Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

The most important thing in Chapter 515 is secrecy.
After seeing Chang Ruiyuan off, Gu Mosan and Du Guangting went to the operations room, where they were the only two people.

"Guangting, what are your thoughts on the evacuation plan?"

Walking up to the map, Du Guangting gestured on it and explained his plan.

"Although the Pengcheng area is a plain, it is not feasible for my three mechanized corps to go east to Haizhou or southeast to Lianghuai."

"The only feasible option is to retreat from the southwest, through the Yongcheng and Mengcheng areas."

"The terrain here is open and the roads are flat, so the G army can't catch up with our army."

"Once we reach the Huai River, we can turn back and launch a preemptive attack."

After listening to Du Guangting's retreat plan, Gu Mosan nodded. It was indeed the most suitable solution at present.

"Chief, I have one more request," Du Guangting suddenly said.

"any request?"

"My suggestion must absolutely not be discussed at a military conference, otherwise it will be impossible to implement."

“Okay, I can agree to that.” Gu Mosan nodded.

He knew that this was because Du Guangting was worried that the Ministry of National Defense had something to hide.

Therefore, at the subsequent military conference, Gu Mosan's formal plan changed to the Pengcheng army heading straight southeast, passing through the Huai River region, taking the route through central Jiangsu, and finally turning towards Beijing and Shanghai.

After the military meeting concluded and the withdrawal plan was confirmed, Du Guangting, accompanied by Gu Mosan, gave Chang Ruiyuan a separate report on the plan to withdraw to the southwest.

"Guangting, as I said, I'm entrusting this matter to you. You can rest assured, I will definitely give you my full support!" Chang Ruiyuan said firmly, patting his chest.

"Thank you, Chairman!"

After obtaining Chang Ruiyuan's consent, Du Guangting immediately flew back to Pengcheng to begin the retreat.

Before Du Guangting's plane even took off from Nanjing, the East China Field Army had already received news that the Pengcheng troops were about to break out.

The commander immediately convened a meeting of all the commanders.

"If the enemy wants to retreat, they only have three options," the deputy chief of staff explained, standing in front of the map.

"The first option is to go east along the Longhai Railway, pass through Haizhou, and retreat south by sea. However, it is impossible for the Guo army to assemble enough ships to transport 300,000 people in a short period of time."

"The second option is to head straight southeast, through the Huaihe River region. However, this area has a dense network of waterways and complex rivers, which is not conducive to heavy equipment operations."

"The third route is to go south along the west side of Jinpu Road."

"The commander judged that the enemy would take the third route, but according to the intelligence intercepted by the Central Committee, Du Guangting would lead the Qiu Lisun Corps to retreat from the southeast."

"Therefore, it is still difficult for us to make an accurate judgment at present."

After the deputy chief of staff explained the situation, the commander stood up.

"To be honest, I'm really looking forward to having someone tell our fortune." He's incredibly conflicted right now.

He had long ago judged that the East China Field Army's second phase of the campaign was not actually about containment and blocking, but rather that it was very likely to turn into pursuit and encirclement in an instant.

But this raises a major question: if Du Guangting tries to break through, which path will he take?

At this time, the J and T columns of the Huaye Army had joined the battle to besiege Huang Peiwu.

Although the Li and Liu corps in the south are cunning, they together have 100,000 men, and they are only a few dozen kilometers away from Huang Peiwu's main battlefield. The East China Field Army must leave a blocking force behind no matter what.

The remaining troops of the East China Field Army could not be divided to guard all the roads. If the judgment was wrong, it would lead to greater losses for the entire army and the country in the future.

"I have no reason to deny enemy intelligence reports."

"If Du Guangting really does go to the Huai River region, and I don't make any countermeasures, not only will I be responsible for missing military opportunities, but I will also affect the decisive battle on the entire southern front. How can that be allowed?"

"But I can't convince myself."

"I believe Du Guangting will not go to Lianghuai!"

"No, absolutely not!" the leader kept encouraging himself.

Du Guangting's choice had been on his mind countless times.

But no matter how much he pondered and how many times he went through the deductions in his mind, he could not find any reason for Du Guangting to go to the southeast.

But the intelligence from the central government was right there, clearly laid out.

This is no ordinary intelligence; it is important military intelligence sent directly from the Central Committee to the frontline commanders. Generally speaking, its authenticity cannot be questioned under any circumstances.

He wasn't worried about being accused of delaying military operations; what he feared was that if he made a wrong judgment, he would miss this unprecedented decisive battle in the Central Plains.

