Age of Rebirth

General Yoshijiro Umezu, who had already left the office, heard the words of Lieutenant General Kenjiro Matsuda, the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, clearly.

Within a day or two, according to Matsuda's method, it is not difficult to recruit nearly 20 soldiers. If you want, General Meijin can mobilize a Manchurian army with more than [-] soldiers. However, the soldiers of the Manchurian army Quality, can it be compared with the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army?

According to the actual combat strength, the 20 soldiers of the Manchurian Army are not even as good as the 10 soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Empire. The real mob, including the method that Lieutenant General Matsuda is using now to gather nearly [-] soldiers, is also a group. The rabble who have never been on the battlefield and have not been baptized by the flames of war, but it is the only feasible way at the moment. There are not enough soldiers, so they use these cannon fodder to temporarily block the independent division troops and advance towards Fengtian!

General Meijin is not optimistic about this group of impromptu mobs, he doesn't let anyone disturb him, he just wants to think quietly, and find a proper way to deal with the censure of the domestic military and political leaders, and to restore the crisis in the Manchurian battlefield At this moment, the more than 20 independent division troops in the central part of the Liaodong Peninsula should be chasing soldiers from the two detachments of the Third Army and the Kwantung Army who returned after a big defeat.

Matsuda was right, that devil of China would not let go of this good opportunity. It would be a terrifying thing for more than [-] soldiers of the Independent Division to flood Fengtian and the hinterland of Manchuria with the aftermath of victory. Think here.General Meijin was sweating all over his body for three days.In less than three days, the line from Anton to Gaizhou will become a new battlefield, and the time left for me is really running out!

The only consolation for General Meijin is that there has been no fighting along the border between China and North Korea.The third and fourth detachments of the Kwantung Army did not send a telegram, which means.The six brigades of the Independent Division in the northern part of the Korean peninsula are still besieging and suppressing the rest of the 43rd Division of the North Korean Garrison. Finally, they have not been cut off, he thought with a sigh.

Chief of Staff Matsuda who remained in the temporary office of the Commander-in-Chief.Take everyone from the staff department and the combat department.They all got together, issued several orders face to face, made dozens of phone calls, changed his usual low-key style, and spoke so tough that the Kwantung Army headquarters officers who were familiar with him were very uncomfortable, and they were all surprised. No one dares to be on the cusp of this storm.Refute the face of the Chief of Staff.

The battle on the Liaodong Peninsula was defeated, and the Third Army and the Kwantung Army had two detachments of 10,000+ troops.The news of being beaten to pieces and being forced to retreat across the board has spread widely in the headquarters of the Kwantung Army, which made the Japanese officers in the headquarters panic. Facing such a critical situation, Chief of Staff Matsuda showed great His toughness and composure gave the officers some reassurance.

The officers of the Kwantung Army Headquarters also got to know Chief of Staff Matsuda again from the other side. He turned out to be a tiger with no sharp teeth. Therefore, all the orders of Lieutenant General Matsuda were well implemented. The officers of the Kwantung Army Headquarters rushed to Fengtian and surrounding areas to supervise the implementation of Chief of Staff Matsuda's order.

After working for a long time, Chief of Staff Matsuda felt the pleasure brought by power, which was different from the Chief of Staff. Suddenly, he seemed to remember an important matter, and hurriedly called in the captain of General Meijin's guard, and solemnly ordered Said: "From now on, you will never leave the commander-in-chief, and pay attention to his every move. It is best to temporarily put away the weapons he carries, especially the general's saber, do you understand?"

Of course the captain of the guard didn't understand, and he was very angry. According to what the chief of staff said, didn't he disarm General Meijin?This is a rebellion, a seizure of military power!I am the commander-in-chief's captain of the guard, not the captain of the headquarters. To put it bluntly, he is the personal bodyguard of the commander-in-chief. Except for General Meizu, anyone can ignore orders, including Chief of Staff Matsuda!

The captain of the guard is also a guy with well-developed limbs and a simple mind. He poked his neck and growled: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, I can't carry out your order to disarm the commander-in-chief. I also want to remind you not to do anything that endangers your boss. Otherwise, the commander-in-chief's guard has the right to take necessary measures!"

Chief of Staff Matsuda was taken aback for a moment, and looked at the captain of the guard with his eyes wide open and his hands on his waist with his gun in astonishment. Immediately, he understood what was going on, and cursed with a livid face. To: "Baga! Stupid pig! My head is full of lead! How could I do such a crime to Commander-in-Chief Meijin! The war in the Liaodong Peninsula is rotten, and the commander-in-chief is in a very bad mood. I am worried that he is too arrogant Responsibility, use the most sacred and dignified method of the emperor's people to cut himself open to apologize!"

The pig-headed captain of the guard understood the real intention of the Chief of Staff, stood at attention with a "snap", and said loudly: "The humble post is stupid, I misunderstood the intention of the Chief of Staff, I will go there immediately, and I will protect the commander-in-chief at every step." safety of life!"

