After saying this, the captain felt that he had a good idea, and he glanced at everyone present with some smugness.

But he suddenly realized that everyone's eyes looked at him were very strange, and he felt like he was looking at a dead person.

The brigade commander saw the corps leader refuting his opinion and was furious. He said disdainfully: "You are really capable. Do you know how Shimada, Ayumi Hamasaki, Sakai's deputy chief of staff, and the commander of the Second Air Force of the North China Expeditionary Force died? Do you think you are more powerful than these people?"

Speaking of this, he said to Toshita Tanaka: "Secretary Commander, don't listen to this guy's nonsense. You can't do such things. If he insists on doing it, then let him do it by himself. Just telegram Gao Jiu to tell him that this guy is doing this on his own initiative, and let Gao Jiu come to him directly."

"You, I..." The captain of the regiment also remembered the legendary death of Shimada and others, and began to fear and dared not continue.

Toshiyu Yamaakana said: "My colleagues, today the reality is in front of us. The enemy's troops are several times more powerful than ours, and the firepower is far more powerful than ours. If this battle continues, there will be no confidence in winning. Moreover, our army has no reinforcements. If it continues, it will only be destroyed by the entire army. In this case, I want to hear everyone's opinions."

The brigade commander saw that although Tanaka Toshita did not express his opinion, he could already hear it from his tone and knew that the division commander had already thought of surrendering.

He said: "Secretary Commander, now that our army is defeated, if we continue to fight, it will ruin the lives of all the officers and soldiers of the division. It is meaningless to continue to resist.

Gao Jiu is a famous god of war. No one can defeat this powerful enemy, and surrendering to him is not a humiliating thing. In the past, many Yellow Army troops have surrendered to Gao Jiu, and eventually saved the lives of the soldiers.

Now, our army has come to a dead end. I suggest that in order to save the lives of the soldiers and to prevent the soldiers from suffering the pain of losing their loved ones, we propose to Gao Jiu to preserve the lives of the soldiers and the basic dignity of the Japanese Yellow Army as the minimum conditions, and then surrender to Gao Jiu."

Many of the officers present had this idea. Since some people took the lead, some people agreed, and most of the officers agreed with the opinion of the brigade commander.

The Chief of Staff also said: "It's no point in fighting now. I also agree with surrendering to Gao Jiu."

The Chief of Staff is the same as all the officers. When they spoke, none of them said they surrendered to the enemy, but they all said they surrendered to Gao Jiu. Because Gao Jiu's reputation is so loud, it is really not a shame to surrender to Gao Jiu.

Seeing that everyone's opinions were basically the same, Tanaka Toshita asked again: "My colleagues, do you have any other opinions besides this?"

Most officers shook their heads and expressed no different opinions.

The two team captains who raised objections saw that everyone had this opinion, and they were not inconvenient to object. In fact, neither of them wanted to die, but because of the long-term thoughts, they were unable to make a turn for a while. Seeing that the overall situation was settled, the two of them did not put forward different opinions.

Tanaka Toshita said: "Since everyone has a consensus, in order to protect the lives of all the officers and soldiers of the division, I agree to send someone to negotiate with Gao Jiu. Who of you will negotiate with Gao Jiu?"

In order to show his courage, the leader of the brigade said: "Secretary Commander, I am willing to negotiate with Gao Jiu."

Because the brigade commander surrendered to Gao Jiu first, he did not want the Japanese officers and soldiers to look down on him, so he volunteered to be the negotiating representative. He did this without any risk, because he had heard of it for a long time that Gao Jiu had never felt sorry for the negotiating representative.

Seeing that the brigade commander was willing to step forward to be the negotiator, Tanaka Toshita said applauded: "Very good. Sakamoto, then I'll ask you."

Not long after, a white flag was raised on the top of the city wall in Lan County, and the city gate opened. The commander of Sakamoto's brigade rode a horse and held a white flag and walked towards the coalition's position.

Soon, he was brought to Gao Jiu.

The commander of Sakamoto's brigade came to Gao Jiu, explained his identity, and proposed to negotiate with Gao Jiu.

Gao Jiu was very polite to him and said, "Your Excellency the Brigade Commander, you can propose your conditions."

Sakamoto said: "General Gao, our army can surrender to your army, hoping to protect the lives of the Yellow Army soldiers in the city, let our army leave safely, and let us take away the corps flags of each corps."

Gao Jiu said: "I agree with all these conditions. Not only that, I will send a medical team to treat your wounded. Your commander can carry a command knife, and I will send troops to send you away safely."

