Longdong, the temporary station of the 18th Division of the Army.

Amid the sound of hurried footsteps, Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Ryoya, commander of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army, walked into the war room with a blue face.

Behind Mutaguchi Ryoya, he was followed by Major General Tomihiro, commander of the 23rd Infantry Brigade of the Japanese Army, Major General Kiyoken Kawaguchi, commander of the 35th Infantry Brigade, and other senior officers.

The expressions on the faces of Tomihiro, Kawaguchi Kiyoken and others were also solemn.

The sudden rout of the 33rd Division on the left suddenly put the 18th Division in a dilemma!

According to the original battle plan, the 18th Division and the 33rd Division were like a pair of iron tongs, detouring left and right to the side of Meng Gong, in order to form an encirclement of the [***] in front of Meng Gong, after the collapse of the 33rd Division, the pincer offensive of the Yue Army suddenly went bankrupt, and even worse, the tank cluster of [***] had detoured back to the flank of the 18th Division!

"Yaga, Yaga, Yalu!" Mutaguchi Ryoya threw his military hat on the table, and then roared angrily, "A most elite field division, more than 20,000 elite veterans who can fight well, and a large amount of heavy equipment, but in less than 20 hours, the Shina army was defeated, Sakurai Shozo, this idiot, what is he doing?" ”

"Your Excellency, Division Commander." The chief of staff of the 18th Division, Takeda Shou Daisa, hurriedly walked into the war room, and immediately retracted his feet and stood upright, and said to Mutaguchi Ryoya, "The aviation scouts report that the chariot cluster of the Chinese army has detoured to Mengyang, and the retreat of our division along the railway to Mandalay has been cut off by the Chinese army!" ”

………… Meng Gong, 200th Division.

A major staff officer walked into the war room excitedly, and immediately stood upright: "Report to the headquarters, the tank regiment and the 600th regiment have attacked and occupied Mengyang, and are now advancing along the road in the direction of Mezha!" ”

As soon as the major finished speaking, a cheer erupted in the war room.

Several American advisers present couldn't help but high-five each other, and Yue Weihan and Stilwell even had an American-style hug.

Even Luo Zhuoying, the essence of the scene, was also infected by the atmosphere of the scene, and couldn't help but point to the map and said: "General seat, after Meng Yang was attacked and occupied by our army, the 18th Division of the Army suddenly became a turtle in an urn!" ”

Yue Weihan patted the map and said proudly: "What Brother You Qing said is extremely true, now, as long as Liao Yaoxiang's new 22nd Division can hold Gamai and firmly hold the scalp of Mu Tiankou Renya, the 'Jungle Tiger', then the number of the 18th Division can basically be erased from the formation table of the army." ”

"What if Mutaguchi Ryoya turns around and runs away?" Dai Anlan couldn't help frowning.

Maybe it's because of the old chief Du Yuming, Dai Anlan has always had a thorn in his heart, and he has never been too cold to Yue Weihan, and when he saw Yue Weihan's smug face, he couldn't help but refute it again.

However, Dai Anlan's worries are not unreasonable, if the 18th Division of the Army really abandons all its heavy equipment and flees south, then the tank regiment, which relies heavily on road mobility, will really not be able to catch up, and although the 600th Regiment can catch up, it is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of troops, and it is absolutely impossible to intercept the 18th Division.

"U-turn and run away?" Yue Weihan shook his head and said abruptly, "Senior Dai, you are too underestimate the ghost animal Mutaguchi, the little devils are not British, they will never throw away their equipment and run for their lives, take a step back, even if the ghost animal Mutaguchi wants to escape, the two old devils Iida Shojiro and Terauchi Shouichi will never agree!" ”

Luo Zhuoying also persuaded with some concern: "General Seat, are the three divisions of the Sixth Army transferred to Gamai?" ”

Luo Zhuoying was worried that the new 22nd Division would not be able to withstand the pressure, because in the entire battle plan, the position of Gamai was very important, and if the new 22nd Division could not hold Gamai and let the 18th Division of the Yue Army break through the defensive line, then Yue Weihan's idea of encircling and annihilating the 18th Division of the Yue Army in the Longdong-Gamai area would be completely ruined.

