After graduating from Huangpu, he rose to prominence as a regiment leader.

First Army Provisional Headquarters.

The commander of the First Army of Japan, Kazuo Shinozuka, was sitting leisurely in a chair, slowly enjoying his tea.

The strategic map in the room looks so out of place against the exquisite tea sets on the table.

At this moment, Shinozuka Kazuo's staff officer lowered his head and walked quickly into the command center: "General, there seems to be something unusual on the battlefield ahead."

"Abnormal situation?" Shinozuka Kazuo paused and looked at the staff officer, "What abnormality?"

The staff officer lowered his head and said, "Your Excellency General, I may not have made my report clear. Please move aside."

Hearing this, Shinozuka Kazuo narrowed his eyes and immediately stood up: "Lead the way!"

"Hayi!"

A moment later, Shinozuka Kazuo arrived at the communications area of the headquarters, where more than a dozen telegraph machines were placed, and various "beeping" sounds filled the entire room.

The staff officer took the lead in taking out a telegram from the pile of documents: "General, the reconnaissance troops ahead have sent news that the battle on one front of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is very fierce. The huge movement has even alarmed the surrounding troops. The black smoke caused by the explosives can be seen in the sky from a distance of more than ten miles."

Shinozuka Kazuo frowned. "Why is the noise so exaggerated? Did our troops encounter a large enemy force there?"

Staff Officer: "The specific situation has not yet been ascertained. The rest of our troops are carrying out the offensive rhythm according to your plan. We currently do not have any extra troops to explore that direction."

"Hmm?" Shinozuka Kazuo turned to look at the staff officer: "Please report the troop deployment and enemy strength on that front."

The staff officer immediately recalled: "General, there are three regiments of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army stationed on that front, and the troops sent by the Empire are the Songdao Regiment of the 4th Brigade."

"Matsushima League? I remember now." Kazuo Shinozuka also recalled it, but he soon felt that it did not match the current information.

It is unlikely that a fight between the three regiments and one regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army would cause such a fierce scene.

At this point, the staff officer paused and said, "But I have a guess. Maybe the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army on that front is preparing to retreat, so they placed a large amount of explosives and want to take this opportunity to retreat."

Shinozuka Kazuo shook his head and rejected the staff officer's guess: "No, it's unlikely. This behavior is just a pure waste of ammunition and completely gives up their only chance to resist."

"Moreover, this behavior will attract the attention of our other troops and they will surround them."

While speaking, Kazuo Shinozuka seemed a little tired of standing and talking, so the staff officer quickly moved a chair for the general to sit down.

When he leaned back in the chair, Shinozuka Kazuo let out a long sigh of relief: "Commander Yan of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army once had close exchanges with the Empire. After he graduated from the Army Officer School, he maintained friendly contact with us."

"Therefore, most officers in the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army have learned our way of fighting and received a complete military education. I know them well and will not issue such a poor tactic."

During the conversation, a communications soldier in the communications room suddenly stood up and ran outside in a hurry.

When he was halfway through his run, he seemed to realize that Kazuo Shinozuka was in the house, so the signalman hurried back.

"General! General, we have important information!"

Kazuo Shinozuka looked at the signalman expressionlessly, then turned away.

Japan is very particular about hierarchy, and he was very dissatisfied with the other party's impatient attitude.

The staff officer beside him understood immediately and stood up immediately: "Hasn't anyone taught you to shout "report" before reporting? Do you know that you have offended the general?"

The signalman immediately realized his mistake and quickly lowered his head and said “Hello, my God!”

After finishing this cumbersome etiquette, the staff officer finally spoke: "Tell me, what information do you have?"

"Report! The 4th Brigade sent a telegram saying that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army launched a counterattack. They have lost contact with the Songdao Regiment under their command. At the same time, they found that some defeated soldiers were fleeing. At this time, all the subordinate regiments of the 4th Brigade have been dispatched. There is no garrison around the brigade headquarters. Please give us tactical guidance, General!"

After hearing this report, Shinozuka Kazuo, who had just turned his back, suddenly turned around and said, "What did you say? The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army can launch a counterattack? Up to now, our sweep plan has been going on, and neither the Eighth Route Army nor the National Army can resist. How can the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army have the courage to go against the Empire?"

The staff officer at the side thought about it and mustered up the courage to remind him: "General, you just said that some officers of the Shanxi Suiyuan Army have learned our combat methods and received complete military education."

Shinozuka said without stopping: "Yes, they have received military education, but I don't think they can surpass their teachers."

"If their fighting power is enough to defeat the frontal troops of the Empire, then the best thing for them to do is to break out from the rear and break our blockade!"

"My First Army has launched a sweep in a grid-like formation. Even if they can break through the defense line head-on, they will be wiped out by the troops that follow!"

Kazuo Shinozuka was very confident in his arrangements. Even if any of the Xia country's troops slipped through the net, they would be eliminated layer by layer by the follow-up troops.

Therefore, Shinozuka Kazuo immediately asserted: "The tactics of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army are definitely not an offensive. They are just a tentative counterattack to cover up their retreat!"

After hearing the general's conclusion, the staff officer thought for a moment: "General, if that's the case, do we still need to provide tactical guidance to the 4th Brigade? According to the telegram, the 4th Brigade headquarters is already empty and all its troops have been dispatched."

