But the boss's words made Yang Zhen also breathe a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about was that the central government was purely politically considerate and demanded that the Anti-Japanese Federation continue to move south to seize northern Henan. It is not that he is unwilling to carry out the orders of the central authorities, but judging from the current situation of the troops, it is no longer possible to carry out a large-scale southward operation in the short term until they are replenished.

The boss coincided with his own ideas, and had already made suggestions to the central government, which made him really relieved. In any case, the troops, which have been fighting continuously for almost two months, can get a certain respite. At the very least, a certain amount of rectification can be carried out in order to solve as much as possible the serious casualties of the troops in continuous combat.

After the boss nodded, although the central government has not yet given a reply. However, Yang Zhen stopped advancing to the rest of the troops except for Tao Jingfei's troops in the Tianjin and Eastern Hebei battlefields, and the whole line was transferred to the defensive order. Hundreds of thousands of citizens in Tianjin are waiting to be fed, and the war there will continue whether Yang Zhen wants it or not.

Moreover, it is necessary to take Tianjin as soon as possible so as to restore the food supply to the citizens of Tianjin. Ensure that Tianjin does not suffer from a large number of starvations because of the siege. It's just that in the current Tianjin battlefield, although the outer defense line of Tianjin has been broken, the resistance of the Japanese army in Tianjin is extremely tenacious, and the progress of various divisions is quite slow.

However, compared with the slow progress of the Tianjin battlefield, the situation in the eastern Hebei battlefield is still good. The entire eastern Hebei battlefield has now taken Tangshan and is advancing along the Beining Railway to the Tanggu line. The two regiments of the Eastern Hebei Army Division, which cooperated with the operation, marched to the outskirts of Qinhuangdao under the command of a division of the Anti-Japanese Alliance.

The Kwantung Army, which was originally stationed in the eastern Hebei region, has withdrawn outside Shanhaiguan with its overseas Chinese. In addition to Qinhuangdao and Changli, there are still some puppet armies entrenched in the entire eastern Hebei region, and all the rest of the regions have been liberated. In the entire eastern Hebei region, there is not a single soldier of the Japanese army, and the remaining puppet army is just struggling to catch its breath.

In view of the changes and development of the current war situation, Yang Zhen held a meeting in Hejian except for the Tianjin battlefield on the northern front. The cadres of the other departments participating in the war at and above the level of the Anti-Japanese Union Division, and the military and political chiefs of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, the Bohai Military Region, and the Jizhong Military Region of the fraternal units attended as observers.

Holding this meeting at this juncture, Yang Zhen was carefully considered. The current situation has changed radically, and in the situation of the whole army moving to the defensive, some things can only be finalized after meeting with the front-line commanders. In particular, with regard to the deployment of troops on the entire front, many things cannot be generalized.

After receiving Yang Zhen's notice, Du Kaishan of the Eastern Front and Chen Hanzhang of the Western Front did not dare to have any delay, and immediately rushed to Hejian from their respective stations to attend the meeting. The commander of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region and the commander of the Bohai Military Region also arrived from the headquarters of the Southern Hebei and Hebei-Shandong Military Regions respectively.

However, compared to Chen Hanzhang, who was very calm, and other people who attended the meeting. Since entering the Hebei-Shandong-Henan region, Du Kaishan, who has not received any reply telegram from No. 1, is somewhat apprehensive and uneasy in his heart. Even the commander of the Bohai Naval Region, who was riding in a jeep with him and rushed to Hejian County, could see the uneasiness on his face.

Du Kaishan, who knew what he had done, was still very sober. He knew that the lever he inserted in the Jiluyu District was likely to cause a little trouble. One did not call back the telegram he sent, which already illustrates One's displeasure. Although there was a reason for the incident at that time, Du Kaishan knew that he might not be able to run away.

