I fought guerrilla warfare in the Yimeng Mountains during the Anti-Japanese War

Under Wu Tianxiang's escort, Chen Feng returned to the previous courtyard and found that no one had rested. When they saw Chen Feng coming back, they yawned and went back to their rooms. Without the captain, they always felt a little uncomfortable there.

Chen Feng simply washed up. Li Ergou, who was in charge of alert, took Chen Feng to the second floor, pointed to the middle room and said that it was the captain's room. Then he walked to a corner of the corridor, squatted in the corner and began to be on guard. Chen Feng entered the room and found that it was more exquisite than Wang Mingzhang's. He took off his coat and prepared to have a good rest. Even when he stayed in an inn before, he always carried a gun with him and slept in his clothes.

At the headquarters of the 122nd Division, Wang Mingzhang saw that his three deputies, the chief of staff and several staff officers had arrived, so he began a meeting to discuss how to divide the battlefield, destroy communications and block routes after the Japanese broke through.

All the subordinates were good generals on the battlefield. They were awakened by his words and felt a little scared. They hurriedly discussed countermeasures and would never allow such a situation to happen, otherwise the consequences would be extremely serious. However, after discussing for a long time, there was no result. Unless they abandoned the front line and withdrew the troops, once the Japanese launched an attack tomorrow and used planes and heavy artillery to open a gap, their speculation would most likely come true.

Seeing that no one could come up with any ideas, Wang Mingzhang prepared to implement his own strategy. He bowed to everyone first. Several subordinates stood up hurriedly, not understanding what the commander meant. Wang Mingzhang spoke in everyone's surprised eyes:

Dear colleagues, the battle of Teng County has reached a critical moment of life and death. I need your help now, but the process may be very dangerous...

Before he could finish his words, Deputy Division Commander Yang Junqing shouted:

At the request of the division commander, we have been putting our heads on the line and fighting the Japanese to the death since we left Sichuan, and we have never hesitated. Even if the division commander asked me to go to the front line and fight the Japs with bayonets, I would not make any concessions and would firmly carry out the order.

Zhao Qinyuan, deputy division commander and director of the political department, pushed his glasses and said politely:

Commander, there is not a single coward in the division from you on down, just give the order! Even if we are asked to carry explosive packs to blow up tanks, no one will be a coward.

The other chiefs of staff and a group of staff officers also shouted in unison:

Please give orders, Master.

Wang Mingzhang was somewhat touched. These colleagues might have been a little bit greedy during the warlords' infighting, but since they left Sichuan to fight against the Japanese, none of them had been lazy. He glanced around and saw that everyone had a firm look in their eyes, so he spoke:

I won't let you fight the Japanese with bayonets, nor will I let you carry explosives to blow up tanks. That would be a mistake on my part as a division commander. Now, in addition to Zhang Xuanwu's troops, there are eight regiments on the entire front line. I need each of you to go to a regiment, and we will set off soon. Your task is not to take over the battlefield command, but to make prompt decisions based on the situation.

I have two requests for you. The first is to help the regiment commander command the entire regiment, unite the forces, and try to delay the speed of the enemy's attack. You can think of ways to do it yourselves. I can only give you a few suggestions. If there is a bridge, blow it up. If there is no bridge, blow up the road. If there is no bridge or road, lay mines. Every second you can delay is a second.

Second, try to bring back as many soldiers as possible. Be sure to prepare for artillery and air defense, pay attention to the defense of the flanks and the rear, send more scouts, and never let the Japanese surround you. Once the surrounding troops are surrounded by the Japanese, do not blindly rescue them.

In a word, while blocking the enemy and delaying their advance, bring as many people as possible back to Teng County. I'm counting on you, colleagues.

Eight people said in unison:

Yes!

Wang Mingzhang continued:

I will call each regiment in a while. If any regiment disobeys orders and misses the opportunity to fight, I will personally shoot him. As you all know, these regiment commanders are all rough guys. They have no problem fighting, but they are easily impulsive. Once the casualties are too heavy, they may fight to the death with the Japanese in a fit of rage. You must grasp the scale and try to reduce unnecessary casualties. Two fronts cannot stop the Japanese. We must be prepared to defend Teng County to the death.

The eight men accepted the order and immediately led their team out. Each officer led a platoon of soldiers. They wanted these people to enforce battlefield discipline. After all, once the defense line collapsed, the fleeing army would be like a torrent and would be impossible to stop.

Wang Mingzhang called each of the eight regiment commanders separately, explaining in detail the difficulties and cruelty that would follow, and his own battle plan. He ordered the eight men to cooperate well with their superior who would arrive soon, and not to act rashly.

After dealing with these trivial matters, Wang Mingzhang felt a little tired and sighed. He had done what he should do. The rest depended on today's eight colleagues' grasp of the scene. He prepared to rest early, as he still had to focus on the defense deployment around Teng County tomorrow.

Wang Mingzhang attached great importance to Chen Feng. As soon as it was dawn, he sent Wu Tianxiang to the gate of the yard where the team was resting. When he heard some noise from inside the yard, Wu Tianxiang couldn't wait to knock on the door and asked Chen Feng if he could go with him right away. The commander-in-chief was sentimental.

Chen Feng thought that something had happened at the frontline last night, so he signaled Wu Tianxiang to lead the way immediately. A platoon of soldiers protected Chen Feng and came to the division headquarters. When Wang Mingzhang saw Chen Feng, he invited him to sit down and pointed at the food on the table and said:

Let's talk while we eat! The conditions are a bit tough, Captain Lengqiang, please bear with me.

Chen Feng didn't hesitate and sat down to eat:

The division commander was too polite. The Sichuan Army was short of food and clothing, and had insufficient guns and bullets, but they never retreated when fighting the Japanese. Leng Qiang had nothing but admiration for them.

The two men ate and chatted. Wang Mingzhang told Chen Feng that he had sent eight colleagues to the front line. Their main task was to delay the enemy's attack speed and bring back as many troops as possible from the front line.

Changing the subject, Wang Mingzhang meant that he still wanted to abandon the positions outside the city and rely on the city walls for defense. His consideration was that there was no defense outside the city, and once it was hit by artillery or air strikes, it might face rapid collapse, wasting its manpower in vain.

Chen Feng smiled bitterly. This was how Wang Mingzhang defended in his previous life. However, it was because the city was short of troops. At its peak, there were only more than 2,000 troops, including some security regiments and police. The troops on the outer front were either surrounded by the Japanese or broke out in the direction of Linyi and from the west of Teng County to the south. Now, if we calculate the troops retreating from various fronts, the number may reach four to five thousand or even tens of thousands. If they all stay in Teng County, wouldn't that be giving heads to the Japanese planes?

Chen Feng put down the steamed bun and asked Wang Mingzhang:

Sir, how many defenders are there in the city now?

Wang Mingzhang knew that Chen Feng had his own ideas and did not hide anything:

Including all division and brigade headquarters and police, there are more than 2,300 people who can hold guns, and at most 1,800 people who can fight.

Chen Feng looked at the map in the war room and asked slowly:

The division commander, not taking into account Zhang Xuanwu's half brigade in Longshan and the eight regiments on the front line, how many people can the division commander estimate that can retreat?

Wang Mingzhang suddenly understood what Chen Feng meant. The problem was very simple, and he quickly understood Chen Feng's idea. Everything was still uncertain. If the front-line troops could not retreat, there would be no problem in defending the city, and there would be no troops to be divided. But once a large number of troops retreated and all stayed in the county town, once the Japanese planes and artillery bombed together, with such a dense force, there would definitely be huge losses.