The military case was finally concluded with the provincial chairman Li Zhiwen and the provincial commander Tang Enbo being dealt with, and then the investigation team was withdrawn, and the team members left Kaifeng and returned to Nanjing, while Cui Wu, the commander of the Central Theater, directly concurrently served as the commander of Henan Province.

As soon as Cui Wu took office, he began to rectify the military affairs in the province, and severely dealt with those who disturbed the people.

Because this move is aimed at the rectification of military discipline, and the significance of killing chickens and setting an example for monkeys is also in it, it is inevitably a bit overkill, and historical records record that at that time, more than 60 criminal soldiers were shot and killed in one day. However, after the rectification of military discipline in Henan, the military discipline of civil defense forces such as the security regiment has improved a lot, and this is also to prepare for the War of Resistance.

The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression has entered the most critical moment, especially in the Northeast Battlefield. Since the Sino-Japanese War, the territory of the Northeast region has been lost one after another, and hundreds of thousands of troops such as the Fifth Group Army, the Fifth Front Army, and several armies of the Air Force led by Lin Zuo have been entrenched here, and the arrogant Kwantung Army Corps has been attacking for several months, and they have launched hundreds of attacks, large and small, but they have found nothing but tens of thousands of corpses, and they have not been able to move forward.

The supreme commander of the Northeast Theater of Operations, Seishiro Itagaki was naturally quite dissatisfied with this, and originally transferred him here to occupy the entire Manchuria, but the facts proved that he did a good job, he led the heavy armored division of the Kwantung Army to defeat Zhang Xueliang's troops, successively took Shenyang, Siping, Changchun and other places, and also defeated Yu Xuezhong's troops occupying Heilongjiang, and now in addition to the remnants of Yu Xuezhong's department, most of Manchuria has been controlled by the Kwantung Army.

He wanted to continue his westward march to attack Chahar and Rehe, but the Tokyo High Command wanted him to capture Jinzhou and move south to join Okamura Ninji's North China Front, and then go south to attack the Chinese capital and occupy eastern China.

Itagaki Seishiro naturally knew the intention of this move, such a strategy could occupy all the rich eastern China, and when the time came, he could defeat China by moving westward.

But when he went south, he met an opponent - Lin Zuoda.

He knew about Lin Zuoda and his Fifth Army. The Fifth Army was the elite of China's national defense forces, and was stationed in Dihua in the northwest to defend against the Soviet Union. However, with the progress of the Sino-Japanese war, Sino-Soviet relations gradually turned to ease, and the Fifth Army went to Jinzhou after replenishing a large number of troops and equipment, taking over Zhang Xueliang's defense.

Facts have proved that this is a much more difficult unit than Zhang Xueliang and the former Northeast Army, and there is no doubt that this is a hard bone!

The north is bleak, and the northeast is more able to feel the arrival of the severe cold, and in the south, when it is still in early winter, the sky is already white.

Seishiro Itagaki, commander of the Japanese Kwantung Army, and his combat staff officers, as well as officers from Tokyo, came to the north bank of the Liao River to observe the battlefield. Seishiro Itagaki picked up the binoculars in his hand and observed the positions on the periphery of the Chinese army.

After reading it, he smiled slightly and said: "After our army crosses the Liao River, it will be a horse and a flat river, and Jinzhou is in front of you." After the capture of Jinzhou, our army can drive straight into the North China Front to join the army, and then the battle plan for Tokyo will be completed, and the conquest of China will be just around the corner. ”

After speaking, Seishiro Itagaki subconsciously glanced at Ishihara Waner, the head of the War Guidance Section of the Tokyo General Staff Headquarters next to him. Ishihara was holding a telescope to observe the situation on the other side.

In his early years, he was a classmate of the Sendai Infant School of the Ishihara Waner Army, and Ishihara Waner served in the Kwantung Army, and participated in the planning of the "Manchurian Incident" that attacked the Northeast Army with him, and the operation went very smoothly at the beginning of the operation in accordance with his settings, and he later suggested that the army be stationed in the Liaohe River to prevent the support of other units of the Chinese Defense Force, which was also very far-sighted.

It can be said that he is a guy like a military genius.

Seishiro Itagaki has no doubts about this, but it's a pity that this guy is arrogant, not only the Kwantung Army, but even many people in the Tokyo base camp are very uninterested in this guy. However, Seishiro Itagaki still respects him very much, and since he is a representative of the Tokyo General Staff Headquarters, it is natural to listen to his opinion.

"Ishihara-kun, what do you see?" Seishiro Itagaki asked with a smile.

Ishihara didn't speak, just shook his head helplessly.

The officers around him were quite puzzled by Ishihara's behavior, but Itagaki Seishiro could understand, he knew that if these guys stayed with Ishihara for a while, they would know what kind of character this guy was.

"If Ishihara-kun has any opinions, you might as well say it directly." Itagaki Seishiro Road.

