Xue Yue thought that it was impossible for the Japanese army to come out of the nest and give up the flank and back to the sixth theater of the national army, so he expected that Yokoyama Yong could use the strength of five divisions at most, and the most important thing was that he had fought against these main divisions of the Japanese eleventh army, especially in the third battle of Changsha, he almost gave three of the divisions a devastating blow, which in his opinion, the overwhelming advantage of the Japanese army in the past no longer exists, and the troops of the ninth theater are enough to be evenly matched and equal to them.

Sun Yumin also knew that Xue Yue would not take his advice to heart, because of the great victory in the Third Battle of Changsha and the Battle of Changde at the end of last year, which gave him blind confidence: The Sixth Theater can still inflict such a heavy blow on the Japanese army, and our Ninth Theater is full of the elite of the national army, and the Japanese army can do anything about me; The 58th Division can kill so many Japanese troops with one division, not to mention that there are dozens of divisions gathered in the 9th Theater, and the 58th Division in this battle is still transferred from our 9th Theater.

If you want Xue Yue to understand the seriousness of the matter, at present, it is really difficult and difficult, and Sun Yumin really doesn't have a good way. He could only borrow the example of the Battle of Changde to make a final persuasion, if Xue Yue was still stubborn, it would be helpless.

"Chief Xue, since Tsukada was killed in Anhui, after Isamu Yokoyama, who succeeded him as the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, took office, the Japanese army in Wuhan can no longer be viewed from the perspective of the previous two years." Although Sun Yumin's words are talking about devils, there is also a metaphor for the meaning of "one soldier bears, and one bears will be a nest", Xue Yue has not fought with Yokoyama Yong, so naturally he will not know that this Japanese lieutenant general who was born in civil engineering is not a little more powerful than his three predecessors, Kazuichiro Sonobe, Yuji Anami and Tsukada Attack. Isamu Yokoyama was born in Chiba Prefecture in northeastern Japan, the eldest son of Yokoyama Shinji Army Daisa, graduated from the Army Non-commissioned Officer School, and after returning from studying at the German Military Academy in 1927, he first served in the General Staff Headquarters of the Base Camp, was transferred to the Kwantung Army in 1932, and seven years later, on September 12, 1939, he was appointed as the commander of the 1st Division of the Kwantung Army. When he assumed the post of commander of the 1st Division, he was nearing the end of the Nomenkan Incident, and the crushing defeat of the 6th Army of the Kwantung Army gave him a deep shock and warning. At that time, he was faced not only with the defeat of friendly forces, but also with the rapid-fire artillery squadrons of the 1st Infantry Wing and the other 3 infantry wings, and suffered some wounds. Due to the bad results of this battle, the Japanese army did not dare to attack the Soviet army easily, and it also made Yokoyama Isamu always formulate the division's battle plan against the Soviet Union, train soldiers and improve the facilities for building forts in the Sun-Wu area. In October 1941, Isamu Yokoyama became the commander of the 4th Army of the Kwantung Army, the fourth in this position. On December 22, 1942, Isamu Yokoyama received an order to transfer to the south. This is also thanks to Sun Yumin's "assistance", it was his good brother Liu Wenzhi who shot down the plane of the commander of the 11th Army, General Tsukada Tsukasaki, and let the devil general die in Dabie Mountain, so that he had to take over as the commander of the 11th Army. Unlike the arrogance of Kazuichiro Sonobe, the rigidity of Yuki Anami, and the short-lived life of Tsukada Attack, Isamu Yokoyama has developed an extremely cautious and fierce temperament through his experience in the Kwantung Army, which can be seen from the Battle of Changde.

"Just one Yokoyama Yong can raise the combat effectiveness of the Eleventh Army to a higher level? Yumin, do you think it's possible? A contemptuous smile appeared on the corner of Xue Yue's mouth, he was not underestimating and ridiculing Sun Yumin, but disdain for this opponent who had not yet fought before.

"Yes!" Sun Yumin's answer was categorical, although he knew that Xue Yue was not actually inquiring about this sentence, but he still had to catch this question and analyze the battle of Changde to Xue Yue.

"The enemy who can be so praised by our victorious general, this Yokoyama must have something to offer, I would like to hear what you have to say." Xue Yue is not an extremely conceited person, which is why Sun Yumin is willing to persuade him.

"Chief Xue, you should still remember last year's Battle of Changde, right?"

"Of course, although this battle was fought by the Sixth War Zone, the troops participating in the battle were transferred from our Ninth War Zone, how could they not remember." Xue Yue has always complained about Chen Cheng, although he took over Chen Cheng's position as the commander of the Ninth Theater, and the troops used, including the Nineteenth Army and the Twelfth Army, are all troops of Chen Cheng's civil engineering department, and he should be grateful, but in addition to his lineage in the Ninth Theater, there are only two group armies left of the Sichuan Army Yang Sen and Wang Lingji, and Chen Cheng is now the commander of the Sixth Theater, but the elite troops of the Ninth Theater can actually be controlled by him, which makes Xue Yue, who is the commander of the Ninth Theater, embarrassed.

