The silence of his subordinates was like gold. It made Umezu Mijiro even more depressed and angry at the same time. Umezu Mijiro looked coldly at his subordinates, who didn't speak to anyone, and said coldly: "What the Great Japanese Empire needs is officers who dare to take responsibility." As high-ranking officers of the Kwantung Army, you did not think of serving the country when the Kwantung Army encountered such a crisis, but kept silent. How can we be worthy of the emperor's grace and the people? ”

After that, he looked at the group of senior officers who were still silent, and it took a lot of effort to suppress the fire, Umezu Mijiro simply called him by name: "Nakayama-kun, you are the current director of the Kwantung Army, how should you deal with the current shape?" What do you think. ”

In fact, Umezu Mijiro asked his subordinates to speak by name, which is nothing. Moreover, there is nothing wrong with letting the chief operational staff officer, who is responsible for drawing up the operational plan, be the first to speak, according to normal thinking. But the point is that he is not the right person.

The first thing he named was that since he was transferred to the Kwantung Army, he has been on the cold bench for two months because his predecessor has been delayed in handing over power under the protection of this commander. At this time, it has only been a few days since he took over, and even Geno Nakayama, whose relationship has not been straightened out.

Hearing that Umezu Mijiro was the first to order his own general, Geno Nakayama, who was angry at the moment, was also simply. Since he had a certain prince as the backstage, he stood up directly and said: "Your Excellency, commander, although I have been transferred to the Kwantung Army for more than two months. But because of some reasons at the top, he has not been able to take charge of things. ”

"This battle plan was drawn up by the former Hattori Takushiro Nakasa, and he didn't know anything about it. So I'm sorry, Your Excellency, but I can't answer your question. As for how to save the situation, I think the commander should ask Hattori Nakasa. After all, Hattori Nakasano is a talent that the commander has always relied on, and his talent is generally inferior to us. ”

Later, in just a few years, he was promoted from the chief of operations staff of the Kwantung Army to the chief of staff of the lieutenant general of the 12th Army, but at this time it was just a seat of the officer of the middle army.

Since being transferred to the commander of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Mijiro, who has always been used to flying and domineering, has been so confronted for the first time. The iron-faced General Umezu Mijiro wanted to get angry, but suddenly remembered the rumors he had heard at the General Staff Headquarters about the relationship between the prince's chief of staff and this guy. Umezu Mijiro, who had suppressed his anger stiffly, sat down with a pale face and didn't say a word, just stared at the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Iimura.

Iimura, who was stared at by Umezu Mijiro, knew that this was His Excellency the Commander and let him speak, hesitated for a long time before saying, "Commander, we don't have enough troops now. With the exception of the 14th Division, the current Kwantung Army does not have any mobile forces. But the 14th Division cannot be used for the time being, this is the last reserve of the Kwantung Army. ”

"Once used, we will not have any maneuvering forces, at least for a short time. Unless we can risk the emptiness of the Manchurian-Soviet border and transfer other divisions. But we can't afford this consequence, commander. We cannot turn a blind eye to the hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops on the Manchu-Soviet border. ”

"I think it's time to let Saburo Katayama concentrate the troops of the Second Division that are still in Jiangbei and withdraw first. If the second division is lost, the Tokyo base camp will not be able to spare the Kwantung Army. As for the clean-up operation, I think it would be better to suspend it for the time being. At least in the current situation of insufficient troops, it is better to suspend it for the time being. ”

Speaking of this, Iimura looked at General Umezu Mijiro, who was even more iron-clad after listening to his words, and said, "Of course, the temporary termination does not mean that we will give up. Manchuria was the lifeblood of the empire and an important source of resources for the empire. Having lost Manchuria, the empire simply could not afford to continue the war. ”

"Maintaining the stability of Manchuria was the most important task entrusted to the Kwantung Army by the empire. The ancient emperor of China once said a very classic saying that it is called the side of the couch, which does not allow others to sleep soundly. Therefore, if the Kwantung Army wants to protect the stability of Manchuria and eliminate the hostile elements who dare to resist, this is what we must do. ”

"But the current situation is that we are underarmed, but it is true. So I'm building yì for the time being. Your Excellency, General, our current situation is very similar to the form of the encirclement and suppression of the *** base area by the government of China in the past, so I have consulted a lot of information in this regard in the past few days. That's why we might as well learn from what the government army did back then. ”

