Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 490 Crossing the River by Feeling the G Army

Inside the Guojun Siling Department in Quancheng, Wang Yaowen stood in front of the map for two hours straight.

In the past few months, Guo Jun suffered repeated defeats in the Central Plains, and Wang Yaowen also suffered heavy losses in Shandong.

In just two months, he lost nearly 80,000 troops, and the area within 300 li around Quancheng is now entirely under the control of the G army.

At that moment, the guard brought him lunch.

As soon as he sat down, he threw his chopsticks back onto the tray.

"Take it away! Take it away!"

Chief of Staff Luo Xingli walked over: "Siling, this is your favorite braised chicken in a pot."

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because the more he talked, the angrier Wang Yaowen became: "Take it away right now!"

"Braised chicken in a pot! Braised chicken in a pot! We're practically turning into braised chicken in a pot!"

"Distinguished elites of the Party and the State, entire divisions and brigades of them, have become food for the K army!"

“The G Army could take whichever piece they wanted; Weixian, Zhoucun, Fenggao, Yanzhou, one by one, became dishes on the G Army’s plate.”

"Can't you see? The G Army's next chopsticks are about to be used to pick my head!"

"What's the difference between this Jinan, the city of springs, and this ceramic jar?"

Looking at the braised chicken in a pot now reminds Wang Yaowen of his own situation.

I feel like this chicken, trapped in a jar.

Unlike Wang Yaowen, Luo Xingli was not worried much: "The Siling official need not worry too much."

"Think of my Jinan, with its inner and outer city walls, 100,000 soldiers, and to the south, Thousand Buddha Mountain, Yanchi Mountain, and Ma'an Mountain, and to the north, the Yellow River and Xiaoqing River."

"Hmph, I'm sure the G army won't dare to attack rashly." Luo Xingli pushed up his glasses, looking confident.

Upon hearing Luo Xingli's words, Mu Zhongyan, the deputy sergeant standing nearby, nodded: "Sir, the chief of staff is absolutely right."

Wang Yaowen glanced at them sideways: "Let me tell you, the G army will definitely attack Quancheng, and Quancheng will not be able to be defended!"

"The main force of the East China Field Army has moved from northeastern Henan back to southwestern Shandong. They are clearly heading for Jinan."

"Guo Jun only has three places left in Shandong: Quancheng, Langya, and Jiaozhou."

"In order to consolidate its rear, the G army will concentrate its forces to capture Quancheng and eliminate any worries about its rear."

"Judging from the battles of Weixian, Yanzhou, and Bianliang, the G Army's artillery and engineering capabilities have been greatly strengthened, giving it a very strong ability to attack fortified positions."

"Moreover, the G army is rushing to repair roads and railways in the newly occupied areas and is gradually extending them towards Quancheng. Most of the captured locomotives and carriages have also been repaired. This is obviously to create favorable transportation conditions for the attack on Quancheng."

"Recently, the G army has been releasing prisoners of the KMT army and spreading its policies to the people in an effort to win their hearts and minds. The will of our Quancheng defenders has been weakened invisibly."

Wang Yaowen became increasingly distressed as he spoke, and all signs indicated that the decisive battle in Jinan was imminent.

"Chief of Staff, prepare the plane immediately. I need to go to Nanjing to meet with the Chairman!"

Wang Yaowen planned to personally discuss the matter with Chang Ruiyuan, as it concerned the lives of 100,000 soldiers.

Upon arriving in Nanjing, Wang Yaowen was quickly summoned by Chang Ruiyuan.

“Chairman, I request to abandon Jinan immediately!” Wang Yaowen’s words surprised Chang Ruiyuan.

They haven't even started fighting yet, why are they giving up already?

"Yaowen, what made you have this idea?" Chang Ruiyuan asked.

"Chairman, the signs of an attack by the main force of the East China Field Army are clear, and they will definitely launch an offensive within a month."

"Quancheng is isolated and helpless, and it certainly cannot be defended. Rather than wasting resources, we should take back Yanzhou and then concentrate our forces in Yanzhou and the area to the south."

"Only by connecting with the troops stationed in the Pengcheng war zone can the war situation in Shandong and even the entire Central Plains have a chance to be sustained."

After listening to Wang Yaowen's analysis, Chang Ruiyuan shook his head:

"Yaowen, Quancheng is a strategic location in East China. If we abandon Quancheng, the G army in East China and North China will become one."

"And most importantly, we cannot allow the U.S. Navy stationed in Jiaozhou to become isolated."

