Zhang Fakui, a famous general of the Northern Expedition, officially moved the headquarters of his Second Corps from eastern Hubei to Jiujiang.

On the same day, the commander of the 11th Army, Ninh Okamura, moved the command to the foot of Shizhong Mountain at the mouth of the lake.

The long course of human history is often full of incredible coincidences; The staggering journey of life, and it is always impossible to avoid the arrangement of the god of fate. Twelve years later, the fateful battle between Zhang Fakui and Okamura Ninji started again in the same place. The battle of Jiujiang has different meanings for both of them, and it is their fateful battle.

Twelve years ago, when the Northern Expedition was in full swing on the land of China, Zhang Fakui, commander of the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, known as the "Iron Army", led his troops to hunt all the way, cut through the passes and conquered the passes, and encountered the warlord Sun Chuanfang in Jiujiang.

At that time, Okamura Ninji served as Sun Chuanfang's military adviser and was serving in Sun Chuanfang's Jiujiang Front Command. After several battles, Sun Chuanfang's troops were defeated and retreated by the Fourth Army led by Zhang Fakui.

Okamura was almost captured, and in a panic, he changed into the clothes of ordinary people and disguised himself as a fisherman on the shore of Poyang Lake, so that he was able to escape. When he fled, he took advantage of the chaos to steal a part of the military map of Central China from Sun Chuanfang's staff.

Who knew that twelve years had passed, and the god of fate had let the two old rivals meet in Jiujiang by mistake. But the situation of the two sides was diametrically opposed, Zhang Fakui became the defender, and Okamura Ningji became the attacker.

That's not all.

A division commander who was a front-line unit was suddenly promoted to the commander of the 11th Army, which had a modern force of 150,000 men and horses in five divisions and one brigade, and was highly expected by the Japanese emperor and the General Staff Headquarters.

Okamura returned to Tokyo before taking office, visited the palace to pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor, and then to Her Majesty the Empress, where he received a hand-sewn scarf from Her Majesty, and then visited the palace's halls under the guidance of the palace attendants, and received the divine wine and bounty from the Imperial Palace.

Although he was the commander of the Second Corps and the 8th Army, he was suspicious of the Supreme Commander, Chairman Chiang, and was restrained in battle.

Zhang Fakui stood alone on the riverbank, looking east at his defensive line with a sad brow and a difficult heart. Because this is not the line of defense that you have arranged, but the worst line of defense that others have pointed fingers at and forced you to arrange.

Coincidentally, Okamura Ninji came to the top of Shizhong Mountain on a whim, and looked in the direction of the West Jiujiang River, and his heart was just as difficult to calm down. At the beginning of his tenure, the commander of the Central China Dispatch Army, General Toshiroku Hata, solemnly told himself: In this battle of Wuhan, the base camp and the general staff headquarters had high hopes for him, hoping that he would do his best to fight this battle concerning the fate of the empire and serve the emperor loyally.

General Shunroku Hatatake also told him that for the Battle of Wuhan, the Japanese base camp and the General Staff Headquarters had spared no effort, mobilized a large number of troops by land, sea, and air, and decided to adopt the tactics of a quick battle and a quick victory to completely encircle and annihilate the Chinese field army, completely destroy the Chinese government's will to resist Japan, and turn the Chiang regime into a local regime, thus completely destroying China.

Listening to the impassioned words of General Shunroku Hata, Okamura Ninji couldn't help but feel excited.

"Old friend, I'm here."

Looking at the vast Yangtze River, Okamura Ninji couldn't help but sigh. The scene of the defeat of Maicheng in Jiujiang twelve years ago once again flashed in front of Okamura Ningji's eyes. Zhang Fakui is a famous Chinese general, this person should not be underestimated! At the beginning of the war, Okamura Ninji became extremely cautious.

For more than a month, the Japanese base camp has been intensively planning and deploying the scene of the Battle of Wuhan, which flashed and jumped in front of Okamura Ninji's eyes:

On May 29, the Japanese base camp issued a pre-order to attack Wuhan at the same time as the Central China Dispatch Army Command and the North China Dispatch Army Command.

