The Eighth Route Army was armed with anti-aircraft guns, which greatly restricted the combat efficiency of the Japanese bomber group. Not only that, the Eighth Route Army brazenly blocked the mouth of the lake and restricted the Japanese gunboats from entering Poyang Lake. Anti-aircraft guns and fortress artillery shocked the commander Matsui Ishone. An operational staff officer reported: "Your Excellency, according to the losses of the Yangtze River Fleet, the minesweepers have suffered heavy damage and must be overhauled, and the gunboats No. 1121, No. 1126, and No. 1129 have been hit by bullets and need to be partially repaired. The Eighth Route Army shelled Hukou, killing 7 sailors and wounding 11 people. ”

The chief of staff of the Japanese army continued: "Your Excellency, General, according to the loss of the battleship, it is concluded that the caliber of the fortress gun of the Eighth Route Army is 105 mm, and it is obvious that the Eighth Route Army has been prepared for a long time. "Ordered the Yangtze River Fleet to stand by at the mouth of the lake for the time being, it seems that we can't enter Poyang Lake, and since the Communist Party has made careful preparations, we can only take a ground attack." But it is imperative to destroy the anti-aircraft artillery units of the Eighth Route Army, and we must blow up the arsenal of the Eighth Route Army. Ordered all wings of the army and aviation to use high-altitude saturation bombing. ”

Matsui Shigen took a few steps and continued: "We don't know that the Eighth Route Army is equipped with anti-aircraft machine guns, we don't know if it is equipped with anti-aircraft guns, and now that 105-mm heavy artillery has appeared, we don't know. How many secret weapons does the Eighth Route Army have that we don't know? The Eighth Route Army can make fortress cannons, and it can also be equipped with heavy artillery. It is simply a shame for the Great Japanese Empire that the communist armament-industrial complex is so advanced that our intelligence services do not know anything. In the next ground offensive, the General Staff Headquarters must formulate corresponding measures in light of the Eighth Route Army's weaponry and defense situation. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is no longer possible to defeat the Nationalist Government in the three months set by the base camp, so the base camp has reformulated the plan to capture Wuhan by the end of the year and completely occupy the base on which the Nationalist Government depends. At present, there have been changes in Jiangxi, where the Communist Party is entrenched, and the battle in Jiangxi will be more difficult than we imagined. No matter how difficult it is, we must take Jiangxi to eliminate the Communist Party and complete the Great East Asian Holy War. After Matsui finished speaking, he walked out of the war room and came to another night. Inside the room sat an officer from the Intelligence Headquarters.

How important information is, Matsui knows best. In the past, the situation of the opponent was clear about the situation of the national army, so the Japanese army was able to fight with ease and full of confidence. Now the opponent has been replaced by the Eighth Route Army, in the eyes of the Japanese army, the Eighth Route Army could not be put on the table at all, but the Eighth Route Army in the Songhu battlefield was born out of thin air and dealt a heavy blow to the 10th Army, and now the three-dimensional combat ability of the Eighth Route Army has made the hearts of the senior generals of the Japanese army have a shadow, which is the most terrifying. Therefore, it is urgent to find out the real situation of the Jiangxi Communist Party.

When the intelligence officer from the base camp saw Commander Matsumoto Ishine walking in, he hurriedly stood up and bowed his head and said, "Your Excellency Commander, your subordinate Dazhu Jin has come to take charge of the intelligence work of the Jiangxi Battle under the orders of the Intelligence Headquarters. "Dazhujun, please sit down, at present, there is very little information about the Jiangxi Communist Party, which is very unfavorable to the battle of Jiangxi. How much does the base camp have about the Jiangxi Communist Party? "Your Excellency Commander, we have obtained a lot of secret information about the Jiangxi Communist Party through the Central and Military Commands of the Kuomintang."

