Spy Shadow: Command & Conquer

Chapter 1955, Give the Japanese Invaders Some Time

"Extra!"

"Extra!"

"The Fifth War Zone has recaptured Luzhou!"

"Extra!"

The shouts of newsboys rose and fell.

Streets of Chongqing...

Changsha streets...

In the streets of major cities, cheerful newsboys are shouting their greetings.

Without a doubt, this was all arranged by the Fifth War Zone. The Fifth War Zone's moment of glory was a rare one, so of course it had to be widely publicized.

This is a genuine victory.

We can send someone to verify this on-site.

Luzhou was recovered. The Japanese invaders were driven back.

Two Japanese divisions and three independent mixed brigades were decimated.

Now, the remnants of the Japanese invaders, like stray dogs, have fled back to Bengbu.

Throughout the Luzhou battlefield, countless Japanese soldiers' corpses were left behind, making it easy to take photos and archive them.

Besides telling the people, we also need to tell all foreigners that our National Revolutionary Army is still capable of fighting, even if only a portion of it.

The worst are always the top brass, okay? It's Chiang Kai-shek. Not anyone else.

We warmly welcome battlefield observation delegations from other countries to visit the Fifth War Zone.

The Fifth War Zone guarantees to provide first-hand information.

Watching the game up close.

We guarantee that there are no false or misleading elements.

The Guangxi clique did this without any psychological pressure. They weren't even familiar with Chiang Kai-shek.

As for how Mr. Jiang will react after he finds out, that remains to be seen.

The Guangxi clique doesn't care. They're not afraid. Even if relations are bad, that's all they'll ever be.

They wished Zhang Yong could stay in the Fifth War Zone as long as possible.

The longer he stays in the Fifth War Zone, the stronger the Fifth War Zone becomes.

The Sichuan Army's 22nd Group Army, which used to be at the bottom of the rankings, now has five heavy artillery regiments. They're incredibly proud of themselves.

The Guangxi Clique's own 7th Army and 31st Army have also been upgraded from muskets to artillery.

The 7th Army, in particular, has dozens of tanks.

As things stand, the overall strength of the Seventh Army is comparable to that of the elite Fifth Army.

They had confidence. They stood tall. They dared to continue their attack on the Japanese invaders.

Next target – Bengbu!
The key point of the Jinpu Railway.

The location of the headquarters of the newly established Ninth Army of the Japanese invaders.

Zhang Yong's telegrams in plain text have already been sent out. The world has been informed.

and so……

It is imperative!

The arrow is on the bowstring!

……

Jinling.

Japanese Expeditionary Army Headquarters.

"waste……"

"big eater……"

Chief of Staff Akira Muto made no attempt to hide the cold smile on his lips.

He wasn't familiar with Anami Korechika, so there was no need for him to sympathize with him. Not kicking him when he was down was already considered merciful.

He secretly resented those old guys at headquarters, who were all just occupying positions without doing any work.

They still refuse to accept the changes in the war situation within China's borders, refusing to acknowledge that the balance of power between the two sides has shifted.

If previous battles all contained elements of strategy, then it was the enemy who defeated the Japanese army through intrigue and trickery.

Therefore, this battle for Luzhou will be a head-on clash.

There is absolutely no fakery.

The other party has already told you the time, place, and target.

The entire battle was a direct assault. A head-on assault. There was no flanking maneuvering or encirclement.

A very pure attack.

Even a bit of an idiot.

however……

That's how the Japanese army was defeated.

Two divisions and three independent mixed brigades were all decimated.

Almost all of the dozen or so colonels were killed.

The losses were devastating.

In terms of individual losses, it was even more severe than that of Tai'er Village.

In Taierzhuang, hundreds of thousands of Nationalist troops surrounded two Japanese divisions. But this time it wasn't like that.

In reality, only tens of thousands of Nationalist troops actually participated in the battle. The troop strength of the two sides was basically one to one. In the end, they were still utterly crushed by the other side.

