Chapter 404: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 414 Small Goal

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

For this upcoming great counteroffensive to achieve a victorious start.

The old man specially convened a war zone joint conference.

The specifications of this joint conference were very high; the heads of all war zones attended in person, planning to launch a counteroffensive against the Japanese Army.

The venue was set in a heavily guarded headquarters in Hankou, with high-ranking sedans from various war zone headquarters parked outside the courtyard.

When Lv Muzhi got out of the car, his crisp general's uniform fluttered in the autumn wind.

Qiu Qingquan and Zhang Fei followed behind him, both with solemn expressions, following Lv Muzhi into the venue.

Seeing another general arrive, two guards pulled open the heavy doors of the conference room from left and right, and the originally noisy venue gradually quieted down.

Dozens of pairs of eyes looked toward the door at once, their gazes carrying scrutiny, awe, and a hint of indescribable complexity.

Commander-in-Chief of the First War Zone Wei Lihuang, Second War Zone Yan Laoxi, Fifth War Zone Li Zongren, Ninth War Zone Chen Cheng, and others... these big shots famous throughout the region had long been seated.

Although Lv Muzhi was the youngest, he was not at all intimidated.

The general officer rank on his shoulders and the Youth Corps behind him were his greatest confidence.

The old man came in last, sat in the seat of honor, and lightly coughed once.

"Gentlemen, the Japanese Army in North China and Central China has suffered heavy losses and has shifted to the defensive."

"Since this year, our army has been deadlocked with the Japanese Army, with almost no loss of cities or territory."

"I am very satisfied!"

"Only the Japanese Army in the Hua Nan region is still restless, not knowing what trick they are playing."

"But with Du Yuming's Fifth Army there, they cannot make any big waves."

The old man said this, spreading his arms and raising them one by one, looking very excited.

On the contrary, Li Zongren was not very happy; moving Du Yuming's Whampoa Clique troops to his own Imperial General Headquarters in Guangxi—any fool could see some of the trickery involved.

But Li Zongren did not openly quibble about these things; first drive away the Japanese, then slowly argue with the old man!

"The rise and fall of the nation hinges on this one move; I have decided to launch the Winter Great Counteroffensive and recover our magnificent rivers and mountains!" The old man waved his fist, looking full of heroic spirit.

Wah-lah-lah~

The generals below began applauding in perfect unison.

Chen Cheng, Tang Enbo, and others applauded especially enthusiastically.

Yan Laoxi of the Second War Zone and Li Zongren of the Fifth War Zone just went through the motions, lightly clapping their hands.

The old man watched this scene and felt very pleased in his heart.

Whether you are sincerely applauding or not, you still have to listen to my command!

After hearing enough applause, the old man pressed down with both hands, signaling them to stop applauding.

Then, he began announcing the specific offensive plans for each war zone.

"Chen Cheng's forces of the Ninth War Zone will mainly defend Wuhan and guard the fortresses along the Yangtze River."

"At the same time, take the initiative to attack some Japanese stragglers entering the Xiang-Gan region and drive them all out of the interior of Xia Guo!"

Chen Cheng stood up to receive the order, "Yes!".

"As for the Fifth War Zone, the plan is divided into two routes advancing in parallel."

"Tang Enbo's forces will be the Left Route Army of the Fifth War Zone, departing from Xinyang, heading east via the north foot of the Dabie Mountains, with the target of recovering Hefei."

"Yes!"

Tang Enbo could hardly wait; stationed in Xinyang, he had often been squeezed by Chen Minren, Commander of the Military Police Corps of the Youth Army, and dared not complain.

Now he could finally leave this place; in Tang Enbo's view, going out to fight the Japanese was much safer and more comfortable than facing Lv Muzhi's Youth Army!

"Li Zongren, command the main force of the Gui clique as the Right Wing Army of the Fifth War Zone, departing from the south foot of the Dabie Mountains, with the target of recovering Anqing."

"After the left and right route armies meet in Southern Anhui, they will join forces to launch a total attack on the Tianjin-Pukou Railway, north to capture Bengbu, control the Tianjin-Pukou Railway, then wait on standby for an opportunity!"

Li Zongren stood up, neither happy nor angry: "Yes!".

The old man's finger finally landed on the border between the First War Zone and the Second War Zone.

"The First War Zone is the focus of this counteroffensive."