"We will not discuss the tactics of our national army, but just talk about the battle of Yokoyama Yong, which is different from the previous 11th Army." Xue Yue didn't want to mention Chen Cheng, and of course Sun Yumin wouldn't make such a low-level mistake.

"The reason why the Japanese army wanted to capture Changde was because Changde was the military, political, and economic center of the Xiangxi region, opposite Changsha in the east, and was the lifeblood of the Nationalist government's supply. After occupying Changde, Changsha and Hengyang can be monitored in the southeast, and eastern Sichuan can be taken into account in the west, becoming a strategic point enough to threaten Chongqing. Sun Yumin said: "Since the first Battle of Changsha, whether it is the commander of the Japanese Eleventh Army or the Japanese army base camp, I have never seen this, but the first major battle of Yokoyama Yong was to attack Changde, which shows that his strategic vision is extraordinary. ”

In fact, Yokoyama Yong's first battle in office was not the Battle of Changde, but the Battle of Western Hubei, but compared to the Battle of Changde, the popularity was not very high, and Sun Yumin deliberately chose to "omit" it.

Xue Yue didn't make a sound, nor did he have any expression, he was just quietly listening to Sun Yumin's narration.

"In the past, the Japanese army would rely on the excellent weapons and equipment, and advance layer by layer with the support of the air force and artillery, but in the Battle of Changde, Yokoyama Yong did not do this."

Sun Yumin's words aroused Xue Yue's interest, and he had also studied the Battle of Changde, but he did not find any difference from the previous battles.

"Before launching the war in Xiangxi, he first assembled the 40th Division and the 13th Division that had just been withdrawn from the war in western Hubei in Huarong, Shishou, and Lotus Chikou, and transferred the 39th Division, the 3rd Division, the 116th Division, and the 68th Division from Anqing, Jiujiang, Nanchang and other areas, and assembled them in Jiangling, Haoxue, Shishou, Jianli and other areas, and on the Yangtze River in Jianli and Shashi, Hubei, more than 30 ships were berthed, and a large number of motorboats and civilian boats were also prepared in Binhu River. And in the Wuhan area two flying squadrons, more than fifty aircraft. What Sun Yumin said was recorded in the post-war summary report, which was obtained by Dai Li's military commander from the Japanese, Xue Yue studied this report, and still had some impressions of these data, but he could never do it as easily as Sun Yumin.

"It's just a regular pre-war preparation, and it's not surprising that I'll do the same." Xue Yue finally said something.

"No, Chief Xue, you will prepare, and many generals will also do this work, but there are really few who can do it as carefully as Yokoyama Yong. Did you know that he has recruited and built thousands of civilian boats alone, that is to say, the strength of a division and regiment can all cross the lake and river in just two hours? Sun Yumin continued: "During the Third Battle of Changsha, the reason why the Japanese army suffered a crushing defeat was because of insufficient preparation, and the implementation of the Tianlu tactics to clear the field made it difficult for the Japanese army to move an inch, and a small Liuyang River blocked them for many days. ”

Sun Yumin's rhetorical question made Xue Yue silent again, he was a commander, and he was a senior soldier, how could he not understand what Sun Yumin had just said!

"Tactically, Isamu Yokoyama has also shown a different side of him. Although it seems to be the same as the tactics used by the Japanese army, they are actually very different. Sun Yumin got up and went to Xue Yue's desk to get the small military map, spread it on the coffee table in the reception area, and said: "He let the 39th Division and the 13th Division be the left flank, and directly take the main position of our 10th Group Army; With the 68th Division in the center, it directly interspersed between the junction of the two group army defense lines of our army, and attacked Cili; The 3rd Division on the right flank crossed the river under the nose of the 29th Army's defensive line and firmly pinned down the main force of Wang Zhangxu's army. ”

"Isn't this the same routine as the Battle of Changsha? The soldiers divided into three routes, and then sought to join the division. If there is any difference between them, it is that Yokoyama is brave enough to send a division of troops to penetrate deep alone, break through the joint of our army, and take Cili. Xue Yue watched Sun Yumin pointing at the map, and didn't notice how Yokoyama Yong's tactics differed from others.

"Chief Xue, which Japanese army is fighting out the 58th Division?" Sun Yumin asked rhetorically again.

"Iwanagawang's 116th Division." Xue Yue replied casually, but within a few seconds, he actually exclaimed: "116th Division!" ”

Among the Japanese army's three-way forces that Sun Yumin just talked about, there was no 116th Division, but in fact, it was this 116th Division that captured Changde and annihilated Yu Chengwan's entire army.

