Rebirth of the Republic of China: The Rise of China

On the road from Changzhi to Niangziguan, tens of thousands of Jinsui troops led by Chief of Staff Zhu Shouguang marched all the way to Niangziguan for reinforcements.While Zhu Shouguang was sitting in the back seat of the jeep with his eyes closed and resting his mind, a sudden sound of brakes reached Zhu Shouguang's ears.Then, unprepared, he bumped directly into the back of the front seat.

Just when Zhu Shouguang was about to get angry with the driver, a report from outside the car door pulled him back from his anger.Looking out of the car window, a communications staff officer at the headquarters was standing outside the car window looking at him anxiously.

Opening the window of the jeep, Zhu Shouguang stuck his head out and asked with dissatisfaction: "What is it, so anxious..."

After paying a military salute to Zhu Shouguang, the communications staff quickly took out a telegram from the file folder and handed it to Zhu Shouguang, reporting: "Chairman, Chairman Yan sent an urgent message: Niangziguan has fallen into the hands of the National Defense Forces. The reinforcement task has been cancelled, immediately lead the troops to reinforce Taiyuan, and prepare for the battle of Taiyuan..."

"The Battle of Taiyuan..." Zhu Shouguang frowned, and asked the communications staff in front of him.

"Yes, attendees.... The details are all on the telegram, because it is an encrypted message, and I don't have permission to browse it." The communications staff replied straightforwardly.

Zhu Shouguang did not respond, and quickly focused on the telegram in his hand.

One minute later, his face became more and more solemn, as if his parents died suddenly, and he ordered the communication staff in a heavy tone: "I really didn't expect that the military strength of the National Defense Forces has become so powerful. Call Chairman Yan back immediately, We will immediately reinforce Taiyuan and strive to arrive in Taiyuan before the National Defense Forces. Participate in the battle of Taiyuan."

Seeing the communications staff officer leaving quickly, the expression on Zhu Shouguang's face became more serious.

Before the real war with the Wehrmacht.Zhu Shouguang has already estimated the military strength of the National Defense Force as much as possible.However, no matter how strong the military strength of the National Defense Forces is.In Zhu Shouguang's eyes, it would take at least three days for the National Defense Forces to break through Niangziguan, which has a large number of underground caves for hiding soldiers.

However, the powerful National Defense Army took Niangziguan in only one day, and also forced Zhao Chengshou, the defender of Niangziguan, to surrender to the National Defense Army through strength.

As the chief of staff of the Jinsui Army, Zhu Shouguang knew Zhao Chengshou's character very well.However, it was precisely because Zhu Shouguang knew Zhao Chengshou that he was shocked by the military strength displayed by the National Defense Forces.

In Zhu Shouguang's eyes, Zhao Chengshou can be called a real soldier.Judging from Zhao Chengshou's combat style, unless Zhao Chengshou really encountered a problem that he couldn't deal with on the Niangziguan battlefield.Under the attack of the National Defense Forces, he had no room to fight back.Otherwise, Zhao Chengshou, who has always regarded surrender as a shame, would never take the initiative to ask the National Defense Forces to surrender.

"What is the reason? What new weapon did the National Defense Forces use on the Niangziguan battlefield to make Zhao Chengshou surrender..." Zhu Shouguang thought to himself with a serious face.

However, what Zhu Shouguang did not expect was that sitting in the jeep and the tens of thousands of troops on the road around him, he could personally experience the powerful military strength of the National Defense Forces within a few minutes.

When Zhu Shouguang's jeep started to turn around, a faint roar suddenly reached Zhu Shouguang's ears from the air.As the roar grew louder, Zhu Shouguang suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart and quickly stuck his head out of the car window.Look in the direction of the sound.

I don’t know, I’m scared.

A bomber fleet consisting of twelve bombers suddenly appeared in Zhu Shouguang's field of vision, and quickly rushed towards his position.

"No, it's the Air Force of the National Defense Army. Why is the Air Force of the National Defense Army coming to the central part of Shanxi Province...to hide, order the troops to hide immediately..." Zhu Shouguang, whose face changed suddenly, exclaimed loudly to the troops around him.

