"Yes, company commander! Our Lao Jiao will definitely not discredit Sanlian! Jiao Litian hurriedly straightened up, saluted Feng Muhua, and said solemnly.

As early as the day before, General Zhang Zhizhong was appointed commander-in-chief of the Ninth Group Army by Chairman Chiang and commanded the 87th, 88th, and 36th Divisions and the 20th Independent Brigade of the 20th Independent Brigade, which had already left for Shanghai in advance, to attack the enemy in Shanghai by the Shanghai security forces and police corps.

General Zhang Fakui was appointed commander-in-chief of the Eighth Army, and led his troops to garrison near Hangzhou Bay to prevent Japanese troops from landing on Hangzhou Bay and protect General Zhang Zhizhong's flank.

After receiving the order, Sun Yuanliang, the commander of the 88th Division, directly advanced his troops along the Baoshan Road to the area of the Bazi Bridge on the Sino-Japanese armistice line.

On the Japanese side, after receiving the news that Japan was about to support Shanghai, the originally trembling marines also became emboldened, no longer like the previous one shy back, and also sent Captain Ito Shigeru to drive the troops to the area of the Bazi Bridge, and fought an encounter with the Chinese defenders.

However, since neither side received an official order to attack, they withdrew after a few blows. This day is the 13th of August. And this battle was the beginning of the Battle of Songhu.

However, they said that in Japan, after receiving the news of the Hongqiao Airport incident, the navy first stopped doing it, and they believed that the Chinese army's move was a serious insult and provocation to the Japanese navy, and advocated that the Chinese army should be sent to Shanghai immediately to teach the Chinese army a lesson.

However, after all, the strength of the navy is limited, and there are few marines, so if you want to deal with the tens of thousands of Chinese elite divisions in Shanghai, you still need to rely on the army.

However, those who are familiar with Japanese history know that the Japanese navy and army have always been unable to urinate in the same pot, and the navy is as anxious as ants on a hot pot.

At this moment, the Japanese admiralty was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, slapped the table and shouted: "The army does not send troops, we will do it ourselves!" "There is a tendency to pour out the essence of the navy and fight with the Chinese army in Shanghai.

After the Meiji Restoration, their national strength became stronger and stronger, and they could even compete with the European and American powers, which made them even more unable to recognize themselves.

The Japanese now have no one in their eyes, especially China, in their opinion, China is so weak and divided, and likes to fight itself, how can it be compared with Japan.

Now seeing that the Chinese actually dare to take the initiative to attack them, this is equivalent to a slap in the face in the international community, which is unacceptable to the always proud Japanese, so most people are clamoring for more troops in Shanghai to teach the Chinese army a lesson.

Of course, there are not no sober people, that is, Ishihara Wan'er, whom we mentioned earlier, was later called Japan's first soldier by the Japanese, and there is still something in the end.

He also advocated that even if there were more troops in Shanghai, the number of troops should not exceed those in North China, otherwise Japan would be bogged down in the quagmire of the Chinese war and would not be able to extricate itself.

Of course, at this time, no one in Japan listened to him anymore.

At 9 o'clock in the morning of 13 August, the giants of the Japanese navy and army held a "earnest talk" and decided to unite to jointly increase the number of troops in Shanghai, and a contract was signed at a cabinet meeting.

It is also an old Japanese tradition for the navy and the army to sign a contract before the war, because the navy and army of this country have always been unable to pee in the same pot, in order to prevent them from fighting each other in the war, they will be asked to sign a contract before the war, which states the obligations of both parties, so as to prevent them from passing the buck to each other on the battlefield.

After the decision was made to send troops, the next thing to consider was the issue of the commander, and according to the decision of the Japanese military department, two divisions of the Chinese dispatch army should be sent first. In Japan, divisions and regiments are strategic units, and if they are placed outside, they can act independently according to the actual situation without considering the orders of the Japanese military headquarters.

And if you want to command two divisions, you must have a respected person in command. According to Japanese practice, this person can be either a lieutenant general or a general.

However, Tada Jun, the new deputy chief of staff of the Japanese General Staff, strongly advocated sending a senior general to take command, and his reasons were also very sufficient: First, this operation was a multi-division operation, and the commander must be highly respected, and sending a senior general would have more weight than a lieutenant general.

Second, the purpose of this operation is to achieve a quick victory, and it is not like the last battle of Songhu, where four commanders were changed in a row, and the morale of the front-line officers and men was directly lost, which was like child's play.

Therefore, he advocated the appointment of a general as commander, and recommended General Matsui Ishone.

Since the Meiji Restoration, there have been only 26 people in Japan who are qualified to be generals, and Matsui Ishine is one of them. Matsui Ishine participated in the Russo-Japanese War when he was young, and his position at that time was squadron leader, he commanded flexibly, bravely and skillfully fighting, and fought very well, and was a well-known military star in Japan at that time. Prestige is definitely enough.

In addition, Matsui Ishine once served as a military attache in China, and he stayed in Shanghai for more than ten years, and he didn't need to look at the map to fight in Shanghai, and he became the most suitable person for all factors.

After Matsui Ishine took office, he felt that the strength of only two divisions, the Third Division and the Eleventh Division, was too thin, so he directly approached the Minister of War at the time, Sugiyama Moto, and asked for five divisions.

Matsui Ishone's move directly startled Sugiyama Moto, who asked him with a confused expression: "Why do you want so much?" ”

Matsui Ishine asked rhetorically, "How many troops do you think is enough?" ”

Frankly speaking, if Matsui Ishone really brought five divisions at once, it would be difficult to say that the Chinese army would be able to hold out for three months in the Battle of Songhu, and in this way, there would be much less time left for the Chinese government to transfer strategic resources such as industries and schools in Shanghai and other coastal cities, which would be very detrimental to China's long-term war of resistance.

It may be that God blesses China, but fortunately, the Japanese Minister of War at this time, Sugiyama Moto, actually made a mistake and said to Matsui Ishone: "At the beginning, the section chief Yongjin said that as soon as our army appeared at Dagukou, the Chinese army would immediately succumb. Now it seems that the situation is not so rosy. In this way, you bring two divisions over first, and if it is not enough, I will send it to you. ”

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