"What!?" Iida Shojiro's eyes widened, and his face was full of cannibalistic expressions, "Yue Weihan went to Mandalay!?" ”

"It can't be!" Haruki Isayama also exclaimed in a gaffe, "Incredible, this is simply incredible, doesn't Yue Weihan know that Mandalay will soon be lost, and his Sixth Army will soon be destroyed?" Or did he really think that he could change the outcome of the Battle of Mandalay on his own? Sato-kun, could you have heard it wrong? ”

"Hello." Officer Shaozo bowed his head abruptly and said, "Your Excellency, the news is undoubted. ”

"Maniac!" Hearing this, Haruki Isayama said awe-inspiringly, "This is really a madman who can't be measured by the mentality of ordinary people!" ”

"That's fine!" Iida Shojiro slapped the edge of the sand table and said in a cruel voice, "Yue Weihan's personal visit to Mandalay to supervise the battle will definitely cause great obstacles to the imperial army's plan to encircle and annihilate the Sixth Army of China, but it also gives the imperial army the opportunity to eliminate Yue Weihan, a big henchman, in one fell swoop, this time, Yue Weihan must be captured alive no matter what!" ”

………… Mandalay, 49th Division Headquarters.

Taking advantage of the fact that the sky was still dark and the army had not yet launched an attack, Yue Weihan summoned all the officers above the battalion commander level of the Sixth Army and convened an emergency military meeting at the headquarters of the 49th Division.

In the conference room, all the officers had arrived.

In the front row are the chiefs of staff of three divisions, and there are also a few empty seats, and in the back two rows are the commanders and chiefs of staff of nine regiments, and then in the back are the commanders of 27 infantry battalions and more than a dozen divisional artillery battalions, engineer battalions, baggage battalions, and other units directly under them.

"Commander-in-Chief Yue has arrived!" Suddenly, the loud roar of the guards rang out outside the door of the conference room.

The more than seventy officers in the conference room suddenly turned their heads in unison and looked at the entrance of the gate!

Amid the heavy footsteps, Yue Weihan, commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, had already strode into the conference room surrounded by Major General Luo Youlun, chief of staff of the Fifth Army, and three major generals and division commanders, including Peng Bisheng, Lu Guoshui, and Chen Mianyue.

Yue Weihan put his hands behind his back, his sharp gaze swept over the faces of all the officers one by one, and then said in a deep voice: "Before boarding the plane, someone secretly said about me behind my back, saying that I flew to Mandalay at this critical time, for a show, to win the hearts of the Sixth Army, but also to gain fame and attract attention!" ”

There was silence in the conference room, and apparently, the officers of the Sixth Army also had such suspicions.

Although Yue Weihan had already threatened to live and die with all the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Army in the telegram announcing the whole army, no one was sure whether he could be consistent in his words and deeds in the end! Since the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, how many [***] senior generals have threatened to live and die with the officers and soldiers, but before the last moment came, the vast majority of generals abandoned their troops and fled.

There are still a few high-ranking generals who can really live and die with the officers and soldiers under their command, after all, will Yue Weihan be one of them?

In the suffocating silence, Yue Weihan said loudly: "Today, I will stack my words here, as long as there is one person who insists on resisting the war in Mandalay, I will never leave here for half a step!" Anyone who sees me take a step out of here before the Battle of Mandalay is over can shoot me with a black gun! I'm someone, it's not a pity to die! ”

Applause, the conference room suddenly burst into warm applause, even Luo Youlun, Peng Bisheng and other senior officers couldn't help but join in the applause, although the concept of loyalty to Chairman Jiang has long been integrated into their bone marrow, but this does not prevent them from respecting and respecting Yue Weihan, because Yue Weihan is a real soldier!

Yue Weihan pressed his hand again and again, and the warm applause gradually subsided.

"Just now, I noticed that in addition to admiration, there was also anger in your eyes." After the applause subsided, Yue Weihan continued, "I saw undisguised anger! I know why you are angry, because someone Yue has made inappropriate remarks about the Sixth Army, and because you have questioned the necessary surnames for the battle of Mandalay! ”

"I officially retract my excessive remarks about the evaluation of the Sixth Army today."

"The Sixth Army is by no means a rabble, but a real force!"

"For the survival of the country and the survival of the nation, millions of Sanxiang children are fighting bloody battles on the battlefield, many of them have sacrificed their young lives, and your bravery is enough to move the heavens and the earth! Future generations will always remember your deeds, and the Chinese martyrs monument will forever cast your immortal legend! ”

The room erupted in applause again, and many officers even shed tears.

