End of May 1939.

Wuhan, formerly the administrative building of Wuhan University, is now the headquarters of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army.

Sugiyama Mototo, looking at the playground outside with his hands behind his back, didn't say a word. Behind him, Yamashita Fumi, chief of staff of the North China Front, Okamura Ninji, commander of the 11th Army, and Tsukita Ryoshiro, commander of the 11th Army's field heavy artillery brigade, also stood quietly.

After a long while, Sugiyama Motocai turned around, glanced at everyone, and then fixed his eyes on an officer wearing a white military uniform with a mustache on his lips:

"Are you all ready?"

"Your Excellency, everything is ready, just waiting for your order." The mustache stepped forward and replied with a tense body.

"You need to know the importance of this operation." Sugiyama Mototo: "Once it succeeds, the great counteroffensive that Chinese is brewing will be met head-on, and once it fails, it will ......."

"We're not going to fail." The mustache said, "If you fail, you won't see Kikuji Okuda alive!" ”

"Very good, worthy of being an attendant under His Majesty the Emperor, I hope you can continue to write the legend of the 'King of Bombing', don't let me down." Sugiyama Moto, with a smile on his face, nodded appreciatively.

"But I still oppose such a hasty retaliation against the Chinese." Okamura Ninji, who had been keeping his head down, said suddenly.

"Yaga!" Yamashita Fengwen on the side stepped in front of him in one step, "Okamura Ninji, do you know what you're talking about?" ”

"Of course I know." The thin Okamura Ninji looked very imposing in front of the chief of staff of the North China Front, who was waist-waisted and round-shouldered, but he still stared at Yamashita Fengfumi, "Rashly launching an attack on the enemy under such incomplete information is purely a joke on the lives of our pilots." If the operation fails, our already unstable air supremacy in central China will be completely lost. And most importantly. At that time, the base camp will not be able to bring us more planes. ”

"Coward!"

Yamashita Fengwen snorted coldly.

"Yamashita Fengwen, it's best to go through your own mind before you say this." Okamura Ninji said-for-tat, "The first unit to enter Wuhan was the 11th Army led by me!" ”

"That's enough." Sugiyama Moto, angrily stopped the quarrel between the two generals, "Can't you just be quiet?" Especially you, Okamura-kun! I know you're good at fighting, but that doesn't mean you're right every time. Moreover, this bombing operation has already been passed by the dispatch army headquarters in Shanghai, so stop at this time, and what are you asking us to do with the more than 300 planes that we have just pulled from all over the country to do there? Is it rusty? ”

"Your Excellency, General." Okamura Ninji's tone softened a little, "I just think I should be careful." Don't you also feel strange about the important targets that suddenly pop up on the Chinese side? ”

"What's so strange about that?" Yamashita Fengwen snorted coldly, "The Chinese already felt the crisis as early as the 'Battle of Songhu', when we entered Shanghai, so. They try to build up their strength. But Chiang Kai-shek was afraid that it would be cheaper for us to leave those things in the east, so he had to build them in Chongqing......"

But at that time, Chongqing was still in the hands of Liu Xiang. Chiang Kai-shek, how dare he? Okamura asked rhetorically.

After all, Liu Xiang still had to obey the orders of Chiang Kai-shek, the chairman of the committee. Let alone. He's dead now. Yamashita Bongbundo.

"What about Chengdu? How does Chengdu explain it? A whole armored force that suddenly appeared like the steel mills in Chongqing. Don't you think that's weird? Okamura said again.

"It's not that the Chinese don't have mechanized troops, it's just that there are too few of them." Yamashita replied.

"It's very little, but now that the Chinese are brewing a large-scale counteroffensive, such an armored force should now charge at the front, but why is it hiding in Chengdu, which is far from the front line?" Okamura asked again.

"Naturally, there are reasons for that." Yamashita couldn't answer, and he was a little anxious. "Perhaps, this is Chiang Kai-shek's attempt to deter those warlords in Sichuan."

"What a funny joke." Okamura Ning sneered again, "Most of Sichuan's army has already been taken out by Liu Xiang, and most of them died on the battlefield. Even Liu Xiang himself died of illness in Wuhan. Sichuan is now left with only Liu Wenhui and it is complete, but it is difficult for him to protect himself now, and what strength does he have to counterattack Chiang Kai-shek, and he needs Chiang Kai-shek to leave a whole armored force to suppress it? In particular, this unit is still in Chengdu, not near Xikang, to which Liu Wenhui belongs. My Excellency Chief of Staff, do you think that Chiang Kai-shek wanted this armored force to set out from Chengdu and then go straight to Xikang Province, which is a dangerous terrain and densely covered with mountains? ”

"Ninji Okamura—"

