After graduating from Huangpu, he rose to prominence as a regiment leader.

Qindao City and Shanhaiguan hinterland.

First Army Headquarters.

"Report to the commander!"

"The Japanese in the Central Plains region are advancing like a hot knife through butter. In less than two days, the battle line has advanced more than 70 kilometers!"

"The Second War Zone has lost more than 30 positions in a row. Taiyuan City is in danger!"

The deputy holding the telegram said with an extremely serious expression.

If the rear is lost, it is likely to affect their front-line positions.

More than 200,000 main forces gathered at the front line, and they needed a large amount of material supplies all the time.

"More than thirty positions?" Xue Yue stood up suddenly from the main seat, looking somewhat incredulous.

It's only been two days and the rear battlefield is already suffering a setback?

"What about the fifth war zone?" Xue Yue asked with a frown.

"Still hold your troops in place!" The deputy paused, "Commander! The Fifth War Zone received the same order as us, and the order was to stop the 700,000 Kwantung Army from advancing southwards."

"I'm afraid Commander Li won't mobilize troops on his own." The deputy shook his head.

Then he recounted the contents of the telegram in full.

"Wait! Are you saying that the Second War Zone is allowing its soldiers to rob supplies?" Xue Yue blinked hard to make sure he had heard correctly.

"Yes! The Fifth War Zone has probably suffered a loss this time. It's not right to fight, and it's not right not to fight!" The deputy was also somewhat helpless.

We are about to face heavy troops from the Kwantung Army in the front and there is a war in the rear, which is fine, but there is also an internal conflict like this. I really don't know what to say.

"Commander! Our rear is unstable, how can we fight this battle like this? Can we?" The deputy paused for a moment and tried to look at Xue Yue.

"Impossible! Why do you think Du Yuming is stationed at the second line of defense?" Xue Yue interrupted his deputy without hesitation.

Du Yuming's unit on the second line of defense was the Fifth Army. Although the Fifth Army had a small strength of only 50,000, it was the first mechanized force in the Xia Kingdom and was not inferior to the First Army in terms of combat effectiveness.

The reason why Du Yuming was stationed at the second line of defense was to sit in the center and mobilize the three major armies in the front and back. To put it more bluntly, he was the spokesperson of the mountain city, or the ancient military governor!

Even if the Fifth War Zone was preparing to reinforce the Second War Zone, it had to get Du Yuming's nod.

Xue Yue seemed to have seen through his deputy's thoughts, and he said directly: "Alright! Don't think about these nonsense."

"First, send someone to keep a close eye on the Taiyuan battle. Our top priority is to speed up the repair process. If I'm not mistaken, the Japanese should be heading south soon!" Xue Yue said with a serious face.

Everyone should mind their own business. This saying is very appropriate now. Even if Taiyuan is in danger, they are out of reach.

The only way is to hold the first line of defense and consider the overall situation for the Xia Kingdom!

"Yes! Commander!"

......

Not far from Shanhaiguan.

One after another, warriors wearing dog-skin hats appeared and gathered.

The uniform steel guns and submachine guns set off the majestic Shanhaiguan not far away.

"Zhang Dabiao! Have you received the intelligence from Taiyuan?"

Li Yunlong motioned Zhang Dabiao to come closer and handed him the military coat.

After the Third Army was reorganized and assembled, it marched all the way south from Fengtian. They marched day and night without stopping, and they didn't even have time to drink water.

"Commander! According to the information we received from the Intelligence Department, the situation is not optimistic!"

"The entire Second War Zone is busy withdrawing its forces. All troops are gathered in Taiyuan. It seems that they are preparing to rely on Taiyuan to fight a defensive positional battle." Zhang Dabiao shook his head.

There was no way around it. In the entire Second War Zone, only the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army had the equipment and manpower to hold out.

But the gap between the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Japanese was also huge, and it could not be made up by numbers.

Taking strict precautions is the only solution as the last resort.

"No reinforcements from the Fifth War Zone?" Li Yunlong frowned slightly.

"Commander! If it weren't for the Japanese, the Fifth War Zone and the Second War Zone would have been fighting each other!" Zhang Dabiao said with a wry smile.

