The battle near the stronghold of Jiagou was only a microcosm of the piecemeal tactics used by the Eighth Route Army. In just a few days, the units of the Eighth Route Army and the northern Jiangsu detachment continued to attack with small units on the Longhai Road and Jinpu Road, and the garrison troops of the little devils shrank their heads and brains, unable to figure out the operational intentions of the Eighth Route Army, so they had to strictly defend the defensive line. Keep reporting to your superiors: The Eighth Route Army has launched an offensive operation.

The 5th Division was transferred to the north, the Guards Division returned to China, the 1st, 2nd, and 23rd Divisions had already been returned to the Kwantung Army, and the 6th and 16th Divisions had also been returned to the Central China Dispatch Army. This is a battle against the instructor of the Eighth Route Army, and those garrison divisions are not opponents. Therefore, the headquarters of the North China Front Army received a report from the Japanese army in Xuzhou, and had no choice but to strictly order all units to shrink the defensive line and resolutely defend it to the death, so as to prevent the Eighth Route Army from breaking through the defense line of Longhai Road and Jinpu Road.

As a result, the Eighth Route Army turned out to be only a small force attack, and there was no major campaign action, and the commander of the North China Front, Shanshan Yuan, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Akira Muto, deputy chief of staff of the North China Front, had returned to Beiping from Qingdao, and he reported to Shanshanyuan that the public order situation in Shandong had deteriorated beyond imagination, that the areas occupied by the Imperial Army were confined to the cities and counties along the Jiaoji Road and the Jinpu Road, and that the vast other areas were the base areas of the Eighth Route Army, and that the regular troops and guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army were everywhere. If this situation is not changed, the food of the imperial army in Shandong will become a problem, and one day it will be swallowed up by the earth eight roads piece by piece.

Actually, this situation does not need to be reported by Muto Zhang, and Shanshan Yuan also knows it in his heart. He worked for several years and was the main formulator of the Japanese army's policy of aggression against China, and it was over without even knowing the situation.

Shanshanyuan's mood at this time was very different from the mood when he first came to North China to take office, at that time he was full of confidence, thinking that with his strong military strength and sea and air superiority, the elimination of the Eighth Route Army instructor was simply a hand-to-hand capture, but after a battle, Jīn Rui's 14th Division and 35th Division, and the 13th Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade all disappeared, this lesson was too profound, and completely subverted Shanshanyuan's impression of the squadron.

Shanshan Yuan was eager to be able to immediately eliminate the main force of the Eighth Route Army, and then concentrate his forces to level the main force of the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi, and then capture Zhongtiao Mountain, enter western Henan, and attack Luoyang with the Japanese army in eastern Henan, and stabilize the entire North China and Central Plains in one fell swoop. It's just that there are many factions within the Japanese army, some strategies, the navy has a naval strategy, and there is also a dispute between the expansion faction and the non-expansion faction internally, not to mention Sugi Sugimoto, even Emperor Hirohito may not be able to completely unify the strategic thinking of the Japanese army. No, the war of public security in North China did not achieve obvious results, and the Central China Dispatch Army opened the Battle of Nanchang and the Battle of Suizao, and as soon as the gunfire of the Central China Dispatch Army was suspended, the Kwantung Army clashed with the Soviet army again, and several large strategic groups had their own goals and tasks, and Shanshan Yuan could only talk about nothing.

The total strength of the North China Front is said to be very large, but compared with the Kwantung Army, the Central China Dispatch Army, and the 21st Army in South China, why does the matter of losing troops always fall on them?

Sugi Moto, Yamashita Fumi, Muto Akira, and the commanders of the First Army, the Twelfth Army, and the divisions directly under them were all thinking about this question.

One of the main reasons is that the opponents are different. The generals of the North China Front Army were lamenting in their hearts that they were unlucky, how could they meet an opponent like the Eighth Route Army who did not play cards according to common sense. If the Eighth Route Army were in Central China, I believe that it would be the Central China Dispatch Army that would be disgraced in front of the Japanese people and international friends.

Another reason is that the Eighth Route Army, especially the instructors of the Eighth Route Army, is too cruel and fierce in dealing with the friends of the Imperial Army, and the Imperial Army basically has no servant troops except for the North China Security Army and the Manchurian Defense Army to support the troops in North China.

