Japanese Chief of Staff Kanin Miyazaihito met with Army Minister Hideki Tojo in the study.
After listening to Tojo Hideki's statement, Zai Ren frowned and said: "You mean to say that Okamura Neiji is no longer suitable to serve as the commander of the North China Front?"
"Hai." Tojo Hideki suddenly lowered his head and said, "Okamura-kun is better at policing and fighting, while Shunroku Hata is obviously better at directing frontal battles. Now, North China is facing the medium-sized Taihang Battle, and Central China is facing
However, there is an urgent need to carry out a large-scale public security campaign, so I thought it would be best for the two of them to swap positions so that each can show its strengths."
"Yo Xi." Zai Ren nodded happily, "Then adjust it according to your wishes."
"Hai." Tojo Hideki suddenly lowered his head again and said flatteringly, "Your Highness is wise!"
Tumen Fortress, Baodu Mountain Main Fortress.
In the combat hall on the second underground floor, Yue Weihan had just shaken hands with Li Qinglong and other officers and exchanged greetings when the phone in the corner of the hall rang rapidly. A combat staff member stepped forward and picked up the phone. After hearing a few words, the phone clicked.
Standing at attention, he immediately turned back to Yue Weihan and said: "General seat, please call me!"
"Chief of Staff?" Yue Weihan's heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly stepped forward to take the phone.
"Maintaining seat?" Liu Yi's familiar and anxious voice came from the microphone.
"I am Yue Weihan." Yue Weihan said solemnly, "Chief of Staff, what happened?"
On the microphone, Liu Yi said in a slightly anxious voice: "Chief, the little devil airdropped paratroopers into the Cangyan Mountain area!"
"What did you say? Airdrop paratroopers!?" Yue Weihan was shocked when he heard this and couldn't believe his ears.
Historically, the Japanese army did use airborne troops on a large scale when they carried out the strategic southward sweep of Southeast Asia. Yue Weihan knew this. However, at that time, the Japanese army's airborne attacks only hit targets in plain terrain or large cities. As for mountainous areas,
I'm afraid even the US and German troops don't have such qualities when it comes to airdropping paratroopers, right?
With the training level of the Japanese paratroopers, it would be good if only half of them could survive airborne landings in mountainous areas!
Therefore, Yue Weihan never thought that the Japanese army would carry out airdrops in the Taihang Mountains. This is crazy.
This old devil, Neji Okamura, seems to be really crazy. This is obviously a forced airdrop at any cost. A conspiracy. This must be a conspiracy. This old devil is storming the Domon Fortress at any cost, and he is also forcing paratroopers to be dropped in the mountains at any cost.
, this must be to cover up some ulterior conspiracy!
These thoughts flashed through Yue Weihan's mind, and he asked Liu Yi: "Chief of Staff, how is the situation over there now? The major factories in the industrial zone have not been damaged, right? Has the 181st Division controlled the situation?"
"Don't worry, the chief, the 181st Division has the situation under control." Liu Yi said in a deep voice, "Although it was unexpected that the little devils suddenly airborne in the Cangyan Mountain area, they still needed some firepower after all. More than a thousand people airborne, but half of them
He fell to death or was injured, and the remaining five hundred or so Japanese soldiers were also killed, eh..."
Just as he was talking, Liu Yi suddenly let out a startled cry, and Yue Weihan also heard the shrill alarm sound from the microphone.
At that moment, Yue Weihan's heart sank and he asked: "Chief of Staff, what happened? Why did the air defense siren sound again?"
"The little devil's paratroopers have carried out a second airborne landing in the Cangyan Mountain area!" Liu Yi cursed on the phone, "These idiots are so anxious to return to Dongyang Island to reincarnate themselves. Don't worry, Commander, the 181st Division has already
The deployment has been adjusted, and the general field hospital, general logistics warehouse, arsenal, and major factories have all been closely protected."
"Chief of Staff, you must also pay attention to safety!" Yue Weihan said, "Once the dog-eating airborne troops fall from the sky, they will definitely be scattered everywhere. Let Ma Zhankui's operations department mobilize all its forces and never let a small
If the devils slip through the net, we must eliminate them all to avoid threatening the lives and property of the people in the mountainous areas."
"Yes." Liu Yi on the other end of the phone agreed and immediately hung up the phone.
Li Qinglong came forward and asked with concern: "Maintain, what happened?"
"It's okay." Yue Weihan hung up the phone and said calmly, "Qinglong, tell me your opinion."
"I think that old devil Okamura Neji must be deliberately hiding something." Li Qinglong looked at Yue Weihan with one eye, and said in a very determined tone, "It has not been a day since our 39th Army Group has been dealing with this old devil.
It's been two days, when have you ever seen him be so stupid and suffer a loss?"
Yue Weihan nodded and said thoughtfully: "Then what do you think Okamura Neji is deliberately hiding?"
