Wuhan, the headquarters of the Japanese army.

Lieutenant General Nemoto Hiroshi, chief of staff of the Central China Front, strode into the war room, and immediately closed his feet to Okamura Ninji and said: "Your Excellency, the front line is urgent, the forward of the 3rd Division and the 6th Infantry Wing have occupied Chongqing a few times ago, and have taken control of the official residence of the leader of the branch Chiang Kai-shek a few times ago, but ......", "But what?" Okamura Ninji said slightly anxiously.

Nemoto Bo sighed and said with emotion: "Jiang Yu was killed in the battle of Jiāo. "Dead!? Okamura Ninji was slightly distracted, "Has the identity been confirmed?" "It's verified. Genbo nodded and said solemnly, "Since the Qth Division first cut off the road from Chongqing to the Great Northwest by making a detour flank, the high-ranking generals and high-ranking officials of the Chinese Army who fled from Chongqing in a hurry were basically captured alive, and Jiang's identity was verified by his wife and the Minister of Finance. ”

"Madame and the Minister of Finance?" Okamura Ningji said, "Is it Mrs. Song and Kong Xiangxi?" "Yes. "In the convoy of Mrs. Song and the Kong family, hundreds of tons of gold and millions of dollars in cash were also seized, as well as a large number of valuable gold, silver, jewelry, calligraphy and painting antiques. ”

"And that's to be expected." , Okamura Ninji nodded, and said in an inexplicable tone, "Although the country is poor and backward, it is a large country with a vast territory and a large population after all. ”

After saying this, Okamura Ninji said again: "Gen Jun, immediately report to the base camp, and at the same time telegraph the whole world, the leader of the Chinese Resistance Army, Jiang has been killed by the imperial army, most of the high-ranking generals of the resistance army and most of the high-ranking officials of the resistance government have been captured alive, and the Chinese resistance government in Chongqing has actually perished!" ”

"Hello." Nemo Bo suddenly bowed his head, "Take the order and leave."

Seeing the figure of Nemoto Hiroshi go away, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps next to him, suddenly said: "Your Excellency, is it too early to report victory?" Although Chiang was dead, the remnants of the Koshina army continued to resist "and were quite tenacious, and judging from the current situation, the Battle of the Great Southwest would not end for at least two months." "Shinozuka-kun, don't worry. Okamura Ninji waved his hand and said indifferently, "Although the remnants of the branch are still stubborn in the corner", they can only fight separately after all, without a leader like Chiang, it is no longer possible for the various factions of the Chinese army to form a joint force, and the imperial army can easily break them down and destroy them one by one. ”

"Will there be another Jiang?" , Yoshio Shinozuka suddenly said, "For example, Yue Weihan? "Yue Weihan? Okamura Ninji smiled slightly, and said, "Although his prestige and military exploits are enough, but the poor political qualifications are not a star and a half, if Yue Weihan wants to take the throne, I dare to guarantee that the country will only be better!" In short, it is impossible for China to have another long-awaited supreme leader in a short period of time. ”

Yoshio Shinozuka frowned and said, "What if Yue Weihan doesn't come forward himself" and instead supports Yan Xishan or Long Yun? With the political and metallurgical qualifications of Yan and Long, supplemented by Yue Weihan's prestige and outstanding military exploits, wouldn't it be possible to win the hearts of the people and reverse the crisis? At least I can't think of any other power in China that can compete with such a combination. Okamura Ninji didn't answer and asked: "Shinozuka-kun, do you think Yue Weihan seems to be a person who is willing to live under people?" Yoshio Shinozuka shook his head after a moment and said, "It's not like that." ", Yan'an, Wayaobao.

When Zhou Gong and Mr. Zhu hurriedly walked into the kiln dòng of the máo main seat, the máo main seat was immersed in revising the article.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, the "máo [Lord] sat down and said without raising his head: "Ah, you guys wait a minute, I'll finish revising the manuscript." "Oh old máo, don't change the manuscript. Mr. Zhu snatched the máo pen from the hand of the máo [master" and said urgently, "Something is wrong, I just received an urgent report from the Eighth Route Army office in Chongqing, and the Japanese army in Central China has already invaded Chongqing a few times ago" Chairman Jiang led the guards to fight with the Japanese army for half a day, and he has been martyred! ”

"Huh?" Xi Huoran got up and said awe-inspiringly, "Chairman Jiang was martyred?" In the past half a month, the Japanese army has been defeated in the southwest, and the Japanese army has invaded Yunnan, Sichuan and southern Shaanxi, Kunming and Xi'an have been lost a few days ago, and the Japanese army in the middle is only a stone's throw away from Chongqing, and the loss is only a few days.

