In order to convince Yang Zhen to believe in his judgment, Chen Hanzhang was quite well prepared. He made preparations in many aspects, such as the terrain, the current war in Shandong, and transportation. Especially in the terrain of Shandong and northern Henan, a lot of comparisons have been made between the Japanese army and the current anti-Japanese alliance from both the offensive and defensive sides.

At the same time, he not only saw the topographical advantages of Shandong compared with eastern Henan, but also showed the impact of Shandong's gains and losses on the current war situation in the entire northern China. This shows that he was quite well prepared, and after he was transferred to the Eastern Front, he had a full understanding and grasp of the situation around the entire Eastern Front.

However, in order to convince Yang Zhen, Chen Hanzhang's preparations were much more than that. He walked to the map again, and this time his baton extended from Luxi, the best southbound route of the anti-United Nations tank cluster, to northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui, as well as southeast Henan, before stopping: "Taking Shandong as the main direction of attack, in addition to effectively using the terrain to ensure the safety of one's flank, and ensure the convenience of material and reinforcement mobilization. ”

"Let the Japanese army choose another point in Shandong, as long as Shandong is controlled in their hands, it is equivalent to cutting off the passage of our army to the south of Jianghuai. And in order to control Shandong in their hands, they must ensure the security of their control areas in Jianghuai. Defense is definitely not a good way for them, there is no other way than to attack. ”

"And passive defense, for the Japanese army, the number of troops required is not something it can afford now. They are well aware that once our army is replenished, the offensive capability will be restored. Internally, there are troops of the Shandong Military Region that control the territory of Shandong, and most of the mountainous areas cooperate, and externally, there are armored and mechanized units of our army attacking under internal and external attacks. Unless the Japanese army mobilized the whole of China to send troops into the war, it would be difficult for Shandong to hold on. ”

"The loss of Shandong may not be a fear for the Japanese army. But for the Japanese army, the chain reaction caused by the loss of Shandong was not something they could not ignore considering. There are two divisions of our New Fourth Army in the entire Huaibei, and even the Huainan troops can be cooperated with when necessary, and coupled with the favorable terrain of the Huanghuai Plain, I am afraid that the entire two Huai can no longer be controlled by the Japanese army. ”

"And the loss of the two Huai and one loss, the chain reaction triggered is not only that it is difficult to defend in eastern Henan, but even that our army may reach the Yangtze River line. At that time, the Japanese army will directly face the pressure and threat of our army in the Jiangnan region, which is the richest in the area occupied by China. Our army's artillery shells can reach Nanjing at any time. ”

"The thousand-mile Yangtze River defense line requires a large number of troops, plus there are several theaters in Chongqing in the middle, I'm afraid the Japanese army itself doesn't know how to fight this battle. The chain reaction triggered by the loss of Shandong will not be unseen by the Japanese base camp and the Chinese dispatch army headquarters. ”

"As the old saying goes, guarding the river must guard the Huai. It is said that in the face of the threat from the north, if you want to hold the line of the Yangtze River, then you must hold the line of the Huai River. The process of conquest from south to north in ancient China was also generally carried out along this route. The northern nomads had strong cavalry, but we now have sharper spears, that is, our armored forces. ”

"The entire terrain of the Huanghuai Plain, although the water network in the Huainan District is vertical and horizontal, but the terrain is flat, but it is precisely to give full play to the tank combat of our army. Therefore, if the Japanese army wants to hold Lianghuai, it can only push the battle line to the north as much as possible. In other words, unless the Japanese army wants to abandon the entire Jiangbei, Shandong is the place where it must fight for this operation. ”

"As for northern Henan, judging from the overall situation of the surrounding areas, it is not particularly advantageous as a key offensive direction of the Japanese army. Neither the rear nor the surrounding situation was suitable as a base for the Japanese army's large corps to attack and fight. Unless they first defeat the first war zone on the Chongqing side, and then they can free up their hands to fight us. ”

