Two days later, Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

Sending Arisue Seizan to the side of the runway, Okamura Ninji said: "Yousue-kun, have a good journey." ”

"What?" Yusue Seizan was stunned for a moment when he heard this, he always thought that the two would return to Beiping together, but he didn't expect Okamura Ningji to have other arrangements, so he immediately asked again, "Your Excellency General, are you not going back to Beiping?" ”

Okamura nodded and said, "I still have to wait for the next flight to Shinkyo to see Umezu-kun." ”

Seizo Arisue said with some astonishment: "Before Your Excellency the General returned to Tokyo, didn't you go to Shinkyo to have an in-depth exchange with Your Excellency Umezu, and they have already been negotiated?" ”

Okamura Ninji said: "At that time, it was negotiated, and Umezu-kun also agreed, but isn't there a new change now?" I am afraid that Umezu-kun will become resistant and use the excuse to detain the 3rd Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, and the 3rd Tank Wing, which will greatly reduce the strength of the 1st Division and seriously affect our next plans. ”

Although Hideki Tojo adopted Okamura's suggestion, Japan is an imperial country, and not all major national affairs are decided by the prime minister.

So in the end, it becomes a compromise.

The base camp of the Japanese army transferred five divisions and regiments from the Kwantung Army, together with the newly formed ten divisions and regiments, a total of 15 divisions and regiments, of which eight divisions were transferred to the Southern Army to continue the implementation of the plan formulated earlier, and the other seven divisions were transferred to the North China Front Army to carry out the sweep proposed by Okamura Ninji specifically targeting the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army.

That is to say, the Kwantung Army became the final loser, and five divisions were withdrawn at once.

As the commander of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Mijiro estimated that I also had a sentence of betrayal at this time.

"That's right." "If the 3rd Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, the 2nd Cavalry Brigade and the 3rd Tank Wing are detained by the Kwantung Army, then the 1st Division will no longer be a heavy division in the true sense, but just an ordinary elite division with a three-unit system. ”

By the way, the 1st Division originally had four infantry wings under its command.

However, two years ago, the base camp of the Japanese army adjusted the establishment of the army, and all divisions and regiments abolished the infantry brigade and regimental structure, and changed to one infantry regiment under the division and regiment headquarters, and three infantry wings under the infantry regiment.

The 1st Division was also stripped of an infantry wing, but soon a heavy artillery brigade, a cavalry brigade, and a tank wing were added to form the first heavy division of the Japanese army.

In the Kwantung Army's special large-scale exercise last autumn, the 1st Division was in the limelight.

Okamura Ninji and Terauchi Toshiichi, commander of the Southern Army, both went to the scene to observe the big exercise, so after learning that the base camp intended to build the Kwantung Army into a strategic general reserve and was preparing to transfer elite divisions from the Kwantung Army to support other theaters, the two of them set their sights on the 1st Division at the same time.

After a tense competition, Okamura had the last laugh.

However, Okamura Ninji was still worried that Umezu Mijiro would be discounted, so he temporarily decided to fly to Shinkyo again and have another long talk with Umezu Mijiro to ensure that he was safe.

After a pause, there was a sue Jingsan and said, "Is there anything else you need to tell me, Your Excellency General?" ”

Okamura Ninji waved his hand and said, "I have already told you what I should say, you just need to follow it, and besides, I will be able to go back soon, and it will not be delayed for too long." ”

"Hello." There are three first ways of the end of the essence.

"As soon as I returned to Beiping, I began to organize the 3rd Chariot Division."

"Hmm." Okamura Ninji nodded happily, "The preparations for forming the 3rd Division of the Tank will be entrusted to you." ”

"Hello!" Seizo Arisue slammed his head at Okamura Ninji again, then turned around and boarded the ramp of the transport plane, and the ground crew quickly removed the gangway, and the transport plane began to slide.

……

At this time, in North China.

The head of the cavalry group of the Mongolian army, Nishihara Yice, drove more than 200 kilometers from the garrison to the headquarters of the Mongolian army stationed in Zhangjiakou.

Nishihara Kazusei also thought that the headquarters was to replenish the 4th Cavalry Brigade, which was missing.

