Yucheng, press conference hall of the General Staff.

Chairman Jiang was raising his arms on the rostrum and shouted: "...... The National Revolutionary Army has invested a total of 16 group armies, 48 divisions and two brigades, totaling 500,000 troops, and has formed an encirclement posture against the army stationed in Shanxi, and the 39th Group Army has made a major breakthrough on the eastern front, recovering the county town of Pingding and completely annihilating the 80th Infantry Wing of the Yue Army! ”

"In this battle, the goal of our army is to completely annihilate the main force of the army stationed in Shanxi and recover the entire territory of Shanxi!"

In the end, Chairman Chiang waved his fist vigorously, and the photojournalists of the major media hurriedly pressed the shutter in succession, freezing the image of Chairman Chiang waving his fist forever; the next day, a photo of Chairman Chiang waving his fist appeared on the front pages of major Chinese and foreign newspapers, with the inscription next to it: Chinese's fist -- Shanxi's counterattack!

…………

Tokyo, the base camp of the army.

Idle Yuan Gong Zairen gently pressed off the radio, and then his eyes narrowed slightly and fell into deep thought.

What was just broadcast on the radio was a speech delivered by Chiang, the leader of the Nationalist Axe, in Yucheng.

From Chiang's speech, Xianyuan Gong Zairen heard the determination of the Kuomintang to resist to the death.

Although he is said to be the chief of staff of the army and navy, he usually rarely asks about specific affairs, but this old devil has been in the military for many years in front of Emperor Yumoto, and has supreme authority in the army, once he wants to meddle in a specific matter, no one can stop him, and Emperor Hirohito can't do it.

In the sound of hurried footsteps, the new Minister of War Hideki Tojo strode into the office of the old devil Zairen, and immediately retracted his feet and said, "His Royal Highness! ”

Zairen bowed his head lightly as a return salute, and then asked directly: "How serious is the situation in Shanxi?" ”

Hideki Tojo originally wanted to hide a thing or two, but after thinking about it, he still said truthfully: "Your Royal Highness, the situation in Shanxi is very bad, the first barrier in the east of Taiyuan to pacify the county town has been captured by the 39th Group Army commanded by Yue Weihan, and the First Army stationed in Shanxi has also been divided and surrounded by the [***] team!" ”

"The situation is so critical, why don't you draw reinforcements from the Kwantung Army?" Jae-in was slightly angry.

"The 1st Division has been dispatched to Shanxi." Hideki Tojo said busily, "However, when the order was given, the officers and men of the 1st Division were on vacation, and the assembly was not completed until this morning. ”

Zairen frowned, and said, "So, how big is the likely surname to defend Taiyuan?" ”

After saying this, the old devil Zairen suddenly looked at him and added: "Tojo-kun, I want to hear the truth!" ”

Hideki Tojo was awe-struck when he heard this, and replied truthfully at the moment: "After full deduction, the War Department believes that the likely surname of holding Taiyuan is less than 20%, and it is difficult for the First Army to hold on until reinforcements arrive. ”

"What about the Fourth Army stationed in Hebei?" Zairen said, "Judging from the map, Shimen is very close to Taiyuan. ”

"Shimen is only two hundred kilometers away from Taiyuan, but it must cross the Jingcheng Grand Canyon in the middle!" Tojo Hideki said, "The terrain of the Jingcheng Grand Canyon is extremely steep, and there are passes such as Tumen Pass and Niangzi Pass, at least half a month, it is impossible for the Fourth Army to penetrate the Jingcheng Grand Canyon, but it is difficult for the First Army to hold out for half a month." ”

"Half a month!?" Jaeren said in disbelief, "The First Army can't hold out for even half a month? ”

"Hello." Hideki Tojo bowed his head abruptly and said, "Such a conclusion is indeed shocking, but this is the case, the Shina Army has newly invented a chemical weapon of mass destruction, which is extremely powerful, and can completely incapacitate the warriors of the Imperial Army in a short period of time, and the 80th Infantry Wing is like this." ”

"Chemical weapons? Baga Yalu! Jae-in scolded angrily, "You must immediately file a lawsuit with the League of Nations." ”

"It's already been tried." "However, the League of Nations has always been intimidated by the United States, Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and other countries, and these countries are gradually at odds with the Empire, so it is impossible to achieve any substantive effect. ”

Zairen's face sank like water, and he asked, "Tojo-kun, what should I do now in your opinion?" ”

"It's a difficult situation right now." Hideki Tojo said with a wry smile, "If you take the initiative to abandon Shanxi, it will damage the national prestige of the empire and the military prestige of the imperial army, and it will inevitably boost the arrogance of the Chinese army; If Shanxi is defended, it can certainly cause great casualties to the Chinese army and weaken the resistance for the imperial army's counterattack on Shanxi, but the first army is likely to be wiped out. ”

"In other words......" Zairen said in a deep voice, "Shanxi will still be lost after all?" ”

"Hello." Hideki Tojo bowed his head again and said, "I think that the loss of Shanxi is inevitable. ”

"Then let the First Army prepare for a breakthrough!" The old devil of Zairen pondered for a moment, and then ordered, "Let the Fourth Army storm the Jingchengkou, if the Fourth Army can break through the Jingchengkou within 24 hours, then order the First Army to defend to the death, if the Fourth Army can't break through the Jingchengkou within 24 hours, then the First Army will immediately withdraw from Taiyuan to Datong!" ”

"Hello." Hideki Tojo bowed his head suddenly, and then turned around and walked away.

…………

Shimen, the headquarters of the Fourth Army.

