Anti-Japanese War: Starting from Yaobai

After listening to Kitahara's report, Ito seemed frozen in place, remaining unresponsive for a long time. He simply sat there blankly, staring vacantly ahead.

When the guards woke him up, he had a vague feeling that Kitahara probably wouldn't bring any good news tonight.

Now it seems his premonition was damn accurate; their entire plan failed, and failed miserably.

Kujo-no-kyo was not only defeated, but also suffered heavy losses.

As for the Da'an mine, it made him want to curse. The original plan was to massacre five to six thousand miners to reduce the number of future enemies of the Imperial Army, but in the end, only three hundred were killed. The difference was simply heaven and earth.

Furthermore, the Imperial Army at the mine was completely wiped out, which meant that the military strength under his rule was greatly weakened.

If one day the Da'an mine needs to be rebuilt, he won't even know who to send to manage it. Because the entire defense zone is short-staffed. Where will he find so many Imperial Army soldiers to fill this gap?

But these are not the main points. The main point is who should take the blame for the failure of this operation.

Was it him, the army commander of Kunming, or Kitahara, the head of the Special Higher Police in front of him?
After all, intelligence gathering and analysis are the duties of the Special Higher Police, while the formulation and execution of operational plans are his responsibility as commander.

In other words, now that the plan has failed, both sides are responsible.

But who is willing to take the blame?

If Ito doesn't want to, he thinks Kitahara would too.

Then, Ito slowly spoke up: "Kitahara-kun, our plan has completely failed. Who do you think should take the blame?"

Ito's voice carried a slightly rhetorical tone, as if it were implying something.

How intelligent is Section Chief Kitahara?
He scoffed and said, "Ito-kun doesn't want to take the blame, but I can't either. I think we'll just have to make Kujo Miyamoto take the fall."

As he spoke, a sly glint flashed in Kitahara's eyes, and he said with a smile, "Ito-kun, think about it. Kujo Miyamoto volunteered for this surprise attack on the anti-Japanese brigade's base, and he was the one who commanded the operation. But what was the result? Not only did they fail to achieve their intended objective, but they also suffered heavy losses."

Furthermore, after the defeat, he failed to promptly report the details to us, preventing us from taking timely countermeasures. Therefore, he should bear all the responsibility.

Ito nodded slightly, but after pondering for a moment, he still said, "Kitahara-kun, what you said makes some sense. However, Kujo Miyamoto is, after all, a member of the Kujo family. If we put all the blame on him, it might cause some trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Section Chief Kitahara shook his head and said, "Ito-kun, I understand your concerns. However, we can't just take the blame for this because we're afraid of trouble from the Kujo family. Think about it, if the responsibility for this failure falls on our shoulders, we probably won't receive the same treatment as Kujo Miyamoto."

Furthermore, we can explain the situation to headquarters, emphasizing Kujo Miyamoto's mistakes and dereliction of duty, and let headquarters make the judgment. This way, we can absolve ourselves of responsibility without offending the Kujo family—why not?

Ito nodded again after hearing Kitahara's words. He knew that Kitahara was right. The consequences of this defeat were too serious. If they didn't find a scapegoat, they would be the ones who would suffer in the end.

After careful consideration, Ito finally nodded again and said, "Alright, Kitahara-kun, we'll do as you say. However, we must be careful and not leave any evidence. At the same time, we must be prepared for all kinds of situations, just in case."

When Section Chief Kitahara saw that Ito had agreed, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He quickly said, "Ito-kun, don't worry, I will handle this matter. I will make sure that Kujo Miyamoto takes full responsibility for this failure." After saying that, he bowed deeply to Ito, then turned and left the conference room.

As Ito watched Kitahara's departing figure, a nameless worry welled up in his heart.

He didn't know if his decision was right, nor what the future held for him.

But he knew that from this moment on, if he did not stand on Kitahara's side, he could forget about being a commander.

Just then, as Ito was about to get up and go back to sleep, a communications soldier rushed into the conference room and handed him a telegram, saying, "Commander, an urgent telegram from Lord Kujo!"

Ito frowned, took the telegram, and his eyes swept over the dense Japanese text. His face instantly turned ashen.

He slammed his hand on the table and cursed, "Baka! This Kujo Miyamoto is completely insane!"

Section Chief Kitahara, who had just left the room, seemed to have sensed something and followed the communications soldier into the conference room.

Seeing that Ito's expression was somewhat unpleasant, he cautiously asked, "Ito-kun, what's wrong? What did Kujo Miyamoto say in his telegram?"

Ito slammed the telegram on the table, gritting his teeth as he said, "He ordered us to immediately send troops to the Da'an mine to annihilate the anti-Japanese brigade and massacre the miners! Doesn't he know that we don't have any spare troops to fight the anti-Japanese brigade right now?"

Section Chief Kitahara picked up the telegram and glanced at it quickly. However, he disagreed with Ito's opinion and felt that what Kujo Miyamoto said made some sense.

If they were to annihilate a portion of the Anti-Japanese Brigade's forces and kill the miners they failed to eliminate, then the Anti-Japanese Brigade wouldn't have won this battle. After all, they had successfully infiltrated the Anti-Japanese Brigade with Imperial Army intelligence agents.

So he actually advised, "Ito-kun, don't be angry yet. Kujo Miyamoto also said in the telegram that the main force of the anti-Japanese brigade is still on its way, and the force that attacked the Da'an mine was only a small force. As long as we send out the garrison troops of Chuncheng, we can probably wipe them out."

Upon hearing this, Ito's anger subsided slightly, but his brows remained furrowed.

He snorted coldly and said, "Even if it's just a small force, we don't have enough manpower to spare right now! Once the garrison of Chuncheng is transferred away, the city's defenses will be weak. If something happens at this time, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Seeing that Ito was still hesitant, Section Chief Kitahara quickly urged him again, "Ito-kun, Kujo Miyamoto repeatedly emphasized in the last part of the telegram that this is our last chance. If the Anti-Japanese Brigade were to incorporate so many new recruits, it would be disastrous news for the Imperial Japanese Army. Think about it again, we have already lost so many Imperial Army soldiers. If the Anti-Japanese Brigade were to grow stronger, how could we explain this to Headquarters?"

Ito fell silent.

He knew Kitahara was right. Although he had already decided to shift the blame to Kujo Miyamoto, it would ultimately be troublesome if the anti-Japanese brigade reaped so many benefits at once. He weighed the pros and cons and gradually made a decision.

He took a deep breath, and then, as if having made up his mind, said, "Alright, Kitahara-kun, we'll do as you say. I will immediately order the Chuncheng garrison to go to the Da'an mine and annihilate this small group of anti-Japanese troops!"

Section Chief Kitahara was overjoyed to see that Ito had finally made up his mind. He nodded quickly and said, "Ito-kun, that's right. As long as we annihilate this small group and kill those miners, headquarters won't say anything. After all, this time it's Kujo Miyamoto who's really commanding the battle, not us, hahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

Commander Ito chuckled dryly in agreement. The idea for this whole thing came from Kujou Miyamoto, who was the one who instigated it! (End of Chapter)