"It's hard to say." Li Qinglong said, "But after all, it is an action that is detrimental to our Taihang base area."
"Chief, Brigade, do you think this old Japs Okamura will let the little Japs dig tunnels?" Yang Jiamao, chief of staff of the Tumen Fortress Security Brigade next to him, suddenly said, "Then carry out engineering troops on our Tumen Fortress.
blasting?"
"Isn't this possible?" Li Qinglong said, "When Commander-in-Chief Mao designed the Tumen Fortress, he had already considered that the enemy might use engineering blasts, and had also designed countermeasures. If the old devil Okamura really planned
If we use engineer blasting to blast our Tumen Fortress, isn't that looking for death?"
Yang Jiamao said: "But this old devil from Okacun doesn't know this."
"It's really possible." Yue Weihan felt that Yang Jiamao's analysis made sense.
"If this is the case, the Japs' tunnels are probably close to our outer trenches." Li Qinglong said, "Because starting from this morning, the Japs' aviation and heavy artillery brigade's bombing fire became even more intense.
There are also more puppet troops than before, and now they are almost charging in groups as a regiment."
"That's all right." Yue Weihan said solemnly, "order the forward positions to strengthen monitoring."
"Yes." Li Qinglong snapped to attention, then turned around and walked to the corner of the hall to pick up the phone.
Shimen, North China Front Army Headquarters.
Shogun Hirata strode into Okamura Neiji's office. He immediately put his feet back and stood at attention: "Your Excellency, Commander, the Second Paratrooper Battalion of the Airborne Wing has implemented an airborne landing. However, Colonel Hasegawa reported that during the airborne landing,
, there are still more than 400 brave soldiers of the imperial army who fell to death or were injured."
"I understand." Okamura Neji nodded, expressionless.
Masan Hirata thought about it and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, the first paratrooper battalion's exploratory attacks on two tactical targets were all met with stubborn resistance by the Chinese Army. Among them, the two paratrooper squadrons that attacked the target near Sombrero Peak were collectively
Jade Broken, Colonel Hasegawa judged that the arsenal of the China Army is probably hidden there."
"Yo Xi." Okamura Neji said happily, "Order Hasegawa to continue to strengthen the attack."
"Hai." Masaru Hirata lowered his head suddenly, then turned around and walked away with his saber in hand.
Tumen Fortress, Baodu Mountain Main Fortress.
Yang Jiamao put down the phone and said to Yue Weihan and Li Qinglong: "The main hall, the brigade, and the forward positions reported that due to the explosions on the ground, the gunfire was too dense and violent, so it was impossible to effectively monitor the abnormal noises underground, otherwise
In this way, we can wait until it gets dark and the Japs stop bombing and attacking before we can monitor them?"
"Are you stupid?" Li Qinglong said angrily, "The little devils will definitely stop digging when it gets dark, so how can they monitor us?"
Yue Weihan pondered for a moment and then said to Li Qinglong: "Forget it if we can't monitor. Just in case, let's open the gate and release the water now!"
When the Tumen Fortress was originally designed, Yue Weihan raised the issue of engineer blasting to Chief Engineer Mao Yisheng. Chief Engineer Mao designed a large reservoir each in Baodu Mountain and Conch Mountain, and used high-power water pumping stations to pump the
The Weishui river water is pumped step by step into two large reservoirs nearly 100 meters high.
Then two major flood gates and drainage channels were designed to lead directly to the underground water network outside the fortress.
If the Japanese army really uses tunnel digging tactics to blast the Domen Fortress, they only need to open the gates and dump the high-level water stored in the two large reservoirs, which will definitely cause water leakage in the underground tunnels dug by the Japanese army.
In the event of an accident, only God knows how many of the little devils working underground will be able to return to the surface alive.
"Yes." Yang Jiamao stood at attention, then walked to the corner of the hall and picked up the phone again, and said loudly, "I am Yang Jiamao. I have an order from the chief to open the gate immediately and let out the water!"
Outside Tumen Fortress, deep in the ground.
Taro Tsuchiya, a tunnel expert specially invited from China by Neji Okamura, is patrolling the tunnels with his entourage.
As a top student who graduated from Waseda University's Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Taro Tsuchiya is very good at tunnel construction and is well aware of various dangerous factors in tunnel operations. When serving in the Kwantung Army, he also oversaw the mining and operation of several large-scale coal mines.
Excavation has indeed eliminated many dangers.
Soon, Taro Tsuchiya and his party arrived at the end of the tunnel.
Dozens of Japanese soldiers wearing only "T" crotch pants were sweating like rain. They were waving shovels and digging carefully. Dozens more Japanese soldiers were using engineering shovels to shovel the soil shoveled by the Japanese soldiers in front of them.
Get on a flatbed truck, push it shoulder to shoulder, and carry the soil with the truck to the tunnel exit a few kilometers away.
