"Nani?" Shunroku Hata's face changed slightly when he heard this, and he said, "Has the 10th Division disembarked from Pukou?"
"Hai." Hebian Zhengsandun said, "Although His Highness Nianyan said in the telegram that the 10th Division will rush to Feicheng to assemble as scheduled, I thought that this was just an excuse. The reason why he led the 10th Division The group disembarked from Pukou in advance, probably for the sake of Xu Rui and the Dameishan Independent Group."
Shunroku Hata frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Where is the 16th Division?"
Hebian Zhengsandun reported: "I just received a notification from the Third Fleet in half an hour. The 16th Division has entered the Yangtze River from Wusongkou."
Shunroku Hata asked again: "Did His Highness Natsuhiko say where the 16th Division will disembark?"
Kawabe Masami said: "There is no special explanation for this. It should still be disembarked in Wuhu."
"That's good." Shunroku Hata breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice, "As long as the 15th and 16th Divisions can arrive at Feicheng as scheduled to join the Kumamoto Division and attack from the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains in time, the Battle of Wuhan will be won. After all, the Chinese army’s defense in Jiangbei is very empty at the moment, and there is no shortage of that division.”
Hebian Zhengzo said: "Your Majesty the General, over there His Highness Nian Yan..."
"Let him go." Shunroku Hata smiled coldly and said, "There are always some people in the country who stubbornly believe that Xu Rui is just a regiment leader, and the Dameishan Independent Regiment is just a regiment, as if they can be wiped out with a snap of their fingers. They have no idea that Xu Rui’s opponent is far more cunning and difficult to deal with than they imagined!”
Kawabe Shozo was a little embarrassed. Although Hata Shunroku didn't say who it was and only used some people to replace him, Kawabe Shozo was not stupid. How could he not hear that Hata Shunroku was referring to the royal family, or even to the emperor himself!
It is no secret that Emperor Hirohito was already dissatisfied with Shunroku Hata, but few people know that Shunroku Hata's dissatisfaction with Emperor Hirohito was even stronger.
In fact, in the minds of older senior Japanese generals, the young and belligerent Emperor Hirohito is not very popular. It is precisely because of this that there was a plan to abolish the emperor during the February 26 Incident, but because of the The existence of the Denbaden Alliance failed in the end, but it made the royalist power expand even more.
Although Emperor Hirohito summoned him to the imperial court for a long talk before Shunroku Hata took office, it was obviously impossible to change Shunroku Hata's perception of Hirohito with just such a long talk.
Especially after the Kumamoto Division suffered a disastrous defeat in Feicheng, the differences between Hirohito and Shunroku Hata became even greater. Hirohito stubbornly believed that everything possible must be done to eliminate Xu Rui and his independent regiment first, while Hata Junliu's views are gradually moving closer to those of his two predecessors.
Shunroku Hata realized more and more that before the war on the frontal battlefield was completely ended, it was impossible to do anything to Xu Rui and his independent group. Xu Rui and his independent group were like ringworm growing on the human body. , if you don’t take care of your body, it’s absolutely impossible to get rid of ringworm.
Therefore, after the dike broke at Huayuankou, for a long time, Shunroku Hata ignored Hirohito's order and did not let the exhausted 6th, 9th, and 13th Divisions provoke Xu Rui's independent regiment. Instead, he ordered these The three divisions were stationed in Feicheng and Bengbu to prepare for the battle and recuperate.
As a witness to the Feicheng fiasco, Kawabe Shozo also believed that Hata Shunroku's decision was correct.
Frankly speaking, before he came to Central China to send the condemnation army, Hebei Zhengzo did not take Xu Rui seriously. With Xu Rui's various achievements before that, Hebei Zhengzo stubbornly believed that either the Central China dispatch of the condemnation army was too careless. Either the Central China sent troops to deliberately exaggerate the facts to cover up their incompetence.
But after arriving in Central China, especially after experiencing the Feicheng Defense Battle, Hebian Zhengsan finally understood that this was definitely not because the Central China Condemnation Army was careless, nor was it that the Central China Condemnation Army was deliberately exaggerating the facts. Facts have proved that Xu Rui's Guys are just so difficult to deal with!
Others fight honestly, but Xu Rui can even broadcast public opinion as his weapon. Many of his tactics are simply unbelievable, but they are very effective! For example, the battlefield broadcast he made greatly stimulated the fighting spirit and morale of the Chinese soldiers. Its power was no less than that of a division!
Also, the Dameishan Independent Regiment’s miraculous “resurrection” after being wiped out.
So far, the headquarters of the Central China Condemnation Army has not figured out what is going on. However, some staff members have made conjectures that the independent regiment dug a tunnel in the city, and the main force of the independent regiment was not wiped out, but was hidden in the city. In the tunnel! When the Kumamoto Division thought that the overall situation was settled, they came out to make a comeback in one fell swoop.
Faced with such an opponent who is full of tricks and scheming, you must not be careless!
Xu Rui's opponent is already difficult enough, and the terrain of Damei Mountain is even more unfavorable. The outcome of the Kawaguchi detachment has proved that if you send a small number of troops to Damei Mountain, it is basically the same as committing suicide, but if you send a large army, If we go to sweep Dameishan, it will inevitably affect the Wuhan battle.
So the wisest thing to do now is to ignore him for the time being.
Wait until the Wuhan battle ends successfully, then turn around and use the power of Mount Tai to crush Xu Rui in one fell swoop!
