Chapter 321

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The old man finally laughed: "No need to use water to replace troops anymore; I already have the Youth Army, what do I need Yellow River water for?"

Li Zongren and Lv Muzhi smiled at each other.

"Keep the Youth Army in Henan to deter the Japanese North China Area Army; if the North China Area Army dares to send heavy troops south to support the Wuhan battle, Wei Yue, your Youth Army will immediately sortie to contain them—that is the best plan!"

Lv Muzhi said: "Exactly. Although the Youth Army does not directly enter the main battlefield of the Wuhan battle, it influences the Wuhan battle at every moment. The Japanese regular divisions have lost many men; to launch this great war, troops must be transferred from North China;

for example, the 16th Division and the Fifth Division currently on the Longhai Line—I will stay in Henan and not leave, just to see if they dare to go to Wuhan!"

The old man happily said: "Good! The Youth Army is such a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh; I think it must be further expanded. Wei Yue, two armies and six divisions of the Youth Army are still not enough!

Your forces must undergo expansion to exert maximum deterrence against the Japanese Army!."

Hearing this, Lv Muzhi had exactly this intention: "Principal is wise! Previously, two armies of the Sichuan Army were stuffed into my Third Corps; I think I can directly use the corps establishment!"

Li Zongren said: "Don't call it anything like Third Corps; just call it Youth Corps. What the Japanese Army fears is the name of the Youth Army; calling it Youth Corps externally also makes it easy for the Japanese Army to understand!"

The old man was very satisfied: "Good! Just call it Youth Corps. Organize an establishment of four armies and twelve divisions, according to your own army reorganization standards!"

Lv Muzhi calculated: "Four armies and twelve divisions, so the number of men in the Youth Corps should be between 180,000 and 200,000; this requires quite a lot of time."

The old man waved his hand: "It's fine; you temporarily stay in Henan to defend and reorganize with peace of mind. The Youth Corps is incorporated into the jurisdiction of the First War Zone; you take office as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the First War Zone."

Although he was the Deputy Commander of the First War Zone, Lv Muzhi had nothing to say, after all, the Commander-in-Chief was a senior elder of the Northern Expedition, a First-Rank General Cheng Qian.

The old man said: "Commander Cheng Qian has senior qualifications; you must listen to his opinions more. Additionally, to let you act freely, I give you another position: Commander-in-Chief of the Border Region of Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Henan Provinces!"

Lv Muzhi was stunned; as far as he remembered, the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Border Region of Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Henan Provinces was Tang Enbo's position in 1940. Tang Enbo relied on this position to directly command 400,000 troops in Henan!

Now, this position of Commander-in-Chief of the Border Region of Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Henan Provinces was intercepted by Lv Muzhi in 1938!

However, Lv Muzhi had no psychological burden; as the saying goes, no merit, no reward. As for his own merit and rank, being this Border Region Commander of Four Provinces was completely flawless; even Cheng Qian, his superior officer in the First War Zone, could not easily mobilize his Youth Corps.

In this way, after leaving the Southwest, his troops would have a stable place to settle; to the east and north, they could harass Japanese troops in occupied territories; to the south, they could support the Wuhan battle; to the west, they could even go to the Shanxi Battlefield!

"Student thanks the Principal for his cultivation!" Lv Muzhi bowed deeply to the old man!

The old man smiled richly: "With you here, I am relieved. I have sent Tang Enbo, Hu Gongnan, and them all to the Wuhan battlefield.

I want to see how many ounces the Wuhan battle, forcibly launched by the Japanese Army after their vitality was severely injured, really weighs!"

Jinling City, China Expeditionary Army General Hata Shunroku was high-spirited.

"General Terauchi, your strategy in Xuzhou has completely failed; now, it's my turn to act!" General Hata Shunroku clapped his hands, and a Japanese officer handed a plan to General Terauchi Hisaichi.

North China Battlefield, although General Terauchi Hisaichi, Commander of the North China Area Army, had obtained Xuzhou, the plan to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Xia Guo Army had failed; not only had it failed, but it was a case of losing the chicken and the rice, losing both the wife and the troops!

The final Battle of Lanfeng ended with the total Gyokusai of Tsuchiya Maru's Fourteenth Division. The First War Zone of Xia Guo and the Japanese North China Area Army faced off on either side of Lanfeng.

General Hata Shunroku of the China Expeditionary Army and the Imperial General Headquarters came up with a new operation plan again. This time, the Japanese Army really tightened their belts; every bit of war funds, every combatant, was squeezed out from every corner.

To complete the plan to capture Wuhan, General Hata Shunroku used the army headquarters to pressure the North China Area Army, making General Terauchi Hisaichi come to his own territory for a meeting.

General Terauchi Hisaichi glanced at the plan and felt somewhat pained: "This this this... it really costs too much money and soldiers, just for this last dance?!"

General Terauchi Hisaichi looked like a gambler who had already awakened and realized his mistake, advising General Hata Shunroku not to gamble anymore.

"Hata Shunroku Sauce, I am an experienced person; listen to me, don't gamble anymore..."

General Hata Shunroku cursed: "More than two months ago, you didn't say that. On that day, you boasted that you would annihilate 600,000 main force troops of Xia Guo and said you would decide the world in one battle! But in the end, even my China Expeditionary Army lost an elite regular division in North China!

Now it's my turn to take the stage, and you actually dare not cooperate? You really don't take the orders of the Imperial General Headquarters seriously, do you!"

General Terauchi Hisaichi sighed. According to what he knew, the fiscal budget prepared for the army at the beginning of this year had already been spent. For the war to continue, it could only be maintained by issuing a large amount of public debt. Now the domestic debt had reached as high as 14 billion yen, and it was still rising.

For this Wuhan battle, the Imperial General Headquarters decided to add 3 billion yen in military funds.

General Hata Shunroku said: "This operation is not an unrealistic fantasy of annihilating the enemy's main force, but simply occupying Wuhan. Wuhan, as a thoroughfare of nine provinces, is the transportation hub of Xia Guo. Capturing Wuhan will completely cut off the north and south battlefields of Xia Guo!"

In the view of the Japanese high command, this battle was worth it and feasible.

In previous battles, the Japanese Army's sieges and territorial seizures had almost all been successful, only at a somewhat disastrous cost.

For this last dance, as long as Wuhan was occupied, the activity space of the Xia Guo Army could be greatly compressed!

Overall, it was still beneficial.

General Terauchi Hisaichi sighed and asked: "What do you need me to do?"

"Lend troops! My China Expeditionary Army is seriously damaged and short of manpower. You must lend me some troops, for example, Ban Huan Zheng Shilang's Fifth Division; you must give it to me."

General Terauchi Hisaichi widened his eyes and said: "Lend troops?! There is a latest situation I don't know if you understand: Xia Guo troops are continuously heading to the outer perimeter battlefield of Wuhan."

"Nonsense, of course I know!"

"No, you don't know. Only the Youth Army—no, the Youth Corps—they actually haven't been deployed yet. Lv Muzhi is stuck in North China and won't leave. How dare I lend troops to you!"