Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 454 The First Men's Football Cup of Guofu
"No, this report is wrong!"

In Jinan, Wang Yaowen casually tossed the newspaper full of nonsense aside.

Zhang Zhonglin could fool the Americans, but he couldn't fool him; the casualty ratios on both sides were completely mismatched.

Moreover, the reconnaissance planes clearly saw that a large number of G troops were moving north, so how could they have been routed?

However, since the true situation cannot be revealed, it is very likely that the southern front captured an empty city.

If Langya is an empty city, what does that mean?
It is highly likely that the main force of Army G abandoned Langya on its own initiative and turned north!
Thinking about this, Wang Yaowen felt numb.

"Somebody come!"

"Send a telegram to Li Xianzhu: All troops must immediately halt their advance. The 46th Army shall retreat to Yangzhuang; the 73rd Army shall retreat from Yangzhuang to Yingmou; the 36th New Division of the 12th Army shall remain in Zhoukou Town, while the main force shall retreat to Mingshui!"

Wang Yaowen was one of the few sensible people in Guo Jun.

Unlike Hu Shoushan, Chen Chengbo, and Tang Keqin, Wang Yaowen emphasized a down-to-earth approach to warfare.

He never sought personal credit, nor was he fixated on a decisive battle with the G army.

Moreover, when launching attacks, he never attacked major cities, but instead specifically targeted the rural areas surrounding the liberated areas, which was precisely the kind of attrition warfare that the G army feared most.

Upon receiving Wang Yaowen's order, Li Xianzhu's troops immediately halted their advance.

This sudden change immediately alerted the East China Field Army headquarters.

Why did Li Xianzhu suddenly stop his southward advance at this time and even withdraw his troops?

"Has our intention to shift our troops north been exposed?"

"Impossible! Chen Chengxing's decoy operation was a great success, completely deceiving the enemy on the southern front. Chen Chengbo must still be in the dark!"

Based on the movements of the southern troops, the commander could be certain that Chen Chengbo was unaware of the situation.

Looking at the map, one of the column commanders suggested:

"Commander, although we don't know the reason, the enemy's retreat is a fact. Should we send troops to engage them before they get too far?"

"Even if we can't destroy him completely, we can still eat his tail."

After thinking for a moment, the commander shook his head: "Our main force has not yet fully arrived at its designated positions. Launching a battle hastily would not guarantee victory."

At this point, the East China Field Army's forces were already operating at full capacity; any mishap in any link could lead to a collapse.

Furthermore, if Li Xianzhou's troops cannot be eliminated, the East China Field Army will still be in danger.

"The enemy has not retreated on a large scale, and our army's intention to move north should not have been fully exposed yet. My determination remains unchanged."

Having decided to continue with the original plan, the field headquarters began urging all units to accelerate their covert advance and complete the encirclement as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, after confirming that Chen Chengxing's troops had broken out of the encirclement, the field headquarters immediately ordered Chen Chengxing to accelerate his northward march.

At this critical moment when both sides were caught in uncertainty, Chen Chengbo sent the telegram of complaint to Chang Ruiyuan.

"Damn it! Wang Yaowen ordered Li Xianzhu to stop his southward advance without even reporting it to me!"

Chang Ruiyuan angrily slammed the telegram on the table.

Wang Yaowen gave the order without his consent, not only without informing Chen Chengbo, but he didn't even report it to him.

"Send a telegram to Wang Yaowen immediately!"
A telegram dictated by Chang Ruiyuan was quickly sent to Jinan.

At the same time, Chang Ruiyuan also ordered the 11th, 64th, and 59th Reorganized Divisions on the southern front to immediately advance westward to Lincheng and then northward along the Jinpu Railway to block the G Army's westward retreat route.

He wanted to wipe out the East China Field Army south of the Yellow River.

"The Second Pacification Zone must follow the instructions and order Li Xianzhu to send troops to garrison Yingmu and Pingyang. Each of the two cities has one army of ours, and the enemy is unable to take them. If the enemy attacks, it will be just what we hope for. We can launch a pincer attack from the north and south and achieve great success. Do not miss this opportunity!"

