Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 866: The Eighth Route Army of Hebei, Shandong and Henan is a strong enemy

As the headquarters of the North China Front Army, Peking was a veritable political center. However, with the transfer of the 69th Independent Mixed Brigade to Linfen and the replacement of the th Division to Zhongtiao Mountain, the Japanese army's garrison in Peking became increasingly weak.

The mobilization of Japanese troops led to frequent assassinations around Peiping, and Japanese soldiers would go missing from time to time. In the eyes of the Japanese army, underground personnel from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were becoming more and more rampant.

On that day, the residents of Peiping clearly felt that the Japanese army's vigilance had been intensified. The number of military and police officers had increased significantly, and the movement of people was prohibited along the streets from outside the city to Tieshishi Hutong. Even the houses and businesses along the street had to keep their doors and windows closed.

A convoy quickly drove into the city of Beiping and then headed towards Tieshishi Hutong.

"Do you see clearly?"

The man clung to the crack of the second-floor window and waited until the convoy disappeared from his sight before turning his head: "It would be strange if I could see it clearly, but judging by the noise and the scene, it must be an important person!"

Another person said, "Our superiors asked us to pay more attention to the movements in Beiping. This person is most likely from outside the Great Wall. Let's find a chance to leave the city and report to our superiors!"

After all, Peking was the headquarters of the Japanese army, and the investigation and monitoring of underground personnel from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party had never stopped. Unless there was a major emergency, they would generally not send messages in the city.

Tieshishi Hutong, the headquarters of the North China Front Army.

As the commander of the North China Expeditionary Army, Ishiwara Kanji led a group of officers to personally greet the visitor in front of the building, which shows the high status of the visitor.

"Mr. Ishihara, long time no see!" the visitor greeted warmly.

"Mr. Yamashita, welcome to Peking!" Ishiwara Kanji replied.

The two Japanese generals entered the headquarters building surrounded by a group of Japanese officers. Only after the two entered the office did the other Japanese officers disperse.

Ishiwara Kanji was four years older than Yamashita Tomoyuki. Although they had never worked together, Japan was small in population, and the two were alumni of the Army University. Later, they both joined the Japanese military, so they were quite familiar with each other.

It's just that their family backgrounds and personalities are completely opposite. Ishiwara Kanji came from a privileged family and was always proud of his talent. He was well-known for being aloof in the Japanese army.

In contrast, Yamashita Tomoyuki came from a rural family and was able to rise to prominence in the Japanese military thanks to his father-in-law's connections. He was greedy and lustful.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Yamashita Fengwen said, "Mr. Ishihara, I'm very sorry. Due to the internal affairs of the Kwantung Army Headquarters, the trip was delayed for a few days. The warriors of my Second Front Army will arrive in Tianjin one after another tomorrow!"

"I have carefully studied the previous battle plan and I think it is too conservative. The four divisions heading south this time are experienced warriors, and the 12th and 14th divisions are even Type A divisions. What kind of waves can the Eighth Route Army stir up?"

Yamashita Tomoyuki's arrogance made Ishiwara Kanji somewhat helpless. Before this, the North China Front Army and the Kwantung Army had been arguing endlessly over combat plans.

As the host, Ishiwara Kanji proposed concentrating the strength of four divisions to advance along the Pinghan Railway, implementing the strategy of first north and then south, and giving priority to a large-scale mopping-up operation in the Beijing-Tianjin area. However, this plan was regarded as a cowardly act by the generals of the Kwantung Army.

Yamashita Tomoyuki believed that it was possible to fight on two fronts and to engage in a decisive battle with the main force of the Eighth Route Army, with priority given to solving the problem in the areas around the Longhai Line where the Eighth Route Army's activities were most rampant. In the end, this plan was passed.

Seeing Ishihara Kanji remain silent, Yamashita Tomoyuki felt a little unhappy. Both of them were commanders of the front army, and their status was equal. Moreover, the North China Front Army needed help, so there was no need to be too cautious in words. "Mr. Ishihara, you must understand that the current focus of the empire is in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region. Commander Terauchi requested reinforcements from the headquarters. Our army should have been under the Southern Army, but was temporarily transferred here because of the deteriorating situation in North China. This battle should be fought quickly!"

