Reinforcements Kept Out

As the Japanese invaders ran rampant, the Nationalist government resolved to fight. On the eighth, Nanjing ordered the 26th and 40th Armies stationed along the Pinghan Railway to march north and assemble in Baoding, while placing three divisions garrisoned in Kaifeng on standby at a moment's notice. *** With the fighting growing more desperate by the hour, Zhu Shiqing felt the full gravity of the situation the moment he set foot in Wanping. Though night was falling, Wanping was as bright as day. Crowds surged, and wagons and horses jammed the gate, unable to move in or out. The gate tower atop the approaching east city gate had clearly taken an accidental artillery hit that sheared away half a corner, leaving splinters and smoldering ash that had not yet been cleared from the street. The former county government office and the 37th Division headquarters had already been reduced to ruins under Japanese bombardment; what had once been intact buildings was now nothing more than piles of timber and stone, and many old civilian homes had suffered the same fate. The entire county seat was a shroud of gray. Only by asking soldiers along the way was Sun Yi able to quickly locate the division headquarters—a residential compound nestled deep in an old alley on the south side of town. Two sentries stood at the entrance of the alley and another two outside the gate. Soldiers in blue uniforms bustled in and out, none lingering their gaze on Sun Yi and his men; everyone was in a frantic hurry. Greeting Sun Yi's group was a diminutive signaller surnamed Wang. Upon hearing that Colonel Sun was back, he rushed out from an inner room, festooned with gear that clattered and clinked as he ran. "Colonel Sun, the division commander is on the telephone right now. He told me to take the men to change clothes and get something to eat first." The young signaller was short, with a light, reedy voice, but spoke in a way that put people at ease. It seemed being a headquarters orderly was much like being a secretary: running fast and having a sharp memory were not enough; emotional tact was just as vital. "In addition, the division commander said for you, Staff Officer Zhu, and Staff Officer Fang to see him at headquarters in a little while." Sun Yi said nothing, only giving a couple of curt nods. With that, the young signaller led the party toward their quarters. As they drew closer, a memory suddenly clicked in Zhu Shiqing's mind. Wasn't this youngster the very driver from that night after the banquet in Beiping, when he and Feng Zhian had spoken heart-to-heart in the car? "The division commander heard that Colonel Sun was locked in bitter fighting at the front. He's been pacing in front of the map all day, worried sick, trying desperately to squeeze out even a handful of reinforcements to send your way." Zhu Shiqing found the tone familiar; the boy's manner of speech was rather like that of the signallers at army headquarters. He could not help wondering whether signallers underwent standardized training, given how much they all resembled one another. "Is the fighting really that bad?" Sun Yi asked softly, his brows knitted. "The cavalry division is Army Commander Song's prized possession, and yet he actually threw them to the front to clash head-on with the devils." "Bad doesn't begin to cover it—it's downright tragic." The young signaller walked ahead, pacing alongside Sun Yi, and let out a long sigh after finishing his sentence. "Just this afternoon, an urgent telegram arrived saying that Japanese and puppet troops launched a joint assault on Langfang Station, where the 38th Division was holding out. The 38th couldn't hold and asked us for help." "Puppet troops?" Sun Yi's words caught in his throat. The 2nd Puppet Regiment that Fang Wenjian had been monitoring immediately flashed through his mind. Zhu Shiqing had been right all along: the 2nd Puppet Regiment had indeed been gunning for Langfang Station. "And how did the division commander reply?" "How else could he reply? The fire here in Wanping has reached our very doorstep. He could only tell them to turn to Deputy Army Commander Tong Linge. But I heard they abandoned Langfang this afternoon anyway." "It seems the division commander is at his wit's end as well," Sun Yi said, shaking his head. Feng Zhian's 37th Division and Zhang Zizhong's 38th Division were practically sister units. The two commanders enjoyed a close friendship, and their defense sectors adjoined end-to-end. If neither could assist the other now, it only showed how dire the situation had become. With the fall of Langfang, the Beiping-Tianjin Railway was severed; the Japanese had ultimately cut the link between Beiping and Tianjin. After swallowing a few quick bites of food, Sun Yi led Fang and Zhu toward division headquarters. Passing through the compound gate, they came upon a square, open-air outer hall. Following a side alley farther in and rounding two bends, they finally