Yue Weihan waved his hand and said indifferently: "There is no need to do more. ”

After saying this, Yue Weihan said in a very unceremonious tone: "The predecessor of the Sixth Army was He Jian's Hunan Army, which is a ragtag army at all, a rabble!" Whether it is equipment or training, the Sixth Army is far from being able to compare with the Fifth Army, and if the Sixth Army is sent up, we will not say whether it can help, because it will mess up the morale of the new 22nd Division. ”

The expression on Luo Zhuoying's face suddenly became a little strange, and he wondered if the three division commanders of the Sixth Army and more than 20,000 officers and soldiers heard this, I don't know how they would feel?

………… Longdong, known as the army headquarters.

"Your Excellency the Division Commander!" Takeda Shou said to Mutaguchi Renya with a solemn expression, "Our division is facing an unprecedented grim situation, and the slightest carelessness is the end of the collective jade, in my opinion, it is better to decisively abandon the plan to go north, turn around and go south to reoccupy Mengyang, so as to reopen the connection with Mandalay." ”

"Yaga Yaru!" Mutaguchi Ryoya was furious, and slapped Takeda Shou twice with a bow left and right, and then said angrily, "To give up going north is to admit defeat, and to turn around and run away is even more cowardly, as a proud imperial samurai, don't you feel ashamed to say such things?" ”

"Hello!" Takeda Shou suddenly straightened his head.

"Command!" Mutaguchi Ryoya suddenly pulled out his saber and held it high above the top, and immediately said with a murderous spirit, "The 55th Infantry Wing will stay in Longdong and block the chariot cluster of the Shina Army at all costs, and the main force of the division will accelerate to the north, and it is necessary to capture Gamai and Lewa in the shortest possible time, and then attack Myitkyina with the 56th Division!" ”

"Hello!" Takeda Shou bowed his head suddenly, and then walked away with his saber on his shoulder.

………… Gamai, headquarters of the new 22nd Division.

Liao Yaoxiang is convening a military meeting with the commanders of the three main regiments and the commanders of all directly subordinate battalion-level units.

As soon as the chief of staff of the new 22nd Division, Shi Linxian, introduced the battlefield situation of the enemy and us, Liu Jianzhang, the commander of the new 64th Regiment, said to Liao Yaoxiang worriedly: "Division, the tank regiment and the 200th division have cut off the devil's retreat, and the 18th Division can be described as a trapped beast this time, and its ferocity and madness are bound to be far greater than usual. ”

Deng Junlin, commander of the new 65th Regiment, also said: "Although the 18th Division is not one of the 17 permanent divisions, it is also a second-class division with a four-unit system, with more than 30,000 people, and its combat effectiveness is by no means comparable to a third-class division like the 33rd Division!" And our new 22nd Division only has more than 9,000 non-combatants, and the difference in strength is very large! ”

The rest of the commanders of the new 66th Regiment, the commanders of the guard battalion, and the commanders of the artillery battalion also nodded in agreement.

The 18th Division of the Chinese Army is well-equipped, with almost four times the strength of the New 22nd Division, and the 18th Division has also received high-intensity training in jungle warfare in the Taihang Mountains, and among the 60 or 70 field divisions of the Japanese Army, the 18th Division is known as the "Tiger of the Jungle."

All in all, it is impossible for the new 22nd Division to fight the 18th Division of the Japanese Army no matter what, and it will be a matter of time before Gamai is lost, and the only suspense is, how long can the new 22nd Division hold out in Gamai?

Five days? Ten days? Or a month? Or longer?

Yue Weihan's bottom line for Liao Yaoxiang is half a month, but the bottom line in Liao Yaoxiang's heart is one month!

In the battle of Longdong-Gamai, the two armies fought for endurance, and the key to victory or defeat depended on who could not hold on first.

If the new 22nd Division could not hold out first, then the 18th Division of the Japanese Army would be able to open a gap from the direction of Kamai and successfully retreat to Myitkyina, and after arriving at Myitkyina, the 18th Division would be able to join up with the 56th Division.

If the 18th Division of the Chinese Army is allowed to slip away, then the effect of this counteroffensive in northern Burma will be greatly reduced.

