Age of Rebirth

The Puppet Manchukuo under the support of Japan was precarious, and the Kwantung Army was also facing a dangerous situation. The independent division quickly recovered the Liaodong Peninsula. The three main field corps, Chen Bing, were on the northeast border, ready to launch a swift attack on the Kwantung Army at any time. In this area, the 50-strong Japanese Far East Expeditionary Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Liu Tiehan, the deputy commander of the Independent Division, is entangled in the Far East region, unable to escape.

On the battlefield of the Korean peninsula, the Japanese and Korean troops stationed in the southeast mobile corps of the independent division were also in a state of persevering, and they were still in a state of insecurity, unable to cope with the Kwantung Army's operations. The Japanese headquarters agreed to mobilize the reinforcements of the Kwantung Army. The division will not be able to reach the Northeast until a month later at the earliest. For all this, the current commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, General Minamijiro, knows it well. He knows that the affairs of Manchuria can no longer be done by himself Ability can resolve.

Under such circumstances, General Minamijiro gave full play to the nature of a politician. He wanted to get out of his shell, and proposed to the base camp, please resign from the positions of commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army and the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Representative of the Empire of Japan in Manchuria, and just walk away. .

For this resignation telegram, General Nanjiro fully estimated that there are two situations. One is that the base camp and His Majesty the Emperor did not approve his resignation and ordered him to stay in office. This is the worst result. It also has the capital to bargain with the base camp, do your best, and hold on to the battle situation. If Manchuria really falls, it is not a crime of war, but a result of the situation, and it is impossible for the base camp to severely punish itself.

Another result is that the base camp approved his resignation, which is the most satisfactory. Before he left, except for the Liaodong Peninsula, most of Manchuria.Still in the hands of the Kwantung Army, it cannot be said that he lost the city and land, and similarly, he will not be punished.

The Northeast War is imminent, but General Nanjiro, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, is thinking of retreating. This cannot but be said to be the sorrow and shame of the Japanese generals, and the reasons for General Nanjiro's resignation are quite sufficient. First, He himself served the empire in Manchuria for many years.Now, old and frail, sick, and lacking in energy, he is no longer able to take on such an important post, for fear of giving the empire the benefits in Manchuria.Bring losses, take the initiative to resign.It can make the imperial generals in the prime of life.Take on the heavy responsibility.

Second, I have been in Manchuria for many years, and I have experienced countless incidents, big and small. Afterwards, I reflected on it and realized that my ability is mediocre. If I am normal, I can still handle it.But under the current situation in Manchuria, his own ability is not enough to take on the big responsibility, and then steal the high position.I am afraid that I will lose the trust of His Majesty the Emperor and the great trust of the people of the empire.

With regard to these two items, in order to be able to get out of Manchuria, which was in danger of war, General Nanjiro even did not hesitate to belittle himself and damage his image. As a veteran and veteran of the Japanese military, it is not easy to do this. Take the thick black science to the extreme.

But the cleverness of General Nanjiro is that he did not conceal the serious situation in Manchuria, and there is no consequence of reporting good news but not bad news in order to escape. From another perspective, it is also a threat to the base camp. If If you insist that I, Nanjiro, stay in Manchuria, then, as I have already pointed out, my ability is limited. If there is any bad situation in Manchuria in the future, don't pin the blame on me, Nanjiro.

Of course, General Nanjiro would not just sit around waiting for a reply from the base camp. At the same time, he sent a secret telegram to his old friends who had been in the Imperial Army for many years, stating the reasons why he had to leave Manchuria. Old friends who are all in high positions in the imperial world, General Nanjiro can be said to have painstakingly played the tragic card. He knows that the energy of these old friends in the imperial imperial world is quite huge, enough to affect His Majesty the Emperor and the headquarters. decision making.

With the help of these old friends who are able to reach the sky, the time for him to leave Manchuria is just around the corner, and there will be no sequelae. Of course, General Nanjiro also knows that he has to pay some price. Fortunately, this will not be possible. Question, I have been operating in Manchuria for many years, and my pockets have already bulged to the point of bursting. Gold bars and silver dollars are trivial, celebrity calligraphy and paintings, antiques, pearls and gems, the secret room is full, just take out a few pieces and keep them Those old friends are smiling happily, but they are working hard for themselves!

After finishing all this, General Nanjiro waited eagerly for the reply from the base camp. However, General Nanjiro, as a general of the Empire of Japan, still had to perform his duties as the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army before leaving office. General of the Empire The most basic qualities are still there. The secret mobilization of troops from the western Liaoning area and the Ximan area to form a new line of defense south of Fengtian has been going on intensely.

