Rise from the sword

Chapter 614
"Tojo."

In Tokyo, in the imperial palace, Tojo stood at attention, bowed his head and bowed his head. In front of him was the highest will of the brother country of Japan.

Locust!

"Although the Americans retreated, you also know very well that a few months ago, Eighth Route bombers took off from Shanxi and bombed Southeast Asia, destroying the empire's oil fields."

"The distance from Shanxi to Palembang far exceeds the distance from Shanxi to the Empire."

"In other words, the enemy's bombers can bomb the empire, bomb Tokyo, and bomb my palace at any time."

"That is to say, even if the Americans are retreating now, your absolute defense circle has been broken, and the entire empire is no longer safe, and it is shrouded under the wings of the Eighth Route Army."

As he said that, the devil's tone became more and more dignified, one sentence was heavier than the other, every word was like a heavy hammer on Tojo Hideki's heart, and he fell to his knees directly on the ground from a half-bowed state.

He, Hideki Tojo, is the Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan, holding great power and controlling the strategic direction of the empire.

Even important domestic ministers, such as the former Prime Minister Mitsumasa Yone and others, can only barely avoid his influence. It can be said that they cover the sky with one hand in the country, but this person in front of him is above him.

Can deprive him of his rights and throw him into the abyss.

"The current situation is a bit special. The enemy's bomber has a long range. It can still fly more than [-] kilometers while carrying several tons of bombs. This is really..."

Tojo explained cautiously.

He didn't want to lose the power of the prime minister, but this independent group played too unreasonably.

According to eyewitnesses in Balikpapan and Palembang, the eight-way bomber not only has a long range, it can fly directly from Shanxi to Palembang, etc., and it is still carrying nearly ten tons of bombs.

The volume, range, and ammunition capacity far exceed that of the American B29 bomber.

With this kind of bomber, not to mention the current empire, even the sphere of influence of the empire at its peak, all the territory of the entire empire is covered by the wings of this bomber.

It's useless to resist.

"Therefore, the local air defense must be strengthened to ensure the safety of the empire's mainland."

Tian Locust's unquestionable tone was full of impatience.

After a series of failures by the army in the Republic of China, he has been completely disappointed with the Tojo cabinet and completely lost his patience. If it weren't for the lack of a new prime minister, he would have replaced it long ago.

"Hi."

Tojo Hideki gave a wry smile.

He came this time to request the mobilization of some local army aviation troops to the Republic of China to support the battle in the Changheng area. .

The U.S. army retreated, Wright Bay was calm, and the waste was still in the hands of the devils. Even though the Eighth Air Force had been lost before, the devils still had a little flying troops in stock at this time.

With breakthroughs in heavy oil refining technology, aviation fuel has begun to be abundant, and the training of new pilots has been steadily advancing. Both the Army Aviation and the Navy have many new pilots in their hands.

But the locust didn't let go, and he couldn't help it.

However, Tian Locust's attitude has also strengthened Tojo's idea of ​​annihilating the armored units of the Independent Regiment in the Changheng area. Only one victory can restore the current situation.

······
three days later.

The starting point of the Guangdong-Han Railway.

Evening is too much.

A transport ship flying a plaster flag slowly arrived at the port. With the cooperation of the devil soldiers and the crew, dozens of cannons wrapped in gun covers were unloaded, and about [-] boxes of shells were also unloaded. After that, the car drove slowly towards the devil barracks.

During this period, the devil garrison blocked the surrounding area, forbidding anyone from approaching, and even sent gunboats to deter them.

And five kilometers away from the port, there is a huge scissor-shaped observation mirror, and several people are hiding behind the observation mirror to observe.

"About fifty, and two hundred boxes of shells."

Observer reports:
"Looking at the shape, they are all Devil's new anti-tank guns."

In the battle of Changchang, the devil first appeared the improved new 75mm anti-tank gun. Tank frontal armor.

During the battle of Changchang, many tanks were destroyed by this anti-tank gun.Fortunately, the number of artillery such as devils is small, and the shells are scarce, so they are easily wiped out in the end, with little impact on the battle.

But it still attracted the attention of the troops.

Although the army is currently in an absolute advantage, even if the devils equip a large number of such artillery, it will not be able to change the situation of the battle, but it will increase the casualties of the troops, so the staff behind the enemy began to monitor the devil's port and investigate the transportation of the new artillery under the orders of their superiors. .

