Yang Zhen is a hands-off shopkeeper. Except for the training and combat of the troops, at most they are concerned about the issue of replenishing the troops, and they are hardly concerned about the rest of the matter. As for logistics work, except for munitions production, nothing else is asked. But there are many things, Yang Zhen, the shopkeeper, can not ask, but Guo Bingxun, as the chief steward of the entire military region, cannot but ask.

Many times, Peng Dingjie and Zhang Zhenhua, who are already familiar with Yang Zhen's temper and are in charge of logistics work, also report directly to Li Yanping and Guo Bingxun. Especially in wartime, almost all the supplementary soldiers and military supplies were deployed by Guo Bingxun. He knows better than Yang Zhen about the current reserve of weapons and ammunition in the troops.

It was precisely on the basis of the fact that the artillery shells used by the troops were already digging up the bottom of the depot and even using the basic reserves, that Guo Bingxun proposed to adopt the tactic of intimidating the Katayama detachment and supplementing it with offensive, so that it would withdraw on its own.

In Guo Bingxun's view, not to mention the fatigue caused by the continuous combat of the troops for nearly a month. The ammunition reserves, especially the artillery shells, which were already very unoptimistic, were no longer enough to support the troops.

Since light weapons and ammunition can be produced and reloaded, and because the original reserves are relatively large, and there are many semi-finished products in the original reserves, except for the Qiqi bullets used in heavy machine guns, which are slightly tight, the rest of the ammunition is still sufficient. Mortar shells and rocket shells also have a certain amount of production, although it is not enough to completely offset the consumption, but there is still a certain amount of input.

However, due to the raw materials and technology, it can be said that there is a severe shortage of mountain artillery shells that cannot be produced for the time being. The original number of artillery shells captured on the front line of Qunce Mountain was as high as more than 100,000 rounds, and it is estimated that they can be used for two years.

In particular, the stock of field shells has fallen below a dangerous standard. Together with the mountain shells, it is already less than 200 rounds. This number is not enough even for a medium-sized battle. Even with the addition of the troops' own reserves, it is now probably less than 2,000 rounds.

Guo Bingxun's words fell, but Yang Zhen frowned when he heard this. He really didn't know that the mountain artillery shells that he once thought were enough to last for two years, but now they had been exhausted in less than half a year. But think about the large number of shells that I used to consume in order to make the artillery as effective as possible, and never counted the attrition during training.

In several battles since the Battle of Gunce Mountain, in order to reduce casualties, a large number of artillery fires were used to kill and injure Japanese troops. It is also possible to understand why the number of shells in reserve, which should have been used for a long time, has declined so quickly.

Not to mention the previous battles, just when the main force of the 24th Division was encircled and annihilated last time, nearly 10,000 rounds of mountain artillery shells were consumed in the first battle. And the capture of that battle was not even a hundredth of what was consumed. This is not counting the more than 2,000 shells used by the 23rd Brigade when he commanded the 25th Division and the 70th Wing.

In the fierce battle last night, Yang Zhen roughly estimated that each cannon would shoot at least one base number of shells. These shells falling on the head of a single cannon are naturally not much, but the number added together is amazing enough. And in the fierce battle during the day today, at least more than a thousand shells were consumed. And this firepower intensity has even exceeded the intensity of the Japanese artillery fire in such a large-scale battle as the Battle of Nomenhan.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhen not only lamented that he still did not have enough understanding of his own shortcomings. Too much emphasis was placed on learning from the artillery doctrine that prevailed in the PLA in later generations in order to reduce casualties. They did not fully appreciate the hardships of this era, and were too lavish.

At a time when military production was still unable to meet the large needs of the troops, and he was still living a poor life, he could actually consume tens of thousands of rounds of artillery shells in a single battle, which was really too expensive. It was precisely the previous disregard for attrition that caused the current unsustainable situation of the troops.

It is no wonder that after the battle to encircle and annihilate the 24th Division, the commander-in-chief of the First Route Army privately told himself that they could not and could not afford to fight this kind of combat method of their own. Not to mention anything else, the ammunition consumption of a single battle is dozens of times the ammunition consumption of the First Army, or even the original Anti-Japanese Alliance armies combined, in a year.

At this time, Yang Zhen was annoyed by his previous extravagance, which made it difficult to continue at the moment. He was more concerned that his troops would develop an over-reliance on artillery support during the battle. Without artillery support, I am afraid that there will be no war.

No wonder the commander-in-chief had tactfully reminded himself several times that he had to correctly understand the gap with the Japanese army. Don't instill some bad ideas in the troops, so as not to bring some bad effects to the troops. I used to think that this was the commander-in-chief's unfounded worry, but now I see that this worry is not untargeted.

