Chapter 44 Conspiracy

Prussian military theorist Clausewitz put forward a famous assertion in The Theory of War: "War is just the continuation of politics by another means." The essence of this sentence is that war should be the continuation of politics - only such a war is a meaningful war. There are still many dizzy wars in history. They are often dizzy in wars. The army advocates military first during the war, but is dissatisfied with the political interference with military operations in the war.

Soldiers have the advantages of military thinking, as well as their narrowness. Often, soldiers think about a problem from a tactical purpose and ignore strategic problems. However, any war must have a clear strategic purpose, and even every battle must have clear political and economic considerations.

Any strategic or tactical problem must be obeyed in the end, that is, it must be based on the economic, military and other strengths of the party, otherwise the so-called strategy will turn into a crazy delusion.

For China, although the painful lessons of history have made the soldiers eager to promote their national prestige through World War I, any rational soldier knows that China is far from having the economic and military strength to realize this dream. Although as soldiers, they also agree with the view of military first in the war and do not want to see Politics interferes with the occurrence of military operations, but for the young general officers of the Imperial Guard, although they are young and impulsive, it does not mean that they have no brains.

The limited purpose of the campaign and a certain strategic return are the fundamental starting point for their approval of this war. Strength and strength are the most critical factors that determine the progress of the war.

Even on the third day of the "neutral campaign", Jiang Fangzhen, as the chief of staff of the Imperial Guards, when he met Foreign Minister Liang Dunyan, the first sentence he said was "Is it possible to make peace now?"

As soon as the war begins, the biggest problem is how to end the war!

At this point, whether it is for the two countries in the East, it is surprisingly consistent. Japan is reporting this idea to Russia, and China is also reporting to Japan.

It is also this idea that the Guards did not have the idea of completely maimed the Japanese army from the beginning, otherwise, after the preliminary purpose of the battle was achieved, it would not have become the main siege.

Turn nearly 300,000 troops into protons in the besieged city, the purpose of which is to create opportunities to end the war.

March 22nd, 9:30 a.m.

On the eighth day after the outbreak of the "neutral war", the negotiations between China and the two countries were launched under the supervision and mediation of the United Kingdom and the United States. The negotiations were more about seeking peace from China, rather than China seeking peace from Japan, just as Hirofumi Ito came to Nanjing as the emperor's special envoy.

"Minister Liang, President Ito!"

Although Zhu Erdian is not the host, in this meeting, he is the best host to coordinate the interests of the two countries. As the most powerful country in the world, Britain has a certain influence in Japan and China.

"The conflict between China and the two countries over the issue of neutrality is something that Britain, the United States and any civilized country do not want to see. In order to maintain peace in East Asia, Britain resolutely assumed the responsibility of hosting this meeting. I hope that both countries can uphold the heart of peace and end the war very early."

When Zhu Erdian made this speech, he did not look at Ito Hirofumi or Liang Atsuhiko, but to two other people. One was Nagaoka, the deputy chief of staff of the Japanese staff headquarters in the Japanese army dress, and the other was the empire. Wang Shizhen, the deputy chief of staff of the General Staff of the Guards, directly negotiated the ceasefire on behalf of the military.

In Zhu Erdian's view, the most important question now is whether the two countries must have an immediate truce, especially the attack of the Yalu River Army by the Chinese [***] team. This battle is directly related to whether the war between China and the two countries can be stopped at the negotiating table, rather than fighting at a cost.

In this war, the [***] team has shown his combat effectiveness, and Zhu Erdian has received a report from the military observers sent to the First Army.

"The combination of an amazing number of machine guns and small simple artillery makes the Chinese army have an incomparable offensive and defensive advantage in any country... The firepower is sufficient, even ten times that of the enemy's firepower, so that they can tear open the defense line of any army in the shortest time, but the barbed wire The Chinese defense line composed of mines and machine gun trenches is not what his [[***] team can break through!"