Major General Toshihide Fujimoto hurriedly walked into Tada Jun's office, and immediately retracted his feet and said: "Your Excellency Commander, the base camp is in an emergency, ordering us to seize the Tumen Pass within 24 hours and lay down the well!" ”

"24 hours?" Tada Jun was awe-struck when he heard this, and looked at the time, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon.

"Command!" Tada Jun immediately ordered, "The 13th Division immediately launched an attack on Tumen Pass, and before dark, be sure to fill in all the trenches outside the Jingcheng Pass to clear the obstacles to the advance of the chariots and rapid-fire guns!" ”

"Hello." Toshiyo Fujimoto bowed his head suddenly, and then turned around and walked away.

Tada Jun thought about it, and then called Masao Ikegami, the head of the special service agency of the army stationed in Shimen, and ordered the secret service to arrest at least 500 Chinese people as soon as possible and drive them outside the Tumen Pass.

…………

Taiyuan, the headquarters of the First Army.

The head of the army's secret service in Taiyuan, Jing Dazuo, strode into the office of Lieutenant General Xiangyue Qingji, and immediately retracted his feet and said: "Your Excellency, the base camp has just sent an urgent telegram, ordering our First Army to prepare for retreat, and once the Fourth Army's attack on Jingcheng Pass is not smooth, it will immediately retreat north to Datong!" ”

"What did you say?" Kazuki Kiyoji frowned and said, "Retreat north to Datong!?" ”

"Hello." Inoue Yasushi suddenly bowed his head and said, "Your Excellency Commander, since the Chinese army has used chemical weapons of mass destruction on the battlefield, it is unlikely that the imperial army will hold Taiyuan!" Once the Fourth Army does not progress smoothly and the First Army cannot withdraw north to Datong in time, the result can only be a collective jade. ”

Xiangyue Qingji was silent for a moment, and said helplessly: "Notify all the ministries and prepare to retreat immediately." ”

Inoue Jing reminded: "Your Excellency Commander, don't notify the 40th Infantry Brigade stationed in Shouyang, right?" ”

Kazuki Kiyoji nodded silently, the 40th Infantry Brigade stationed in Shouyang has fallen into the heavy encirclement of the [***] team, and the possibility of breaking through is not large, and if the main force of the First Army retreats north to Datong, there must be an army to stay behind, and this heavy task seems to only fall on the 40th Infantry Brigade.

…………

Pingding County, the front command of the 39th Group Army.

The war room was crowded, and in the telecommunications room next door, the sound of telegrams was even louder.

In the sound of hurried footsteps, Lieutenant Colonel Liu Xin walked into the war room with the folder, and immediately stood upright, and said to Yue Weihan: "General, the 2nd Regiment, 4th Regiment, 5th Regiment and the Artillery Regiment have all entered the attack position, the 3rd Regiment and the 6th Regiment have cut off the road between Shouyang and Taiyuan, and the cavalry regiment is cruising along the highway, ready to respond at any time. ”

Gao Shuxun slammed the knot and said to Yue Weihan: "Boss, everything seems to be going well." ”

"The main reason is that the strength of the Shanxi army is empty." Liu Yi smiled and said, "In the face of our step-by-step advance, the army retreated and did not dare to withdraw, and the army in various places was entangled by the Central Army, the Jin Sui Army and the Eighth Route Army, and there was no time to save each other, so the result could only be divided and surrounded by us, and then eaten in one bite." ”

"The so-called military plot, this is a yang scheme!" Yue Weihan said happily, "Xiao Yue Ben knows what we want to do, but they just can't crack it!" Who made them have too much appetite and transferred all their troops to the battlefield in Central China in an attempt to swallow the whole of China in one gulp? What's the result, it's overbearing, right? Isn't it okay to lose the other? ”

Liu Yi, Gao Shuxun and others burst into laughter, and Sun Dianying and Bi Guangheng also laughed dryly.

"Order all regiments, pay attention to concealment, even if the Taiyuan army rushes to reinforce, don't rush to block it, although let them enter Shouyang City, this table of dishes, a devil is eating, a pair of devils are still eating!" Yue Weihan smiled slightly, and said to Liu Yi again, "In short, don't let the military plane discover its whereabouts, so as not to have unnecessary casualties!" ”

"Report!" As soon as the words fell, Gao Jingwu, the director of the Intelligence Division, suddenly walked in quickly, and stood upright, "General, the Fourth Army Headquarters of the Fourth Army has just issued an order to the 13th Division, ordering the 13th Division to seize Tumen Pass and open the Jingcheng Pass within 24 hours at all costs!" ”

"Hmmm! 24 hours!? ”

"What a big breath the little devil!"

Yue Weihan and Liu Yi looked at each other coldly.

"The little devil is crazy." Gao Shuxun pursed his lips and said abruptly, "Don't talk about 24 hours, even if it is ten days and half a month, the little devil will never want to take the Tumen Fortress." ”

Yue Weihan touched his chin and suddenly said, "Brother Jianhou (Gao Shuxun), don't you think it's a little abnormal?" ”

"It's a bit of an anomaly." After being reminded by Yue Weihan, Gao Shuxun also reacted immediately, "Tada Jun, this old devil, neither knows the details of Tumen Fortress, nor has he launched a feint attack to test his surname, why does he dare to set a 24-hour time limit for the 13th Division?" It's not logical! ”

"Could it be that there is some conspiracy in between?" Liu Yi said awe-inspiringly.

Yue Weihan waved his hand, silent, he vaguely seemed to be aware of it, but for a while he was never able to make a clear judgment, Chu Zhongtian hurriedly took out the cigarette he had captured from the battlefield, took out one and handed it to Yue Weihan, Yue Weihan took it and put it in his mouth, over there Chi Chengfeng had already lit a match for him.

(To be continued)