After the Japanese army occupied Changxing, it did not stop at all, and immediately divided its troops into two routes and invaded Si'an and Guangde. Guo Xunqi, commander of the 144th Division of the Sichuan Army, engaged in a fierce battle with the 11th Brigade of the 6th Division of the Japanese Army that invaded Si'an.

After the Japanese Sixth Division suffered heavy losses in Jiaxing, it was trained in Luodong, southeast of Nanxun, to accept recruits transferred from China. With the end of the Changxing War, the Sixth Division, which had recovered its combat strength after continuous rest and recuperation, finally took on the main force again

At the same time, the 8th Brigade of Independent Mixed Brigades, which was transferred from Japan, joined the battlefield on the Southern Front, and attacked Wuhu and Nanjing as a reserve to meet the lack of the Kunisaki Detachment that had been defeated in the Battle of Nanxun.

The officers and men of the Sixth Division were very contemptuous of the officers and men of the Sichuan Army who had not received weapons and equipment from the Nationalist Government and still used the old double-barreled guns to fight. After the division commander Guo Xunqi was wounded in the leg, he still commanded the troops to carry out a night attack, and the Japanese army was greatly alarmed.

At 11 o'clock on 8 December, Si'an was lost, and the main force of the 23rd Group Army continued to fight fiercely with the Japanese army in the area of the highland line about 3 kilometers west of Si'an, and in the afternoon of the next day, it withdrew to the area east of Guangde County under the pressure of the Japanese army.

At the same time as the fierce battle in Si'an, on the 6th and 9th, the 23rd Army engaged in fierce battles with the Japanese on the front line of Guangde. The 35th Brigade of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army, with the superiority of machine guns, attacked frantically, bombing with forty or fifty fighters in turn, destroying the fortifications of the defenders and turning the city buildings into ruins.

Pan Huawen, commander of the 23rd Group Army, led Division Commander Rao Guohua and Brigade Commander Tian Guanwu to fight fiercely with the Japanese army, and the soldiers were brave and fearless and resisted strongly.

The battle went on until half past two in the afternoon of the 29th, Liu Hongzhai did not listen to Rao Guohua's command, and retreated without authorization, resulting in the collapse of the defensive line, and the Japanese army then attacked the county town of Guangde, and after a night of fierce fighting, Guangde fell at 9 o'clock in the morning of the next day, and the division commander Rao Guohua killed himself in anger after the loss of Guangde.

In order to prevent the Japanese army from advancing westward, the 146th Division used the 438th Brigade to copy the enemy's rear road and launch an attack on the enemy occupying Si'an, annihilating a Japanese brigade and capturing a number of baggage vehicles.

The main force of the right wing army on the border of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui was stranded at the northern foot of Tianmu Mountain at this time, and when he heard that Guangde and Si'an had been lost, Zhang Fakui hurriedly ordered the whole army to stop going north and march to Anji County instead.

Just when the Japanese army on the south bank of Taihu Lake was advancing straight on the front line of Si'an and Guangde, Okamura Ningji moved the division headquarters south to Daixi Town, at the southern gate of Wuxing, to peep at the county seat of Deqing.

In the evening of that day, Okamura Ninji, who was studying and judging the war situation, received two pieces of information from the intelligence department from Hangzhou, one of which was a summary of the situation of the garrison in the surrounding areas of Hangzhou by the ace spy Chiaki Yezi, and the other was the full text of the original text of Wu Ming's telegram suggesting that the Zhejiang Provincial Government evacuate Hangzhou and the reply telegram from the Zhejiang Provincial Government.

Seeing Wu Ming's speculation on the development of the war, Okamura Ninji had a feeling of heroic sympathy, and had to admit that he was facing a very good general, and he actually guessed the plan he had discussed with Matsui Shigen, which was amazing.

Okamura Ninji has a raging fighting spirit in his chest, only such an opponent is worthy of him, and the higher the sense of accomplishment after victory.