The third reason is that the Japanese generals believe that the main reason is that the intelligence is inaccurate, and the Eighth Route Army always hides in the shadows to attack the Imperial Army, while the Imperial Army, which is good at sneak attack operations, rarely has a successful sneak attack on the main force of the Eighth Route Army.

These three reasons are enough, and it is useless to say anything else.

Shanshan Yuan is not a person who easily admits defeat, and it is more uncomfortable for him to bow his head in front of the Eighth Route Army than to kill him. During this time, he focused his main efforts on training and replenishing the troops, hoping to fight a turnaround battle and save face.

What makes Shanshanyuan feel a little better is that since the capture of the Jilu border, the Eighth Route Army seems to have been quiet, and there has been no more major battles, as if Muto Zhang is right, as long as the Japanese army strictly guards the J line and does not take the initiative to attack the Eighth Route Army's instructor defense area, Liu Yimin does not seem to have the will to take the initiative to attack the imperial army. That's it, Shanshanyuan felt that he was taking advantage of this opportunity to train the troops well, improve their combat effectiveness, and then mobilize troops to fight Liu Yimin off guard, so that he could directly encircle and annihilate his main force.

Chief of Staff Yamashita Fengfumi was an offensive general, and he was already dissatisfied with the fact that the North China Front had such a large number of troops but was beaten by the Eighth Route Army. It's just that he, like Shanshan Yuan, is also afraid that defeating the battle will affect his martial luck, and he is also secretly holding his strength, wanting to see the opportunity to bite the Eighth Route Army fiercely.

Shanshan Yuan and Yamashita Fengfumi are now staring at the movements of the Kwantung Army, if the Kwantung Army's operation is over, the Fifth Division can be transferred back to North China, and the Kwantung Army's Jīn Rui Division can also be transferred a few, and then the plan to sweep the DN in the base camp division can be carried out.

After two years of war of aggression against China, Muto Zhang's thinking has changed a lot, and he has now realized that it is impossible to occupy China in its entirety with Japan's national strength, unless Chiang Kai-shek can't survive and surrenders on his own initiative. Otherwise, this war of aggression against China would be a quagmire, and it would have to bring down the Japanese Empire. Therefore, when he was free from heaven, he pondered Ishihara's proposition, and felt that it would be very good for Japan to preserve the present fruits of the war. If necessary, the Japanese army could even withdraw its troops from South China and Central China and concentrate all its efforts on consolidating the occupation of North China, so that a regime similar to Manchukuo could be established in North China, and in the future it would even be possible to completely incorporate Manchuria and North China into Japanese territory.

Muto Akira was also a well-known strategist in the Japanese army, and this idea was very different from his original fanatical idea of eliminating Chiang Kai-shek's government and fully occupying China, and it was also the conclusion reached after examining the actual situation of the war.

Muto Akira knew that the people in charge of Japan were still immersed in the rhapsody of all-out invasion of China, and his ideas were likely not to be adopted, but he was still determined to state his thoughts.

Akira Muto found Sugi Moto. He knew that Shanshan Yuan was one of the authoritative people in the Japanese army, and although he was now the commander of the North China Front, he would have to return to the base camp sooner or later to preside over the plan.

When Muto went to find Sugimoto, Sugimoto and Yamashita were reading the base camp's briefing on the negotiations with Wang Jīnwei.

As soon as he saw Muto Zhang, Shanshan Yuan threw over a document and asked him to take a look at it first.

At first glance, it turned out to be the "Guidelines for the Establishment of the Central Government" formulated by the Five Phases Meeting within 5 days: 1. The Central Government was composed of Wang Jīnwei, Wu Peifu, the Provisional Government, and the Wei regime, with Wu Peifu as the main army and Wang Jīnwei as the main government; 2. Establish the Central Government and establish an adjustment country with Japan in accordance with the "Guidelines for Adjusting Japan-China Relations"; 3. The central government must have a certain appeal, and the date of establishment is determined by Japan; 4. The relationship between the central government and the local government is based on the principle of division and cooperation; 5. With regard to the Kuomintang and the Three People's Principles, they may be allowed to exist under the principle of not hindering pro-Japanese and Manchu peace.

