Chapter 204

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Soon, two strongly worded protest notes were sent to the Shanghai Expeditionary Army Headquarters, one from the United States and one from Ying Guo.

Commander Matsui Iwane directly summoned Division Commander Fujita Susumu and Division Commander Ying Sen Xiao to his headquarters, throwing the protest notes in their faces.

Fujita Susumu looked at the protest letter in his hand, his face alternating between green and white; not to mention the heavy casualties among tanks and infantry, the air force sorties not only failed to destroy the Sihang Warehouse but lost two planes, and the remaining one nearly caused a major disaster, bringing diplomatic trouble.

"Ying Sen Xiao! Look at the good thing you've done!" Fujita Susumu vented his anger on regimental commander Ying Sen Xiao.

Ying Sen Xiao kept his head down, also actively taking the blame for the division commander: "Your Excellency Commander, it is this subordinate's incompetence... but the defenders of the Sihang Warehouse indeed have strong firepower..."

"I don't want to hear any buts, I just want the Sihang Warehouse!" Matsui Iwane clenched both fists tightly, shaking his head in anger.

Division Commander Fujita Susumu was very embarrassed; this Sihang Warehouse simply could not be taken, could he really learn from the Jinshanwei landing operation and charge up with two regiments and over seven thousand men?

At Jinshanwei there was at least an enemy brigade, but this Sihang Warehouse had only one battalion, completely not worth it.

Moreover, other division commanders were busy pursuing the main force of Xia Guo's retreat, and he still had to worry about a Sihang Warehouse in the rear; he really felt terrible inside.

Matsui Iwane cursed: "Don't you understand, the Sihang Warehouse concerns the face of our Emperor Chuo, this is international attention!"

Division Commander Fujita Susumu said softly: "Your Excellency, Xia Guo has an old saying: face brings suffering..."

"What?" Matsui Iwane glared at Division Commander Fujita Susumu, about to flare up.

Prince Asaka-no-miya Yasuhiko walked in at this time, looking very happy.

Seeing Prince Asahiko's expression, Matsui Iwane couldn't help but ask: "Your Highness is so excited, could it be that a great victory was won at the front?!"

Division Commander Fujita Susumu also had an expectant expression; the Japanese forces on the Songhu Battlefield really needed a great victory to boost morale!

"Not a victory won, but you, Your Excellency Matsui Iwane, congratulations on your promotion!!!" Prince Asahiko said joyfully.

"According to the order of the Army General Staff, the Central China Expeditionary Army is now formally established, subordinate to the Shanghai Expeditionary Army and the Tenth Army, two armies;

the commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army shall be you, General Matsui Iwane, the commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army shall be me, Lieutenant General Prince Asahiko, and the commander of the Tenth Army shall continue to be Lieutenant General Yanagawa Heisuke!"

Hearing this news, Matsui Iwane couldn't help but smile; unexpectedly, he didn't win a battle but got promoted instead! Where could one find such a bargain?

Prince Asahiko was also very excited, because this meant his subordinates would also have an army to command, and the Shanghai Expeditionary Army fell into his hands.

Prince Asahiko's Shanghai Expeditionary Army had six divisions: the 3rd, 9th, 11th, 13th, 16th, and 101st, plus a Shigetō Detachment.

Yanagawa Heisuke's Tenth Army had three divisions: the 6th, 18th, and 114th, plus a Kunisaki Detachment.

Whether Prince Asahiko or Yanagawa Heisuke, both were now directly under the jurisdiction of Matsui Iwane's Central China Expeditionary Army.

However, this Central China Expeditionary Army commander Matsui Iwane, with nine divisions and two detachments under his command, was now stumped by a tiny Sihang Warehouse!

"Report to Your Excellency Commander, Commander Yanagawa Heisuke of the Tenth Army has arrived at Shanghai!" a staff officer reported.

Matsui Iwane no longer cared about the Sihang Warehouse and went to meet the commander of the Tenth Army, after all, this was one of his right-hand men.

