Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"The strategic significance of heavy artillery is indeed great, and it can even turn the situation around at a critical moment." Kong Jie also agreed.

"It's a pity that we don't have heavy artillery of this level. It would be great if that kid Li Jin could make it." Li Yunlong sighed.

He also hoped that the Eighth Route Army could have its own heavy artillery. In this way, they might be able to win battles more easily in the future and the army could suffer fewer casualties!
"This may be a bit difficult. Li Jin hasn't been able to manufacture the cannon yet. It's too much to ask him to build heavy artillery of this level right away." Kong Jie was not very optimistic about this.

If Li Jin could build all the heavy artillery, it would be a great achievement.

"Yeah, we can't ask for too much." Li Yunlong also felt that what he said was a bit fanciful, and maybe he could make it in the future.

"Old Li, Captain Kong, let's retreat as soon as possible. We don't know if the Japanese will chase us, so we'd better not get into trouble." Zhao Gang reminded.

By now, the Japanese from the 16th Division might have already reached the 20th Division. If they get angry and chase them all the way, they will still be in some trouble.

"Well, let's retreat." Li Yunlong nodded.

The New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment also retreated quickly.

.........

Taiyuan, in the Japanese army camp.

Itakase Seishirō was still anxiously waiting for news. In his heart, he still hoped that Nakajima Imago could survive, so that his pressure would be reduced.

If he were asked to command the battles with the Northeast Army in the future, he would feel a lot of pressure. After all, he had suffered losses many times, which made him a little panicked and worried that he would still not be able to annihilate this army in the future.

"Division Commander, Brigade Commander Fukada sent a telegram!" The Japanese telegraph operator hurriedly pushed open the door, his expression somewhat frightened. The content of the telegram really scared him.

"What does the telegram say?!" Itahira Seishiro's heart skipped a beat. Instead of taking the telegram, he let the telegram speak for itself.

"Division Commander, Nakajima, he, he died in battle!" The Japanese telegraph operator stuttered as he told the story. When he first translated it, he couldn't even believe his own translation.

He even translated it several times, and only after he was sure that it was correct did he dare to come and report. The death of a Class A division commander was also a huge loss for the empire.

After all, there are not many Class A divisions in the Empire, and those who can become division commanders are truly senior officers. Now one of them is dead, plus Inaya Shiro who committed suicide before!

They lost two Class A division commanders within a year. Just thinking about it, you can imagine that not only would the headquarters be furious, but even His Majesty the Emperor would probably be shocked.

"Oh... Is that so..." Itakane Seishirō sighed. Now it was basically certain that the enemy was targeting Nakajima Imago most likely because he had participated in the massacre.

But the question is, how did the enemy know about this? Although the massacre was exposed, few people knew which troops actually carried it out.

Or in other words, the enemy regarded all the troops that attacked Jinling as murderers. If that were the case, it would make sense.

"Division Commander, Brigade Commander Fukada also asked whether they should continue to pursue the enemy or withdraw to Taiyuan with the 20th Division?!" the Japanese telegraph operator continued.

"Needless to say, they must be asked to withdraw to Taiyuan!" Itagaki Seishirō said unhappily. Given the current situation, how could he dare to let the 16th Division pursue them? What if they were ambushed by the enemy during the pursuit? !

Is it really necessary to allow the 20th Division to be completely annihilated by the enemy, and to cause the 16th Division to suffer heavy losses?

"Hey! I'll go and reply to his telegram right away." The Japanese telegraph operator quickly turned around and left.

"Mr. Nakajima, there is no chance to save you after all." Itakane Seishirō sighed. If the enemy really captured Nakajima Imaogo, he could still exchange him for supplies. There was no point in saying anything now.

Itakune Seishiro took out cigarettes, lit a few, smoked one himself, and stuck the remaining three into the soil of the flower pot next to him like incense, as if he was offering incense to Nakajima Imago in advance.

"We still have to tell the commander about this matter." Itagaki Seishirō glanced at the phone on the table. He picked it up and put it down again, hesitating in his heart.

He had just told the commander that Nakajima Imao still had a chance of survival, so it was a bit unreasonable for him to bring bad news to the commander now.