However, after seeing Du Kaishan, Yang Zhen was not as angry as he imagined. It's just that his face is light and cloudy, and he doesn't show any anger. It's just that the calmer Yang Zhen is, the more Du Kaishan, who doesn't know what No. 1 is thinking in his heart, has been hanging high. I'm not afraid of No. 1's anger, but I'm afraid that No. 1 won't speak, but he feels it deeply.

During last year's battle, Liu Changshun was slow to move, so that Chen Hanzhang, who carried out roundabout intersperses, was under tremendous pressure for a long time and faced the threat of fighting on three sides. No. 1 personally rushed to the front of the Western Front and pointed out, and it was the same expression at the time, so that people could not see that he had any anger.

But as a result, while the battle was in progress, Liu Changshun was suddenly transferred back to the base area. He was quickly transferred back from the front and went to Chahar to replace him. Moreover, since returning to the base area, Liu Changshun has never led troops again, not to mention, and was directly sent to the Soviet Union to study, losing the opportunity to lead troops.

With this experience, although the number one did not get angry. But the more calm and waveless the face, the more Du Kaishan's heart went up and down. Although the mistakes he made were not as big as Liu Changshun at the beginning, they were not small. And the situation is far more complicated than Liu Changshun's mistake at the beginning, this number is never mentioned now, and I don't know what results are waiting for me.

Although Du Kaishan said that he tried to suppress it as much as possible, the apprehension in his heart was somewhat expressed on his face. Regarding Du Kaishan's somewhat nervous expression, although Yang Zhen knew it, he didn't even look at him. If you don't dry this guy and let him be nervous for a while, how can you calm your angry heart?

Yang Zhen left Du Kaishan aside and didn't care about him, but it made Du Kaishan's heart even more uneasy. Fortunately, with Yang Zhen's consistent habits, once the meeting began, it was vigorous and resolute and went directly to the topic, and no digressions were never spoken, and there was never a word of nonsense.

Whether it is Chen Hanzhang, Du Kaishan, or all the cadres above the division level who participated in the meeting, they all know Yang Zhen's habits and requirements. At the time of arrival, a summary of the first phase of the operation was already prepared. At this point, no one dared to violate.

After listening to the brief and concise reports of cadres at all levels, Yang Zhen pondered for a while and then stood up, walked to the large operational map hanging at the headquarters, picked up the baton and said: "According to the current overall situation and the current situation of our army. The former commander had already made up his mind, and the whole army immediately switched to a defensive state on all fronts. ”

"The entire defense of the whole army is divided into two clusters, east and west, with the Hengshui-Nangong highway as the dividing line. The eastern cluster is based on the line of Ningjin, Wuqiao, Gucheng and Zaoqiang, which is the defense area of the left flank of the front. The north bank of the Maji River of Qingyun and Leling was used as the right flank defense area. It is responsible for the defense of the east of the Hengnan Highway to the Bohai Bay. ”

"The Eastern Cluster cooperates with the Bohai Naval Region and is divided into two fronts: the inner line and the outer line. The Eastern Cluster was responsible for blocking and pinning down the enemy in Texas, while the Bohai Naval Region troops were responsible for monitoring the enemy in the east of Texas. And take advantage of their familiarity with the terrain to closely monitor the entire Bohai Bay. ”

"The western cluster takes the line from Jixian to Gaoyi as the defense front, and the focus of the defense is along the Pinghan Railway, as well as the Ningjin, Zhaoxian, and Shulu triangles. The troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region are responsible for the monitoring and defense of the entire southern Hebei region and the Hebei-Shandong region. and closely monitor the battlefield in eastern Henan. ”

"Considering the current shortage of troops in our army, except for the Jilu border area. The focus of the entire deployment is at the junction of Hebei and Shandong. In the Hebei-Shandong-Henan region and the southern Hebei region, our army is mainly responsible for in-depth defense. The main tasks of the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region and the troops of the Bohai Naval Region were to monitor the Japanese forces in their respective jurisdictions and provide intelligence support. ”

