The next thing was much easier. The 7th Brigade camp was quiet, and with the Japanese-speaking special forces and Gu Yuancheng working skillfully, the troops quickly passed through the sparsely defended pavilion area and entered the densely jungled Baima Mountain in the south. After walking six miles close to the foot of the mountain, they passed the second blockade from Meizhuang in the southeast of Baima Town, and entered the high thatched shed between Lion Mountain and Caoshan Mountain. They completely escaped the Japanese encirclement. Xie Yu then ordered the troops to take a short rest. . Xie Yu handed a bag of silver coins from the quartermaster directly to Gu Yuancheng and said gratefully: "Mr. Gu, I really appreciate you this time. If it weren't for your help, even if our troops broke out of the encirclement, the losses would be negligible." "It will be great." "General Wu is my idol, and I admire the New Second Army. To be honest, I am very happy to serve you." Gu Yuancheng waved his hand and declined with a smile: "Commander Xie, don't say that." If you don't say thank you, let alone talk about money with me Wouldn't that be disrespectful? " "Okay, thank you very much. Mr. Gu, we will never forget your kindness to our New Second Army. The correspondent has just made contact with the military headquarters. The military commander already knows your name. He originally asked me to express his gratitude to you on his behalf, but it seems that it is not necessary now." Xie Yu said with a bright smile. "What? It's such an honor for General Wu to know my name." Gu Yuancheng was surprised and happy. Wu Ming's aura of anti-Japanese hero was so lethal that Gu Yuancheng, who was usually quite calm, couldn't help but get excited. "Yes, when you found out that the special forces we sent to Tianwang Town to investigate, not only did you not reveal it, but you actively contacted us and tried every means to help us break out of the encirclement. The military commander spoke highly of you and said that you are a rare patriotic general. " After Xie Yu finished speaking, he looked at Gu Yuancheng enviously. "Really?" Gu Yuancheng's eyes widened with disbelief on his face. "It's true. Our military commander usually doesn't praise people very much. His appreciation for you comes from the bottom of his heart. In the call just now, he asked me to seek your opinion and asked if you would like to stay in our New Second Army and join us in ?" Xie Yu said sincerely. "I also want to join such a glorious group as the New Second Army However, I still have parents in their seventies in my hometown in Yixing, and my newlywed wife will give birth soon, so I really can't just leave." Gu Yuancheng said in a somewhat astringent tone. Son is low. ¡°That¡¯s such a pity,¡± Xie Yu said with great regret. Gu Yuancheng was quite moved by Wu Ming's recruitment, but he couldn't let go of his family responsibilities. He thought for a while and said: "Although I can't join the New Second Army, I can still fight the Japanese I can lurk inside the Japanese army." , I will inquire about the news for you and tell you the movements of the Japanese army.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Xie Yu clapped her hands and smiled. Gu Yuancheng is a talented person. Even if he cannot be recruited into the New Second Army combat unit, he can still work in the intelligence system. Based on my experience of studying in Japan, it is easy to gain the trust of Japanese people as long as I am not caught. Not long after, Li Zhiqing, wearing a Japanese military uniform, rushed up with several special forces. Gu Yuancheng asked Li Zhiqing about the situation of Battalion Commander Zhong. Li Zhiqing wiped off the sweat on his face and said carelessly: "That Battalion Commander Zhong is really not a toy. He flattered the Japanese disgustingly and even praised himself by saying that he led the Japanese army to massacre villages in Danyang, Jurong and other places. Of course I will kill the traitor whose hands are stained with the blood of our Chinese sons and daughters." "Where is the body?" Gu Yuancheng asked. "Don't worry, we buried his body. The pit was dug very deep, and we quietly transplanted some thatch. It's spring now, and all traces will be eliminated in two days." Li Zhiqing replied. After asking about the situation, Gu Yuancheng said goodbye to Xie Yu, Liu Zhenning, Lan Feng and others. Xie Yu took Gu Yuancheng's hand and said worriedly: "Mr. Gu, will the Japanese doubt you when you go back? "Commander Xie, don't worry, Battalion Commander Zhong and his soldiers all disappeared suddenly. There are ready-made targets for frame-up, why don¡¯t I make good use of them? " Gu Yuancheng bowed his hands to everyone: "Everyone, it is Gu's luck to get to know you. See you later." Seeing Gu Yuancheng's figure disappear into the night, Liu Zhenning sighed heavily: "This is indeed a passionate man. If all Chinese people are like him. Same, why worry about the Japanese army not being destroyed? " "It's time for us to set off and