Finally he made the call, and after waiting for a while, the voice of the Japanese commander came from the phone.

"Itahune-kun, is there any news from Nakajima-kun?!"

"Yes, Commander. Just now, Brigadier General Fukada of the 16th Division sent a telegram. He said, said..." Itagaki Seishirō became hesitant when he spoke to the end.

"What did you say?!" The Japanese commander became a little anxious and guessed something in his heart.

"Mr. Nakajima died, killed by enemy artillery fire." Itakane Seishirō gritted his teeth and told the story.

"Well, that group of Northeastern Army seems to be really brutal." The Japanese commander nodded calmly.

"Commander, I think the reason why the enemy didn't target the 20th Division is probably because Nakajima-kun participated in the massacre and was one of the people who carried out the order.

That's why the enemy targeted him and killed him directly. If it was someone else, the enemy might have taken him as a prisoner." Itahene Seishirō expressed his guess.

"What?! Do you have any basis for what you said?!" Upon hearing this, the Japanese commander hurriedly asked.

"Commander, given the enemy's combat effectiveness, it would be easy to destroy the 20th Division. Moreover, the strategic significance of annihilating a division is greater than that of killing the commander of a Class A division.

Therefore, the enemy must have given up on annihilating the 20th Division because of Nakajima-kun's return to Nanjing!" Itahira Seishirō's words were well-reasoned and his analysis made sense.

After listening to this, the Japanese commander fell into deep thought for a while, because he also felt that what Itagaki Seishirō said was indeed correct.

Judging from the fact that the enemy was able to quickly annihilate a regiment around Nakajima Imao, if the other party really wanted to annihilate the 20th Division, they only needed to send someone to intercept and support them halfway, and the others could destroy the 20th Division.

Therefore, the enemy must have a great hatred for Nakajima-kun, so they gave up the opportunity to annihilate a division and went to kill Nakajima Imao instead. "Division Commander, I suggest that we don't send troops that participated in the massacre here in the future. It feels like it's easy to get into trouble." Itachi Seishirō said.

He was really feeling a little scared. The troops that had participated in the massacre were all Class A divisions. What would he do if they were killed by the enemy again?

"Mr. Banheng, you are a little timid. Isn't it just right to send them here?! Since the Northeast Army hates these troops so much, I will definitely transfer them here.

Let the enemy see that we are not afraid of them. Then, we might be able to set a trap for the enemy and make them come to us on their own. ” The Japanese commander said instead.

Doesn’t the Northeastern Army hate these troops? It even decided not to expand its strategy and take action against Nakajima Imazogo!

"Commander, I still think it's a bit too risky. How about, let's just forget it." Itahira Seishirō advised. He was really scared. A Class A division commander had already died. If a few more died, the country would probably go into an uproar.

"No need to say more, I'll see if I can transfer them here. If not, we'll talk about it later." The Japanese commander said that many of the divisions that participated in the massacre were busy with missions and might not have time to come and help.

"Hi!" Itahune Seishiro nodded.

"Speaking of which, Yamamoto's special forces will arrive in Taiyuan in a month. They are small in number, but well-equipped, and their combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of the soldiers of the Class A Division.
Only this unit can contend with the Northeast Army." The Japanese commander said slowly.

He believed that Yamamoto's special forces would not let him down. After all, they spent so much money to send more than 2,000 people to Germany for training. It would be embarrassing if they did not achieve some good results.

"Commander, how many people are there in this unit?!" Itakane Seishirō asked hurriedly. He had always heard the commander say how powerful this unit was, but now he could not see any sign of the unit.

"Two thousand five hundred people. There were only eighty people before, but now there are so many more. As long as we cooperate properly, we will definitely be able to annihilate the Northeast Army!" The Japanese commander did not hide it and said it directly.

"That's great!" Itagaki Seishirō was extremely excited. He had been worried that no one could stop this Northeastern Army, but now there was no problem.

"Commander, when the time comes, I will just be responsible for cooperating with their actions, right?!" asked Itahira Seishirō.

"Of course. The combat method of Yamamoto's Special Attack Battalion is different from that of conventional troops. Therefore, you have to cooperate with him, instead of asking them to cooperate with you. Do you understand?" said the Japanese commander.

