cicada

Chapter 1467 A Devastating Collapse

1944 October.

A Japanese Type 95 light tank rumbled across the railway bridge and reached the other side of the Yellow River. The tank commander took off his military cap and waved the flag at the tank behind him.

"A surprise attack, give it your all!"

Amidst billowing smoke, General Gangcun, commander of the North China Area Army, led the 12th Army, with mechanized units as the vanguard, to swiftly break through the Yellow River defense line and invade the central Henan region. Xucheng and Luocheng fell one after another.

The First War Zone suffered heavy losses; Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek was almost captured, while Deputy Commander-in-Chief Tang escaped incredibly fast, demonstrating a remarkable mastery of the "Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain" strategy.

The reason why the Nationalist army was so easily defeated was not only due to the powerful attack capabilities of the Japanese mechanized forces, but also because of the Nationalist army's poor discipline.

Because of Mr. Tang's "great kindness and virtue", the people of Henan Province refused to provide any supplies or reinforcements to the Guo army, and even took the initiative to lead the Japanese army to bypass the ambush point, causing the Guo army to collapse.

More importantly, although the Military Intelligence Bureau had provided the First War Zone with a large amount of intelligence before the war, including information such as the Japanese army's marching routes, unit numbers, and the style of the main commanders, Tang ignored it.

Having suffered a setback due to the X Division incident, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Tang naturally wouldn't give the Military Intelligence Bureau a friendly look and would scoff at the intelligence they sent him.

Thanks to the desperate resistance of the young officers from the Whampoa Military Academy who replaced the corrupt officials, the situation would have been much worse.

Even so, four weeks later, 15 Japanese troops defeated 30 Kuomintang troops and occupied the Central Plains. Someone was furious and dismissed Jiang and Tang from their posts for poor performance in battle.

As May arrived, the telephone rang incessantly inside the Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters at No. 29 Luojiawan in the mountain city. The staff members had solemn expressions and walked with hurried steps.

"Dong dong dong."

Wu Chunyang knocked on the door of Zuo Zhong's office, walked in, and reported the latest intelligence, placing the telegram on the table as he spoke.

"Co-sir, the Japanese 11th Army in Hunan Province has begun its offensive along the Shacheng-Hengyang line, with its target being the Xiang-Gui Railway."

"In addition, the Japanese 23rd Army stationed in Guangzhou has also made unusual movements. According to intelligence analysis, the enemy is likely to attack the Fourth War Zone."

Zuo Zhong picked up the telegram, glanced at it, and ordered the intelligence to be handed over to Jun Weihui. As for the rest, he said, "Let's do our best and leave the rest to fate."

It wasn't that he didn't want to manage it; the decline of the Guo army couldn't be changed by just one or two pieces of intelligence.

With the war having progressed to this point, is it because the vast majority of the Kuomintang army's rank-and-file soldiers were not brave?

No!

Commander Li of the 36th Army Group, who had helped Zheng Tingbing report the illegal activities of the X Division, was determined to defend the city to the death even though he knew that reinforcements would not arrive. In the end, he died a heroic death when he ran out of ammunition and food.

During the fierce battle, he was shot several times, but he still shouted that people can die, but the country cannot perish. He died at the age of 52.

There are even more heroic deeds of the lower-ranking soldiers. A part of the Guo army stationed in Xucheng held their ground under the attack of Japanese artillery and infantry until the entire army was killed.

Soldiers of the 15th Army and the 94th Division, responsible for the defense of Luocheng, ate half-cooked steamed buns and drank sewage while fighting the Japanese army in the city streets.

At the height of the battle, more than ten military doctors and female medics put down their scalpels and gauze, and took up rifles and grenades to perish together with the enemy.

Recalling the recent battle reports, Zuo Zhong leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, and his eyes gradually welled up with tears.

The selfless dedication of the rank-and-file soldiers did not bring victory. The party leadership, while demanding a steadfast defense, was also concerned about troop losses, leading to hesitation in deployment and repeated instructions.

During the defense of Los Angeles, someone used the "Airdrop Commander's Order" to interfere with frontline command, resulting in the complete annihilation of the army through micromanagement.

Zuo Zhong was furious, but at the same time, he remembered Ban Jun's plan. It seemed that some things could be prepared in advance.

