The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 486: Planning for the Battle of Southern Guangxi
As soon as He Wei said this, everyone in the conference room focused their attention on He Wei. Many people had very strange expressions, and many people looked at He Wei with an expression that showed "this guy is abnormal."

Indeed, Minister Xu has just stated clearly that today's meeting is to plan the Xiangbei battle, and you just brought up Guangxi right away, which is really confusing.

Many people were still secretly complaining in their hearts, wondering if He Wei had suffered a brain injury and was losing his mind from leading troops in the front line fighting the Japanese for a long time?

There were also a few people who wanted to show off their power in front of others and flaunt their official positions and subconsciously wanted to rebuke He Wei for his nonsense. However, after realizing He Wei's current importance, they all rationally chose to keep silent and instead looked at He Wei with unfriendly eyes, which implied the meaning of "You don't have the right to talk nonsense here."

Xu Yongchang was also stunned by He Wei's shocking words. He looked at He Wei in surprise, thought for a moment and nodded, then said with interest: "Oh? Guangxi, please tell me in detail why you have such an opinion."

Xu Yongchang's performance immediately made the officers in the conference room feel that Xu Yongchang valued He Wei. If someone else had talked about something off-topic in the meeting, he would have been reprimanded long ago. How could Xu Yongchang continue to ask questions with interest?
Moreover, He Wei had just been named by Minister Xu himself. Minister Xu's series of actions made the officers in the conference room once again feel the importance of He Wei now.

He Wei thanked them loudly, and then slowly told his thoughts: "Minister, this is what I think. Although the Japanese army has captured Wuhan, the price they paid was also extremely high. Casualties, ammunition, and material losses were all not small. Although our army lost territory, it also achieved extremely significant results. Moreover, our troops participating in the Battle of Wuhan have gradually moved to the border areas of Hunan, Guangdong, and Jiangxi, and the strength of the troops has been well preserved. Although the Japanese army has the momentum to attack northern Hunan, if our army responds to the Japanese attack with an active defensive tactical attitude, we can wait for the Japanese army to tire out and win. The probability of repelling the Japanese army is extremely high. Therefore, I believe that as long as our army actively fights according to the established plan, northern Hunan and Changsha will be as stable as Mount Tai."

"But if we consider the overall situation, the Japanese army may also make some moves in other directions at the same time or after launching a large-scale offensive against Xiangbei."

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, Xu Yongchang asked again: "Do you mean that the Japanese will take action against Guangxi?"

"Minister, this is exactly what I mean. Since the beginning of the war of resistance, the Japanese army has been attacking cities and seizing territory in North China and East China, encroaching on our territory. Now they are plotting to seize Changsha in northern Hunan. Our country has suffered heavy losses and lost a lot of territory, but the Japanese army has also suffered heavy losses. Therefore, I believe that in the next combat operations, the Japanese army may not only attack cities and seize territory on the front battlefield as a means of abusing our country, but it is very likely to attack our country's lifeline of foreign aid, cut off our international transportation lines that communicate with the outside world, and thus prevent our country from receiving external aid, forming a blockade. They will combine this tactic with the fierce attack on the front battlefield, and then continue to plot against our beautiful land. The fall of Guangzhou last year is the best example."

After He Wei finished speaking, the conference room fell into silence. Minister Xu fell into deep thought, and the officers in the conference room also fell into deep thought.

The fall of Guangzhou mentioned by He Wei refers to the Guangzhou Campaign in October last year, when more than 21 troops from the 5th, 18th and 104th Divisions of the Japanese 4st Army set out from Qingdao, Shanghai and Dalian respectively, assembled in the Taiwan Strait and Penghu Islands, landed in Daya Bay, and launched an attack on Guangzhou.

The 12th Army of the Fourth War Zone of the Chinese Army, which was deployed along the coast of Guangzhou, was caught off guard and had its defenses dispersed. It was unable to resist after being suddenly attacked by the Japanese army and was eventually defeated by the landing Japanese troops. Guangzhou fell into the hands of the enemy.

The fundamental purpose of the Japanese army in launching this campaign was to cut off the international transportation line from Hong Kong Island to the mainland, resulting in the National Government no longer being able to import various military strategic materials purchased and aided from overseas through the Hong Kong Island-Guangzhou line. A valuable international aid transportation line was thus cut off.