Since the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the soldiers of Sanxiang have done their best, but the general situation is not good, although they forgot to die on the battlefield, bloody fighting, but in the end they are still defeated repeatedly, and they have abandoned the city and lost their land, they have borne too much infamy, but today, they finally heard a fair evaluation from the peak!

Waving his hand to signal everyone to be silent, Yue Weihan said again: "Now, let me talk about the reason for defending Mandalay!" ”

After that, Yue Weihan looked around at everyone and smiled: "In the past few days, I believe that everyone here has cursed me behind my back, scolding me for being slow to react, recommending people's lives, and rejecting dissidents...... That's nothing, because you don't know the whole campaign, but now, it's time for you to know the whole plan! ”

………… Yucheng, Operations Department of the Military Commission.

General Ho, General Chen, General Bai and other senior generals of the party-state are contemplating their brows around the simulated sand table, which is the offensive and defensive posture of the two armies in Burma, and the operational staff officers of the operations department are still quite high-level; although they are not on the front line in Burma, they have basically laid out the battle situation in Burma by virtue of the war reports sent back by the expeditionary force.

"I don't know what to say, I don't know what to say at all." General Chen patted the edge of the sand table and said abruptly, "The main force of the 39th Group Army is still far away in northern Yunnan, and the Fifth Army has been unable to cross the Irrawaddy River for a long time, Mandalay has become a dead move, Yue Weihan really thinks that he can turn the tide of the battle on his own?" ”

"Yes, in the big picture, there is no need for Mandalay to hold on." Admiral He also nodded and agreed, "Holding Mandalay, but only winning the local initiative in the next stage, does not have much impact on the entire Burma war situation, just for such a trivial initiative, but to sacrifice more than 20,000 officers and soldiers of the Sixth Army in exchange, is it worth it?" ”

The generals in the war room turned their attention to General Bai and General Xue Yue.

When it comes to tactical command ability and insight on the battlefield, there are so many senior generals of the party-state present, and there is really no one who can compare with General Bai and General Xue Yue, but at this moment, General Bai and General Xue Yue are also tightly eyebrowed, and they also can't guess what kind of medicine is sold in Yue Weihan's gourd?

General Xue Yue touched his chin and said to General Bai: "Gong Jian, what do you think?" ”

General Bai shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I really can't guess, Yue Weihan's use of soldiers has always advocated the sword to go sideways, he still likes to take risks, he can not fight head-on, he will never fight hard with the enemy, but this time, he is abnormal, not only strictly ordered the Sixth Army to defend Mandalay, but also went to the front line to supervise the battle, which is very abnormal!" ”

"If something goes wrong, you will be a demon!" General Xue Yue nodded and said in a deep voice, "Now it is basically certain that Yue Weihan must have other plans, but I don't know, what his plan is?" The war situation in Myanmar has gradually become clearer, and the situation between us and the enemy is also very clear, I really can't think of anything else to do. ”

………… Ramgarh base, India.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Anglo-Burmese Army, Admiral Alexander, was chatting with Sir Smith, the Governor-General in Burma.

"Your Excellency General, do you think the Chinese Expeditionary Force will be able to defeat Yue himself?" Sir Smith asked.

Alexander shook his head and said regretfully: "Originally, there was still a chance, but now, due to the stupid command of the new commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, Yue Weihan, the Sixth Army has gone deep alone, and more than 20,000 people have fallen into the siege of the Yue Army, and the whole army will be wiped out, so I am afraid that Burma will not be able to take it back." ”

Smith frowned and said, "But I heard that Yue Weihan is a famous general. ”

"Famous general?" Alexander snorted, "That's just a Chinese political axe." ”

Saying that, Alexander said with great contempt: "Since the middle of the 19th century, the Chinese have degenerated, their army has long been without blood surnames, thinking that back then, two thousand British troops could take the capital of China, such a country, such a nation, such an army, what combat effectiveness can there be, and how can there be famous generals?" ”

"You mean, Yue Weihan is blowing it out?" Smith was incredibly authentic.

"Of course." Alexander pouted and said lightly, "The Chinese have suffered too many defeats, and if they don't shape one or two names to win people's hearts in the future, I'm afraid that their army will collapse long ago, and their people will lose their will to resist long ago. ”

"Ugh." Smith sighed, "Looks like I can't go back to Burma." ”

"Don't be discouraged, Mr. Governor." Alexander patted Smith on the shoulder, so he said humorously, "The army of the British Empire will soon gain a foothold in Africa, and it will turn to a counteroffensive in the near future, as long as Nazi Germany on the European battlefield is resolved, I don't have to worry about myself in the Asian theater at all, and Burma is still the British Empire after all." ”

………… Wuhan, the headquarters of the 3rd Army Corps.

