The Northeast itself is vast and sparsely populated, and the main population resources are mainly concentrated in the present, and it is still in South Manchuria, which is under the control of the Kwantung military. North Manchuria, whose population itself is sparsely populated, does not actually have many reserve forces for mobilization, except for retaining the necessary industrial and agricultural population. With such large casualties in this battle, I am afraid that for them, there will be a long period of dormancy.

Looking at the approximate casualties reported by himself, he fell into deep thought, one by one the chairman was smoking a cigarette, Yang Zhen hesitated, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "Chairman, in fact, I don't think we have to take Nanman in a short period of time, or this year." ”

"The ongoing battle between the United States and Japan over the Mariana Islands has only just begun. At present, the two armies are only engaged in some sentinel battles and peripheral battles, and the real core battle has not yet begun. However, judging from the number of troops invested by the US military and the sustained combat capability of the two armies, the Japanese can say that this battle is a lost one. ”

"The Mariana Islands are critically located, and no matter how cautious the Japanese are in this battle, their naval fleet is bound to be dispatched with all their forces. However, the current Japanese navy is no longer the naval fleet that swept across the entire Pacific Ocean in all directions. The Japanese Navy, which has long practiced a policy of lean troops, has consumed too much vitality in the four or three years of the battle for the southwest Pacific. ”

"The Japanese Navy, which has always pursued a policy of leaning its troops, has certainly produced a very good navy, from the air force to the fleet sailors. However, this kind of elite army policy has a fatal flaw, that is, once the battle damage is too large, it is difficult to replenish it, and at the same time, it is unable to cope with long-term attrition. ”

"At present, the entire operational situation in the Pacific theater has changed from naval artillery bombardment in the past to naval aviation. The sea and air battles in the southwest Pacific swallowed up too many of the elite of the Japanese naval aviation. At present, the entire Japanese naval aviation is already unsustainable. ”

"The newly trained pilots, the military quality is almost incomparable to those of those who have been consumed. The Japanese have never been able to compare with the Americans in the development and production of new aircraft. The Americans were knocked out one plane, which can quickly replenish ten. And the Japanese were knocked out of ten, but only one was replenished. ”

"The Mariana Islands are also archipelagos, which means that the focus of this battle is on the sea and the air. In view of the current shortage of elite pilots in the Japanese Navy, and the quality and quantity of new combat aircraft, which are at an absolute disadvantage, the Japanese will lose this battle. ”

"And once the Mariana Islands are lost, the U.S. Navy will kick open the door to Japan's mainland defense. From the East Indies, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Okinawa, they will all be the next targets of the US military. However, judging from the situation of the Americans' counterattack, the East Indies, which are stationed with heavy troops and too far away from the Japanese mainland, will not be fought hard by the Americans. ”

"The Americans are now in the Pacific theater and have come up with such an island-hopping tactic because they don't want to go head-to-head with the Japanese. As long as the Japanese navy was completely defeated, the Japanese troops trapped on the islands would have to fight on their own. Without the support of the Navy, the Japanese troops trapped on the islands could hardly move an inch, and hardly caused any hardship for the Americans. And the Americans want to fight there, they will fight there. ”

"The East Indies are too far from the Japanese mainland, and the main force of the Japanese Southern Army is stationed. Although the Japanese have the oil resources that the Japanese desperately need, there is no need for the Americans to fight with them when they have obtained sea supremacy. As long as the Japanese sea transportation lines are cut off, their oil pipelines can be cut lightly. ”

"And the Mariana Islands are located at a key point in the entire maritime transportation line of the Japanese. As long as the Americans take here, they can cut off the Japanese transportation lines at any time. So I think that the Americans, after taking the Mariana Islands, will definitely not attack the East Indies. ”

"There are only three directions of attack that they can choose from, the Philippines, Taiwan, Okinawa and Ogasawara Islands. Only by taking one of these three directions will the Japanese be a real threat. For the Americans, taking the Philippines and Taiwan is tantamount to completely cutting off the last connecting channel between Japan and the mainland in the various occupied areas in the south. ”

"Attacking the Ogasawara Islands is equivalent to inserting a knife in the flank of the Japanese mainland, posing a direct threat to the Japanese mainland. If, after taking the Philippines, the Americans turn to Okinawa, it can be said that they have hit the doorstep of the Japanese. The Japanese, who were cut off from sea transportation lines and had a large number of troops overseas. Reinforcements and urgently needed military raw materials and materials cannot be transported back. ”

"So I think that as long as the battle of the Mariana Islands is lost, the Japanese will lose. In order to ensure the defense of the Japanese mainland, then they will adjust their deployment on a large scale. And the U.S. military will not stop attacking, and after taking the Mariana Islands, it will choose the next direction of attack. And there are only two options for the next attack direction of the US military, either the Philippines or Taiwan. ”

"Regardless of the direction of the Americans' attack and where they choose, the Japanese basically have no chance of turning the tables. According to my judgment of the direction of the US military's next attack, as well as the intelligence gathering of the so-called commander-in-chief of the Allied Southwest Pacific Theater, and the fact that Taiwan has now completed the overall form of fortressing, the next target of the Americans can only be the Philippines. ”

"After taking the Philippines, avoiding the presence of heavy troops and the already fortified Taiwan, the US military will directly point at Okinawa. In other words, in a year at most, the Americans will hit the edge of the Japanese mainland. When the time comes, we will launch a campaign to capture South Manchuria, and I am afraid that we will achieve twice the result with half the effort. ”

"To put it mildly, if we hold out for a year and a half at most, and then the Japanese are already under attack on all sides and cannot survive on their own, I am afraid that they will choose to surrender on their own initiative. It is far more appropriate for us to choose to receive peacefully than to reduce South Manchuria to ruins. Although it is difficult to wait for victory, it is the best way for us to take South Manchuria as completely as possible. ”

After saying this, looking at the chairman who was deep in thought, Yang Zhen didn't say anything more. I have said what I should have said, and I have said what I shouldn't have said. How the rest of the central government makes decisions is not something that they can influence. However, Yang Zhen knew that the chairman had listened to his words today.

