Rise From Eight Hundred

April 4th!

Japanese North China Front Army Headquarters!

"Okabe-kun, what do you think of the 109th Division's proposal!" Indoor Shroud gently put the message in his hand on the desk and looked at his lieutenant general, chief of staff, expressionlessly.

The message in his hand came from the headquarters of the 109th Division, requesting the front army headquarters to dispatch troops to exterminate the Chinese troops hiding in the Taihang Mountains in eastern Shanxi. Otherwise, the ministries would not be able to be disturbed, even the Handan-Changchang Highway. Important transportation lines cannot be guaranteed to be safe.

It was difficult for Saburo Okabe to judge the true thoughts of his commander. After pondering for a moment, he still maintained his usual caution: "I believe that although the suggestions in Yamaoka-dono's telegram are suspected of seeking quick success and instant benefits, from the perspective of the interests of the empire, they are not Nothing is impossible.

The Chinese army in the Taihang Mountains in eastern Shanxi is becoming more powerful day by day. If it is allowed to continue to develop, they may dare to face the Imperial Army head-on one day. At that time, if we try to destroy them, we may have to pay a higher price than now! "

"It seems that Okabe-kun agrees!" Indoor Shroud nodded, but his expression didn't change much before he asked again. "Then I wonder how many troops Okabe-kun thinks the front army will need to march into the mountains to kill these Chinese troops, and what troops will be assigned to them?"

"My subordinates believe that because the Taihang Mountains are difficult to defend and difficult to attack, and our army is fighting in the mountains and is unfamiliar with its geographical terrain, we need to invest more troops, even more than the Chinese, to ensure victory." Okabe Saburo thought about it carefully and replied.

The corner of the shroud's mouth twitched slightly without any trace, his eyelids lowered and he looked at the map spread on the table, waving his hand for Saburo Okabe to continue.

Seeing that the shroud in the room did not express any objection, Saburo Okabe became bold and continued: "I suggest that the 16th Division be transferred to the east of Shanxi, with it as the main force, supplemented by the 108th and 109th Divisions, with 9 troops. road and attack the Chinese positions. If the Chinese escape, our army will burn down all the Chinese villages seen along the way and kill all the Chinese who helped them.

If they don't run to confront our army, that's good, kill them all! Eliminate the disaster in one fell swoop! "

The shroud in the room couldn't help but raised his head suddenly, looking at his usually low-key and reserved chief of staff, his eyes sparkling.

Being able to name these three divisions shows that he has convinced these three division commanders, but it is not terrible to use three divisions with nearly 80,000 troops. What is terrible is the evil thoughts of this army lieutenant general. It is really not something ordinary people can do. You can think of it.

With a permanent division of 30,000 people as the main force and two ad hoc divisions of 50,000 people as the supplement, the strength is almost the same when compared to the remaining 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese troops in Jin Province, let alone a few Chinese infantry divisions. enough.

Basically, the Chinese only have one way to escape from the mountains, but this man seems to have expected this outcome. Therefore, his real purpose is not to destroy the Chinese army who are destined to flee, but the Chinese people in the mountains.

The main reason why the 921st Division was able to slowly develop in the mountains was that the Chinese in the mountains provided them with houses and food. This was something the Japanese army knew very well.

What Saburo Okabe means is that the Chinese army can run away, but the Chinese people who have lived in the mountains for generations cannot run away. Burning the villages of those Chinese people and killing them is equivalent to digging up the roots of the Chinese army. They tried to come back, but there was nothing.

This is truly a desperate measure.

Cruel enough, poisonous enough! But extremely useful.

The roots of the Chinese army have been dug up, and the Chinese army is nothing but rootless, isn't it?

Even the shroud indoors felt the urge to agree to him at that moment.

But unfortunately, the current indoor shroud has long lost the high spirits he had when he first arrived in North China half a year ago. His mind is no longer on the feudal princes, but on how to stop making mistakes and successfully hand over the position of commander. I can feel at ease and return to my country to be a good military advisor. Maybe I can make a comeback in two or three years.

Therefore, the Japanese army general's eyes quickly dimmed, and he nodded and said: "Okabe-kun's suggestion is good, but I wonder if Okabe-kun has ever considered a problem. Opposite the 109th Division is the nearly 100,000 Jinsui Army. The 16th The division is facing tens of thousands of elites of the Chinese Central Army. If they withdraw their entire army and enter eastern Shanxi, and the hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops who have lost their oppression take advantage of the situation to counterattack, what will our army do? "

"Your Excellency, Commander, the Chinese army is already struggling under the pressure of our army. If you can give them a certain breathing space, they are already very satisfied. If you want to say that they dare to take advantage of our army's empty strength to fight back, I judge that they have no such ability. courage.