"Lv Muzhi's Youth Corps will act in three routes."

"Chu Yunfei's Guerrilla Corps will operate in Northern Henan, pinning down part of the forces of the North China Area Army."

"The Youth First and Second Armies will advance north, totaling over one hundred thousand, to attack Shanxi;"

"The Youth Third and Fourth Armies will march east, totaling over one hundred thousand, heading straight for Xuzhou to capture the middle section of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway, coordinating with the Fifth War Zone on the southern section of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway!"

After announcing the deployment, the old man looked around and threw out the last sentence:

"To prevent certain individuals from not being enterprising and fishing in troubled waters."

"I have set small targets that must be achieved for each war zone; those who fail to complete them, do not come back to see me."

"The minimum target of the Fifth War Zone is to capture Hefei and Anqing, threatening the southern section of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway."

"The Second War Zone must fully cooperate with the First War Zone's actions in Shanxi, launching no fewer than fifty regimental-scale offensives against the enemy!"

"As for the First War Zone..."

Saying this, the old man paused for a moment.

The minimum combat target for the First War Zone was truly difficult to formulate.

To attack Shanxi, one must first cross the Yellow River.

But all of southwestern Shanxi was enclosed by mountains; tanks wanting to both cross the river and traverse the mountains was completely impossible.

The only landing field suitable for Lv Muzhi's mechanized unit to deploy was Fenglingdu south of Zhongtiao Mountain.

The Tongpu Railway ran through both ends of Shanxi north and south, and the southern terminus of the railway was Fenglingdu on the Yellow River.

But right now Fenglingdu was held by the Japanese Army's First Army stationed in Shanxi, guarding day and night against the Xia State Army crossing the river into Shanxi.

In the letter Lv Muzhi sent to the old man, the minimum target set was... to recover all of Shanxi!

And the telegram Wei Lihuang sent out had a minimum target of controlling Fenglingdu on the Yellow River, opening a passage for the later advance into Shanxi.

Although First War Zone Commander-in-Chief Wei Lihuang was Lv Muzhi's nominal superior, he could not move Lv Muzhi's three hundred thousand men and horses at all.

The mountains and rivers of Shanxi were like an iron barrel, and Wei Lihuang really did not dare to boast.

Regarding the argument that Lv Muzhi wanted to recover all of Shanxi.

What Wei Lihuang thought in his heart was: don't drag me into your boasting.

And among those present, the other big shot, Second War Zone Commander-in-Chief Yan Laoxi, had a very bad complexion.

Yan Laoxi had always styled himself the King of Shanxi, and the mountains and rivers of Shanxi were his old home that he had managed for decades.

Since the Japanese invaded, this "King of Shanxi" could only hide at Kunnanpo in the Jinxinan Mountains.

Now hearing Lv Muzhi say he wanted to recover all of Shanxi, Yan Lao Xi felt a mix of emotions.

There was both the desire to drive out the Japanese and the fear of others coveting his own territory.

If Lv Muzhi entered Shanxi, wouldn't the Central Army also follow into his own territory?

Yan Laoxi snorted coldly and did not believe Lv Muzhi could achieve this "minimum objective."

"General Muzi, it's good for young people to have sharp energy, but you have to eat rice one mouthful at a time."

"One hundred thousand Central Army troops are holed up in the Zhongtiao Mountain area; these Central Army troops are right on the north bank of the Yellow River, occupying Rucheng, Pinglu, and other places, without even needing to cross the river, yet they simply cannot come down from Zhongtiao Mountain to retake Fenglingdu."

"Your Youth Army still has to cross the Yellow River; Fenglingdu has Zhongtiao Mountain at its back and faces the Yellow River, looking like the landing field most suitable for your tank forces."

"But in reality, even if you take Fenglingdu and cross the Yellow River, you will still be restricted by the natural terrain of Zhongtiao Mountain and the Yellow River."

"The passage left for you to continue northward is nothing more than a narrow strip no more than two kilometers long."

"The Japanese have built a large number of fortifications there, with anti-tank cannons all available; when their main force comes south from Puzhou, they will be able to directly block your troops on the landing field."

"I'm afraid you'll be unable to advance or retreat."

"Either learn from Han Xin's Back-to-the-Water Battle, or be... be closed in and beaten like a dog!"

Fenglingdu in southwestern Shanxi indicated, red dots are the Japanese Army, blue are the Xia State Army.