12dz Chapter 684 Extra Number
Chapter 684 Extra Number
Li Jiayu felt like a thousand horses were running wildly in his heart, but he still patiently sent a telegram to Jiang Dingwen of the First War Zone, asking them to provide the enemy and our own situation in Yanshi, as well as the location of fortifications in the city.
When Jiang Dingwen saw the telegram, he smiled triumphantly.
"Aren't you independent columns determined to cross the river and fight? Aren't you very powerful? Then go get the intelligence on your own!"
"Commander, how should we respond to them?"
"Reply? Leave them hanging!"
"Yes!"
The staff officer turned around and prepared to leave, but was stopped before he even stepped out of the headquarters door.
"We can't just leave it alone. If they tell the newspapers that can't distinguish right from wrong, we'll become the target of public criticism. We'd better be careful during this troubled time.
Let's say that because the enemy's attack speed was too fast and most of the fortifications were destroyed, we are afraid that it will cause unnecessary interference to friendly forces, so we cannot provide accurate intelligence. Please understand! "
Jiang Dingwen is now like a fisherman stuck in a mud pit.
The left foot was stuck in the area from Luoyang to Zhengxian, and the right foot was stuck in the Pinghan Line.
The troops originally in the attack area, as well as those in Ruzhou, Yuzhou, Yexian, and Suiping, lost more than half of their forces under the reckless command of the "micro-control master."
Therefore, there is only one reorganized army left in the First War Zone that still has a trace of combat effectiveness. This reorganized army acts with the First War Zone Command and is considered Chiang Ting-wen's last trump card.
On the one hand, Jiang Dingwen urgently needed support, but on the other hand, he did not want to support the independent column.
Because based on his understanding of the Independent Column, it was impossible for the Independent Column that crossed the Yellow River and entered the battlefield in central Henan to obey his command.
And that's exactly what happened.
From the Fourth Army crossing the river to clear out the nearby river defense forces, to not issuing a tough assistance notice and requiring direct passage through each defense zone and giving priority to the use of roads and bridges, all of these hurt Chiang Ting-wen's fragile heart.
Jiang Dingwen saw momentum and confidence in the rumbling armored forces. He thought it was just the confidence brought to them by their equipment.
However, in the infantry brigade behind, he still saw a spirit of "joy at the news of war", which was the "soul" he had been looking for.
The Independent Column was Chiang Ting-wen’s dream “team”.
Therefore, with a mixture of jealousy and inferiority, he even hoped that the Independent Column would be defeated and all of central Henan would be lost.
Jiang Dingwen breathed a sigh of relief.
"Since the battlefield has been handed over to the independent column, my First War Zone will withdraw from the battlefield in central Henan and retreat west of Nanyang at 6 pm tomorrow!"
After receiving Jiang Dingwen's telegram, Li Jiayu called him a bastard, saying that he had messed up the battlefield in central Henan, but he just walked away? Did he want his troops to suffer a defeat and be laughed at?
Li Jiayu now really wants to order the Eighth Army to directly attack Yanshi, the Ninth Army to attack Dengfeng, and the Tenth Army to attack Xuchang.
However, intelligence is limited now, and sending troops blindly is a big taboo in military strategy.
"Order the Eighth Army to take over Luoyang, the Ninth Army to take over Ruzhou and Pingdingshan, and the Tenth Army to take over Luohe. They must be in place before 8 a.m. tomorrow and hold on!"
Now Li Jiayu gave up the plan of direct attack and instead adopted a steady and cautious combat plan, waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, using static tactics to overcome dynamic forces, and thus wearing down the enemy's morale.
Luoyang, Ruzhou, Pingdingshan and Luohe formed an arc-shaped encirclement, adopting a high-pressure stance against the Japanese in Xuchang and Zhengxian.
The revised battle plan was immediately sent to the Pingshun Military Fortress Command. After seeing it, Li Yunlong was a little worried:
"Mengzi, isn't Jiayu a little too cautious? Is it because we put too much pressure on him, restricting his hands and feet, so he is a little too cautious?"
Wang Meng stood in front of the map, looked at the arc-shaped encirclement, and shook his head firmly.
"Old Li, I don't think much of it. I think Commander Jia Yu did it on purpose. Don't forget that the mission we gave him is not only to drive away the Japanese, but also to capture various places in central Henan!
If he takes a step back now, the Central Army will have to take a step back, and now they have all retreated to Nanyang. As long as we can drive the Japanese away, then Luoyang, Pingdingshan, Luohe, Xuchang, and Zhengxian will be ours to decide.”
Old Li was finally enlightened to find out there was such a thing going on.
Just as Wang Meng had expected, the independent column adopted a conservative combat plan. Those local government officials who had originally shouted that they would live and die with the Henan Communist Party found excuses to flee to Nanyang or even Shaanxi and Hubei.
The reasons are varied, ranging from protecting refugees to old age and frailty, and so on.
This is still considered good. Some county governors just ran away without saying a word.
In their perception, adopting a conservative defensive posture is a precursor to defeat.
The Central Army of 400,000 or 500,000 troops could not stop the Japanese offensive. How could a mere independent column and an army group, with a total of six divisions and three brigades, stop them?
What a foolish dream! I'll just run away first!
At eight o'clock the next morning, the Luoyang office building, which should have been extremely busy, was deserted.
Li Jiayu looked at the deserted Luoyang office building, smiled slightly, and immediately sent a telegram to the First War Zone and the Chongqing Military and Political Department in the name of the Fourth Army, and copied it to all parties.
"As the Japanese invaders pressed forward step by step, the government at all levels in the war zone suffered a serious loss of staff, and was unable to perform its basic functions and provide strong support for the war of resistance.
In order to ensure the needs of front-line combat and prevent central Henan from falling into the hands of the enemy, it was announced that Luoyang, Pingdingshan, Luohe, Xuchang and Zhengxian would be temporarily under the military control of the independent column.
I hope people from all walks of life will work together to fight the war with all their might! "
When Li Jiayu copied the document to various sectors of society, he also thoughtfully sent photos of empty office buildings in various places to major newspapers. He even found several photos of government-licensed cars appearing on the road to the west or in cities behind.
The man in Chongqing was furious after receiving the telegram.
"Damn it! The Independent Column is taking advantage of the situation. We must expose their ugly faces of secretly grabbing territory in the name of the war of resistance! How could this happen to our government? Didn't more than a hundred senior officials from Henan Province jointly issue a statement yesterday, vowing to live and die with Henan Province?"
Chen Bulei stood aside in silence. He obviously also expressed doubts about the so-called "joint statement", but without any evidence, he was unable to persuade him as he was so angry that his face turned red.
At this time, a figure hurriedly came into the attendant room, whispered something to Chen Bulei, stuffed a stack of newspapers into his pocket, and then hurried away again.
"Xun En, didn't you bring this morning's newspaper? What is this?"
"Extra!"