Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 527 It’s Over

After the meeting, Du Guangting thought for a long time before finally replying to Chang Ruiyuan with a telegram.

In the telegram, Du Guangting proposed three strategies: superior, middle, and inferior.

The best strategy is to summon all of the Guo army's troops and engage in a decisive battle with the G army in the Central Plains.

The middle strategy: Just keep dragging it out, for as long as possible, maybe even until World War III.

The worst course of action: break out immediately.

Because of the confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Germany, Chang Ruiyuan firmly believed that World War III would break out soon, and so did the high-ranking officials within the Kuomintang army.

After receiving Du Guangting's telegram, Chang Ruiyuan hesitated to make a decision.

However, he did send a telegram back to Du Guangting: 'I heard that my brother is ill. If this is true, I will send a plane to bring him back to Beijing for medical treatment within the next few days.'

Along with the telegram came a transport plane.

Du Guangting was caught in a deep dilemma.

He knew very well that going back meant certain death.

Chang Ruiyuan had told him before that the Central Plains Campaign was a matter of life and death, and that the day Du Guangting left his command position would be the day Chang Ruiyuan took off his uniform.

The plane did arrive, but it did not carry Chang Ruiyuan's written order or any official document from the Ministry of National Defense.

If he goes back, he will be accused of deserting his post and forced to take the blame for the defeat in the Central Plains Campaign.

This battle, which determined the life or death of the Kuomintang, was lost so thoroughly that someone must take responsibility, but the blame cannot be placed on Chang.

Once he goes back, all the blame will be pinned on him, and he won't be able to clear his name even if he jumps into the Yellow River.

Du Guangting was a man who cherished his reputation; he would rather die in battle than be smeared by others.

Conversely, if one can lead the troops to break through the encirclement, even if only bringing back some remnants, one can say that one has done one's best.

At that time, it will be acceptable to both the public and the Kuomintang. At most, there will be a suspension and investigation, but no further investigation.

After figuring it out, Du Guangting personally drafted a telegram and sent it to Nanjing.

Although the students suffered from chronic illnesses and had difficulty moving, they could not bear to abandon hundreds of thousands of loyal and brave soldiers and retreat alone.

[Please, Your Excellency, decide on the best course of action. As long as I have breath, I swear to be loyal to Your Excellency to the very end.]

Du Guangting had not given up hope at this point.

As long as the Jiangnan army can be mobilized, especially Bai Jiansheng's 250,000 elite Guangxi troops in Hankou, there is still a chance to turn the tide in the Central Plains.

However, after Du Guangting sent the telegram, it seemed to sink without a trace, and Chang Ruiyuan did not respond at all.

Chang Ruiyuan knew, of course, that there was still a chance to retaliate, but he simply couldn't mobilize Bai Jiansheng's troops.

Li Delin had already told Bai Jiansheng that the Americans intended to change horses, so Bai Jiansheng wanted to sit idly by and watch the elite Central Army in the Central Plains be annihilated.

As time went on, although the East China Field Army and the Central China Field Army did not take any major actions, the encirclement became increasingly tighter.

"Deputy Commander-in-Chief, we received a letter from the G Army. It was written by **."

Upon hearing that it was a **, Du Guangting reached out and took it.

The letter started politely, but became increasingly forceful towards the end.

"Deputy Commander-in-Chief, is this a letter urging surrender?" Shu Shicun asked.

"I guess so, but I didn't quite understand what ** said." Du Guangting handed the information to Shu Shicun.

"He asked us why we served the four major families instead of the people."

"However, I'm not very familiar with these four major families."

The concept of the "Four Great Families" was mainly introduced in the 46 book "The Four Great Families of China".

This is a book from the G Party, which is banned by the KMT. Du Guangting has never read it.

Shu Shicun knew what was going on, but he dared not say.

These four surnames are taboo within the KMT; anyone who utters them will be executed.

Even Chen Bulei, a longtime friend of Chang Jui-yuan, the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Office, a National Policy Advisor, and the leader's chief writer, known as the KMT's top pen.

He died simply because someone mentioned asking them to donate some money.

Although it was reported as a suicide, no one knows the actual situation.

Du Guangting didn't think too deeply about it. Although he didn't understand the four major families, he knew what serving the people meant.

