Chapter 169 Yan Laoxi's Ambition

After the Taiyuan Airport was bombarded, the first to receive the news was naturally the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, after all, the action of the New Second Regiment was approved by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief.

The fear of the First Army Aviation was no less than that of Li Yunlong.

Those brave soldiers who died tragically under the enemy's planes were always inspiring everyone to fight to the end.

Combined with the current enemy and our situation, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief believed that it was a rare opportunity to act during the second phase of the Hundred Regiments Campaign, after all, a large number of enemy troops were pinned down by the three main forces.

Only with the above conditions, the New Second Regiment took action yesterday.

The second person to receive the news was naturally Yan Laoxi.

The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army successively carried out the Shanxi North Defense War, the Pingxingguan Campaign, the Xinkou Battle, and the Taiyuan Defense War. After that, it was severely damaged, the troops lost 90% of their equipment, and the main force was basically finished.

By the end of 1937, the entire army had only accommodated more than 20,000 people, and then it was urgently expanded to restore to 50,000 people. 105 counties in the province fell one after another, and for a time they could only shrink in the southwest corner of Shanxi to lick their wounds.

But this is where the philosopher made his fortune, and the centipede is still alive even after death.

In addition, during his rule, Yan Laoxi vigorously promoted the development of education, economy, industry and other industries, and the local people more or less remembered it, so the mass base of the Shanxi Suiyuan Army in Shanxi was second only to the Eighth Route Army.

This made it possible for some intelligence networks and spies of the Shanxi faction to remain in Taiyuan City. Basically, after any major event, Yan Laoxi could receive intelligence at the first time.

In fact, Shinozuka Yoshio also knew about this matter, but due to the policies implemented by the North China Front Army, Tada Shun always wanted to support the Shanxi faction as a puppet army, so the First Army and the Shanxi Suiyuan Army were in a rather ambiguous state.

As long as Yan Laoxi didn't go too far and didn't reach out to sensitive places. For those dispensable intelligence, the devils turned a blind eye.

At 12 noon on September 24, Ji County, Shanxi Province.

At this time, Yan Laoxi was eating lunch in his room, enjoying the millet porridge that nourishes people, a specialty of Shanxi.

It seemed that the congratulatory telegrams from all over the country on the table did not affect his leisure and elegance at all.

Suddenly, a trusted staff officer rushed into the room. The man looked a little flustered, holding a folder in his hand.

"President! Something big has happened! Someone has framed us!"

"Just now, troops at all levels have sent back news that the shelling of Taiyuan Airport was not done by our people without permission."

"Do you want to communicate with Shinozuka Yoshio and explain this misunderstanding?"

Obviously, this news was within Yan Laoxi's expectations. He put down his chopsticks and showed a playful expression.

"Calm down, you are a soldier, what does it look like to be reckless."

"Notify senior officers above the division level to gather. I will hold a meeting this afternoon to announce the next stage of strategic goals."

Although there are troops of different forces in Shanxi and its surrounding areas.

For example, the Eighth War Zone in Suiyuan area, the Wei Commander of the First War Zone, the Central Army in Zhongtiao Mountain, the Eighth Route Army at the intersection and his own Jinsui Army.

But at this stage, the only one who has the ability and reason to shell Taiyuan Airport is the Eighth Route Army.

In Yan Laoxi's opinion, the opponent's strength and influence have grown too fast recently.

Not only did they quietly create 105 regiments behind enemy lines, but they also won victories such as the Hundred Regiments Campaign, which gave him, a staunch anti-G faction, some headaches.

But this is not all bad, after all, the Eighth Route Army is a truly anti-Japanese force.

In a sense, their rise can buy precious development time for the Shanxi Suiyuan Army.

As the head of the Shanxi faction, Yan Laoxi dreams of regaining all of Shanxi and restoring the glory of 37 years ago. Back then, the sentence that as long as Taiyuan can be defended, whatever you want is given is the truth.

Through the system of combining soldiers and farmers, he exhausted the pond to fish, and brought the human resources in the controlled area to the extreme, restoring his troops to the level of 100,000.

But after losing the important industrial system, the combat effectiveness of the troops is much worse than before.

With the current strength, there is no qualification to fight against Shinozuka Yoshio at all. If you insist on fighting, it will be completely like hitting a rock with an egg.

Yan Laoxi didn't even dare to think about attacking Taiyuan City, because this was the headquarters of the First Army.

As a military commander who had dominated for decades, he knew too well the difficulty of attacking a city, not to mention that his former home was there.

After losing the arsenal and several artillery regiments, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army had no qualifications to attack.

Even if the Eighth Route Army's Hundred Regiments Campaign attracted the attention of enemies throughout the province, as long as Taiyuan was threatened, the Mongolian Army and the North China Front Army would be alarmed.

When the Japanese army pressed on, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army would most likely be killed on the battlefield.

But now the situation has changed. The sudden rise of the Eighth Route Army has given him some opportunities. Yan Laoxi has been thinking about how to deal with all the forces in Shanxi at the same time.

