ATPnovel Chapter 101 Orders from Above: Heading to the 5th War Zone
Chapter 101 Orders from Above: Heading to the 5th War Zone
"Li Jianghe? Hmm, he's a good fighter. I can agree to that condition."
The Chairman said this.
Anyway, Li Jianghe is currently in Chizhou, and he doesn't want to use him, or rather, he doesn't dare to use him. So why not do him a favor and return the item to its rightful owner?
"Oh, right, and Xu Dingguo too. He fought alongside Li Jianghe back then. Let's transfer him here as well, Chairman."
Commander Li casually mentioned it.
"Sure, sure. What's the second condition?"
The chairman asked.
At present, the Japanese invaders are advancing south from Shandong and want to open up the Jinpu Railway. The Fifth War Zone is the first to bear the brunt, and he still needs to rely on Commander Li. He will naturally agree to any conditions that can be agreed to.
"Also, the Fifth War Zone is severely understaffed and needs reinforcements. I just don't know which troops you can send to me?"
Commander Li inquired.
These words made the Chairman ponder for a moment.
The Central Army could not mobilize many troops, as most of them had suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Shanghai and many had not yet been replenished with sufficient manpower.
"Would Germany find the Sichuan Army, and some units of the Northwest Army, unacceptable?"
He asked, somewhat tentatively.
Both armies suffered defeats, especially the Sichuan Army, which fought with "two guns"—rifles and opium pipes.
He never let go of his rifle, nor his opium pipe.
Not only was the overall quality of the soldiers low, but their weapons and equipment were also extremely poor.
Other theater commanders would avoid him like the plague.
As for the Northwest Army, they did not perform well in the Pingjin area, suffering a series of defeats, resulting in insufficient combat strength and low morale.
Both of these units are hot potatoes, which is why the Chairman asked this question.
Commander Li was naturally aware of the situation of the two units, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he firmly stated:
"Okay, I'll take the Sichuan Army and the Northwest Army. I believe they have the spirit of the Chinese people."
After saying that, he took the opportunity to put forward his third condition.
"As for the last condition, it is that I hope that Chairman Chiang will not overstep his authority and move front-line troops without my knowledge."
After these words were spoken, there was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, before a chuckle was heard and the person on the other end said:
"Delin, I trust you. Don't worry, I won't interfere in this battle. Just go and fight the Japanese. If you win, it's yours; if you lose, it's on me, Chiang."
These last words gave Commander Li confidence, and he then said:
"Yes, Chairman, our Fifth War Zone will fight to the death, living up to the Party and the country's expectations and the nation's righteousness."
At the foot of Jiuhua Mountain, Li Jianghe has been conducting intensive training for his soldiers.
After two months of intensive training, the newly recruited soldiers have begun to acquire combat capabilities.
Although their combat skills are incomparable to those of the new recruits provided by the system.
At least we don't have to spend merit points. We just need to equip them with captured weapons and equipment, give them food, and pay them regular wages.
In addition to training new recruits, the training for veterans is also quite rigorous.
Because it is necessary to adapt to new equipment, and the new equipment, in turn, gives rise to new combat systems.
Li Jianghe didn't know much about these things either, so he could only learn through trial and error with his commanders and soldiers.
This process also consumes a lot of fuel, which also requires merit points to redeem.
Now Li Jianghe understands that the better equipped the troops are, the greater their consumption of various resources.
For ordinary infantrymen, all they need is a meal and some ammunition and medicine.
However, if you want to support so many motorized troops, you need to consider fuel, vehicle maintenance, and the upgrading of engineers' equipment, etc. The whole process, including basic training on a daily basis, consumes several times more merit points than ordinary infantry.
No wonder only highly industrialized countries like those in Europe and America can afford to maintain mechanized troops. The Japanese could only achieve the use of mules and horses in their troops, and mechanization could only be achieved in a portion of their forces.
It's burning through money, it's burning through money way too.
This applies to everything, whether it's routine training, maintenance, or wartime equipment damage and use.
Oh, how I worry!
Li Jianghe, looking somewhat weary, smoked a cigarette, watching the tanks speeding across the training ground.
This isn't burning gasoline, it's burning Li Jianghe's life.
Long Wenzhang's voice came through.
"Sir, a telegram from above."
Li Jianghe turned around and said:
"Has our 100,000 silver dollars arrived yet?"
The telegram previously stated that 100,000 silver dollars would be given, but we haven't received any sign of it yet. We've asked several times, and all we get is to wait for further notice.
"No, I don't think we can count on that 100,000 silver dollars. It's a transfer order. It says I need to report to the Fifth War Zone Headquarters and depart in three days."
"The Fifth War Zone?"
Li Jianghe's eyes lit up; he knew it had arrived—the opportunity to kill Japanese soldiers and earn merit points had come.
What battles will the Fifth War Zone face next?
Without a doubt, it was the Battle of Taierzhuang.
This was the first major victory on the main battlefield.
Although it only resulted in the annihilation of more than 10,000 Japanese soldiers, it was a shot in the arm for the demoralized people at the time.
"It's Commander Li, our old commander."
Long Wenzhang mentioned it briefly.
"This time, surely it won't be that Grandma doesn't love you and Uncle doesn't care about you anymore?"
"That's probably true, but the Fifth War Zone is very poor right now, and they can't provide us with much. We'd be lucky if they could just give us some food."
As Li Jianghe said this, he returned to the command post.
Currently, their supplies are mainly replenished by selling medicines and other supplies, and purchasing rice, flour, and cooking oil from the market.
Another factor was the batch of grain and fodder that the people of Chizhou had sent them. Otherwise, relying solely on merit points, Li Jianghe probably wouldn't have dared to spend so many merit points to upgrade and transform the entire army.
After summoning officers of all ranks, Li Jianghe issued an order to prepare for departure.
Everyone was quite excited, after all, the unit had just completed its initial upgrade and transformation, and the soldiers couldn't wait to get to the battlefield and give the Japanese army a good beating.
Three days later, the troops set off, crossed the Yangtze River at Chizhou, and marched towards Xuzhou.
Li Jianghe had entrusted Mayor Qi of the local area in advance to raise funds for ships. He would not use them for free; he could give those civilian ships money.
However, when the local people heard that they were going north to fight against the Japanese, they all said they didn't want money, they just wanted to win the battle.
The crossing of the river lasted for two days, and it took more than 10,000 mechanized troops to cross the river completely.
The troops then headed north to Xuzhou, the location of the Fifth War Zone Command.
In Xuzhou, various troops have arrived one after another, and even the Japanese troops from Shandong have begun to aggressively advance south along the Jinpu Railway.
Led by the Japanese Isogai Division and the Setani Kei Detachment, totaling more than 10,000 men, they launched a fierce attack on the area surrounding Teng County.
The Sichuan Army troops that had just been assigned to the Fifth War Zone were responsible for the defense of this area.
Li Jianghe originally thought that his mechanized troops could quickly reach Xuzhou and support the main battlefield.
However, when they actually set out, they found that it was not like that at all, because it was the frost season and the roads were muddy and impassable.