When Ouyang Jian arrived in Nanning, Bai Chongxi, as the commander of the theater, naturally had to report on the military deployment. Soon after, the headquarters issued an order for generals and officers above the division level to gather in Nanning, and a meeting on military deployment was held at the theater headquarters. During this period, when the generals and officers above the division level stationed in various places gathered in Nanning one after another, Ouyang Jian seized the time to communicate with Du Yuming, the commander of the 5th Army, and used Lao Jiang's hint to win Du Yuming to think about the problem from his own standpoint. There was no obstacle to Ouyang Jian's kung fu, and Du Yuming almost didn't think about agreeing with Ouyang Jian's opinion.

Three days later, the Fourth Theater Military Deployment Conference was held, and first of all, Theater Commander Bai Chongxi analyzed the Japanese army's operational intentions, and his purpose was to resist the enemy and smash the Japanese army's intentions along the Yangjiang River in Guangdong and the coast of Guangxi. This defense plan is beyond reproach, but as far as its own plan is concerned, a defensive front of thousands of kilometers is the biggest drawback, and the dispersion of defensive forces is the biggest weakness. The reason is that the situation of the defending troops is different, and it is understandable if the defending troops all have the conditions of the 5th Army, and Bai Chongxi's defense plan just ignores this.

"Ladies and gentlemen, according to intelligence, the Japanese army is mobilizing troops, and it is estimated that the Japanese army will complete the deployment of troops in September at the earliest, and the Japanese army is estimated to launch an offensive in October. Depending on the situation with the Japanese army, we have at least 4 months to prepare. The southern Hunan defensive operation has provided us with valuable experience, and I am ready to learn from the successful experience of the southern Hunan defensive operation, and build a large-depth defense line in Yangjiang, Guangdong, and the coastal areas of Guangxi, so as to keep the enemy out of the defense line. At present, Jiangxi is providing vigorous support, and a large number of weapons, equipment, and ammunition will be delivered to the theater one after another, and I am very confident in this. ”

Bai Chongxi continued with great ambition: "Everyone, its military deployment is as follows, the 31st Army is deployed in the Yangjiang area of Guangdong, the ・・・・・・. "Bai Chongxi's military deployment is very thorough, and there is no problem on the surface. Du Yuming glanced at Ouyang Jian and stood up and said, "Commander Bai, there is no problem with your military deployment. Now I put forward three points for your reference: First, what if the Japanese army bypasses our preset defensive position of thousands of kilometers of defensive line? Second, our total strength is only 400,000, and there are so many important points for defense that the defense line built in four months cannot be done at all. ”

"With such a wide front, if the Japanese break through a little, we will collapse on the whole line, and the defensive forces are too scattered. Third, the weapons and combat effectiveness of our defending units are uneven, while the weapons and equipment and combat effectiveness of the Japanese troops are basically the same. ”

Du Yuming said unceremoniously: "Chief Bai, I understand your feelings, and you can't keep the enemy out of the war zone, but we can't do it at all in the current situation." Bai Chongxi said a little unhappily: "Commander Du, do you have any good suggestions?" "The lowly position believes that the forces on the Nanning and Wuzhou fronts should be concentrated to form a strong defensive line, and the coastal areas of Guangdong and Guangxi should be abandoned. If we lose on the first line of Nanning and Wuzhou, we can retreat to Kunlun Pass to form a second line of defense, and I think that the current conditions are the most realistic. ”

Bai Chongxi couldn't explain Du Yuming's judgment for a while, so he had to turn his attention to Ouyang Jian for help. Ouyang Jian knew that Bai Chongxi would not fail to see the drawbacks, and he had selfish intentions to protect Guangxi. Ouyang Jian didn't want to break through: "First of all, I want to say that the defensive operations in southern Guizhou in the future are incomparable with the defensive operations in southern Hunan. I don't think there are problems with the military deployment of Commander White. However, the question raised by Commander Du was also to the point. Assuming that all the units in our 4th theater have the conditions of the 5th Army, let alone defensive operations, even if the offensive is invincible, we can quickly take Guangzhou and drive the Japanese army to the sea. ”

"Guys, don't think that we can get carried away with our victory in the defense of Shonan. Our enemies are still strong, and in the battles of Songhu, Taierzhuang, Jiangxi, and Wuhan, we have only one purpose, that is, to use space in exchange for time and create conditions for a protracted war of resistance. Judging from the overall strategic perspective, we have achieved our strategic objectives at a heavy price. On the other hand, the defensive area of Shonan is narrow, so we can concentrate our forces to build a defense line in large depth. In addition, in the Shonan defensive operation, we have no way to retreat and must defend to the death. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, the defensive area of Guinan is too wide, if a Japanese army comes in from the 100,000 mountains, what will we do? Do not think that the Japanese will follow the rules, they are very cunning. Our current strategic purpose is to ensure the stability of Hunan, Yunnan, and Sichuan, so I believe that it is advisable to stop the Japanese army from advancing north on the line of Nanning and Wuzhou. Ladies and gentlemen, don't care about the gains and losses of one city or one place, the purpose of the Japanese army is to cut off the coastal communication line of Guangxi, cut off the Yunnan-Vietnam railway line, and then cut off the Yunnan-Burma highway transportation line. “