Moreover, our front army also has part of the Fifth Division in Jinzhong and the 20th Division in Shimen, which can reach the front line at any time. There are still two mixed brigades in Beiping and Tianjin in Zhengodadan, and Major General Yamashita has always hoped to lead his troops on an expedition. "Okabe Saburo heard the indoor shroud's intention to avoid fighting, and quickly explained.

At this time, the Japanese North China Front was definitely Japan's largest military group in China. It had more than 12 division-level troops and a total strength of nearly 400,000. Otherwise, it would not have the strength to participate in the Battle of Xuzhou while also fighting against the Japanese. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops are fighting in Shanxi Province, and they also need to consolidate the territory they have already occupied?

Even so, they still have some remaining strength. At least two mixed brigades and one division are mobile forces.

As the chief of staff of the front army, although Saburo Okabe could not directly mobilize, he had a clear understanding of the strength of the front army. He hoped that the indoor shroud could be persuaded.

Unfortunately, he underestimated the stubbornness of a person who was about to lose power.

For Huji Shouyi at this time, even if this battle was successful, the Chinese civilians in the mountains were wiped out, the foundation of the Chinese army was completely cut off, and the previously formulated strategy was achieved, but what good would it be for him?

Because the military order for him to resign as the commander of the North China Front Army had been signed by His Majesty the Emperor, and now he was just waiting for the Army Headquarters to decide his successor. The Emperor would never tear up the military order that had just been signed just because he won a small victory.

And if this battle was not fought well, and the army that broke into the mountains suffered heavy losses, who would be held accountable for this?

Undoubtedly, it was still him, the commander of the Front Army who signed the military order.

The Battle of Taierzhuang had already made him, the general commander, lose his position. If it happened again, could he directly announce his retirement after returning home?

To put it bluntly, if he fights well in this battle, he won't get to eat meat, but if he fights badly, he will be spanked. Unless he is crazy, Shiji Shouyi will agree to fight this battle.

Perhaps, only Chief of Staff Saburo Okabe is the only beneficiary. If he fights well, he will have half the credit. If he fights badly, there is a general commander who has been ineffective in command recently.

Shiji Shouyi knows this better than anyone else. He just wants to see how impatient his lieutenant general chief of staff is.

From the beginning, it was destined that Saburo Okabe's ambition would be in vain.

"Really! Major General Yamamoto is eager to fight? Yoshi! Then let him lead his troops to eastern Shanxi, first assist the 108th Division to defend the Handan-Changzhi Highway, and when our front army has solved the enemy in Xuzhou, we will launch a full-scale attack on all the remaining enemies in Shanxi Province. At that time, he will be given a chance to show his strengths." Shiji Shouyi replied indifferently.

"Commander, what did the division commander Yamaoka say?" Saburo Okabe, who had already realized that he had just said a lot of nonsense, looked very ugly, but he still made a final effort.

"Tell Yamaoka Atsushige that according to the strategy of the Imperial Army, the current focus of the front is in Xuzhou. Whether it is logistics or land aviation, resources will be tilted towards Xuzhou. If he is confident that he can still inflict heavy damage on the enemy in the mountains without air support from the front, I can sign his agreement to his combat plan." Inner Chamber Shouyi was too lazy to raise his eyelids. He raised his hand to take out a brush from the pen holder and spread a piece of rice paper on the table, as if he was going to write.

The general meaning was just like sweeping the floor with a broom.

"Hi! I will convey the commander's intention to him." Saburo Okabe's face flushed, and he nodded to Inner Chamber Shouyi with difficulty, and turned to leave.

He knew that this time, the combat plan he made with the three lieutenant generals of the 108th, 109th and 16th divisions was completely ruined.

Okabe Saburo did not have the ambition to become the commander of the front army in one step. The North China Front Army was full of important generals, including Shiro Sakamoto, Doi-maru, Isogai, and Kagawa Tsukasa, who were not veteran lieutenant generals in charge of elite troops. No matter how they were ranked, they could not be ranked above him, the lieutenant general chief of staff who came to gild his reputation.