"Everyone, please be careful not to make loud noises." Taro Tsuchiya clapped his hands and loudly reminded the dozens of strong Japanese men who were immersed in digging, "so as not to let the Chinese people hear the noise."
"Hai." Dozens of Japanese soldiers stood up at the same time and lowered their heads suddenly.
"Keep working." Taro Tsuchiya waved his hand, and dozens of Japanese soldiers continued to dig sweaty.
Taro Tsuchiya nodded with satisfaction, and immediately led his entourage through the side tunnels dug horizontally, preparing to inspect the second tunnel. This time, Neji Okamura, an old devil, was really cruel and ordered the Japanese army to dig six tunnels in one go.
, started construction at the same time from a hiding place five kilometers away, and moved forward hand in hand, directly targeting the key points underground of the Tumen Fortress!
Just halfway through the fork in the road, Taro Tsuchiya suddenly stopped and immediately raised his head.
The miner's lamp worn on Taro Tsuchiya's head instantly illuminated the top of the low tunnel. The Japanese accompanying him also raised their heads and looked at the top of Taro Tsuchiya's head. There seemed to be nothing unusual. Apart from the logs that came into view,
There is only the dark brown soil layer, and other than that, there is nothing.
However, Taro Tsuchiya's pupils shrank sharply in an instant!
Taro Tsuchiya was horrified to find that dense drops of water had seeped out of the soil at the top of the tunnel.
Suddenly, a drop of cold water dripped from the top of the tunnel, just on the tip of Taro Tsuchiya's nose. Immediately, Taro Tsuchiya turned around and ran away, and at the same time shouted in an extremely sad voice: "It's soaked, run quickly..."
"
The few Japanese soldiers who came with him looked at each other, not knowing what to do for a moment.
In just such a moment's delay, a small piece of wet mud suddenly fell from the top of the tunnel, and immediately a water arrow shot down from the top of the tunnel. Under the illumination of the miner's lamp, the water flow appeared soft and soft.
Qingzhe seemed to be no threat, but when the Japs saw him, they simultaneously screamed in horror.
The next moment, those Japs turned around and ran away, hating their parents for missing two legs.
At the moment when the Japs turned around and ran away, more than a dozen water arrows were shot down from different positions on the top of the tunnel. Immediately afterwards, a large piece of soil collapsed from the top of the tunnel, and more than a dozen trickles of water flowed down.
It instantly transformed into a terrifying torrent, rushing and roaring along the sideways excavations!
Shimen, North China Front Army Headquarters.
Shogun Hirata hurried into Okamura Neiji's office and said angrily: "Your Excellency, Commander, a water leakage accident occurred in the tunnel being excavated. All six tunnels have been flooded. More than 500 imperial warriors are working hard in the tunnel.
There are also Taro Tsuchiya and several others who were unable to escape in time, and their lives and deaths are unknown now!"
"What!?" Okamura Neji suddenly stood up and said in disbelief, "This is impossible!"
After saying this, Okamura Neiji said angrily: "This is absolutely impossible. Taro Tsuchiya is an expert in tunnels. The excavation positions of the six tunnels were selected after careful calculation. They are far away from the only big river nearby.
"The river also has a sufficient safety distance, so how can water leakage accidents happen?"
Hirata was silent, he could only ask Taro Tsuchiya about this.
But unfortunately, Taro Tsuchiya has probably become a fish in the water now, and it is impossible to come back from the dead to answer the Commander's questions.
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"
Okamura Neji obviously still cannot accept this fact.
It’s no wonder that in order to dig these six tunnels and carry out engineer blasting, how much effort and cost did Neji Okamura put in?
As of today, the number of casualties of the North China Front Army and the Imperial Association Army has exceeded 70,000. Since the control of the battlefield is not in the hands of the Japanese army, these 70,000 casualties are almost the number of casualties, and among them, more than 20,000
We are the officers and soldiers of the Great Empire, this is almost a full division!
Amidst the rapid footsteps, Neji Okamura's aide-de-camp suddenly stepped in. He immediately put his feet back and stood at attention and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, headquarters transfer order!"
"Well, transfer order?" Okamura Neji was shocked when he heard this.
"Hai." The adjutant lowered his head suddenly, handed the telegram in his hand to Neji Okamura, and said at the same time, "Your Excellency, Commander, from now on, you have been transferred to the commander of the Central China Front Army. The former Commander of the Central China Front Army
His Excellency Shunroku Hata will be transferred to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the North China Front."
Okamura Neiji was silent for a long time, and then he regretfully said to Masan Hirata: "Hirata-kun, I won the beginning and the process, but lost the result. In this contest that lasted for more than three years, it was finally Yue Weihan.
Won! Hata Shunroku is here. I’m afraid the Battle of Taihang Mountain will no longer be able to continue. It’s a pity that all the efforts have been lost..."