After receiving a farewell call from the Chengde garrison, Okamura Yasuji, who was also concerned about the progress of the retreat of the troops, couldn't help but sigh. The destruction of this army was aware that the layout of the Eighth Route Army's three sides to encircle North China was successfully completed.

Okamura Yasuji naturally knew how serious this consequence was. It can be said that with the Eighth Route Army restoring Chengde area, the North China Front Army's contact with the outside of the pass was officially cut off. This also means that Peking is in danger!

Thinking of these, Okamura Yasuji quickly made corresponding arrangements. Like Meijiji who was far away in the northeast, Okamura Yasuji summoned important generals of the Front Army overnight to discuss this matter.

After the meeting ended, Okamura Yasuji finally issued an order to end the battle in Shijiazhuang, which was still fighting fiercely. All Japanese troops gathered near Shijiazhuang will carry out corresponding defenses with Shijiazhuang as the center.

The rest of the troops gathered near Peiping also began to strengthen the fortifications to deal with the possible offensives by the Eighth Route Army. Okamura Yasuji also ordered the troops to abandon some areas with little effect.

Such a shrinking defense tactic may seem a bit embarrassing. But in Okamura's opinion, this is the only best tactic he can currently protect Peiping and Tianqi. If he wants to counterattack, he must wait until reinforcements arrive before it is possible!

On the other hand, he learned that the Japanese army retreating from Chengde City had been completely wiped out by the Second Infantry Division. He Zhengdao also issued a combat order to recover Chengde, and the guerrilla troops disguised as the main force were still forcing towards the Chengde area.

As for the Second Infantry Division, which ended the ambush mission, after retaining a main regiment to cooperate with the guerrilla troops to recover Luanping, the remaining main troops quickly marched towards Chengde City, striving to restore Chengde in the shortest time.

When the electric power was sent back to Yan'an, Taizu, who got up early in the morning, looked at the good news sent in the morning and said happily: "Okay! It seems that the restoration of Chengde is just around the corner!"

‘Yes! It’s really unimaginable that in just a few months, this kid captured Chengde. In this way, our base in the north has surrounded the Japanese devils from North China on three sides.’

As the commander-in-chief, General Zhu was undoubtedly very happy about this situation. In his opinion, after the recovery of Chengde, their Eighth Route Army's strength in North China was truly surpassing that of the North China Front Army.

Just when the two were happy to discuss these matters, a telegram sent by the 115th Division attracted the attention of Taizu and General Zhu. From this telegram, both of them knew that the situation in North China might come to an end.

In the telegram sent by the 115th Division, the Japanese army in North China, which had originally had a fierce confrontation with the Eighth Route Army, suddenly chose to retreat across the board last night. Not only did they give up a large number of occupied areas, the retreating troops entered a state of full defense.

In view of this situation, there were also some time when fighting with the North China Front Army. Three main divisions, which had similar casualties, also sent a telegram to ask the headquarters whether they would continue to counterattack.

Facing such a telegram, Taizu looked at it and said, "Boss, what do you think?"

‘Oh! To be honest, I really want to restore the entire North China in one breath. But during this period, I have read reports from three main divisions. Each of their divisions has suffered heavy casualties and serious personnel losses.

Although it was not hurt, the logistics department had sent several telegrams, and there were not many left in our combat preparations. If we continued to fight, we would probably have suffered losses. Okamura Nishi, an old devil, is really difficult to deal with!’

Originally, Mr. Zhu thought that as long as the North China Front Army concentrated its main force to fight with the Eighth Route Army in Shijiazhuang area, he would also use the number of people to kill the North China Front Army, and then wait for an opportunity to recover Peiping after severely attacking the Japanese army in North China.

But at present, He Zhengdao had just annihilated the Japanese troops retreating from Chengde to break through. Okamura Yanji immediately realized that they had lost the advantage of the battlefield. He quickly adjusted the combat deployment and turned the troops into defense.

In this case, if the Eighth Route Army attacks for a strong force, even if it can achieve a certain victory, the price it has to pay will probably exceed their imagination. To this end, it is a relatively wise choice to solve this fierce battle situation in a timely manner.

‘Yes! After all, our foundation is still too thin! Since the Japanese took the initiative to retreat and we have expanded so many liberated areas, it’s good to see what the Japanese will do next.

Let the troops on the frontline start to rest and deploy fortifications at the frontline where the Japanese retreated. As long as the Japanese do not take the initiative to invade, we will give them a chance to take a breath and take the opportunity to rest and recuperate for a while. How?’

‘Okay! The three main divisions this time, the proportion of new recruits is very high. These newly formed troops have experienced this bloody battle. I believe that they will rest for a while and will become the elite troops of each main division in the future.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, the focus of our war in the future will probably fall on He Zhengdao. In this case, I think the troops under Xiao He can almost be reorganized accordingly.

If possible, our other main forces should also be reorganized accordingly. At present, our main divisions are somewhat over-company. If the army is expanded, the division-level units will be insufficient.’