He took out a small piece of paper from his pocket and looked at it for a long time. Then he picked up the phone and ordered Gui Youguang to immediately familiarize himself with the terrain along the Pinghan Railway and wait for an opportunity to sabotage it.
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In June 1944, the 4th Army of the Guo Army, which was defending Shacheng, was wiped out in two days, and Shacheng fell. Shancheng strictly ordered Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone to defend Hengyang.

At the end of the month, the 10th Army of the Kuomintang army clashed with the Japanese army, and the Battle of Hengyang officially broke out. The battle lasted until the beginning of August, when Hengyang unfortunately fell into enemy hands. The battle lasted 47 days.

According to the military's post-incident statistics, the 10th Army and the civilians defending Hengyang totaled more than 17000 people, with more than 15000 casualties, and Hengyang was reduced to ruins.

Before the stunned Nationalist government could recover, in September, the Japanese 11th Army marched south from Hunan Province, and the Japanese 23rd Army marched west from Guangzhou, launching a two-pronged attack on Guangxi Province.

Commander Zhang of the Fourth War Zone led two army groups with 20 troops to resist the Japanese invaders, but due to the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, major strategic locations were lost one after another, and the airfields and aircraft of the American aid-to-China air force were destroyed.

In November 1944, the Japanese Southern Area Army departed from Jiaozhi and joined forces with the 23rd Army in Guangxi Province.

This signifies the formal opening of the "continental transportation line" connecting Manchukuo, North China, South China, and Southeast Asia, marking a tactical success for the Japanese Army's "Operation Ichi-Go".

In just over six months, the Kuomintang army lost 50 soldiers, and countless American aid supplies fell into the hands of the Japanese.

200,000 square kilometers of land in Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Guangxi provinces were occupied by the Japanese, 146 cities fell, and four provincial capitals were lost.

The aforementioned losses even exceeded those during the strategic defense period, and the world was greatly surprised by the Nationalist government's combat capabilities.

Looking at other battlefields around the world, the Red Army defeated the German Army Group Center in the Belarus region and began a large-scale offensive against Germany.

The contrast between the Americans' decisive victory over the Japanese Combined Fleet at Leyte Gulf and their subsequent joint operation with the British in June, known as Operation Overlord, which launched an invasion of the European continent from Normandy, is stark.

Speaking of "Operation Overlord," this matter is somewhat related to the Military Intelligence Bureau. Before the operation, Gu Qi and Wu Jingzhong, as members of the Nationalist government's military delegation, went to Britain to participate in intelligence work against Germany, and reportedly performed exceptionally well. (A related flashback will follow later.)

In short, after the Henan-Hunan-Guangxi Campaign, the United States realized the incompetence of Chongqing and placed its hopes on Red Russia, and resumed contact with the Northwest.

The Jin and Guangxi factions within the Kuomintang army also began to outwardly comply with the orders of Chongqing but inwardly defy them. The prestige that the Nationalist government had accumulated through the War of Resistance against Japan gradually eroded. Someone even publicly berated Roosevelt and other high-ranking Allied officials at his official residence.

After berating the Americans and British, someone gave the Military Intelligence Bureau a death order: sabotage the railways to cut off the Japanese army's troop and supply transport routes.

A few days later, Gui Youguang led a team of elite agents in disguise to infiltrate the war zone, and the action teams of the Military Intelligence Bureau's various local stations also secretly set out.

On the other hand, the puppet governments in Tokyo and Nanjing, who were in a state of constant fear due to the defeat of the Combined Fleet and the death of Ji, were jubilant, almost ready to set off firecrackers to celebrate.

With the fighting on the front lines subsiding, the Nanjing puppet army took over the defense of the Pinghan-Yuehan-Xianggui Railway according to the plan devised by Shibayama Kenshiro.

Late that night, heavy snow began to fall outside Wushengguan Station. A group of puppet soldiers patrolled along the railway line, looking quite lazy.

Wusheng Pass, located at the junction of Hubei and Henan provinces, offers a strategic location for military strategists since ancient times. To the south, one can drink from the Yangtze River, and to the north, one can contend for control of the Central Plains.

Logically speaking, the puppet troops shouldn't have been so careless in such an important place, but considering that the nearby Kuomintang troops had been completely defeated, it's understandable that these traitors were so lax.

When they reached the tunnel entrance, a puppet army sergeant said to the second lieutenant in charge, "Platoon leader, some people say that Mr. Ji was poisoned by the Japanese. Is that true or false?"

