my bright sword career

Chapter 128 The reason for the raid

August has entered the hot weather. As a city with four distinct seasons, Taiyuan is no exception.

A black car was slowly driving on the streets of Taiyuan, with a truck behind it, and the truck was full of heavily armed Japanese soldiers.

Sitting in the back seat of the car, Lieutenant General Tada Hayao, the commander of the North China Front Army, unbuttoned his collar. Looking at the bustling crowd outside the window, he couldn't help saying with emotion: "The population of China is really too much."

Yoshio Shinozuka, who was sitting next to him, replied: "That's true. China is not only vast in territory, but also has a very large population. The empire is incomparable in this respect."

"So what?"

Hayao Tada said proudly: "Now this vast land has become the territory of the empire, and many people have become obedient citizens of the empire. I have said long ago that the bayonet is the best way to conquer China. Shinozuka Jun, you are still too kind, this is not a good habit."

Yoshio Shinozuka shook his head: "In the process of conquest, killing is inevitable, but killing alone cannot completely conquer a nation."

"Really?" Hayao Tada sneered, "Then I would like to ask Mr. Shinozuka, it has been three years since we entered an all-out war with the Chinese people in Showa 12. During these three years, the land we occupied Which inch of territory is not obtained by killing?"

Shinozuka Yoshio was silent, he was really speechless for this sentence.

Seeing that Yoshio Shinozuka had nothing to say, Tada Hayao continued: "The empire started from the Meiji Restoration, and relying on the sacrifices of countless warriors, it gradually annexed China, the oldest country, into its mouth, not those who Hypocritical kindness."

Ignoring Yoshio Shinozuka's increasingly ugly face, Hayao Tada continued: "Mr. Shinozuka, why did I insist on launching a large-scale raid on Shanxi and Northwest Shanxi this time?

It is to consolidate the empire's rule over this land, look outside..."

Hayao Tada pointed to the ragged passers-by outside the lathe, "Don't look at these Chinese people as docile now, but I believe they will show their ferocious fangs whenever they have a chance.

It has been almost three years since the imperial army occupied Shanxi, but this occupation was limited to the cities. Those vast villages and mountainous areas were dominated by the Jinsui army, bandits, the Eighth Route Army, and various local armed forces.

Last month, Commander Nishio (Commander Nishio Hisao of the China Dispatched Forces) called me to question me about the situation in North China and Shanxi, but I was speechless. Do you know how I felt at that time?

In the huge Shanxi, the empire has deployed nearly [-] troops here, but they can only huddle in the city and do nothing. This is the shame of the empire!This is why I decided to conduct a large-scale sweep in Shanxi and Northwest Shanxi. Your First Army must make due contributions in this operation, understand? "

"Hi!"

Facing his boss's almost accusatory words, Yoshio Shinozuka could only nod in agreement.

"Squeak!"

At this moment, the car stopped, the door was quickly opened, and an officer stood outside the door and said respectfully: "Commander Tada and Commander Shinozuka have arrived at the headquarters, please get out of the car. "

Hayao Tada and Yoshio Shinozuka got out of the car, and saw the officer standing outside wearing the rank of Major and standing upright, Hayao Tada smiled and pointed at him with his finger, "I know you, you are the 28th issue of Lu University." Yes, it's the same period as Itagaki-kun, am I right?"

It was Kazuki Yamamoto who drove the door, and he said respectfully, "Your Excellency, Commander Tada, has a good memory. As expected of a senior in the 25th class, you actually remember me, a little guy."

Hayao Tada smiled, and was about to say something, but he glanced at the military rank on Kazuki Yamamoto's shoulder, and frowned slightly, "Yamamoto-kun, if I remember correctly, your graduation grades at Luda is very good.

Even Seishiro Itagaki is a lieutenant general, why are you still only a general, shouldn't you? "

To be honest, Tada Hayao's words are very rude, but he is a lieutenant general and the commander of the front army, so it doesn't seem abrupt to ask, Kazuki Yamamoto didn't know how to answer this embarrassing question for a while .

Fortunately, Shinozuka Yoshio couldn't bear the embarrassment of his confidant, and smoothed things over: "Commander Tada, this is not a good place to talk, and don't you think the weather is too hot, let's go in and talk about it."

