After the reinforcements from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region arrived in Jizhong, Yang Zhen had at his disposal the 21st full-fledged infantry division of the Anti-Japanese Union for the second phase of the operation, plus two armored divisions, two tank brigades, five independent tank regiments, one cavalry brigade, and nine independent artillery regiments.

Together with the 14 brigades of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, six brigades and 11 independent regiments of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, and two brigades and five regiments of the Bohai Military Region. The current available forces in Yang Zhen's hands are about 400,000 people. There are more than 800 tanks, more than 400 artillery pieces of 100 mm caliber or more, and 120 122 rocket launchers.

At the same time, the number of troops available for the central Hebei battlefield has reached nearly 600 under the emergency reorganization. Among them, there are more than 240 fighters, 120 Il-2 attack planes, and 60 A-20 attack planes. There are more than 200 medium-sized bombers such as the B25 and Blenheim.

In the Tianjin and Eastern Hebei battlefields, there were seven divisions of the Anti-Japanese Union, an armored brigade plus two independent tank regiments, two heavy artillery regiments and a rocket artillery regiment. With the cooperation of the two brigades and five independent regiments of the Eastern Hebei Military Region, they were deployed on the line from Yihe to Dagukou, with a focus on the line from Beitang to Dagukou.

The recovery of the strength of the troops in his hands gave Yang Zhen a lot of confidence in dealing with the follow-up counterattack of the Japanese army. The only thing that worries him a little is that spring is coming in North China. The inferior roads of the North China Plain, which will become muddy after the Great Civilization, will have a certain impact on their counterattack plans.

In the Pinghan Railway, the speed of emergency repair exceeded his imagination, especially the Shanxi battlefield, except for the southeast of Jin, has mostly calmed down. After several considerations, Yang Zhen still decided to push the entire defense line to the south, and use the water network area formed by various tributaries of the Fuyang River on the western front to form a defensive zone with great depth.

On the eastern front, Dezhou is the apex, with Cangzhou and Wuqiang as the two bottom corners, forming a triangular defensive zone. Two defense systems, with Hengshui as the meeting point. At the same time, the two armored divisions, all of which were concentrated along the Tianjin-Pudong Railway, were to serve as the general reserve of the Eastern Front, and to prepare for a counter-attack once the Japanese army landed from the Bohai Bay.

In view of the fact that southern Hebei is located in the water network area of the Fuyang River, the entire terrain is not conducive to large-scale operations of armored forces. Yang Zhen deployed only one armored brigade on the Western Front, plus the armored strength of three separate tank regiments. He put most of his tank forces on the Eastern Front.

According to Yang Zhen's entire deployment, the two major clusters in the Hebei battlefield and the western cluster are equipped with six divisions of the Anti-Japanese Union, a column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, and four brigades of the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region. Nine divisions were subordinate to the Eastern Cluster, reinforcing one column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, most of the Bohai Military Region, and two brigades of the Central Hebei Military Region.

Along the Jinpu Railway, two armored divisions plus three infantry divisions were deployed, and the strength of one brigade and four independent regiments of the Bohai Naval Region was deployed along the entire line of the Tianjin-Pudong Railway. The remaining two divisions of the Anti-Japanese Union were combined with a column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, and two brigades of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region transferred north were used as general reserves.

However, Yang Zhen implemented the secrecy of Gaodu in the deployment of the entire armored force. All troop movements were carried out at night, and various covert means such as bluffing were adopted. All tank units were deployed in areas that avoided populated areas and all towns. At the same time, a large number of fake tanks were made and deployed to the southern Hebei and Dezhou regions using wood.

Yang Zhen's purpose in doing this was to convince the Japanese army that his tank troops were not only transferred to part of the Tianjin battlefield, but also most of the rest were concentrated on the Western Front through constant feints. Along the entire Jinpu Railway, there were not many armored and heavy artillery units. The entire focus of the defense of the Anti-Japanese Union on the Hebei battlefield was the Pinghan Railway in the west, not the Jinpu Road in the east.

According to the changes in the situation, Yang Zhen not only made considerable adjustments in the deployment of troops. In terms of the command system, considerable adjustments have also been made. The cluster on the Western Front, which was originally commanded by Chen Hanzhang, was personally commanded by himself. Chen Hanzhang was transferred to the Eastern Front and took over the position of commander of the Eastern Front cluster from Du Kaishan.

Chen Hanzhang's strength is that he opens and closes widely, and after crossing the south of the Cangshi Highway, the defensive operation of the water network formed by the Fuyang River on the western line is obviously not Chen Hanzhang's strength. Therefore, Yang Zhen transferred Chen Hanzhang to the front line of Texas and replaced Du Kaishan in charge of the command of the eastern front. After Du Kaishan completed the inspection of the defense system along the Bohai Bay, he was kept in the headquarters and never arranged a position.

Yang Zhen did not arrange a position for Du Kaishan, and Du Kaishan himself did not dare to ask. can only hang the post of deputy chief of staff in the headquarters, and manage the trivial matters in the headquarters with Chai Shirong. However, Du Kaishan, who finished talking with Tao Jingfei, was quite calm this time. As soon as there is free time, there is research on anti-landing operations.

At present, although the two fronts of Dezhou and Handan in southern Hebei Province are confronting the Japanese army, the troops of the Eastern Front and the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, and the Japanese puppet armies in Dezhou and Handan have never stopped fighting, the reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance efforts of both sides are quite large. However, the vast majority of the entire Hebei battlefield showed a strange calm.

