Blood-Red Front

While the 6th Regiment was resting in the rear, the fighting in Binxi was escalating.

After the initial reinforcements arrived, another division was deployed to the Wenhe front.

In order to strengthen the offensive, the Chu Sheng Army not only transferred three 150mm heavy gun regiments and two 240mm heavy gun battalions to Wenhe, but also sent all six battleships into the mouth of the Yangtze River.

The 410mm main guns of the Nagato-class battleships were incredibly powerful; a one-ton shell falling from the ground would create a crater several meters deep.

Even if soldiers were hiding in trenches, those within a 100-meter radius would be killed or seriously injured due to the crushing effect of the shockwave.

After gritting their teeth and holding out for a week, the 8th Army suffered more than 70% casualties and was forced to withdraw from the position, and the Wenhe position was lost.

After crossing the Wen River, Chu Shengjun continued his advance towards Dachang.

The two sides fought back and forth over Dachang Town. In just a few days, the entire town was razed to the ground, and not a single wall could be found in the town.

A week later, Dachang Town was completely occupied by the Chusheng Army.

Chang Zhongshi was so angry that he cursed, "Damn it! How did we fight this battle?!"

Since arriving at the front line and taking over as commander-in-chief, I have been sleeping less than two hours a day and constantly adjusting troop strength, but as a result, I have been defeated one after another, which is illogical!

Chen Xiu, who was standing nearby, said urgently, "Minister, the loss of Dachang means that the flank of our army's position has been opened. If it cannot be recaptured immediately, the hundreds of thousands of troops in Zhabei will face the danger of being completely annihilated."

Chang Zhongshi, knowing the importance of Dachang, immediately ordered, "Chen Xiu, you, immediately organize troops to counterattack Dachang, and take back the position at all costs!"

"I need to return to Kyoto tonight to discuss and decide on the next strategic move!"

……

At the General Staff meeting, Chang Zhongshi, who had returned overnight, had bloodshot eyes.

"With the loss of the major factory, our flank and rear are under serious crisis. I recommend an immediate retreat!"

Upon hearing that Chang Zhongshi wanted to withdraw, Ren Huasheng angrily retorted, "They didn't withdraw when they should have, and they're withdrawing haphazardly when they shouldn't!"

"If we retreat now, the newly promoted army could launch a surprise attack on the flanks and rear of our main force at any time. If things go wrong, the retreat could turn into a major rout!"

Retreating in front of the enemy is a complex matter.

Throughout China's thousands of years of history, countless armies have collapsed due to retreat.

"Huasheng, do you have any suggestions?" Chen Zaizhi asked.

It wasn't apparent before the war, but after this battle, Chen Zaizhi finally understood. Despite Chang Zhongshi's military academy education in Chusheng State, he was far inferior to Ren Huasheng, a mere schoolteacher, in terms of strategy.

Ren Huasheng got up and went to the map.

"Losing a major factory is not terrible. As long as we do not retreat blindly, but continue to fight by gradually shrinking our operations, the newly formed army will not be able to do anything to us in the short term."

"My opinion is that the main force should gradually withdraw across the Suzhou River and rebuild a defensive line based on the water network area."

Once they crossed the Suzhou River, the Chusheng Army's naval guns would be unable to reach the Xia Army's positions, and the army's heavy artillery could not move that quickly, giving the Xia Army three to five days to catch its breath.

Chang Zhongshi still had some reservations about Ren Huasheng's opinion, but Chen Zaizhi overruled the objections and had the General Staff issue the operational order.

Xia Jun began to consolidate his defensive positions.

Although the Chu Sheng Army occupied a large area of ​​territory, the two sides were once again locked in a stalemate as the Xia Army retreated to the opposite bank of the Suzhou River.

For the newly formed army, which had been fighting for months and was nearly exhausted, every inch of the Suzhou River seemed like an insurmountable barrier.

At the meeting of the newly promoted National Army General Staff, everyone's face was extremely grim.