Sakamoto didn't expect that Gao Jiu was so generous. He said gratefully: "General Gao, thank you for your care. I will go back and report to the division commander."

Gao Jiu politely sent him away.

After the commander of Sakamoto's brigade returned to the county seat, he came to the command center. All the officers looked at him nervously, hoping that he could bring good news.

When the commander of Sakamoto's brigade told the outcome of the negotiations, the Japanese officers all breathed a sigh of relief.

Toshita Tanaka was also very satisfied with this result. He said in a heavy tone: "My colleagues, I feel very pleased that I can protect the lives of all the officers and soldiers of the 42nd Division and maintain the establishment of the 42nd Division.

But after all, we were defeated and surrendered. As the division commander, I have to bear all the responsibility for this matter. Therefore, I decided to lead the chief of staff to surrender to Gao Jiu. I personally committed suicide by cesarean section and apologized to His Majesty Tian Huang."

After saying that, he went to pull out his command knife.

Tanaka Toshita deliberately made such a gesture. He knew that this defeat and surrender to the enemy would definitely be pursued by his superiors. He had to make the officers and soldiers grateful to him and relieve his guilt.

Tanaka Toshita looked at everyone with his eyes while pulling out his command knife, hoping that someone would dissuade him.

The Chief of Staff knew him very well and knew that he was doing a performance. The Chief of Staff hurriedly stepped forward and advised: "Your Excellency Commander of the Division, you cannot do this. This defeat is not your responsibility. You have fulfilled your duties. If your superiors hold you accountable, all our officers and soldiers will ask for your orders. You have fulfilled the responsibilities of a division commander, and saved the lives of all officers and soldiers of the 42nd Division and the dignity of the Japanese Yellow Army under the most difficult circumstances."

"Yes, yes, your division commander, you have fulfilled your responsibilities. We will definitely jointly appeal to your superiors for you." The officers also persuaded Toshita Tanaka one after another.

Tanaka Toshita breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Since that's the case, inform the troops to put down their weapons and leave the whole team."

Not long after, Tanaka Toshita first led officers above the corps commander to the temporary command center of the coalition army.

At this time, the commanders of various coalition forces had rushed over after hearing the news, and they wanted to witness this glorious moment with their own eyes.

Tanaka Toshita led the Japanese officers in an orderly queue and walked to Gao Jiu. He stepped forward, bowed to Gao Jiu first, and then said respectfully: "Dear General Gao, I admit that our army was defeated. On behalf of the 42nd Division of the Yellow Army of Japan, I surrendered to General Gao." After that, he held up his command knife with both hands, raised it over his head respectfully, and then bent down.

Gao Jiu reached out and took Tanaka Toshita's command knife and said, "Okay! On behalf of the Chinese military and civilians, I accept your surrender."

The commanders present and the officers and soldiers of the coalition forces were extremely excited to see the arrogant Japanese army surrender and burst into cheers like tsunamis.

After Gao Jiu finished speaking, he returned Tanaka Toshita's command knife to him, asked him and the Chief of Staff to take a seat in the command center, and explained the follow-up matters to them.

The Ninth War Zone Command. War Room.

After receiving a telegram from Li Fengming, the war room was filled with joy.

Deputy Commander Zhang said with emotion: "Mr. Gao is Mr. Gao. The same army unit has only replaced a commander like Mr. Gao and has exploded with amazing combat power. A temporary coalition unit can actually eat up a whole Japanese field division. This is simply a miracle."

The Chief of Staff also said with emotion: "Mr. Gao is a man who creates miracles. No matter where he goes, he can do unimaginable and amazing actions.

I will report the victory to the Military Commission now."

Although the commander of the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Army knew that the situation was not good, he believed that the 42nd Division could last for at least ten days. He could never have imagined that in less than one day, the 42nd Division suffered a complete failure and was forced to surrender to the enemy.

He said with emotion: "Gao Jiu is indeed like the legend, it is really a forbidden area of ​​the Huang army. I really don't know how to defeat such a powerful enemy."

The commander of the Sixth Army was very depressed. The battle in Lan County lost one of his divisions. As the commander, he would also bear certain responsibilities for such failures. Even if he would not be dismissed and investigated, he would definitely be scolded by his superiors.

He sent a telegram to the 37th Division, asking them to strengthen their defense against Gao Jiu. Once they were attacked by the coalition forces led by Gao Jiu, they would evacuate quickly. He didn't want to lose another division.

