Rise from eight hundred.

October 1940, 4!

With the briefing of the second theater announcing the victory of the Zishan Battle in southern Hebei, the mopping up and counter-mopping up battle in which China and Japan actually invested more than 10 troops on the southern Hebei Plain officially ended.

However, both China's Second Theater District, as the victor, and the Japanese North China Front, as the loser, did not elaborate on the losses of both sides in this war, which would be named the "First Battle of Handan" in the future.

The Japanese North China Front Army is easy to understand. After all, as a disgraced party, it is normal to cover up their losses. However, a stingy old man who likes to show off his merits unexpectedly said, "We won", which is really hard to find. understand.

Perhaps only those who know the inside story understand that this is a disguised suppression of Tang Dao by the stingy old man. Even the battle reports submitted to the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs for meritorious service, the second theater is always under the jurisdiction of the Jinan Office and the 921st Division of the Eighty Group Army. He came to address him without mentioning the word Si Xing Tuan.

"Yo Xi! The commander of China's Second Theater must have a grudge against the Four Lines Group and Tang Dao. This is something that the front army can take advantage of. Let the front army's intelligence department spend more effort on this aspect. The more detailed the better. , This will have an immeasurable effect on the front army against the stubborn enemy of the Fourth Army." Okamura Koji, who was newly appointed as the commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, was actually keen to discover important information from this seemingly unimportant intelligence.

"Kasahara-kun, this is one of the reasons why China cannot compete with the empire. Their internal strife is too serious, even under such heavy pressure from the empire. This was one of the reasons why I urged the Kwantung Army to use troops against the three northeastern provinces." Facing Major General Yukio Kasahara, Chief of Staff of the Front Army, Okamura Koji's sinister face suddenly showed warmth.

This may be the best news Okamura Koji has received since he took office. Tang Dao led a small infantry regiment and already embarrassed a front army. What if he was promoted to brigade commander or division commander?

The reason why Okamura Koji was wary of Tang Dao and raised his plan to deal with the Four Troops to almost the same level as the Nakajo Mountain defense line when he first took office was a lesson learned from the previous three commanders who resigned sadly.

If the resignation of General Indoor Shroud is not closely related to Tang Dao, then the sad resignation of Shan Shanyuan and Duo Tianjun is inevitably related to the rise of Tang Dao and the Four Elements Group.

Okamura Koji naturally wanted to accept the lessons of the previous three. As soon as he arrived in North China, he immediately ordered the Intelligence Section to pass all the information about the Four Elements Group and Tang Dao personally through him. No, let him start from the second There was an unusual clue found in the battle report reported from the war zone!

Okamura Koji, who claims to be an erudite man, must have never dabbled in philosophy. The famous Germanic philosopher Hegel once said: The only lesson that mankind has learned from history is that mankind has not learned any lessons from history.

However, Okamura Koji, who is extremely wealthy, would show off to his chief of staff just because of his little discovery?

Obviously, this is not consistent with the persona of this person who is known as the "most sinister commander of the North China Front".

If it were anyone else, faced with the show-off from their immediate boss, they would basically just give him a rainbow fart and show his loyalty first.

However, Major General Yukio Kasahara, who was the Chief of Staff of the North China Front at the time, was no simple figure. As a descendant of the shogunate family, he was at Army University at the same time as Ishihara Kanji, and because of his excellent academic performance, he became a member of the same class as Ishihara Kanji and others. A member of the "Saber Team" was awarded a saber by Emperor Taisho, and served as the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army and the commander of the 11th Army in the past time and space.

To put it bluntly, Kasahara Yukio is the kind of person who has someone behind him and works hard. Such a person will naturally have his own countermeasures when faced with the somewhat tentative boasting of his superiors.

"The wisdom of Your Excellency, Commander. As early as when I was serving in the Guards Division, I heard the division commander mention it from time to time, and I have always regarded Your Excellency the Commander as a role model. When Your Excellency the Commander takes office this time, I have an insight into the internal strife among the Chinese people." Inside, I am very impressed by my subordinates. The return of the front army to its former glory is just around the corner!" Yukio Kasahara gave him a gentle flattery that was both respectful and neither condescending nor arrogant.

Okamura Koji's expression was even warmer, but there was a hint of gloom in his eyes.

If he hadn't been reminded by his chief of staff, he would have almost forgotten that when he was the commander of the Guards Division, the man who would definitely be promoted to Army Lieutenant General in the near future was the current Army General Asaka Miya. King Jiuyan.

