Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 863 Main Force Gathering

Zhou Weihan said seriously: "Mr. Terauchi, Shangqiu's geographical location is too important, so our army had no choice but to attack Shangqiu. Please understand this!"

Terauchi Yong on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds: "Mr. Zhou, I don't have the intention of launching an attack to accuse you. I think that even in the current situation, there is still room for cooperation between you and me!"

"To be honest, Terauchi-kun, I think so too!" Zhou Weihan was stunned when he heard this. He thought that he would have to waste more time talking, but he didn't expect Terauchi Isamu to go straight to the point and state his intention.

As Zhou Weihan said, before the main force of the Japanese army arrived, these counties along the Longhai Railway must be attacked, but the extent of the attack could still be negotiated, for example, some Japanese and puppet troops could be left behind.

Shangqiu, as the forward base for the Japanese army's attack on the Hebei-Shandong-Henan base, is the key target of this attack. Terauchi Isamu's younger brother, Kuroshima Morita, is the chief of staff of the Independent 4th Infantry Brigade stationed here and is currently trapped in Shangqiu City.

Shangqiu can be taken but cannot be held, otherwise the troops defending Shangqiu will easily become an isolated force. The reason why it became the key target of this attack is mostly because of Kuroshima Morita.

Ever since the news of the Kwantung Army's deployment was confirmed, there has been no news from Terauchi Isamu, and it seems that he wants to cut ties with the Eighth Route Army. How could Zhou Weihan allow Terauchi Isamu to let him down at such a critical moment?

However, Terauchi Yong did not show any concern for his brother's safety, so Zhou Weihan continued, "So what kind of cooperation will this time?"

"Mr. Zhou, I have received accurate information. The Kwantung Army's southward reinforcement of the Southern Army is just a false message. The real target is your Eighth Route Army. The Kwantung Army has dispatched the 12th, 14th, 57th, and 71st Infantry Divisions and a Tank Brigade, plus the Guards Division, with a total of about troops."

Terauchi Isamu did come with sincerity, and the person on the other end of the phone seemed to be reading a script, revealing all the details of the Japanese army's personnel structure.

"Although I don't know the specific deployment of troops, the commander of the Second Front Army this time is Yamashita Fengwen. Mr. Zhou, if I'm not mistaken, my former boss Yamashita Fengwu died at the hands of your people?"

"Over the years, Yamashita Fengwen has been investigating the cause of his brother's death. You came from Tainan, so whether Yamashita Fengwu died in the hands of your people or not, this hat will definitely be put on your head, and he will definitely command the battle on the Longhai Line in person!"

The two sides discussed for a while and finally decided on two plans regarding Shangqiu. In the first plan, the brigade commander Araki Sadahiro was killed in battle, Kuroshima Morita gathered the remnants and broke out to Kaifeng, and the Eighth Route Army recaptured Shangqiu.

Second, the brigade commander Araki Sadahiro died in battle, and Kuroshima Morita led his troops to hold out in Shangqiu until the main force of the Japanese army arrived. After the main battle between the two sides broke out, he secretly tampered with the Japanese army's supplies.

The first plan can be implemented as long as the Eighth Route Army is willing, but the second plan is a bit far-fetched and sounds nonsense.

"I don't quite understand why Terauchi Isamu still leaked key information to our army at the critical moment of the life-and-death battle between the two sides, and was even willing to make secret moves. After all, he is a Japanese!"

"At present, the enemy and our troops have already started fighting. It is a taboo in military strategy to rashly change the issued combat orders!"

Zhao Bingzhang didn't know Terauchi Isamu and was even a little skeptical of what he said, but seeing that Zhou Weihan and Terauchi Isamu were having a good conversation, he could only express his attitude in other ways.

"It's very simple, because the interests of both sides are deeply tied together, Terauchi Isamu has no choice. If the final result of this battle is our victory, then even if I can release Kuroshima Morita for his sake, the power that Terauchi Isamu has been operating on the Longhai Line for a long time will be lost. Will he be willing to accept this?" "If the Japanese army wins, then with the main force of the 35th Division being annihilated by our army, other Japanese divisions will surely be stationed on the Longhai Line in the future, and Terauchi Isamu's previous efforts will also be in vain, and he still needs to slowly rebuild it!"

Zhou Weihan looked at Zhao Bingzhang: "In this situation, what would you choose?"

"We can only choose the lesser of two evils!" Zhao Bingzhang knew that he couldn't change Zhou Weihan's mind, so he could only follow his will: "Then which option should we choose!"

"The second type is that most of the Japanese 12th and 14th Divisions are veterans who have fought in the war for many years. These soldiers are different from the new recruits who joined the army later. They have a lot of blood on their hands. The people in Shangqiu City may be affected!"

The most easily overlooked thing in a war is the deaths and injuries of civilians, and the civilians are also the most easily affected. Zhou Weihan had not considered this aspect carefully before, but he made up his mind after listening to the information revealed by Terauchi Isamu.

Zhou Weihan glanced at the time and said to Zhao Bingzhang, "You go to the 16th Brigade in person and ask them to advance to the city of Shangqiu before dark. They must capture Shangqiu before noon tomorrow, and then have all the people in the city evacuate to northern Anhui!"

Zhou Weihan did not have a direct contact with Kuroshima Morita in Shangqiu City, but the underground intelligence station in the city had many exchanges with Kuroshima Morita. Zhou Weihan directly sent a spare code book to Kuroshima Morita.

After successfully making contact, Kuroshima Morita said that the uprising could take place tonight, but his own safety and that of his men had to be guaranteed.

Yucheng was not far from the front-line position, and Zhao Bingzhang took only more than half an hour to reach the headquarters of the 16th Brigade by truck.

Li Yunlong was the commander-in-chief of the front line of the Shangqiu Campaign. The main force of the 16th Brigade was responsible for launching offensives from the north and west. Xin Tiebing led the remaining troops of the 16th Brigade and the First Regiment directly under the Military Region to attack from the east. A regiment of Jing Dagang's 13th Brigade was deployed on the south side.

Since the county town that guarded Shangqiu had been occupied by the Eighth Route Army before, it lost its strategic depth early on and became an isolated city. Therefore, when the formal combat order was issued, the participating troops cleared the outer strongholds and fortifications very quickly.

The 15th Brigade of East Henan and two core regiments of the Southwest Shandong Military Sub-district attacked Minquan from the north and south, while the two main regiments of the Northern Henan Military Sub-district approached Lanfeng from Yankaocheng.

The 14th Brigade of Wuqin successfully annihilated a Japanese and puppet army that came to support Yangwu from Kaifeng with a regiment from the Northern Henan Military Sub-district acting as bait. The th Teaching Brigade did not participate in the battle for the time being, but was responsible for keeping an eye on the Japanese and puppet troops in Xuzhou in Dangshan.

Overall, the troops that initially participated in the battle around the Longhai Line in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region included four brigades of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Column, six local regiments, and six artillery battalions, with a total strength of 55000 people.

All these troops were put into the initial offensive against the Japanese and puppet troops of the 35th Division, in order to kill them in one blow in the shortest possible time. Judging from the current situation, the initial battle on the Longhai Line will soon come to an end.

(End of this chapter)