Picking up the telegram again, unfolding it, and reading it carefully, Okamura Ninji suddenly smiled, and smiled extremely comfortably. Chief of Staff Tamura looked at the division commander in surprise: "General, what makes you so happy?" ”

Okamura Ninji shook the telegram in his hand: "Miss Chiaki Hazi, the ace of our intelligence department, has successfully broken into the Zhejiang Provincial Government of China and climbed into a real power figure. According to her, there is a deep gap between the military and political officials in Zhejiang, and the relationship between Huang Shao and Yu Jishi is not as harmonious as the outside world sees...... I'm afraid you don't know what to say, Wu Ming has guessed our plan, but the military and political leaders of Zhejiang Province have not adopted Wu Ming's suggestion, and they also called him to reprimand him, do you think it's funny? ”

"Yo Xi, it is indeed gratifying, in this way, our plan can be implemented smoothly," Chief of Staff Tamura was very happy.

Although the Battle of Songhu won a decisive victory, and the Japanese army was marching towards Nanjing, all the way like a bamboo, but Japan's domestic efforts were also extremely huge, the families of the fallen soldiers needed to be bereaved, the transportation of troops by sea needed fuel, and with the continuous formation of new army divisions, there was also a shortage of guns, ammunition, and food supplies, and the consumption of the treasury was unimaginable.

Nowadays, the Japanese people are tightening their belts to live, and the surprise attack on Hangzhou is not only to eliminate Wu Ming and the new second division, but also to seize the money and grain taxes of Zhejiang Province.

Because of this, the base camp gritted its teeth and increased its troops again, still under the unified command of Okamura Ningji, preparing to encircle and annihilate Wu Ming and the new second division on the front line of Hangzhou in one fell swoop, and at the same time remove the flank threat, by the way, seize the wealth of Hangzhou and the surrounding areas that has been inherited for thousands of years.

Chief of Staff Tamura suddenly thought of a question, and frowned slightly: "General Okamura, if Wu Ming and the New Second Division directly cross the border outside Hangzhou, withdraw to the south bank of the Qiantang River by rail and road, and then retreat to central Zhejiang, wouldn't we be able to complete the task assigned by the base camp?" ”

"No, no, Tamura-kun, your perception is skewed"

Okamura Ningji shook his head: "Wu Ming and the new second division will definitely go to Hangzhou...... You don't know the thinking of the people of China, they always value honor more than life and death."

Seeing the puzzled expression of Chief of Staff Tamura, Okamura Ningji was quite interested, rubbed his neck that was a little sore, and continued to explain: "Hangzhou has the tax money and grain of Zhejiang Province, and the wealth of the chaebols of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is even more famous in the world, and the gains and losses of a city are directly related to the wealth of tens of millions, Chiang Kai-shek will not fail to see this, and will definitely strictly order Wu Ming and the new second division to go to Hangzhou to rescue, do you think Wu Ming will disobey orders?" Moreover, the life and death of more than 100,000 people in Hangzhou City, Wu Ming, who has always valued feelings, will not ignore it."

"Won't it?"

Chief of Staff Tamura was a little incredulous: "Since Wu Ming has already seen the danger of going to Hangzhou, how can he risk his life for the sake of ordinary people?" Besides, he himself is a warlord who supports his own army, Chiang Kai-shek may not be able to do anything to him, so why put himself in a desperate situation? Isn't there a saying in China, called Stay in the green mountains without worrying about no firewood? ”

"You're ignoring a problem."

Okamura Ninji smiled and said: "The new Second Division started with benevolence and righteousness, if they abandon the more than 100,000 people in Hangzhou City, it will be a heavy blow to the morale of the new Second Division." In addition, since the outbreak of the war, a series of victories have made Wu Ming have a high prestige in China, if he flees without a fight, the previous efforts will be in vain, not to mention, and he will be used as a scapegoat by Chiang Kai-shek, who has long coveted his troops, he will not take this risk. ”

Okamura Ningji is worthy of being a Chinese expert, and he has a deep understanding of Chinese culture, and now he is also a good student of Wu Minglai.

Okamura Ninji said excitedly, and slapped the table heavily: "And the most important point, judging from Wu Ming's resume, this is an ambitious person, if there is no ambition, it is impossible to train a ragtag army into a mighty and invincible army, and it costs money to raise such an army, and it costs a lot of money." Therefore, I judged that Wu Ming also took a fancy to the tax money and grain in Zhejiang Province and was ready to do it. ”

"Huh?"

