Suwon, an important transportation hub just a few dozen kilometers away from Seoul, is also a cultural city with a long history. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info But at the moment it has fallen into the hands of the Japanese.

In the Hwaseong Palace, built by the Joseon royal family at the foot of the eastern side of Paldals, a group of diminutive senior Japanese generals are holding an emergency military meeting to discuss the current situation of the war.

General Matsui Ishone, commander of the Japan-Korea Dispatch Army, sat on a chair with his own saber in both hands. With his eyes closed, he shook his beard, and listened indifferently to the fierce arguments of a group of generals on the side.

Since landing in Korea, the Japanese army has advanced at a rapid pace. After the defeat of the vulnerable North Korean army, they soon approached the outskirts of Seoul. Originally, all the senior commanders of the Japanese army thought that they would soon be able to take Seoul, the important capital of the Korean Kingdom, but they did not expect that the Ming Dynasty, who had gradually come to his senses, suddenly turned around and gave the Japanese army a hard blow in Seoul. The Japanese offensive in successive days was contained by the Ming army, and the losses were heavy.

"We have no choice." Lieutenant General Yamashita Fumi, the commander of the 4th Division, who was short and thin, slapped the table hard: "This is our last chance." ”

"What Yamashita-kun said is very true." Lieutenant General Gu Shoufu, commander of the 6th Division, who had dark skin and an ugly face, echoed: "Now that most of the troops of the Eighth Army of the Ming Dynasty have not yet been deployed in place, this will be our best chance to seize Seoul." If we retreat at this time, then when the units of the Eighth Army arrive one after another, we will basically stop thinking about Seoul. The honor of being the first to capture the enemy's capital will be far away from us. ”

"That's what I said." Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, the commander of the Seventh Division, pushed his glasses, "But where do we have the strength to attack now?" Most of the artillery and technical arms are still on the road at the moment. Only some infantry and cavalry were able to reach the front line to form combat effectiveness, and they were desperately short of all kinds of supplies. They can get food, but they can't get ammunition. Everyone has also seen the offensive in the past few days, Yasui Jun's 2nd Division marched the fastest, and most of the troops that arrived in Seoul were soldiers of the 2nd Division. But they've only been fighting for a few days? Now the Sendai Division has basically lost its combat effectiveness! ”

"Sonobe-kun is not wrong in what he said." Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki of the Fifth Division, who was highly regarded among the Japanese army, replied: "At present, most of the troops of our army are scattered in various provinces in the south of Korea, and the organization of various departments is chaotic, and it is impossible to form the strongest combat effectiveness. In such a situation, it is better to force an attack than to take a step back and reassemble the forces before attacking and fighting. ”

"The samurai of the Great Japanese Empire were not afraid of any enemy! You coward! After listening to Seishiro Itagaki's words, the meaty-faced Tani Shoufu slapped the table hard and scolded angrily.

Previously, Tani Shofu led the 6th Division to sweep through North Gyeongsang Province on the east coast of Korea, crushing the Korean army several times his size and occupying the important city of Daegu. Because of his outstanding performance, he has become a hero by repeated reports in domestic newspapers, and this is the time for him to be proud. His 6th Division is now assembling in the direction of Suwon, and has not yet fought Zhang Cheng, and the image of the enemy army in his mind is still that of the North Korean army that is about to collapse at the touch of a button.

"Yaga." Itagaki Seishiro looked at the meaty Tani with a puzzled expression, "How did you become the commander of the division with a brain full of muscles, you idiot?" ”

This is a personal attack. Gu Shoufu, who was already unable to see Itagaki Seishiro, suddenly became anxious, and suddenly stood up with a flushed face, stretched out his finger and pointed at Itagaki Seishiro, and roared: "You are a fool!" The whole division is a fool! What mechanized divisions, until now have not reached the front line, and there is no faster infantry walking on two legs! You bunch of waste that wastes the food of the nation! ”

Although the Sixth Division has strong combat effectiveness and Gu Shoufu's morale is also very high, it has never been very popular in China. And they are just the most ordinary standard formation troops. However, Seishiro Itagaki's Fifth Division was the darling of the army, the first mechanized unit of the Japanese army, and it attracted much attention and favor in Japan. This greatly stimulated the arrogant Gu Shoufu.

Tani Shouo is the 15th period of Lushi, and Seishiro Itagaki is the 16th period of Lushi. When he was at Lu University, Tani Shofu was the 24th class and was the third top student, while Itagaki Seishiro was the junior of the 28th period. Gu Shoufu thinks that he is far superior to Itagaki Seishiro in terms of qualifications and ability, but the position of the commander of the Fifth Division fell on Itagaki Seishiro's head, and since then, Gu Shoufu and Itagaki Seishiro have officially turned their faces.

"Shut up!" Seeing that the all-martial arts was about to be staged in the conference room, General Matsui Ishine finally opened his eyes and glared at the generals present, "Is it time to quarrel?" All stupid! ”

The battle on the front line was unfavorable, and tens of thousands of troops were lost in just a few days, and General Matsui Ishone, as the commander, was the most troublesome person. The strength of the Ming army far exceeded his imagination.