He was accumulating military merits for his return to the Kwantung Army. The positions of several major divisions in the Kwantung Army were also popular, and there were many people who wanted to go there. Although the big bosses above had already promised, it was not a sure thing as long as he did not take office. He had to make more efforts.

Unexpectedly, the old fox, Shiji Shouyi, would rather not do it than help others. If he had known earlier, he would have enjoyed the beauty of Honjima sent to him a few days ago, and let this old man eat the leftovers. Okabe Saburo complained angrily in his heart as he walked.

As for Shiji Shouyi's statement that the 109th Division could fight on its own if it wanted to, and he could sign and agree, Okabe Saburo did not take it to heart at all.

Not to mention the battle a few days ago, Gu Tengchang led nearly 5,000 troops and was still beaten to pieces by an infantry regiment. Even if there was no such battle, the 109th Division would not have rushed into the mountains stupidly.

China's 921st Division is simply a group of lunatics. They will turn that mountain into the graveyard of the 109th Division.

The Japanese army temporarily gave up the plan to invade the Taihang Mountains, but this does not mean that the Chinese army in the Taihang Mountains will take it lightly.

In order to prevent the Japanese army from retaliating, the 921st Division launched a message tree plan around the garrison.

That is, every village must have militia standing guard on the hill. Once the Japanese army is found, the half-cut tree on the hill will be pushed down immediately. The whole village, young and old, must move immediately, and the militia stationed in the village will immediately report to the garrison closest to the village.

The 921st Division headquarters will organize various units to carry out corresponding blocking according to the number of invading Japanese troops.

The 683rd Brigade was even more prepared for this time. Not only did they not hold a celebration banquet, but they also used the captured Japanese weapons to quickly replace 12 all-Japanese infantry companies. The replaced rifles piled up like a mountain, but they were not empty.

Perhaps Brigade Commander Cheng had already made plans. He took one infantry company from each of the 772nd and 771st Regiments as the backbone, and two infantry companies from the Supplementary Regiment, and gathered militias from 50 villages around the garrison to form a brand new infantry regiment, named the Independent Regiment.

The battalion commander Xiao Ding, who Tang Dao had always wanted, was directly appointed by Brigade Commander Cheng as the head of the Independent Regiment, which completely cut off Tang Dao's thoughts.

In the past, this young battalion commander died in battle at the end of this year. Now he has become a regiment commander, and like his former regiment commander, he has embarked on a different path from the past.

Perhaps, fate will also be different from before!

After this battle, the 683rd Brigade has expanded its strength by nearly 1,500 people. It has two main regiments, 771 and 772, and two reserve regiments, the supplementary regiment and the independent regiment, totaling four infantry regiments. Together with the brigade's direct troops, the total strength exceeds 10,000 people.

As for the Four-line Regiment, Tang Dao sent a special squadron to conduct daily latent reconnaissance training, sending about 10 groups of 20 people every day. One group will survive in the wild for 48 hours, and the farthest reconnaissance range is 15 kilometers away from the station.

Obviously, it is extremely unreasonable for such a high-intensity reconnaissance operation to be carried out by only 60 special forces.

After the battle of Xiangtangpu, the special squadron first announced the plan to expand into a reconnaissance company to the entire regiment and recruited soldiers for the entire regiment.

As long as they pass the assessment, they can become the reserve soldiers of the reconnaissance company. In addition to the original military salary, each person will receive an additional five yuan subsidy per month.

This is also the military salary standard that distinguishes the officers and soldiers of the original special squadron from other officers and soldiers of the Four Lines Regiment. They have the hardest training and are often in the most dangerous battlefields during battles. They have better food and treatment and receive higher military salaries. No one can say anything.

Tang Dao also personally issued military orders to all battalions and companies. The reconnaissance company wants the elite of the elite. Anyone who is favored by the reconnaissance company cannot be stopped by any battalion or company.

Obviously, this military order from Tang Tuanzuo could not stop the company commanders who valued their own land very much. They did not dare to do it openly, but they did their homework in private. As a result, in the first two days, the assessment organized by Lao Hei and Gu Xishui did not even start, and there were very few applicants.

Then, Tang Tuanzuo had to use his trump card: for every elite soldier sent to the reconnaissance company, the battalion company will add five new soldiers, reward a pack of cigarettes and ten kilograms of candy, and when the new standard pistols are equipped to the troops, the number of soldiers sent by the infantry company will be ranked and equipped according to the ranking.