The subtext of this person was also a gentle reminder: I will fully cooperate with the Commander, but don't treat me like a soft persimmon. The great master behind me is His Highness the Prince.

Just now he was proud of the internal fighting among the Chinese, but the commander of the Shinko Japanese North China Front discovered that the guys under his command were not good birds. He wanted to use the momentum of "taking orders at the last moment" to subjugate them, and it would not take him a few days. My son, my head hurts slightly.

Compared with the excitement of Japan's North China Front Army's undercurrent of power transition and the excitement of sitting on the mountain and watching the fight between tigers and tigers, the top brass of the Chinese mountain city are calm, as if they have not seen the infighting in the second theater that is almost announced on paper. .

Even the promotion orders were based on the wishes of a certain commander in the second theater.

The commander of the 683rd Journey Brigade was promoted from major general to lieutenant general, and several deputy brigade-level cadres of the 683rd Brigade were promoted from army colonels to major generals. However, the military expenditures for the three infantry divisions of the th Group Army were not released.

After receiving the promotion order, Brigadier Cheng threw it into a ball with disdain and threw it into the boiling water stove: "Since the beginning of winter last year, the military salary has not been paid until now. What kind of major general and lieutenant general? I don't care about his bad check." !”

Since November last year, the entire 11th Group Army has not received a penny of military expenditure. Everyone in the 683th Group Army has already felt the vigilance and dissatisfaction of Shancheng. The th Group Army is willing to use the brigade to show off its muscles in this Zishan battle. In fact, I also want to show that person that it is okay not to pay military expenditures, but don't play with fire. The th Army has the courage and strength to face all major enemies.

In this context, no matter how high the position given by the Ministry of Military Affairs is, it is just a blank check, as Brigadier Cheng said.

In the Jinan Administrative Office, he was promoted to the rank of prince and lieutenant general. To put it bluntly, the military rank was still the army major general but he received the salary of a lieutenant general. The deputy director Tang Dao received the rank of major general. The military salary was a bit more, but the military rank remained unchanged.

As for the Four-Line Regiment, which was the main force in the Battle of Purple Mountain, it was hardly mentioned in the promotion order, except that the salaries of all officers above the rank of captain were increased by one level.

There is no mention of medals or the like at all.

"Damn war zone headquarters and military and political department, we killed so many Japanese in this battle, and more than a thousand brothers in the whole regiment were killed, but these bastards pretended not to see it?" Lei Xiong had a hot temper. In front of Tang Dao who was returning to the base, he slapped the wooden coffee table so hard that it almost broke.

Tang Dao, who was lazily lying on the lounge chair and basking in the sun, smiled slightly and handed over a cup of tea: "Brother, calm down, what did I think it was! It's just a small reward! No money, pension and reward for us The regiment distributes them by itself, but we don’t give medals. Why, we can’t do it ourselves?”

"This is not a matter of money. The brothers in our regiment died for the country. Why can these bastards turn a blind eye to this? Aren't they afraid that the soldiers will be disappointed?" Lei Xiong's face became even more angry.

"Brother, you just said it. The brothers of our regiment sacrificed for the country. They were serving the country and the people. Why do we need to be recognized by those people? They say history is written by the victors. So I can tell you clearly, brother, Even if they drive away the little devil one day, they don't deserve to be called winners." Tang Dao stood up, looked towards the distant mountains, and said with an indifferent expression.

"Only we, the Chinese people, have that qualification!"

"The future will be the future, but now, I still have a sigh of relief in my heart." Lei Xiong sat down depressedly.

"Haha! Brother, didn't you see anything from the abnormal behavior of these big shots?" Tang Dao smiled and handed over a cigarette.

"Looking at something, I think they are just a nest of snakes and rats. There is no such thing as a good bird. If we go back to ancient times, I will take a hundred thousand cavalry to the capital to ask the emperor for an explanation!" Lei Xiong took the cigarette and still said Angry at the unfair treatment of the whole group.

"Haha, I didn't expect that your brother would have so many rebellions. You were able to get rid of a hundred thousand cavalry. Fortunately, you are not a border general, otherwise the big shots in the Military and Political Department would not be scared to death by you!" Tang Dao I couldn't help laughing.

"Hehe! Isn't that what everyone does on stage?" Lei Xiong's old face turned red when Tang Dao laughed.

