Xucun Town, east of Yuhang County, is the location of the headquarters of the new Second Division.

When Wu Ming received the battle report of the temporary Third Division, it was already 8 o'clock in the evening of 30 November, and the headquarters covered with black cloth for air defense was brightly lit, and the generals and colonels gathered together. The school was silent, not daring to disrupt Wu Ming's train of thought.

Zhang Ying, who was standing in front of the map, glanced at Chief of Staff Zhang Dongning, Zhang Dongning nodded knowingly, and asked: "Master, now that Long Shaogang and Dai Ziran have won a big victory, you should be happy, why are you sad...... Doesn't it feel like there's something wrong? ”

Wu Ming quickly retracted his thoughts and said slightly apologetically: "I was distracted, where did I talk about it just now?" ”

"Shizuo, I just talked about the current battle situation on both sides of Taihu Lake"

After seeing Wu Ming waving his hand to continue, Zhang Ying picked up the baton and pointed to the large map on the wall: "Ladies and gentlemen, after the meeting of the League of Nations in Brussels Nine-Power Convention on the 23rd of this month was adjourned indefinitely and did not make any unfavorable resolution against Japan, the Nanjing side finally issued the "Third Phase of the Operational Plan for the Battle of Songhu", which closely linked the operation of guarding the national defense line with the task of defending Nanjing. In addition, the consolidation of the capital was the operational goal, and the Third Theater was required to block the enemy's advance on the Beijing-Shanghai line and the Shanghai-Hangzhou line, and gradually retreat and concentrate the main forces in the area centered on Guangde. ”

However, not long after the plan was issued, Pingwang, Jiaxing, Fushan, Changshu, and Suzhou were abandoned one after another, and the Wufu line and Sujia line were broken through by the Japanese army, and the Chinese army had to fight and retreat to the north and south of Taihu Lake. After the Japanese army invaded the Wufu Line and the Sujia Line, the troops were divided into three routes to attack Nanjing, all the way to the joint force of the sea and air, invaded the Jiangyin, Zhenjiang, and Jiangning fortresses, in an attempt to break through the Yangtze River blockade line, drive straight into the Neijiang River, enter Nanjing from the waterway, all the way to the south bank of the Yangtze River, north of Taihu Lake, along the Beijing-Shanghai Railway, cross the Xicheng line, and force Nanjing, all the way along the south bank of Taihu Lake, Beijing-Hangzhou National Highway, and invade the Suzhou-Anhui border, in an attempt to outflank Nanjing and cut off the return route of the Chinese army. ”

"With the breaking of the Wufu Line on the 28th, the Nationalist Government issued a manifesto, saying that the violent Japanese army moved westward, forced our capital, and coerced it into violence, and asked me to be an alliance under the city, and solemnly declared: 'In order to adapt to the war situation, coordinate the overall situation, and for the sake of the long-term war of resistance, the Nationalist Government will move to Chongqing today. Yesterday, Chairman Chiang sent a telegram to the generals of the whole country to fight more resolutely and courageously, saying: "The Nationalist Government has moved to Chongqing, and our front military forces will continue to be untouched, and we will fight more resolutely, and the overall plan for the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression is really the starting point for further strategic development." ,”

"Under the condition that both the north and south fronts were facing the pressure of strong Japanese troops, General Xue Yue, who replaced General Cixiu who had returned to Nanjing, as the commander of the Left Wing Army, ordered the main force to retreat to Wujin, with Xiao Zhichu of the 26th Army and Liu Heding of the 39th Army to hold the Xicheng line and cover the retreat of the main force."

