Chapter 279 Zhangye's Concerns "Huh~ Damn it, no wonder those warlords in ancient times wanted to fight for the Central Plains when they reached this position. Looking at this situation, I want to lead my troops out to fight for the Central Plains." Near a pass in the Taihang Mountains east of Ping'an County, on a mountain peak that is also the boundary between Shanxi and Hebei, Zhangye stood on the peak and looked forward in the afterglow of the setting sun. Shortly after Qin Yangming led his team away, Zhangye also led the remaining troops of the vanguard regiment and followed Kong Jie across the floating bridge of the Dongzhang River into the area of Ping'an County. According to the predetermined plan, after they entered the Ping'an County area with their troops, they quickly moved towards Ping'an County, waiting for the results from Qin Yangming. If Qin Yangming had not restored contact with Murakuchi Saburo and others, Kong Jie and Zhangye would lead the troops to launch the first attack, and at the same time be prepared to block the Japanese reinforcements from the Shuiquan direction. If they could get in touch, the two of them would lead their troops to hide, trying their best to avoid being discovered by the Japanese, and wait for the outcome of the negotiations between Qin Yangming and Murakuchi Saburo and others. If the result is as expected, then we will proceed according to another plan based on the latest situation on Qin Yangming's side. The New Second Regiment moved to the north of Ping'an County, preparing to block the Japanese reinforcements from the Shuiquan direction. Zhangye led the vanguard regiment to move between Ping'an County and Zhangzhuang stronghold. If Qin Yangming could open the city gate directly, the vanguard regiment would be the first to enter Ping'an County and launch an attack.
Or he could cooperate with the independent regiment to attack the Zhangzhuang stronghold. Even if he failed to capture Ping'an County, he would at least capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold. Now, after Zhangye and Kong Jie learned the telegram from Qin Yangming saying that they had contacted Murakuchi Saburo and Qingquan Muyi, and had captured the Xiaocaozhuang stronghold from Murakuchi Saburo without bloodshed, the two of them led their troops into the Taihang Mountains, which is the border between Shanxi and HEB provinces, and hid there. While letting the troops rest, they were also waiting for the next news from Qin Yangming. In front of Zhangye is the vast Central China Plain which stretches as far as the eye can see. Behind Zhangye is the Loess Plateau, which is full of mountains and various dangerous terrains. Zhangye stood on the top of the mountain, looking at the endless plain in front of him, and couldn't help but speak to Kong Jie beside him. Kong Jie, who was standing by, was also shocked by the scene before him, and spoke as he listened to what Zhangye said. "Don't worry, it won't be long before your idea comes true. Once we take over Ping'an County and the war is over, we will either go north to occupy Shuiquan and connect with the Wutaishan Military Region, or go east to Taihang and connect with the Yizhong Military Region!" "Humph, how can such a beautiful land fall into the hands of the devils? I believe that in two years at most, as long as there are no other changes in the meantime, we will be able to capture the entire Shanxi Province and turn most of Shanxi into the logistics base of our Eighth Route Army and make most of Shanxi our base. At that time, our 129th and 115th Divisions can split into two groups, one heading east to Taihang, and the other heading north to Inner Mongolia and into the pass!" When Kong Jie thought about the conversation between him and Ding Wei and Ding Wei's analysis of the subsequent war, he couldn't help but speak to Zhang Ye beside him. Zhangye nodded after listening to what Kong Jie said, and then spoke with some concern. "Captain Kong, our Eighth Route Army has now occupied a large amount of territory in Shanxi. The area controlled by our Eighth Route Army can be said to be the largest among all the occupied areas except for the Japanese. The Shanxi Suiyuan Army does not control as much territory as we do. Do you think the Shanxi Suiyuan Army will have any objections?" After all, Zhangye comes from a political work background. He may not be so sensitive to war, but he is sharp enough in analyzing current situations and people's hearts. Zhangye calculated the territory now controlled by the Eighth Route Army and made a rough estimate, and found that the territory now controlled by the Eighth Route Army is larger than the territory controlled by the Shanxi local warlord army, the Jinsui Army. Zhangye also began to worry whether the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army would have objections and deliberately create friction or something. After all, Yan Laoxi still has 200,000 Shanxi-Suiyuan Army troops under his command, although more than half of them were recruited later or even conscripted men. But that was also an army of 200,000.
