If the Huai army wanted to fight against the Liberation Army, there would be plenty of opportunities. Especially after the Liberation Army seized Xuzhou, Xuzhou was to the north of Huaibei, Suqian was to the east, and Huainan was to the south across the Huai River. The entire Huaibei was surrounded by the Liberation Army on three sides. The Huai army had more than 30,000 troops, but they couldn't move at all. They were already stretched to defend three directions. In the north, east, and south, they were unable to form an advantage in military strength in any of the three directions. Not to mention fighting in three directions at the same time.
In theory, attacking Xuzhou from the north was the easiest. They could march anywhere on that large plain. Even if they couldn't win, they could run. It was just a large plain, and the Liberation Army could chase them however they wanted. What if the Liberation Army couldn't stop and chased them all the way to Suzhou? In the end, Li Hongzhang suggested crossing the Huai River to attack.
No matter how easy it was to cross the Huai River, it was still the Huai River. It was a landmark that could make the Liberation Army stop. Since the Liberation Army used reason to restrain their footsteps, the best helper was the Liberation Army's reason in order to prevent the war from going as planned.
The 5,000 Huai army were ready for battle and began to assemble boats to cross the river. Although the Huai River wasn't wide, it wasn't something that could be crossed easily. The Xiang Army's navy and the Liberation Army's navy had a big battle at Chao Lake. After that battle, the Xiang Army's navy's big ships were completely destroyed. The small boats escaped to the Huai River through Anhui's water network. Li Hongzhang wanted to borrow the Taiping army's old idea of crossing the Huai River and use small boats to build pontoon bridges to cross the Huai River.
The Huai army's army assembled on the north bank of the Huai River. The Anhui Military Region of the Liberation Army knew about it on the same day. The original Huai River defense line was divided into two, the Anhui Military Region and the Xuzhou Military Region. Major General Zhou Jinguo, the Political Commissar of the Anhui Military Region, was in a meeting at that time. In front of a group of political commissars and military directors, this soldier who had performed well in the battle of Hubei and Hubei had a serious expression on his face. "Most of the soldiers stationed in Anhui are not from Anhui. Everyone, please do some ideological work when you go back. Now, the troops were in a foreign land, and the soldiers' hometowns were not the locals. If they don't build a good relationship with the masses, is this still China's army? Is this still the glorious Liberation Army? "
The political commissars were slightly better off, but the military directors all felt wronged. A colonel stood up and said, "Right now, the army is shouldering the heavy task of water conservancy construction. It's very hard for the army …"
Zhou Jinguo shouted, "You took the chickens from your fellow villagers and snatched them from them when it was time to distribute the grain. What does this have to do with working hard? In the past, Prince Yue, Yue Fei's Yue Clan Army did not demolish houses when they froze to death, nor did they plunder when they starved to death. This was the only way to gain the support of the masses. Our troops were only being resupplied a little earlier and a little later, and the supplies they were given were not at all lacking. It's only been a short while, and you can't endure it anymore? Why was he trying to be a hero in front of the commoners? Is it glorious to bully commoners who don't have any equipment? "
"Political commissar! It was the commoners who joined the queue first, not our troops! "The military director was not convinced.
Zhou Jinguo did not have the slightest intention of backing down. He replied loudly, "The commoners have suffered for so many years, and they have never trusted the government. We all came from bitter backgrounds, haven't you all thought of this? The commoners don't trust the new government, but do we not trust ourselves? The commoners joined the queue because they were worried that if they came late, they would not get the promised things. But don't our troops know that these supplies will definitely be enough? The commoners are fighting to be the first, so why are the troops making a ruckus! "
The group of political commissars and military directors who had been criticized fell silent. Recently, the Liberation Army had started to build water conservancy projects. Of course, it was not enough to rely on the troops alone. They also had to mobilize the commoners to participate. However, the commoners did not have the consciousness to queue up, and when it came to receiving the supplies that were supposed to be given to them, they crazily crowded forward. There were also some comrades in the troops who could not take it anymore and also squeezed forward. In the end, there was an incident of someone being trampled and injured.
It was impossible for the Party committee to criticize the commoners, so the Party committee criticized the troops. Of course, the comrades in the troops felt wronged.
After criticizing the people, they saw that everyone did not argue anymore. Zhou Jinguo ordered, "Order that from tomorrow onwards, the number of people distributing supplies will increase by three times. Try to divert as many people as possible and speed up the release."
Hearing this, all the military commanders were displeased. They almost said, "Why didn't you tell us the solution earlier?!"
At this moment, the communications staff officer sent a telegram. After reading it, Zhou Jinguo said to everyone present, "Everyone, I have a piece of news. The Huai army seems to have been mobilized and is preparing to cross the Huai River."
This news immediately excited everyone present. It had been three years, and the troops on the Huai River defense line had long been ready for war. However, they could only suppress the reactionary landlords in Huainan and help the commoners build water conservancy projects. Now that there was finally a war to fight, the joy was really indescribable.
Zhou Jinguo said, "I suggest that we immediately prepare to fight and report to the central government at the same time. What do you all think? "
At this moment, all the military personnel who could represent the Anhui Military Region were present, and everyone instantly raised their hands to express their stance. Everyone agreed on this matter.
For Vézé and the Central Military Commission, the bravery of the Huai army was really beyond their imagination. Was the Huai army going to fight to the death? Or did they have other plans? The Central Military Commission agreed to the proposal to fight, but there was no unified opinion on the following battle.
Vézé thought for a moment and finally asked Zuo Zongtang to express his opinion. After all, in terms of familiarity, Zuo Zongtang was probably quite familiar with the Huai army.
When Zuo Zongtang came out to speak, he still felt a little displeased. At this moment, he was still a "traitor." However, Zuo Zongtang was not the kind of person who did not see the big picture. After all, asking him now was the most reasonable choice. After thinking for a moment, Zuo Zongtang replied, "I think that the Huai army is not preparing to fight the Liberation Army. If it is a decisive battle, they should be defending in the direction of Huai River and attacking in the direction of Xuzhou. I also don't think that the Huai army is bluffing. As long as they attack the direction of Huai River, our troops in the direction of Xuzhou will definitely be ready. "
However, Zuo Zongtang was a little hesitant when he made his final judgment. He thought for a moment and said, "However, the Huai army does not know about our telegram network, so I can't be completely sure about this. After all, before seeing the telegram, I can't believe that the intelligence will arrive overnight. "
After pausing for a moment, Zuo Zongtang changed his opinion a little. "But the intelligence transmission will not be delayed for that long, and we can't assume that the Huai army will think that our intelligence transmission speed is low."
After listening to Zuo Zongtang, Vézé came out to set the tone. "For high-level enemies, their actions are understandable because our level is higher. For low-level enemies, our judgment will often be wrong because we can't lower ourselves to a certain level. Now, comrades, please consider the Huai army with a low level. This is the only way to approach reality. "
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