"General?"

Yoshio Shinozuka's attitude stunned Yamamoto.

After four and a half years under Yoshio Shinozuka, it was the first time he had seen his own general look so nervous.

"What is the scale of Li Yunlong's construction of the road? Are there any other moves, and how is the strength of its troops restored? Are there any new weapons? ”

Yoshio Shinozuka completely forgot his laid-back mentality and the idea of retiring, he stood up, staring straight at Kazuki Yamamoto with his eyes straight and his tone in a hurried tone.

"Li Yunlong organized about 20,000 to 30,000 people, with the independent regiment station as the center, within 30 miles, and began to widen the horse road and build a road."

Yamamoto quickly reacted, lowered his head slightly and replied:

"In addition, the two Eighth Route Corps-level troops on Li Yunlong's flanks are also building roads, but they are not as large as the independent regiments, and the three regiments plan to connect the roads."

It only takes one flight of the plane to detect this information, so Yamamoto knows it very well.

The reconnaissance plane was at an altitude of about 2,000 meters, which was far from being within the reach of an anti-aircraft machine gun, so almost every few days, Yoshimoto Sadachi would send a reconnaissance plane to the head of the independent regiment to hang around.

"Three regiments?"

"Thirty miles?"

Yoshio Shinozuka repeated a few numbers, and his tone was solemn.

"The strength of the independent regiment was somewhat unexpected in terms of strength."

Yamamoto continued:

"Not long ago, they ambushed a full-fledged Imperial Brigade on the road, and they showed very good combat effectiveness, which shows that their morale has recovered quickly and their weapons and equipment have been fully replenished."

"Recruitment of recruits is also very rapid, and there are currently more than 15 to 2,000 or so recruits joining the independent regiment."

"And the other side is still recruiting new recruits."

There were seven spies lurking in, as well as Tegaoke's cannon fodder spies, and all of them were in the recruit camp, so Yamamoto still had a clear idea of the size of the recruits of the Independent Regiment.

"That is to say..."

Yoshio Shinozuka shook his head, and his tone was full of emotion: "In just over two months, in terms of troops, the independent regiment has already recovered its pre-public security scale. ”

"There are even plans to expand further."

"Yes."

Yamamoto nodded, acknowledging the fact.

"In terms of new weapons."

Yamamoto continued:

"The independent regiment shelled the Taiyuan airfield for the third time, using a 75-caliber mountain gun with a range of 10.5 kilometers, and with the kind of large mules that can maneuver in the mountains, we failed to catch the other side."

"No other new weapons were found for the time being, but the number of large-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns increased, shooting down one of the Reich's dive bombers."

"Mountain artillery with a range of 10.5 km."

Hearing this, Yoshio Shinozuka was stunned for a moment, then sat back in his chair and let out a long, relieved sigh.

At this moment, he was extremely glad that after the battle of Shouxian, he left the position of commander of the First Army in time and did not fight too much, otherwise, the airport would be shelled for the third time, and he would be unlucky.

I'm afraid it's not a headache to death.

Yamamoto went on to say:

"Li Yunlong got a lot of grain from that Chen Fan, he paid grain as a salary to every man recruited, and when he supplied food, he also gave each person six to ten catties of grain every day, and distributed it on the same day, never deducting or delaying."

"You said before that Li Yunlong recruited about 20,000 to 30,000 people, right?"

Yoshio Shinozuka looked at Yamamoto and couldn't help but ask.

"Hey."

Yamamoto bowed his head should be.

"Incredible, incredible."

Yoshio Shinozuka couldn't help but shake his head.

This news shocked him a little bit.

Based on the minimum of 20,000 people, the minimum amount of grain has been calculated, six catties of grain per person per day, that is, 60 tons of grain per day, which is not counting the consumption of 20,000 people.

This figure, even Yoshio Shinozuka, who was once in charge of the First Army, was difficult to accept for a while.

Grain, in this era of war, is much more useful than money, and Li Yunlong dares to do this, which shows that he has extremely sufficient food. And sufficient food represents a staunch supporter and a stable rear.

"How does General Yoshimoto plan to deal with Li Yunlong?"

Yoshio Shinozuka asked Yamamoto.

"General Yoshimoto plans to wait for the airfield to regain its strength and then use aircraft to bomb Li Yunlong's station for a long time." Because it was not a highly confidential information, and the other party was a lieutenant general of the empire and the former commander of the First Army, Yamamoto answered truthfully.

"That's it?"

After waiting for a while, seeing that Yamamoto had no intention of continuing to speak, Yoshio Shinozuka looked at Yamamoto, full of incredulity:

"Just sending planes to bomb Li Yunlong?"

"No other military operations?"

"It also strengthened the garrisons in the two counties around Li Yunlong, maintaining the strength of about one wing."

