Chapter 441: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 451 Preparing the Southern Army

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Japanese Imperial General Headquarters.

A plea-for-help telegram from Tada Toshin, Commander of North China Area Army, lay quietly at the center of the round table.

The Cabinet convened a special meeting over the situation in North China.

Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro sat in the center, silent for a long time.

The Chief of the Army General Staff broke the silence first, emphasizing: "North China is a key point of the Zhi Na battlefield; it absolutely cannot be lost."

"If Lv Muzhi charges out of Shanxi into the plains, Emperor Chuo's years of painstaking effort in Zhi Na will come to nothing."

"For now, we must draw troops from the Kwantung Army to move south; even if we must dismantle the east wall to patch the west, we must find a way to stop Lv Muzhi's forces from entering the North China Plain."

Hardly had the words fallen when the Navy General Staff Chief, dressed in a white naval uniform across the table, laughed in anger:

"Hehe!"

"More support? How much military funding, steel, and young lives has the Army consumed for the Empire over these years! And the result?"

"I can't count on two hands the divisions you've lost."

"Even the Tank 3rd Division, built at enormous cost, has become a pile of scrap iron."

"If that money had gone to the Navy to build more ships, the Pacific Ocean would already be Emperor Tenghuang's inland lake."

The Army side exploded instantly, and the Army Vice-Minister slammed the table and rose.

"A mad dog barking indiscriminately! The Navy still has the nerve to say that? Your warships lie in port every day burning the most expensive oil, costing thousands of times more than tanks!"

"On the Zhi Na battlefield, in the end, isn't it our Army filling it inch by inch with lives?"

"Apart from firing a few harmless blank shots on the shore, what real work have you done?"

"If the Navy's military funds were given to the Army, we would have swallowed all of Zhi Na long ago!"

The accusations from both sides grew increasingly blatant, quarreling from funding allocation to strategic lines.

Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro sat on the platform, his head aching from the quarreling of both sides.

Just then, Army Minister Hideki Tojo stood up:

"I must admit, our decline in Zhi Na is already irreversible."

Hearing these words, the Navy Minister thought he had misheard—an Army Idiot actually admitting a mistake?

Due to a series of collapses on the Xia Kingdom battlefield, Xiaobenzhi's Cabinet and Army Minister were changed again and again, until there was no one left to replace behind.

Finally, the noble member Konoe Fumimaro formed a new Cabinet, took on this mess, and led this war machine of the Japanese Army to keep running.

As Prime Minister, Konoe Fumimaro harbored the ambition of sending troops south into Southeast Asia, but this touched the interests of Western European countries.

Konoe Fumimaro both feared taking responsibility and wanted this war machine of the Japanese Army to keep moving forward, so he needed a bold person to charge ahead for him.

Thus, skipping Hata Shunroku, a general with deeper seniority who had suffered defeat, he directly selected the fanatical Lieutenant General Hideki Tojo to serve as Army Minister.

A new official makes three fires upon taking office; Hideki Tojo never forgot Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro's favor in appointing him, charging ahead in place of Konoe Fumimaro and emphasizing that the Army should move south.

At this meeting, Hideki Tojo once again promoted the southward policy.

"We are bogged down in Zhi Na; why not change our thinking and turn south instead?"

"Southeast Asia has the oil, rubber, and minerals that Emperor Chuo lacks; that is where the hope of our Imperial Kingdom lies."

"Avoid this hard bone Lv Muzhi, go south to seize resources—that is the best strategy."

Hearing this, Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro's eyes flashed with a glimmer of light.

For him, the repeated defeats on the Zhi Na battlefield had already made him lose patience with the Army and made the Navy constantly complain about him.

And the resources of the south were indeed the vital fuel to keep the Empire's war machine turning, and also his own strategic goal!

Konoe Fumimaro nodded slightly, signaling those on his left and right to record: "Moving south is indeed a direction worth preparing for; after repeated major setbacks, Xia Guo inside the Pass actually no longer has the need to continue investing resources."

