The Mawei shipyard is lined with masts, and almost all the docks are filled with wooden boats, as if they were rushing to the market. According to the needs of the Taiwan campaign, a large number of wooden sailing ships were needed to cross the sea. In order to meet the needs of the speed of the wooden sailing boats, these wooden sailing boats were recruited to install engines and propellers. In the dock of the wharf, the workers sweat like rain and are energetic. Trucks on the docks are loaded with machines and waiting in long lines to unload their cargo. In accordance with the needs of the sea-crossing operation, at the request of the Chinese side, the United States urgently airlifted a large number of internal combustion engines and loaded them on wooden sailing ships.

Before convening the military conference on joint operations, Ouyang Jian asked the generals to inspect the preparations for the sea-crossing operation. Among the officers inspecting the inspection were Major General Chennault, commander of the 14th Air Corps of the US Army, He Long, commander of the 2nd Corps of the Eighth Route Army, and Bai Chongxi, commander of the 9th Corps of the National Revolutionary Army. When Ouyang Jian introduced the situation, Chennault said bluntly: "General Ouyang, with all due respect, I want to know how sure I am of success by using wooden boats to force my way across the strait. With such a battle plan, the risk factor is too great, and I disagree with this. ”

"General Chennault, according to the Americans, there are simply no conditions for a sea-crossing operation. However, we do not have time to wait for the US military units to fight across the island in a step-by-step manner, and the current situation forces us, and there are no conditions to create conditions for implementation. Of course, we are not blindly targeting the purpose and blindly launching sea-crossing operations. Our battle plan is only the tip of the iceberg. General Chennault, launching the Taiwan Campaign, crossing the sea and seizing air supremacy must be carried out simultaneously, and our air strikes will play a decisive role, and we will be able to take them by surprise and attack them unprepared. ”

"Brother Ouyang, it seems that you have made up your mind, but I have deduced all the feasible plans, and I still haven't found an eyebrow." "Brother Bai, I once said that in modern warfare, there are many examples of turning the impossible into possible, why can't we combine the earth and the ocean. There are some situations that I am not in a position to disclose now, but the truth will be revealed when a military conference is convened. We just want to make the Japanese army think that we are going to force our way across the Taiwan Strait by wooden boats, and our real means of attack is to find another way, and this is exactly what the soldiers are not tired of. Seeing that Ouyang Jian was so confident, Chennault said, "Could it be that General Ouyang wants to use crowd tactics?" ”

"General Chennault, the Chinese are not afraid of death, but in my dictionary, soldiers will not be allowed to make fearless sacrifices. If we are not sure, we will not arbitrarily formulate a campaign in the Taiwan Strait, and I must explain this. General Chennault, my concern is that I understand that as long as the air force under your command seizes air supremacy over the island of Taiwan, I think you will see how the Chinese army will rush to land on the beach, and you will see new tactics and a magnificent scene that is unprecedented in history. "General Ouyang, if someone else were to command the battle, I would strongly oppose it. Since you have a wonderful battle plan, I will definitely help you. ”

The sun sets over the sea, and the water takes on a golden yellow color. At this time, Xiao Feng, chief of staff of the 2nd Corps of the Eighth Route Army and concurrently commander of the 6th Army, Song Renqiang, commander of the 7th Army, and Mu Shixiong, commander of the special forces of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, stood on the coast and looked across the strait. "Brother Song, our two armies have been included in the main attack force, and you and I must be fully mentally prepared for the difficulty and arduousness of the sea-crossing operation." "Brother Mu, the headquarters has transferred special forces, you can talk about Chief of General Staff Ouyang, you really want to use the wooden boat shoal to land. However, if the landing operation fails, we will fall into total passivity. ”

Mu Shixiong pondered for a moment and said: "Using wooden boats to launch a sea-crossing operation seems to be logical on the surface, but with my understanding of the chief of the General Staff, I am suspected of wanting to stamp a neon seal. Not fighting a battle that is uncertain and not fighting a long-term battle for which there is no preparation is a principle that the chief of the General Staff has always pursued. You have all seen that it is almost very difficult to use wooden boats to cross the Taiwan Strait and land on the beach, and even if you can land, it may not be tenable, and it is difficult for the chief of the general staff to see it? Maybe we're simplifying the problem. The purpose of requisitioning special forces is not to launch a landing, but to fight deep behind enemy lines and carry out special operations missions, have you thought of it? ”