The operations staff reported Chang Ruiyuan's dictated telegram to Wang Yaowen.

At this moment, Wang Yaowen could only wave his hand helplessly.

He could disobey Chen Chengbo's orders, but he could not disobey Chang Ruiyuan's orders.

"Pass the order to Deputy Commander Li: the troops shall continue south."

"yes!".
After receiving the order, the 46th and 73rd Armies, which had been outmaneuvered, had no choice but to head south again.

However, the 12th Army treated Wang Yaowen's words as if he had just farted and remained motionless in place.

Of the three armies under Li Xianzhu's command, he could only mobilize the 73rd Army; the other two allied armies simply did not listen to him.

The 46th Army originally belonged to the Guangxi Army and was Bai Jiansheng's unit, while the 12th Army was reorganized from the Northeast Army and the Returning Militia, making its composition very complex.

These two armies are beyond the command of even Chen Chengbo, let alone Wang Yaowen.

More often than not, they outwardly comply but inwardly defy, making their own decisions when it comes to war.

If Chang Ruiyuan hadn't personally given the order, the 46th Army would never have been able to re-enter Pingyang.

Of these, the 73rd Army suffered the most, not only being commanded by Li Xianzhu at the front, but also being bossed around by Chen Chengbo, Wang Yaowen, Chang Ruiyuan and others in the rear.

Li Xianzhu's move immediately alerted the East China Field Army.

"Commander, the enemy has moved south again. The 46th Army has advanced to Pingyang, and the 193rd Division of the 73rd Army has advanced to Yangzhuang. However, the 12th Army is still in the rear, probably to carry out support tasks."

"The enemy situation has changed again, indicating that the enemy has not discovered our army's true intentions!"

"Our opinion that we should stick to the original decision is correct!" The leader finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"This Li Xianzhu is quite obedient. If you tell him to go south, he will obediently go south."

"Commander, I think the one who fell for it this time is probably Old Chang. He always follows our orders. He deserves the most credit for this battle!" the chief of staff said with a smile.

"Hehe. This Principal Chang has trained many students, but he himself has not yet graduated in military command."

“Li Xianzhu has now entered an ambush. Once the battle begins, the enemy will inevitably hold Yingmu and Pingyang and fight against our army.” “Although we have an absolute numerical advantage over Li Xianzhu’s troops, if we cannot quickly capture the two cities, Tang Keqin’s army on the southern front may move north at any time and then launch a counter-encirclement against our army.”

"We must be wary of this."

"If the enemy forces on the southern front were to penetrate, they would disrupt our encirclement of Yingmu, leaving our army vulnerable to attacks from both sides. This could jeopardize the entire campaign."

Looking at the enemy's deployment on the map, the commander thought for a moment and then gave the order:
"I have made the following adjustments to the original combat force:"

The chief of staff next to him quickly picked up his notebook and started writing.

"Use B, E, K, and N columns to attack the headquarters of Yingmu Li Xianzhu and the enemy in Yangzhuang on its periphery."

"Use the J column to attack the enemy at Zhoukou, cut off the enemy's retreat route, and then use a part of it to control Zhoukou Town, while the main force moves east to the Hezhuang area to prepare to strike the enemy that is coming from the south to reinforce Boshan."

"Use the C column with two independent divisions to capture Jinyang Pass and quickly eliminate the enemy in the south, in coordination with the J column to attack and annihilate Zhoukou Town."

"Then, we will use the G column to contain the enemy in Pingyang."

"In addition, immediately send a telegram to Chen Chengxing, instructing them to rush north and take over the task of containing the 46th Army from the G Column."

"After Chen Chengxing arrived, the G column was changed to the general reserve force."

"yes!".
"Commander, we have received a telegram from the Field Army. The commander has ordered us to accelerate our northward advance and capture Wenkou Town."

“Wenkou? Wenkou is great.” Chen Chengxing said with a smile, looking at the map.

After breaking free of the encirclement, he ordered his troops to speed up, fearing they might miss out on meat.

