Chapter 737 Laohekou

Laohekou, a small town on the northwest edge of Hubei, is named after it is located at the intersection of the old Han River. This place straddles the four provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hubei, and Henan. It is known as the Xiangyun Arterial Road and the Qinchu thoroughfare. It has been a strategic location since ancient times. Military strategists must fight for important areas.

Shortly after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the headquarters of the Fifth Theater Commander moved westward and finally arrived in this small town with a population of less than a thousand people.

After the fifth theater commander's headquarters moved here, many organizations followed. The theater command organization alone has hundreds of people, not counting the garrison troops and many other personnel.

The town suddenly added tens of thousands of people. The increase in population will inevitably bring huge demand and market prosperity.

Therefore, this unknown town suddenly became the military, political and cultural center of northwest Hubei.

The war zone commander's headquarters is located in the center of the town. It was originally the house of a big businessman named Du. It has a large courtyard with three entrances and three exits. It has a main room, side rooms, and dozens of side rooms. It has blue bricks and blue tiles. It is the best in the area. house.

After the theater commander's headquarters moved here, Commander Li built a single-eaves Western-style hall in the backyard.

This is the combat command hall, and next to it is the confidential room of the commander's headquarters.

This kind of house was given up by others on their own initiative. Chief Li had to pay a certain amount of rent, otherwise it would become robbery.

After Li Delin returned from the mountain city, he brought back to Luo Yao the distribution map of the main Japanese troops and ordered the staff to study and formulate defensive counterattack deployments.

According to the principles and policies formulated by the Military Commission, this battle in northwest Hubei is mainly defensive operations, supplemented by counterattack operations.

In addition to the constant deployment of troops and defense, Lao Li also had many worries and internal conflicts.

Although he can still suppress it now, some conflicts cannot be eliminated by simply eliminating them.

The war was about to begin, and the internal strife was still going on. This made Lao Li feel a little uncomfortable. How long had it been, and someone was still doing that again.

Lao Li had no choice. They were enemies of each other back then, and it was not something that anyone could do if they wanted to laugh away their grudges.

What's more, there are still people above who are deliberately provoking, and there are Japanese people who are secretly causing trouble here. Laohekou has not been peaceful these days.

Before the war, it must be the most fierce time for the intelligence agents of both sides to confront each other. When the war actually begins, it may not be so fierce.

In order to win a war, the enemy will use any means, no matter whether it is despicable or not, the winner has the final say.

Lao Li, who spent half his life in the military, knew this very well.

intelligence!

It cannot be said that the intelligence system of the fifth theater is not good, but when it comes to how powerful it is, it is really not up to a level.

Compared to the Tubalu group fighting guerrillas in Tongbai Mountain, they were slightly inferior. The information provided by others was much more detailed than what we received here.

rainy season!

As long as it can be delayed until the rainy season, half of the Japanese army's combat strength can be eliminated, and their mechanization will fall into the mud pit of the Jianghan Plain.

The question is, does the Fifth Theater have the ability to do this?

The financial resources of the Fifth War Zone are really not as rich as those of the Ninth and Sixth War Zones, despite the fact that they have a lot of troops.

But compared with the Japanese army, the weapons and equipment were too poor, as well as the quality of the soldiers. With the Japanese army's blockade, supplies were scarce.

The soldiers could barely fill their stomachs, but if they wanted to strengthen their bodies, they had to eat meat and take in nutrients.

But these conditions are not met.

"Gong De." Chief of Staff Xu Zuyi knocked on the door and walked into Li Delin's office.

"Yan Mou is here." Li Delin saw that it was his partner, stood up and greeted him.

"The old man sent a telegram again to urge us to send the person to the mountain city for examination as soon as possible." Xu Zuyi said with a troubled face.

Li Delin pondered slightly: "Yan Mou, what do you think?"

"With a war imminent, it is a taboo for military strategists to change generals on the spot. Doesn't Jiang know this?" Xu Yanmou asked, "Even if Commander He is suspected of complicity, can we wait until he has finished the battle? "

"How could he not know that he was just forcing me to submit?" Li Delin sighed, how could he not know Jiang's sinister intentions?

"Then Mr. De, what did you think about it?"

"If we lose this battle, you and I will probably die without a burial place, but if we refuse again, he, Jiang, can do anything." Li Delin said.

Xu Zuyi was shocked.

"Commander He went to the mountain city for investigation. Even if the suspicion of complicity with the Communists was confirmed, he would not be alive for the time being. If someone like Chiang committed murder on this charge, I am afraid he would not be able to stop the people of the world from talking about it." Li Delin said.

"I understand, Mr. De, I will do the rest." Xu Zuyi understood Li Delin's thoughts and compromised.

Li Delin let out a long sigh and closed his eyes slightly, indicating that he acquiesced and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Would you like to inform them over there?"

Li Delin nodded noncommittally. Some things could only be done quietly, and could not be said, let alone let others know.

Xu Zuyi left.

"Gong De, telegram from the 33rd Army..." Li Yang, director of the confidential office, came in from outside.

