Chapter 278: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 278 Li Zongren's Troubles

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Xuzhou, Fifth War Zone Headquarters.

"Wei Yue, it's decided. The Ninth Group Army, as an elite force of the Fifth War Zone, commands three armies: the Youth First Army, the Youth Second Army, and Song Xilian's Seventy-First Army."

Li Zongren held the report approved by He Yingqin and introduced Lv Muzhi to the latest composition of the Ninth Group Army.

The current Ninth Group Army has six divisions of the Youth Army and two divisions of Song Xilian's, totaling eight divisions.

Song Xilian's Seventy-First Army's two divisions were originally the German-equipped Thirty-Sixth Division and the German-equipped Eighty-Seventh Division; the former Eighty-Seventh Division commander Wang Jingjiu was transferred to the Third War Zone to fight.

Lv Muzhi nodded: "After the reorganization, the Ninth Group Army isn't much different from before; it's just that my Youth Army has a larger share and more men, with total strength reaching 110,000."

After hearing this, Li Zongren paced with his hands behind his back under the huge map on the wall and said: "The Youth Army, after reorganization and rest in Wuhan, is incomparable to before. The organized Ninth Group Army has formidable strength; if used properly, I have no worries."

"Commander, rest assured. I, Lv Wei Yue, will not act recklessly just because I rely on my direct troops. As long as you command properly, the strength of the Ninth Group Army will be used properly."

Li Zongren laughed heartily. He had previously been somewhat worried about suppressing Lv Muzhi, after all, how could the commander of 110,000 elite Central Army troops so easily obey a Guangxi clique leader like himself?

"With those words from Wei Yue, I feel much more assured. I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth War Zone, and you are the Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Operational deployment certainly isn't decided by me alone; we'll discuss it together.

Currently, with Xuzhou as the center of the North China Battlefield, we mainly face two major enemy groups: the North China Area Army of the Japanese in the north and the Central China Expeditionary Army of the Japanese in the south. The pressure is immense."

The Central China Expeditionary Army in the south was formerly the Central China Area Army. After capturing Jinling, the Central China Area Army was disbanded on the spot, the Shanghai Expeditionary Army and the Tenth Army were directly abolished, and the Central China Expeditionary Army was established.

The former Central China Area Army commander, General Matsui Iwane, was dismissed on the spot, and General Hata Shunroku took office as commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army.

General Hata Shunroku took over this ruined mess from General Matsui Iwane's hands.

The Central China Expeditionary Army originally left for General Hata Shunroku had six divisions—the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 13th, 18th, and 101st Divisions—and the 3rd Flight Group.

But what was actually taken over from Matsui Iwane lacked Fujita Susumu's 3rd Division and Gu Shoufu's 6th Division; only four divisions were obtained.

The two absent divisions had long been wiped out on the spot by Lv Muzhi, which gave the newly appointed General Hata Shunroku a terrible headache.

The North China Area Army to the north, commanded by General Terauchi Hisaichi, oversaw the Eleventh Army and the Twelfth Army. Not counting special troops, the entire Area Army had eight divisions and many mixed brigades, with very strong forces.

Lv Muzhi analyzed: "The North China Battlefield centered on Xuzhou shows the enemy strong in the north and weak in the south. Their next phase target must be to pinch my Fifth War Zone from north and south, annihilating all effective forces of the Fifth War Zone on the Xuzhou battlefield."

Li Zongren put his hands on his hips: "Exactly. The enemy is coming aggressively, and my Fifth War Zone will be attacked from both north and south. Not to mention the North China Plain is suitable for Japanese mechanized troops to deploy. What I could originally rely on were only miscellaneous troops from various places. Now that you've brought this mechanized elite brigade, I am truly delighted!"

"You flatter me. Where are my troops worthy of being called mechanized troops? The Central China Expeditionary Army to the south has already clashed with me, and I also want to meet the North China Area Army to the north."

Li Zongren immediately pointed at the map and said: "Good! I've been worrying about this. The Fifth War Zone is a plain war zone supported by railways. The Tianjin-Pukou Railway runs north-south, and the Longhai Railway runs east-west. The two railways cross at Xuzhou, forming a crossroads.

Now, because Han Fuqu fled at the first sign of wind, the two important towns north of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway, Jinan and Taian, have been successively occupied by the Japanese Isogaya Division.

I previously heeded your warning and urgently dispatched Tang Enbo's Twentieth Army Group to Taian to resist. Although it delayed them for some days, Taian eventually fell into enemy hands.

Now, on the northern section of the Jinpu Road, the next key point we are contesting with the Isogaya Division is Jining City."

Hearing that Tang Enbo had previously gone to support Taian, Lv Muzhi asked: "Tang Enbo's Twentieth Army Group is considered elite. Are they easy to use?"

Li Zongren hesitated, but still answered truthfully: "I originally thought Tang's Army Group was an elite force, so I gave them the task of going north to Taian to block. Their combat capability is indeed decent, but Army Group Commander Tang Enbo is somewhat disobedient. He supported Taian for a few days before retreating to Jining..."

"It doesn't matter. My troops are still on the Beiping-Hankou Line. Let Tang Enbo hold out for a few more days. When the time comes, I will send troops to support Jining. I will definitely block the Isogaya Division... no, directly annihilate them!"

Hearing the words Lv Muzhi spoke, Li Zongren was stunned.

The elite Tang Enbo Twentieth Army Group also commanded three armies, yet it struggled just to block the Isogaya Division's southward advance, while Lv Muzhi actually spoke of annihilating Isogai Rensuke's Tenth Division!

Although Li Zongren had heard of the Ninth Group Army's achievements, especially the Youth Army's record in Shanghai and Beiping, he still found it hard to believe such results could be achieved on the North China Battlefield.

After all, the Japanese army also knows how to run. To annihilate the Isogaya Division is certainly not something accomplished in a day or two.

Lv Muzhi said: "Commander, what needs to be done now is to make Tang Enbo hold fast at Jining, absolutely not letting him retreat easily, until my troops enter the field to support."

"That is exactly what I worry about. I may not be able to mobilize Tang Enbo's Army Group. I can see that Tang Enbo always executes my orders with a discount. He doesn't refuse on the surface, but always cuts corners. Do I have other good troops on hand to commit?"

"Linyi to the east and Bengbu to the south both need troops for defense. Before all my troops have arrived, my forces are still insufficient."

During this conversation with Li Zongren, Lv Muzhi felt that Li Zongren was also in a difficult position in this role.

The Fifth War Zone could be said to be a mix of dragons and snakes, with the Central Army, Guangxi Army, Northeast Army, Northwest Army, local Security Regiments, and so on. How to be fair and impartial is truly a test of skill.

Now he was temporarily in a situation where no one could be used. Thinking of this, Lv Muzhi thought of a fresh force.

"The Sichuan Army's Twenty-Second Army Group, defeated and retreating from the Second War Zone in Shanxi, is now resting in Luoyang, right on the Longhai Railway line. I'll file a report and can immediately recruit them into the Fifth War Zone."