Face-to-face, head-on collision, utter defeat. This is extremely troublesome.

"report!"

An advisor arrived cautiously.

Muto Akira glanced at the other person sideways. He remained unmoved.

There is no commander in the expeditionary force now. He, as chief of staff, is living a very comfortable life.

There are no tigers in the mountains, and the monkeys are kings.

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff..."

"What are you hesitating about? Speak."

"The Ninth Army sent a telegram requesting reinforcements of personnel and supplies."

"Now?"

"Yes."

"Give me!"

Muto Akira reached out and took the telegram.

This Anami Korechika is quick to reach out!
The Luzhou region had just suffered a defeat, and now they were already requesting reinforcements of personnel and supplies.

joke……

It's not my business?

Or rather, what does it have to do with the dispatched troops?

Is your Ninth Army under the command of my expeditionary force?
Do you, Anan Korechika, listen to me?
Aren't you directly commanded from headquarters?

Ask headquarters for men and supplies!

You guys have such a big face...

ignore.

Place the telegram face down on the table.

He waved his hand. The staff officer was fired.

So far.

Not a single soldier, not a single coin of supplies.

Go ask the headquarters yourself.

My dispatched army headquarters is still having a major headache!
The Nationalist army still occupied Anqing.

Continue to cut off the Yangtze River waterway.

Although Zhang Yong was not in Anqing, the 31st Army of the National Revolutionary Army was still there.

Anqing also possesses heavy weaponry, including direct-fire artillery capable of sinking any passing Japanese transport ships.

what?
Should we send troops to recapture Anqing?
Okay, okay, you take command. Let's see where you get your troops.

All mobile forces have now been transferred to the Luzhou direction. Nanjing is now only garrisoned by an independent mixed brigade.

If Zhang Yong were to suddenly attack Jinling again, the previous incident would likely repeat itself.

Whoever can conjure soldiers from beans can be appointed as commander.

idiot!

A bunch of trash!
But gradually I became frustrated.

While calling others useless, it seems like you yourself are also useless.

After all, it was Mutō Akira who commanded the Battle of Anqing. And yet, they lost. This strategically vital location fell into enemy hands.

In terms of the severity of the consequences, the loss of Anqing was no less serious than the loss of Luzhou.

Forget it, let's not laugh at each other for being just as bad.

They were all defeated by Zhang Yong, so there was no point in continuing their infighting.

Let's share the same fate and support each other!
Try to live a few more years...

Pick up the telegram again.

Looking at the numbers above, Akira Muto suddenly thought, "Never mind, I don't know Korechika Anami..."

Sharing the same fate is utter nonsense!
Let's support each other!

Don't try to make exorbitant demands, Ninth Army! Don't just fill in random numbers!
They actually want to apply for an additional 50,000 recruits...

Thirty-six 105mm heavy cannons...

Thirty-six 105mm howitzers...

There are also tanks and so on.

crazy.

You should ask headquarters for it!

The expeditionary force headquarters simply couldn't do it. Not even the first one.

Fifty thousand new recruits? Don't even think about it. Ten thousand at most.

There were no heavy cannons.

There are no howitzers.

There were no tanks.

Now, these resources are being directed towards the Southern Army.

The weapons and equipment produced in the arsenal were prioritized for the divisions belonging to the Southern Army.

The second in line was the Kwantung Army.

The third priority should be the China Expeditionary Army, okay?
"Ring ring ring..."

"Ring ring ring..."

Suddenly the phone rang.

Muto Akira casually picked up the microphone.

"Moshi moshi..."

"Muto-kun, are you alright?"

"You are...Shinichi Tanaka?"

A lewd face immediately flashed into Muto Akira's mind.

idiot!

It was that scoundrel Tanaka!
The other party actually called the headquarters of the expeditionary force!

Looks like the other person wants to get beaten up again!
Muto Akira deeply regretted not physically assaulting the other party last time.

If he has the chance to meet the other person again, he will definitely kick him to the ground and knock out his teeth.

idiot!

"Akira Muto, I have good news for you!"

