Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"Enough. I came here to tell you that this operation is very important, and we must achieve significant results."
"As long as we can annihilate that Northeast Army, any cost is worthwhile, understand?" The Japanese commander did not pursue the matter further, but said with a serious expression.

In fact, he was a little worried, which is why he came over in person to give them some more instructions, lest Itagaki Seishiro and the others be careless again.

"Understood! Our plan is complete, and we will surely wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop!" Itagaki Seishiro quickly assured him.

"Commander, we have been refining our plan these past few days, taking into account all possible scenarios. We will not let the enemy escape again, nor will we give them the opportunity to severely damage our troops," Yamamoto Ichiki quickly added.

This operation is also the first battle for Yamamoto's special attack team. They must achieve outstanding results to live up to the resources consumed and the commander's cultivation!
"Yamamoto-kun, Itakatsu-kun, I hope you two won't disappoint me. If anything unexpected happens again, not only will I have to step down, but you will both die, understand?" The Japanese commander said with a serious expression.

He had already used all the connections he could and made assurances to headquarters before a Class A division was brought in to help.

As long as he can annihilate that Northeast Army, he will be fine. Even if he cannot annihilate them, but only severely damages the enemy, that would already be a great victory.

"If that Northeast Army doesn't fall for it, then focus all your efforts on the Eighth Route Army and try to eliminate the enemy's base. That will count as completing the mission, understand?!" the Japanese commander instructed.

Although what he hoped for most was to annihilate or severely damage that Northeast Army, in which case they could even gain merit.

But he also knew that this condition was difficult to achieve, so if the two of them could not reach their plan, they could change their target.

"Yes!" Itagaki Seishiro and Yamamoto Ichiki nodded in response.

"That Northeast Army is indeed difficult to deal with. You must be extremely cautious. If the plan fails, and you switch your focus to attacking the Eighth Route Army, you must also remain vigilant against this Northeast Army."
"Don't give them a chance. If another Class A division commander dies here, you two better be prepared to commit seppuku!" The Japanese commander's eyes also revealed murderous intent.

"Understood!" Itagaki Seishiro and Yamamoto Ichiki responded.

"Get out, I'm going back." The Japanese commander waved his hand.

"Your subordinates take their leave." The two men breathed a sigh of relief and slowly exited the carriage.

The Japanese commander came here only to avoid being ousted later, so he personally came to plan the subsequent operations.

It would be good if the Northeast Army could be annihilated, but if it couldn't be annihilated, then it would be necessary to severely damage the Eighth Route Army and achieve good results. That would be a safety net. So, at most, he would be criticized and transferred to other places, but he wouldn't have to step down.

"Commander, this operation is so important, aren't you going to personally oversee and command it?!" The Japanese colonel walked over and asked.

This operation was quite large, involving three Class A divisions, several Class B divisions, and the assistance of puppet troops, totaling nearly 200,000 men.

With such a large-scale operation, isn't the commander worried about something going wrong by not personally directing it?

"You don't understand. That Northeast Army is indeed formidable. Only someone who understands that unit can command it and possibly defeat it. I don't know enough about that unit."
"That could lead to irreparable losses for the troops, so it would be better to have Seishiro Itagaki as the commander," the Japanese commander said. He was well aware that when facing a powerful enemy whom he did not understand, it was best to have a commander who knew the enemy in charge of the battle.

"Actually, I think that Division Commander Banheng might not be that capable, otherwise how could he have suffered heavy losses in several engagements with the enemy?"

"So changing the commander isn't a bad thing!" the Japanese colonel said, expressing his opinion.

In the end, he still looked down on Seishiro Itagata. A commander who had so many soldiers under his command and yet suffered heavy losses at the hands of a force of only a few thousand people really had a reason to continue leading.

"What do you know? Even if he made a mistake in command, are the Imperial soldiers really that weak?! Don't forget, there are elite soldiers from Class A divisions among them."
However, they were no match for that Northeast Army force. This clearly demonstrates that this unit far surpassed ours in both command and combat capabilities.

