The rest was much easier, the camp of the 7th Brigade was quiet, with Japanese-speaking special forces and Gu Yuancheng skillfully maneuvering, and the troops quickly passed through the sparsely defended pavilion area and entered the densely forested White Horse Mountain to the south.

Walking six miles at the foot of the mountain, crossing the second blockade line from Meizhuang in the southeast of Baima Town, entering the high thatched hut between Lion Rock and Cao Mountain, and completely jumping out of the Japanese encirclement, Xie Yu ordered the troops to rest for a while.

Xie Yu handed the bag of silver dollars he asked for from the quartermaster directly to Gu Yuancheng, and said gratefully:

"Mr. Gu, thank you really this time, if it weren't for your help, even if our troops broke out of the encirclement, the losses would be great."

"General Wu is my idol, and I also admire the New Second Army, and I am very happy to be able to serve you, to be honest." Gu Yuancheng waved his hand and excused himself with a smile: "Commander Xie, don't say anything about thank you or not, it's not easy to talk about money with me...... Wouldn't that be outward? ”

"Well, thank you for your great kindness. Mr. Gu, we will never forget your kindness to our new Second Army. The correspondent has just made contact with the military department, and the military seat has already learned your name, and he originally asked me to thank you on his behalf, but now it seems that there is no need. Xie Yu smiled brightly after speaking.

"What? It is a great honor for General Wu to know my name. ”

Gu Yuancheng was surprised and delighted, the aura of Wu Ming's anti-Japanese hero was too lethal, and Gu Yuancheng, who was usually quite calm, couldn't help but get excited.

"Yes, when you found out that the special forces we sent to Tianwang Town to investigate, not only did they not break it, but they took the initiative to contact us and try to help us break out of the encirclement. The military seat has a high opinion of you, saying that you are a rare patriotic general. ”

After Xie Yu finished speaking, he looked at Gu Yuancheng enviously.

"Really?"

Gu Yuancheng's eyes widened, and his face was incredulous.

"It's true, we don't usually praise people, and his appreciation for you comes from the bottom of his heart. In the phone call just now, he asked me to ask for your opinion, and asked if you would like to stay in our New Second Army and work with us? Xie Yu said sincerely.

"I also want to join such a glorious collective as the New Second Army...... However, I still have my parents in my 70s in my hometown of Yixing, and my new wife will soon give birth, so I really can't just leave. Gu Yuancheng's tone was a little low.

"That's a shame!" Xie Yu was very sorry.

Gu Yuancheng was quite moved by Wu Ming's solicitation, but the responsibility of the family made him really unable to give up, he thought about it and said: "Although I can't join the New Second Army, I can also fight devils...... I can infiltrate the Japanese army, inquire about the news for you, and tell you about the movements of the Japanese army. ”

"That's great!"

Xie Yu clapped his hands and laughed. Gu Yuancheng is a talented person, even if he can't be pulled into the combat unit of the New Second Army, he can still work in the intelligence system. With his experience studying in Japan, it is easy to gain the trust of Japanese people as long as he is not caught.

After a short time, Li Zhiqing, who was wearing a Japanese military uniform, rushed up with several special forces, and Gu Yuancheng asked Li Zhiqing about the situation of Battalion Commander Zhong.

Li Zhiqing wiped the sweat from his face and said with a big grin: "That Battalion Commander Zhong is really not a thing, he greets the Japanese disgustingly, and also expresses his credit for leading the Japanese army to slaughter villages in Danyang, Jurong and other places...... For such a traitor whose hands are stained with the blood of my Chinese sons and daughters, of course I will slaughter him. ”

"Where's the corpse?"

Gu Yuancheng asked.

"We've buried his body! Rest assured, the pit was dug very deep, and we quietly transplanted some thatch into it, and it is spring, and it will be clear in two days. Li Zhiqing replied.

After asking about the situation, Gu Yuancheng said goodbye to Xie Yu, Liu Zhenning, Lan Feng and others. Xie Yu took Gu Yuancheng's hand and said worriedly, "Mr. Gu, will the Japanese suspect you after you go back?" ”

"Commander Xie, don't worry, Battalion Commander Zhong and his soldiers have all disappeared suddenly, and there are ready-made targets for planting, why don't I make good use of them?"

