The reporter's delegation stayed in Su County for three days, then went to Guzhen again. He was received by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Second Army here. He interviewed the Guzhen people's support team for two days and visited a nearby position. He was going to continue the interview on the north bank of the Fei River, but at this time, the officer in charge of the Propaganda Department announced that the Fei River was lost and the front-line troops had retreated to the north bank of the Fei River.

After the 13th Division failed to cross the force, the battlefield of Shikawa was temporarily calmed down. Haneda urgently asked for help to Shinroku Hata, demanding to strengthen the air force support. Often, the troops were successfully ahead. The subsequent troops were attacked by the Chinese Air Force and could not reinforce them, and eventually failed. If air support was not increased, even if the troops crossed the Shikawa River, casualties would be unbearable.

After receiving the telegram, Hata Shunrok immediately recruited the air force commander Naoda and asked him to find a way to provide cover for Haneda immediately, otherwise the air force would have to bear the responsibility for the failure of the battle. Naoda was very afraid. At the beginning of the war, the Japanese Air Force looked down on the Chinese Air Force, which had only two or three hundred old-style aircraft, but it was only at the beginning of the war that it turned out that the Chinese Air Force was a wolf in sheep's clothing. From the beginning of the war, the Japanese Air Force was always at a disadvantage. It was not obvious that the navy joined during the Battle of Songhu, but this disadvantage was very obvious when the war was in Xuzhou.

In fact, they also knew that the Chinese Air Force's magic radar had successfully cracked the radar and even imitated a radar station. However, the combination of radar and the Air Force was very poor. Moreover, radar stations in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have just begun to be built, with very few numbers, and they cannot control the sky in Huainan.

But if the Air Force cannot provide air cover, it will lead to the failure of the battle. This responsibility is his rice fields, which is also something that the Air Force cannot bear. The rice fields returned to the command center to convene staff to discuss countermeasures, and finally decided to increase the frequency of air strikes and use the airport near Jinan, Jiading, Nanjing as a land airport. The Navy sent more than three aircraft carriers to gather in the sea off Haizhou to carry out shuttle bombing to provide cover for the army, and also accelerate the construction of airports and radar stations in the Huainan area.

These two measures are very effective, especially. The first one is that the Japanese planes in the sky are significantly enhanced. After the planes taken off in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are turned to aircraft carriers outside Haizhou after the sky in Huainan; after the planes taken off on the aircraft carriers are bombed, they turn to Nanjing and Shanghai.

The battle in the sky became obviously fierce, and nearly a hundred planes fought in the sky for several days. At this critical moment, a serious incident occurred in the First War Zone and the Japanese occupied Puyang. In order to prevent the Japanese army from attacking, Qian Dajun drew half of the air force from the Fifth War Zone to support the First War Zone, and the threat from the Chinese Air Force was greatly reduced.

The Ninth Division took this opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to cross the river. The 51st Army failed to counterattack. Li Pinxian immediately ordered the retreat to the north bank of the Sei River. The 46th Army was responsible for blocking and covering the cover. He fought fiercely with the Japanese army at Cao Laoji and Mopan Zhanglian to stop the attack of the Ninth Division and then crossed the Sei River at Xinmaqiao. Just when Fan Songfu, Yu Xuezhong and others thought that the Japanese army would take advantage of the victory to pursue, Haneda ordered the Japanese army to stop on the south bank of the Sei River.

The order to stop the attack from time to time was Haneda, but the information from Nan Keihata Shunruo and Ye Xufei was quickly transmitted to Shanghai and then to Nanjing. Hata Shunruo summoned the staff to analyze and finally concluded that the army's purpose was to encircle and annihilate the 9th and 13th Divisions heading north in Suzhou.

"………, the 21st Army on the flanks have not fought and dragged the Third Division. To the west, the 11th Army in Mengcheng did not resist fiercely. It was obviously to attract our army to advance westward. However, they gathered a large number of troops near Suxian. Seeing that the Imperial Army broke through the Wohe River one after another, but there was no reinforcement at all, indicating that the general's purpose was to us to go north, just like he was in Nanjing, but we would not be fooled." A sneer appeared on Hata Shunruo's face: "Since that's the case, I will give the general a person who will treat him as a person, order the 9th Division and the 13th Division to stop the attack, order Tanishuo to take down Mengcheng within two days, then cross the Wohe River, attack northward, occupy Yongcheng, and complete the military combat plan."

After ordering, Hata Shunruo looked up at the officers around him and said confidently: "This deployment of the general is conducive to the completion of the combat plan formulated by the military headquarters. It also shows that they have not yet realized our combat plan. I hope you will work hard to completely annihilate the main force of the army and defeat the general."

"I wish to serve the Emperor! The imperial army's military fortune will last for a long time!" the officers answered in unison.

Gu Shoufu was reluctant to go north, which made Zhuang Jihua a little anxious. He was not sure whether the Japanese army discovered his arrangements, so he discussed with Xu Zuyi whether the troops on the Northern Line should be allowed to gradually retreat, abandon Tai'an, Laiwu, and Juxian, and retreat to the second blocking line.

"…, if we do this, will the Japanese army think that we have discovered their intentions and Tani Shoufu will go north?" Zhuang Jihua asked Xu Zuyi in confusion.