This incident not only had a very bad impact on the overall situation of the National Government's war of resistance, but also caused a lot of negative impact on the development and construction of the Assault Corps. The Assault Corps purchased a lot of supplies from Hong Kong Island. After the fall of Guangzhou, these large quantities of purchased supplies had to be smuggled into the mainland from other regions, causing the Assault Corps to spend a lot of extra money out of thin air.

The reason why He Wei said that the strategic focus should be placed on Guangxi was not because he was talking nonsense after being suddenly named by Minister Xu, nor was it that he wanted to say something shocking. In fact, as a time traveler, he was well aware of the basic trend of historical development, and Minister Xu just mentioned the fall of Guangzhou last year.

Therefore, when he was named, he suddenly thought of the Japanese army's plot against China's international transportation lines during the War of Resistance.

After the fall of Guangzhou, China's main international transportation line from Hong Kong to the mainland was cut off. However, China was still able to import some supplies from the Xijiang area along the coast of southern China, Shenzhen, Shantou, and the Guiyue Highway, Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, and Yunnan-Burma Highway. Therefore, if the Japanese army wanted to blockade China and put China's war of resistance in a desperate situation, they had to start with these international transportation lines.

The coastal area of ​​South China where Guangxi is located, and the Guiyue Highway are also important international transportation lines in the country during the War of Resistance. A large amount of supplies are also imported into the country from the Guangxi coast and the Guiyue Highway.

And if He Wei remembered correctly, in the original history, the Japanese army launched a landing in Guangxi at the end of this year, with the goal of cutting off the Guiyue Highway in Guangxi and severing China's other major international transportation artery. They directly attacked Guangxi, captured Nanning all the way, and occupied the dangerous pass Kunlun Pass.

Immediately afterwards, the famous Battle of Kunlun Pass during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out. The elite troops of the National Army, led by the Fifth Army, launched a counterattack on Kunlun Pass, which ended in a tragic victory for the Chinese army. After the great victory at Kunlun Pass, the Japanese army continued to send reinforcements to Guangxi and counterattacked, regaining Kunlun Pass, causing the victory that the National Army had won at a heavy price to disappear again.

Afterwards, the two armies had a large-scale tug-of-war in the southern Guangxi region. It was not until the Japanese army took the initiative to retreat into Vietnam that the national army launched a pursuit and recovered the entire Guangxi region. This was the entire process of the Battle of Southern Guangxi, which was originally won first and then lost. Although the course of the entire battle cannot be said to be extremely bad, there are many regrettable aspects. Now the national army has made comprehensive preparations for the Changsha Battle, and He Wei knows that the Japanese did not gain any advantage in the first three Changsha battles and even suffered a lot of losses, so He Wei does not need to care about it. As for Guangxi, He Wei does feel that he should intervene, and according to his memory, it seems that the Japanese army suddenly attacked Guangxi and landed on the coast of Guangxi in a few months.

Although due to his existence, the entire process of the Battle of Wuhan has been completely changed compared to the Battle of Wuhan in the original timeline, the time for the Japanese army to occupy Wuhan has been greatly delayed, and the casualties in the Battle of Wuhan have also been greatly increased. He is now unable to be sure whether the Japanese army will launch an attack in the direction of Guangxi according to the original timeline. However, in line with the principle of being prepared, He Wei still expressed his concerns about the Guangxi direction, hoping to alert the top leaders of the National Government in advance.

The Battle of Wuhan has been completely changed by this little butterfly named He. If the National Government had been prepared for the Battle of Southern Guangxi in advance and carried out various preparations and strategic arrangements in advance, I think the Battle of Southern Guangxi would have been very different because of him.

Moreover, according to He Wei's memory, it seemed that the Japanese army only deployed one division and one reinforced brigade in the early stage of the Battle of Southern Guangxi. The scale of this force was not very large. If he intervened in advance and warned the National Government, it might be possible to greatly change the Battle of Southern Guangxi, or even create a completely different Battle of Southern Guangxi.

In the dead silence, Minister Xu savored He Wei's speech, with an indecisive look on his face. He nodded and said again: "Although our meeting today is about the strategic plan discussion of the defensive battle in Xiangbei and Changsha, since our Military Affairs Department is responsible for the formulation of the national military's combat plan, the defense in various places cannot be neglected. Since He Wei said that the defense in the Guangxi direction should be emphasized, you might as well explain it more clearly and in detail."