At the same time as the order was issued, Zhu Shouguang, who was sitting in the back seat of the jeep, seemed to be injected with a dose of stimulant suddenly.While ordering the driver to stop, quickly open the door.Get out of the jeep and leave the road under the escort of a group of guards.

Before Japan launched a full-scale war of aggression against China.The squadron's knowledge of air defense is almost zero.Therefore, in the face of more than a dozen bombers that suddenly appeared in the sky, and the air defense order issued by Zhu Shouguang, most of the soldiers of the Jinsui Army gathered on the highway did not react, and they still stared at the sky in a daze. The approaching bomber.

At this moment, bombers whizzing down from the sky had already flown over the heads of these Jinsui Army soldiers.

Under the stunned gaze of tens of thousands of Jinsui troops, a black aircraft sub-munition suddenly broke free from the bomber and slammed down on the road with a sharp and ear-piercing whistling sound.

"Boom..." A muffled roar sounded above everyone's heads, and the whistling aviation cluster bombs directly turned into a hundred small bombs evenly scattered over tens of thousands of square meters.Subsequently, these scattered small bombs fell on the highway around the highway like rain.

Intensive explosions sounded, and under Zhu Shouguang's shocked gaze, a 300-meter-long road was directly submerged in the smoke produced by the small bomb explosion.

Just when Zhu Shouguang hadn't reacted from the shock of the huge power of the aerial bomb explosion, another burst of intensive explosion sound came from another direction.

Looking around, this aerial bomb caused even more damage to his own troops than the bomb just now.

And it wasn't until this moment that the Jinsui army, who was still standing on the road with a dazed face, finally reacted.Facing the close call of the god of death, these soldiers were like frightened rabbits, screaming in panic while avoiding to both sides of the road.However, what they didn't see was that an aviation sub-cluster can not only cover a road hundreds of meters long, but also cover a range of about [-] meters on both sides of the road.

No matter how fast the Jinsui army fled, it could not be faster than the landing speed of the aerial bombs.

The moment when the Jinsui Army on the entire road fell into chaos, the remaining bombers of the bomber fleet quickly rushed down from high altitude, and launched attacks from different positions on the marching column of the Jinsui Army that stretched for more than ten kilometers on the ground, round after round. , until all the various bombs carried by the bomber were exhausted.More than a dozen bombers disappeared on the battlefield unwillingly.

The plane left, smelling the thick smell of blood and gunpowder slowly spreading from the road.Listening to all kinds of screams coming from the road.As the assistant to the chief of staff of the Jinsui Army, Guan felt that death was so close to him for the first time.If it wasn't for his quick reaction, it wasn't for the guards around him risking their lives to protect him.At this time, he may have become a corpse.

After calming down the fear that was constantly surging in his heart, the gloomy Zhu Shouguang ordered decisively: "The radio station contacted all the headquarters above the regiment level and ordered the regiments to immediately count the losses of the troops, and I will get the results in half an hour. "

When Zhu Shouguang returned to the jeep that had been repaired, the combat staff responsible for counting the losses happened to come over.Seeing the heavy expression on the combat staff officer's face, a bad feeling quickly came to mind.

Zhu Shouguang, who suppressed the nervousness in his heart, asked in a deep voice: "What is the result I want..."

"Reporting, according to the statistics of various ministries, we lost a total of more than [-] troops in this sudden air strike. Among them, more than [-] people were killed, and those who lost combat effectiveness due to various injuries More than [-] people. In addition, the two heavy artillery regiments that followed the main force were detonated because they carried ammunition with the army, and the entire army was wiped out..."

Although Zhu Shouguang was prepared in his heart for the heavy losses of the troops, he was still shocked when he heard the result, and subconsciously asked the subordinates in front of him: "That is to say, it is only a round of air strikes by the National Defense Forces." , we lost one-fifth of our troops..."

"Yes. Attending the seat..." the combat staff officer affirmed.

Seeing the firm expression on the combat staff officer's face, Chief of Staff Zhu Shouguang finally believed it.The tense mood just now was still replaced by fear at this moment, and then he said to himself with a look of despair: "How can we lose so much. If the National Defense Forces continue to attack us in the air and have not returned to Taiyuan, we The tens of thousands of troops under the command will all be buried in the bombing of the Air Force of the National Defense Forces..."