reached the wooden room serving as the division headquarters. "What? The line still isn't working? What do I feed you people for? Get it fixed, now!" Feng Zhian's voice bellowed from the inner room. As the three stepped inside, Feng Zhian caught sight of them. Hanging up the telephone, he clapped his hands behind his back and came forward to meet them. "Sun Yi, I knew you wouldn't go down that easily." Feng Zhian clapped a hand onto Sun Yi's shoulder, his voice rough and booming, before turning his gaze toward Zhu Shiqing and Fang Wenjian. "Fine work, all of you. Come, sit." "Division Commander, I want to rebuild the 219th Regiment," Sun Yi said deliberately, word by word, before sitting down. Feng Zhian had already heard from the orderly that fewer than twenty officers and men remained of Sun Yi's regiment. Sun Yi's words struck him like a dagger to the heart. He remained silent for a long moment, then circled back behind the desk, sat down, and spoke slowly. "Rest easy. We will rebuild it. When the time comes, I'll give you the finest recruits." No sooner had the three taken their seats than the orderly jogged back in, hand steadying the holster at his waist, and reported, "Division Commander, Brigade Commander He's line is through!" "Good. I've got it." Feng Zhian acknowledged, grabbed the little black telephone in front of his right hand, cranked the handle three turns, and pressed the receiver to his ear. "Put me through to He Jifeng." Whatever Brigade Commander He said over the wire, Zhu Shiqing saw only Feng Zhian's cheeks flush crimson and the veins on his forehead bulge. Feng Zhian's left fist pressed hard against the tabletop, crushing wrinkles into a draft map spread across it. After listening for a long while, Feng Zhian spoke only two words: "Hold on." Then he hung up. He Jifeng was Sun Yi's immediate superior. If the 219th Regiment had not been placed under independent designation after the North China Incident, Sun Yi would have been by He Jifeng's side right now. During the Great Wall War of Resistance, Sun Yi had followed He Jifeng and Zhao Dengyu, broadswords in hand, charging straight into the enemy encampments. "Did something happen on the brigade commander's end?" A note of unease crept into Sun Yi's voice. Feng Zhian stood up in anger, hands on his hips. He surveyed the three men before him, hesitating for a moment before saying, "I truly don't know what Army Commander Song is thinking right now. This afternoon, Deputy Commander Tong cabled me saying Nanjing had dispatched tens of thousands of troops north along the Ping-Han line. They've already reached Baoding by train, but..." Zhu Shiqing's heart tightened; he had already guessed most of it. "Army Commander Song doesn't want the Central Army entering North China?" Feng Zhian said nothing, which was proof enough that Zhu Shiqing was right. Fang Wenjian, never blessed with much patience, bluntly threw out, "Incompetent commander." Before the words had fully settled, Fang Wenjian realized Zhu Shiqing was glaring at him, and promptly shut his mouth. "Right, I nearly forgot the main matter." Feng Zhian waved a hand dismissively and sat back down with a sigh. "Sun Yi, I will certainly rebuild your 219th Regiment, but for the moment I have no men to replenish you with. A colonel and regimental commander can't just sit around my division headquarters every day drinking tea and shooting the breeze." Sun Yi replied, "Division Commander, even if it means carrying a rifle onto the front lines under your command, I won't hesitate for a second." "You're joking. As if I'd bear to send you onto the front line like that." A rare smile touched Feng Zhian's face. "It's like this: at noon today, a detachment from the Military Training Corps came down from Beiping, around seven or eight hundred of them, arriving in Wanping all at once. Now that Lugou Bridge is held by the Japanese, pulling back to the rear won't be easy. Would you be willing to take charge of them for now?" The so-called Military Training Corps consisted of student soldiers, a unit formed primarily of students from universities and colleges across North China. "I'll take them!" Sun Yi's eyes lit up. Right now, so long as they were human beings, he was willing to take anyone. "You'd better handle them with care. Those student soldiers are Deputy Commander Tong's pride and joy." "Understood!" Beneath the sallow lamplight, Sun Yi snapped a salute. Outside, darkness had swallowed the night. The headquarters had grown far quieter, with fewer people wandering about; only the chief of staff remained on the other side of the room, busy with something or other. Having settled Sun Yi's assignment, Feng Zhian turned his gaze back toward Zhu Shiqing. "Zhu Shiqing, Fang Wenjian, I am deeply grateful for your assistance to the 37th Division." Feng Zhian smiled faintly. "A telegram came from the General Staff Headquarters in Nanjing. They want the two of you to return to Nanjing in the coming days."