Chairman Chiang was so angry at the Nanjing General Headquarters that his nose was smoking. The 19th Route Army was well-known in the country for its bravery and fighting skills. However, when they were sent to suppress the Communists, they couldn't keep up the energy. They kept working as foreigners and the results were mediocre.
If they had been so brave and tenacious when encircling and suppressing the CCP Red Army, they would have captured the CCP base area and even eliminated the main force of the Red Army.
Chairman Chiang deliberately delayed sending reinforcements because he wanted to maximize the loss of the 19th Route Army's military strength. However, under pressure from all walks of life, he had to send reinforcements, and he could not bear the consequences of the fall of Shanghai.
After the Fifth Army entered Shanghai, the situation on the front line was basically stable. The 87th Division and the 88th Division were the aces among the aces of the national army. The Nanjing Teaching Corps was the most elite unit, both in terms of weapons and equipment and the morale of the officers and soldiers.
Excellent, a strong team.
In the half month since the war started, the British and American consuls general had repeatedly mediated overtly and covertly. Although they were trying to sidestep the situation, they did not want Japan to gain dominance in Shanghai. The League of Nations also began to express serious concern about the Shanghai incident and held a meeting to study how to stop this incident.
A conflict.
After the Fifth Army entered Shanghai, Lu Ming, as a junior, visited General Zhang Wenbai and brought a donation of 50,000 silver dollars.
"Okay, you are a little rich man, so I will accept it. I also want to thank you on behalf of the brothers." Mr. Wenbai said cheerfully.
"What we should be grateful for are the soldiers who shed blood and died on the front line. I just tried my best." Lu Ming said with a smile.
"By the way, don't you study strategy? Tell me what you think of the Japanese army's next plan." General Zhang Wenbai asked.
"I think the Japanese army's plan is very clear. They just want to fight and fight, and fight and fight. They can neither let the situation get out of control nor let the fighting stop." Lu Ming said.
"But the Japanese army is coming with great force, and they are fighting fiercely." General Zhang Wenbai muttered.
"Of course they have to fight fiercely. Although they have a complete advantage in terms of firepower, they are at a disadvantage in terms of military strength. They can only use fierceness to achieve balance on the battlefield."
"Do you still think that Japan just wants to create a conflict instead of launching a full-scale attack on us? We have also strengthened our defense around Nanjing." General Zhang Wenbai frowned.
"The purpose of the Japanese army is to focus international attention on Shanghai and cooperate with the Kwantung Army's actions in the Northeast. Once their puppet regime is established in the Northeast and China opens its domestic market to Japan, they will immediately stop attacking Shanghai.
" Lu Ming analyzed.
"Your Blue Clothes Club also sent personnel to the front line to collect intelligence. What do you think of the Japanese army attacking Shanghai in this way?" General Zhang Wenbai asked.
"This time the Japanese army was led by the navy instead of being handed over to the lunatics in the army. They were afraid that the situation would get out of control, or they thought that the people in the navy were not as crazy as the army. This can also show some signs that they do not really want to
Occupy Shanghai." Lu Ming said.
"Well, your point of view makes sense. Let's wait and see first. No matter what the Japanese side's intentions are, we can only prepare for the worst." General Wenbai said firmly.
Of course, Lu Ming knew what General Wenbai was referring to in the worst-case scenario, which was that many people in the Military Committee of the Nanjing Ministry of National Defense still believed that the Japanese attack on Shanghai was a feint and the main goal was to attack Nanjing. In other words, Japan wanted to attack Nanjing.
China launches total war.
Lu Ming could not refute this view. He had already presented his views and arguments at the last enlarged supreme military meeting, but the result was that he still could not win the belief of most people, so he could only remain silent.
.
Even if he spoke up, it would be useless. He is not even a soldier, and he has no reputation or status. His words are trivial and no one will pay attention to him.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with preparing for the worst, as any possibility will turn into reality, but misjudging the enemy's goals in military terms is actually a very serious mistake.
Lu Ming didn't bother General Wenbai much. The general had heavy responsibilities and was busy with military affairs. He had too many things to deal with. After he finished expressing his thoughts and judgments, it was time to leave.
Since the Fifth Army entered Shanghai, the tense atmosphere in the air has eased. Although fighting still breaks out from time to time, the mood of the citizens has gradually stabilized, and the description of the war in news reports has also sent a positive signal.
Yuan Mingzhu and Ning Xiner returned to Caobang. They really couldn't get used to living in Lu Ming's suite, and they couldn't even breathe freely.
If measured by the standards of a bachelor, Lu Ming's suite was already very luxurious, but the two sisters, who were used to living in large rooms, felt trapped in a small space and almost developed space phobia.
