Traveling through the sword to engage in military industry.

Chapter 216: Making Big News? No Need to

Border area.

Ren Zhong was reading the battle report given by Staff Officer Ye. Now, every time there was a major battle, Staff Officer Ye would distribute the battle report to Ren Zhong, because many times Ren Zhong's opinions had a huge impact on the battle situation. Regarding the combination of weapons and the enemy's movements, Ren Zhong often knew more clearly than the staff department.

The progress in Luliang Mountain and Wutai was very smooth. The Japanese did not put up much resistance and seemed to have given up struggling.

However, when he saw that the brigade commander had completely closed the 36th Division in Zezhou, he frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

But for a moment, Ren Zhong couldn't figure out what was wrong.

When he returned to the main world, he looked through the Japanese war history for a while and found something wrong.

In the entire history of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, there was only one battle in which a whole division of the Japanese invaders was completely wiped out, and that was the Victory at Wanjialing.

But that great victory was like a blow to the Japanese army's lungs. When the 106th Division was facing annihilation, the news reached the ears of the old Japanese army in Tian Huang. He issued a death order to the Japanese army, no matter what the cost, the 106th Division must be rescued!
In other words, the Japanese attached unparalleled importance to a division.

The brigade commander's plan to completely wipe out the Japanese 36th Division is not only like stirring up a hornet's nest for the Japanese, it is like digging up their ancestral graves, and it is likely to cause a series of unpredictable consequences.

If this really became a big news, Ren Zhong couldn't imagine the extent of the Japanese's revenge.

But it is definitely no less large-scale than the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain.

Before the flood of tanks came out, Ren Zhong felt that it was too early to alert the enemy.

If the main force of the Kwantung Army was really diverted southward, it would probably cause the Japanese to advance their southward strategy.

那可是将近百万关东军，现在几乎是他们最鼎盛的时候，拥有15个师团（10个甲级师团、2个乙级师团、1个丙级师团、1个丁级师团、1个机械化师团）、1个装甲军、22个守备队还有骑兵、空军！
According to historical deductions, most of the elite Kwantung Army would be deployed to the Nanyang and Pacific battlefields, leaving behind 11 divisions (3 Class A divisions, 2 Class B divisions, 5 Class D divisions, and 1 mechanized division), 22 garrisons, and a total of about 40 remaining troops. By this time, the Kwantung Army was exhausted and could hardly move in the Northeast. They had to stay and face the Far Eastern Front in the north, otherwise the Northeast Manchukuo, which was their main base, would be at risk of being lost.

But now this behemoth has not yet moved south. Will the plan of the brigade commander and his men cause big news and blow up the Japanese headquarters? After all, based on previous experience, the Japanese are still very sensitive to devastating attacks at the division level.

Thinking of this, Ren Zhong returned to the world of Bright Sword and immediately communicated his analysis to Staff Officer Ye.

According to Ren Zhong's suggestion, the best strategy for the 36th Division is to surround it on three sides and leave one side open, annihilate most of its manpower, and then force it out of Zezhou to prevent the Japanese from going completely crazy and lure out the Kwantung Army in advance.

After all, at this time, the main force of the Eighth Route Army was already struggling to fight against the North China Front Army. If they faced the main force of the Kwantung Army, they would basically be back to three years ago overnight. The troops could wander around in the mountains, fighting and retreating, but the facilities could not be moved with them. I am afraid that a large number of military facilities would be lost in the unprecedented large-scale sweep by the Japanese.

At this stage, this is a bit of a loss.

Staff Officer Ye did not expect that Ren Zhong would also miscalculate, but after Ren Zhong pointed out this worst possibility, Staff Officer Ye was scared and broke out in a cold sweat.

This requires extremely strong intelligence analysis capabilities and the ability to grasp the minds of the Japanese high-level officials in order to deduce a series of subsequent changes of the Japanese.

Thinking from the perspective of the Japanese high-ranking officials is what a senior staff officer should do but it is very difficult to do. Staff Officer Ye did not expect that Ren Zhong's intelligence on the Kwantung Army was so detailed. You know, this information is difficult to obtain even for the top intelligence personnel and is basically controlled by the highest commander.

Just like the current strength of the Eighth Route Army, the specific situation after the reorganization is only known by the very high-level border area staff and the Eighth Route Army headquarters. At the base level, ordinary people only know the number of a main force regiment.

But we don’t know what kind of combat power will be deployed behind these numbers.

This is the Eighth Route Army’s assets and one of its most core secrets.

Even Ren Zhong, the initiator of the reorganization plan, did not actually ask about the specific figures. He was able to simply deduce the approximate number through historical data and current military industry production capacity.

Ren Zhong's suggestions and reminders were quickly passed through the border area staff and high-level consultations. The high-level officials decided on a new strategy of surrounding the enemy on three sides and leaving one behind, and attacking them incompletely but not thoroughly. They also sent the new instructions directly to the brigade commander at the front line.

The brigade commander received the order from a distance and pondered for nearly ten minutes. He seemed to understand something and decisively ordered Li Yunlong to leave a rugged road to the south and assemble troops to attack Zezhou City in advance, deliberately creating the illusion of being eager to attack and achieve success, thus creating a gap for the Japanese to slip out.

"What the hell is the brigade commander doing? Why should we give way to that old devil Okamoto?" Li Yunlong was at the independent regiment headquarters, and he didn't understand the brigade commander's latest order.

"Carry out the order, Lao Li. The order from the brigade commander is very clear and tough, and naturally he has his considerations. You must execute it whether you understand it or not." Zhao Gang repeatedly read the latest telegram sent by the brigade commander, and said to Li Yunlong after making sure there was no problem.