Gu Yuancheng bowed his hand to everyone: "Everyone, it is Gu's luck to get to know everyone, and there will be a period later!" ”

Seeing Gu Yuancheng's figure disappear into the night, Liu Zhenning sighed heavily: "This is indeed a hot-blooded man!" If all the sons and daughters of China are like him, why worry that the Japanese army will not be destroyed? ”

"It's time for us to go! Strive to rush to the south of Fangshan before sunrise, choose a place to rest in seclusion, and wait until night to continue on the road. ”

Xie Yu waved his hand after speaking, and issued the order to go on the road.

At five o'clock in the morning, after a forced march, the troops finally stopped in the area of Fangshan, 20 kilometers away from the southern foot of Maoshan Mountain. Although the altitude of Fangshan is only eighty or ninety meters, the forest is very dense, and it is in the middle of several counties, and it is inaccessible, so the Japanese army will not notice this place for a while and a half, and it is safe for the time being.

After receiving the telegram of "Have a good trip" from Xie Yu, the big stone in Wu Ming's heart finally fell to the ground, and then told the good news to the generals who had been waiting all night, and everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.

Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was there, Wu Ming decided to take this opportunity to discuss the Sino-Japanese war situation.

Wu Ming led a group of generals to the map, took the baton from the staff officer, and pointed to Wuhan:

"From the Lugou Bridge Incident to the end of the Battle of Wuhan, a total of 15 and a half months, this was the stage of Japan's strategic offensive and China's strategic defense and strategic retreat. Looking at this stage of the operation, in terms of campaign, the Japanese army won many victories, showed strong combat effectiveness and organizational and command ability, and was able to overcome the predetermined objectives and achieve the campaign intention in most battles. ”

"Strategically speaking, however, although the Japanese army occupied many of China's central cities, coastal ports, and transportation arteries, including such political, economic, and transportation hubs as Nanjing, Shanghai, and Wuhan, it failed to achieve the goal of a quick victory, but instead plunged itself into the quagmire of war, exposed its weakness of seriously insufficient war potential, and had no choice but to face the harsh reality of protracted war, and the prospects for war became blurred."

"Although the Nationalist Government lost a large area of territory and the most important point line in the east, it gained precious time to break the arrogant plan of the Japanese army to fight a quick battle, cover the internal relocation of a large number of factories along the coast, and ensure the successful transition of the whole country to a wartime system."

"All in all, the Japanese army has conquered cities and conquered cities in the campaign, but it is strategically inadequate, and China has repeatedly lost in the campaign, but it has initially seen a chance of victory in strategy, so it proves that the strategic policy of protracted attrition of the enemy and victory in the last battle is correct and feasible, and it has strengthened the confidence and strength of the people in the protracted war of resistance."

However, in terms of the strength and strength on the battlefield, the Japanese side still has the upper hand, but the Japanese side is unable to continue the strategic offensive and can only carry out a limited offensive of a campaign, and the Nationalist Government is not enough to carry out a strategic counteroffensive, and can only carry out a local counterattack when resisting the limited offensive of the Japanese army. Under these circumstances, China and Japan have actually entered a stage of strategic stalemate. ”

Wu Ming paused for a while, waiting for everyone to digest their words, and then continued:

"After continuous operations, the Japanese army paid a heavy price of hundreds of thousands of casualties, and did not achieve its goal of conquering China, and the limited strength of the Japanese army had to confront the Chinese army on a frontal front of about 4,000 kilometers, to cope with the attacks of the Chinese guerrillas in the occupied area of more than 1 million square kilometers, and to garrison the long railway, highway, and waterway communication lines and the key points of the cities on these communication lines, and the lack of its strength can be imagined."

In addition, the Japanese army also had to divide part of its forces, deploy them in the northeast, and incorporate them into the Kwantung Army, which was not only used to prepare for war against the Soviet Union, but also as a strategic reserve for the war of aggression against China, and its reserve troops and mobilization capabilities were far from being able to meet the needs of the war. A few days ago, the intelligence department sent a newspaper published in Japan, and one of the statistics was very interesting: Of the 10 billion yen of the Japanese Government's financial expenditure, military expenditure was as high as 8 billion yuan, accounting for 80 percent, and although the production of munitions was repeatedly increased, it was still difficult to sustain it. ”

Under such circumstances, the Japanese army will inevitably intensify its economic plunder in the occupied areas to meet the needs of the protracted war of aggression against China and supplement its lack of national strength...... The achievements of our New Second Army in the previous battles in Songhu and Linhang, as well as the huge threat to the Jiangnan and Central China regions where the Japanese army is located, will inevitably become a thorn in the side and flesh of the Japanese army, and it will definitely find ways to deal with us, and a new general battle is imminent! ”

"So what do we do?" Zhang Dongning asked.