Shinozuka Kazuo shook his head. "No hurry. The Empire's troops will be able to surround the enemy soon. But before that, I have to talk to the commander of the 4th Brigade. They must contact the Matsushima Regiment immediately to find out what's going on."

As the commander of the First Army, Kazuo Shinozuka was quite exhausted. He should have communicated with the combat units at the division or brigade level, and then the brigade would communicate with the subordinate regiments.

But unfortunately, the 4th Brigade is not the 4th Brigade in the usual sense, but an independent mixed brigade.

This force was formed by drawing a squadron from the main field force as the backbone members, supplementing a battalion with reserve personnel, and then merging five infantry battalions and an artillery, engineer and communications battalion to form an independent brigade.

This resulted in Kazuo Shinozuka, as the lieutenant general commander, now having to worry about the specific deployment of a regiment.

"General, the battlefield phone is connected, it's the commander of the 4th Brigade!"

Kazuo Shinozuka answered the phone: "I'm Kazuo Shinozuka, what's the situation near your headquarters?"

"Commander, I haven't figured out the situation yet. There are many defeated soldiers." The commander of the 4th Brigade sounded confused.

"Some people said that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army sent a large number of reinforcements and that there were hundreds of heavy machine guns firing. Others said that there were traitors in the trenches and that a bullet appeared out of nowhere."

Kazuo Shinozuka frowned. He didn't like hearing his subordinates report such inaccurate information.

Shinozuka Kazuo: "I order you to find out the situation as soon as possible. I think the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is just a tentative attack. It is unlikely that there will be a die-hard faction among them."

"But General, there are no reserve troops around my headquarters. They have all been sent to carry out the battle plan. If the enemy really attacks, I'm afraid..."

Shinozuka pushed his round glasses on his nose and said impatiently, "You are the commander of a brigade, and your opponents are only three regiments of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. Don't you have confidence in yourself?"

"Besides, the enemy is unlikely to launch an attack at this time. Even if they attack, where can they reach? The First Army's tanks are already unstoppable!"

"General, there is one thing I am not sure about. The defeated soldiers of the Matsushima Regiment... zizi... zizi..."

The voice of the commander of the 4th Brigade became intermittent, and there was a noisy rustling sound on the other end of the phone. Kazuo Shinozuka even heard a few gunshots!

"What?" Kazuo Shinozuka called out to the other party quickly, but got no response.

Shinozuka Kazuo's face became increasingly gloomy. He sensed that something was not right: "Remove the telephone line fault as soon as possible and use the radio to call the 4th Brigade!"

"Ha!" Several signalmen immediately began to check the status of the radio equipment while also checking the condition of the hand-cranked generator.

"This is the First Army Headquarters, calling the Fourth Brigade! Calling the Fourth Brigade!"

Kazuo Shinozuka walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, and his expression looked a little ugly under his round glasses.

Apparently, he was considering whether to send out reserve troops for support, but this would undoubtedly disrupt his large-scale sweep plan.

"General, the radio is connected!" The signalman handed over the headset in surprise.

Shinozuka Kazuo did not hesitate and immediately took over: "I am Shinozuka Kazuo, I order you, the 4th Brigade, to withdraw the battle line and ensure the safety of the headquarters!"

There was silence on the other side, no response.

Shinozuka Kazuo gave the signalman a look, and the signalman was also extremely confused: "General, the call was clearly connected just now."

Just as Shinozuka Kazuo's brows gradually furrowed, a few soft conversations in Xia Guoyu were heard from the other end of the headset.

"The devils across the street are talking. Do you understand Japanese?"

"I don't understand, but I think we should focus on other things..."

Kazuo Shinozuka understood the other party's conversation completely. He graduated from the Army University and had also studied in the Tank Country. He specifically studied the Xia Country language.

So, Shinozuka Kazuo spoke directly: "Which unit are you from? Are you talking at the 4th Brigade headquarters now?"

There was silence on the other side, as if they had not expected that the Japanese had heard their conversation.

But after a brief silence, the conversation started again.

"Commander, I heard from the Japanese that this is the headquarters of the 4th Brigade? Didn't we wipe out a brigade?"

"Maybe, maybe not, but there are a lot of maps and documents here. We can try to decipher them."

Kazuo Shinozuka's brows furrowed even more because the other party simply ignored him, like two impolite children whispering to each other.

Fortunately, the person on the other end of the radio finally noticed him and greeted him in a friendly manner.

"Hey, who are you? What's your name?"

Kazuo Shinozuka was not angry, because as long as they could communicate, he was confident that he could get information from the other party.

"I am Kazuo Shinozuka, commander of the First Army. May I ask which unit you are from?"

The person on the other end let out a long "Oh" and then said something straightforward.

"Shinozuka, I'll fuck your ancestors!"

The next second, the radio was cut off.

Kazuo Shinozuka was silent. He felt that the person on the other side had no intention of having a serious conversation with him from the beginning.

However, this exchange was not entirely fruitless. It made Kazuo Shinozuka re-examine his opponent from the Xia country.

"Is there such a general in the Jinsui Army? I remember that when the two sides had military exchanges, most of them were just mediocre people..."

"Under such circumstances, they launched a counterattack and destroyed one of our brigades. I think it's necessary for the Empire to take this opponent seriously again!"