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

"Then, according to what you said, if the 72nd Army doesn't participate in the war, our Pujiang Expeditionary Force will continue to be stationed nearby. However, the daily food and drink costs for 100,000 soldiers are no small number. Our army isn't just here to relocate, they're here to open up new territory for the empire and defeat China for the empire."

The commander of the 11th Division also agreed to launch an attack immediately. They were all hardliners. The army had already arrived. If they didn't attack, what was the point of hiding on the beach?

What's more, this is a very dangerous behavior. There is the sea behind us and we don't have much strategic depth. When the 72nd Army arrives, if they launch a charge, we might be pushed into the sea.

Commander Matsui was so annoyed by the noise that he had to suspend the meeting. Since he couldn't come to a conclusion for the time being, he decided to report the situation to the headquarters to see what they thought. He hadn't expected that in just a few years, the 72nd Army had become a stumbling block to the Japanese army's operations.

Of course, this is also quite normal. Countless Japanese troops were defeated by the 72nd Army on the northern grasslands. The loss of Rehe and Chahar made the Japanese army begin to pay attention to the 72nd Army. Especially after the Battle of Tianjin, many people in the Japanese army were a little terrified when talking about the 72nd Army.

"Your Excellency, Commander."

After returning to his office, General Matsui saw Colonel Kakuta, the intelligence officer of the Central China Expeditionary Force.

"Now that you're back, do you have any new news to report to me? I hope it's good news."

General Matsui sat in his seat, then leaned back, closed his eyes and stroked his forehead. These past few days have been really hard.

"Your Excellency, the Nationalist Government has been holding a series of military meetings. They are still discussing whether the 72nd Army should participate in the war. All the personnel we have bribed have done their utmost to prevent the 72nd Army from joining the war. However, the demands of the frontline troops have been fed back to the Military Commission, and the warlords in various places are also putting pressure on the Nationalist Government. According to my humble opinion, if we launch a large-scale attack at this moment, the Nationalist Government will not be able to withstand the pressure."

Colonel Kakuta has been in Nanjing all the time, and his external identity is also a businessman, of course not a Japanese businessman. This guy has lived in China for too long. If he didn't expose himself, no one would think he was a Japanese.

"We need to prepare for both scenarios. Besides having these people continue to hold out, you need to organize some elite squadrons to disrupt China's transportation routes from south to north. The 72nd Army is fortunately in the north. If they want to reach Pujiang, besides their air force, their most reliable means of transport is the train. If we blow up a large number of railway tracks, their transportation speed will be greatly slowed down."

Even if General Matsui's head hurt, he was now in front of the sand table. Besides the main force of the 72nd Army north of Peking, their biggest concern was the Jiaodong Peninsula.

"How many army troops are there here? What's their combat effectiveness?"

General Matsui pointed to the Jiaodong Peninsula and said that it was too close to the Pujiang River.

"According to the information we've received, the publicly announced division is a reorganized infantry division with a strength of approximately 60,000 to 80,000 men. However, there are also nearly 40 security regiments in various locations, with a strength of around 100,000 men. There are also a number of other miscellaneous organizations that we can't yet identify. It's hard to say how effective they are. Aside from a few main units that have fought in the north, the rest of the troops haven't seen action."

After hearing what Colonel Kakuta said, General Matsui was also a little worried. He didn't expect that in just over half a year, the Jiaodong Peninsula had developed to this level. If they transport troops to Pujiang, we will face pressure from one side again.

The new recruits of the 72nd Army were also formidable. Although they lacked combat experience, the weapons they wielded were far more advanced than ours. Coupled with their impeccable logistics, they were like fierce tigers on the battlefield. As long as they could survive their first battle, they would truly transform in the subsequent battles, becoming even more formidable than even Japan's regular divisions.

"Hasn't the navy come up with a plan to attack Qingdao yet?"

Admiral Matsui did not really want the navy to attack Qingdao, but he wanted to make a gesture to at least prevent the Qingdao army from thinking about going south and just take care of himself.

Colonel Kakuta shook his head helplessly. He did not want to attack the navy because he knew the situation in Qingdao. The navy had suffered heavy losses in the last attack. If he went again this time, he could not think of any other outcome for the navy except returning in failure.

"Tell me what you think about the Pujiang battlefield. You may not have known it during the meeting just now, but our armies will soon be quarreling. Let's see how they quarrel."

General Matsui asked his secretary to give Colonel Kakuta a copy of the meeting minutes. The people listed in the minutes were all high-ranking officials of the Urawa Expeditionary Force. When they quarreled, they acted like street scoundrels and kept greeting the elderly in the other party's family.

"Have you finished reading it? Any comments?"

More than ten minutes later, General Matsui asked his own question. He had always admired Colonel Kakuta and believed that this guy had better room for development, but he had never made any decent achievements. Even as the commander of the expeditionary force, he could not promote this person for no reason.

"I believe we should launch the attack immediately. Waiting for the 72nd Army would be a serious mistake. The Nationalist government does not want the 72nd Army to join the war, even if we occupy most of Pujiang, or even the entire Pujiang River. They might allow the 72nd Army to join the war. If the 72nd Army arrives from the north at that time, the battlefield with us may not be in Pujiang."

Colonel Kakuta is in favor of starting the war immediately. We should quickly enter into a decisive battle while the enemy is not yet ready.

"You mean to say that we should use our swift military action to stun the Nationalist government, and inflict huge losses on them, and then force them to negotiate with us?"

General Matsui thought of this.

"Negotiations are just a delay, giving us a chance to regroup. Our goal is all of China. Once we occupy East China, the 72nd Army might be able to be transported here. By then, we'll have strategic depth and a stronger army. It won't be too late to compete with the 72nd Army."

Colonel Kakuta never underestimated the 72nd Army, but before engaging with it, he had to first eliminate the other armies...