Chapter 856: Sudden changes on the Eastern Front

The atmosphere in the Kwantung Army headquarters was depressing. After reading two documents from the Japanese Army General Staff Headquarters and the Army Department, Chief of Staff Kuniaki Oiso lowered his head sadly, unable to bear to look at the angry faces and unwilling eyes of the generals.

Commander Nobuyoshi Muto had a gloomy look on his face, pursed his lips tightly, and slowly glanced at his generals with a heavy heart. Like everyone else, he was very annoyed and unwilling to accept the order issued again by the highest military and political agency in the country - the incompetent people in the cabinet

of politicians

The Emperor's influence was so great that this time he was able to persuade the uncompromising General Staff Headquarters to agree with their opinions. On the grounds that "the domestic economy was on the verge of collapse, pressure from European and American countries was greatly increased, and the Kwantung Army had suffered heavy casualties and consumed huge amounts of money due to the prolonged battle."

think

"The heroic Kwantung Army has driven the Chinese army out of Manchuria, ensured the interests of the Empire of Japan in Manchuria, stabilized the Empire of Japan's complete rule of Manchuria, and fully achieved the phased results of the Empire of Japan's grand plan, so it should be stopped as soon as possible

The war forced the Chinese government and military to make compromises in order to quickly carry out resource extraction, food planting and other livelihood construction in Manchuria, so as to alleviate the increasingly severe domestic economic crisis and lay the foundation for the next stage of strategic goals."

The Cabinet's submission was approved by the Emperor, which means that after three months of bloody fighting, the Kwantung Army achieved its original strategic goal after more than 80,000 soldiers from four divisions reached the foot of the Great Wall with more than 30,000 casualties.

There is already enough capital to force the Chinese government and military to make step-by-step compromises through peace talks; it also means that the Kwantung Army Headquarters has requested domestic reinforcements three times to occupy the Ping-Tianjin area in one go, and then its wish to peek into North China cannot be realized.

Muto Nobuyoshi knew very well that the two orders that spoke highly of the Kwantung Army, in addition to recognizing and commending the Kwantung Army's brilliant achievements, also had a very clear underlying meaning, which was to clearly and unmistakably tell Muto and the Kwantung Army that because of

Domestic financial distress and economic pressure increased greatly. Due to the unexpectedly tenacious resistance of the Chinese army, the British

The brave Kwantung Army suffered heavy losses and wasted a lot of money. The country will not send a single soldier overseas in the short term. At the same time, it also very euphemistically hinted: due to the victories one by one by the Kwantung Army soldiers in the past few months, in the next step, the Empire of Japan will only

Through easy negotiations without using a single soldier, we can achieve strategic goals that can only be achieved through a war that wastes people and money.

Muto Nobuyoshi, who has a far-sighted vision, has already seen the various subtle factors involved. He knows that Japan's economy has reached a critical moment, and he has seen the UK and the United States, which are eyeing each other, raising trade embargoes little by little for their respective vested interests in North China.

To transport this big stick that can cause huge losses to Japan, Britain, which is polite on the surface but extremely barbaric at heart, actually transferred a regiment of troops from Hong Kong to Tianjin to threaten; Germany, which has been growing its trade with China since its new prime minister,

After Hitler came to power, he also

It showed a friendly gesture towards China and publicly stated that it would strengthen trade, economic and technological cooperation between Germany and ancient China; France, which all day long shouted about human rights and freedom but used despicable deeds, was not to be left behind, and secretly met with Japanese diplomats twice to "suggest

China and Japan should negotiate a cessation of war as soon as possible to prevent Japan's huge consumption caused by the war from affecting the credit relationship between the two countries for many years." This means naked coercion - if you and Japan do not cease the war, we, France, will cancel the long-term agreement with Japan

Economic cooperation and huge loans.

Muto Nobuyoshi believed that the severe domestic economic situation and the threats from European and American powers were important factors for the Japanese cabinet and the emperor, who were under huge pressure, to make the decision to negotiate armistice. Moreover, given the poor living conditions of the people in Japan, Manchuria was everywhere.

Judging from the armed resistance against Japan, it has achieved a phased strategic victory and driven out the Kwantung Army to the north of the Great Wall. It should indeed be

Victory withdrew his troops, while tightly controlling the front line of the Great Wall, he returned to completely eliminate the sporadic resistance in Manchuria, restored order in Manchuria as quickly as possible, and transported ship after ship of coal, wood, rice, and wheat back to the country.

Efforts were made to alleviate the increasingly severe living environment of the Japanese people, to revitalize the economy of the Japanese Empire, to accumulate strength, and to complete the grand goal of completely occupying the entire China.

However, in this way, the Kwantung Army, which has a brilliant record and has become a hero in the hearts of all Japanese people, will be damaged in all aspects. It will greatly affect the morale of the Kwantung Army, dampen the enthusiasm and confidence of the officers and soldiers, and even become a difficult task.

It's a shame to speak out, but when you hold high the banner of victory, you still have to endure the unspeakable pain in your heart.

The whole hall was quiet, and except for the faint sound of rapid breathing, nothing could be heard.

Muto Nobuyoshi, who had repeatedly weighed the pros and cons and thought deeply, finally stood up from his chair and made a decision that made the generals feel extremely comforted and made their blood boil:

"Gentlemen, we must unconditionally abide by the orders of the General Staff Headquarters and the Army Department. This is the sacred duty of the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Empire! However, this order does not clearly stipulate the armistice date and location of our army; secondly, a week ago, the Army Ministry

Through consultation, we also expressed to us the military headquarters’ response to the five Anjia Army divisions that are heading north at high speed.