On the contrary, if the new 22nd Division is strong enough, and the tank regiment and the 200th division can capture Longdong before the loss of Gamai, then the 18th Division of the Yue Army will fall into a desperate situation of being attacked by the enemy on its back, and the logistics supply line of the Yue Army has been cut off, and there is no way to supply food and ammunition, and the 18th Division will inevitably be wiped out!

After Liao Yaoxiang weighed it repeatedly in his heart, he immediately opened his slightly squinted eyes, and immediately glanced coldly at all the officers present, and said in a deep voice: "What? The battle hasn't been fought yet, and one by one they are scared? Timid? Do you still have the backbone of a soldier? Don't come to be a soldier if you're afraid of death, go home and hug your daughter-in-law as soon as possible! ”

"Master, do you have to speak with your conscience? When did the brothers ever fear death? Liu Jianzhang, the commander of the new 64th Regiment, suddenly blushed, and argued with his neck, "At the beginning of the Battle of Hengyang, I led the death squad to charge forward, and I was hit by nine bullets, if it wasn't for the old commander who carried me off the battlefield, my Liu Jianzhang's name would have been engraved on the martyr's monument!" ”

Liao Yaoxiang's expression eased slightly when he heard this, and he snorted: "Hmph, then what else do you have to say?" ”

After saying this, Liao Yaoxiang pulled the white gloves on his hands again, and then said: "The ancients, the military order is like a mountain, since the general seat has already issued an order, our new 22nd Division must be implemented, and it must be nailed to Gamai like a nail, even if the more than 9,000 people in the division are all spelled out, a little devil must not be put to cross the defense area!" ”

"But we're not convinced!" Liu Jianzhang continued to argue, "Why can't the three divisions of the Hukang River Valley, the Menggong River Valley, and the Kuman Mountain Range be transferred up? But let our new 22nd Division fight alone in Gamai? Although the 3 divisions of the Sixth Army are miscellaneous cards and their combat effectiveness is not worth mentioning, they can always give our new 22nd Division a strong momentum, right? ”

Liao Yaoxiang frowned, and said angrily: "The head seat has its own considerations, what kind of family are you idle?" ”

After that, Liao Yaoxiang suddenly pulled out his Browning pistol and slapped it on the conference table, and said murderously: "I'll talk about the ugly things first, if you still admit that you are a Chinese [***] person, you will nail me to Gamai, if anyone dares to make a moth at a critical moment, don't blame me Liao for not remembering the old love of the robe!" ”

The 3 main regiment commanders and several directly subordinate battalion commanders looked at each other, and the division seat had already said this, what else did they have to say? I didn't say it, just fight with the little devil!

………… Yucheng, Military Commission Building.

In the war room, Chairman Chiang, who had a gloomy expression, was standing in front of the huge map posted on the wall, and behind Chairman Chiang stood General He, General Chen, General Bai, and other senior generals of the party-state.

Posted on the wall is a map of northern Burma.

Admiral He held the command pole in his hand and explained to the map: "Commission, the assault cluster composed of tank regiments, automobile regiments and 200 divisions has completely defeated the 33rd Division of the Yue Army on the right flank of Meng Gong. ”

Chairman Chiang was silent, and he was of course glad that the Chinese Expeditionary Force was able to win the battle in Burma.

However, what made Chairman Chiang angry was that Yue Weihan only let the Fifth Army merge with the Yue Army, but the three divisions of the Sixth Army were always locked up in the Hukang River Valley, the Menggong River Valley, and the Kuman Mountain Range, and Yue Weihan would rather let the new 22nd Division face the 18th Division alone, and never refused to transfer the three divisions of the Sixth Army.

Admiral Chen was very good at observing words and feelings, and instantly knew Chairman Jiang's thoughts, and immediately retorted: "The reversal of the battle situation? Brother Jing, I'm afraid you said this too early, right? Yes, the new 22nd Division can fight, but if Liao Yaoxiang wants to block the onslaught of more than 30,000 people of the 18th Division of the Yue Army with the soldiers of one division, do you think it is possible? ”

"This ......" General He was speechless, and he didn't understand Yue Weihan's intention of always refusing to transfer the three divisions of the Sixth Army to strengthen the defense of Gamai.

