Film and Television World Life Record

Given Xue Laohu's abilities, how brilliantly he fought in the future Battle of Changsha, with hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, including several German-equipped divisions—his own loyalists—it's impossible that he couldn't defeat a single division.

The problem is, they really can't win. They had over 100,000 troops trying to encircle and annihilate the enemy, but a single Japanese division broke through the entire battlefield. Then, they tried to join forces with the Japanese troops in Xuzhou to encircle and annihilate those 100,000 troops.

There are two reasons: First, although there are several elite German-equipped divisions, they only think about preserving their strength when fighting, and they are not even as good as the ragtag troops. Xue Laohu's dumpling-making strategy was originally going well, with 70,000 to 80,000 ragtag troops fighting to the death. But it was those elite divisions that were scared away as soon as they made contact with the Japanese. They even lost the strategic city of Lanfeng, which they were guarding, to the Japanese.

What could Xue Laohu do when his subordinates refused to obey orders? He could only sigh and look up at the sky. They were his loyal followers, and there was nothing he could do about it.

The second reason is that Doihara's 3th Division was indeed strong. A typical regular Class A division usually has four infantry regiments and one field artillery regiment. However, in order to enhance the mobility and firepower of the flanking force, Kazuki Tsukasa's First Army temporarily reinforced Doihara's division with three artillery regiments and armored vehicle and anti-aircraft gun battalions, making Doihara's division's artillery strength exceed that of four ordinary regular Class A divisions.

The 14th Supply Regiment was no ordinary unit; it was Japan's special "automobile unit," equipped with a large number of motor vehicles, plus a large number of motor tractors brought by each artillery regiment.

In fact, the Doihara Division could be considered a fully mechanized force.

This force is indeed far superior to the domestic army in terms of firepower and mobility.

After Doiyu broke through the entire battlefield, the situation became extremely dangerous. Firstly, he could join forces with the small-time agents in Xuzhou to encircle and kill these tens of thousands of people.

Secondly, after breaking through the battlefield, the heart of the Central Plains would be undefended, allowing for a swift victory. Furthermore, due to the Battle of Xuzhou, the area around Wuhan would be vulnerable, and the 14th Division's mobility would even allow for a direct attack on Wuhan.

What kind of place is Wuhan? After Nanjing fell, Wuhan has now replaced Nanjing in status, and its importance is self-evident.

The hundreds of thousands of troops from the Battle of Xuzhou had not yet completely withdrawn, and hundreds of thousands of troops were also entrenched in eastern Henan.

In this situation, if the Japanese directly attack Wuhan, the rear area, cutting off this water and land transportation hub and transport line, the situation would be dire.

Therefore, based on this consideration, and also wanting to delay the advance of the main force of the Japanese army and buy more time for the military deployment in Wuhan, the Huayuankou Incident occurred.

Doi-machi's 14th Division was indeed badly flooded and retreated back to Shandong Province in disarray.

However, just one month after the Huayuankou Incident, the Japanese army marched down the Yangtze River and the Battle of Wuhan began.

It didn't seem like they gained much time.

……

Whether he was from the Yellow River flood zone or simply Chinese, Li Mu wanted to prevent the Huayuankou Incident from happening. Even if he didn't know how effective it would be, he wanted to do his best.

Of course, he can't influence the overall direction, but cooperating with Xue Laohu to besiege the 14th Division of the Toyotomi Hideyoshi Army, defend the eastern Henan region, and prevent the Japanese from invading the Central Plains from the Xuzhou direction is still possible.

However, this cannot be accomplished by simply bombing the enemy with aircraft; actual ground troops must be deployed.

Thinking about commanding soldiers in battle, Li Mu shook his head; he knew his own limitations. With his limited military skills, let alone commanding troops to wreak havoc, he couldn't even figure out how to deploy troops in formation.

Not only him, but his officers were in a similar situation.

Although they were all military talents he poached with high salaries, this talent needs to be put in quotation marks.

Most of these people were junior or mid-level officers in the past. They could command a platoon or company, or at most a battalion or regiment.

Letting them command large-scale battles is absurd.

It makes sense when you think about it. A truly capable high-ranking military officer wouldn't apply for a job as an instructor in a local security force just because of a high salary. As long as they have a few thousand troops under their command, they can easily garrison a city and rake in money hand over fist.

