It is true that a man relies on his clothes, his horse relies on his saddle, and soldiers also rely on their guns. After the recruits put on their guns, they immediately became energetic.
Although the equipment sent this time was mainly Hanyang-made peace-making equipment and was of various types. It was not consistent with the Japanese weapons brought by the independent division. Follow-up logistics support was a big problem, but having guns is far better than not having guns. In the words of Li Yunlong :
"Anything that can pull out pus is a good plaster!"
Now Chu Xiong has confidence. With the wealthy Yingjiang here, he won't be afraid of not having equipment in the future.
The high-level negotiations were still going on, and John Bull had always held out illusions, hoping that the Japanese would not continue to fight in the direction of Brother Asan, and that it would be best to stop in the capital of the Emerald Country.
The main force of the Chinese expeditionary force, the Fifth Army and the Sixth Army, have already assembled at Baoshan on the border of the Emerald Kingdom, waiting for John Bull's nod!
As the second echelon, the Independent Division, the New Seventh Division, and the New Ninth Division have also completed their training and plan to move closer to the Emerald Country border in three days;
The third echelon of the 66th Army has also been formed, with a total strength of 160,000, exceeding the 100,000 in another time and space.
The command team of the expeditionary force has also been finalized, but the commander Wei Junru had conflicts with Zhongcai and has not been in place;
Du Guangting, commander of the Fifth Army, also serves as deputy commander of the expeditionary force, and Chu Xiong serves as chief of staff. The Japanese have already come to light, while Huaxia and John Bull are still arguing.
The main focus of the dispute was the issue of command authority of the expeditionary force. The arrogant John Bull still insisted on being commanded by the British commander-in-chief Hutton. They believed that the backward Chinese people did not know how to fight and must obey the command of noble gentlemen;
The real intention is to let the Chinese people serve as cannon fodder for them and cover their retreat to Asan Kingdom, while Zhongcai also wants to maintain the integrity of the army.
By mid-February, only the 49th and 93rd divisions of the Sixth Army of the 160,000-strong expeditionary force had entered the Jingdong area of Myanmar, while the rest of the troops were still gathering on the Yunnan Highway and were on standby;
This matter was so urgent that General Stevie almost jumped. The military situation was urgent, so John Bull pretended not to see it. This situation lasted until the light fell.
John finally became anxious and agreed to the Chinese Expeditionary Force entering the Emerald Kingdom to fight. However, Du Guangting, the temporary commander of the expeditionary force, was to be commanded by Hutton. For the sake of the overall situation, Zhongcai pinched his nose and agreed!
He told Guangting in private that he must report everything to him, and only after he nodded did he listen to Hutton.
It was finally time to go abroad. Chu Xiong also rushed from Spring City to Baoshan, the temporary headquarters of the expeditionary force headquarters, to report. Zhong Guoliang took over the command of the independent division. Steve Diwei also rushed to Baoshan, and a command team was temporarily set up.
In Baoshan, there are many generals in the expeditionary force headquarters, but they are clearly distinguished. Although the two lieutenant generals Zhang Yu and Yan Haoyu are also in the Central Army system, they are incompatible with the commanders and division commanders of the 5th Army and the 6th Army. Chu Xiong is even more isolated. They Even being next to Chu Xiong was afraid of arousing suspicion among the tribesmen. Even Stevie could feel the estrangement and hostility between the two sides.
General Stevie was not a political novice. On the contrary, he was still an expert on China. He knew all about it, but he was very unwilling to see a red-white confrontation in the expeditionary force. He said:
"Hey, generals, I heard that there is a saying in China that brothers are jealous of each other and resist their aggression. A few years ago, you united together to deal with the damn Japanese. Wasn't it a good fight?
Now that you have jointly sent troops to the Emerald Kingdom to defend the southwest of China, I hope you can put aside your prejudices, even temporarily, to deal with our common enemy;
I hope that when you are together, 1 plus 1 can be greater than 2, not less than 2, do you understand? "
After Steve finished speaking, he looked at Chu Xiong, who nodded sincerely;
Then he looked at Du Guangting and others. Du Guangting nodded casually, and the others followed suit. Old Man Shi still had to give him face, and there was no point in talking about it.
