Nanjing, the headquarters of the Central China Front.

Shunroku Hata was anxiously pacing back and forth, the sound of explosions outside the city had gradually stopped, although the situation at the airport was conceivable, but until he got an accurate report, Shunroku Hata still had a glimmer of fantasy and hope.

Suddenly, in the sound of hurried footsteps, the chief of staff Kawabe Shozo had already strode in with a solemn expression, and Shunroku Hata immediately stepped forward to greet him: "Kawabe-kun, how is the situation?" ”

Hebe Zhengzo's face was extremely ugly, and he bowed his head and replied: "General, the airfield has been completely destroyed by the Chinese people, and we have lost more than 70 fighters, more than 30 bombers and reconnaissance planes, and the entire Third Flying Corps can be said to have been wiped out except for dozens of fighters stationed in Yangzhou. ”

"Yaga Yalu!" Rao was already prepared, and when he heard exactly how heavy the loss was, Shunroku Hata couldn't help but be furious.

"General, please calm your anger, the top priority now should be to urgently request the base camp to replenish new fighters for our Third Flying Corps, in order to prevent another air raid by the China Air Force, and at the same time, dozens of fighters stationed in Yangzhou should be withdrawn to Shanghai, and the most important thing is that we must once again send a small force to infiltrate the Pheasant and Ji in northern Anhui to search for and destroy the airfield of the China people!" The river is three roads.

"Hmph, in the last battle, the Sichuan-Guangzhou special combat team was completely wiped out, and now the new special combat team has not yet completed training, how can it complete this arduous task?" Shunroku Hata frowned and said coldly.

"We can send more outstanding agents from the Special High Division to infiltrate the Tiger Army's base area, and it doesn't necessarily have to be special forces to destroy the airport." Kawabe Shozo thought for a moment.

"Yo Xi, this matter is up to you personally, but it's best to let Chuan Guang go too, he has been to northern Anhui and is familiar with the terrain there!" Shunroku Hata thought for a moment and nodded.

"Hay! Humble duty understands! Kawabe Shozo bowed his head suddenly, and then turned around and walked away quickly.

.................................................................. "What? The Third Flying Corps of the Central China Front Army was almost completely wiped out? Among the commanders of the North China Front Army in Beiping, the current commander, General Terauchi Shouichi, asked in surprise.

"Yes, Your Excellency General, this is a telegram just sent by the Central China Front Command!" The chief of staff, Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo, handed a telegram in his hand to Terauchi Shou and nodded.

Terauchi Shouichi took the telegram with a gloomy face, read it hurriedly, and said with a more solemn expression: "So, the battle plan for the joint attack of the north and the south is going to be postponed again?" ”

"Well, the air force of the Tiger Army of China not only destroyed the airports of Nanjing and Hefei and caused heavy losses to the Third Flying Corps, but they also attacked and harassed the imperial army from time to time to repair the airfields, without the airfield, the Third Flying Corps would not be able to provide air support for the offensive troops of the Central China Front, not to mention that now the Third Flying Corps itself has also suffered heavy losses, and without waiting for the arrival of the newly replenished fighters in the base camp, the Third Flying Corps is simply unable to confront the Air Force of China, so the operational plan of launching a strategic offensive between the north and the south at the same time will be temporarily shelved." Naosaburo Okabe nodded and explained.

"Baga Yalu, when did the powerful Imperial Army become so cowardly? Even without the support of the aviation regiment, the brave and skilled warriors of the imperial army could defeat the Chinese with their bayonets, capture Xuzhou, an important city in eastern China, and open up the northern and southern battlefields, making them one. "Shouichi Terauchi is already waiting impatiently.

As early as a month ago, Terauchi Shouichi's 150,000 troops of the North China Front Army have gathered all over the Shandong front, just waiting for his order to launch an attack on the [***] Fifth Theater, after a few months of rectification, not only the 10th Division and the 5th Division have all been replenished, but even the 4th and 5th mixed brigades that were completely annihilated by the Tiger Army have also been rebuilt, in addition to a new 110th Division, at the same time, the two cavalry groups of the Kwantung Army were also ordered to enter the pass to assist the North China Front in combat, At this time, the strength of the puppet army in North China, excluding the surrender, had reached more than 200,000 people, except for more than 50,000 people stationed in Hebei and Shanxi, the remaining 150,000 main forces were all used in this attack on the Fifth Theater.

However, because of the Central China Front, it was delayed and waited and waited.

"But general, now that the Central China Front has lost its air force, I'm afraid it won't be able to attack, even if it reluctantly launches an attack, I'm afraid it won't be able to defeat the Zhina Army in the Huai River Valley, and the Zhina Tiger Army now has a very powerful air force." Naosaburo Okabe reminded with a worried face.

"They don't need to defeat the Zhina Army in the Huaihe River Valley, they only need to contain the Zhina Tiger Army and the Zhina Army in Huainan and make it impossible for them to go north to reinforce Xuzhou, and our North China Front Army can defeat Li Zongren's troops head-on, take Xuzhou directly, and after taking Xuzhou, our two major strategic group armies will launch an attack on northern Anhui at the same time and eliminate Qiao Anbang's Tiger Army in one fell swoop!" Shouichi Terauchi waved his hand.