This would cause countless lives to be lost on the battlefield.

In his mind, the dozen or so columns of the East China Field Army were arranged into countless possible shapes. After gritting his teeth and making one last simulation, the final order was finally issued:
"The main force remains deployed on both sides of the Jinpu Road in the southern part of Pengcheng and will not move southeast."

"The main force on the southern front withdrew to the Suxian area to serve as the second line of defense to block Du Guangting."

Ultimately, the Field Army Command chose to balance both sides, and the limited forces of the Huaye were all deployed to the south of Pengcheng.

Regardless of whether Du Guangting breaks through to the southwest or southeast, the East China Field Army will have some time to react.

Even if Du Guangting were to break through to the southeast, the dense network of waterways would prevent them from moving too quickly.

Despite being blocked by the second line of defense on the southern front, the East China Field Army could still catch up.

As for Li Yishou's army in Guzhen on the southern front, they have already launched a counterattack and returned to Zhucheng. In the short term, only a detachment is needed.

Upon returning to Pengcheng, Du Guangting immediately convened a meeting of the officers in charge of the ceremonies from all the military units.

"The Ministry of National Defense ordered a retreat to the southeast, but this was a false order. The real order was to break out to the southwest."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Du Guangting's words.

They were really worried when they received the order.

Once the three mechanized corps entered the muddy river forks of the Huai River, they would be completely helpless.

"Regarding the retreat, I decided to adopt the rolling tactic, with each unit forming a huge circular formation, taking turns to cover the advance, in order to prevent being surrounded by the G army."

After explaining the detailed arrangements for the retreat, Du Guangting emphasized, "In order to avoid chaos in Pengcheng, the news of the retreat will not be announced until the last minute."

"Whoever leaks information will be court-martialed!"

"yes!".
However, Du Guangting was soon proven wrong.

When he led his guards to seize cash from major banks in Pengcheng, he suddenly realized that he might have been presumptuous.

At this time, all the major banks in Pengcheng were deserted. Not only had the money and finances been moved out, but even the employees had fled by plane.

Du Guangting, enraged, cursed, "Is the old man's money more valuable than his life?! He doesn't even care about leaking military intelligence! How am I supposed to fight a war like this?!"

However, this was not the only thing that frustrated Du Guangting.

When he returned to the Siling Department, the staff officer's report made him sit down in a chair, feeling utterly powerless.

"Sir, the news of the retreat has been leaked to various political and economic departments in Pengcheng by someone."

"The airport was packed with well-informed officials from all walks of life, and even General Manager Liu almost missed his flight to Zhucheng."

"It was the airport security forces who managed to squeeze the commander onto the plane."

"Sigh, I understand, that's fine then." Du Guangting waved his hand helplessly.

Thanks to the Kuomintang's well-established secrecy system, the military withdrawal of several corps quickly turned into a massive relocation of the entire Pengcheng.

Thick smoke from burning things filled the area inside and outside Pengcheng, and the streets had completely lost order.

Scattered soldiers, hooligans, local bullies and tyrants ran rampant on the streets, while generals, officials and others crowded together to escape.

Even when a car runs over someone, nobody cares anymore.

At this point, anyone who wasn't a complete idiot in the village would know that Guo Jun was about to retreat.

Not only was the city in chaos, but even the KMT army itself eventually descended into disarray.

Before the troops even set off, Du Guangting discovered that he couldn't get through on the phone.

"Someone come here! Have the communications department connect the phone immediately!"

"Yes!"

However, by this time, all the telephone lines in Pengcheng had been tangled and dismantled. The head of the communications department was sweating profusely, but the lines still hadn't been reconnected by the next day.

Before the retreat even began, Du Guangting lost direct contact with the various corps under his command.

This directly led to his original rolling tactics going awry before they even began.

Originally, Du Guangting had arranged for Li Bingwen to cover the entire group's retreat, but he arbitrarily moved his departure time forward by one day.

When it was time to set off, Li Bingwen simply led the 9th Army out of Pengcheng before the main force departed, turning from the rearguard into the vanguard.

In a terrible mood, Du Guangting left Pengcheng amidst the chaos.

At this point, his only consolation was that the fuel supply was still available, and the troops could move relatively quickly thanks to the large number of vehicles they had.

Given that they had already gained the upper hand, as long as they resolutely ran south, the G army, relying on its two legs, would never be able to catch up with them.

(End of this chapter)