binnovel Chapter 160 Prelude to the Great War (1)
Chapter 160 Prelude to the Great War (1)
"Director Zhang, you can come and visit me anytime in the future. I hope everything went smoothly this time. When will the materials approved by the war zone be shipped back?" Liang Kejian was in a good mood and asked about Zhang Wenwu's work. This was the first time he really cared about work since he came to the Fifth War Zone.
Zhang Wenwu smiled bitterly when he heard Liang Kejian's question. "Deputy Director Liang, the Fifth War Zone is different from other places. The War Zone allocated a batch of supplies to my subordinates, but when I went to ask Director He for his signature just now, Director He said that there are still many troops in the War Zone that have not arrived yet, so they cannot favor one over the other. Therefore, they only approved half of the amount of firearms and ammunition. Sigh, I'm still worried about how to explain to the division commander and the chief of staff when I go back."
"Hmph, this He Rongfu simply doesn't take our Central Army seriously. All this talk of favoritism is just an excuse. When the time comes, our Central Army will have to take on the battles in key locations. If we don't equip the troops better, what will we use to withstand the Japanese attack? Will we rely on those ragtag troops? Nonsense." When Liang Kejian heard what Zhang Wenwu said, he angrily retorted Director He's previous remarks.
Zhang Wenwu said immediately after hearing what Deputy Director Liang said: "Deputy Director Liang, the losses of this unit in the previous battle in Shanghai are really too great, especially in terms of weapons. Although our division has recruited a lot of personnel along the way, there is a big gap in weapons and equipment. If we don't fill the gap in weapons quickly, I'm afraid that when the theater headquarters gives an order, the brothers will have to go to the front line to fight the Japanese desperately without any weapons in their hands, which will be very disadvantageous to the entire battle situation."
After hearing what Zhang Wenwu said, Liang Kejian thought about it seriously, and then said to Zhang Wenwu: "Director Zhang, how about this? You take all the supplies back first, and then collect all the firearms that can be replaced by your troops. I will tell my subordinates, and then you can use the obsolete firearms to exchange for the firearms in stock. What do you think?"
When Zhang Wenwu heard that Liang Kejian could help him solve the firearms issue, he immediately said that there was no problem and quickly called Cao Huaguo in. Cao Huaguo had been waiting for Zhang Wenwu's call at the door. When he heard Zhang Wenwu calling him, he hurried into the office, saluted Liang Kejian and Zhang Wenwu, then handed the briefcase in his hand to Zhang Wenwu, and left the office, closing the door sensibly.
Zhang Wenwu took out two wrapped envelopes from his briefcase and placed them in front of Liang Kejian, saying in a low voice: "Deputy Director Liang, I know how hard it is for you. You must accept this gift. You have helped me solve a big problem. If you don't accept it, I will feel bad. If the army commander knows about this, he will definitely blame me for being ignorant and neglecting Deputy Director Liang."
Liang Kejian looked at Zhang Wenwu with a bit of relief. This was still someone in his own system that he could trust. He didn't really expect to gain any benefit from helping Zhang Wenwu this time. The main reason was that he was a bit depressed because of the oppression and bullying in recent times. He just wanted to use the Central Army as his backing to vent the anger he had suffered these days. He didn't expect Zhang Wenwu to be so sensible and actually prepared the money.
Liang Kejian was happy in his heart, but on the surface he kept a straight face and said seriously: "Director Zhang, what are you doing? We are all from the Central Military System. Isn't it alienating us if you do this? Don't do it again next time."
Zhang Wenwu immediately said with a smile that it was precisely because they were all from the Central Military System that they gave Liang Kejian some allowances and subsidies. This was a benefit within the Central Military System.
After hearing Zhang Wenwu's explanation, Liang Kejian smiled and pointed at Zhang Wenwu and said, "Well, since it is a welfare allowance within our Central Army, I will not refuse it."
Zhang Wenwu stayed in Liang Kejian's office for more than 30 minutes before leaving. Liang Kejian personally sent Zhang Wenwu to the door of the office and once again assured Zhang Wenwu that there would be no problem with the weapons. He just needed to wait for his call and he would be able to get it done in three days at most.
Sitting on the train back to Wangjiajia, Zhang Wenwu was in a good mood. This time he got in touch with the deputy director of the war zone's quartermaster department, which would make it very convenient for him to get military supplies in the future. Otherwise, it would not be easy for him to get more supplies in the Fifth War Zone, which was mainly composed of local faction troops.
Before Liang Kejian called to notify him to fetch guns, Zhang Wenwu received the news of the fall of Nanjing City. On that day, everyone in the 102nd Division Headquarters looked listless and had very bad tempers. Zhang Wenwu knew that everyone was very uncomfortable about the fall of Nanjing City. After all, as a soldier, losing the capital of their country was the greatest shame they felt.
