Chapter 333

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Meanwhile, inside Hefei City.

Inside the Second Army Headquarters, Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

The four division commanders attached to him sat solemnly, awaiting the final command of this imperial prince commander.

Lieutenant General Iida Sadakazu, commander of the Imperial Guard Division, finally could not help but speak: "Your Highness, we have been stationed in Hefei for over half a month; when exactly will we launch our attack?"

"Lieutenant General Okamura's Eleventh Army suffered a setback at Ma Dang Fortress; now it is our turn to show our mettle on the northern front."

Fifth Division Commander Itagaki Seishiro shook his head upon hearing this: "Caution is paramount. Our army advances west along the corridor between the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains and the Huai River, launching a flanking attack on Wuhan;"

"The enemy facing us is nominally Central Army units under Hu Gongnan and Song Xilian, seemingly not worth worrying about, but the war will be pushed into Henan Province……"

He paused, "That is the defensive zone of the Youth Corps; we are very likely to encounter Lv Muzhi's troops there."

The two division commanders of the Sixteenth Division and the 108th Division also nodded slightly, agreeing with the view of Fifth Division Commander Itagaki.

These Central Army or local forces facing us are not taken seriously by them; the area north of the Dabie Mountains is not as fortified as Ma Dang Fortress on the Yangtze River, and the Japanese army is still confident of pushing straight through.

What is truly to be feared is the main force of the Youth Corps stationed near Zhengzhou; its vanguard can rapidly rush south via the Pinghan Railway to provide reinforcements.

Although the main force of the Youth Corps did not directly participate in the Battle of Wuhan, its impact was greater than direct participation; not only must the Second Army of the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Army, which was flanking Wuhan, fear it, but even the North China Area Army to the north must sleep with one eye open.

After all, the Youth Corps' record of annihilating regular Japanese divisions is too numerous to count on one hand.

However, Imperial Guard Division Commander Iida Sadakazu was full of impatience.

As the Imperial Guard Division belonged to the Emperor's Imperial Guard Army, he, as its division commander, considered himself superior to others.

The Imperial Guard Division had a lavish organization; not only did it have two infantry brigades, but it was also assigned a cavalry brigade and a field heavy artillery brigade;

Its direct units even included anti-aircraft, engineer, supply, as well as railway, balloon, and telegraph regiments, with paper combat strength far exceeding that of a regular division.

Of course, this was only paper data.

The Imperial Guard Division's last actual combat was the Russo-Japanese War over thirty years ago.

"Itagaki says so much, nothing more than fearing Lv Muzhi," Iida Sadakazu said with sarcasm, "I see you were scared by the Youth Army at the Battle of Xuzhou?!"

Itagaki Seishiro's face darkened: "Nonsense! During the Battle of Xuzhou, my division did not engage the Youth Army directly, so what is there to fear?"

"What is there to fear?" Iida Sadakazu sneered, "You were routed by a part of the Eighth Route Army at Pingxingguan.

I heard that the commander of that Taoist Eight Route was a Whampoa Class 4 graduate, and is actually Lv Muzhi's student and junior.

You can't even defeat his student, and now seeing Lv Muzhi himself of the Youth Corps, are you so scared your legs have gone soft and you can't walk?"

"Bastard! What do you know!" Itagaki Seishiro slammed the table, pointing at Iida Sadakazu and cursing, "The Imperial Guard Division has long resided in Tokyo, living in luxury, nothing but a vase; where is there any actual combat power?!"

"The Youth Corps is formidable, absolutely beyond your imagination."

"The waters of the China battlefield are too deep; you cannot grasp them!"

"Quiet, all of you!"

Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

This member of the imperial family finally sat back in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over everyone: "My troops have not moved for a long time, not because we fear the Youth Corps, but because there is greater trouble to the north."

The four division commanders' expressions turned serious, and they listened intently.

Greater trouble to the north?

"In the Manchuria region, the Russians have been moving frequently lately," Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko pointed to the map, "This is Zhanggufeng, a disputed territory. Currently, the Russians are reinforcing troops in that area and accelerating the construction of fortifications."