Okabe Naosaburo thought about it when he heard this, and immediately bowed his head and said: "Hai, the general is wise, the Central China Front has nearly 300,000 troops, even if there is no air force support, it will be a huge pressure on the people of China, as long as they cross the Yangtze River north and go north along the Tianjin-Pudong Railway and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, they can contain the Chinese Tiger Army and Li Pinxian and other troops at the same time, so that as the general said, we can defeat Li Zongren's troops head-on." ”

Okabe Naosaburo understands that although Li Zongren's troops have a large number of troops, there are many factions, and all the troops in the last Battle of Xuzhou suffered heavy casualties, so the combat effectiveness of the Fifth Theater is not as good as at the beginning of the Battle of Xuzhou, but the strength of the Imperial Army has increased to 150,000, as long as the Central China Front Army restrains Qiao Anbang's Tiger Army and Li Pinxian and other [***] units, the Fifth Theater is by no means the opponent of the North China Front.

"Go ahead, immediately report this idea to the base camp, and inform all divisions and regiments on the front line to be ready for battle and ready to attack Li Zongren's department at any time! This time, the imperial army must capture Xuzhou City and annihilate Li Zongren's troops, and be ashamed! Shouichi Terauchi waved his hand in a high-spirited manner.

"Hay!" Okabe Naosaburo bowed his head abruptly, then turned around and strode away with his saber on his shoulder.

…………………………

Tokyo, Prime Minister's Office.

The current Prime Minister Konoe Fumima was carefully reading the telegram sent by the North China Front Temple Uchi, and after reading the message word for word, Konoe Fumima said to the guard officer of the doorman with a solemn face: "Prepare the car, go to the Cabinet Office, and send someone to invite Prince Zaihito!" ”

"Hay!" One of the guards' guards hurriedly bowed his head in response, and then turned to leave.

……………………

About half an hour, the Cabinet Office.

The members of the Konoe Fumima cabinet and Prince Zaihito were all present, and Konoe Fumima held up the telegram sent by the North China Front Army to the crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is an urgent telegram from General Toshiichi of the North China Front. ”

With that, Konoe Funma handed the message to the guard officer, who respectfully passed the message to him.

After everyone watched it, Konoe Wen cleared his throat and said: "Gentlemen, the situation on the battlefield of China has reached the most critical moment, General Terauchi is right, Xuzhou is an important town in East China, guarding the key point of north-south communication between the north and the south, if Xuzhou is not captured, it will not be able to open up the northern and southern battlefields of the imperial army in China, and the political axe of China can also take the opportunity to accumulate strength and continue to fight!" Since several large-scale battles in Songhu, Nanjing and Xuzhou, the armed forces of the national axe of the Chinese people led by Chiang have been destroyed by the imperial army one after another, and now the Chiang regime has been crumbling, as long as the emperor [***] team can capture Xuzhou, open up the north and south battlefields and make it together, it will definitely be able to greatly weaken the viable force of the Chiang regime, and finally force it to surrender to the empire, in order to solve the war against China as soon as possible! ”

As soon as Konoe Fumima's words came out, the cabinet members present were all the main battle factions, and they all nodded in agreement, only the current deputy chief of staff, Ishihara Wan'er, spoke: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, I humbly believe that since the Battle of Xuzhou, the imperial national strength has reached its limit, and the expansion of the military strength for the two major fronts is beyond the permission of the imperial national strength, so no matter whether the Xuzhou battle is won or lost, the imperial army will suffer heavy losses because of the living forces, and lose the ability to continue the strategic offensive!" Therefore, I suggest that the Imperial Army should devote its forces to consolidating the law and order in the vast areas it has occupied, so as to eliminate the Eighth Route Army led by the Chinese [***] and the guerrilla forces behind enemy lines.

As long as the guerrilla forces behind enemy lines of the Chinese people are eliminated and the vast areas such as Central and North China truly become the rear of the imperial army, in this way, in less than three years, we will be able to restore the imperial national strength to the beginning of 1937 by virtue of the vast land and population resources of Central China and North China, and we must know that North China and Central China are the most densely populated and prosperous areas of the Chinese, and after complete control, the imperial army will receive an inexhaustible source of troops, grain, grass, coal mines, and other strategic resources! In the long run, five years later, when the imperial army has truly digested the occupied territory of China, the national strength of the empire will take a qualitative leap, and the imperial army will be equipped with millions of powerful land forces, and it will not be easy to eliminate the resistance of China.

After pacifying China, we will attack the Indochina Peninsula in the south, and to the west we can flank the Soviet Union with Germany in order to obtain the vast Siberia, and then the empire will become a global superpower, and there will be no rivals in the world! ”

Konoe Funma obviously disagreed with Ishihara's statement, and immediately frowned and looked at Prince Zaihito next to him, Prince Zaihito is also a belligerent militarist, and immediately understood, coughed twice and said coldly: "Ishihara-kun, if the imperial army does not take the initiative to attack, then it will give the Chinese political axe a chance to breathe, you must know that they now control half of China, and it is the most densely populated, the most fertile land in the hinterland of the Central Plains and the precipitous southwest. If they are given a five-year respite, the strength of the political axe of China will also take advantage of the situation to grow and develop.

So what I mean is to break the national axe of China in one fell swoop, in order to win the war against China as soon as possible! ”

(To be continued)