Yamamoto went on to answer:

"As for the military offensive, the First Army is still facing a serious shortage of troops, and General Yoshimoto intends to wait for the arrival of new supplementary divisions in the country to launch the next military operation against Li Yunlong."

Yamamoto did not directly state Yoshimoto's food-based battle plan, nor did he name spy information.

"Waiting for the newly formed division in China?"

Yoshio Shinozuka shook his head, and suddenly sneered, his tone full of mockery: "How long do you have to wait?" And when will it be the turn of the First Army to replenish? I'm afraid it's too late. ”

"General."

Yamamoto looked at Yoshio Shinozuka's tone and couldn't help but say:

"Li Yunlong and his independent regiment are indeed very strong, and their combat effectiveness is not weaker than that of the second-line divisions of the same size in the empire, and even surpasses them, but he is only a regiment after all, and he is only a few lightly armed mountain infantry, and he is only equipped with some light artillery."

"No matter how strong he is, he is only a wing or brigade level unit, and for the empire as a whole, he is just a bigger grasshopper."

"And he's still stupidly building roads, which is all about making a wedding dress for the Empire."

"When new reinforcements arrive, the empire can launch an attack along the road he built, with tanks as the vanguard, heavy artillery and aircraft as cover, it can completely defeat Li Yunlong and completely destroy the solid rear base that Li Yunlong has worked so hard to build."

"In my opinion, delaying the attack for a period of time can form a bigger blow to Li Yunlong."

"Even if you can't eliminate him, it can deal a heavy blow to his confidence."

Yamamoto originally thought that his former general would be persuaded by himself, but as he expected, Yoshio Shinozuka looked at him with an unprecedented look, a look of extreme disappointment.

"Yamamoto-kun."

"You've let me down so much."

After being silent for a long time, Yoshio Shinozuka let out a long sigh, and then continued to look at Yamamoto with disappointed eyes, and said in a disappointed tone: "I didn't expect that you, who have been with me for more than four years, actually think so too. ”

"Do you really think that Li Yunlong and his independent regiment are only a little stronger than the second line division of the empire?"

Yamamoto was stunned, then lowered his head and remained silent.

What he just said was largely exaggerated, and Yamamoto himself knew it very well.

"Hmph."

"I think you should know that."

Yoshio Shinozuka snorted coldly:

"The troops of the independent regiment, in terms of light weapons, both in quality and quantity, far surpass the second-line divisions of the empire, they are equipped with a large number of submachine guns, large-caliber heavy machine guns, battalion level below mortars, and the whole regiment is equipped with a large number of medium and large-caliber mortars, and the overall firepower is about half stronger than that of the imperial division regiment."

"At the brigade level, our only firepower advantage is the grenadier."

"But the Independent Regiment is just a little less equipped."

"In the past, the Imperial Wing level troops still had the advantage of barreled artillery, but now the other side is equipped with Bofors Mountain Artillery, which makes up for this shortcoming, and even the firing range is farther than the Empire's Ninety-Four Mountain Artillery."

"Yamamoto-kun, if you still have this mentality to fight against Li Yunlong, then one day, you will die at his hands."

"Hey."

Yamamoto bowed his head: "The general taught me a lesson." ”

"As for Li Yunlong, he is just a grasshopper to the empire."

Speaking of this, Yoshio Shinozuka couldn't help but laugh:

"The logistics and supply channels of this grasshopper, the empire has devoted all its efforts to the whole country, and has investigated for more than two years, but no clues have been found, and even the other party's transportation channels have not been found."

"This grasshopper has blocked the attack of the Empire's 10,000-strong army equipped with heavy artillery."

"Moreover, this grasshopper, after losing more than half, regained its strength in just over two months."

"If this is also a grasshopper, then what is the imperial army of the empire?"

"Hey."

Yamamoto still kept his head down, but there was obvious resentment in his tone.

"Yamamoto-kun."

Yoshio Shinozuka smiled and said, "If you have any ideas, just say it, now we are no longer in a relationship between superiors and subordinates, and we can occupy it as a friend and discuss it on an equal footing." ”

"General."

Yamamoto raised his head: "What you said is true, I did underestimate Li Yunlong's strength, and as for me calling Li Yunlong a grasshopper, it is indeed inappropriate." ”

"When I still think that it is not difficult to eliminate Li Yunlong."

"No matter how strong Li Yunlong and his independent regiment are, they are only a brigade-level unit, while our imperial army is a unit that has always been modernized. With the ability of three-dimensional warfare, as long as our imperial army takes tanks as the vanguard, heavy artillery as a cover for firepower, and the air force bombs the rear positions and covers its support and supply lines, it will be very easy to defeat Li Yunlong. ”

"Building a road in the base area, this act, Li Yunlong is really stupid, even if he blows up the bridge and destroys the road surface, but the roadbed is still there, and the empire can easily repair it."

"yes."