try to get to the Fangshan area in the south before sunrise, choose a place to hide and rest, and wait until night to continue on the road. " Xie Yu waved his hand and issued the order to go on the road. At five o'clock in the morning, after a forced march, the troops finally stopped in the Fangshan area, 20 kilometers away from the southern foot of Maoshan. Although Fangshan is only 80 or 90 meters above sea level, meters, but the forest is very dense, and it is in the middle of several counties and inaccessible. The Japanese army will not notice this place for a while, and it is safe for the time being. I received a "bon voyage" telegram from Xie Yu., the big stone in Wu Ming's heart finally fell to the ground, and then he told the good news to the generals who had been waiting all night, and everyone breathed a long sigh of relief. While everyone was here, Wu Ming decided to take this opportunity to discuss the Sino-Japanese war situation. Wu Ming led General Yiyu to the map, took the baton from the staff, and pointed at Wuhan: "From the Marco Polo Bridge Incident to the end of the Wuhan Battle, a total of fifteen and a half months, this was Japan's strategic offensive, China's strategic defense and The stage of strategic retreat. Looking at this stage of operations, from a battle perspective, the Japanese army has repeatedly won, showing strong combat effectiveness and organizational command. In most battles, it can conquer the predetermined objectives and achieve the battle plan. " "However, Strategically speaking, although the Japanese army occupied many central cities, coastal ports, and transportation arteries in China, including political centers, economic centers, and transportation hubs such as Nanjing, Shanghai, and Wuhan, they failed to achieve the goal of a quick victory. Having fallen into the quagmire of war, it exposed its weakness of serious lack of war potential, and was unable to face the harsh reality of protracted war, and the prospect of war became blurred. ""Although the Nationalist Government lost a large area of ??territory and the most important point and line in the east, But it gained valuable time, broke the Japanese army's arrogant plan of a quick victory, covered the relocation of a large number of factories along the coast, and ensured the country's successful transition to a wartime system. " "In short, the Japanese army captured cities and territories in battle, but was unable to do so strategically. China was in the battle. We have repeatedly failed in battle, but we have an initial chance of winning strategically. This proves that the strategic policy of wearing out the enemy for a long time and winning in the final battle is correct and feasible, and enhances the confidence and strength of the people in the protracted war of resistance. " "However, from the battlefield, In terms of balance of power, Japan still had the upper hand, but it was unable to continue its strategic offensive and could only implement a limited operational offensive. The Nationalist Government was not strong enough to conduct a strategic counterattack and could only implement local counterattacks against the limited offensive of the Japanese army. Under this circumstance, China and Japan have actually entered a stage of strategic stalemate." Wu Ming paused for a while, waiting for everyone to digest his words, and then continued: "After continuous combat, the Japanese army paid a heavy price of hundreds of thousands of casualties. , the purpose of conquering China was not achieved. The limited Japanese army had to confront the Chinese army on a frontal front of about 4,000 kilometers, and had to deal with the attacks of Chinese guerrillas in the occupied area of ??more than one million square kilometers. The lack of troops for the long railway, highway, waterway transportation lines and the defense of urban key points on these transportation lines can be imagined. "In addition, the Japanese army will also allocate some troops to the northeast and integrate them into the Kwantung Army. It was used not only to prepare for war against the Soviet Union, but also as a strategic reserve for the war of aggression against China. Its reserve personnel and mobilization capabilities were far from meeting the needs of the war. A few days ago, the intelligence department sent a piece of data from a publicly published newspaper in Japan. It¡¯s very interesting: of the 10 billion yen in fiscal expenditures of the Japanese government, military expenditures account for 80%. Although military production has been repeatedly increased, it is still difficult to sustain. " "Under such circumstances, the Japanese military is still struggling. It is necessary to strengthen economic plunder in the occupied areas to adapt to the needs of the protracted war of aggression against China and to supplement the lack of national strength The achievements of our New Second Army in the Songhu and Linhang wars, as well as the Jiangnan area where the Japanese army is located, As well as the huge threat in