"What is called close to Zhu Zhechi, or Brother Mu understands the chief of the General Staff, in a word. Brother Song, there is no need for us to guess the battle plan of the headquarters, we are afraid that the headquarters has already made a plan. Carrying out orders is a matter for you and me. Since we are to prepare to cross the sea, let us not speculate on the intentions above. Xiao Feng handled it calmly. Brother Xiao, you are the chief of staff of the Corps, so is it difficult for Commander He to not understand the battle plan in the Taiwan Strait? "It's not a secret, and Commander He doesn't know. The Chief of the General Staff did not disclose any information, I can assure you. ”

Mu Shixiong said: "I can reveal one piece of information, the Marine Brigade has been training in Fujian for more than a year. Their combat mission is to land on the beach, and I estimate that it must be the Marine Brigade that will be the main attack, and you may be launching a feint. "I heard that the headquarters has prepared for the establishment of a Marine Corps Brigade, which was formed on the basis of the Navy's special operations group. It seems that the Taiwan Strait Campaign is a combined operation of all arms, and this is the mode of operation that the chief of the General Staff has always expected. "Song Renqiao woke up." Okay, let's not waste our brains, Brother Mu just arrived today, I will be the first landlord! ”

"Brother Xiao is the chief of staff, and the official is crushing people to death, okay, I won't fight with you, I said that you come today and I will be the east tomorrow!" "Haha, no matter which of you two is the east, I only have one mouth, and I won't eat the poor." After a while, three American-style military jeeps stopped in front of the Sihai Restaurant in Fuzhou City, and their respective guards got out of the car to perform their duties. Wine over thirty years, food over five flavors. Mu Shixiong said: "You two analyze it, with Su Yu's command ability and the combat ability of the First Corps, why Xuzhou has not been able to take it for a long time, and it is difficult that the headquarters did it intentionally?" ”

Xiao Feng said: "I have learned about the situation in Xuzhou, and the Japanese 10th Army retreated to Xuzhou without any success, which made the Japanese defense line stable, which was the main reason for the scorched state. Okamura Ningji abandoned Wuhan in time, causing the battle plan of Wei Lihuang's corps and Chen Cheng's corps to encircle the Japanese army to fail, and then let the Japanese army accumulate heavy troops on the front line of Xuzhou to stabilize the defense, which is also one of the reasons. However, the overall strategic deployment of the headquarters is also suspected of not being in a hurry to take Xuzhou. "Brother Xiao's analysis is reasonable, Lin's Northwest Group Army has formed a pincer offensive against Zhangjiakou, but it has not taken an offensive posture for a long time, and I am afraid it is also the intention of the headquarters." Song Ren is poor.

"I understand that the intention of the headquarters is to focus on the battle in the Taiwan Strait and create a false impression to paralyze the Japanese army on the northern front." Mu Shixiong said shrewdly. Xiao Feng and Song Renqiang glanced at each other and seemed to agree with Mu Shixiong's idea. In fact, they could not guess the strategic intentions of the headquarters at all. The first purpose of launching the Taiwan Strait Campaign was to cut off the Japanese army's ties with the South Seas, accelerate the speed of the attack on the Japanese mainland, and tear through the Japanese army's diamond-shaped defense line on the sea. Second, after Taiwan succeeds, the US fleet will enter China's coastal waters and then gain control of China's coastal waters.

Third, once control of the coastal waters is gained, an offensive posture will be formed in both land and sea directions, and the Japanese defense line along the northern coast will be shattered. At that time, the Japanese army no longer had any value in Songhu, forcing the Japanese army to abandon Songhu. In this way, Shanghai, an industrial city, will not be devastated by the war, and will be preserved intact. Fourth, if Tianjin is attacked by the sea, asking the Northern Front Corps to cooperate in launching the Tianjin Campaign and forcing the Japanese army to abandon Beiping can save the ancient capital of Beiping from the ravages of war, so it is imperative to launch the Taiwan Strait Campaign, which is a big game of chess, how can the three of them know.

The situation in the Far East as a whole is clear, and it is only a matter of time before Japan is a foregone conclusion. Now that the battle situation has become clear, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army must think about the aftermath and create the illusion of an ineffective attack on the Xuzhou front, so that the Japanese army will not have time to draw up a sabotage plan. Since Okamura Ningji intended to hold on to the northeast, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army pushed the boat down the river and finally implemented the decisive battle in the northeast. If the above strategic concept is to be realized, the Taiwan Strait campaign will become an important chess piece in the overall situation. Therefore, the headquarters will do its best to take Taiwan, no matter what the cost. For the combined combat of all arms, Ouyang Jian is the most suitable candidate, and this burden naturally has to fall on his shoulders.