"Let's take a look at the situation in central and eastern Zhejiang, now the east of Tianmu Mountain and the north of the Qiantang River are all occupied by the Japanese army, except for Xiaoshan, the rest of the south bank is still owned by ****, before the Japanese army sends troops to occupy Ningshaotai, our new second army is safe for the time being."

Wu Ming replied calmly.

"Our anti-Japanese base areas and guerrilla areas behind enemy lines have almost been wiped out by the Japanese army, and it is difficult to expect them to continue to play the role we expect!"

Long Shaogang frowned, worried: "Didn't you say the intelligence of the military command a long time ago, the Japanese army is about to launch a large-scale offensive in a vain attempt to open up the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, and the main purpose of this is to eliminate our new second army." Even if only 100,000 troops are dispatched, it is a huge threat to us! ”

"There is an old saying, when a soldier comes, he will block the water and cover the earth! I still have the same old saying, we occupy the right place at the right time, and the Japanese army does not pay a heavy price, and does not want to take advantage of us. Wu Ming replied categorically.

The generals were stunned, and when they saw Wu Ming's resolute attitude, their eyes became serious.

######

After entering April, with the liquidation of the anti-Japanese guerrillas in the Jiangnan area, the public order in the occupied areas improved significantly, and the Japanese army began to implement the long-brewing Zhejiang-Jiangxi battle plan.

In late April, the 101st Division, the 106th Division, and the attached artillery of the Japanese Army began to assemble in the area south of De'an, and the convoy assembled north of De'an, and in early May, the 6th Division began to move towards Ruoxi and Wuning, the Inoue detachment began to open up the Poyang Lake waterway, and the 16th and 9th Divisions began to make feints on the left bank of the Hanshui River in Anlu, Hubei Province and the northern section of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway.

The prelude to the Battle of Zhejiang-Jiangxi - the Battle of Nanchang officially began.

On 18 May, the main forces of the 101st and 106th Divisions of the Japanese Army, as well as their artillery and combat convoys, advanced to the north bank of Xiushui in turn, occupying the starting area of the attack.

At 3 p.m. the next day, the 11th Army of the Japanese Army ordered artillery to fire fiercely at the positions of the 49th and 79th Corps defending the south bank of Xiushui, and carried out a rapid artillery attack before the general offensive began. The artillery fire lasted for more than three hours, mixed with a large number of poison gas bombs, and the defenders' positions were destroyed in many places, and the officers and men were seriously poisoned.

Four days later, the Japanese chariot group went out to Fengxin, occupied the Luhe Bridge outside the South Gate, the sudden attack of the Japanese mechanized troops, so that the defending army could not withdraw the 38 artillery pieces placed on the outskirts of the city and hurriedly retreated, the Japanese occupied Fengxin County, and then continued to the southwest of Nanchang to detour, and arrived at the Ganjiang Bridge in the west of Nanchang on the 20th, becoming the first Japanese army to reach the periphery of Nanchang.

At the same time as the chariot group advanced at a high speed, the 1st Division of the Japanese Army attacked head-on along the Nanxun Road, and after forcibly crossing the water under the cover of artillery fire, it was stubbornly blocked by the 32nd Army of the Chinese Army at Tujiabu, forming a stalemate. After two days of hard fighting, the Chinese defenders suffered serious losses and had to retreat, the main force of the 101st Division passed through Wanbu and Huangxi, advanced to Shengmi Street on the 26th, crossed the Ganjiang River that night, and attacked Nanchang, and its 101st Brigade and regiment arrived on the north bank of the Ganjiang River northwest of Nanchang on the 26th along the Nanxun Railway through Lehua and Jiaoqiao.

The Japanese 106th Division occupied Anyi on the 23rd, and its 11th Brigade attacked Gao'an, blocking the **** reinforcements to Nanchang for reinforcements, and the main force turned eastward through Fengxin, and broke the Chinese defenders west of Nanchang on the 25th, and advanced to the vicinity of Shengmi Street on the left bank of the Ganjiang River on the 26th, crossed the Ganjiang River on the same day, detoured to Nanchang from the south, and officially cut off the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway.

At this point, Nanchang was already surrounded by the Japanese army on three sides.