While the expeditionary force was intensively preparing for the battle with Gu, General Stilwell received intelligence forwarded from the White House.

The intelligence said that in view of the irreversible war situation in Myanmar, the Japanese base camp is likely to shift the strategic direction of the Southern Army to Australia.

It plunders Australia's coal, iron and other resources and threatens the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet.

As the Chief of Staff of the China Theater, the White House hopes that General Stilwell will allow the Chinese Expeditionary Force to continue marching eastward to attack the main force of Japan's Southern Army after ending the Burma operation, and it is best to capture the entire Indochina Peninsula.

After reading the intelligence and instructions from the White House, General Stilwell looked embarrassed.

Since the expeditionary force entered Burma, he has been staying by Jiangdong's side and has some guesses about Jiangdong's thoughts.

The goal of the Chinese Expeditionary Force is to open the Burma Highway so that commodities and goods can be transported normally.

After capturing Burma and continuing eastward, I was unwilling to come to Jiangdong.

He had heard Jiangdong mention that the Sixth Corps was ready to expedition to the Soviet-German battlefield at any time.

Of course, the prerequisite for the expedition is that the Soviets accept the three conditions proposed by Koto in Washington.

Give up the privileges in China and return the gains from unequal treaties.

That is nearly 2 million square kilometers of land, and it was impossible for Soviet Russia to give up easily given its national character.

As winter entered and heavy snow fell, the Soviets organized several large-scale counterattacks. However, the troops of the Third Reich were well prepared. Not only did the Red Army fail to achieve its intended combat objectives, but they suffered heavy losses.

The losses were all elite troops transferred from the Far East who were capable of continuous operations in cold environments.

At the beginning, Soviet Russia stated that it would never accept Jiangdong's three conditions.

But in 1942, with the failure of several large-scale counterattacks and the Third Reich's air force constantly bombing Leningrad, Moscow and the industrial areas behind Stalingrad, the situation faced by the Soviet government became increasingly worse.

Although there was material assistance from the anti-fascist allied countries, it was still unable to reverse the situation of the war.

The senior Soviet generals knew that once this winter passed, the armies of the Third Reich would definitely attack in a mighty manner.

Without elite reinforcements, it is almost impossible to defend the three central cities.

As a result, their attitudes have ranged from firm refusal to, more recently, ambiguity.

Stilwell knew that in the face of two million square kilometers of land and Southeast Asia, Jiangdong would definitely choose the former.

Sure enough, when he expressed his proposal, Jiang Dong immediately rejected it.

"As an anti-fascist ally, China has done enough for its allies!" Jiangdong put down the red pencil used for the homework on the picture, looked at General Stilwell and said:

"China has resisted Japanese fascism on its own for many years. After the full-scale world war broke out, it wiped out the Japanese Kwantung Army in the north and fought in Myanmar in the south. It single-handedly carried the banner of resisting Japanese fascism in Asia!

Compared with other allied countries, China has a clear conscience!"

General Stilwell still refused to give up. He explained to Jiangdong the pros and cons of Japan's Southern Army attacking Australia for China and the world.

Jiangdong shook his head and refused, clearly telling General Stilwell that within the next year, the Chinese army would attack the Japanese invaders at home and would not continue its expedition to Southeast Asia.

"Okay, Admiral, our cooperation is very pleasant this time, and I hope we can maintain this pleasant cooperative relationship in the future!"

The two quickly shifted the focus of their conversation to the upcoming battle with Tonggu.

………

Same as ancient times.

The time has come to January 9. Under the command of Shojiro Iida, various Japanese troops have entered the defense.

Tonggu was the center of this battle, and its strategic location was very critical. Shojiro Iida placed the elite 18th Division at Tonggu.

The Japanese 18th Division was one of the culprits in the Nanjing Massacre in history. This unit was famous for its brutality and ruthlessness!

He successively participated in the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Nanjing, and the subsequent landing in Guangzhou, etc.

They were the vanguard of the Japanese invaders, and the soldiers' hands were stained with the blood of our Chinese compatriots.

After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the 18th Division left Guangzhou and joined the team that conquered the Malay Peninsula.

From August last year to January this year, the 18th Division did not suffer a single defeat.

While in Singapore, the Japanese 18th Division cooperated with other troops and forced 100,000 British Commonwealth troops to surrender despite being at an absolute disadvantage.

This was the highlight moment of the 18th Division, and its reputation frightened colonial armies in Southeast Asia.

There is another person worth mentioning, that is Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Renya, the commander of the 18th Japanese Division.

Mutaguchi Ren also commanded the Singapore Campaign. He also allowed the 18th Division to massacre local people and overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia.

But these are not Mutaguchi Renya’s biggest crimes.

What the old Japanese is most proud of and what the Chinese people hate the most is that he fired the first shot of Japan's fascist full-scale invasion of China.

The July 7 Marco Polo Bridge Incident occurred under his command. After the incident expanded, the Japanese fascists began to fully invade China.

Mutaguchi Ren has always been proud of serving His Majesty the Emperor and opening up new territories for the Japanese Empire. He is an out-and-out war maniac.

At this moment, Mutaguchi Ren also did not realize that the first shot he fired at Marco Polo Bridge would plunge the Japanese nation into an eternal hell.

