On the highway from Fucheng to Wuqiang, Zhang Mingyu, Liu Cheng and other important personnel were rushing in a jeep with the follow-up troops in the direction of Wuqiang County, when suddenly a cavalry communication soldier arrived on horseback.

Liu Cheng hurriedly told the driver to stop, and the cavalry signal soldier quickly turned over and dismounted, and stood up and said: "Report to the general seat, participate in the seat!" The Guards Regiment is calling! ”

"Read!" Zhang Mingyu sat in the car and said awe-inspiringly.

"Yes, the guard regiment called, saying that the army had abandoned the city and fled, and the department took Wuqiang County without a single shot!" The communications soldier read aloud.

"Huh?" Zhang Mingyu and Liu Cheng glanced at each other, then waved their hands to signal the communication soldiers to retreat, and said, "Chief of Staff, what do you think of this matter?" ”

"I think that it must be Okamura Ningji who learned that Qi Xieyuan's Imperial Alliance Army had escaped from the battle, so he contracted the defense line and took the initiative to retreat!." Liu Cheng analyzed.

"Hmm!" Zhang Mingyu nodded and said, "It seems that Okamura Ningji wants to have a strategic decisive battle with us in Cangzhou!" Order the troops, continue to advance, and go to Wuqiang County first. ”

………… Cangzhou, known as the Army Garrison Headquarters.

Okamura Ninji was bowing his head to review the documents, and Tanabe Moritake strode in, and suddenly gathered his feet and said: "General, the two infantry wings of Wuqiang County and Dongguang County plus one artillery wing have all been withdrawn, and the 24th and 26th divisions and the mixed brigades have all been prepared. ”

"Yo Xi! From now on, all units were ordered to enter a state of first-class combat readiness, and all officers and soldiers were to cancel their vacations. Always ready to fight! Okamura nodded happily.

"Hay!" Tanabe Moritake suddenly bowed his head and said, "Please rest assured that the general will definitely pass on the order thoroughly." ”

"Tanabe-kun, let's stay and have dinner together tonight!" Okamura Ninji looked up.

"Hay! Thank you, General! Tanabe Moritake bowed his head abruptly.

…………… Wuqiang County.

At the same time that Zhang Mingyu and Zhang Biao led the first division to arrive, Lai San also arrived with two infantry brigades and an artillery regiment of the third division.

Although the third division lost the second brigade, the total strength was still nearly 25,000 people, including the artillery regiment and the units directly under it, as well as the two main infantry brigades.

Together with the fully manned First Division and the Guard Regiment, the strength of the 42nd Group Army gathered in Wuqiang County at this time had reached more than 60,000 people.

In the conference room, the officers above the commander of the two divisions gathered together, and the not very spacious conference room seemed a little crowded and stuffy. But none of the people present were dissatisfied or sultry.

Because, the war is about to start, and these war maniacs who hang their heads on their belts all the year round feel itchy for a day without fighting.

So before the battle, everyone looked alive and ready to go. 想要逞逞欲try。

At this time, as one of the attendant adjutants said aloud: "The general seat, the seat is here!" The crowd rose in an uproar.

Zhang Mingyu and Liu Cheng strode in, waved their hands directly at everyone and said: "Sit down, there is no idle time and nonsense today, immediately arrange the combat mission, and each regiment will set off immediately!" ”

Saying that, Zhang Mingyu said to Liu Cheng again: "Chief of Staff, you immediately distribute the drawn battle plan to the commanders of each regiment, let them watch it while walking, and the army will set off immediately!" ”

"Yes!" Liu Cheng held a stack of documents, and then stepped forward and handed them to everyone one by one. At this time, Zhang Mingyu continued: "Brothers, this time the devils gathered their forces on the periphery of Cangzhou to form a huge encirclement, so I decided to concentrate the main force to attack head-on.

Now for each of you, you will be sent your marching route and meeting place. I ask all regiments and battalions to arrive at their destination in the shortest possible time, and then I will issue a unified combat mission! Alright, let's do it! ”

"Yes!" Everyone suddenly got up and said yes, and then turned around and left.

………… Cangzhou, Okamura Ningji's residence.

Okamura Ningji and Tanabe Moritake were eating and talking about the emperor's [***] affairs, only to hear Okamura Ningji say: "Tanabe-kun, the base camp has just decided to send troops to Southeast Asia to take over Indochina, which belongs to France and the Netherlands, what do you think of this matter." ”

Tanabe Moritake obviously knew about the decision of the Imperial Base Camp, and immediately said: "I think that the decision of the Base Camp is correct, and the current situation in the Chinese battlefield is unfavorable to the Empire. At this time, attacking the French colony, which had been destroyed by the Germans, was really the best strategy, and because of the Germans and Soviets, the British were too busy with armaments and warfare to look east. We can easily occupy these areas, and thus gain access to the abundant strategic resources such as natural rubber that are extremely abundant in these areas. ”

"Hmm!" Okamura Ninji nodded and said, "Tanabe-kun, you're only half right!" ”

"Oh? I would like to hear about it. Tanabe Moritake said extremely respectfully.

"If the empire wants to attack the colonies of Indochina in Southeast Asia, it must maintain restraint and not offend the two world hegemons of the United States and Britain, although the United States is currently neutral, but once the empire's actions in Southeast Asia offend their interests, then they will immediately turn against the empire, the empire is currently in the recovery stage, and it really can't withstand a large-scale war, especially with a country like the United States with strong national strength and huge war potential.

