Shanghai, the 13th Japanese Army Command.

Although it was already past 11 o'clock in the evening, the conference room was still brightly lit.

All senior generals of the 13th Army Command, including Commander Okamura Natsuji and Chief of Staff Kanir Ishihara, were gathered in the conference room at this moment.

Yes, in view of the current grim situation, Okamura Yasuji held an emergency cabinet meeting.

Ishihara Kanir first introduced the situation to the senior generals attending the meeting. After the introduction, he said: "You guys, this is the situation. Although the 15th Division and the 17th Division still have at least two forces of troops that are resisting tenaciously, the cruel reality is that they are divided and surrounded by hundreds of strongholds, and it is impossible to form a joint force."

"In other words, the collective breakdown of the 15th Division and the 17th Division is inevitable."

Hearing this, Air Force Commander Yamaguchi Tatsume was shocked and said, "Kun Ishihara, why did the situation of the third Zhejiang-Fujian Battle suddenly deteriorate to this?"

"Yes, it was still big two days ago, okay?"

"I even thought that our 13th Army was already in sight."

"This change is too fast, too sudden, and it catches people off guard."

Ishihara Kaner tapped the table with his finger and said, "This is mainly because we were careless before. Although we have made a certain identification of the Chinese army that returned to the team in the early stage, the screening work was not done carefully enough, which led to a large number of Chinese army that had defrauded surrendered and invaded the Imperial Army, which led to hundreds of strongholds being lost overnight!"

"Okay, I won't talk about this anymore." Okamura Nishi interrupted, "Talk about the serious business."

"Hai." Ishihara Kanji paused, and then continued, "In the current situation, the collective breakdown of the 15th Division and the 17th Division is inevitable. Once the collective breakdown of the 15th and 17th Divisions, the side of the attack cluster in the middle will be exposed to the front of the 10th China Army."

"So now, we have to face a serious fact."

"Will the offensive of the middle lane cluster continue? Should the third Zhejiang-Fujian battle continue?"

"If the troops are withdrawn now, the initiative of the situation will still be in our hands, but if we drag it down, the situation will fall into a passive state when the 10th Chinese Army cuts off the retreat of the middle cluster."

"So the question now is, should the third Zhejiang-Fujian Battle continue?"

As soon as Ishihara Kan's words finished, a major general stood up and said, "I think it should continue."

When everyone looked closely, they found that it was He Zhongzhi, the commander of the 2nd Aviation Division.

Ishihara nodded and said, "What's the reason?"

"The reason is very simple." Shi Zhongzhi said loudly, "First of all, I don't think the 10th China Army has the ability to cut off the middle attack cluster retreat. Even if it is the 15th Division and the 17th Division are broken, isn't there a 5th Division? Is there an independent 11th Brigade?"

"The 5th Division and the independent 11th Brigade are enough to protect the middle attack cluster behind."

"Secondly, even if the 5th Division and the independent 11th Brigade cannot defeat the 10th China Army, even if the middle attack cluster is cut off by the China Army, there is nothing to worry about."

"At worst, let the middle attack cluster move into defense on the spot, just wait for reinforcements to arrive."

"After all, the base camp is already carrying out its fifth and largest mobilization so far. It is said that this time it will be organized into thirty divisions at one time! And ten of them will be incorporated into the 13th Army! Therefore, there is no need for us to worry about the rear end being cut off by the Chinese army."

"Finally, and most importantly, our army must win this battle!"

"As for the reasons, I won't talk about it here, I believe everyone here understands it."

"Anyway, if we still cannot defeat the Zhejiang-Fujian War Zone this time and still cannot capture Yinjiang, then the Imperial Army may not have a chance for a long time in the future."

The senior generals attending the meeting nodded at the same time.

The analysis of Zhongzhi of He was undoubtedly very reasonable.

Okamura Yasuji also remained silent.

...

The cabinet meeting ended soon.

However, for Okamura Yasuji and Ishihara Kanir, the meeting was actually not opened.

Ishihara Kanir, who had always collapsed without changing his smoldering, began to feel a little calmer and said in a deep voice: "Okamura, we can't delay any longer, we must make a decision!"

"If the offensive continues, the 5th Division must stop immediately and turn to defense on the spot! The 11th Brigade of Independent Mixed No need to rush to Shaoxing anymore, just defend Hangzhou is enough! There are four divisions in the middle lane cluster, and the 22nd Division on the left lane must also turn to defense as soon as possible."

"If the offensive is suspended, the 5th Division and the Independent Mixed 11th Brigade will still attack and advance towards Xinchang and Shaoxing as originally planned. In addition, the 1st Division and the 18th Division must also retreat immediately to consolidate Yiwu to Zhuji front line. Finally, the Guard Division and the 2nd Division must also retreat alternately."

"But whether it is to continue the offensive or stop the offensive, it must be decided immediately."

"If time is delayed, it will not rely on both sides, and there will be really big trouble."

"Ishihara, let me think about it again." Okamura Neji's face showed a look of struggle.

Okamura Yasuji has always been known for his courage and resoluteness in the army. No matter what complex situation he encounters, he is always confident and can always make decisions quickly.

But this time, Okamura Yanji really hesitated.

This time, Okamura Yasuji didn't know how to choose.

In fact, Ishihara Kanir was almost the same, and he was also hesitant.

Although Ishihara Kanir is constantly urging Okamura to make a decision now, this is because he is just the chief of staff, not the commander of the 13th Army. If he were the commander, it would be blind.

Nothing else, this decision is too important and has a lot to do!

In a sense, this decision may even affect Japan's national luck!

After hesitating for a long time, Okamura Yasuji still couldn't make up his mind. He sighed and said, "Ishihara, let's ask for the opinions of the base camp and His Majesty the Emperor."

Okamura Yasuji knew that seeking opinions from the base camp at this time would seriously reduce his impression in the base camp and His Majesty the Emperor's mind, and would make the top Japanese army and His Majesty the Emperor think that he lacked responsibility and decision at critical moments, but Okamura Yasuji no longer cared about these things. He is really simple and chaotic now.

Ishihara Kan said with a frown: "Okamura, are you sure you want to seek the opinions of the base camp and His Majesty the Emperor?"
Chapter completed!