Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

"First, an assessment of the Shanxi campaign.

The data Chief of Staff Okabe just mentioned is shocking.

This fully demonstrates that the enemies in Shanxi are by no means a mob. Yan Xishan has been managing Shanxi for many years and has a deep foundation.

Although our troops were brave, facing such a tenacious enemy in unfamiliar and complex terrain, they inevitably paid a heavy price."

He first affirmed the "difficulties" of the North China Front Army, which made them feel a little better.

"Secondly," Zhou Zhengqing changed the subject, "it's necessary to publicize the 'great victory' externally, but internally, especially to headquarters, the truth must be reported.

Concealing casualties and exaggerating battle results may avoid blame in the short term, but in the long run it will inevitably lead to strategic misjudgments with disastrous consequences.

In my opinion, when reporting, we can emphasize that our army has overcome difficulties and achieved initial strategic goals, such as occupying Taiyuan and controlling the northern section of the Tongpu Railway, but at the same time we must clearly point out the severe challenges we are currently facing.

The enemy's main force has not been destroyed, and they are fragmented. Guerrilla warfare is rampant, logistics are worrying, and public security in the occupied areas has deteriorated. A large number of troops are needed to eliminate them."

"The key is," Zhou Zhengqing emphasized, "to clearly explain the uniqueness and difficulty of the Shanxi war.

This is different from the frontal offensive battle like the Battle of Shanghai. It is a new type of war that combines "occupation" and "comprehensive mopping up", which takes longer and consumes more resources.

If the headquarters fails to fully understand this and continues to demand a quick victory from the North China Front Army, it may lead to even greater mistakes."

These words touched the hearts of people like Terauchi Hisaichi.

What they were most worried about was that the headquarters would use the results and model of the Battle of Shanghai to demand of them.

"General Takazaki is absolutely right!" Terauchi Juichi couldn't help but nod. "The war in North China is indeed different from that in Central China! It requires more patience and different strategies!"

While speaking, Terauchi Shouichi looked at Jingren who was pretending to be a clay Buddha from time to time. The meaning was obvious. He wanted Jingren to whisper something in the ear of his brother in the palace.

Jingren of course understood this and decisively rolled his eyes at Terauchi Shou.

Zhou Zhengqing smiled and continued, "As for how to reduce the criticism from the headquarters... perhaps we can look further ahead." He looked at everyone meaningfully.

"Oh? What does General Takazaki think?" Itagaki Seishirō couldn't help but ask.

"It's not a brilliant opinion." Zhou Zhengqing said calmly, "I just feel that the war in central China is raging, and Nanjing will fall soon.

The focus of the base camp must be there.

If the North China Front Army could proactively propose a... well, more constructive strategic adjustment plan that better suits the current predicament, perhaps it could turn the situation from passive to active.

"What kind of plan?" Okabe Naosaburo also became interested.

“For example,” Zhou Zhengqing’s fingers moved unconsciously across the table, “temporarily slow down the large-scale, high-intensity frontal offensive, and instead adopt a cage policy of ‘railways as pillars, roads as chains, and bunkers as locks,’ focusing on ensuring the safety of major cities and transportation lines.

At the same time, we concentrated our elite forces to form a special mopping-up force to conduct continuous sweeps against the remnants of the Chinese army.

On the other hand, strengthen political and economic means in the occupied territories."

What he proposed was actually the strategy adopted by the Japanese army in North China in history, and it was also the inevitable result.

But now that he has said it in advance, it seems quite insightful.

I can also use this strategy, which I proposed myself, to get the military police involved in this matter... Then...

"This takes time and requires more resources." Daihui Naoki frowned.

"That's why we need to explain to headquarters that this is a protracted war, a war for public security." Zhou Zhengqing added, "Rather than rushing for success and suffering greater casualties, it's better to proceed steadily and gradually erode our advantage."

Zhou Zhengqing changed the subject subtly again: "The North China Front Army can also take this opportunity to emphasize to the headquarters that if they want to completely solve the North China issue and even support future long-term wars, they must obtain more resources, including..." Zhou Zhengqing dragged out his tone.

"Including what?" Terauchi Hisaichi leaned forward slightly.

Zhou Zhengqing looked him in the eye and said slowly, "This includes considering other directions, such as... the Kwantung Army, where the pressure on the Soviet Union has been relatively reduced, can draw some troops that are good at security warfare and mountain warfare to enter the pass to support the security rectification work in North China.

After all, the Kwantung Army is experienced and well-equipped. If they could move south, not only would they strengthen our army, but they might also help certain people…” He paused meaningfully, “Some of the guys in Shanghai understand that the Imperial Crusade is a grand chess game, not one in which the gains and losses of a single city or region can determine who is truly a hero.”

The last sentence was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly causing huge ripples in the hearts of all the North China Front Army generals present!

Pulling the Kwantung Army south? This was no small matter! But this idea coincided with the North China Front's deep desire for more troops and resources, and also implied dissatisfaction with the Central China Front's monopoly on military achievements!

Terauchi Juichi, Okabe Naosaburo, Itagaki Seishirō, and the others exchanged glances, each seeing shock and... a hint of excitement in the other's eyes.

The atmosphere in the small conference room became more subtle and complicated.

Zhou Zhengqing still sat quietly, as if he had just made a casual suggestion.

But he knew that the seed of the Kwantung Army's southward advance had been successfully sown by taking advantage of the North China Front Army's urgent need for foreign aid and its desire to suppress the Central China Front Army.

Next, it depends on how it takes root and sprouts in the game between various forces.

And he himself, in this undercurrent within the top leadership, cleverly took another step forward.

He not only appeased the North China Front Army and provided them with ideas for reporting to the headquarters, but also seemingly inadvertently brought up the issue of the Kwantung Army's southward advance, further deepening the gap between North China and Central China.

When Matsui Iwane faced the pressure of the 200,000 elite Chinese troops who retreated from the Battle of Shanghai, could he have watched the elite troops of the Kwantung Army heading south flee to the North China Front Army?

He dared to ask the headquarters to withdraw the main brigade of the North China Front Army to reinforce Shanghai when the battle in Shanxi was in full swing.

Three birds with one stone.

The meeting was still going on, but the focus of the discussion had unconsciously shifted to how to formulate a strategic report that could reflect the facts, strive for benefits, and implicitly disparage Central China, as well as how to skillfully promote the extremely tempting idea of ​​"the Kwantung Army moving south to provide support."

Zhou Zhengqing mostly just listened, occasionally interjecting, but never saying a word. Like a skilled chess player, he quietly guided the game through seemingly passive observation.

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened, while the plotting in the conference room became more and more serious.

As Zhou Zhengqing listened to the discussions around him, his mind began to reflect on the subsequent process of the Shanxi Campaign reported by Nanzō Yunko.