You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

Upon hearing this, Chief of the General Staff He's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood Minister Chen's sinister intentions.

"Brilliant! This strategy of using one tiger to devour another is truly ingenious."

He added his analysis from the side.

Lin Feng received orders and had only two choices.

Or he will disobey orders.

Then we can legitimately send a telegram to the whole country, accusing him of abusing his military power and undermining the overall situation of the War of Resistance.

Politically discredit him, strip him of his designation, and cut off all nominal supplies to him.

This made him a target of public criticism.

Chief of the General Staff He paused, a sinister smile appearing on his face.

"Or he will obey orders and go to attack Qizhou."

Even with heavy artillery and aircraft, he could never easily take down a fortified city like Qizhou.

The Japanese will definitely fight to the death.

At that time, the 33rd Army Corps will be caught in a brutal siege and a war of attrition.

All his elite veterans will be stuffed into the meat grinder that is Qizhou.

Once he and the Japanese have fought to a standstill, their strength will be greatly diminished.

Our Nationalist government was just about to step in and clean up the mess, thus taking over Jiaodong in a perfectly logical manner.

After listening to the two men's analysis, the old man's gloom finally dissipated, and he revealed a satisfied smile.

He walked back to his seat, sat down, picked up his glass, and took a sip of hot water.

"Okay, let's do as Cixiu says."

This is called an open conspiracy; Lin Feng has no choice but to accept it, whether he wants to or not.

The confidential office was immediately instructed to draft a telegram.

The wording should be strong, and the attitude should be firm.

Tell him that this is a military operation that concerns the survival of the nation.

He was given a strict order to deploy troops on time, or he would face military law!

As the old man put down his water glass, something flickered slightly in the depths of his pupils as his eyelids drooped.

He could almost see Lin Feng suffering heavy losses and looking utterly defeated beneath the walls of Qizhou.

No matter how well a local warlord fights, how could he possibly outmaneuver the supreme commander who controls the overall situation in terms of political maneuvering?

"Also, send a notification to Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone."

The old man added.

"It is said that the Military Commission has arranged for the 33rd Army Corps to contain the Japanese on the northern front."

This allowed him to focus on organizing a counterattack from the front lines in Pengcheng.

This left Commander Li speechless, and he had no choice but to grit his teeth and fight the Japanese to the death.

Killing two birds with one stone.

This both eliminated Lin Feng, a dissident, and stabilized the Guangxi clique's loyalty in Pengcheng.

The old man was extremely proud of his political balancing act.

The telegram was quickly drafted and transmitted via a high-powered radio, becoming invisible radio waves, flying towards the distant Qingcheng Port.

The important figures in Jiangcheng's command headquarters were all eagerly awaiting Lin Feng's reaction.

They were certain that this young warlord would have no chance of escaping this time.

They will either be disgraced or suffer a significant loss of strength.

Regardless of the outcome, it would be a win-win situation for the Nationalist government.

-----

"Cousin, those people in Jiangcheng are going too far!"

In the office, Lin Feng tossed the newly translated urgent telegram onto his desk.

Zhao Yushu stood opposite him, his chest heaving violently, his face full of anger.

"A strong attack on Qizhou? Cut off the Jinpu Railway?"

They make it sound so easy!

This is clearly using our 33rd Army Corps as cannon fodder, to fill the Japanese army's meat grinder!"

Lin Feng leaned back in his chair, picked up his teacup, took a sip of warm water, and remained completely calm.

"Oh, you're always in such a hurry."

Stay calm when things happen.

Let's start with the latest information.

Zhao Yushu took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and opened the military intelligence summary folder in his hand.

"According to the intelligence department's summary."

After the Japanese issued a general mobilization order, the entire war machine was already running at full capacity.

Their ability to mobilize troops and replenish supplies remains extremely formidable.

The North China Area Army regrouped on the northern front.

Apart from the main force of the 10th Division that marched south to attack Pengcheng.

They transferred the entire 106th and 114th Divisions to the outskirts of Qizhou.