"idiot……"

"You're fired. Haha! Akira Muto, you're going to lose everything..."

"Baka! Go to hell!"

"I'm serious. The order from headquarters will be sent out soon."

"When I get back to China, I will definitely kill you!"

Muto Akira was furious.

not kidding.

He genuinely wanted to kill the other person.

Because he and this Tanaka Shinichi have a really deep conflict.

Snapped!
Hang up the phone.

Dismissal?

idiot……

Those good-for-nothings at headquarters.

They're all good-for-nothings.

Therefore, they do not trust the dispatched army headquarters.

Since that's the case, let's just disband it.

"report!"

"Order from headquarters!"

The communications section chief arrived in person, his expression grave.

Mutō Akira then knew. His dismissal order had truly arrived.

From now on, the Expeditionary Army Headquarters will be an empty shell, without a commander or chief of staff.

idiot……

Is this Zhang Yong's achievement?
They wiped out the commander and chief of staff of the dispatched army.

Whatever.

No more getting annoyed.

How to clean up the mess is someone else's problem.

We'll see who has the ability to clean up such a huge mess.

Whoever comes here will only bring shame upon themselves.

Want to defeat Zhang Yong?
snort!
Zhang Yong's plaintext telegram is right there.

Our next destination is Bengbu. I've already told you.

You can use any means necessary to defend Bengbu.

If you hold on, you win.

If we can't hold on...

Ha ha.

Get out, all of you!

……

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

Zhang Yong woke up groggily.

Then I started sneezing repeatedly. I realized I was completely soaked. Oh no…

Such hot weather.

Sleeping in a room without air conditioning or a fan.

Although it was a brick house, I was soaking wet.

Radar maps show that many people have arrived outside the brick house. Besides the guards, there must be guests.

But I don't know anyone here. I don't know who came yet.

get up.

finish dressing.

I quickly washed my face and then came out.

Cao Yiqi had already prepared the water and towel for washing his face. Very thoughtful.

but……

He's an adjutant, not an orderly!
Or should we just send him to the battlefield? It's such a waste of his talent to be a service soldier.

However, going to the battlefield would be dangerous.

Old Cao has already sacrificed himself. The Cao family must have an heir…

Old Cao probably didn't succeed in his blind date when he went home that time. If he had, perhaps…

Ugh……

Go out.

"Commissioner!"

An officer stepped forward and greeted him.

stand at attention.

salute.

The collar insignia has two gold triangular stars.

He still looked quite capable. He was covered in sweat. He must have just arrived.

"You are……"

"Reporting, Commissioner! The 46th Army is reporting for duty!"

"Oh, you're Commander Zhou."

"Yes. Your humble servant, Zhou Zuhuang, has been ordered to come and participate in the battle."

"Good, good, good!"

Zhang Yong nodded. He returned the greeting with a raised hand. Then he shook hands with his opponent.

The 46th Army was also a Guangxi clique unit, or rather, primarily composed of Guangxi troops. Its status was similar to that of the 31st Army.

Army Commander Zhou Zuhuang was also a veteran of the Guangxi clique. He was from Lingui County, Guangxi Province.

He was in the first cohort of the Baoding cohort. He's a very senior member. He was a classmate of Tang Shengzhi.

He once served as the commander of the 7th Army of the Guangxi Clique. However, during the Battle of Xuzhou, he took the blame for someone else. He was eventually transferred to be the commander of the 46th Army.

"An honest man..."

This was Zhang Yong's first impression of Zhou Zuhuang.

He looks very unassuming. His behavior seems to reflect that. In the end, it's always the honest people like him who suffer.

The so-called "taking the blame for someone else" is actually just being bullied.

When someone bullies you, there's no powerful figure to speak up for you.

I had a vague feeling that although the other party was a veteran of the Guangxi clique, a key figure, it seemed that Commander Li and Young Zhuge didn't particularly value him.

In other words, this Commander Zhou was not actually a true confidant of Li Bai and his companion.