At the same time, in the headquarters of the Japanese army in Tianjin, the chief of staff of the Japanese army said: "Your Excellency General, Banheng Seishiro has taken up his post in Beiping, and this is the Beijing-Tianjin defensive battle plan he submitted!" Okamura took the notebook and looked at it a few times and said: "Banheng did not disappoint me, although he was forced to retreat in Shanxi, but he won time to strengthen the defense of Baoding and Shijiazhuang." His idea is very practical, and I am relieved to entrust him with the heavy responsibility of commanding the front line in Beijing and Tianjin. "Report, call from the base camp!" The chief of staff took the telegram and glanced at it and said, "The base camp agrees with our judgment. ”

The chief of staff of the Japanese army continued: "The main force of the 14th Air Force of the US Army was withdrawn from Burma to China and deployed along the coast of Fujian for the purpose of air strikes against Taiwan. The base camp believes that the "tsunami" operation plan that we intercepted is an air raid plan. The base camp believes that the enemy forces are not equipped to launch a sea-crossing operation at all, and completely agrees with our judgment. The base camp decided to increase the defense of Taiwan by adding 3 more Zero Squadrons and at the same time increasing the air defense forces. In order to prevent the US military from launching a landing operation against Tainan, the main force of the 21st Army was ordered to deploy heavy defenses in Tainan. ”

Okamura Ninji said: "I judge that it is impossible for the US military to attack Taiwan, and it is impossible for the Americans to launch an attack on Taiwan before they capture the Philippines." The main forces of the 21st Army were ordered to concentrate in Taichung and maneuver at any time. "The old and spicy Okamura Ninji is very clear-headed. He deployed the elite of the Japanese army in central Taiwan in order to prevent contingencies and to support operations in different directions at any time. "What's new along the coast of Fujian?" Okamura asked. "According to submarine reconnaissance, a large-scale build-up of enemy troops off the coast of Fujian was not found. The reserve corps of the Eighth Route Army showed signs of transfer, but it was a change of guard. At present, our reconnaissance submarines are paying close attention to the coast of Fujian, and the enemy's every move is in our sight. ”

"In addition, the reconnaissance submarine found that there are a large number of fishing boats along the coast of Fujian!" "Fishing boats, could it be that the enemy uses fishing boats to cross the sea to fight? What does the chief of staff think? "Our enemies would not be so stupid as to use fishing boats to bring shame upon themselves." Okamura Ninji nodded and said: "But the enemy's air raid is imminent, order the Taiwan Army Aviation Corps to be ready, we must not allow the enemy to easily obtain air supremacy, if the enemy obtains air supremacy, our Tainan and Taipei warships will be mortally threatened." After Okamura Ningji finished speaking, his eyes were aimed at Xuzhou. What does it mean that the enemy forces in Xuzhou sometimes attack fiercely and sometimes stop attacking? This question has been bothering him for months, and he has never been able to guess the other party's intentions.

According to the latest battle report, since the Battle of Xuzhou started in early August, the fighting stopped, and the 1st Corps of the Eighth Route Army took the outer defense line of Xuzhou, it was not in a hurry to launch a large-scale strong attack, which was very abnormal. According to the latest casualty statistics, the 10th Army has paid more than 30,000 casualties in five months, and according to his assumptions, the battle losses paid for such a large-scale offensive and defensive operation are completely acceptable. Suddenly, he was alert, could it be that the enemy was deliberately depleting his own forces? This is the only explanation. Thinking of this, Okamura Ningji believed that the Xuzhou defensive operation had achieved its strategic goal, and he could consider launching the Jinan defensive operation.

Then he looked to Zhangjiakou again, wondering why the Eighth Route Army in the Northwest had not launched an offensive for a long time, and what was his intention? On the contrary, Wei Lihuang's attack on Baoding was very fierce, why is this? As for the slow advance of Chen Cheng's corps, it was a supply difficulty, which he knew well and was the least worried. Last year's great drought in the Central Plains was like a blessing from heaven, and whether it heralded a turning point in the fate of the Japanese Empire. Thinking of logistics supplies, Okamura Ninji seemed to think that the Eighth Route Army had been delaying launching a large-scale attack, and it was possible that there was a problem with logistics supply, and a smile appeared on the corner of Okamura Ninji's mouth.

"Someone!" A Japanese combat staff officer ran in front of him. "Order the garrisons of the occupied areas to loot the property of the local people and drive them to the enemy-occupied areas! I want to stop the enemy's offensive without firing a single shot! ”