The news that the 15th Army launched an attack on the Japanese 7th Division, that the Japanese 6th Division began to retreat and move closer to the direction of the 7th Division, and that the Japanese 19th Division had turned north after plundering Benxi Lake was almost simultaneously delivered to Mu Husan's desk.

The General Staff was stunned at that time, the Japanese army's response was really much beyond the imagination of the Fourth Field Army, and such a linkage could only be described as a quiet and moving rabbit. Mu Husan was not too surprised, he looked at the map for a while before he said: "There must be quite outstanding talents in the Japanese 19th Division!" ”

"The 19th Division can't command the other two divisions." The staff officer was quite puzzled by Mu Husan's judgment, if you look at it according to common sense, the most important thing at this time is to break through or bypass the defensive position of the 18th Army.

"The actions of the three divisions of the Japanese army are not the result of direct contact, and it is too late to have time." Mu Husan explained to the comrades in the General Staff, "The 19th Division may have told the 6th and 7th Divisions about its plan. But they are clearly selling their teammates. There must be people in the 19th Division who know the war concept of our Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. ”

Just 24 hours before Mu Husan explained his thoughts to the staff officers, Okamura Ningji, a staff officer of the 19th Division, said to the commander of the 19th Division, "Your Excellency, people and land are lost, people and land are saved, people and land are lost, people and land are lost!" ”

A descendant of the Tokugawa shogunate, Okamura was admitted to the junior high school of the prestigious Tokyo Vocational School (renamed Waseda University in 1902) after graduating from elementary school. Later, because of the high tuition fee, he was transferred to the Tokyo Army Infant School. After graduation, he was admitted to the Army Non-commissioned Officer School. In October 1904, he graduated from the 16th class of the Army Non-commissioned Officer School with honors, and was awarded the rank of second lieutenant of the infantry, and served as the leader of the supplementary team of the 1st Infantry Wing.

At that time, the Russo-Japanese War broke out, and with the eagerness to make meritorious contributions to the emperor, Okamura Ninji's repeated requests to fight, his superiors finally approved his request, and in April of the following year, Okamura Ninji was transferred from the supplementary unit to the 49th Infantry Wing, and participated in the Sakhalin Battle as a squad leader of the newly formed 13th Division.

In 1910, Okamura entered the Tokyo Army University again for further study, and in 1913, he graduated from the 25th class of the Army University with honors and served as a squadron leader of the 1st Infantry Wing. In August 1914, he was transferred to the staff officer of the War History Section of the General Staff Headquarters.

As a soldier from a pure professional class, Gangmura Ningji's resume can be said to be quite remarkable. When he was a staff officer in the War History Section of the General Staff Headquarters, Gangmura Ninji was originally assigned to the German War History Research Group, but the People's Party had already seized Qingdao from the Germans at this time, so Gangmura Ninji himself spent a lot of time on the study of the People's Party army.

Before World War I, Japan paid more attention to the history of the war, and it was relatively easy to obtain various materials, at least without any difficulties. In addition, the war concept system of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army is not complicated, and the quotations of Grandpa Mao's war concept that Chen Ke is familiar with are so simple and catchy. Okamura Ninji soon studied it quite thoroughly.

In 1915, Japan formed the 19th and 20th Divisions of the Korean Army, and Okamura Ninji was transferred from the staff officer of the War History Section of the General Staff Headquarters to the staff officer of the 19th Division. In this war, Okamura Ninji always had the opinion that he was "not very social" with other staff officers. Therefore, he has not been treated well by the division commander. This time, before retreating from Mukden, Gangcun Ningji once again pointed out that it was very likely that it would be intercepted and blocked in the Benxi Lake area, and it was better to return to Korea by land. The division commander was furious, and simply let Okamura Ninji be in charge of the work of the palace. However, Gangcun Ningci commanded the troops behind the palace to "turn a blind eye" to the approaching Mukden of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, but did everything possible to get the troops out of contact with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army as soon as possible.