However, the Máo Chair never expected that Chongqing would be lost so quickly.

What's more, what's even more unbelievable is that Chairman Chiang, the leader of the national government, actually fought and died in battle!

Zhou Gong nodded and said solemnly: "The truth of this news has been verified from the side of the day himself. ”

Mr. Zhu said in a hurried tone: "Now, the Chinese nation has reached the most critical moment, Chairman Jiang was martyred, and the southwest has de facto fallen, and the united front that originally led the whole of China in the War of Resistance has actually collapsed, and there must be a new leader and a new political party to stand up and preside over the overall situation and lead the war of resistance!" But the main seat quickly calmed down, and the more important the matter, the calmer he became.

"I think a provisional government should be formed immediately." , Mr. Zhu said, "The border district government fǔ should tǐng body out!" "The boss's words are very reasonable, and the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War in China cannot lose its strong leadership. Zhou Gong nodded, and then said, "However, do you send a telegram to the Nanyang Bureau, the Northern Bureau, and the Southern Bureau, first solicit the opinions of the party, and then call the ** war zones such as the Second War Zone, the Ninth War Zone, and the main political parties of the People's Republic of China?" ”

Zhou Gong said very tactfully, but his meaning was very clear, the opinions of the Northern Bureau and the Southern Bureau did not matter, the key was the attitude of the Nanyang Bureau and Yue Weihan.

Yue Weihan is now a national hero, and his every move affects the hearts of compatriots across the country!

If Yue Weihan made his party membership public and clearly expressed his support for leading the National War of Resistance, then the remaining theaters and the main party of the People's Republic of China would basically have no objections, and most of the allies led by the US government would also recognize the leadership of the Chinese War of Resistance because of Yue Weihan.

On the contrary, if Yue Weihan's attitude is ambiguous, then it will be difficult to say about this matter.

"There's no rush for this." The main seat just waved his hand and said solemnly, "It's better to send a message of condolence to the whole party, the whole army and even the compatriots of the whole country first" calling on the whole party, the whole army and even the people of the whole country to unite and fight to the end, and swear to complete the unfinished will of Jiang Gong at any cost, "Even if the last person fights, we must expel the Japanese invaders and return my rivers and mountains!" ”

"Okay, I'll go and draft the message." Zhou Gong nodded, nodded, and then turned to leave.

The máo seat sucked hard. Yan, and said to Mr. Zhu: "Boss, the main force of the Japanese army in Central China has been trapped in the southwest, and it is impossible to return to the provinces of Central China in a short period of time." He sent an urgent telegram to the Northern Bureau, suggesting that 150 and 200 main force regiments be sent to cross the Yangtze River to the south and cooperate with the New Fourth Army to liberate most of the rural areas of the central China provinces and deal a heavy blow to the arrogance of the Japanese army in Central China. ”

Kuala Lumpur, Expeditionary Force Headquarters.

Di Gong walked into the war room with a serious expression and said to Yue Weihan: "Zhongshu, I just got the news that the Japanese army in Central China has occupied Chongqing, and Chairman Jiang has already sacrificed his life for the country. ”

Yue Weihan was silent, but his heart was already turbulent.

It can be said that the current situation is basically what Yue Weihan tried his best to promote, and if Yue Weihan had been able to resist Stilwell's pressure and insist on sending one or two group armies back to the southwest, the Japanese army in Central China would not have wanted to occupy the southwest, and the Nationalist Government would not have perished legally, and Chairman Chiang would not have been martyred.

However, in Yue Weihan's view, Chairman Chiang is a dead knot for the Chinese nation.

If the new "China" country after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War did not want to repeat the mistakes of history, "if you want to avoid the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Chairman Chiang must die, and the national government must die.

The big husband stands in his own right, does something, and does nothing!

It's just that "Yue Weihan never expected that Chairman Chiang did not retreat to Jiuquan, the second capital of the country", but really chose to burn with Chongqing, as the supreme leader of the national government, and made such a decision to sacrifice his life for righteousness, which required a lot of courage, after all, no one would blame Chairman Chiang even if he fled to Jiuquan.

"Command!" Yue Weihan Huo Ran turned around and said to Huang Jie, chief of staff of the expeditionary force, "The 5th and 1st, the division immediately returned to Kunming along the Yunnan-Burma Highway, and the aviation division immediately carried out a comprehensive bombing of the Japanese military facilities in Yunnan!" ”

In Yue Weihan's heart, there is a bottom line, there is a principle, Chairman Jiang can die, and the national government can die, but the 20,000,000 compatriots in the rear of the southwest must not be slaves of the country! Now that Chairman Jiang has been martyred, and Yue Weihan's intention has been realized, it is naturally time to send troops to the southwest to save the country!

