Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 64 Special Commendation
In the office, Chiang Kai-shek had a gloomy face.

The Songhu battlefield suffered a series of defeats, and the battle reports delivered to his office every day were more than ten centimeters thick when stacked up.

Most of them were telegrams about defeat and requests for help, with very few reports of victory.

Even if it's a small-scale battle, it would be good to kill more than a hundred enemies!
According to the current battle situation and the intelligence obtained, the Japanese army is very likely planning a large-scale encirclement of the Chinese army.

The battle situation is very unfavorable!
There was no response to the mediation efforts of the British and American powers.
Boom boom boom!
There was a knock on the door.

Chiang Kai-shek straightened his expression and said as if nothing had happened: "Come in!"

Crunch!

The harsh sound of hinges was heard, and He Yingqin, the Minister of Military Affairs, walked over quickly.

Walking to his desk, he handed over a telegram with both hands: "Commissioner, Shanxi Military News!"

Chiang Kai-shek sighed deeply and took the telegram with a sad face.

The local tyrant Yan Laoxi was his biggest worry. Since the full-scale war of resistance against Japan and joining the united front, he had nominally submitted to the central government.

In fact, they have been using the Nanjing government as an ATM and have applied for a lot of various national defense grants and monopoly funds.

Chiang Kai-shek gritted his teeth and criticized a few of them, but in the end it was to no avail.

Datong fell, the Japanese army broke through the inner Great Wall defense line and had already reached Xinkou.

Recently, Yan Laoxi has been making even more trouble, sending more than ten telegrams to the Nanjing government on average every day.

The highly unified wording sums up the implicit meaning: If you have no money to fight the Japanese, allocate funds to me! Otherwise, surrender and aid the enemy.

He Yingqin stood aside with a complicated look in his eyes.

Chiang Kai-shek was very smart. He immediately realized that something was wrong and scanned the telegram from top to bottom.

"Destroy 4,000 enemies and capture the Japanese lieutenant general alive!"

Chiang Kai-shek stood up suddenly, his hands shaking: "Jingzhi, is the information in the telegram accurate?"

"Did they really capture the Japanese lieutenant general alive?"

Compared to the annihilation of 4,000 enemies, what really moved Chiang Kai-shek was the capture of Japanese Lieutenant General Kunisaki Noboru alive.

He Yingqin nodded with difficulty, although he was reluctant to admit that this was the achievement of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

But even so, the body is still in their hands and the facts cannot be distorted in any way.

"The Military Control Commission has verified that Kunisaki Noboru died from his injuries after being captured."

Chiang Kai-shek sighed and walked to the window with his hands behind his back.

Capturing a Japanese general alive for the first time since the full-scale war of resistance against Japan was indeed a great achievement.

But he wasn't very happy.

He Yingqin followed up and said, "Chairman, this matter is of great importance. If it is not handled properly, it may shake the determination of the whole nation to fight the war!"

Chiang Kai-shek had a stern face and remained silent.

If not handled properly, it will shake the morale of the troops.

If it is handled too well, it will also enhance Yan Laoxi's prestige.

Human hearts are complicated, and it is difficult to grasp the scale accurately.

Chiang Kai-shek: "Which unit captured Kunisaki Tou alive?"

The message in the telegram was very vague. Yan Laoxi was playing a trick here. He did not mention the specific number, but referred to it as the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

He Yingqin: "Wei Lihuang sent a telegram, it is from the 33st Temporary Brigade of the rd Army of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army."

Afraid that Chiang Kai-shek had no impression of it, he added, "This unit was one of the main forces in the previous Pingxingguan Battle."

"Brigade Commander Wang Feng, his ancestors were from Shanxi, and he graduated from the ninth class of the Whampoa Military Academy."

Chiang Kai-shek was slightly surprised.

"A student from Huangpu?"

"Ninth Issue"

Chiang Kai-shek frowned, then seemed to remember something. He quickly walked to the desk, picked up the telegram, and read it word by word.

"Jinsui Army"

Chiang Kai-shek pondered these three words over and over again.

He Yingqin was a little confused: "Commissioner, what's the problem?"