However, it is a pity that His Majesty the Emperor seems to find it difficult to understand His Excellency the Admiral's difficulties, and His Highness Higashikata Higashikata can't wait to seek revenge from Xu Rui.
Shaking his head, Kawabe Shozo said again: "General, I'm afraid you still have to tell His Highness Nianyan. I am not afraid of anything else in my humble position. I am afraid that His Highness Nianyan lacks the understanding of Xu Rui's power and therefore lacks the necessary precautions." , if this is the case, his personal safety will be very worrying."
Shunroku Hata's expression became serious when he heard this, and he said in a deep voice: "You mean, Xu Rui might start a battle?"
"Your Excellency, General, this is completely possible!" Hebian Shozo said, "Don't forget, Xu Rui himself came out of the Brandenburg Special Forces training camp, and under him, there is a special force with extremely powerful combat effectiveness. The troops, therefore, must be on guard against anything."
Hata Shunroku nodded in agreement and said, "Hebian-san, you are right."
At that moment, Shunroku Hata picked up the phone and said, "Pick me up to the Purple Mountain Military Camp."
After a while, the call was connected, and Shunroku Hata said in a deep voice: "Okahara-san, please come to the headquarters immediately. There is an urgent mission."
(Dividing line)
At the same time, Xu Rui also held an emergency military meeting.
After all the officers of the battalion and above had arrived, Xu Rui said: "I just received news from Nanjing that Dong Jiurenyan and his 2nd Army have arrived in Wuhu."
As soon as Xu Rui finished speaking, there was a burst of cheers in the conference room.
"Damn it, that little devil Dong Jiu Nianyan is here after all."
"My dear, now I finally have a fight to fight. I've been bored to death during this period."
"It's just a joke. Nian Yan, the little devil, has been dawdling for so long, and finally he's here."
"Captain, we have to make an agreement this time. No matter what, we must let our 2nd Battalion take the main attack."
More than a dozen battalion commanders were immediately excited. They rolled up their sleeves one by one, gearing up, and wanted to fight the little devil immediately. This is a strong army. A strong army will never be afraid of war. In the face of war, , they will only feel excited, excited, and howl.
Seeing the dozen or so battalion commanders making endless noises, Wang Husheng and Qiu Feng were also deeply inspired.
Qiu Feng, director of the Political Department, was particularly touched because he used to be the commander of the special agent company of the 58th Division. Although the 58th Division cannot be compared with the Royal Forest Division like the 88th Division, because of its teacher Yu Jishi, the equipment of the 58th Division is It was no worse than the 88th Division, but in the 58th Division, Qiu Feng had never experienced such a scene.
So Qiu Feng reiterated the old conversation with Wang Husheng again: "Political Commissar, just put me down from the army. I don't want to be the director of the political department anymore. I want to lead the front-line army!"
So far, the ten newly formed battalions are still short of several battalion commanders.
Qiu Feng had already thought about this and went to Xu Rui. Xu Rui agreed wholeheartedly, but Wang Husheng had to nod, but Wang Husheng refused because the political department was short of people.
Qiu Feng mentioned the old words again, Wang Husheng nodded and said: "I will think about it."
"Political Commissar, what else are you thinking about?" Qiu Feng said anxiously, "I am not a political cadre in the first place. Being the director of the Political Department is unfair and unfair. Just let me join the army."
"Look how anxious you are." Wang Husheng smiled and said, "Okay, I'll approve it."
"Political Commissar, thank you, thank you so much." Qiu Feng was overjoyed when he heard this.
Wang Husheng shook his head and said, "Don't thank me too quickly. Even if you leave the army right now, you won't be able to catch up with the battle this time."
"Why?" Qiu Feng was a little stunned when he heard this.
Wang Husheng shook his head, then smacked his lips at Xu Rui.
After a dozen battalion commanders had finished arguing, Xu Rui stood up and said, "Have you said enough?"
Seeing Xu Rui stand up, the dozen or so battalion commanders present shut their mouths, and the entire conference room immediately became silent.
Xu Rui said: "Although Dong Jiuren Yanyan's 2nd Army has arrived in Wuhu, most of them will only pass through Wanzhong and will not come to our Damei Mountain. Therefore, except for Langya Squadron, 1st Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Battalion and The cavalry battalion, the rest of the battalions should do whatever they are supposed to do. Veterans, Lao He, Lao Wan, and Lao Xu stay, and the rest can get out."
Except for Leng Tiefeng, He Guangming, Wan Zhongshan, Xu Dekun and Tiegang, the other battalion commanders immediately started making noises.
Yao Lei, commander of the 1st Preliminary Battalion, said unhappily: "Commander, what can we do with the 1st Preliminary Battalion? So why did you ask me to come to the regimental headquarters? If you don't have time like this, I might as well take a nap."
"That's right." Several battalion commanders were convinced and echoed incessantly.
"Why are you called here?" Xu Rui chuckled and said, "I'm calling you here just to tell you one thing. The war must be fought, but if you can't seize the time to train the troops well, the next time there is a war, it will still be a turn. It doesn't matter to you, if you want to join the war, just work hard to train the new recruits under your hands."
ps: I recommend a book called "The Blood Song of the Sichuan Army in the Anti-Japanese War". It is well written. If you like Anti-Japanese War literature and the Sichuan Army, don't miss it. (To be continued.)