69novels Chapter 277 An Enemy Who Hasn't Improved
Chapter 277 An Enemy Who Hasn't Improved
"Even...ahead of Chen's army!"
Commander-in-Chief Chang's eyes gradually brightened: "You mean, to take over Beijing and Tianjin before Chen's army does?!"
"Exactly!"
Dai Zhijian's voice had a chilling quality to it.
"Although Chen's army was well-equipped, they were an isolated force deep in the north, and their logistics relied entirely on water transport and the Tianjin-Pukou Railway. On the other hand, when our Central Army marched north, the troops stationed along the way were nominally under the command of the Central Committee."
"As long as our advance troops enter Beiping first and establish a defensive line, the credit for recapturing Beiping and Tianjin will go to the central government!"
"At that time, the moral high ground will be in our hands. If Chen's army dares to fight us in Beiping, it will be an open act of treason, and we will be able to completely crush them morally!"
"If they don't attack us, then let Chen's army hold the line at the North China defenses and protect us from the wind and rain."
"Moreover, taking advantage of this large army's passage through the region, we can also legitimately reclaim the defense and taxation authority of Anhui, Henan, and Hebei to the central government—killing three birds with one stone!"
"Brilliant! Haha, Zhijian, this plan is brilliant!"
Commander-in-Chief Chang's tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed, and he couldn't help but clap his hands in delight.
"Damn it, Chen Zijun thinks he can rule the north with a few German cannons, but he doesn't realize that in this world, the rules are ultimately up to me!"
"Send a telegram to the First Army Group immediately, ordering them to set off tonight! Get the propaganda department moving too; today we must create an overwhelming momentum for the 'Central Army's Northern Expedition against Japan'!"
"Your subordinate obeys."
Dai Zhijian bowed and stepped back, but as he was leaving, he added coldly:
"Principal, I've also spoken to the outer columns in northern Shandong and Zhili."
"The Jinpu Railway had been in disrepair for many years, and Chen Zijun's armored command train had to travel thousands of miles on it. It was common for accidents to happen."
Commander-in-Chief Chang picked up the new teacup, took a sip, and said calmly:
"Yes, the security situation on the road is indeed a big problem. Let the local authorities be extra careful."
The two exchanged a smile across the distance. In the dimly lit study, another large net targeting the southeast was quietly being laid.
Meanwhile, in Chen Zijun's study at the Jining Military Camp in southern Shandong.
The firewood in the fireplace crackled and popped, its orange glow shutting out the bleakness outside.
"Young Marshal, there are several guests outside who have been sitting in the reception room of our headquarters guard unit for almost three hours. They insist on seeing you."
Mo Lanzhi, wearing a fitted black leather trench coat and high-top military boots, walked in with a dashing air.
She held two letters sealed with red wax in her hand, a mocking smile playing on her lips.
Chen Zijun was marking the Second Army's marching points on the map with a pencil when he asked without looking up:
"What's the background of this letter? That someone as powerful as Director Mo would personally deliver it to you?"
"One was the sworn brother of Han, the military governor of Henan; the other was the close confidential secretary of Wu, the military affairs assistant in Zhili and a veteran general of the Beiyang Army."
Moranzhi placed the letter on the table, making a slight rustling sound as she wrote.
"They brought with them defense maps of Henan and Zhili provinces, as well as letters of surrender."
"A letter of surrender?"
Shen Li, who was sitting to the side organizing the marching route, couldn't help but chuckle when he heard this.
"Our Lao He's independent motorized infantry division and the 12th Division are still feeding their horses outside Jining City. They haven't even left Shandong yet, and the old warlords in Henan and Zhili are already rushing to send letters of surrender? These local power brokers have a nose that's sharper than a dog's."
"It's not that they have a keen sense of smell, it's that they were terrified by our heavy artillery and tanks during the Battle of Xuzhou."
Chen Zijun put down his pencil, used a paper cutter to pry open the sealing wax, and glanced at the letter.
A cold, disdainful smile appeared on his lips.
