Chapter 138 How to Choose

Pan Zhuren looked at Lin Fan, "How reliable is it that the Japanese Fifth Division will land at Hangzhou Bay?"

From his question, it was clear that this was a very serious matter.

The organization was also unwilling to see the Nationalist army suffer a major defeat in Central China.

Although the Nationalist army and the organization had been at odds for years, each wanting to put the other to death, the organization truly hoped that the Nationalist army could hold out longer in Central China, given the current crisis and the need for unity against foreign aggression.

If they could stick to the original plan and hold out in Central China for three years, the entire war situation would be extremely favorable.

Lin Fan smiled wryly, "One hundred percent reliable! This is their established combat strategy and won't be changed unless a major event occurs."

Pan Hannian began to consider this.

Lin Fan suggested, "Tonight, I met Ms. He Xiangning at the Great World and mentioned this matter.

Please have her relay this to Mr. Chang, stressing the importance of this information.

If the Nationalist army does not prepare for an ambush at Hangzhou Bay, defeat is imminent."

Pan Zhuren thought for a moment, "We will also provide a reminder."

Lin Fan thought for a moment, "If the organization can find a way to collect some stragglers when the Nationalist army collapses, or collect some of their abandoned weapons and ammunition, this would be of great benefit to the organization's growth in the entire Central China region and the future of the war."

Pan Zhuren's eyes lit up, "Taking advantage of others' misfortune is not the act of a gentleman!"

Lin Fan smiled, "We are rescuing those lost sheep.

If the Nationalist army cannot stop the Japanese Tenth Army from landing at Hangzhou Bay, they will collapse all the way.

The elite troops of the entire Nationalist army have already been almost completely lost in this battle.

If we do our best to save a group of people, we are preserving the seeds and strength of resistance for this country and this nation."

Pan Zhuren looked at Lin Fan, "You are very pessimistic!"

Lin Fan said seriously, "I am not pessimistic at all. On the contrary, I am very optimistic.

I know that we will win the war.

And the Japanese devils will only be able to surrender unconditionally.

In the process of the war, our organization will grow and expand rapidly.

Our strength will also grow at an incredible speed.

However, the future is bright, but the road is tortuous.

The bright future requires us to keep moving forward to reach it.

And this does not affect my calm judgment of the situation.

I cannot replace the real situation that will happen with my own hopes."

Pan Zhuren asked strangely, "Aren't there still the Wu-Fu Line and the Xi-Cheng Line, these two defense lines?

These two defense lines are known as the Eastern Maginot Line!

The National Government spent a lot of money and three years to build them.

Even if things really don't go well, the country's hundreds of thousands of troops can stabilize the situation by holding these two defense lines."

Lin Fan sneered, "A team without morale and fighting spirit cannot defend any fortress.

If they had retreated to the two defense lines half a month earlier, the morale of the soldiers would still be there.

The generals would dare to fight, and the soldiers would dare to fight!

At that time, a proactive retreat could still hold the line.

In the past half month, the more the Nationalist army fought, the greater the casualties.

Relying on enthusiasm to charge can be done once or twice, but not again and again.

Now the Nationalist army's offensive has long been disintegrated and has turned to defense.

However, the entire defense of western Shanghai had no plan or usable fortifications in advance.

This is entirely a temporary idea, a whim.

National military affairs are so trivial, it would be a miracle if they didn't fail.

What's more, the quality of those two defense lines was originally just to fool their own people.

Have you ever seen a shooting hole in a fortress that a person can crawl into?

On the Wu-Fu Line, such shooting holes are everywhere.

You've seen reinforced concrete permanent fortresses, but you haven't seen bamboo-reinforced concrete permanent fortresses, have you?

On the Wu-Fu Line, more than 90% of the fortresses are bamboo-reinforced.

Such fortresses, coupled with the Nationalist army whose courage has been shattered by the Japanese devils, they will not only be unable to defend the two defense lines, but even Nanjing will not be able to defend."

Pan Zhuren's face changed, "You don't think they can defend Nanjing?"

"That's right! They can't defend it!

Not to mention two years, they can't even defend it for two months.