Seeing Yang Zhen knocking on the map from time to time without saying a word, Guo Bingxun understood that he was also hesitating in his heart. But at the moment, not counting the shortage of materials, the troops themselves alone, the casualties are not small, and after more than a month of fighting, they are already exhausted. It is not only necessary to recuperate, but also to rest.

That's why he proposed to take advantage of the fact that the Japanese army on the front line of General Stone was close to collapse, and put on a posture to scare the Katayama detachment, which was already fighting alone, back. Instead of fighting hard with the Katayama detachment to the end, he ate this Katayama detachment in one go.

To be honest, if you let it out, if you concentrate all the forces that still have combat effectiveness. Even if you can't completely eat the Katayama detachment, which has two infantry brigades, nearly ten infantry squadrons, and more than 3,000 people, it is not impossible to defeat them. But if this is done, it is already extremely tired by now, and the casualties are definitely not small, and the troops that need to be reorganized in need will have to pay more costs.

Difficulties have now been made in replenishing troops in the base areas. What needs to be determined now is that if the fight with the Katayama detachment continues, whether the troops will be able to bear the corresponding costs is something that Guo Bingxun is not sure about. Especially now that the reserves of artillery shells are close to being depleted, is it worth fighting again.

The combat effectiveness of the Second Division, the battle on the front line of General Shi, has already made a deep impression on Guo Bingxun. In the fight with the Katayama detachment, the number of casualties will definitely not be small. With only one-third of Liu Changshun's brigade remaining, and Du Kaishan's brigade not counting the two battalions left on the front line of the Haoliang River, and now only half of the troops are still fighting capable, if there are relatively large casualties, what will the troops do in the future when it is difficult to replenish them?

Looking at Yang Zhen, who was still a little hesitant, Guo Bingxun shook his head and said, "Commander, you have to eat the food one bite at a time, and you have to walk step by step." We are already unsustainable now, and if we continue to fight, I am afraid that the troops will really break their muscles and bones. At the moment, we are most worried about the difficulty of replenishing the troops. ”

"We still have enemies on the northern and western fronts to face. If the continuous fighting on this side causes too many casualties among the troops, once the other two lines of Japanese troops break through, our army will no longer have mobile forces and no reserves. If the eastern and western fronts fail and are broken in by the Japanese army, and we are unable to intercept them and let the Japanese army go, it means that the good situation we have laid down before will be ruined. ”

Regarding Guo Bingxun's persuasion, Yang Zhen, who knew that what he said was the truth, closed his eyes and pondered for a long time before he suddenly opened his eyes and said: "It's okay to adopt deterrence tactics, but the troops can't stop." It was difficult for the Japanese army to retreat without a fight. I think it is better to let Du Kaishan go south, reach the north bank of the Songhua River, and pose a posture of crossing the river. and made a move to cut off the retreat of the Katayama detachment at any time, forcing the Japanese Katayama detachment to return to help. ”

At the same time, he ordered Wang Guangyu, Chai Shirong, and Ma Chunsheng on the front line of Wang Duzitun, Fuguitun, and Xihe not to be stingy with ammunition and launch an all-out attack on the Japanese Katayama detachment. The more intense they fight, the better, and it's best to let Saburo Katayama see that we are going to fight them desperately. Now that it has been decided to make another scene for the little devil, then the play is enough. ”

After that, Yang Zhen picked up the military hat and brought it to his head, grabbed the armed belt and pistol that was put aside, and said to Guo Bingxun: "Old Guo, you are in charge of commanding the overall situation here, I will go to Du Kaishan to have a look, I am really a little worried about them." I'm a little worried, this bold guy who has always been able to eat a pound of eight taels won't give me a fake show. ”

Guo Bingxun was just about to answer, when a confidential staff officer suddenly hurriedly walked into the headquarters and handed him a telegram. After reading the content of the telegram, Guo Bingxun said angrily with a rare pale face: "These two guys are too bold, who gave them this right to change the deployment of the headquarters without authorization?" ”

Seeing that Guo Bingxun was rarely so angry, Yang Zhen was slightly stunned, took the telegram and looked at it, the expression on his face was not better than Guo Bingxun. Yang Zhen's worries are really not wrong, the acting order issued here has not been issued yet, and the two guys over there have really done fake plays.

This telegram was sent jointly by Du Kaishan of the Third Brigade and Tao Jingfei. What made Guo Bingxun angry was that these two people had the audacity to go south to kill the front line of Benguitun without asking for instructions, and copied the flank of Major General San Lang of Pianshan Province. And when the development has been completed and the established facts have been created, I will report to my superiors.

