Chapter 288

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

General Hata Shunroku also pinned hopes on this plan; after Xia Guo lost such important cities as Beiping, Taiyuan, Shanghai, and Jinling, it still refused to surrender;

it seemed Xia Guo had to be completely crushed, so the only way was to find and annihilate all of Xia Guo's main forces!

"Your Excellency Terauchi Hisaichi, the enemy's existing main forces number at least six hundred thousand; compressing so many troops into Xuzhou would require us to use a large number of troops to encircle them, otherwise we'd become a plate of dumplings—you understand, thin skin, big filling, very easy to leak the filling, and be broken through by the enemy."

After hearing this, Terauchi Hisaichi made up his mind: "This requires my North China Area Army and your Central China Expeditionary Army to both fulfill our duties, not hold back our strength, dispatch all available mobile forces, and find a way to encircle all the enemy in Xuzhou!"

"Once this goal is achieved and Xia Guo's main force of six hundred thousand is completely annihilated, you and I will be Emperor Chuo's greatest meritorious subjects! ~"

Hata Shunroku said with difficulty: "You also know the situation of the Third Division and the Sixth Division; now I only have one empty establishment left, and I have only four divisions available. To hold down the resistance forces in Jinling, Shanghai, and other places, dispatching the Thirteenth Division is already my limit!"

"No! Far from enough. Your Central China Expeditionary Army is responsible for the southern encirclement and must commit at least two divisions. Send out the elite Ninth Division, together with the Thirteenth Division, to tighten the southern side of the encirclement."

"No, if we do that, the lands we've occupied will fall into great chaos."

"We must take the long view; the opportunity must not be lost. There won't be such a good opportunity in the future. The enemy's main forces are about to gather in Xuzhou—this is a great opportunity!"

General Hata Shunroku struggled inwardly, but finally could not resist the temptation: "Fine! I'll send the Ninth Division out to assist in combat, and together with the North China Area Army, we'll encircle the enemy's main forces in Xuzhou!"

Terauchi Hisaichi was overjoyed and looked at his two army commanders below: Commander of the First Army Lieutenant General Xiangyue Qingsi, Commander of the Second Army Lieutenant General Nishio Toshizo.

Isogaya's Tenth Division and Ban Huan Zheng Shilang's Fifth Division, currently fighting in Shandong, were all troops of the North China Area Army Second Army, while Lieutenant General Xiangyue Qingsi's First Army had not yet sent out troops.

"Lieutenant General Xiangyue Qingsi, Lieutenant General Nishio Toshizo's Second Army has already sent out troops; your First Army must also dispatch troops to reinforce them!"

Lieutenant General Xiangyue Qingsi was very unhappy. In Xiangyue Qingsi's eyes, Terauchi Hisaichi was nothing but an arrogant and conceited noble.

Terauchi Hisaichi was the eldest son of former Prime Minister General Terauchi Masatake; his family was a hereditary count, pampered since childhood, and could not tolerate any opposing opinions.

Most importantly, Xiangyue Qingsi had taken the blame for his superior Terauchi Hisaichi.

After the Japanese army captured Taiyuan in Shanxi, the Eighth Route Army and National Army guerrilla forces retreated into the mountains to wage guerrilla warfare; the Taihang Mountains, Lv Liangshan, Taiyue Mountain, Zhongtiao Mountain... everywhere were guerrilla forces of the two parties.

The impatient Terauchi Hisaichi demanded that Xiangyue Qingsi's First Army continue a full-scale offensive to fully control Shanxi.

Xiangyue Qingsi opposed this, saying his forces were too few; merely ensuring stability in the occupied areas was difficult enough, and moreover, the National Army in Shanxi had already retreated into the mountains, making complete control of Shanxi fundamentally impossible.

But once an opposing opinion was voiced, the domineering General Terauchi Hisaichi gave Lieutenant General Xiangyue Qingsi a severe scolding, and Xiangyue Qingsi had no choice but to obey orders.

The outcome was predictable: Xiangyue Qingsi suffered a crushing defeat, was then scolded again by Terauchi Hisaichi, and the blame for the failure was placed on Xiangyue Qingsi's poor command.