However, after this battle, Mr. Chang will have to completely abandon the tune of 'internal pacification before external resistance.'

He saw the crisis of the entire country and nation and had to truly unite with our party to fight the war together.

But this honeymoon period will not last long, maybe only a year or two.

As long as the war situation stabilizes slightly, Mr. Chang will definitely repeat the old tune.

In these one or two years, we must try our best to develop and expand our territory and strength.

We should seize all the places where the National Government retreats from the Japanese devils."

Pan Zhuren was a little embarrassed, "Our strength is still in the development stage and we don't have the strength to fight the Japanese devils head-on."

Lin Fan smiled, "The National Government and the Japanese army only focus their entire strategic focus on large and medium-sized cities, and all transportation nodes.

Of course, we don't need to compete with them for these places.

Their approach is called elite combat, focusing all their forces on one point and occupying major cities.

But the world is not just made up of points, but of surfaces.

Fortunately, our greatest advantage is mobilizing the ordinary masses, and the vast countryside is our world.

In the future, the Japanese devils will occupy the cities, and we will manage the countryside.

Surrounding the cities from the countryside, when our strength is sufficient, we can drive the Japanese devils out in one fell swoop."

After Lin Fan finished speaking, Pan Hannian listened with great interest.

He really understood what Lin Fan said.

He thought it over in his mind and felt that Lin Fan's view was correct.

Surrounding the cities from the countryside!

After a long while, Pan Zhuren came back to his senses, "Your suggestion is excellent.

I will definitely submit this suggestion, as for your suggestion to collect stragglers and collect weapons and ammunition, I will also start preparing."

Lin Fan smiled and stood up, ready to leave.

Ji Wudi was just a tool throughout the whole process, daring not to ask anything.

He didn't say anything.

He just quietly drank a cup of bitter coffee.

Pan Zhuren saw that Lin Fan was not taking the rickshaw of the people he had brought with him.

Instead, he was taking a rickshaw pulled by an ordinary rickshaw driver waiting for customers outside.

This is a very careful person.

Shanghai at this time was already a city that never sleeps.

When Pan Zhuren walked out of the coffee shop, it was almost eleven o'clock.

There were still many people on the streets outside, hurrying, and many were sitting leisurely in rickshaws, not knowing whether they were going out or going home.

Zhang Boting and He Xiangning left just after nine o'clock.

Therefore, they did not see what happened later, but this did not prevent He Xiangning from calling.

She called Chang Kaishen directly.

Chang Kaishen listened silently as He Xiangning relayed that a man calling himself Lin Fan of the Long Group, had confirmed that the message his department had sent in clear code was genuine.

Hearing the words coming from the other end of the phone, "The enemy will definitely strive for the result that you least want to see."

He thought of his current situation: At this time, if the Japanese devils really added a division of troops to Central China, the result that he least wanted to see was indeed for them to land at Hangzhou Bay.

If the Japanese devils really wanted to add a division, he hoped that they would still land at Wusongkou.

To appear step by step on the front of the Shanghai fronts, instead of appearing at Hangzhou Bay, behind his army!

Thinking of this, Chang Kaishen felt a chill down his back, as if the eyes of those Japanese devils were staring at his back.

After hanging up the phone.

He immediately summoned personnel to hold a meeting in the operations command room.

At the meeting, Chang Kaishen frankly told everyone about the messages concerning his department that he had received in recent days.

In fact, all he knew in recent days were only two clear-code telegrams.

In addition, it was confirmed that one of the two battle reports in the two codes was accurate and one was wrong.

Regarding the battle report from Jiangwan Airport, according to accurate information: the Japanese devils also suffered nearly two thousand casualties.

Instead of the more than five hundred reported by this "department."

Although the matter was strange: among the Japanese devils who died at the airport, there was actually an army brigade of more than a thousand.

But the source of this news was accurate, and Chang Kaishen preferred to believe this news.

In addition, there was another unconfirmed message: the newly formed Japanese Tenth Army was going to land at Hangzhou Bay on the fifth.

This issue was brought up for discussion again.

