The weather arrived as scheduled, and the spring breeze of Hexi warmed the banks of the Huai River, and the ice and snow began to be covered with a layer of new green; the warm sunshine shone on people warmly, and the farmers were busy in the fields, and the war seemed to have stopped at this moment.

The war stopped. The Japanese army conquered Nanjing continued to attack, conquering Dangtu, Wuhu, crossed the river to conquer Pukou and Yangzhou, and occupied two bridgeheads in Jiangbei. The Chinese team did not resist seriously, but only in Wuhu, Xue Yue led his troops to fight with the Fifth Division. After occupying these places, the Japanese offensive stopped.

The wheels of the war temporarily stopped, and both sides were licking the bleeding wounds. After the China Team withdrew from Nanjing, the Chinese Base Camp published the Battle Report of Songhu and Nanjing. The Chinese government announced that it would kill 260,000 Japanese troops, injured 180,000, seize 238 various artillery pieces, captured eight, destroyed 154 Japanese tanks, 14 armored vehicles, and shot down 1,233 Sun Yat-sen aircraft; the China Team itself suffered 160,000 casualties. The battle report caused a huge sensation, and the short-term unhappiness of Nanjing's fall was quickly submerged in joy.

The Japanese base camp was not willing to be outdone, and immediately issued a war report announcing that the CPC** team was killed, injured 320,000, captured 30,000, seized 130 artillery pieces, destroyed 20 tanks, shot down 120 aircraft, and killed 31,000 Japanese troops themselves.

Both sides exaggerated the other's casualties and reduced their own casualties.

However, there are still differences between strength and weakness. Although the Japanese base camp and the Central China Front Army were very disappointed. Strictly speaking, Nanjing was the Chinese team intentionally gave up, and Nanjing was an empty city. The Japanese army spent a huge price to occupy an empty city. After the Chinese team destroyed 100,000 Japanese troops, the main force easily jumped out of the Japanese encirclement.

However, China held consecutive victories to honor meritorious soldiers in the Battle of Nanjing. Chiang Kai-shek personally went to Bengbu to attend the summary meeting of the Nanjing retreat troops' victory. At the meeting, a series of medals and promotion orders were issued. Nanjing garrison commander Zhuang Jihua awarded the Blue Sky White Sun Medal and promoted to the second-level general, Yang Sen awarded the Blue Sky White Sun Medal and promoted to the second-level general, Lan Yundong awarded the Blue Sky White Sun Medal and promoted to the Lieutenant General,...

Subsequently, the base camp made adjustments to the withdrawal of Nanjing troops, abolished the Nanjing Garrison Command, the 49th Army and the 24th Army were transferred to the Fifth War Zone, the 19th Army and the 15th Army were transferred to Jiangxi, the 21st Army, the 71st, 72nd, and 78th Army were transferred to the Wuhan area for rest, and Hu Zongnan was promoted to the commander of the 17th Army and was transferred to the First War Zone.

The main force of the Japanese army was transferred south, and the Japanese army in North China was empty. Han Fu's third army launched a counterattack in Shandong, recapturing Huimin, Leling, Lingxian, and the troops were approaching Dexian. The first war zone also counterattacked to the region, recovering Anyang, Cixian, and Pengcheng, approaching. The second war zone Wei Lihuang launched a counterattack on Yuncheng. The 18th Army occupied the Taihang Mountains, and part of the 29th Army also entered the Taihang Mountains. There were continuous riots in Hebei and eastern Hebei, and beacons everywhere in North China.

In order to stabilize the situation in North China, the 10th Division and the 5th Division were transferred back to North China, and the 7th Division remained in Nanjing. The Japanese base camp approved the addition of five more divisions, and temporarily stopped the attack before North China stabilized and the Central China dispatched troops recovered their strength.

From this moment on, the War of Resistance Against Japan completely embarked on a different path from the previous life.

The horse's hooves hit the ground crisply. A burst of yellow dust was stepped on the dirt road. A group of knights guarded several cars and rushed along the river bank. The loess rolled up dust in the sky.

When they arrived at the shore of Longzi Lake, the soldiers quickly set up cordons around them. Several senior officers got out of the car. However, these officers accompanied a soldier without a rank and a wife to the lake.

"Chairman, this is Longzi Lake. It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang was raising a boat here. The bamboo fell in the water and turned into a giant dragon. He rose into the air, so it was called Longzi Lake." The place where he spoke was a general who was gray and had a general rank: "The crabs are produced here, with a full shell and flesh and a rich fat. They are local specialties. The chairman must try it later."

"Oh, no wonder you Li Heling raised you so white and fat. It turned out that you had eaten too many crabs here." Chiang Kai-shek was very excited. He went to Bengbu to preside over the victory conference. The main purpose was to work hard. Although he lost Nanjing, the whole country was excited and wiped out more than 100,000 Japanese troops. Such victory was enough to boost the confidence of the whole people. Now even those low-key clubs in Wang Jingwei dare not say anything lightly.

