"Friend and foe" self-confidence,

In the headquarters of the Central China Front Army in Nanjing, a telegram about the specific battle situation on the front line was quickly transmitted to the hands of General Matsui Ishone. As the commander of the Central China Front, his face was immediately shrouded in a confident look. Because, the development of the entire battle situation was not at all within his expectations, and it was developing according to his inner thoughts.

A quick glance at the combat sand table, the three cities of Nanjing, Yangzhou, and Taizhou that were attacked at the same time. General Matsui Ishine said with a smile on his face as he looked at the chief of staff in front of him.

"Tanaka-kun, the whole battle situation is developing as we expected. Nanjing, Yangzhou, and Taizhou were fiercely attacked by the East China Field Army. At the same time, the intelligence officers lurking in the northern Jiangsu region also sent a message that the huge northern Jiangsu region, with the attack of the main force of the East China Field Army, its defense has become empty............ It can be seen that in this battle, the East China Field Army Yijing dispatched all its elite ............" "Hayi, Your Excellency the Commander is wise, and I believe that under the wise leadership of Your Excellency the Commander, we will definitely be able to solve the main force of the East China Field Army in one fell swoop through this battle.

Counterattack in northern Jiangsu" in the face of the so-called "good situation" in front of him In the Huai'an campaign in northern Jiangsu, Lieutenant General Tanaka, who had suffered the humiliation of defeat, was also shrouded in confidence on his face, and replied with an oath.

"Yo Xi, very good, I also believe that this goal will be closer and closer to us... Tanaka-kun, for Nakamura-kun's suggestion a few days ago, does the staff make a complete battle plan..."To Lieutenant General Tanaka's answer, he nodded with great satisfaction, and General Matsui Ishine urgently asked.

"Report to Your Excellency Commander, yijing is all formulated.

After repeated deductions by the General Staff, only the entire battle situation will not undergo major changes, and our elite Central China Front Army will definitely be able to completely annihilate the main force of the East China Field Army through this campaign, with Nanjing, Yangzhou, and Taizhou as the center, and prepare for the future counterattack in northern Jiangsu............ "After a quick glance at the battle plan in his hand, the confident smile on General Matsui Ishone on his face became even stronger. Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly signed his name. Then, he handed the battle plan back to Lieutenant General Tanaka in front of him, and said with great certainty.

"I'm very satisfied with this battle plan. Now I order, the General Staff, to immediately issue specific combat orders to all combat units in accordance with this battle plan...,... "Ha Yi, I will do it immediately............

Compared with General Matsui Ishone's "self-confidence," in the East China Field Army Headquarters, which is a few hundred kilometers away in Huai'an City, political commissar Deng Xiaoping, does not have such a good attitude.

After all, this campaign concentrated almost all the elites of the East China Field Army. More importantly, with the beginning of the campaign, the defense of the entire northern Jiangsu region became empty. If the East China Field Army fails to achieve a decisive victory in this campaign, then waiting for itself and waiting for the entire northern Jiangsu region will be a catastrophe.

Therefore, since the launch of various units of the East China Field Army, Deng Xiaoping, as the No. 2 commander of the Field Army, completely put down his political commissar and stayed directly in the telecommunications room, responsible for receiving the latest battle reports from various combat units on the front line, and wanted to understand the specific battle situation on the front line as soon as possible.

Of course, political commissar Deng Xiaoping personally went out, and Liu Hua, as the commander, could only move the huge combat sand table directly to the telecommunications room, and directly turned the telecommunications room into his own temporary war room.

"Boss, it's been a day since the three troops launched an attack, why hasn't there been any movement from the 1 little devil." Seeing the progress of the various attacking units on the combat sand table, Deng Xiaoping, as the political commissar, could no longer hold back and asked with a worried face.

"Commissar, don't be in a hurry. For us now, it's good that there is no movement.

Don't forget, our opponent is an old devil with Admiral Matsui Ishone. If you want this old devil to be fooled, it is simply impossible not to pay some price. So, what we need to do,

Just be patient? Regarding the political commissar's worries, Liu Hua didn't take it to heart at all, and replied confidently.

"Can I not be in a hurry. The three units accounted for four-fifths of the strength of our East China Field Army. If these four-fifths of the combat force are too lost in siege battles. Then the time will come for the little belongings that our East China Field Army has worked so hard to accumulate, and not only will the CPC Central Committee not forgive us, but even I myself will not be able to forgive myself," Deng Xiaoping replied with a wry smile in the face of Commander-in-Chief Liu Hua's comfort. , "Commander-in-chief, you said that we have set up such a big game, our opponent Matsui Ishine, will he be fooled?" After a brief period of contemplation, Commissar Deng Xiaoping continued to ask.