Among the generals under Chang Kaishen, General Tang Shengzhi was the first to express his opinion: This is a conspiracy by the Japanese devils to force our already very stretched troops to be drawn back to defend Hangzhou Bay.

They will defeat us from the front!

I have personally inspected Hangzhou Bay: you can walk around in the river wearing water boots.

The pirates more than three hundred years ago landed at Hangzhou Bay because they used cold weapons.

The supplies were not heavy, so they were able to succeed.

It is impossible for the current Japanese army, with heavy equipment such as tanks, cars, and artillery, to land at Hangzhou Bay.

If they really abandoned these and landed, they would be vulnerable when they met our army.

The Japanese devils are sending themselves to their deaths by landing at Hangzhou Bay!

In addition, they already have two complete landing sites in Shanghai.

If these Japanese devils really wanted to land at Hangzhou Bay, they should have landed at Hangzhou Bay when they opened up the landing sites for the second time.

Therefore, I think this is a conspiracy by the Japanese devils, just wanting us to relax our frontal defenses.

The Japanese devils have been attacking less fiercely these days, which shows that they are also waiting for changes on the battlefield.

Perhaps what the Japanese devils are waiting for is for us to transfer our troops back to defend.

Then take the opportunity to attack and catch us off guard.

Tang Shengzhi explained the whole situation by himself.

Of course, there were also dissenting opinions: First: Before the September 18th Incident, the Army University was stationed in Beiping.

Senior Japanese officers were hired as tactical instructors.

In one drunken moment, when discussing national defense, the instructor said: Jinshanwei, Dapeng Bay, and Beihai are all good places to land.

It can be seen that the Japanese devils' intention to invade our country has been around for a long time, and it can also prove that Hangzhou Bay is indeed in the strategic plan formulated by the Japanese devils.

Second: Now that the enemy and we are in a stalemate, if the Japanese devils really add a division.

It is true that adding it to Hangzhou Bay and landing behind our army would have the greatest effect.

The opinions against and in favor of the Japanese devils landing each had their own basis.

Dai Li, whom Chang Kaishen compared to his sword, stood up, "So far, we have not found any clues about 'our department.'

Nor have we collected any information about the Japanese forming the Tenth Army."

This made Chang Kaishen very difficult: Did the choice ultimately have to be made by himself?

Although he knew that what he least wanted in Central China right now was for a Japanese devil army to appear behind western Shanghai.

But he still had a fluke mentality, what if this was really a trick by the Japanese devils?

Thinking that he had simply and neatly opposed Chen Cheng's decision to withdraw his troops and return to the two defense lines to defend.

Chang Kaishen decided to believe in Lao Tang once, Lao Tang was upright, pragmatic, good at fighting, and had very good courage and vision.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been promoted to a first-class general now.

Chang Kaishen once again issued an order: Let the company stationed in Hangzhou Bay pay attention to observation and defense.

He had already placed his hope that the news from "our department" was false.

In contrast to Chang Kaishen's attitude: Those in northern Shaanxi completely believed the two telegrams issued by "our department."

Especially the telegram that Pan Zhuren had just sent back, this telegram only lightly mentioned the 400,000 US dollars that Lin Fan had turned over to the organization on behalf of the special company tonight.

More of the content focused on Lin Fan's analysis of the Central China battlefield, and his prediction of the development of the war situation in the entire country in the coming period: In the foreseeable future, the Japanese devils will continue to attack and occupy various large and medium-sized cities and transportation hubs.

However, the vast countryside will be the most suitable place for the organization to develop and grow.

The idea of the Japanese devils occupying various points, and us developing on the surface, was quite novel.

It was also very practical to go to the countryside to mobilize the vast number of peasants to actively resist the war.

This was exactly what the organization was best at.

That night, the oil lamp in the cave dwelling was lit until the sun came out.

The people who had been discussing all night moved the discussion to the middle of the courtyard.

In fact, at this time, this group of people living in cave dwellings and wearing ordinary clothes, the army under their command had long been on various fronts across the country, cooperating with the Nationalist army fighting on the front lines.

