Age of Rebirth

In the conference room of the Guangzhou Garrison Command Headquarters, the words of the division commander Tang Qiuli aroused the enthusiasm of the officers present. The commanders were all from the [-]th Brigade of the former Corps directly under it. It was a famous main field brigade. It fought the Soviets in the north and the Japanese in Pingjin.

In the officers' bones, they still retained the ferocity of the field troops. The commander's words aroused a fire, and the mood for war was very high. Even Tang Qiuli himself was infected by this emotion. In fact, He also has another intention. For these local troops, it is rare to have an actual combat opportunity. After a battle in Hong Kong, they may be able to form a few main regiments with strong combat effectiveness!The battlefield is the best classroom.

However, the abnormal expression of Major General Tian Shangxi, the commander of the Guangdong-Guangxi Defense Zone and the commander of the Guangzhou Garrison Zone, made Tang Qiuli swallow what he was about to say. Difficult people, when they are directly under the Corps, grab the main attack task, and they are more fierce than Liu Hongzhang, commander of the first brigade directly under the Corps, and Chu Ziye, the fourth brigade, but why does he have such an expression?

Tang Qiuli couldn't help asking strangely: "Commander Tian, ​​do you have any different opinions? Say it out, this is to discuss the deployment of the campaign, all opinions must be put forward before the final plan is finalized, please speak freely!"

After finishing speaking, he looked at Tian Shangxi gently with encouraging eyes. He really wanted to hear what this old subordinate thought, and he was much more familiar with the situation of the troops in the Guangzhou Garrison than he was himself. [

Tian Shangxi's expression was struggling, he gritted his teeth and stood up, and said aloud with a little emotion: "Master, I do not agree to use the troops of the Guangzhou Garrison as the main force to attack Hong Kong!"

As soon as Tian Shangxi said these words, everyone was shocked, and the officers all looked at their commander with very puzzled eyes, and then.They turned their attention to the division commander Tang Qiuli again, and everyone felt strange, "What's wrong with Commander Tian? Openly contradicting the division commander, besides, which commander doesn't want his troops to fight tough battles and fight against the division commander?" Great battles, the famous ace troops are all fought on the battlefield filled with gunpowder!"

Tang Qiuli was not too surprised, but looked at Tian Shangxi with great interest.Said: "Oh, Commander Tian, ​​tell me the reasons for your objection! Since we are discussing the deployment of the campaign, don't you know what to say?"

Tian Shangxi's face turned red.After adjusting his mood, he said: "Master, you know what kind of person I am, Tian Shangxi. When I was directly under the Corps, the Eighth Brigade was well-known in the whole army. It is the same as the Eighth Brigade of Qiao Manshan now. It’s not inferior to it, but, Commander, it’s not what it used to be, and the garrison troops in the entire province of Guangdong have been developed on the basis of the Eighth Brigade.”

"Each regiment has a battalion from the [-]th Brigade as the backbone. In addition to recruiting recruits and former Hanmou soldiers, except for a dozen old-fashioned troops who have experienced real battlefields and smelled gunpowder smoke The other troops have never even been on the battlefield. Training and actual combat are two different things. Such troops can usually maintain local law and order. His living target! He is going to die!"

"You just said that Hong Kong's No. 30 Eighth Division of the Little Devils is an elite Japanese army. With our local troops that have no actual combat experience, we will face the elite divisions of the Little Devils. Moreover, the number of troops is not dominant. Commander, I think your decision is not to take the lives of soldiers seriously! It doesn’t matter if you wipe out all the troops in the Guangzhou Garrison, what I’m worried about is that it will affect the division commander’s plan!”

"Master, after receiving your order, after the troops were assembled, I checked the roster of soldiers. It turned out that the old eighth brigade had more than 5000 people. They were stationed in various parts of Guangdong with battalions as units. It took more than two years. , Those who were retired, those who were transferred away, and many who died on duty, these veterans who followed you from North China to the Southeast, there are less than 8000 left, this is the actual combat effectiveness of the troops of the Guangzhou Garrison!"

Speaking of this, Tian Shangxi was gasping for breath, his emotions were uncontrollable, Tang Qiuli withdrew the smile on his face, his eyes became cold and stern, the officers next to him felt tense and thought to themselves: "Not good, Seeing the teacher's face, I'm afraid I'm going to lose my temper, this time, I'm afraid Commander Tian will be unlucky?" Everyone looked at Tian Shangxi with worried eyes.

In fact, what Tian Shangxi said made these passionate and hot-headed officers gradually calm down. After thinking about it carefully, it was really the case. I knew in my heart what kind of soldiers I had. If the battlefield where the guns are rumbling, the guns are flying, and the blood is splattering, the officers will really have no idea whether they can implement the combat plan according to their own intentions!

