Chapter 302: Prologue to the Great War

The Japanese base camp decided that the Southern Army would not be under the command of the Chinese Dispatch Army, and in order to fully realize the Asian operational plan and achieve the goal of dominating Asia, the Southern Army would be placed under the command of the General Staff, that is, the troops directly under the base camp.

In accordance with the spirit of the Imperial Conference, the Japanese army set up a new headquarters in the base camp, reorganized and expanded all units, and newly formed seven divisions, the 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 54th, 55th, 56th, and 57th divisions, and at the same time organized the Taiwan division into the 48th Division, adding several hundred thousand army troops.

It looks like a military operation against the Southern Han Dynasty, but in fact, Japan is preparing for a full-scale war. The clamoring for the annihilation of the Southern Han Dynasty and the settlement of the war in China was only a cover-up to prevent the United States and Britain from being prepared. At the same time, the Japanese army changed the troops stationed in Ningbo, Shanghai, China, from mules and horses to motorized vehicles in order to increase their mobile strength.

At the same time, the naval fleet was reorganized into six fleets, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th fleets, and the 1st and 11th air fleets, as well as the southern fleet and the Chinese fleet, starting in November 40.

At the Imperial Council in November 40, the "Imperial Policy was decided, and the program was carried out, and it was decided to settle the US Navy and launch an all-out attack on Southeast Asia when negotiations with the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands were unsuccessful."

When Japan knew that Germany had launched a blitzkrieg to invade the Soviet Union, the Soviet army was losing one after another, and the German army was advancing in the direction of Moscow, it thought that Japan's opportunity had come. At this time, there was no need to worry about the Soviet Union attacking Japan, and although Britain and the Netherlands had increased their forces to Southeast Asia and Indochina, and also strengthened the number of naval and air forces, their forces were relatively weak and scattered.

General Yamasugi Moto believed that if he wanted to attack Southeast Asia, he must first deal with the Southern Han Dynasty, otherwise the threat to the attacking Japanese army would be too great. The Southern Han Dynasty was different from the Anglo-French armies, which were weak in their ability to replenish due to their distance from home, and at the same time had too many defensive areas and scattered forces. However, the more than 100,000 troops of the Southern Han Dynasty not only had strong combat effectiveness, but also were stationed in a centralized manner. Besides, we can't overstimulate the Western countries, Japan has not yet completed preparations to delay the negotiations with the Southern Han Dynasty, and there is no way to block the maritime trade of the Southern Han Dynasty, so that the Southern Han Dynasty can obtain a lot of strategic materials, weapons, ammunition and equipment, and the Snow Fox Army, which has weapons and ammunition, strong combat effectiveness, and treacherous tactics, is indeed not easy to deal with.

Yamasugimoto's proposal was opposed by Hideki Tojo, who believed that it would not be possible to attack a small number of troops in the Southern Han Dynasty, but that it must be a large-scale attack that would use all the forces of the sea, land and air. However, Hideki Tojo believes that entering southern Vietnam has caused the United States to freeze its assets in the United States and Japan. If a large-scale attack has been recognized by Britain, the United States, France, and the Netherlands, the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Southern Han will inevitably be opposed by Western countries, and at the same time, Britain and the United States will react.

Hideki Tojo instructed the General Staff Headquarters to draw up a plan to prepare enough troops for a full-scale attack to be carried out at the same time as the attack on the Southern Han, just as the attack was at that time. Even if the Southern Han army was concentrated, they could not afford to take care of other places in order to protect themselves, and as long as they prepared enough troops, the Southern Han would not be able to escape the fate of being wiped out.

The Japanese army has made internal and various battlefield force adjustments, and most of the personnel have also been adjusted, and the base camp is the supreme command organ of Japan, and the generalissimo of the army and navy is held by Emperor Hirohito himself. Prime Minister Hideki Tojo concurrently served as Minister of War and Lieutenant General Hyotaro Kimura, Vice Minister of the Army, and there were eight bureaus under the military, personnel, weapons, and military affairs bureaus.

The wartime command organ is the General Staff Headquarters, which consists of the General Staff Chief, Senior General Yamasugimoto, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Tanabe Moritake, and the Minister of General Affairs, Major General Wakamatsuchi, which consists of four departments: Operations, Intelligence, Communications, and Transportation.

