Chapter 482: I Won't Tell You Now

Chen Cixiu looked at Sun Zhen, "Missing me? You didn't want me to come, did you?!"

Sun Zhen hurriedly stepped forward: "Lao Chen, how could that be? The way you say that makes it sound like my Sichuan Army doesn't welcome you."

"I'm not coming!" Chen Cheng glanced at Sun Zhen and Xue Yue: "Neither of you took me, this War Zone Commander, to heart. Inside the War Zone Command, I was completely in the dark, knowing nothing."

Chen Cheng picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Speak up, what kind of battle plan are you brewing?"

At this moment, Yu Hua stepped forward: "Commander Chen, our operational plan is to encircle and annihilate the 106th Division, look..."

As he spoke, Yu Hua walked over to a huge map and began to explain the operational plan.

At first, he thought Chen Cheng was about to explode, but he didn't expect that he was just blaming Xue Yue for not taking him along to "play."

At the 22nd Group Army headquarters, after finishing his phone call, Chen Cixiu looked at Sun Zhen and Xue Yue with a smile, "Tonight, we can give the Japanese 106th Division a burst of fire first."

After receiving Chen Cheng's order, Ning Dabiao thought for a moment and decided to transfer the heavy artillery assisting the 18th Army to Wanjialing.

Ou Zhen bit the bullet and entered the headquarters, then leaned into a corner, hoping Chen Cixiu wouldn't see him.

As for things like the Japanese Type 92 Infantry Gun and Type 41 Mountain Gun, the 18th Army was already well-equipped with them, and 82mm mortars and 60mm mortars were also distributed down to the battalion and company levels.

Therefore, Ning Dabiao called Huang Wei, saying he needed to transfer four heavy guns away; this was an order issued by the War Zone Commander.

Even when facing the big shots of the Guangxi Clique, Li Delin and Bai Zhuge, Xue Yue would still slam the table with them.

Subsequently, right there in the 22nd Group Army headquarters, Chen Cheng called the 91st Division Commander Feng Zhanhai, the 187th Division Commander Sun Kequan, and the Reserve 6th Division Commander Ji Zhangjian.

Immediately following, Chen Cheng began to reveal the latest military intelligence to Xue Yue, Sun Zhen, and the others: "The Black Chamber of the Hankou Headquarters has deciphered the latest Japanese telegrams."

"You... you..." Chen Cixiu's hands pointed at Sun Zhen, Xue Yue, Yu Hua, and Liu Zhangqing, who was hiding to the side.

He hoped Huang Wei's 18th Army would not let down Commander Chen Cheng's trust.

They really hadn't expected that the little devils had actually reinforced their troops, and that eight or ninety thousand of them had come at once!

He told them to quickly lead their troops to Wanjialing, carrying weapons, ammunition, and medicine; as for food, bring only instant noodles, and discard everything else.

"You don't talk about loyalty at all. With this little bit of strength, I'm afraid you won't be enough to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 106th Division."

If he had been able to hear Chen Cheng's roar earlier, he wouldn't have come to the Group Army headquarters at this time no matter what.

When Xue Yue heard this from the side, his eyes lit up!

The two artillery regiments directly under the War Zone were equipped with German-made artillery—the German-made Bofors Mountain Guns!

Xue Yue had already learned of the power of the Bofors Mountain Gun during the Battle of Songhu. Now, with one company from the 11th Heavy Artillery Regiment joining the battle with four Japanese heavy guns, this greatly increased the Chinese side's artillery firepower.

Xue Yue also hadn't expected that Chen Cixiu's reaction would be so intense upon learning of the operational plan, which really made things a bit difficult for Xue Yue.

"At the same time, the two artillery regiments directly under the War Zone, the Artillery 1st Regiment and the Artillery 2nd Regiment, plus one company from the 11th Heavy Artillery Regiment, will join the battle."

The grenade launchers ensure there are two per squad and six per platoon.

The four Japanese heavy guns were the relatively advanced Type 96 150mm heavy guns in the Japanese artillery units; this thing's power was no worse than the German-made Rheinmetall heavy guns.

