Having a good life, no one wants to find fault by themselves. Meng was annoyed, Milong and the others decided to stay after a short consideration.
These days, too many wounded soldiers have left the army. After many of them recovered from their injuries, the army has long been transferred to fight without knowing where. It is not easy to return to the original army.
It is quite simple for these people to stay here. They are not big shots, and their military ranks are not high. No one will hold them accountable, and even their troops have treated them as dead.
…
On the front line in eastern Henan, there were two more battles with the Japanese troops in Xuzhou in the past two days, with neither victory nor defeat. The most important thing was that Li Mu collected the locations of the front artillery and armor positions in a small book, and bombed twice more at night. The Japanese
These heavy firepower troops were severely damaged and became more and more cautious.
This also made Li Mu's bombing tactics more difficult.
The main reason is the inability to accurately grasp the location and information of the target.
In fact, this is normal. With the powerful intelligence network of the Japanese army, it is also unable to grasp the precise location and specific firepower deployment of our army, such as where the artillery positions are hidden... where the armored troops are hidden...
Otherwise, you can attack each weakness individually, and even some tactics of making dumplings will not be applicable, because any intention you have will be noticed by the opponent in advance.
The same is true for Li Mu, who knows the general location and troop configuration of the Japanese army. Further down, where is the artillery...where is the armored force...information on these specific locations is difficult to obtain.
In addition, the little devil has suffered heavy losses in the air during this period, and has become more and more vigilant about it. Not only do he have more anti-aircraft weapons, but he has also learned to hide them.
When a war is not started, artillery and armored troops are not on the front line. At other times, it is difficult for you to figure out where they are stationed, and naturally it is difficult to carry out air strikes.
Even the infantry has learned to set up suspicious formations and hide at night. The vision at night is limited and it is difficult to distinguish clearly. Many bombings can only waste ammunition and have little effect.
Although there are fewer opportunities for bombing, after several bloody lessons from Li Mu, the little devils have indeed become much less arrogant. In the past, some small Japanese troops were arrogant and unruly, but now it is rare to see them.
.
No matter where they marched, they were much more cautious, guarding against an air raid that would come at some unknown time.
Realizing that East Henan is a tough nut to crack, unless there is another battle and the 200,000 troops in East Henan are completely eliminated.
However, the current focus of this book is Wuhan. After the fall of Jinling, some Guofu offices moved here. At present, this place has actually become the domestic military, political, and economic center, and its strategic position is very important.
After Xiao Benzi occupied Jinling, he began to study the operation to capture Hankou, but due to various constraints, it was temporarily shelved.
Until early April this year, when Xiao Benzi decided to carry out the Xuzhou Battle, he also decided to carry out the Wuhan Operation. When formulating the Xuzhou Battle plan, he anticipated the situation after the battle and took the future Wuhan Operation into consideration.
Wuhan is currently the biggest target of the Japs. Now dragging it into the quagmire of the battlefield in eastern Henan has delayed the best time to attack. I don't know how long it will be delayed.
As a result, East Henan became increasingly quiet.
In late June, Xiao Benzi held a royal meeting to discuss the attack on Wuhan.
To attack Wuhan, Xiao Benzi had two routes, one was along the Huaihe River and the other was along the Yangtze River. Judging from various conditions, Xiao Benzi had a developed navy and the Yangtze River was the most advantageous. It also facilitated the use of large ships to transport weapons, ammunition and wounded troops.
Along the Huaihe River, not only is there no water system as wide as the Yangtze River, which can pass large ships, but there is a powerful army of 200,000 in the eastern Henan area in the north, which can go south at any time, cut off the Huaihe River, and attack the flanks.
In the end, Little Bookman chose to attack Wuhan along the north and south banks of the Yangtze River, just as in history.
The Japanese troops gathered south, so they couldn't hide it from anyone, and Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Since Xiao Benzi did not choose to capture eastern Henan and attack Wuhan along the Huaihe River, the incident at Huayuankou was naturally useless.
A disaster disappears into nothingness.
…
Next, like clockwork, both sides began emergency preparations for war.
Also in June, Guofu formulated a battle plan to defend Wuhan and also stipulated strategic guidelines.
The central idea is to base on the outer line, maintain a high degree of mobility of the troops, use terrain and fortifications to resist and consume the Japanese army one by one, trade space for time, and finally change the war situation in which the enemy attacks and we defend.
According to this plan, the principal appointed himself as the commander-in-chief, mobilized troops, organized defenses along the Dabie Mountains, Poyang Lake and both sides of the Yangtze River, and prepared for protracted operations.