Furthermore, given the current situation, do you really think we should let someone replace Seishiro Itagashi as commander?! Even you think this unit is just so-so,
"Wouldn't it be even more careless if someone else took command? The casualties would probably be many times greater than when Itagaki Seishiro was in command," the Japanese commander said with a grim expression.

That's why he didn't choose to replace Itagaki Seishiro. Moreover, the other side was indeed more familiar with the enemy and would be more careful in dealing with the enemy, which would reduce casualties.

"The commander is right!" Upon hearing the commander's angry tone, the Japanese colonel quickly lowered his head and admitted his mistake.

"Sigh... Now we can only place our hopes on Seishiro Itagata and Ichiki Yamamoto. If they can't wipe out this Northeast Army, our plans here will be affected," the Japanese commander sighed.

If that Northeast Army cannot be wiped out, they may join forces with the Eighth Route Army or the Jin-Sui Army to attack them from time to time. In that case, they can only passively take the beatings and have no way to deal with the enemy.

Therefore, even if you can't eliminate the opponent, you should at least severely damage their partners to buy them time.

“But even if the Eighth Route Army is severely damaged, isn’t there still the Jin-Sui Army?” the Japanese colonel said.

Didn't that Northeast Army also like to fight in conjunction with the Jin-Sui Army? Why did they overlook the Jin-Sui Army?

"Judging from several battles, the Jin-Sui Army doesn't want to fight us. They were dragged down by that Northeast Army and had no choice but to cooperate. So, we don't need to pay too much attention to them," the Japanese commander said.

.........

"Itagaki-kun, this mission is of utmost importance. I think we need to review our plan again when we get back to ensure everything goes perfectly. What do you think?!" Yamamoto Ichiki said as he stepped out of the carriage.

The commander himself came to explain the battle plan; if they make a mistake, they will really have to commit seppuku.

“Sure, we’ve recently received a lot of poison gas shells from above, which we can distribute to various units so they can use them against the enemy whenever they have the chance. In short, we want to achieve the greatest effect with the least casualties,” said Seishiro Itaga.

"Alright! Let's do it this way. The poison gas bombs developed by the Empire are still very powerful. The Eighth Route Army doesn't have gas masks, so they definitely won't be able to withstand it." Yamamoto Ichiki nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.

"Yes, we still need to make more preparations. There's still plenty of time before we attack the enemy, so we have plenty of time to prepare," said Seishiro Itaga.

The key issue is that the newly formed 25th and 6th Divisions have not yet arrived in Taiyuan, and these two divisions need to be tested in the local environment to prevent a decrease in the soldiers' combat effectiveness during the actual battle.

The soldiers' combat effectiveness was already inferior to that of the Northeast Army. If their combat effectiveness were to decline further, they would be even less of a match. Therefore, it is necessary to let them implement it to ensure that no problems arise.

…In the conference room of the 386th Brigade.

"Commander, Li Jin sent a telegram saying that Commander Yan has agreed to cooperate," the political commissar said, rushing in with a telegram in his hand.

"I knew this kid could persuade Commander Yan to cooperate." The commander smiled upon hearing this.

"Yes, but Commander Yan's cooperation comes with conditions. They will only make a move if we are certain that we have truly drawn most of the enemy's attention."
"We also dispatched the 358th Regiment to accompany Li Jin to ensure the accuracy of the information," the political commissar said.

"It's alright, that's the original intention. As long as they can participate in the war, that's fine." The commander nodded. The reason for having the Jin-Sui Army cooperate was simply to kill more Japanese soldiers.

Even if the Jin-Sui Army doesn't participate in the war, does that mean they won't fight the Japanese? Of course not. The plan has already been decided. Whether the Jin-Sui Army participates or not is not particularly important.

"It's a good thing that the Jin-Sui Army transferred the 358th Regiment to Li Jin. The 358th Regiment has nearly 5,000 men."

Now, Li Jin can mobilize nearly 20,000 troops, making him much more confident in attacking the Japanese. The political commissar smiled.

These three regiments, plus the special operations regiment, have a combined strength of nearly 20,000 men. The key is that these three regiments are all quite powerful. If Li Jin couldn't inflict heavy losses on the Japanese, that would be strange.

