Anti-Japanese War, weapons designer at Fengtian Arsenal

The Northeastern Bank is now the temporary Kwantung Army Headquarters. Originally, the temporary Kwantung Army Headquarters was to be set up in someone's private residence, but it was bombed into ruins by Li Qinwu and is no longer habitable. So they have to use the more sturdy Northeastern Bank as the temporary headquarters.

The commander of the Kwantung Army, Honjo Shigeru, was working in his office when there was a knock on the door. He said, "Come in," and Colonel Saiki, with a Sima-like look on his face, pushed the door open and entered.

"Commander, General Zhang has arrived in the reception room. Do you want to meet him now?"

Honjo Shigeru put down his pen and looked up to say yes, but when he saw Colonel Saiki's expression, he asked in confusion: "Saiki, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"

Colonel Saiki now looks dull and gray, which is out of tune with the colorful world around him.

Colonel Saiki's eyes were full of fatigue.

"Commander, I am just thinking about the meaning of life."

Honjo Shige:…

A few minutes later, Honjo Shigeru came to the door of the reception room. He straightened his military uniform, put a polite smile on his face, pushed the door open and walked in.

"Oh, General Zhang, it's been a long time since we last met. How have you been recently?"

Honjo Shigeru was stunned before he could finish his greetings. He saw Li Changyin sitting on the sofa, pouring the hot coffee in the teacup into the cup of sugar cubes. Well, he was not putting the sugar cubes in the coffee, but pouring the coffee into the cup of sugar cubes.

Li Changyin used a small spoon to stir the sugar cube cup, and the sugar softened by the hot coffee melted into a sticky sugar cube syrup. Then he picked up the sugar cube cup and drank the syrup in one gulp.

"vomit!"

Honjo Shigeru felt his stomach churning and his old teeth began to ache. He thought to himself, is this some new way of drinking coffee? Isn't he afraid of getting diabetes?

Li Changyin saw Honjo Shigeru coming, put down the sugar cube cup covered with syrup, smiled and walked forward to shake his hand and said: "Oh my, isn't this Commander Honjo Shigeru? It's been a long time since we last met, and you really look more and more like a human being!"

Honjo Shigeru's eyelids twitched. Was this a greeting? Such rare language.

"General Zhang, the last time we met was several years ago. After all this time, General Zhang is still so energetic!"

Honjo Shigeru was an expert on China. A few years ago, he was preparing a plan to invade China. To this end, he made friends with important figures in China and got to know the forces of all parties, including Zhang Haipeng.

Through communication, Honjo Shigeru learned that Zhang Haipeng was unsuccessful in the Fengtian warlords, was not valued during the Zhang Zhilin era, and was also lukewarm during the Young Marshal era. This person had a rebellious nature.

Therefore, Honjo Shigeru regarded Zhang Haipeng as a key target for winning over. However, he handed the follow-up matters over to his officers, so he did not see Zhang Haipeng for a long time.

The two men sat down with their hands apart. Li Changyin asked, "Commander Honjo Shigeru, what is the matter that has called me all the way here? Just tell me what you want. I, Zhang, will do whatever I can for you!"

Honjo Shigeru pretended to be concerned and asked, "General Zhang, I heard that you suffered heavy losses on this trip north. Is that true?"

Li Changyin nodded and said seriously, "Yes, Commander. This time when I went north, I was attacked by the enemy. My general Xu Jinglong was killed, and all 3000 vanguards died.

In addition, an enemy division somehow found its way to Tailai County where I was stationed, and set up a siege to surround and strangle my troops. If I hadn't led the army to break through, I'm afraid I would have died in Tailai County."

Honjo Shigeru frowned deeply. He looked at Li Changyin and asked in confusion, "General Zhang, your army has nearly 10,000 people, right? How could they be wiped out by the enemy in one night?

Moreover, the enemy must have surrounded your army in large numbers, and the noise would have been considerable even at night. Didn't your guard soldiers notice anything?"

Li Changyin thought, "Isn't it that they didn't find it? Let's learn about the super-time and space transmission technology."

"Hey, Commander! You don't know! The main reason for this defeat is that there are too many bandits in the team!

Previously, in order to respond to the call of the Kwantung Army, I recruited a large number of bandits, which at one point led to the number of regular troops being equal to the number of bandits.

These bandits refused to obey military discipline, had no military skills, and were loyal to their former bandit leaders. They refused to obey my orders. I guess the attackers must have known the composition of my troops, so they dared to launch a surprise attack, concentrate firepower, and use the most violent offensive to break the morale of the bandit troops. Then the bandit troops ran away, taking the regular troops with them in a panic, which led to such a terrible defeat!"

Li Changyin quickly made up a plausible excuse. He had a painful expression on his face and kept patting his chest with his hands.

Honjo Shigeru shook his head and sighed when he heard this. He knew that the army under Zhang Haipeng was a mixed bag. With such a chaotic troop composition, it was common for a small defeat to lead to a big defeat.

"Although General Zhang was defeated in this battle, it is understandable. It's just a pity for the weapons and equipment that the empire gave you!"

The painful expression Li Changyin pretended to show became even more intense.

"Yes, Commander. Those were nearly 10,000 rifles. I lost them all. But there was really nothing I could do. If I hadn't lost the valuables, the enemy might have caught up with me and my entire army might have been wiped out.

Commander, this is a wake-up call for us! These bandits cannot be trusted!"

Honjo Shigeru thought to himself, "Aren't you also a bandit?" But he didn't interrupt him to let him continue.

"Commander, you don't know that I judged that the number of enemies surrounding my unit was not large, but there were more heavy machine guns. In fact, if the operation was done properly, we would not have suffered so many casualties.

But the bandits didn't care about me! When the enemy's guns sounded, they didn't listen to any military orders, they just ran around in disorder, and even disrupted my elite troops!

"Commander! Never group bandits with regular troops in the future! These damn bandits will soon turn the regular troops into undisciplined soldiers! This is my personal experience, Commander, please remember this!"

Honjo Shigeru frowned even deeper. He was naturally aware of the bandits' style, but if the empire wanted to occupy China, it had to support traitorous troops, and bandits were a key target of support. But now, when he heard the bloody case of Zhang Haipeng's troops in front of him, he became a little worried about supporting bandits.

“But General Zhang, the empire needs more people to consolidate its rule in the Northeast, and these bandit forces are targets that must be won over.

If we don't mix them with the regular troops, should we let them form their own army? If these bandits are undisciplined and form their own army, wouldn't it be even worse if the bandit leader just runs away with the main army if he's not satisfied?"

Li Changyin immediately said angrily: "Commander, no matter what, bandits must not be mixed with regular troops. If you want to continue to gather bandit troops, then I suggest you find an excuse to kill the bandit leader and send your own people to lead the troops. Then let them prepare for a long time. Otherwise, bringing such a mob to the battlefield will only cause trouble!"

Honjo Shigeru listened and thought carefully. Finally, he nodded and said, "I will consider General Zhang's suggestion carefully. We need to reconsider our attitude towards bandits in the future, but now we should talk about business."