Not long after Itagaki sent the telegram in a hurry, to his surprise, the commander of the North China Front, General Terauchi Shouichi, was negotiating with the base camp on how to deal with him.

According to the rules of the army, the division commander is directly subordinate to His Majesty the Emperor, and the commander of the front army has no right to dismiss him. The reason why Itagaki dared to disobey Terauchi Shouichi's military order so much was because of this rule.

When General Terauchi received the report that the Tianjin airport had been blown up, he already knew the bad news that the entire 2nd Brigade and the 15th Brigade of the Chahar Dispatch Corps had been shattered.

I didn't sleep all night, and I was waiting for such news, and the mood of General Shouyi in the temple was like the weather in Beiping, wow cool and cool.

In front of his eyes, the corpses of Imperial soldiers and shattered airplanes were all in front of him.

The chief of staff, Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo, remained silent, silently staring at the commander with sunken eyes, red eyes, and wrinkled face.

Naosaburo Okabe beckoned, called the guards, and served a cup of hot tea to General Shouichi Terauchi.

The movement of the guards woke Shouichi Terauchi, who smiled wryly, took a sip of tea, and asked if there was a telegram from Seishiro Itagaki.

Naosaburo Okabe said humbly and shook his head.

Terauchi Shouichi took a sip of his teacup and hummed "Jun's Generation" in a low voice.

Okabe Naosaburo knew that at this moment, His Excellency the Commander was already angry and wanted to eat people. Such a big loss was caused by the arrogant guy Seishiro Itagaki , if it wasn't for his unclear judgment, where would the elite 21st Brigade and Field Artillery Wing be buried in the ambush circle of the Shina army? If it weren't for his eagerness for revenge, blind impulsiveness, and falling for the strategy of the Chinese army to lure the enemy, the 20th Division and the 109th Division would not have moved south away from Taiyuan, allowing the Chinese army to take the opportunity to capture Taiyuan. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't listen to the commander's orders, changed the strategic direction without authorization, and attacked Niangzi Pass with a heavy army group, the second brigade mixed with Reading Power and the 15th Brigade mixed with Reading Power would not have stood out alone, allowing the Chinese army to break through. In particular, this damn Itagaki actually allowed the Taiyuan airfield to fall intact into the hands of the Chinese people, causing the Chinese to use the bombers of the Great Imperial Empire to frequently attack the airport, which not only wiped out the temporary aviation regiment of the North China Front, but also caused the newly transferred Kwantung Army aviation unit to suffer heavy losses. Damn Itagaki!

The most unforgivable thing is that Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki, who is burdened with heavy responsibility, has actually entered a state of radio silence since the day before yesterday, leading the army of two divisions and regiments to disappear, and has sat back and watched as the entire army of Reading Power was mixed into the Second Brigade and the Reading Power was mixed into the 15th Brigade.

Seeing that Shouichi Terauchi was languishing and had been crushed by the gloomy clouds, Lieutenant General Naosaburo Okabe stepped forward and said softly: "Commander, this is all the fault of this arrogant guy Seishiro Itagaki. We should immediately report to the base camp and request that Seishiro Itagaki be escorted back to Japan so that he can apologize to the Emperor! ”

In fact, General Terauchi Shouichi doesn't want to mention Itagaki Seishiro's name at all now, and he was tired of scolding Baga all night, and even greeted the female surname of the eighth generation of Itagaki Seishiro's ancestor. In his eyes, Itagaki was already a dead man. If he didn't have the power to shoot Itagaki, I'm afraid he would have personally led the gendarmes to shoot Itagaki to death!

However, Okabe Naosaburo's words reminded General Shouichi Terauchi that for such a big loss, it is necessary to apologize, and it is also necessary for someone to be responsible! Including the 21st Brigade, the main force of the Fifth Division, the entire four brigades and regiments were all shattered in just a few days. If you don't take the initiative to apologize, maybe the guys in the base camp will put all the blame for the incompetent Itagaki on their heads!

That's right, it's the incompetent Itagaki that makes tens of thousands of imperial warriors wiped out!

This tone must be lowered, and General Terauchi Shouichi's mind is lively, and Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo and the two began to consider the apology telegram to the base camp.

Okabe Naosaburo can be the chief of staff of the North China Front, so he naturally has a strategic mind. Shouichi Terauchi said his thoughts in a few words, and Naosaburo Okabe added slightly, and a gorgeous outline of a telegram of apology came out.

Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo did not want to trouble the staff officers, so he personally grabbed the knife and vividly wrote about the various arrogant acts of disobeying orders and acting recklessly after Lieutenant General Itagaki Seishiro led the Fifth Division to participate in the war, especially Lieutenant General Itagaki Seishiro's unauthorized change of strategic direction, which led to the main force of the Fifth Division and the entire army of the Chahar Dispatch Corps being shattered, and then the Taiyuan Airport completely fell into the hands of the Chinese army, and the Chinese army was allowed to sneak attack Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Beiping, and Tianjin airfields with bombers of the Imperial Army, causing all the temporary aviation regiments of the Front Army to be shattered. The aviation units of the Kwantung Army, which came to support, suffered heavy losses. The conclusion was that the incompetent Itagaki dragged down the North China Front and brought His Majesty the Emperor to shame. I implore His Majesty the Emperor to hold Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki accountable, deprive him of his military rank and title, and make him return to Japan to apologize!

When the headquarters received the telegram, they were shaken and immediately appealed to the emperor and asked him to summon him urgently.

Emperor Hirohito was 36 years old at this time and took control of the absolute leadership of the army during the "226" incident. He has been taught by Nogi Noshinori since he was a child, and he has great appreciation for Yama County Youpeng and advocates martial arts. Coupled with the series of victories of the Yue army, he was stimulated and gave him the illusion that the imperial army was invincible in the world. In his mind, as long as he studied and studied the tea ceremony in the palace every day, the generals of the empire would dedicate one victory to him after another, so as soon as he heard the ministers' report that the main force of the Fifth Division, the 21st Brigade, the Cavalry Wing, the Field Artillery Wing, the Engineer Wing, the Baggage Wing, and the Chahar Dispatch Corps were mixed into the 1st, 2nd, and 15th Brigades and the Provisional Aviation Regiment of the North China Front, he was furious, and with a "snap", he slapped his palm on the imperial case, and snapped two fingers.

Anger is anger, and at this time, Hirohito still wants to maintain the mystery and dignity of the "god" in front of the ministers, so he just asked the court medical officer to bandage it briefly, endure the pain, and listen to several ministers continue to report the content of Terauchi Shouichi's telegram.

After listening, Emperor Hirohito faintly asked why the situation in North China was so grim? The elite 21st Brigade has just broken jade, why did the Chahar Dispatch Corps, which is composed of the basic cadres of the Kwantung Army and the North China Garrison Army, follow the collective jade shattering? What did the airport defense force do, and why did the people of China succeed in repeated sneak attacks?

The more Hirohito spoke, the colder his voice became, and he asked the Minister of War, how did General Terauchi Shouichi command? Where is Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki now? Why didn't Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki send a telegram of apology? Major General Toshiji Miura, Major General Yukio Kasahara, Major General Sakai Hoji, Major General Seiichiro Shinohara, and Major General Honda Masasai were all broken, and Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi and Major General Toru Iga also apologized by disembowelment, so many famous generals of the imperial army all proved their loyalty to the Daishomoto Empire with their own lives, why didn't Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki who committed unforgivable mistakes apologize? Isn't his skin a little too thick? General Terauchi Shouichi is the pillar of the imperial army and the pillar of the country, and he actually listened to the surname of Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki to do it, is it inconsistent with his status as an imperial earl and army general?

The more Emperor Hirohito spoke, the more anxious he became, and his cacophony echoed in the main hall. In a panic, several ministers all knelt on the ground and kowtowed "knock, knock, knock".

Seeing that the ministers kowtowed like pounding garlic, Hirohito took a breath, stabilized his mind, and said coldly: "The question is not what we did, but how the whole world reacted to what we did. The collective jade fragmentation of the 21 Brigade and the Chahar Dispatch Corps, as well as the entire jade fragmentation of the Provisional Aviation Regiment of the North China Front, will make all countries in the world doubt the combat effectiveness of the imperial army, which is a very bad thing. After saying that, Emperor Hirohito asked the ministers to go back and review the reason.

As for the ministers' proposal for large-scale conscription, and then to send more troops and more air forces to North China, Emperor Hirohito readily agreed. Because in his consciousness, the emperor's people should sacrifice their lives for the conquest of China, and what is the death of some people! The key is to quickly conquer the resistance forces in China and remedy the adverse effects.

After dealing with these matters, Emperor Hirohito, under the service of his chamberlain, went back to the palace to find Empress Yoshiko to vent his inner resentment.

