Kanemitsu Keijiro was also a little disappointed, but he quickly cheered up and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, the base camp would make such a choice. In fact, we have expected it, isn't it?"
"Sodes." Anan said, "Compared to North China, the battlefield in the Far East is more important."
Kanemitsu Keijiro said: "So, we should strictly follow the instructions of the base camp. On the one hand, we immediately ordered the 27th Division and the 35th Division to deploy on the Zhuoxian and Gu'an front lines to step up the construction of defenses for the long term. On the other hand, the First Army was ordered to immediately abandon the county strongholds along the Baoda Highway."
Ananwei nodded a few times and asked, "Jin Guangjun, do you think the Jinsui Army will come out to disrupt the situation?"
"Your Excellency, Commander, this is an undoubted result!" Kaneko Keijiro said with great certainty, "Actually, since the New Army incident, Yan Xishan and the Eighth Route Army have broken apart. Now let Yan Xishan choose the one he hates the most. The target is neither Chiang Kai-shek nor the Imperial Army, but it must be the Eighth Route Army!"
"Yo Xi." Anan Weiji nodded happily.
…
In Taiyuan, the headquarters of the Japanese First Army.
The war room was crowded with people. From time to time, communications staff members shuttled back and forth between the war room and the communications room. Some war staff members gathered in front of the sand table and were doing sand table operations.
First Army Commander Yoshiki Ando and Chief of Staff Nobuichi Kushibuchi stood directly in front of the sand table, frowning as they watched several combat staff on both sides of the sand table perform sand table operations. As the work progressed, the blue and white men placed on the sand table There are more and more small colored flags, especially in the southern part of the sand table, where almost all of them are filled with small blue flags.
The entire sand table simulates Shanxi, and the southern part of the sand table represents the southern Shanxi region.
The most serious security situation in Shanxi is in the southern Shanxi area, because not only are the guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army active here, but Wei Lihuang's troops are also stationed in the Zhongtiao Mountains just a stone's throw away! Although Wei Lihuang's unit is also the Central Army, it seems incompatible with the Central Army in other theaters.
Since the Japanese government changed its strategy towards China, the Kuomintang Central Army in other theaters has no longer taken the initiative to provoke. Even the Xue Yue Corps in the Hunan battlefield has been quieter recently. However, the Central Army under Wei Lihuang has not calmed down. , but became more active than before.
Especially after Xu Rui's Chahar Independence blitz, the armies of Wei Lihuang's Fourteenth Group Army were like a swarm of sharks smelling blood, launching a frenzied attack on the counties controlled by the Japanese in southern Shanxi. attacks, sometimes more than a dozen large-scale attacks a day.
In addition to Wei Lihuang's Central Army, there were also various units of the Eighth Route Army.
The combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army has been greatly improved compared to before. The main reason is that the weapons and equipment have been greatly improved and a large amount of Soviet-made equipment has been obtained. The combat effectiveness of the Communist Eighth Route Army has always far exceeded that of the Shanxi-Sui Army and the Central Army. It's just because the weapons and equipment are too poor that they can't bring out their strong combat effectiveness.
But now that the weapons and equipment have been improved, the Eighth Route Army's combat effectiveness immediately exploded, making it difficult for the two garrison divisions of the 36th and 37th Divisions to resist. As a last resort, Ando Yoshiki could only use the last preparations in his hands. Divisions, the 108th Division were also sent out, and this blocked the Eighth Route Army's offensive.
So now the defensive pressure faced by the First Army is very high!
Some staff members have even suggested abandoning southern and northern Shanxi and reducing the number of troops to defend Taiyuan and more than a dozen counties and military strongholds along the Zhengtai Railway. Yoshiki Ando and Nobuchi Kushibuchi are indeed seriously considering such a possibility, but It’s not time to make such an extreme choice.
After all, the southern and northern Shanxi areas were captured by the Japanese army at great cost. It would be unjustifiable to give up without firing a shot or fighting a battle.
However, this is not what Ando is most worried about.
The thing that worries Ando Yoshiki the most is Anami Yuki’s order to mobilize troops from the First Army! Because compared with the Twelfth Army and the Mongolian Army, the First Army has the strongest strength, with four divisions and four brigades. The North China Front Army Headquarters will transfer troops from the First Army to reinforce Peiping, and it will not Accident.
Kushibuchi Nobuichi suddenly turned to Ando Yoshiki and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, if the Front Army Headquarters really wants to deploy troops from our First Army to reinforce Peiping, then we may really have to give up southern and northern Shanxi, because from now on At present, the deployment of troops is already stretched thin. If another part of the troops is withdrawn, even just one brigade will lead to a series of unpredictable chain reactions, so we must be prepared in advance."
"Sodes." Andojiri nodded, "That's how it should be."
While the two old Japanese were talking, a communications staff officer came over in a hurry, paused and said, "Your Excellency, Commander, this is a telegram from the Front Army Headquarters."
Kushibuchi Nobuichi quickly reached out and took the telegram, but was stunned after reading it.