Of course, there is no problem at all with the troops of the old base, but with these 4 people attacking more than [-] little devils, no matter how brave they are and how powerful their combat effectiveness is, the whole army will be wiped out. The officers feel like this I thought, but no one dared to say it. Everyone saw the teacher's face. What Commander Tian said made sense, but could the teacher's determination be changed so easily?

Tang Qiuli looked at the excited Tian Shangxi and said, "Go ahead and speak out what you think!"

Tian Shangxi looked at the master's cold eyes, and then said: "Master, I, Tian Shangxi, am not afraid of death. If your campaign plan cannot be changed, I will resolutely carry out your order, but I have a request. I ask the master to allow me to The former eighth brigade troops scattered in various places will be gathered again to form an assault force to carry out the main attack, and the other troops in the garrison area will follow the second line as a follow-up force, and I will personally serve as the commander of the assault force!"

After Tian Shangxi finished speaking, he sat down, his back straightened, his face was silent, and there was an unbearable silence. Silence itself was a kind of pressure, which made the hearts of these officers tense, and they waited tremblingly for the commander's thunderous wrath.

"Papa papa!" In the silent conference room, a person applauded, so abrupt and unexpected, it was the division commander Tang Qiuli. He stood up while applauding, and glanced at the officers. He said with a gratified tone: "We want to applaud Commander Tian. This is my subordinate, Tang Qiuli. He dares to speak out and remonstrate without concealing his views. Good! Very good!"

Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe on one side also applauded. Immediately, a thunderous applause rang out in the meeting room. Tian Shangxi was not too excited. As usual, he felt guilty for what he said a little too aggressively just now. After the applause subsided, he hurriedly said: "Master, you are still in the old habit, and I am still in the old temper. Don't take it to heart!"

Tang Qiuli shook his head with a smile, and said, "Shang Xi, your opinion is right, but I am not familiar with the current situation of the troops in the Guangzhou Garrison District, and I overestimated the situation too optimistically, which almost led to a big mistake. , The Hong Kong campaign plan will undergo major revisions, and the troops belonging to the Guangzhou Garrison will no longer be used as the main attacking force!"

After finishing speaking, Tang Qiuli smiled and said, looking at the disappointed officers, "However, you are not bystanders. You will serve as the second-line troops and are ready to go into battle at any time. I will arrange it here, Guangzhou The current main task of the troops assembled in the garrison area is to train troops, train them vigorously, focus on urban street fighting, and use the urban area of ​​Hong Kong as a simulated target, and strive to train a strong combat force in a short period of time!"

"Your task is not light. When the first wave of attacking troops goes deep into the urban area of ​​Hong Kong, your troops are required to eliminate the remnants of the enemy. This is also a tough battle. I also want to inform everyone of the decision of a division headquarters. In this battle of Hong Kong, the troops of the Guangzhou Garrison, which fought well, will be transferred to the battle order of several main field regiments. Don’t you think about it every day to be promoted to the main force? This is an opportunity!”

When the officers heard this, they cheered up again, with excited expressions on their faces, and whispered to each other. It was the ultimate goal of the local army to be promoted to the main force. Said: "Commander Tian, ​​can the meeting be adjourned?" [

Tian Shangxi said with some embarrassment: "Okay, save the words and go back and talk. According to the commander's order, the troops will start training. I can get to the bottom of my words. If your regiment's street fighting training level does not meet the commander's requirements , we will disqualify him from participating in the war, and the meeting will be adjourned!"

Tang Qiuli, Zhao Yuhe, and Tian Shangxi were the only three people left in the huge meeting room. Tang Qiuli said to Tian Shangxi, "Shangxi, what you just said reminded me that attacking Hong Kong is a typical urban warfare." , We have the advantage of heavy equipment, but we dare not let it go. It is not my goal to smash Hong Kong to pieces, and the Japanese will make a big fuss about it. reconsider!"

Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe thought for a while and said, "Master, I don't think the attack on Hong Kong is an urgent task. For us, it can be carried out at any time. The troops must be fully prepared. , There are no problems in terms of tactics and tactics, and I am used to using heavy weapons, but Hong Kong is different. As you said, it cannot be broken! Therefore, it is better to be fully prepared for the battle of Hong Kong!"

Tang Qiuli nodded and said, "Yes, there is really no rush. It seems that urban warfare is the weakness and shortcoming of our army!"

Tian Shangxi thought about it for a while, and suddenly, a light flashed in his eyes, and said: "Master, Chief of Staff, I have an idea, and I can try to avoid the problems that the master is worried about!"

(To be continued)