…

Unexpectedly, it rained until the early morning of the next day. Fortunately, it didn't rain again. If it rained again, it would have delayed the trip of Luo Yao and his party.

Get up early the next morning.

The military depot provides breakfast, which is nothing more than porridge, steamed buns and pickles. This is actually very good and is not available to ordinary people's homes.

"Are you all up?" Luo Yao washed his face with hot water and turned to ask Yang Fan.

"There are a few more."

Luo Yao could also understand. After two days on the boat, he didn't have a good rest and was still seasick. Last night, he heard someone talking in his sleep and thought he was still on the boat.

"Has the truck arrived to pick us up?"

"It's already here. There are three vehicles in total, and a squad of soldiers have been sent to protect us along the way." Yang Fan nodded.

"Well, you call the squad leader over, I'll ask you a question, and everyone else will be called over to eat." Luo Yao ordered.

"yes."

He wanted to know the route to Laohekou and be aware of it. There were many big rivers that he had to cross along the way. Some rivers had bridges and some didn't.

"There is a highway from Yichang to Dangyang. This section of the road is relatively easy to walk and can be reached in half a day. However, it is not easy to walk from Dangyang to Jingmen. Although there is a road, cars can barely pass it, but now It rained, and if the rain soaked the surface, it would definitely be muddy..."

"As long as there is a road, we can come down and push the cart when necessary. However, you must also be prepared. You can bring some springboards and the like, so that we will not be unable to find equipment if we need emergency supplies on the road." Luo Yao said to The squad leader said.

"If you bring a springboard, it will definitely increase the load of the car. I wonder if you are carrying a lot of things?"

"It's not too much. There are thirty-one of us in total, and the materials we carry are rationed for each person, no more than twenty kilograms." Luo Yao explained.

"That's good. We can carry more tools and gasoline. If the car runs out of gas on the road, we can only throw it on the road."

"Okay, just bring a little more margin." Luo Yao nodded, "If you need me to solve it, just ask."

"Thank you sir, you are still the kindest commander I have ever seen."

"Go load up the car and we'll be leaving in a moment."

"Team leader, the military station does not agree to give us two more military tents unless we spend money to buy them." Yang Fan came in from outside.

"Spend money as long as you spend it. There is no need to conflict with these people for this little money. Once you cause trouble, you will leave the head and the tail behind. This is not far from the battlefield. There is no guarantee that there are Japanese spies in the city. It's not good. Cause trouble.”

"yes."

Luo Yao did not plan to stay or stay on the road. He would rather stay in the wild to avoid being detected by Japanese spies.

Although he left the mountain city and took adequate confidentiality measures, there was no guarantee that the news would not be leaked at that stage.

If he had not landed in Yichang and needed car transportation from the military station, he would not have stayed overnight at the military station.

And it would be too difficult for him alone, who was unfamiliar with the place, to get a car and a pass.

Therefore, he had no choice but to stay at the military station for one night to get some sleep, supplies, and transportation tools.

"Everyone get on the bus, in groups of ten. I'm in the first car, Lao Yan (Yang Si) is in the second car, and Lao Yang (Jia Bingwen) is in the third car. If there's anything going on, the car will sound the horn." Luo Yao said. The people gathered together and announced the order.

"tiger!"

"arrive."

"You ride on horseback and take two people who are familiar with the route to go ahead." Luo Yao said. Although he was operating within the control area of ​​the fifth theater, Luo Yao still sent out scouts according to the marching method.

"Understood." Yang Fan agreed.

"Set off!"

The convoy passed through the north gate of Yichang and was running on the road north. After a rain, the air was much fresher and slightly cooler.

Although riding in a car is bumpy, it is not the same as riding on a boat. This down-to-earth feeling has a great effect on the psychology.

The first truck Luo Yao rode in was driven by the squad leader of the car class. Judging from his driving skills, he should be a veteran.

These days, auto soldiers who can drive are treasures. It’s hard to find big-headed soldiers who can’t read and write. There aren’t many big-headed soldiers who can drive. Those who are a little bit educated have all become officers. Who wants to be this? Tired and hard-working automobile soldiers, although the treatment of automobile soldiers is much better than that of ordinary soldiers, no matter how powerful the soldiers are, they are still soldiers, so how can they be compared with officers.

Strict hierarchies exist in the armies of many countries, and there is only one army in the world that can truly achieve equality between officers and soldiers.

"Smoking?"

"Thank you, sir." The driving squad leader reached out and took the cigarette from Luo Yao's hand. He looked like a veteran.

Luo Yao didn't care. They were also ordered to do it. It was a short-term employment relationship. Afterwards, who knew who you were?

Therefore, there is no need to be so respectful.

Roads have been the link and artery of the economy since ancient times. Without roads, goods cannot be sold, goods cannot be exchanged, and the economy cannot be active. Therefore, only when there are roads, can there be an economy. The importance of transportation is self-evident.

In addition to economic and people's livelihood, it also has military purposes. Why did Qin Shihuang build a straight road? Isn't it just to help the frontiers as quickly as possible and transport grain, grass and supplies?