Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 897: Zhongzheng Goes North

"Your Excellency, the Division Commander, the Eighth Route Army that is fighting our army is retreating eastward."

As soon as the troops of the Northern Henan Military Sub-district retreated, the Japanese and puppet troops of the 35th Division that were engaging in a firefight with them immediately noticed it.

Similar situations were not uncommon during the three-day tug-of-war between the two sides. At the beginning, the Japanese and puppet troops would immediately push forward and try to hold on to the retreating Eighth Route Army.

However, the actual situation was not as simple as the enemy imagined. The Eighth Route Army's formation retreated but did not disperse, and there were ambushes on the flanks. The Japanese and puppet troops suffered many losses and learned their lesson.

Inside the division headquarters.

The commander of the 35th Division, Iida Taijiro, said calmly: "Order the troops to rest where they are. The imperial officers and soldiers stationed in the Imperial Army must always pay attention to the movements of their subordinates."

Finally, he added: "Try not to clash with the Imperial Army."

"Hey!" The Japanese officer who came to report retreated.

At this moment, Iida Taijiro felt that he had suffered 10,000 points of critical hit. With the same route, why was Kuroshima Morita's Independent 4th Infantry Brigade able to safely withdraw from Shangqiu to Kaifeng, while the 35th Division could not move forward since leaving Kaifeng?

  Is it that the 4th Independent Infantry Brigade is strong in combat effectiveness? Or is it that Kuroshima Morita is a good commander? Why can he do it but I can't?

In fact, the situation was quite different. Kuroshima Morita was fleeing with everyone. Although many puppet soldiers left the team along the way, the morale of the people was still high.

Yasujiro Iida led his troops to Shangqiu for reinforcement under the pretext of providing reinforcement, but his subordinates, whether Japanese or puppet troops, all knew that Shangqiu was the core of the battlefield. Wasn't this just seeking death?

There was nothing wrong with Iida Yasujiro's decision, but people's hearts did not allow him to do so. Although he placed more than a thousand Japanese troops in the puppet army, the effect was not good.

When they encountered the ambush of the Northern Henan Military Sub-district, the Japanese army was afraid of death and hid behind, while the puppet army kept attacking the Eighth Route Army's positions. Later, both sides developed a tacit understanding.

Although there was a lot of noise on the battlefield, after the puppet soldiers rushed out, they just lay on the ground and fired into the sky, and no matter how the Japanese troops behind them ordered them to do so, they would not move.

Yasujiro Iida was aware of this situation, but he had no choice. The ratio of Japanese and puppet troops under his command was already seriously unbalanced. He did not dare to really break off relations with the Imperial Army, so he could only keep all the senior officials of the Imperial Army in the division headquarters.

It was now late at night, and the high-ranking officials of the Imperial Army were staring at each other, and they all had their own plans in mind.

At this moment, a Japanese telegraph operator at the division headquarters received a telegram.

The telegraph operator was about to read it out but was stopped by Iida Yasujiro. He was wary of these high-ranking officials of the Imperial Army. After all, these people had been around the Japanese for a long time and should know some Japanese.

The telegram came from the North China Expeditionary Army Headquarters. The general meaning was that intelligence personnel had found out that Chiang Kai-shek of the Nationalist government had taken a special plane to the north during the day and had now arrived in Luoyang, where the headquarters of the First War Zone was located. Ishihara Kanji ordered the 35th Division to return to Kaifeng immediately.

"Baka!" Iida Taijiro cursed angrily. Once they retreated to Kaifeng, wouldn't it mean that all their efforts in the past three days were in vain?

Moreover, intelligence personnel affiliated with the 35th Division had long discovered that the Nationalist troops in Zhengzhou and the Changjin area north of the Yellow River were ready to move and showed signs of being ready to take action at any time.

Neither Kaifeng nor Shangqiu is safe. The difference is that the fighting has already started in Shangqiu, but at least the main force of the Kwantung Army is there, while the powder keg of Kaifeng has not yet exploded.

