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

"Mr. Shen! It's you again! It's you causing trouble again!"

Gangcun overturned the teacup on the table, spilling tea all over the table.

"Why! Why!"

"Every time! Every single time it's you! My 'Three Alls Policy,' my sweeping plan, my ironclad encirclement—every single time! Every single time, you ruin it all!"

Gangcun's eyes were bloodshot, like a caged beast, as he raged in the room.

"Without you, the Eighth Route Army would have been driven to the brink of destruction long ago!"

"Those people in those remote mountain villages have no guns, no cannons, and can't even get enough to eat. What makes them think they can fight me? What makes them think they can?"

"You! Just you alone! Where did you come from? Who are you? Why! Why are you going against me!"

As Okamura spoke, he became more and more agitated, his voice growing shrill and shrill until it was almost a howl.

His face flushed red, veins bulged on his forehead, and his chest heaved violently.

"Why—!"

suddenly!

Gangcun suddenly stopped, clutching his chest with his right hand, the redness on his face fading abruptly, turning into a deathly ashen white.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only a gurgling sound came from his throat, like water churning in a pipe.

Then--

"puff--!"

A mouthful of dog blood spurted from his mouth.

Then he fell straight backward.

"Commander!"

Several staff officers rushed over at the same time. Some supported his arm, some supported his back, and some frantically reached for their handkerchiefs.

Their movements were so practiced it was heartbreaking!

Okamura leaned against the staff officer's chest, his face as white as paper, with blood on his lips.

But his eyes were still open.

There was anger and resentment in those eyes.

With his last ounce of strength, he grabbed the collar of a staff officer next to him and pulled him close to his mouth.

"Send...send the order..."

"35th Division...33rd Division...41st Division...Entire Army...Withdraw...Abandon the plan...Entire Army Withdraw..."

After saying that, she fainted.

"Commander! Commander!"

The staff officers panicked. Some called for the medic, some pinched his philtrum, and some carried him to the sofa.

Everything was so chaotic yet orderly, as if it had been rehearsed a thousand times.

Of course, some staff officers also went to send telegrams.

. . .

Taiyuan.

At the 33rd Division's garrison, gray-yellow uniforms covered the entire parade ground, and tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers stood in neat rows, their bayonets gleaming coldly in the morning light.

Division Commander Shozo Sakurai stood on a makeshift platform, his sword hanging at his waist, his white gloves spotless, and the military flag behind him fluttering in the wind.

His gaze swept from the left to the right of the queue, and then from the right to the left, before he nodded in satisfaction.

Because of the previous major battles in southeastern Shanxi, several divisions under the First Army suffered heavy losses and had just been replenished with a large number of new recruits.

Therefore, the 21st and 35th Divisions were completely wiped out, while the 33rd and 41st Divisions had just completed their assembly.

At this moment, Shozo Sakurai was making his final pep talk.

"Warriors of the Empire!"

"A few months ago, we suffered a setback in southeastern Shanxi. The 37th Division was annihilated, and the flag of the Empire was tarnished!"

"This is a disgrace! A disgrace unprecedented in the history of the Imperial Japanese Army since its founding in the Meiji era!"

"But today—!"

Sakurai Shozo raised his voice and swung his arm with a swift and decisive motion, like a slash.

"Today, we will repay this humiliation to the Chinese people, with interest!"

"The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere! This is His Majesty the Emperor's long-cherished wish and the mission of the Great Japanese Empire!"

"Those Chinese people don't understand order, they don't understand civilization, they don't understand what true benevolence is!"

"We will teach them with bayonets, we will teach them with artillery shells, we will teach them with the guns in your hands!"

"The Great Japanese Empire is the true center of the world!"

"Black card fraud, behead it!"

"Banzai!" An officer at the front of the line shouted, waving his fist.

"Banzai!" Hundreds of people shouted in unison.

"Banzai!" Thousands of people shouted in unison.

The sound surged like waves, one after another, exploding across the playground and making the microphones on the stage buzz.

The soldiers' faces were flushed red, their eyes gleaming, like a pack of drugged fighting dogs, baring their teeth and drooling, waiting to be released and torn apart.

Sakurai Shozo stood on the stage, listening to the continuous shouts of "Banzai," and his smile deepened.

Excellent, morale is high, that's exactly what he wanted.

"Set off!"

"Target—Southeast Shanxi!"

The queue started moving.

Tens of thousands of people turned around at the same time, their footsteps like a muffled thunderclap, exploding outwards in a unified, dull rhythm, like a machine that had been switched on, creaking and groaning as they walked out of the playground.

The military flag fluttered ahead, bayonets gleamed in the sunlight, and the column, like a gray-yellow python, surged out of the camp gate and crawled southeast along the official road.

Sakurai Shozo stood on the platform, watching the python slowly crawl out, and began to make plans in his mind.

The 21st and 35th Divisions should have set off long ago, and are probably already in southeastern Shanxi.

He was a step too late, but it's okay.

Southeast Shanxi is so big, and there's so much meat in it; surely he'll get a bite.

Besides, with the 21st and 35th Divisions charging ahead, he could follow up from behind, saving effort and ammunition.

As Shozo Sakurai was thinking, a communications officer ran up from the side of the platform, holding a telegram in his hand, his face as white as paper.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander! Urgent telegram from the Beiping Headquarters!"

Sakurai Shozo frowned, took the telegram, and glanced at the few lines of text.

In an instant, his expression changed from nonchalant to confused, from confused to shocked, and from shocked to fear!

The entire 21st Division was almost wiped out.

"stop--!"

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Everyone, come back! Come back!"

The team that had just set off stopped abruptly.

The soldiers at the front turned around, looking completely bewildered.

Those behind were still walking forward, bumping into the backs of the people in front, causing them to collide and form a heap.

The officers rode their horses back and forth along the roadside, shouting "Stop! Stop!" but no one knew why they had to stop.

Tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers were crowded at the entrance of the camp, unable to go in or retreat, and the situation was in complete chaos.

. . .

Meanwhile, the 41st Division on the other side was in a more respectable situation.

Division Commander Shimizu Kiku stood on the high platform, just about to give a mobilization speech.

He cleared his throat, preparing to launch into a passionate and inspiring speech.

Just then, a communications officer walked briskly to Shimizu Kiku with a telegram in his hand.

Shimizu Kiki frowned. How could he be so oblivious? Didn't he see that he was about to speak?

However, he still accepted the telegram.

However, after just one glance, he froze instantly.

He stood there on the high platform, head down, looking at the telegram, like a statue nailed to the spot.

The Japanese soldiers below were completely bewildered.

Hey! What are you doing?

Wasn't the plan to attack Jinan and seize its airplanes and cannons?

Go!

What are you standing there for?