"Today's situation in North China" Xiangyue Qingshi's hand holding the teacup paused, and he turned his gaze to Shan Shanyuan who was smiling slightly.
"Mr. Qingshi, it doesn't matter. You are the number one general in our front army and have tens of thousands of elite soldiers under your command. I will give priority to your opinion." Shan Shanyuan picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.
"I'll tell you straight away." Xiangyue Qingshi's eyes flashed with determination.
He knew that this was not his last chance, but it was also an opportunity to become a reliable candidate.
The last one in the ranking was summoned by the new commander. It was the one who beat him and expressed his dissatisfaction with the conflict he had with him during his tenure in the indoor shroud. This is a risk in the eyes of ordinary people, but risks often also indicate opportunities.
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Not getting along well with the previous commander is itself an opportunity. The new leader will never reuse someone who is too close to the previous commander. This has been true at all times and in all countries.
"In the Battle of Xuzhou, our army did not achieve the previously set strategic goals. More than 600,000 Chinese participated in the war, and 500,000 of them finally managed to escape. Our army was not able to kill its elites on a large scale as expected, which led to the next steps of our army.
The strategy of conquering Central China will be very difficult." Xiangyue Qingshi did not talk about North China directly, but instead returned the topic to the Xuzhou battlefield that had just concluded.
Shanshan Yuan's eyes narrowed, but he did not interrupt this seemingly irrelevant answer.
Although Xiangyue Qingshi is only a lieutenant general, he started from the lowest level of second lieutenant and served successively as commander of the regiment, commander of the brigade, and commander of the Guards Division. The "infantry tactics" he proposed are extremely famous in the entire Imperial Army.
If you have the ability, do you have the strength to compete with the indoor shroud?
"Under such a war situation, the General Staff Headquarters may change back to the old strategy. The East China Front Army will continue to march towards central China, while our North China Front Army will focus on northern China. After completely conquering the north, we will then attack the northwest and southwest." Xiang Yue Qingshi.
continued.
"Mr. Qingshi, please continue." Shan Shanyuan nodded, but there was a trace of appreciation in his hidden eyes.
He didn't have many interactions with this army lieutenant general, but this man's ability to explain the strategic plan that was still under discussion at the General Staff Headquarters fully demonstrated that Xiangyue Qingshi's ability to become the commander of the First Army was no fluke, and he was very capable.
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That's right, when the Battle of Xuzhou was coming to an end, several senior military officials knew that there was no winner or loser in this battle in the ordinary sense. China had saved people and lost territory, and the Empire had gained territory and lost people, but everything had been gained.
There are benefits, but there are also pains.
From a strategic perspective, both sides are actually losers!
After the General Staff Headquarters reported to His Majesty the Emperor, they received instructions from the emperor to re-understand the Chinese battlefield and not to underestimate that country that was weak but still a behemoth. It was against this background that the dignified Army Minister came to personally serve as the front army.
Commander.
Before Sugamimoto set off, the voice within the General Staff Headquarters of "returning to walking on two legs and attacking China from two directions" once again gained the upper hand.
"Today, the focus of our North China Front Army is still on China's important northern province - Jin Province! Only by conquering China's northern barrier and opening up the connection point between Jinshan and Lu Province can our Front Army cross the Yellow River and enter the Guanzhong Plain.
It will then threaten Sichuan Province, one of its inland granaries, and the vast northwest, and it can also enter Hubei Province to help the friendly forces conquer Central China." Xiangyue Qingshi was encouraged and no longer held back, and finished his opinion in one breath.
"Eh! If I remember correctly, Admiral Indoors also said an almost similar strategy two months ago, but Qingshi-kun, you openly opposed Admiral Indoors's strategy at the high-level combat meeting attended by the division commander, and said
It was proposed that there are many mountainous areas in Jin Province, which is not conducive to the march of the army, and the Yellow River is crossing the natural chasm to the south. The East China Front Army should join forces to conquer northern Jiangsu, then attack the Central Plains with heavy troops, and then take a detour to attack the Guanzhong Plain." Shanshan Yuan couldn't help but be curious.
Xiangyue Qingshi's blatant dissent made everyone in the military know that one of Indoor Shroud and Xiangyue Qingshi was the commander of the North China Front Army, and the other was the commander of the First Army of the North China Front Army, which was almost equivalent to the military's third
The relationship between one person and the second person turned out to be a red-faced quarrel in front of more than a dozen military generals, and it was almost a public quarrel, which caused a headache for Yuan Shanshan, who was the Minister of the Army.
