Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

Tojo Hideki ignored everyone's shock and continued in a calm tone: "Among them, the 7th Division and the 8th Division will set out directly from the mainland to reinforce central China.

The 4th Division will embark at Port Arthur and immediately sail south."

He raised his eyes and looked at Terauchi Juichi sharply: "General Terauchi, do you understand the difficulties of the Kwantung Army now?

If five divisions were transferred at once, Manchuria's defense strength would drop sharply to a dangerous level.

Currently, only the 1st, 3rd and 11th Divisions remain in Manchuria.

And the 3rd and 11th Divisions, before...

A large number of new recruits have been added and are undergoing training. Their combat effectiveness is far from being restored and is actually just an empty shell!

It can be said that the future of Manchuria will mainly rely on the First Division and several independent garrisons for support! "

The conference room was silent, with only Hideki Tojo's cold voice echoing.

Zhou Zhengqing was also frightened. Although he knew that the Kwantung Army would be mobilized, he did not expect the scale to be so large that it almost emptied out his hometown.

This was undoubtedly an extremely risky strategic decision, and it also reflected the Japanese headquarters' anxious mentality to resolve the war in China.

"Because of this," Tojo Hideki changed the subject and returned to the original topic: "In principle, the Kwantung Army can agree to transfer the Chahar Expeditionary Corps to the command of the North China Front Army, but the premise is that the North China Front Army must ensure the absolute stability of Suiyuan and Chahar, and must not give the Soviet Union and Mongolia any opportunity to take advantage of it, thereby implicating the foundation of Manchuria!

At the same time, the Kwantung Army also hoped that the North China Front Army would actively fight on the southern front, open up the situation as soon as possible, reduce the pressure on central China, and indirectly help the Kwantung Army stabilize its rear.

The Kwantung Army gave up the Chahar Corps in exchange for the North China Front Army's stabilization of the north and active southward advance, while also bearing the huge risk of leaving Manchuria's defenses empty.

Terauchi Juichi took a deep breath, knowing that he didn't have much choice.

The Kwantung Army's southward advance is a foregone conclusion, and the North China Front Army must seize this opportunity to strengthen its strength.

He nodded solemnly: "Chief of Staff Tojo, please rest assured! After the North China Front Army takes over the Chahar direction, it will do its utmost to ensure the safety of the northern line!

At the same time, the southern assault plan will be implemented as soon as possible to support the overall situation in central China!"

The core deal regarding the transfer of major divisions and the ownership of the Chahar Corps was basically finalized in these few sentences.

But the message that Hideki Tojo brought was much more than that.

As if the shockwaves weren't enough, he continued to drop even more bombshell news concerning the Empire's war potential: "In view of the enormous demand for infantry divisions in Manchuria and the future Chinese battlefields following the southward transfer of the main forces of the Kwantung Army, the Imperial Headquarters has decided to immediately initiate the large-scale formation of special divisions to compensate for the shortage of regular divisions."

He pointed to the document again: "The first batch of special divisions plans to form six: the 15th Division, the 17th Division, the 21st Division, the 22nd Division, the 23rd Division, and the 27th Division.

These divisions will be composed of retired officers and soldiers as the backbone and supplemented by new recruits. It is expected that all of them will be completed before the middle of next year.

A portion of them will be prioritized for recruitment into the Kwantung Army and dispatched to Manchuria to fill the gap left by the 2nd and 4th Divisions moving south."

Special division! This means that the Japanese war machine has begun to operate at overload, and has to rely on mobilizing reserve forces to maintain the huge front.

There must be a gap between its combat effectiveness and that of the standing divisions.

Tojo Hideki didn't finish his words: "In addition, the headquarters has planned a second batch of special divisions, the 32nd Division, the 33rd Division, the 34th Division, and the 41st Division.

It is planned to be completed between the second half of next year and early 1939.

The initial plan is to assign these divisions to the North China Front Army to strengthen public security and enhance mobile combat capabilities in the occupied areas of North China."

This news is good news for Terauchi Hisaichi's future.

But for now, he still has to rely on the existing forces and the Chahar Corps that will soon be acquired.

Moreover, the establishment of divisions implies a decline in the quality of soldiers, shortened training time, and possible simplification of equipment.

Terauchi Hisaichi frowned. He certainly welcomed more troops, but he was worried about the combat effectiveness of the special division.

"Chief of Staff Tojo, can the equipment and training standards of the special divisions reach the level of regular divisions?

It's fine for maintaining public order, but if used in a frontal assault..." He didn't finish his words, but the meaning was self-evident.

After several large-scale battles, it has been proved that the Chinese army is no pushover. If a special division is sent up, it is likely to suffer heavy losses with little success.

Tojo Hideki pushed his glasses up and said without any emotion: "General Terauchi, this is an extraordinary measure for extraordinary times.

In terms of equipment, the headquarters will give priority to it, but it is indeed impossible to fully match the standing divisions.

Training time will also be compressed.

But its advantage lies in quantity! It can make up for the lack of quality with quantity.

As for the offensive... we can coordinate with the standing divisions depending on the situation." His words sounded reasonable, yet tinged with helplessness.

Zhou Zhengqing, who had been silent the entire time, interjected at the perfect moment, his tone calm, as if he were simply stating an objective fact: "The special division, composed of retired officers and soldiers as its backbone, is more than sufficient for maintaining public order and clearing the countryside in the occupied areas.

The key lies in the tacit coordination between command and cooperation with local secret services and the puppet regime."

Hideki Tojo glanced at Zhou Zhengqing and nodded slightly, as if agreeing with this statement.

Terauchi Hisaichi also seemed to be thinking about something.

The talks then entered a more complicated and contentious phase, a scramble for logistics and resources.

Chief of Staff of the North China Front Army, Naosaburo Okabe, proposed that once the Chahar Expeditionary Corps was assigned, its logistical supplies, ammunition, food, clothing, and fuel should be the unified responsibility of the North China Front Army, but he hoped that the Kwantung Army could first allocate at least three base amounts of ammunition and some technical weapons as "transitional support."

At the same time, the assault on the southern front required a large number of vehicles, gasoline, and artillery shells. It was hoped that the headquarters would give priority to their support and hinted whether some could be "temporarily borrowed" from the Kwantung Army's reserves.

On the Kwantung Army side, the accompanying staff, mainly led by Hideki Tojo, refused to give in.

It emphasized that the Kwantung Army was under tremendous pressure to defend itself, and that after its main force was transferred south, it needed to reserve supplies to deal with the threat from the Soviet Union, and was unable to support North China.

Instead, he proposed that after the Chahar Corps was transferred, the North China Front Army should bear all its future logistical expenses, and hoped that the North China Front Army could provide a port of call and supplies for the fleet in the Peiping-Tianjin area for the 4th Division that was about to move south from Lushun, and hoped to support a batch of heavy preparations such as tanks and artillery to enhance the combat effectiveness of the 4th Division.

Both sides are like merchants in the market, haggling over every penny of resources.

The Kwantung Army cried poor and emphasized that going south was a "contribution to the country", while the North China Front Army complained and stressed that the assault on the southern line was the "strategic focus".

Zhou Zhengqing remained silent throughout, spending most of his time listening and observing, with a clear mind.