The latest situation in Central China has passed half a month since the end of the campaign. In addition to the 9th and 12th Corps, which suffered the smallest losses in the entire campaign, stayed in Yangzhou, Taizhou and other places, under the command of Chief of Staff Zuo Quan, and confronted the remnants of the Japanese Central China Front Army by virtue of the danger of the Yangtze River. The remaining sixth, seventh, and eighth field corps, including hundreds of thousands of troops including guard columns, special operations divisions, and artillery columns of units directly under the field army, all returned to their base areas for a short rest and recuperation, and the campaign to make up for the public was successfully concluded. As the commander-in-chief of the East China Field Army, Liu Hua must of course also understand the latest situation he needs to face at the first time.

In the headquarters of the East China Field Army, a huge combat conference room was closely protected by several guards. And in this conference room, a huge combat sand table clearly shows the terrain of the entire China. Of course, the small flags filled with all kinds of faces also make it clear to everyone that at present, the specific troop deployment of various troops in the entire territory of China, the army of China, the army of Japan, the Kuomintang army, and the local warlord Sichuan.

Although, the area of the entire war room is very huge, enough to accommodate hundreds of people. However, out of secrecy about the deployment of our army's troops, only commanders at or above the corps level in the base areas attended the entire meeting.

After a quick glance in front of him, more than a dozen senior commanders who could decide the fate of the entire East China Field Army, Liu Hua, as the host of the meeting, spoke first.

"Comrades, time flickered, and half a month passed. For the battle half a month ago,

I am here to tell you very responsibly that our East China Field Army has achieved unexpectedly and tremendous results. Because, we will set the operational goal before the war, that is, to capture the Japanese heavy artillery brigade. It was directly expanded into a heavy artillery brigade that completely annihilated the three field divisions and regiments of the Japanese army, and drove the Japanese Central China Front out of all areas south of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu. Not only was the General Headquarters of the East China Field Army very satisfied, but even the Central Military Commission in Taiyuan, which was far away in Taiyuan, was very satisfied with this tremendous victory, and sent us a congratulatory telegram. ”

"Bang bang bang...... Although the banquet was full, there were less than fifteen people. However, the warm applause of these people still drowned the entire war room for the first time, and waved their hands when all the participants, including political commissar Deng Xiaoping, looked at themselves with their own hot eyes. Liu Hua's words changed, followed closely behind, and continued to speak.

"But here's what I'm going to tell you here today. The biggest result we have achieved in this battle is not how many little devils we have annihilated or how many heavy equipment have been captured. It was our East China Field Army that changed the entire Central China region in one fell swoop through this battle, and the comparison of the strength of the enemy and our armies.

It has to be said that many of the Communist military cadres who can serve as commanders at the corps level are from mud tuǐzi. However, leading troops to fight all year round still cultivated a high level of military literacy. As soon as Liu Hua's words fell, the eyes of more than a dozen people were simultaneously focused on the combat sand table in front of them. At this moment, the faces that were still very jī moving just now also slowly showed a hint of thoughtfulness as they deepened their thoughts.

A few minutes later, Deng Xiaoping, the political commissar of both military and political communication, was the first to speak: "Commander-in-chief, you are right. Judging from the form displayed on the sand table at present, in the entire Central China region, only from the perspective of the army, our East China Field Army has occupied an absolute advantage. ”

Seeing Liu Hua in front of him nodding very approvingly, Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping continued to speak.

"Not only that, but the entire Central China region, in addition to our East China Field Army, plus hundreds of thousands of troops of the New Dish Army in southern Anhui. An army of hundreds of thousands can completely rely on the existing troops to cross the Yangtze River and solve the remnants of the Central China Front of the Japanese army trapped in Nanjing and other places in one fell swoop."

Seeing the light in front of him, the political commissar who was full of confidence in the future of the East China Field Army. Liu Hua nodded silently, and then said, "The political commissar's analysis is very correct. According to the latest intelligence, after this battle, the Central China Front of the Japanese Army has been sharply reduced from 12 field divisions to nine. Excluding the three field divisions and regiments left behind in Hunan and Hubei, there are only six divisions and regiments left in the entire area south of the Yangtze River in central China, with a total strength of less than 200,000 troops. "After this war, the total strength of our East China Field Army has not decreased at all, but has increased a lot. This is the data that Deputy Commander Wang just counted before the meeting. After the end of the campaign, through the reorganization of prisoners of war, plus the recruitment of new soldiers. The total strength of each combat corps will rise to 50,000. That is to say, the total strength of our East China Field Army will increase to 300,000 ...... in a short period of time.