After reading it, Muto Sho pondered for a while and said, "For China, it is better to divide and rule. Manchuria has Manchukuo, Inner Mongolia has the Mongolian Union Autonomous Government, North China has Wang Kemin's Provisional Government of the Republic of China, and Liang Hongzhi's Republic of China Weizheng has it. ”

Shanshan Yuan snorted, stood up and walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, and then said: "After Wang Jīnwei surrendered, the situation that we expected local forces in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, and Guangdong to respond in a group did not appear. One reason is that Chiang Kai-shek used the banner of resistance against Japan to strengthen his control over these local forces, and the other reason is that we did not completely eliminate the main force of the squadron, on the contrary, the squadron performed very bravely, which gave Chiang Kai-shek the ability to resist. Another reason is that the damned **, damn Liu Yimin, spared no effort in propaganda to resist Japan, and also made the imperial army suffer defeats, damaging the image of the invincible Japanese Empire. At this time, Wang Jīnwei was in fact impossible to establish power outside the areas occupied by the imperial army, he was just an influential politician, without an army, without the strength to establish a regime. From this point of view, it is also a good choice to let Wang Jīnwei establish a unified regime, organize the exhibition troops, and cooperate with the imperial army to fight. ”

Akira Muto asked, "So, is it just around the corner for Wang Jīn Wei to form a central power?" ”

Shanshan Yuan shook his head: "The base camp just agreed that Wang Jīn Wei would prepare for the establishment of the Central Government, but let him persuade Wang Kemin and Liang Hongzhi to revoke their government and merge them into Wang Jīn Wei's government. Now that Wang has returned to Shanghai, it is estimated that he will probably start negotiations with Liang Hongzhi and Wang Kemin. ”

Muto Zhang pondered for a while and said, "It's not easy to convince Wang Kemin and Liang Hongzhi. The characteristics of the Chinese people are selfishness and power, which is also the fundamental reason for their long-term warlord separatism. Wang Kemin and Liang Hongzhi are both hungry dogs, and they will not be willing to leave the bones in their mouths. ”

Yamashita was not too interested in politics, and after listening to the words of Sugi Sugi Yuan and Muto Akira, he said directly: "Your Majesty the Commander, these things are matters for His Majesty the Emperor and the internal consideration, so we don't have to think about it. Then Liang Hongzhi and Wang Kemin are both dogs, and the North China Front and Central China sent troops to let them not dare to go west. I don't think it's meaningful to study this issue, let's study and study how to continue to fight the law and order war in North China! ”

Muto Zhang disagreed with Yamashita's words, and felt that Yamashita was purely a general, and he didn't understand politics, so he sold it: "Your Majesty, the current situation in China is not optimistic, China's territory is too large, the population is too large, and the Imperial Army's Jīn sharp divisions have basically become garrison troops." In the middle of this, the situation in Central China was a little better than that in North China, and the 11th Army still had the ability to launch offensive operations. The war situation in North China was very passive, the First Army did not make much progress in Shanxi, and the Twelfth Army also did not make much progress in Shandong. If Wang Jīnwei can really establish a unified central power, it will not only shake the Chinese's determination to resist the war, but also build a huge army to help us fight the Eighth Route Army. Moreover, as soon as Wang Jīnwei's central power was established, it was under the banner of the national government and the capital of Nanjing, which was tantamount to providing an excuse for those squadrons who were unwilling to fight with the imperial army to surrender, and when the time came, the living space of Chiang Kai-shek's regime was getting smaller and smaller, and it was very likely that there would be a situation in which Chiang Kai-shek, Wang Jīnwei, and the imperial army all fought ** and the Eighth Route Army. In that case, the tide of the battle could change. ”

Without waiting for Yamashita to answer, Shanshan Yuan asked him if he had contacted Shi Yousan.

Yamashita Fengwen replied that he had already been contacted, and Shi Yousan was much more interesting than Yan Xishan, and had already said that he would cooperate with the imperial army to fight at the appropriate time and jointly deal with the Eighth Route Army in southern Hebei.

Shanshan Yuan immediately instructed Yamashita to intensify intelligence gathering and closely monitor the movements of the Kuomintang troops in the Jicha Theater and the Sulu Theater. In particular, we must keep abreast of the dynamics of the internal strife between them and the Eighth Route Army, so that we can cooperate with them in combat and jointly deal with the Eighth Route Army.

Yamashita Fengwen immediately stood up, and "Hai" sounded.