The 4th Cavalry Brigade was ambushed on its way south to reinforce the Henan battlefield last time, and has not been rebuilt since the destruction of the entire army of Feiyundu in the northwest of Shanxi.

So until now, the cavalry group has only one 1st Cavalry Brigade.

As soon as he walked into the office of the commander of the Mongolian army, Nanada Ichiro, Nishihara Kazuse couldn't wait to ask: "Nanata-kun, did the base camp give an order to rebuild the 4th Cavalry Brigade?" ”

Nanata Ichiro smiled and handed over a document on the table.

"What?" Nishihara Kazucei took the document with some confusion.

But after reading the document, Nishihara Kazuce was pleasantly surprised.

"Adapted tank 3rd division?" Nishihara Kazucei said in disbelief, "Nanata-kun, is it really fake? ”

Nishihara Kazuse originally thought that he was just going to rebuild the 4th Cavalry Brigade, but he didn't expect to reorganize the cavalry group into the 3rd Tank Division, which was simply a lottery ticket and won a big prize!

Nanata Ichiro said: "The documents are all here, can there be fakes?" ”

"Great." Nishihara Yice waved his fist vigorously and said, "This is the first chariot division of the imperial army on the battlefield in China, and now the imperial army can give Fu Yisheng a little color." ”

"I'll talk about dealing with Fu Yisheng later." Ichiro Nanata said with a smile, "The top priority is to adapt first." ”

After a pause, Nanata Ichiro continued: "Tomorrow morning, Yousujun will come to Zhangjiakou in person to discuss the adaptation with us. ”

Nishihara Kazuce lowered his voice and said, "Nanata-kun, can you get to the bottom first, how many chariots will there be?" I heard that the 1st Tank Division and the 2nd Tank Division have more than 400 medium and light tanks combined! ”

"I really don't know." Nanata Ichiro spread his hands and said, "It's better to wait for the last one to come and ask him, he must know the details of this adaptation." ”

"Okay, then I'll ask when the last one arrives."

Nishihara Kazuce's heart was itching, and he could only endure it.

……

Northwest of Shanxi, Wanmadu Arsenal.

The brigade commander was in the bullet workshop accompanied by Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, and Wang Ye.

But I saw that the workers were reloading the bullets, and these workers were extremely focused on their work, and the arrival of the brigade commander and a group of people did not attract their attention.

It wasn't until I got closer to the brigade commander that I realized what kind of worker this was, and it was clearly a prisoner of war.

The brigade commander was shocked at the time and said, "Xiao Wang, is the arsenal unable to recruit workers or what?" How to work with devil prisoners of war? This is a prisoner of war, what if they do sabotage? ”

"Brigadier Commander, you're overthinking." Wang Ye smiled, "These devil prisoners of war are obedient. ”

Li Yunlong smiled and said: "Brigade commander, you still have to pay wages to hire workers, let these devil prisoners of war work, we don't have to pay a penny of wages, we can save a lot of money." ”

"Just you two have a lot of ideas." The brigade commander said angrily.

Wang Ye said with a smile: "Brigade commander, the efficiency of using devil prisoners of war is also much higher, because devil prisoners of war generally have received primary or even secondary education, and their learning ability and comprehension ability are much stronger than those local workers who have fallen down and don't know a word, so the completion of the work is much higher." ”

The brigade commander said: "It is still necessary to take security measures. ”

"That's for sure." Li Yunlong said, "There is a patrol team that patrols and supervises without interruption. ”

As he spoke, a group of heavily armed warriors approached from across the cave.

Seeing the brigade commander and Li Yunlong and his entourage, the soldiers stood up one after another and saluted with flat chests.

The brigade commander returned a military salute, then turned his head and asked Wang Yedao: "Xiao Wang, how many bullets can be reloaded in a day now?" ”

Wang Ye said: "Now it can reload 20,000 rounds of ammunition and 500 shells a day, and when the production capacity of the acid plant comes up, it can reload up to 100,000 rounds of ammunition and 2,000 shells a day!" ”

Li Yunlong smiled, and then said: "In two months, we will have another 5 million rounds of ammunition and 120,000 shells, and at that time, we will no longer be afraid of fighting a war of attrition with devils." ”

The brigade commander asked with concern: "With so many bullets and shells, can gunpowder be supplied?" ”