"Yes." Huang Wu settled down, and immediately turned around and walked away.

The news of Chairman Chiang's martyrdom was a bolt from the blue for Huang Jie and other generals from Whampoa, but as a veteran of the battlefield, they quickly recovered from the huge shock, and from this moment on, Chairman Chiang and the Nationalist Government have become a thing of the past, and now their identity is a soldier, regardless of politics, just fighting!

Seeing Huang Jie's figure go away, Yue Weihan said to Deng Gong again: "Suburbs, immediately call the whole army, disclose the identity of my party and Liu Yi and others, and then call Yan'an, suggesting that the party Central Committee immediately call ** and the Democratic National Construction Association, the Democratic League, the Jiusan Society and other main political parties to convene the first national political consultative conference in Yan'an to elect a provisional political party. ”

Yan'an, Wayao Fort.

When Zhou Gong and Mr. Zhu walked into the kiln again, they saw that the máo seat was in a daze at the map on the table, and on the table was a military topographic map of Central China, on which some miscellaneous symbols were traced with a pencil, a circle in the east, and a bar in the west.

Zhou Gong noticed that the food placed on the pit had long been cold, but he still didn't move a single chopstick.

Obviously, the chairman is thinking about a major strategic decision, and whenever there is a major strategic decision, he will always be as uneasy as he is now.

Mr. Zhu also knew the máo seat very well, and said with a smile: "Old máo, do you have any ideas again?" ”

Ah, Mr. Enm, are you here? Hearing this, the main seat raised his head, and immediately smiled and beckoned the two to sit at the low table on the pit, and then pointed to the map on the table and said to the two, "Look, this is a topographic map of Central China and the Great Southwest, I just roughly calculated that the supply line of the Japanese army in Central China has exceeded 2,000 kilometers!" ”

After saying this, the main seat said: "With such a long supply line, our troops can make it impossible for hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops in the southwest battlefield to eat and walk around, and if they plan well, and there are Jīng Rui troops participating in the battle, it may even be possible to severely damage the Japanese army in Central China that invaded the southwest." ”

"Oh?" Mr. Zhu quipped, "Old máo, this is a big game of chess, and it's not easy to play." ”

"It's not good." The main seat nodded, and said thoughtfully, "There are many links in the middle, and they are very complicated, and it is difficult to solve the problem of unified command alone, but the most important thing is that our army still lacks effective troops to fight a tough battle, and even if it surrounds the main force of Okamura Ninji, it still can't be moved." ”

"Hehe, old máo, that's not a problem." Mr. Zhu raised the telegram in his hand and said with a smile, "Yue Weihan has just sent a telegram that the 5th and G armies of the expeditionary force are fully equipped with American weapons and equipment, and the armored division has been along the Yunnan-Burma Highway to Kunming, Yue Weihan also said that 6 infantry divisions will be transferred to counterattack the southwest in the later stage!" ”

"Oh?" The máo [Lord] Xi hurriedly stretched out his hand to take the telegram, and after reading it in a hurry, he immediately said with great joy, "Great! ”

Zhou Gong also smiled and raised the telegram in his hand, and said: "Your Excellency, Zhongshu has disclosed his party membership to all the officers and men of the expeditionary force, and suggested that the party Central Committee and the main party of the people should convene a political consultative conference in Yan'an to form a provisional government as soon as possible to lead the anti-Japanese struggle of the people of the whole country. ”

The máo [Lord] Xi smiled and said: "I said earlier, don't look at Zhongshu as young, but his political consciousness is still very high!" After saying this, the Máo [Lord] said to Mr. Zhu again, "Boss, do you think it is necessary to form a joint command center, and then transfer powerful troops from North China, Central China, and Nanyang Chōu to fight a strategic decisive battle with the Japanese army in the southwest!?" ”

"Strategic showdown?" Mr. Zhu said in a deep voice, "Old máo, do you think the conditions are ripe?" ”

"I've thought about it repeatedly, and the conditions are fully met!" The main force of the Japanese army in Central China has completely penetrated into the southwest, and the logistics supply line stretches for more than two thousand kilometers, which is extremely vulnerable to attack, although the two million ** have been defeated, the resistance is still continuing, at least for two months, it is impossible for the Japanese army to come from the southwest, with these two months, it is enough for our army to mobilize troops and fight a large-scale strategic decisive battle with the Japanese army!" ”！。