Sufficient materials and equipment, today's workers behind enemy lines, can be said to have changed from the low-key in the past, activities can be described as rampant, there are many eyeliners in the devil's regular army, so the devil's transport ship was easily discovered.

"Put it in the barracks."

With the help of a large-magnification observation glass, these people easily discovered that the devil had placed the fifty artillery pieces and two hundred boxes of shells in the barracks.

"Should we..."

Behind, a man waved his hand, full of murderous intent.

"Do not."

In the team, an older man thought for a moment and shook his head:

"Continue to monitor, don't do anything for now."

"The devil's barracks are too big, and it's hard to guarantee the effect if we do it at night, so report the situation to your superiors first."

This is a city with many devils garrisons and a tight blockade. It is difficult for large-scale guerrillas to get close to the devils' barracks. At night, a small amount of shelling is difficult to guarantee the effect, so the commander gave up.

······
The next day

Yuchang.

Very early in the morning.

"Set off."

More than 500 tanks, more than 600 armored vehicles, and dozens of newly formed infantry battalions. Following Kong Jie's order, the troops were divided into three groups, each with a large number of ground troops, marching towards the Changheng area.

It was mid-August, the rainy season in the south, often rainy, and the roads were muddy. The tank army was not easy to walk on the muddy roads. Not to mention the slow speed, tanks often fell into the road, which caused the march to be suspended.

To make matters worse, problems continued during the march of the troops.

From time to time, low-level mistakes such as tanks falling into the road while driving, collisions between tanks, sudden engine shutdown, and dry oil.

These mistakes seriously affected the speed of the march.

Therefore, until a week later, even if there were no devils on the way, the three armored troops were still more than [-] kilometers away from the Changheng area and the devil's first line of defense.

During the period, the troops had to repair the roads and bridges destroyed by the devils, and the speed was getting slower and slower.

······
"Still two hundred kilometers away?"

Hearing the news reported by the front line, Yokoyama was a little surprised.

He's been very anxious lately.

The base camp refused to retreat, and ordered him to fight a decisive battle with the Eighth Route Army, and use the terrain to annihilate the armored troops of the independent regiment that came, but faced with his request for army aviation support, he resolutely refused.

Helpless, he could only strengthen his position while uniting with Hata Toshiroku to contact the country and persuade the Prime Minister to let the troops in the Changheng area retreat.

If you don't retreat, it will be too late.

However, they contacted many important ministers, including Ishihara Wanji and Minai Mitsumasa, but they all replied that they could not help. Fortunately, there were many people in the country who were dissatisfied with Tojo at this time, and the last two successfully raised their opinions to Tianlocust.

It's a pity that the locust didn't intervene in this matter.

Moreover, 150 new 75mm anti-tank guns and nearly [-] shells were recently transported to him in China, but in the end, less than [-] and [-] shells finally arrived in Hengyang.

and also.

After he stopped attacking, the Independent Regiment began to transport materials to Hengyang on a large scale again, and the transport planes landed one after another. Affected by these, the Hengyang defenders have been moving continuously recently, and began to attack on a small scale. Under the cover of superior firepower, they occupied continuously Gave him a lot of positions.

But now this news made Yokoyama Yong's anxious and sad mood a little better.

The armored troops of the Eighth Route Independent Regiment actually performed so badly.

The troops with a large amount of mechanical equipment marched continuously for seven days, but they only advanced less than 150 kilometers, which was slower than the marching speed of pure infantry, and it was much slower.

Even more outrageous.

During the march of the armored units of the Independent Regiment, a large number of accidents occurred. The driver's tank collided, fell into the field outside the road during the drive, and suddenly caught fire.

And these low-level mistakes are very common, and they don't seem to be deliberate exercises.

These news made Yokoyama feel better.

The Independence Regiment was invincible all the way, and the empire it was fighting against must have a certain strength. However, the current situation convinced him that due to the hasty expansion of the army and the lack of talents, the quality of the Independence Regiment's armored troops was seriously unsatisfactory.

Especially the troops in Song County in the south.

This is why the Sixth Division was able to destroy more than 300 tanks in Changchang.

At this moment, Yokoyama Yong also had an idea in his heart.

An idea to replicate the victory of the No.15 Brigade, aka the 125th Division.

"Set up a reconnaissance team, continue to collect news about the independent regiment departing from Song County, and report to me regularly."