"Definitely" Liu Hua replied without any hesitation and very confidently.

Since we occupied northern Jiangsu, Matsui Ishine recalled four entire field divisions from the front. A total of 120,000 troops. Coupled with the troops left behind in various parts of the Central China Front Army and the strength in the hands of Matsui Shigen, Yijing swelled to an astonishing 150,000 people. With 150,000 soldiers in hand, our army is facing rapid development and may threaten the living environment of the Central China Front at any time. You say, apart from destroying our army in the shortest possible time, what other ideas does Admiral Matsui Ishine have? Liu Hua asked rhetorically.

"Besides, before our odd troops officially surfaced, the hundreds of thousands of troops of our East China Field Army in Nanjing, Taizhou, and Yangzhou were like a piece of fat to Matsui Shigen. In the face of such a big yòu bait, I believe that as long as he is a wise commander, he will not let go of such a good fighter. And our opponent, General Matsui Ishone, without exception, is a very wise commander...... "......" saw Liu Hua, who was full of confidence in himself, Deng Xiaoping's heart, although he wanted to agree with the idea of his partner. Danshi, in his heart, is still difficult to let go. With a worried face, he continued to ask, "But, Commander-in-Chief. Could it be that we are just sitting here, doing nothing, waiting for Matsui Shigen, an old devil, to come and ............be fooled, "Of course we can't stand here and wait" Liu Hua replied very affirmatively.

Immediately, facing the combat staff officer in front of him, he ordered with a serious face.

"Staff Officer Wang, immediately send a telegram to the combat units in Nanjing, Yangzhou, and Taizhou, urging all combat units to step up their offensive in the three places. Caused a certain amount of pressure on the Japanese army's various garrison units, forcing them to mobilize the defenders in Tongzhou to reinforce the garrison troops" At the same time, he telegraphed Chen Sai's Sixth Corps, Bruce Lee's guard column, and Liu Xiaogang's special operations division. Before you get the order to attack from the headquarters, you must be hidden. Otherwise, military justice engages in ............"

"Yes, Director-General......"

The news that the headquarters of the Central China Front Army in Nanjing City, the siege troops of the East China Field Army, suddenly strengthened the offensive also reached the ears of General Matsui Ishine through electricity at the first time.

"Your Excellency Commander, call from Taizhou. The siege troops of the East China Field Army, hand over an hour ago, suddenly launched a full-scale offensive. According to preliminary statistics, in this offensive, the East China Field Army fully mobilized three main divisions, with a total of 20,000 troops. At the same time, in less than an hour of fighting, the defending troops of Tai'an City also paid the price of an infantry wing being completely annihilated,........." Deputy Chief of Staff Nakamura Osa reported loudly.

"Report to Your Excellency Commander, a call from Yangzhou that the defending troops were suddenly attacked by the people of China and suffered heavy losses............"

"Report to Your Excellency Commander, the defending troops outside the city are in an emergency, the East China Field Army's offensive on our front-line positions has suddenly intensified, and the first-line positions have been broken through ......" Unexpectedly, in the face of one bad news after another, General Matsui Ishone, as the commander, did not show any anger.

As soon as the combat staff officer's report fell, a strange smile appeared on his face. Then, he said to the chief of staff in front of him.

"Tanaka-kun, what do you think? "I think that the opportunity for our Central China Front has come," Lieutenant General Tanaka replied with great certainty.

"Tell me your reasoning?"

"Hayi, according to the reports of the garrison troops in various places, in the offensive an hour ago, the total strength of the East China Field Army participating in the offensive reached an astonishing 100,000 people. According to the reconnaissance of our intelligence personnel, the total strength of the East China Field Army is less than 120,000 troops.

In other words, the East China Field Army, Yijing transferred almost all of its elites to participate in the siege battle just now............"

"All the elites are involved in the siege battle, which also indicates that the East China Field Army does not have any defense against the back of Liliang, and Yijing is completely open to us. And this is the situation we want to see most in this decisive battle," Lieutenant General Tanaka replied, pointing to the combat sand table in front of him.

"Yo Xi, your explanation is very reasonable, and this is exactly the one I need. In that case, let's start implementing the second phase of the battle plan. ”

"Tanaka-kun, immediately issue a new battle order to all the troops defending the city. Reserve units in all localities are required to immediately carry out sorties, and all the elite of the East China Field Army must be dragged to the front line. At the same time, the telegram ordered the 17th Field Division stationed in Tongzhou to immediately launch an attack on the back of the East China Field Army in China in accordance with the original battle plan, completely disrupting their deployment," General Matsui Ishine nodded with satisfaction. Then, very confidently ordered.

"Ha Yi, Your Excellency the Commander is wise, and he will go to the ............ immediately"!