After listening to Okamura Ninji's analysis, Chief of Staff Tamura was surprised at first, but after thinking about it, it was indeed the case.

Judging from what the intelligence department has learned, before the war, Wu Ming purchased a large amount of weapons and equipment and production materials from the major foreign companies in Shanghai, and the powerful unconscionable guns and rocket launchers on the battlefield were also his leading research, and money was needed in all aspects.

Chief of Staff Tamura smiled and flattered: "General Okamura, your views have inspired me a lot, and I am now sure that Wu Ming and his new second division will definitely fall into our trap." ”

"Yo West"

Okamura Ninji stood up, his eyes became serious, and without hesitation, he gave the battle order, and the huge war machine of the Japanese army rumbled.

The dark night completely fell, and Okamura Ninji, who was a little restless, came to the bedside and pushed open the window to look in the direction of Hangzhou City. At this time, the confidential staff officer walked in, and the chief of staff Tamura saw that Okamura Ninji was deep in thought, reached out to take the telegram, and then asked the confidential staff officer to leave.

After reading the telegram, Chief of Staff Tamura woke up Okamura Ninji with a look of surprise: "General, news has come from the Seventh Brigade that they have successfully arrived in Hangzhou Bay, and the 32nd Brigade and Regiment, which will launch a landing operation at the scheduled time, are also about to arrive, and the vanguard will arrive at noon tomorrow." ”

Okamura Ninji smiled faintly. Everything was expected. Okamura Ningji thought about it, strode to the map, picked up the lantern and carefully observed Yuhang and the surrounding towns where the new Second Division was stationed, and speculated how Wu Ming would deal with it next.

Monk Wu under the Jima Ridge in the north of Deqing County, the headquarters of the 7th Division of the Japanese Army.

Kazuichiro Sonobe received a telegram from Okamura Ninji and waved his fist vigorously: "Yaga, this time it's finally our turn to use the power of the Seventh Division."

Laughing arrogantly a few times, Sonobe and Ichiro yelled loudly at the surrounding generals:

"Immediately call the 27th and 28th Wings, and ask them to go out immediately, enter the north bank of Yingxi in the early morning, prepare materials for building bridges, and launch an attack at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning to take Deqing County in one fell swoop. Remember, I'm going to drink Imperial Japanese sake at the Deqing County Government at noon tomorrow, understand? ”

"Hail"

After bowing, the operational staff officer went to the communication room to send a report, and the generals in the division and regiment headquarters were excited, and they all flocked to the side of Sonobe and Ichiro, looking forward to the wonderful scene of taking Hangzhou.

At eleven o'clock in the evening, at the mouth of the Qiantang River in Hangzhou Bay, near the sea of Zheshan Mountain.

More than 20 troop carriers anchored one after another, and groups of heavily armed Japanese soldiers descended to the landing craft along the outstretched pedals of the troop carriers.

The Japanese army did not shout, let alone slogans, everything was in an orderly and obscure manner.

Half an hour later, the first wave of Japanese troops landed, and at 3 a.m. the next day, Major General Saburo Nakamura, commander of the Seventh Brigade, stepped on the beach with the last batch of landing troops, stepped vigorously a few times, and only then turned around and said loudly to the two wing commanders and a staff officer who surrounded him:

"Imperial Japanese Army, welcome to the land of China, we are now in the richest coastal area of Zhejiang, where beautiful flower girls are waiting for you, and there are countless treasures waiting for you in the mansions of officials, capitalists, landlords and merchants in China."

"Ho-"

As officers at all levels conveyed Major General Nakamura's meaning, the Japanese army cheered and cheered.

The commander of the Nakamura Brigade smiled, rolled up his cuffs, and said: "From now on, follow my orders, and the soldiers will point out, the beautiful flower girl and countless treasures are yours."

"Onboard"

The devils raised their guns, raised their arms and shouted.

With the order of the commander of the Nakamura Brigade, the Japanese army frantically rushed towards the hinterland of Xiaoshan.