The stalemate, which had once again reached a deadlock, made them feel somewhat suffocated.

The anticipated total collapse did not occur, but the rising nation's ammunition depots were already running low, and its finances were almost depleted.

During the meeting, Ishihara brought up the possibility of peace talks again.

However, this time, the opposition exceeded Ishihara's expectations; almost everyone explicitly opposed peace talks.

Tojo stood up.

"You always talk about peace talks, but what I want to ask is, has the Xia Kingdom accepted the previously proposed guidelines for handling this incident?"

"As far as I know, Prosson has already intervened to mediate peace, but Xia Kingdom has firmly rejected it!"

Chief of the General Staff Yamamoto nodded: "Xia is indeed very tough. They did not agree to any of the demands we made. Instead, they demanded that our army unconditionally retreat to the area under our jurisdiction before the outbreak of the battle."

In order to achieve a ceasefire, Chu Shengjun gritted his teeth and put forward four conditions that they considered barely acceptable.

The two sides agreed to establish demilitarized zones in North China, Binxi, and southern Mongolia, and establish autonomous governments; recognize the independence of the banner states outside the Great Wall; compensate the Chusheng Army for its losses; and jointly operate industries such as shipping, aviation, railways, and mining.

However, when Prosen attempted to mediate the peace talks, the Xia ambassador terminated the meeting before these four points were fully stated.

"Gentlemen," Tojo bowed slightly to the crowd, "I propose forming the 10th Army, landing at Jinshanwei, and outflanking the enemy from the flank and rear!"

Tojo's words were spoken softly, but to everyone present they sounded like thunder.

For the newly established nation, forming the 10th Army to join the western front was tantamount to going all in with its entire fortune, which also meant that the war would completely spiral out of control.

"Tojo-kun, have you ever considered that this could be a disaster for the Empire?"

Ishihara was the first to object.

"Our domestic economy is on the verge of collapse, and the Rossian Empire is eyeing us covetously from the north. If we engage in a full-scale war with the Xia Kingdom, our backs will be exposed to the Siberian cold winds."

Tojo snorted coldly, "As a warrior of the Empire, one cannot back down at the slightest difficulty."

"This is not retreating!" Ishihara shouted. "Our strategy has encountered serious problems! According to the previous national policy, we only needed to establish a quarantine zone in North China."

"Occupying the Great Wall line already achieves our objective; there's absolutely no need to escalate the war now!"

"Sending troops to Binxi again is not escalating the war!" Tojo said. "Binxi is the industrial and financial center of Xia Kingdom. Taking Binxi can force Xia Kingdom to surrender."

"Absolutely impossible!"

Ishihara felt that Tojo had gone mad. How could he conclude that Hama-nishi would force Xia to surrender?

"As far as I know, most of the government units of Xia have already moved to the west. Even if we conquer the capital of Xia, let alone Binxi, the war will not stop. The empire will be dragged into a quagmire of protracted war."

"I don't believe it." Tojo shook his head.

"Without Binxi, how can the Xia Kingdom resist?"

"Ishihara Gun, are you scared? Where is the Ishihara who instigated the Hata Incident? Are you still a samurai?"

"Tojo-kun, you..."

Ishihara was about to speak when Yamamoto interrupted, "Operation Hamagi cannot end under these circumstances."

"Commander..."

"Ishihara-kun," Yamamoto raised his hand, "the Empire must win, or the people will not forgive us."

The newly risen nation has long been indoctrinated with militarism, so even the four ceasefire agreements that the newly risen army proposed with gritted teeth were met with extreme dissatisfaction from the citizens of the newly risen nation.

Meanwhile, demonstrations were taking place in major cities, with citizens demanding that the traitor who put forward these four conditions commit seppuku.

In this situation, no one dared to stand in the way of the people's will, not even the newly crowned empress.

"That's settled then." Yamamoto stood up.

"Tojo-kun, you will draft a report. I will submit it to Her Majesty the Empress at the Imperial Conference tomorrow."

"Hi!"

……