In the building complex in the south of the city, there are now more than a dozen officers of junior rank and above, including Lieutenant General Kusaba Tatsumi, Lieutenant General Kenta Nakajima and the remaining three regiment captains.
Listening to the rumbling sound of artillery outside, looking at the gray-faced officers one by one, Caochang Tatsumi held the command knife tightly in his hand and closed his lips tightly. The 40,000 Japanese troops in Chengde City have now been lost, and the remaining one
Almost all the more than a thousand Japanese troops were concentrated in this building complex, and now it was the last moment.
Kusaba Tatsumi looked around at the officers around him and said slowly: "Gentlemen, now that the Chinese have surrounded us, everyone can tell us what to do."
Kenta Nakajima laughed miserably. His hands were stained with too much Chinese blood. If he fell into the hands of Chahar's army, life would definitely be worse than death.
"What else can we do? All the soldiers died in the battle, and now it's time for us to serve His Majesty the Emperor."
Kusaba Tatsumi looked at the other officers and asked, "Do you think so too?"
"I am willing to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor," the remaining ten officers shouted in unison.
A smile appeared on Kusaba Tatsumi's pale face: "You are worthy of being a warrior of His Majesty the Emperor. I believe His Majesty the Emperor can also see the loyalty and bravery of all the kings. Now everyone please bring out the military flags to say goodbye to the military flags."
The Japanese military flag is also known as the "Army Royal Flag". It evolved from the Japanese national flag, the Sun Flag. It has 16 blood-red rays of light and is also called the "Xuyue Flag". The Army flag has three sides
Decorated with purple tassels, the painted wooden flagpole said: "Correspondent, report to the headquarters that all Japanese officers led by Tatsumi Kusaba have committed suicide."
"The nicknamed seventh theater of operations successively recaptured Peiping and Rehe. Commander Su declared that if the Japanese invaders do not withdraw from China, he will fight until they do."
"Lt. Gen. Caochang Tatsumi, the nicknamed Chengde garrison commander, committed suicide."
The Seventh War Zone first drove the Japanese army out of Peiping, and then regained Rehe. For a time, it was in the limelight.
Nanjing Leader's Official Residence "Committee, now the people's anti-Japanese sentiment is rising. They all ask us to launch a counterattack as soon as possible to drive the Japanese out of China."
Chen Blessing hurried to the Chairman's office with the newspaper and said excitedly to Chairman Chiang who was discussing matters with He Yingqin, Chen Cheng, Yang Yongtai and others.
The chairman angrily scolded: "Hey Niang Xipi, what do they know? They all just shout counterattack, counterattack. Do we rely on a few slogans to counterattack? Or do we rely on Su Tong's Seventh War Zone?"
The Chairman's words made Chen Brai, who had originally arrived in a hurry, feel as if a basin of cold water had been poured from head to toe. Only then did he realize that the current Seventh War Zone had become a behemoth and could no longer be controlled by the central government.
What the Chairman was thinking about at this time was not the recovery of Rehe, but that Su Tong's territory had expanded a bit, making it more difficult to deal with him in the future.
At this time, Chen Cheng next to him said: "Chairman, the Japanese government has sent more than 400,000 troops to China, and the Japanese military strength in China has reached more than 800,000. The pressure on us is even greater.
"
"Yes, the pressure from the Japanese is all on us, but that Su Tong is eating ready-made food in the back. As soon as the 29th Army retreated from Peiping, he occupied Peiping with his back foot. Let him take all the good things.
Gone." He Yingqin on the side couldn't help complaining.
"That's enough, let's not talk about this anymore." The chairman waved his hand and said a little irritably: "Now the Japanese are making trouble in Shanghai again, let's see what we will do."
Yang Yongtai looked solemn: "Shanghai is our important tax center in China. The Japanese have been eyeing it for a long time. This time they come with bad intentions."
Chairman Chiang rubbed his temples tiredly before sighing: "The Japanese have great ambitions. Their goal is the whole of China, and Shanghai is just one of their goals."