After the defeat of the Miyazaki Brigade, the commander of the 19th Division found that if the rearguard troops of the 19th Division had hesitated a little at that time and continued to entangle with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, they were now afraid that they would have fallen into a heavy encirclement. And the commander of the troops behind the palace, Gangmura Ningji, was even able to judge the actions of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army in advance. At the moment when he was trapped in Benxi Lake and could be completely surrounded by the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army at any time, the commander of the 19th Division had to call Okamura Ninji and ask him for his views on the battle situation.

Gangcun Ningji did not directly make any predictions about the battle situation, but first put "save people and lose land, people and land are saved, people and land are lost, people and land are lost!" As an opening remark.

"Before the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army entered Manchuria, we relied on the garrison troops in the northeast and the various institutions of the Manchurian Railway to effectively control Manchuria. When the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army entered the Northeast, they first expelled all the Manchurian Railways within their reach. The lands of Manchuria were always there, and if we lost the presence of the Manchurian Railways in these lands, we lost control over those areas. ”

The reason was very simple, and the commander of the 19th Division felt quite disappointed in his heart, and what he hoped was that Gangmura Ningji would be prepared to indicate what kind of action the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army would take, and more importantly, where it would appear. However, listening to Okamura Ninji's digression, the division commander couldn't bear it anymore, and now was not the time for such a simple military theory discussion.

"Gangmura-kun, what do you think the People's Party will do next?" The division commander asked.

"Your Excellency, the strategy of the BJP has always been the same, they want to destroy us." Okamura replied.

The division commander's original patience completely flew out of the clouds after hearing this, he did not feel the slightest need to have such a "low-level" discussion with Gangmura Ningji, the People's Party wanted to occupy the northeast, so naturally it had to try its best to eliminate the Japanese army in the northeast. If the Japanese army wants to occupy the northeast, it will also do its best to kill other forces that dare to intervene in the northeast. There is no value in discussing this at all.

Okamura Ninji quickly saw the dissatisfaction of the division commander, and he hurriedly explained further. "Division commander, the biggest difference between the BJP's strategy and ours is that in their recent strategy, all the purpose of occupying land is to destroy our army. In the strategy of our army, there is no such thorough concept at all, and the first thing we must guarantee is to occupy Manchuria. Manchuria is not our own Japan, and even if our strategy seems to be the same as that of the People's Party, when it comes to implementation, the basis of our consideration will involuntarily be fundamentally different. In any case, the Manchurian natives do not consider themselves nationals of our Japan. And we don't think that the Manchurian natives are us Japanese nationals! ”

Of course, it is not an idiot to be able to mix to the level of division commander, Okamura Ningji analyzed the current situation like this, and the commander of the 19th Division suddenly realized. As long as the People's Party can expel other forces in the Northeast, it will naturally be able to win the approval of the locals in the Northeast. Because in any case, the locals in the northeast consider themselves Chinese. The Japanese army in the northeast must first determine the security of the strongholds it maintains, so the People's Party can aim exclusively at annihilating the Japanese army, and the Japanese army must first secure its own foothold. After losing the support of the Manchurian Railway, the situation of the Japanese army naturally became worse.

It's not like Okamura Ninji hasn't said something similar before, but only today did everything he say really be listened to by the commander of the 19th Division. Because when facing Zhang Zuolin of the Northeast Army, the Japanese army did not have such feelings. It was only after the opponent of the Japanese army became the brave and combative Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army that the commander of the 19th Division truly felt that the identity of the Japanese army as an invader and an outsider had become their greatest burden in China. If the Chinese army could not be defeated in the northeast of China, it would not be possible for the Japanese army to really occupy the northeast.

There was silence for a while before the division commander continued to ask, "So what does Gangmura-kun think?" ”

"At the moment, we don't expect the 6th and 7th Divisions to be able to rescue in time, the Miyazaki Brigade has already fought very well. Under such circumstances, we will not be able to win, and the 6th and 7th Divisions will not be able to take the initiative to break through the defensive positions of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. Our immediate solution is to resolutely retreat to the north, where there is no enemy, and return to Korea over the mountains. Okamura Ninji said.