"The Japanese troops of the three routes fought before and after, on the surface, they wanted to take all of Xiangxi, but in fact, these three forces were just a pretense, and the actual goal of Yokoyama Yong was Changde!" Sun Yumin knocked twice on the map where Changde was located.

"Before the start of the war, the ships, motorboats, and civilian troops prepared by Isamu Yokoyama came in handy. The "surprise soldiers" he used to attack Changde, Yan Yongwang's 116th Division all crossed Dongting Lake by water, landed in the area of Lixian on the right flank of the 29th Group Army, and copied the 44th Army of our army on the one hand, and took Changde directly on the other hand. ”

"Isamu Yokoyama, this guy is too a chicken thief, if it weren't for your analysis like this today, I still wouldn't have understood, how could the 116th Division suddenly go around the right flank of the 29th Army, it turns out that they came from the water!" Xue Yue slammed his fist on the coffee table.

"That's right! Isamu Yokoyama is a very cunning opponent. Seeing that his analysis had worked, Sun Yumin finally showed a slight smile on his face, he said so much, just to make Xue Yue pay attention to the opponent of Yokoyama Yong.

"Yumin, do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

"The war is coming, and of course the consideration is how to deal with the opponent of Isamu Yokoyama."

Xue Yue's sudden question made Sun Yumin a little dazed, he actually didn't know Xue Yue very well, saying that he and He Yingqin had a nest of snakes and rats, but last time he would rather fall out with He Yingqin and them, and protect himself, but if he is a cautious and thoughtful person, it can be seen in many things that he is not considered for the time being.

"I'm wondering if Isamu Yokoyama will walk away with his tail between his legs after he fights with the troops of my Ninth War Zone." After Xue Yue said this, he actually laughed.

His attitude surprised Sun Yumin, who originally thought that what he said would make him cautious, but he didn't expect Xue Yue to treat such a dangerous opponent like this.

"Chief Xue......"

"Yumin, I know what you want!" Sun Yumin was interrupted by him before he could speak. "Even if, as you said, Yokoyama Yong is extremely cunning, but the Battle of Changde faced the troops of the Six War Zones, and he did not gain any benefits in the final result. Now it is not what it used to be, and we have the support of the Allied forces with weapons and equipment, and it is no longer a soft persimmon that the Japanese can pinch if they want to. He Hengshan bravely attacked my idea of the Ninth War Zone, and I, Xue, will definitely let him fail miserably! ”

Sun Yumin was really disappointed, and his painstaking persuasion not only did not make Xue Yue feel a trace of nervousness and worry, but made him add some blind confidence.

The scene of the bloody battle of the 58th Division of the Battle of Changde appeared in front of his eyes, and the image of Yokoyama Yong also rose in his mind, and then compared with Xue Yue's ignorant self-confidence now, he suddenly had a very bad premonition, maybe this battle will be the most cruel and difficult battle since he joined the army, his own 12th Army, his brothers, after this battle, how many people can be left. Maybe he should really take the troops out, even if he goes to the Sixth War Zone and goes to Chen Cheng's men, it will be much better than fighting in Hunan!

Maybe it's the sympathy between opponents, or maybe it's already doomed, when Sun Yumin and Xue Yue were talking, Yokoyama Yong, who was far away in Wuhan, was also meeting General Shunroku Hata, the commander of the Japanese Chinese Dispatch Army, who moved his headquarters to Wuhan and personally commanded him.

"Hengshan は、今回の1号作戦は、湖南が最も重要な一环で、あなたのelth Army の连覇のニュースを见ています." (Lieutenant General Yokoyama, Hunan is the most important part of the No. 1 battle plan this time, and I hope to see the news of your 11th Army's successive victories.) ）

"Your Excellency the Commander, 私はあなたをdisappointedさせません!" (Your Excellency the Commander, I do not return to Hunan 戦では、私は、広东の鉄道を由するだけでなく、中国军の最精鋭の二军と74军を壊灭させて、Sun Yumin と施の中の诚の血で戦不したeleven army のImperial warriors を祀ることになる。 You'll be disappointed! Yokoyama bowed ninety degrees, and said confidently: "今回の湖南戦では、私は、広东の鉄道を由するだけでなく、中国军の最精鋭の二军と74军を壊灭させて、Sun Yuminと施の中の诚の血で戦不したeleventh armyのImperial warriorを祀ることになる." (In this Hunan war, I will not only open up the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway, but also destroy the 12th and 74th armies, the most elite of the Chinese army, and use the blood of Sun Yumin and Shi Zhongcheng to pay tribute to the imperial warriors of the 11th Army who died in battle.) ）