"The total strength of the Central China Front of the Japanese Army is less than 200,000, while the East China Field Army of our East China Army has reached an astonishing 300,000. In terms of strength alone, we have an absolute advantage. Of course, in addition to the superiority in troops, there is also a certain superiority in firepower......"

"After this battle, all the artillery captured by our East China Field Army on the battlefield can be organized into 11 artillery regiments of all sizes after unified reorganization. Except for the one field artillery regiment left to each corps, the artillery column directly under our field army has already commanded six whole heavy artillery regiments, and the scale of artillery pieces of more than 100 mm caliber alone has reached the scale of nearly 100. In addition to the artillery wings directly under the divisions and regiments, there are only two independent field heavy artillery wings left in our opponent, the Central China Front, and the strength and scale of the artillery are just two-thirds of ours. Therefore, in terms of firepower, our East China Field Army also has an absolute advantage. Liu Hua pointed to the combat sand table in front of him and said with a moving face.

Liu Hua's words can be said to make everyone's faces suddenly realize.

Immediately afterwards, the god sè who moved jī also appeared on everyone's faces for the first time. However, the face of Wang Zhen, the deputy commander-in-chief standing beside Liu Hua, was unexpectedly suspicious. Then, he spoke.

"Commander-in-chief, since our East China Field Army has an absolute advantage in terms of strength and firepower. So, when will we be able to cross the Yangtze River, recapture the city of Nanjing, and wash away the shame of the Chinese nation in the hands of little devils

In the huge conference room, Wang Zhen's words were like a bombshell, which shocked everyone. As soon as his words fell, the eyes of dozens of commanders all gathered on Liu Hua's body, waiting for the commander-in-chief Liu Hua's answer.

Seeing everyone's gaze, Liu Hua smiled. Then he explained.

"Comrades, I just explained to everyone that compared with the Central China Front, our East China Field Army currently occupies an advantage. However, it did not allow everyone to see the disadvantages of our army. As Deputy Commander Wang said, with two advantages, we are fully capable of recapturing the city of Nanjing. However, do you think of a problem, if you want to hit the city of Nanjing, what is the first problem we have to solve? ”

"The general commander of the ferry ordered that if you want to recapture the city of Nanjing, you must first cross the Yangtze River.

And in order for the troops to cross the Yangtze River, which is known as a natural danger, a large number of ferries must be ...... Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping spoke.

"The commissar is right, the ferry is indeed the first thing we have to deal with. However, I believe that with our current strength, it is not too difficult to solve the ferry. ”

"Therefore, I think that the first thing we need to solve in Huang is not the ferry, but the patrol fleet left by the Japanese army in the Yangtze River lane......"

"You see, if you want to cross the Yangtze River, it will take at least half an hour or more depending on the speed of the ferry. That is to say, our ferry, for half an hour, will be under the guns of the enemy's warships. When the time comes, I can say with great certainty that our ferries will become the best targets for the enemy's naval guns. ”

"Of course, this is only one reason, there is another important reason, and that is the air power of the enemy. You can imagine that in the process of crossing the river, if there were nearly 100 combat planes that kept strafing and dropping bombs back and forth. How many people can survive the dangerous Yangtze River in our army. ”

For a while, as Liu Hua's voice fell, everyone's faces were full of heaviness. Because, in everyone's minds, the scene of our army being slaughtered under the joint attack of the enemy's warships and planes in the process of crossing the river came to mind...... Six minutes later, Deputy Commander Wang Zhen was the first to speak, and said with an unwilling expression: "Commander-in-chief, don't we really have a chance to cross the Yangtze River and recover Nanjing City?" ”

"At least not for a short time." Liu Hua replied affirmatively.

"Because, in a short period of time, we need to solve these two huge obstacles first, as long as these two obstacles are solved, the battle of crossing the river will be commonplace for my imposing East China Field Army

"And judging from the current situation, the first thing we have to solve is the naval fleet left by the Japanese army in the Nanjing area" While speaking, the corners of Liu Hua's mouth lù a sneer Seeing the expression on Liu Hua's face in front of him, Wang Zhen, who had a full understanding of Liu Hua, knew that the commander-in-chief of the front line must have thought of something to deal with the little devil. So, a pair of eyes immediately looked at Liu Hua in front of him, waiting for Liu Hua's next words! .