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

(This book has been put on hold. The part about recovering Qingcheng Port and Jiaodong is considered a historical inversion, which means that the latest 100 chapters of the plot have been cut. Potato can only cut the book. See you all again someday.)

Commander Li's gaze passed over Pengcheng, crossed Weishan Lake, and moved northwest, landing on the vast area of ​​the eastern Henan plain and the Yellow River basin.

He astutely perceived a fatal strategic flaw.

Because Lin Feng had previously achieved a victory that shocked the entire nation in Jiaodong, Jiangcheng was blindly optimistic and transferred all of Daxia's main forces to the Central Plains battlefield.

This resulted in the garrison in the eastern Henan plain and along the Yellow River becoming extremely weak.

Although Commander Li did not yet know the specific movements of the Japanese divisions after the fog of war had cleared, he sensed an extremely dangerous atmosphere based on his intuition from years of leading troops in battle.

Once the Japanese commander saw through the weakness of the Nationalist army's western front, he dispatched an elite detachment to conduct a deep penetration.

That would definitely cause a huge problem.

When the time comes, this Japanese detachment will either head west, abandoning the natural barrier of Zhongtiao Mountain on the north bank, and directly take Luoyang.

In that case, the northwestern gate of the Great Xia would be completely opened, and the rear area of ​​Sichuan would be directly threatened by the Japanese army.

Alternatively, this detachment could successfully advance south and carry out a large-scale flanking maneuver.

They directly cut off the rear route of hundreds of thousands of troops from the Fifth War Zone who were preparing to retreat westward.

Completely seal off Pengcheng.

Without a doubt, this place is related to the life and death of the Fifth War Zone and even the entire Great Xia. This place is the key to the entire war!

Unfortunately, Commander Li couldn't even spare the elite reserve force of a division, leaving him with no troops to plug this potentially fatal loophole.

Commander Li took a deep breath, feeling his back soaked in cold sweat.

He turned around, strode to his desk, and picked up the red telephone.

"Get me to Qingcheng Port, the headquarters of the 33rd Army Corps."

Commander Li gave orders into the microphone.

The communications officer immediately began switching lines at the switchboard.

A few minutes later, the ringing of the phone connected came through.

"Hello, this is Lin Feng."

Lin Feng's voice came from the other end of the phone, sounding quite composed.

"Brother Lin, it's me."

Commander Li did not put on airs as the commander of the war zone, and addressed him directly as a brother.

Lin Feng on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback for a moment, then his tone became polite.

"Brother Li, the battle in Pengcheng is so intense, how come you have time to call me?"

"Brother, I've come to you for help."

Commander Li sighed, his tone tinged with helplessness and honesty.

You should be aware of the situation in Pengcheng.

That guy in Jiangcheng insisted on launching some kind of major counter-offensive, cramming hundreds of thousands of brothers into this deadly place.

Now the Japanese are attacking from both the north and south, and the encirclement is about to be completed.

I am prepared to disobey orders and command the entire army to break out in different directions and escape this inferno.

These hundreds of thousands of brothers are the seeds of the Great Xia's resistance against Japan; they absolutely cannot all perish here.

Lin Feng remained silent for a moment on the other end of the phone.

He was certainly aware of the situation in Pengcheng, and he also knew that Commander Li in the original timeline had indeed made an extremely decisive decision to retreat, thus preserving the main force of the National Revolutionary Army.

"Brother Li, what do you need me to do?"

Lin Feng got straight to the point.

"Jiangcheng has given you a direct order: your entire army must march south and launch a surprise attack from behind the Japanese lines to relieve the siege of Pengcheng."

Commander Li gripped the microphone, his tone becoming serious.

"Brother, tell me honestly, what are you planning to do?"

Are you planning to obey Jiang Cheng's orders to head south and then retreat west with us? Or...?

Lin Feng chuckled softly on the other end of the phone.

"Brother Li, let's be frank."

"The order from that guy in Jiangcheng is to use my 33rd Army Corps as a pawn, to wear me down through the hands of the Japanese."

Lin Feng's tone became very resolute.

"As for following you to retreat westward, that's even more impossible."

The foundation of my 33rd Army Corps is in Qingcheng Port, in Jiaodong.

Here are my arsenals, my shipyards, my ports, and millions of my people.

The hundreds of thousands of troops under my command consume an astronomical amount of ammunition and food every day.

If I abandon Jiaodong and retreat westward with you.

Without our logistical support base, my army of over 100,000 will collapse in less than half a month.

"At that point, we won't call ourselves an army anymore; we'll be called bandits."

Upon hearing Lin Feng's clear-headed statement, Commander Li was not angry at all; on the contrary, he was overjoyed.

"Good, brother, your decision is exactly what I wanted."

Commander Li slammed his hand on the table in excitement.

"Brother, I'm calling today to beg you, stay firmly on the land of Qilu, absolutely do not retreat."

Commander Li walked to the sand table, looked at the location of the Jiaodong Peninsula, and after a few seconds of silence, spoke:

"Brother, you probably don't know how important your position is right now."

As long as Lin Feng is in Jiaodong, the Japanese North China Area Army will feel like they have a thorn in their side.

They would never dare to withdraw all their troops south.

You, Lin Feng, are like a Damocles' sword hanging over the rear of the Japanese invaders.

Commander Li knew Lin Feng was the type who wouldn't act until he saw a clear benefit.

To get Lin Feng to contribute, relying solely on national righteousness and brotherhood is not enough; tangible benefits must be offered.

"Brother, if you stay in Shandong, Jiangcheng will definitely cause you trouble, saying you disobeyed orders and were cowardly in battle."

Commander Li lowered his voice and gave Lin Feng the inside scoop over the phone.

"I'll take the blame for you, brother."

In name only, I will formally report to Jiangcheng in my capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth War Zone.

Tell them that I ordered your 33rd Army Corps to remain behind enemy lines and launch a large-scale guerrilla war to tie down the Japanese forces.

In this way, you'll have a firm political foothold, and no one will be able to find fault with you.

Commander Li threw out his biggest bargaining chip.

"Not only that."

All the territory you conquered in Shandong Province, and all the supplies, weapons, and minerals you seized.

The Fifth War Zone will not interfere, and I will not send a single soldier to reap your rewards, nor will I demand a single grain of food or a single bullet from you.

On the other end of the phone, Lin Feng smiled with satisfaction as he listened to the conditions offered by Commander Li.

This is exactly what he needs most.

A legitimate political justification for expanding territory in Shandong Province, and absolute autonomy without any constraints.

"Brother Li, with such generous terms, what do you need me to do?"

Lin Feng knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

"Brother, I only ask you one thing."

Commander Li's tone became very earnest:

"Send troops now and smash the Jinpu Railway line to pieces."

They caused a great disturbance in the rear of the Japanese army.

To draw the attention of the main forces of the southward-bound Japanese 10th Division back to Japan.

If you can halt the Japanese pincer attack for a few days.

I'm confident I can break through the encirclement and bring these hundreds of thousands of brothers out of the encirclement.

"make a deal."

Lin Feng agreed very readily.

He could not only get the benefits he wanted, but also do Commander Li a huge favor, and also save hundreds of thousands of key anti-Japanese forces.

He certainly wouldn't refuse such a win-win-win situation.

"Brother Li, you can rest assured and organize a breakout."

The Jinpu Railway is in my hands now.

I guarantee that I'll make sure that old devil, Toshiichi, never gets a good night's sleep.

"Brother, I am deeply grateful and cannot express my thanks."

"After this battle is over, I'll treat you to drinks, bro!"