Thinking about the fact that some main divisions currently have as many as 30,000 to 40,000 regular troops alone. Such organization is completely exceeding the standard. In order to more standardize the development of the troops, General Zhu also felt that the army organization should be expanded in a timely manner.

Taizu, who heard this suggestion, took a breath of smoke and said, "Do you expand the division-level troops to the military level? In this case, will Lao Jiang have any objections?"

‘For the outside, we should use the division as the number, and expand all internally into army! Let each division expand next, and report the expansion plan to us for approval. In fact, I think the troops under Xiao He need to be well reorganized.

Now they will recover Chengde, and the troops fighting in Jidong have been connected. With the troops from the Jidong Military Sub-district, their subordinate troops are probably not much shorter than 200,000.

The most important thing is that if they want to march into the Northeast, they will inevitably reorganize the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces. Now the two armies of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces have gathered in Benxi and Dandong areas one after another, and it is best to be under the jurisdiction of their troops at that time.

In this way, this kid is considered a super-compliant member as a commander. As for Chiang Kai-shek, even if we don’t have a reorganization, he has different opinions. It is better to make this matter smoother and facilitate future combat.’

‘Okay! Then what do you mean is, how many troops will be expanded?’

‘Except for the time being that the Guard Division will not be expanded, the rest of the main divisions will be upgraded to legions! Each legion is under the jurisdiction of three main divisions, so there is basically no problem. After the troops are reorganized, I believe it will also help to improve the command and coordination of each legion.’

‘Okay, then submit this matter and let’s hold another meeting to discuss it!’

In fact, just as General Zhu was discussing the expansion of the troops, He Zhengdao also rushed to Zhangjiakou, which he had already received. There, he met with Zhou Enlai who was visiting and inspecting.

The political commissar and political director who were originally in charge of the rear also arrived in Zhangjiakou with Zhou Enlai. After entering Zhangjiakou in a low-key manner, he also felt in a good mood when he looked at He Zhengdao, who was in a strong city.

In order to ensure the safety of Zhangjiakou, He Zhengdao also deployed a combat force of a garrison brigade in Zhangjiakou. In this case, there is still no problem in ensuring the safety of Zhangjiakou area.

Zhou Enlai, who had arrived in Zhangjiakou for two days, also took the opportunity to visit some grassroots troops to express condolences. The frontline officers and soldiers were undoubtedly very excited about his arrival. No matter what, this is also the real head of the headquarters!

‘Vice Chairman Zhou! He Zhengdao reports to you!’

Looking at He Zhengdao who saluted him, Zhou Enlai who greeted Chen Yun and others, he also replied: "Thank you, thank you for your hard work. After a while, you seem to have lost a lot of weight again. You should also take care of yourself!"

Zhou Enlai also felt a little incredible about He Zhengdao's growth. Once upon a time, He Zhengdao was just a company-level officer in the defense brigade. In just a few years, he became the most important general of the Eighth Route Army.

Not to mention his great military achievements, even if his reputation is extremely prominent in China. It can be said that He Zhengdao has become a representative combat general of the Eighth Route Army in a sense. The most important thing is that He Zhengdao is less than 30 years old!

There are probably not many young generals in the country or even the world. At least in Zhou Enlai's view, it may not take long before He Zhengdao will be qualified to officially become one of the members of the Political Bureau!

After shaking hands, He Zhengdao did not forget to shake hands with Chen Yun and others to greet him. It can be said that their leadership team still satisfied He Zhengdao. After all, Chen Yun did help the front troops in the rear a lot.

Whether it is the combat supplies needed by the front troops or the garrison troops in the recovery areas, Chen Yun and Tan Zhen are responsible for it. The work of the two in the rear is also not easy.

But for Chen Yun and Tan Zhen, they also seemed very happy to see the ever-changing development of the troops and the ever-expanding liberated areas. In their opinion, this is also their important contribution in the party and the military!

When the group arrived at the combat command room in the city, Zhou Enlai also read the commendation orders from the Central Committee and the headquarters to He Zhengdao. Even if it was just a commendation order, it made He Zhengdao feel warm.

After asking about Taizu, Mr. Zhu and others about the situation, He Zhengdao was relieved after learning that everything was fine. But not long after, something Zhou Enlai said cheered He Zhengdao.

‘Xiao He, if you have time in the near future, it’s better to go back to Yan'an!’

'What's wrong?'

He Zhengdao was really surprised that Zhou Enlai suddenly told him to return to Yan'an. After all, although the war is becoming calm, no matter what, as the commander-in-chief of the front line, he cannot be too distracted!

‘It is of course a good thing to ask you to go back! I guess you don’t know yet, right? Congratulations, you are going to be a father!’

As soon as these words were said, He Zhengdao also felt a buzzing sound in his head. He looked at Zhou Enlai in disbelief, but after receiving the other party's affirmative nod, He Zhengdao was also happy and stunned. He had a back! (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!