Iida Taijiro believed that defending Kaifeng was a dead end, and that the Imperial Army under his command was a hidden danger. He might not be willing to surrender to the Eighth Route Army, but he was very likely to surrender to the National Army. "Everyone, the superiors have ordered us to return to Kaifeng immediately. What do you think?"

The high-ranking officers of the Imperial Army immediately showed joy on their faces, after all, it was safer in the city, but Iida Taijiro felt very sad.

"Commander, it is difficult to disobey orders from above, but it is better not to move at the moment. It is too dangerous to march at night. It is better to wait until daybreak."

At the other end, the headquarters of the First War Zone was brightly lit. Chiang Kai-shek sat in the main seat, with Li Mo'an, Fan Hanjie, Sun Tongxuan and others sitting on both sides.

Chief of Staff Dong Yingbin stood in front of the map and introduced the current situation to everyone present. In fact, it was mainly for Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang always liked to interfere in the front-line fighting. His arrival made the Kuomintang generals who were ready to fight feel like they were facing a formidable enemy.

Listening to Dong Yingbin's explanation, Chiang Kai-shek nodded frequently. The National Army in the First War Zone had actually been preparing for some time, but the National Army had always been slow in military operations and could not fight whenever it wanted, which often delayed the opportunity to fight.

Such a large-scale military operation must be reported. The Ministry of Military and Political Affairs agreed, and Chiang Kai-shek had no objection and went to Luoyang in person.

The military deployment was mainly divided into two battlefields, one in Zhongtiao Mountain and the other in Yuncheng area. The First War Zone dispatched two armies to strengthen the Yellow River on the east and west lines of Luoyang, while Hu Dongdong in southeastern Shaanxi attacked Yuncheng from Fenglingdu.

The second battlefield was around the Pinghan Railway and was roughly divided into three routes. The national army in Zhengzhou advanced eastward, and Tang Enbo's troops in the Zhumadian area advanced northward along the Pinghan Line to jointly attack Kaifeng.

The national army in the Changjin area was responsible for clearing out the local puppet troops, and then also attacked along the Pinghan Line.

After the explanation, Lao Jiang began to summarize: "Everyone, all the officers and soldiers of the First War Zone are at the forefront of the fight against the Japanese invaders. This spirit and style are worthy of praise!"

"The current situation is good, and I strongly support it. The Eighth Route Army is preparing for a counterattack, and our army cannot fall behind!"

"We must have a foothold in southern Shanxi and never allow the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Eighth Route Army to interfere. The north and south of the Yellow River must be connected, and the Pinghan Railway must be firmly controlled. We must isolate the Eighth Route Army in Tainan and Hebei, Shandong and Henan."

Facts have proved that in addition to being well-versed in political intrigue, Chiang Kai-shek also had a certain vision in military strategy, but his practical skills were very poor.

He himself understood the problem. Jiang stood up and said, "I know in my heart that this trip to Luoyang has put pressure on everyone present, but this represents my determination to recover the lost territory. I hope you understand."

As soon as Chiang Kai-shek finished speaking, Li Mo'an stood up and said, "Resolutely obey the Chairman's orders, recover the lost territory, and annihilate the enemy!"

The others followed suit and expressed their loyalty. Chiang Kai-shek nodded with satisfaction. This was exactly the effect he wanted. He had decided that after retaking Kaifeng, he would go there in person.

It was not for anything else but to show the leader's style in the newspapers when the time comes. It was under his personal command that the national army achieved such a victory.

After the meeting, Fan Hanjie and Sun Tongxuan walked out side by side.

Fan Hanjie complained in a low voice: "Alas, I am afraid that there will be another unexpected change. The whereabouts of the principal cannot be concealed. Isn't this telling the Japanese army that our army will have a major military operation next?"

"Besides, it's hard to get the principal to like it!"