"Damn it. The Air Force of the National Defense Forces is so powerful that we can't even avoid opportunities during the march. How can we fight this battle? Even if the National Defense Forces don't deploy the army, they only dispatch the air force. It can also blow up the tens of thousands of Jinsui troops in our hands. Erjing. Now I finally understand why Zhao Chengshou, who has [-] mercenaries, surrendered to the National Defense Forces without persevering all day in Niangziguan."

"If the Air Force of the National Defense Forces continues to bomb us, there will be at most two more bombings of this scale. Even if I don't lead my brothers to surrender to the National Defense Forces, the tens of thousands of soldiers under my command will not continue to work for us. Because, in the face of the powerful National Defense Forces , continue to work hard for us, there is no other way out except to die..."

When Zhu Shouguang returned to talking to himself with a dead face, he didn't realize that the subordinates standing beside him had already become nervous because of his words.After Zhu Shouguang completely closed his mouth, the faces of these people were already covered in paleness.

After feeling that the surrounding atmosphere was becoming more and more dignified, Zhu Shouguang, whose face was full of despair, finally recovered from the shock, and decisively ordered to the combat staff officer with a pale face in front of him: "Commander Wang, what are you doing here? Chairman Yan replied with a telegram."

"Ah... yes, Chief of Staff..."

Under the eyes of the combat staff officer full of despair, Zhu Shouguang said: "Call back to the Taiyuan General Headquarters. Our department was suddenly attacked by the National Defense Forces on the way back to Taiyuan and suffered heavy losses. According to preliminary estimates, the loss of the entire army has reached 9000 people, and the two independent heavy artillery regiments attached to our operations were also wiped out in this round of air strikes..."

"I don't know whether the Air Force of the National Defense Forces will launch a new round of air strikes against our department, but I can be sure that if the National Defense Forces continue to attack our department with air strikes, at most two rounds, our department will completely lose its combat effectiveness and cannot Back to aid Taiyuan. Therefore, Chairman Yan, please make relevant preparations in advance, and when organizing the Taiyuan battle, temporarily organize our troops into the reserve team sequence, in case our troops cannot participate in the Taiyuan battle that the general headquarters will launch on time."

At this moment, an untimely voice suddenly reached Chief of Staff Zhu Shouguang's ears.

"Sir, what if we are attacked again by the Air Force of the National Defense Forces on the way back to Taiyuan... Judging from the air strikes that just ended, the aerial bombs dropped by the National Defense Forces are new types of aerial bombs that we have never seen before. An aerial bomb of this type The bomb can not only cover hundreds of meters of road, but also cover hundreds of meters on both sides of the road."

"Under such circumstances, even if we are on the march and disperse to both sides of the road immediately, we will suffer heavy losses under the bombing of the Air Force of the National Defense Forces. After all, no matter how fast people can move, they can't be faster than the speed of an airplane."

"It's just like what you said just now. If we suffer another air strike like just now, the tens of thousands of men who suffered heavy losses will definitely not continue to follow our command and go to Taiyuan to die."

Although the desperate expression on Zhu Shouguang's face dissipated a lot.However, Zhu Shouguang's eyes all the time exuded his helplessness as the supreme military officer facing the difficulties in front of him at this moment.

After a long sigh, he replied: "I know what you said. Now we can only take one step at a time. If the soldiers really don't plan to go to Taiyuan to participate in the Taiyuan Battle, I can only fulfill the wishes of the soldiers and postpone the return to Taiyuan. , Wait until the situation in Taiyuan is truly clear before making a decision.”

Hundreds of kilometers away from Zhu Shouguang's location at the ferry of Hejin City, after all the more than 023 Red Army Red Army left Shanxi, the main force of the 023 Division of the National Defense Forces no longer needed to hide anything, and quickly set foot on the land of Shanxi Province at their fastest speed.certainly.This year, the 023 Division landed together with an armored assault battalion assigned to the [-] Division by the Group Army General Command.

The only relatively complete house at the ferry crossing in Hejin City has now become the headquarters of the 023 Division.In the small conference room, the commanders above the battalion level of the whole division are sitting in front of the division commander Zhang Zongming with a serious face to accept the combat mission.

