Rebirth of the Republic of China: The Rise of China

163

Prepare for war

In the battle of Wangjiazhuang, Commander Li Guosheng successfully captured [-] elite soldiers of the Northern Expedition without firing a single shot.Of course, what is more important is that the [-] mu of fertile land in Zhucheng County in the hands of the Wang family, plus the family property worth more than one million silver dollars, all fell into the hands of the security division.

With the [-] mu of land in the hands of the Wang family, plus the entire four counties in eastern Shandong, a large amount of land in the hands of other gentry involved in this matter.Almost all the fertile land in the four counties in eastern Shandong has become the most solid foundation for deepening land reform in the four counties in eastern Shandong.

Just returned to the division headquarters in Gaomi County, Li Guanghua, the deputy division commander who had received the news in advance through the radio, greeted him directly with a smile on his face, and said, "Congratulations, division commander. Millions of military expenses. More importantly, I got more than [-] elite veterans of the Northern Expedition Army... I believe that with the addition of these veterans, it will not be long before a new elite infantry regiment will be born in my security division... >

"There are more than 2000 veterans. It is indeed an elite infantry regiment. However, Lao Li, in order to avoid the formation of cliques in the army in the future, this infantry regiment must be broken up and mixed according to the old rules. Go to all the recruits for a short training before they can be reorganized..." Li Guosheng said.

"Master, don't worry, I understand all of this... >

After returning to the command room, the topic of the two, without any surprise, directly entered the battle against the Northern Expeditionary Army.

Looking at Li Guosheng, who was full of confidence in this blocking battle from the beginning to the end, Li Guanghua, the deputy division commander, picked up a letter on the table.He opened his mouth and introduced: "Master, this is some information just collected by the Intelligence Department during the two days you went out... >

"According to their current gathering place 'Weifang', I preliminarily estimate that Lao Jiang's main attack direction this time should be along the Jiaoji Railway. After all, looking at the surrounding areas of the four counties in eastern Shandong, there is only the Jiaoji Railway. Suitable for large-scale army attacks along the route...>

"This piece of plain terrain is very rare in the eastern part of Shandong. If Lao Jiang wants to use his superiority in strength, he can only attack us along this railway line...>

Seeing Li Guanghua who was directly frowning in front of him, Li Guosheng smiled and comforted him with a nonchalant face: "However, you can rest assured, Lao Li. Now the 125th Regiment, which the veteran placed in our confidantes, has been secretly taken down by us." , and more importantly, all the radio stations and codebooks for communication between the 125th regiment and Lao Jiang have also fallen into our hands. Although the pressure of this battle is very high, I can tell you with certainty that this time, I, Li Guosheng, will definitely make Lao Jiang suffer a dark loss for a while, and make him suffer so much that he can't tell..."

To complete his strategic goal of completely annihilating at least one main division of the Northern Expedition.The three infantry regiments in hand are absolutely not enough.After all, just relying on the subsequent ambush requires at least the same size of troops, that is, three infantry regiments.

And in my hands in front of him, except for the three elite infantry regiments needed for an ambush.There are only more than 1 recruits in hand. There are more than 1 recruits, especially more than half of them are veterans, although they have a lot of combat effectiveness.However, before specific reorganization, these recruits can only be called a mess at best.Therefore, the immediate expansion of the existing troops has directly become an urgent task for the security division to complete before Lao Jiang's attack...>

In terms of equipment, with the capture of the two battles and the purchase during this period, there is absolutely no problem in terms of light infantry weapons.In terms of troops, there are more than 1 new and veteran soldiers who are directly in their hands. Let the guard division immediately expand five or six infantry regiments. There is absolutely no problem...

Therefore, after much deliberation, the only thing that worried Li Guosheng was the choice of the commander of the army.

After all, our security division is not like the Northern Expeditionary Army. There is a Whampoa Military Academy that continuously sends commanders to the troops.It should be clear that many regiment and battalion commanders in my hands now have been tempered by the war, and they have grown rapidly and been promoted during the war for more than a month, without any systematic learning at all.

But now, with the continuous expansion of the troops, a large number of grassroots officers must be directly promoted to battalion commanders, and even regimental commanders.With such a rapid improvement, Li Guosheng knew that there would be a lot of hidden dangers in the growth of officers and the growth of the entire security division.

However, at such a critical juncture, there is not so much time left for Li Guosheng.

To win this battle, the garrison division must quickly expand into at least three regiments.The only way to expand the three regiments is to directly transfer all the deputies of the three regiments, quickly build the framework of the three new regiments, and then directly recruit new veterans.

Thinking of this, Li Guosheng didn't hesitate any longer.Picking up a pen, I wrote down all the candidates for commanders above the company level of the four, five, and six regiments of the security division...