Seeing the angry generals, they hummed and rolled their eyes at each other and sat down again. General Matsui Ishine turned his head to look at his chief of staff, "What do you mean by base camp?" ”

Kenji Dohihara, who looked like Sven with his eyes, stood up and nodded and saluted, "The base camp asks us to capture Seoul as soon as possible, so as to gain a good environment and reputation in the world. This will help the Empire of Japan to receive more aid, which is of great significance. ”

To put it bluntly, Japan is a dog that can't be fed. After the Americans fed him, he decisively abandoned his former owner and turned his head to wag his tail at the Americans. However, the dog food of the Americans is not given for free, and the Japanese must prove their worth to get more dog food. The capture of the capital of the Korean Kingdom, which was the first vassal of the Ming Empire, was an important event to sell good to the Americans.

After the start of the war, the Japanese were cut off from the neighboring Western Pacific and Australia. Although they have occupied a lot of places with a fierce attack, there is basically nothing to plunder and supplement for them in these places, especially if they want to meet the needs of an entire country, it is basically a fantasy. What's more, the defenders will usually destroy all the strategic materials before they are lost.

I don't know if I don't fight, but after the real war started, the Japanese were stunned to find that they lacked everything. The entire economic lifeline and material supply were basically pinched into the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, this is also the main reason why the first assistant Wang Yue and most of the Ming high-level officials did not believe that the Japanese would rebel. None of them thought that Japan, whose economic lifeline was pinched in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, would really dare to rebel. It's just looking for death. It is no longer the time when you can fight a war just by handing out a few bamboo poles, guns, and food.

Except for some coal and iron, basically all the materials necessary for industry need to be imported. There is not even enough food to eat.

After the start of the war, Japan's domestic reserves fell sharply, and supplies that were supposed to last at least a year were realized after the war began that they might not be able to support three months of intense attrition. The panicked Japanese could only use their performance on the battlefield to curry favor with their new masters, begging them to feed themselves more dog food.

"Since that's the case, let's go on the offensive." Admiral Matsui Ishone was well aware of what Japan was facing. He also knew that once Da Ming was fully mobilized, he would basically have no opponents. But he had no choice. Gu Shoufu's words were not wrong, taking advantage of the fact that the troops of the Eighth Army were not assembled in place, and storming Seoul was their only chance.

After a moment of deep silence, Admiral Matsui Ishine continued, "All the troops are gathering towards Suwon at a faster pace. With the wing as the organization, we must seize the time when we assemble a wing and throw ourselves into the battlefield of Seoul. The strength of the Ming army is increasing by the moment. ”

"Hay!" More than a dozen generals all stood up and saluted.

......

The Japanese, who had turned on a state of rage, went crazy and continued to assault the Ming positions. Even under the strangulation of many artillery and machine guns, the corpses were strewn all over the field, and they did not flinch, which doubled the pressure on the Ming army.

"Sir." Major General Wang Dexiang frowned and came to Zhang Cheng's side, "The 126th Division is calling, their position in the Jiangnan area has been lost. The Japanese offensive was so fierce that they could not hold on. ”

"Order them to retake their positions." Zhang Cheng, who leaned over the map table to study the map, did not raise his head in response: "If you can't take it back, you will withdraw to the country and be reduced to a garrison." ”

For soldiers in this era, what they look at most is honor, especially the honor of their own unit. Many soldiers choose to commit suicide to preserve their honor when they are defeated, not only in the armies of the East, but also in the armies of the Western world. It's because they value their own honor.

For the 126th Infantry Division, once they are revoked and demoted to a local garrison, all officers and soldiers will bear a stigma that cannot be washed away for the rest of their lives. This is the greatest shame for the military.

After receiving the telegram from the group army headquarters, Major General Yang Fangyun, commander of the 126th Division, who had gauze wrapped around his head, ripped off the gauze on his head and smashed it on the ground. If he is really revoked, what face will he have to live?!

126th Division, angry.

In fact, Zhang Cheng was not forcing his subordinates to die, he had confidence in the combat effectiveness of the army under his command.

Don't look at the ferocious offensive of the Japanese army in the past few days, in fact, they have already reached the end of their crossbows. Many Japanese wings suffered heavy losses and became shelf units, and they were completely in exchange for blood for every advance in front of machine-gun, artillery, and aircraft. It's all blood-stained footsteps.

The well-equipped Ming army had a great advantage in defensive warfare. In fact, if it weren't for the street fighting in the city, the Japanese army would have been unable to fight a long time ago. Superior firepower is not just talking, this represents the life exchange ratio of Chiguoguo.

Equipped with a large number of low-cost and powerful MG42s, and with strong support from artillery and aircraft, the Ming army was able to kill and wound a large number of Japanese troops, and at the same time firmly contain the Japanese army at the foot of Seoul. A solid foundation was laid for the upcoming encirclement. (To be continued.) )