Chapter 354

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

At this time, far away in Jinling, the Central China Expeditionary Army Headquarters Commander, General Hata Shunroku, directly summoned all the senior officers he could call.

Gangcun Ningci made the report first: "Commander, the naval fleet is blocked at Ma Dang Fortress and cannot advance an inch; my Eleventh Army's divisions can only fight among the rivers, lakes, and hills on the north bank of the Yangtze River without naval gun support;

progress is currently difficult, and the offensive against the Tianjiatun Fortress on the north bank is being prepared."

General Hata Shunroku looked at the naval commander, Major General Kondo, and said: "The naval warships responsible for attacking Ma Dang Fortress on the Yangtze River are simply too small in tonnage; please dispatch more powerful warships to support."

Naval Major General Kondo said: "This is not something I can decide; warships that are too large cannot enter, suitable warships have all been sent to attack Guangzhou, and the only navy that can be sent to fight on the Yangtze River is my fleet;

actually, it is that the army cooperating in the attack is fighting unfavorably, especially the Bo Tian Detachment, which suffered casualties at Ma Dang, causing Commander Gangcun's Eleventh Army to only be able to launch an attack on Wuhan from the north bank of the Yangtze River, unable to advance simultaneously from north and south!"

General Hata Shunroku asked: "Where is Major General Bo Tian Chong Yi?"

Gangcun Ningci stood up and said: "The Bo Tian Detachment used poison gas to attack Ma Dang Fortress but was countered by the enemy's Louis Poison Gas; Detachment Commander Bo Tian Chong Yi himself was seriously injured by poison gas and is being treated in the hospital.

The casualty rate of the Bo Tian Detachment has reached ninety percent.

In the Battle of Ma Dang, over a thousand were injured by poison gas, occupying a large amount of medical resources!"

General Hata Shunroku felt very helpless: "Even using poison gas shells, can we not break the deadlock...

Have the Second Army's 16th and 108th Divisions, led by the Tōgū Palace Family, turned back? I want them to continue crossing the Dabie Mountains; did they actually carry out my order?"

Air Corps Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi stood up: "Report to Commander, according to this morning's aerial reconnaissance report, the Tōgū Palace Second Army has stopped, neither going to support Huangchuan nor continuing to cross the Dabie Mountains; it seems they are caught in internal disputes."

General Hata Shunroku was very dissatisfied: "What is there to dispute about? As long as the 16th and 108th Divisions fight fast and hard, cross the Dabie Mountains to reach the north bank of the Yangtze River, and coordinate with Commander Gangcun Ningci's Eleventh Army to attack Li Zongren from front and rear, the Battle of Wuhan can be declared over!

As for the Imperial Guard Division and the Fifth Division left to guard Huangchuan, their task is to delay the Youth Army as much as possible; even if they die, they must wait until the Tōgū Palace brings the 16th and 108th Divisions through the Dabie Mountains before they die!"

Gangcun Ningci said: "Prince Tōgū Toshihiko is worried that if Huangchuan falls too quickly, he will be besieged within the Dabie Mountains;

after all, in recent battle reports, the strongest Imperial Guard Division has already directly lost an infantry group and a cavalry brigade; at this rate, Huangchuan City will soon be captured by the Youth Army, and the Tōgū Palace in the Dabie Mountains will also be unable to protect himself."

General Hata Shunroku stood up, walked to the map, thought for a long time, and finally asked: "Send my directly controlled 18th Division and 116th Division over!!!"

The Chief of Staff was stunned for a moment; the Central China Expeditionary Army commanded the Tōgū Palace Second Army and Gangcun Ningci's Eleventh Army.

Among them, the Second Army had four divisions, and the Eleventh Army had five divisions.

Besides this, the Central China Expeditionary Army also directly controlled the 18th and 116th Divisions as the Reserve Force.

"Sir! Previously, the North China Area Army was in urgent need; Chu Yunfei's Unit under Lv Muzhi crossed the Yellow River and caused trouble in Henan North, consecutively capturing Jiyuan, Qinyang, and Meng County;

therefore, the 18th and 116th Divisions have already agreed to be lent to the North China Area Army to go and suppress public order!" the Chief of Staff reminded.

General Hata Shunroku waved his hand: "Less nonsense! Where are the 18th Division and 116th Division now?!"

The Chief of Staff said: "They are currently at Bengbu; the railway bridge over the Huai River was previously blown up by Sun Liren's Unit under Lv Muzhi, and the 18th Division and 116th Division are transferring via boats and floating bridges to cross the Huai River and support the North China Area Army."

"Order them to return, travel light, and head west to support Huangchuan!"

Whispering immediately broke out in the conference room, discussing the feasibility of doing so.,

Gangcun Ningci said: "If we do this, I fear it will cause dissatisfaction from the North China Area Army; the 18th Division and 116th Division promised to go to North China for public order."

General Hata Shunroku looked as if he had seen through everything: "No need to worry about North China; Lv Muzhi doing this is nothing more than hitting a cow through a mountain.

We only need to understand that what Lv Muzhi truly cares about is actually Wuhan; everything he does is hoping we will move troops away from Wuhan!

Tell Prince Tōgū Toshihiko that I have already added two divisions to defend Huangchuan; ask him to cross the Dabie Mountains with peace of mind, without worries, and go all out to cut off Li Zongren's rear, personally handing the victory of Wuhan to Emperor Tenghuang; I will be the first to celebrate his success!"

For a moment, the battlefield situation underwent a major change.

Lv Muzhi, far away in his command headquarters in Zhengzhou, observed a strange scene.

Inside Huangchuan City were the Imperial Guard Division and the Fifth Division, two divisions; in southern Huangchuan were the 16th Division and the 108th Division; to the west, the 18th Division and the 116th Division were rushing toward Huangchuan at full speed.

Zhang Fei said in surprise: "Such a small Huangchuan City has actually tied down six Japanese divisions and over a hundred thousand men?!"

"This is more than the troops Gangcun Ningci used to attack Wuhan directly from the north bank of the Yangtze River!

On the north bank of the Yangtze River, Gangcun Ningci could only use five divisions; restricted by the lakes and hills on the north bank of the Yangtze River, the battlefield width was insufficient, and the troops could not be deployed all at once;

but here in Huangchuan, with the vast open fields, the Japanese six divisions' great army is attacking, plus our troops, the total forces on both sides are absolutely over three or four hundred thousand, enough to launch a major battle on its own!"

Lv Muzhi did not expect that the Japanese could still add two divisions on the Huangchuan front.

Among those six divisions, the 16th and 108th Divisions personally led by the Tōgū Palace were the most unfathomable to Lv Muzhi.

This unit had clearly already left the Dabie Mountains but stopped halfway for no reason, neither advancing to support Huangchuan nor retreating back to the Dabie Mountains.

Lv Muzhi could not fathom whether it actually belonged to the Battle of Huangchuan.

"That Tōgū Palace is an unstable factor; I vaguely feel that the Japanese are not unified in their opinion on the strategy to attack Wuhan.

No matter what, we must reinforce; the Second Army stays to guard Zhengzhou, let the Youth Third Army prepare to depart, and in the Huangchuan region, launch a great battle with the Japanese."

Zhang Fei also realized things were not simple and said: "I am willing to lead the Youth Third Army to support Huangchuan."

"No, there is Hu Gongnan on the Huangchuan battlefield; you may not be able to suppress him. I will go personally; you stay behind to defend Zhengzhou."