Chapter 1305 Changing people is like changing knives!
February 26, 1939!
It has been nine months of cold winter and it is about to usher in the early spring. Pingbei City, a large city in northern China, is still cold and windy, and there are only a few people walking on the streets!
Perhaps it's not just the cold weather and the fact that people who have been struggling to survive under Japanese rule for more than a year are reluctant to go out, but it's also the sudden increase in vigilance in Pingbeicheng since the past two days.
There were at least twice as many Japanese soldiers and security forces patrolling the streets as there were the previous two days. When they met a few pedestrians, they would usually come forward to check their IDs. Those who did not have IDs would be beaten and kicked by the security troops, who would take them away and imprison them.
Relatives should bring the crime money and personal identification documents to the Public Security Army to pick up the person.
It goes without saying that this is a big move by the Japanese North China Front Army, or a big shot is coming. The military commander's spies in Pingbeicheng invariably set their sights on the Japanese North China Front Army Headquarters!
In the small conference room of Japan's North China Front Army Headquarters, four people were sitting in Banban.
There were General Sugimoto, the commander of the front army, Lieutenant General Saburo Miyamoto, the chief of staff of the front army, Lieutenant General Itagaki Shiro, the commander of the Japanese Third Army, and a Japanese army lieutenant general with a stern face and droopy eyes, showing a bit of cruelty.
Obviously, this is an extremely high-level military meeting. Shanshan Yuan and the other three alone are already Japan's top military decision-makers in North China.
But even Army General Shan Shanyuan still sat at the bottom of the conference table instead of taking the main seat. This was the first time in the more than half a year since Shan Shanyuan arrived in China.
Sitting on the main seat was a 70-year-old man with a big belly and an old face.
Facing the old man who was over seventy years old and sitting in the main seat, the current commander of the North China Front, General Shan Shanyuan, had a stiff expression on his face.
Perhaps, if it were anyone else who knew that he was leaving the position of commander of the front army to become an education director, he would not be in a good mood.
After the "New Year's Day Offensive" was thwarted, Shan Shanyuan already knew that his time in China had begun to count down, but he did not expect that the base camp would be so disrespectful that he could not wait to transfer him out in less than two months.
If it were anyone else, he, the former minister of the army, would not look down upon the person who came to announce the order of the base camp, but even he did not dare to offend the old man in front of him.
Prince Kanin Miyahito, the uncle of His Majesty the Emperor, was promoted to marshal 20 years ago and is currently the Chief of Staff of the Japanese Army. He is the de facto head of the Japanese Army. Every important order in the war of aggression against China was personally signed by him.
Facing such a person, Shanshan Yuan can only show obedience.
"Yuanjun, can you tell me why the war situation in North China has become so difficult?" The old man in military uniform asked straight to the point.
"Your Excellency, the Chinese Second War Zone has accumulated heavy troops in North China, and behind it is the Yellow River chasm, which they call the last line of defense. They can only fight to the death, thus erupting with astonishing combat effectiveness. This is something neither Itagaki-kun nor I can do."
I didn't expect it, so I suffered this setback!" Shan Shanyuan could only lower his head and answer.
But Shanshan Yuan is not a fool. Even when facing the top figure in the army, he admits that he has a problem and at the same time pulls out Shiro Itagaki, the designated frontline commander of the base camp, with a gun and a stick. The subtext is clearly that here
But not only my pot, the base camp and Itagaki Shiro are the main ones.
Shiro Itagaki, who stood straight and straight, did not move, but his lowered eyelids blocked the flash of fierce light.
"Yuanjun, don't put all the blame on the base camp. I just made it very clear. I'm not just referring to the so-called New Year's Day Offensive, but the entire North China War." The old man had no intention of giving face to the army general.
He said it bluntly.
"The original strength of the North China Front is 330,000. In the past year alone, how many imperial officers and soldiers have been added to the North China Front? More than 130,000. Does that mean that the North China Front has been killed in battle and had to be forced to due to injuries in the past year?
The number of people who have retired has reached 5 divisions?
Do you think this responsibility should be shouldered by the headquarters or by His Majesty the Emperor himself?"
Shan Shan Yuan's face turned livid after what he said, but he was unable to refute.
Although half of the blame had to be shouldered by the guy in the house shroud, he, the commander of the North China Front at the time, had no choice but to carry it.
The year 1938 could be called the Waterloo of Japan's North China Front. The two elite divisions dispatched by the Taierzhuang Front suffered losses of more than 20,000 people; in the Battle of Licheng in April, more than 10,000 people were stolen by the Chinese;
When he took over as commander in May, he planned an eight-sided siege in southeastern Shanxi, which ended with the annihilation of a mixed brigade and a rising army major general by the Chinese;
In September, the Chinese took the lead in launching a counterattack in eastern Shanxi. They tried their best to attack the east and attack the west, but they failed again. Not only did they lose tens of thousands of people, but they also took the lives of an army lieutenant general and two major generals.