After the emperor summoned him, while the base camp was busy expanding the army and deploying troops, he vented his anger on the hapless General Terauchi Shouichi and the incompetent Lieutenant General Itagaki Seishiro, and sent a telegram with unprecedented fierce rhetoric, questioning whether General Terauchi Shouichi had the ability to stabilize the war situation in North China, and if he did not, he could return to China to apologize to the emperor, and the base camp would send another general to North China to take up the town.

Regarding Seishiro Itagaki, the telegram from the base camp was simpler, just relaying the emperor's words to ask Itagaki if his cheekiness was too thick, and then he asked General Toshiichi Terauchi and the incompetent Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki if he should learn from the courage of Major General Toshiji Miura, Major General Yukio Kasahara, Major General Sakai Hoji, Major General Seiichiro Shinohara, Major General Masato Honda, Lieutenant General Tokutoshi Tokugawa, and Major General Toru Iga.

After receiving the telegram from the base camp, General Terauchi Shouichi hurriedly pulled off the buttons of his military uniform. He knew that he was unlucky to be home this time! If you don't deal with it well, I'm afraid that a catastrophe is just around the corner. Immediately, the commander of the First Army, Lieutenant General Xiangyue Qingsi, stopped the attack on Niangzi Pass, contracted the troops, strengthened the defensive line, and strictly prevented Liu Yimin's troops from taking advantage of the situation to attack Hebei. On the one hand, he drafted a telegram again, imploring the base camp to increase troops in North China and support the North China Front Army in recovering Taiyuan. In particular, it is necessary to send additional aviation regiments to replenish fuel and ammunition.

As soon as the telegram was sent, the telegram from Seishiro Itagaki reporting the capture of Linfen arrived.

In their view, the main forces of the North China Front had already been used for operations on the Jinpu Line and the Pinghan Line, and the airfields in various places had been blown up, so they could not provide troop support to the 20th Division and the 109th Division, nor could they provide material support, and they could not even guarantee air cover. Itagaki Seishiro's move was undoubtedly to send the 20th Division and the 109th Division into the pockets of the Shina troops. If these two divisions are broken again, not to mention the incompetent Itagaki, even Terauchi Shouichi will have to apologize for his sins.

If it was placed in front of the 21st Brigade Regiment's jade shattering, General Terauchi Shouichi would naturally be full of confidence in Itagaki's plan, but now that the Taiyuan City is so strong, it has been quickly breached, and the Temporary Aviation Regiment has all broken jade, Terauchi Shouichi really doesn't know what other powerful tricks the Chinese army has not used, so naturally he can't let Itagaki go on his own anymore, and he must be killed immediately!

General Terauchi Shoichi learned well this time, and discussed with Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo, chief of staff, and directly sent a telegram to Lieutenant General Kawagishi Fumizaburo and Lieutenant General Yamaoka Shigetsu, announcing that Seishiro Itagaki would be relieved of command of the 20th Division and the 109th Division, and ordering Lieutenant General Kawagishi Bunzaburo to command the 20th Division and the 109th Division, stop the plan to advance southward, form a close formation, and immediately advance in the direction of Handan, withdraw to Hebei, and return to the First Army.

Terauchi Shouichi thought that Seishiro Itagaki was full of wit, unruly, and old, and was afraid that Kawagishi Fumizaburo and Yamaoka Shigehou would be bewitched by him and disobey the order, so he sent a report again, informing them of the news that all the jade was broken by the 2nd and 15th Brigades and the Provisional Aviation Regiment of the North China Front, and forwarded to them the telegram sent by the base camp asking the incompetent Itagaki to apologize, and ordered the two to supervise the incompetent Itagaki to be disemboweled on the spot in Linfen and bring back the ashes.

It was not until they received a telegram from Lieutenant General Kawagishi Fumizaburo and Lieutenant General Shigehou Yamaoka that they resolutely carried out the commander's order that Terauchi Shouichi and Okabe Naosaburo relented and sent a telegram to Seishiro Itagaki relieving him of his command and ordering him to apologize for his sins. At the end of the telegram, General Terauchi Shouichi said hypocritically: "Itagaki Jun is loyal and accumulated, and he has made great achievements in war, and he has made the first Manchurian Incident and attacked Taiyuan. However, the 21st Brigade and the Chahar Corps sent to death could not forgive Itagaki-kun's mistakes, so he had to ask him to apologize to the emperor. All men are mortal? Itagaki-kun took the lead and could be regarded as contributing to the great cause of conquering China. ”

After sending the telegram, Terauchi Shouichi felt a little more relaxed at this time, and ordered the Handan garrison to prepare to receive the 20th Division and the 109th Division, and ordered the engineering units to speed up and repair the Beiping and Shijiazhuang airports as soon as possible, so as to prepare for the arrival of the newly sent aviation regiments in China.