No matter what the sent observers say such as "first-class equipment, second-rate will, third-rate officers, the harshest military discipline", at least now the [***] team is fully capable of achieving their battle goals in Fushun, and they are attacking there according to the battle goals.

"Before 6 p.m., anniper the Yalu River Army!"

This also means that Zhu Erdian must stop China's attack on Fushun before noon!

"Therefore, for the sake of the lasting peace between China and the two countries, and also to create a good atmosphere for negotiations, I hope that China and Japan can achieve a ceasefire on the battlefield today! And take the initiative to retreat a certain distance!"

"This is impossible!"

Without any hesitation, Wang Shizhen immediately rejected the proposal. Now the Guards are dispatching troops to North China and are preparing to launch a new round of offensive in another direction. How can they stop all this because of Zhu Erdian's words?

"General Wang, the emperor's [***] team will not always maintain the current calmness. If your country is determined to go its own way, then all the consequences need to be borne by you!"

Nagaoka's foreign history suppressed his inner anger and said coldly.

"Are you a threat?"

Wang Shizhen, who stood up in front of foreigners for the first time, looked at Nagaoka Foreign History coldly.

"If this is a threat, I think we can speak with guns in the northeast battlefield!"

"Bak" scolded from the bottom of his heart. Nagaoka's foreign history did not say anything. He had received a telegram from the Chief of Staff of the Manchurian Army and also his teacher, Eryu.

"In any case, we must stop the war between the Northeast and the Chinese army... In the battle against Lu, the Manchurian army, which suffered heavy losses and was short of ammunition, had no ability to resist the poison gas and tear open the Chinese army's defense line! In order to avoid the current loss and save strength for turning point in the future, we must achieve a ceasefire..."

Reality doesn't allow him to be angry, but he doesn't want to see these despicable Chinese people so arrogant. A few years ago, they couldn't even protect their capital.

"General Wang, I think we are sitting here today to resolve the dispute between the two countries through negotiation, not to continue the war at the negotiating table! This is the fundamental starting point of this negotiation!"

Hirofumi Ito took over the words of Nagaoka's foreign history and took the initiative to show his goodwill to Wang Shizhen.

"As the envoy Zhu Erdian said, now to achieve a ceasefire on the front line, the withdrawal of the Chinese army is the only option to ensure permanent peace between China and Japan. Any delay may lead to the further expansion of the war! I don't think this is what your emperor wants to see!"

Wang Shizhen glanced at Liang Dunyan, and then said, "We can't withdraw from the front!"

Seeing that Zhu Erdian and others were a little puzzled, he immediately added a sentence.

"This is not to be discussed. This is for the sake of battlefield security, and it is also the only choice to maintain national dignity. Moreover, from the perspective of Tieling to Siping, Count Ito, what is the depth of the defense of our army? If our army withdraws and your army attacks the Russian army again, then we will have to be forced to re-enter the battlefield. The fundamental reason for this war is to maintain the neutrality of our country! I hope you can understand!"

Zhu Erdian looked at Wang Shizhen. He understood why the Chinese insisted on this. In fact, for the Chinese, 240,000 Japanese soldiers in Fengtian and Tieling are basically Chinese hostages to a certain extent. As long as they are willing, they can attack the two besieged Japanese armies with poison gas, as long as The main force of the Japanese army is still in their encirclement, and the Japanese army will naturally throw rats to avoid weapons to ensure that it does not attack the south.

"Then let's achieve a ceasefire on the battlefield!"

"There must be a prerequisite for achieving a ceasefire on the battlefield. It is said that the empire must break its covenant with the international community and not expand the war to the area south of Shanhaiguan."

As soon as Zhu Erdian's words fell, Liang Dunyan first put forward his own conditions.

"And guaranteed by the British endorsement!"

This supplementary condition makes it difficult for Zhu Erdian. It is impossible for Britain to endorse and guarantee anything. Even in Zhu Erdian's view, Britain is also playing word games there, not to mention China.

However, this endorsement guarantees that you can also do some articles in the text.