In the Fengtian Kwantung Army Headquarters, in the commander-in-chief's office, General Nanjiro had just put down the phone. Lieutenant General Kenjiro Matsuda, the chief of staff, knocked on the door and came in. He said straight to the point: "Commander-in-Chief, we have received information from the intelligence department of the headquarters to capture Gaizhou. And Anton's independent division unit, the designation is the independent division Marine Corps, the commander is Han Tie, the rank of major general, the department has nine marine brigades under its jurisdiction, with a total strength of 14, and the troops used to attack the Liaodong Peninsula, For the six brigades, and the other three brigades, it's unknown!"

General Nanjiro took a deep breath, with an indescribable feeling in his heart. It has been five days since the Battle of Lushunkou and the complete fall of the Liaodong Peninsula. The Seventh Army has tens of thousands of soldiers from the Imperial Army, and all of them have 8 soldiers. Many members of the Manchurian Volunteer Team, the intelligence department has only now found out the basic situation of the attacking troops. I really don't know what these **** bastards are doing every day?

Could it be that the intelligence agencies raise a group of pigs?Unresponsive and slow in action, if General Nanjiro had no intention of quitting, he would definitely be furious at the work efficiency of the intelligence department. A slap in the face, but right now, General Nanjiro didn't swear, let alone beat anyone.

"Mr. Matsuda, I see. It's really belated information. The independent division is almost under Fengtian City. Our intelligence department only figured out who the opponent is. Don't you think it's a big deal, Mr. Matsuda. Is it ironic?" General Nanjiro said with a wry smile, looking helpless.

Of course Chief of Staff Matsuda knows that the intelligence department has seriously failed in duty this time, but as the department he is in charge of, with such a poor performance, he will feel disheartened, "Commander, you may be very interested in the next intelligence Son!" He changed the subject and said that Chief of Staff Matsuda didn't know that the general commander in front of him had already planned to escape from his shell and put it into action, except for the news that the independent division had launched a full-scale attack on Manchuria Other than that, nothing else matters.

"Oh, Matsuda-kun, what information can I have? There will be nothing to make me happy in the current Manchurian battlefield!" General Nanjiro said listlessly, not interested in what Matsuda said.

Although Chief of Staff Matsuda was surprised, for the past two days, His Excellency the Commander has always been in a trance and looked out of his mind. Although he was puzzled, he took it for granted that it was due to too much pressure. Inevitably, perhaps, this information will make him feel more relaxed.

The chief of staff of the division said in a more emphatic tone: "According to intelligence, the Marine Corps of the Independent Division that attacked the Liaodong Peninsula did not advance in the direction of Fengtian after capturing Gaizhou, Anton and other places. Moreover, three of the brigades The troops should be diverted to the south, heading towards the border area between Manchuria and the Korean peninsula!"

"Haney?" General Nanjiro exclaimed, his body suddenly leaned forward, like a hungry wolf trying to eat people, "Is the information reliable?" he asked.

Chief of Staff Matsuda replied affirmatively: "It is absolutely reliable. After repeated reconnaissance by the intelligence department, the accuracy of the information was finally verified. At dawn on June 24, the three brigades of the Marine Corps of the Independent Division on the front line of Anton began to leave Anton. Dong, after that, the two brigades in the direction of Gaizhou will march towards Andong!"

"Irregularity!" General Nanjiro muttered, frowning, and fell into deep thought, tapping his fingers unconsciously on the desk, "Matsuda-kun, your staff, for the enemy's abnormal behavior, How did you analyze it?" He asked.

The treacherous and cunning General Nanjiro, of course, would not say that he still couldn't figure out why the independent division stopped continuing to attack and turned to the border of the Korean Peninsula. The real reason is that the Liaodong Peninsula has no The Kwantung Army troops that can stop them, so all this is weird.

Chief of Staff Matsuda said without hesitation: "Your Excellency, the staff thinks that this is an independent division, and the attack direction of the campaign has changed. As far as this matter is concerned, it means that the next attack target of the independent division is North Korea. The imperial Korean garrison troops north of Inchon on the peninsula! In the direction of the Liaodong Peninsula, they have taken a defensive position! Also, the staff judged that the war in Manchuria will not break out until the war on the Korean peninsula is over!"

Chief of Staff Matsuda's words deeply attracted General Nanjiro. He believed that the judgment of the staff department was reasonable and well-founded. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why the independent division, which was fighting smoothly, stopped attacking in the direction of Fengtian. matter.

It also means that the situation in Manchuria can be stabilized for a period of time. As for the length of time, it depends on how long Tanaka Shinichi's troops persist on the Korean peninsula. Before leaving Manchuria, taking a short breath, General Nanjiro also judged that the war on the Korean peninsula would not end soon, the mainland was increasing troops, reinforcements were arriving one after another, and there would be a stalemate on the battlefield.

"Yoshi! Matsuda-kun, this is a rare opportunity for us!" Admiral Nanjiro said somewhat inscrutablely.

(to be continued) (to be continued...)