"We finally caught Okamoto, this big fish, and now we have to let him go. It's really unbearable." Li Yunlong said indignantly, "Is the brigade commander confused?"

"What nonsense are you talking about, Lao Li, you are the commander of the front line. You cannot easily reject the orders of your superiors. Otherwise, where is our discipline?" Zhao Gang saw that the brigade commander's instructions to encircle three sides and leave one person missing were followed by instructions to disable but not kill. Suddenly, he felt something in his mind, as if he had caught something, but he couldn't think of it for a while. "Lao Li, you can't be confused about this. As the main force on the southern front, we are the most critical link in executing the brigade commander's orders. Please give the order. The brigade commander is still waiting for us to launch an attack."

Li Yunlong wandered around the command center for a while and finally did not dare to disobey the brigade commander's order. Now the brigade commander's forward command was a bit far away from here and the walkie-talkie could not be directly contacted, otherwise the brigade commander would definitely call Li Yunlong directly.

In this regard, Li Yunlong was very understanding of the brigade commander.

"Zhang Dabiao, order the independent regiment to launch an attack immediately. The New Third Regiment and the New Fourth Regiment will follow the independent regiment and form a staggered attack formation. We must not let the Japanese get a chance to breathe. I want to see the independent regiment be the first to break into Zezhou City!" Li Yunlong finally gave the order.

This offensive officially marked the beginning of the attack on Zezhou.

However, because Li Yunlong's troops took the initiative, the original V-shaped blocking formation was artificially shortened, which increased the effectiveness of the attack, but reduced the tightness of the encirclement, resulting in a gap in the encirclement in the south.

Okamoto Yasuyuki, who had been sending out cavalry teams to look for opportunities to fight, keenly discovered the gap created by the independent regiment's attack. In order to avoid encountering a trap, Okamoto Yasuyuki sent the remaining cavalry brigade to attack the gap.

As expected, the cavalry brigade fought their way out of the encirclement and directly occupied Qidaoling, the entrance to the south. Then the vanguard cavalry squadron rushed to the Dongpo Village Pass a few kilometers away. There was no obstruction from the brigade, so Okamoto Yasuyuki made up his mind to break out from here.

To this end, Okamoto Yasuyuki sent seven consecutive telegrams to the First Army Headquarters requesting a transfer, claiming that this was the last chance. If the opportunity was missed, the 36th Division would be destroyed in Sawashu, forcing Iwamatsu Yoshio to make a decision.

Faced with Okamoto Yasuyuki who was determined to leave, Iwamatsu Yoshio, even though he was his superior, did not dare to take the risk of the entire division being annihilated.

He threw this hot potato directly to the North China Front Army and let the Japanese in Gangcun make the decision.

Although the responsibility for the loss of Sawashu was serious, Iwamatsu Yoshio could still bear the blame. At most, he could retire like Shinozuka Yoshio. But for the loss of an entire division, Iwamatsu Yoshio could not bear the responsibility at all. Even if he was not brought to a military court, he would probably have to commit seppuku to apologize.

Weighing the two evils, Yoshio Iwamatsu also believed that it would be much better for the 36th Division to break out of the encirclement while having the chance than to be trapped in Zezhou.

After all, no one has the ability to mobilize several divisions into the Zezhou Basin to save him.

Despite the General Staff's assessment that the 36th Division could rely on the city to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

However, to move the main force of the Kwantung Army southward was something that even the Japanese devils in Gangcun could not decide. The headquarters had to make a firm decision in order to suppress the Kwantung Army.

Otherwise, just like the last time the troops stationed in Mongolia, the Kwantung Army suffered a heavy loss on the grassland, and now they will not be dispatched easily.

After all, these are two different command systems. Speaking of which, the North China Front Army is not as high-ranking as the Kwantung Army. The subordinates command the superiors, and requests can be made, but they cannot be forced.

"What is Li Yunlong doing? How could he make such a big mistake?" On the other side, Kong Jie saw the Japanese soldiers fleeing southward like a tide, and couldn't help cursing, "In order to seize the opportunity, he put all his capital into the attack, but he still gave the Japanese soldiers a chance to escape."

"Captain, I'm afraid there's something else going on." Wang Huaibao said, "Captain Li is a veteran on the battlefield and has never made a stupid mistake. Now that he has exposed his flaws to the Japanese, I'm afraid it's intentional."

Wang Huaibao is an old man promoted by Kong Jie when he was in the Independent Regiment. Now he is in the New Second Regiment and has been promoted to deputy commander. He has a deep understanding of Li Yunlong. After all, they have fought together so many times, and Li Yunlong has hardly ever suffered any losses.

"You mean, three sides surrounded but one missing?" Kong Jie came to his senses. "How could Li Yunlong come up with such a brilliant idea?"

"Maybe it was arranged by the brigade commander. After all, Zezhou is a big city. In order to prevent the Japanese from becoming desperate and destroying Zezhou city together with it, I personally think that surrounding three sides and leaving one behind can indeed reduce casualties among the civilians in the city." It seems that Wang Huaibao has many opinions of his own about this siege.

Kong Jie looked at Wang Huaibao deeply and spoke.

"What should we do? Wait for orders, or start the attack directly?"

"Part of us will go into the offensive, and the other part can travel light south to chase the 36th Division. The road that Commander Li opened for the Japanese is a rugged path through Zhongtiao Mountain. Not only can the Japanese not take their heavy weapons with them, but their speed will also be greatly reduced. If we chase them now, we might be able to catch a big piece of fat meat."

Wang Huaibao said.

"However, in order to prevent the Japanese from biting us back, I suggest that we communicate with the independent regiment. We can pursue them from the east and west sides respectively. If we work together, even if the Japanese want to bite back, they won't be able to resist. This way, we will be safe."

Second update, please recommend and vote

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(End of this chapter)