But regarding the strategic views of the two men, each has its own fans.
Jin Province has too many mountains. The Taihang Mountains and Zhongtiao Mountains are all medium-sized mountains. It is difficult to transport even 100mm heavy artillery, let alone tanks.
It took the Imperial North China Front Army just over a month to conquer Pingjin, but it took almost half a year to conquer Jin Province. As a result, more than 60,000 officers and soldiers were lost in the battle, and there are still 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese troops lingering in the mountains of southeastern and southwest Shanxi.
The front army has not yet seen the shadow of the Yellow River from Jin Province, let alone invaded the fertile Guanzhong Plain.
But if we follow what Xiang Yue Qingshi said and attack Shaanxi Province in a detour, any commander will have a headache just by looking at the arc of more than a thousand kilometers on the map.
The officers and soldiers of the empire are not made of iron. They also have to eat and drink. The empire’s logistics support has never been a strong point. The long logistics line runs through almost the entire war zone. The resistance of the Chinese in the occupied areas has never stopped, including the seven-year-old occupation.
There are still rebels in the three eastern provinces, so it is very likely that the result will be half the result with twice the effort.
"At this time and at the same time, I opposed the strategic direction of His Excellency General Indoor Shroud because our army was encircling Xuzhou. If we could annihilate China's elite 600,000-strong army in one fell swoop, it would be difficult for China to organize such a large-scale army again in the short term.
The army, our army will also be able to crush the central China area with overwhelming force, so there will naturally be no worries about logistics.
But now the Battle of Xuzhou has not met the expectations of the base camp, and the battle will continue to last, so our North China Front Army must not wait and wait, and it is imperative to gather heavy troops to conquer Shanxi Province." Old Xiangyue Qingshi's face blushed slightly, but he still explained calmly.
road.
"Haha! Okay, Mr. Qingshi, your idea coincides with mine." After listening to Xiangyue Qingshi's explanation, Shanshan Yuan burst into laughter.
With a gentle slap in the face, a woman took out a map from the room and spread it on the square table between the two of them.
"Mr. Qingshi, do you know that this time when I summoned all the generals to meet, the vast majority of them were concerned about the difficulty of the war in Jin Province. There will never be more than three of you who are so firm in saying that they will conquer Jin Province."
Yuan Shanshan smiled and held out three fingers.
"Your Excellency, Commander, why don't you let me guess who the other two are?" Seeing Shan Shanyuan's happiness, Xiang Yue Qingshi couldn't help but joke.
"Okay! I'll see if Mr. Qingshi can find someone with similar interests." Shanshan Yuan probably also wants the atmosphere between the two to be more harmonious.
"One is Lieutenant General Itagaki." Xiangyue Qingshi looked like he had a pearl of wisdom in his hand.
"Yes, Lieutenant General Itagaki is a famous general in the empire. He is not afraid of the dangerous mountains in Jin Province, but this candidate is not difficult to guess." Shanshan Yuan nodded.
"The other one, I guess." Xiangyue Qingshi smiled. "It should be Chief of Staff Okabe!"
"Huh? Qingshi-kun, why do so many heroes not mention it, but only Saburo-kun?" Shanshan Yuan didn't say yes or no, but was extremely curious.
However, his reaction let Xiangyue Qingshi know that he was right.
"Chief of Staff Okabe is actually a very thoughtful person, but His Majesty the Indoor Shroud General is too arbitrary, covering up his light. I believe that with his eyes, he will not fail to see the current situation in North China, no matter how difficult it is,
As long as Jin Province is conquered and this important barrier is lost, the northern region of China will be completely under the control of our army." Xiangyue Qingshi explained his reasons.
Of course he would not say clearly that Saburo Okabe was an ambitious man and had long been dissatisfied with the position of chief of staff of the regional front army. Only by conquering Jin Province and occupying the entire northern China as soon as possible could he add a glorious touch to his resume and be transferred to an important position as soon as possible.
From this perspective, Saburo Okabe should be the person who most actively promoted the war in Shanxi Province.
"Haha, Mr. Sanlang may have never dreamed that the person who understands him best is you, Mr. Qingshi. If he knew, he would definitely treat you to a good drink, Mr. Qingshi!" Shanshan Yuan listened to Xiangyue Qingshi and turned a man who was eager for military exploits.