There are three main purposes. The first is to trade space for time, combine internal and external fronts, consume and defeat the enemy; the second is to move factories inland as soon as possible, transport supplies internally, prepare the army, step up production, and prepare for the long-term war of resistance; the third is to win international sympathy.
and support, looking forward to the opening of the international battlefield to completely defeat Xiaobenzi.
Later, at the general meeting, they solemnly declared: "We, the Chinese nation, will use our strong and unyielding will to mobilize all its material and human resources. For self-defense and for the sake of humanity, we will fight for a long time against this extremely vicious invader in order to achieve the final victory.
until."
Subsequently, in order to enhance the command structure and combat capabilities, the Guofu government decided to adjust the order of operations and establish a new ninth theater. At the same time, it was decided to defend Wuhan with troops from the fifth and ninth theaters. The troops participating in the defense war, as well as the air force and navy, totaled
Fourteen group armies, fifty corps, about 200 combat aircraft, more than 30 ships, and a total force of nearly one million people.
Since June, troops from various corps have used natural barriers such as Poyang Lake and the Dabie Mountains to organize defenses and defend Wuhan.
As for the small book, after the capture of Xuzhou, they actively prepared to expand the war of aggression and used a small force to capture Anqing as an advance base for the attack on Wuhan.
Subsequently, according to the resolution of the imperial meeting, the 16th, 9th, 13th, and 6th divisions that were in eastern Henan and northern Anhui after the Xuzhou battle were moved southward and concentrated in the Hefei area. A large number of troops were also mobilized from northern China and the country.
For this battle, Xiao Benzi concentrated the forces of fourteen divisions in central China. Nine divisions were directly involved in the battle, with about 250,000 people. As well as the Navy's 3rd Fleet, the Aviation Corps, etc., there were a total of about 100,000 ships of various types.
120 ships and about 300 aircraft of various types.
Suddenly, the situation along the Yangtze River was gearing up, and it was about to break out.
At the same time, Li Mu also began to make preparations. When the war breaks out in Wuhan, local civil aviation will be stopped. Although he can go around to Xi'an or Luoyang, they will be bombed soon, which is not a long-term solution.
Now, the only option is to find a new channel to the outside world.
Li Mu thought for a long time that it would be impossible to rely on civil aviation. As the war expands, domestic civil aviation will cease operations one by one. At a certain point, except for special planes, it may be difficult to find civil aviation operating externally.
So... an idea popped up in Li Mu's mind. Since there is no route, can he open up a new route?
It doesn't need to be very big, nor does it require parking of civil aircraft. It is enough to find a few key nodes and build a small military airport for aircraft to take off and land.
These days, there is no awareness of airspace. As long as the place is remote, no one cares about what is flying in the sky. It is not impossible to fly to Singapore with a fighter jet all the way.
Thinking of this, Li Mu's mind suddenly came alive. He found a map of Asia, especially the map of Southeast Asia, and studied it carefully.
After looking at it for a long time, Li Mu set his target on Xibei. Although it was a British colony, it was extremely chaotic and private armed forces were everywhere.
The most important thing is that the British focus is on the southern part of the country, and their control over the northern part of the country is very weak, or even only nominal. The northern part of the country is basically controlled by various private armed forces.
If Li Mu sends people to pretend to be business groups or local armed forces, occupy a piece of land, and build an airport, as long as his fist is big, the obstacles will be very small.
Europe is about to catch fire. The British have too many colonies in the world and they won't pay attention to this nonsense.
If a transit airport is built in Suibei that can accommodate fighter jets taking off and landing, then this new route that is exclusive to him will be half opened.
However, Li Mu calculated the distance from Nanyang to Suibei and found that it was two thousand kilometers. It was so far...
In that case, a transit airport must be built in the middle. Li Mu looked at the map and finally selected Suining County, Shaoyang City, in the southwest border of Hunan Province.
The straight-line distance from Suining County to Nanyang is more than 900 kilometers; to Suibei it is over a thousand kilometers.
The location is suitable, and there are many mountains in the area, making it easy to hide. It is a rare and good place.
Having made up his mind, Li Mu sent an infantry battalion and a group of engineers, disguised as a militia group from Muwu Trading Company, to Suining County to find a suitable place to build a Suining military airport.
As for the logistics and supplies, they were all handled by the Muwu Trading Company. In order to keep the airport secret and avoid conflicts with the locals, the Muwu Trading Company would buy the selected hilltop and use it as the nominal residence of the business group.
Over in Sibei, the situation is more complicated. It is not easy for outsiders to gain a firm foothold, but this is just because you are not strong enough. If you are strong enough, all the forces will be your little brothers.
The strength of the security group is hard to compare with that of the Japs. But if they were put in Jubei, they would definitely be able to fight against those indigenous private armed forces.
