Ishihara Kanir did not go directly to Manchuria to take office.

Instead, he took a detour to Peiping to meet Okamura Yasuji, commander of the North China Front Army.

"Okamura, congratulations." Ishihara Kan said sincerely, "The upright public security battle in North China has improved greatly under your auspices. The Eighth Route Army of the Communist Party is at its end."

"No, no, no, I can't say that now." Okamura Yanji seemed very modest.

"Okamura, why do you pretend to be humble?" Ishihara said, "Score is results, everyone can see that since you became the commander of the North China Front Army, the Eighth Route Army guerrillas in North China have suffered heavy losses. Not only has their activity areas been greatly reduced, but their number has also been drastically reduced."

He paused and asked again, "How many people are left now?"

Okamura Yasuji said: "I don't know the exact number, but it is estimated that there are about 200,000 people."

"Is there only 200,000 people left? Great!" Ishihara said, "I remember when Tada Jun left office, the Eighth Route Army active in the five northern provinces of China had nearly 500,000 people! In less than two years, it had dropped sharply to about 200,000 people. Okamura Jun, you are really amazing. In comparison, my performance is much worse."

"No, I can't say that." Okamura Yasuji said, "The enemy you face is stronger."

"That's true. The Chinese Expeditionary Force led by Zhong Yi not only has a large number of troops, but also has excellent equipment." Ishihara smiled.

"By the way, the second Battle of Mandalay has officially begun." Okamura Nishi asked in a deep voice, "I wonder what Ishihara's prediction for this battle is?"

Ishihara Kanir shook his head and said, "Before the battle was officially started, the Myanmar condemnation army had already lost."

"Nani?" Okamura Yasuji changed his expression slightly and asked again, "Why did Ishihara say that?"

The chief of staff, Ogito Miji, also frowned and said, "Grandpa Ishihara, the second Battle of Mandalay is the first large-scale battle in which the Imperial Army has gained the advantage of military strength since the outbreak of the Japanese-Chinese War. From this point of view alone, the chance of winning of the Myanmar condemnation army should be higher, isn't it?"

Ishihara Kanir said, "Oikito-kun, you only saw that the Second Battle of Mandalay was the first major battle in which the Imperial Army had the advantage of military strength since the outbreak of the Japanese-Chinese War, but I didn't see it. This was also the first major battle in which the Imperial Army was at a disadvantage in technical equipment since the outbreak of the Japanese-Chinese War."

"Is the Myanmar condemnation army at a disadvantage?" Ogito Miji frowned, "It seems that there is no evidence to support this point, right? From the current information, the technical equipment of both sides is at most equal, and the Myanmar condemnation army even has a slight advantage, especially in the air force."

"Yes, the paper data is indeed the case." Ishihara Kanji nodded and said, "But you must see that the technical equipment of the Myanmar condemnation army was divided into three, and they were allocated to the three attack clusters on the left, middle and right, while the technical equipment of the Chinese army was concentrated in the central railway battlefield in the middle! And this is not the worst!"

"There is the worst?" Okamura Nishi asked, frowned, "What's the worst?"

"The worst thing is the speed of replenishing technical equipment!" Ishihara Kanir said, "From the current situation, the technical equipment obtained by the Chinese army in Myanmar is only the first batch of equipment supported by the US government. In the next few months, more technical equipment will continue to arrive in Myanmar, including cannons, armored vehicles, and combat aircraft. The number will increase exponentially, but it is difficult for the Myanmar condemnation army to be supplemented."

Ogito Miji's face collapsed instantly, and he could still understand this.

Okamura Yanji's face also calmed down and said, "In other words, the Myanmar battlefield has actually become a big competition for the industrial strength of the United States and Japan. Is that true?"

"Yes." Ishihara nodded, "and, the Burmese condemnation army has a fatal weakness."

Okamura Yanji's face became more and more embarrassing, and he said in a deep voice: "Ishihara Jun wants to say that Umetsu Jun is very bad at commanding large corps operations, is that true?"

"Yes." Ishihara said, "If this idiot Umezu Mijiro has a little research on the battle of the large corps, the battle of Nomenkan would not be the result, and the entire war pattern will be completely different."

After pausing, Ishihara Kanir said again: "In fact, from the moment the base camp decided to appoint Umezu Mijiro as commander-in-chief of the Burmese condemnation army, the disastrous defeat of the Second Battle of Mandalay was already doomed."

Okamura Yasuji and Ogoto Miji fell into a long silence.

In the end, I even didn't know when Ishihara Kanir would say goodbye and leave.

Looking at the dark sky outside the window, Ogito Sanji asked coldly: "Commander, do you think Your Ishihara's judgment is credible?"

"I don't want to believe it emotionally." Okamura Yasuji sighed and said again, "But reason tells me that his judgment is most likely correct, and Ishihara's vision is still credible! The empire is in trouble!"

Ogito Mijido: "In this case, we must immediately recommend it to the base camp..."

"What are you suggesting? Have you changed Umetsu-kun?" Okamura Yasuji said, "Is it possible for the base camp to adopt it?"

Ogito Miji fell silent again. Yes, it was impossible for the base camp to adopt their suggestions. You should know that Umezu Mijiro's status is half a higher than Okamura Yasuji.

After a while, Okamura Yasuji said in a quiet tone: "Okito, we must also prepare early."

"Yes." Ogito Miji sighed, "If Ishihara Pavilion's judgment is correct, if the Myanmar condemnation army really defeated in the Second Battle of Mandalay, then the empire can only continue to increase its investment in the Myanmar battlefield. Then it will inevitably result in the draw of some troops from the North China battlefield."

Okamura Yasuji said: "This is an obvious thing."

"But the problem is that our troops are not sufficient." Miji Ogito said, "On the surface, the five northern provinces have indeed achieved great results in the upright battle of public security in the five provinces of North China. The Eighth Route Army's troops have been reduced by more than half. But in fact, a large part of the reason is that the Eighth Route Army has expanded too quickly, resulting in a sharp decline in combat effectiveness. Although the number of the Eighth Route Army is half smaller than before, its combat effectiveness is stronger!"

Okamura Yasuji said: "That's why we have to prepare in advance."

After pausing, Okamura Yasuji said again: "The most urgent task is to form a group of independent mixed brigades as soon as possible to free several main divisions from the security tasks in various places."
Chapter completed!