Central China, it will inevitably become a thorn in the eyes and flesh of the Japanese army. They will definitely find ways to deal with us. A new major battle is imminent." "Then what should we do? " Zhang Dongning asked. "Look at the situation in central and eastern Zhejiang. Now the east of Tianmu Mountain and the north of Qiantang River are all occupied by the Japanese army. Except for Xiaoshan, the south bank is still owned by the national army. Before the Japanese army sent troops to capture Ningshaotai, Our New Second Army is safe for the time being. " Wu Ming replied calmly. "Our anti-Japanese base areas and guerrilla areas behind enemy lines have been almost wiped out by the Japanese army. It is difficult to expect them to continue to play the role we expect." Long Shaogang frowned, worried: "In terms of military control, Didn't the intelligence tell us a long time ago that the Japanese army is about to launch a large-scale offensive in an attempt to open up the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, the main purpose of which is to destroy our New Second Army. Even if only 100,000 troops are dispatched, it will still be a huge threat to us." "There is an old saying, the soldiers will block the water and the soil will cover it. I still say the same old saying, we have the right time, the right place and the right people, and the Japanese army will not even think of taking advantage of us unless they pay a heavy price. Take advantage. "Wu Ming replied decisively. The generals were stunned. Seeing Wu Ming's resolute attitude, their eyes became serious. After entering April, as the anti-Japanese guerrillas in the Jiangnan area were cleared, the security in the occupied areas improved significantly, and the Japanese army The long-awaited plan for the Zhejiang-Jiangxi battle began to be implemented. In late April, the Japanese 101st Division, 106th Division and attached artillery began to assemble to the south of De'an, and the tank convoy assembled to the north of De'an. In early May, the Sixth Division began to move toward Ruoxi and Wuning. Inoue Detachment began to open up the Poyang Lake waterway. The Sixteenth Division and the Ninth Division began to make feint movements on the left bank of the Han River in Anlu, Hubei and the northern section of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway. ?? The prelude to the Battle of Zhejiang and Jiangxi - the Battle of Nanchang officially began. On May 18, the main forces of the Japanese 101st and 106th Divisions, their artillery, and chariot convoys advanced to the north bank of Xiushui in sequence, occupying the attack starting areas respectively. At three o'clock in the afternoon the next day, the Japanese Eleventh Army ordered artillery to fire violently at the positions of the 49th Army and the 79th Army on the south bank of Xiushui, launching a sudden artillery attack before the start of the general offensive. The artillery fire lasted for more than three hours, including a large number of poison gas bombs. Many defenders' positions were destroyed and the officers and soldiers were seriously poisoned. The Japanese army took the opportunity to forcibly cross Xiushui. Four days later, the Japanese tank group advanced to Fengxin and occupied the south gate. Hedaqiao, the sudden attack of the Japanese mechanized troops made the defenders unable to withdraw the thirty-eight artillery pieces deployed on the outskirts of the city and hurriedly retreated. The Japanese troops occupied Fengxin County, and then continued to detour southwest of Nanchang, arriving on the 20th. The Ganjiang Bridge in the west of Nanchang became the first Japanese army to arrive at the outskirts of Nanchang. While the tank group was advancing at high speed, the Japanese 101st Division made a frontal attack along Nanxun Road. Under the cover of artillery fire, they forcibly crossed Xiushui and were stubbornly blocked by the 32nd Army of the Chinese Army at Tujiabu, forming a stalemate. . After two days of hard fighting, the Chinese defenders suffered heavy losses and had to retreat. The main force of the 101st Division passed through Wanbu and Huangxi and entered Shengmi Street on the 26th. They crossed the Gan River that night and attacked Nanchang. The 101st Brigade followed the Nanxun Railway through Lehua and Jiaoqiao, and arrived at the north bank of the Gan River in the northwest of Nanchang on the 26th. The 106th Division of the Japanese Army occupied Anyi on the 23rd, and its 11th Brigade attacked Gao'an, blocking the reinforcements of the Chinese army from going to Nanchang. The main force turned eastward via Fengxin, and defeated the Chinese to the west of Nanchang on the 25th. The defenders advanced to the vicinity of Shengmi Street on the left bank of the Ganjiang River on the 26th. They crossed the Ganjiang River that day, detoured to Nanchang from the south, and officially cut off the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway. At this point, Nanchang was already surrounded by Japanese troops on three sides.