"We can continue to take siege measures against new divisions before they are brought in, or even for some time after they are transferred. It has now entered October, and according to the climate of North Manchuria, it will enter winter in half a month. The cold of North Manchuria, I think everyone here has a certain experience. ”

"In the future, we will impose the strictest blockade on the areas under their control, and not a grain of grain or a tael of cotton will be allowed to enter the areas under their control. In the areas bordering with it, it is necessary to strictly implement the measures of returning the households to the cantonments. Food, cloth, cotton, and other essential daily necessities should be rationed only according to minimum needs. ”

"The cold in the winter of North Manchurian can reach minus 40 degrees, there is no cotton clothing, food, and even no salt, I think how they can survive the winter? They are not stragglers of 1,800 men now, and they can eat so many of our troops, at least tens of thousands. Relying solely on the vast and sparsely populated counties they currently control, with a combined population of less than 200,000, they simply cannot afford the winter clothing and supplies of so many people. After a winter of lack of food and clothing, I see how many people and how much combat strength they can have left? ”

"Your Excellency, this anti-Manchurian anti-Japanese armed force is now fully fledged, and we want to completely annihilate them, and at least four divisions and regiments must be mobilized for the time being. And what we are most short of at the moment is troops. This unit is different from the previous anti-Manchu armed forces, and its combat effectiveness is so strong that it is rare for us to enter China. ”

"Even the so-called elite German armament troops of the government army in China are also slightly behind it. For such an army, we rely solely on force to suppress it, and even if we wipe out all of them, we will find it difficult for us to bear the price. Therefore, we want to adopt both military and political measures, and we can adopt the methods used by the government of China to deal with the so-called base areas in those years, blockade them, and weaken their combat capability to the greatest extent, so as to provide priority conditions for the final military settlement. ”

"On the one hand, we must adopt a strict blockade of the areas under its control and do our utmost to weaken its combat capability. At the same time, it is necessary to take advantage of the predicament it encounters to divide and disintegrate its troops. A final military solution to it will be made tomorrow spring, after its strength has been greatly weakened. ”

"As long as we blockade effectively, it doesn't matter if the Manchurians in the entire Xiajiang area freeze to death and starve to death. As long as we can weaken its combat capability, we can take the necessary means. At the same time, we also need to send some air forces to carry out strategic bombing in the areas under their control, especially to find out the opponent's arsenal and completely destroy them. ”

After saying that, Lieutenant General Iimura stood up and said to General Umezu Mijiro, who looked pensive after hearing about his own construction: "Your Excellency, your Excellency, several divisions on the battlefield of China will soon be transferred to Dalian for rest, and we can ask Tokyo to temporarily transfer these divisions to the Kwantung Army when necessary. ”

"In this operation, the Manchukuo army is basically unusable, and the matter of the elite Jing'an division it did must not appear again. Moreover, the Manchurians were greedy by nature, and it was difficult to ensure that they would not be bought, and they would secretly release supplies to the north. Therefore, the blockade mission should be entrusted to the Imperial army as much as possible. ”

"At the same time, it is necessary to adopt diplomatic means to take advantage of the war in Europe, and it is necessary to cut off its channels for obtaining foreign supplies through Soviet Russia. Soviet Russia was short-sighted, greedy, cunning, and extremely selfish. The Empire can take advantage of their shortcomings and find a way to get them to end their aid. ”

"As long as it cuts off its access to outside aid, it is accompanied by our tight blockade. If they don't get even a grain of salt, we will starve them to death north of the Songhua River even if they are hungry. After a cruel winter in North Manchuria, I wonder if they can still fight like this? ”

Iimura's words, listening to General Umezu Mijiro's continuous nodding, Iimura's voice fell, Umezu Mijiro pondered for a long time and said: "Iimura-kun, we must come up with a blockade plan in the shortest possible time, as well as the required troop allocation." As for the divisions that went to Dalian to rest, I will go to the Tokyo base camp to talk about it. Since it's a break, it's the same when you go there to rest. It is not bad to let these divisions and regiments who have been fighting in the interior of China enjoy the scenery of North Manchurian in winter. ”

Speaking of this, General Umezu Mijiro smiled coldly and said, "Although Iimura-kun's plan is suspected of stir-frying Sasaki-kun's cold rice, it's a good plan after all, isn't it?" But perhaps freezing them to death and starving to death would be more appropriate for our current situation. ”

As soon as Umezu Mijiro said this, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. Jiangbei is a hard stone, and whoever is hit by it is uncomfortable. is a hedgehog with piercing hands, and whoever is guilty of it will be unlucky, unlucky. I came to the Kwantung Army to gild, not to be a scapegoat.

