Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

Due to carelessness, the 104th Regiment lost over a hundred men before finally learning the devastating news: the Yamada Brigade headquarters had been attacked with poison gas.

"General and two thousand warriors perished, only a few dozen seriously wounded were saved, but they were all useless now."

The senior staff officer's somber voice sent a chill down the spine of Regiment Commander Kinji Satomi, who gasped and asked:

"Who did this?"

That question was a bit redundant; he just couldn't believe the truth.

In his mind, even if the Chinese had poison gas, they wouldn't use it; the Chinese value etiquette and a sense of shame, and would never do such a thing.

The senior staff officer was reluctant to admit it, but he still stated firmly:

"It was the Chinese who did it. They had previously seized some poison gas bombs from the 58th Regiment, and these were probably the ones they used."

Kinji Satomi finally found an outlet for his anger and cursed loudly:

"Damn it! The 58th Regiment, those useless bastards, managed to have special ammunition captured by the Chinese! They must be held responsible for the deaths of their general and brave soldiers!"

The death of a major general is a serious responsibility. Although the 104th Regiment was the first to arrive as reinforcements, they also bear some responsibility. Therefore, the first thing to think about is who threw the special ammunition at the Chinese.

If anyone is in charge, it's the 58th Regiment Commander, Kurahayasu Kimito, and then everyone else.

The senior staff officer understood immediately and echoed Nomi Kinji's words:

"Commander, this is the root of the problem. The general's death must be reported to the division headquarters as soon as possible. The entire 58th Regiment is to blame."

"Alright, quickly send a telegram to the division commander, gather evidence, and accuse the Chinese of violating international conventions by using poison gas!"

Kinji Satomi shifted all the blame to the 58th Infantry Regiment, conveniently accusing the guilty party first, completely forgetting that these poison gas bombs were seized from them, and that the Japanese had used them with unbridled arrogance in China, shamelessly abandoning all sense of decency.

The destruction of the 103rd Brigade headquarters made the night anything but peaceful, waking countless people from their sleep. Upon receiving the news, Ogisu Ritsuhei was furious:

"You bunch of trash, you bastards!"

"You have disgraced the Imperial Army and completely disgraced the 13th Division."

It's no wonder he was so furious; the death of a brigade commander with the actual rank of major general is a serious responsibility.

Although many generals had died before, most of them were posthumously awarded the rank of major general by their regimental commanders. There were very few who actually held the rank of major general. The 13th Division finally had one, and as the division commander, he could not shirk responsibility.

Chief of Staff Colonel Isaburo Tsukuda cautiously reminded him:

"General, the first thing we need to do now is to find out the source of the Chinese special ammunition. The 58th Regiment did lose a batch, but not many."

Previously, on the Rokuyo Highway, the Imperial Army's supply train was ambushed and a large amount of ammunition was destroyed, including thousands of special ammunition.

I suspect the Chinese only destroyed ordinary ammunition, leaving behind poison gas shells. If so, the Chinese should still have quite a few, posing a significant threat to the Imperial Army.

Furthermore, the responsibility for the loss of the poison gas shells should not be borne solely by the 13th Division.

Tsukuda Yusaburo was mostly shirking responsibility, trying to drag the military supply troops down with him. Ogisu Ritsuhei understood perfectly and said:

"This is inevitable. The Chinese had planned this all along. It has nothing to do with the 58th Regiment. The reason must be reported to His Highness the Prince."

Furthermore, we must report to His Highness the Prince the crimes committed by the Chinese. They brazenly used weapons prohibited by international conventions. If Zhao Yunwen is not punished, the Imperial Army will no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.

"Hai, the Yamada Brigade has suffered heavy losses, which has greatly affected morale. Should we continue attacking the Stone Gate?"

The previous plan suffered a major setback after only one day of implementation. Tsukuda Yuzaburo, fearing the responsibility, retreated and handed over the choice to Ogisu Rikihei.

After pondering for a moment, Ogisu Ritsuhei said:

"In war, a desperate army is bound to win. We cannot abandon the attack just because of Yamada-kun. Since the start of the war, too many brave warriors have sacrificed themselves for the holy war. Yamada-kun is not the first, nor will he be the last."

For the sake of Your Majesty's great imperial cause, everyone must be prepared to dedicate themselves to Your Majesty.

Considering that it would take time to restore morale, the offensive was suspended for half a day after dawn. The matter of the Yamada Brigade was temporarily suppressed, and it was said that the brigade headquarters had been subjected to a despicable sneak attack by the Chinese, but had been repelled.

Yamada-kun is wounded and is receiving emergency treatment. I will temporarily take direct command of the 103rd Brigade. The offensive will resume at 2 PM.

"Hai!"