"If we talk about the Shandong battlefield, they need to fight on two fronts. Then when you go to eastern Henan, I'm afraid it will be a three-front battle. Although the results of the attack in eastern Henan in the First War Zone were few, they did not have a serious impact on the enemy in eastern Henan. However, there is one thing that also reminds the Japanese army, that is, Chongqing is not just passively defending. ”

"As long as they are given enough weapons and equipment, they will dare to fight back on all fronts. The most important thing is that no one will mind the matter of beating the water dogs. Once the war is not favorable to the Japanese army, it is not impossible for Chongqing to attack again. Who doesn't rush to do the things that take advantage? ”

"With northern Henan as the main direction of the attack, no matter how they fight in this counterattack, they must leave enough defensive forces in northern and eastern Henan. At the same time, they also have to worry about our army in the Shanxi battlefield, and at a critical moment, they will go out of Taihang Mountain and stab at their flank. ”

"Moreover, in the eastern direction of Henan, there is a flat river, except for the mud pond in the Yellow Flood Area, almost all of them are plain terrain. Compared with the large number of armored troops of our army, it is far inferior to a large number of mountains and lakes, and the most important thing is that Shandong, which is bordered by the sea in the east, Hebei in the north, and Huaibei in the south, is in a favorable situation. ”

At the same time, Xuzhou, northern Jiangsu, which is connected to the Jinpu Railway in Shandong, is stationed with an integrated division of the Japanese army. Relying on several major ports in the east, it can get a steady stream of reinforcements from the sea at any time. The sea ice on the Jiaodong Peninsula has now been gradually cultivated. In the entire 43-year naval war between the United States and Japan, the Japanese did suffer a lot of losses, but the foundation of their navy was still there. ”

"As long as a few ports are still under their control, and the Jinpu line and the Longhai line are still unblocked, they can ensure a steady stream of troops to the Shandong battlefield. Whether it is the replenishment of materials, ammunition, or soldiers, Shandong has far surpassed that of eastern Henan. ”

"The most important thing is the topography here, with the complex terrain of the Yimeng Mountains in the east, and a series of lakes such as Weishan Lake, Shushan Lake, and Dongping Lake in the west, which are natural blocking positions. Surrounded by mountains and lakes, we are left with very limited routes for armored troops. The terrain here also determines that if the Japanese army wants to block our army in Hebei, Shandong is its battleground. ”

"Although there are troops of our Shandong Military Region in Shandong, there are two military regions of Huaibei and Northern Jiangsu to the south of Longhai Road, and troops of the Third Division and the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army are active. However, judging from the current deployment of the Japanese army in Shandong, it is clear that they have made corresponding preparations. As I said before, put on a posture of attacking from the north to the south, get out of the way of the Jiaoji line, which is no longer of great significance, and trap the Shandong Military Region along the Jiaoji railway. ”

"Once the troops of the Shandong Military Region are pinned down on the Jiaoji line, our army will lose a fairly advantageous arm in the next stage of the battle. However, the troops of the Huaibei Military Region and the Northern Jiangsu Military Region along the Longhai Road are far inferior in strength and weaponry to the troops of the Shandong Military Region. At the same time, the mountain is high and the emperor is far away, and the role it can play in strategic coordination is probably far less than that of the nearby Shandong Military Region. ”

"Moreover, Shandong is backed by the sea and has a number of excellent ports. And in northern and central Jiangsu, there were heavy Japanese army clusters. Even if the Jiaoji line is temporarily abandoned, the Jinpu and Longhai railways, which run through the north and south and the east and west respectively, are also quite convenient, which is conducive to the rapid mobilization of heavy troops by the Japanese army. ”