My life is gone;
The New Year's Day Offensive, which was carried out with all the energy, was beaten into disgrace, with an overall loss of more than 60,000 people, almost equal to the Battle of Central China.
But one is that both sides have invested no more than four to five million troops, and the other is that both sides have invested more than one million troops. They are not on the same level at all.
Seeing that Shan Shanyuan lowered his head and stopped beeping, the old man's tone became softer: "I remember last year when Mr. Indoors resigned, Mr. Yuan, I told you before you took office, don't underestimate this ancient country. This country has many things that we can't reach.
This is our best opportunity to inherit our civilization. Once we miss it, we may never be able to conquer them again.
It's a pity, Mr. Yuan, that you are still like those people, still stuck in the glory of the Imperial Army that easily took away the three eastern provinces and easily knocked on the door of North China.
I am here to serve as the Director of Education. I hope you will learn a lesson and live up to His Majesty the Emperor’s trust!”
"Hi! Shan Shanyuan will live up to His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Prince's great trust!" No matter how tough Shan Shanyuan is, seeing that the boss has already given him a step, he hastily steps down the hill.
Although the Director of Education does not have as high a position as the Commander of the Front Army, he is still in charge of the empire's military education. If he meets the opportunity, he may be able to make a comeback. Now if he is arguing with the Army Chief of Staff, he might even lose this position, like
The unlucky boy in the shroud indoors had some sort of sinecure as a military counselor.
"Yuanjun, although you made mistakes when you were in office, you are still a person who has a clear understanding of the war situation. Both Duo Tianjun and I want to hear your opinions on the war situation in China." Seeing Shanshan Yuan's submission, the old man showed a smile.
"This" Shan Shanyuan hesitates slightly.
"But it doesn't matter. The reason I came to China this time is to listen to the opinions of you frontline commanders and suggest adjustments to His Majesty the Emperor.
The current international situation is urgent, and the German Empire is on the verge of firing at their feud at any time. His Majesty the Emperor and their head of state's emissary have already contacted each other several times, and we may have a few more powerful enemies at any time.
We can only and must end the Chinese battlefield as soon as possible. The empire's goal is not just here, but the entire continent, and even the other side of the ocean." The old man's face became serious, and his eyes were full of ambition.
"The empire's military fortune is prosperous!" Several Japanese generals showed joy on their faces, including Shan Shanyuan, who was feeling sad just now.
The more troops the empire uses, the more opportunities these army generals will have to be reused, and the wealth they will gain will be greater. The success of the family depends on the empire.
"The empire has invested nearly one million troops in China, including the Central China Front Army and the North China Front Army. They launched attacks on the interior of China from the north and south lines respectively. It seemed to be a two-line attack, so the Chinese side had to divide its forces to fight.
, weakening its investment in a certain direction.
However, after more than a year of fighting on the battlefield, in fact, due to organizational problems and generals' different judgments of the battle situation, the two front armies basically worked independently and were unable to form the joint force previously envisioned by the base camp.
Just like in September last year, our North China Front Army planned to mobilize divisions to increase troops for the Central China War based on instructions from the base camp. Our North China Front Army Headquarters needed to communicate with the Central China Front Army Headquarters via telegrams at the chief of staff level, and then handed over to the staff of the staff to make tactical arrangements.
Finally, the order was sent to the division headquarters, but the efficiency was appallingly low.
In the Battle of Taierzhuang, the detachments dispatched by the 5th and 10th Divisions collapsed, which is not unrelated to this inefficient communication." Shan Shanyuan began to talk.
"What's your opinion, Yuanjun?"
"I suggest that a China Expeditionary Forces General Headquarters be established, with independent corps under its jurisdiction, to uniformly command operations within China." Shan Shanyuan continued, ignoring the suddenly ugly look on the face of the cold-faced and brutal Army Lieutenant General.
As the Deputy Secretary of the Army, the President of Army University, and the deputy of Prince Kanin Miyahito, this man arrived in North China, didn’t he just want to take over his position as the commander of the North China Front! Shan Shanyuan put a stumbling block for him before leaving, and he didn’t do anything.
psychological burden.
"This old dog must die a good death!" In his heart, the Japanese Army Lieutenant General hated the Shan Shan Yuan in front of him to his core.
His appointment as commander of the North China Front hadn't even been announced yet. Shan Shanyuan, who was about to leave office and return to his homeland in despair, gave him a hard deal that would have made anyone else scold him.
"Well! Yuanjun, what you said is exactly what I want. Before I came here, I discussed with His Majesty the Emperor the issue of reorganizing the organizational structure of China's two major front armies. The base camp is far away from home, and the exchange of information in coordinating the two major front armies is too slow.
Fighter planes are often fleeting, so how can they tolerate such inefficiency?
It is imperative to establish the China Expeditionary Forces Headquarters!" Compared to the dissatisfaction that had surfaced on the surface of his subordinates, the old man nodded with satisfaction.