Yokoyama called a staff officer and said:

"Let Tegao fully cooperate."

The No.15 Brigade's victory in Dingzhou was an accidental miracle, just like the Eighth Route Army that the Yamazaki Brigade encountered in the Taihang Mountain Arsenal back then, which was fleeing. It cannot be replicated, but the second victory can be replicated.

Now the Eighth Route armored force in Song County is suspected to be of poor quality and full of loopholes. As long as he causes the enemy to be paralyzed and make deep mistakes, and then use the terrain to wipe them out in one fell swoop, he can replicate this victory and defeat the Eighth Route's edge.

But before that, we have to take a closer look to see how the Eighth Route Armored Forces are doing.

"Hi."

The staff officer took the lead and left.

······
Mid to late August.

The 125th division is stationed.

"Are you from Taiyuan?"

Looking at the listless three people in front of him, Major General Daisuke Marukawa spoke with surprise.

These three deserters who were originally from the 126th Division actually ran out from Taiyuan, Shanxi, which surprised him very much.

In the Battle of Taiyuan, the six divisions of the First Army were completely wiped out, and the imperial general Yoshio Shinozuka committed suicide. This is by far the battle with the largest number of troops in a single battle.

none of them.

"Hi, we are..."

Maeda Jiri told the truth in a sluggish tone, his tone was full of helplessness.

After fleeing for several months in a row, they were arrested and detained this time, and the three of Maeda Kichiri completely lost hope of life.

"Did you escape?"

Daisuke Marukawa finally got to the heart of the matter.

"us···"

After hesitating for a while, the loveless Maeda Kichiri gritted his teeth and simply told the truth.

Therefore, Maeda Kili fled him from Taiyuan, and directly told the deeds of entrapping the locust army along the way.

All he wants now is relief.

"Are you willing to be loyal to the locust?"

After listening to Maeda Kichiri's words, Daisuke Marukawa asked with a sullen tone.

"Being loyal to the locust?"

Hearing this sentence, Maeda Kichiri's dull eyes lit up slightly.

He is familiar with this sentence, and it usually means to give soldiers who have made serious mistakes, give them a chance to redeem, let them die, and then forgive all mistakes.

However, the light in Maeda Jili's eyes is indeed different from that of ordinary devil soldiers.

Is he willing to be loyal to the locust?
At this moment, Maeda Jiri recalled the hardships along the way.

His family was poor, and he dropped out of school to start farming. In addition, there were many people in the family and little land, so the family could barely make fruit. Therefore, he joined the army to try to improve his family's situation.

But in the ten years since he joined the army, the situation at home has not improved.

The meager military pay could not improve family life at all, and even as the war progressed, his family's life became worse and worse.

Last year, he received letters from his family. His father died of illness, his mother became seriously ill due to overwork, and his younger brothers all joined the army, but they all disappeared. His two younger sisters also...

He was loyal to the locust and worked his life for the empire, but in the end, the locust and the empire gave him nothing, only a verbal promise, oh, a verbal honor, nothing in reality.

So, why should he be loyal to the empire?
Why do you have to be loyal to the locust?

Just because the locust wants them to die, so they have to die happily?See you just for Kuduanzaka?Just because of the Bushido spirit?
"I don't want to."

Finally, Maeda Kichiri gritted his teeth and said word by word:

"Damn locust, damn empire, die to me."

If you can't escape, then die.

After hearing Maeda Kichiri's hysterical howl, Daisuke Marukawa smiled slightly:
"Congratulations, Lieutenant Commander Maeda Kichiri, you have been reinstated."

Official reinstatement?

Lieutenant?

Maeda Kichiri, who was about to die, was stunned.

·····
at the same time.

Chengde.

Ding Wei's command room.

"The last attack went very smoothly. It successfully completed the scheduled plan and wiped out a large number of devils. There were no major mistakes during the battle."

A group of young staff officers are summarizing that the last dispatch was an attack launched by an armored battalion:

"However, this attack also exposed a lot of our problems..."

"Among them, the most important issue is the information communication between armored battalions..."

Looking at the staff department with heated discussions, Ding Wei looked like an old father with a satisfied expression. The staff department has grown and matured after his letting go.

In the end, the meeting reached a decision:
"Let's launch another attack, this time with twelve armored battalions."

(End of this chapter)