"Another point is that the Japanese army carried out a landing operation in the Bohai Bay. Then the Japanese army will use Shandong, which is close to the Bohai Bay, as the starting point for the attack, and the convenience of cooperating with the landing Japanese army in the Hebei battlefield is far greater than that of the northern and eastern Henan battlefields, which are isolated by the enemy on their backs. ”

"At the same time, with Shandong as a heavy attack base, we can attack the junction of our army and the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region to the northwest. To the north, we can contain our eastern cluster head-on, and to the northeast, we can cooperate with the possible landing cluster of the Japanese army. The current Shandong battlefield can be said to be the land of four wars, which are far from being comparable to northern Henan. So I think that Lubei, especially definitely will be the main direction of the Japanese army's attack. ”

Looking at Chen Hanzhang, who looked a little more relaxed after saying everything in his heart, Yang Zhen nodded slightly: "Old Chen, your analysis is basically consistent with my preliminary judgment. If I was hesitant before, then today's words from you can make me make up my mind. ”

"Just as you judge now, once the Japanese counterattack starts on all fronts, the Shandong direction will inevitably be the key direction of the Japanese army, and it can even be said that it is the main offensive direction. So you must pay more attention here, and definitely don't be confused by the small actions of the Japanese army. When deploying troops, it is necessary to have sufficient mobile reserves in hand. ”

"Also, as you said, you must pay more attention to the position of your left wing and the junction of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region. At present, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region has to deal with the pressure from two sides, and I am afraid that it does not have much strength to strengthen the defense of the Hebei-Shandong border area. Therefore, in the northwest direction of Shandong, we still have to focus on ourselves. ”

"I also think that if the Japanese army is determined to counterattack, it will still adopt a posture of advancing from east to west, although it will be dominated by the eastern front, but the western front will not invest too few troops. Because the Western Front is the combination of our army in the entire Hebei battlefield and the fraternal troops in the Shanxi battlefield. Although the strategic position is not comparable to that of the Eastern Front, it will still be within the direction of the Japanese attack. ”

"So as a whole, I'm determined to keep things the same. If the major deployment is not adjusted, this requires you, the front-line commander, to have a more sensitive sense of smell. At the same time, you, as a front-line commander, must have enough flexibility in command. ”

"In this way, I am transferring a division and a brigade from the Jinchaji Military Region to you from the reserves. In the mobilization of two battalions of 122 rocket artillery and 150 howitzers, two battalions of 122 howitzers, two battalions of 122 howitzers. You are drawing two artillery batteries from each of the divisional artillery of your unit. ”

"Don't deploy all of this firepower to the front-line defense zone. The artillery I gave you to strengthen is not for you to defend passively. These artillery pieces are to be held in the hands and used as mobile firepower. It should be used in the most critical position at the most critical time. When the time comes, don't be reluctant to shell, let these artillery pieces get the most out of their effectiveness. ”

"At the most critical time, when these artillery units are mobilized and deployed, they must do a good job of secrecy, so that the suddenness of the campaign can be carried out in the most perfect way. As for how to avoid the eyes of the Japanese army, with your ability, you don't need me to hand it over to you, right? ”

Speaking of this, Yang Zhen was silent for a moment and then said: "During the battle, you should pay more attention to coordination and communication with the Shandong Military Region. Especially when it comes to enemy situations, be sure to communicate more with them. Besides, if they need anything, you don't need to buckle here. Give what should be given, and if you are insufficient, you can come to me directly. ”

"As for the blockade area you mentioned, I will communicate with the head of the Shandong Military Region. But when you're on the battlefield, be sure to pay more attention to the direction you say. If there is any major change in the situation around them, they must report it to me in time. Also, I will expand the combat range of the aviation forces to the east as much as possible. ”

"In addition, at present, some troops in the Bohai Naval Region are now under your command, so you can talk to their commanders. Let them form a small unit of capable personnel in the two sub-districts south of the Yellow River to make direct contact with the Jiaodong Military Region. Remember, let them transfer the cadres and troops of the original Qinghe Military Region. ”