The reason why he wanted to be promoted was so fresh and refined that he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.
The world of adults is not easy for Baga. He has to speak in roundabout ways. If he hadn't been wallowing in officialdom, it would really not be so easy for him to understand.
However, this is all a trivial matter to Shanshan Yuan. Back then, he was working so hard to climb up!
Even in order to be promoted, while serving as Army Undersecretary, he formulated the "Outline of Strategies for Solving the Manchuria and Mongolia Issues", which clearly stipulated the principles, steps and measures for Japan's invasion of Northeast China. Only by launching a war can soldiers be taken seriously.
He has always been very calm.
Sitting back and watching the struggle between the "Imperial Road Faction" and the "Regulatory Faction", and finally reaping the benefits of becoming the deputy chief of staff and concurrently serving as the president of Army University, this was also the most exciting moment of Yuan Shanshan's political career.
Shanshan Yuan is not afraid of his subordinates being ambitious, but afraid of their lack of ability and responsibility. Now it seems that he has found at least three generals who can be used.
The Chief of Staff of the Front Army has openly surrendered, and the empire's famous generals have also tacitly obeyed. If Xiang Yue Qingshi, the first-level general under the Front Army, also kneels down and sings the song of conquest, then he may be able to start the first of the three fires of his new official's appointment.
A good start.
Yes, if the newly appointed Shanshan Yuan cannot quickly make some moves and gain something, what will His Majesty the Emperor, who is paying attention to the battlefield in China, think of him? The marshal's cane is waiting there for him to get it when he returns home!
Quickly conquer Jin Province and complete the indoor shrouds that have not been completed for half a year. The clothes have been decided before taking office. The reason why I asked Xiangyue Qingshi was to see how good his eyesight is. If he even has this ability,
No, it’s better to get out as soon as possible.
Now it seems that it is still useful, especially since he still has two master regiments with more than 50,000 troops under his command. If he uses it well, he may be able to surprise him.
"Sanlang-kun is very good. I have heard many people talk about it in the Army Ministry. However, he has no experience in leading a division. His qualifications are still relatively young and he still needs experience. On the other hand, Qingshi-kun, you have served as a division commander for many years and have served in combat operations."
He has rich experience, and in the Battle of Peking and Tianjin, he even defeated the Chinese army of 100,000 troops, which is a rare example in the history of the Imperial Army!" Shanshan Yuan said with a smile.
Look at people, listen to their words, and listen to their voices. Upon hearing Yuan Shanshan say this, Xiangyue Qingshi was ecstatic in her heart. She suddenly stood up from the futon, with tears in her eyes, and nodded heavily: "Your Excellency, Commander, thank you for your recognition of your position.
I have nothing to repay for my position, but I am willing to go through fire and water for the sake of the sword in the hands of Your Majesty the Commander, and I will do whatever it takes to get my brains in trouble!"
"Mr. Qingshi, I'm serious. You and I are both subjects of the empire and ministers of His Majesty the Emperor. It is the responsibility of ministers to open up new territories for the empire." Shan Shanyuan had a strong smile on his face, but he waved his hand to let himself know.
Xiangyue Qingshi, who was moved to tears by one sentence, sat down.
How can a person not be a monster when he is in the officialdom! This performance of crying and laughing is almost a must-have skill, but Xiangyue Qingshi's ability to bring tears to his eyes without the stimulation of onions is also considered a skill.
Cultivate your natural skills!
It made Shanshan Yuan almost feel that he had the "bastard spirit" aura of the protagonist. Fortunately, he was also an old monster of the same level.
He understands these!
But no matter what, they are determined to hug his lap, there is no doubt about this.
"But the battle in Jin Province is easy to say, but if we really fight, the mountains with an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, the dangerous terrain, and the Chinese people hiding in the poor mountains and rivers are indeed obstacles to the imperial army! I don't know how many imperial warriors will sacrifice
Their precious lives!" Shanshan Yuan turned his attention to the map that had been laid out.
Wherever the red arrows point, there are lofty mountains. Regardless of the actual terrain, just looking at the map makes your head hurt. Fighting in this kind of terrain, the advantage of the North China Front's heavy artillery is basically gone, and it can only rely on
Air power supplements the ground, but planes can't fly in the sky all the time, right?
