Spy Wars: I have space, but I choose to work alone

After the Battle of Ezhou, all the defenders of Ezhou retreated, except for the old man at the top level who locked himself in his office in Luojiashan Residence, alone and silent.

Guard Captain Lin found Chen Wendan anxiously and said:

"The old man doesn't want to leave. He says that Ezhou is the temporary capital of the National Government and that the war of resistance is about to enter a new period. He needs to hold on until the last moment to encourage the army and the people. No matter how I persuade him, he won't listen. Now we can hear the sound of Japanese guns and cannons. If something really happens, what shall we do?"

Hearing this, Chen Wendan, who had worked with the old man for many years, knew that when the old man got angry, no one could persuade him, and he didn't know what to do for a while.

The old man locked himself in the office, looking at the huge map on the wall, kept recalling every decision he made and every battle he had fought against the Japanese invaders since 31.

Finally, he punched the location of the small day on the map hard, then turned around, picked up his black cloak, put on his military cap in front of the mirror, opened the door and walked out of the office.

On the afternoon of October 10, amid the surprised gazes of the crowd, he took the initiative to walk out of the air-raid shelter with steady steps, and got on the plane with his wife. The plane took off immediately, flew smoothly south to Hengyang, and landed safely.

In history, if Ma Liang had not intervened, the Battle of Ezhou would not have been conducted so honorably.

Feeling deeply defeated, the old man locked himself in the room, and only decided to retreat on the 24th after being persuaded by others.

Unfortunately, the plane could not be found at this time. We finally found a plane that had landed temporarily. The pilot was an American guy who had just got his driver's license less than two years ago. The navigator was also a rookie.

Shortly after takeoff, I successfully got myself lost!

Finally, they had to return to Hankou Airport to refuel and determine the coordinates and heading.

The plane circled back and forth over Ezhou.

At this time, the fuel was almost exhausted, but the airport could not be found.

If we can’t find an airport, we’ll have no choice but to run headfirst into the mountain.

Fortunately, at the last minute, they contacted the airport ground station by telegram.

Finally, the staff who stayed at their posts lit up the spare red lanterns at the airport.

Because after the plane flew away, the soldiers immediately destroyed the airport's power system.

The plane landed with a rumble.

Some engineers have arrived at the runway and are preparing to lay mines on the runway and destroy various facilities at the airport.

The sound of gunfire coming from the suburbs of Hankou has begun to become more frequent.

The 6rd Regiment of Sano Torata of the Ushijima Detachment of the 23th Division of the Japanese Army arrived at Daijiashan in the northern suburbs of Hankou. The last remaining troops made a final effort to delay the Japanese Army's attack on Ezhou.

Fires broke out in many places in the three towns. The Military Control Commission personnel lurking in the city were doing the final sabotage. Buildings such as the Japanese Specie Bank were completely destroyed.

Once the crew had repositioned their course, they refueled the plane before the engineers exploded the gasoline drums at the airport.

When the plane took off again, it was already 10 a.m. on October 25.

In a few hours, the Japanese army entered the city.

It can be said that in this series of bizarre operations, if any one link is not connected, the old man will probably become a prisoner of his daily life, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Outside the Japanese headquarters, all the soldiers were shouting "Aboard", celebrating the locust army's capture of another capital of the Celestial Empire.

A Japanese Army 6th Division staff officer who stayed behind said to another officer:

"The capital of the Celestial Empire has been breached again. This time the Celestial Empire will surrender. The war is about to end!"

"Of course, my locust army is invincible!"

The two looked at each other, put their hands on their hips and laughed arrogantly.

Although the atmosphere in the Japanese General Headquarters was relaxed, it was far less optimistic than that of the lower-level officers who knew less.

"Judging from the enemy's retreat, it seems that they had made preparations for retreat in advance and did not leave us anything. It can be said that we have obtained an empty Ezhou City." General Gangcun took the initiative to say.

The other Japanese generals had also fought with the National Army for more than a year, so they naturally knew the characteristics of the National Army.

They could still fight back when heavily armed, but once the Japanese opened a breakthrough and ordered a retreat, they would fall into chaos, with hundreds of thousands of people collapsing in an instant, often without even enough time to destroy their weapons and supplies.

Take the recent Battle of Yangcheng as an example. The Japanese army seized 21 tanks, 53 fortress guns, 151 vehicles, and other light weapons and military rations.

Another general also said:

"Indeed, although the outcome of this battle showed that we won, we captured Ezhou, the secondary capital of the Celestial Empire."

"But from a long-term strategic perspective, our army has not completely eaten up the last elite field troops of the Celestial Empire. On the contrary, the battles of Ma Dang Fortress and Fujin Mountain have been fought, and the 106th Division has been fought. Our locust army has already gone all out, but it still ended up like this. It can only be considered a draw."

"If we want to rely on land warfare to completely defeat the main force of the Celestial Empire that remains in the southwestern mountainous areas and completely conquer the Celestial Empire, based on the experience of the Hankou battle, in the mountainous areas where the mechanized strength of the locust army cannot be fully utilized, at least more than two million casualties will be required to achieve this."

Hearing the figure of two million casualties, even these fanatical military maniacs began to hesitate.

What these soldiers fail to see is that war is not just about military matters, it is also about economic matters.

In order to maintain the huge amount of military supplies for nearly 400,000 Japanese troops on the front line during the war, the domestic economy was almost unable to hold back.

The Japanese army was forced to recall all the rifles used for teaching in schools and transport them to the battlefield, which was enough to ensure the supply to the front line.

In addition, in order to win the Battle of Ezhou, a battlefield has been opened up in Yangcheng. It can be said that the logistics of daily life are going crazy.

In 1936, the production of small-scale weapons accounted for about 2% of the national income, and the mobilization rate of the entire industrial system was 4-5%.

It is generally believed that if weapons production is maintained at this level, a virtuous economic cycle can be formed.

The Celestial Empire's vigorous resistance to the Japanese invasion dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese army, forcing the country's economy to shift to a wartime economy. Weapons production continued to grow rapidly, and the mobilization rate of the entire industrial system soared to 1937% in 10 and 1938% in 12.

But at this time, the daily life is to maintain the normal operation of the domestic economy and not disrupt the normal development rhythm of their own country, while also dreaming of swallowing up the Celestial Empire in a short time.

As a result, the entire country has been slow to enter full mobilization.

像是挤牙膏一样，从1937年的10%、1938年的12%，1939年的16%、1940年的26%，1942年的35%，1943年的48%，一路增长到1944年肝血的58%。

Its short-sightedness and arrogance made it miss the most critical four years from 1937 to 1941.

This is also an important reason why Ma Liang did not take the initiative to stimulate Xiao Shi on a large scale.

The Battle of Ezhou ended up like this even when Ma Liang activated the full-map cheat. Since the military and industrial levels of both sides were not at the same level, even if Ma Liang activated the cheat, he could not change the direction of the war.

It can only help the national army gain some strategic advantages in local battles and reduce casualties. As for the rest, it depends on the soldiers to fight with swords, guns and blood.