"Enough!" Sugiyama took a deep breath and looked at Okamura Ninji with an unkind face: "I'll explain this question for you...... The reason why the armored force, which had a total of 20 of the latest French B1-bis heavy tanks and 17 Renault R-35 light tanks and 52 combat vehicles, was in Chengdu because Chiang Kai-shek, after receiving the benefits of Libyan oil, was so ambitious that he no longer wanted to limit the counteroffensive to Hunan and Hubei, but also wanted to extend his strength to Shanxi. And this armored force was led by his student Qiu Qingquan, and its destination was Xi'an. Before that, he also dispatched troops in Shanxi, Wei Lihuang was preparing for Zhongtiao Mountain, and Yan Xishan's Jin Sui army also began to prepare. These signs have already indicated his purpose. ”

"It can't be." Okamura Ningji shook his head again and again, "Even if it is to Shaanxi, how can such a large-scale armored force cross the Qinling Mountains?" ”

"So, they need to be disassembled!" Sugiyama Gen snorted coldly: "In Chengdu, they are just conducting assembly training. Because the French were unwilling to go to Shaanxi and then assemble them for them. Chiang Kai-shek was uncontrollable. Being able to transport these armored combat vehicles to Chengdu and then assemble them for practice was already the best he could do after negotiating with the French. ”

"No wonder our embassy in France didn't get any news at all." Yamashita Fengwen exclaimed: "They actually dismantled these weapons and shipped them back to China? ”

"That's right, this is the cleverness of the Chinese. It's a pity that although they have hidden it from us, they have not been able to hide it from the British. Sugiyama Moto sneered.

"But what do the British want to help us?" Okamura Ninji was still puzzled.

"It's not that the British government wants to help us, it's just that the Chinese are unlucky." Sugiyama said with a smile: "Okamura-kun, you should remember the news about the Indonesian oil fields from Chongqing, right?" ”

"Yes." Okamura Ninji nodded a few times, "That oil field was bought by Kong Xiangxi's son, and I heard that now they are already preparing to set up an exploration team." ”

"Then do you know who the Kong family cooperates with?" Sugiyama asked again.

"I heard that it is an Englishman, and it is still a 'so-called' aristocracy." Before Sugiyama arrived, Okamura Ninji, as the supreme commander of the Japanese army stationed in Wuhan, naturally paid great attention to the intelligence in Chongqing. And the big thing like the oil field is the top priority. It can be said that he has been following all the progress of Indonesia's oil fields throughout the whole process.

"Not one British, but two. One of them, the British Consul General in Chongqing! "Sugiyama Motomichi.

"Consul in Chongqing?" Okamura Ninji was stunned, "I don't know much about this. ”

But the Mei agency in Shanghai is very clear. Although they suffered a big loss in the last confrontation with the Chinese, Tu Feiyuan was in Shanghai, and he would always think of ways to take revenge on the Chinese. Sugiyama Mototo smirked: "The British consul originally wanted to get a piece of the pie, but unfortunately the final result was that he was kicked out of the cooperation, and even offended the Royal Shell Oil Company and the British ambassador because of this, and he couldn't even take the position of consul." So, in a fit of rage, he decided to take revenge on Chinese......"

"The British consul got all this information?" Okamura Ninji Road.

"The Chinese buy things in Europe, of course, they can't hide it from the British. It is a pity that the British have always been reluctant to meddle in the situation in the Far East, so they have never spoken. But since Chiang Kai-shek moved the capital to Chongqing, the British Embassy has basically moved there. The British consul naturally knew a lot of things that he couldn't touch...... He was annoyed that Kong Xiangxi had crossed the river and demolished the bridge, and then planned to take revenge on all the Chinese, so he revealed to us the news that Chiang Kai-shek had built a steel plant in Chongqing. As for the armored unit, we have not known the news for less than three days. And for this, Tu Feiyuan spent a lot of money. "Sugiyama Motomichi.

"If that's the case, there's some credibility in the information. But I still find it a little strange. Chiang Kai-shek has such a hole card, why didn't he show it earlier? And, based on my research on him, he probably wasn't the kind of person who was willing to put money out for industrial construction. If he had extra money in his hands, he would definitely be more willing to buy the weapons of those European and American powers. Okamura Ninji said.

"According to Okamura-kun's meaning, just because of your suspicions, we are going to waste all the efforts of the army, navy, and air forces, as well as General Shanghai Tu Feiyuan, during this time?" Yamashita Fumimi sarcastically.

"I didn't mean that." Okamura shook his head in denial, "I just think we shouldn't have the bombing campaign together. If it were me, I would have bombed Chengdu first to see how the Chinese reacted in this operation. If they don't react, or if they just rush into battle, they are not prepared......"

"Then you can bomb the steel mills in Chongqing?" Tsukita Roshiro asked suddenly.

"Nope." Okamura shook his head, "Chongqing's steel plant should be left for bombing when it is about to be completed, so as to achieve the greatest results and cause the greatest trauma to the Chinese, especially Chiang Kai-shek." ”

"It's a good idea, but we don't have time." Sugiyama Mototo, "The Empire is about to face a big war. Most of our Air Force will be transferred after this retaliatory operation...... Therefore, if you want to take revenge, you only have one chance. Just this time. (To be continued......)