Rebirth from the Ashes: Rebuilding the Red Soviet Area

Chapter 324: Kindness is not the key to success

Li Yan looked up and saw Captain Liu frowning.

He understood instantly

The Northwest Army has always been known for its bravery, especially these native Northwest men, who are generous and upright in character and cannot hide their devious thoughts at all.

And his "conspiracy theory" about strategy and tactics just now obviously made the straightforward battalion commander feel a little awkward and uncomfortable.

Li Yan slowly stood up and walked towards Captain Liu with steady steps.

When he got closer, he stretched out his right hand and gently patted Captain Liu's broad shoulders. The corners of his mouth rose slightly, revealing a faint smile, and then he said slowly: "Captain Liu"

"Have you ever heard the saying 'Warfare is the art of deception'?"

Captain Liu raised his head and his eyes met Li Yan's.

There was a hint of doubt in his eyes, but he nodded.

Li Yan continued: "I know you think my tactics are a bit insidious."

"But along the way, we witnessed how many villages were brutally murdered by the Japanese invaders."

"Those ruthless guys didn't even spare women, the elderly and children who were helpless."

"Where is the humanity left in them? They are nothing but a bunch of inhuman beasts!"

At this point, Li Yan gritted his teeth, with sparks of anger flashing in his eyes.

After calming down a little

Li Yan continued, "As the saying goes, 'Kindness is not the best way to command an army.' Facing a group of beasts like these, if we still show mercy, we would be disregarding the lives of our compatriots! Therefore, as long as we can eliminate these demons, any means are acceptable!"

After hearing Li Yan's passionate words, Captain Liu's originally furrowed brow finally relaxed.

He said in a low but firm voice: "Mr. Li, you are right. I am too soft-hearted."

“So what should we do next?”

"I'll do whatever you say."

Li Yan nodded and said, "I plan to split the troops into two groups."

"I led a group of people into Duolun City"

“Responsible for internal sabotage”

"You take the rest of the people and fight guerrilla warfare on the periphery."

......

In Duolun City, the Mengjiang Corps Headquarters

Intelligence officer Kyoji Tominaga walked into the headquarters excitedly, saluted Tojo respectfully, and reported excitedly: "Commander, Your Excellency..."

"Just received victory reports from various departments!"

"First, Lieutenant Colonel Honda Takenami led the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, along with the Mongolian Army and the National Army's 1st Cavalry Corps."

“After a fierce battle”

"Recaptured the Taipu Temple"

"Secondly, the 30th Regiment led by Colonel Ishikura Tetsurou has also repelled the 7th Independent Brigade that attacked Guyuan Town."

"Finally, there are the 1st Mixed Brigade and the 2nd Mixed Brigade"

"They have now successfully broken through Liu Ming's second line of defense."

“Full speed ahead”

Tominaga Kyoji handed the battle report to Tojo

Tojo looked at the battle report in his hand with a satisfied smile on his face.

He nodded and praised: "Yoshi!"

“It only took half a day to achieve such brilliant results.”

However, Tojo quickly regained his serious expression and gave further instructions to Tominaga Kyoji: "But this is not enough."

"Tell the 1st and 2nd Mixed Brigade"

"Let them move forward faster."

"We must take Zhangjiakou within three days"

"Another order to Honda Takenami"

"Their current priority is not just to capture a city or a piece of land, but to hold on to the Nationalist Army's 1st Cavalry Corps."

"We can't let them have any chance to breathe!"

"After we completely occupy Zhangjiakou"

"Sufficient troops will be dispatched to support them."

"Cooperate with them to completely annihilate the Nationalist cavalry in one fell swoop."

"As long as the threat from the National Army cavalry on the grassland is eliminated"

"We can then quickly occupy the entire Chahar region and even the Suiyuan region without any worries!"

"As for Colonel Ino-Shikakura Tetsurou"

"I want them to take control of Guyuan Town and immediately split up and attack Chongli again."

"Attack Zhangjiakou from the flank"

"Completely cut off Liu Ming's retreat route"

Tominaga Kyoji straightened up and shouted, "Hi!"

Just about to turn around and leave

Ayabe Tachibana quickly stopped him and said, "Wait a minute."

Then he suggested to Tojo: "Commander, Your Excellency"

"I always feel that there is something wrong with the current situation."

"Should we...should we change our original plan?"

Tojo, who always acted arbitrarily, heard Ayabe Tachibana interrupt his orders.

I was stunned

He may not listen to others, but he must take Ayabe Tachibana's words seriously.

Ayabe Tachibana is not only a member of the "Saber Group", but also the top graduate of the 36th class of the Army University.

In addition, Tojo's father was the first in the first saber group and was also the "big brother" of Ayabe Tachibana.

With this relationship

Tojo's attitude towards Ayabe Tachibana was not that of a subordinate, but rather that of a mentor and good friend.

He asked modestly, "Ayabe-kun?"

"Based on the relationship between you and me"

“There’s no need to hesitate when speaking.”

"Please speak up if you have anything to say."

Ayabe Tachibana pondered for a moment and said, "Commander, Your Excellency..."

"I always feel that this attack is too easy"

Ayabe Tachibana said, pointing to the map: "Let's not talk about anything else for now."

“Take Zhangjiakou as an example.”

“First, let’s look at the total military strength.”

"The 2nd Mixed Brigade lost half its troops when attacking Zhangbei, even if the 1st Mixed Brigade is included..."

"The total number of troops does not exceed 5000"

"But although Liu Ming's army only has one division..."

"But the number of troops is definitely more than 3."

"Also from the perspective of weapons and equipment"

"One-third of Liu Ming's army's weapons and equipment are from our empire."

"And they also inherited some of the Northeast Army's heavy weapons."

"Additionally, the 1st and 2nd Mixed Brigades faced difficulties in supplying troops."

"This means we don't have a big advantage in terms of weapons."

"But judging from the enemy and our military strength in Zhangjiakou..."

"It only took us half a day to break through Liu Ming's two lines of defense."

"Commander, don't you think it's too fast?"

At this point, Ayabe Tachibana paused and continued, "And the 1st Cavalry Army of the National Army."

"Let's not talk about the fact that Zhao Cheng, the commander of the 1st Cavalry Army, is a big shot in the Chinese cavalry world."

"It is the 7th Cavalry Division led by his subordinate Men Yue."

"That's a cavalry division with over 6000 men."

"Also, the 7th Cavalry Division is known as the 'Northern Branch' Iron Head Army."

"The cavalry regiment we sent over and the Mongolian cavalry of less than three divisions."

"It's not that easy to take over Taipu Temple"

......

Following the analysis of Ayabe Tachibana

Tojo also began to think

After a while, he frowned and looked down at the battle report in his hand again.

The more I look at him, the gloomier his face becomes.

"We destroyed more than 3000 enemies in Zhangjiakou and more than 500 in Taipusi."

"Guyuan Town has even fewer people, only about 200 people."

"idiot"

"These idiots"

"The enemy wasn't even injured at all"

Speaking of which

Tojo opened his eyes wide and said, "Could it be..."