Anti-Japanese War: When I get promoted, the system will explode with soldiers

Li Shaoyi knew that Chief of Staff Zhang and others had all sorts of dreams of saving the country when they were young, but after entering middle age, many of them were burdened by officialdom, and the lofty ambitions they once had gradually faded away due to various trivial matters.

What Li Shaoyi needed to do was to constantly instill those past events in them, to awaken these people now and help him accomplish many things. Although this was undermining the Nationalist government, Li Shaoyi knew that these people were all capable. Rather than letting them stagnate in officialdom, it was better to awaken their old ideas, which would benefit the country and the people.

Just as Li Shaoyi was about to grab his clothes to rest, a operations staff officer pointed to a ringing telephone and said, "Urgent telegram from Shandong."

"Brother, this is really good luck! You know what? Two Japanese divisions have actually marched south from Beiping. They've transferred nearly 50,000 men from various units, plus over 10,000 puppet troops. They're almost at Dezhou now..."

Ma Leizi's voice was filled with excitement. Li Shaoyi knew this history: the Commander Han stationed in Shandong Province had retreated with 100,000 troops without a fight.

Of course, that was all in the past. Now, the battles in Tianjin and Shanghai have caused Japanese casualties to rise sharply, and the situation is no longer what it used to be. I wonder if this Commander Han will change his mind.

"So you're happy now? What do you mean you're occupying the peninsula region right now? Even if you cross Texas, it's still hundreds of miles away from you. For now, you should observe and see what happens to that Commander Han."

According to the intelligence obtained by Li Shaoyi, this Commander Han was assigned to the Fifth War Zone after the War of Resistance against Japan, and all the troops in the entire Shandong Province were assigned to the Third Army Group. The defense line north of the Yellow River was still quite effective.

The reason Li Shaoyi ordered Ma Leizi to hold his troops still was to avoid any conflict between the two sides. If Ma Leizi's army were to reach the Yellow River, then Commander Han's territorial ambitions would likely take effect immediately. Instead of fighting the Japanese in the north, he would have to fight Ma Leizi's army first.

To put it bluntly, whether it's this Commander Han or the former Commander Song of the 29th Army, these people are too territorial. No one, whether Japanese or Chinese, is allowed to enter their territory. This land is their private property, and they will fight anyone who comes in!

"If that's the case, we'll easily miss our chance. I've received information from various sources that Commander Han wants to resist the Japanese, but he's unwilling to relinquish his rights and is very focused on preserving his strength."

Ma Leizi hadn't been idle during this time either, constantly sending his spies to the provincial capital. These people didn't disappoint Ma Leizi; after spending a lot of money, they finally learned the true thoughts of this Commander Han.

"Then you can move some troops to the Qingzhou-Yishui line. You absolutely cannot go any further west, otherwise you might have to fight a battle before the Japanese even arrive. I know very well what these guys are thinking."

Li Shaoyi saw the position between the two armies on the map, but ultimately did not give the order, allowing Ma Leizi to head west first.

"By the way, how many troops do you have? I mean, the ones you can mobilize."

Just as he was about to hang up, Li Shaoyi remembered this matter. Originally, Ma Leizi had plenty of troops and supplies, but after nearly eight or nine regiments were transferred to Pujiang, he probably didn't have many troops left.

"Currently, we can mobilize three regular army regiments: two infantry regiments, one armored regiment, and one independent artillery battalion. The security regiment can mobilize even more, at least ten or so."

Upon hearing this number, Li Shaoyi said nothing more. The security regiment in Ma Leizi had been training for a long time, and according to him, its combat effectiveness was almost on par with that of a regular army.

At this moment, within the territory of Dezhou, Commander Han's 81st Division had already engaged in combat with the southward-bound Japanese army. The two sides fought fiercely inside and outside Dezhou City. However, the 81st Division lacked sufficient weapons and equipment, and its pre-battle mobilization was also inadequate. As a result, more than a thousand people were killed or wounded by the Japanese after the start of the battle, and positions outside the city were lost one after another.

However, the brothers of the 81st Division did not retreat. After stabilizing the front line, they ordered their men to recapture many positions at night in a suicide squad manner. However, due to the lack of reinforcements, they could only temporarily maintain a stalemate with the Japanese.

After the arrival of the Japanese Isogai Division, the second line of defense in Dezhou City fell under the support of more than 30 heavy artillery pieces. After the 81st Division suffered more than half of its casualties, it began to withdraw from Dezhou City.

The former Texas local garrison has surrendered!

During the retreat of the 81st Division, it also organized a counterattack of a certain scale, severely wounding hundreds of Japanese officers and soldiers, which can be regarded as the highlight of the 81st Division in this war.

After the arrival of the 26th Brigade of the 3rd Army Group, the 81st Division received support and fought fiercely with the Japanese army in the area for several days.

However, due to the lack of artillery, the troops began to retreat south after losing more than a third of their troops. Commander Han ordered the establishment of a defensive line north of Jiyang.

Ma Leizi sent two telegrams in one day, hoping that Commander Han would allow their troops to cross Qingzhou and march north together to fight against the Japanese.

Unfortunately, Commander Han did not agree and sternly warned Ma Leizi that the 72nd Army's area was east of Qingzhou, and any act of crossing the line of actual control would be considered an act of war.

Ma Leizi was furious and yelled. Li Shaoyi also called Han's desk from Pujiang, but unfortunately the secretary answered the phone, so the matter could not be moved forward.

Two days later, Jiyang fell. Commander Han ordered all troops to cross the Yellow River and blow up the Yellow River Iron Bridge to cut off the Jinpu Railway.

The Nationalist Government in Nanjing issued several orders in one day, instructing Commander Han to defend the provincial capital to the death and not to retreat an inch.

However, when Commander Han received the telegram, he had already arrived in Taicheng, seventy kilometers south of the provincial capital.

Li Shaoyi was no longer in a hurry. This was almost the same as in history. After the Japanese army crossed the Yellow River, they would definitely continue to advance south. However, this time it would be different from history. When the Japanese army moved south, Ma Leizi's army could advance from east to west.

Upon receiving Li Shaoyi's order, Ma Leizi immediately assembled his two infantry regiments, one armored regiment, and an independent artillery battalion. Four other security regiments also gathered at the station, bringing together an army of nearly 20,000 men ready to advance westward at any time.

The Japanese were truly troubled by Ma Raiko's actions...