There is a lack of capable generals, and a severe shortage of mid- to high-ranking officers. Even the junior officers are in short supply.

Although he established a short-term military training course, it has not produced many talents in such a short time.

Ultimately, the security regiment was established too recently, had too little foundation, and lacked any accumulation or experience.

Even the lowest-ranking soldiers were mostly new recruits who had been in the army for less than six months. The earlier recruits had some experience in suppressing bandits, but those recruited later had never even seen blood, let alone suppressed bandits.

Without one or two years of rigorous training, and by cultivating a large number of junior officers through military training courses, recruiting more soldiers will only result in a facade, and will not create much combat effectiveness.

Just like now, due to a severe shortage of junior officers, many platoon leaders, squad leaders, and even company commanders are promoted from new recruits who have been in the army for less than half a year.

Unfortunately, even though he recruited several hundred military talents through Muwu Trading Company, it was still a drop in the ocean when placed in an army of tens of thousands.

Actually, thinking about it, I only came here last August, and now it's May. In just nine months, I've already built up such a business, which is not bad.

As for the military, it's not something that can be built up overnight. It requires solid training starting from the lowest-ranking officers. Otherwise, no matter how many people you recruit, it will just be a disorganized mess.

……

However, given the circumstances, the troops still need to be sent there; the battlefield is the best school. Fighting more tough battles and seeing bloodshed will gradually train the troops.

Then, the only option is to find an expert to lead the team!

A raging soldier, and a raging nest.

We can't count on the south; they wouldn't even look at a small security force like ours. The only hope lies in the north, where brilliant generals and talented commanders abound.

Sending just a few here would be enough to easily defeat a whole group.

It just so happens that they lack money, supplies, and equipment... but they don't lack talent, especially military talent of all types.

We have money, resources, and equipment here, but we lack talent, especially military talent.

We can ask them for a favor and ask them to come and fight the Japanese together; I doubt they'll refuse.

Li Mu was responsible for providing equipment and supplies to the troops who came over. Together with the local security forces, they formed an anti-Japanese united army, which was led by a skilled enemy officer and sent to the front lines.

At that time, we'll send out the mountain artillery regiment, the heavy artillery battalion, the armored battalion... Under the command of experts, I believe we can still put up a fight with the Japanese.

Once the equipment and firepower are upgraded, the fighting strength of the north will be beyond doubt.

Chapter 438 The Iron Triangle of Northwest Shanxi

Nanyang maintains close ties with the north; the other side frequently purchases steel, gunpowder, pharmaceuticals, and small processing equipment from here…

Li Mu knew that they didn't have much money there, so he usually only charged the cost price. If they won a battle, he would also send some ammunition over.

The relationship between the two sides has always been good.

This time, Li Mu conveyed his intentions, and the other side was very interested when they heard that they were invited to fight the Japanese, and that the weapons, ammunition, and provisions would all be provided by them.

After several days of communication, the two sides finally reached an agreement, and the other side is expected to send the 386th Brigade to provide support.

Is this the 386th Brigade I imagined?

Based on the brief information about the troops provided by the other party, Li Mu looked at the brigade commander's name and, sure enough, it was this big shot!

Looking further down, I saw two familiar names: Li Yunlong, commander of the New 1st Regiment under the 368th Brigade, and Kong Jie, commander of the Independent Regiment under its jurisdiction.

This is the "Iron Triangle" of northwestern Shanxi—Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, and Kong Jie—all sent here.

Unfortunately, Li Mu looked again but couldn't find Ding Wei's name. The famous "Iron Triangle of Northwest Shanxi"—where was Ding Wei?

Li Mu thought for a while before realizing that it was too early and Ding Wei hadn't been transferred yet.

At that time, Li Yunlong was still the commander of the new regiment. He was only removed from his post as commander and transferred to the clothing factory as the factory director after he violated discipline.

Finally, he was transferred to the Independent Regiment as its commander.

After Li Yunlong was transferred away from the New First Regiment, Ding Weicai was transferred to the 386th Brigade and became the new commander of the New First Regiment.

The "Iron Triangle" of northwestern Shanxi has not yet been formed!