After joining the battlefield, from this point of view, the military headquarters’ understanding is wise and lofty. Even our headquarters has reached a consensus that as long as the Anjia Army’s five divisions with a total of 80,000 troops enter the battlefield, we will not

We are absolutely certain to defeat them, and the most likely scenario is to maintain the status quo. You won’t have any objections to this, right?"

The generals all expressed their agreement in varying degrees, but all of them had unruly looks on their faces, but they were obviously much calmer than before.

Muto Nobuyoshi seemed to have seen nothing, but continued to analyze this: "According to our intelligence, the 39th Division of the Anjia Army is actively preparing for war in Langfang, and the 16th Division has now arrived in Shijiazhuang. The combat effectiveness of these two divisions is not low.

Once the main division of the Central Army joins the North China battlefield, it will bring great resistance to us. What's more, there are three divisions of the Anjia Army behind us that are marching northward?

"The General Staff Headquarters and the Army Ministry probably also saw this, and made the decision to negotiate an armistice after repeated discussions and careful weighing. What's more, the periodic strategic goals of the Empire of Japan have been gradually realized in the hands of our Kwantung Army. Therefore,

You don't need to be angry or resentful, but you should think calmly and obey the overall situation.

"I also know that if it stops like this, it will be a huge blow to the courage of the nearly 100,000 soldiers of our five divisions to move forward, and it will also have an impact on the reputation of our Kwantung Army. At least what we have achieved with the lives of thousands of warriors

At present, this victory is no longer so proud... Gentlemen, I don’t know what I think, am I right?”

After Muto Nobuyoshi said this, he paused and looked at the generals who gradually understood what he meant, and smiles gradually appeared on their faces. He raised his head and raised his voice:

"To be honest with you, I am also very unwilling to do so, because my term in the Kwantung Army is almost up, and I, like you, do not want to return to my hometown with any regrets. Another one is also the most critical one.

, I think the ministers and generals of the General Staff Headquarters and the Army Department were a little too hasty. They did not notice that the Chinese army had serious problems of declining morale and lack of confidence. Because the other side had achieved some victories, they ignored China.

There are many conflicts within the military factions. At the same time, they also ignore that the main force of the Central Army of the Nanjing government is fighting an increasingly fierce civil war with the Communist Red Army in their yard. They also ignore that it will take another week for the main force of the Anjia Army to reach Pingjin.

A division simply cannot enter the Eastern Front battlefield within three days. Therefore, there is still a huge opportunity in front of us, and this opportunity will still exist at least within three days."

The generals in the hall were ecstatic, and Muto Nobuyoshi raised his hand to ask everyone to be quiet: "Gentlemen, the reason why I decided to fight a war at the risk of offending the ministers in the country is entirely because if I win this battle, it will affect the next step.

The negotiations will be more favorable, which will put greater pressure and panic on the Chinese government and military, add a heavy weight to our negotiations, and may further intensify the conflicts between the Chinese military.

Also, the reason for fighting this battle is to declare to the world the noble honor and tenacity of our heroic Kwantung Army, which will allow us to finally look down on the humble Chinese with pride and come to negotiate. The last point is also the most selfish.

One point... Dear gentlemen, I am getting old and my health is getting worse day by day. I don’t want to slowly die in pain with a regret that I shouldn’t have, so I want to ask you to help me..."

"General——"

"Give the order, General!"

….

Muto Nobuyoshi bent down deeply and saluted the generals in the hall. The generals all bent down, choked with sobs and almost knelt down to beg Muto Nobuyoshi not to do this.

Muto Nobuyoshi slowly straightened his back, staring at the generals and subordinates who were so excited and bursting into tears with moist eyes, and finally nodded to Koiso Kuniaki and whispered an order:

"Oiso-kun, launch the No. 3 combat plan immediately... Gentlemen, let us work together. For the Kwantung Army, for the Empire of Japan, and for the Emperor, we must use the most powerful force to break through within twenty-four hours.

The Great Wall of China that will last for thousands of years!”

"Hey Yi——"

In the early morning of the 26th, a Junkers transport plane left Baoding Qingyuan Airport and took off slowly, smoothly sending the Supreme Commander of the Chinese Army, Chiang Kai-shek, into the blue sky and flying to Kaifeng.

He Yingqin, chairman of the Peking Military Commission, Yang Jie, commander of the Central Army Corps, An Yi, former enemy commander-in-chief and commander of the Fifth Army Corps, Huang Shaohong, chief of staff, and other generals walked to the parking lot under the command tower together. They all had different expressions and were worried. Only

General He Yingqin, who was entrusted by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, walked briskly and calmly with a smile on his face.

At this moment, Lin Fei, captain of the 12th Aviation Group, suddenly rushed over from the duty room and shouted "Commander An" while running. An Yi immediately stopped and turned around to wait. Yang Jie and Huang Shaoxian had a premonition that there was an emergency.

situation, they quickly gathered around An Yi.

Lin Fei, who was out of breath, had no time to report, so he reached out and handed over the urgent message: "Commander, Lengkou... General Shang Zhen's Lengkou has been lost..."

"What?"

An Yi was shocked and read hurriedly. Yang Jie and Huang Shaohong were extremely shocked, looked at each other, and quickly ran to their cars.

He Yingqin had just opened the car door and was about to get into the car. He heard the sound of rapid footsteps. He looked back and saw that everyone was so rude. He quickly asked Yang Jie, who was not far away and was about to get in the car, what was wrong?
Chapter completed!