Chiang Kai-shek's jokes attracted a low voice. Chiang Kai-shek smiled and then took the lead. Soong Mei-ling was slightly behind. She was representing the Women's National Saving Federation to work hard on the military and local areas.

"Cultural Revolution," Chiang Kai-shek took two steps, stopped and called Zhuang Jihua over: "Let's go together, thank you for your hard work in Nanjing, and today we will comfort you."

Zhuang Jihua smiled and said, "Commander Li has already comforted me and has made me mess. Now when I hear the comfort, my stomach cramps."

Chiang Kai-shek laughed and said to Li Pinxian: "Heling, this is rare. Zhuang Wenge was famous for his good alcohol tolerance in Huangpu. Song Xi said that he could not catch up with Zhuang Wenge in terms of alcohol tolerance."

"There is, there, I have that ability," Li Pinxian laughed and said, "The Cultural Revolution is great, and it is great for fighting and drinking. He forced us to drink three of us that day. He fell down because he spent too much energy in Nanjing." He sighed, "War is so aging."

"The road is still long. General Heling has fought half of his life. Why do you sigh?" Zhuang Jihua smiled and said, "Looking at the scenery of the lake and the mountains, the military horses and the Kongtong of the army, it's a different feeling."

Everyone was talking and laughing and wandering on the shore of Longzi Lake. A painting workshop had already stopped by the lake. Everyone got on the pleasure boat. The pleasure boat slowly left the shore and lined up into the lake.

On the pleasure boat, a table of banquets had been arranged. The main dish on the table was the Bengbu specialty crab. Li Pinxian was a landlord. He invited Chiang Kai-shek and his wife to the first seat and then asked Zhuang Jihua to sit in the second seat. Of course, Zhuang Jihua refused and insisted on letting Li Pinxian sit in the second seat. Li Pinxian was promoted to general last year, and his reputation was ahead of him. Li Pinxian could not resist Zhuang Jihua, and then Yang Sen sat in front of Zhuang Jihua again.

Chiang Kai-shek did not drink, so everyone didn't drink much. After drinking two glasses, Li Pinxian diligently promoted crabs to Chiang Kai-shek, and everyone ate and drank. Li Pinxian wrote a few more words, saying that Zhuang Jihua lacked a lot in this regard, so he didn't participate much.

"Cultural Revolution, what do you think about the next trend of the Japanese army?" The things on the table decreased rapidly, and Chiang Kai-shek pulled the topic to the trend of the Japanese army.

As soon as Chiang Kai-shek said, everyone focused their attention on Zhuang Jihua. The generals who came out of Nanjing were self-evident, but Li Pinxian and others wanted to hear Zhuang Jihua's knowledge. They all judged that the battle in Nanjing could not be defended, but they did not expect that such a result would come to an end. Zhuang Jihua's reputation for defending was well-deserved.

"Now the Japanese army has two roads, one is to continue to advance westward and conquer Wuhan in one fell swoop; the other is to go north and open up the Jinpu Road;

In order to make the Japanese army head north to open the Jinpu Road, there are two reasons: I must gather in the threat of heavy troops in the southern section of the Jinpu Road. After the war in Nanjing, the Japanese army no longer dared to underestimate our army, and he could not ignore the threat of our army in the southern section of the Jinpu Road; secondly, opening the Jinpu Road to connect North China and central China is of great significance to the Japanese army, so I judged that the Japanese army must go north."

Chiang Kai-shek nodded, and he turned to Li Pinxian again: "Brother Heling, what do you think?"

"The judgment of the Cultural Revolution makes sense," Li Pinxian flattered him. In fact, the route of the Japanese army heading north was obvious in the eyes of military experts. He and Li Zongren, the commander of the Fifth War Zone, had long believed that the Japanese army would go north. The troops in the Fifth War Zone were too few. Except for the training and equipment of the Third Group of Han Fudi and Yu Xuezhong, the 51st Army, the 51st Army, the 89th Army, and the 57th Army were all miscellaneous brands. Now Chiang Kai-shek left all the 24th Army of the 49th Army breaking out of Nanjing in the Fifth War Zone, and the 23rd Army that the Second War Zone did not want, which made Li Zongren feel relieved: "Commander Li and I also judged in this way. Chairman, the Japanese army must go north to the Jinpu Line."

"It seems that you have the same judgment as the General Staff Headquarters, but Wuhan's defense must also be strengthened, and the Japanese army may advance west along the Yangtze River." After saying that, he turned to Zhuang Jihua: "Cultural Revolution, I plan to let you serve as the deputy commander of the Fifth War Zone. What do you think?"