No matter what kind of plan is proposed, as long as the battle is lost, someone will be unlucky. Although Geno Nakayama contradicted His Excellency the Commander and was extremely dissatisfied with Hattori Takushiro occupying his position, he did not think that he was better than Hattori Takushiro in terms of tactics.

Although Umezu Mijiro did not say it directly, the meaning of his words has already shown that he accepted Lieutenant General Iimura's thinking. And whether this plan can be finally approved still needs the nod of the Tokyo base camp. This comes and goes, maybe his own order has come down. You don't have to do this crater.

As for what Geno Nakayama thinks, Umezu Mijiro, who has no clairvoyant eyes, naturally doesn't know. What he knows now is that if the Tokyo base camp does not approve him, if it is not for the chief of staff of Iimura who trapped the other party's Jianyi, he can only think of other ways, even if he is hard-headed, he will have to draw troops from other places.

What kind of decision the Kwantung Army command will make, Major General Saburo Katayama does not know. But Major General Saburo Katayama knows that if he doesn't run, I'm afraid he really won't have a chance. After the troops on the front line of Wang Duzitun and the front line of Fuguitun lost contact, Major General Saburo of Katayama Province found that his situation was getting worse and worse. The opponent's main force is likely to be coming at him now.

For Major General Saburo Katayama, what made him even more troublesome was that even the shadow of his opponent had appeared behind him. That is to say, the troops that themselves and the 2nd Division have crossed the river with less than one brigade left, and they are in danger of being surrounded by the opponent.

Looking at the uncertain face of Major General Saburo Katayama after receiving the opponent's troops behind him, Hattori Takushiro forcibly suppressed the panic in his heart, but his anxious tone revealed his true thoughts: "Your Excellency, Major General, you must make a decision immediately. Otherwise, we will be surrounded by each other. ”

For the guy who was chattering in front of his eyes now, Katayama Saburo, who was now extremely disgusted with him, glanced at him and said, "Hattori Nakasa, as a major general officer of the Imperial Army, I know better than you what to do now." Now all you need to do is keep your mouth shut, I'm the Supreme Commander here. ”

Since Hattori Takushiro went to the Second Division to supervise the battle, the sudden anger of Saburo Katayama Province, who had always been quite kind to him, immediately startled Hattori Takushiro, and he closed his mouth at that time.

Looking at Hattori Takushiro, who finally closed his nasty mouth and honestly stood aside and didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore, Saburo Katayama turned his head and said to the captain of the first brigade of the 30th Wing, Yashiki Koji Nakasa, "What are the number of anti-Manchurian forces in China that appear behind us now?" ”

Yayin Koji hurriedly said: "Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, so far, there is now at least one company or so of the opposing cavalry behind us, and we have now found traces of a large number of troop movements on both flanks. The forces that launched a counterattack from the front, although the offensive was not violent, but it put on a posture of entangling us to the death. Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, if we do not retreat, once the opponents on both flanks come together, we will have to be trapped here. ”

Major General Saburo Katayama listened to Koji's report, hesitated for a long time and gritted his teeth and said, "How many troops do you have now that they are entangled?" ”

Yayin Koji hurriedly said: "Brigade commander, two squads of my first squadron and second squadron, as well as part of the machine gun squadron, are entangled by it. We now have only three or four squadrons left, as well as one squadron of the 29th Wing that remained in Jiangbei before, which is still relatively complete. The rest of the troops? ”

Major General Saburo Katayama stopped Koji Yashiki's move to continue, gritted his teeth and said, "Order the first squadron and all the remaining forces that are entangled by the opponent to block the opponent, and the rest of the troops to retreat immediately." All unportable materials and heavy weapons were destroyed on the spot. ”

"As for the wounded? Among them, the lightly wounded who were still able to move remained to participate in the blockade. The other seriously wounded who were unable to move were each given a grenade and asked them to be loyal to the emperor. The rest of the troops were ordered to be ready within fifteen minutes to disengage from the enemy. All depart within an hour. ”

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