In the headquarters of the 18th Division of Tonggu, Mutaguchi Lianye had an arrogant look on his face.

"Sixth Corps, Jiangdong... Haha... I fired the first shot. I have studied the Chinese and their government very thoroughly! Four years ago, I asserted that the Chinese would never be able to defeat Japan. Imperial!

Now, I still insist on this view!”

Mutaguchi Renya looked at the senior officers of the 18th Division with cold eyes and continued:

"The failure of the empire in China was caused by various reasons, and this failure was only temporary!

Neither the United Kingdom nor the United States is a rival to the Japanese Empire. China is an ant among the jagged rocks, and they just happened to find a bright path among the jagged rocks. A handful of fine sand and a light rain can rebuild the country. They drown!"

The senior officers of the 18th Division had serious faces, but disdain in their eyes.

"Gentlemen, it's time for our 18th Division to turn the tide for the Empire of Japan!" Mutaguchi Ren also raised his right hand.

"We used to be able to defeat a Chinese division with only one brigade, but now there are more than 200,000 Chinese and 100,000 imperial troops on the opposite side! This strength gap is nothing to us, it is just a small challenge. That’s all!

I order that everyone must show full courage to defend the pride of the samurai and the dignity of the Imperial Army!

The 55th Regiment and the 56th Regiment defend the front of Tonggu, and the 124th Regiment and the 114th Regiment defend the east and west wings. Our 18th Division must be like a huge magnet, attracting as many Chinese troops as possible to come to Tonggu!

We are not afraid of being surrounded, as long as we can get a greater victory, everything will be worth it!"

"Hiyi!"

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Long live the Japanese Empire!"

…

January 10, Tonggu Frontline.

Yan Yilun took Du Guangting, Commander Dai and others to the front line to observe the Japanese defense line on the opposite side.

Various positions of the Japanese army slowly emerged from the hazy morning light. These positions were built along mountains, rivers and roads. They were scattered towards the thorns lying on the ground to protect the small city of Tonggu.

"The 18th Division is worthy of being an elite unit of the Japanese army. The defense line is well built, but it may not be easy to fight!" Commander Dai was a little worried about the casualties of the troops.

"It's not easy to fight in the jungle, but we have to fight, and we have to wipe out all these little devils!" Du Guangting gritted his molars and said:

"I don't know how many Chinese people died at the hands of the 18th Division. Such blood revenge must be avenged!"

Yan Yilun nodded,

"Although all Japanese troops cannot escape the fate of being completely annihilated, the 18th Division in front of us is what the commander-in-chief emphasized!

We will not accept surrender or capture, and we will not spare any kid from the 18th Division!

These are the exact words of the Commander-in-Chief!”

Du Guangting and Master Dai felt Jiang Dong's anger from his words and nodded in agreement.

The deputy commander of the Seventh Army came over to report that all units were ready to launch an attack across the board at 7 a.m.

Multiple units of the Fifth Army, Sixth Army, Seventh Army, and Eighth Army launched attacks at the same time, and the east-to-west length of the front exceeded 70 kilometers.

The whereabouts of the Fifth Army have always been secret, and the little devils will only realize that they have been surrounded when the entire front is launched.

The first to attack Tonggu will be the 21st Division of the Seventh Army.

The 200th Division and other units serve as reserves in the rear areas.

At that time, the needle pointed to 7:00 in the morning, the sound of artillery was rumbling along the 70-kilometer long front, and the earth was shaking in the explosion.

Air Force fighter planes flew over the heads of Du Guangting and others, dropping various high-explosive bombs into the Japanese positions.

Hundreds of artillerymen of the Seventh Army fired at the same time, and the shells were like a violent storm.

In the field of vision of the telescope, the Japanese army's position outside the city had been engulfed by the flames of the explosion, and the sky was scattered with smoke and red soil brought up by the shock wave.

Under the cover of aircraft and artillery, the attacking troops took advantage of the momentum and moved forward.

Since gaining absolute firepower superiority, the fighting methods of both the enemy and ourselves seem to have been reversed.

In the past, the Japanese implemented tactics of bombing from planes, bombarding with artillery, and charging with infantry, which made the Chinese army unable to even lift their heads.

But now they are shivering under the gunfire and have turned into Japanese soldiers.

Du Guangting and others felt so happy that they couldn't bear to put down the telescope they were holding.

Mutaguchi Renya's body remained motionless amid the constant explosions and tremors, but if you look closely, you will find a hint of shock and panic deep in his eyes.

This was the first time that the 18th Division encountered Jiangdong's 6th Corps. Although they were mentally prepared, the intensity of the opponent's artillery fire exceeded the expectations of the officers and soldiers of the 18th Division.

Some weakly built bunkers and shell-proof holes collapsed under the bombardment of heavy artillery, and some soldiers of the 18th Division were buried alive under the deep soil without even seeing their opponents.

The buildings in the city were reduced to rubble by the bombardment, and fires were still burning in some places.

The proud soldiers of the 18th Division experienced psychological fluctuations, and they began to fear death and failure.

This kind of collective and fluctuating negative psychology has never appeared in previous years of combat.

[Author's digression]: Three updates, nine thousand and five, please vote.
Chapter completed!