"What do you mean?"

"Commander! Do you know where the resources for the entire Second War Zone come from?" Zhang Dabiao coughed dryly.

"Damn you! Are you still keeping me in suspense? Hurry up and tell me!" Li Yunlong glared at his old subordinate.

"Commander, Commander Yan ordered his troops to seize the military supplies stockpiled by the Fifth War Zone, hehe!" While speaking, Zhang Dabiao couldn't help but glance at Li Yunlong a few more times.

"Let the soldiers steal supplies?" Li Yunlong's eyes widened.

Why does this story sound so familiar?

Come to think of it, he had done something similar before...

"Yes! What's strange is that the Fifth War Zone didn't make any other reaction."

"But there's nothing we can do about it. Taiyuan is surrounded by fortified walls and the defense means competing for resources. If resources are running out, the Second War Zone will be more than just a cause of failure." Zhang Dabiao said truthfully.

It is hard to say whether this was done intentionally by Commander Yan or he just turned a blind eye.

In short, although this process is somewhat inappropriate, everyone can understand this approach.

"Interesting!" Li Yunlong asked with interest, "What about the deputy commander-in-chief?"

He was not interested in the Second War Zone and the other war zones in Shancheng, but he was only worried about the situation on the Eighth Route Army side.

"Commander, as for the deputy commander, according to the news, the deputy commander went to Taiyuan personally."

"Then the other non-main forces withdrew and switched to logistics. The main forces of the Eighth Route Army were all active on the front-line battlefield, determined to advance and retreat together with the Second War Zone." Zhang Dabiao swallowed and said.

"Hey! I knew it!" Li Yunlong shook his head helplessly.

He knew the deputy commander's character only too well.

"But speaking of it, Commander Yan is quite tough!" Li Yunlong sighed again.

When it comes to matters of justice and the moment of national crisis, Commander Yan is indeed unambiguous.

It’s just that their Second War Zone was really tricked by Shancheng.

Originally everyone thought that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army would put up a symbolic resistance for a while and then leave it to Shancheng to finish off the battle.

But unexpectedly, now, Commander Yan’s family assets are probably almost all gone.

"Commander, Taiyuan can't hold on for much longer. I'm afraid our fellow villagers will have to hide from the Japanese with their families again!" Zhang Dabiao took a deep breath.

The Japs are coming with such force this time that even if the Second War Zone gathers all its forces, they won’t be able to hold out for long.

The number of artillery pieces of the Central Plains devils is no less than that of Kazuo Shinozuka at the beginning!

There is no other way unless we use firepower to stop the Japanese advance in this battle.

"I hope Taiyuan can hold on a little longer, otherwise the commander-in-chief will not let our Third Army come to reinforce!" Li Yunlong waved his hand.

Zhang Dabiao: "Oh, Commander, Shanhaiguan is ahead. Xue Yue's First Army has deployed its forces. How are we going to get there?"

Now all of them, from cadres to soldiers, are extremely anxious. Northwest Shanxi is their home. Although the Second War Zone has not been completely defeated, it is completely holding on with one breath.

Once a gap appears, it will be a complete failure!

Li Yunlong took a deep breath and looked straight ahead. At this moment, the expression of the commander-in-chief when he gave him instructions emerged in his mind.

If I were to encounter such a situation, what would Qin Feng let me do?

Li Yunlong withdrew his thoughts and showed a bit of coldness on his face: "I wish Xue Yue would join me in fighting!"

"Commander! Are you kidding?" Zhang Dabiao looked at Li Yunlong in astonishment.

"Are you kidding?" Li Yunlong raised his head, his eyes full of spirit, "The commander-in-chief has spoken! If Xue Yue dares to stop my Third Army from entering the pass, then we will fight!"

"Commander! Are you sure?" Zhang Dabiao looked surprised.

"Nonsense! Do you really think I'm just here to join in the fun?"

"Don't even mention Xue Yue. Even if there's Du Yuming, I'll still use all the rocket launchers I got to blast him to death!"

"They'd better think that I only have 30,000 men under my command!"

Li Yunlong said in a cold voice.