Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

The talks were opened by Terauchi Hisaichi, who first welcomed Hideki Tojo and briefly reviewed the "outstanding contributions" and "great sacrifices" of the Chahar Expeditionary Corps of the Kwantung Army in cooperating with the North China Front Army's attack on Shanxi. His words were full of diplomatic gratitude and comfort.

Tojo Hideki nodded slightly and responded briefly and directly: "General Terauchi, you are too polite.

The Imperial Holy War is a chess game.

It is an honor for the Chahar Corps to do its best for the war in North China, but..." He changed the subject and swept his eyes over everyone present behind his glasses: "The battle in Shanxi also exposed many problems.

The terrain was complex, the enemy was tenacious, and especially the Chinese's rear-line harassment tactics, caused great trouble to our army's logistics and flanks.

I wonder what specific strategies the North China Front Army has for clearing out Shanxi and consolidating the occupied areas?"

This issue directly points to the current pain points of the North China Front Army.

Terauchi Juichi and Nishio Juzo exchanged glances, and Nishio Juzo took over the conversation.

He walked to the large military map of North China hanging on the wall, pointed at Shanxi, Suiyuan and Chahar regions with his baton, and elaborated in detail on the difficulties faced by the North China Front Army.

The troops were dispersed and had to guard large cities and transportation lines while also dealing with the ubiquitous guerrilla warfare, so their strength was stretched to the limit.

The remnants of the Chinese army rapidly expanded in mountainous areas and rural areas and established regimes, which weakened their actual control over the occupied areas.

Supplies were consumed at a huge rate, and logistical supply lines were long and vulnerable to attack.

"...Therefore," Nishio Toshizo concluded, "the Front Army believes that, under the current circumstances, continuing to deploy heavy troops into the interior of Shanxi for a large-scale cleanup would be too cost-effective and would easily lead to a protracted war of attrition.

It is necessary to adjust the strategic focus of the front."

"Oh? How to adjust?" Hideki Tojo leaned forward slightly, showing great interest.

This was one of the key purposes of his trip, to find out the true intentions and next moves of the North China Front Army.

Terauchi Hisaichi cleared his throat and spoke in person, his tone becoming solemn and firm: "The front army has decided to temporarily slow down the offensive against the hinterland of Shanxi and switch to a "security rectification" phase focusing on ensuring the safety of major cities and transportation lines.

At the same time, concentrate your main forces on the North China Plain and advance southward along the Pinghan and Jinpu lines!" Terauchi Juichi's baton drew two thick arrows on the map, pointing directly towards central China.

"The goal is clear: to quickly establish land links with the Central China Expeditionary Force, forming a pincer attack, and waiting for an opportunity to move south to share the pressure on the Central China battlefield, or even...

Directly participate in the offensive against the heart of China!"

The announcement of this strategic shift caused a slight commotion in the conference room.

Although everyone had more or less a premonition, the fact that Terauchi Hisaichi put it so clearly still meant that the future combat mode of the North China Front Army would undergo fundamental changes.

Hideki Tojo listened quietly with no expression on his face, but Zhou Zhengqing keenly noticed that Tojo's fingers tapped lightly on his knees unconsciously, indicating that he was making a quick assessment in his mind.

Terauchi Hisaichi's strategy coincided with some ideas within the Kwantung Army of "actively moving south", but it also meant that the North China Front Army would need more troops, especially reliable and combat-experienced field divisions.

"General Terauchi's strategic shift is very bold." Tojo Hideki said slowly: "However, to attack southward and open up the connection with central China, a powerful assault force is needed.

As far as I know, the North China Front Army suffered heavy losses in its various divisions after the Shanxi Campaign. Does it need... external support?" He skillfully steered the conversation to the crux of the matter.

This is what Terauchi Juichi and Okabe Naosaburo were waiting for.

Terauchi Hisaichi immediately interjected, "Chief of Staff Tojo is absolutely right! The North China Front Army truly needs strong support.

This is also one of the main reasons why I invited the Chief of Staff here this time."

Terauchi Hisaichi pondered for a moment and then put forward a proposal he had been preparing for a long time: "We hope that the Kwantung Army can consider formally assigning the Chahar Expeditionary Corps currently fighting in the Chahar direction to the North China Front Army, and have it be responsible for the defense of the Suiyuan and Chahar regions and the vigilance in the Soviet-Mongolian direction.

In this way, our army can safely withdraw the troops originally used in this direction and use them for the main offensive on the southern front."

This is a huge exchange! The North China Front Army hopes to annex an important combat corps of the Kwantung Army to make up for its own manpower shortage and consolidate the northern defense line.

The meeting room suddenly fell silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on Tojo Hideki's face, waiting for his reaction. This involved the actual interests and sphere of influence of the Kwantung Army.

Hideki Tojo did not answer immediately. He was silent for a moment, as if weighing the pros and cons.

In fact, the issue of the affiliation of the Chahar Expeditionary Corps had already been discussed within the Kwantung Army.

Assigning it to North China would certainly weaken the Kwantung Army's influence in the "Mengjiang" region, but it would also alleviate some of the Kwantung Army's logistical pressure and... could be used as a bargaining chip in exchange for more important interests.

"The issue of the Chahar Corps' ownership is not unnegotiable." Tojo Hideki finally spoke, his tone steady but with unquestionable weight: "The Kwantung Army understands the difficulties of the North China Front Army and is willing to contribute to the overall situation of the Imperial Holy War.

But... " He deliberately emphasized these two words: "The Kwantung Army also has its own considerations. At present, the pressure on Manchuria facing the Soviet Union has not been relieved, and the headquarters recently intends to withdraw some divisions from the Kwantung Army sequence and send them south to the central China battlefield.

As one side gains, the other loses, and the defense pressure on the Kwantung Army will increase unprecedentedly."

He finally revealed his true trump card! He was moving the Kwantung Army divisions southward!

When these words were spoken, even Terauchi Juichi showed a look of surprise.

Matsui Iwane in central China was in urgent need of reinforcements. Although there had been rumors about this for a long time, the fact that it was confirmed by Hideki Tojo himself had a completely different meaning.

Okabe Naosaburo, Daihui Naoki and others pricked up their ears.

"I wonder... which divisions the headquarters plans to mobilize?" Terauchi Hisaichi asked cautiously.

He initially hoped that the Kwantung Army could transfer one or two divisions to North China, but later communication with the military headquarters was not smooth, so he set his sights on the Chahar Expeditionary Corps.

Tojo Hideki took out a document from his briefcase, but did not open it. He just put it on the table and pointed with his finger: "According to the preliminary resolution of the headquarters, and with the principle consent of Commander Kenkichi Ueda.

In addition to the 2nd and 12th Divisions that have already been transferred, our Kwantung Army plans to transfer the 4th, 7th, and 8th Divisions to the south to support central China.

At this point, our Kwantung Army has deployed a total of five divisions to the Central China battlefield."

Five divisions! And they were the main force of the Kwantung Army! This news was like a bombshell, causing a silent shock in the conference room.

This means that the Kwantung Army has lost almost half of its core forces!