After doing all this, Terauchi Shouichi felt too tired and needed to sleep, so he asked Okabe Naosaburo to stay at the headquarters, maintain contact with Lieutenant General Kawagishi Bunzaburo, and supervise the execution of the order. Then I put my arms around a 16-year-old girl who had just come from Kyoto and went to rest.

After Itagaki Seishiro asked Nishimura Riwen Daisa to send a telegram to General Terauchi Shouichi, he seized the time to eat some food, and regardless of fatigue, he urged the 20th Division to hurry up its actions and quickly advance to Yuncheng to attack, capture the main force of the Shina Sho Axe Army, and resolutely annihilate it. He also kept ordering the 109th Division to launch as soon as possible, search the remnants of the Chinese Army, and raise heavy supplies.

Itagaki Seishiro could never have imagined that His Majesty the Emperor, whom he was loyal to wholeheartedly, had completely abandoned him at this time and asked him to apologize. He didn't expect that what he thought was an unusually clever strategy would be scorned by His Excellency General Shouichi Terauchi. Moreover, General Terauchi Shouichi definitely wanted him to die, because if he did not commit suicide by disembowelment, Terauchi Shouichi would have to apologize for his sins.

Panicked footsteps sounded outside the door, and Itagaki Seishiro was furious, pulled the door open, and roared loudly: "On the occasion of the big war, what kind of system is it to be so flustered?" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Nishimura Levin running over crying and handed him a telegram from General Shouichi Terauchi.

After reading the telegram, Seishiro Itagaki turned white on his face, sat down on the chair, and didn't even hear Nishimura Riwin Daisa's call for "division commander, division commander".

Not long after, Lieutenant General Kawagishi Bunzaburo and Lieutenant General Shigetsu Yamaoka walked into the Itagaki headquarters with their guards. Itagaki Seishiro woke up from a dream and immediately understood that these two must have been ordered to come and supervise him to apologize.

To the surprise of Kawagishi Bunzaburo and Yamaoka Shigehou, Seishiro Itagaki did not hesitate, but said coldly: "This is a means for General Terauchi Shouichi to shirk responsibility and avoid punishment." There is nothing to die, but to say that I am an incompetent Itagaki will not blind me to death! I would like to send a telegram to His Majesty the Emperor to report on my situation. If His Majesty the Emperor still lets me die, I don't have a second word. Please, two! ”

After all, they are all colleagues, and Itagaki's ability and military exploits are also obvious to all, and Kawagishi Bunzaburo and Yamaoka Shigehou already have a feeling of sadness in their hearts at this time, and they naturally have no opinion on Itagaki proposing to send a telegram to His Majesty the Emperor.

Itagaki calmed down at this time, knowing that this was his last chance to save his life, so he sat down at his desk and wrote down all the decisions made when he launched the Manchurian Incident, and also wrote down how he raided and captured Taiyuan, and even wrote down the importance and feasible surnames of the capture of Linfen and Yuncheng.

At the end of the telegram, Itagaki wrote in an affectionate tone: "In the work of conquering China, the minister made great efforts, carefully planned, fearless of hardships and dangers, and had the courage to do things. However, after the capture of Taiyuan, the main force of the political axe army of China has been completely defeated, and a teacher of the Shaanxi Anti-Japanese Special Zone suddenly appeared, which is a different force from the political axe army of China, well-armed and well-trained, and its commander Liu Yimin is even more unpredictable, resulting in the defeat of our army. The minister originally intended to take Yuncheng, control the south of Jin, go east and join forces with the main force of the first army, go west can threaten the rear of China, go south can flank Henan, once our army reinforcements are great, you can wave the army to the north, annihilate Liu Yiminjiao, and recover the lost land in Shanxi. I don't want Your Majesty to order the ministers to apologize for their sins, the sin of the ministers is inevitable, but the loyalty is stubborn, there is a little hard work, and the phrase 'incompetent Itagaki', please take it back. Otherwise, the minister will not be blind! ”

This telegram was written for an hour and a half, and the waiting Kawagishi Bunzaburo and Yamaoka Shigehou were a little anxious, and finally waited for Itagaki to finish writing, Kawagishi Bunzaburo took the telegram draft, and asked Nishimura Riwin to take it and send it immediately, and he and Yamaoka Shigemu sat with Itagaki and waited for the emperor to call back.

(To be continued)