Chen Cheng also said with a solemn face at this time: "Shanghai's finance and taxation are our foundation. We cannot give up lightly. Shanghai must be preserved."
"Well, it's time to have a good fight with the Japanese. Otherwise, half a month has passed since the declaration of war, but we still have done nothing. Wouldn't it mean that the people across the country would scold us for our inaction?" Regarding the matter in Shanghai, Yang Yongtai
Chen Cheng's attitude is the same.
"Okay, let's first order the Beijing-Shanghai garrison commander Zhang Zhizhong to lead the 87th and 88th divisions to Yangshupu in Shanghai and the north of Hongkou, and the air force will also gather from North China to Shanghai." Shanghai is the Chairman's pocketbook.
, the Chairman is reluctant to give up easily.
The defeat of the Japanese base camp in Peiping and the fall of Rehe shocked the entire Japanese court and everyone. The Japanese court heard the news and said: This is a shame for the entire Yamato nation. The 27th and 28th divisions
The annihilation of the entire army has pushed the entire Japanese Army to the forefront. The Japanese base camp, eager to wash away its shame, held an emergency meeting today to discuss policy issues towards China. The entire meeting was chaired by the Army Chief of Staff, Prince Kanin Giya Zaihito.
Prince Kanin Palace Zaihito looked very bad today. Due to the successive losses of Rehe and Peiping, Emperor Hirohito had summoned him twice in a row to question him about the war with China. At the same time, he also ordered him to restore the confidence of the domestic people as soon as possible.
and support.
Participating in this meeting were Army Vice Minister Yoshijiro Umezu, General Matsui Iwane, Army Minister Hisashi Terauchi, Prime Minister Sugiyama Gen and other important army officials.
The person who is particularly eye-catching here is Matsui Iwane. After the assassination of Nagata Tetsuzan, the military chief who was the soul of the ruling faction and known as Japan's number one brain, in 1935, Matsui was forced to
He resigned and retired from the military.
After retiring from the military, he went around China to lobby big bosses from all over the country to support his Greater Asia doctrine. Although he was unsuccessful, he also aroused the admiration of the Japanese base camp. After the July 7th Incident, he was re-recruited into the army and served as the Shanghai Dispatch Army.
commander.
Prince Xianyuan Gong Zairen was not in the mood to be polite to everyone, and went straight to the topic: "Gentlemen, Peking and Rehe have been lost one after another, and the government and the public are shocked. I wonder if you have any good ideas to restore the confidence of the people."
Everyone had carefully considered this issue before the meeting. Umezu Yoshijiro said without hesitation: "It is very simple. Occupy Shanghai, destroy the morale of China's national government, and then send a large army to attack China and force its government to surrender."
In Umezu Yoshijiro's view, the Battle of Chengde was a major failure. The Kwantung Army had a strong force but did not dare to attack. It just dispatched a division and a chariot brigade as a matter of course. It was also used by others.
The plane was blown up and the ground was full of casualties. It was really embarrassing to be thrown into my grandma's house. But now that the good opportunity has been lost, there is nothing I can do.
Matsui Iwane, however, has great confidence in the upcoming war in Shanghai: "Now that the Third and Eleventh Divisions have sailed to Shanghai, I believe it will be of great help to the upcoming war in Shanghai."
Prime Minister Sugiyama Gen asked: "The war in Shanghai is related to whether the empire can regain its prestige. Matsui-kun, are you sure?"
Matsui Iwane thought for a while and replied: "With the current strength of the China Army in Shanghai, two divisions are enough to defeat them, but it is difficult to guarantee that the Nanjing Army will not send additional reinforcements, so the empire must make corresponding preparations.
."
Prince Xianyuan Gong Zairen on the side also said: "Well, you can rest assured about this. As long as Shanghai can be conquered, the base camp's support for you will not change."
"Hey, thank you for your concern. Matsui will fight to Nanjing no matter what," Matsui Iwane vowed.