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

"Stop arguing!"

The deputy commander stubbed out his cigarette and pressed it repeatedly into the ashtray until not a single spark remained before letting go.

He looked up at the people in the room, all of whom were his old brothers who had followed him for many years. They had fought countless tough battles and overcome countless difficulties together, but he had never seen them like this before.

Exhaustion, weakness, and something else indescribable, heavier than exhaustion and deeper than weakness.

"Have you considered that what's causing headaches now isn't just the plague?"

Several people in the room were looking at him.

The deputy commander tapped his finger twice on the map.

Why did the Japanese release the poison at this time?

"They've captured southeastern Shanxi, taken Quancheng, and cut the Zhengtai Railway in half. They panicked and resorted to such underhanded tactics."

"But if they use it, they won't just use this one trick."

A CEO suddenly stood up, his chair tipped backward, and crashed to the ground with a thud.

His face changed, becoming even more grim than when he had heard about the plague.

"Vice President, do you mean the Japanese are going to take this opportunity to attack?"

The deputy commander-in-chief didn't speak, he just looked at the map.

Another boss also stood up, walked a few steps to the map, stared at the red and blue arrows for a long time, and then gasped.

"Strike while the iron is hot!"

"We're suffering from an epidemic here, our troops are losing manpower, and the people are filled with fear. We're at our weakest point. How could the Japanese devils let this opportunity pass us by?"

"and--"

The chief of staff replied, his voice tense: "They must have been preparing to release poison in southeastern Shanxi long ago. As soon as things get chaotic here, the troops over there should be ready to move."

The room fell silent again.

This silence was even heavier and more oppressive than before, as if a large stone was pressing down on everyone's chest.

The executives who were just thinking about how to save people now have to think about another problem: how to fight the Japanese.

It wasn't that they wanted to fight, it was that the Japanese wouldn't let them have a moment's peace.

On one side is the plague, and on the other is guns and cannons. Both sides are pressing in, and there is no way to escape either side.

The deputy commander stared at the dense markings on the map for a long time before slowly speaking:

"Those people couldn't have prepared for this poisoning in just a day or two. The fact that they could act simultaneously in more than a dozen counties shows that they had been planning it for quite some time."

"What were the Japanese troops doing during this time?"

The head of intelligence opened a notebook, glanced at it a few times, and his expression turned even uglier.

"In the eastern section of the Zhengtai Railway, the Japanese have been moving around very frequently in the last few days."

"At least one additional regiment has been added to Zhengding, and the garrison at Niangziguan has also been reassigned. A transport team also arrived a few days ago."

That's it.

The deputy commander's voice was very calm, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"They've been preparing for this for a long time! Spreading poison is the first step, troop mobilization is the second. Once things get chaotic here, they'll start making their move."

Everyone in the room was standing; no one sat down.

The kerosene lamp went out again, and this time no one bothered to turn the wick.

The faces of the people were not clearly visible in the dim light, but everyone's brows were furrowed.

The deputy commander rolled up the map and then put it down again.

He turned to look out the window, but it was still pitch black outside and he couldn't see anything.

But he knew that in that dark distance, the Japanese troops were assembling, shells were being loaded onto trucks, and bayonets were being sharpened.

"OK."

"Since they're coming, then let them come! We must fight the plague, and we must fight the Japanese devils!"

"We have to hold on to both ends! If we can hold on, we must; if we can't, we still have to!"

The vice president turned around and looked at the people in the room.

"Go back and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we'll have a tough battle to fight."

. . .

Let's go back a few days.

Beiping, the headquarters of the North China Army.

Gangcun hadn't slept for the past few days. He was leaning back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, and hadn't even taken off his military uniform.

There was a stack of telegrams on the table, all bad news. The remnants of the army in Quancheng had not yet been gathered up, and several strongholds along the Zhengtai Railway were harassed by small groups of Eighth Route Army troops. The transport team in Shijiazhuang was raided by guerrillas several times, and a lot of ammunition was lost.

But none of that matters now!

He's waiting for news!

Or rather, they're waiting for an opportunity!

There were three knocks on the door, neither too loud nor too soft.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Hachiro Ishii walked in.

He was still wearing that loose-fitting military uniform, his eyes squinting behind his round-framed glasses, and the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, as if he had just completed a successful surgery.

Behind him followed the square-faced major, who was carrying a silver metal briefcase with the latches already fastened.

Ishii stopped in front of the desk, gave a salute, and his movements were so standard that it seemed like something was missing.

He didn't speak, but just looked at Gangcun, the smile on his lips slowly widening.

Okamura stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly stood up from his chair.

"Did it work?"

"It's done!"

Ishii took out a neatly folded report from the inner pocket of his military uniform and handed it over with both hands.

"Simultaneous deployment across thirteen counties in southeastern Shanxi!"

"Plague strain, cholera strain, all completed as planned!"

"The first batch was released in the early morning of three days ago. Based on the incubation period, some people should have started to show symptoms yesterday."

"This morning, our informants reported that a large number of patients with fever have appeared in Zhicheng, Quancheng, and Hexian, and their symptoms are completely consistent with the diagnosis."

Okamura took the report, but didn't open it. His fingers trembled slightly as he gripped the edge of the paper.

"Are you sure it's the plague? And not some other disease?"

"Sure!"

Ishii adjusted his glasses, his tone as calm as if he were lecturing to students in a classroom.

"The symptoms are very typical: high fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, and coughing up blood."

"Our informants have seen with their own eyes that people in Zhicheng have already started vomiting blood. Judging from the speed of onset and symptoms, the activity of the strain is very good, even stronger than the batch we used in Central China."

He opened the report and pointed to a few lines of data: "The incubation period is about one to two days. If medication is not administered promptly after the onset of symptoms, the mortality rate is over 60%!"

"Those local Eighth Route Army guerrillas in southeastern Shanxi, let alone streptomycin, probably don't even have many vials of sulfonamides. This disease is incurable there!"

"Only half a month!"

"Within half a month, the entire southeastern Shanxi will become an epidemic area. At that time, the Eighth Route Army will not be able to hold their guns steady, let alone fight."

"By then, all those tanks and armored vehicles of the Eighth Route Army will be nothing but piles of unused scrap metal!"

When Okamura heard the words "scrap metal," he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Ishii-kun, you are a hero of the empire."

He stood up, walked around the desk, went to Ishii, patted him on the shoulder, and put some force on his hand when it landed.

Ishii bowed slightly, his tone still calm, but his posture straightened even more: "Hey! For the Great Japanese Empire, for His Majesty the Emperor!"