Therefore, we must exercise restraint and occupy only the Netherlands and France's China, and we must not take the opportunity to seize the British colonies, which is tantamount to directly offending Britain and the United States. Okamura Ninji explained.

"Oh! What the general said is extremely true! What do you think of the war situation in China, general? Moritake Tanabe asked, taking advantage of the topic.

"If we can't defeat the army led by Zhang Mingyu in this battle, then the empire will have no choice but to withdraw from the pass." Okamura Ninji said indifferently.

"Huh? Are you saying that the empire had to give up the rich northern part of China? Tanabe Moritake said in great surprise.

"Hmm!" Okamura Ninji nodded gloomily and said: "At that time, not only North China may be lost, but even Central China will also be lost in a large area, and the only things that the empire can hold on to are Shanghai, Hangzhou, and the coastal cities of Shandong." ”

"Is the Empire going to abandon its strategy of ruling the whole of China?" Moribuchi Tanabe.

"It's not about giving up, Tanabe-kun, there is an old Chinese saying called Taoguang Yanghui! Although the empire abandoned North China and even Central China, it still occupied Northeast China, Korea, Taiwan and various coastal cities, and blocked China's connection with the world, and the empire's powerful navy was enough to block China's trade with other countries by sea.

After the empire successfully conquered the countries of Southeast Asia, it only needed two years of recuperation to be able to return to its peak state in terms of comprehensive national strength, and with the possession of East Asian oil and rubber, the empire's strategic potential would be greatly strengthened.

At that time, the empire can form two armies in the north and south, one route is Manchukuo to attack North China, and the second route is to start from Vietnam and attack the south of the Chinans. Okamura Ninji said his blueprint.

"General, what you said is not unreasonable, but the empire is currently short of troops, and the Kwantung Army has to defend the polar bear of the Soviet Union, where will it draw troops to carry out the southward campaign?" Moritake Tanabe wondered.

"If we can't defeat the Chinese army in this battle, then we must withdraw from Guannai and withdraw directly to Manchuria, and then the task of going south will be completed by the divisions in North China and some divisions in Central China." Okamura Ninji said, "If we defeat the 42nd Group Army of the Zhina Army going north, then we can recruit Chinese to join the army in North China and form the Imperial Cooperative Army Corps." A small part of the troops from the Central China Front were transferred to form a southward group to attack Southeast Asian countries. ”

"Hay! Humble duty understood. Tanabe Moritake bowed his head abruptly.

……… Botou town is the first line of defense of the Cangzhou defense line of Okamura Ningci is also the most important line of defense, Botou town was founded in the Eastern Han Dynasty, flourished in the Sui and Tang dynasties, it is named after the canal transport, there is a canal in the east of the town that traverses the whole territory, and the Jinpu railway also passes from here, which can be described as a strategic place.

The reason why Botou Town is famous is that in 1912, the largest chemical factory in the country at that time - Botou Yonghua Match Factory was built here.

Due to the outstanding geographical environment and developed transportation, Botou Town is often a gathering of merchants, even after the army occupies North China, it is also relatively prosperous here.

The town has a variety of factories and companies built by the merchants, and because of the convenient transportation, it has also become an important transit point for the transportation line of the army.

There are large quantities of strategic materials and equipment hoarded in the town.

Okamura Ninji fully deployed a division and two mixed brigades at Botou, which he directly commanded, which shows how much Okamura Ninji attached importance to this place.

The deployment of the army was that the 24th Division was stationed on the west bank of the canal and was responsible for the echelon deployment along the railway, and the two mixed brigades, one in the front and the other in the rear, were deployed along the east bank of the canal.

It echoes the 24th Division on the West Bank.

In late July of the thirtieth year of the Republic of China (1941), all units of the 42nd Group Army were ordered to rush to the canal side of Botou Town, and Zhang Mingyu also arrived with Liu Cheng and others.

The entire canal was covered with battle clouds, wind and thunder. When Okamura Ninji learned of the arrival of the 42nd Group Army, he hurriedly transferred an infantry wing from Cangzhou and a chariot wing to reinforce Botou Town.

On a high slope on the side of the canal, Zhang Mingyu gathered all the military commanders above the regimental level, and a huge map was spread on the ground, and everyone began to hold a meeting around the map.

The side was lined with soldiers of the Guard Regiment, patrolling back and forth.

Zhang Mingyu pointed to the map and said: "The front is Botou, as long as you take Botou and advance another fifty miles, you can reach the city of Cangzhou, it can be said that this is the last line of defense in Cangzhou, as long as you break through here, then Cangzhou will be in no danger to defend, just like a virgin who has been stripped naked, and can no longer block our entry!" ”

Zhang Mingyu's words caused everyone to burst into laughter.

Seeing that the atmosphere eased a lot, Zhang Mingyu continued: "Botou Town is so important, the army will naturally not take it lightly, according to the news from the Ministry of Security, the army has deployed nearly two and a half divisions in Botou Town, and today another infantry wing and a chariot wing drove into Botou Town.

So this will be a tragic battle, I order all my colleagues to fight hard, to serve the country, this station is also the most important battle in North China, if this battle is won, there will be no big battle in North China in the future! For example, now the fathers and elders of the whole country are paying attention to us and placing great hopes on us! If you don't win this battle, you really have no face to see the fathers and villagers of the whole country! Do you think we can let them down? ”

"Can't!" The crowd responded hoarsely.

(To be continued)