The more than 30 independent regiment soldiers are basically divided into groups of two, with one person responsible for issuing numbers and the other responsible for recording them in a book.
This kind of screening speed is undoubtedly much faster than the one-by-one questioning by Shimizu Jiro, but it still took more than fifty minutes to complete the distribution of more than 5,000 cloth strips.
This time, no one was kicked out of the queue. But there were a lot of dense records in more than a dozen record books.
Of course, this also has something to do with the poor handwriting of the dozen or so soldiers responsible for recording. A piece of paper could not wait to write more than a dozen words, and some even even drew an illustration, but it was just a big head plus arms and legs.
I'm afraid only they themselves know what is drawn in that pure stream of consciousness cartoon.
Liu Tuanzuo could turn a group of peasants into iron-blooded warriors in a few years, but it was really difficult to turn a group of illiterate people into educated people. No wonder it took decades for the future republic to become popular in nine years.
Establish compulsory education.
After all were screened and numbered, the idiots organized more than 5,000 people into five teams, with about 1,000 people in each team arranged in 4 lines. Under the leadership of the Japanese army, they marched to the field positions they had built.
According to the agreement between the two sides, when both sides are ready and fire red flares, the Chinese prisoners of war will return to the Chinese position from three locations of the Japanese army, and the same will be done for the Japanese prisoners of war.
Except for the personnel sent in advance, both parties are not allowed to send any more soldiers, otherwise it will be regarded as a breach of contract.
As for what will happen if a breach of contract is made, the generals of both China and Japan know very well that their opponents will not let the other side's prisoners of war just run back to the other side's position five miles away. The positions of the two sides are far apart, separated by several hills.
It is also as high as 2,500 meters away. Without dispatching troops, it is impossible to hit these prisoners of war with guns from the position. The only way to hit these prisoners of war is with artillery.
Only artillery is the simplest method. In this unobstructed hilly area, a few rounds of artillery fire can kill all these unarmed and weak prisoners of war.
Not only did the independent mixed brigade led by Naosaburo Okabe set up a mountain artillery squadron and two field artillery squadrons with more than a dozen cannons, Jiro Shimizu saw that at least fifteen mortars were erected on the Chinese position.
gun.
Mortars may be slightly less lethal than mountain artillery, but they are very deadly to Japanese prisoners of war.
This is because there are not many Chinese prisoners of war who are injured and unable to move. Most of the seriously injured ones have long since died in the prisoner of war camps. The more than 10,000 people who can get here are basically healthy, even if a few have leg problems.
Two companions can carry them and walk. However, more than 80% of the Japanese troops are wounded. Many of them cannot walk and can only be carried on stretchers. Those technical soldiers who want to return to Japan plus the 100 people here,
Including Major Shimizu Jiro himself, it was not enough. In the end, wounded soldiers with slinging arms had to act as stretcher bearers to barely carry these wounded soldiers away.
However, what Shimizu Jiro saw was only the artillery located on the Chinese position.
Langtanza has never been a person who keeps secrets, especially when he has to send off his Japanese friends immediately.
"Colonel Liu, can you send the signal? The time is almost up." Shimizu Jiro really wanted to leave the Chinese territory as soon as possible. Every second he spent here, his heart was trembling.
"No rush." Liu Lang looked at his pocket watch, smiled faintly, and pointed forward: "The mound in front is very annoying. It not only blocks the sight of our two armies and hinders friendly exchanges between the two armies, but also prevents the prisoners of war from returning.
On the way home, please wait a moment for General Juichi Terauchi and Major General Naosaburo Okabe to let our army take out the mound first."
Shimizu Jiro was a little speechless. There are so many mounds blocking the view, and you sent people to dig them out? Is there a hole in your head that needs to be filled with soil?
At the same time, Juichi Terauchi, who had never shown up, took the telegram that was suddenly sent to him. His face changed slightly, and he no longer cared about hiding cats. He personally led Naosaburo Okabe and Tomofumi Yamashita into the field command on the hills.
The institute picked up a telescope.
Although I didn't quite understand what the Chinese meant by this letter that seemed to mean killing the mound, the clear title gave the top boss of the Japanese North China Front a bad feeling.
Sure enough, following Liu Lang's order from the Chinese position over there.
In the center of both sides' positions, the ground shook.
Although the mound Liu Lang pointed to was 1,500 meters away from the Chinese position and almost 1,000 meters away from the Japanese position, the rumbling artillery fire was still deafening, and the soldiers in the trench couldn't help but lower their heads due to the scorching air waves.
.
Ten 105 howitzers roared at the same time, and the small mound withstood the bombardment of more than 150 shells in five minutes. The bushes on the mound were not only wiped out in an instant, but each one without a telescope was covered in ashes.
The soldiers whose eyes were stung by the huge fireball also believed that the floating soil on the mound could bury a person's ankles.
Even if it wasn't flattened as Liu Lang said, it was at least lowered by more than ten centimeters.
Naosaburo Okabe and Tomofumi Yamashita looked a little pale.
Temple Shouyi's face was ashen.
They finally understood the meaning of the Chinese telegram. They were demonstrating.
However, this demonstration is really useful.