On the wharf, Commander Matsui Iwane and Prince Asahiko met Yanagawa Heisuke; after the Tenth Army suffered a big loss at Hangzhou Bay, they transferred their forces to the Shanghai Main Battlefield.

"Sigh! If I had known earlier... why bother back then!" Yanagawa Heisuke said trembling.

Prince Asahiko advised: "Your Excellency, cheer up a bit; at least you have successfully landed now, isn't landing anywhere still landing? Isn't landing at Shanghai the same?"

Seeing Prince Asahiko made Yanagawa Heisuke angry: "Then why didn't I land at Shanghai from the start? Why did I have to run to Hangzhou Bay and eat dust? Paying the price of ten thousand dead?"

Matsui Iwane sighed: "First, I didn't expect the enemy's defense at Hangzhou Bay to be so strict; second, I didn't expect the enemy's main force to retreat directly while Hangzhou Bay had not yet fallen, preventing the Tenth Army from playing its due role."

Yanagawa Heisuke was very dissatisfied: "Such an unexpected thing; I lost ten thousand men, I'm afraid that was also unexpected for you, right?"

Matsui Iwane was stunned; as a subordinate, Yanagawa Heisuke was actually so angry, this was also unexpected for him.

The new commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, Prince Asahiko, said: "Alright, Your Excellency Yanagawa, now the task of your Tenth Army is to advance south by land and attack Zhang Faku's right wing army; perhaps the enemy's main force is still at Hangzhou Bay, and you can go take revenge on them."

Yanagawa Heisuke composed himself; he couldn't deal with Zhang Faku's right wing army at sea, this time on land, he must make the right wing army suffer, especially a brigade of the Youth Army's Zhang Fei within it!

After arranging Yanagawa Heisuke's Tenth Army to advance south and attack Zhang Faku's right wing army, the Shanghai Expeditionary Army side still had big trouble.

Lv Muzhi had prepared three defensive lines for the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, one loose and two tight; the first line was the Kunshan to Taicang line, a relatively loose first defensive line.

This first defensive line, because the left side was close to the Yangtze River Estuary, was easy to suffer harassment from the Japanese navy and not easy to hold for long.

However, this was also a small sweet treat Lv Muzhi prepared for the Japanese, showing weakness to the enemy; after the Japanese took the first defensive line, they would advance deep into the second and third defensive lines with peace of mind.

The second and third defensive lines were the two tight ones in one loose and two tight; the Wufu Line was the second line, the Xicheng Line was the third line, with strict defense; the north bordered the Yangtze River, and the Yangtze waterway was laid with a large number of naval mines and shore defense cannons; whether it was the Japanese navy or army, they would not die but would lose a layer of skin.

As for the Japanese Tenth Army, they also had to face double difficulties.

Zhang Faku's right wing army also had a national defense work for defense—the Zhapingjia Line; after passing the Zhapingjia Line, the Japanese Tenth Army would most likely borrow the route via Huzhou City on the south bank of Taihu to attack Jinling, and Huzhou City was now also a strictly defended city.

In short, Matsui Iwane's two forces: the Shanghai Expeditionary Army had to face three defensive lines of one loose and two tight, while the Tenth Army had to face two strict checkpoints.

At this moment, Lv Muzhi, inside Suzhou City, met Liu Xiang of the Twenty-third Group Army, and also met the brother units of the Twenty-third Group Army.

As the Twenty-third Group Army of the Sichuan Army, it had two armies and six divisions, fully equipped, overall German-equipped, with equipment level above that of ordinary Central Army units, slightly inferior to reorganized German-equipped divisions like the 88th Division; it was also considered the result of Liu Xiang's many years in Sichuan, and it had now entered the Wufu Defense Line.

"Brother Wei Yue, cough cough, finally you've come!" Liu Xiang stretched out his hand to welcome Lv Muzhi.

"Brother Fu Cheng, I hope you've been well!"