Seeing that the two sides had at least reached a superficial consensus, Stevie stopped taking things seriously. Twenty years of grudges could not be wiped out by him with just one word. As long as he didn't go too far, he would turn a blind eye. Time will do the rest;
Yingjiang's thinking was much simpler. After temporarily calming down the hostility on both sides, he started to talk about business:
"Chu, you are the chief of staff of the expeditionary force. Please tell me your thoughts on entering the Emerald Kingdom to fight."
Shi Diwei first selected Chu Xiong's general. Chu Xiong was the commander designated by Lord Franklin, so Shi Dewei naturally wanted to see his level.
Chu Xiong was not polite and stood up directly and said:
“The purpose of the Japs’ southward strategy is to obtain the oil, steel, rubber, food and other resources they urgently need. In fact, their strategic purpose has been achieved;
Attacking the Emerald Kingdom, cutting off the Yunnan Highway, and even further attacking the Asan Kingdom and further Central and West Asia are not part of the southward strategy of the Japanese base camp, at least not now.
Because the battle line is stretched too long, this is not just a matter of swallowing the fat in one mouthful, it is swallowing the sky in one mouthful, which will burst the belly! "
At first, the corps and division commanders of the Central Army never looked at Chu Xiong. In their view, Chu Xiong was just a country bumpkin. He never even went to a military academy. He was nothing in front of Huangpu elites like them. He was still serving as their chief of staff and was not a good person. What do you think?
It's not that they haven't heard of Chu Xiong's achievements in Hedong, but they just don't believe it. They think the Eighth Route Army is bragging, or piling everyone's credit on him alone;
It may be okay to fight guerrilla warfare, but you will be blinded if you fight against the Japanese army. This prejudice has been deeply ingrained, so they looked down on him at first. It was not just because he was in the Eighth Route Army. It was not that they did not follow the CP when they were in Huangpu. united;
Unite when it's time to unite, stab when it's time to stab, there's no conflict, the key is that Chu Xiong has to show his ability.
Not many people who can go abroad to fight are idiots, they are all knowledgeable, so Chu Xiong impressed them with just a few words, especially General Sun Fumin, commander of the new 38th Division. He was undoubtedly knowledgeable and motioned Chu Xiong to continue. Du Guangting also put away his contempt and listened seriously.
Seeing the effect, Chu Xiong continued:
"Everyone, the distance from Dongbo to the Jade Kingdom is at least more than 8,000 kilometers, which is more than one-tenth of the earth. Let alone little devils, the Goshawk Kingdom may not be able to stay there for a long time."
Mr. Shi nodded in agreement, and Chu Xiong continued:
"The Japs have always had the tradition of defeating their superiors. The reason why they attacked the Emerald Kingdom and even thought of attacking the Asan Kingdom was purely the result of the hot heads of the division team, unit captains, and even the group captains below. In their eyes, they just Dazzling military exploits!
In my opinion, China does not need to worry about the Japanese cutting off the Yunnan road. It only needs to send powerful troops to guard the Nujiang River and the Yunnan border. The main force will detour from the right wing to the enemy's flank and rear, and send one unit to cut off their supply lines. The other units only need cameras. Set up pocket formations and ambush enemies when they come after them;
The various units of our expeditionary force would sometimes separate and attack together, and sometimes gather heavy troops in one place. If they could win, they would fight. If they couldn't, they would retreat in large strides.
We have an army of more than 100,000 people. How many people are suitable for the Japanese to come? Thirty thousand? fifty thousand? What to do with supplies for so many troops? Food can be looted, but what about weapons and equipment? Where's the ammunition?
Cutting off the Yunnan front line will be no problem for half a year, one year, or even two years in China. The Japanese supply level cannot last even three months in the Jade Kingdom. This is my overall strategy! "
General Stilwell took the lead in applauding, followed by Yan Haoyu, Zhang Yu, Sun Fumin also followed, and then Du Guangting...
"Chief of Staff Chu, this combat policy is a good one, but if you give up the Yunnan road and make way for the main road, the Japanese will continue to attack Asan Kingdom. Zhong Cai and John Bull will not agree."
Du Guangting said with a worried look.