Admiral Chen snorted lightly, and then said: "What is confusing is that the Hukang River Valley, the Menggong River Valley, and the Kuman Mountain Range obviously still have 3 divisions of the Sixth Army as a reserve force, but why does Yue Weihan refuse to transfer these 3 divisions to strengthen the defense of Gamai? Could it be that Yue Weihan deliberately set up with the enemy and wanted to let go of the 18th Division of the Yue Army? ”

"Be cautious." Admiral He frowned and said, "Yue Weihan would never have such thoughts. ”

"Then he has ulterior motives!" Admiral Chen retorted and said, "As everyone knows, the Fifth Army is a descendant of Huangpu and is a force that is completely loyal to the commission, and Yue Weihan did this to take the opportunity to weaken the Fifth Army, weaken the influence of the commission on the expeditionary force, and clear the way for him to completely control the expeditionary force!" ”

"Ulterior motives?" Admiral Bai pursed his lips and said abruptly, "A man with a small eye is also worthy of talking about military affairs?" ”

"Bai Jiansheng, what do you mean by that?" Admiral Chen changed his face and said, "Who is the one who is the one with the eyes of the rats?" ”

General Bai did not argue with General Chen, but turned to Chairman Jiang and General He and said: "Commission, Brother Jing, the reason why Yue Weihan hid the Sixth Army in the rear and let the new 22nd Division face the 18th Division of the Yue Army alone is well-intentioned!" Yue Weihan is amazing, the war in northern Myanmar has not yet ended, and his eyes have already turned to the next stage! ”

Chairman Jiang's expression suddenly moved slightly, and General He also asked with a confused face: "The next stage?" What do you mean? ”

"Although the Sixth Army is the old part of the Hunan Army, it is by no means a rabble! Yue Weihan is raising tigers! General Bai said with emotion, "The ancients raised tigers and troubles, but the tiger raised by Yue Weihan was the Sixth Army, and in the end, the only one who suffered was the devil, which was ......amazing."

………… Hukang River Valley, where the 49th Division was stationed.

A large stage has been erected at the gate of the division headquarters, and the officers and men of the 49th Division are already sitting under the stage.

In this foreign land thousands of miles away, the officers and soldiers have to repair fortifications and dig trenches during the day, and at night, this time is quite difficult, except for gambling, it seems that there is nothing to do, if you are in the country, you can also have fun in the cellar, but in the wild and barren land of the Hukang River Valley, even the blood-sucking leeches are male, where is the cellar sister?

However, the officers and men of the 49th Division had an extra reprimand: listening to Peking Opera.

Peng Bisheng, the commander of the 49th Division, is a die-hard fan of Peking Opera, and his division headquarters can do without a communications team or a field hospital, but it must not be without a military band and opera troupe! This time he went abroad on an expedition to Myanmar, and Master Peng also brought his opera troupe and military band, not to mention, in the barren land of the Hukang River Valley, this troupe really came in handy.

Halfway through the play, two uninvited guests suddenly came to the 49th Division station, these two people were the commander of the 93rd Division, Lu Guoshui, and the commander of the 55th Division, Chen Mianyue, both of whom were full of alcohol, which made Peng Bisheng frown.

"Brother Guojiao, Brother Mian Yue, why are you here?" Peng Bisheng clenched his fists and said.

"If we don't come to you, where else can we go?" Lu Guozhuan said angrily, "This ghost place where birds don't lay eggs, I can't find anyone to talk to, it's really fucking." ”

"Yes." Chen Mianyue also said, "This day has passed, and they are about to fade out." ”

Peng Bisheng frowned more and more, and said in a deep voice: "Two, this is a bit too much, right?" The defense of the Menggong River Valley and Kuman Mountain must not be sloppy! ”

"Defense?" Lu Guoxuan said suddenly, "Brother Bisheng, don't be stupid, just the barren land of the Hukang River Valley, do you really think it is a strategic place?" Yue Weihan asked your division to deploy defenses here, not to fight devils, let alone to protect the Sino-Indian highway where there is not even a ghost shadow, that is, to find something for you to do. ”

Chen Mianyue also said extremely depressedly: "Yue Weihan said clearly, our Sixth Army is a miscellaneous army, a rabble, and being transferred to the front line will only disturb the morale of the Fifth Army, the Fifth Army is a descendant of Huangpu and a genuine Royal Forest Army, but our Sixth Army is from the Hunan Army, this goods have to be thrown away, and people have to die more than people......