Yin Dizhong asked curiously: "Are the 36th Division, the 87th Division, the 88th Division, and the Central Teaching Corps also in the team retreating west?" ”

Zhang Ying nodded: "That's right, these German armor divisions are the first troops to withdraw from the Wufu line, and they have now arrived in Danyang, and they are expected to return to Nanjing in the near future." ”

Wu Ming groaned slightly, shook his head and said: "It seems that the theater command has predicted that the Xicheng line is difficult to hold, and the Japanese army is bound to attack Nanjing, so it deployed the main force to retreat westward, so that it can then assemble to Nanjing and cover the outer positions of Nanjing." ”

"That's just the way the Mechanic is like that...... There are strong fortifications that they don't know how to use them, do they think that with the defense line on the periphery of Nanjing, they can resist the Japanese army? The head of the regiment, Han Tiecheng, interjected with a smile

"yes"

"What's going on with the German Mechanic? Guangzhi escaped and spent so much money on them in vain, so it is better to arm our new second division."

"That's not wrong at all"

The other regiment commanders followed.

"Boom"

Wu Ming coughed lightly, glanced at the general during the banquet, and his gaze fell on Han Tiecheng.

Han Tiecheng was like being choked by the neck, his face turned red, he quickly closed his mouth, and the generals quickly lowered their heads, after all, Zhang Ying has not finished introducing it yet, and it is considered a violation of the discipline of the venue for them to speak at this time

The command headquarters quieted down, and Zhang Ying continued: "The situation on the northern front is roughly like this, and then look at the southern front, our temporary third division defeated the Japanese Kunizaki detachment, killed the detachment leader Major General Kunizaki Deng, occupied Miaogang Town, captured countless weapons and equipment, and achieved another great victory in the war against Japan, but the Japanese second division has crossed Jiaxing and will soon arrive in Pingwang, and it is expected that it will arrive at Miaogang along the road on the south bank of the Taipu River tomorrow." ”

"The commander of the Second Division of the Japanese Army, Okamura Ninji, has served in China for eight years, and is an out-and-out Chinese expert, and at the same time an old enemy of the Chinese army. Five years ago, Okamura Ninji sent Takayoshi Tanaka and Yoshiko Kawashima to provoke the 128 incident and send troops to Shanghai, with his hands stained with the blood of the Chinese, and this time he came again"

Subsequently, Zhang Ying introduced some information about Okamura Ningji collected by the intelligence department

At that time, Okamura Ninji visited the crown prince Hirohito under the introduction of King Minoru Higashikure, recruited military attachés stationed abroad as henchmen for Hirohito, and formed the "Baden-Baden Covenant" with Nagata Tetsuyama and Koden Toshishiro, vowing to defeat the army stalwart such as the Choshu lord Yoshiichi Tanaka and other stalwarts in the army, and supported Hirohito to the throne, which is the famous three-feather alliance in Japanese history.

Since then, Okamura has gradually risen to prominence in the Japanese military circles, and at the same time, they have selected seven talented colleagues from among the Choshu Domain, plus Hideki Tojo, the "sentinel" of the "Baden-Baden Treaty", and have become the core of the Showa warlords that Japan relied on to wage the Second World War.

It can be seen from this that although Okamura Ninji is currently only a lieutenant general and holds the position of division commander, his status in the Japanese army is no less than that of General Matsui, the commander of the Shanghai Dispatch Army, because Matsui Ishine is one of the other seven Showa warlords found by Okamura Ninji.

In addition, Okamura Ninji was strategic, and served as the head of the second department of the General Staff Headquarters, and had a strong voice in the Tokyo base camp.

Wu Ming's little butterfly caused a series of waves, and Okamura Ninji was put into the Chinese battlefield a year earlier than another time and space, which was a huge test for Wu Ming and the new Second Division

"Judging from the reaction of the theater command, they have actually fully taken into account the strength of the second division and even the seventh division, especially the uncertain factor of Okamura Ningji. No matter how strong the Xicheng Line is, once the Japanese army connects Nanxun, Wuxing, Changxing and Yixing, it can attack the Xicheng defense fortifications and back, which means that the national army guarding the Xicheng Line will be in a situation of being attacked from both sides."

