Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

That afternoon, a telegram order from the General Staff of the Northeast Military Governor's Office was transmitted to the Third Army Headquarters on the western front. In the command room of the headquarters, the Third Army Commander-in-Chief Wang Jinhai frowned as he looked at the contents on the telegram paper in front of him. He really couldn't understand why Jiang Yanlin would trust the so-called First Army of the Northwest Revolutionary Army so much and dare to take a risky move to implement a strategy that seemed extremely risky.

But as a soldier, it is his duty to obey orders. After hesitating for a moment, Wang Jinhai, in the name of the commander-in-chief of the Third Army, issued orders to all the front-line troops under his command, and began to evacuate the front battlefield in an orderly manner and retreat towards the direction of Fengtian City in the rear.

This order left commanders at all levels of the Third Army somewhat confused, but the headquarters had already issued a death order, and their only choice was to execute it immediately.

After the Third Army began its large-scale evacuation, the three Class A divisions of Suzuki, Mitsui, and Kitakata, which were responsible for the main attack on the western battlefield in Fuso, were the first to receive the news about the Third Army's withdrawal.

In the joint command center, Suzuki Yoshinori, the highest commander of the Kwantung Army on the western battlefield, sneered and said, "It seems that the Third Army of the Northeastern Army has suffered too heavy losses and can no longer withstand the pressure of the front battlefield. They are ready to abandon the first line of defense. According to the intelligence we have received, an hour ago, the 12th Army of the Third Army had withdrawn from Xueling County and began to evacuate to the southern area. Other troops are also gradually abandoning their defensive positions."

The commander of the Mitsui Division, Major General of the Kwantung Army, Mitsui Tokumitsu pondered, "I heard that a large force of the Northwest Revolutionary Army's First Army has already moved north from Guanzhou and arrived at Fengtian City. Could this be a trap set by the Northeast Army?"

The commander of the North Sea Division, Kudo Kubo, nodded and said, "The combat effectiveness of the Northwest Revolutionary Army should not be underestimated. The First Army is the earliest established and most powerful ace unit in the Northwest Revolutionary Army. It has the ability to confront the main force of our Kwantung Army on the front battlefield. There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. As Commander Mitsui said, we should be careful."

Suzuki Kashang nodded and said, "Immediately let our intelligence department collect all the information about the First Army of the Northwest Revolutionary Army and pay close attention to their movements. These cunning Chinese people may not have strong physical strength, but they have many tricks. We must not be fooled easily."

In fact, as the number one military power in Asia today, Fuso has launched aggressive wars in Southeast Asia, China and other places. None of the senior army commanders under the Kwantung Army are there for nothing. From the abnormal phenomenon of the withdrawal of the Third Army, they have already smelled the scent of conspiracy, but this is also within Liu Chengxu's expectations. If the commanders on the Fuso side are so easily fooled, wouldn't it be too boring?

Before Liu Chengxu arrived in Fengtian, Yan Shuangying, director of the Northwest Intelligence Bureau, had already arrived in Fengtian secretly, leading hundreds of elite personnel from the Northwest Intelligence Bureau. With the assistance of the Northeast Army's intelligence organization, he had begun a small-scale, gradual elimination of Fuso spies and intelligence personnel in Fengtian City. By now, a large-scale Fuso intelligence network in Fengtian City had completely surfaced and was efficiently resolved by Yan Shuangying. He also seized some secret radio stations of the Fuso spy agencies and cracked their telegraph frequency bands and transmission codes.

Therefore, Liu Chengxu's decision was not a temporary decision made without any preparation as it seemed on the surface.

Having gained control of Fuso's spy intelligence organization in Fengtian and deciphered their contact methods, it meant that the Northwest Intelligence Bureau had the ability to mislead Fuso's front-line troops and convey false information at any time.

Two days later, Suzuki Yoshinori received the latest news from the secret liaison office of the Fengtian Fuso Special Intelligence Agency.

According to reports, the First Army of the Northwest Revolutionary Army has begun to secretly move to the eastern battlefield. Preliminary analysis shows that their target should be the four Class B division combat units of the Kwantung Army on the eastern battlefield.

At the same time, new intelligence news came that the Third Army, which had evacuated the first battlefield on the front line, began to build a second line of defense south of Zhongxiang County. The remnants of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Armies on the east side also showed signs of gradually moving westward.

At four o'clock in the afternoon of that day, the 16th Regiment under the First Army of the Northwest Revolutionary Army raided a regiment of the Fuso A-Class Division on the eastern battlefield and caused heavy losses to the enemy. When this news reached Suzuki Yoshinaga, the supreme commander of the Kwantung Army on the western battlefield, he had already initially confirmed his guess in his mind.

"There is an idiom in China called Tian Ji's horse racing. The sudden withdrawal of the Third Army was actually a pretense to lure the enemy in. The First Army of the Northwest Revolutionary Army set up an ambush in the rear, making us dare not act rashly. In fact, the First Army had already set its sights on the battlefield on the east side, intending to use our four Class B divisions as a breakthrough point, using the upper four against the lower four, and confusing us at the same time. These Chinese are really cunning! Fortunately, we saw through their strategy in time."

After a series of real and fake actions by Liu Chengxu, coupled with the intelligence from the Fuso spy agency in Fengtian, Suzuki Kashang has become convinced of his own imagination and analysis.

Mitsui Tokumitsu also spoke up and said, "General Suzuki is right. These cunning Chinese must want to use the eastern battlefield as a breakthrough point to confuse our western army and make us dare not advance alone. Now that we have seen through their plan, we should act decisively and immediately send troops south to crush their conspiracy."

Kudo Kubo pondered for a moment and slowly said, "At the same time, we can use their own method to fight back. Let the four divisions on the east pretend to be defeated and lure the Northwest Revolutionary Army's First Army to advance alone. Let the six divisions on the central battlefield secretly send part of their main forces to sneak into the eastern battlefield to cut off their retreat. Perhaps we can completely bury this extremely prestigious ace unit of the Northwest Revolutionary Army on the northeast battlefield and make Su Zhengyang, the arrogant Chinese, pay the price."

The three commanders of the Fuso western battlefield, who thought they had analyzed the battlefield situation and the specific plans of the Northwest Revolutionary Army very thoroughly, looked at each other and laughed heartily.

Little did they know that Liu Chengxu had already set a tight net for them on the western battlefield, waiting for them to fall into the net and then give them a huge surprise.

"Let me tell you! The Fuso army is not as scary as the rumors say. Our 16th Brigade of the Northwest Revolutionary Army once ambushed two Fuso Kwantung Army regiments in the northern part of Linzhou with zero casualties and annihilated them. In this battle, we must show the momentum of our Northwest Revolutionary Army. Whoever dares to fail on the battlefield and embarrass me in front of my fellow Northeast Army compatriots! I will be the first to shoot them!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill the Japs and defeat the Fuso Kwantung Army!"

Looking at the soldiers of the First Army in front of him who were full of enthusiasm and passion, Liu Chengxu nodded with satisfaction. The morale of the troops was high.