This is the Imperial 105 howitzer. The three Japanese generals are very familiar with it. Because they are very familiar with it, they all know that once the Chinese artillery fire extends, the range of the 105 howitzer is as high as 10,000 meters, and the entire independent mixed brigade's positions are all within it.
Within range.
And with the field fortifications they temporarily built, under the bombardment of this kind of howitzer that far exceeded the power of a 75-caliber mountain gun, it was only paper-thin, but it looked down on the civil engineering ability of their own soldiers.
It seems that the idiots of the 20th Division not only finished themselves, but also gave all the Empire's important weapons to the enemy.
How can Shouichi in the temple not be angry?
However, no matter how angry he is, what can he do? The Chinese clearly told him that if there were not more than 10,000 prisoners of war, they could fire on the mixed brigade now.
Moreover, the telegram sent by the Chinese addressed General Terauchi Toshiichi at the beginning, which made it very clear that they knew that he, the number one Japanese leader in North China, was here.
"Where is the Chinese howitzer group?" Touichi Terauchi is worthy of being a commander. After a brief period of shock, he first calmed down.
"It should be in the mountains 7,000 meters away." Yamashita Fengwen took the range sighting scope and looked at it for a while before finally confirming.
"7,000 meters!" Terauchi Shouichi's face became even more ugly.
The range of the mountain artillery of the mixed brigade is only 6,000 meters. Although the range of the field artillery can reach 10,000 meters, they are mainly used for fixed fortifications. It is undoubtedly a fantasy to hit the artillery groups hidden in the valleys across the mountain peaks. Moreover, he dares
He concluded that as long as he dared to order the artillery fire, the opponent's howitzer group would first cover and attack the artillery position.
The Chinese people who demonstrated just now are not just saying that they have artillery. What is more important is that their artillery fire is accurate. They have extremely professional artillery.
Except for a dozen or so cannons that landed on the hills, almost all the other more than a hundred cannons landed on the hills. Even the Imperial artillery that Juichi Terauchi was proud of was nothing more than this!
The 14th Division, which was prepared to annihilate the Chinese in one fell swoop, was still 20 miles away in order to avoid alerting the Chinese. We expected them to suppress it with a group of 105 howitzers, so it was better to push the mountain artillery mixed into the brigade forward.
A 1,000-meter distance is more realistic.
But the terrible thing is that there is no time to even push the mountain cannon forward. Will the Chinese give them that time?
Looking at the vast mountains in the distance, there was no telling how many Chinese main forces were hidden in them. Terauchi Juichi knew that his fantasy of taking advantage of the prisoner exchange to counterattack China came to nothing.
There are only 12 fighter planes of the 38th Air Wing left in combat. In order to prevent the Chinese from counterattacking Pingjin, it is no longer possible for them to dispatch any more. Without the help of fighter planes, tens of thousands of Chinese armed with large-caliber howitzers and mortars
Even if the army is defensively entrenched in the mountains, it cannot be captured by a division and a mixed brigade in a short period of time.
Now, he could only exchange the prisoners of war honestly first. Moreover, he could not do any other tricks. He knew very well that, like him, the cunning commander of the Chinese must have sent reconnaissance between the battlefields of the two armies.
If the vanguard discovers that something is wrong with the prisoners of war, he will immediately notify the position. Then, he will not even have the capital to cover up the shame of the entire front army.
But the first thing he has to do now is not to safely retrieve his prisoners of war, but to withdraw the entire army, leave here, and stay out of the range of the Chinese howitzers.
"Yamashita-kun, send a prisoner exchange signal and send the Chinese prisoners back. At the same time, order the entire army to retreat to a distance of 3,000 meters." Terauchi Juichi issued a military order decisively. "Also, order the Yamashita artillery unit to garrison.
Here, if the Chinese dare to bombard our prisoners of war, they will fire immediately."
"Okabe-kun, call back to China for me. If you break your promise, don't forget that North China is still in my hands." The ferocity in Terauchi's eyes as he left the temporary command post without looking back even frightened Naosaburo Okabe.
"Major Shimizu, you can take your people and set off. We look forward to seeing you next time." Liu Lang looked at the two red flares rising in the sky and said to Jiro Shimizu with a smile.
See you next time? It’s better to never see each other again. Shimizu Jiro couldn’t help but shudder, and he just nodded at Liu Lang without even caring about basic etiquette. He waved his hand and ran away without looking back.
Although most of the Japanese prisoners of war were sick and wounded, and the legs carrying the stretchers were short, the speed was really not slow.
The power of the howitzers on the Chinese side not only frightened their generals, but also frightened the Japanese prisoners of war so much that their faces turned pale.
Don't let the more than two thousand meters of walking home turn into a road to hell.
Of course, it was better than they expected. On the way back, the Chinese kept their promise and did not fire. However, the way home was a little far. I was so tired that I was panting and mustered up the energy to run back to my position.
Major Shimizu Jiro was surprised to find that the Baga position was empty, and a whole mixed brigade numbering several thousand people had escaped.
I, your whole family, Shimizu Jiro, who has been in China for many years and has learned a lot of curse words, almost didn't curse in public. He had no choice but to lead the wounded soldiers and continue running. It was another 3,000 meters before they met.
With "relatives".
It's just that I almost didn't turn into a dog from exhaustion.