"Yes, indeed. This is also a good opportunity for Li Jin to hone his skills. A regimental commander with the experience of commanding a force of 20,000 men is something that others don't have. His future will be much smoother," the commander said with a smile.

He was very happy to see Li Jin growing faster and faster in the past two years. He remembered that when Li Jin commanded several thousand people, he felt a bit of pressure. Now he dares to command 20,000 people. Few people can match this growth rate.

"Yes, the other regimental commanders' experience is indeed far inferior to Li Jin's. Even Li Yunlong and Kong Jie have never commanded tens of thousands of people," the political commissar remarked.

"Although they are capable, they still have some shortcomings. It is hoped that by following Li Jin this time, they can gain more experience and prepare for the future," the leader said.

These two men are actually quite capable; among the regimental commanders in the army, they would rank in the upper-middle range. However, compared to Li Jin, they are far inferior, and the same is true for the other regimental commanders.

Don't forget, Li Jin taught quite a few regimental commanders when he was in Yan'an. This alone shows how capable Li Jin is.

Li Jin's growth rate is indeed quite fast. In less than two years, he became a regimental commander. He will probably be able to go even higher in the future.

"Yes, those two really should learn from Li Jin." The political commissar agreed.

"By the way, have all the gas masks that Li Jin sent been delivered to other units?!" the commander asked.

The Japanese will definitely use poison gas later, so we need to prepare gas masks for all units to avoid being caught off guard.

"Don't worry, sir, they've all been sent over. Not only those for Li Jin's side, but also those we made here have been sent out. Now, our troops basically all have gas masks," the political commissar replied.

"Well, that's good. The next step for the arsenal is to produce as many tear gas grenades as possible!" the commander said, adding that they would be useful for attacking the Japanese pillboxes and checkpoints later.

Even when attacking the county town later, the Japanese soldiers used tear gas on the bunkers they built at the city gate. So tear gas is currently considered one of their major weapons, and they have to produce as many as they can.

"Old Zhang's side is already manufacturing them, and he's mobilized quite a few people to participate in the production. So, before the major operation begins, every unit will definitely be able to get tear gas," the political commissar quickly said.

After receiving the blueprints for tear gas, Minister Zhang couldn't wait to get the arsenal to start manufacturing it.

"Tell Lao Zhang to be fast and of good quality. Don't produce any garbage, or it could harm people," the leader instructed.

"Yes!" the political commissar nodded.

"Speaking of which, the Japanese 6th Division and the 25th Combined Division haven't arrived in Taiyuan yet, have they?" the commander thought of this.

"Not yet, they probably won't arrive in Taiyuan for a few more days," the political commissar replied, adding that the two Japanese divisions wouldn't arrive that quickly.

"Hmm." The commander nodded. The two divisions had arrived, and they would probably need to assess the situation here, so they still had time.

"Commander, should we call the General and tell him that the Jin-Sui Army has agreed to cooperate?" the political commissar reminded him.

"Okay, you can call the boss yourself," the leader instructed.

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the political commissar stood up and prepared to leave.

At that moment, a telegraph operator rushed in.

"The commander has received a telegram from the intelligence personnel." The telegraph operator quickly handed the telegram to the commander for inspection.

Upon seeing this, the political commissar stopped in his tracks, because he felt that this telegram was probably something important.

After reading the telegram, the commander frowned, clearly finding its contents strange.

"What happened?!" the political commissar asked curiously, wanting to know what the telegram said.

"The telegram says the Japanese suddenly blocked the train station today, preventing anyone from entering, and the defenses are tight, as if some important person is coming to the station," the commander explained.

"Could it be that the two Japanese division commanders arrived in Taiyuan ahead of time, which is why they were able to mobilize so much troops?!" The political commissar frowned, thought for a moment, and quickly voiced his guess.

He felt that this was quite likely; the two Japanese division commanders had not come with the main force, but had chosen to come ahead of time to discuss the battle plan, which was why this situation had occurred.

(End of this chapter)