The Republic of Heroes

The situation in Shandong took a turn for the worse. Li Youting's independent brigade in Henan originally planned to return to Shandong to help Shandong, but was dragged by the main force of Yang Xiaoou who escaped to the north and was dragged in the area of ​​Tongxu and Qixian.The main force of the [-]th Division also faced Sun Chujun directly in Kaifeng, and took into account that the independent brigade on the flanks did not dare to return to help easily.

The road guards to the north of the Yellow River fought and retreated. Yanjinpu Road went all the way south and crossed the Yellow River to stop the southward retreat, because they had no way to retreat, and the provincial capital Jinan was behind them.At this time, Jinan has completely lost the confidence and joy of sending troops to attack the Jin army half a month ago.

The normally bustling crowds on Jinan Street have disappeared, the hawkers who set up stalls along the streets of places of interest and historical sites have also become sparse, and the number of idlers in restaurants and teahouses has also decreased significantly. A sense of panic is spreading in the streets and alleys of the city.

The troops coming from the south entered Jinan city one after another, and the uniform footsteps and chants added to the atmosphere of the imminent war.The tragedy of the Japanese bombardment of Jinan a year ago is still vivid in my mind. I thought that Chairman Wu who could drive away the Japanese came and everyone could live a peaceful life.

The sound of cannons is faint, and the situation in Jinan is changing. There are those who are fleeing refugees, and some are pessimistic and desperate.

"I heard that Yan Laoxi's people have already fought to the edge of the Yellow River, how long can our Chairman Wu hold on, alas..."

"How long? Don't make jokes. Chairman Wu might have gone away by now. Even a blind person can see it. Shandong is definitely going to change this time."

"Let me say that Chairman Wu is a rare and good official who has done practical things for the people. It's a pity..."

The looming bang of the cannon disappeared after a few days, and the troops that successively marched into Jinan City drove out of the city again, rolling northward.

The panic-stricken citizens of Jinan speculated privately.

"Didn't you win?"

"It's strange. I just heard that the artillery was fired from a distance for a few days. Is this also called a war?"

Everyone was full of doubts, but the gunfire stopped after all, and Yan Laoxi who was behind him did not enter Jinan City, and everyone's hanging hearts slowly fell back into their stomachs.The street gradually became bustling again, and the alcoholic tea drinkers in the restaurants and teahouses also began to dance happily.

However, several decision-makers in Shandong Province in the provincial government conference room looked solemn. The Road Guard Army and the 57th Division have already deployed defenses on the south bank of the Yellow River and blew up the Yellow River Bridge to prevent the Jin army from going south. The Jin army is on the north bank. After setting off the cannons for a few days, they did not cross the Yellow River by force, but went upstream along the Yellow River to the west.

Going west is by no means retreating in frustration, but waiting for an opportunity to find a suitable place to cross the Yellow River. Once the army crosses the Yellow River, the main force of the [-]th Division and the independent brigade in Henan will face the danger of being cut off from the rear, and will be attacked by the enemy.

Even at this moment, Wu Xiaoliang still has not given up his fantasy about the Northeast Army, and government officials are also looking forward to a miracle.

He Siyuan, director of the Department of Education and member of the provincial government, said hesitantly: "Zhang Hanqing is young and promising, so he wouldn't do such a back-and-forth thing? Maybe there was some unexpected delay..." His voice became lower and lower, even his I don't believe this rhetoric myself, but others would rather hope that what Commissioner He said is the truth, as long as the Northeast Army sends troops south, the crisis in Shandong will be resolved.

In contrast, the military is sober-minded. Li Zejun, the commander of the 57th Division, retorted: "When is it, and how stupid is it to hope that one's own destiny is in the hands of others?"

If in the past, the directors would certainly not be able to bear such personal attacks, but at this time they are all powerless to refute, He Siyuan said solemnly: "Although Siyuan is a scholar, he also knows the word responsibility. At this critical moment of life and death, I would like to share with you all You go to the country together."

He Siyuan's words infected the generals who were working on the committee, and they were impassioned for a while, and they all expressed their willingness to fight to the death with the Jin army and vowed to protect Jinan.

Wu Xiaoliang knocked on the table to signal everyone to be quiet, "Xiaoliang admires the enthusiasm of the gentlemen, but you must know that if you lose your land, you will lose both. If you lose your land, there will be a day of recovery. I don’t agree with everyone making meaningless sacrifices. If the situation requires retreat, I will take everyone to evacuate safely...” Wu Xiaoliang suddenly raised his voice when he said this, “However, I hereby assure you that I, Wu Xiaoliang, will never I will give up Shandong, and even if I evacuate, I will definitely bring everyone back to Jinan."

At first, everyone heard that Wu Xiaoliang didn't seem to have the intention of sticking to Jinan, and they were a little discouraged, but at the end of the hearing, they were thoughtful, and their emotions suddenly rose again.

They shouted in unison: "Shandong will win! Shandong will win!"

The opinions of the decision-makers in Shandong were unexpectedly unanimous, and they vowed to deal with Yan Laoxier to the end. In order to prevent the main force of the 57th Division and the independent brigade in the river from being cut off, they decided to order a part of the 57th Division to travel upstream along the south bank of the Yellow River. Monitoring the Jin army on the north bank, the road guard army and the main force of the [-]th Division wandered around the periphery of Jinan City, waiting for an opportunity to fight the enemy of Nandu.

The Jin army on the north bank of the Yellow River was Shang Zhen's 32nd Army and Xu Yuanquan's 48th Division. Seeing that the Shandong Army on the other side was waiting in full force, they would inevitably suffer heavy casualties when they crossed the Yellow River. crossing point.

The coalition forces crossed Shouzhang County and finally found an opportunity to cross the Yellow River. The third brigade of the 57th Division, which was performing surveillance tasks, fought hard, but was outnumbered and retreated south.Shang Zhen did not use this to pursue and expand the results of the battle, but went east to take Dong'e and Feicheng to Tai'an.Once Tai'an fell, Jinpu Road was cut off by the horizontal waist, and the transportation line between Jinan and Longhai Road was cut off, it was tantamount to cutting off the rear route of the Shandong Army in Henan.

At the same time, Yan Xishan continued to increase troops to Shandong, and Wang Jingguo's 37th Division crossed the Yellow River from Pingyin and approached Jinan.As a result, the Yellow River defense line was easily broken by the Jin army.

Li Zejun led the 57th Division to organize a defense line on the front line of Changqing in an attempt to prevent the 37th Division from attacking Jinan.

However, in the eyes of Shang Zhen, a famous general of the Jin Army, these resistances were all vulnerable. Although the Shandong Army was once powerful, most of them were recruits who had just experienced battles and lacked combat experience. Otherwise, his 32nd Army would not It may have been like entering no one's land since crossing the Yellow River, and almost no decent resistance was encountered.

The soldiers were extremely fast. Although the Shangzheng Department was exhausted from the rapid march in the past few days, they still did not stop and forcibly attacked Tai'an, an important town on Jinpu Road.

When the 32th Brigade of the Jin Army, the vanguard of the [-]nd Army, had faintly seen the Jinpu Railway, Tai'an was already the meat on the top. They didn't care about waiting for the main force to catch up, and decided to take the lead in capturing Tai'an.

Indeed, according to accurate information, the Shandong Army's main road guard army and the 57th Division are all gathered around Jinan. Tai'an is empty and there is no decent army, so it is becoming more and more unscrupulous.