In the county town of Lan County, Gao Jiuda held a banquet, and the generals of the coalition forces gathered together, celebrating this great victory.

Yang Zhenyuan, commander of the 93rd Division of the Northeast Army, said excitedly: "Since the September 18th Incident, the Northeast Army fled south and suffered countless humiliations over the years. Today, with Master Gao Jiu, he finally won a big victory, and was very proud and satisfying!

Master Jiu, on behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the Northeast Army, I would like to wish you a cup.”

The generals of the National Army also toasted Gao Jiu. They did not expect that if such a great victory could be achieved, their reputation would definitely appear in the newspapers in the rear, and from then on they would become anti-Japanese heroes that everyone admired. The joy in their hearts made them smile.

Taking advantage of everyone's happiness, Gao Jiu made another icing on the cake. He announced that he would reward all the participating troops of the Guo army with 50,000 oceans. Each unit left a part of the Japanese army's equipment as spoils for exhibition, and the rest were given to Jiang Xiaomei's independent brigade.

The troops of the guo army have their own supplementary system, and those Japanese weapons are useless. Not only that, after they won the battle, the Ninth War Zone also promised to replenish their weapons and ammunition, and also rewarded them with 50,000 French currency.

Therefore, no one has any objection to such a spoil distribution plan.

After the war is over, it is time for everyone to break up. Gao Jiu is preparing to rest in the county town of Lan County with Wang Jindong, Jiang Xiaomei and others for a night and return to the Iron Triangle tomorrow morning.

After the dinner, everyone went back to rest. Jiang Xiaomei came to Gao Jiu's room, had a good time with Gao Jiu for a while, and then reluctantly left his room. After all, she was a person from the underground party and should pay attention to the influence.

Gao Jiu is also very regretful, and at present, he can only maintain a very pure relationship with Jiang Xiaomei.

The next morning, Gao Jiu was about to leave, but Li Fengming came over with a telegram. He said, "Jiu Ye, the Ninth War Zone Command has received a telegram. I hope you will not disband the coalition forces for the time being and help the Ninth War Zone fight another battle."

The telegram said: "Although the battle in Lan County opened up the main traffic route between the Dakou and Henan area, the passage was relatively narrow and could easily be cut off by the Japanese army again. As the disaster relief deepened, the Disaster Relief Committee purchased a large number of materials from the Dakou. For a long time, it would be easy to be attacked by the Japanese army. According to the requirements of the Disaster Relief Committee, the Ninth War Zone hopes that Gao Jiu can assist in broadening the traffic route."

The biggest threat to the transportation line was the Japanese army in Kaifeng direction in Henan. Now, the 38th Division of the Japanese army was stationed there. Since Gao Jiu led the temporary coalition forces to win the victory in Lan County, the senior generals of the Ninth War Zone were deeply encouraged. They decided to launch the Kaifeng Battle, take Kaifeng in one fell swoop, and then send heavy troops to station in Kaifeng to ensure the safety of the transportation line in the rear and south direction.

In order to achieve this battle goal, the Ninth War Zone will draw a division of the 45th Army and the 44th Army from the Dabie Mountains to participate in this battle, and designate Xue Dongsheng, commander of the 21st Corps of the Guo Army, as the commander-in-chief of the battle, and unify the command of the 45th Army, the 116th Division of the 44th Army and the coalition forces on the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains.

After reading the telegram, Gao Jiu said, "I have nothing to do with it. Our Taohua Mountain Guerrillas and the Eighth Route Army Independent Brigade will not participate in this battle."

Li Fengming said with some depression: "The battle to open the brigade should be directed by Master Jiu. Why did you send Xue Dongsheng over? Master Jiu, wait a moment, I will send a telegram to the War Zone Command to ask, what's going on?"

Gao Jiu probably understood that the internal internal of the guo army was very complicated, and even the central military system had different factions. The reason why the attack and opening the brigade was arranged in this way was caused by the internal competition for power and profit.

Gao Jiu lost interest in this and said, "I won't wait. I still have a lot of things to do." After that, he ignored Li Fengming's dissuasion and left directly with Gao Hong, Chen Johan and others.

Gao Jiu and others walked more than ten miles away and saw a car and several trucks parked at the intersection in front. The people standing in front of the car were Wang Jindong, Commander Song of the 69th Division and Chief Liu of Staff of the 187th Division.