If Yan Laoxi has objections or even conflicts with these matters, it will not be good news for the Eighth Route Army. Especially in the current situation. The main anti-Japanese force in the entire Shanxi Province at present is the Eighth Route Army. It can be said that the Eighth Route Army has borne most of the pressure from the Japanese devils and has involved a large number of Japanese devils' troops. If the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army created friction at this time, or secretly cooperated with the Japanese to sell out the Eighth Route Army, it would inevitably be a major blow to the Eighth Route Army. In particular, Yan Laoxi was not very willing to cooperate with the Eighth Route Army at the beginning, and even refused to allow the Eighth Route Army to recruit soldiers in Shanxi. Therefore, Zhangye was very worried that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army might suddenly stab the Eighth Route Army in the back. Especially now, in order to retake Jincheng and Zhongtiao Mountain, Yan Laoxi has mobilized heavy troops into these two areas, intending to wipe out the Japanese in these two areas and then retake these two areas. If Yan Laoxi wants to completely stabilize these two areas, he must stabilize the Shangdang area, especially Jincheng. The Jincheng area itself has no defensive terrain. To the north of Jincheng is the Shangdang area, and to the south is the Yellow River. With the Yellow River antenna in the south, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army has nothing to worry about. To the northeast is the Taihang Mountains, and to the northwest is the Wangwu Mountains. Now the Taihang Mountains and Shangdang areas are in the hands of the Eighth Route Army. The two natural barriers are left empty by the Eighth Route Army. As long as the Eighth Route Army is willing, they can easily capture the Jincheng area by sending troops directly from the Shangdang area, and even the Zhongtiao Mountains can be easily captured. However, if the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army wanted to take over the Shangdang area, it would have to face the southern mountains of the Shangdang Basin. Now that the southern mountains are controlled by the Eighth Route Army, it is difficult for the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army to defeat the Japanese, let alone the Eighth Route Army. After all, the Shangdang Basin was snatched from the Japanese devils by the Eighth Route Army with real guns and bullets, not by any trick. But the problem lies here. The southern mountains of the Shangdang Basin serve as the dividing line between the Shangdang area and the Jincheng area. The Eighth Route Army controls the southern mountains. If there are any special circumstances, the Eighth Route Army can send troops from the southern mountains to directly take Jincheng. If the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army controlled the southern mountains, it would be able to move north into the Shangdang Basin, which had no dangerous terrain except for a few small rivers. It can be said that whoever controls the southern mountains will control the two major areas of Jincheng and Shangdang. Now that the southern mountains are controlled by the Eighth Route Army, Yan Laoxi will definitely not be reconciled and will definitely find a way to control the southern mountains. It was impossible for the Eighth Route Army to give the southern mountains to the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. After all, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army had learned from previous experience. Handing over such an important place to the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army meant that the Eighth Route Army would put the throat of the entire Shangdang Military Region in the hands of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. As long as Yan Laoxi is willing, he can inflict severe damage on the entire Shangdang Military Region in the first place, and the situation that the Eighth Route Army has finally opened up will return to its previous state. And if Yan Laoxi really messes up, it will inevitably affect the entire anti-Japanese situation. Even if Yan Laoxi doesn't want to do anything wrong, there will always be someone forcing him to do so. Especially now that the areas actually controlled by the Eighth Route Army are no smaller than the former Soviet areas. Someone does not want to see the Eighth Route Army grow rapidly, and will never allow the emergence of a second Soviet area. By then, there will definitely be another situation where we must first stabilize the country before we can resist foreign aggression. So Zhangye’s worries are not unreasonable. Now Zhangye is afraid that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army will take advantage of the battle between the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese to stab the Eighth Route Army in the back. Kong Jie listened to what Zhangye said and was silent for a while before speaking. "Old Yan shouldn't be so stupid. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there will be a big battle between our Eighth Route Army and the Japanese devils soon. Old Yan shouldn't stab the Eighth Route Army in the back at this time. If Old Yan stabs us in the back at this time, the only ones who will benefit are the Japanese devils.