Shanshan Yuan walked over and patted Yamashita Fengwen's shoulder, and then patted Muto Zhang's shoulder, and then said: "Yamashita-kun, Muto-kun, the summer harvest is imminent, and we must organize the troops to grab food." Without food, the dirt road would not be able to sustain it. ”

At this time, Yamashita Fengwen began to wave, and he gave Shanshanyuan an idea, since the Eighth Route Army in Shandong is not easy to fight, then strengthen the defense of the J Tong Line, trap the hands and feet of the Eighth Route Army, concentrate a part of the main force, sweep the base of the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi, and even attack the Kuomintang army in Zhongtiao Mountain. Don't look at the garrison division and the independent mixed brigade that is not an opponent in front of the instructors of the Eighth Route Army, if it is against the Kuomintang army, then there is still a chance of victory.

Shanshan Yuan was also anxious to fight at this time, and wanted to fight the instructor, but he was afraid that he would lose all his reputation if he lost the battle again. Listening to Yamashita Fengwen's suggestion, I felt good.

As a matter of fact, since Lieutenant General Umezu Yoshijiro, commander of the First Army, took office last year, he has commanded the First Army to carry out a law and order rectification operation, constantly sweeping the base areas of the Eighth Route Army and expanding the security circle. Due to the limited number of troops, the Japanese army did not take advantage, except for a few more county towns, and threw down thousands of corpses. He repeatedly called the headquarters of the North China Front Army, requesting that the First Army be strengthened and that the public order situation in Shanxi be improved. These telegrams were placed on Shanshanyuan's desk, and they were stacked in a thick stack.

Shanshan Yuan picked up Umezu Mijiro's telegram and pondered it carefully for a long time, and suddenly asked a question: Where is Liu Yimin now?

Yamashita Fengfumi, who is now also in charge of the special services of the front army, listened to Shanshanyuan's words, and replied that it should be in the Suwan region. Because the special operations squadron led by Princess Chungongxiu last time was broken in Su County, it must be the handiwork of Liu Yimin's jīn Rui team that can make all of Jīn's special operations squadron broken. In addition, Liu Yimin made a year-end talk in Suxian County, and he made no secret of the elimination of the special operations squadron. According to this analysis, Liu Yimin should be in the Suzhou-Anhui region.

Shanshanyuan heard that this was indeed the case, Shandong's Eighth Route Army was relatively honest during this time, and it turned out that Liu Yimin was no longer in Shandong. In that case, what are you polite to the Eighth Route Army?

Shanshan Yuan immediately instructed Yamashita Fengwen to formulate a thorough battle plan to block Liu Yimin's forces south of Longhai Road, and then mobilize troops to strengthen the First Army and the Mongolian Army, and carry out a sweep of the base area of the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi. The battle must have abrupt xìn and concealed xìn. After the sweep was over, all units supporting the First Army should quickly return to their original places of residence to prevent the Eighth Route Army from retaliating against the attack.

Yamashita suggested that if he could report to the base camp, please transfer the Guards Division to the battle.

Shanshan Yuan thought for a while and said: "Report to the base camp in my name, suggesting that the Guards Division be expanded into two Guards Divisions, one will stay in Japan and the other will go to China to participate in the war, and it will be stationed in Qingdao." As long as the Guards Division is stationed in Qingdao, we will be able to fight without any worries. ”

As soon as he heard that there was a war, Muto Akira forgot his original intention of looking for Sugi Yuan, and immediately became aggressive as if he had injected his blood.

Muto Akira suggested that the public order situation in the Pingjin area was relatively stable, and the 11th Division could be strengthened in Shanxi. In addition, the 14th Division on the Deshi Line can be HU out to participate in the Shanxi public security operation. The eastern Henan front has a stable front, and it is also possible to send out a part of the troops. However, in order to ensure the smooth operation in Shanxi, we should first concentrate our forces to raid southern Hebei and western Hebei, and then launch a large-scale public security operation in Shanxi after the Eighth Route Army in southern Hebei and western Hebei is cleared.

The three old ghosts expressed their opinions on the map, discussed and discussed, and then formed a consensus that the troops on the Xuzhou line and the Deshi line could not move, and they had to be strengthened. The main force of the Guards Division, the 11th Division, the 41st Division, and the North China Public Security Army can strengthen the operations of the First Army and first sweep the northwest Jinxi and Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base areas of the Eighth Route Army. Then sweep DN Jinzhong, Jindongnan, Jinxi, Jinnan. It is expected that by the time the public security battle in Shanxi is over, the Fifth Division may have returned to North China, and with the Fifth Division and the Guards Division in the field, it will be able to start operations against the instructors of the Eighth Route Army.

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