"Apart from the Kwantung Army and the Xia Guo Expeditionary Army, I plan to form a Southern Army to serve as our ground force for landing in Southeast Asia."

Hideki Tojo immediately said: "Your Excellency the Prime Minister is wise!"

"Since the Youth Army under Lv Muzhi is difficult to defeat, we should turn our gaze to Southeast Asia."

"The Hans State is ambitious; it and France are century-old enemies. If France is defeated, we can just seize France's colonies and occupy French Indochina!"

"When Hans and the Western European countries go to all-out war, we will then take the colonies of Britain and the Netherlands into our hands."

"According to estimates by intelligence agencies, the armies on these colonies have combat power not even as good as Xia Guo's Central Army!"

The ministers below whispered among themselves, discussing the feasibility of the plan, completely forgetting that the North China Area Army was calling for help.

Still, someone remembered the most urgent North China situation at present: "Then, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, how should the North China situation be handled?"

Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro sighed: "Alright! This is what we'll do: draw two more divisions from the Kwantung Army to support North China, and tell Commander Tada Toshin that this is the last support."

"If the fighting continues to go badly, tell him to commit seppuku directly."

"I want to put our limited strength on these two important matters: Manchuria and moving south!"

Meanwhile, in Taiyuan City thousands of li away, it was a different scene.

Today was Lunar New Year's Eve, and this ancient city, just liberated, was immersed in a festive and lively red glow.

Both sides of the streets were hung with big red lanterns, and the air was filled with the aroma of food and the gunpowder smell of firecrackers.

Lv Muzhi did not issue any ban; instead, he ordered the warehouses left by the Japanese Army to be opened.

Bag after bag of white flour was distributed to the common people—something unheard of in war-torn Shanxi year after year.

"The Youth Army is distributing grain!"

"Not only grain, but matches too! We common folk have never seen such a generous army in our lives!"

The civilians spontaneously organized yangge dance troupes, the gongs and drums shaking heaven and earth.

On the ancient city wall of Taiyuan City, the accumulated snow had not yet melted.

Lv Muzhi wore a dark greatcoat, standing shoulder to shoulder with Qiu Qingquan and Sun Liren atop the wall, overlooking the myriad lights below.

Sun Liren held the newspapers he had gathered over the past two days.

"Commander-in-Chief, look at this newspaper—it's all reporting on you and the Youth Army."

"Something like 'the great savior of Xia Guo'..."

Qiu Qingquan also came over, chuckling: "All good news; the whole country is hoping we'll push straight to Pingjin in one breath."

It's no exaggeration to say that anyone who knows two characters doesn't know the great name of the Youth Army and Lu Commander?

Yet, hearing the praise of his two beloved generals, Lv Muzhi's face showed little joy.

The old man's secret letter, earnest in tone, invited Lv Muzhi to Hankou to celebrate New Year's Eve.

But Lv Muzhi did not go.

"The old man sent a letter saying that the Japanese Army in North China is heavily deployed at every pass, the enemy waits at ease, and after prolonged fighting on the Xubeng Battlefield, the troops are exhausted; the Youth Army should not fight again. What do you two think?" Lv Muzhi posed the question to his two subordinates.

The smile on Sun Liren's face gradually faded, and he frowned: "Stop the offensive? The great battle of Xubeng has drawn in the main forces of both sides; now is when the Japanese Army in North China is weakest. To withdraw now—isn't that letting the tiger return to the mountain?"

Qiu Qingquan was even more direct: "We're exhausted, and the Japanese Army is equally exhausted. There are only three of us here, so I'll say it plainly."

"I fear the Central Government is worried... afraid that Lu Commander, commanding from afar, will end up with the tail too big to wag?"

"There are bad people inside the Central Government! We all know the story of the Twelve Gold Medals recalling Yue Fei."

"Lu Commander, you must be careful!"