"The Temporary 33st Brigade is a unit of the rd Army, and Sun Chu is an absolute direct descendant of Yan Laoxi."

Chiang Kai-shek gradually smiled and breathed a sigh of relief: "Jingzhi, this is what you don't understand."

He Yingqin was confused: "Commissioner, what do you mean?"

Chiang Kai-shek explained with a smile: "I think this temporary brigade is not the direct line of Yan Laoxi!"

"At least they are not elite descendants."

He Yingqin thought secretly in his heart.

Not a direct descendant?

How could they annihilate the 9th Brigade Headquarters?

According to the detailed battle report sent by Wei Lihuang, there was at least one infantry battalion stationed in Nanhuaihua Village at that time, and if the reserve forces were included, there were at least two thousand Japanese soldiers.

Being able to capture Kunisaki Noboru alive means that the situation is at least an overwhelming victory.

Moreover, this unit had performed well in the previous Pingxingguan Battle.

If they were not direct descendants, how could they have such impressive fighting power?

What's more, the organization of the Temporary 1st Brigade is an elite reinforced brigade selected by Yan Laoxi.
Chiang Kai-shek ignored He Yingqin's doubts.

He has his own set of standards in his mind that are unknown to outsiders.

When Yan Laoxi applied for the rank of general for Wang Feng, Chiang Kai-shek also thought so.

But the results speculated today are not consistent with what was previously thought.

The telegram did not mention the designation "Temporary 1st Brigade", but replaced it with the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

Yan Laoxi is not a fool. If this was really a direct line of troops, the telegram would not have been sent in this way.

As the boss, you don't give more benefits to your subordinates, and even distribute the deserved benefits to others. Why should your subordinates recognize you as the big brother?

In the end there is only one possibility.

Furthermore, the chief combat officer of the 1st Temporary Brigade graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy and must have been subject to suspicion, making it difficult for him to accomplish anything significant in the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

This will make things easier.

Chiang Kai-shek paced back and forth in the room.

Judging from his past battle records, Wang Feng is indeed a powerful general.

The people of China complained bitterly due to repeated defeats in the war of resistance.

He also needs a few decent achievements to hold his ground.

Since the soldiers are not good enough, we can only make up for it with the generals.

"Respect it, it's like electricity."

He Yingqin responded, "Yes!" Chiang Kai-shek sat back in his chair calmly, "This is a telegram to the Second War Zone Headquarters. Since the beginning of the war, your department has repeatedly seized opportunities and inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese army, creating indelible achievements in fighting the enemy. This is not easy. Now, more than 4,000 enemies have been annihilated on the Xinkou defense line, and a Japanese lieutenant general has been captured alive. This is a great achievement. The whole country is excited and all officers of Wang Feng are promoted one level higher."

"I have specially ordered Wang Feng to organize the North China Battle Group in Shanxi, Suiyuan, Chahar and other places. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the former Provisional 1st Brigade will be directly incorporated into the newly established battle group."

"The North China Battle Group is temporarily under the command of the 14th Army Group"

This temporary organization, the battle group, appears for the first time in the Chinese military.

With Chiang Kai-shek's military skills, he would not be able to understand such profound things.

He had heard of this organizational term from German instructors when he was forming the German-equipped adjustment division, but he did not understand its specific meaning.

But none of this matters. The most important thing is to transfer Wang Feng away from the Jinsui Army system.

The Ministry of Military Affairs is in charge of the administration of the nation's navy, army and air force, personnel planning, area control, and organizational adjustments.

As the Minister of Military and Political Affairs, He Yingqin was in charge of this matter and was recording it with pen and paper.

The more I write, the more frightened I become.

He also didn't quite understand the organization of the battle group.

It is estimated to be the same as a column, and is speculated to be slightly larger than a division-level organization.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Instead, he was shocked by Chiang Kai-shek's methods and did not waste a single formal position.

With only a temporary organization, they were completely on the opposite side of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army after this round of division and enticement.

But Wang Feng couldn't refuse, because in troubled times, guns are the hardest to use.

At most, Yan Laoxi will give us a new division.

Logically speaking, one wants to be stronger than the other party in terms of organization.

