"So the strength of the newly formed 1st Division in Chengde is no more than 14,000 people at most? Artillery is nothing more than a battalion? Koiso Kuniaki frowned and asked.

Okamura Ninji nodded very seriously and said: "According to the information of the Tianjin secret service, the establishment of the new first division is about 13,000 people, and its establishment is not the normal division of the German armament army under the jurisdiction of three brigades, but the division under the jurisdiction of three regiments, and there is also a mechanized regiment, about 100 automatic vehicles and more than 50 combat vehicles and armored vehicles, and its combatants are about 10,000 people. ”

Okamura Ninji paused slightly and continued: "As for saying that the other side has a regiment of artillery, it is basically nonsense, how many seventy-five-mm guns does the Northeast Army have?" How much does Nanjing Zheng Axe buy every year? How could dozens of artillery pieces come out of thin air? According to its establishment, at most one artillery battalion has twelve L22 Bofors mountain guns, and most of the rest are mortars. ”

After Okamura Ningji finished speaking, he glanced meaningfully at the silent Muto Nobuyoshi, and Koiso Kuniaki, who was standing on the side, fell into deep thought, and then said: "Okamura-kun's analysis has some truth, but we must also realize that this Zhang Xuewu is very good at defense, and the remnants of more than 1,000 people under his command can resist Duomen Jiro in the northern camp of Fengtian by relying on the ruins and broken walls and fortifications, which makes me say that the face of the imperial army of this empire is lost, and it is definitely a very difficult guy to deal with!" ”

Muto Nobuyoshi paced back and forth around the Rehe sand table for a few weeks and then took a deep breath and said: "We now have two choices, the first is to encircle the point and send reinforcements, the new first division is the central army of Nanjing Zhengaxe, and it will be saved if it is attacked, but if the central [***] does not cross the line of the Great Wall for reinforcements, we will be tantamount to giving the central [***] time to mobilize troops to assemble and hold on, and at that time it will inevitably pay heavy casualties in attacking the mouths of the Great Wall." The second is to quickly capture Chengde, concentrate forces along the mouth of the Great Wall and storm at the same time, crush the [***] defenders, form an encirclement of Beiping, and the results of negotiations with the Chinese will be much better when the troops come to the city. ”

Koiso Kuniaki glanced at Okamura Ninji beside him and said: "Our material reserves can only last less than three months of war, if we can fight quickly, of course, it is the best, and the Ministry of War does not want to turn the Battle of Rehe into a full-scale war with China, we are far from ready now, Manchukuo also needs to strengthen public security, Pingjin is an area where British and American interests are concentrated, once we attract the intervention of European and American forces, we will fall into passivity." ”

Muto Nobuyoshi nodded and said: "Then it is decided to attack Chengde with all your strength and annihilate the new first division of the [***] defenders!" Itamoto Masaemon and Nishishiichi are both lieutenant generals, and their qualifications are similar, so is it necessary to send the headquarters to sit in command and take on the responsibility of coordination? ”

As soon as Koiso Kuniaki heard what Muto Nobuyoshi said, he knew that this was Muto Nobuyoshi giving Okamura Ninji a chance, and suddenly his heart was sour, he was the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, not Okamura Ninji! Koiso Kuniaki smiled and said: "Itamoto Masaemon and Nishiyichi are the commanders of the left and right wings respectively, and it is naturally good to unify and coordinate the command, but Chengde only has the defense of one division in the middle [***], and our army has invested in the attack on the front line of the Great Wall, a total of five divisions and two mixed brigades, as well as the attached ironclad vehicle wing, five tank brigades, heavy artillery brigades and other technical arms and special forces, the strength has reached 150,000 people, and the last key point between Chengde and the Great Wall has been captured. The left and right flanks under the command of the two division commanders still have to fight with strength, and as officers, we should trust their abilities. ”

Muto Nobuyoshi hesitated for a moment and smiled slightly: "It's just a little Chengde!" ”

On the evening of March 3, Shen Ke, who was leading his troops to gallop coldly, received a telegram from Zhang Xueliang, Shen Ke, who was not tall and slightly thin, stood in the wind and snow and squeezed the telegram tightly in his hand, his whole body had become numb and lost his senses, and Shen Ke was relieved after several calls from the adjutant on the side.

Shen Ke knew very well that the 32nd Army of Shang Zhen's Division, the 29th Army of Song Zheyuan's Division, the 59th Army of Fu Zuoyi's Division, the 67th Army of Yu Xuezhong's Division, and He Zhuguo's Headquarters were all deploying defenses to the Great Wall passes such as Gubeikou, Lengkou, and Xifengkou, in order to replace the defeated Tang Yulin and Wan Fulin's Division, and once Chengde was lost, the army would inevitably attack the various passes of the Great Wall.

Shen Ke knew very well that only his 106th Division could attack at this moment, and the rest of the troops could not arrive one after another until at least the 5th, and the reinforcements along the way were all the rout of Tangbu and Wanbu, and the enemy who surrounded Chengde and came with reinforcements one after another had at least four or five divisions and more than 100,000 people, and I am afraid that I can't even see a wave when I fill in the more than 6,000 people!

After hesitating for a moment, Shen Ke immediately sent a temporary emergency meeting of officers above the battalion level, and in a sheltered mountain col, Shen Ke, who had a solemn face, raised the telegram in his hand: "The first division of the new formation of Chengde is in danger, and Shangfeng orders our department to take the lead in counterattacking and supporting Chengde!" ”

The officers of the 106th Division had a very ugly face, and everyone understood that this was a typical refueling tactic, allowing them to buy time for the main force to attack, or to disrupt the established deployment of the army, or to put it simply, let them feed the wolves!

Shen Ke saw that his subordinates were not angry, folded the telegram and put it in his pocket, took out a letter from home, shook off the letter and read aloud: "Haiguang Wu'er, beloved wife Mo Nian, Yu Zijun should serve the country and the nation, and now it is said that Dongying Wokou invaded my homeland, killed my parents and brothers, and insulted my sisters, which is unbearable. Glorious lintel! ”

The people present in the howling wind heard it really clearly, and Shen Keyi raised the envelope and said: "Resolved, as a soldier, I should fight to the death, and my generation of soldiers have been condemned since the Shenyang incident. ”

Shen Keping said that the imperial army was rigorous and did not deduct military salaries, so his reputation was very high, since he was open, everyone present took out a pen and paper and simply wrote a suicide note and handed it to the Confidential Department to transfer to the rear.

Shen Ke waved his hand and said: "Pass my order, the staff officer, the secret room, and the logistics department will stay and retreat, and the whole division will speed up the march, run forward, and attack Chengde!" ”

The flag of the 106th Division of the National Revolutionary Army looked so weak in the wind and snow that it seemed to be broken and crushed by the wind and snow at any time, but the flag persisted tenaciously, and the three regiments of the division and the troops directly under the division had a total of 6,157 combat soldiers, and all artillery only had 17 mortars of different calibers and 52 light and heavy machine guns.

The civilians who were left behind were not orthopedic, because they knew their worth very well, and raised their right hands in the wind and snow to give the last military salute to the advancing ranks.

The officers and men of the 106th Division knew very well that this was not a war at all, but a death sentence! For the country! Heroic!