On 15 June, the battle plan for the Japanese base camp to march west to Wuhan was discussed and approved by the Japanese Imperial Council, and was issued to all units in the form of headquarters orders.

On July 4, the Japanese base camp released the battle sequence for the attack on Wuhan. The Japanese soldiers divided into two routes and attacked Wuhan westward in a pincer offensive:

The 11th Army of the Central China Dispatch Army commanded by Okamura Ninji served as the main attacker, under the jurisdiction of the 6th, 9th, 27th, 101st, and 106th divisions, as well as four detachments and special forces including the Botian Detachment, with a total strength of 150,000 troops, to attack Wuhan west along the north and south banks of the Yangtze River.

The northern route commanded the Second Army of the former North China Dispatch Army in Dongjiu Palace, under the jurisdiction of the third, tenth, thirteenth, and sixteenth divisions and special forces, with a total strength of 120,000 troops, assembled in Hefei. The detour to the northern foot of Dabie Mountain launched an attack from east to west, and finally joined forces with the Japanese army on the south route to encircle the Chinese army.

The two Japanese armies rushed west to Wuhan in a north-south parallel manner.

In addition, the Central China Dispatch Army directly commands four divisions of the army, three flying wings, and one naval detachment, serving as the general reserve, with a strength of 140,000 troops. So the number of people attacking Wuhan reached 410,000 a day.

As the commander of the Central China Dispatch Army, Shunroku Hata never forgot his own one-third of an acre of land, and he was afraid that the Second Army from the North China Dispatch Army would compete with his Eleventh Army, so he unobtrusively tilted the balance of troop allocation and logistical support in favor of the Eleventh Army, and focused his attack on the south bank of the Yangtze River.

Zhang Fakui stood alone on the riverbank, without a single guard by his side, he just wanted to be alone.

Before Zhang Fakui's arrival, in order to prevent the Japanese army from landing on Jiujiang, the Military Committee built a defensive system on a front stretching for dozens of miles from the west bank of Poyang Lake on the right to Fuchikou on the left. This defensive system, from the outside, looks winding and spectacular.

Public opinion also has high hopes for the defense of Jiujiang, and the outside world generally believes that Jiujiang is bordered by rivers and lakes, and the lake network is crossed, and this unique barrier of rivers and lakes is very beneficial to the defenders, and there are more than 100,000 troops led by General Zhang Fakui, a famous general of the Northern Expedition, so there should be no problem in holding Jiujiang.

The more mysterious the layman's talk is, the greater the pressure on Zhang Fakui.

"Commander, you're here, I've been looking for you for a long time."

"When no one is around, you can call me uncle, I don't mind."

"As long as you wear this uniform, you are my commander."

Chu Yunfan came to the riverbank to look for Zhang Fakui, and Zhang Fakui was thoughtful and looked down on the riverbank defense line from a high place.

Zhang Fakui asked: "You are a staff officer of the War Department, what do you think of the layout of our defense area?" ”

Chu Yunfan replied: "The nine songs are tactful, the lake network is staggered, and it is solid. ”

Zhang Fakui turned around and looked at Chu Yunfan's cold face, and said with a slight accusation: "After so much time, why can't you let go of that pain." Since you have put on this military uniform and have taken on a soldier's mission, and your hatred comes from the Japanese, you should fulfill your accusations with your heart. ”

"I'm sorry. But I don't see anything wrong with the defense system. ”

Zhang Fakui breathed a sigh of relief helplessly and asked, "What are you looking for me?" ”

Chu Yunfan replied: "I found the falcon in the hospital, and six of the team members were injured in the battle at the mouth of the lake. At that time, the hospital did not know their identity and kicked them out, and I have arranged for them to be hospitalized for treatment. ”

Zhang Fakui was shocked in his heart and asked: "Falcon, are you referring to Li Bai's two commanders, who are very important, and the three armies are forcing the Falcon Special Combat Team to Lao Jiang for them?" ”

"It should be them. Those piercing eyes were like nothing I'd ever seen before. ”

"You go to the hospital now and call their commander to see me. Also, ask the hospital to give the best medicine to their wounded and recover as soon as possible. ”

"Yes."

Chu Yunfan saluted and turned to leave, while Zhang Fakui also returned to his headquarters.

(End of chapter)