However, Li Mu still decided to do it quietly, and the security team did it in the name of the local Chinese or the local business group.
After all, the internal strife among the locals is an internal conflict. This place has been fighting all year round, and no one will care. If external forces intervene, it will be difficult to say.
This time, he sent two infantry battalions and one engineer battalion. The number of people was not too large, mainly because he was afraid that going too many at once would arouse rejection and alarm from the local forces.
Once we have established a firm foothold, we can continue to deploy additional manpower.
In the future, when the European War begins and the UK shrinks across the board, it will be easier to develop.
In addition, it is not close from Jubei to Singapore, and a transfer station is also needed in the middle.
Li Mu left this matter to the Far East Commercial Bank. They will rent or build a small cargo airport in the northern port of Malaysia.
With this springboard, you can reach Singapore directly.
…
After the matter of opening up the private air route was settled, Li Mu set his sights on Wuyi Mountain again.
Wuyi Mountain is located at the junction of Jiangxi and northwest Fujian provinces, covering an area of nearly 1,000 square kilometers.
It is more than 360 kilometers away from the sea, and the straight-line distance to Hangzhou is also more than 300 kilometers away. If a military airport is built here and fighter planes take off from here, the combat radius can cover most of several provinces.
Li Mu's bombing range will expand again, from south to north, and it will become more mysterious and unpredictable.
Although I don’t know when I will be able to use it, I have to take precautions when doing things. If it is available, it will be useless; and if it is not available, it will not be used. These are two different concepts.
As long as the airport is repaired and used sooner or later, there is no guarantee that one day, the Japanese will suffer a huge loss without even noticing.
He also sent an infantry battalion and a group of engineers to Wuyi Mountain. It was a simple small military airport. The project was not big, and it was estimated that it would be completed in three or four months at most.
After making these arrangements, Li Mu came to Wuhan again. After a while, when the war breaks out, it will be difficult to fly on commercial airliners. While he has some free time, he should make two more trips to stock up on more supplies.
At this time, Wuhan seemed a bit chaotic, with people migrating westward everywhere.
This time, Li Mu was not in a hurry to go to Singapore. He took a day to walk around the city. It is estimated that many of the scenery will not be seen in the future. When the war breaks out, I wonder how much of the city can be preserved!
Today's Wuhan is more commonly known as Hankou. The entire city is composed of three cities, Hankou, Wuchang, and Hanyang, which stand across the river. The Yangtze River divides them into two. Hankou and Hanyang are located in the north of the river, while Wuchang is alone.
The land was allocated in Jiangnan.
Wuchang, located on the south bank of the Yangtze River, is home to government buildings, private residences of dignitaries, and scenic spots and historic sites; Hankou in the north of the Yangtze River is famous for its prosperity and bustle. As a large commercial port in this era, Hankou in the north of the Yangtze River is second only to Shanghai in fame.
It has attracted many business travelers from north to south.
As for the town of Hanyang at the foot of Guishan Mountain, it is also famous. The Hanyang Arsenal gathered the essence of China's arms industry in this era. Today, in addition to the guns and ammunition in the hands of the domestic army, at least half are manufactured from the Hanyang Arsenal.
The Anti-Japanese War has been going on for a year. With the fall of many big cities, the three towns of Wuhan have been endowed with too much symbolic meaning and are truly the heart of the country.
From the Han Dynasty to the south, it connects the South China region; to the east, it leads directly to Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang. It is also the bridgehead for the army to regain lost territory in the future.
Since the Anti-Japanese War, groups of merchants and residents carrying gold and silver, as well as desperate and helpless refugees and wounded soldiers, have poured into Wuhan like a tide. Although the various departments of the Guo government were nominally moved to Chongqing, after arriving in Wuhan, there was no
Move one step further west.
The factories, schools, and civil organizations that moved westward all naturally settled here. Smoke came out of the factories again, and the number of shops increased one after another.
Western-style private houses, hotels and humble houses, as long as they are a place that can shelter from the wind and rain, are all crowded. The streets and markets are also full of people. The rent and the price of food, rice and vegetables are also crowded with the crowds.
They are the spring seedlings that emerge after the rain, rushing upwards with a roar.
Just when everyone thought they had finally found a place to stay, the Japanese came again. Guofu was also sharpening its knives and planning a big fight. Troops gathered everywhere around them.
So, everyone understood that this place would also be infected with war.
No one knew whether they could hold it, and no one dared to joke with their own lives! Guofu also tended to use a scorched earth strategy, so large-scale westward migration began again.
Although most choose to move to the southwest, some choose to move to Nanyang or even the northwest.
Li Mu specially sent a telegram and asked Nanyang to do the receiving work. Then he sighed and got on the plane to Kunming.