General Otozo Yamada, director of education and training, and Lieutenant General Shigetoku Kuroda, head of the headquarters, set up three supervision corps of artillery, engineers, and baggage. At this time, the total number of Japanese troops was 2,120,000, and the air force was 85,500.

The Minister of the Navy was replaced by Shigetaro Shimada, the Vice-Minister Yorio Sawamoto, and the Minister of Military Command Nagano Shuse. At the same time, a series of adjustments were also made to the army, and a large number of Chinese troops were transferred to the Southern Army, from the Guannai battlefield, and the Kwantung Army was transferred to the Southern Army and transferred to southern China.

Shunroku Hata returned to China to re-serve as commander of the Chinese Dispatch Army, Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Jun Goharem. The commander of the North China Front, Senior General Okamura Ninji, and the chief of staff, Lieutenant General An Da, 23 Lieutenant General, totaled 620,000 people, not including the navy and air force.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, General Umezu Mijiro, the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto, and the Kwantung Army and the Korean Army had a strength of 730,000 troops, not including aviation units.

The commander of the Southern Army, General Terauchi Toshiichi, the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Tsukada, the army was 390,000, the army aviation was more than 40,000 plus infantry divisions.

General Otozo Yamada, commander-in-chief of the Domestic Defense Command, Lieutenant General Asaburo Kobayashi, chief of the General Staff, and a total of 380,000 troops from the domestic army and the Taiwan army.

When Xue Ru carried out a comprehensive adjustment of the Southern Han army and divided the troops, the Japanese army had completed the adjustment of the combat troops. For the rapid response of the Southern Han Dynasty, all countries did not understand, could it be that Japan would launch a full-scale war, and Xue Ru's Southern Han knew in advance? Otherwise how could it have reacted so quickly. Because the Southern Han Dynasty was not only about army mobilization, but also about expanding the army and equipping new troops.

Indeed, Xue Ru knew in advance. Although she was not sure whether there was a Pacific War or not, Nanhan had indeed been preparing. Now that the Japanese army landed in Saigon and entered Thailand at the same time, the United States froze Japanese assets to prove that everything was on the same track as it had been. Xue Ru's butterfly wings did not change the track of the course of the war, but only changed the operational situation on the local battlefield.

This is exactly what Xue Ru wanted to achieve, when the intelligence department made a lot of effort to deliver the information on the formation of the Japanese army, Xue Ru stared at the Japanese 1st Air Fleet at first sight, and then saw the formation of the fleet, Xue Ru's heart finally landed. Whether it hasn't changed at all, Xue Ru doesn't remember, but the 1st Air Fleet is indeed Nagumo Tadaichi as the commander, and the fleet has four squadrons, including the aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Feilong, Soryu, Ryuxiang, Xiangrui, and Zuizuru, and seven destroyers, so there is no need to study, it is the fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor.

In Xue Ru's office, Ouyang Sari looked at the information in his hand: "Wei Ming, this kid is okay, the money was not spent in vain." ”

"What did you kid say? Lao Tzu boasted with you. As the words fell, Wei Ming came in from outside, and then said, "I didn't spend your money, you are a fart." ”

Ouyang Sari turned around and said: "Miss, do you see if this kid doesn't know what to do, Advisor Zhou and Councilor Li have mentioned it many times, saying that the cost of the army is too high, but they account for a large part, and it is reasonable at this time." ”

Wei Ming sneered: "I spend a lot, for them, the little money from the intelligence department is a drop in the bucket, I think they have a lot of money to build railways and roads, right?" ”

Ouyang Sari said: "Then don't tell me, tell Zhang Donglin, you are an army." ”

Xue Ru glanced at Wei Ming and knew what he was referring to, but at this time, Xue Ru didn't move at all. The war is imminent, and there can be no internal instability, so the materials of the Ministry of Supervision have also been temporarily suppressed and have not been transferred to the court. Wei Ming also got a warning from Xue Ru and told him not to interfere.

