Two battlefields were formed in the southern region, and on the northern front, Terauchi Shouichi commanded the main force of nearly 400,000 troops of the southern dispatch army of Japanese China, and continued to attack Chongqing, the capital of the Nationalist Government, in accordance with the original battle plan.

On the southern front, Tang Qiuli commanded 230,000 troops, and was adopting an encirclement posture against the 120,000 Japanese troops who had withdrawn to Nanning, forming a huge encirclement around Nanning, including the Guinan region with Nanning as the center and the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong.

He was not in a hurry, nor did he hide the actions of the troops, now, the Central Army and the Japanese army have not yet reached the inextricable Cheng Dù, moreover, after Terauchi Shouichi knew his plan, what will be the next reaction, there is no obvious action, at the same time, Tang Qiuli must also be wary of reinforcements from Taiwan, Hainan Island and the Japanese mainland, if the Japanese give up Nanning, the land foothold in the Beibu Gulf, it means that the strategic direction of the Japanese base camp has changed fundamentally.

On 6 August, Tang Qiuli received a telegram from Liu Tiehan, who was far away in the northeast, "Division commander, the war situation in the northeast and the Far East is still dull, and the Japanese Kwantung Army and Zhukov's Soviet Far East Front are still facing each other on the front line of the Outer Khingan Mountains. ”

"The Soviet Far Eastern Front gradually reduced its troops on the front line of the Outer Khing'an Mountains and withdrew to Europe, and at the same time, the Kwantung Army also partially drove its troops back to the northeast in order to strengthen the control of various parts of the northeast. It was increased to seven divisions, along the Liaodong Peninsula. The strength of the Kwantung Army's guards. It is also gradually increasing. ”

"Based on all the information, our northeast advance command has drawn up the following operational plan, with ten field infantry brigades and four artillery brigades of the main force to the east. Twelve Thunder Rocket Artillery Battalions, a mixed cavalry brigade, launched an offensive on the Liaodong Peninsula with the aim of seizing several key points in the northeastern hinterland, Panjin, Yingkou, Fuxin and other places, putting pressure on the Kwantung Army and disrupting the deployment of the Kwantung Army in the western Liaodong region. This battle also requires the cooperation of the aviation units of the independent division, and the division commander should give instructions on whether the above combat plan is appropriate. ”

Tang Qiuli handed the telegram to Chang Feng, chief of staff of the independent division and chief of staff of the directly subordinate corps, who had just arrived in Wuming. said: "Chief of Staff, look, this is a telegram from Division Commander Liu, what is there to build?" ”

After reading the telegram, Chang Feng thought about it and said: "Division Commander, according to the telegram mentioned in Division Commander Liu, the Soviets and the Japanese seem to be tired of such endless confrontations. In other words, the Kwantung Army was unable to break through the Soviet army's defense line in the Outer Khingan Mountains. Drove Zhukov's Far Eastern Front in the direction of Soviet Europe, and the Soviets did not have the strength to recover the Far East. If Division Commander Liu makes some moves in western Liaoning at this time, he will inevitably shift the attention of the Kwantung Army to Dongzhi, and in this way, it will disrupt the division commander's layout in the Far East and Northeast China. ”

Tang Qiuli glanced at Chang Feng with great appreciation, this is what he is most satisfied with Chang Feng, he can stand at a certain height, pay attention to the overall issues, and keep in mind the responsibilities of his chief of staff, he knows and believes that with the current strength of Liu Tie and Handong's troops, sweeping the western Liaoning and eastern peninsula regions, and advancing the front to the hinterland of the northeast, the junction of Jilin and Liaoning, there is no great difficulty.

At present, the ratio of the strength of the East Command Army to the Kwantung Army in this area is two to one, and there is still a powerful firepower and equipment far exceeding that of the Kwantung Army, and there are more than 100,000 people in seven or eight Kwantung Army divisions and regiments, which are not the opponents of the East Command Army that are recuperating and screaming, but in this way, a situation in which the East Command Army and the Kwantung Army will inevitably fight a decisive battle in advance.

Moreover, the time for a decisive battle in the northeast is far from ripe, not to mention that Zhukov will not let go of this golden opportunity, and he will certainly take the opportunity to recover the Soviet Union's Far East.

After Chang Feng cautiously finished saying his opinion, he looked at Tang Qiuli expectantly, hoping to be judged by the division commander, but Tang Qiuli said with a smile: "Chang Feng, Division Commander Liu can't bear to be lonely, the so-called Jingji thinks about moving, no matter who has nearly 300,000 troops in his hands, he has to do something, besides, we are fighting so lively in the south, with Division Commander Liu's temper, can we hold it?" Dealing a blow to the Kwantung Army is also the meaning of the question, which is understandable. ”

Chang Feng also smiled and said: "Don't say it, Division Commander Liu is used to fighting tough battles, the old foundation of the Dongzhi Army, is the former Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army, including Division Commander Liu, are all natives of the Northeast, and with the strength in their hands, they naturally want to recover their hometown, not to mention, with the strength of Dongzhi, if you can do this in front of you, I am just worried that it will destroy the division commander's strategic layout in the Far East and Northeast China." ”

Tang Qiuli shook his head meaningfully and said: "Chang Feng, you are thinking about it very right, you have to consider the problem from the perspective of the overall situation, it is my established strategy to move quietly in the north and move in the south, send a telegram back to Dongzhi," Chang Feng hurriedly took out his notebook.