"This condition is reasonable, what do you think? Mr. Ito!"

"Minister Liang, can China guarantee an immediate ceasefire and withdraw at least 15 kilometers from Fushun!"

Ito Hirofumi is still concerned about Fushun, where the most dangerous place may be destroyed at any time.

"So can Japan guarantee to retreat in Dalian?"

When Ito proposed Fushun, Liang Dunyan brought Dalian out. It was said that the senior management cared about Fushun, and China also cared about Dalian. Dalian guarded for eight days with a brigade of soldiers. It was said that he wanted to protect the Yalu River Army, but Zhong wanted to keep Dalian's only brigade.

After reaching a ceasefire on the two fronts of Fushun and Dalian, in the next time, the two sides continued to entangled the ceasefire in other battlefields in the northeast. Just like the instructions received before the talks, Liang Dunyan and Wang Shizhen constantly turned their attention to Tieling and Fengtian, and even did not give the other party a breath. Opportunity.

"Why did they make the ceasefire on the battlefield so detailed?"

Compared with Ito Hirofumi's attitude of caring about the battlefield, Zhu Erdian, on the contrary, from the negotiation, Liang Dunyan, especially Wang Shizhen's request, sensed a strange taste, just like a conspiracy!

"Whether it's to refine the armistice area or the armistice, it's actually to fight another battle after a period of time!"

In the combat map room of the Army Staff Headquarters, Cai E, who was lying in front of the ground pattern, said, and then he held a pen and connected the points with lines on the northeast battle map with a soft ruler. Those points were the stations of the war.

Good logistical support is not only an adequate supply of ammunition for the guards, but also a supply of food for soldiers. The staff officers of the Guards who study abroad, like myself, believe that soldiers' ability to endure hunger and cold in wartime is trained by Pingyu. Only when they are in a state of half-hunger and half-full can they be enterprising, attack surnames and diligent work. Although this is the words of the Japanese army, it is very appreciated by the Chinese people. Whether it is Jiang Fangzhen or Cai E or other officers who study military in Japan, most of them appreciate it very much.

They saw that the soldiers usually drank cold water and took a cold shower, and there were only a few thin pieces of pickled fish fillets, a little vegetables and a small iron box of white rice for each meal. Therefore, in the late period of the restoration army, the tradition of ensuring supply in the early stage was changed. The usual food quantitative standard was to make people eat seven or eight points full, even like Like the Japanese army, soybeans are used to provide protein.

It's more than the Japanese army's ability to train soldiers to "bear hunger and cold" in peacetime, so as to make soldiers more hungry and cold-tolerant in wartime. In wartime, the Guards combat troops will get the best food and logistical support within the conditions. As long as the conditions permit, they can eat large pieces of meat, eggs and white rice. Rice, steamed buns, steamed buns, etc. Of course, when marching to war, in addition to fried noodles and fried rice, you can also get canned fish or beef. The abundance of food is by no means comparable.

And this change unexpectedly brings another effect. Compared with the full usual, the soldiers are more eager to live on the battlefield. Although they may lose their lives at any time, the rich food makes them willing to take the risk.

The General Staff of the Guards also calculates the amount of materials consumed by each soldier and the amount of local procurement, so as to provide the fullest logistical support. Winning or losing depends not only on firepower, but also on logistics, rooted in military stations. Although the Guards obeyed the Japanese army to a certain extent, unlike the Japanese army, which despised the military station, the Guards attached great importance to the role of the military station.

"The truce, even if it will be suspended for three days, is beneficial to us. From the 13th to the 22nd, nearly 300,000 guards consumed 150,000 mountain and field shells, 780,000 mortar shells, 3.45 million grenades, and 38.64 million bullets. According to this method, it was originally calculated to support two months of supplies. It only takes a month, or even shorter. The front line needs more ammunition and more materials. After a three-day truce, we can send at least 10,000 tons of supplies to the front line!"

Jiang Fangzhen nodded with approval.

