Bright Sword: Bloody War of Resistance Chapter 812: Whoever conquers the Central Plains conquers the world; whoever conquers the outside world will gain the upper hand.
Chapter 812: Whoever conquers the Central Plains conquers the world; whoever conquers the outside world will gain the upper hand.
However, when he heard that Big Brother might send troops to the four northeastern provinces, he showed a little worry. The current relationship between the Eighth Route Army and Big Brother is quite ambiguous, or the interests are not unified.
The voices within the Eighth Route Army are also inconsistent. However, as the Communist Party's voice has gradually increased over the past few years, some discordant voices within the Army have weakened.
** insists that the Eighth Route Army must be independent and have a development strategy that suits its own national conditions, rather than one-sidedly obeying the remote command of Big Brother.
The relationship between the two sides is like a contradiction, with both cooperation and opposition. From time to time, Big Brother assists the Eighth Route Army with some weapons and equipment, but at the same time attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Eighth Route Army. He also used weapons assistance as a condition for the Eighth Route Army to dispatch its main force to Menggu.
area to reduce stress.
In the end, this matter was declined by the police, Big Brother's weapons assistance was also interrupted, and the relationship between the two parties became hot and cold.
** has an extremely thorough view of the situation. Once the overall international situation stabilizes, can it be left to its own people to decide where China will go?
At that time, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party may have to choose a camp for confrontation. What worries Mao most is that Big Brother will force the Eighth Route Army to agree to some conditions, which he does not want to see.
"Comrade Uyghur and Han, tell me what you think of the four eastern provinces!"
"The Eastern Fourth Province is a large granary, an industrial base, and a strategic choke point. The Japanese army first targeted the Eastern Fourth Province. Thirty years ago, the two sides fought for control of the Eastern Fourth Province!"
"To be honest, I have been collecting information about the four northeastern provinces. They have more than 1.3 million square kilometers of land and more than 38 million people. They are vast in territory, rich in products, and most importantly, they have developed industry and convenient transportation."
Even after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the four northeastern provinces still played a decisive role. Under the control of the Japanese army, the coal production of the four northeastern provinces accounted for 49% of the country's total, pig iron production accounted for 87% of the country's total, and steel production accounted for 90% of the country's total.
above.
There are more than 14,000 kilometers of railways and 100,000 kilometers of roads distributed in the four eastern provinces, accounting for more than half of the total length of railways and roads in the country.
Moreover, the four eastern provinces are vast and fertile, with an arable area of more than 32 million hectares, of which 55% is cultivated, and an annual grain output of more than 20 million tons.
"Since ancient times, whoever captures the Central Plains can capture the world, but now whoever captures the four eastern provinces has the upper hand!" Zhou Weihan said.
"But how could Mr. Jiang be willing to let the four eastern provinces fall into the hands of our Eighth Route Army?" A trace of fatigue flashed across **'s face, and then he lit another cigarette.
Many comrades in Yanzhou know the work and rest habits of the Communist Party. They often work in the middle of the night and go to bed after dawn. This habit has been maintained for decades.
Last year, high-level officials discussed issues related to the Dongsi Province. From a geographical point of view, the Dongsi Province is adjacent to Big Brother in the north, North Korea in the southeast, Jidong Base Area in the southwest, and Shandong Base Area across the sea.
Looking at each other.
"Chiang must have also targeted the four eastern provinces, but the main force of the national army is in the southwest or northwest. These national armies north of the Yellow River will not be able to make a difference. The closest to the four eastern provinces is our Eighth Route Army!"
"If we can establish base areas in the four northeastern provinces, we will not only have a strong foundation, but it will also be more convenient to contact Big Brother. On the other hand, if the four eastern provinces fall into the hands of the national army, what we will face in the future will be the formation of the national army from the north and south.
If you are surrounded by a pincer attack, you will be strategically passive!" Zhou Weihan said.
Of course Mao Zedong understood what Zhou Weihan said. In fact, in 1938, the Eighth Route Army had made moves to develop into the four eastern provinces.
At that time, the Eighth Route Army in Pingbei and Pingxi received orders from their superiors to respond to the Jidong riot planned by underground personnel. Unfortunately, due to various reasons, their success fell short, and the main force had to return to Pingxi.
If the Eighth Route Army could gain a firm foothold in eastern Hebei at that time, it might be able to open up a base area in eastern Hebei, Renan, western Liaoning and other places.
"To be honest, our strength at hand is not strong enough, so we have many worries. What you said about being strong first and leading later is right. It's good that you have this idea, but you will have a heavy burden when the time comes.
!" ** said and patted Zhou Weihan on the shoulder.
Let’s break down the major base areas of the Eighth Route Army. Although the Taihang base area is the site of the Fourth Battle, it is currently the strongest. The four subordinate military regions of Taihang, Tainan, Taiyue, and Jinan all hold one in their hands.
The main force that is capable of conquering and fighting is the one who emerged from the flames of war.
On the other hand, the Shandong base area has the best development prospects, but it lacks an opportunity to break the deadlock.
In this regard, Zhou Weihan also had two strategies, one conservative and the other radical. The choice should be determined according to the current situation.
The conservative plan is similar to the original history. The Eighth Route Army should still focus on defense at present, plan it slowly, and wait for changes in the situation.
Although the Eighth Route Army has considerable capital in North China and even has a slight advantage in some battlefields, the Kwantung Army entrenched outside the Pass is like a sharp sword hanging over the head of the Eighth Route Army and can swing its troops into the Pass at any time.
By then, the advantages accumulated by the Eighth Route Army step by step in the early stage will be gone, and the consequences will be disastrous. This is a conclusion that has long been concluded among the senior officials of the Eighth Route Army.
However, Zhou Weihan himself was inclined to a slightly radical direction. He advocated using offense instead of defense. Each Eighth Route Army base area should concentrate its efforts to clean up the Japanese counties or important strongholds entrenched in the base area, and connect several small base areas into one.
Afterwards, the advantage of the base area's troop sources can be used. Each secondary military region can upgrade the main force to a field force, the local basic force to the main force, and the guerrillas to a local basic force.
In this way, the field troops were freed from the task of garrisoning the defense area, concentrated to fight the Japanese army, and expand their base areas outwards.
However, the war is all about logistics. Zhou Weihan's strategy was formulated based on the Tainan Military Region and the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region. These two military regions have the capital and strength, so it is not difficult to implement them.
Other military regions may not have such strength, but Zhou Weihan believed that the Hebei, Shandong and Henan Military Region could take the lead in breaking the situation and strengthen the connection with the Shandong base area to the east.
Relying on the current strength of the North China Expeditionary Force, if heavy troops cannot be mobilized for encirclement and suppression, a small number of troops will just serve as food supplies. If the main force of the Japanese army can be attracted, it can be regarded as giving other weaker bases an opportunity to compete.
As the saying goes, "Strengthen first and then strengthen." What the Eighth Route Army base areas in various places lack is an opportunity. Coupled with the successful development of the flying thunder cannon, the Eighth Route Army's ability to attack difficult problems will inevitably be greatly enhanced.
By then, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan base area can break through the Longhai Railway to the south, support the development of the Shandong base area to the east, and connect with the New Fourth Army in northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui in the east and southeast.