"Yes! Sir, according to what the Ministry just said, the Japanese army is very likely to attack our country's international transportation lines. After the fall of Guangzhou, our country's international transportation lines are as follows. First, there are the sea routes in places such as Xijiang along the coast of South China. Secondly, there are several roads such as the Guiyue Highway, the Yunnan-Vietnam Highway, and the Yunnan-Burma Highway. Among these international transportation lifelines, Guangxi's position is particularly important, especially the southern part of Guangxi, that is, the strategic position of southern Guangxi. Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Province, is located at the end of the Guiyue Highway in my country, and controls the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway and the Yunnan-Burma Highway in western Yunnan, which are equivalent to the core hubs of two international transportation lines. Its importance needs no further explanation."

"More importantly, the Guangxi coast is an excellent landing site for the Japanese army, which has a powerful navy. The Japanese army used a sudden landing attack when attacking Guangzhou, and then launched a fierce attack with lightning speed. Therefore, I believe that the Japanese army will use the same old tricks again, using the navy fleet to cover the army landing on the Guangxi coast, and then directly cut off the Yunnan-Vietnam Highway, thereby further blocking and destroying my country's international transportation lines. There is a high possibility."

"Moreover, from the perspective of military topography and military geography, attacking in the direction of Guangxi, especially after capturing Nanning, the Japanese army can not only directly cut off our two external supply lines, the Yunnan-Vietnam Highway and the Yunnan-Burma Highway, but also use this area as a base to lead to Guangdong, Hunan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. The Japanese army can attack everywhere based on this, so attacking in the direction of Guangxi is very beneficial to the Japanese army and has many benefits."

He Wei's voice was sonorous and powerful, and he analyzed in a very organized manner the possibility of the Japanese army launching an attack in the direction of Guangxi. Every word he said was extremely certain, and the conference room fell silent again.

Minister Xu frowned even deeper, and those officers who had just been a little annoyed by He Wei's digression in the meeting, now fell into deep thought, because every word and sentence of He Wei was extremely reasonable, and they couldn't help but think deeply about it.

It was not until five minutes later that Minister Xu came back to his senses from deep thought. When he looked up, he saw He Wei still standing straight and not sitting down, so he said, "He Wei, what you said makes sense, but today we are still mainly discussing the Xiangbei battle. When you go back, organize your thoughts into a paper and submit it."

"Yes!"

He Wei responded politely before sitting down. The little episode in the strategic plan discussion meeting for the Xiangbei campaign was over. Next, the meeting continued, and its content and topics returned to the strategic plan for the general battle centered on Xiangbei and Changsha. The discussion atmosphere of the meeting was very lively.

The entire meeting lasted from the morning until about three in the afternoon, but He Wei was like a transparent person during this period and did not express even a single word of opinion. Except for chatting with a few officers of the General Staff Department whom he knew during lunch at the General Staff Department, he kept silent for the rest of the time. All he thought about was how to use his influence to plan the Battle of Southern Guangxi which was very likely to break out in a few months.

After the meeting, He Wei began to write a strategic analysis opinion letter overnight on the possibility that the Japanese army would invade southern Guangxi according to his own ideas. According to his memory, there are still at least a few months before the original timeline when the Japanese army suddenly landed in Guangxi and launched an attack. If his proposal could be taken seriously by his superiors and the national army could prepare in advance, then when the Japanese really took action, the national army would be much calmer instead of being caught off guard by the Japanese army as in the original timeline.

By then, it would be best if He's assault corps could also be pulled up to fight the Japanese with real guns and real swords. After the expansion, the assault corps has been formed for quite some time. In the continuous high-intensity training, the technical and tactical levels of the troops have made great improvements. However, training only in the barracks cannot produce an elite and strong army. Only the tempering of blood and fire on the battlefield can forge an elite army that can fight and fight.

Therefore, while He Wei was trying his best to perfect the strategic opinion on the Japanese invasion of southern Guangxi, he was also itching to pull in the assault corps to help if the Japanese army really attacked Guangxi!
The Battle of Wuhan, a particularly large-scale battle, has undergone tremendous changes under the influence of He Wei's butterfly wings. Now He Wei has more soldiers and stronger combat capabilities in his hands. Of course, he will do his utmost to push the Battle of Southern Guangxi in a direction that is favorable to the National Army.

However, within a few days, before He Wei could finish writing the strategic proposal on the Battle of Southern Guangxi, the Military Commission's reply to his application for additional vehicles was conveyed back.

(End of this chapter)