Indeed, every expert has limitations.

Some bald men have certain flaws, and so do Li Bai and his companion. Neither is an exception.

Perhaps, many talented people were buried around Zhang Yong.

Even Zhang Yong had his limitations!

It's impossible to see all the details.

"Commander Zhou, tell me about the general situation of the 46th Army."

"Yes."

Zhou Zuhuang gave a brief report.

Currently, the 46th Army has two divisions, four brigades, and eight regiments, a very standard organizational structure.

Including the directly subordinate units at all levels, the total number is approximately 28,000.

There were two mountain artillery battalions. They had twenty-four 75mm mountain guns. Their firepower was quite good.

"Commander Zhou, how many men are in each infantry regiment?"

"Approximately 1,300 people."

"Oh."

Zhang Yong seemed to be deep in thought.

Actually, all he wanted was this number.

Because only infantry regiments and below are the more purely combat-oriented soldiers.

Eight infantry regiments, each with approximately 1300 men. The total number was at most a little over 10,000.

It's definitely less than 12,000 people.

Including the artillery, there were only about 15,000 men.

Even including unnecessary logistical supplies, the maximum number of people would be around 20,000.

However, the entire 46th Army had a strength of 28,000 men.

In other words, many were non-combatants.

There are too many attached units at the brigade, division, and army levels, making them too bloated.

There are many people eating, but few fighting.

Most of the pay was given to the assistants.

This was a common problem within the Nationalist Army. Very few units were exceptions, unless they underwent major reforms.

No!

We must implement sweeping reforms.

Alternatively, they could downsize the force by removing some non-combat personnel.

Alternatively, non-combat personnel could be incorporated into infantry regiments. They would then take up arms and fight. They couldn't just hide in the back and watch.

We must learn from the Japanese invaders in this respect.

The Japanese invaders truly maximized the potential of their combat troops.

A full-strength infantry regiment has approximately 3500 men. The number of non-combat personnel is less than 300.

This also includes branches of service such as logistics, communications, and medical.

Moreover, all these military units are fully equipped with weapons and are ready to take up arms and fight at any time.

The Eighth Route Army ambushed the supply corps of the Japanese Fifth Division at Pingxingguan.

Even the supply troops are incredibly powerful!
If they were real combat soldiers, they would probably be even more difficult to deal with.

Other countries have at least 90% combat soldiers. Your Nationalist army has less than 50%, the gap is too big.

With 800,000 against 600,000, the advantage lies with me.

If you remove those who are receiving salaries without working and non-combat personnel, the number is probably less than 300,000.

A mysterious confidence...

"Commander Zhou, I have a mission for you."

"Please give your instructions, sir."

"Reduce the non-combat personnel of your 46th Army and fill the infantry regiments."

"Yes."

"My requirements are very clear. Each infantry regiment must have more than 1800 men. The required personnel will be transferred from within your 46th Army."

"understand!"

Zhou Zuhuang answered loudly.

Zhang Yong nodded. He didn't say anything more.

Each infantry regiment will receive an additional 500 men. Eight regiments will receive a total increase of 4,000 men.

They were selected from non-combat personnel at all levels of the 46th Army.

With so many non-combat personnel, detaching four thousand men would be no problem at all.

If they can't do it, it means the officer lacks courage.

That's a human problem.

"Your weapons and ammunition will be replenished by yourselves at the shore of Chaohu Lake. Your troops can bring as much as they need."

"go alone?"

"Yes. You can go by yourselves. The boat is right by Chaohu Lake."

"Yes."

Zhou Zuhuang was a little unaccustomed to it.

You can move as much as you need? Is there really such a good deal?
If I were to empty the entire demand warehouse...

Goodbye. Then I went to the dock.

He is indeed an honest man. He wants to see just how much weaponry and ammunition the commissioner has prepared.

When they arrived at Chaohu Lake, they found three large cargo ships docked at the pier. They had no idea where they came from; they had never seen anything like them before.

There were only a few cavalrymen at the dock. They seemed to be an independent cavalry brigade. They were on sparse guard duty.