On the third day after the fall of Jinling City, Liang Kejian called Zhang Wenwu and asked him to transport all the weapons discarded by the troops to the warehouse. He had already made arrangements and would replace them with new guns according to the quantity.
That day, Zhang Wenwu took Cao Huaguo and a company of brothers to the warehouse to escort a large number of obsolete firearms. While Cao Huaguo was directing people to move new firearms, Zhang Wenwu pulled Liang Kejian into the office, gave Liang Kejian three hundred silver dollars, and proposed to buy the stock of basic ammunition in the war zone warehouse. He wanted to take as much as he had, and the transaction would be in cash. Liang Kejian was in a good mood and said it was no problem, then he called an officer, and the three of them started discussing in the office.
It was not until the morning of the next day that Zhang Wenwu took the supplies to Wangjiajia. This time he made a good purchase. Not only did he replenish the guns that the troops urgently needed, but he also bought 30 light machine guns, 10 heavy machine guns, and a large number of stockpiled ammunition. The most valuable thing was that he also bought 20 mortars and accompanying shells that had just been shipped from the Gongxian Arsenal. Now the people in the division's artillery battalion had something to do. Although they could only use mortars, it was better than basking in the sun every day. As for artillery, forget it, Zhang Wenwu had no channel to get it now.
After the Japanese army captured the city of Nanjing, most of the troops had to rest in place and wait for replenishment due to heavy losses. However, the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Force gave priority to replenishing the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, and after mid-December, ordered the division to cross the Yangtze River from Nanjing, Zhenjiang, and Wuhu to attack northward, attempting to move northward along the Jinpu Railway and open up this important transportation line connecting the Japanese troops in North China and Central China.
The Japanese Second Army of the North China Front sent the Fifth Division and the Tenth Division to cross the Yellow River and attack Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province.
On December 23, Han Paopao, deputy commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, was dissatisfied with the transfer of the Central Army's heavy artillery brigade allocated to him, and privately ordered the Third Army to retreat as a whole without firing a shot. His unauthorized retreat shocked the Fifth War Zone and the Military Commission.
On the 27th, Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, fell, and the Japanese army launched an attack on the important city of Tai'an from Boshan and Laiwu.
On January 1, 1938, Tai'an was successfully occupied by the 10th Division of the Japanese Army, which opened the northern front gate of the Jinpu Railway. The Japanese army could then drive south along the Jinpu Railway and directly threaten the safety of Xuzhou.
Han Paopao and his Third Army's escape made Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone very angry. You know, the Fifth War Zone itself is a war zone defense force composed mainly of troops from various local factions. Han Paopao's mad escape with the five armies of his Third Army would cause very serious cowardice to other local troops in the war zone, which was a serious blow to the morale and confidence of these local troops in the war zone which were already weak in combat effectiveness. Therefore, Commander Li telegraphed Han Paopao many times, asking him to take his troops to retake Tai'an, but Han Paopao was very stubborn and sent a few words to Commander Li, "If Nanjing is not defended, how can Tai'an be defended?"
The Military Commission could no longer sit still and sent two telegrams to Han Paopao, but Han Paopao still turned a deaf ear to them and ran all the way to the border of Henan Province before stopping his escape.
However, Han Paopao completely offended Commander Li and the Military Commission this time.
On January 11, the Chinese Military Commission held a secret military meeting of senior generals at the Henan Provincial Government. Han Paopao was also asked to attend the meeting. As a result, Han Paopao was arrested at the meeting. Thirteen days later, he was secretly executed in Sanzhen. Now he no longer had to run away.
Zhang Wenwu looked at Han Paopao's news and thought to himself what a pity. The 10th Division and the th Division occupied most of the important areas of Shandong Province almost unscathed. The war zone originally wanted to use the troops of the Third Army to delay the Japanese troops moving south from North China in Shandong Province, or at least consume some of the Japanese troops' strength. Unexpectedly, Han Paopao was unable to realize either of these two strategic ideas for the war zone.
Division Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong looked at the situation report with regret. They felt that it would be better for their 102nd Division to be stationed near the current base of the Third Army. Now that Han Paopao was captured, the Third Army would be very popular. If their own troops were nearby, they would at least be able to incorporate a division of their own troops. In that case, the 102nd Division would be even more powerful.
Zhang Wenwu had no idea what his two superiors were thinking. He knew that the famous Battle of Taierzhuang would soon begin, and he didn't know why his troops were sent to the Fifth War Zone to participate in the battle. He thought it must be because his little butterfly's wings had some small influence on these things.
The capture of Han Paopao did not affect the northward advance of the 11th Division of the Central China Expeditionary Army. By late January, the main force of the 51th Division had occupied Chuxian, Lai'an, Mingguang, Chihe, and Outang, and arrived at the east bank of Chihe. The Fifth War Zone then ordered the th Army Group and the st Army to use the natural advantages of the Huaihe River to stop the Japanese troops advancing northward along the Jinpu Railway.