cicada

Chapter 1468 Destruction
Gui Youguang glanced down at the luminous watch on his wrist. According to intelligence, a Japanese troop transport train would pass through the tunnel in ten minutes.

In the distance, members of the railway sabotage team, who had installed the detonator, put their ears to the rails and listened for a moment before standing up and giving a signal. The rest of the team immediately cleaned up the traces and withdrew in turn.

The Kuomintang agents in the guard post didn't leave. They used their rifles for support to position the dead sentry in a standing position.

After doing all this, one of them lit the kerosene signal lamp hanging outside the guard post, and the two of them calmly returned to the starting point and followed the team into the mountains.

The sound of a steam whistle traveled far through the wind and snow as a steam train sped along the tracks.

Inside the locomotive, several stokers shoveled coal into the glowing fire chamber, and even in the dead of winter, they were all drenched in sweat.

In the driver's seat, the Japanese driver was focused on looking ahead at the train, while the civilian co-driver next to him leaned out of the window to check the terrain and then called out to him.

"Sir, we're almost at the tunnel."

Upon hearing this, the Japanese driver reduced the steam engine's air intake and sounded the horn again.

Clang, clang, clang, the wheels made a rhythmic sound as they rolled over the railway tracks. The co-driver brought a water bottle and handed it to the driver.

"Sir, when we get to Hankou, let's go to the bookstore."

The co-driver had a lewd expression, while the Japanese driver chuckled after finishing his water and loudly replied, "Yoshi!"

Hearing the conversation between the two, the stokers also started to jeer, and the engine room was filled with all sorts of discussions, all of which, upon closer listening, were in Northeastern accents.

For security reasons, the crew members of the trains currently running on the Pinghan-Yuehan-Xianggui Railway are mostly employees of the South Manchuria Railway Company who were transferred by the Japanese from Manchukuo. It would not be an exaggeration to call them traitors.

Amidst the discussions of the traitors, the Japanese driver spotted the tunnel entrance and the traffic lights at the guard post.

The driver, who had taken this route several times before, didn't pay any attention. While chatting, he glanced at the guard post out of the corner of his eye, where the sentry was standing ramrod straight.

"Wow, the soldiers of the new Nanjing government are really dedicated."

The Japanese driver sighed inwardly, turning his gaze back to the front. The train roared into the dark tunnel, leaving the swirling snowstorm behind.

Inside the troop transport carriage, a group of newly enlisted Japanese soldiers sang "Kimigayo," dreaming of making a name for themselves on the battlefield.

"The Emperor's reign will last for a thousand generations—until eight thousand generations!"

After years of war, the Japanese army continuously lowered the conscription age, even directly recruiting middle school and high school students into the army, so that many soldiers were still going through puberty, which made their singing voices immature and hoarse.

But these very young soldiers had killed countless civilians of the Republic of China in previous battles, using methods even more cruel than those of the veterans.

A new recruit put his arm around his comrade's shoulder, his face covered in acne and filled with excitement: "Maeda-kun, the Empire will surely win. Let's meet again at the American port."

As he spoke, the recruits in the carriage became incredibly enthusiastic, holding hands and repeatedly raising their arms to shout, "Banzai! Banzai!"

Compared to the optimism of the new recruits, the veterans had indifferent expressions and huddled in a corner far from the vehicle door, closing their eyes to rest.

Experience tells them that shouting slogans is useless; it's a waste of energy. They'd rather find a safe place to recover their strength.

Moreover, the defeat of the Combined Fleet was no secret, and only newcomers would believe that the Empire was invincible.

Suddenly, several loud bangs came from the front of the train, followed by a violent shaking of the carriages. The entire train derailed and overturned.

Due to inertia, the carriage slid forward a long distance, sparks flying, and the Japanese recruits standing there were thrown heavily against the carriage walls, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.

"Enemy attack!"

In the pitch-black carriage, the veteran shouted a warning, his gun already pointed at the door.

No one cared about the wailing recruits; the veterans quickly found cover to prepare for an attack and were ready to engage the enemy who were sabotaging the railway at any moment.

But even as the overturned train slowly came to a stop, the enemy did not appear. Several veterans climbed out of the train and jumped to the ground, forming a combat formation to cover each other as they headed towards the front of the train.

Upon reaching the locomotive, the Japanese soldiers all gasped in shock. The massive locomotive was now reduced to half, lying silently on the twisted tracks, burning without a sound.

The sergeant in charge turned around and ordered, "Order everyone to evacuate and immediately seal off the surrounding area to search for resistance fighters."

Before he finished speaking, sand began to fall from everyone's shoulders and heads. The sergeant patted his clothes and looked up curiously. When he saw what was happening, his pupils suddenly shrank.

The burning wreckage of the locomotive emitted a dim glow, and cracks appeared in the once intact tunnel ceiling.

"Baka, retreat!"

The corporal took off running, but he had only run less than ten meters when a huge rock smashed him into a bloody pulp, and the tunnel began to collapse.

Almost in the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of tons of soil poured down, burying all the Japanese soldiers and a large amount of supplies except for the carriages that had not entered the tunnel, giving the Japanese no time to react.

Feeling the earth tremble beneath his feet, Gui Youguang, who had already entered the mountainous area, looked back at the Kuomintang secret agents and railway sabotage team members beside him, all of whom looked excited. At the same time that the Wushengguan Tunnel was destroyed, along the thousands of miles of railway line from Pinghan to Yuehan to Xianggui, the Kuomintang and its Northwest agents launched more than 200 joint attacks, completely destroying the Japanese army's transportation lines.

The two sides destroyed or damaged over a hundred Japanese locomotives, nearly a thousand wagons, more than 50 bridges and tunnels, over 8000 meters of power lines, and over 130 kilometers of railway tracks.