Du Kaishan and Tao Jingfei's move allowed Yang Zhen and Guo Bingxun to directly insert the Third Brigade into the north of the Yangtze River, putting on a posture of crossing the river at any time and putting on a posture that could cut off the retreat of the Saburo detachment of Katayama Province at any time, forcing them to retreat without a fight and completely fail. It's no wonder that Guo Bingxun is so angry.

Yang Zhen put down the telegram in his hand and immediately marked the location of the two people on the map. After completing the homework on the map, Yang Zhen gasped, I don't know if he admired these two guys for being bold, or if they were too tiger in Northeast dialect. The two of them took the strength of a regiment, and they wanted to copy the retreat of the entire Japanese army on the front line of Saburo and even Fuguitun in Pianshan Province.

After marking the current location of the main force of the Third Brigade, Yang Zhen threw the pencil on the map, and after thinking for a while, he said to Guo Bingxun: "They have already unfolded, even if they are ordered to withdraw, it is too late." The most important thing we need to do now is to think about how to avoid too much damage as much as possible. As for the punishment given to them, they can only wait until the battle is over. ”

After that, Yang Zhen stood up and said to Guo Bingxun: "Old Guo, you are here to urge Liu Changshun and Wang Xiaoming to hurry up and solve the remnants of the Japanese army on the front line of General Shi, and I will immediately rush to the front line of Yonghe and command the battle nearby." Now that they have given us a fait accompli, we can only think about how to fight the next battle. ”

Hearing that Yang Zhen was going to the front line of Yonghe, Guo Bingxun shook his head and objected: "No, commander." Liu Changshun is still fighting fiercely with the remnants of the Japanese army, and he can't send many troops to escort you. Moreover, the entire battlefield has not been completely cleaned, and there will not be a few Japanese stragglers on the road. From here to the front line of Yonghe, small troops can't escort them, and large troops can't be drawn out, it's too dangerous for you to go. ”

Regarding Guo Bingxun's concern about his safety, Yang Zhen shook his head slightly and said: "It turns out that we have formulated that Wang Guangyu and Chai Shirong will command the war on the southern front. Now that Du Kaishan and Tao Jingfei have also joined in, I can't form a unified command if I don't go. Du Kaishan, that guy I know his problem, I'm afraid Wang Guangyu can't fiddle with him. I'm better to go and feel more at ease myself. ”

"Tao Jingfei has been a veteran political cadre for many years, and he has a stable temperament. Although his command ability is somewhat inferior, he has a strong sense of the overall situation and a strong sense of obedience. The reason why he was so bold this time was probably because Du Kaishan's guy was drumming him behind his back. In addition, Yasui Fujiji ran away from him twice, and he definitely wanted to go south to save a little face. ”

"And Du Kaishan's guy is bold, there is nothing in this world that he doesn't dare to do. Except for you and me, there are few in this army who can suppress him. As the Third Brigade moves southward, the original unified command system is bound to be disrupted. If you and I don't go alone, it is very likely that the first and third brigades will have a situation where they will fight separately. So I have to go. At least put a halter on this guy too. Otherwise, this guy wouldn't have done anything. ”

"As for security, you don't have to worry. Now that Li Mingrui has taken the devil's airport, there is no air threat, and the rest is easy to handle. Bring a truck, load a guard platoon, set up two machine guns, and rush over when you encounter the Japanese stragglers. ”

Speaking of this, Yang Zhen smiled at Guo Bingxun and said, "Old Guo, you don't know my skills. The stragglers of the squad can't help me, don't worry. After the battle here is over, you immediately follow the predetermined plan, after replenishing Liu Changshun's troops, the whole army will go north to support the first division. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain contact with the trianth. ”

"Before I arrived in Yonghe, the radio couldn't be turned on during the march, and the matter here will be left to you. You must be careful, watch Liu Changshun, don't let this guy be bitten by the devil when he is coming. But I also have to urge him to hurry up, and I am a little worried there. ”

"As for what to do with these two guys, let's wait until the battle is over. You send another telegram to the commander-in-chief, asking him to hurry up and transfer the newly formed militia regiments to the front to replace the remaining troops and the guard units in various places. ”

"When these remaining troops and the replaced guards arrive, you will add them all to the Second Brigade. In this way, the formation of the 2nd Brigade should be able to be replenished completely. The formation of these militia regiments is already the last soldier that can be provided in the base area. Let's hope these guys don't cause too many casualties to the troops. ”

"As for the three independent regiments that are now on the front line of Fuguitun, I will directly supplement the main force on the spot after the war. As for whether to go south or rest on the spot after the battle is over, I will discuss the decision with you according to the situation. ”