Before Zhuang Jihua could speak, Li Pinxian was stunned. He didn't expect that Chiang Kai-shek would have this idea, letting this number one emperor student come to the fifth war zone. It's good that this student is very good at fighting, but will the people from Huangpu listen to Li Zongren?

"Students obey orders." Zhuang Jihua stood up and said.

"We fought very well in Nanjing. I hope you can fight better on the Jinpu Road." Chiang Kai-shek smiled with satisfaction, and then encouraged: "The Forty-Ninth Army and the Twenty-Fourth Army can form an attacking corps. How much rest time do you need for the Cultural Revolution?"

Zhuang Jihua thought for a while and said, "The Japanese army's first initiative this time is very heavy. It will not launch an attack without three months. I estimate that the Japanese army will launch an attack from the end of May or even June. This period is enough for us to rest."

After retreating from Nanjing, Zhuang Jihua adopted a plan to retreat with great strides. Li Zongren once personally asked him to leave some troops to help Huainan defense, but Zhuang Jihua invited him to the army to see. After Li Zongren saw it, he stopped insisting.

"However, principal, the students believe that the fifth war zone needs to increase its strength," Zhuang Jihua is now confident. He wants to win a bigger victory in the fifth war zone: "In Nanjing, the Japanese army suffered a loss of underestimating the enemy. This time, in order to open up the Jinpu Road, the Japanese army must mobilize heavy troops to defend the fifth war zone. At least two armies are needed in Huainan, and at least four armies are needed in Huainan and Shandong."

When Chiang Kai-shek heard this, he shook his head repeatedly: "I don't have so many troops to give you. The General Staff believes that the Japanese army will divide troops into two groups, advancing north and south. In order to ensure the flanks, they will also launch an attack on the First War Zone at the same time. The First War Zone also needs to increase its troops. Moreover, after the battles between Songhu and Nanjing, the troops were greatly damaged. Your Sichuan troops were quickly replenished, and the other troops were not so quickly."

"Then give me the 22nd Army." Zhuang Jihua asked Chiang Kai-shek for troops in public, but unexpectedly Chiang Kai-shek still shook his head: "Defense is also needed around Wuhan, so it depends on the 22nd Army."

"Otherwise, the 60th Army of Guangting, Lu Han's 58th Army, and the New 38th Division and the New 22nd Division of Sun Liren Liao Yaoxiang were transferred to me."

Zhuang Jihua simply regarded himself as the commander of the Fifth War Zone and began to desperately ask Chiang Kai-shek for troops, but Chiang Kai-shek still refused: "Wuhan's defense is also very important."

"Principal, I ask for a lot of money. You can't pay it back. You can't have enough troops. How do you ask me to fight?" Zhuang Jihua spread his hands: "General Heling knew that the Fifth War Zone had original troops, and the Third Army of Han Fudi was the main force, but Han Fu didn't listen to the mobilization. Yu Xuezhong's 51st Army had only two divisions. Now, if the Japanese army landed in Qingdao, they might not be able to stop them. These two troops can be considered to be able to fight. Other troops, Han Deqin's 98th Army's two divisions were adapted by the Jiangsu Security Team, and the essence has long been removed. Pang Bingxun said it was a legion, but in fact there were only five regiments, and his combat effectiveness was limited. Commander Li said it was an army, but in fact it was only a 31st Army, or a new unit, and the combat effectiveness was not optimistic.

The 23rd Army, the 24th Army, and the 49th Army, have suffered a lot of losses after the early stage of combat, and their combat power can only be counted as 70%. Principal, you have to increase our troops."

Zhuang Jihua's slutty look made Soong Mei-ling laugh: "The Cultural Revolution can also bargain."

"Of course," Zhuang Jihua said with a sarcasm: "If there is insufficient troops, you will have to defeat the battle. I don't want to fight a battle like Nanjing."

"Didn't Nanjing fight well?" Soong Mei-ling was a little surprised.

"The main reason why Nanjing was able to achieve this result was that the Japanese army underestimated the enemy. After the Battle of Shanghai, the Japanese army should have rested for one month, at least half a month. Moreover, the Japanese army had too much appetite and dared to use two divisions to make a long-distance detour. The two divisions were divided into two groups. In addition, Lu Han, Guangting and others came in time, so we still had a little luck, so we had such a result. Next time, we would not have this luck." Zhuang Jihua said seriously.

Soong Mei-ling didn't understand military affairs. She glanced at Chiang Kai-shek and saw that although Chiang Kai-shek's face was smiling, she showed a hint of displeasure in her eyes. She thought about it a little and understood that Chiang Kai-shek advocated fighting in the Nanjing Battle, but now Zhuang Jihua said this, no wonder he was unhappy.

"After all, it was victorious. When Nanjing retreated, the chairman was worried about it every day, for fear that you would fall into Nanjing and couldn't get out." Soong Mei-ling smiled and concealed Chiang Kai-shek's emotions, but his eyes were winked without paying attention.
Chapter completed!