With his military rank, he would have been a school captain in ancient times. Not to mention him as the deputy commander, even Tang Dao could only command tens of thousands of people.

"Okay, brother, don't be angry. It's not that we really offended anyone this time, and it's not that the big shots are really short-sighted. It's purely a political balance." Tang Dao sighed.

"What should I say?" Lei Xiong lit his cigarette and looked at Tang Dao.

For Tang Dao, a young man who was several years younger than him, the reason why Lei Xiong chose to follow Tang Dao was because he was impressed by his fighting spirit at first. Later, he gradually discovered that Tang Dao's tactics and strategic vision were all important. These were the only ones he had ever seen in his life, and his ability to cooperate vertically and horizontally with various friendly forces was even more astonishing. Any troops that Tang Dao regards as friendly forces have never lost control on the battlefield, which is why the Four Elements Regiment has the reputation of being undefeated.

Lei Xiong is the second-ranking figure in the Four Elements Regiment, so his own family knows his own affairs. No matter how elite the Four Elements Regiment is, it is limited to only a few thousand people, and the Japanese are just talking about the division. Haunted, if there were no friendly forces fighting side by side, the Four Lines Regiment would have been destroyed countless times.

Unexpectedly, Tang Dao is not only awesome on the battlefield, but he can even figure out the thoughts of those untouchable big shots, which is even more incredible.

"Think about it! If the victory of the Battle of Zishan is placed on my Four Lines Regiment, what will I, the regiment leader, do?"

"Promotion! With your military exploits, you should have been promoted to major general and commander of a brigade at least a year ago!" Lei Xiong said matter-of-factly.

"Yes! Promoting to major general and brigade commander is easy to say, but difficult to do! Let me ask you, now that I am the brigade commander, will the four-line regiment I built have to be expanded into an infantry brigade?"

"What's so difficult about that? Our Four Elements Regiment is itself a special force, we just need to change the name."

"Hey, if you and the commander of the second theater have no dealings with each other at all, and were even life-and-death enemies before, they will never become friends in the future. Do you want to add another infantry division to his command that can be expanded to an infantry division at any time? A strong team?”

"Then I'm not crazy, unless I can find a way to transfer it away and expand the department." Lei Xiong shook his head like a rattle.

"So! As long as I, Tang Daocheng, become the brigade commander, then our Four Elements Regiment will no longer be in North China! Do you think that the commander was really confused by my telegram? He was just using the topic as an excuse, and he was fair and square. To put it bluntly, no matter how disobedient the mastiffs raised by herdsmen are, they will suppress my military achievements and continue to leave us on the battlefield in North China. As long as they can drive away the wolves, they will not lose a single bone. Less.

However, under the pressure of the war in the south, he was absolutely unwilling to have problems with the northern defense line, and could only use practical actions to appease the commander. The Fourth Army Regiment would not move for the time being.

That's why you see that everyone from the theater headquarters to the military and administrative department is acting like they are blind, pretending not to see the merits of my Four Elements Regiment. "

"Wo Ri, for their benefit, our brothers died in vain in the end, without even the slightest expression! These are the sons of bitches who play politics." Lei Xiong suddenly realized, but he became even more angry.

For the sake of their own interests, the big shots sacrificed the interests of all the officers and soldiers of the Four Lines Regiment. It was as simple as drinking boiled water. Who would not be angry in their place?

"Haha, don't worry. Since the commander still wants my Four Elements Group to do work for him, he doesn't have to admit his contribution on the surface, but if he doesn't even show any signs of it in private, then it will be in vain. He has been the king of Jin Province for many years.

How can there be a good thing in this world where you want a horse to run but also want the horse not to eat grass? Tang Dao sneered.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

The heavily guarded official residence of the Commander of the Second Theater Command!

"How can that boy from Tang Dao be so calm? It's been two days since the Military and Political Ministry's Jin Provincial Order was issued, but I still don't see that boy sending me a telegram to complain. Even if he pretends to report to me and find out what I'm really doing, that's fine. ! You can't let me send the telegram myself!" The stingy old man rubbed his scalp and paced back and forth in the courtyard a little depressed.

"Brother, don't you know about Captain Tang's bad temper? In order to keep him, you forced him to achieve great achievements of the entire regiment. He didn't hurry up and used the relationship between Tantai reporters to report the Zishan Battle. It's already a great honor. If you still expect him to call in person, then he is not the tough guy who can face tens of thousands of Japanese troops without changing his expression." Seeing the stingy old man's tangled look, the middle-aged woman pursed her lips and smiled. Be blunt.