You must know that the purpose of the 023 Division's trip is not only to destroy the Red Party's plan to develop base areas in Shanxi Province, but also has a very important task. Yan Xishan suddenly lost his head and threw shells from Henan to the central government in Nanjing.

"Regiment 027, the armored battalion directly under the division headquarters is assigned to your department. Your mission is to take down Yuncheng in the shortest possible time. According to intelligence, there are less than one brigade of Jinsui Army defenders in Yuncheng. Therefore, I can only give you In one day, we must take Yuncheng within one day and hold it..."

"028 regiment. The armored battalion assigned to us by the group army is assigned to you. Your mission is to raid Jincheng, because Jincheng is [-] kilometers away from here. Therefore, I will cooperate with your division's automobile transport battalion to act together. One day and one night Take Jincheng within time. Eliminate a Jinsui army garrison brigade in Jincheng..."

Although there is a main brigade of the Jinsui Army stationed in the small Yuncheng, but.Facing the tens of thousands of Central Army on the other side of the Yellow River, almost all the Jinsui Army of a brigade was deployed in all directions south of Yuncheng.

Therefore, the 027 regiment departing from Hejin City has almost encountered no decent resistance and has already approached the city of Yuncheng.

Facing the sudden armored troops, the hundreds of Jinsui troops left in Yuncheng were like frightened rabbits. While asking for help from the troops in the south of the city, they closed the city gates in a panic, transported weapons and ammunition to the top of the city, and prepared to defend the city. fight.

However, the Armored Assault Battalion, who came all the way in surprise, never planned to give them time to prepare.The ten tank guns equipped on the ten tanks aimed at the city gate that was about to be closed at the same time.

"Boom, boom..." Just as the dull roar sounded from the position of the armored assault battalion, there was a violent explosion at the gate of Yuncheng.As balls of fire erupted from the city gate, the two city gates that were about to be closed were blown to pieces by shells, and the huge city gate was completely opened to the armored battalion.

"Da da da..." The tank company destroyed the biggest obstacle in front of everyone with a round of artillery fire, and the two armored companies that followed were not idle, carrying twenty armored combat vehicles from two entire infantry companies. The car quickly shot a full forty flames towards the panicked city wall of Yuncheng.

When the Jinsui army on the city wall was cut down to the ground in pieces like ripe wheat.Twenty armored combat vehicles quickly crossed the tank defense line, breathing black smoke, and galloped towards the open city gate like swords drawn out of their scabbards.

Because the main force of the Shanxi-Sui Army is stationed on the Yellow River outside Yuncheng to guard against the Central Army, so in the face of the fierce assault of the 023 Division Armored Assault Battalion, the defenders of less than two battalions only lasted for 10 minutes and all sat in the Armored Assault Battalion captive.

As Yuncheng fell into the hands of the National Defense Forces, the two and a half regiments of the Jinsui Army scattered along the Yellow River also became prisoners of the National Defense Forces under the defeat of the 027 regiment.

Taiyuan Jinsui Army General Headquarters, since the fall of Niangziguan, Commander Zhao Chengshou, who had placed high hopes on him, led tens of thousands of Jinsui troops to surrender to the National Defense Army. Yan Xishan, who originally had a glimmer of hope and confidence, no longer saw anything on his face. smile.

Even the entire headquarters became more and more dead silent because of Yan Xishan's change of temper.

Especially after Chief of Staff Zhu Shouguang's telegram spread in the headquarters, the dead silence in the headquarters began to be slowly replaced by despair.Because, as long as anyone with a little military knowledge knows that the chief of staff cannot return to Taiyuan, the existing more than 1 defenders in Taiyuan City cannot stop the fierce offensive of the National Defense Forces.

In Yan Xishan's office, he looked at Zhao Chengshou's report to himself before he surrendered, Zhu Shouguang's call back to him, and the telegrams he had just sent from the Yuncheng garrison and Jincheng garrison for help.A self-deprecating smile suddenly appeared on Yan Xishan's face, because at this moment, Yan Xishan suddenly discovered that he, who has always been good at opportunistic tricks, would also fall into a dead end. (To be continued..)