In the future, it may not be possible to form such a system. As one of the front lines, eastern Henan bears the heavy responsibility of guarding the heartland of the Central Plains. Surrounded by enemies on three sides, it will inevitably fight many battles in the future, at least far more than in northwestern Shanxi.

Now that we're here, with Li Mu providing a continuous stream of equipment and logistical support, the Japanese won't leave until they're completely defeated. If Ding Wei is transferred here in the future, the three of them could potentially form a new iron triangle.

……

The 386th Brigade, despite being a brigade, was reorganized from the 31st Red Army, and many of its regiments were downsized divisions.

Its combat strength goes without saying; it has cavalry, artillery, engineers, and everything else. It's also much larger than a typical brigade, with a total strength of nearly 12,000 men.

Li Mu was also very generous, directly mobilizing 12,000 Mauser 98k rifles, 3 million rounds of ammunition, 80 heavy machine guns, 700 light machine guns, 20 machine guns, 110 mortars, and tens of thousands of shells, and sending them all over.

With the addition of some of the 386th Brigade's existing heavy weapons, its firepower can be directly upgraded to a new level.

Having just finalized the cooperation and dispatched a vehicle to deliver the equipment, Li Mu didn't delay and flew to Singapore again. With only a month left before the Garden Mouth Incident, he needed to make more preparations.

Meanwhile, far away at the foot of Huangshan Mountain, Xue Laohu gazed in the direction of Xuzhou with a hint of envy. The victory at the Battle of Taierzhuang was so dazzling, yet he couldn't participate and could only wait here for orders.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

In 1924, at the age of 27, he became the major general chief of staff of the 8th Division, the main force of the Guangdong Army. But he had lofty ambitions and was not satisfied with his position as a staff officer. He longed to personally command and realize his bold ideas on the battlefield.

To realize his dream, he often rushed to the front lines of battle. As a result, no matter which battle unit he was in, he was often the undisputed commander-in-chief of the front, a position he enjoyed immensely.

After the Battle of Shanghai, Xue Laohu led his troops to the border of Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi, and was promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Third War Zone.

Subsequently, guerrilla bases were established in the Huangshan Mountains and Tianmu Mountains. The Third War Zone commanded its troops to advance into the enemy's rear in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, and launched guerrilla warfare against various transportation lines such as the Beijing-Hangzhou and Shanghai-Hangzhou lines and the Yangtze River waterway. This tied down a large number of Japanese troops and relieved the pressure on the Fifth War Zone to some extent.

Xue Laohu was not surprised by the victory at Taierzhuang. With the Chinese army retreating repeatedly on the North China battlefield, the arrogant Japanese had long since abandoned all military caution. Small units dared to roam freely, sometimes an infantry regiment even straying hundreds of kilometers from the main force. If they encountered a level-headed hunter, this beast would surely fall into the hunter's carefully laid trap.

Xue Laohu felt that he was the hunter who could capture such wild beasts, although it would be difficult to achieve the same results as Taierzhuang.

He longed to have that opportunity himself.

Fortunately, the opportunity he had been waiting for soon arrived. He was transferred to the First War Zone to take charge of the Lanfeng campaign. Overjoyed, Xue Laohu quickly handed over his military duties and headed north to Kaifeng, heading towards the smoke-filled Central Plains.

The Battle of Lanfeng has officially begun.

At this time, Li Mu had just arrived in Singapore.

Wartime logistics and transportation are very important. With a wave of his hand, Li Mu directly bought out all 300 Ford light trucks with a load capacity of 1.5 tons from the Ford Southeast Asia dealership. It wasn't expensive, at $1,200 per truck, for a total of only $360,000.

Li Mu acquired all forty Mercedes-Benz L 6500 heavy-duty trucks, each with a payload of up to seven tons, which the dealer had in total. Each truck cost $5,200.

In addition, thirty radios were purchased; one hundred M2 heavy machine guns were purchased at $1580 each; five hundred Czech light machine guns were purchased at $220 each, each with two thousand rounds of machine gun ammunition; and one thousand Browning pistols were purchased by Li Mu, each with one thousand rounds of ammunition and priced at $70 each.

The German-made Grw 34 medium mortars, each equipped with 300 rounds of ammunition, cost $1,100 each. One hundred and fifty were procured.

Thirty Solothurn ST-5 20mm autocannons were also procured.