There are not many things, and it is unknown when the pistols will be equipped, but it is an honor to send elite soldiers.

The company commander did not want his soldiers to be looked down upon by the reconnaissance company, and finally his infantry company ranked last, which would be a shame.

Even Li Jiujin, who is stingy, was a little overwhelmed after seeing Tang Tuanzuo's "killing people and destroying their hearts" reward plan, and instead ran to Gu Xishui to get a backdoor.

"Brother, you know me, your brother. As long as your brother needs it, I, as your brother, will do it for you at the cost of my life." Li Jiujin's face was full of impassioned speech, and if you didn't know, you would definitely be moved to tears.

Unfortunately, Gu Xishui is no longer the innocent young man he was back then, especially when he went to Li Jiujin two days ago to ask him to recommend a few veterans. The veteran also patted his chest in front of him, and turned around to hand over a list of three people to the special squadron.

One of them was a new recruit who had just joined the army for less than three months. Even if he performed well, he was still a new recruit and had participated in less than three battles in total; the other two had military service years that were not fake, at least two years of service, but one of them was shot in the arm by a machine gun bullet in the battle of Beiganling and lost half of his arm. He is still lying in the medical team, and the other was shot in the head and is still not awake at this moment.

Gu Xishui was so angry that he cursed on the spot, but the veteran only left a deputy company commander to receive Gu Xishui. In his words, he talked to him according to the corresponding level and simply didn't even show his face.

As a result, when Tang Tuanzuo used this trick, Li Jiujin came over shamelessly again, and even claimed that he would do it for you even if he risked his life. Whoever believes his lies again will not believe Gu Xishui, and he snorted coldly and rolled his eyes.

"Hey, why don't you believe your brother? Have you forgotten that when we followed the Tuanzuo to rush out of the warehouse at the Sihang Warehouse, did I rush in front of you?" Li Jiujin jumped up directly.

This is true. When the old soldier was risking his life, he was really on the verge of death. Later, according to him, his brain should have been shrunk at that time, absolutely shrunk.

Facing this brother who didn't want to be a traitor, Gu Xishui had no temper and stretched out his hand unhappily: "Give me the list. If there are less than fifteen people, you will not be my brother Jiujin in the future, and I will not be your brother Xishui."

"Fuck, you can guess this, it's incredible, incredible." Li Jiujin exclaimed indifferently.

15 people, he chose them after weighing all the pros and cons. According to his estimation, half of the 15 people can be admitted, at most 10 people, so that the infantry company will not be too hurt, nor will it be ranked last.

After all, there are 9 infantry companies, 3 fire support companies, and several direct companies in the regiment. As long as they are not ranked in the bottom three, it will not be too embarrassing.

"Humph! Everyone knows that you, Li Da, are the most cunning. If you hadn't come to me today, Lao Hei, the captain, would have said that just because you are stingy, I don't want any soldiers from your 7th company in the reconnaissance company." Gu Xishui snorted coldly.

"I spit on him, Lao Hei, do you believe it? He is so good that he has forgotten the time when we dug a pit in a trench together! He is not a good person, Xishui, don't learn from him." Li Jiujin jumped high again.

"Let me spit on your face, you old soldier. You should learn from you, a bastard, right? You just take care of your own little piece of land every day." Lao Hei strode in from outside the house and also did not show any displeasure to his old comrade.

The chief and deputy chief officers of the special squadron had been humiliated by the company commanders two days ago. If they don't get back now, it will be a miracle.

"Brother Hei is back. The list is for you. Remember to give me some face during the assessment. Take half of the 15 people. Don't be too many or too few. That's it. I'm leaving." In front of his old comrades, Li Jiujin always said that if I am not embarrassed, you will be embarrassed. After telling his true intention, he immediately left.

"This guy is really smart!" The two looked at the list without any water this time and smiled bitterly.

They also knew that if they were to be the company commanders, they would probably jump up and down.

But this time, Tang Tuanzuo said that the reconnaissance company would rather be short than unqualified. If the infantry company was affected by this, he would find a way to make up for it.

Li Jiujin's backdoor exit was really meaningless. The chief examiner of the assessment was Tang Dao himself, and no one dared to do anything about it.

That evening, the reconnaissance company received registration lists from various companies, with a total of more than 300 people, all of whom were veterans, but the final number of admissions was only 100.