,000 troops, even if one person spitted a few mouthfuls of saliva, wouldn't you be able to disgust the remaining 10,000 Japanese invaders who were short of ammunition and food to death?

In this time and space, he no longer has to face such a dilemma. He has two trustworthy infantry armies in his hands, the 67th Army and the 58th Army. Not to mention the two general-level commanders who met him and personally expressed their full support. One of the two armies participated in the bloody battle of Songhu and the other participated in the North China War. Both are infantry armies with sufficient combat effectiveness.

Under his deliberate actions, the two infantry armies are dozens of miles away from the battlefield, but as long as the Japanese army is exhausted in Taierzhuang, the two infantry armies will encircle along the rear road, so that the two elite infantry brigades of the Japanese army cannot return to North China.

Of course, with this talent, such an arrangement is already its limit. Whether it can succeed or not depends on whether this infantry division of the Northwest Army can hold its position. If it is defeated by the 20,000 Japanese troops who are in full swing, then no matter how many backhands there are, it will be in vain.

Just comparing the forces is not very meaningful. The Japanese invaders have a large artillery group and air power that the Chinese do not have. Even if the two infantry armies have a force of 50,000, they may not be the opponents of these two elite infantry brigades in the field.

The most important thing is to see the tenacity of the Northwest Army Infantry Division, which defends with strong walls and thick walls. As long as they can consume a quarter of the Japanese invaders' forces, no, even a fifth, the Japanese army with low morale and serious ammunition consumption will definitely suffer in Taierzhuang when they encounter these two infantry armies.

The plan was perfect, but before it was implemented, they received information that the Japanese North China Front Army was going to make trouble. Do you think this person can not be anxious and angry!

Fortunately, this Nightingale is also a talent, and the 108th Division's disastrous defeat in Jindong may not be considered top secret. With careful attention, near the evening of March 17, this person stole the agenda of two military meetings of the Japanese North China Front Army Headquarters.

"The 108th Division suffered heavy losses, with more than 5,000 casualties, including 1 major general, 2 middle generals, 5 junior generals, dozens of lieutenants, and inestimable losses of weapons and equipment!"

Nightingale, who received this information, mentioned his shock in his later memoirs, and even thought he was deceived by the Japanese.

Indeed, this is too magical.

If it is the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Nanjing, or the Battle of Xuzhou, it would not be surprising to say that a division had 5,000 casualties.

After all, it was a battlefield where more than hundreds of thousands of troops fought in chaos. What are a few thousand people? In the Battle of Songhu, the Japanese troops suffered more than 40,000 casualties, accounting for 15% of their total force!

But what is the battlefield in eastern Shanxi? The Japanese army had only one division in the area, and the Chinese army would never exceed 50,000 in total. What's the matter? 20,000 vs. 50,000 fought a battle? I haven't heard of it!

"Mr. Li, to tell you the truth, stay away from this idiot Xia Xiong Yuan. He is in trouble. His Excellency the Commander is about to return to his country for promotion, but the 108th Division gave him such a record that shamed the Imperial Army. I gave him two beauties last time. What a waste." The middle-left staff officer who participated in the military meeting and was responsible for recording drunkenly advised his colleague who had become friends with him in the NCO school.

This colleague, obviously, is no one other than Nightingale.

Nightingale is not Chinese, but Japanese. He is a top student who graduated from the Japanese Army NCO School. However, he has half Chinese blood. China is his paternal line.

Japan has infiltrated the Chinese high-level officials into a sieve. In fact, it is not much better. China's intelligence agencies should not be ignored.

Whether it is the vulgar temptations such as money, power, and beauty, or the spiritual pursuits of a higher dimension such as ideals and beliefs, as a human being, there will be needs and weaknesses that can be broken.

Five years ago, Nightingale, under the constant contact with the super intelligence structure of China, finally chose to lean towards the side of his father.

The 108th Division was defeated in Jindong! It turned out that the high-level meetings were held continuously, not to make trouble on the battlefield of Xuzhou, but to summarize and criticize the war after the war.

This is also to reach a consensus internally and deal with the idiot Xia Xiongyuan who threw the face of the Imperial Army into the Pacific Ocean.

No matter how he is the commander of the second-line division, Xia Xiongyuan is still a lieutenant general of the army. He is not a heavyweight who can be kicked out by anyone who says he doesn't ask for a job.

No wonder the indoor shroud has been constipated for a month these two days, with a green face.

"The military meeting of the enemy's headquarters discussed the defeat of Jindong. The enemy lost 5,000 people in the battle! The loss of materials is incalculable!" Nightingale sent out intelligence that night.

Nightingale had no psychological burden of leaking secrets this time. The Japanese North China Front Army Headquarters just suppressed this humiliating defeat and did not report it for the time being. It was the Army Headquarters that was deceived. It was normal for the Chinese as a participant to know this result. He was just making up for the mistake caused by the previous telegram.

