"Bagaya Road... is full of rubbish... A dignified infantry regiment was unexpectedly attacked by the Chinese on its headquarters. Not only was the regiment leader killed, but even the regiment flag was snatched away.
This is simply a disgrace to the Japanese Empire...a disgrace..."
In the spacious office, more than a dozen generals and junior officers stood in two rows, lowering their heads without even daring to take a breath.
Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, commander of the First Army of the Japanese North China Front, stared at Major General Kasahara Koizumi, commander of the 4th independent mixed brigade standing in front of him, suppressing his anger and said: "Kasahara-kun, your third regiment is here
Such a big thing happened in Cangyun Ridge. Not only did the regiment commander die in battle, but even the regiment flag was snatched away by the Chinese. Don’t you, the brigade commander, have anything to say to me?"
Kasahara Koizumi lowered his head, stood upright, and said with a look of shame on his face: "Your Excellency, Commander, this matter is indeed my fault, please punish me!"
"Punishment?" Shinozuka Yoshio sneered: "How do you want me to punish you? Will you be dismissed from your post for investigation or sent to a military court? Or have you have a caesarean section?"
With every word he said, Kasahara Koizumi's head lowered a little.
Since the all-out war broke out between Japan and China in 1937, although the Battle of Songhu broke the Japanese army's wild talk of conquering China in three months, the Japanese have occupied most of China in these three years.
The Chinese army led by the Kuomintang could only retreat steadily. This period was also when the Japanese army's arrogance reached its peak.
But at this time, such a shameful scandal occurred, which can be said to have never been seen in modern times.
Their alliance flag was actually captured by the Chinese army. This was undoubtedly a slap in the face to the arrogant Japanese army.
When Kasahara Koizumi almost fainted after receiving the news, such a scandal happened to his regiment. As the brigade commander, he was definitely to blame. He did not dare to neglect and hurriedly reported to his immediate superior, Shinozuka Yoshi.
The man made a report.
Shinozuka Yoshio's lungs were about to explode when he heard that the regiment flag was taken away. This was the first time since the Meiji Restoration, and its serious nature was definitely much more serious than the entire regiment being wiped out.
This kind of thing cannot be concealed. Yoshio Shinozuka reported the news to the North China Front Army Headquarters immediately, and the North China Front Army reported it to the China Expedition Army Headquarters, and finally even alerted the Tokyo base camp.
Yes, you read that right, a small broken flag actually alarmed the Tokyo base camp.
The reason is very simple, because that flag has the emperor's autograph, and for the Japanese who have sanctified the emperor, the flag representing the emperor was actually seized by the Chinese people whom they despised. This also means that
Their dignity was trampled upon by the Chinese army.
Looking at Kasahara Koizumi, who was hanging his head in silence, Shinozuka Yoshio's hand holding the saber showed veins. At this time, he had the intention to kill.
Yoshio Shinozuka was originally the commander of the 10th Division. He led the 10th Division to participate in the Battle of Wuhan in 1938. Due to his outstanding military exploits, he was promoted to the commander of the First Army by the base camp in July 1939. He was mainly responsible for maintaining public security in Shanxi.
and annihilate the Kuomintang troops, the Eighth Route Army and various local armed forces in Shanxi.
Yoshio Shinozuka, who had just arrived in Shanxi not long ago, was originally ambitious and ready to show off his talents. However, before he could make any move, a scandal involving the confiscation of the alliance flag would occur, which almost made him angry.
However, he was not incompetent to be the commander of the First Army. He turned to ask a colonel standing next to him with his hands hanging down: "Yamamoto-kun, how did you do with the intelligence I asked you to collect?"
This middle-aged colonel is none other than Kazuki Yamamoto, the captain of the Yamato Soul Commando who is under the direct command of Yoshio Shinozuka.
He took a step forward and came out of the queue, bowed to Shinozuka Yoshio and said solemnly: "Your Excellency, Commander, according to the information we have collected, the Chinese who killed Sakata-kun and took away the regiment flag were not
The Chinese regular army is a local armed force. Strictly speaking, this armed force is just a local militia in China?"
"Nani?"
"ありえない...how is this possible?"
As soon as Yamamoto Kazuki's words came out, not only Shinozuka Yoshio, but also the officers next to him were all dumbfounded.
It was already a great shame and humiliation for the alliance flag to be taken away. Now they were told that the person who took away the alliance flag was just a Chinese local autonomous armed force that could not even be considered a miscellaneous brand.
"Yamamoto-kun, are your words true?" At this moment, Shinozuka Yoshio's eyes widened.
"Yes!"
Yamamoto Kazuki looked serious: "Your Excellency, Commander, this is the news from our agents lurking within the China Army. It is highly credible."
"How is this possible?" Kasahara Koizumi lost his voice, "I have asked, and the Chinese troops who raided the 3rd Regiment's headquarters all wore German-style steel helmets and German-style military uniforms, and their weapons were extremely sophisticated.
There were not only rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, and even a large number of mortars. Nobutetsu Sakata was accidentally killed when he was caught off guard. How could such an army be just a local militia?
To put it bluntly, if even the local self-government militia in China were equipped like this, the imperial army would have been driven into the sea long ago."
The surrounding officers also began to talk about it. Although Kasahara Koizumi's words were very unpleasant, they were not unreasonable.
If the militia groups facing China are equipped with a large number of submachine guns and mortars, I am afraid that what they have to consider now is not how to occupy China, but how to defend the homeland.
Yoshio Shinozuka also wondered: "Yamamoto-kun, is your information wrong? When did the local Chinese militia have such sophisticated equipment? How is this possible?"
Yamamoto Kazuki said helplessly: "Your Excellency, Commander, I didn't believe it at first, but then I checked twice and finally confirmed the authenticity of the information.
According to the intelligence, the leader of that militia group is named Gao Hongming, who comes from a well-known family in Liantai County. His father sent him to study abroad two years ago and returned to Liantai County only three months ago. After returning, he immediately organized
This militia group was established, which means that the formation time of this militia group was less than three months."
"Less than three months?"
Everyone exclaimed in exclamation, but then they felt a huge sense of shame.
A militia group that had been formed for less than three months actually shot and killed one of their captains and also seized the flag of the regiment. This made them, who had always been arrogant, extremely embarrassed.
Yoshio Shinozuka frowned and said: "Yamamoto-kun, why does Gao Hongming hate the imperial army so much? In your opinion, can this man be bribed or even persuaded to return the alliance flag to the empire?
As long as he is willing to return the alliance flag, no matter what conditions he proposes, they are all negotiable."