"Otherwise, it would be detrimental to the Guo army not only militarily but also politically, which would affect US aid to us."

"As for your point about being isolated and helpless, I don't think so."

“We have an airlift squadron that can send reinforcements at any time. With the advantage of the air force, Jinan is not isolated and can fight even without a rear base.”

"Yaowen, don't worry. If Quancheng is besieged, I will personally urge the main force to quickly reinforce it."

"As long as you can hold out, reinforcements will arrive in time, and I have the strength to relieve your siege."

"Defense forces can be increased if necessary."

Faced with Chang Ruiyuan's insistence, Wang Yaowen had no choice but to return to Jinan.

When Wang Yaowen left Jinling, all the major newspapers in Jinling published the news.

Commander Wang Siling, speaking confidently at the Cultural Hall, assured the nation that Jinan's defenses were solid, its fortifications robust, and its deployment complete. He assured them of the city's safety and declared that should any treacherous bandits attempt an attack, they would be met with a crushing defeat!

However, after Wang Yaowen returned to Quancheng with Chang Ruiyuan's instructions, he immediately moved his entire family to Nanjing.

Inside the Siling Department of Quancheng, after hearing Wang Yaowen relay Chang Ruiyuan's instructions, Mu Zhongyan was extremely excited.

"Pengcheng still has hundreds of thousands of troops. If the G army tries to spy on Quancheng, Liu Jingfu and Du Guangting will definitely send troops to reinforce it from the north."

"This pincer attack from the north and south will be foolproof!"

In June, Liu Jingfu was reappointed by Chang Ruiyuan as the Pengcheng Suppression Commander-in-Chief, and Du Guangting was the deputy commander-in-chief.

However, the actual commander of the Pengcheng front was Du Guangting.

Wang Yaowen turned his head and glanced at Mu Zhongyan, as if he were showing concern for a mentally disabled child.

"Deputy Director Mou, we have served the Party and the country for decades. In our minds, it's not hard to find memories of refusing to help those in distress, is it?"

There has only been one instance since the founding of the Republic of China where various military corps fought to the death to save each other, as was the case in eastern Henan.

Wang Yaowen would never believe that Liu Jingfu and Du Guangting would risk their lives to rescue Jinan.

"Siling, the strategic position of our Jinan today is of paramount importance to the Party and the country."

"It's a thorn wedged between the two liberated areas of North China and East China by the Communist Party, and Chairman Chiang Kai-shek won't let the Communist Party pull it out easily." "Even if Liu Jingfu and Du Guangting are ruthless, they probably wouldn't want to see the Communist Party connect East China and North China into one place, would they?"

Wang Yaowen knew that Mu Zhongyan's words made sense, but he dared not be careless in the slightest.

Because he didn't trust Liu Jingfu and Du Guangting at all, and even less so the promises and control of the Standing Committee Chairman.

“Even if Liu Jingfu and Du Guangting extend a helping hand for the sake of the Party and the country, we cannot place all our hopes on the Pengcheng reinforcements.”

Wang Yaowen stood in front of the Jinan sand table, thought for a moment, and then gave the order:

"Pass on my orders: First, immediately send a telegram to Nanjing, requesting the Chairman to urge Liu Jingfu and Du Guangting to immediately airlift the 83rd Division to reinforce Jinan."

"And requested that a large amount of ammunition and food be airlifted to Quancheng, at least enough to supply the 100,000 troops in Quancheng for two months."

The 83rd Division is Wang Yaowen's old subordinate; if they can come to support him, his combat effectiveness will be greatly enhanced.

"Second, order the construction of fortifications on both the east and west sides to be accelerated. For all important strongholds, outer trenches and traps should be dug, abatis and barbed wire should be erected, and night combat maneuvers should be practiced."

"Even if the G army really fights and launches a major attack, we must hold out for at least a month."

"Third, we must protect the airport. Currently, the area surrounding Jinan is all under the control of the Kuomintang army, and the airport is our only lifeline."

"In addition, we are speeding up the construction of an airstrip at the foot of Thousand Buddha Mountain in case the West Suburbs Airport is lost and needs to be used as an emergency measure."

"Fourth, widen and raise the Xiaoqing River sluice gate in the north of the city, and open the gate to release water when the G army attacks, turning the north of the city into a flood zone to block the G army's attack."

"yes!".
After confirming the plan, Wang Yaowen inspected the positions everywhere and urged the troops to actively prepare for war, keeping him extremely busy every day.