"Imperial General Headquarters judges this to be the Russians' response to our launching the Battle of Wuhan."

Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko withdrew his hand, clenched his fist, and said: "Therefore, Imperial General Headquarters has strictly ordered my Second Army to remain in Hefei for now and observe the Russians' movements."

"Once there is a major change in Manchuria, the Second Army must immediately abandon the Wuhan combat mission and march the entire army north."

Upon hearing this, Iida Sadakazu became even more excited: "The Russians? My Imperial Guard Division has not fought the Russian army in over thirty years!"

"Your Highness, I request that my division be immediately transferred to the northeastern border region!"

Itagaki Seishiro, however, was worried; he had once been as arrogant as Lieutenant General Iida Sadakazu, but having come all the way from the China battlefield, his initial spirit was long gone, and he could only say objectively:

"Whether the Chinese and Russians have any relationship is truly hard to fathom; if they truly join hands……the situation in China will become extremely dangerous."

"I hope the 19th Division stationed at Zhanggufeng can remain restrained and absolutely not act rashly."

Thus, Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko's Second Army just stayed put in Hefei, lingering for a long time, and still had not launched the planned offensive north of the Dabie Mountains.

Meanwhile, Okamura Yasuji's Eleventh Army, although it broke through the first defensive line at Ma Dang, became bogged down in a bitter battle before the Changshan Position; Ma Dang Fortress still could not be broken through, and the progress of the Battle of Wuhan was seriously obstructed.

But at this moment, what the Japanese high leadership was truly anxious about was not the Battle of Wuhan, but the increasingly intense standoff at Zhanggufeng; once the conflict escalated, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Inside Imperial General Headquarters in the Japanese homeland.

Field Marshal Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko said: "According to the urgent report from Lieutenant General Kamei Kizō of the 19th Division, the Russians are indeed continuously reinforcing troops in the Zhanggufeng region and fortifying defensive works."

Army Minister General Sugiyama Gen immediately spoke: "We absolutely cannot clash with the Russians at this time.

If we open two battlefields simultaneously, the Empire truly cannot support it!"

Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko nodded: "This is also the holy will of Emperor Tenghuang."

"The General Staff should immediately telegraph Lieutenant General Kamei Kizō; the 19th Division must remain restrained, attempt to negotiate with the Russians, and is strictly forbidden from starting hostilities on its own."

At this time, Navy Marshal Prince Fushimi-no-miya Hiroyasu spoke in a deep voice: "The army's forces are already deeply mired in the China battlefield, and Xia Guo shows no sign of submission, while the Russians are eager to try!"

"The war has dragged on and become a quagmire of attrition; if the holy war is to continue, then for now, the only option is to support war by war!"

He stood up and walked to the map, pointing to the south of Xia Guo, saying: "The rubber and oil resources in the Indochina region to the south must be included in the Empire's plans as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, our war resources will eventually be exhausted, and we will be dragged down by the Xia State Army instead."

Navy Minister Admiral Yonai Mitsumasa loudly agreed: "The Marshal is absolutely right!"

If the Army cannot achieve a decisive victory on land, the future of the Empire will ultimately have to rely on the Navy seeking a breakthrough to the south!

Our Navy's powerful fleet can serve as the breakthrough means to continue the Holy War!

Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko neither agreed nor disagreed, only letting out a long sigh: "The Emperor is considering it; we'll discuss it later."

What is most urgent now is to secure that large-scale conflict does not occur at Zhanggufeng, and absolutely do not drag the Russians into the battlefield!

I remind you one last time: the Army General Staff must once again warn Lieutenant General Kamei Kizō that he must strictly obey Imperial General Headquarters orders and is not permitted to voluntarily attack the Russians!

There are already enough commanders on the Zhi Na Zhan Chang battlefield who disobey orders and act on their own; I do not want more trouble on the Manchu-Soviet border, interfering with the Empire's overall strategic decisions!