After seeing the telegram signed by Xiang Tianhu, Tiegang happily stayed.
Firstly, it was because he was ordered by Xiang Tianhu, and secondly, Tiegang was actually very willing to stay in Dameishan and have more contact with the officers and soldiers of the Independent Brigade. The more he contacted the officers and soldiers of the Independent Brigade, the more he discovered that this unit It is extraordinary that the officers and soldiers of the Iron and Steel Independent Brigade are very confident, and they are confident from the bottom of their hearts.
It seems that nothing in this world can stump them.
This made Tiegang a little confused. The confidence of the cavalry in the Northwest Army was tempered little by little through countless big battles, tough battles, and vicious battles. Even so, not all cavalry in the Northwest Army can be so confident. But the soldiers of the Dameishan Independent Brigade are confident from top to bottom, and their confidence shines from their bones.
Tiegang wanted to know where the independence brigade's confidence came from.
With the addition of Tiegang's cavalry battalion, the barracks at Shaqiaodun became a bit crowded. They could still deal with those in a day or two, but they would definitely not be able to stand it if they were stationed for a long time. Therefore, Xu Rui specially cleared Zhenxi Taoist Temple as the cavalry battalion's garrison. This Taoist temple was originally the property of Yiguandao. After the Randen Taoist priests were suppressed, the Taoist temple was taken over by the public.
Now the Taoist temple of Yiguandao is used as a base for Tiegang's cavalry battalion.
The officers and soldiers of Tiegang and the cavalry battalion were very satisfied with the station arranged by Xu Rui. These northwest men did not care about their living environment. If it was just them, they could just build a few rows of shacks to deal with it, but for their own horses, these people The man from the northwest is extremely precious and takes great care of him.
Tiegang followed Xu Rui around the Taoist temple and said gratefully: "Brother Xu Rui, you are so polite."
"You're welcome." Xu Rui chuckled and said, "This Taoist temple is not a great place. If you really feel embarrassed, then help us kill a few more Japanese."
"That's no problem." Tiegang said without hesitation, "Since the commander has given the order, our cavalry battalion is now your soldier. As long as you give the order, we will never frown in water or fire. .”
"Okay, Brother Gangzi is just having fun." Xu Rui laughed and turned around to tell Wan Zhongshan. "Lao Wan, I will leave brother Gangzi and the cavalry battalion to you. You must take care of them for me."
"Yes!" Wan Zhongshan stood at attention and responded loudly, "Captain, don't worry."
Xu Rui said hello to Tiegang again. Then he hurried back to the headquarters of Shaqiao Pier.
As soon as he returned to the headquarters of Shaqiao Pier, Xu Rui immediately called Zhuanshan Bao to him and said: "Baozi, you will lead people to guard Shangsha Bridge and Xiasha Bridge these days. Any suspicious person who enters Meizhen must be strictly guarded." We will conduct additional inquiries, and if we find out that he is a guest of the 18th Division, please do not embarrass him and send him to the headquarters as soon as possible."
Xu Rui was worried that Xiang Tianhu would secretly send someone to deliver a message to Tiegang and recall the cavalry battalion. If this was really the case. Then he would have really lost everything. Although he believed in Xiang Tianhu's character and would definitely not do such a thing, as the old saying goes, you must not have the intention to harm others and be defensive. It’s indispensable.
"Yes!" Zhuan Shanbao immediately turned around and made arrangements with his people.
Xu Rui then ordered He Shuya: "Nerd, immediately call all officers above the squadron commander to the headquarters to attend an emergency meeting. By the way, Lao Wan doesn't need to notify him yet."
After a while. A dozen officers from the independent brigade gathered at the headquarters.
Xu Rui said: "I won't say any more. First, I want to inform you of the news. Chairman Chiang Kai-shek of the Nationalist Government has decided to launch a major counterattack on the Huaihe battlefield in the near future. Ordinarily, the time, place, people and people are all on our side. , the situation is very good, but I have an ominous feeling, so we have to make arrangements in advance."
Xu Rui said that he had an ominous feeling, but in fact he had already given Chairman Jiang a lot of face. In fact, he is sure that this counterattack on the Huaihe battlefield, as long as Chairman Chiang is involved, will eventually end in a disastrous defeat. As a time traveler, Xu Rui has seen too many such cases, and the future liberation war will , a very important reason why the Communist Party has been defeated repeatedly is that Chairman Chiang has repeatedly overstepped his command and commanded blindly.
If possible, Xu Rui actually wants to do his best to reverse the situation and win this battle.
Unfortunately, he is just a small captain with only 800 people under his command. In such a big battle involving hundreds of thousands of people, he cannot make waves at all. And now, Xu Rui The only thing that can be done is to make arrangements as soon as possible to protect the Dameishan Independent Brigade and the Dameishan base area.
Xu Rui added: "I can tell you clearly that in half a month at most, the Battle of Huaihe River will be over, and the Japanese will definitely be defeated miserably. After the main force of the Japanese on the north bank of the Huaihe River is eliminated, the Japanese Central China Front will Heavy troops will definitely be mobilized to raid our Dameishan base, which means we have at most half a month to prepare."