"Will Hata Shunruo be fooled?" Xu Zuyi smiled bitterly in his heart. He was not sure. However, the war on the northern front is currently going smoothly. Although the Japanese army's offensive was fierce and our army retreated step by step, the entire front line remained stable, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

"Commander, I think it's still stable. Don't retreat for the time being. Once you give up the mountains in the north, there will be a flat mountain behind you, and there is almost no danger to defend." Xu Zuyi thought and said slowly: "I think wait a little longer, like the Forty-Ninth Army and the Twenty-Fourth Army, not only should you support the northern line, but you can also invest in the southern line to counterattack when needed. If the Japanese army attacks Linyi, Zaozhuang, we will have less room for activities."

After hearing this, Zhuang Jihua nodded slightly after a long time. He deployed troops like this and had such thoughts. There was a lot of room for military activities, especially the Forty-Nine Army, which can be both south and north, and has a lot of room for activities.

At this moment, the new combat director Gong Chu came in to report that the first battle zone was called, Puyang was lost, and four Japanese divisions were on the north bank of the Yellow River.

Gong Chu just took office as the director of the theater operations. This appointment was not only beyond his expectations but also beyond his recommendation. Yang Yuchun was just casual at the beginning, but Zhuang Jihua really accepted it, which made Yang Yuchun and Gong Chu feel a sense of knowing each other.

But the news reported by Gong Chu at this moment surprised Zhuang Jihua. He did not expect that the First War Zone would put the Japanese army into Shandong so soon. He immediately ordered the First Army to strengthen the defense of the Yellow River ferry crossings, and at the same time ordered 78 to reinforce Heze immediately.

Shortly after his order was issued, Bai Chongxi called him from Kaifeng and ordered the Japanese army to cross the river. He also attached a plan for the First War Zone with the telephone.

"It seems that Bai Jiansheng and Commander Li have a lot of appetite," Zhuang Jihua said helplessly after reading the telegram. Xu Zuyi took the telegram and read it carefully.

The Japanese army attacking the First War Zone was also divided into two routes. Four main divisions advanced eastward to attack Puyang, and two flank divisions attacked Xinxiang along the Pinghan line. Bai Chongxi formulated a combat plan based on this, intending to entangle the Japanese army in attacking Xinxiang with the First Army, the 32nd Army and other troops. The Eastern Henan Corps formed by the Central Army's main forces, the 71, 72, 74, and 22nd Army, led by Xue Yue. When the Japanese army crossed the Yellow River, they came from the flank and split the Japanese army into two halves. The Fifth War Zone was responsible for annihilation of the enemy on the south bank, and the First War Zone was responsible for eliminating the enemy on the north bank.

This plan is grand, and it will destroy the Japanese army of four divisions in one fell swoop.

"Sir Bai did this, isn't this putting my War Zone on the stove?" Xu Zuyi almost jumped up after seeing it. The War Zone in War Zone was about to block the 500,000 Japanese troops from the north and south, and the use of troops was close to the limit. Four more people were needed, even two could become the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Zhuang Jihua said calmly and Xu Zuyi was a little anxious: "Commander, we have also formulated a plan to annihilate Gu Shoufu. If we want to implement this plan, what should Gu Shoufu on the southern line do? Do we still have sufficient troops to annihilate Gu Shoufu? Besides, what if Xue Yue cannot cut off the Japanese follow-up forces? Four divisions and 100,000 troops rushed into our side, the retreat of our 500,000 troops will be cut off."

These words made Zhuang Jihua a little scared, and Xu Zuyi's concerns were unreasonable from time to time. If Xue Yue's attack failed, 100,000 Japanese troops broke into the side of the fifth war zone and blocked the Japanese troops in the Yimeng Mountains, it would be in danger.

"What do you think?" Zhuang Jihua asked Gong Chu casually.

"This is a way of fighting to the death. If any side makes a slight mistake, we will suffer a catastrophe." Gong Chu replied simply. He didn't know about Zhuang Jihua, and he had never had the opportunity to make friends. During the Great Revolution, he was in Guangzhou, but he served as a major communications officer in the Guangzhou Communications Office of Cheng Qian's attack on the Hubei Army. He participated in the Youth Army. In 1925, he was sent to Beijiang to engage in agricultural movements by the party organization. After a long war, his strategic vision became very sharp. At this moment, he was a little strange. How could he not see this with his military qualities of Zhuge Bai Chongxi: "Did Chief Bai have other plans?"

"What are the plans?" Zhuang Jihua frowned and asked.

"I don't know." Gong Chu replied honestly: "However, Chief Bai should understand the difficulties of our war zone."

"You send a telegram to tell him about our difficulties, and at the same time tell him that our plan is going well," said Zhuang Jihua, who said softly in his nostrils, said with great dissatisfaction: "He understands our plan."

Zhuang Jihua suspected in his heart that Bai Chongxi deliberately put the Japanese army into the fifth zone in order to reduce the pressure on the First World War Zone. But why is this done? The task of the First World War Zone is to cover the flanks of the fifth zone. If the Japanese army fights, the task of the First World War Zone will not be completed. Even if he is defeated, the First World War Zone will have to bear the main responsibility.
Chapter completed!