After a moment of hesitation, the head of the elm-headed guard asked again: "Chief of Staff, if I find out that the Commander-in-Chief has committed suicide, can I knock him unconscious?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda had a black line on his forehead at that time, and was completely speechless. Why did he meet such a stagnant guy? He resisted the urge to give him a few big mouths, and said patiently: "No, that is absolutely not allowed. , and, don’t let him realize that we are paying attention to him, once you find such signs of His Excellency Commander-in-Chief, please notify me immediately, understand?” He also knew that it was impossible to say no to this kind of guy with well-developed limbs and simple mind. Clear, just tell him what to do!

After the excitement of being in power and in control of the world, Chief of Staff Matsuda leaned tiredly on the position that General Meizu had taken, and heaved a long sigh of relief. Everything that should be arranged has been deployed. I don’t know why. It was not his fault that he could not save the defeat. After he calmed down, a trace of fear flashed across his heart.

This kind of fear stems from the sense of powerlessness that the war situation in the Liaodong Peninsula has been corrupted to this point, and the consequences are unpredictable. Although emergency mobilization measures have been taken, nearly [-] troops have been put together to defend all the main points on the front line of Gaizhou in Anton, so as to block the independent division. The troops attacked, but Lieutenant General Matsuda was still sober. He also knew that a mob assembled improvised would not be able to take on a major responsibility. If the independent division troops could not be blocked, what would they do if they broke through the blocking line and attacked Fengtian?

For such a result, Lieutenant General Matsuda is really helpless. He has exhausted his efforts to plan for the current state of affairs. The other kind of fear is the fear of the position he is temporarily sitting on, temporarily acting as the Kwantung Army The throne of the commander-in-chief is very hot ass!

After the initial excitement, he had to think about this, "Given General Umezu Yoshijiro's toughness and conceit, and he has just assumed office, why is it so easy to give up the power in his hand, even if it is temporarily, this is not in line with General Umezu style of?"

Analyzing along this line of thought, "It is an indisputable fact that the two detachments of the Third Army and the Kwantung Army were defeated in the battle to regain the Liaodong Peninsula, and suffered heavy casualties. Then, General Meijin let himself take over the whole situation at this critical juncture, Does it contain an attempt to shirk responsibility, or find a scapegoat?"

Thinking of this, Chief of Staff Matsuda broke out in a cold sweat. The night wind blew through the open window, blowing the stack of telegrams on the desk to pieces, and he stood up in horror, as if the chair under his buttocks was burning red. like a soldering iron.

Chief of Staff Matsuda walked to the window, looked at the dark night, and thought of another extremely important matter. General Meijin was worried repeatedly. In the northern part of the Korean peninsula, what are the six brigades of the Independent Division doing now?

If this independent division really crosses the border between Manchuria and North Korea, the nearly [-] troops he assembled will be absolutely vulnerable. Chief of Staff Matsuda can no longer sit still, and judge such a change in the battle situation. It wasn't his own brains and experience that could figure it out. He decided to go to see Commander-in-Chief Meijin immediately. Even though he knew that His Excellency Commander-in-Chief would not allow anyone to disturb him, the matter was very important and he had to go!

The night is as dark as ink, and the wind from the North Yellow Sea has a hint of saltiness. On the bumpy mountain road in the northern mountainous area of ​​the Korean Peninsula, a troop is marching fast, and the track of the tank crushes the gravel, making a "click" sound. Trucks dragging heavy artillery passed by, rolling up a cloud of smoke and dust. On both sides of the road, there were soldiers marching in a hurry, and a group of trucks passed by.

The bright lights, like a sharp sword, pierced the night sky. In the night, like a long winding dragon, it quickly advanced towards the border. The roar of the engine, the low sound of the truck horn, the soldiers The sound of our marching footsteps, the troops pointing out the direction of the march, and the loud shouts combined into the tense atmosphere of the night march. If you look down from a high altitude, in the mountainous area of ​​the northern part of the Korean peninsula, there are five or six similar long dragons made up of lights. many!

General Umezu Yoshijiro, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, and Lieutenant General Kenjiro Matsuda, the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, both miss and fear Han Tie. At this moment, he is commanding more than [-] troops under his command to move towards the border between China and North Korea. rush.

After receiving the division commander's order, the three brigades of the Marine Corps and the three brigades of the Southeast Mobile Corps withdrew from the Beidafeng battlefield where they encircled and suppressed the remnants of the No.40 Third Division of the Japanese Korean Garrison. 10,000+ people gathered in the northern part of the Korean peninsula Around the mountain city of Tokugawa, I waited for nearly two days with a lot of energy.

Waiting for the division commander's next order for two days, Han Tie, who understood the division commander's order to gather troops in Tokugawa and concealed his intention to stand by, was not idle.

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