Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

Zhao Yunwen deployed the 323rd Brigade in the Hanwang Mountain and Qingtan Mountain area west of the county seat. This area has valleys, forests, and rocks. Hanwang Mountain and Qingtan Mountain are suitable for building defensive fortifications, making them easy to defend and difficult to attack. They are only 2 to 7 miles away from the county seat. The Gu area in the northwest has even greater depth, making it suitable for long-term defense.

Deploying heavy artillery groups on Qingtan Mountain would easily cover an area within seven kilometers north of the city, allowing for artillery bombardment at any time.

The area around Yuntougu and Juliangshan in the northwest of the city is a continuous range of low mountains and hills, with the mountain range running east to west. It can serve as a deep defense zone to block the Japanese invaders' outflanking routes.

Yicheng was too small to hold more than 20,000 people. Zhao Yunwen's plan was to wait until the fortifications in the city were completed, then send only one infantry brigade there. The other infantry brigade would be hidden in the mountainous area southwest of Yicheng as a reserve force, with the command post also located there, about 3 miles from the county seat, ready to provide reinforcements at any time.

The 322nd Brigade, Cavalry Regiment, and Artillery Regiment were deployed in the western mountainous area. When needed, the Cavalry Regiment could come out from the mountains to flank the Japanese rear supply lines and even artillery positions. After a successful attack, they would hide in the mountains. These were low mountains with an altitude of only two or three hundred meters, and there were valleys where cavalry could hide.

Zhao Yunwen explained the overall plan and the situation west of the county town to Zhang Yi, leaving the rest to him to figure out.

"Old Zhang, whether Yixian can be defended depends on you; since ancient times, defending a city requires defending the outer perimeter. To the east and northeast of Yixian is the 20th Army Corps, which has 6 troops, all of whom are elite Central Army soldiers. It will not be difficult for them to defend the front line towards the city."

I plan to deploy the 324th Brigade, which excels in defense, in the city to engage the Japanese in street fighting. The 323rd Brigade, as a reserve force, will make full use of its cavalry regiment to harass the Japanese supply lines and artillery positions, forcing the Japanese to divide their forces for vigilance and coordination in defending the city.

Zhang Yi fully grasped Zhao Yunwen's battle strategy and shouted:

"Yixian is very suitable for defense. As long as there is enough food and ammunition, it can be defended for several months without any problems."

"Old Zhang, Commander Li has given us 3,000 reinforcements this time. They will arrive in the next two days. 1,000 will be given to you, and the rest will be used to defend the city."

These are all Sichuan soldiers, and their physical condition is poor, so they need to be recuperated for a period of time. They need to be fed well and have plenty of oil and fat.

They're usually assigned to dig tunnels, and once they've recovered their physical condition, they can be used to reinforce the troops, still using an experienced soldier to mentor the new recruits.

"Commander, don't worry, I know what to do. When do we set off?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Yunwen said:

"Let's go after dark, and leave quietly, avoiding the Japanese spies. You go ahead and make preparations. I'll send someone to deliver the reinforcements to you once they arrive."

Zhang Yi gladly accepted the order and left. In the days that followed, various military leaders sent people to trade, and Zhao Yunwen accepted all comers and sold them anything.

Equipment, food, ammunition, medicine, and medical supplies, even gas masks, were all purchased. If there wasn't enough, the inventory was cleared from the system's warehouse. A total of more than 220 million silver dollars was obtained, and Tang Enbo alone bought hundreds of thousands of silver dollars worth of medicine.

Since the Northwest Army leaders didn't have that much money, Zhao Yunwen suggested exchanging veterans for them. This delighted Sun Lianzhong, Pang Bingxun, and others, as they had no shortage of manpower.

After the Central Plains War, the Northwest Army was reorganized. Due to its defeat, its organization was reduced by more than half, resulting in many people not being assigned to the army. They were then used to exchange for equipment, medicine and food.

Zhao Yunwen accepted all comers. The grain and supplies he had previously seized were taking up space in the system warehouse, so he decided to clear them out and exchange them for people and silver dollars.

In just one week, Zhao Yunwen not only earned more than 2 million silver dollars, but also acquired 2,000 veterans of the Northwest Army. Most of them were acquired by exchanging medicine and ammunition. There were Japanese weapons as well as Chinese weapons. In short, the 107th Division had everything. As long as you liked it, M1919s were not out of the question.