After thinking it over, Du Guangting got up, picked up the letter, and went to the Second Army Corps.

"Officer Qiu, this is a letter from the G Army. Please take a look."

Qiu Feng took the letter with some doubt, but after reading only half of it, he threw it directly into the brazier.

Seeing this, Du Guangting didn't say anything more, turned around and left.

Despite being the commander-in-chief, he couldn't command the Second Army Corps if Qiu Feng disagreed, and surrendering would be impossible.

If things go wrong, you might die before you even accomplish anything, and then you'll be branded a traitor.

Qiu Feng watched Du Guangting's retreating figure, took a few deep drags on his cigar, and then looked at the surrender letter that had been burned to ashes in the brazier.

In fact, he was just as conflicted as Du Guangting at that moment.

Seeing Qiu Feng standing there motionless, Li Hanping walked over: "Lord of the Night."

"Europe is still the best," Qiu Feng muttered.

“In Europe, when it comes to war, if you can win, you fight; if you can't win, you surrender. No one laughs at how quickly or how many people surrender.”

"Unlike us, who know we shouldn't fight, but still have to keep fighting."

Qiu Feng's tone was strange, making it impossible to understand what he meant.

After speaking, Qiu Feng turned around and looked at Li Hanping and the rest of the army corps.

"I'm 48 years old this year. I've seen enough, played enough, and enjoyed everything. Even if I die, it's worth it."

“You are different. If anyone intends to surrender to the G army, don’t worry about me. Just leave quietly.”

"Officer, we swear to live and die with the Second Army!"

Seeing the crowd constantly pledging their loyalty, Qiu Feng simply waved his hand and remained silent.

Whether or not we share life and death is not something that can be said in words; it depends on the actual situation.

However, Qiu Feng no longer cared about any of that at this point.

For the next few days, Qiu Feng took his nurses to various military units to drink and dance.

Every day after I finish dancing, I hug the nurse and go to sleep, ignoring everything else.

Li Bingwen's behavior was even stranger than Qiu Feng's.

He specifically sought out Du Guangting: "Deputy Commander, could you give me the designation of the 64th Army that was annihilated by the East China Field Army?"

"64th Army? We're completely surrounded now, what use is this number to you?" Du Guangting asked, puzzled.

The number of soldiers in the encirclement is decreasing day by day, and even getting the 64th Army designation won't increase their combat effectiveness.

“My army has always only had two corps, and I want to complete it.”

"Whatever you want," Du Guangting said casually. "I'll give you the designation of the 64th Army. As for the manpower, you can arrange it yourself."

If gaining a nominal title can boost Li Bingwen's morale, then this matter will be entirely beneficial.

As for the official position that Li Bingwen arranged for him, Du Guangting simply pretended not to know.

If they can successfully break through, the Ministry of National Defense will naturally take responsibility; if they cannot break through, these empty titles are of no use at all.

"Thank you, Deputy Chief Commander!"

After returning to the 13th Army Corps, Li Bingwen arranged for all his confidants to join the 64th Army, promoting them from division commanders all the way up to company commanders.

Even the cook who prepared his meals wore the hat of the regimental chief of staff.

Du Guangting spent New Year's Day in endless anxiety.

On the 3rd, Chang Ruiyuan suddenly sent a telegram to Du Guangting.

"Break out according to the third plan, and start dropping three days' worth of rations and ammunition from the 5th."

As for Du Guangting's proposed decisive battle, Chang Ruiyuan pretended not to see it.

It wasn't that he didn't want a decisive battle, but that he was no longer able to mobilize the Guangxi clique troops. Not only that, but even Li Delin of the Guangxi clique had already begun to rebel.

On the 5th, seeing the large number of planes suddenly appearing in the sky and the dense array of airdrops being dropped at low altitude, Chen Chengxing immediately realized what was happening.

"Old Chu, issue orders to all units to prepare for battle!"

The sudden change in Guo Jun's forces indicates that he is definitely planning to break out.

Chen Chengxing estimated that the order from his superiors would be issued soon.

As expected, that afternoon, Chen Chengxing received an order from the Corps Headquarters to launch a general offensive the next day.

Upon receiving the order, Chen Chengxing immediately convened a military meeting.