Upon seeing this, Ando Yoshiri's expression suddenly condensed, and he said in a deep voice: "Kushibuchi-kun, the Front Army Headquarters will eventually draw troops from our First Army, right?"
"No." Kushibuchi Nobu shook his head and said, "The front army headquarters did not say that it would mobilize troops."
After a pause, Kushibuchi Nobuichi continued: "But we are only asked to give up all the counties along the Baoda Highway."
"Abandon all the county towns along the Baoda Highway?" Ando Jili was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then suddenly realized, "This is indeed a way. If the county towns along the Baoda Highway are given to the Shanxi-Sui Army, maybe it can also make Yan If the Jinsui Army in Xishan fights with the Eighth Route Army, even if the fight fails, they will fall into a mode of internal friction."
"Sodais." Kushiyuan announced, "This is called the strategy of driving the tiger to swallow the wolf. This way our pressure will be lightened."
Ando Yoshiri then ordered the communications staff: "Order the 36th Division to immediately abandon all gun tower strongholds along the Baoda Highway and all county towns, and be sure to notify the Jinsui Army before abandoning the defense!"
Kushibuchi Nobuichi then added: "We also need to disclose the news to the Eighth Route Army through secret channels!"
The communications staff officer frowned and asked, "Chief of Staff, should we notify the Jinsui Army first or the Eighth Route Army first?"
"It depends on the specific situation." Chu Yuan announced, "If the Jinsui Army is far away, notify the Jinsui Army first. If the Eighth Route Army is far away, notify the Eighth Route Army first. In short, we must try our best to have the Jinsui Army and the Eighth Route Army at the same time. Reaching the destination is the only way the two of them can have friction and then conflict."
"Hai!" The communications staff officer turned around and left.
…
Let us turn our attention back to Xu Rui.
At this time, Xu Rui was having lunch in the temporary camp outside the north gate of Yixian County. What he ate was pot helmets soaked in boiling water. Although it was not very delicious and not nutritious, it was better than being hungry! In this war era, it is enough to fill the stomach. As for taste and nutrition, I really don't care about it.
Isn’t it nonsense to talk about human rights and voting rights with refugees from war-torn areas? Can votes be used as food? Can human rights support a family? I can't even survive anymore, and everything else I say is nonsense.
After eating a large piece of Guokui and drinking a large tea vat of hot soup, Xu Rui wiped his mouth with satisfaction.
At this time, the commander of the Sixth Battalion, Ding Wenbao, walked over quickly and asked: "Captain, we have captured a lot of Japanese prisoners of war, what should we do with them? It is definitely unrealistic to take them away, because we can't spare any extra manpower." We are here to take care of these Japanese prisoners of war, but the local militia hasn’t arrived yet, so we can’t just let them go, right?”
"Prisoners of war?" Xu Rui said, "What prisoners of war? Have we captured any prisoners of war?"
"Yes." Ding Wenbao said subconsciously, "I have captured several thousand."
Xu Rui ignored Ding Wenbao and turned to ask Digua: "Digua, have we captured any prisoners of war?"
"Prisoner of war? I haven't heard of it." Digua Gui was smart and immediately understood what Xu Rui meant. He shook his head and said, "Didn't we kill all the Japs in Yaotaigou?"
"What are you talking about? They were all killed?" Ding Wenbao still didn't react and said blankly, "What are you talking about sweet potatoes? They were all killed. Only more than half were killed. There are still thousands of people left who have been killed. Our Sixth Battalion was strung up with ropes and temporarily detained in the big ancestral hall in Lianggezhuang."
"I said to you, Old Ding, are you stupid?" Digua became angry and cursed, "Can the regiment leader still remember things wrong? When did you see the regiment leader remembering things wrong? If the regiment leader said they were all killed, then they were all killed. ,Understand?"
"Uh? This..." Ding Wenbao was excited, finally understood, and said repeatedly, "I understand, understand, I understand, captain, I understand, I will do what you want!"
"Wait a minute." Xu Rui said angrily, "Did I say anything? What do I mean? What do I mean?"
"Huh?" Ding Wenbao was stunned again, but this time his reaction was much faster. He shook his head like a rattle and said, "Captain, you didn't say anything and you don't know anything. Uh, no, I've never been here." , I didn’t ask you for instructions at all, I did all this, bah, I didn’t do anything, those thousands of little devils were killed on the battlefield!”
After saying that, Ding Wenbao suddenly turned around, rolled up his sleeves and went back to Lianggezhuang with a murderous look.
"This old man." Digua chuckled and added, "He is really stupid. Sooner or later he will die of stupidity."
"Don't talk about others." Xu Rui said angrily, "How did you do what I asked you to do?"
"It's been done a long time ago." Digua took out an envelope from his pocket and said as if offering a treasure, "This is a reply from the head of the headquarters. The head said that you don't have to worry about the safety of logistics support. They will mobilize The people in the base area support the front, even if the Japanese cut off the highway, there will still be a continuous flow of logistical supplies!"
Xu Rui nodded and said, "I'm relieved now!"