PDLP Chapter 447 Preparation Period for Both Parties
Chapter 447 Preparation Period for Both Parties
Chapter 447 Preparation Period for Both Parties
At the headquarters of the Japanese First Army, Yoshio Shinozuka has been in a good mood recently. The cage policy he implemented throughout Jinzhong has begun to show results.
According to the information collected by the intelligence department, the independent brigade has not made any movement at present, but the prices in Jinzhong have obviously begun to rise. I believe that the Eighth Route Army and the independent brigade will be in even greater trouble in a while.
When the Independent Brigade and the Eighth Route Army have difficulty finding food, that will be the time for him to take action against both sides.
"Yamaoka-kun, how are the supplies going?"
"Commander, we have already gathered enough supplies for half a month of operations. If we have another two months, we will have no problem preparing supplies for three months."
Yamaoka's answer made Shinozuka Yoshio very satisfied. The plan had just begun and it had such an effect. It was obvious that the chief of staff had put in a lot of effort.
At present, it is impossible for him to stay in a defensive position all the time, so while implementing the cage policy, he is also working hard to conquer forces in various places, among which the bandits are just a by-product.
Up to now, the number of soldiers transported from their base camp has reached 100,000. In his opinion, as long as they wait for half a year, the conquest plan can naturally begin.
To catch a thief, one must first catch the leader. His target is still the Independent Brigade, the most threatening team.
Fortunately, according to intelligence, Gu Changfeng, who was awarded the rank of major general by the National Government, did not seem to be well-received, which gave him an opportunity.
Otherwise, with the strength of the independent brigade and the support of the National Government, their First Army would have been in a very difficult situation in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei.
"Yamaoka-kun, proceed according to your plan. Make careful arrangements. Don't provoke the Imperial Army while they are still weak. Wait for some time, and I will make my own arrangements."
"Hi!"
Yamaoka Michitake responded respectfully. Shinozuka Yoshio wanted to say something, but he heard the Japanese soldiers at the door reporting that Hirono Shigeto had returned, which made both of them a little confused.
Two minutes later, Hirono Shigeto hurried into the headquarters. Seeing that the chief of staff and the commander were there, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, saluted respectfully and said.
"Commander, our plan to subdue the bandits in Yuci has failed, and Miss Fangzi, who was sent by the Intelligence Department, was nearly captured..."
After Hirono Shigeto explained the details of what happened, Shinozuka Yoshio, who was originally in a good mood, suddenly became gloomy. He had obviously thought of that possibility as well.
Laiyuan is only a few hundred kilometers away from Taiyuan, and at this point in time, no one except the Independent Brigade can cause the two battalions of warriors to die in battle. He is very confident about this.
"Yamaoka-kun, dispatch personnel to investigate immediately. Have the intelligence department activate the covert line. We must find out who this team is."
Although he had some guesses in his mind, Yoshio Shinozuka did not take action directly. The sudden appearance of such an army could not be without reason, so he planned to wait and see.
In any case, he is still in the preparation stage and it is impossible for him to start a war for such an army.
Even if we want to move, we have to wait until he is fully prepared.
Yamaoka Michitake went down to make arrangements, but Hirono Shigeto remained at the headquarters. He looked at the commander expectantly, hoping to get support.
Yoshio Shinozuka did not disappoint him. After all, the importance of Yuci City was self-evident. He could not just let such a crisis go on and choose to turn a blind eye.
"Hirono-kun, you go back first and defend Yuci City for three days. Warriors will arrive in three days."
Yoshio Shinozuka didn't say how many people there were, but according to Hirono Shigeto's guess, it should be no less than a brigade. Otherwise, with the strength of the independent brigade, it would be useless with fewer people.
.........
A month passed in a flash, and during this period the Japanese did not launch an attack on the new base of the Second Regiment, as if the destruction of the two battalions had nothing to do with them.
Naturally, after observing for a few days, Gu Changfeng returned directly to Gaojia Town. As for the supplies, he asked Xiaowu to lead the team and the Third Battalion of the Second Regiment to cooperate in transporting them to the Eighth Route Army headquarters.
As time went by, Yang Zhenhua became curious. He didn't expect the Japanese to be so patient.
However, he also knew that since he had stuck the nail in the wall, the Japanese would definitely not remain silent. It was only a matter of time.
Indeed, after Major General Hirono's personal report, Shinozuka Yoshio immediately mobilized the intelligence department's secret agents in Gaojia Town, and at the same time sent a number of spies to investigate the new base of the Second Regiment. The feedback he received completely confirmed Shinozuka Yoshio's guess.
However, the Second Regiment did not attack Yuci, but just stayed in the mountains. It happened that his side was not ready to start a war, so the Second Regiment did not suffer any attack.
Yoshio Shinozuka didn't take action, but Gu Changfeng wanted to. Although his target was Taiyuan, he also didn't want to let go of the Japanese in Laiyuan, Baoding and Shijiazhuang. With sufficient supplies, he was ready to start a war.
Of course, he couldn't handle everything by himself, and he had to unite with several divisions in Jinzhong.
115th Division Headquarters,
Gu Changfeng looked at Commander Yang and said, "Commander, the soldiers are all rusty..."
Before he could finish his words, Division Commander Yang glared at him and said, "You're itching to do something again, aren't you? The bases have just recovered a little, what are you planning to do? And, you just came back from Yuci, it's only been a short time, what are you planning to do?"
This conversation left Gu Changfeng speechless. Although he had recovered his strength, the Jinzhong battle had caused huge losses to the Eighth Route Army divisions, and they were still licking their wounds. It was indeed not appropriate for him to start a war at this time.
After thinking for a while, Gu Changfeng said unhappily: "Commander, I didn't say what I was going to do, why are you in such a hurry?"
Commander Yang slapped the table and said, "I know you can't stay still, but I'm telling you, headquarters isn't ready for a major war with the Japs yet, so don't mess around."
After thinking for a moment, he continued, "You should stay in Gaojia Town and don't do anything rash. Headquarters is currently planning to break the Japanese blockade in six months. Your independent brigade will definitely be the main force."
At present, the headquarters is indeed not prepared for war, and all places are in a relatively peaceful period, but the Eighth Route Army cannot remain motionless, so a major war will inevitably break out later.
This time, after a lot of time preparing, we will definitely not be polite to the Japanese.
Gu Changfeng heard this and calculated the time. It would be around March or April next year. He nodded and said, "That's fine. But Commander, all the regiments are requesting to take action against the Japanese. They need to train. We won't do it on a large scale, but it should be fine to fight the Japanese on a small scale."
These words made Commander Yang's brows relax. He was afraid that Gu Changfeng would act recklessly. Once a war broke out, they would be unprepared and would easily suffer heavy losses.
In fact, compared with history, the current Eighth Route Army is definitely stronger, with the independent brigade as an outlier, plus the rocket artillery blueprints it contributed, and a large amount of bullets supporting the headquarters.
They recovered quite quickly, all they lacked was troop recovery and training.