Tada Jun glanced around and saw that he was surrounded by many guards who looked like a formidable enemy, so he woke up and laughed: "Haha... I was rude to say that... Well, let's go in!"

Hearing what Hayao Tada said, Kazuki Yamamoto stood aside and made a gesture of invitation, "Your Excellencies, commanders, please come inside."

Hayao Tada walked in first, while Yoshio Shinozuka was in the wrong position by half. As for Kazuki Yamamoto, he could only follow the two of them to the battle hall. The chief of staff, Major General Naozaburo Okabe, greeted him .

Looking at the busy staff in the hall, Hayao Tada was noncommittal, and turned to Yoshio Shinozuka: "Mr. Shinozuka, I heard that you have a good tea hidden in your office, I wonder if I can have the honor to taste it. "

"It's an honor, please allow me and Okabe-kun to accompany you, Your Excellency please." Shinozuka Yoshio waved his right hand to the side.

In this way, a group of people entered the office and sat down.

Kazuki Yamamoto made tea for the three of them himself.

Tada Hayao took a sip of the teacup and showed satisfaction, "Yoxi... It is slightly bitter in the mouth, and then it turns into a mellow aroma. It is indeed a good tea."

He swept his eyes and saw Kazuki Yamamoto standing behind Yoshio Shinozuka, and rolled his eyes, "Yamamoto-kun... Although your promotions these years have not been satisfactory, your reputation is not small.

Even I have heard people mention you several times. It is said that you did not enter the army after graduating from the mainland, but went to Germany to continue your studies, specializing in a tactic called special operations. Is that true? "

"Yes, Your Excellency Commander."

"Is that special operation really that powerful?" Hayao Tada frowned and said, "With all due respect, you, an outstanding graduate of the saber team, are now commanding a team of less than 100 people. How useful it is on the battlefield, is it worth spending so many years studying it?"

Hearing the name Saber Group, the muscles on Kazuki Yamamoto's face twitched. In fact, Hayao Tada's doubts were also the doubts others had given him over the years.

The saber group is a name given by Japan to the top six graduates of each Army University before World War II. It is also called the saber group because these six people can obtain the saber bestowed by the emperor.

Usually these outstanding graduates will have a relatively smooth future.In addition, they often enjoy a privilege: they can give priority to the government to study abroad, and they can also choose the country to go to.

Take the students from the saber group who graduated in the same period as Kazuki Yamamoto. They have the title of Malay Tiger, Yamashita Bongfumi, the commander of the Fifth Division, Imamura Jun, and the current Japanese Army Minister, Itagaki Seishiro. Which one of these people is not a hero? The reputation is great, but Kazuki Yamamoto is only a senior officer. It can be said that Kazuki Yamamoto's military rank is the lowest among their graduates.

However, in the face of Hayao Tada's doubts, Kazuki Yamamoto did not become angry or angry, but bowed and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, there are many people in our Great Japanese Empire who study the combat of large corps, and there is no shortage of me. So I chose a subject that interests me, which is not a bad thing.

And your view is biased. In my opinion, special operations is an emerging subject, and it will definitely become a new mode of warfare in the future. "

"Oh, really?"

Tada Hayao didn't believe this at all, and just responded lightly.

When Yoshio Shinozuka saw this, he was afraid that Kazuki Yamamoto would offend Hayao Tada, the commander of the North China Front Army in a hurry, and quickly added: "Commander Tada, maybe you don't know yet? Dasao Yamamoto just came back from the battlefield , he made a great contribution this time.

Just a few days ago, he led his special agent team to blow up a bridge in the southwestern part of Shanxi that was heavily defended by the Jinsui Army, cutting off Gao Hongming's retreat. The capture of Gao Hongming relied entirely on Yamamoto and his secret service team. "

"Yoshi... not bad..." Hearing Yoshio Shinozuka's words, Tada Hayao showed surprise on his face, and then laughed, "So, Yamamoto-kun has made a great contribution."

Yamamoto Kazuki bowed: "I don't dare to make great contributions, I just did what I should do."

"It's quite rare for you to have such humility."

Tada Jun pondered for a while, and suddenly said: "Yamamoto-kun, are you interested in serving in the Kwantung Army after this raid? If you are willing, I will recommend you to the headquarters as the commander of the 106th Division. What do you think?" ?”