Yoshio Shinozuka smiled: "If the empire uses all its strength, it is very simple to defeat Li Yunlong, and it is very easy to send a full division regiment to completely annihilate Li Yunlong." ”

"But with the current situation, Yamamoto-kun, you say, how long will it take for the empire to gather the troops needed to attack Li Yunlong?"

Yamamoto pondered for a moment and said:

"At least half a year, at most one year, the current strategic focus of the empire is in the Pacific theater, in the Southeast Asian theater, where there are the resources that the empire needs, and it is also necessary to maintain pressure on the Chongqing government, and it is difficult to mobilize sufficient troops and weapons and equipment in a short time."

"yes."

Yoshina Shinozuka let out a long sigh: "The problem is here, it is difficult for us to mobilize enough strength to deal with Li Yunlong in a short period of time, and Li Yunlong's development speed is far beyond our imagination. ”

"As for building roads..."

"Yamamoto-kun, do you think Li Yunlong is stupid?"

Speaking of this, Yoshio Shinozuka looked at Yamamoto and asked with his eyes.

"Very smart, very cunning, very good at thinking."

Yamamoto replied with a bowed head.

After fighting with Li Yunlong for more than three years, he suffered an unknown number of losses, and Yamamoto Kazuki also had to admit that Grand Master Li was a very smart and very difficult guy to deal with.

"So, such a cunning and even cunning opponent would not know the highway he built and would become a helper for the Empire to attack his base area?"

Yoshio Shinozuka shook his head again, and then his face suddenly became solemn:

"He must have known, even very well."

"So, why would he do it?"

Yoshio Shinozuka paused here for a moment, looked at Yamamoto for a moment, and without waiting for Yamamoto to answer, he continued:

"It must be the construction of roads, which will do more good than bad to Li Yunlong and his independent regiment."

"I'm afraid that Li Yunlong will or even already have a lot of cars, transport trucks, and even soon, he will have more than 100 caliber barreled heavy guns, and even tanks, and the number will not be small."

"Otherwise, why would he spend so much money to build a road?"

"Is this possible?"

Yamamoto didn't know how to answer for a while, and looked at Yoshio Shinozuka in a daze.

"Half a year or even after that, when the empire mobilizes enough strength to destroy Li Yunlong, at that time, how far will he develop, and how strong will he have?"

Shinozuka's tone became more and more solemn:

"And to eliminate Li Yunlong, what price does the Imperial Army need to pay?"

"If Li Yunlong is not eliminated, let him retreat with the backbone of the troops again·····"

"Hmph."

"Can we catch that Chen Fan? Can you cut off the way he gets his supplies? ”

Yoshio Shinozuka's tone was full of mockery.

"That..."

Yamamoto bowed his head completely, and he was silent for a long time before asking:

"What does the general think we should do?"

After Li Yunlong conscripted tens of thousands of people to build roads and showed terrifying grain reserves, Yamamoto realized that General Yoshimoto's move against the grain production of the Eighth Route Army might not be of much use against Li Yunlong.

"What should I do?"

"There is an old Chinese saying that a long pain is better than a short pain."

Yoshio Shinozuka picked up the teacup he had dropped on the ground and shook his head:

"The only way now is to immediately mobilize at least 15,000 or even more than 20,000 troops regardless of other regions, and go all out to eliminate Li Yunlong, while his foothold is not stable, while his strength has not yet recovered, eliminate or drive him away, and do not give him time to develop and grow."

"It's a pity."

Without waiting for Yamamoto to answer, Yoshio Shinozuka sighed:

"It's impossible."

Yamamoto was silent.

He somewhat agreed with Yoshio Shinozuka's statement.

But here's the thing.

The order given by the base camp to the North China Front was to maintain law and order in North China and ensure the import of materials into the country.

If 20,000 troops are mobilized, it is indeed possible.

However, if the 20,000 garrisons are dropped, it means that there will be a large number of vacuum areas, and other Eighth Route Army troops and even the troops of the national government will inevitably take the opportunity to go deep into the territory occupied by the empire, and the empire will suffer a lot of losses.

This is unacceptable to the North China Front, and it is also impossible for the base camp to accept.

"General."

Yamamoto asked, "So, what should I do?" ”

"Make every effort to collect information on the Independent Regiment, always pay attention to changes in the strength of the Independent Regiment, and report it to Yoshimoto Sadachi, and... General Gangmura. ”

Yoshio Shinozuka said.

"Hey."

Yamamoto bowed his head and left.

And Yoshio Shinozuka continued to be in this small courtyard, drinking tea, just looking at his solemn expression, he was completely indifferent from before, and his mouth kept chattering:

"Li Yunlong has a large amount of food and supplies."

"Li Yunlong is building roads, or large-scale construction, which shows that he will inevitably usher in a wave of great development."

Finally, he couldn't help it, got up suddenly, walked out of the small courtyard, and said to the guards at the gate of the courtyard:

"Go to the headquarters, let's go to General Gangcun."