As Tsukuda Isaburo strode away, Ogisu Ritsuhei's gaze turned somber and uncertain, and he muttered to himself:

"Zhao Yunwen, you've really impressed me. I admit you're strong, but the 13th Division won't give up easily. We'll see!"

Inside the 323rd Division headquarters, Zhao Yunwen sneezed several times without warning, and couldn't help but curse:

"Who's eyeing me now!"

"Commander, great news! The cavalry regiment has called—a great victory!"

Xie Polu arrived just in time, beaming with joy. Zhao Yunwen, upon hearing of the great victory, smiled and, after reading the telegram, exclaimed in praise:

"The cavalry regiment did a great job this time. This is retribution. Are we sure that old devil Yamada is dead?"

Xie Polu replied firmly:

"We have obtained accurate intelligence that more than 2,000 men from the 103rd Brigade, including Major General Yamada Teiji, have been killed, and no more than 10% of them survived."

Ogisu Ritsuhei has taken over command of the 103rd Brigade and is sharpening his knives; it seems he won't let this go easily.

Zhao Yunwen nodded and said:

"Report the victory to headquarters immediately, saying that our unit launched a surprise attack on Yamada's brigade headquarters and killed two thousand men, including Major General Yamada. Do not admit to using poison gas."

"Commander, what if the Japanese reveal this?"

"If they still won't admit it, they'll say we don't have the technology and conditions to produce poison gas bombs. That's just the Japanese making excuses for their defeat. They'll say that the shells hit the Japanese poison gas bomb storage site, causing a secondary explosion, making the Japanese look like they've fallen into their pants. Even if it's not shit, it's still shit."

Zhao Yunwen may use it, but he won't admit it, because those Westerners are masters of double standards;

The Japanese treated them like they didn't exist. If the Chinese used poison gas, they would impose international sanctions on China. He couldn't cause trouble for the country.

At the Fifth War Zone headquarters, after Bai Jiansheng received the victory report from the Tiger Army and combined it with the Japanese announcement, he guessed what was going on. However, he didn't take it seriously and sneered:

"The Japanese are crying wolf. They have used poison gas countless times in China. The Tiger Army doesn't have any poison gas. General Zhao's judgment is correct. It's highly likely that the Japanese poison gas was detonated."

We must celebrate loudly, kill Yamada, that executioner who owes China countless blood debts, and boost the morale of the army and the people.

Chief of Staff Xu Yanmou continued, saying:

"The Fujinshan direction has held out for eight days, killing nearly 10,000 Japanese soldiers, with the 323rd Division of the Tiger Army achieving the most brilliant results."

It must be said that the Tiger Legion's combat power is indeed strong; one division is equivalent to the 71st Army. With this Tiger Legion stationed in Xinyang City, the war zone has many more options to play.

Bai Jiansheng put away his smile and said:

"Brother Yanmou, do you have any thoughts?"

The two were classmates at the Baoding Military Academy, and Xu Yanmou was recommended to Li Delin by Bai Jiansheng. They knew each other well, cooperated well, and spoke casually.

"Brother Jiansheng, you really can't hide anything from you. Fujinshan is the gateway to the mall. Our original plan was to hold it for half a month, but now it seems we can definitely hold it for a month."

The key is to see Zhao Yunwen's attitude. We can't just let the horse run without feeding it.

I know General Zhao quite well. I had several interactions with him when we were in Pengcheng. He values ​​national righteousness, but he also needs to be willing to accept benefits.

They didn't value money, food, weapons, ammunition, or even fame and fortune much, but they were particularly fond of replenishing their ranks.

Why not transfer a few thousand veterans from the war zone to them? They could hold out for at least another half a month, or even a month.

What Bai Jiansheng has no shortage of right now is soldiers. As the acting commander of the war zone, he commands hundreds of thousands of troops, and a few thousand veterans are not a difficult task for him.

He made his decision after only a brief consideration:

"I gave him two thousand Northwest Army veterans, plus three thousand soldiers from Guangxi Province. These were all the soldiers I had prepared to replenish the Guangxi clique. They were all given to Zhao Yunwen."

I have only one request: stay for another month!

In addition, I gave Song Yingguo an order that he must defend Fujinshan and not retreat without my order.

"I'll supplement whatever lighting they need."

For the 71st Army, it was more of a pie in the sky. Anyway, the Military Commission would replenish it, and he could just give some new recruits to fill the ranks.

Song Yingguo is not qualified to be won over by him. In the entire Fifth War Zone, only Zhao Yunwen is qualified. Even Bai Jiansheng would have to give way to Zhao Yunwen's 40,000 elite troops.

Xu Yanmou praised:

"Brother Jiansheng, that's brilliant!"