The next day, under the urgent order of Li Guosheng, the commander of the garrison division, all the officers above the deputy battalion commander of the whole regiment gathered at the recruit training camp outside Gaomi City on time at two o'clock in the afternoon.

In the huge conference room, after glancing at the confused people in front of him, Li Guosheng did not hesitate, and directly stated the purpose of this urgent meeting...>

"Brothers, the latest information from the Intelligence Department shows that the total strength of the Northern Expeditionary Army entrenched around us is constantly increasing. By the time we are meeting, all the strength has exceeded an astonishing 4. ...>

"More than [-] troops, and this number is still increasing. Everyone think about it, we are a small four counties in eastern Shandong, and we are not a little devil. The veteran suddenly mobilized so many troops, what is his ultimate goal. It goes without saying."

As expected by Li Guosheng, as soon as his own voice fell, the huge conference room heard the sound of 'buzzing...'.However, this discussion did not last long and stopped.Because, since the formation of the security division, these people have been led by Li Guosheng.No matter how powerful the enemy is, he has never failed.What's more, this time it was only the Northern Expeditionary Army that was not as powerful as the little devils.

Ever since, the eyes of dozens of people immediately focused on Li Guosheng.Waiting for Li Guosheng's next words.

Li Guosheng nodded in satisfaction to everyone's calm response, and asked, "Forty thousand elite soldiers from the Northern Expedition. Maybe there will be more than fifty thousand. It sounds like a lot, but what I want to tell you is , I don’t have to worry about these so-called elites of the Northern Expedition.”

"What kind of army is my security division... There were more than 2000 people at the beginning, and it could wipe out [-] elite Japanese troops...>

"There is...>

"Very good. Then we will use this counterattack to tell the people of the whole country that our security division can not only eliminate the little devils, but also destroy all the warlord troops who invaded our four counties in eastern Shandong, protect the tranquility of the four counties in eastern Shandong, and protect the Our family is safe..."

A confident roar came down.The faces of dozens of officers, without exception, all showed expressions of excitement.What's more, it has already revealed a trace of anticipation for the battlefield, waiting for the next words from the division commander Li Guosheng.

The division commander Li Guosheng didn't keep everyone waiting too long, and after the excitement in everyone's hearts slowly dissipated, he said: "Now I announce: on the basis of the original regiment [-], regiment [-], and regiment [-] of my security division, I will add three regiments. At the same time, the divisional guard battalion was expanded into a security regiment, the divisional special agent battalion was expanded into a special agent regiment, and other establishments remained unchanged..."

"Now I order: Lieutenant Colonel Zhu Shengda, the former chief of staff of the first regiment of the security division, will be appointed as the head of the fourth regiment of the security division...>

"Appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Luo Zhang, the former Chief of Staff of the Second Guard Regiment, as the Colonel of the Fifth Guard Regiment...>

"Appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Luo Qiyuan, the former chief of staff of the Third Security Regiment, as the head of the Sixth Regiment of the Security Division..."

"Major Zhong Wensheng, former deputy battalion commander of the first battalion of the security regiment, was appointed as the lieutenant colonel and battalion commander of the first battalion of the fourth regiment of the security division...>

"Appointment...>

It took up to 10 minutes before all appointments were announced... >

All the reorganization orders for the troops have been read out, which directly means that the garrison division has expanded from the original three infantry regiments to the current six infantry regiments, one guard regiment, one special agent regiment, one recruit regiment, one cavalry regiment, and one artillery regiment. ...>

However, the only thing that makes Li Guosheng regretful is that due to the serious shortage of heavy equipment and light and heavy machine guns in the troops, the three infantry regiments that have just been expanded have not reached the level of light machine guns equipped with infantry squads, heavy machine guns equipped with infantry companies, and mortars. Equipped to infantry battalion standard...>

Three infantry regiments, each infantry platoon is equipped with only one light machine gun, each infantry battalion is equipped with three heavy machine guns, and each infantry regiment is equipped with a nine-door mortar company.However, even so, this level of equipment has also reached the level of the elite equipment of the Northern Expeditionary Army...>

With five more infantry regiments in his hand, Li Guosheng's confidence in this decisive battle was even stronger.After ordering the newly formed five regiments to quickly engage in integrated training, they returned directly to the headquarters of the garrison division, surrounded the simple sand table just created by the combat staff of the division, and began to choose the battlefield for the decisive battle and formulate corresponding combat plans... >

It has to be said that fighting on the plain is a very huge test for the defenders.Seeing the entire Jiaoji Railway, the terrain is almost completely plain, and it is difficult to see even the hills tens of hundreds of meters high.Li Guosheng, who wanted to use the terrain advantage to block the Northern Expeditionary Army's offensive, directly gave up this idea.

With the advantage of terrain gone, Li Guosheng could only choose the place where the terrain was most favorable to him to build a blocking position on the spot.Ever since.Taibaozhuang, which is less than 500 meters away from the railway line, directly fell into Li Guosheng's eyes.

