126: Chapter 126 Shen Wang's Invitation
"Mr. Shen!"
The next day arrived. Early in the morning, the Chief of Staff and others found Shen Wang, their expressions grave.
"Regarding your proposal yesterday to strike while the iron is hot and liberate the surrounding counties, we reported it to the headquarters and The Rear Area overnight."
"After urgent deliberation, the higher-ups fully agree with your suggestion!"
Shen Wang nodded, unsurprised by this outcome.
Holding such a powerful tool, even he would feel it was a waste not to expand the gains.
More importantly, after the battle at He County, even if Shinozuka Kazuo's First Army wasn't completely destroyed, it had certainly suffered severe damage and its morale was low.
It was the perfect opportunity to exploit their weakness and expand the base area!
Strike while the enemy is down!
Furthermore, this was the first proposal from him, "Mr. Shen". How could the higher-ups possibly refuse?
And the reason he made this suggestion was for one thing only: regimental banners!
Four regimental banners had been captured so far. With six more, the diamond-level mission would be complete!
Shen Wang eagerly anticipated what treasure the diamond-level SSR draw would yield!
Soon, a high-level operational meeting was convened in this very command post, which still carried the lingering scent of yesterday's celebratory liquor.
Core Leaders from headquarters and the front lines, including the Chief of Staff, division commander, Deputy Director, and Brigade Commander, gathered around the table.
Maps, pencils, and rulers were laid out, instantly creating a professional and deadly serious atmosphere.
Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, Kong Jie, Zhao Gang, and others tactfully stood on the periphery, listening in, craning their necks with eager eyes.
The Chief of Staff first looked at Shen Wang, his attitude sincere: "Mr. Shen, this operation is your proposal, and headquarters has granted it a high degree of autonomy."
"Do you have any suggestions or preferences regarding the operational objectives or main direction of attack?"
Everyone's gaze fell squarely on Shen Wang.
For this young "patron" and "miracle worker," his opinion undoubtedly carried significant weight.
Shen Wang quickly waved his hands, making his stance clear: "Chief of Staff, esteemed Leaders, when it comes to warfare, I am a complete layman."
"How to fight, where to fight—I leave all that to your strategic planning. I will follow orders completely! I absolutely will not cause any trouble."
He wasn't being modest.
Although the system had granted him "regiment-level tactical command" skills, compared to these battle-hardened Leaders who had fought their way through blood and fire, his knowledge was indeed insufficient.
An amateur directing professionals is a major military taboo, a principle he understood.
Seeing Shen Wang so clear-headed and willing to delegate, a glint of approval flashed in the eyes of the several Leaders.
Perhaps only those in the entertainment industry know how precious a patron who doesn't meddle with poor direction truly is!
"However," Shen Wang shifted his tone, "I do have a small, perhaps presumptuous, request. I hope you Leaders can... take it into slight consideration when formulating the plan."
"Please speak, Mr. Shen!" the Chief of Staff immediately said seriously, and the other Leaders nodded in agreement.
Not to mention one small request, even ten or a hundred—if they could manage it, they would not hesitate.
Shen Wang cleared his throat, extended an index finger for emphasis, and said, "My request is just one thing—capture as many of the enemy's regimental banners as possible! The more, the better!"
"If possible... ideally, capture at least one regimental banner for every county town we take!"
"regimental banners?"
Everyone was taken aback, exchanging puzzled glances.
They understood the symbolic significance and demoralizing effect of capturing regimental banners from the enemy, but why was Shen Wang so obsessed with collecting them?
To showcase military achievements? A personal collecting quirk? Or was there a deeper meaning?
To be honest, they had already captured four regimental banners—that was quite a number!
Even capturing more wouldn't hold much practical significance.
No matter what it is, once there's too much, it loses its value!
But since this was the "only request" Shen Wang personally made, it had to be treated as the highest priority mission!
After a moment of thought, the Chief of Staff nodded emphatically: "Rest assured, Mr. Shen! We will convey this as an important objective of this campaign to all participating units!"
"Order them that while annihilating the enemy, seizing the enemy's regimental banners must be one of the primary goals! If they can be captured, absolutely do not let them be burned!"
"Good! Thank you, esteemed Leaders!" Shen Wang was satisfied.
The diamond-level SSR reward was beckoning to him!
With his "small request" satisfied, the meeting promptly moved to the main agenda—formulating the specific operational plan.
A full map of Shanxi Province was spread out by the Brigade Commander himself on the large table made of door planks.
Mountains, rivers, railways, roads, towns, and strongholds were densely marked.
"First, we need to select the main direction of attack," the Chief of Staff said, lightly tapping the map with a pencil.
"He County is here."
"If we are to launch an attack, there are essentially two major directions: northward, directly targeting Spring City, threatening Taiyuan; or southward, sweeping through City Name and Jincheng."
Everyone's eyes moved north and south on the map, minds racing.
Li Yunlong couldn't help but interject, even though he knew he wasn't qualified to speak, he couldn't hold back:
"If you ask me, we should attack north! Spring City is close to us, and the enemy just suffered a major defeat there. They're definitely still rattled!"
"Press the advantage and fight all the way to Taiyuan! Now that would be satisfying!"
Ding Wei also whispered, "The terrain north is more plains, suitable for our tanks to operate."
The senior Leaders did not reprimand the two for speaking out of turn.
Discussion, after all, should be open and free!
However, the division commander slowly shook his head, tracing his finger on the map from He County northward:
"Attacking north seems fierce, but it's actually perilous!"
"Although Spring City is close, once our intention to advance north becomes clear, the main enemy forces in Taiyuan will definitely not stand idly by!"
"More importantly, look here—"
The division commander's finger moved past Spring City, pointing further north towards places like Zhuangcheng and Xinkou.
"This is the junction between the North China Area Army, the Mongolia Garrison Army, and the Kwantung Army's southwestern defense zone."
"If we launch a major offensive in northern Shanxi, we risk provoking Okamura in Beijing, or even drawing southward intervention from parts of the Mongolia Garrison Army or the Kwantung Army."
"By then, we would face pressure from three, even four sides!"
"Although our equipment is good, our forces are limited after all, and the integration of new troops and equipment requires time. Once we get bogged down in a protracted war of attrition with the enemy's main force, it would definitely not be the best strategy."
The Chief of Staff nodded, pointing at City Name on the map.
"I agree with the division commander's assessment. Personally, I also lean towards attacking south!"
"Look, everyone. The City Name area lies to the west against the Taiyue Mountains and to the east against the Taihang Mountains, situated within a basin sandwiched between the two mountain ranges."
"The enemy's defensive strength here, after being depleted during the He County battle, is bound to be relatively weak. More crucially—"
His pencil sketched a virtual circle along the contours of the Taiyue and Taihang Mountains.
"Once we capture City Name and the surrounding plains and hilly areas, we can completely connect the Taihang and Taiyue base areas, merging them into one contiguous region!"
"At that point, our strategic room for maneuver will greatly increase. We can rely on the high mountains and natural barriers to the east and west, and control the fertile basin granary to the north and south. Advancing, we can threaten key towns in Southern Shanxi; retreating, we can firmly hold the mountain barriers."
"This would be like driving a massive wedge into the heartland of the enemy in North China and carving out an unprecedented, relatively stable base area!"