Zhao Yushu picked up the baton and drew a circle on the map of an area east of Qizhou.

"The Japanese had no intention of engaging us in a decisive battle on the plains."

The main forces of these two divisions retreated into the mountainous areas of Pingshan and Heishan, which were the only way to reach Qizhou.

They are undertaking large-scale construction there.

Taking advantage of the mountain's complex terrain and its commanding position, they constructed numerous permanent fortifications.

Zhao Yushu turned a page of the report, his tone growing increasingly serious.

"The photos taken by the reconnaissance plane show..."

The Japanese soldiers dug numerous reverse slope positions on the back of the mountain.

Deep and wide anti-tank trenches were dug along the only road through the valley.

The high ground on both sides was covered with machine gun bunkers with crossfire.

The 2nd and 14th Divisions, transferred from the Kwantung Army, served as the general reserve.

Zhao Yushu put down the folder and turned to look at Lin Feng.

"The Japanese are taking advantage of the situation and waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out."

They know our armored forces are formidable on the plains.

They deliberately led us into complex mountainous areas like Pingshan and Heishan.

They want to use the terrain to cripple our tanks and heavy artillery, making us crash and bruise.

At this time, Jiangcheng issued a do-or-die order to launch a full-scale attack on Qizhou.

They're forcing us to grit our teeth and crawl into the Japanese devils' ironclad trap!

Lin Feng put down his teacup, stood up, and walked to the map.

"The politicians in Jiangcheng are very shrewd."

This is called an open conspiracy.

If we disobey, they will have an excuse to smear us politically.

We obey orders and will fight the Japanese in the mountains until both sides are severely weakened.

Lin Feng crossed his arms and looked around the map.

"A war is definitely going to happen."

We must obey Jiangcheng's orders, and we must obey them with great fanfare.

We must let the whole world know that the 33rd Army Corps is launching a fierce attack towards Qizhou for the sake of the overall war effort.

Zhao Yushu was stunned, his face full of confusion.

"Cousin, are you really planning to use the brothers' lives to fill that bottomless pit?"

"Warfare must be fought according to rules and to achieve gains."

Lin Feng picked up his baton and pointed heavily at the map.

The baton fell off course, deviating from the provincial capital, Qizhou.

The point was placed in the Zhibo and Boshan area on the east side of Qizhou.

"My true purpose is in Qizhou City."

We must take over Zhibo and Boshan!

Zhao Yushu leaned closer to the map and looked at it, becoming even more puzzled.

"Why would we attack there? It's on the edge of the mountains. Although the Jiaoji Railway connects it, if the Japanese have heavy artillery on the mountain, they can bombard the railway line from their high vantage point..."

"For the mines."

Lin Feng turned his head, his gaze intense.

"The Zhibo and Boshan areas have the best coal mines in the entire Shandong Province."

There are also abundant iron ore reserves.

We recaptured Qingcheng Port, gained territory, population, and capital.

Next, we need to develop large-scale industry, and manufacture guns and cannons.

Without coal and iron, everything is just empty talk.

Acquiring this mining area will lay the foundation for our subsequent steel production.

This is the core interest of this battle.

Zhao Yushu suddenly realized what was happening, and the anger on his face dissipated, replaced by excitement.

"Understood!

We used the pretext of a strong attack on Qizhou to draw the Japanese's attention to that area.

That way, Jiangcheng won't be able to find fault with us.

Lin Feng nodded and waved.

"Go and inform all division and brigade commanders and their staff that there will be a meeting tomorrow at noon."

"yes!"

Zhao Yushu stood at attention, saluted, turned around, and quickly walked out of the office.

The office fell silent.

Lin Feng walked back to his desk, sat down, and closed his eyes.

He recalled the familiar system interface in his mind.

The consciousness swiped quickly through the virtual menu and went directly to the [Industry] exchange item.

Lin Feng's eyes searched through the dazzling array of industrial equipment, finally settling on the "steel smelting production line" section.