Okamura was asleep when he received the message. Last night, the North China Area Army held a grand banquet to celebrate the victory of the "Locust Army," and he got completely drunk.

The successful implementation of Operation Ichi-Go greatly excited the Japanese officers involved in the war, and the Showa-era staff began to plan the next steps, such as capturing Yamashiro before 1945.

But the heavy knocking shattered Okamura's dream. Upon seeing the intelligence sent back from the front lines, he nearly fainted on the spot.

With the supply lines lost, this costly battle became meaningless, and Japan was no longer able to launch a new offensive.

In Beiping, Hata Shunroku, commander of the Republic of China Expeditionary Army, looked at the intelligence on the table and risked his life to send a secret telegram to the Tokyo General Headquarters, suggesting that all offensive actions be stopped and efforts be made to negotiate with Yamashiro.

He was well aware that although the Japanese army had occupied a large amount of Republic of China territory, it did not have the military strength to garrison and integrate these lands. Now, even the garrison along the railway lines had become a problem.

Therefore, this largest offensive operation since the outbreak of the war was actually a "pyrrhic victory" with no winners.

The Tokyo General Headquarters was also aware of the severity of the situation. With the war in the interior of China at a stalemate and the US forces in Southeast Asia becoming increasingly aggressive, it was time to halt Operation Ichi-Go.

However, those responsible must be held accountable. The Nationalist government's sabotage operation was precise in its targeting and demonstrated a thorough understanding of the railway defenses, indicating that it must have had corresponding intelligence support.

Naturally, Shibayama Kenshiro, who was in charge of formulating the railway defense plan, became the scapegoat, and a flood of reprimands were sent to Nanjing.

In just a few days, the Japanese experienced a shift from joy to sorrow, while Yamashiro experienced the exact opposite.

Upon learning of the great success of the Military Intelligence Bureau's sabotage operation, someone personally called Dai Chunfeng to praise him, and other high-ranking officials of the Nationalist government also called to express their gratitude, as if the defeat not long ago had never happened.

Overjoyed, Lao Dai credited Hasegawa Ryosuke, Hayashi Fuichiro, and others who provided the intelligence.

Zuo Zhong, the greatest contributor to this battle, naturally received various commendations, but he remained indifferent. Sabotaging the railway was just the beginning; the second step of Banjun's plan had already begun. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly.
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In Jinling, at the temporary command post for Operation No. 1, Shibayama Kenshiro swept all the items in the office to the floor, and Ban Jun and the other staff members stood in front of him with their heads down, not daring to say a word.

"Baka! How would people from the Republic of China know about railway defense arrangements? There must be a traitor among you."

After saying this, Chai Shan glared fiercely at everyone, his piercing gaze sweeping across the faces of more than a dozen traitors before finally settling on Ban Jun.

"Bansan! Are you the traitor?"

He asked the question in a sinister tone, as if he were about to shoot someone at any moment, and the members of the puppet government present were trembling with fear.

Ban Jun was not intimidated and stepped forward to answer: "Your Excellency, I have not gone out since I arrived here, and all my communications with the outside world have been recorded."

Shibayama Kenshiro squinted and thought for a moment, then waved for him to return to the ranks. With such tight surveillance, Ban Jun really had no chance to leak information.

Now it was other people's turn to suffer. A staunch traitor who had gone out to deliver documents was dragged out by Japanese guards. Soon after, screams were heard outside, and the incident ended with gunshots.

Everyone shuddered, but the special investigation continued, with suspicious individuals being executed one after another.

The Japanese guards were like a pack of hyenas; with just a glance from Shibayama, they would drag the suspect outside and tear him to pieces.

In fear, a staff officer of the puppet government tried to resist, but as soon as he drew his weapon, he was shot in the forehead, and blood splattered everywhere.

Ban Jun recognized this man; he was a confidant of Ji, who usually acted arrogantly and domineeringly in Jinling, his hands stained with the blood of his compatriots. Now, however, he had died at the hands of his master, truly a case of evil getting its just deserts.

But they couldn't let Chai Shan continue killing, otherwise it would implicate them sooner or later. Ban Jun hesitated for a moment, then stepped out of the crowd again to dissuade him.

"Please calm down, sir. I have a suspect."

He immediately gave his name, and Shibayama Kenshiro was somewhat dismissive of it, but soon seemed to be deep in thought.

The traitors secretly breathed a sigh of relief, wishing they could kowtow to Ban Jun. Chai Shan had gone mad; without Ban Jun, they would all be dead.

After a period of silence, Shibayama Kenshiro led his troops into a car and headed to a certain place, without uttering a word along the way.

The convoy stopped in front of Lin Miaoyin's villa. Ban Jun stayed in the car, while Chai Shan and the guards went inside.

On the bustling street, a patrolman slowly walked by. As he passed a car, he exchanged a glance with Ban Jun inside the car window, their eyes meeting briefly before looking away.

Looking at the cigarette pack in the other person's hand, Ban Jun leaned back in his seat and remained silent, flipping a metal coin back and forth between his fingers with great agility.

A few seconds later, a roar came from inside the villa, the sound making the glass vibrate.

"Baka! Contact Hangzhou immediately!"

Kenjiro Shibayama stood in front of the dressing table, clutching a piece of paper. His face alternated between pale and flushed, and the hand holding the paper trembled incessantly, with veins bulging on the back of his hand.

It's not over yet. From 1944 to 1945, aside from the Henan-Hunan-Guangxi region, there's not much to write about. I plan to write about various famous scenes after 1945; if I can't cover them in the main text, I'll write side stories. Also, there will be a rather special plot point in May 1945.