In order to stockpile sufficient supplies, ammunition could only be transported by air, but the grain merchants did not provide a single grain.

Chang Ruiyuan dispatched several transport planes, fully loaded with soon-to-be-expired legal tender, to Quancheng, and instructed Wang Yaowen to use these banknotes to buy up grain in the suburbs.

The troops in Jinan used these banknotes to loot grain everywhere.

"Sir, sir, this is the newly harvested wheat this year. Our whole family is counting on it to get through the winter. You can't take it away!"

"You old bastard, who the hell stole this? I bought it!"

The Guo army soldier pushed the civilian who was grabbing his hand to the ground.

"With money, you can buy whatever you want! If you get hungry, just buy food!"

"This time, Commander Wang Siling has shown great mercy by buying your grain at twice the price. You should be secretly happy!"

The civilians who were pushed to the ground and had guns pointed at them cried loudly.

The gold yuan has been issued, and now even the village idiot doesn't want legal tender anymore.

This thing is so hard it's unbearable even to wipe your butt.

However, despite their reluctance, they were powerless to resist the ferocious Guo army.

Almost all the grain in the villages and towns surrounding Jinan was looted, leaving the people with only a stack of worthless legal tender.

At the same time, in order to solve the problem of insufficient manpower, Wang Yaowen began to vigorously expand the local troops.

In addition to recruiting a large number of idle people from society to form a 2,000-strong People's Salvation Vanguard Corps, Wang Yaowen also recruited young students to form an 8,000-strong Youth Training Corps.

In addition, Wang Yaowen forcibly organized the city's residents into auxiliary forces such as militia, patrol teams, stretcher teams, and transport teams to assist the Guo army in defending the city.

After overseeing the construction of various fortifications and the training of the newly recruited troops, Wang Yaowen returned to the Siling Department, utterly exhausted.

After plopping down, Wang Yaowen didn't care about being polite and started drinking water straight from the teapot spout.

"Lord Siren, I discovered a major problem during my inspection today," Luo Xingli reported as he approached.

"What's the problem?" Wang Yaowen asked, wiping his mouth.

"There's a dangerous mindset in the army right now; many soldiers believe we can't defeat the G army," Luo Xingli said seriously.
"Especially the released prisoners of war, their propaganda further reinforced this consensus."

"Even many officers agree with this view."

The Kuomintang army relied entirely on its junior officers to win battles. If the junior officers felt they couldn't win, then the battle was already lost without even fighting.

Upon hearing Luo Xingli's words, Wang Yaowen's face darkened. He knew that fighting a war was not about who had more soldiers.

In the end, it all comes down to morale.

"The morale issue must be addressed," Wang Yaowen affirmed.

"The supervisory team has already executed more than ten people, but it's all to no avail," Luo Xingli said helplessly.

The G army's move to release the captured officers and soldiers was absolutely insidious.

With these people's genuine propaganda, no one in the propaganda team organized by the Siling Department believed them at all.

“Since threats aren’t working, let’s try direct education,” Wang Yaowen said.
"We don't know how to boost morale, but the G army does. We'll learn by following their lead."

"We also select 'combat heroes' and award prizes to officers and soldiers who have made meritorious contributions."

"In addition, let the Quancheng Chamber of Commerce provide funds and the Women's Association provide personnel to form a comfort team to deliver comfort items to the troops, perform plays, sing songs, and sew and wash clothes for the officers and soldiers."

"Yes!" Luo Xingli didn't know if this trick would work, but he had no other choice but to do it.

To boost morale, Wang Yaowen didn't rely on just this one tactic; major newspapers in Jinan also went all out, publishing a series of articles praising him.

Changsha's three victories, the Yellow River's pillar; the ancient city and its famous generals, complementing each other perfectly; the city's defenses, as solid as a rock.
After this series of moves, the morale of the Guo army was clearly boosted.

Wang Yaowen breathed a sigh of relief; now everything was ready except for the final push.

Once the 83rd Division arrives, the defense of Quancheng will be at its maximum.

In Jinling, Chang Ruiyuan summoned Guo Gui: "Guo Gui, I have called you here because I need you to do something important."

"Please give your instructions, Chairman."

"Fighting a war mainly depends on morale, so you can't be discouraged."

"You need to understand that our previous failures were due to low morale."

"Wang Yaowen had previously proposed abandoning Jinan, so I think his morale is questionable."

"You shall fly to Pengcheng immediately, meet up with Guangting, and together we shall go to Quancheng to inspect the defenses."

"yes!".
(End of this chapter)