After explaining Chen Hanzhang, Yang Zhen turned his head to Du Kaishan and said, "Old Du, what do you think the location of the Japanese army will be if they are preparing to land in Bohai Bay?" Is it Tianjin in the north, Xinhai in the middle, or the Yellow River estuary in Shandong? ”

"The terrain of the entire Bohai Bay is flat, although there are not many hard beach terrain suitable for landing operations. But we don't have the strength to defend areas suitable for landing. You've been running along the Bohai Bay for so long, and it's time to have a key direction in mind. Today, just the three of us, you can talk openly. As I said, I have not only my mouth but also my ears today. ”

Hearing Yang Zhen, who had been talking to Chen Hanzhang before, suddenly turned the topic to himself and jumped Du Kaishan. Fortunately, there are some things that he has already formed a general idea, and he doesn't need to hold on to them. Although sometimes a little too unruly, Du Kaishan can make Yang Zhen pay so much attention, and he still has the ability and level.

Regarding Yang Zhen's question, Du Kaishan hesitated. But in the end, after taking Chen Hanzhang's baton, he walked to the map and said: "No. 1, I think that if the Japanese army decides to land in Bohai Bay, the final location can only be one place, that is, Qikou." ”

"As for Tianjin in the north, or the Yellow River estuary in the south, it is almost impossible. The reason is simple, Tianjin's location is too far north. Moreover, the area around the Tianjin battlefield has been stabilized, and the distance from the fronts in all other directions is too far. Relying solely on landing operations would have been very costly. Moreover, the latitude of Tianjin is higher, and the sea ice is also cultivated later. ”

"At the same time, after losing Tanggu, the only landing site around Tianjin is Beitang. This side is a bit too narrow, not to mention, and Beitang is not suitable for heavy equipment ashore. It was possible for the Japanese army to bluff around Tianjin, diverting our attention. But in the real landing operation in Tianjin, I think there is almost no great possibility. ”

"Of course, if the Japanese army were desperate, it would not be impossible to force a landing around Tianjin. After all, Tianjin is close to the Beining line, and if the Japanese army wants to open up land links with Guannai, the line from Tianjin to Qinhuangdao is naturally the preferred target, but I don't think the probability of this aspect appearing is very large. ”

"If there is no progress on the southern front, it will not be of much use for them to take Tianjin. The position of Tianjin on the entire Hebei battlefield determined that Tianjin could not be the main direction of the Japanese landing. However, if the Japanese army can mobilize enough troops, it may adopt some feint tactics on the Tianjin front. ”

"As for the vicinity of the mouth of the Yellow River, although it is the closest to the core of the battlefield, it is the most unsuitable for the Japanese army to land. The location of the Yellow River estuary is not only too southerly. Moreover, the area of the tidal flats of the Yellow River is too large, and the water depth near the mouth of the river is very shallow, which is not suitable for large ships to provide fire support. ”

"The most important thing is that this is a muddy quagmire, and the Japanese army has to trek too long after going ashore, and heavy equipment cannot go ashore immediately. When I was surveying the mouth of the Yellow River, I walked a considerable distance along the mouth of the Yellow River before I reached the seashore. Therefore, the north of the mouth of the Yellow River does not meet the needs of landing operations. ”

"But the direction of Qikou is different, where the water is deep enough to support large ships, and it is possible to get as close to the coast as possible to provide fire support nearby. Moreover, it is a hard beach, which is suitable for landing operations. The location is exactly in the border area between Tianjin and Hebei and Shandong, and once the landing is successful, the threat to our army will be the greatest. ”

"It's not far from the straight line of the Jinpu line, and after the Jinpu line is the Ziya River. Landing from here, there are no large rivers along the line, and the terrain can be described as a flat river, which is extremely conducive to the rapid attack of the Japanese army. Once it is allowed to advance quickly to Qingxian, it will not only be able to go straight to the back of the eastern cluster, but also pose a threat to our western front. ”

"Moreover, Qingxian in front of Qikou is also the weak area of our army's entire troop deployment that has been exposed so far. At present, the entire deployment posture of our army is that the south is mainly concentrated in the Hebei-Shandong border area, and the north is mainly concentrated in the Tianjin battlefield. The entire section from Cangzhou to Qingxian is exactly the weakest place in our army's defense area on the surface. ”

"The most important thing is that I have checked the information, during the Second Opium War and the Gengzi Incident, there was not only a history of landing by foreign powers in the Qikou direction many times. During the Jinghai Battle of the Battle of Baoding in 37 years, the Japanese army launched a landing operation in the direction of Qikou. Although the Japanese army did not have many troops to carry out the landing battle that time, it was enough to show that the Qikou front line was suitable for landing operations. ”

"Whether it is hydrology, geography, or familiarity with the terrain, if the Japanese army implements a landing operation, I think it should still be in Qikou. However, in order to confuse us or peek into our reality, they are likely to launch a series of feints in other parts of the Bohai Bay. ”

Du Kaishan's categorical cut made Yang Zhen's brows furrow slightly. Walking to the map and pondering for a long time, Yang Zhen looked at Du Kaishan, but asked something that made Chen Hanzhang a little confused: "What I want to know now is not only your judgment, but also what is the answer that you have been thinking about for so long." ”

In response to Yang Zhen's question, Du Kaishan, who knew what No. 1 was referring to, said without the slightest hesitation this time: "No. 1, no matter which direction you send me to, I will guarantee that I will complete the task you have assigned 100%. If you still make the same mistake this time, I don't need you to speak, I will screw off my head and give you the night pot. ”

Regarding Du Kaishan's assurance, Yang Zhen shook his head and said: "That head of yours should be kept on your own neck, I can't use your big night pot, and I can't afford to enjoy your big night pot." But since you have made this decision today, I hope you will remember your promise today. ”