"Although Private Tojo is a useless idiot and has ulterior motives in removing me from the Kwantung Army's combat sequence, at least it is in the interests of the Empire in terms of grand strategy!"

Ishiwara Kanji shook his head. He had no intention of getting involved in domestic struggles. Being outside the political vortex, he could see things more clearly.

Yamashita Tomoyuki was once a backbone of the Imperial Way Faction. Because of the February 3000 Incident, two generals, General Jiro Minami, commander of the Kwantung Army, and General Honjo Shigeru, chief military attaché, were put into the reserve, and nearly officers were transferred in an unprecedented manner.

Fortunately, with the care of Terauchi Hisaichi, he was dispatched from the Director of the Military Investigation Department of the Army Ministry to the Commander of the 40th Infantry Brigade stationed in Korea. Later, he served as Chief of Staff of the North China Front Army. This is also the reason why Terauchi Isamu was able to obtain relevant intelligence.

Hideki Tojo, the current Japanese Prime Minister, Army Minister, and Interior Minister, is a core figure of the Control Faction. As the domestic struggle in Japan becomes increasingly fierce, there are signs that the Imperial Way Faction will be reinstated by the Japanese Emperor.

So Hideki Tojo took the opportunity to transfer Yamashita Tomoyuki from the Kwantung Army to weaken the influence of the Imperial Way Faction within the Kwantung Army.

Ishihara Kanji continued to persuade him, "Mr. Yamashita, the Eighth Route Army in Hebei, Shandong and Henan is a formidable enemy whose strength cannot be underestimated. As the commander of the front army, you must be responsible for the warriors under your command. The holy war of the Great Japanese Empire cannot tolerate any more omissions!"

"The 35th Division received another report of defeat yesterday. I think that since the situation has deteriorated to this point, it would be better to abandon it!"

However, most Japanese have one thing in common, that is stubbornness, and this character trait is fully reflected in Yamashita Tomoyuki.

"Tsk tsk!" Yamashita Fengwen stood up and looked at Ishihara Kanji carefully, then said sarcastically: "Ishihara-kun, you are really a qualified commander!"

"Zhou Weihan is a great threat to the empire. I will definitely take his head this time to comfort the many brave warriors of the imperial army and the spirit of my brother in heaven!"

On the other hand, that night, intelligence from all parties was summarized in Zhou Weihan's hands.

"It seems that the person who appeared in Peking was Yamashita Tomoyuki. He came here by plane. The Kwantung Army Division set off by train yesterday. The first batch will arrive in Tianjin tomorrow!"

"So, if the Japanese army marches south without stopping, they can reach Xuzhou the day after tomorrow at the earliest. After a short rest, the main force of the Japanese army can reach Shangqiu on the 21st!"

"It seems that the initial operations on the Longhai Line can be temporarily ended!"

The second batch of Japanese reinforcements that set out from Kaifeng were unsurprisingly defeated by the Northern Henan Military Sub-district and the 15th Brigade. The Japanese and puppet army's garrison strength in Kaifeng City had dropped to freezing point.

Fortunately, seeing that the situation was not good, Kuroshima Morita boldly adopted the tactic of detouring to the south and successfully avoided the main force of the Eighth Route Army and arrived in Kaifeng, and finally provided 8000 Japanese and puppet troops to Kaifeng.

According to the latest intelligence provided by Kuroshima Morita, there are currently 15,000 Japanese and puppet troops gathered near Kaifeng, of which only more than 3,000 are Japanese troops.

At this point, the initial battle on the Longhai Line was basically over. This battle annihilated more than 14,000 Japanese troops from the 35th Division and the Independent 4th Infantry Brigade, as well as nearly 30,000 puppet troops from various routes.

A lot of weapons and equipment were seized, but not much ammunition of various types. This was also the reason why the Eighth Route Army was able to achieve a great victory in this battle, as the Japanese and puppet troops did not have much ammunition to begin with.