"Brother Tie Han, Jing Ji thinks about moving, his family is rich, seeing that I am playing lively in the south, my hands are itchy and unbearable? The battle of the Kwantung Army, the time has not yet come, the main task in front of the East Finger is to consolidate the Jinzhou bridgehead in western Liaoning, expand the strength of the troops, strengthen training, and prepare for big battles and bad battles. ”

After Liu Tiehan received Tang Qiuli's telegram, although he was puzzled in his heart, what did the division commander mean by the timing? He still carried out the order to the letter, disbanded the troops that were ready to go, buried himself in expanding and training the troops in accordance with Tang Qiuli's requirements, and ignored the Kwantung Army's constant small movements in Shenyang and the Liaodong Peninsula.

There is also a doubt, hidden in Liu Tiehan's heart, he has not mentioned it to anyone, the division commander wants the east to direct the troops to be on standby, could it be that he has already judged that at some time in the future, a major event will occur that will change the pattern of the Northeast and the Far East?

The day after receiving Liu Tiehan's telegram, Tang Qiuli received a telegram from Sun Zhenbang, commander of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army, "Division commander, the situation in Outer Mongolia is stable, the transformation of the former Outer Mongolian army has been completed, and the mining company of the Mineral Resources Bureau of the Dingbian Special Economic Zone in Outer Mongolia has begun to exploit various mineral resources. ”

"In addition, the security situation in the Outer Mongolia region has changed, and the Soviet Transcaucasian Front, in the Baikal region, on the border with us, has suddenly increased a large number of troops, although there have been no provocations, the situation has suddenly become tense, and the main force of our border guards has five brigades to deploy in this area to deal with future changes."

Tang Qiuli finished reading Sun Zhenbang's telegram. sneered, and said to Chang Feng: "The Japanese and the Soviets are a pair of rivals who fought to the death, and now almost at the same time, in Liaoxi and Outer Mongolia, they all thought that they had taken a breath and had the capital to call for the fight, and they began to be restless." ”

Chang Feng said worriedly: "Division commander, we don't have many troops in Outer Mongolia, Division Commander Liu's troops are confronting the Kwantung Army in the northeast, and the main force is in the south, once the situation in Outer Mongolia suddenly changes, it will be too late for the troops to come back to help," Tang Qiuli said casually: "It's okay, the Soviets don't have the courage yet, it's just a temptation, call back to Sun Zhenbang, set up a marking line in the border with the Soviet Union, and resolutely fight back against the provocation of the Soviet army. ”

"Give an order to Yuan Jinghao, commander of the Zhilu garrison area, to transfer six brigades of troops from the garrison area to form the second army of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army, which is assigned to the battle sequence of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army, and go to Erenhot to prepare for battle, tell Yuan Jinghao, be generous, don't fool me with some second-rate troops, Han Tie's marines will go to Tianjin for training, and at the same time, take on a blank part of the garrison task after the troops of the Zhilu garrison area are transferred north to Erlianhot City."

On 2 August, Xue Yue arrived in Zunyi, and after taking over the command of Gu Zhutong, he immediately mobilized the Seventh Army, the 21st Army, and the 13th Army of the Central Army to urgently reinforce the Fourth Army, which was fighting hard with the Japanese army on the front line of Xifeng.

On 3 August, Xue Yue issued a general mobilization order, arranged the second line of defense in Zunyi, and arranged the strength of two group armies, both of which Xue Yue did not intend to defend to the death, and he pinned his last hope on the third line of defense, the Loushan Pass in the Tongzi area, and the first two lines of defense were just to gain time for the Loushan Pass defense line to gain buffer.

It should be said that Xue Yue's military vision is good, Loushan Pass is the only passage leading to Chongqing, there are Chishui River and Yachi River natural barriers on the left, and Da Lou Mountain stretches for hundreds of kilometers on the right.

Xue Yue's reinforcement of Xifeng's troops was not so much reinforcement as it was to replace the Fourth Army, and then, alternately covering, retreating to the second line of defense Zunyi, two lines of defense, delaying and consuming the offensive momentum of the Japanese army, and gradually wearing down the sharp spirit of the Japanese army.

When Xue Yue dispatched his troops, on the front line of Xifeng, with more than 80,000 troops of a group army, the Fourth Group Army, which had more than 400,000 troops of the Japanese army, would withstand countless attacks on the scale of the Japanese division and regiment tomorrow.

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