The situation in Gao'an suddenly changed. The 106th Division sent two telegrams less than half an hour before and after. First, they requested to send troops to participate in the encirclement and annihilation battle, and then they asked for reinforcements. They also made clear suggestions to give priority to the enemy's artillery in Gao'an City. This Okamura Neiji and Yoshimoto Teiji were overjoyed and then surprised. Yoshimoto quickly sent a message to inquire about the specific battle situation. However, it took a full quarter of an hour before they received a call back. The call back was simple, but it made both of them horrified after reading it. Frightened, Okamura even cursed angrily: "Idiot, Nakajima made a mistake."
The content of the reply was very simple. It only showed that the 106th Division was determined to fight to the death. Normally, if his subordinates were so brave and fearless, Okamura would probably send a text message to encourage them and reward them, so as to strengthen their determination. But now, things Regarding the entire war situation, Nakajima's answer was no different from evading responsibility. No wonder he became furious. He immediately asked Yoshimoto Sadji to find Yokoyama Isamu and said to the two of them: "I originally thought Nakajima Jingcun We will definitely be able to capture Gao'an. In that case, as long as we can keep the road to the north open, we can fight Ouyang Yun's main force. Even if we lose, we can safely evacuate to the occupied area. But now,..." shook his head. , the old Japanese stared at the Nanchang County area on the map unwillingly, and said in a deep voice: "We can only look at the performance of the East Route Army. Mr. Hengshan, let the soldiers stop digging trenches, and let everyone take the time to rest and accumulate strength. Maybe they won't be needed." Soon there will be more intense battles to be fought.”
Yokoyama Yong lowered his head and responded,
Yoshimoto Sadashi thought about it and said, "What should we do over there in Gao'an? If a large group of soldiers reinforce it, I'm afraid it won't be enough."
"I can't control that much anymore. Since Nakajima has made a plan to kill everyone, let them fight to the death. Maybe they can find a way out." Okamura probably didn't even believe what he said. So when he spoke, his expression was lonely and self-deprecating,
The Battle of Nanchang started just over a week ago, and the two sides clashed no more than ten times. However, no matter whether it was the 33rd Division of Shigetaro Amami, the West Route Army, or the East Route Army, they were suppressed by the Xuebing Army and suffered defeat everywhere. This made Okamura and others feel seriously aggrieved. The Suzuki Haramatsu Division of the 17th Division encountered a setback when they forcibly crossed the Xiushui River. Yokoyama Isamu was still unconvinced at first. However, as he personally commanded the battle, he became increasingly frustrated. He was almost swallowed by the water of the Xiushui River. As arrogant as he was, he finally realized that the Xuebing Army was different from any Chinese army he had encountered before, and he began to attach great importance to it.
Today's battle during the day had a greater impact on Isamu Yokoyama. As a rather conceited lieutenant general, he could only drive and run wildly when facing the weak Chinese army. This shame was really worse than killing him. Feeling extremely sad, Yokoyama Isamu investigated the cause of all this. After several hours of suffering, he finally came up with a self-righteous answer. He looked at Okamura and said: "Your Excellency, this is not the first time I have interacted with the Chinese army. In combat, the Xuebing Army is definitely the most tenacious enemy I have ever encountered, but I am absolutely convinced that this is not the main reason why we are so passive. Your Excellency, I thought about it seriously and suddenly realized that for this battle, we are prepared to The information is not sufficient, and I feel ashamed. Until now, I still don’t know how big our enemy is, what kind of weapons and equipment they have. I have insufficient intelligence, and I don’t have artillery or tank troops that can match the enemy. Your Excellency, this is The battle was not unjust."
Okamura's brows tightened. He stared at Hengshan with a sullen look on his face and asked, "What exactly do you want to say?"
"What..." Okamura was furious and shouted: "You said retreat, we retreat, what will happen to the East Route Army? The Chinese have blocked Yongxiu and Pan Yang, and Yingtan and Shangrao in the east are their territory. , If we retreat, the Eastern Route Army will be completely destroyed, Bage, Hengshan Yong, are you so afraid of death?"
The personalities of Okamura and Yokoyama are actually completely opposite to their current performances. Originally, Okamura was the calm type and Yokoyama Isamu was the impulsive type, but now they are completely reversed.
"Sir, it's not a question of whether I'm afraid of death or not, but what's the value even if we die now? If we retreat, we can still retain some vitality for the 11th Army, but..."
Isamu Yokoyama was almost completely different from him when he first came to the 11th Army. This made Sadji Yoshimoto unable to stand it anymore. He said: "Your Excellency Yokoyama, have you lost the courage to fight in the First World War? East Road There are still 30,000 people in the army, and we have nearly 20,000 here. How many Chinese people can there be? If they can hold them to death, they can only have 50,000 people. But they are divided into five groups. I admit, the Chinese people have artillery and chariots. It is indeed powerful, but our military superiority is not a decoration. The reason why our Imperial Army of Japan is known as the second strongest army in the world depends on it. Isn't it soldiers armed with the spirit of Bushido." At this point, he said Turning to Okamura, he said: "Sir, I do not agree to retreat. I think the best way at the moment is to get in touch with Mr. Yamamuro immediately, then attack from the east and west, and take a gamble with the Chinese."
Hengshan Yong shook his head when he heard this. A voice in his heart said: Take a big gamble. Do you have the capital to gamble with others? The strength advantage. In the face of artillery and tanks, the so-called strength advantage is just an increase in casualties. The first Great Wall Great victory, how could we defeat an army of 750,000 with 35,000 troops? Isn’t it just relying on aircraft, artillery and tanks? But now, this situation has been reversed. Although I think so in my heart, looking at Okamura Neji's face was so cold that he didn't say it,
Okamura's eyes focused on the map again, and he suddenly said: "Is it possible that the main force of the student army east of the Lion Gate has already gone to sneak attack on the Eastern Route Army. The so-called China Chariot Sneak Attack Force was originally Their Chinese chariots were extremely fast, and the Ganjiang River was frozen and turned into a smooth road. They could completely bypass it from the lower reaches. Or, perhaps, these were simply the enemy forces on the Yongxiu side. Judging from Ouyang Yun's consistent marching style. , He likes to take risks the most." After saying that, he looked up at Yoshimoto and Hengshan, with a look of expectation on his face,
Gibbon immediately agreed: "It's very possible."
Yokoyama Isamu sighed in his heart and said decisively: "This possibility is not impossible. If you really want to do this, then I will lead the team as a forward." After saying that, he bent towards Okamura and lowered his head. ,
Okamura was happy to see Isamu Yokoyama's attitude. He stepped forward, slapped him hard on the shoulder, and said loudly: "Then, please do everything."