But behind this calm, there is a massive storm. Especially after the main forces participating in the First Theater of the Eastern Henan Battlefield had all retreated to the west of the New Yellow River, and the entire Eastern Henan Battlefield had completely calmed down, Yang Zhen knew that the large-scale counterattack of the Japanese army was not far off.

Yang Zhen, who already smelled the abnormal smell in his nose, on the one hand, constantly urged all units to seize the time to build fortifications, adjust the firepower allocation, and prepare for a large-scale counterattack by the Japanese army. On the one hand, he personally went to the front line in southern Hebei and Dezhou to inspect and find Chen Hanzhang, commander of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region and commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front Cluster of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, to study the combat plan.

After concluding a meeting with the military and political chief of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region from the location of the headquarters of the Xingtai-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, he held a conversation on the next step of the operation. Yang Zhen didn't take any rest, and immediately rushed to Dongguang, where Chen Hanzhang's headquarters was located, with Du Kaishan, who he had been taking with him.

Looking at Yang Zhen, who had participated in the meeting for three consecutive days, looking tired and not looking good-looking, Du Kaishan, who was sitting next to him, said cautiously: "No. 1, are you a little too tired?" I'll see if you can take a break when you go to Lao Chen. I don't think it's really good to be in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, so it's better to focus on orders. ”

"Now their morale is very high, and it is a bit too hard for you to convince them one by one. I don't think it's a problem for them to carry out the next order. Their morale is higher, but they are still resolute in obeying orders. After all, the three disciplines and the eight points of attention are all to be observed. ”

"One, I understand it now. They now want to set the main battlefield in southern Hebei and northern Henan with such a resolute attitude, they plan to have a good competition with us on the battlefield. Some time ago, they had been in charge of the enemy's in-depth activities and the task of cutting off the enemy's supply lines, which still seemed very uncomfortable in their hearts. ”

Du Kaishan's persuasion, Yang Zhen shook his head and said, "Old Du, there are some things that you still don't understand. Our current strength does account for three-quarters of the total number of troops inside and outside the Guanguan combined. In addition, there are air forces, armored units, and artillery units that are absolutely second to none in the country. ”

"Behind us there is the richest in the country, and it is also the strongest industrial capacity in the country, and the annual industrial production capacity and military manufacturing capacity are almost hundreds of times higher than the rest of the country combined. Although our industries are still in the initial stage, the entire industrial production capacity is far from being comparable to all the production capacity of the rest of the country. ”

"Our industrial base, though too weak, is still too weak compared to other countries. But our industry has provided us with an endless supply of weapons and ammunition. This is a very important premise for our current strength, which far surpasses that of all fraternal troops in the Kannai. ”

"But even if there are so many superior conditions, it does not mean that one anti-union alone can conquer the world. To put it in one sentence, that is, we can't always be like this. We must develop, and our fraternal troops must also develop and grow. We are gradually maturing, and our fraternal units are also maturing step by step. ”

"In this era of change, even if we have such a huge amount of power in our hands, it is only a drop in the ocean. The national battlefield is a game of chess, and it is difficult to play this game well without anyone. Our strength is strong, but we are just a pawn on this chessboard. ”

"And we still have South Manchuria to solve, destined to be in the North China battlefield, and in a short period of time, we can only be passers-by. The location and environment in which we were previously located were different, and so did our respective developments. They have formed their own combat modes and operational characteristics, as well as gaps in equipment. Therefore, in this Jizhong operation, it is up to us to pick this girder for the time being. ”

"But there is one thing, at least until the Kwantung Army is resolved, the North China battlefield will be handed over to them in the future. The reason why I don't agree with their idea of weakening the Japanese army as much as possible on the southern Hebei front. It's because I think that from the previous guerrilla warfare to the current large-scale movement warfare, they have not experienced enough time to change. Especially in the terrain dominated by plains like Hebei, Shandong, and Henan, they still need to hone their skills in this kind of battle. ”

"When there are a lot of orders, it is certainly easier to do so, and I believe that they will also resolutely obey the orders. But it wasn't so easy for them to see the crux of this and understand my true intentions. Fortunately, the Japanese army's counterattack on all fronts has not yet begun, and there is still some time, so let's come a little bit. ”

"You must know that these leaders of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, when I was still in middle school, when you were still a platoon commander in the Sichuan Army, you were the commander of the main force of the Red Army. In some things, it's better not to be too stiff. Besides, we don't have the right to put up a fight in front of them. ”

Speaking of this, Yang Zhen suddenly shook his head slightly: "I was originally going to find the military commanders of several military regions, as well as our own east and west clusters, to the headquarters for a meeting. But after thinking about it, it's better to come down and take a look for yourself. I don't have to take care of our own troops. But there are brother troops, it is better to see with your own eyes. ”

"In particular, the current Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region is composed of the original Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, the Southern Hebei Military Region, and the Luxi Military Region. There have been considerable changes in cadres and troops, and I have to see with my own eyes the actual situation after the reorganization of the troops to rest assured. ”

"In addition, the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region have been responsible for containment and harassment operations behind enemy lines before, and have not participated in the main battlefield. After we adjusted our deployment this time, there was no change in the arrangement of their troops. I have to hear what is in their minds. ”

"We have been undertaking the main combat mission, and we have always placed our brother units in a subordinate position. Although we are well-intentioned, there are some things that people may not appreciate. Everyone is a soldier, and they all have arrogance in their bones. is always placed on the secondary battlefield, and when he is a supporting role, no one feels good in his heart. ”