Dazhu Jin said with a gloomy face: "The Communist Party has gained a foothold in Jiangxi in 33 years, and the Communist Party can compete with the Kuomintang in Jiangxi, and it is inseparable from a strong figure, this person is Ouyang Jian, chief of staff of the Eighth Route Army and commander of the 3rd Corps of the Eighth Route Army at the time. Ouyang Jian was a member of the Whampoa Military Academy, where he secretly joined the Communist Party and was deeply appreciated by Soviet instructors. He is fluent in two foreign languages and is fluent in English and Russian. This person participated in the Northern Expedition, and participated in the Nanchang Mutiny after the split of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. After the failure of the mutiny, this person hibernated in Yunshui County, Jiujiang. ”

"During the dormant period in Yunshui County, this person made meritorious contributions to suppressing bandits and was appointed as the head of the security regiment by the National Government. With legal status, this person began to build his own army and form an armament enterprise. In 1929, he led his troops to rebel and quickly captured most of Jiujiang. This person was praised by the Communist Party as a rare outstanding talent, and it can be said that the Communist Party's secret development based in Jiangxi has something to do with this person. After more than ten years of development, the Jiujiang area has become the base of the Communist Party's largest military industry and important factories, with Yunshui County as the center. ”

"The Intelligence Headquarters believes that Ouyang Jian can speak two foreign languages, so he is very clear about the world situation and military development, so it is not surprising that the Eighth Route Army can manufacture bazookas, anti-infantry mines, anti-aircraft guns, and fortress artillery. The Intelligence Headquarters sent several groups of agents into Jiangxi, but all of them were cracked by the Communist Party's anti-espionage agency, and the Communist Party's anti-espionage agency made us suffer a lot. Later, the Kuomintang vigorously developed its military strength and economy. We were attracted to the wrong conclusion that the Communists in Jiangxi were local warlords and had little influence on our overall strategy. ”

"A bunch of idiots sitting in the office!" Matsui Ishine scolded angrily. Dazhu Jin was not affected in the slightest and continued: "Recently, our intelligence officers obtained an important piece of information in the United States, from 35 to 37, the United States shipped 15 million tons of scrap steel to Chinese mainland, of which at least 10 million tons of scrap steel entered Jiangxi. "10 million tons of scrap steel?" Matsui Ishine was startled when he heard this, and said: "Where did the Communist Party get the money to import so much scrap steel?" "According to the analysis, it is now known that 50% of the goods imported in China are actually made in Jiangxi."

"The Communist Party has adopted the tactics of concealing the world and the sea, and has accumulated a large amount of money!" "Through what channels does the Communist Party import scrap steel?" "It was a German who secretly assisted, and who is now settled in the United States. The Intelligence Headquarters believes that the Battle of Jiangxi is different from the Battle of Songhu, and although the Eighth Route Army has only 20 divisions and a total strength of more than 200,000 troops, the Eighth Route Army's combat effectiveness and war readiness are far higher than those of the Kuomintang. "If Jiangxi can be used by us, China is just around the corner, and we have even more reason to occupy Jiangxi!"

On the night after five days of continuous bombing in Yunshui County, Shigeru Oshima, who had been promoted to squadron leader, was depressed and wrote to his girlfriend: "Masako, it is very unfavorable to go out of the division, so far only our crew members are left in the whole squadron. The brutality of war is unimaginable. If something bad happens to me, you have to be strong and brave to live ・・・・・・. It is my sacred duty to be loyal to the Emperor, and I will fight bravely for the sake of the Holy War. Shigeru Oshima finished writing the envelope and put it in his jacket pocket, knowing that the letter would not be sent out at the moment.

At this moment, Shigeru Oshima's fear was gone, and his head was full of the pride of jihad. The accuracy of high-altitude bombs is extremely low, so saturation bombing can only be used, and the bombing effect can only be judged by the intensity of ground artillery fire. However, in five days, 16 bombers had been lost and 21 had been damaged. With such a fierce bombardment, the ground artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army did not weaken in the slightest, and Shangfeng's order was to destroy the anti-aircraft artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army, and Oshima Shigeru knew in his heart that maybe a shell would fall on him tomorrow.