The work of the Blue Clothes Club has not stopped for a day, and cadres have been lurking in the forward positions one after another to observe the fighting situation between the enemy and ourselves. The intelligence collected is natural and true, and it makes reading it feel like being there.
This information cannot be replaced by the combat reports of each unit. The troops mainly focus on troop deployment, attack and retreat time, and attention will not be placed on intelligence collection.
Lu Ming read the collected intelligence and sighed in his heart: If he really wants to get first-hand information, he still needs someone to be among the enemy, preferably in the heart of the enemy.
Lu Ming confirmed that the thing that had been lingering in his mind was correct, and the idea of opening a special agent school became more and more intense.
But the time is not right now. The government, which has a headache and a headache, certainly has no intention of paying attention to this kind of thing. It can only wait until this incident subsides before making any plans.
After the Fifth Army was stationed in Shanghai, the Japanese Navy finally admitted that the offensive had failed and had to ask for help from the Army.
The Japanese base camp ordered the elite Ninth Division to quickly reinforce Shanghai, and landed at Wusong, Shanghai on February 16, 1932 to complete the assembly.
The commander of the Japanese 9th Division, Kenkichi Ueda, issued an ultimatum to General Cai Tingkai, demanding that the Chinese troops completely withdraw from their positions and lift the hostilities. The 19th Route Army responded by firing violently at the Japanese positions.
On February 20, the Japanese troops coordinated with infantry and tanks, and under the cover of strong naval and air force firepower, personally commanded by Ueda Kenkichi, launched a swooping attack on our positions. The officers and soldiers of the 19th Route Army still fought to the death and repelled the 9th Division.
The rampant attack.
Afterwards, there were many large-scale battles between the enemy and ourselves. The 87th Division and the 88th Division, under the command of General Zhang Wenbai, severely damaged the elites of the Japanese ace force, the 9th Division and the Kurume Mixed Brigade, and achieved a "great victory in the temple".
This was also the first major victory of the Chinese army against the Japanese army since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, which effectively dealt a blow to the arrogance of the Japanese army.
The fighting continued until the 25th. The severely damaged Ninth Division was unable to launch an attack and had to dejectedly ask for continued domestic reinforcements.
Lu Ming has been staying in the Blue Clothes Club these days to study battle reports and intelligence, and summarize and summarize the intelligence.
These basic tasks originally belonged to the various departments below, but he liked to do it himself. After research and judgment, he came to a conclusion, and he seemed to feel more at ease.
Although the Japanese army has already mobilized the 9th Army Division and is pretending that it may further increase its troops, Lu Ming feels that the Japanese army's operation has reached the final stage.
After analyzing the intelligence available to him, Lu Ming came to the conclusion that the reason why the Japanese army fought so ferociously and crazily was not to occupy much of Shanghai, but to deliberately display and amplify its military strength in order to cover up the real situation.
Purpose.
Although Japan is cunning, its real purpose is not difficult to judge: to blackmail China and obtain more bargaining chips in future negotiations.
On November 8, 1931, Dofeihara created the "Tianjin Incident" and secretly took Puyi out of his residence in the Japanese Concession in Tianjin. After passing through Dagukou, Yingkou, and Lushun, he arrived in Fushun, and was then taken to Changchun in the northeast.
During this period, Japan's domestic political and military circles also staged an overt and covert struggle.
The Japanese diplomatic community has always disagreed with the Kwantung Army's proposition. They have been trying to obstruct the Kwantung Army's move to bring Puyi to the northeast and establish Manchukuo. Unfortunately, diplomacy failed to overwhelm the military.
In the final analysis, the Japanese Emperor Hirohito still had Asian hegemony and even greater ambitions, which gave the Japanese military's warmongers an opportunity.
On February 28, 1932, at the invitation of Commander Cayley of the British Fleet in China, Chinese diplomatic representative Gu Weijun and Chief of Staff of the 19th Route Army Huang Qiang boarded the British ship "Kent" and met with Japanese Navy Commander Nomura and Prime Minister's Personal Representative Song.
Meeting with Yosuke Oka (later the Foreign Minister of Japan).
The two parties negotiated for more than three hours and reached five items of understanding. The specific contents will not be repeated.
The basic contents of these five items are that the Chinese and Japanese troops withdraw at the same time, the Chinese troops withdraw from the fortification area, the Japanese troops withdraw their warships, the intermediate area is a buffer zone, and Chinese officials are responsible for it, and the Chinese police maintain order. All actions are controlled by the Chinese army.
Representatives from both sides of Japan and neutral countries will supervise the implementation.