"You Du Kaishan is not a gentleman, and you can't be a gentleman. So don't tell me anything about a gentleman and a horse that is hard to chase. But don't forget that you are a soldier, and a soldier weighs a thousand pounds. If the thunder doesn't move, the sky doesn't fall, that's the task I gave you. As for what that means, I don't think you know it without me saying it. ”

Yang Zhen's voice fell, and Du Kaishan, who understood what he was talking about in an instant, did not make any other guarantees, but just repeated Yang Zhen's words: "No. 1, I won't say anything else." But I promise to follow your requirements, and resolutely do not move the thunder and the sky falls. ”

Looking at Du Kaishan, who was standing straight in front of him, Yang Zhen didn't pay attention to him, but turned his head to Chen Hanzhang and said, "Old Chen, with him Du Kaishan behind you, he will guard the line of Bohai Bay for you." Don't worry about what you are ahead, let go of your hands and feet and be bold. ”

"I would also like to send you two sentences here today, in the entire Eastern Front operation, we must not only see the six roads, but also listen to the eight directions. In the process of action, either do not move like a mountain, or if you want to move, you will move like thunder. This may be a bit of a high requirement, but for you Chen Hanzhang, I believe you can do it. ”

"If you Chen Hanzhang can't do it, then you can't do it if you change someone else. Remember to have accurate eyes, steady hearts, broken plans, ruthless hands, and fruitful actions, and let me burst out the wolf nature you cultivated when the Second Army and the Fifth Division were operating independently. As long as you do these things, I believe that you, Chen Hanzhang, will definitely not let me down. ”

Regarding Yang Zhen's advice, after Chen Hanzhang and Du Kaishan glanced at each other, they didn't say anything except nodding solemnly. But the two of them are only a slight statement, but it is far worth a thousand words. They know that the number one, who values action more, never listens to those promises.

Yang Zhen, who was standing in front of them, looked at these two generals and didn't say anything more. He knew that no matter how the situation changed, these two men would make their eastern front as stable as Mount Tai. The stability of the eastern front means that no matter how many troops the Japanese army invests in this battle, there will not be any major fluctuations in the overall situation.

And just when Yang Zhen was talking with Chen Hanzhang and Du Kaishan, he was deploying the entire Eastern Front battle plan. At this moment, more than 800 kilometers away from Chen Hanzhang's headquarters, in the headquarters of the Chinese Dispatch Army in Nanjing, his opponent was also holding an operational meeting. There is only one central topic of this meeting, that is, how to deal with the next battle situation.

This time, the combat meeting has been held for four whole days, and the level of participants can be described as quite high. Present at the meeting were Lieutenant General Kutaro Matsui, chief of staff of the Chinese Dispatch Army, and attended the meeting by General Shunroku Hatata, commander-in-chief of the Chinese Dispatch Army, Senior General Okamura Ninji, commander-in-chief of the North China Front, and Lieutenant General Miharu Oshiroto, as well as the chiefs of staff of the First and Twelfth Armies.

There were also Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondo, commander of the Chinese side of the Japanese Navy, and Rear Admiral Daisuke Fukushima, commander of the 2nd Chinese Fleet. In addition, the chiefs of staff of the other 11th, 13th, and 21st armies under the Chinese Dispatch Army. In addition, the Taiwan Army and the Southern Army in the vicinity of China's battlefield also sent deputy chiefs of staff to attend the meeting as observers.

Senior Admiral Jun Goharya, deputy chief of the Japanese General Staff Headquarters, and Vice Admiral Junichi Ito, deputy director of the Naval Command Department, were instructed by the headquarters to attend the meeting as representatives of the army, navy, and base camp respectively.

At this time, it has been less than four months since the general of the harem Chun, in order to coordinate the cooperation between the Kwantung Army and the North China Front Army before the war, and cooperated with the director of education to go to the location of the former headquarters of the North China Front Army in Beiping. But the current situation on the battlefield in China, for this harem general, has long been a matter of fact.

When he left Beiping, he was very high-spirited. But he didn't expect that the entire North China battlefield would erode so quickly in such a short period of time. The North China Front not only caught up with the main force, but also lost more than half of its territory and troops. In a short period of time, he was ordered to come to China again, and in the face of the war situation that is not what it used to be, the former chief of staff of the dispatch army felt a lot of emotion.

The convening of the operational conference in Nanjing this time is probably the highest level of the Japanese army's operational conference held in China since the July 7 Incident. Not only were almost all the senior commanders of China's dispatched forces attending the meeting, but even all the senior commanders of the navy, which has never been very prominent in the Chinese battlefield, also attended the meeting as observers, and sent deputy directors of the military command department.

And General Harem Jun, deputy director of the General Staff Headquarters who attended the meeting as an observer, was visiting the commander of the Chinese Dispatch Army, Shunroku Hatata, his old superior, as soon as he arrived in Nanjing. He had already clearly told him that the base camp was very dissatisfied with the defeat of the North China Front in the first phase of the battle.

In particular, the loss of the Tianjin-Jinpu railway, the direct connection between the North China Front and the Kwantung Army was cut off, which made the base camp quite annoyed. Originally, it was thought that the North China Front did not hold Beiping, but could hold Tianjin. But now even Tianjin has been lost, which makes the base camp quite unacceptable.

The current attitude of the base camp is that Shanxi can be temporarily abandoned, but the Pingjin line must be recovered, the Jinpu Road, the Pinghan line, and the Beining Railway, including eastern Hebei, must be reopened, and the connection between the Kwantung Army and the Chinese dispatch army must be restored. This is the current situation in which the empire finds itself, and China must be asked to send troops to do it.