However, these ten days were not idle time for Wang Jue, Zhang Jianjun, Guo Xing and others, who were planning an offensive to regain some of the lost land and regain control of the bridgehead for attacking Mukden and the surrounding areas. In this offensive mission, the main attack was the new 1st Army, which had armored experimental units, and the 2nd Army of the New Army was assisted.

The reason why the old army was not used was because Wang Jue wanted to experiment with what kind of problems his new army had in the process of tearing apart the enemy's defense line and then advancing into the enemy's depth. On the other hand, because there is still a long defensive line that needs to be defended, after all, the Ming army does not have an advantage in the forces on the northern confrontation line.

"The offensive should not be in the territory of Liaozhong County, the attention of the rebels and the elite of the Japanese army is on the line from Liaozhong to Xinmin, and how to strengthen the Liaohe River here is a problem." Zhang Jianjun pointed to the map and analyzed Wang Jue: "Our army's equipment for forcibly crossing the main stream of the Liao River is not sufficient, which is not a good way. ”

Wang Jue was also reluctant to take his newly formed tank unit to risk it by the river, in case it aroused the other party's awareness and there were various problems in swimming, it would really be worth the loss. The appearance of tanks made the pontoon equipment originally used for infantry to cross the river immediately look outdated, but it took time for the production and preparation of new pontoon equipment, and for the time being, it could only be replaced by large-scale equipment for cavalry troops to cross the river.

"The 200 mm caliber heavy artillery that our army has just assembled, as well as the 300 mm caliber super heavy guns, are concentrated on this line...... Including the Yongle Cannon, which is also in this lot. If you choose to cross the river in a different way, the fire support will need to be adjusted on a large scale, and the enemy will be aware of it. Guo Xing's New 2nd Army, unable to get tanks, has been helping those heavy artillery units set up their own firing positions, he added, pointing to the map.

Wang Jue's eyes were staring at the map, as if he was thinking about something. At present, the new army is reluctant to carry out a surprise attack in the enemy's heavily fortified area, after all, even if it is absolutely sure, it should try to avoid a head-to-head battle with the enemy's main force, which is the art of army command, and it is also a problem that a qualified general should always consider.

What's more, the current number of tanks of the new army, even with the addition of those already loaded on trailers ready to be transported to the front, is barely enough to equip an armored division. There is still a qualitative gap between this number and the kind of picture that Wang Jue hopes to form like a cavalry, with thousands of horses galloping through the enemy's defense line and killing the enemy's depth.

"Use heavy artillery units to pin down the enemy in the front, let the new army troops go around from the northern area to the area from Xinmin to Zhangwu County, force the Liuhe River from the villages between the two places, avoid engaging with the main rebel army near the river bank, and advance the battlefield to the vicinity of Daliutun and Gongzhutun as soon as possible." Wang Jue drew a huge curve with his hand on the map, and finally pressed it on the county seat of Xinmin: "Finally capture Xinmin, drive all the rebels across the Liao River back to the east of the river!" ”

"General, according to the data of the exercise, there are speculations that although we can succeed in forcibly crossing the Liuhe River, we will fall into a bitter battle with the rebels if we advance to the important town of Xinmin." Zhang Jianjun said to Wang Jue with some pain: "This is equivalent to using more than 50,000 people of the 1st Army to sweep away more than 150,000 troops of the rebels......"

"150,000 are infantry, and once the defense line is breached, these troops will not pose much of a threat in front of your armored forces." Wang Jue firmly dispelled Zhang Jianjun's worries: "And this is only our campaign goal, not a task that you must complete." ”

Taking his gaze away from Zhang Jianjun's face, Wang Jue looked at Guo Xing, who was a little gloating on the side, and ordered: "Your 2nd Army's task is not light, and the breakthrough has been expanded with the 1st Army. Your troops will have to erect pontoon bridges to ensure the logistical supply of the entire force, and your main force will be responsible for covering the flanks and rear of the New 1st Army. ”

Guo Xing suddenly felt that there were not many tasks on his side, and his face was not as relaxed as he was before when he saw Zhang Jianjun's jokes. Because his troops had no tanks, they were only equipped with cars and some remaining armored cars, but they were responsible for the safety of the long line of defense behind the tank troops, which suddenly made him a little uneasy.

"General! It will not be a problem for the main force of my troops to keep up with the new 1st Army, but it is necessary to hold the positions and villages that have been temporarily captured...... This is no joke. After thinking of his difficulties, Guo Xing opened his mouth and complained to Wang Jue: "Along the way, the infantry of the rebels in these areas will counterattack at any point, and it is not easy to defend such a long defensive line. ”

"If it's easy, wouldn't it be over if I directly put General Feng Pingzhang's 29th Army on top, and still need to mobilize your new 2nd Army?" Wang Jue knew that his subordinates were all catching up and shouting bitterness and tiredness, but in fact they were all resolute and fierce generals.

The tactics were thus determined, and the new army as a whole secretly moved to the area around the Liuhe River, and the remaining defense line was handed over to the old army troops to take over. Be careful to conceal yourself to prevent the opponent's aerial reconnaissance from discovering our intentions. After explaining the task, Wang Jue shifted the topic to another aspect: "The replenishment of tanks must be accelerated, the armored division of the new 1st Army must be fully equipped before departure, and if possible, try to equip the 1st Division of the Praetorian Guard with at least 20 vehicles." ”

"Commander! Could it be that our 2nd Army really had to wait for the Janissaries to use tanks before it could be equipped with this new weapon? When Guo Xing mentioned this matter, he was angry: "Our New 2nd Army has also fought a vicious battle with armored vehicles in Dawa, why didn't you equip us first?" ”

Wang Jue smiled bitterly, and then comforted his subordinates and said, "It's not a matter of me alone, but also the feelings of other departments and His Majesty the Emperor." In addition, Chiyou company has also joined the ranks of producing tanks, and we will only have more and more tanks in our hands, so don't worry. ”

In fact, as Wang Jue said, the experience and scale of the Chiyou company in the production of weapons are not comparable to the 1014 factory, just when he comforted Guo Xing, far away in the workshop of the Chiyou weapons production factory, 20 tanks are already being painted, and the other 20 are about to be completed. With the addition of Chiyou Company, the production capacity of tanks has more than tripled in an instant, and the third batch of tanks shipped to Liaodong is a full 70, which is almost the total number of equipment of an entire armored division.