"After dawn tomorrow, the general offensive will begin. The East China Field Army's T column and the Central Plains Field Army's T column will first conduct artillery preparations against the Kuomintang army's positions."

"Pillar, the howitzer battalion will also participate, but the rocket artillery battalion shouldn't attack." Rocket artillery shells are not cheap; they are much more expensive than artillery shells.

There is currently no need to launch concentrated firepower in a short period of time, so it should be avoided if possible.

"Yes!" Wang Chengzhu stood at attention and replied.

"As for your respective detachments, once the general offensive begins, you will launch a fierce attack."

"I have only one request: get me into Du Guangting's command post at all costs!"

"Yes!"

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the general offensive officially began with the launch of three colored signal flares.

The East China Field Army and the Central Plains Field Army deployed thousands of artillery pieces of various sizes and bombarded the Kuomintang army's positions within the encirclement.

The artillery preparations continued until noon.

As the sound of artillery fire gradually subsided, the frontline troops sounded the charge.

"Lord Siren! Lord Siren! The G Army is attacking!" Li Hanping frantically shook Qiu Feng.

Qiu Feng danced all day yesterday, came back drunk, and went straight to sleep.

The intense artillery fire outside did not bring him to his senses.

"The G army is here, so be it. The overall situation is beyond change. You should all run for your lives."

Qiu Feng mumbled a few words, then turned over and prepared to go back to sleep.

"Oh dear!" Li Hanping stamped his feet anxiously.

"Guards! Take the ringmaster away! We must break out immediately!"

The command center just called; the air force will be dropping poison gas bombs soon. This is their last chance to break out.

However, most of the poison gas bombs dropped by the KMT aircraft did not explode, and the localized poison gas did not cause the KMT army to retreat.

The much-anticipated breakthrough showed no signs of being achieved.

Du Guangting and the others had no choice but to hold out until nightfall and then try to break out under cover of darkness.

During the breakout, Qiu Feng's nerves were jolted by the sight of the chaotic Guo army positions.

After breaking free from the two guards supporting him, Qiu Feng began running and jumping around, shouting repeatedly, "The G Army is here!! The G Army is here!"

Qiu Feng's madness was so extreme that even when Li Hanping sent people to arrest him, they couldn't catch him.

The situation was already chaotic, and with the sky pitch black, someone fired a burst of bullets, killing Qiu Feng instantly amidst the chaos.

Li Bingwen disguised himself as a wounded soldier and blended into the ranks of prisoners, then successfully escaped during the chaos of the battlefield.

Du Guangting and his three followers ran around aimlessly, and were spotted by a villager from a nearby village just as they left the battlefield.

Without saying a word, Du Guangting took off the gold ring he was wearing and handed it to the villager.

"Fellow villager, this is gold. It's for you, but please don't tell anyone where I am!"

"Don't worry, I, Old Yang, am a man of integrity, and I have a good reputation in the surrounding area. I guarantee I won't reveal your whereabouts."

Du Guangting breathed a sigh of relief.

After leaving, Old Yang took the gold ring and headed straight for the nearby D-section health department.

"There are bandits lurking in Yangjiazhuang!" Old Yang said breathlessly.

"How many people?" The soldiers guarding the health department did not panic. With so many KMT troops, it was impossible for no one to break through.

Old Yang thought for a moment and decided to keep his promise: "I only saw three. I don't know if there were any others. There were no spears."

Since he had promised the leader of the Guo army not to reveal his whereabouts, he definitely couldn't say anything. However, the other three people hadn't made any demands that they couldn't be exposed.

"Thank you, fellow villager."

"Third class! Follow me!"

A dozen minutes later, seeing the G army surrounding him, Du Guangting decisively chose to surrender.

As for his entourage, they raised their hands much faster than he did.
After being captured, Du Guangting actually felt a sense of relief.

That's how he is now. Whatever happens to the Party in the future, it will have nothing to do with him.

However, Du Guangting always harbored resentment towards the traitors within the Kuomintang.

Years later, Du Guangting asked Guo Gui if he was an inside agent.

Guo Gui, who was nominally a leader of the uprising, was also helpless at the time.

He had actually considered this issue, but he judged that other comrades were secretly exerting their influence.

Because in his plan, in order to avoid exposure, he dared not send Guo Jun away too obviously.