Because of the Xiashan Reservoir in the north of Taibao Village, the frontal position that the Northern Expeditionary Army can attack in the entire combat area is less than three kilometers wide...>

What's more.Along a section of railway east of Taibaozhuang.As long as you ambush your ambush troops north of the railway line, after the Northern Expedition enters this area, your own ambush troops.It must be possible to quickly drive and compress the elite Northern Expeditionary Army in the ambush circle to the shore of Xiashan Reservoir in the shortest possible time.

At that time, when there are chasing soldiers in front of you and the lake water behind you blocks your retreat.The elite Northern Expeditionary Army, who was completely caught in a dilemma, had no choice but to voluntarily surrender to the garrison division as long as they did not want to face the doom of being wiped out.

Thinking of this, Li Guosheng directly used the baton in his hand to draw a horizontal line on the sand table where Taibaozhuang was located.He asked Li Guanghua, the deputy division commander beside him.

"Old Li. So far, how many recruits are left in our hands... >

"Because of the lack of equipment in the three new regiments, each regiment has less than 2000 troops, plus more than 2000 elite Northern Expedition troops captured in Wangjiazhuang a few days ago to replenish troops in time. So far, we have The total number of recruits in hand is about 5000." Li Guanghua replied.

"With 5000 people, it takes three days to build a blocking position with a length of only three kilometers, which is enough...>

"Old Li, send an order immediately, and ask Battalion Commander Hu Zhongtian of the Engineering Battalion to take the five thousand recruits and all the officers and soldiers of the Engineering Battalion to Taibaozhuang. Within a day, build a blocking position that can withstand the northern expedition army's mountain running and bombardment>

"Order the regiment closest to Taibao Village to quickly go to the shore of Xiashan Reservoir east of Taibao Village, and clean up all the obstacles on the bank that can be concealed and block the "shooting" field. When the enemy compresses us here, we can still use the terrain to effectively resist... >

"Notify the Second Regiment, the Third Regiment, the Artillery Regiment, and the Cavalry Regiment to quickly assemble and stand by at Taibao Village...>

"In order to prevent the remnants of the Japanese No.11 Brigade entrenched in Qingdao City from attacking our rear during the decisive battle with the Northern Expedition...>

"The heavy battalion of the division headquarters will mobilize all the mules, horses, carts, vehicles including cars, and transport ammunition to our army positions on the front line of Taibaozhuang to ensure that during the entire operation, our garrison division will fight Sufficient supplies."

"Order the four, five, six and three regiments that have just been reorganized by our army to go to the battlefield immediately after a week of integrated training... >

"Division Special Task Force...>

"The last is the communication company of the division headquarters. We must ensure that the 125th regiment's radio station has been seized. If there is any news, report it to me immediately... >

"Finally, the entire four counties in eastern Shandong, and all the security divisions, will officially enter the state of preparation for war from now on, to welcome the attack of the Northern Expedition...>

"Yes, Master..."

The commander of the garrison division, Li Guosheng, issued an order. Since the establishment of the army, the garrison division, which has been fighting continuously, started to run quickly like a fully wound war machine.

Of course, among all these troops, the latest action is undoubtedly the five thousand recruits led by the engineer battalion...>

Because the security division implemented land reform in the four counties in eastern Shandong, the security division has already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.Ever since, facing the order of the security division to temporarily move back, the thousands of people in Taibao Village hardly hesitated.

In less than a day, the formerly bustling Taibao Village directly turned into an empty village.However, with the arrival of [-] recruits and the entire engineering battalion, the small Taibao village became lively again.At the same time, the large area centered on Taibao Village quickly became a huge construction site due to the arrival of five thousand recruits...

The first regiment, the second regiment, and the third regiment of the security division... the three main regiments that have experienced many bloody battles have quickly assembled their troops since they received the order.Take all the weapons and equipment and rush to the predetermined combat area...

Artillery Regiment, Cavalry Regiment... These two arms, which have great deterrence on the Shandong battlefield, also began to move to the front line of Taibao Village under Li Guosheng's order.

The entire four counties in eastern Shandong were shrouded in a tense atmosphere before the battle directly because of the rapid development of the atmosphere of preparations for the war.

With such a large-scale military mobilization by the garrison division, it was impossible for the Northern Expeditionary Army's reconnaissance troops to hide the fact that [-] new recruits were building a blocking position on the front line of Taibao Village.

On the second day of preparations for the Northern Expeditionary Army, information about various movements of the garrison division was sent to Commander-in-Chief Chiang...>

At the same time, under the instruction of Li Guosheng, a telegram from the 125th regiment was also sent to the Supreme Command of Commander-in-Chief Chiang through the seized radio station and code book. (To be continued..)