From being a captain of a special forces team with less than 100 people to a general commanding an army of [-] to [-], for ordinary people, this is simply a rocket-like rise. People who are not very good may faint with joy.

But Kazuki Yamamoto refused without even thinking about it, "Commander Tada, please forgive me, if I want to command a large corps to fight, I am at least a lieutenant general now, but I still say that talk.

Among the generals of the empire, there are too many people who can command large corps to fight, and I am not missing, so I can only thank the commander for his kindness. You should let me study my favorite special operations. "

"you……"

Kazuki Yamamoto's answer surprised Hayao Tada, for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"Commander Tada, everything Yamamoto is doing now is the path he chose. As his seniors and colleagues, we can only respect his choice. What do you think?" Nao Okabe, the chief of staff who has been silent Saburo saw that the atmosphere was a bit stiff, so he smoothed things over.

"All right!"

Jun Tada shook his head regretfully, the twisted melon is not sweet, and if others don't want to be promoted, he can't force them, can he?

After talking about Kazuki Yamamoto, he turned his attention to business.

"Xiaozuka-kun, Okabe-kun, you two are the top officers of the First Army, tell me now, are you ready for the upcoming sweep?"

Yoshio Shinozuka and Naozaburo Okabe looked at each other, and the former replied: "Your Excellency, our preparations have been completed by about 70.00%, and the remaining one month of preparation time is almost the same.

But now there is a number, that is Gao Hongming's army that is still in Qixia Pass.According to the report just now by No.20 No. [-] Special Operations Flying Team Commander Fujino Shigeharu, they went to Qixiaguan to bomb as scheduled this morning.

When bombing the opponent's artillery position, it was blocked by the opponent's anti-aircraft fire. Although the bombing formation achieved some results, the loss of the flying team was not small. A total of six Type [-] heavy bombers and four Nakajima Type [-] fighters were shot down. , Mr. Fujino asked for a postponement of tomorrow's attack. "

"no!"

Tada Jun refused without hesitation, "The bombing of Qixia Pass must be carried out continuously. Qixia is one of the most important passes in the southwest. If Qixia Pass is not occupied, our sweeping plan cannot be carried out smoothly.

It is precisely because of this that the North China Front Army Command will turn a blind eye to some of your actions. Otherwise, just a few days ago, you insisted on mobilizing the 41st Division to deal with a mere militia. Aroused criticism. "

"Hi... Thank you, Commander, for your understanding."

Shinozuka Yoshio quickly expressed his thanks, and then he said: "Your Excellency, the biggest problem now is the lack of aircraft. If we want to maintain the high-intensity bombing of Qixia Pass, the current 21st Flying Team alone is not enough. We must To strengthen the number of our air force, I intend to apply to you, can the No.20 Flying Team from Jinan be transferred to assist in operations."

"This is..."

Tada Jun thought for a while, Jinan belongs to the territory of the No.12 Army, but the battle situation there is still stable for the time being, even if the No.20 Five Flying Team is transferred temporarily, it should not be a big problem.

After thinking about it, he nodded slowly: "Yes... But you have to urge the 41st Division to take down Qixia Pass as soon as possible, and eliminate that Gao Hongming, otherwise once the news spreads, the Empire of Japan will send a division Going to deal with that local militia group, fighting for so long and still not being able to win, rumors spread that the Imperial Japanese Army will lose its reputation.”

"Hi!"

Shinozuka Yoshio bowed slightly, "Your Excellency, please rest assured, I will definitely urge Commander Koizumi Yukio to step up his attack and take Qixia Pass within three days."

"Yoxi... I hope you can do what you say." Hayao Tada snorted softly and stood up, walked to the bedside and looked out the window without saying a word.

In fact, the reason why Hayao Tada personally came to Taiyuan to command a big sweep this time is also selfish. Since he served as the commander of the North China Dispatch Army last year, he has not done much. Shanxi, as a rear, not only cannot contribute to the front line, Instead, a large number of troops are spent every year to maintain order in the occupied area.

This has already made the base camp a little dissatisfied with him. There are rumors that if the security situation in North China does not improve, the base camp will transfer him back to the mainland next year, and he will even be included in the reserve. This is something he cannot accept no matter what. of.

This is the reason why he personally came to direct the sweep this time.

(End of this chapter)