"Ladies and gentlemen, assuming that the Japanese army does not land on the coast of Guangxi, his fleet will also be able to cut off the sea passage of Guangxi. If the Japanese army landed in Haiphong, Vietnam, it would also be easy to cut off the Yunnan-Vietnam railway line. We are powerless to stop the Japanese army from achieving this strategic goal. Therefore, I propose to abandon the areas west of Guangdong and the coastal areas of Guangxi, there is nothing remarkable. On the contrary, the Japanese army has a long front and will carry a heavy burden. If we gather five fingers and inflict heavy losses on the Japanese army on the front line of Nanning and Wuzhou, we will crush the Japanese army's northward strategy, which is our core purpose. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, Japan is an island nation, and war resources are very scarce. In particular, the Japanese army was very short of soldiers. As long as we continue to consume the elite troops of the Japanese army, its war potential will become weaker and weaker. The Chinese nation has 40,000,000 compatriots, and even if we sacrifice tens of millions of people, we will not be able to break our will to resist. Japan's maximum can mobilize 7 million troops, and we can raise an army of 20 million. Remember, the final victory in the war depends on people, and it is precisely our human resources that are our greatest advantage. ”

"Commander Bai, you are an excellent military talent, I believe you will be able to establish meritorious deeds, the ancients said: save the land and lose people, people and land are lost, people and land are lost, people and land are gained. Don't care about the gains and losses of one city and one place, advance and retreat freely to show the true character of a hero. The Chinese nation is a strong man in war, and although our weaponry and soldiers' combat effectiveness are inferior to those of the other side, our wisdom must never belong to the other side. Commander White, I believe in your abilities. Ouyang Jian's words made the blood of the generals present boil.

Du Yuming, Zheng Dongguo and other generals of the 5th Army praised them all, and the generals of other troops hindered Bai Chongxi's face and did not express his position, but the expression on his face could see the clues. Ouyang Jian did not embarrass Bai Chongxi, since everyone did not object, it was the only choice to build a solid defense line on the front line of Nanning and Wuzhou. Bai Chongxi stood up and said: "General Ouyang, I didn't think about the problem from the perspective of the overall situation, as the commander of the theater of operations, I took the initiative to give up worrying about being blamed, frankly it was selfish. Just after listening to General Ouyang's words, his heart suddenly brightened. For the sake of the overall victory, what is the personal honor and disgrace? ”

"Commander Bai, I will report the new military deployment to the Ministry of Defense!" Bai Chongxi immediately guessed the mystery, it turned out that this was what Lao Jiang meant. "General Ouyang, thank you." Ouyang Jian knew the original history, Bai Chongxi was replaced by Lao Jiang due to the defeat in the early battle. This time, Ouyang Jian had to let Bai Chongxi sit firmly in the position of commander of the Fourth Theater of Operations, which was for the sake of fighting in Burma in the future. On the same day, the new military deployment was reported to the Ministry of National Defense, and soon the Ministry of National Defense approved the implementation of a defense plan on the front line of Nanning and Wuzhou.

That night, Bai Chongxi invited Ouyang Jian to have a drink, and after a few glasses of wine, Bai Chongxi was a little depressed and said: "I know what the president thinks, and he never says it clearly, he respects me on the surface, but he actually doesn't trust me, I know this." "Brother Jiansheng, since ancient times, heroes have been judged by success or failure. The Battle of Taierzhuang proved your command skills, and I know in my heart what you are worried about. Now that I'm coming to the 4th Theater as a Senior Advisor, I will do my best to prevent the President from interfering with the command of the battlefield and let you make the most of it, so please rest assured. ”

"Brother Ouyang, I'm relieved to have your words!" Bai Chongxi's expression was refreshed when he heard this. "When fighting in a large corps, it is particularly important to work in unison and obey commands. If there is slackness, perfunctory, lying about the military situation, greed for life and fear of death, no matter who it is, I will be merciless in military law. Ouyang Jian made a loud noise. Bai Chongxi was overjoyed and said: "In this case, I have new ideas for the first-line fortification in Nanning and Wuzhou?" Ouyang Jian's eyes lit up and said, "What do you think?" ”

"At present, the 31st Army is fortified in Yangjiang, Guangdong, and I am ready to leave one division to continue to confuse the Japanese army, and two divisions will withdraw to the Wuzhou line. A small number of troops were deployed to fortify the coastal areas of Guangxi, and if the Japanese army chose to land and carry out a continuous blockade to attract the Japanese army to the north, I was prepared to ・・・・・ in Nanning. Ouyang Jian's eyes pointed at the map and praised: "Bold ideas are good strategies." It is suggested to build a defensive line on the Yongjiang River in Nanning, so that the Japanese army can be put into the city to fight street battles, and the urban area is the best in-depth fortification. ”

"Great, this can hold the Japanese army back." Bai Chongxi agreed. "In addition, the 1st and 2nd Tank Regiments of the 5th Army should not be dispersed, but should be concentrated to form an assault force, which can quickly block the waist and cut off the Japanese army." "Brother Ouyang, you are too different, the tank and combat vehicles are concentrated and assaulted, the mobile combat is strong, and the interspersed is fast, this tactical means is completely feasible." "Brother Jiansheng, this is just our preliminary idea, whether we can achieve this goal depends on the attack of the Japanese army!"

Bai Chongxi said firmly: "Brother Ouyang, with you in charge of the 4th War Zone, I am fully confident that I can eat a division of Japanese troops." "Brother Jiansheng, I believe in your ability, but the details must not be ignored, and you must think about the unfavorable factors as much as possible. I heard that bandits in the 100,000 mountains are very rampant, and I would like to know the specific situation. "You're worried about the idea of the Japanese fighting bandits!" "It's not a possibility, but it's a certainty, the Japanese won't let go of any opportunity!"

Bai Chongxi pondered for a moment and said: "There are dozens of bandits entrenched in the 100,000 mountains, ・・・・・・ of them. ”