"If the Japanese army launches a full-scale counterattack in the direction of southern Hebei or the Hebei-Shandong border, the troops of the two military regions will mainly not fight with the enemy's heavy forces, but avoid the frontal enemy forces. After the enemy brigade has passed, it will take the task of harassing behind enemy lines and cutting off the enemy's supply lines. The main combat mission is still in charge of the two major clusters of the Anti-Japanese Federation. ”

"I hope that the different formed units of our various battlefields will be closely connected in terms of operations. In the second stage of the campaign, whether or not we can achieve our ultimate goal depends on the cooperation of our various units. It is not only necessary to support and cooperate with each other strategically, but also to cooperate with each other tactically. Although it cannot be said to be seamless, it must be as closely connected as possible. ”

"At the same time, taking into account the current situation of our troops, and the number of follow-up reinforcements that the Japanese army may put in, I have decided that the whole army will not only be in the front line with a force, but also take the defense of key areas, mainly along roads and railways. The main force adopts the tactics of mobile defense, and the main forces, especially the armored forces, are deployed in the second-line positions in depth. ”

"When I say the key areas of the frontline, the western cluster refers to the Pinghan Railway and the Ningnan Highway. For the East Cluster, it is Jingxian on the front of Texas and Wuqiao and the Ancient City on both wings. The two major clusters in the east and west should strictly adhere to their respective key areas, adjust their respective deployments, and do a good job in trapezoidal configuration. ”

"We don't have so many troops at the moment, and we have established a defensive position in great depth in the vast area from the Pinghan Line to the Bohai Bay. And no army in the world would be stupid enough to defend on such a long front. Therefore, my determination is to focus on front-line defense and in-depth mobile defensive operations. ”

"In addition, all the armored units currently fighting on the battlefield in Jizhong are temporarily under the unified command of the former commander. The 1st Armored Division strengthened an independent tank regiment stationed in Shenxian County, and the strategic focus was in southern Hebei. The 2nd Armored Division and an independent tank regiment were stationed in Qingxian, and the armored brigade that arrived later was accompanied by a tank regiment and the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, which were deployed in the Xinhai area. ”

"The air force should speed up the construction of field airfields in Dacheng, Fenghuadian, Xianxian, and Boye. As much as possible, the air force operating base will be expanded to the east and south. Planes were dispatched to closely monitor the Bohai Bay from the mouth of Dagu to the mouth of the Yellow River 24 hours a day. ”

"Engineer units at all levels should speed up the repair of bridges on various rivers in the entire Jizhong battlefield, and erect pontoon bridges on various rivers to ensure the ability of troops to pass quickly in wartime. In particular, whether the number of bridges over the Hutuo River, the Fuyang River, and the Ziya River can ensure the efficiency and speed of our army's passage is extremely important to our second-phase operation. ”

"My request is very simple, in important areas and major defensive areas, whether there are bridges in each key area or not, but to ensure that there are three pontoon bridges for the troops to operate. The capacity of its pontoon bridges should have at least one standard that can guarantee the passage of a division in the shortest possible time, as well as all the heavy equipment it carries. ”

"Mobile defensive operations require a high degree of mobility for our troops. Although the rivers in Jizhong are not as good as those in the south, they are still high to a certain extent. These rivers, of course, can become a natural barrier for our army, but they also hinder the movement of our mechanized troops. The speed of operation of the troops is not high, and what kind of mobile operations are there to talk about"

"The required materials will be guaranteed by the Jizhong Military Region. But I asked that within three days, at least two pontoon bridges be erected on all the rivers that could not be crossed, in addition to the existing bridges. All key defense areas should ensure that troops can reach any location within 24 hours. ”

"The logistics department should stock up on food and ammunition in the shortest possible time at all strategic points, at least enough for three days. Ensure that all the vehicles of the participating troops have enough fuel to ensure the mobility of the troops. If there is any shortage of ammunition, fuel, I will hold the leaders of the logistics department accountable. ”