Xi'an.

Looking at the telegram in his hand, the Chairman's face gradually turned ugly. He frowned and asked Wang Shihe:

"Did Jiang Dong send it personally?"

"Yes." Wang Shihe nodded and replied.

Hu Zongnan on the side could not hide his curiosity and asked:

"Principal, what happened?"

The Chairman did not answer and handed him the telegram.

After reading the telegram, Hu Zongnan was surprised and said:

"The Soviet Union and Japan will formally sign an armistice agreement on July 1?

Where did Jiangdong's...this...information come from?

Is it credible?”

This news is really shocking, as there are only 4 days until July 1st.

"He has contacts with the Soviets. I think it was revealed to him there." The Chairman's words were a bit sour.

"Once the armistice agreement is signed, the North China Front Army can dedicate at least two divisions to the Shanxi battlefield."

Thinking of his 76th and 92nd armies, Hu Zongnan couldn't hide his anxiety.

"The time left for us now is really too short. If we cannot capture Taiyuan before July 1, then all four armies will be in crisis.

This battle has consumed countless amounts of food and supplies. If in the end... it will really be more than worth the gain."

"Shoushan, you are too pessimistic!" The chairman's tone was very unkind, even faintly sullen.

Hu Zongnan reacted immediately and lowered his head to admit his mistake.

"Principal, the students are too anxious."

"Yeah." The chairman snorted coldly.

"With the armistice agreement signed on July 1, it will take at least four or five days for the Japanese to reach North China from Northeast China.

Besides, after signing the armistice agreement, will the Japanese really feel relieved to leave Northeast China?

This time they have made a big move against the Soviets. Shouldn't they also be worried that the Soviets will turn around and attack them?"

Hu Zongnan nodded repeatedly, but he did not agree with the Chairman's analysis.

He has always advocated defense rather than taking the initiative to attack.

In his view, it was impossible for the Japanese to attack the rear areas such as Shaanxi or Sichuan due to the natural barrier of the Yellow River.

Instead of taking the initiative to attack, it is better to stay in the rear to expand the army and reserve supplies. It is not too late to counterattack when the enemy's strength is weakened and our own strength is greatly increased.

Based on this principle, he expanded his troops to five armies and three to four hundred thousand people in just two years.

As long as he is given a few more years, he can create hundreds of thousands more.

Therefore, he expressed disapproval from the beginning of this large-scale battle in Shanxi.

But the Chairman's ideas and situation are different from Hu Zongnan's.

Now hundreds of millions of people in China are watching the battle between the Nationalist Government and Shanxi, and the capitalist powers in Europe and the United States are also paying close attention. He, the leader of the country, is now being burned on the fire. Unless he fails, he will never give up halfway.

The chairman thought for a while and said:

"Shihe, Shoushan, order the troops on the front line to intensify their attacks and get closer to Taiyuan at all costs!

The direction of Xinkou and Niangziguan are the key to this battle. As long as these two places can block the Japanese reinforcements, the matter will be settled!

By the way, this information is kept secret for the time being, especially not allowed to be known to the Second Theater Command."

"Yes! I will go and deliver the order immediately!" Wang Shihe said nothing more.

Although Hu Zongnan had opinions in his heart, he knew the chairman's character well and suppressed what he wanted to say.

………

………

The war was in full swing across Shanxi, but Yan Xishan's Second Theater Command was not as busy as imagined.

Just because he did not have the command of the entire battle, the only ones he could mobilize were the few remaining divisions of the Shanxi-Sui Army.

The troops on the southern front launched a fierce offensive, and no less than 10 county towns were recovered.

However, his Jinsui Army was blocked by the Japanese 41st Division in the area west of Xinkou and east of Yunzhong Mountain. Not to mention cutting off the Tongpu Railway line, the five divisions' army now had difficulty even protecting themselves.

The strength of those five divisions accounted for 70% of Yan Xishan's total strength. If the losses were too great, his strength would be greatly weakened.

As a veteran warlord, Yan Xishan knew very well that without an army, he would have no right to speak and no territory.

He has been in a state of extreme anxiety these past few days.

On the one hand, we are making great progress, but on the other hand, we are struggling.

"Should we continue the attack? Should we make a desperate move?"

Yan Xishan has asked himself this question countless times these days.

But he still couldn't come up with a clear answer.

I want both watermelon and sesame seeds.

They not only want to preserve their strength, but also want to gain control of the Taiyuan area.

It's just that there is no such good thing in the world, so he is extremely troubled.

If the news that the Japanese and the Soviet Union had signed an armistice agreement reached his ears, then presumably he would not be so entangled anymore.

…

The tangle of the supreme commander also had a significant impact on the Jinsui Army on the front line.

The Jinsui Army with five divisions could hardly muster the courage to fight to the death, but they also did not dare to retreat privately.

The morale of the army was wavering, and the command was in a mess.

…

…

Dongyangguan.

These days, Japan's offensive has gradually lost its initial edge.

A few rounds of artillery fire every day, followed by an infantry charge, seemed to have entered a routine stage.

The Second Puppet Army has 20,000 people, but their casualties in the past few days have been the heaviest, having dropped to 15,000.

The 70th Regiment of the 4th Division has left the battlefield and is slowly moving north along the Ping-Han Railway.

It was almost impossible to capture Dongyang Pass. Zetian Shigeru also wanted to take his other three regiments northward to reinforce Taiyuan from the direction of Niangzi Pass.

But it's easy to come in, but it's even harder to retreat unscathed.

Jiangdong's 2nd Division and the 22nd and 24th Divisions of the 14th Group Army formed a situation of mutual restraint with the Japanese Fourth Division.

Once the 4th Division shows its intention to move north, Li Zhaoying and Wang Laohu's Second Division will take the initiative to attack.

Although there are still more than 10,000 puppet troops, once they leave their imperial father, they will become a group of lambs to be slaughtered. I am afraid it will take two or three days to catch them all over the mountains and plains.

Not far east of Dongyang Pass is the Ping-Han Railway. If Jiangdong's troops threaten or cut off the Ping-Han Railway, all Japanese troops in China will be affected.

Under such circumstances, Sawada Shigeru naturally did not dare to take risks.

The two sides entered an extremely boring confrontation stage.

…

Since it was a boring confrontation, the soldiers of the Fourth Division would no longer be idle after the "routine".

These Japanese characters gradually transformed from soldiers to small businessmen and hawkers.
Chapter completed!