Wang Jindong said depressedly: "Brother Gao, the matter is clear. Xue Dongsheng is the direct line of the commander-in-chief of the theater commander. His 21st Corps was repeatedly defeated in the battle with the Japanese army. This time, he saw that the coalition troops annihilated the 42nd Division of the Japanese army. The Japanese army in Kaifeng had not many troops, so he wanted to get a bargain, so he showed his face in front of the disaster relief committee. Therefore, he volunteered to be the commander of the new coalition.

Xue Dongsheng is a big fool. If he asked him to command this battle, the final result would definitely fail. We don’t want to fight this battle. I have already greeted my father-in-law, and our 187th Division will not participate in this battle. But we are troops in the Ninth War Zone after all, and the 69th Division still has to participate in this battle. In order to save our 69th Division, brother, please give me an idea."

Gao Jiu thought for a while and said, "Teacher Song, the coalition forces want to surround the Japanese 38th Division, and will definitely divide their troops to surround Kaifeng. At that time, you will take the initiative to ask to go to Zhumadian. At that time, you will be leaning against Nanyang. If the war is not going well, you will retreat to our Iron Triangle."

Commander Song said, "I understand."

Gao Jiu left Du Shengxi to lead an anti-aircraft artillery squad and a thunderbolt artillery squad, stayed in the 69th Division, and accepted the command of Commander Song. Gao Jiu, Gao Hong, Jiang Xiaomei and others led the independent brigade of the Eighth Route Army to southwest Shandong.

After Gao Jiu left, Li Fengming quickly reported the information to the Ninth War Zone Command. He understood the complex situation inside the Ninth War Zone, and did not say much, but reported on Gao Jiu's departure from the coalition forces.

Deputy Si Ling Zhang received a telegram from Li Fengming and felt very depressed, but when this matter involved the commander-in-chief, he couldn't say anything. The chief of staff said in a low voice: "Let's report this matter to the commander-in-chief."

Deputy Si Ling of Zhang understood what he meant, and he also knew that he would win with Xue Dongsheng to fight this battle. He was unwilling to bear the responsibility for failure, so it would be better to report this matter to the commander and let him make a decision.

Deputy Commander Zhang and Deputy Chief of Staff were unwilling to go on their own even when they reported this matter. They asked the deputy director of the Operations Department of the Ninth War Zone to send Li Fengming's telegram directly to the Commander of the Ninth War Zone.

When the commander-in-chief of the Ninth War Zone heard that Gao Jiu had left the coalition forces, he felt a little unhappy and felt that Gao Jiu was a little embarrassed. He was also a little uneasy in his heart, so he called Xue Dongsheng, the commander of the 21st Corps.

Xue Dongsheng heard that Gao Jiu had left the coalition forces, and he was secretly happy, because if Gao Jiu stayed here, even if he won the battle, he would not show his own majesty.

The reason he volunteered to command this battle was because the annihilation of the 42nd Division of the Japanese Army was a group of mobs. The target they were going to attack was the 38th Division of the Japanese Army, and the coalition forces were participating in the battle, so they should be very sure. Not only that, this battle also added a division of the 45th Army and the 44th Army. These four divisions were reorganized divisions of the Central Army. He didn't believe that so many people could not defeat a 38th Division of the Japanese Army.

Xue Dongsheng called the commander and swore that he would be able to annihilate the 38th Division of the Japanese army and take down Kaifeng City. He also said that the troops in the Ninth War Zone could still win the battle if they left Gao Jiu, the bandit.

Since the opening of the traffic line was a request from the Disaster Relief Committee, everyone knew who was the Disaster Relief Committee. In order to leave a good impression on the Disaster Relief Committee, the commander and commander of the Ninth War Zone also hoped to rely on the power of the Ninth War Zone to fight a beautiful battle alone. So he agreed to Xue Dongsheng's request and continued to serve as the commander of the Kaifeng Battle.

Xue Dongsheng came to Lanxian County and immediately convened a meeting of senior officers and announced the establishment of a new general command center, with him as commander-in-chief, the Chief of Staff of the 21st Corps as Chief of Staff, and Li Fengming as Deputy Chief of Staff.

The troops belong to the 45th Army, one division of the 44th Army, one division of the 103rd Army, the 69th Division, the 228th Division, the 93rd Division, the Ninth War Zone Guard Regiment, five supplementary regiments of the 21st Corps Guard Regiment, and the artillery regiment directly under the 21st Corps, with a total force of 117,000 people.
Chapter completed!