They inquired about the situation and boarded the ship to investigate. They were immediately stunned.

The cargo ship was filled with all kinds of weapons and ammunition. Mainly firearms, mortars, shells, and bullets.

The crates were packed full of ammunition. The crates were labeled with their specific model numbers and quantities. All you had to do was move the crates according to their model numbers.

Three cargo ships, possibly carrying several thousand boxes of ammunition. No wonder they say they'll move as much as they need.

He could never possibly use all of them with just one army.

Achieving 30% is more than enough.

I'm convinced.

So they arranged for people to come and move it.

With ample weapons and ammunition, the 46th Army must now put on an outstanding performance!
Over there, Zhang Yong casually waved his hand.

"Somebody come!"

"To!"

"Go to the 22nd Army Headquarters!"

"Yes!"

Cao Yiqi led over a warhorse.

Zhang Yong mounted his horse and, leading his cavalry guard platoon, arrived at the headquarters of the 22nd Army Group.

The army group commander-in-chief, Sun Zhen, was also exhausted and went to rest.

Li Jiayu was on duty at the command post.

Upon discovering Zhang Yong's arrival, Li Jiayu hurriedly came out to greet him.

"Commissioner".

"Are you fully replenished with ammunition?"

"Adding more information."

"it is good."

Zhang Yong nodded.

The ammunition delivered by the system is located on the shore of Chaohu Lake.

If water transport is feasible, the system will definitely arrange for it.

After all, water transport involves a very large volume of goods.

"Commander, when do we launch the attack?"

"No rush. Give the Japanese some time to prepare."

"Uh……"

Li Jiayu was filled with doubts.

Give the Japanese invaders some time to prepare? Give the Japanese invaders time?
What a strange statement...

Speed ​​has always been paramount in warfare. The goal is to eliminate the enemy with lightning speed.

Why give the Japanese invaders a chance to catch their breath?
The Japanese invaders will definitely seize the time to mobilize more troops and gather more weapons.

At the same time, even stronger fortifications will be built...

"Our goal is to deplete the Japanese invaders' manpower, not simply to conquer cities and seize territory."

Zhang Yong's simple explanation.

He didn't expect the other party to fully understand.

After all, some people find it difficult to distinguish between saving people at the expense of land, or saving land at the expense of people.

Most Nationalist generals had a fixed mindset; they were accustomed to stubbornly defending a particular location. The Battle of Shanghai is a prime example.

This is a typical case of losing people while retaining land, and the final result is often the loss of both people and land.

This is how the National Revolutionary Army initially suffered heavy losses.

Later they learned their lesson and began to retreat in large strides. This, in turn, left the Japanese invaders helpless.

Now, it's the Japanese invaders' turn to get stuck in this dead end.

The Japanese invaders were also unwilling to give up the places they occupied, even at the cost of their lives, unless they suffered a great loss.

Zhang Yong intended to exploit this point to greatly deplete the Japanese army's manpower and resources.

Aren't you going to leave?
Then I'll keep bombarding them.

They'll wear you down with a constant stream of shells.

That's the American tactic.

The United States had enough gunpowder and steel to wear down the Japanese invaders.

Zhang Yong wasn't very quick-witted. He just copied what others did.

"By the way, your 22nd Army Group also needs to be reinforced with combat personnel..."

Zhang Yong changed the subject.

Li Jiayu said there was no problem. They would begin immediately.

Taking advantage of the victory, we can replenish our combat personnel, which will certainly reduce resistance significantly.

"I am leaving."

Zhang Yong took his leave and went to attend to his own affairs.

All other matters were handled by the Fifth War Zone.

There was only one thing that required his personal attention.

what's up?

Of course, the rewards were given to the armed forces who came to help.

Said that.

Anyone who is willing to come will benefit.

Having a record of killing Japanese invaders brings many benefits.

Payment will be made on the spot, with no delays.

now--

It's time to cash out!
[To be continued]

(End of this chapter)