The 80th Army Group did not brag! This is the most direct proof.

The hearts of the high-level officials of the Fifth War Zone fell from their throats to their chests, but the high-level officials of the Military and Political Department were silent.

The Japanese army was defeated. Whether it was North China or Northern Jiangsu, it was a cause for celebration for China at this time, but it was that army that achieved the results.

Although everyone is now united in fighting the devils together, these high-level officials know that the boss has been guarding against them!

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Their results of the war, if they can not report, they will not report, if they can report less, they will report less. The only time they were given a front-page headline was the battlefield in September last year when they ambushed the Japanese baggage brigade and wiped out more than a thousand Japanese invaders. That was also because the Battle of Songhu was gradually going to failure, and the "old principal" urgently needed to improve the morale of the army and civilians across the country, otherwise, it would be good to give a 100-word report.

So what to do now? The old man in the Second War Zone, who was as slippery as a loach, directly threw the pot to the Military and Political Department. The general minister of the Military and Political Department thought again and again, and still personally delivered the confirmed battle report to the official residence of the man in the middle of the night.

"Has it been confirmed?" The man who was still a little thin in thick pajamas did not have a very obvious emotional reaction, but tapped the battle report and asked.

"Yes! Our intelligence personnel also arrived in Jindong before I came. The corpses of the Japanese soldiers in Licheng were scattered all over the field. In order to prevent the Japanese invaders from retaliating, most of the local residents fled!" The Minister of Military and Political Affairs nodded.

"Good! Well fought!" The man showed a faint smile on his face. "Draft a telegram for me to express the Military Commission's gratitude! Tell them that the Second War Zone will raise 20,000 French francs and allocate them to the 80th Army Group to reward meritorious officials."

"Yes!"

"Also, tell the Propaganda Department that tomorrow morning's morning newspaper should let the people in all cities and counties in China see the victory news of the battle in eastern Shanxi!" The man's face was still smiling. "Of course, the battle in Xuzhou was also very good. I remember that Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone sent a telegram to ask for credit for the Sichuan Army. 3,000 people were trapped in an isolated city, fighting bloody battles for three days and nights, and only a few hundred people survived in the end. What a heroic scene! This is the model of my Chinese soldiers, and it is worth writing about it!"

"Yes!" The Minister of Military and Political Affairs bowed his head and said yes, and couldn't help feeling a chill in his back.

This person's meaning seemed to be a great compliment, but in fact...

As a colleague and opponent who has known him for more than ten years, and as a person who has been second only to him in the Military Commission, how could he not understand?

For such a great victory, a reward of 20,000 French francs, are you serious? A banquet at your wife's family is probably not worth this amount!

Of course, no matter how these high-level officials calculate for their own interests, the 683rd Brigade, the 921st Division and the Four-Line Regiment will not care too much about the so-called rewards from above.

It was really the richness of the spoils this time that made them take inventory for nearly a day after arriving at the garrison.

Even so, Brigade Commander Cheng and Tang Dao had negotiated before the war that all the spoils of the Battle of Licheng belonged to the Four-Line Regiment, and the spoils of the Battle of Shentouling belonged to the 683rd Brigade. Whoever fought it would get it, which was fair.

Later, the unexpected Battle of Beiganling and the seizure of Lucheng were completed by the two families together. According to Brigade Commander Cheng, although the Four-Line Regiment was small and had few people, the credit was real, and it should be divided equally.

Tang Dao was very generous and took the initiative to say: "In this battle of Beiganling, your army's 769th Regiment suffered the most serious losses, with 500 officers and soldiers sacrificed, while our regiment suffered only more than 30 casualties in this battle. If we still want to divide the spoils equally, it is not the behavior of friendly forces!"

"Then make it three parts, 769th Regiment takes one part, my 683rd Brigade takes one part, and your Sixing Regiment takes one part!" Brigade Commander Cheng took a deep look at Tang Dao and made the final decision.

This is a distribution plan that all parties can accept.

Even if Tang Dao wants to be a saint, he has to consider the thousands of brothers in the regiment for not participating in the distribution of spoils after participating in the war.

The 683rd Brigade is responsible for the inventory of all the captured items in Beiganling and Lucheng, except for the more than 20 mechanical equipment, which Tang Dao had already explained to Brigade Commander Cheng that the arsenal he was planning to build needed these equipment.

Although Brigade Commander Cheng was also envious, he thought about how he was still working hard to fill the stomachs of the entire brigade and replace the old rifles with Japanese ones! We don't have a bunch of top students from the Four Element Group. If we really want to talk about people who have something to do with machinery, they are basically blacksmiths and tinkers. It's really useless to think so far ahead. Naturally, we completely ignored this batch of captured spoils and didn't count them in the distribution of spoils.

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