Xiao Yanyue retorted: "Captain, how do you know that after the Japs win the Battle of Huaihe River, they will definitely mobilize heavy troops to raid our Dameishan base? Logically speaking, after the Japs win the Battle of Huaihe River, they should immediately go north to Xuzhou. Isn’t it right to cooperate with the North China Front Army going south in an attempt to encircle and annihilate the main **** force on the Xuzhou battlefield?”
Xu Rui shook his head and said: "The Central China Front Army will not go north so soon."
"Won't they go north so quickly?" Xiao Yanyue said, "Captain, are you saying that even if the Japanese win the Battle of Huaihe River, they will suffer heavy losses themselves, so they need to rest for a while?"
"Yes, the devils also need to rest." Xu Rui said smoothly.
But Xu Rui knew that the reason why the Central China Front Army would not move north immediately was because the great victory at Taierzhuang was about to take place. After the Japanese North China Front Army suffered this big loss, it spent almost a month adjusting its deployment. This month was enough The Central China Front Army swept the Dameishan base area back and forth several times.
Of course, the premise is that their independent brigade is not well prepared.
As long as the independent brigade is fully prepared, Xu Rui has full confidence to crush the upcoming raid. No matter if the Japanese call in a regiment or a brigade, Xu Rui believes that they can win. You want to call in a main division? That would require Little Japan to draw so many troops. At present, Little Japan's military strength is also very tight.
Because the scale of the Sino-Japanese war is getting bigger and bigger, Japan has already carried out four mobilizations.
If the Xuzhou Battle still fails to achieve the expected strategic intent, still cannot annihilate the main force of the Japanese army, and still cannot force the Nationalist Government to surrender, little Japan will soon be forced to launch the fifth war*, and the Japanese government will They were forced to mobilize more reserve troops and form more divisions to join the Chinese battlefield.
Xu Rui continued: "The Japs will definitely not be idle during the break of the large troops. They will definitely want to wipe out our Dameishan base area. After all, the location of the Dameishan base area is too close to the Jinpu Railway, and it is difficult for the Japs to swarm northward. The threat to the two lifelines is too great, and if I were the commander of the little devils, I would never let it go for a long time."
Everyone nodded and agreed with Xu Rui's judgment. As the old saying goes, how can one allow others to sleep soundly beside the bed? The Dameishan Base is adjacent to the Jinpu Railway to the east, the Feibeng Highway to the west, and to the south of Pukou and Nanjing. Isn't it right next to the little devil's bedside
Leng Tiefeng said: "So, how many troops will the Japs probably send?"
Everyone scratched their heads unconsciously, this number was too difficult to judge.
Xu Rui turned around and cast an encouraging glance at He Shuya, Mei Jiuling and Huang Shouxin. Not all of the more than twenty cadet soldiers were amazingly talented. So far, only these three have shown their commanding talents. People, but then again, the youth training team can produce three talents out of more than 20 students, and the success rate is already very high.
He Shuya and Mei Jiuling turned back to look at Huang Shouxin in unison.
The three swordsmen of the youth training team have gradually been recognized by their classmates. Among them, He Shuya is good at commanding on the spot, Mei Jiuling is good at defensive deployment, and Huang Shouxin is the most powerful at logical analysis. Of course, this is only the expertise of the three of them. , it doesn’t mean that they can’t do it in other aspects.
Huang Shouxin said confidently: "It's not difficult to judge how many troops the Japanese will mobilize to sweep away the Dameishan base area. Let's first look at the total strength of the Japanese Central China Front Army. So far, it has jurisdiction over the Shanghai Pavilion and the 10th Army. Among them, The Shanghai Condemnation Army has jurisdiction over the 3rd, 9th, 13th, and 101st Divisions and the 5th Field Heavy Artillery Brigade. The 10th Army has jurisdiction over the 6th and 18th Divisions and the 6th Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, with a total strength of approximately 40,000. people."
While explaining, Huang Shouxin walked to the big map.
Everyone at the meeting became a little solemn. Unknowingly, the Japanese had deployed more than 400,000 troops in East China!
After a pause, Huang Shouxin continued: "Let's look at the enemy's troop deployment. After the Battle of Songhu, the 3rd Division was left in Shanghai and was responsible for the security of the Songhu area. After the Battle of Nanjing, the 6th Division The regiment was left in Nanjing to temporarily serve as a security division. The 18th Division was stationed in western Zhejiang and was responsible for guarding the enemy in western Zhejiang. The 9th and 13th Divisions were confronting the enemy on the Huaihe battlefield. Even if **** is defeated in the Huaihe River, the 9th and 13th Divisions will not go south, so the only thing we have to face is the 1o1 Division temporarily stationed in Hefei, which is the Iijima Division."
Heipi said in a deep voice: "Does this mean that the Japanese will mobilize a division to sweep us away?"
"No, it's not." Huang Shouxin waved his hand and said, "I just said that we need the Iijima Division of the enemy on the opposite side, but I didn't say that the Iijima Division will come in full force. In fact, the Iijima Division needs both To protect the safety of the Feibeng Highway, we must also guard against the insurgents in southern Anhui and northeastern Hubei, and maintain local security. The mobile force that can be mobilized is only one brigade at most!" (To be continued.)