At the Yuwang Mountain position, the Dian army fought to the death, and the Japanese army was never able to move forward. However, the Japanese army attacking Xuzhou not only had the 10th and 5th divisions, but they also dispatched a total of nine divisions and more than 200,000 people.

In early May, a large number of Japanese troops began to encircle the west side of Xuzhou from the south and north.

In the south, the 9th and 13th Divisions advanced north along the west bank of the Beiqi River and the Whirlpool River from the Bengbu area respectively, and after capturing Mengcheng and Yongcheng, they attacked Xiaoxian and Dangshan; The 3rd Division entered the Dayingji area from Bengbu and attacked Suxian.

To the north, Nakajima's 16th Division crossed the canal from Jining, Shandong, and marched towards Yuncheng, Shanxian, Jinxiang, and Yutai, and then advanced to Fengxian and Dangshan; The 14th Division crossed the Yellow River from Puyang, Henan, and after trapping Heze and Cao County in Shandong, it went straight to Lanfeng, Henan; At the same time, after the 10th Division handed over the operations in the Hanzhuang and Taierzhuang areas to the 114th Division, it prepared to cross Weishan Lake near Xiazhen and attack Peixian.

The increasingly tragic battle reports from the front continued to reach the case of the Wuchang Kuomintang Military Committee. Xuzhou was suddenly facing a serious crisis, which calmed down Chairman Na's brain, which was a little dizzy because of Taierzhuang's victory. He suddenly realized that the intention of the Japanese army was to encircle and annihilate all the main forces of the Chinese army in Xuzhou.

Chairman Jiang immediately called He Yingqin, Bai Chongxi, Chen Cheng, Feng Yizhong and others to study and plan together.

The Japanese army's attempt had been exposed, and it was no longer realistic to defend Xuzhou, and He Yingqin and others also advocated a quick breakthrough and decided to abandon Xuzhou.

At the Xuzhou Headquarters, Xu Zuyi handed over the chairman's telegram to Li Zongren. Li Zongren was not surprised after reading it, because he had received the news from Bai Chongxi earlier, and what he had in his hand was just a formal order.

Xu Zuyi said: "Intelligence shows that the 10th Division handed over the battle of Taierzhuang to the 114th Division, and is now assembled in Xia Town on the east bank of Weishan Lake, preparing to cross Weishan Lake west and take Pei County directly; The 16th Division of the Japanese Army in the north of Peixian County, Nakajima Imasago, has also set out from Jining, preparing to attack Sun Tongxuan's department, and there will be a bloody battle in Jinxiang. ”

Li Zongren looked at the map and began to show sadness. The 600,000 army is not just a matter of walking, and Xuzhou must not repeat the Nanjing tragedy. In the Great Retreat of Nanjing, due to the confusion of command, high-ranking officers fled from the battlefield, resulting in the tragic killing of 50,000 soldiers of the Nationalist Army.

Li Zongren said suddenly: "We must come up with a well-thought-out retreat plan to let 600,000 soldiers of the national army leave Xuzhou safely." Otherwise, I, Li, will be a sinner in history! ”

Xu Zuyi said: "Now the focus is on three places, Jinxiang County, Pei County, and Yuwang Mountain. Yuwang Mountain came to the big victory again, so the east is quite safe, even if Yuwang Mountain is lost, there is still Taierzhuang. Now the problem lies in Jinxiang County and Pei County, as long as one place misses, the consequences are difficult to predict. ”

Li Zongren thought twice and said: "I only need ten days to withdraw all the troops in Xuzhou."

"Ten days? Is it possible? After all, it's 600,000 troops. ”

"Just ten days! Immediately telegraphed Sun Tongxuan, Chen Haotian, and Zhang Chong to hold on until May 18, and then find an opportunity to evacuate! ”

Xu Zuyi questioned, but Li Zongren was very firm, because he knew that it was the limit of the defense of the various ministries.

Chen Haotian came to Feng County and Pei County with a brigade early, and later added a regiment and some local troops.