"In order to successfully achieve the plan to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 106th Division, I am transferring the troops directly under the War Zone to join the encirclement battle at Wanjialing together."

Just as Xue Yue was about to step forward to soften his stance toward Chen Cheng, he saw Chen Cheng blurt out a sentence that made Xue Yue's eyes widen.

Chen Cixiu, standing to the side, listened, his eyes fixed on the three of them, and then he roared: "Such an important operational plan..."

"Units like the 5th Division, 16th Division, 10th Division, etc., will all head south one after another to support the Japanese troops on the Wuhan Battlefield."

"The Japanese have recruited a new 6th Division in their country composed of police and reservists; this time, the Japanese reinforcements are about 90,000 men."

At the entrance of the headquarters, Ou Zhen had just stepped inside when he heard Chen Cixiu's angry roar; he was now in a dilemma.

First, the 18th Army occupied the advantageous terrain; in the sky, the Republic of China Air Force would sometimes come to assist in the battle, and the 18th Army had also strengthened some of its firepower.

"Since we are going to take out the Japanese 106th Division this time, we must do it early. According to the Black Chamber's estimates, the Japanese reinforcements arrived at Jinmen Port and Shanghai's Wusongkou yesterday."

"Hiss—!" Suddenly, Yu Hua, Sun Zhen, Xue Yue, and the others all gasped in unison.

After all, Huang Wei's 18th Army had very formidable combat effectiveness within the National Revolutionary Army; this army was Chen Cixiu's original force, and their military skills were top-notch.

Huang Wei agreed. Now that the 18th Army had held off the attack of the Japanese 27th Division, Huang Wei had nothing to worry about in transferring four heavy guns away.

Inside the 22nd Group Army headquarters were the Sichuan Army's operations staff officers, the staff officers brought by Chen Cixiu, and the operations staff officers under Xue Yue.

At the same time, the officers and orderlies inside the 22nd Group Army all lowered their heads, pretending to be busy with their own work.

"The Imperial General Headquarters, in order to take Wuhan as quickly as possible, formed three Independent Mixed Brigades from within the country. These Independent Mixed Brigades are large in size, with one Independent Mixed Brigade having 8,000 men;"

"They also newly formed a division with over 29,000 men, and on top of that, Inaba Shiro's 6th Division was previously completely annihilated by the Sichuan Army."

"By the way!" Chen Cixiu turned his head and walked to Sun Zhen's side: "Lao Sun, you said earlier that the Sichuan Army's 'big treasure' had arrived, what kind of big treasure is it?"

Seeing Chen Cixiu's angry face, Yu Hua's heart skipped a beat: "No way? Is this operational plan going to fall through?"

Chen Cixiu was interested now, and at the same time, Xue Yue also cast his gaze toward Sun Zhen.

"I've looked at the terrain you chose, it's very good!"

At the same time, the Artillery 1st and 2nd Regiments were also rapidly moving toward Wanjialing. As for Ning Dabiao's 11th Heavy Artillery Regiment, the two heavy artillery battalions under his command were currently assisting Huang Wei's 18th Army and Shang Zhen's 32nd Army.

Shang Zhen's 32nd Army had slightly worse combat effectiveness compared to Huang Wei's 18th Army; if the heavy artillery units were transferred away, the defensive line of Shang Zhen's troops would certainly face great pressure.

After Chen Cheng finished speaking, he drank some more tea to moisten his throat, "Lao Xue, Lao Sun, I am very satisfied with your operational plan. Let's do this."

"According to the discussions between the Central China Area Army and Okamura Yasuji, as soon as the newly arrived troops reach our country's territory, they will be the elite Japanese divisions stationed in Central and North China."

Speaking of the current military system, Chen Cheng and Xue Yue were quite impressed; if it had been any other general, he would have slammed the table by now.

"You... each and every one of you... actually didn't take me along."

Seeing Chen Cheng blurt out this sentence, it almost made Yu Hua throw out his back.

Sun Zhen grinned: "What big treasure?"

"I'm not telling you now; tonight, you'll be able to see it."

(End of this chapter)