The so-called forces naturally include enemy and friendly forces.

To become a hegemon in troubled times, Yan Laoxi has always been a man with ideas and strength, and can even be said to be a weirdo.

He is a natural speculator, but it's a pity that he was not born in the ugly country. Wall Street has lost a brave general.

When he was young, in order to be admitted to the Shanxi Military Academy, he directly found a gunman to take the exam for him. After entering the school, he hung out with people during the day and rolled up his sleeves at night. In the end, no one expected that the quota for studying in Japan would fall on him.

From the uprising in 1911 to the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, the philosopher wandered among the major forces. At his most glorious time, he ruled the four provinces of Shanxi, Chahar, Suiyuan, and Hebei and the two cities of Beip and Tianjin at the same time.

Even in the 19th year of the Republic of China, Yan Laoxi lost all his pants in the Central Plains War. But he was able to make a comeback a few years later and changed his previous state of resignation.

He has always had a good relationship with Xiao Rizi and is a recognized pro-Japanese faction in Guosu. When he was still studying in Benzi, he met a group of monsters.

Okamura Ningji was his captain, Itagaki Seishirō was his instructor, and Doihara Kenji was his classmate. He himself also said that he, Yan Laoxi, was the only one who could follow the Benzi route in the Republic of China.

But this man also understood the national justice and rejected the olive branch offered by Xiao Ri. He could not tolerate the Japanese invasion of China the most.

Even after the fall of Taiyuan, he still insisted on resisting the Japanese, carrying out the integration of soldiers and farmers, overcoming difficulties and melting pot training in the rear.

But he would also negotiate peace with the Japanese, but the process was only at the agreement stage, without any substantial progress.

The successful attack of the Eighth Route Army on Taiyuan Airport made him feel unprecedentedly comfortable. The enemy lost so many planes, which made Yan Laoxi want to roar to the sky.

In 1937, the air force of the Shanxi Suiyuan Army was wiped out within a few days. His own troops died in batches under the bombing of the devils.

Now that there is one less big enemy, how can he not be happy?

However, this move broke the balance of forces among many parties. As a speculator, he must of course make corresponding changes.

After all, the Eighth Route Army is a threat to him, but it will not affect Shanxi now. And the other side is brave and good at fighting. If it can be properly used, the restoration of the previous glory is just around the corner.

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A few hours later, more than a dozen senior generals of the Jinsui Army came to Kenanpo, Ji County. They walked into the combat meeting room one after another with serious faces.

After seeing everyone come, Yan Laoxi stood up from his seat and said to the people in front:

"This time I called you here to discuss important matters. For a long time in the future, we will gradually distance ourselves from the daily life and help the Eighth Route Army and the Central Army to recover Shanxi."

The senior generals who can still stay in the Jinsui Army are all die-hards of the Jin faction without exception.

After hearing the bold words of their president, everyone stood up from their seats and began to applaud enthusiastically at the people on the stage.

But Yan Laoxi was very dissatisfied. He hated people disrupting his train of thought, so he frowned and said in a dialect accent: "What are you applauding for? Sit down!"

Glancing at the subordinates at the front, the philosopher pulled his military cap and threw it on the table, and then said the classic speech of "Legend of the Immortals".

"I always say that existence is everything! Everything is for existence! Pro-Japanese is for existence! Anti-Japanese is also for existence! Existence is the truth!"

"Being ambiguous with Xiao Ri is just a means. Ambiguity can be changed, but existence cannot be changed! You can't say that ambiguity is right and fighting is wrong!"

"You know about the Eighth Route Army. Now we have to use their power to drive the devils out of Shanxi! But we have to balance the power of both sides! Reap the benefits of being a fisherman!"

After saying this, Yan Laoxi looked depressed, as if what he just said was really a deaf ear.

"Why don't you applaud when you should?"

This complaint immediately awakened the senior generals below. They stood up and said in unison: "Commander Yan has a far-sighted vision and foresight. How can we, the likes, reach that level?"

The subordinates' reaction was quite good. He nodded with satisfaction and then reminded:

"Shanxi is a land of outstanding people. I, Yan Baichuan, do not support women or smoke opium. The remaining money is used to support you little idiots to go to school."

"Within 50 miles of my hometown, there is a Bo YB in literature and a Xu XQ in martial arts. All the idiots have gone to the Eighth Route Army."

"You guys should fight for me! I don't want to hear people say that I am blind and can't recognize people and use them well."

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Let's turn our attention to the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

It was still 1940. Chu Yunfei's troops had not yet reached the outrageous number of 5,000, but he still had more than 3,000 well-equipped infantry and artillery under his command.

The current Jinsui Army is still in the recovery period, and the average number of troops in a division is just over 4,000.

Even the newly established 23rd Army and 43rd Army in March this year, many of the infantry divisions under these two armies are less than 4,000.

The reason why the 358th Regiment has so many troops is that after the capable generals Xu, Fu, and Shang left the Jinsui Army, what remained were some obedient and loyal drunkards.