What he said was very clear. He wanted Itakase Seishiro to listen to Yamamoto Ikki's command at that time instead of letting Itakase Seishiro command the other party.

"Commander, rest assured, I will cooperate with you in the battle!" Itahira Seishirō nodded quickly. He understood the commander's implication, but he didn't dare to say anything more.

After all, he is now a man who has made meritorious contributions while serving his sentence. As long as he can annihilate the Northeast Army, everything will be worth it. There is no problem in him following orders.

"Well, I'm glad you figured it out. In fact, I think the fighting style of this Northeastern Army is quite similar to that of Yamamoto's special attack team.

Their direct attack on the headquarters this time is almost like a decapitation operation, and Yamamoto's special forces will also fight in this direction later. "The Japanese commander said.

He felt that Yamamoto's special forces would definitely be able to carry out a decapitation operation against the Eighth Route Army as long as the troops cooperated well.

"Understood." Itahune Seishirō nodded and said, "Commander, are you sure that the Yamamoto Special Attack Team can defeat the Northeastern Army?!"

He was still a little uneasy. If Yamamoto's special attack team couldn't handle it, then the problem would be serious.

"Don't worry. Although they are outnumbered and cannot match the enemy, they are well-equipped and use advanced German-made submachine guns.
In terms of firepower alone, they can crush the enemy. Besides, Yamamoto's special attack team is not specialized in frontal battlefields. The enemy is overthinking if they want to deal with them. "The Japanese commander was very confident.

"Then I feel relieved." Itagaki Seishirō finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now. As for Nakajima-kun's body, cremate it as soon as possible after it's transported back to Taiyuan, and then hold a memorial service for him.

No matter what, Nakajima-kun died in battle, so he should be treated with the proper respect. Also, remember to cremate the soldiers who died in battle.
After all, they sacrificed themselves for the empire, and we cannot let them not be able to return home." The Japanese commander exhorted, and his tone was somewhat sad when he spoke the last part.

"Hi!" Itahune Seishiro nodded.

.........

When Brigade Commander Fukada sent someone to send a telegram, Matsushita Renkyu also received a report on casualties.

"Division Commander, we have lost a total of 2,857 people and 821 people seriously injured. We will have to wait for the arrival of other troops to report their casualties.

But I estimate that the casualties on their side will not be too small." The Japanese regiment commander came to Matsushita Renkyu and reported the matter.

In one direction, there were nearly 3,700 casualties, which means that in the three directions combined, there were at least 11,000 casualties. If the 4,000 people who died in the attack on Fucheng are added, the casualties would be more than 15,000!
There were more than 12,000 people who actually died in battle, and the probability that about 30% of the seriously injured soldiers died in battle was about the same.

It can be said that their 20th Division suffered a heavy blow!
"Damn it! That Northeastern Army is so abominable!" Matsushita Lianjiu gritted his teeth in anger.

"I never thought that you would suffer so many casualties. It's unbelievable. Come to think of it, I haven't seen the enemy's bodies. What's the matter?! Did they take the bodies away when they retreated?!" asked Brigade Commander Fukada.

He had just looked at the position of the Northeast Army and did not see any corpses, but he did find a lot of bloodstains on the ground.

"That should be it. There are still many corpses in the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army's position. They didn't have time to take the bodies away, so they were left on the position." Matsushita Renkyu nodded.

He estimated that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was in a hurry to retreat and did not want to be caught up, so they abandoned the bodies, but the Northeast Army and the Eighth Route Army took the bodies of their comrades with them.

"It seems that this Northeast Army is indeed powerful and treats its subordinates very well. It can also be seen from here that the enemy is very united, and they unconditionally execute the orders of their superiors." Brigade Commander Fukada said slowly.

Just the fact that he was able to take away the bodies of his fallen comrades was better than many others, of course, provided that there was not too much danger.

"Brigade Commander, Division Commander Banheng sent a telegram asking us to withdraw to Taiyuan immediately." The Japanese telegraph operator came over and handed a telegram to Brigade Commander Fukada. After he finished reading the telegram, he also gave it to Matsushita Renkyu to check.

(End of this chapter)