Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 191 Jinshen Operation Plan
So when the old man arrived, Vice Principal Fan immediately came forward to report, calling him "Principal." However, the old man responded to this address with displeasure:

"You still know how to call me Principal! You're from the first cohort of Huangpu High School, right? And you're the only student from that cohort who came with the title of 'Young Master'!"

Upon hearing this, Commander Fan nodded in agreement, which only made the old man even angrier, who said:

"But now you can't even take down a small village like Bailaohu. What face do you have to come see me!"

However, just as Commander Fan was about to say something in his defense, Old Man interrupted him:
"You are now the Deputy Commander of the Eastern Frontier Expeditionary Force, come up with your countermeasures!"

Upon hearing Old Man's words, Commander Fan quickly presented the battle plan for the Jin-Shen Campaign that he had already devised:
"What I want to tell you now is about Yixian, about Jinzhou, and even about the entire Dongbei region. I have a bold idea to report to you!"

Old Meatball, hearing that Fan had another bold idea, wanted to hear it as well, so he spoke:

"Speak!"

Upon seeing this, Commander Fan immediately said:
"Since the Liberation Army is determined to engage us in a major battle, why don't we prepare an even bigger battle plan and annihilate all 700,000-plus Liberation Army troops in Jinshen?"

Upon hearing Commander Fan's words, the old man also asked:

Is it the Battle of Jinshen?

"Yes!"

Old Zhai was also very interested in the major battle that Commander Fan had mentioned, because once the Jiefang Army's troops in Dongbei were wiped out, Dongbei would fall back into Old Zhai's hands, instead of just focusing on a few cities.

Therefore, Commander Fan was immediately asked to explain his specific battle plan, and Commander Fan promptly took out the map in his hand and unfolded it:
"Principal, the Liberation Army's strategic intention is very clear: to close the gate. Jinzhou is the gateway to Dongbei, and Yixian, north of Jinzhou, is the hinge of this gate. The Liberation Army must remember that attacking Yixian is to break the hinge, making Dongbei's gate immobile. If Dongbei's gate cannot move, they will have a secure rear!"

After hearing Commander Fan's strategic analysis, Old Man Jing nodded and said:

"Go on!"

He then asked Commander Fan to sit down and report, and Commander Fan sat down and continued:
"The Liberation Army is taking a gamble by attacking Jinzhou instead of Changchun, putting all of Dongbei's forces into Jinzhou. If they win, the entire territory of Dongbei will be theirs, and our hundreds of thousands of soldiers will be swallowed up. But this is also a huge opportunity for us, and we have a chance to win."

The old man then asked:

"So where is our chance to win? How can we turn defeat into victory?"

Upon hearing the old man's words, Commander Fan immediately said:

"First, I will hold Jinzhou firmly. Given Jinzhou's formidable defenses, it should be able to hold out for half a month to a month without any problem. Moreover, we can also wear down their manpower. At the same time, I ask you, Principal, to mobilize the main force of Shengyang to advance westward and cut off the Jiefang Army's retreat. On the west side, I also ask Fu's main force to advance northward and land at Tashan, reopening the gates closed by the Jiefang Army and making Shi our shield. In this way, with both armies in place, our Jinzhou army can break out from the center and form a counter-encirclement. This way, we can wipe out the Jiefang Army in Dongbei in one fell swoop."

However, the old man was very pleased after hearing Commander Fan's words:
"Hanjie! You've done a great job with the blueprint for the Jinshen Campaign, but the principal is also facing difficulties. You don't know, Fu Zongsi Ling of Huabei just won't listen to orders, and Wei Zongsi of Shengyang just refuses to fight. I'm at my wit's end!"

Upon hearing this, Deputy Director Fan Ling replied:
"Principal, the key lies with Shengyang. Wei Zong Siling refuses to move, but the Shengyang Group's forces aren't entirely under his control!" Old Man Jian nodded in agreement with Vice Vice President Fan's words.
"Liao Yaoxiang, who lives outside Shengyang City, commands a large army!"

Vice Director Fan also nodded in agreement:

"The principal has been kind to our enemy, and he will definitely listen to what the principal says. When the two major corps arrive, our crisis will turn into a decisive battle against the relief army, and it may even turn into a victorious battle that reverses our decline."

Upon hearing Vice Director Fan's words, the old man was also very pleased and said:
"Well said! Well said!"

And so, Lao Zi, who originally wanted to retreat with his troops, was persuaded by Deputy Commander Fan's Jin-Shen Campaign plan and decided to use Jinzhou as bait for a major strategic counterattack.

However, this battle plan looked good, but in reality it was full of loopholes, especially the decision to send Shengyang to reinforce Jinzhou, which is more than 200 kilometers away, almost 500 li!
If they can march at full speed, they might be able to arrive within five days.

However, there would inevitably be resistance, so it was impossible for them to arrive within five days.

Furthermore, in terms of troop strength, not all 300,000 troops stationed in Shengyang were mobilized, so the reinforcements were quite limited.

After all, Wei Jiaozong Si Ling was unwilling to mobilize all 300,000 troops, so only Liao Bingtuan, who listened to Lao Zi, mobilized 150,000 troops to reinforce Jinzhou.

So even if we add the original 15 troops stationed in Jinzhou, the total force is only 300,000. But now, after the development of the reform, the force has grown significantly.

The Fourth Field Army now has 700,000 troops, which is twice the size of the enemy's forces.

As for the issue of reinforcements from Changchun, there's no need to consider it, since Changchun is a thousand miles away from Jinzhou! Even if they travel a hundred miles a day, which is fifty kilometers per day, it would still take them ten days to reach Jinzhou.

By the time they arrive at Jinzhou, the battle will probably be over.

Currently, Chiang Kai-shek has heavily guarded these three cities in Dongbei. The remaining smaller cities are not heavily guarded, since the smaller cities are too small to hold a large army, and with fewer troops, they can be easily swallowed up.

Therefore, the only troublesome thing is the troop reinforcement from the sea to Tashan.

After all, once we land at Tashan, the distance to Jinzhou will be only 35 kilometers. Even if we can't take the train, we can walk there in seven or eight hours.

Moreover, the most crucial point is that the reinforcements can be numerous. You must know that Fu Ke is the commander of Huabei's suppression headquarters, and he has more than 500,000 troops under his command!
If these troops only need to be reinforced by 300,000 to 400,000 men, then they will have an overwhelming advantage in terms of manpower.

Therefore, combined with the Fourth Field Army's attack on Jinzhou, it would naturally require two to three times the number of troops to quickly capture Jinzhou. Of course, in history, not too many troops were used; only 250,000 men were used in the Battle of Jinzhou, while the remaining troops were used to defend Shengyang and to receive support from Tashan.

The support for Tashan is of paramount importance, since there are no restrictions on the transport of troops by sea, and it is not limited to transporting Fu Jiaozong's soldiers.

Therefore, the most crucial aspect of conquering Jinzhou is to hold Tashan. In the original storyline, Tashan will not only be subjected to fierce attacks from the ground landing force, but also to artillery fire from the naval fleet.

(End of this chapter)