Ishihara held the telescope in front of his chest with one hand, and pointed to the outlying positions of the Chinese army on the other side of the Liao River with the other hand, and said, "I don't know if you have noticed?" It is somewhat unusual that the Chinese army did not build any strong fortifications there. ”

After listening to Ishihara's words, everyone raised the binoculars in their hands to check again, and the opposite side was building fortifications, but in terms of the strength of the fortifications, it could only be regarded as an ordinary field fortification, and it was not impregnable at all.

"Oh! The people stationed there are not the elite of the Chinese army, but the general third-rate troops, and their combat effectiveness is not as good as Zhang Xueliang's troops, and they can be killed with bamboo knives, so it is already difficult for them to build such fortifications! A senior staff officer of the Kwantung Army joked after reading it.

"Roar!" Everyone laughed.

Ishihara was a little angry, he glared at everyone and asked, "Do you know the history of the Fifth Army of the National Defense Army?" ”

Seeing that no one answered, he continued to say to himself: "This is the earliest fully mechanized army in the Chinese army, and their most recent battle was the battle against the Soviet Russian army in the northwest of China in the tenth year of Showa. One of the characteristics of their battles is that they use offense as the most ideal means of defense. There is another point, that is, this commander Lin is completely different from Zhang, Zhang is the son of a warlord and a warlord, and we can even win over or coerce and lure him, but Lin is different, he is Huang Ke's favorite general, and he is a brave and warlike general. There is only one way to deal with him, and that is to defeat him! He can't stop until he can't fight back. ”

"Otherwise! Don't do it! Ishihara added after speaking.

Seishiro Itagaki glanced at Ishihara Waner, this arrogant guy is really infuriating, he doesn't shy away when he speaks, he really will never know what is called the skill of getting along with people.

"Ishihara-kun, how do you think the next battle should go?" Seishiro Itagaki asked politely, in fact, he didn't really want to listen to his opinion in his heart, he just wanted to change the topic so that the atmosphere of the scene would not be so embarrassing.

Ishihara smiled, the corners of his mouth rose and said softly: "If you listen to my opinion, I don't recommend attacking Jinzhou now." ”

As soon as this remark came out, it naturally shocked everyone.

Itagaki Seishiro knew that Ishihara Waner had always advocated cannibalizing and digesting the Shina, rather than swallowing it in one bite, and this strategic thinking was contrary to the vast majority of people at that time, and this was also one of the reasons why Ishihara Waner was not welcomed.

Ishihara continued: "Shina has a high degree of civilization since ancient times, and the material life is extremely primitive, and there is a high degree of self-sufficiency in various places, all of which have become extremely favorable conditions for a protracted war. However, the empire relied on heavy industry and modern military development, and if we were to seek a decisive battle with China, the odds would be greatly increased, but the division of forces as it is now is the most unsuccessful measure. We now occupy Manchuria and are in a standoff with the government forces of China. With abundant resources and fertile land, we can immigrate a large number of Japanese people here, and consolidate this place as a part of Japan in a few decades, along with Korea, Taiwan, and the mainland, and then we can send troops out of all directions and open up thousands of miles of territory! ”

There was a disturbance in the crowd of "......", but Ishihara was still indifferent, and he looked at those senior military staff officers as ridiculously as he looked at a group of stupid and mentally retarded people.

Seishiro Itagaki smiled helplessly after hearing this, he laughed not because Ishihara was too straightforward, but because this person's idea was too naïve, you think this alone, but the hundreds of senior staff officers in Tokyo have another idea, who do you think the military department will listen to?

"Ishihara-kun, I may disappoint you, the 100,000 troops of the Kwantung Army are ready, and after crossing the Liao River, we will take Jinzhou directly." Itagaki Seishiro smiled and said, "Tonight, you'll hear the rumbling cannons!" Ha ha. ”

……

Hundreds of miles away from Ishihara Waner and Itagaki Seishiro, Lin Zuoda in Jinzhou City was also discussing the next battle plan with his subordinates.

The successive defeats and retreats filled the troops of the Jinzhou defense line with a negative mood, and many dignitaries in the city began to transfer their belongings, and some simply moved their families away. The most frightening thing is that the front-line officers and men are depressed and have little desire to fight. Lin Zuo was so anxious that he knew that he had to use a victory to boost his morale.

At the regular military meeting, Lin Zuoda and a cadre of generals were listening to the report from the front line of the battlefield, and the observation from the front line showed that the Japanese offensive momentum at this time was also exhausted, and they began to set up camp and build fortifications north of Jinzhou, and it seemed that they did not plan to continue the offensive in the short term.

"The Matsui Wing, the vanguard of the Japanese army, plus a brigade, has been stationed on the spot, and reconnaissance indicates that they are building fortifications not far from our army; In addition, it was learned from aerial reconnaissance that many divisions and regiments of the main force of the Japanese rear had also slowed down their advance, and that their main forces were now concentrated on the line of the Liao River, and it could be judged from the information from the reconnaissance that they would cross the river in the near future. A staff officer said.

After the staff officer finished speaking, Lin Zuoda was silent, he pinched his emaciated chin and paced back and forth, everyone's eyes were focused on him, moving with his movements.

Syllable! Lin Zuo tapped his fingers on a location on the map, and everyone's eyes suddenly retracted to the map.

"Here it is! Itagaki was caught off guard! ”