Taking advantage of the coming and going of business, Zhao Yunwen also exchanged a large amount of medicine, food, gas masks and bullets from the system and sold them to the Northwest Army, the 20th Army Corps, and even Commander Li sent people to buy a batch.

He also redeemed a batch of supplies for the defense of Yixian County, such as cement, anti-personnel mines, and barbed wire, clearing 87% of his inventory from the system space.

"System, please check the panel."

[The "Slacking Off and Resisting Japan System"]

Name: Zhao Yunwen Age: 30

Talent value: 400 (including learning and command abilities)

时空商城：二星（解锁1942年权限）｜时空仓库：20×100×100立方米，当前可用空间87.62%，库存物资37.5万吨

3D mini-map: Two-star (detection range 100km, night vision range 10km)

Contribution value: 987500 points

[General-level (200-1000), Command Cap: 10]

Zhao Yunwen was very satisfied after reviewing it. Although he had spent tens of thousands of contribution points this time, all of them were used for the defense of Yi County, and the rest were exchanged for silver dollars.

The food and supplies for the nearly 3 troops, as well as the compensation for the wounded and injured soldiers, were far from enough to be provided by the National Government alone. They had to find ways to earn money to make subsidies themselves.

Although the Zhao Group has enough money to support its army, who would complain about having too much money?

As the army expands to hundreds of thousands or even millions, it will become difficult for the Zhao Group to support itself, and it will have to rely on its own resources. The equipment and supplies he captured earlier are worth at least tens of millions of silver dollars.

When the cannons roar, gold pours in; once you have territory, you'll have money.

While Zhao Yunwen was engrossed in making money, the Huaxia Expeditionary Army had completed its troop deployment, and the 5th and 10th Divisions had recovered their strength after reinforcements arrived.

Subsequently, the Japanese 10th Division captured Lincheng and Zaozhuang, and its advance was aimed at Yixian, the gateway to Taierzhuang. At the same time, the 5th Division launched a counterattack and attacked Linyi again. The 3rd Army Corps and the 59th Army fought back, and the second Battle of Linyi began.

The outlying position of the 648th Regiment's isolated battalion north of Yixian County.

Hundreds of Japanese soldiers advanced rapidly along the main road from Zaozhuang to Yixian, as if entering an empty field, until they reached the front of the isolated army camp.

The two sides engaged in a skirmish. The vanguard Kawasaki Battalion retreated, leaving behind dozens of corpses. Major Kawasaki was furious upon learning this and beat the company commander, Captain Takei, until his head was swollen, yelling:

"You bastard, you piece of trash! You've disgraced the Imperial Army!"

Adjutant Kosuke Kitajima came to his rescue, saying:

"According to intelligence, the 107th Division of China is defending Yixian. This is the same Chinese unit that previously inflicted heavy losses on the Numata Regiment. They are no ordinary force and we need to be cautious in dealing with them."

The Kawasaki Battalion belonged to the 40th Regiment of the 8th Infantry Brigade. They had been fighting against the 3rd Army in western Shandong and had never suffered any losses, so they were extremely arrogant.

Major Kawasaki snorted coldly:

"Don't mention those useless trash. My Nagano Regiment is not comparable to the Numata Regiment. Besides, times have changed. Before, the Imperial Army only had two detachments going south to fight. This time, we will definitely wipe out our previous humiliation with three divisions plus an independent brigade!"

It's just an outer perimeter position, normally no more than a regiment. Order the warriors to launch an immediate attack; my Kawasaki Battalion must secure a winning start!

Captain Kitajima was speechless. In the battalion, the adjutant had little say; he was only there to carry out orders.

Major Kawasaki had every right to be arrogant. As the vanguard of the entire division, they were not only a full-strength battalion, but also reinforced with a field artillery battalion with more than a dozen cannons.

With Kawasaki's order, more than a dozen cannons bombarded the isolated battalion's position, and the soldiers silently endured the attack from the pre-built anti-artillery shelters.

These anti-artillery bunkers were reinforced with wooden stakes, cement, and stones. Each bunker could hide two squads. Unless they were directly hit by a 105mm shell, they would not suffer major damage. A hit from a 75mm shell would not be a big problem.

The Battle of Yixian County has officially begun.