"Brigade commander, gunpowder is not a problem at all." Li Yunlong said with a smile, "There is a nitrate mine next to our arsenal, and it is also a large nitrate mine, as Director Wang said, it is enough for us to use it for fifty years." ”

"That's right." The brigade commander's eyes lit up and he said, "Then I will ask the Taiyue Military Region, the Taihang Military Region, and even the entire Shanxi-Hebei-Henan Military Region to send the collected bullet casings and artillery shells over." ”

"No problem." Li Yunlong said with a smile, "Whether it is a bullet shell or a shell shell, as long as it is with copper, we will accept it all, and two bullet shells can be exchanged for one reloading bullet." ”

"Two bullet casings for one bullet?" The brigade commander scolded, "Do you want to discount your dog's day? ”

"Brigade commander, this is really not our Lao Li discount." Li Yunlong said with a smile, "Our arsenal wants to reload bullets, although we don't need to pay the devils to start work, but engineers and technicians still have to pay salaries, and it's not low, you can't let our Shanxi Northwest Military Region post money to replenish ammunition for brother troops, right?" ”

"Nope." The brigade commander snorted and said, "You can't take advantage of your brother troops. ”

"Brigadier Commander, I can't be the master of this." Li Yunlong said, "I have to discuss it with Lao Ding and Lao Kong." ”

"Calling the shots? Did I let you call the shots? The brigade commander snorted coldly and said, "Lao Tzu is still the commander of the Northwest Jin Military Region and the Northwest Column of Jin, can it be your turn to call the shots in this matter?" ”

"Uh......" Li Yunlong was speechless for a moment, careless.

After visiting the bullet reloading workshop, the brigade commander said to Wang Ye with emotion: "Xiao Wang, the deal you made with Yan Xishan is too worthwhile, with our arsenal, it won't take more than a year, and our entire Shanxi-Hebei-Henan Military Region will no longer have to worry about ammunition supply, and in the future, you won't have to pick the rope to fight with the devils, you can open up and fight!" ”

Speaking of this, he said: "This will completely change the entire battlefield ecology!" ”

……

At the same time, in Xinjing.

Looking at the outline of Changbai Mountain in the distance, Okamura Ninji said in a deep voice: "Mei Jinjun, if we can't occupy the mountainous area in the northwest of Shanxi Province as soon as possible and annihilate the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, the battlefield ecology of the entire Shanxi and even the entire North China will be completely reversed, and the North China Front Army will not be able to move an inch at that time. ”

"Okamura-kun, is it such an exaggeration?"

Umezu Mijiro said abruptly: "Is a brigade of the Eighth Route Army really so capable? ”

"This is no ordinary brigade." Okamura Ninji said solemnly, "The 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army is nominally a brigade, but in fact its strength is more than that of a group army. ”

"Of course, it's not the scariest thing."

After a pause, he said: "The most terrifying thing is the war potential of the northwest of Jin. ”

"War potential?" Umezu Mijiro said, "I really can't imagine how much war potential a poor ravine in the northwest of Jin Province can have. ”

Okamura Ninji said: "What if there is a large arsenal in the poor ravine in the northwest of Shanxi? ”

"Arsenal?" Umezu Mijiro frowned and said, "The Eighth Route Army has the ability to build a large arsenal in the poor ravine in the northwest of Shanxi?" Can't you? ”

"I was incapable." Okamura Ningji said, "But not long ago, the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army made a personnel deal with Yan Xishan, taking Hattori's ministers and more than 200 imperial prisoners of war from Yan Xishan's hands to exchange more than 200 senior technicians from the Taiyuan Arsenal, Taiyuan Iron and Steel Plant, and Taiyuan Power Plant. ”

"I see." Umezu Mijiro said awe-inspiringly, "This is really not to be underestimated. ”

"yes, I can't take this matter too seriously." Okamura said, "The armed forces under the leadership of the Communist Party, in terms of discipline, training, tactical literacy, and will to fight, are far superior to the Central Army of China and the warlord armed forces in various places, and have now replaced the Central Army of China as the primary threat to the Imperial Army." ”

"So far, the only thing that has constrained the Communist forces is ammunition."

"Once the Communist Party makes up for this only shortcoming, the whole of North China will be turned upside down."