A tugboat, towing three Japanese gunboats, was passing through the Jiangyin fortress. On the dark surface of the river, there were tiny waves. The sound of the tugboat's motor was very harsh, and in the command cabin of the No. 1121 gunboat, the captain Tanakaki looked depressed and silent. I didn't even see the shadow of the Eighth Road, but I was defeated, and I was so embarrassed. "Tanaka-kun, don't worry about this, Balu is obviously prepared. Thankfully, we didn't touch the mines, otherwise we would have died in the belly of the fish. The subordinate broke the silence.

"The fortress gun of the Eighth Route is 105 mm, and it is very accurate, which shows that the gunners have been formally trained, and it seems that we will not be able to enter Poyang Lake. Eight roads are very shrewd, using mines as bait and fortified artillery against us. The underground fortress fortifications were difficult to destroy and could only be captured, but the Eighth Route actually laid mines. We can only wait for the army warriors to break through the defense line and capture the eastern region before we can enter Poyang Lake, and I hope the army warriors will bring us good news! ”

That night, the atmosphere in the Jiujiang Command was solemn. Su Yu and political commissar Luo Ronghuan, as front-line commanders, went to the De'an defense line to sit down, and Chief of Staff He Long stayed at the corps headquarters. At present, the 5th Army of Shook is defending the defense line northwest of Jingdezhen to the lake. Peng Dehuai's 2nd Corps, two corps and four independent divisions, defended the Jingdezhen to Shangyao defensive line. The 6th and 7th armies of the 3rd Corps and their affiliated units defended the Jiujiang De'an defensive line. In the next step, the ground offensive of the Japanese army will kick off, and Su Yu and political commissar Luo Ronghuan will naturally sit on the defensive line and command the operation.

"Chief of the General Staff, the Air Defense Forces reported that as of today, in the five days since today, the Japanese army has used saturation bombing, and our anti-aircraft guns have lost 15 guns, 65 soldiers have been killed, and 125 have been wounded." He Long reported. "I went to see how long the Japanese army could hold out, and told the air defense forces that now is the time to compete in will, and we must crush the Japanese bombing, even if it costs a lot, we must make the Japanese army frightened. The Japanese did not care about the loss of fighters, but he must not have been able to afford the loss of good pilots. ”

"The officers and men of the air defense unit are extremely enthusiastic about fighting, and their confidence is unprecedentedly high when they see Japanese fighters being shot down one after another." Ouyang saw that "at present, the buildings in Yunshui County are very badly damaged, and we must warn the people in the city not to feel distressed by the broken altars and jars." As long as we hurt the Japanese planes this time, the Japanese bombers will not dare to come. If we lose an anti-aircraft gun in exchange for a Japanese fighter, we make a lot of money. It was also cost-effective for us to lose 5 anti-aircraft guns in exchange for a Japanese fighter. Comrades, the Japanese army cannot fight with us. ”

On the evening of the eighth day of the bombardment, an operational staff officer at the Japanese headquarters reported: "Your Excellency, commander, we have lost 24 bombers and wounded 33 in eight days. Judging by the bombing effect is not good. In view of the fact that the Eighth Route Army was able to produce anti-aircraft guns, the General Staff Headquarters believed that the losses of pilots would be too great due to such continuous bombing, and suggested that the bombing should be stopped and the ground attack should be fully supported. "Matsui Ishone's face is very ugly." Order the Army Aviation Wing to stop the bombardment of Yunshui County in Jiujiang and fully support the offensive operation! ”

"Order the 40th Division and the 41st Division to take the lead in advancing to Hangzhou, and be sure to take Hangzhou as soon as possible. Order the Yangtze River Fleet to shell the county town of Jiujiang to clear the way for the landing force! Matsui Ishone gritted his teeth, he firmly believed that the invincible Imperial Japanese Army would not be stopped by any force. In addition, Matsumoto Ishone ordered the 33rd Division to take the area on the north bank of the Yangtze River in Jiujiang in preparation for the landing on Jiujiang.