We can only give them a newly formed army. If they really want to win them over, it is not impossible to grit your teeth and give them a numbered army.

But the organization at this level is not like the cabbages on the roadside, where each person has his own position and there are countless eyes watching them. Any change will have a huge impact.

If he really wanted to give it, Chiang Kai-shek would have to weigh it over in his mind.

Can profits be greater than costs?

The battle group organization is a very unfamiliar thing, and it will not cause much opposition. It can also be a great temptation to Wang Feng, a brave general.

It’s like spending little money to accomplish great things!

Even if he doesn't accept it, he can't help feeling resentful.

All things are difficult at the beginning. Once there is a crack in your heart, the next step will be easy.

Chiang Kai-shek's brows relaxed: "Jingzhi, let's do it, send the telegram immediately!"

He Yingqin nodded: "As you wish."

Wang Feng rode a white horse, his consciousness immersed in the system panel.

In the battle of Nanhuaihua Village, although not many enemies were killed, only more than 1,500 at most, a Japanese lieutenant general was captured.

It was directly judged by the system as an epic victory, and the experience points given were several times more than those of the Pingxingguan Battle.

The originally empty experience progress bar was loaded to more than 90%.

In the battle at Yangmingbao Airport, more than 20 Japanese fighter planes were destroyed, which was another great victory.

Directly upgrade the system panel to level 5.

The three-dimensional combat map jumped from two kilometers in radius to ten kilometers.

This distance is the effective range of most large-caliber heavy artillery. In the future, as long as the command center moves forward, the Japanese artillery positions will be able to be detected.

A new panel function - the science and technology talent unlocking function - is also unlocked.

Similar to the instructor module in tactical doctrine, the corresponding researcher is unlocked through the experience points of the army, navy and air force.

There are now two experience points on the system panel.

The first is the army experience points gained through combat, training, etc.

Mainly used to unlock doctrines and scientific research talents.

The second is the experience points used to unlock the corresponding technology, which Wang Feng habitually calls technological experience.

“This is much better than steel wire.”

Looking at the floating data on the technology tree interface, Wang Feng couldn't help but admire.

The technology tree of Steel Wire is simply useless in reality.

If you want to unlock a technology, it will take two to three hundred days.

Who can afford to wait for this!

In terms of experience points, technology that used to take more than half a year to unlock can now be unlocked by winning a big battle.

Sergei came running over: "Sir, a telegram from the Nanjing Military and Political Department!"

Wang Feng turned his head and was secretly shocked: "Military and Political Department?"

The 1st Temporary Brigade was a unit of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, and it was impossible for it to receive a telegram from the Nanjing Military and Political Department for no reason.

Wang Feng pulled the reins of his horse and bent down to take the telegram.

Glance up and down.

His pupils shrank slightly and his heart was shocked.

Battle group?
Wasn't this something the Germans did during WWII?

This is still in the planning stage, so how come Chiang Kai-shek brought it up first?

Has the transport captain come to his senses?

Wang Feng was thinking randomly in his heart. He really didn't expect that Chiang Kai-shek could do such a thing.

The organization of the battle group in Germany is not large, usually only a few thousand people. If you exaggerate, it cannot even accommodate the current temporary brigade of nearly 10,000 people.

But this is a new term, and no one can say for sure what it means.

Little did they know that this name was made up by Chiang Kai-shek through hearsay, and its main purpose was to fool people.
Wang Feng savored the telegram carefully.

He had already reported the battle report of capturing Kunisaki Deng alive to Yan Laoxi.

Unfortunately, there has been no news until now.

Once they accepted Chiang Kai-shek's appointment, they had completely drawn a line between themselves and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

But it still belongs to the Second War Zone.

Wang Feng began to weigh the pros and cons in his mind.

What can you get by following Yan Laoxi? A reward that is either in planning, on the way, or not at all?
To be honest, there is nothing to gain from switching to the Nanjing government.

Wei Lihuang was a true anti-Japanese general, and he was quite generous to his subordinates.

　Chapter 18 was banned.

　　I've been traveling back and forth between Shandong and Heilongjiang these past two days and have a slight fever, 39.8. My hands are shaking as I type these few words. Just two chapters, another tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)