Speaking of this, Okamura Ninji said: "At that time, not to mention opening up the mainland's communication lines and integrating the resources of Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia, and even whether it can hold North China will be a question mark, and the strategic concept of relying on the Far Eastern Continent to fight a protracted war of resistance with the allies will also come to naught, and at that time, the empire may also suffer from accidents." ”

Umezu Mijiro turned his head silently and stared at the distant mountains for a long time without making a sound.

After a long while, Umezu Mijiro asked again, "Okamura-kun, is the situation really as pessimistic as you say?" ”

Okamura Ninji sighed lightly and said gloomily: "Umezu-kun, the gap between the empire's industrial manufacturing capacity and the beautiful country is too big, and it is not something that can be reversed by one or two victories at all. ”

"To put it bluntly, it's not a big problem for the beautiful country to lose ten times in a naval battle."

"But if the empire loses only one of them, it will lose its sea dominance."

"So a reversal in the Pacific theater is absolutely inevitable, it's just a matter of time."

"If nothing else, in the second half of this year, the beautiful country will launch a strategic counteroffensive in the South Pacific."

"At that time, the troops of the Southern Army stationed on the islands will be divided and surrounded by the Navy of the Beautiful Country, and then they will be annihilated by the Army of the Beautiful Country one by one in the desperate situation of running out of ammunition and aid."

"Therefore, the rout and retreat of the empire in the Pacific theater is inevitable."

"At this time, the only hope for the empire to turn the tables is to rely on the general war of the Far Eastern continent, and this requires the integration of all the war resources of the entire Far East, including Southeast Asia."

After saying this, he added: "So the mainland communication line is very important. ”

"Understood." Umezu Mijiro muttered, "Okamura-kun, you've convinced me. ”

After a pause, Umezu Mijiro said again: "I'm worried now that the base camp has only added seven divisions to your North China Front, and with this amount of troops, do you have the confidence to open up the mainland communication line?" ”

Okamura Ninji pondered for a moment and then said, "If you launch a campaign now, it will be almost impossible to achieve your intentions, but if you launch a campaign in two years, there is a great hope of success." ”

"Okamura-kun, I don't understand this." Umezu Mijiro was surprised, "As far as I know, the government army in China is being replaced with American weapons, even according to the most conservative estimates, there will be at least fifty divisions of the national army in two years to replace with American weapons, but you actually say that after two years, you will have a greater certainty of opening up the mainland communication line." ”

"Yes, I think in two years I will be more sure." Okamura Ninji nodded, and said, "Because the Kuomintang army is corrupting at an alarming rate, their senior generals only know how to eat and take cards, and fill their own pockets, and their soldiers are becoming free coolies for senior generals, and they are not even as good as pigs and dogs." ”

"Such an army has no combat effectiveness to speak of."

"So, don't say fifty mechanics, a hundred are useless."

After a pause, Okamura Ningji continued: "When the time is ripe, only five divisions can be used to fight all the way south from Henan to Guangxi, and even less than seven divisions will be needed. ”

Umezu Mijiro shook his head and said: "Okamura-kun, I really don't know what you think, you attach so much importance to the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army led by the Communist Party, but you have so much contempt for the Central Army and the local army of the Kuomintang. ”

"Umezu-kun, I'm judging based on facts." Okamura Ninji said, "It's not a personal liking or dislike." ”

After a pause, Okamura Ningji said: "In the first two years of the Sino-Japanese War, of course, it was the Kuomintang army that played a leading role on the battlefield, but now, the Kuomintang army has rapidly corrupted, and only a few troops still maintain combat effectiveness, and the vast majority of the Kuomintang army has become like sand and is not vulnerable at all. ”

"Okamura-kun, I have no intention of arguing with you." Umezu Mijiro waved his hand and said, "However, in order to show my support for you, I will also exchange the 28th Division for you." ”

"Umezu-kun, is this true?" Okamura Ninji was overjoyed when he heard this.

Because the 28th Division is based on the 3rd Infantry Wing drawn from the 1st Division, the blood relationship with the 1st Division is closer than that of the 101st Division, and the blood relationship with the 1st Division is closer, which means better logistics support and replenishment of troops, so the combat effectiveness is also stronger.

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