Wei Ming was very dissatisfied with this, the people of the Laozi Intelligence Department were born and died, and obtained information for the Southern Han Dynasty, and some people chirped crookedly and said that the money was spent unclear. But those who have been officials for a few days have forgotten their duties, and they have filled their pockets in a big way, but they don't say anything. Wei Ming, who was angry, ordered the intelligence department to check for me, and don't let anyone go. By the time the young lady starts to clean them up, this evidence will allow them to sit through the prison, and the intelligence department has no power, if it does, it will be brought to justice on the spot.

Seeing Xue Ru looking at him, Wei Ming snorted and stopped saying this. Ouyang Sari was dissatisfied: "I'm too lazy to tell you, like a mad dog." ”

Wei Ming said: "I don't want to tell you yet, I'm here to report the situation to Miss, what are you doing here, is the staff all right?" ”

Ouyang Sari knew that Wei Ming had a situation report, so he stood up and said, "I'm almost too busy to die, how can I have time." Miss, I took my leave. ”

Xue Ru smiled: "Wei Ming is a matter from the Chinese side, right?" Listen to Sari, so that I don't have to look for you again. ”

Sari didn't leave when he saw Wei Ming nodding. Wei Ming said: "The intelligence officer came back, and Commander Song replied that he didn't know the military battle plan of the Southern Han Dynasty and didn't know how to cooperate. Commander Xue Yue said that his troops were too far away to help, but there was a 74th Army in Kunming, and Commander Song would coordinate it when the time came, so please rest assured. ”

Xue Ru nodded: "I didn't expect Commander Song to be so aware of righteousness, well, tell Commander Song that once the staff plan is issued, I will inform him, thank him on my behalf." ”

Wei Ming finished speaking and left. Ouyang Sari said: "Miss, if you contact the Chinese army, why don't you contact the Military Committee and concentrate the troops of the Fourth Theater of Operations?" ”

Xue Ru sighed and shook his head and said, "I asked Sun Zheng to ask through the Chinese ambassador to the Southern Han Dynasty to talk about the military cooperation between the two sides, but the government has not answered. I think Chairman Chiang did not want the Southern Han to get involved in China's affairs, and he was very wary. ”

Ouyang Sari pouted: "Think carefully, are you afraid that you will return to China and fight for the world with him?" The heart of a villain. ”

Xue Ru did not want to comment on domestic affairs, because the Intelligence Department already knew through the internal lines of the military command that the Kuomintang believed that Xue Ru was very dissatisfied with the Vietnamese Communist Party among their parliamentary advisers, and may be worried that he would have a connection with Yan'an.

In fact, Nguyen Aiguo had died at the hands of Qiao Han, and the Viet Cong at this time was different from the original, and most of them had also entered the south. Because the Southern Han issued a warning that if they wanted to engage in the Soviet Union in the Southern Han Dynasty, they would be completely wiped out. If you want to be in the Southern Han Dynasty, you can openly participate in the royal advisory group and contribute to the country. The Viet Cong was divided into two major factions, with the pro-Soviet ones entering southern Vietnam, and some of them changing their names to the National Alliance Front to join the Southern Han Dynasty.

I am afraid that not only the Soviet Union is dissatisfied, but also the United States, which has always been the same, will not be satisfied, so Chiang Kai-shek also rejected the Southern Han. Besides, would the United States and Britain be willing to see the Southern Han Dynasty take control of China? Of course, he was not at all surprised, and it was not surprising that Chiang Kai-shek of the Chinese government did not reply to the proposal of the Southern Han. Now that Britain has opened the Burma channel, the status of the transportation channel of the Southern Han Dynasty has declined, and Lao Jiang will no longer accommodate the Southern Han Dynasty, which Xue Ru understands in her heart, and she will not say anything more.

It was for these reasons that Xue Ru asked Wei Ming to send someone to contact Song Xilian in Kunming and Xue Yue in Changsha alone, because this time the Japanese army attacked the Southern Han, I am afraid that the Southern Han faced an attack from all sides, and the Southern Han only had more than 100,000 troops, the population base was there, and the troops were thin, so he sent a request to Song Xilian and Xue Yue, and got the reply of the two Xue Ru was relieved. Song Xilian, the commander of the defense of Kunming, had the 71st Army in hand, as well as the 52nd Army of the Yunnan Local Army, a total of six divisions.

