In Kawasaki Brigade's station, in Kawasaki Hideo's office, Li Yan took the document that Kawasaki Hideo handed over and read it carefully.
The order was very simple. The commander of the 11th army, Okamura Yasuji, ordered the 106th division to cooperate with the 101st division to seize the entire northwestern Hunan region.
Since the end of the Han War, the Japanese army had occupied more than half of Hubei. Only the northwest and southwest of Hunan were still under the control of the Xia army.
The northwestern and southwestern parts of Hunan were both backed by Yu City. If both of them fell, then Yu City would be in danger.
If that really happened, the Xia army would probably have to retreat to Chengdu!
Of course, although the Xia army was defeated in the Battle of Han, the Xia army still gathered 500,000 troops in the entire southwest and northwest of Hunan to protect Lin Duyu.
It would be very difficult for the Japanese army to seize the northwestern region of Hunan with just two divisions.
"Li Sang, Commander Masayoshi Ito's order to the Kawasaki Brigade is to take down Changping Town, where the 168th Mixed Brigade of the Xia Army is stationed.”Kawasaki Hideo stared at Li Yan and said unhurriedly.
Changping Town wasn't far from Nanzhang County. The two sides were separated by dozens of miles.
As far as Li Yan knew, the 168th Mixed Brigade stationed in Changping Town was made up of two fully-fledged Rice Mechanic Regiments. They had a total of nearly 7,000 people, and their weapons and equipment were very good.
If Kawasaki Hideo relied solely on the Kawasaki Battalion to attack Changping Town, he would definitely suffer heavy losses and might even be defeated.
Although the combat strength of Nanzhang County's puppet army was trash, they still had more than 2000 guns. That was why Kawasaki Hideo asked Li Yan to cooperate with him.
Li Yan pondered for a moment and smiled."" Major Kawasaki, in the past half a month, I've conducted intensive training for the Nanzhang Xia Association Army. Their combat strength has improved a lot, but…"
"But what?" Kawasaki Hideo asked in confusion.
He naturally knew that Li Yan had concentrated on training the Xia Association Army. Kawasaki Hideo was also happy to see this happen.
After all, the Xia Association Army was a subsidiary army of the Japanese Army. The combat effectiveness of the Xia Association Army had increased, which meant that the combat effectiveness of the Japanese Army had also increased.
"Major Kawasaki, most of the soldiers under me joined the Imperial Association Army just to make a living. They are not professional soldiers.”Li Yan shrugged helplessly.
"Li Sang, the Great Japan Empire entered China to establish the Great East Asia Common Prosperity Sphere. You should discipline your soldiers and let them serve the empire with all their might. The empire will not mistreat them.”Kawasaki Hideo said righteously.
He naturally knew what the Xia Association Army in Nanzhang County was like. If they were to fight, these guys would definitely walk on their stomach and shoot into the sky.
However, the Regiment Commander had already given the order. In order to reduce the losses of the Kawasaki Battalion, the Xia Association Army of Nanzhang County had to go up and be cannon fodder.
To Kawasaki Hideo, if he could use the lives of 10 Xia Xie Army soldiers to save the life of one Empire soldier, it was worth it.
The purpose of the Japanese army establishing the Xia Association Army was to let the Xia Association Army act as a meat shield for the Japanese soldiers on the battlefield.
"Major Kawasaki, assisting you in attacking Changping Town is naturally not a problem. If you can give the Xia Association Army a sum of money, I believe that the soldiers under me will definitely be able to display double the combat strength!”Li Yan said with a smile.
At this stage, Li Yan was very short of money because the weapons and equipment in the system needed to be exchanged with resources.
Money could be used to buy various resources, such as oil, steel, and so on.
If he could extort a sum of money from Kawasaki Hideo, he could exchange for more weapons and equipment.
With powerful equipment, Li Yan could confidently switch sides.
"Li Sang, how much do you need for the starting fee?”Kawasaki Hideo's face trembled as he said in pain.
Kawasaki Hideo hated this so-called starting fee.
However, they had no choice. If they didn't pay, the soldiers of the Xia Association Army wouldn't risk their lives.
"Major Kawasaki, I have a total of 2020 soldiers under me. Each of them needs to be given at least five dollars as a starting fee. They can only have combat effectiveness after spending this money.”Li Yan said with a headache.
"Five yuan per person, a total of 10040 yuan!”Kawasaki Hideo's eyes widened as anger appeared on his face."Li Sang, the previous starting fee was three yuan. Why do you want five yuan this time?”
" Major Kawasaki, there are two elite regiments of the Xia army stationed in Changping Town. There are more than 7,000 people in total. They are all equipped with the same Mi-style equipment. If I don't give them enough money, my soldiers will probably take off their uniforms and go home to farm.”Li Yan sighed helplessly.
"Five bucks per person, okay." Kawasaki Hideo gritted his teeth and said. He could only choose to compromise.
China was too big. The Japanese army could not effectively control all the occupied areas. If there were no puppet troops, the Japanese army would be very nervous.
Kawasaki Hideo had a deep understanding of the saying that money could make the world go round, especially after entering Xia country.
"Major Kawasaki, when are we attacking Changping Town?”Li Yan asked.
"According to the Regiment Commander's orders, Changping Town must be taken down before March. We still have a month to prepare.”Kawasaki Hideo gave an approximate time but did not elaborate.
" One month of preparation time." Li Yan pondered for a moment and said earnestly,""In order to further improve the combat strength of the Nanzhang Xia Association Army, I have decided to strengthen the training.”
"Very good!" Kawasaki Hideo beamed. He stood up and bowed to Li Yan."Li Sang, the empire will never forget your contribution to the empire!”
"Major Kawasaki, you're too polite.”Li Yan smiled hypocritically. He was wondering if a month was enough because he didn't want to be a fool forever.
After that, the two of them chatted for a while more before Li Yan stood up and left.
After leaving the Kawasaki Brigade's station, Li Yan got into the car and headed to the Li Residence in the south of the city.
On the way to the Li Residence, the residents of Nanzhang County pointed at Li Yan's motorcade and whispered.
"The Li family has an idiot like Li Yan. It's a disgrace to the family!”
"Sooner or later, Li Ergui will be struck to death by the heavens!”
"Hmph, a bastard who helped the tyrant commit crimes and betrayed the country for glory. Old Master Li really died with grievances!”
"Shh, everyone, keep your voice down. Don't let Old Master Li hear you!”
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