You are ordered to support the War of Resistance against Japan; China enters Level 1 combat readines

The order for the victory banquet had just come down from the division headquarters when the Japanese troops in Jinan City instantly erupted like a powder keg that had been hit by a firecracker.

Soldiers poured out of the barracks, patting each other on the shoulder with excited smiles on their faces.

"Finally, I can have a proper meal!"

"The battle at Zhongtiao Mountain was exhilarating; it truly deserves celebration!"

"I heard they also have sake?"

"Absolutely!"

"Hahaha!"

All the fears about tanks and the worries about the Eighth Route Army were thrown to the winds at this moment.

Empires are invincible.

The "great victory" at Zhongtiao Mountain is the best proof.

A young recruit, his face still bearing traces of youth, licked his chapped lips, his eyes gleaming with barely suppressed excitement.

He crept up to the sergeant next to him, lowered his voice, and asked with a hint of flattery and eagerness, "Senior, I heard from the messenger that... at this victory celebration banquet, there will be... there will be pretty girls?"

The sergeant was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, patting the young soldier on the shoulder so hard he almost knocked him over.

"Hahaha! You little rascal, you haven't even grown your hair yet, and you're already thinking about this!"

The surrounding soldiers instantly swarmed around, joining in the laughter, which was filled with undisguised, nauseating lewdness and greed.

The sergeant cleared his throat and deliberately raised his voice: "The commander said—lots of pretty girls, please!"

"oh--!"

The cheers nearly blew the roof off the barracks.

"Enough for everyone! Hahaha!"

"Then we'll have to choose carefully!"

"Why be picky? As long as she's a pretty girl, that's fine!"

"I heard there are a few good ones in the east of the city. I saw them during my last patrol..."

"You've seen him before? What does he look like?"

"He's fair-skinned and clean-cut, but his eyes look a bit fierce."

"Fierce? What's with the fierceness? Let's see if she can still be fierce at the victory celebration!"

Another burst of lewd laughter followed.

An old Japanese soldier with a scar on his face strolled over, leaned against the doorframe, and smoked a cigarette. He looked at the group of excited young soldiers and sneered.

"You greenhorns, what do you know about beauties?"

The young soldiers quickly surrounded him: "Senior, could you please tell us?"

The old Japanese soldier with the scar exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes becoming somewhat unfocused, as if he were recalling something.

"then……"

He paused, the scar on his face contorting with a smile.

"Let me tell you..."

The surrounding recruits stared wide-eyed, holding their breath, their Adam's apples bobbing, their eyes practically overflowing with greed.

After recounting his heroic deeds from back then, the old Japanese soldier grinned, put his cigarette butt in his mouth, and patted the face of the nearest recruit:

"Don't worry, these pretty girls will give you all a good time at the celebration banquet!"

"Thank you, senior!"

"You're awesome, senior!"

The old Japanese soldier with the scar waved his hand and blew out another smoke ring.

"But I must warn you—those tanks of the Eighth Route Army can bite."

The atmosphere instantly turned cold.

But soon, the short, stocky sergeant shouted again, "What are you afraid of! There are trenches! There are suicide squads! No matter how powerful the Eighth Route Army's tanks are, they can't fly over here, can they?"

"Yes! They can't fly over here!"

"Even if it flies over, there will be daredevils from the suicide squad carrying explosives to blow it up!"

"Blow up its tracks, let's see how arrogant it can be then!"

The old Japanese soldier with the scar nodded, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, and stomped it out.

"That's right! We can win in Zhongtiao Mountain, and we can win in Jinan! Once we've wiped out all those Eighth Route Army troops in southeastern Shanxi, the whole of North China will be ours!"

"By then—"

He raised his head and looked towards the Taihang Mountains in the distance, his eyes gleaming with greed and cruelty.

"I have as many pretty girls as you want."

The soldiers erupted in cheers once again.

"Onboard!"

"Imperial Japanese Army, Banzai!"

"Three days later, we'll drink, eat meat, and sleep with pretty girls!"

"Hahaha!"

……

Meanwhile, in Beiping (Beijing).

Headquarters of the North China Area Army.

Okamura Yasuji sat behind his large desk, holding a telegram that had just been sent from Tokyo.

His face was expressionless, but the faint smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed his true feelings.

The telegram was sent directly from headquarters—a commendation order.

"In the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, nearly 100,000 enemy soldiers were killed or captured, completely turning the tide of the war in North China! General Okamura's command was skillful, and he is hereby commended."

Nearly 100,000 prisoners were killed!

Although the actual number is 77,000, rounding it up or down, saying 100,000 wouldn't be wrong.

Anyway, even the Chinese themselves can't keep accurate statistics, so whatever they report is whatever number they get.

Okamura put down the telegram, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a small sip.

Faced with this commendation order from headquarters, the previous shot seemed to have healed considerably.

That good-for-nothing Tada Shun failed to conquer Zhongtiao Mountain in thirteen attempts, but he took it in just twenty days.

Thirteen times, twenty days, that's the difference!

There was a gentle knock on the door, and several officers in brand-new uniforms walked in. These were all recently recruited senior officers.

As for the original ones, they are, of course, in the city's prison.

For Okamura, the loss of his headquarters was undoubtedly a great humiliation, but these newly promoted officers didn't care at all.

It's good that those people were arrested. If they weren't arrested, how would these newcomers have a chance to rise to the top?

"Commander!" A major general at the head of the group bowed deeply, his face beaming with smiles. "We have already seen the commendation order from headquarters! Congratulations! The great victory at Zhongtiao Mountain is entirely due to your brilliant command, Commander!"

Another colonel quickly chimed in, "That's right! Former Commander Tada attacked thirteen times and failed, but you, Commander, resolved it in just twenty days! The difference is obvious to everyone!"

"In my opinion, headquarters should have replaced Tada-kun a long time ago! He's been occupying that position for so long and accomplished nothing!"

"The commander is the one who can truly lead the North China Area Army to victory!"

Hearing these compliments, Okamura finally smiled.

It wasn't a formulaic smile, but a genuine, heartfelt one.

To be honest, he hadn't laughed this happily in a long time.

Gangcun put down his teacup and slowly said, "Gentlemen, you flatter me. The victory at Zhongtiao Mountain was the achievement of the entire army, not just mine."

"The commander is too modest!"

"Without the commander's strategic planning, how could we have achieved today's victory?"

Gangcun waved his hand, signaling them to stop. He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the street scene of Beiping outside.

The streets were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations.

And then there are the slogans hanging on the utility poles—"Victory Celebration at Zhongtiao Mountain," "The Imperial Army is Invincible," "Building the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere"...

Squads of Japanese soldiers marched past in orderly steps, their faces beaming with smug smiles.

There were also Japanese expatriates dressed in kimonos, gathered in twos and threes, chatting and laughing.

The entire city of Beiping was immersed in a festive atmosphere.

Okamura's smile deepened.

"Three days later," he said slowly, "a victory celebration will be held throughout the city."

"Hey!"