The commander of the Central China Front, General Okamura Ninji, was playing against Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo, commander of the 3rd Army Corps, and the chess game had entered the middle game, and Okamura Ninji had surrounded a big dragon of Okabe Naosaburo, and the two sides were surrounding this big dragon and launched an extremely tragic battle on the chessboard, just like the war of aggression against China.

"Your Excellency, I wonder what you think about the war situation in Burma?" Naosaburo Okabe slapped a sunspot on the chessboard and asked.

Okamura frowned for a moment, and then remained silent for a while, but he didn't know if he was unwilling to answer the question, or if Okabe Naosaburo's move made him fall into a long test.

Seeing this, Okabe Naosaburo hurriedly said, "If Your Excellency the General finds it inconvenient, don't say anything." ”

As the commander of the Central China Front, it is indeed inappropriate to rashly comment on the war situation in Burma, although this is only a private occasion, but it is inevitable that there is a suspicion of slandering the Southern Army and Terauchi Shouichi.

Okamura Ninji was silent for a long time, and asked instead of answering, "Okabe-kun, what do you think?" ”

"I think there's something weird about the war in Myanmar." Okabe Naosaburo muttered, "Especially the Battle of Mandalay, I can't see through it, Yue Weihan's difficulty is needless to say, His Excellency the General and I have already learned many times, but he ordered the Sixth Army to defend Mandalay, but no matter how you look at it, it's a dead move!" ”

"Do you also think that the Sixth Army's defense of Mandalay is a dead move?" Okamura asked faintly.

Okabe Naosaburo shook his head and smiled bitterly: "My intuition tells me that Yue Weihan's move should have another deep meaning, but I really can't see the doorway, because the war situation in Myanmar is already very clear, as long as there are no big accidents, as little as three days, as much as seven days, the imperial army will inevitably recover Mandalay, and Yue Weihan may not be able to escape this catastrophe." ”

"The 39th Group Army has arrived in northern Yunnan." Okamura Ninji said, "Okabe-kun, you shouldn't ignore the U.S. Air Force factor. ”

"I didn't ignore it." Okabe Naosaburo said disapprerovingly, "But even if the U.S. Air Force gives up sending war materials to China's political axes and goes all out to airlift the troops of the 39th Army, it can only send one regiment of troops to Mandalay every day at most!" If the Imperial Army had interfered at all costs, this number would have been even less! ”

"You don't need a regiment." Okamura Ningji shook his head and said in a quiet voice, "Yue Weihan only needs to airlift one battalion of troops to Mandalay every day, which is enough to make the battle situation in Mandalay not continue to be rotten, don't forget, the 55th and 56th divisions are already tired divisions, while the 39th Army has been recuperating for a long time." ”

"So what?" Okabe Naosaburo said, "In five days at most, the Guards Division will rush to Mandalay, after the Guards Division joins the Mandalay battlefield, can there be any suspense in this battle?" ”

Okamura Ningji said: "Okabe-kun, you still underestimate the spiritual willpower of the [***] team, especially the predecessor of the Sixth Army is still the Hunan Army, which is known for its strong combat effectiveness!" As long as the Chinese decisively abandon the outer defense line and stubbornly defend the city center to fight street battles with the imperial army, then there is absolutely no problem in holding on for half a month, even if the Guards Division arrives and enters the battlefield. ”

"Half a month?" Okabe Naosaburo frowned and said, "In half a month, the Fifth Army of China will be able to cross the river." ”

"It's not just the threat of the Fifth Army, with this half a month, Yue Weihan can forcibly train an airborne force with the help of the British army base in India, and then put it here!" After that, Okamura Ninji slapped a white piece on the chessboard, and the big dragon that Okabe Naosaburo was surrounded suddenly had no way to escape.

"Airborne Forces?" Naosaburo Okabe looked at the chessboard blankly and said awe-inspiringly, "Yangon!?" ”

"Yangon Airport, to be exact!" Okamura Ningji said quietly, "Yue Weihan's ambitions are great, if he succeeds in his plan, then the Southeast Asian battlefield is likely to become the first Allied battlefield to turn to a strategic counteroffensive!" ”

(To be continued)