Two weeks ago, Ji died in Tokyo, and his position was taken over by Cheng Gongpu. Various rumors and gossips circulated within the puppet government and among the public.

Some say that Ji was pessimistic about the war and secretly negotiated with Shancheng, but the Japanese made an example of him and killed him.

Some say that Ji died at the hands of a quack doctor in Japan, after all, quack doctors have a tradition in Japan, and the "miracle doctor" Mori Ōgai is said to have killed tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers suffering from beriberi.

Upon hearing his subordinate's words, the lieutenant stopped, glanced at the guard post not far away, then grabbed the man by the collar and cursed him in a low voice.

"Damn it, do you want to die? How can you say things like that? Be careful, or I'll shoot you dead."

The sergeant was terrified and quickly said he wouldn't dare to do it again. The lieutenant let go of his hand and glared at him fiercely.

The puppet troops slowly walked away and gradually disappeared into the tunnel. About ten meters away from the tunnel entrance, a group of armed men dressed in white camouflage uniforms raised their heads.

"The man's gone, let's make our move," Gui Youguang said in a low voice to the man beside him.

The man nodded, raised his hand and waved it lightly. Several dark figures leaped up from the ground and headed straight for the tunnel, their movements exceptionally agile.

Not to be outdone, Gui Youguang gave the order, and two junior agents from the Military Intelligence Bureau followed, their movements equally agile.

The howling wind and snow drowned out all the sounds made by the two sides. In the guard post outside the tunnel, the sentry leaned his gun against the wall, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and kept breathing on the air to keep warm.

There was an alarm device under the man's feet. It could be triggered with a light step, and the Japanese troops stationed at Wusheng Pass could arrive at the scene within ten minutes.

This was a suggestion made by Ban Jun to Shibayama Kenjiro. Based on his experience, when attacked, sentries rarely had the opportunity to manually trigger the alarm installed on the wall.

But it's different with feet. Even if their hands are controlled, the sentry can touch the alarm simply by stretching out their foot.

Shibayama agreed wholeheartedly and installed similar devices at key locations along the railway line.

Under the cover of the wind and snow, the Kuomintang agents arrived behind the guard post. One of them stood guard while the other bent down and began to feel around in the snow.

A few seconds later, a wire was cut by a dagger. The Kuomintang agent who made the move did not leave immediately, but turned around and continued to search in another direction.

Soon, another wire was exposed to the air; this was the alarm's backup line, also from Ban Jun's suggestion.

Cutting off the sentry's communication with the outside world, two junior agents slipped into the guard post. In a panic, the sentry stomped on the alarm and tried to resist with his gun.

But just as he reached for his weapon, a rope was firmly around his neck. The rope tightened little by little, and the sentry's struggles became less and less intense.

Upon seeing this, the shadowy figure lying in ambush nearby rushed into the tunnel, buried an explosive charge under the track bed, and then took out a device to connect the two rails.

Seeing this, Gui Youguang raised an eyebrow and turned to ask the man, "Is this the secret weapon of your Pinghan Railway sabotage team? It looks quite ordinary. Won't it cause problems? The tunnel must be destroyed."

The man continued to stare into the distance, replying, "It's not a secret weapon, just a special detonator. When a train passes by, the two poles connect and detonate the explosives. According to our calculations, this amount of explosives is enough to destroy the tunnel."

Gui Youguang nodded. Just as the intelligence had said, these underground party members were all drivers, stokers, and track workers, and were very familiar with the railway.

In order to complete the sabotage mission as soon as possible, the Military Intelligence Bureau once again cooperated with the underground party, and the Pinghan Railway Workers Sabotage Team was the one that cooperated with Gui Youguang's operation.

This guerrilla force, composed of railway workers, achieved brilliant results over the years by blowing up bridges, destroying locomotives, and attacking Japanese invaders.

After a pause, the man probed Gui Youguang: "Your side even knew that the Japanese had set up two alarm lines. Your information network is indeed excellent."

Gui Youguang chuckled but didn't reply, because he didn't know where his deputy had gathered the intelligence. However, according to the rules of the Military Intelligence Bureau, one should not ask what one shouldn't ask, so he decided to completely forget about the matter.

① Both the Gucci European trip and the main storyline are told in reverse chronological order, otherwise the main plot might easily go astray.