His plan was to eliminate some and let others escape.

As a result of Guo Jun's series of operations, not a single soldier in the Central Plains was left.

Among them, Liu Jingfu and Chang Ruiyuan are the most likely to be spies.
After eliminating Du Guangting's group, the East China Field Army and the Central Plains Field Army continued their southward offensive, liberating a vast area between Zhucheng, Luzhou, and the Huai River region.

From then on, there was no more war in the area north of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

With the conclusion of the three major campaigns, the G army's troop strength and equipment underwent a dramatic transformation, and its total strength increased from over one million to over three hundred thousand.

However, the major field armies were facing a major problem at this time.

That is, as the war progresses, the operational range of the major field armies will inevitably break through geographical boundaries, and the original field army designations based on a specific region will no longer be appropriate.

Therefore, after the three major campaigns, the field armies were reorganized according to the instructions of the Central Committee.

The Second Division is naturally also within the scope of the reorganization.

However, the changes to the Second General Headquarters were minor. In accordance with the three-three system, the original 12 infantry battalions and 3 artillery battalions of each detachment were changed back to regimental-level management.

The regimental infantry battalion's organization remained unchanged, while the regimental artillery battalion consisted of infantry guns, anti-tank guns, 107mm mortars, and some 12.7mm heavy machine guns.

Although each detachment reduced the size of its infantry battalions, it expanded its artillery, so the total strength remained basically unchanged.

As for the artillery regiment, the thirty-six field guns were not returned by the Central Plains Field Army, but remained in the T column of the Central Plains Field Army and became an independent field artillery regiment.

However, Nakano Noji did not take it for nothing, and gave Chen Chengxing the twelve newly captured 105mm howitzers.

Chen Chengxing was pleased with this outcome, since the shells for the Type 90 field gun were a separate product, and although they could be produced, it was clear that they would not be the main focus of production.

At this time, the Second Artillery Regiment had two howitzer battalions under its command. As for the missing battalion, it could only be replaced by captured artillery later.

However, although the total troop strength did not change much, the organizational affiliation of the Second General Headquarters changed.

The Second General Staff was transferred from the original Nakano to direct command and designated as a new weapons testing unit.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chen Chengxing called Wen Ying and asked for two more battalions of rocket artillery, thus expanding the original rocket artillery battalion.

The howitzer regiment and the rocket artillery regiment were also combined into a single artillery unit for unified coordination.

After completely annihilating Du Guangting's group, Chen Chengxing finally heard the system notification.

Main Quest: Great Victory (Legion Level). Completed!

[Obtained a set of missile production blueprints.]

Please select the missile blueprint type as soon as possible.

[Main quest triggered: The Capital! The Capital!]

Mission Objective: Capture the capital of another country.

[Mission Reward: A complete explanation of the nuclear fission weapon production process.]

At the same time, the "Number One in the World" trait was also successfully upgraded to the maximum level.

At this moment, Chen Chengxing's characteristics reached their peak.

[Infantry Combat Mastery: When marching on foot, +5% movement speed, +10% attack and defense]

[Mountain Mastery: When fighting in mountainous terrain, gain +5% movement speed, +10% attack and defense.]

[Training Expert: Training Speed ​​+10%]

[Surprise Attack Mastery: When a surprise attack is successful, troop attack is increased by 20%.]

[Artillery Mastery: +15% Artillery Hit Rate]

[Urban Combat Mastery: When fighting in urban areas, gain +5% movement speed, +10% attack and defense.]

[Number One in the World: For each victory in a battle of the same or higher level, morale increases by 1% and combat power increases by 1%, up to a maximum of 10%]

In addition, there is a unique Grand Marshal trait: [Super Recovery: Increases the recovery rate of wounded troops by 50%]

As for skills, apart from Tactical Command and Insight reaching level 9, War Intuition and War Mastery are only at level 3.

It's incredibly difficult to trigger side quests that reward skill points these days.

After turning off the other panels, Chen Chengxing spent a long time looking at the catalog of hundreds of missiles, his mouth watering at the sight of them.

After much deliberation, Chen Chengxing could only reluctantly choose missiles that could be produced now or in a few years.

If we really had to choose a hypersonic missile, we couldn't produce it even if we pooled the resources of the entire world.

(End of this chapter)