Regarding the relationship between the Third Theater and the Fifth Theater, in fact, there was a great overlap between the two during the defense of Nanjing.

At the request of Li Zongren, deputy commander of the Fifth Theater of Operations, Liu Yuan once sent some second-line troops into Huainan to help Li Zongren defend.

Having just become the commander of the Fifth War Zone, Liu Yuan took a turn of his life, ended his sick and lethargic state, and said to Chiang Kai-shek, "The students are about to go to the Fifth War Zone, is the principal going to increase the number of troops for the students?" ”

It is important to know that after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, many commanders did not dare to command too many troops, nor did they dare to ask for too many troops. But Liu Yuan is Han Xin's soldier, the more the merrier.

In front of the Japanese, many commanders were not capable of commanding so many troops, and it was important to know that the firepower of the Japanese army in Ludao was much stronger than that of China.

Bai Chongxi looked at Liu Yuan with a radiant expression, what he heard from Liu Yuan's words was not the fear of the upcoming confrontation with the Japanese, but a strong self-confidence, Liu Yuan must be ready to fight the Japanese in the fifth war zone.

"How much." Chiang Kai-shek wiped the flower cake powder on his hands, and looked at Liu Yuan in surprise, he didn't expect that his student had such a desire to attack, he was here to stop the Japanese, and in Chiang Kai-shek's opinion, he was probably fighting with the Japanese.

"If Japan wants to open up the north-south communication line, the troops it uses must be very strong, and if the enemy hears that I am going to command the battle, most of them will target the fifth theater, so I hope that the chairman can give me eight to ten group armies."

Chiang Kai-shek listened to Liu Yuan's words, almost died of anger, and muttered, "Why don't you pour the whole country's strength into it, ten group armies, did you have this flower cake at that time?" You can eat as many pieces as you want, and if the Japanese attack on the flanks, then what about the 1st theater of operations. Are you going to leave me alone to meet the enemy? And you also know that in the defense of Songhu and Nanjing, the losses of the Central Army were too heavy, and I really couldn't take out Chiang Kai-shek of the ten group armies. ”

Liu Yuan glanced around, and saw that he was not willing to speak for himself, and suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness, but the national war did not tolerate selfishness and timidity.

"Then can the principal give me back the First Strategic Army of the Southwest Special Administrative Region? With the three strategic armies in my hands, I feel much more at ease. Liu Yuan looked at Chiang Kai-shek and asked.

Chiang Kai-shek's head shook like a drum, "The teacher is not the kind of person who takes other people's things, but now the strength of other troops is not as fast as your Southwest Army, I need to temporarily borrow the strength of your First Strategic Army in the Southwest to defend Wuhan and defend Wuhan, so you still don't think about it, I can guarantee here that your First Strategic Army will definitely not be eaten by the central government." Chiang Kai-shek replied.

Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek didn't give him a chance, Liu Yuan could only retreat and said, "Principal, do you think it's okay to do this, you will drop the First Army, the Seventy-first Army, the Seventy-second Army, and the Southwest United Army of the National Revolutionary Army to me, and Liao Yaoxiang and their Lushan training troops will drop some to me." At this time, Liu Yuan planned wholeheartedly for the Fifth War Zone, and naturally gave Chiang Kai-shek people and soldiers.

Chiang Kai-shek knew very well that the little guy in front of him was a businessman and was the best at bargaining, no matter what Liu Yuan said, Chiang Kai-shek always said, "The defense of the flanks is also very important, and the defense of the first theater cannot be ignored." ”

Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek was not pulling out a dime, Liu Yuan was also a little anxious, and said to Chiang Kai-shek, "Principal, you are the commander of the country, how can you be so stingy?" I'm going to fight hard with the Japanese, if you don't give enough capital, how can you make a big deal, what if you let the little devils hack me to death. You yourself know that Han Fuqu in the Fifth War Zone is a coward, if he has the courage to fight devils, it will be strange. Liu Yuan glanced at Chiang Kai-shek like an unlucky child, and Chiang Kai-shek continued without speaking.

"Other change troops can bully and bully the common people at most, Pang Bingxun only has a few regiments under him, he said that he is a regiment, what the hell, can he compete with a division of little devils? Moreover, the losses of the 33rd and 35th armies under my command are very heavy, and you can't be stingy. ”

Seeing Liu Yuan shouting in front of Chiang Kai-shek like a hawker doing business, Chiang Kai-shek picked up a piece of flower cake and ate it in one bite, ignoring Liu Yuan at all.

The atmosphere was a little weird, but Song Meiling was afraid of the cold scene, afraid of Liu Yuan's shoulder, and said, "Auxiliary country, fighting a war is not a business, the country does not give you enough soldiers, and this battle must be fought." ”

"Fighting a war is a business, I don't believe you can ask Sun Liren what they learned at West Point, their first lesson is how to fight war as a business. If the capital is not enough, there is no strength, and I have to lose, and I don't want to leave in a hurry like in Nanjing. Liu Yuan teased.

"Leave in a hurry, didn't you annihilate a lot of Japanese troops in Nanjing? And the Japanese army admit that their losses are very huge? Song Meiling looked at Liu Yuan puzzled.

"That's because the Japanese want to be the first to enter Nanjing, so that I can find opportunities to break through, and the generals under my command also do not listen to the command, and take the lives of their soldiers to the death with the Japanese, so there are today's results, you didn't see the tragedy of the Wuhu Battle, only heard the joyful song of Wuhan." When it came to the defense of Nanjing, Liu Yuan's expression was very serious and his mood was also very heavy.

Song Meiling secretly glanced at Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Kai-shek was still eating flower cakes, Song Meiling said with a little embarrassment, "Anyway, they are all victorious, and he also wants to give you more troops when he is in Nanjing, can't he do it?" I guess it's not much different from what it was before. ”

Chen Cheng on the side saw that Liu Yuan was like a clown for the sake of the country, saying good things in front of Chiang Kai-shek, tending to be inflammatory, and he was very sad, he knew very well that Liu Yuan's entire level had gradually reached the peak of his military career, and he couldn't accept too many negative things, which would have a huge impact on his overall situation and courage.

Many times, Chen Cheng felt that if Liu Yuan was born in the Ming Dynasty, he would at least be Marshal Xu Da.

Thinking of this, Chen Cheng stood up and said, "Recently, I have participated in several summary meetings of the Eighteenth Army, in which Huang Wei said more than once that the tactics of adding oil were fought by me, I fought in the later stage of the Songhu Campaign, I know very well that in fact, in terms of tactics, I did a very poor job, if it wasn't for the tactics of adding oil, maybe we would have driven the Japanese into the sea a long time ago, this time if the principal wants Liu Yuan to open up the situation in the fifth theater, don't let the tragedy of the Battle of Songhu repeat." ”

Yang Yongtai glanced at Chen Cheng strangely, Chen Cheng and Liu Yuan seem to have a very general relationship, why did Chen Cheng speak for Liu Yuan this time, could it be that the two of them had formed a strategic alliance, but when he looked at Chen Cheng's eyes, Yang Yongtai shook his head secretly, this is just a wailing for the fate of one minions. Yang Yongtai couldn't stand it anymore and nodded to Chiang Kai-shek.