Zhu Zi took the special combat team to the east bank of Weishan Lake to conduct reconnaissance, and only rushed back two days later.

"The devils are starting to assemble, it's the old opponent's 10th Division."

In the evening, as soon as the pillar returned to the camp, he went to see Chen Haotian as soon as possible.

Chen Haotian asked, "When is it expected to be assembled and start crossing the lake?"

The pillar thought for a moment and said, "Five days."

Chen Haotian handed over the telegram he had just gotten to Zhuzi and said, "Xuzhou is not defending, and we must retreat." We have to hold out until the 18th before we can leave. That is, one of our brigades had to face one or two wings and fight hard for five days. ”

Zhu Zi said: "The squad leader has long predicted that Xuzhou will be the end of the great retreat, so I am not surprised. We had fifteen days to build our defensive positions, and five days to prepare, so we should be fine. ”

Chen Haotian smiled and said, "Also, I don't think there is anything in this world that he doesn't know."

Zhu Zi suddenly proposed: "Give me a battalion to guard Weishan Lake." I can hold on for at least a day, waiting for the devils to gain a foothold on the shore of Weishan Lake and give them a blow. ”

"Are you sure? The opposing side has a wing. ”

"Heh, it's impossible for a wing to go ashore together."

Chen Haotian saw that the pillar was so resolute, so he agreed to his request.

Pei County is 90 kilometers away from Xuzhou, west of Weishan Lake; It is 70 kilometers away from Jinxiang County.

Pei County and Jinxiang County belong to the cold lips and teeth. Jinxiang County will be attacked from the east and north; As soon as Pei County is broken, the Japanese army can take Xuzhou in the south and attack Jinxiang County in the north. Also, if Pei County breaks in advance, Sun Tongxuan's back road may be cut off.

However, the 16th Division could not wait, and left Jining on the 8th, preparing to cross the canal and begin to attack Jinxiang and Yutai. Therefore, the battle in Jinxiang County in the north came earlier than Pei County.

"Baga Ya Road! Shao Fei, I must break you into pieces! ”

The headquarters of the 16th Division, Nakajima Imago was furious when he learned that his younger brother was captured alive by Shao Fei.

The younger brother Nakajima Kawadai is not in the same division as himself. He has a strong sense of self-esteem, and because of his shameless brother's behavior, he parted ways with Imasato. A soldier is a soldier who kills the enemy to serve the country, not a butcher, let alone a thief!

The 16th Division was the main culprit of the Nanjing Massacre. Under the command of Nakajima Imaigo, the 16th Division killed as many as 160,000 people in Nanjing, more than half of the entire massacre.

The most shameful thing about Nakajima Kawadai is that his brother is a thief. During the Nanjing Massacre, Nakajima was appointed commander of the Nanjing garrison and stayed at the official residence of Chairman Chiang. He secretly stole the chairman's belongings and smuggled them back to China.

(PS: Do you remember the hundred people who beheaded those two bastards, Toshiaki Mukai, Takeshi Noda, and the two animals were his subordinates.) The theft was finally discovered by his superiors, and Nakajima was removed from his post and relegated to the second line. ）

"Your Excellency the General is angry. The top priority was to cross the canal and capture Jinxiang. ”

The adjutant on the side dissuaded, but Nakajima didn't seem to hear it, and he only hated Shao Fei in his heart, and said to himself: "Yuwang Mountain is not the task of their wing at all, why should Mao Sui recommend himself?" Why was a man with such strong self-esteem captured! ”

"General."

"I know. The order went down, and the troops crossed the canal overnight, and the day after tomorrow they had to reach the area around Jinxiang. ”

"Hey!" The adjutant bowed his head and turned to leave.

The whole battle situation has taken a big turn. At first, the chairman was full of fighting spirit. After the victory of the first stage of Taierzhuang, he sent his most elite troops to Xuzhou, intending to fight to the death with the Japanese army in Xuzhou to make an understanding. But now, it has ended with a major withdrawal.

(End of chapter)