Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

Hasegawa Kiyoshi did not thank him directly, which was unusual for an old general who was stubborn but knew everything.

That's too blunt and out of character.

He just turned his gaze back to Yoshida, with a complex light hidden in the depths of his eyes.

There may be admiration, there may be helplessness, but there is no real anger anymore.

"Hmph, I have no choice..." Hasegawa Kiyoshi snorted softly through his nose, and it still sounded like the lingering sound of displeasure, but the tone was obviously slower.

The intact left hand reached out to the teapot on the coffee table and poured a cup of slightly cold tea into the cup in front of Yongren.

This action itself says it all.

"It seems that in the eyes of you younger generations, an old fellow like me has become a 'fragile object' not even worthy of the battlefield..."

With a hint of self-deprecation, Hasegawa Kiyoshi gently pushed the teacup towards Yoshida,

"Well, this cup of tea can be considered as shutting me up.

Remember, there will be no next time, boy from the Yoshida family!

Next time, even if the headquarters is blown up, you have to stay inside with me!"

This sentence may sound like a threat, but the tone already carries a hint of recognition from the elder towards the capable younger generation, and even a hint of closeness.

A barely perceptible hint of relief flashed across Yoshida Yuto's eyes, and he immediately held up the teacup respectfully with both hands: "Hi! Thank you for your consideration, General!!"

Hasegawa Kiyoshi stopped talking, picked up his teacup, and looked towards Shanghai again through the round porthole.

There were columns of smoke and muffled sounds of cannon fire.

The bandage wrapped around his wrist was particularly eye-catching.

Outside the cabin, the huge hull of the Izumo was floating steadily in the river and the sea, like a temporarily dormant steel giant.

The raging fire in Hongkou has not yet been extinguished, and a new flesh-and-blood mill seems to be brewing.

This cup of herbal tea has a deep bitter taste when you drink it.

Hasegawa Kiyoshi sipped the slightly cool tea, and the heavy atmosphere seemed to ease a little due to the subtle softening of his attitude.

But the roar of war machines inside and outside the ship and the smoke and dust drifting from the direction of Shanghai were constant reminders of the seriousness of the situation.

Yoshida Hayato asked, "General, I heard that the reinforcements from the Kwantung Army will arrive in Wusong tomorrow?"

"Yes!" Hasegawa Kiyoshi nodded and replied, "General Ueda Kenkichi, Commander of the Kwantung Army, has personally sent a telegram to confirm.

The main forces and heavy equipment of the 2nd and 12th Divisions are being transported by a large transport fleet and will arrive at the designated landing site by tomorrow morning at the latest.

With these two fresh troops deployed, we can defeat Zhang Zhizhong's main force head-on and completely resolve the Shanghai war in no time!" He spoke with confidence that the situation would be reversed.

Hasegawa Kiyoshi said this, but his face did not show much joy, instead he seemed to be thinking about something.

Turning his eyes to a higher-level telegram summary on the table, it mentioned the "temporary adjustments" to the original reinforcement sequence.

He raised his eyes and looked at Yoshida Hayato: "The situation has developed to this point. Can you tell me what happened to the 3rd Division and the 11th Division?

Why did they suddenly go to Lushun and send a new batch of reinforcements?

I received news that there was an outbreak of infectious diseases in those two divisions. Is it really that serious?"

Hasegawa Kiyoshi frowned. He knew that the military police headquarters' intelligence network had very deep tentacles, and it could often detect unusual movements within the army earlier than the navy.

Facing Hasegawa Kiyoshi's piercing gaze, Yoshida Hayato's body tensed up slightly.

He took a deep breath, as if trying to organize extremely dangerous words.

The air in the room suddenly froze.

"General." The group warrior lowered his voice to a very low level, as if he was afraid of disturbing some scary ghost.

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes quickly scanning the doorway. After confirming that it was safe, he spoke in a tone that was almost whispered, enunciating each word: "This matter is still under a news blockade against your navy. Something big has happened in the army!

Now that transport ship and your navy's escort fleet are under the control of the Kwantung Army. Leakage of information is strictly prohibited!

But I can personally reveal to you that the main forces of the 3rd and 11th Divisions, as well as some of their subordinate units, suffered irreparable damage during transportation.

Hasegawa Kiyoshi's grip on the teacup suddenly tightened, and his knuckles turned slightly white from the force.

His eyes froze instantly, staring at Yoshida Hayato's face.

Yoshida Yuto swallowed, his throat rolling. "According to... the secret investigation report, the root cause of the disaster... points to an extremely 'special' weapon."

He paused, as if considering how to describe it, and finally, with an indescribable heaviness and fear, he uttered two horrifying words: "Bacteria."

"Bacteria?!" Hasegawa Kiyoshi's pupils suddenly shrank. In the military environment at that time, especially in the minds of senior generals who had been exposed to certain secret research, this word represented a terrifying shadow that went beyond conventional killing!

"Yes, General! The highly virulent plague bacteria!"

Yoshida Hayato spoke quickly and clearly, as if he wanted to spit out this terrible fact as soon as possible: "Extremely deadly, spreads very quickly, the source..."

Yoshida Hayato lowered his voice again, his eyes flickering with a complex light, nervousness, excitement, and a hint of anticipation: "According to preliminary investigation, it is none other than the former commander of the garrison army, Kazuki Seiji!"

"What?!" Hasegawa Kiyoshi completely lost his composure. The teacup in his hand fell with a clang, splashing tea everywhere. The cup rolled down and made a dull sound on the expensive carpet.

He ignored it completely and growled in shock: "He...how dare he?! In what name, what motive?!"

Yoshida Hayato looked at the distraught Hasegawa Kiyoshi and spoke even faster and colder: "Motive... According to top-secret discussions and analysis within our Military Police Headquarters and the Kanto Army Headquarters, it's probably a crazy calculation out of localism and the preservation of strength!

On the one hand, Commander Xiangyue was worried that after the troops of the North China Front Army were withdrawn, the core areas under its control, such as Peiping and Tianjin, would be left under garrison and might be taken advantage of by the Chinese army.

On the other hand, there was also a fear that Shanghai would become a larger investment point for the empire's resources and manpower, thereby weakening its dominant position and meritorious service in North China.

Therefore... delay, even at the expense of destroying reinforcements, allowing the battle in Shanghai to deteriorate, and even losing Hongkou... allowing the empire's focus to shift back to North China!"

Yoshida Hayato looked at the dazed Hasegawa Kiyoshi and continued, "According to the intelligence provided by the Kwantung Army, it is very likely that Kazuki Seiji used some unconventional reserves of the Kwantung Army's 'Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department'.

Obtained a batch of highly unstable and potent plague pathogens.

He then secretly ordered a special task force of his loyal confidants to disguise themselves as ship technicians responsible for the quarantine of military horses and mix the pathogens into some of the "horse feed".

Soon after the transport ship carrying the main forces of the 3rd and 11th Divisions, along with a large amount of baggage and horses, set sail... Release!"

"Those two transport fleets were massive, carrying tens of thousands of well-trained imperial soldiers, their horses, weapons, and ammunition..."

Yoshida's voice trembled uncontrollably, like fear, but also like excitement.

"It would have taken a few days to reach Shanghai from the mainland, but the disaster struck when we were sailing in the Bohai Sea."