Chapter 23 Recommendations
August 5th.
At dusk, the setting sun in the sky is as red as blood.
Guo Wanlin's troops arrived at the Xiaotangshan front line one night in advance, and immediately deployed themselves to prepare to build defensive fortifications. They also immediately called Li Pinxian's headquarters of the right wing corps, requesting further combat orders.
According to the reply from Li Pinxian's headquarters, the main force of the Japanese 6th Division is still about 50 kilometers away from here. The 28th, 68th and 84th Armies of the National Army are attacking with all their might in an attempt to eliminate this executioner who has committed numerous atrocities.
In the telegram, Li Pinxian asked Guo Wanlin's troops to build defensive fortifications in the Xiaotangshan area to cut off the retreat route of the Japanese Sixth Division.
Guo Wanlin looked at the telegram in his hand and frowned deeply. It was simply a pipe dream to cut off the retreat route of the Japanese 6th Division with the limited troops he had.
"Colonel Jin, go get Liu Zhengfeng. I need to discuss something with him."
"yes."
Staff Officer Jin took the order and left, secretly wondering why the division commander didn't consult with a few regiment commanders when he had matters, but had to consult with Liu Zhengfeng, a soldier. It was really strange.
"No need to look, I'm here."
As Staff Officer Jin turned around, he almost bumped into Liu Zhengfeng.
Guo Wanlin was overjoyed and shouted, "Young man, you've arrived just in time, come here quickly."
Liu Zhengfeng came to Guo Wanlin, saluted, and called out, "Master."
As a time traveler, he knew that this battle in history did not destroy the Japanese Sixth Division, but only severely damaged it. The biggest difficulty the Sixth Division was facing now was the lack of ammunition, and Li Pinxian's right wing corps had cut off the Sixth Division's land supply route.
The most critical issue was that the Japanese army opened up another supply channel on the Yangtze River to supply the 6th Division with ammunition and personnel.
Therefore, the key to this battle is to cut off the Japanese supply line and prevent the Sixth Division from getting ammunition supplies, making it impossible to escape.
The Fifth War Zone's plan to encircle and suppress the Japanese army was still commendable, but there was one flaw: it did not expect that the Japanese army would open up another supply channel on the north bank of the Yangtze River.
Guo Wanlin briefly introduced the contents of the telegrams and asked Liu Zhengfeng how to defend himself.
Looking at Guo Wanlin's eager eyes, Liu Zhengfeng secretly wondered how he should tell him the correct battle direction to cut off another supply route of the Japanese army.
If I confess to him directly that I am from the future and ask him to follow my advice, he will probably think that I am a lunatic. Never mind, just do the best I can and leave the rest to fate.
"Commander, with all due respect, I don't think the Japanese Sixth Division will retreat here."
Guo Wanlin's eyes lit up and he said happily, "Seeing the heavy expression on your face, I thought the sky was going to fall. Isn't it just right that the Japanese are not coming? All the brothers can save their lives."
Liu Zhengfeng shook his head: "The Sixth Division's absence does not mean that other Japanese troops will not come. The Sixth Division is now short of ammunition, and the land supply channel in the north has been closed by our army. But we must be careful of the Japanese troops coming north to support us from the Yangtze River coast."
Guo Wanlin nodded and said, "Young man, your analysis is indeed good, but it seems a bit fanciful. I think we are just small pawns with little influence. I think I should obey the orders of the superiors."
Liu Zhengfeng frowned. In fact, from Guo Wanlin's point of view, there was nothing wrong with what he did. However, in this way, he would not be able to completely wipe out the Japanese Sixth Division.
"It's understandable that the division commander chose to protect himself. What I mean is, could you telegraph my suggestion to the Fifth War Zone Commander-in-Chief's Office and let them make the choice?"
This may be the only thing Liu Zhengfeng can do. As for the final result, it depends on God's will.
"this……"
Guo Wanlin's eyes flashed. He knew that he needed to be cautious in making suggestions to his superiors. If the suggestion was correct, he would be proud of it. But if the suggestion was wrong, he would be suspected of disrupting the superiors' deployment.
The commander of the guard battalion, Zhou Liankai, had long been unhappy with Liu Zhengfeng. He didn't know what kind of luck Liu Zhengfeng had these days, as he had not only won the favor of Guo Wanlin, but also got the beauty. These past two days, Liu Zhengfeng and Li Rong were almost inseparable, supporting each other on the road and being very affectionate, which made Zhou Liankai jealous.
Now he saw Liu Zhengfeng talking nonsense in front of the division commander. He was just a soldier, but he kept talking about grand strategies. The commander of the Fifth War Zone was even more jealous and resentful. He saw that Guo Wanlin was silent and seemed to be rejecting Liu Zhengfeng's suggestion, so he couldn't help but retort.
"Haha, the commanders of the Japanese 6th Division who are encircling and suppressing the Japanese army this time are all experienced warriors. Are they not as good as a soldier like you? You spread rumors and misled the people, disrupting their plans. Can you bear this responsibility?"
Liu Zhengfeng sneered, "Even a wise man can make mistakes. What's wrong with me giving them a suggestion for reference? If they think my suggestion is not feasible, then they can just not adopt it. What's the big deal?"
Zhou Liankai was not to be outdone and sneered, "These officers are in high positions, will they accept the suggestions of a soldier like you? You really dare to think so."
Guo Wanlin's expression changed and he couldn't make up his mind.
Liu Zhengfeng laughed and said, "A truly wise man will certainly listen to good advice and learn from the strengths of all parties. Don't forget that this is a time of trouble. Even if the officers are resourceful and smart, they are now commanding hundreds of thousands of troops, so they can't help but be careful and cautious."
Zhou Liankai sneered: "Even if the commander wants to listen to other people's opinions, he will never listen to yours..."
"That's enough. Stop talking."
Guo Wanlin suddenly shouted loudly. He had made up his mind and decided to report Liu Zhengfeng's suggestion. Liu Zhengfeng was right. It was no big deal for him to make a suggestion. It was his business whether the suggestion was listened to or not. The superiors would not punish him for this.
"Young man, should we still build fortifications?"
Liu Zhengfeng said: "To be cautious, we still need to build fortifications, but in the opposite direction. The Japanese troops landing on the north bank of the Yangtze River need to deliver supplies and ammunition to the Japanese Sixth Division, and Xiaotangshan is a must-go place."
Zhou Liankai shouted, "Building fortifications in the opposite direction? Commander, what does he know? If we believe his lies and something goes wrong, what if the higher-ups blame us?"
What Zhou Liankai said made sense. Guo Wanlin was in a dilemma. He glanced at Liu Zhengfeng and sighed.
"To be on the safe side, we built fortifications facing the Japanese Sixth Division."
Zhou Liankai looked at Liu Zhengfeng proudly.