The division commander of the 19th Division listened carefully to Okamura Ninji's method, the 19th Division is now retreating north, there is no enemy in the north at all, and it is difficult to climb over the mountains in winter, but as long as the 6th and 7th Divisions force the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, I think the commander of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army will not be stupid enough to break away from the solid defensive position and expose the rear of his troops to the range of Japanese attack.

If you want to play a little trick in such a battle, at the same time that the 19th Division began to retreat north, the 6th and 7th Divisions could even retreat south at the same time. If the commander of the 18th Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was a reckless man, he would probably be tempted by such a fighter and want to take advantage of this opportunity to pursue him. As long as they broke away from the strong positions, or even as long as a part of the army broke away from the strong positions, then the 6th and 7th Divisions had room to move. The superiority of the Japanese army was able to play a great role in the battle.

If the commander of the 18th Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had been suspicious, he would have figured out what was really going on. By the time he figured it out, the 19th Division had long since completely detached itself from contact with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. Even if the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was able to carry out the pursuit, the 19th Division would have enough time to lay an ambush in the mountains and deal a certain blow to the pursuers.

"Whatever choice the enemy takes, our army can mobilize the enemy by action. The worst case scenario is that our army suffers certain losses while passing through the mountains. Okamura Ninji finally finished his plan.

The commander of the 19th Division was silent, not that he felt that there was anything wrong with Okamura Ninji's plan. Overall, the plan is highly feasible and has a very high chance of success. But because of the high chance of success, the commander of the 19th Division had to think of another thing, that is, what will happen to him when he returns to China? If it was during the First Sino-Japanese War, no matter who was responsible, the commander of the 19th Division would not have been able to apologize for his guilt. Even at the moment of the in-depth reform of Japan's military system, the responsibility for this crushing defeat may not necessarily be entirely borne by the commander of the 19th Division. But even so, they were demoted, court-martialed, and even stripped of their military status. Coupled with the fact that he was looked down upon by everyone around him, such a punishment was not much worse than suicide.

There was silence for a while before the commander of the 19th Division asked, "When does Gangmura-kun think it is more appropriate to retreat?" ”

Okamura replied categorically: "Retreat now!" After saying this, Okamura Ninji added in a low voice, "Throw away all your heavy weapons and move forward lightly." ”

The muscles on the face of the commander of the 19th Division twisted, and if he threw down his heavy weapons, he couldn't even talk about an excuse to "turn in", this was already a complete escape. But at this point, he had no other way. With no hope for the future, the commander of the 19th Division agreed to Okamura Ninji's proposal. Dispatch people to report to the 6th and 7th Divisions and wantonly loot the supplies of the people in the Panjin area. The 19th Division of the Japanese Army then braved the heavy snow and began to move north.

Although he didn't know the specific situation inside the 19th Division, Mu Husan already understood the thoughts of the 19th Division. It was impossible for the 18th Army to catch up with the 19th Division in any case. The 14th Army, which was moving south from Mukden, at most discharged the troops that followed it, but it was impossible to really pursue and annihilate it. What's more, the main point of the current situation is already to annihilate the 6th and 7th Divisions in front of them, and once these two divisions can be annihilated, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army will be able to penetrate directly into Andong and face the Japanese army across the river.

Although the 19th Division is quite afraid of the combat effectiveness it has shown in the past few days and its cognitive ability to understand the war, as long as the Sino-Japanese War is not over, there will be a chance to reunite with the 19th Division on the battlefield. Moreover, the 19th Division's resolute departure from the battlefield also completely relieved the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's worries. From this point of view, Mu Husan does not think that he has suffered a loss.

"The troops go south and participate in the battle to encircle and annihilate the Japanese army!" Mu Husan ordered.

In front of the 18th Army was the Japanese 6th Division, which had not been involved in the fighting, but had only been in an offensive position a few kilometers away. Now that they had begun to retreat, the path taken by the great march of the Japanese army would make it less difficult for the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to pursue them. The vanguard quickly rushed forward and engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the Japanese rearguard.

