kvmb Chapter 1161 Gasoline Bribery
Chapter 1161 Gasoline Bribery
Nowadays, however, these scenarios are virtually impossible. The artillery trained by the Nationalist government received only basic training due to a lack of ammunition. As for towing cannons around, that was out of the question in the past. Although they had purchased enough cars, the lack of gasoline meant they could only take a short trip on flat roads at most. But where are the flat roads on the battlefield?
Normally, to fool their superiors during inspections, they would give a portion of the money they had saved for gasoline to the inspectors, and that would be the end of it. But can you use that money for bribery on the battlefield? Can you bribe the Japanese? What those people want is the land beneath your feet, your country. Will bribing them with money work?
In short, after Li Shaoyi left Hankou, all sorts of difficult things happened one after another. While dealing with these difficult matters, the people above also scolded several heads of the Ministry of Military Affairs. Of course, they dared not say it aloud, because if someone remembered it, it might become evidence to send him to prison in the future.
As for the old man in the mountain city, he smashed several Ming Dynasty teacups, which can be considered his biggest mistake. At the time when he needed manpower the most, he let the 72nd Army leave.
On the other hand, upon hearing of this, the Japanese command held a two-day operational meeting. Naturally, after the meeting, the Japanese command also held a grand ball. They were so happy to celebrate this victory, which couldn't be won on the battlefield, that they were practically jumping for joy.
Getting the 72nd Army to withdraw from the battle was a topic that the Japanese had been studying. The problem was that no one had been able to figure it out, mainly because the 72nd Army members were too patriotic. Even if they suffered injustices in some places, they still wanted to stand on the front lines and fight the Japanese to the death.
Japanese statistics also show that most of their losses were related to the 72nd Army. Moreover, their chances of defeating the 72nd Army were extremely slim. Therefore, they clearly understand that we must bypass the 72nd Army and avoid conflict with them as much as possible; this is what we should be doing right now. If we continue to clash with the 72nd Army, let alone occupying the country, even if we were to conduct another round of conscription domestically, we probably wouldn't be able to maintain the current situation.
The plan to attack Hankou had actually been formulated long ago. After the Battle of Pujiang, a group of operations staff were transferred out to develop the plan for the attack on Hankou. The complete plan was almost finished, but the Japanese side had not dared to execute it, and they were unaware of the 72nd Army's next moves.
The Fourth Army alone had the Japanese Second and Third Armies bogged down at the border between Jiangsu and Shandong provinces. Not to mention the other armies in the north. Although the Russian army could hold them back to some extent, if they had completely disregarded the worthless northern territories and marched south, the Japanese probably wouldn't have had much of a chance now.
Therefore, even if the young Japanese soldiers shouted themselves hoarse, most of them would just watch from the sidelines. They would never charge forward directly under such circumstances, because they were no longer reckless and knew from their experience on the Chinese battlefield that they were not invincible.
Only those young and ambitious people who have just come from Japan are so brainless. They always think that as long as they keep His Majesty the Emperor's teachings in mind, they will be able to move forward. No matter how many people die or are injured in the way, the final victory will belong to us.
This group was considered foolish within the Japanese army, but they considered themselves extremely brave. They had long resented the headquarters' slow pace in dealing with the Hankou situation. Now that the 72nd Army had withdrawn, the Japanese headquarters had begun to formulate its operational plan for Hankou.
When Li Shaoyi was carrying out air defense missions and arresting spies in Hankou, many people saw a glimmer of hope. They believed that Hankou was different from Huangpu River; it was located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. If they could mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops, at least one-third of whom were from the 72nd Army, then Hankou should be the final destination for the Japanese attack, and they might even be able to completely dismantle the Japanese forces there.
Therefore, some surrounding troops united and began training, hoping to achieve renewed glory under Commander Li's command. However, after Li Shaoyi's plane took off, the generals of these ragtag armies were utterly disappointed and completely disillusioned with the Nationalist government.
The Nationalist government 10 years ago and the Nationalist government 10 years later are exactly the same. Their approach to local warlords is to divide and conquer. They don't even consider what time it is now. As long as someone poses a threat to your rule, no matter how much they have contributed, you have to dismantle them. Otherwise, this wouldn't be you.
Even someone like Commander Li, who made significant contributions to the country, has been sidelined. What's the point of us continuing to hang around here? Are we going to be dealt with by them in the end? After the Battle of Pujiang, can't we see it? We rushed in with high hopes, but after leaving the battlefield, most of the troops began to shrink. Only the Central Army was able to maintain its complete structure; everyone else was reduced in size.
Some people were already disheartened, but they thought that if Commander Li could take over as commander in Hankou, then we could continue fighting the Japanese, which would be doing a good job for the country and the people, and we wouldn't bother with the Nationalist government over this.
But now Commander Li has decided to leave Hankou, and it's because of the exclusion by the high-ranking officials of the Nationalist government. Now these miscellaneous troops really can't hold back anymore, and many of them have directly declared that they want to return to their own garrisons, especially some troops in the north and northwest, who feel even more threatened by the loss of their own troops.
The 72nd Army, with its meritorious service, can be ostracized so easily. Our units have limited impact on the battlefield; even against the Japanese, we're just scraps. If the higher-ups decide to punish us, there's no need to worry. It's better to leave sooner rather than later. Since you're so capable, then the task of fighting the Japanese will be entrusted to you.
The 17th Army of the Northwest Army was the first to prepare for a retreat, followed by…