Wenkou Town, on the other hand, can be used to the north to help contain the 46th Army, and to the south to block the Kuomintang army's southern support troops.

It is perfect for a powerful force like the Second Division.

"Old Chu, pass on the order: speed up the march! We're going to get some meat!"

"Yes!"

As the main force of the East China Field Army continued to move, the whereabouts of hundreds of thousands of troops could no longer be completely concealed.

When Wang Yaowen learned from various intelligence reports that the main force of the East China Field Army had set up an ambush, his face turned deathly pale.

Even the dumbest person would know what this pocket formation is for.

Without hesitation, Wang Yaowen made a phone call to Pengcheng.

"Commander Xue! The main force of the G Army is definitely going to encircle and annihilate Li Xianzhou's group. Please immediately send the main force on the southern front to accelerate northward to relieve Li Xianzhou's siege!"

"Director Wang, don't worry. There is no conclusive evidence yet that the main force of the East China Field Army intends to encircle and annihilate Li Xianzhou."

"Besides, my military power has already been transferred to Chen Chengbo, so there's no use in you coming to me."

In fact, Xue Xiaosong can still command the troops on the southern front.

However, Xue Xiaosong knew very well that once the troops were mobilized, if they won the battle, he would have no say in it, but if they lost, he would be held responsible. Only a fool would give such an order.

"Commander Xue! Commander Xue?!"

Hearing the busy tone of the call being disconnected, Wang Yaowen was furious.

However, Wang Yaowen did not dare to delay and immediately called Chen Chengbo again.

"Chief of Staff Chen, there is now evidence that the main force of the G Army has moved north, and Li Xianzhu's troops may be in danger."

"I would like to request that you order Li Xianzhou to retreat north immediately, and that the troops on the southern front also accelerate their northward advance!"

"Oh, Commander Wang, it's no use telling me this. Don't you know Chairman Chiang's temper? He already issued the orders to the front-line troops. How am I supposed to change them now?"

"Chief of Staff Chen, the mysterious disappearance of Chen Chengxing's troops in the G Army proves that they must have a bigger scheme. I, Wang Yaowen, am willing to stake my life on it!"

In order to rescue Li Xianzhou, Wang Yaowen made a pledge.

"If this causes a missed opportunity in battle, I ask the Chairman to hold me accountable and bring me to court-martial!"

Chen Chengbo had no intention of listening to Wang Yaowen's explanation: "That's it, Director Wang. There's no need to say anything else. We can't disobey the Chairman's orders."

"Chief of Staff, you are the frontline commander. The Chairman is unaware of the enemy's situation. You have a responsibility to advise him. You should be responsible for the entire war situation!" Wang Yaowen said anxiously.

"Director Wang! You don't need to lecture me! I've already said I'm just following the Chairman's orders!"

"If you're not willing, then go find Chairman Chiang yourself!"

After saying that, Chen Chengbo hung up the phone.

"grass!"

Wang Yaowen knew his tone was off, but he couldn't care less about that now.

Helpless, Wang Yaowen called Jinling, determined to do his last bit of effort.

"Yaowen, I know about what you're saying, but your current thoughts on the G Army's movements are still just speculation."

"No, no, Chairman, the G Army's movements are already very clear. Please reconsider and change the battle plan immediately, otherwise..."

Before Wang Yaowen could finish speaking, Chang Ruiyuan interrupted him directly: "Yaowen! You don't need to say anything more, my mind is made up!"

After hanging up the phone, Wang Yaowen slumped onto the sofa, his face filled with despair.

"Commander, what do we do now? The reconnaissance planes have sent another report; they've detected signs of troop activity in the Dazhoushan area," the chief of staff reported.

"Damn it! I can't care about anything else!" Wang Yaowen said through gritted teeth.

Wang Yaowen was about to make a decision that disobeyed Chang Ruiyuan's orders.

"Pass on my orders! The 46th Army shall immediately withdraw from Pingyang to Yangzhuang, the 193rd Division shall withdraw to Yingmu, and the 77th Division shall immediately move south from Zishui to Yingmu!"

(End of this chapter)