It was a real field battle, with a thick layer of snow covering the ground, and the battle between the two armies was fought almost on the same plane, except for the undulations caused by the terrain. The living conditions of the Japanese army in the field were obviously inferior to those of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, and the Japanese army's cold-proof clothing was also significantly inferior to that of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. The cold and fatigue that had accumulated over the past few days were evident in the battle. It was something that was difficult to explain other than the soldiers, and it must be said that the Japanese army was extremely "lacking in enthusiasm for fighting". They just mechanically fight according to their usual training. In the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, on the other hand, every soldier was doing his best to complete the combat mission.

On the defensive, the Japanese occupied a high slope area. Moreover, the artillery superiority of the Japanese army was also brought into play, and the shells exploded snowflakes on the offensive line of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. Ugly black "scars" appeared on the snow-white fields.

"Up!" The 3rd Division, which was responsible for the first round of the attack, was originally defending the southern front. The commander of the Ninth Regiment finally grabbed the task of attacking. At his command, the sappers had already leaned down and began to dig in the lower part of the snow layer more than a meter thick on the side of the improvised ice and snow trench.

The battle lines of China and Japan are more than 300 meters away from the present, and they only send them as targets when they launch a charge on such a flat field. You have to keep getting close to the enemy, to the maximum. The rifle fire continued, and although it was difficult to aim from more than 300 meters, it was also a necessary containment battle.

After a lot of parallel digging snow underground tunnels continued forward for more than 30 meters, a Japanese artillery shell flew off the distance and landed straight on the tunnel, and the explosion not only kicked up a large pile of snow, but also shook the snow on several nearby tunnels. The Japanese saw the sudden appearance of several depressions in the snow, and soon understood what the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was trying to do. They howled and fired heavily in the direction of the tunnels.

"Some of the tunnels are dug open! Save time! Get as close as you can! "The Commander of the Ninth Regiment issued an order.

Under the new order, the speed of tunnel excavation was significantly increased. The winding tunnel began to extend upwards, not only longitudinally, but also horizontally. The fighters of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, relying on the tunnels, moved forward quickly, constantly shortening the distance between them and the Japanese army.

The commander of the 6th Division of the Japanese Army saw that the situation was not right, and simply gave up the plan to hold on, and the Japanese army gathered troops on the front, and with the sound of military bugles, a large number of Japanese troops actually launched a charge.

"The Japanese are here to die! Fulfill them! "It's not a snow day now, and there is uncontrollable excitement in the voice of the ninth group leader. As soon as the Japanese approached, the front-line machine guns of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army began to sing briskly, and the dense bullets killed the rows of Japanese soldiers who were slowly advancing in the snow. Because their legs were stuck in the thick snow, some Japanese soldiers only leaned forward and leaned left and right after they died, and their legs were still stuck in the snow and were not pulled out at all.

Seeing that the advance was blocked, the Japanese had to retreat. But the retreat is not so easy to retreat, and the slow speed makes them excellent targets. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army also tried to fire with mortars, but the shells went straight into the deep snow with great curvature, and the exploding snow did not only cause some trouble for the enemy, but also greatly reduced its real lethality.

The commander of the 9th Regiment did not completely abandon the shelling because of this, he ordered: "Let's see if the gunners can open a few ways to get out with the shelling!" ”

The attempts of the gunners were not bad, and the shelling of the shells greatly increased the progress of the "civil work". The commander of the Ninth Regiment immediately informed the headquarters of the Third Division of this new discovery by telephone, and the headquarters of the Third Division also conveyed this latest experience to his Seventh Regiment and Eighth Regiment.

Although the number of troops was far lower than that of the Japanese 6th Division in front, the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Division showed unprecedented initiative, stubbornly shortened the distance between them and the Japanese 6th Division, and did their best to advance the battle towards all-out combat.

Mu Husan kept receiving the latest battle reports, and to his delight, the second division of the 14th Army did not chase the Japanese 19th Division, but did its best to rush to the battlefield. With four divisions in hand, Mu Husan was confident of a complete victory in the battle.