They were active on the front lines of the war, strongly supporting various battles of resistance.

These armies were establishing a new order in the places occupied by the Japanese devils after the Nationalist army retreated, and were leading the people in these areas to persist in the war.

Unlike the national affairs discussed by these leaders, Jin Wenzheng did not join in Huang Jinrong's fun tonight, although he also received an invitation.

However, his wife liked the excitement, and it was very close to home.

Yong Chuyun returned home, very different from usual.

She went straight into Jin Wenzheng's study, which was unusual.

Although his wife was strong, she usually did not enter this study.

This was Jin Wenzheng's last quiet place in this home.

His wife was obviously too excited tonight and did not pay attention to her husband's gloomy face.

She ran straight to her husband and asked loudly, "Husband! Guess who I met tonight?"

Jin Wenzheng had always been a good man, even though he was full of resentment about his wife's behavior now, he still catered to her, hoping that she would leave quickly.

Let himself have a quiet desk in this turbulent era.

So he casually said, "Did you see Lu Lan Chun?"

Yong Chuyun said disapprovingly, "I saw her, but she wasn't the focus tonight."

Jin Wenzheng didn't know what was wrong with his wife tonight?

Normally, she had been chasing after this Lu Lan Chun, and she had to go see her whenever she had a new play.

Even if there was no new play, his wife would spend money to go see one of her plays at least once a week.

Jin Wenzheng began to name names: Huang Jinrong? Du Yuesheng? Zhang Xiaolin?

Yong Chuyun was an impatient person, "These people are not important!"

Jin Wenzheng's interest was really piqued: The three tycoons are not important?

Who is important?

Yong Chuyun began her performance, "It was very lively tonight.

At first, the banquet was nothing special, everything was normal.

The show didn't start until after nine o'clock.

People kept jumping down from the third floor.

It was a real jump, and whoever fell down couldn't get up.

Then there was gunfire on the third floor.

I hurried to run outside, but I fell at the door."

Jin Wenzheng couldn't sit still now, and immediately stood up, "You fell when so many people were squeezing?

Are you hurt?"

He pressed Yong Chuyun to sit down on the chair and carefully picked up her feet to look at them.

Yong Chuyun impatiently opened his hand, "I fell to the ground, watching the big feet stepping over my head, and thought I was going to be trampled to death there tonight.

But what happened?

Guess what happened?"

Seeing that his wife was still being coy at this time.

Jin Wenzheng was also relieved, "You were saved!"

"Yes! I was dragged into a room next to me.

You can't imagine that it was a girl who saved me.

She said her name was Ji Wuming." (Ji Wuming: literally "Remembering No Name," suggesting a desire to forget the past.)

Jin Wenzheng immediately said, "This is a person with a story, Ji Wuming, meaning that she doesn't want her life anymore."

Yong Chuyun was indeed led astray, "She is so young and so beautiful, how could she not want her life?"

Thinking of that girl's desperate effort to squeeze back in, she might really not want her life anymore.

"That's not important!" Yong Chuyun said.

"After that girl saved me, instead of running outside, she squeezed inside.

I saw fewer people coming out, and I was about to walk out of the doorman's room to go home.

Another group of people with guns rushed into the theater.

Guess what kind of people rushed in?"

"I don't have any friends with guns, how can I guess?" Jin Wenzheng actually wanted to know, but he really couldn't guess.

"Those people are all people you know, soldiers." Yong Chuyun prompted.

"I don't know any soldiers, I'm a university professor, how would I know those soldiers?" Jin Wenzheng said in a bad tone.

Yong Chuyun continued to prompt, "Those days, you watched them every day, and you didn't do anything at home.

These days, you have been talking about going to see them and bringing them something."

Jin Wenzheng looked at his wife in surprise, "Soldiers of the 542nd Regiment?

Is it them?"

"Yes! I'm also surprised!

Those days, I also saw them, when they were building fortifications opposite.

I recognized them, they were the ones who rushed in tonight.

It's too difficult for them, being locked up in the refugee camp by those foreigners.

I guess they were bored and rushed into the Great World to rob." Yong Chuyun said with a smile.