Wu Ming stood up, strode to the map, took the baton from Zhang Ying's hand, and pointed to the front line of Wujin, Liyang and Guangde: "On the contrary, if the troops are gathered on this line, first, they can retreat to Nanjing at any time, on the other hand, they don't have to worry about being outflanked by the Japanese army, and then they will lose their ground, and the third is that when the battle situation is unfavorable, they can withdraw to the Tianmu Mountain area at the junction of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces to preserve their strength." ”

Zhang Ying nodded: "According to the news sent from the Yixing Intelligence Station in the evening, the 21st Group Army of the Gui Department did not retreat to Wujin and the west according to the scheduled plan, and this afternoon the forward of the department has passed through Yixing County and marched to Guangde in the southwest. Judging from all aspects, the Gui army is unwilling to defend Nanjing, and I am afraid that it is the same as Shizuo's view, and the mountainous area at the junction of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces is the key point. ”

"Now you know what you know, right? It is not that the officers and men of the Central Army's German Armament Division are greedy for life and afraid of death, but that we are proud of several national defense fortifications, which have had big problems from the very beginning of their design."

Wu Ming said here with some emotion: "This situation can be summed up in one sentence, one point is broken, the whole line is broken, this is also applicable to the national army in Wujin, Liyang and Guangde line of defense line, the future is not optimistic, the people in Nanjing should consider retreating, otherwise ......"

Wu Ming shook his head and stopped talking.

Han Tiecheng scratched his head: "Everyone is scared when they see the Japanese, and they are all thinking about retreating, what should we do?" And what about the brothers of the third division who are fighting in the north? ”

"Good question" Wu Ming asked angrily: "The Japanese army is so ferocious, and there is a wise and brave general like Okamura Ningji to lead the army, are you afraid?" ”

"Don't be afraid" The generals held their heads high and answered in unison. Han Tiecheng added: "Our new second division has never been afraid"

"Well, I appreciate your courage"

Wu Ming waved his hand happily, and the conversation changed: "However, although we are not afraid of them, the little devils are well-equipped, and they have aircraft, artillery and tanks to help, and we must not fight with them." Like the Third Division, we must make full use of our own advantages, not only to capture fleeting fighters, but also to strive to create fighters to surprise the enemy and unprepared. ”

"Yes"

The generals once again responded in unison.

Wu Ming nodded, and said to Zhang Ying on the side: "Tell Long Shaogang that since he has completed the established task, he can now wait for the opportunity to retreat into the Tianmu Mountain area...... The 2nd Division of the Japanese Army is strong in combat, and the 7th Division is eyeing it, we really should not fight against it in the plain area, at this time, we should not be afraid of people's shame, let alone the courage of the horseman, avoiding the real and attacking the false is the only correct choice."

At this time, Zhang Dongning handed Wu Ming a casualty report that had just been sent by the Provisional Third Division: "Division, in today's battle, the casualties of the Provisional Third Division are not small, with a total of more than 580 casualties before and after, and almost a battalion is gone.

Wu Ming's face was expressionless, and he took the casualty report and looked at it carefully.

The Third Division did win the battle, but throughout the battle, there were also many failures. The Japanese army relied on light and heavy machine-gun fire, as well as two artillery positions in the surrounding area, to fiercely strafe the 2nd Supplementary Regiment that was chasing the fleeing Japanese army.

The battle lasted until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when a Japanese fleet of river gunboats arrived, and four or five gunboats covered the river.

After reading the report, Wu Ming handed the telegram to Zhang Ying, who was peeping at the probe, and Zhang Ying handed it to Luo Yuming after reading it. The generals in the conference room read the telegram in turn and quickly fell silent.

Since joining the Songhu battlefield, although the new Second Division has achieved brilliant results, it has made great sacrifices, and there have been two large-scale additions and adjustments, and many companies of the brigades and regiments below have been replenished more than 10 times, and batch after batch of officers and men have gone to the battlefield and have never come down.

The war is attrition, see who can hold on, and Wu Ming has no better way to do this.

Seeing that the morale of the generals and colonels was low, Wu Ming had no choice but to cheer everyone up, and said loudly: "It is precisely because of so many brave and fearless officers and soldiers that we can achieve victory after victory. I firmly believe that as long as we continue to fight, the Japanese will not be able to withstand this huge attrition and will eventually fail. In a word, China will not die"

A deafening roar rang out in the war room: "China will not die-"