"Even if the old man and I did something unreasonable for the sake of the North China War, is it true that he resisted the order before the war? After the war, is it rude to send me a message with only a few words to report the victory? Old man, I After all, he is the commander of the theater. He, the commander of the regiment directly under the theater, doesn't take my immediate boss seriously!" The stingy old man frowned and tried to make amends for himself.

Seeing that her eldest brother had begun to act like he was getting angry out of shame, the middle-aged woman who was familiar with his temperament smiled and said nothing and stopped trying to comfort him.

Some people cannot be persuaded, and the more they persuade them, the more energetic they become. The stingy old man falls into this category.

But the middle-aged woman also knows that it is one thing for her brother to be narrow-minded, but how can a person who can become a local tycoon do stupid things like breaking his wings just because he is unhappy? His ability to self-regulate his emotions exceeds 99% of people.

"Count the ball, the adults don't remember the villain's faults, who allowed this kid to fight the Japanese!" Seeing that his sister didn't give him a step, the stingy old man could only stomp his feet and give her a step.

"Order the munitions department to prepare 15 taels of gold, 50 foreign currency, 2 rounds of bullets of various types, 3000 artillery shells, 100 rifles, and light machine guns. Forget about the guns, the Four Lines Regiment is probably not interested now. These old men, these rags.

In addition, use the large seal of the headquarters to open 20 blank routes for the Si Xing Group to prevent the business groups in southeastern Shanxi from coming to invite people to eat and drink as soon as they have free time. This is wartime. How can a soldier waste his time on cups and chopsticks? On top of interlacing. "The stingy old man gave his conditions with a painful look on his face.

"This" the middle-aged woman looked surprised.

"Send it to the Four Elements Group!" The stingy old man stamped his feet, turned around and walked into the small study angrily.

This is all his money. He doesn't know how many years and months he will have to save it before he can get it back. The stingy old man will probably be too distressed to sleep tonight.

However, he obviously misunderstood what his cousin meant. Before the middle-aged woman could finish saying "so many", the stingy old man took the initiative to lower his status and sent four baggage companies a hundred miles away to deliver these rewards to the Four Lines Group.

This low posture made Deputy Lei Tuan, who had been calling him a son of a bitch earlier, embarrassed to call him out again.

The total reward of more than 50 yuan is divided equally among the entire army of the Sixth Army, which now has more than 50 troops. One person can also receive yuan.

Although the Four Elements Group is not short of money now, no one would mind having too much money, right?

The 50 rounds of bullets of various calibers and those guns are not used by the Four Rows, but they can be used as gifts! Moreover, militiamen from various parts of southern Hebei also need live ammunition training, which can just make up for the shortage of ammunition storage in military factories.

Moreover, the road marked with the seal of the war zone headquarters is also a big favor. In order to pass through the war zone smoothly, the major business groups in Dakouzidong town showed their magical powers. Boss Qian even gave money to the stingy old man. Where did the personal secretary Wu Meizi go? Although the important personnel of the theater headquarters made some concessions for Tang Tuanzuo's sake, the money was not wasted.

These 20 road notes, if converted into money, are worth ten thousand oceans and reduce a lot of troubles. However, the meaning behind them is that they reduce many shackles on the development of trade groups. They are also a warning to those who want to take cards. You guys, the business group that followed Tang Dao, I cover you old man.

It's true that smart people don't have hair on their heads. The stingy old man used all the tricks to make up for Tang Dao and Si Xing Tuan, overtly and covertly.

"Our regiment suffered heavy losses due to the Battle of Zishan. In addition to leaving one unit stationed at Zishan to protect the Jinan Office, the main force returned to the station to rest and recuperate. I hope Commander Yan will approve!" Tang Dao wrote to the theater headquarters in the afternoon after receiving the condolence gift. Outgoing calls.

"Yes!" The stingy old man called back with a smile.

The undercurrent caused by the suppression of military exploits between the commander of the second theater and his top general subsided. Unfortunately, Japan's North China intelligence section was still working hard to collect intelligence, hoping to find some loopholes in it.

They only have a brief understanding of Chinese culture, but under the Chinese people's various brain-teasers, their efforts are destined to be in vain! (End of chapter)