Xue Yue was the commander of the Ninth Theater of Operations, with more than 300,000 troops under his command, and promised that the 74th Army, which was closest to Yunnan, would be reinforced, which was Wang Yaowu's trump card field light brigade, with troops of eight divisions of these three armies, and the Southern Han Dynasty was equivalent to doubling the number of troops. Now that the three armies of the Southern Han Navy and Army are complete, and there are 200,000 combat troops, the devil is afraid that all the Southern Army will come to the Southern Han and don't care.

When he knew that the two people replied, Xue Ru breathed a sigh of relief, but Ouyang Sari was very worried: "Miss, those generals of the national army still don't believe them, so as not to delay things." According to intelligence, the Japanese army did not have so much, and even if it was in four directions, it was only three divisions to four divisions, which was about the same as the strength of the Southern Han Dynasty, so there was no need to ask them at all, and the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army was also very poor. ”

In fact, from Xue Ru's point of view, the four divisions of the Japanese army are indeed nothing, but they are divided into four directions, with a strong navy to cooperate, and their strength should not be underestimated. What makes Xue Ru most difficult is that when he is not at home at this time, he can maneuver and fight, and if he can't, he will withdraw. The Southern Han Dynasty had a small population, a small area, and a limited range of maneuver. Besides, the Japanese army could not stand the losses of a long drive, although it could not keep the enemy out of the country, but it could not let the Japanese army enter too deeply, and the number of troops became a problem. ”

Therefore, they wanted to use the strength of the Chinese army, after all, one side of the direction of the Japanese attack was in China. However, he also agrees with Ouyang Sari's statement: "The temporary plan can not include the Chinese army, and use them as a mobile reserve, first of all, the Southern Han army itself to complete." ”

Ouyang Sari asked, "Does the young lady have any other orders?" Are there any tactical indications? Xue Ru shook his head: "No, since the command is delegated to the military department, the staff department should not interfere too much, so as not to affect the command below, and they still have to believe in Chen Dong." ”

Ouyang Sari nodded in agreement. The generals of the Southern Han Army are all from the same vein of Snow Fox tactics, and if you look at the things reported by the Logistics Department, you will know that these guys are strange and have used all kinds of methods. If nothing else, this time the devil must know what pain is, and he will attack the whole of Southeast Asia, I don't know if the fuck can pass the Southern Han level!

The war mobilization order of the Southern Han Dynasty has been issued, and the army is also preparing, but Japan has not moved, which makes the generals of all armies very strange.

Xue Ru no longer cared about the affairs of the army, but ordered Zhang Donglin to clear the walls in the direction of the possible Japanese attack, the coastal ports and the villages along the coast to retreat inland, the people moved away from the coast, there was no land, there were no people in the factories, the government distributed grain to build roads and carry out construction, and the villages and towns on the sides of the highways were also moved to the center of the rear, especially the factories and schools.

In fact, these losses are huge for the newly established Southern Han Dynasty, and those Southern Han people have just lived a few days of comfortable life, and the devil is coming again. For this reason, young people from all over the country have asked to join the army to fight devils in the war of resistance. Li Wenxiu, who was in charge of education and health, started the machine to carry out propaganda, which made the people of the Southern Han Dynasty excited, and there was a great posture that the devils would not come and go.

Xue Ru has been paying attention to Western newspapers these days, because the Southern Han Dynasty is a very free country, which makes Westerners feel that this is very different, although the atmosphere of Chinese culture is very strong, but it is mellow, and it is definitely not depressed and backward. The policies and decrees of the promotion of Hanfu made the Han culture of the Southern Han Dynasty very popular.

The Vietnamese have always used Chinese and Chinese characters and do not reject this behavior. The schools run in various places are also Chinese language schools, and other language schools are not banned in the Southern Han Dynasty, and there are no hard and fast rules for using and learning, and there are no restrictions on what language is used. The government will not promote it, and it will definitely not use an executive order to dictate what to learn, but the official language is Chinese characters, creating a wide range of environments where Vietnam's native language and immature script disappear.

Looking at the calendar on the wall, Xue Ru was counting the time, and the radio assembled and produced by Nanhan himself was playing the news, which was the news from the United States. Xue Ru's heart became more and more uncertain, because a day had passed, and there was no news of the attack on Pearl Harbor from the other side of the ocean.