"Your Excellency, Commander, there are no dead in war. Fighting in that kind of terrain will weaken the Empire's heavy firepower to a certain extent, but the Chinese will also have a difficult time. Our army has a sufficient number of infantry artillery, mountain field artillery and Type 94 tanks.
It can be completely buried in the mountains of China, and it can also be used to frighten the remaining Chinese army. The mountains cannot be an obstacle to our imperial army, and all resistance will be useless.
Even if you have to pay a certain amount of sacrifice, you can annihilate the enemy army, deal a major blow to the enemy's morale, and pave the way for our front army's follow-up battlefield. In my opinion, it is all worth it." Xiangyue Qingshi said with a ferocious face.
For this soldier, the death of a soldier in battle is as important as his military exploits.
"Then why did Mr. Qingshi teach me how to fight in this battle in Jin Province?" Shan Shanyuan's eyes flashed and he asked in a deep voice.
Xiangyue Qingshi was refreshed. He knew that the real test was coming. Only by passing this level could he be truly accepted by this person.
"Now the Chinese army has formed a defense line around Linfen, the last big city in Jin Province. Only by conquering this big city, the Chinese army in Jin Province will no longer have a big city to defend, so they can only retreat into the mountains. All logistical supplies will be delivered by Shaanxi Province.
The harm will be minimized.
Linfen is surrounded by mountains. If our troops want to attack, we can form a two-pronged attack from the southwest and southeast.
In the southwest, the Chinese army is dominated by the Jinsui Army and the Central Army. Although it has a large number of troops, its combat effectiveness is not to be feared. On the contrary, in the Taihang Mountains in the southeast, there are its 80th Group Army and the First Sichuan Army. The two units are equipped with
It is lagging behind and lacks firepower, but its soldiers are tenacious and extremely powerful in combat. Especially recently, an elite infantry regiment has been stationed among them. This unit has continuously inflicted heavy losses on many armies of our empire and is an enemy that our army should attach great importance to.
In my opinion, if you want to conquer Linfen, you must first attack the southeast!" Xiangyue Qingshi said decisively.
"Qingshi-kun, the infantry regiment you are talking about is called the Si Xing Regiment! I have seen the number of this infantry regiment several times in the battle report, but in this kind of battle involving tens of thousands of troops, a small army with only a few thousand people,
The effect is limited and should not be feared.
The 80th Army is a formidable enemy. This unit has gone through many battlefields, and the Chinese commander failed to eliminate them even after ten years, which shows their tenacity." Shanshan Yuan nodded.
"Mr. Qingshi, if I take you as the commander and lead a large army to attack the southeastern part of Shanxi to overcome the stubborn resistance of the enemy, do you have the confidence?" Shanshan Yuan suddenly raised his head and said with profound meaning.
"Before I came, His Majesty the Emperor had already set a one-year deadline with me. Time is not waiting for me!"
This sentence is a pun. It not only means that Yuan Shanshan must have an impeccable record within this year, but also means that he will be promoted and leave in a year. Who will give this vacant position to?
It is possible to parachute an army general, but it is also possible to promote him from within. As the commander of the First Army, Xiang Yue Qingshi, is the undisputed number one general of the North China Front, the opportunity is undoubtedly great.
Painting the pie is an essential skill for almost all leaders, and Shan Shanyuan is no exception.
The key is that this cake is so well drawn that it is difficult for Xiangyue Qingshi to refuse it, even though he knows that this cake is likely to be a mirror image.
At least, Shan Shanyuan's words gave Xiang Yue Qingshi a chance to be promoted to Army General.
"I will swear to the death to repay the kindness of Your Excellency, Commander." Xiang Yue Qingshi immediately stood up and bowed his head heavily.
"Haha, that's it, you and I have decided. Mr. Qingshi, please sit down. If you have any requests, you can make them." Shanshan Yuan smiled.
The two generals of the Japanese North China Front sat in the small courtyard and talked until the early morning.
In the distant mountains of Jin Province, a high-level combat meeting at the division commander level was held because of the Japanese change of generals.
The meeting was presided over by the Commander-in-Chief of the 80th Group Army.
One day ago, the Second War Zone issued a military order. The deputy commander of the Second War Zone and the Commander-in-Chief of the Eightyth Group Army will serve as the commander-in-chief of the Southeast Shanxi War Zone, and the commanders of each division will serve as the chairman of the subordinate staff department.
Colonel Tang Dao, the leader of the Fourth Army Regiment, serves as the deputy director of the staff department under the headquarters.