Leaving the chairman's residence, that is, he did not ride a horse or a car, but walked all the way back to his residence in the dawn of the sky, and Yang Zhen seemed unusually silent along the way. Zhang Zixiong, who was following him, looked at Yang Zhen, who was a little depressed, and didn't dare to say anything.

Back at his residence, although he was extremely tired, Yang Zhen fell into sleeplessness over and over again. In the period when there was not much war left, what should be the next step of the overall strategic plan, and where the next strategic goal should be placed, hovered in his mind for a long time.

According to my own knowledge of this era, this war will be over in a year and a half at most. In the last year and a half, what should he do to maximize China's interests in the post-war period is the answer that Yang Zhen has been seeking.

Yang Zhen, who pondered for a long time and couldn't find the final answer, fell asleep until the sky was completely bright. It's just that Yang Zhen didn't expect that he would wake up at dusk all of a sudden. Maybe the long-term energy overdraft has made him too tired. The biological clock in his body, which had been cultivated by his long war career, did not wake him up on time this time.

This time, Yang Zhen, who was extremely rare and slept for almost a whole day, woke up, just hastily wiped his face with cold water to make himself look more energetic. Before he had finished this breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he was found by the chairman to live in his own place and had a long conversation all night.

And this kind of life almost constitutes Yang Zhen's main way of life in Yan'an this time. At night, he talked with the chairman, vice chairman, boss and other central leaders, and slept during the day, plus occasionally had to be arrested by the chief of staff of the Central Military Commission to give lectures at Kang Da. I had to take the time to meet with the US Liaison Group in Yan'an on the orders of the chairman.

The central government was not in a hurry to let Yang Zhen return to the Northeast, and Yang Zhen himself was not in a hurry to return to the Northeast, but stayed in Yan'an. He knew that as the central government began to move to Beiping one after another, he was afraid that it would be difficult for him to have the opportunity to come to Yan'an in the future. So Yang Zhen, who enjoyed this kind of life very much, stayed in Yan'an very leisurely.

On the one hand, it coordinated the dispatch of transport planes by the Anti-United Nations, and the automobile troops to cooperate with the central government's relocation. On the one hand, it is also to regulate yourself, because of the fatigue caused by long-term tight work. It was not until late May that Yang Zhen was found to be in Yan'an, and the commander of the U.S. 14th Air Force and the newly formed 20th Air Force visited him in person.

Accompanied by the military attache of the US Embassy in China and Wilson, head of the US military delegation to the Anti-Japanese Alliance, the two US generals who personally came to Yan'an to carry out the execution had only one real intention, that is, the Americans had arrived in Calcutta, India, in order to bomb the B-29 bomber developed by Japan.

The Americans hoped to be able to join the air raids against Japan by sending these bombers, as well as a number of P-51 long-range fighters and P-38 fighters used for escort operations, to the anti-United Nations base areas in North Manchuria. In order to strive for the complete destruction of the war potential of the Japanese mainland in the shortest possible time.

Taking off from the North Manchurian Anti-Japanese Union Air Force Base to the Japanese mainland is the rear base where the Americans can use the shortest range to bomb Japan at the moment. Moreover, the major aviation bases built by the Anti-Japanese Union itself in bombing Japan also made it possible for these bombers to have ready-made and complete bases to use.

At the same time, it has carried out air raids against Japan for more than a year, has gained complete experience in bombing the Japanese mainland, and has established a complete navigation, command, supply, and support system. Relying on the aviation base of the North Manchurian Anti-Japanese Alliance, the US military can reduce its logistical burden to the greatest extent.

The most important thing is that the anti-union base area in North Manchuria, although it is not large, has a good production of base oil and steel, as well as a manufacturing plant for napalm. Relying on these factories can also greatly reduce the pressure on the US military to transport oil bombs from thousands of miles away.

Not to mention the flight range of their B-29 bombers from North Manchuria, which can cover the entire Japanese mainland. From Hokkaido, the northernmost part, to the island of Kyushu in the south. If there were fewer bombs, even Okinawa in Japan could be completely covered. It is not impossible to even cross South Manchurian to bomb Taiwan.

For the US military, which was about to launch a bombing campaign against Japan, although the conditions in North Manchuria were not as good as those of Britain in the European theater of bombing bases against Germany, they were already their best choice at the moment. Even if they win the ongoing battle for the Mariana Islands and take the Saipan base. However, Saipan, as an island, is not as good as the North Manchurian base of the Anti-Japanese Union as a whole.

If an agreement can be reached with the Anti-Japanese Alliance, this will undoubtedly be the best choice for the upcoming air raid operation of the Americans. This time, these two air commanders, appointed by the US Army, came to Yan'an to meet with Yang Zhen to request the use of the anti-Japanese aviation base in North Manchuria.