"Where did you hear this rumor?" Peng Bisheng frowned in disbelief.

"Rumors?" Chen Mianyue said abruptly, "I have a fellow villager who is a staff officer at the headquarters of the 200th Division, and these words just now were said by Yue Weihan himself, and they are word for word!" ”

Peng Bisheng was silent when he heard this, and Chen Mianyue's words were conclusive, and it was estimated that it was true.

Lu Guozhuan raised the wine bottle in his hand and poured two large mouthfuls, then ripped off his shirt and strode onto the stage, kicked Wusheng after coming on stage, and then shouted hoarsely at the officers and soldiers of the 49th Division under the stage: "Brothers of the 49th Division, sons and daughters of the land of Hunan and Chu, tell me, are you bringing a handle?" ”

The officers and soldiers in the audience were obviously a little dazed and didn't know what was going on.

Only a battalion commander from Xiangxi shouted loudly: "Lu Shizuo, are we bringing a handle, don't you know if you want the female plane of the 93rd Division to come and try?" I can tell you responsibly that if you female planes of the 93rd Division have tried our 49th Division, you definitely don't want to go back to the 93rd Division. The officers and soldiers in the audience burst into laughter.

Lu Guozhuan on the stage was not angry, and still raised the wine bottle and shouted: "Okay, the brothers are all men, and they all have eggs!" I, Lu Guoshui, believe in you, but some people don't believe you! Someone said that our Sixth Army is a ragtag army, a rabble, and transferring us to the battlefield will only disgrace the Chinese [***] people! ”

"Mother, who said that?" The battalion commander from Xiangxi suddenly became angry, "Lao Tzu broke his neck!" ”

The officers and soldiers who were close to the stage suddenly became agitated, and the Hunan people were aggressive, and there was a saying since ancient times that there would be no Hunan army without Hunan.

If it weren't for the fact that Lao Zeng was deeply poisoned by feudal science and full of loyal monarch thoughts, he could have overturned the Manchu Qing Dynasty and restore the orthodoxy of the Han family without much effort, if this is the case, the subsequent humiliation of the century-old history will not be there, and the entire world history will only become unrecognizable.

"Who said that? Yue Weihan said! Lu Guozhuan said loudly, "Commander-in-Chief Yue said! ”

There was a dead silence under the stage at first, and then the pot exploded, and a few people with anxious surnames even directly rolled up their sleeves and raised their big iron fists, Yue Weihan If he was in front of him, they would definitely be full of old fists, no matter what his identity was, whether he was the commander-in-chief or a bullshit hero, it was not okay to insult the children of Huxiang!

Looking at the officers and soldiers of the 49th Division who were angry, Peng Bisheng was also full of gloom.

Yue Weihan's words are indeed a bit excessive, the Sixth Army is a miscellaneous army, yes, but it is by no means a rabble, from the Battle of Songhu to the Battle of Nanjing, and then to the Battle of Xuzhou and the Battle of Wuhan, how many young people died in the battle of Sanxiang? How many young girls are widowed? How many young sons have lost their father's love forever while they were still in infancy?

However, how could the children of Sanxiang ever complain? Have you ever flinched? Under Chairman Chiang's order, did the more than 20,000 officers and men of the Sixth Army leave their wives and children behind and leave the country? What are they going to foreign lands for? Or is it for the dignity of the Chinese people, or for the sake of the compatriots of the whole country who should not be enslaved in the country?

"Master, we are by no means a rabble!"

"Division, immediately send a telegram to the headquarters and transfer us to the front!"

"Yes, although our Sixth Army is not a descendant of Whampoa, it will never be worse than the Fifth Army!"

"Yue Weihan dared to underestimate us so much, and when we won a big battle, let him swallow back what he had said!"

When Peng Bisheng was not angry in his heart, the commanders of several main regiments and the battalion commanders of the battalions directly under him had already rushed to his side, and they all piled up cruel words, and the commander of the 93rd Division, Lu Guoshui, and the commander of the 55th Division, Chen Mianyue, were also on the side, and since the commander of the Sixth Army, Gan Lichu, was dismissed, Peng Bisheng had faintly become the spiritual leader of the "Hunan Army".

(To be continued)