After all, Yan Laoxi was a local warlord in Shanxi. Compared with the Eighth Route Army, he definitely wanted to drive the Japanese out of Shanxi more. After all, compared with the Central Army, what we did was not too excessive. If Yan Laoxi really dared to stab us in the back, then we could annex the Shanxi Suiyuan Army troops located in Jincheng and Zhongtiao Mountain areas. The worst outcome would be that we lose the Shangdang area again. What's more important is that if the Shangdang area is lost again because of Yan Laoxi, how can he, Yan Laoxi, face the people of Shanxi? By then, Yan Laoxi's reputation in the hearts of the people of Shanxi will definitely drop to freezing point. They didn't dare to fight the Japanese, but instead did some sneaky things. Humph, who among the people in Shanxi would still care about the Jinsui Army by then? He, Yan Laoxi, was also a great hero, and he would not lose his face. In my opinion, if Yan Laoxi really dares to do this, it means that we have completely fallen out with each other. At that time, without the constraints of the Second War Zone, our Eighth Route Army will only develop more rapidly! " As a senior group leader, Kong Jie's political sense is not as sharp as Zhangye's, but he can still analyze from his own perspective. Kong Jie also recruited new soldiers. Even when he first served as the commander of the independent regiment, the predecessor of the independent regiment was just the special service battalion of the division headquarters. At first, there were only about 200 people. The subsequent growth to nearly 2,000 people was all thanks to Kong Jie. Therefore, Kong Jie also knew the reputation of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army among the people of Shanxi, and he also knew how important the reputation in the hearts of the people was to a military unit. If a local warlord army like the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army loses its reputation among the common people in its hometown, it will not be far from its demise. If the people of Shanxi are completely disappointed with the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, then most of the people in Shanxi will definitely place all their hopes on the Eighth Route Army. Because currently in North China, only the Eighth Route Army has been persisting in fighting the Japanese invaders and has won victory after victory. If Yan Laoxi really dared to let the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army stab him in the back, the responsibility for destroying the cooperation would fall on the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. If the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army stabbed the Eighth Route Army in the back, it would mean that the Eighth Route Army and the Second War Zone would completely fall out. By then, without the various restrictions of the Second War Zone, it will be more conducive to the development of the Eighth Route Army. After all, the Second War Zone has stopped giving any support to the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army recaptured the entire Shangdang area from the Japanese invaders, and the Second War Zone only gave it a commendation without any material support. As for Shancheng, they directly attributed most of the credit for recapturing the Shangdang area to the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Central Army through various means of exaggeration and transplantation, while the Eighth Route Army was only mentioned briefly. The propaganda method easily made the people believe that a large part of the credit for recapturing the Shangdang area from the Japanese invaders was due to the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Central Army blocking the Japanese invaders' large forces, and then the Eighth Route Army got a big advantage. The current Eighth Route Army, especially the middle and lower-level officers, have great opinions about the Second War Zone and the mountain city. Even some officers who already had a blood feud with the mountain city were more dissatisfied. Kong Jie even heard that some troops, especially those in the 115th Division, had begun to voice their opinions about leaving the Second War Zone and rebuilding the Soviet area. It is true that the Eighth Route Army is now very powerful. Its weapons and equipment have been able to achieve basic self-sufficiency. The firepower of each unit has been greatly enhanced, and there has been a lot of ammunition. At least the main force will no longer be in a situation where it has to charge after firing three shots. Even the various troops have begun to have the spare capacity to adjust their weapons and equipment and have begun to unify the caliber of their weapons as much as possible. For example, the Shangdang Military Region, which was formed based on the 129th Division, under the planning of the division commander and others, all the troops in the two sub-military regions, the Taihang Military Region and the Taiyue Military Region, under the Shangdang Military Region, will unify the caliber of their rifles to mm. The rifles are mainly Type 38 rifle or Type 65 rifle made in Jin. The troops of the main military district of the Shangdang Military Region were mainly equipped with 79-caliber Hanyang-made and Zhongzheng-made rifles that used Mauser 79-caliber pointed rifle bullets. As for the outdated weapons such as the old sleeves and those miscellaneous firearms, they were all sent to the border areas to be used to arm the border troops and train new recruits.
Those of better quality were sent to the Yi Zhong Military Region to support the local troops. The overall strength of the Eighth Route Army is now stronger than when it was in the Soviet area. At least back then in the Soviet area they had no tanks or heavy artillery. Now we have tanks and heavy artillery, and there is also plenty of ammunition. As the saying goes, when you hold a sharp weapon, you will naturally want to kill. The Eighth Route Army is so powerful now, how could some cadres not think about it? Many officers of the Eighth Route Army, especially regimental-level cadres, have a deep hatred for the people in Shancheng, a blood feud! (End of this chapter)