Thinking of this, Xiangyue Qingsi began to reason against Terauchi Hisaichi's operational plan: "If the enemy truly has six hundred thousand troops pouring into Xuzhou, how many troops should we dispatch? Has Commander Your Excellency calculated that?"

General Terauchi Hisaichi cleared his throat: "With full cooperation from the Navy and Air Force, I plan to commit eight to nine divisions, about two hundred fifty to three hundred thousand troops, to join this operation and completely annihilate the enemy's main forces!"

"Hmph! Truly a desperate gamble! Our troops fighting in Xia Guo territory number only seven or eight hundred thousand."

Seeing Xiangyue Qingsi speaking sarcastically, General Terauchi Hisaichi could not sit still: "You fellow, what nonsense are you talking? I am the North China Area Army Commander; your First Army only needs to obey my orders!"

Xiangyue Qingsi said: "General Terauchi Hisaichi, your plan is sheer fantasy and wildly impractical. Committing so many troops to the battlefield—have you considered the consequences?"

"Actually, capturing Xuzhou would count as success. You still want to encircle Xia Guo's several hundred thousand main forces—isn't that inviting disaster?!"

"I simply dare not imagine: if we continue to wage war without restraint as before, recklessly opening battlefields and consuming troops indiscriminately, once our elite divisions are all killed in battle, who knows if my Great Japanese Locust Army will have any soldiers left for the future!"

Terauchi Hisaichi stood up and said: "According to you, were the Taiyuan Campaign, the Songhu Campaign, and the Jinling Campaign—expanding territory for Emperor Tenghuang—already reducing my Great Japanese Locust Army to the ends of the earth?!"

"I didn't say that. I only wish to remind you: the lessons of the Third Division and the Sixth Division are still before our eyes."

Standing beside him, Central China Expeditionary Army Commander General Hata Shunroku wiped his face, thinking, "Bringing up the wrong subject at the wrong time": "Lieutenant General Xiangyue Qingsi, I think it necessary to remind you that the operational plan we are discussing has been approved by the Imperial General Headquarters and Emperor Tenghuang. Now we are discussing specific operational plans, not whether the plan is feasible."

Fourth Fleet Commander Toyota Fuku yawned and quietly watched the generals and lieutenant generals of the North China Area Army argue.

Terauchi Hisaichi no longer cared about Xiangyue Qingsi's opinion: "Enough! Stop dragging in unrelated matters. After this battle of Xuzhou is finished, you will be transferred from your position as Commander of the First Army."

"My decision is final. The First Army will dispatch two divisions—the Fourteenth Division and the Sixteenth Division—to participate in the Xuzhou campaign!"

Xiangyue Qingsi, furious and despondent, actually lowered his head in dejection and choked out: "Large occupied areas have not yet been digested; the Eighth Route Army and National Army in Shanxi are running all over the mountains. Now we must commit our limited main forces to the Xuzhou battlefield. Thinking of our fallen comrades—what will become of our Locust Army?!"

"Drag him out!"

General Terauchi Hisaichi shouted loudly and had Lieutenant General Xiangyue Qingsi dragged away.

The Navy and Air Force officers all craned their necks, watching this unbelievable scene. They did not expect Terauchi Hisaichi to be so ruthless.

"According to my plan, for this operation, success or death! We have already committed our most elite 5th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 14th, and 16th Divisions, a total of six regular divisions, to the operation."

"Other divisions will also be committed to this operation depending on subsequent developments. In addition, I will borrow two brigades from the Kwantung Army to assist in combat!"

Lieutenant General Terauchi Hisaichi continued: "The plan is currently in its first stage. We cannot show an intention to encircle Xuzhou, but must show urgency to capture Xuzhou. All units should intensify their offensives to force the enemy to send reinforcements."

"For now, do not encircle the western side of Xuzhou. Let Xia Guo send reinforcements endlessly into Xuzhou via the railway line on the west side. However many reinforcements come, I will devour them all in the end!"