Yan Laoxi wanted to train Chu Yunfei, a top student of the fifth term of Huangpu Military Academy, to play a leading role in his troops in the future.

Deputy Guan Ligong walked into the regiment headquarters with the documents just issued by his superiors. At this time, he was in extreme shock.

It seems that he does not understand why his leader suddenly changed the strategic direction, so his expression is a little out of control.

Compared with the command room of the friendly army, Chu Yunfei's room looks even more luxurious than the Eighth Route Army headquarters.

After seeing his adjutant, he took the document handed to him with his white-gloved hand, and then asked nonchalantly:

"Brother Ligong, what shocked you so much? What order came from Commander Yan?"

Realizing that the other party was silent, Chu Yunfei shook his head helplessly. He opened the folder on his own and began to read the documents sent by his superiors.

After roughly reading a few lines, the eyes of this fierce general of the Jinsui Army shone. As if awakening the memory of his past life, he repeatedly praised his boss's clever tricks.

After reading it thoroughly, he waved to his adjutant. Then he pointed at the large map hanging on the wall, his eyes looking very contradictory, full of surprise and serious.

"This is the map that Chief Yan sent to me this morning. The province is really busy during this period. Except for our area in southwestern Shanxi, other areas are almost reduced to a pot of porridge."

Fang Ligong was slightly startled by Chu Yunfei's words. He walked to the map and observed it carefully.

The general regiment-level units of the Jinsui Army are not qualified to obtain such detailed maps. If they want to understand the recent battle situation, they can only rely on their own staff to collect intelligence.

However, the 358th Regiment is the apple of Yan Laoxi's eye. In order to cultivate Chu Yunfei's strategic vision, he will naturally be notified of any major events that occur.

On this new map, arrows symbolizing the First War Zone, the Eighth War Zone, the Eighth Route Army, Xiaori and other forces are intertwined, and jagged horizontal lines are arranged in a messy manner, making the entire map look quite chaotic.

Although Fang Ligong's vision is not good, his view of future development is always very limited. But there was no problem with the military quality at all. He could tell at a glance that this was the Eighth Route Army's latest Hundred Regiment Battle.

Among them, the various units of the Eighth Route Army were completely mixed with the Japanese, which really confirmed the words of the regiment leader, and the entire Shanxi Province was reduced to a pot of porridge.

And he could tell at a glance that the Eighth Route Army was now the dominant force and was pressing forward against the troops of the Japanese First Army.

"Sir, I'm sorry for my stupidity, but I don't know what you mean. Besides, didn't Commander Yan say before that we should be more careful with the Eighth Route Army? Why have we changed our strategy now?"

Such questions obviously disappointed Chu Yunfei. He held up the brim of his hat and explained helplessly:

"This major frontal attack by the Eighth Route Army has completely exposed their strength. In just a few years, those people have developed to such an extent in enemy-occupied areas. As a Chinese soldier, I admire them very much."

After saying this, he thought briefly. His face became more and more serious, as if he had thought of something terrible.

"As far as I know, they seem to have received some international assistance. Although they are both armed forces to resist Japan and save the country, the two sides have different beliefs after all. One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers."

"Chief Yan's meaning is very simple. This is a conspiracy to drive away tigers and swallow wolves. Although the Eighth Route Army has become stronger, the Japanese can still maintain their advantage with their strength."

"Once they slow down, they will definitely mobilize a lot of troops. At that time, we will have to help. While driving away the devils, we will also drive away these friendly forces."

As soon as these words came out, Fang Ligong immediately became enlightened, and his expression also became serious.

After losing many factories in Taiyuan, life for the Jinsui Army became increasingly difficult. If we cannot seize this opportunity, our own survival space will be almost gone after Xiaori and the Eighth Route Army decide the outcome.

Just in the southwestern corner of Shanxi, it is already the limit to expand the army to 100,000. If we don't take action, we may not be able to cross the Yellow River on sheepskin rafts.

However, Fang Ligong shouldn't think too deeply about these matters. He cannot get involved in the superiors' game.

"Regiment leader, it has been determined that the troops bombarding Taiyuan Airport are not our people. According to the analysis of superiors, there is a high probability that they are the Eighth Route Army."

Chu Yunfei nodded, knowing his own affairs well. Based on his understanding of his colleagues, those people would not dare to take action without permission even if they were brave enough.

"It seems that there are quite a few tiger generals at the grassroots level of the Eighth Route Army. Counting Li Yunlong who dared to go head-to-head with the Bantian Regiment, there are already two commanders who impress me."

"Sir Yan will definitely send us to communicate in a while and find out the details of the Eighth Route Army. I will definitely meet these two people by then."

"It is inevitable to have swords against each other in the future. While the two sides are still friendly forces, get more information about the other side to avoid suffering hidden losses in a fight."

Fang Ligong nodded, he very much agreed with his group leader's opinion.

"In just one month, the Eighth Route Army inflicted such heavy losses on the Japanese that they almost lost the Shotai Line. We will definitely allocate forces to encircle and suppress them, and we will be busy too."

Coming, coming, this one may be changed