Chapter 154: Direction Of Attack
North China Army Group First Army Headquarters（ Former Shanxi Governor’s Office, Shanxi Warlord’s Mansion）
First Army 20th Division Commander Ushijima Tomotsune, Lieutenant General, stopped in front of a door plaque reading “Commander’s Office” and knocked on the door.
“Come in!”
Accompanied by the voice from inside, Ushijima Tomotsune pushed open the door and walked in.
Meijiro Mutaguchi, who was bent over his desk writing, looked up at him: “Ushijima, you’ve arrived. Have a seat first.”
“Hai.”
Ushijima Tomotsune walked to the sofa nearby and sat down.
After a while, Meijiro Mutaguchi put down his brush and said to him: “Ushijima, do you know why I called you here today?”
“I know. You want me to lead the 20th Division to eliminate Su Yaoyang, who is entrenched in Wuta County.”
“Mm, that’s right.”
Meijiro Mutaguchi stood up, walked over to sit beside Ushijima Tomotsune, and casually picked up the teapot to pour him a cup of tea.
“You’re also a senior Imperial Army general now, and the 20th Division is the elite of the Imperial Army, as well as the most capable unit in the First Army, so this person has to be you.”
Ushijima Tomotsune stood up and said loudly: “Thank you for the commander’s favor. Please rest assured, I will definitely bring back the head of that Su Yaoyang to present to you, making him one of your collection pieces.”
“Yoshi!”
Meijiro Mutaguchi nodded in satisfaction: “Worthy of being a soldier of the Great Japanese Empire, full of spirit.
But there are some things I still need to remind you of. That Su Yaoyang and his Nanjing… no, now he’s changed it to the Shanxi Militia.
Su Yaoyang’s troops are famously well-equipped and fierce fighters. Whether in Nanjing or Taierzhuang, they posed a great threat to the Imperial Army.
Now that he’s fled to Shanxi, we can’t ignore it.
Last month, as soon as he arrived, he occupied Wuta County, causing great trouble to the Imperial Army. Commander Terauchi Hisaichi even sent a telegram to reprimand me.
Such a malignant tumor that has caused serious harm to the Empire can no longer be left alive. He must be completely eliminated. After much deliberation, I decided to assign this task to the 20th Division.”
Ushijima Tomotsune was about to continue expressing his stance when Meijiro Mutaguchi raised his hand to stop him.
“Although I’ve assigned this task to you and the 20th Division, you must remember that dealing with this Su Yaoyang cannot be done the same way as with other Chinese armies in the past.
Su Yaoyang is different from other Chinese commanders. He’s best at using firepower superiority to engage the Empire in head-on assaults, and he’s somehow obtained a large quantity of American weaponry, causing great trouble to the Empire.
So you can’t view him through the lens of other Chinese armies. Fully utilize our air superiority, let heavy bombers and attack aircraft wear down his morale, then deploy our tank units and infantry for the final strike.
I have a premonition that if we don’t eliminate this Su Yaoyang quickly, he will bring big trouble to the Empire in the future.”
“Hai… This time I will definitely cut down this Su Yaoyang!” Ushijima Tomotsune slightly bowed, a fierce glint in his eyes.
After accepting Meijiro Mutaguchi’s task, the entire 20th Division began to mobilize.
But since the 20th Division’s garrisons were dispersed across key cities and strongholds like Taiyuan and Datong, it took some time to assemble, and the 20th Division’s movements also caught the attention of intelligence agents lurking in the Japanese-occupied areas. Soon, pieces of information and intelligence were transmitted in all directions via radio, oral reports, or even notes.
In the depths of the Taihang Mountains, there was a strategically located small mountain village that was easy to defend and hard to attack, called Zhuanbi Village. Currently, the Eighth Route Army Headquarters was set up there.
Night had fallen deep, but in one courtyard of the small village, the lights were still bright. The Eighth Route Army Headquarters leaders were holding a military meeting, with all the headquarters leaders present.
First, the deputy chief of staff spoke.
The deputy chief of staff wore a faded gray cloth military uniform with a belt around his waist. He was of medium build around 1.7 meters tall, with a square face, broad forehead, appearing resolute and steady.
He took out several documents from the satchel at his waist and said: “Two commanders, comrades, these past few days we’ve successively received intelligence from agents lurking in enemy-occupied areas.
According to the intelligence, the Japanese have recently been frequently mobilizing troops, especially the 20th Division in Datong, Taiyuan, and other places, which has been assembling unusually frequently. Trains on the Zhengtai Railway and Tongpu Railway have also been continuously transporting supplies.
After analysis by the staff department comrades, it’s unanimously believed that the Japanese army will have major actions in the near future.”
Hearing this, the deputy commander suddenly interjected: “Old Zuo, are you saying only the 20th Division is mobilizing the most frequently?”
“Yes.”
The deputy chief of staff replied: “Other Japanese troops have also mobilized, but the 20th Division has moved the most. The 20th Division is now assembling in Taiyuan, and our intelligence agents have also spotted traces of armored units.”
The command room fell silent at once. After a long while, the deputy commander puzzled: “The 20th Division is the most elite field unit in the Japanese First Army stationed in Shanxi. Once the Japanese mobilize this unit, it means they’re preparing for a hard fight.
Moreover, the Japanese have also assembled a large number of armored units, which proves they’re not coming for us. What medicine is Meijiro Mutaguchi selling in his gourd? Commander, comrades, what do you think?”
The political department deputy director and 129th Division political commissar, sitting nearby, picked up a cigarette from the table, lit it, took a deep drag, then smiled: “No matter what, from the known intelligence, it’s clear that this time the Japanese aren’t coming for us, which lets us breathe a sigh of relief. We can relax a bit.”
Hearing this, all the leaders present laughed, secretly relieved in their hearts.
Since the beginning of the year, the Japanese had conducted several sweeps against the Eighth Route Army’s various base areas. The 115th Division, 120th Division, 129th Division, and other units had launched resolute counterattacks against the Japanese, but after half a year’s fighting, the troops inevitably suffered fatigue and losses.
Now the various units were still recuperating, and it was indeed not suitable for major actions.
Then, everyone’s eyes turned to the Eighth Route Army commander-in-chief sitting at the head, who wore a patched gray uniform, straw sandals on his feet, and held a dry tobacco pipe in his hand.
The commander-in-chief was about 175 cm tall, appearing tall and burly. Due to long-term marching on battlefields and in mountainous areas, his skin was tanned dark and rough, his face etched with traces of wind and frost, his eyes deep and spirited, his gaze both gentle and authoritative.
At this moment, he pondered for a moment, stared at the map on the table for a long time, stood up, picked up a wooden stick, pointed to a place, and said: “I think the direction of the Japanese army’s attack this time should be here… Wuta County!”