"In his letter, Governor Han said that Chen's army was a heavenly army fighting against Japan, and the Henan garrison would never obstruct them. They were even willing to offer up the tax revenue and defense command of the fourteen counties north of the Yellow River."
"There is only one condition: guarantee him the honorary title of 'Henan Pacification Commissioner' and ensure that the Han family's property in Kaifeng is not lost."
"Young Marshal, what about General Wu?" Mo Lanzhi asked with a smile.
"General Wu is even more of a bachelor."
Chen Zijun crumpled the letter into a ball and casually threw it into the trash can next to him.
"He knew that his Zhili ragtag army wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap between our teeth, so he made it clear that as soon as our army passed through, he would immediately resign and hand over the defense zone intact, only asking that Beiping leave him a house to retire in."
"These old foxes want to exchange a few garrison maps and defense zones for a lifetime of wealth," Shen Li sneered.
"Where in the world can you find such a cheap deal?"
Chen Zijun slowly stood up and scratched the Henan and Anhui areas hard with his fingernails.
"Tell Governor Han's secret envoy that he can retain the honorary title, but the defense must be completely taken over by our First Army. All checkpoints and likin bureaus must be abolished on the spot and reorganized into tax branches of the Southeast Central Bank! His soldiers who can be reorganized should be reorganized, and those who cannot be reorganized should be immediately given travel expenses to go home and farm!"
"As for General Wu, since he wants to retire, he should honestly buy a building in the Shanghai concessions. Beiping will be my North China War Zone headquarters in the future, and it won't have room for these old-fashioned remnants!"
He turned around, his deep eyes flashing with an iron-blooded domineering aura:
"My purpose in this Northern Expedition is to establish a unified and impregnable defense line in North China, to fight the Japanese devils to the death! Not to play a game of dividing spoils with these old warlords who only care about their own selfish interests!"
"Those who obey me prosper, those who defy me... Zhang Shizong of Xuzhou is a cautionary tale for them!"
Shen Li laughed and said, "Young Marshal, your acting is getting more and more convincing. If your true intentions were to be revealed to Nanjing, wouldn't Commander-in-Chief Chang be furious?"
"Hehe, yes, young master! I understand. I'll go and relay the exact words to those two representatives who are practically pissing themselves with fear." Mo Lanzhi bowed slightly, smiled, and replied before turning to leave.
But she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she took out a red telegram from her trench coat pocket, her expression becoming extremely serious.
"Young Marshal, there's one more thing. Half an hour ago, our Military Intelligence Bureau intercepted a top-secret telegram sent by the Japanese intelligence agency in Tianjin to the outskirts of Xuzhou, and it has been translated."
Chen Zijun's eyes suddenly darkened: "Read it."
Mo Lanzhi took a deep breath and recited in a cool, clear voice:
"The telegram instructed that the Kwantung Army's intelligence agency in Japan, in conjunction with Doihara's informants, had secretly planted more than 500 kilograms of German-made high explosives under a railway bridge pier 30 miles north of Xuzhou."
"The explosives have been connected to a radio detonation device and are guarded by elite Japanese agents. The target is your armored command train, which you will be traveling north to inspect the front lines in three days."
"Snapped!"
Chen Zijun crushed the pencil he was holding into tiny pieces.
He slowly turned his face, looking out the window at the German-equipped soldiers standing in neat rows on the parade ground, braving the cold wind, a cruel sneer curling at the corner of his lips:
"Bomb my special train? These little devils haven't made any progress at all."
"Shen Li, notify the armored division, the independent heavy artillery brigade, and the plainclothes unit that the itinerary for the northern inspection three days from now is to be exactly as planned, without changing a single word!"
"Since they want to play games, then I'll personally go north of Xuzhou and deliver a 'luxury gift package' to these Japanese agents that they could never afford in their lifetime!"
Outside the window, a blinding thunderbolt suddenly cleaved through the leaden-gray clouds, its roar echoing across the sky above Jining.
This struggle, which targets the entire North China region, finally unfolded amidst storms and bloodshed.