"Last month, 100,000 horses and 10,000 grooms requisitioned from Mongolia have been in place. If the armistice can last for ten days, we will be able to maintain the logistical support of the troops to fight in the future!"

"The General Staff" is His Majesty's Staff, which is a well-known fact. Just as they are His Majesty's generals, they can refute some of His Majesty's military ideas, but if one of His Majesty's ideas is possible to be realized, the only responsibility of the General Staff is Do everything possible to realize your majesty's military vision, just like the formulation and preparation of the battle plan to enter North Korea.

"The battle to enter North Korea needs to ensure the supply of 12 divisions. It is 360 kilometers of straight-line combat. There are no good road conditions. The only railway that can be relied on is the Anfeng Railway, which I repaired last year, and there are many mountains on the Korean Peninsula. Although the army has no heavy army group in the northwest of the Korean Peninsula, it can still be expected to be expected to Difficulties to face. And the biggest difficulty is logistics, as long as it can support logistics!"

Cai E agreed with Jiang Fangzhen's opinion. The reason why he drew so many points and lines on the map was to connect nearly 100 stations in the northeast, so as to calculate the logistics difficulty of the troops in North Korea.

"At present, we have recruited 530,000 mule and horses and nearly 60,000 grooms from Mongolia, northwest and southwest, of which more than 80% have already been placed in various stations. If we make every effort to protect North Korea, then in the northeast, the army may face certain difficulties in security. Unfortunately, we can't let go in the northeast. If we take the inventory All the poison gas is used in the northeast, so we can put aside any concerns to attack North Korea!"

"At that time, without the concerns of the Japanese army, we need to consider the concerns of the navy. There are hundreds of kilometers of internal and external railways in the mountain customs, and in addition to the mouth of the Yalu River, these places need to directly face the threat of Japanese warships and guns. It only takes a squadron to disrupt our logistical support in the Bohai Sea and the mouth of the Yalu River. According to the calculation of the General Staff, the navy threatened the internal and external railways, the logistics supply was reduced by 40%, and the logistics was threatened at the mouth of the Yalu River. The logistics was reduced by 70%, leaving only 30% of the materials left. Even eating was a problem, so we should not mention any more war. At that time, even if we swept the whole Korean Peninsula, as long as the Japanese army, with the support of the navy, held on At one point in Busan, they can call us back to the Yalu River! So"

There was a trace of appreciation in Jiang Fangzhen's words.

"Although your majesty is a little stubborn on some military issues, at least in some aspects, he only captures the northwestern part of North Korea. As long as the Russian naval threat is still there, then the Japanese navy will definitely stay in the military port and wait to fight against the Russian navy. If we take it in the northwest If we get results, then the Russian army on the front line of the Tumen River will not watch us take advantage. As soon as the Russian army moves, the Japanese army on the front line of the Tumen River dare not mobilize to stop our attack under the condition of being attacked by the enemy.

When mentioning this, Jiang Fangzhen raised his head and looked at his old friend, with a smile on his face.

"Now the Russians are more eager to win than ever. First, they find that the weakest link of the Japanese army, of course they will take action. As long as the Russians are dragged into the mixed water of North Korea, it is not that we want the Japanese army to withdraw from the northeast, but that the Japanese army takes the initiative to withdraw from the northeast, which is different from our goal. What they want is to cut off Russia's mainland threat, but if Russia occupies North Korea, the threat will be at your doorstep! Even if they win the naval battle, it is impossible for the Russians to give up North Korea. At that time, the external situation will be more serious than before the war. The possible threats before the war, but after the war, if the Russians control North Korea, it will be once the polar bear recovers its wounds and retaliation at any time, China will take second!"

The two smiled at the same time. The attack on North Korea is a wonderful move, whether in battle or strategy, that is, it can move the battlefield out of the northeast, and re-introduce Russia, which was originally out of the land, into the war. It can also force me and the Russians to die. On the contrary, China will be able to make full use of this situation and seek favorable conditions to end the war.

(to be continued)