Anti-Japanese War: Li Yunlong dared to attack Taiyuan

"There's definitely something wrong with the content of this telegram. The address, the order, and the command don't conform to our format!"

"General, we have..."

The telegrams that Li Yunlong had people send to the various Japanese troops were indeed full of loopholes. Both the telegram format and the content did not match the content of the telegram sent by the Japanese headquarters.

But if this telegram is fake, it means that the headquarters really encountered an accident and has been captured by the enemy.

"Send a telegram to Taiyuan immediately and ask about General Shinozuka Kazuo's situation!"

"Hayi!"

"Notify the troops immediately, stop the attack immediately and wait for orders!"

"Hayi!"

At this time, Kanda Masatane was pacing back and forth in the command center with a frown on his face. Obviously, he had not expected such an unexpected situation to happen. The mopping-up operation had just begun, and the command center was attacked.

"Send a telegram to the North China Expeditionary Force Headquarters, asking if they want to return to Taiyuan!"

"Hayi!"

Soon, telegrams were sent out by the Sixth Division. At the same time, the troops of the Sixth Division stopped attacking and began to retreat slowly, giving the Independent Regiment a chance to catch its breath.

"Report to the regiment commander, the Japs have stopped attacking!"

In the headquarters of the independent regiment, Kong Jie was stunned when he heard the news. The Japanese troops that came from the rear had threatened the safety of the independent regiment headquarters, and the independent regiment had nowhere to retreat and could be wiped out at any time.

But now the Japs suddenly gave up the attack.

"Something's wrong, something's very wrong. What are these little devils planning to do?"

Kong Jie was observing the Japanese troops with a telescope. In the dark night, he could see the Japanese soldiers retreating. The gunshots in the back mountain gradually subsided, and there was no trace of the Japanese soldiers. It seemed that the Japanese were really retreating.

"Dig shelter immediately and prepare to continue fighting. The Japs may give us some surprises!"

Kong Jie thought about it and followed the Japanese's three-pronged strategy: infantry charge, artillery bomb, and then the infantry charge after the artillery bombs. Now that the infantry has completed the attack, the next step should be for the artillery to bomb Xiaodang Mountain.

However, Kong Jie still had doubts in his mind. The Japanese had clearly completed the encirclement on three sides, so why did they suddenly retreat?

Just when Kong Jie was at a loss.

In the North China Expeditionary Army Headquarters, the Japanese commander-in-chief of the North China Expeditionary Army, Tada Shun, also climbed out of bed at this time.

"What? The First Army headquarters was attacked by some unknown armed group. The headquarters has been breached, and Shinozuka Ichizo's fate remains unknown."

When Tada Shun received the news, he was stunned and even suspected that he was still dreaming.

"Ha Yi, I've confirmed with Taiyuan that the headquarters has been captured. There's no news yet on General Shinozuka Kazuo!"

"At all costs, we must ensure the safety of General Shinozuka Kazuo! Contact Taiyuan immediately!"

There is a telephone line from Taiyuan to Beijing, which is laid along the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Railway.

"Report, the telephone line was damaged two days ago and is currently under repair. Communication with Taiyuan has not yet been restored!"

Hearing this, Tada Shun's face twitched slightly and he immediately said, "Then send me a text message right away to ask for the details. The more detailed the better!"

"Hayi!"

Before Taiyuan's reply arrived, the telegram from the 6th Division was first delivered to Tada Shun.

"Order the Sixth Division to continue sweeping..."

Before he finished speaking, a confidential secretary came in with a telegram: "Report, an urgent telegram from Taiyuan!"

Tada Shun immediately took the telegram, signaled the staff officer who was recording the order to wait, and looked at the telegram in his hand.

"Snapped!"

After reading the telegram, Tada Shun slammed it on the table.

"Baga, they're all a bunch of trash! Trash! The commander of the First Army was actually kidnapped by the Eighth Route Army!"

After saying this, Tada Shun paced back and forth on the spot. A telegram had just told Tada Shun that Shinozuka Kazuo was captured alive by the Eighth Route Army in the headquarters, and then the Eighth Route Army asked for two trucks, which were now leaving the city. They asked Tada Shun what to do next.

"Call Taiyuan back and make sure General Shinozuka Kazuo is brought back safely!"

Then he thought for a moment and said.

"Immediately order the Sixth Division to return to Taiyuan, cancel the winter mopping-up plan, and all troops to return to their original bases immediately!"

"Hayi!"

After Tada Shun gave the order.

He sat back in his chair feeling a little tired.

His mind was in a mess. Before he went to bed, he received a telegram from Kazuo Shinozuka, saying that the Sixth Division had already captured a main regiment of the Eighth Route Army, and the winter mopping-up operation would soon achieve great results.

As a result, before he woke up, the First Army Headquarters was captured by the Eighth Route Army, and Shinozuka Kazuo was captured alive.

"waste!"

After saying this with gritted teeth, Tada Shun immediately began to think about what to do next.

Chapter 91 The Locust Awakened in the Middle of the Night

Kazuo Shinozuka is probably in great danger now in the hands of the Eighth Route Army. Even if he is successfully rescued, a captured general cannot continue to serve as the commander of the First Army.

The most important thing now is to find a suitable successor to take over the position of commander of the First Army.

"Send a telegram to headquarters immediately, reporting the Taiyuan incident. At the same time, urge headquarters to appoint a new commander for the First Army. The situation in Taiyuan is too corrupt, and we need someone to take charge!"

"Hayi!"

Tada Shun rubbed his temples and cursed Shinozuka Kazuo countless times in his heart. The incident between the battlefield observation group and Yamamoto Ikki had already made the North China Expeditionary Army lose face, and now they had completely thrown their face on the ground and let others trample on it.

The commander of the First Army, Lieutenant General of the Empire, was captured alive by the enemy. If it weren't for repeatedly confirming the authenticity of this news, Tada Shun would have thought it was a joke.

No matter how embarrassing it was in the past, it was only the First Army that was embarrassed. Now the entire North China Expeditionary Force is also embarrassed. It is estimated that after this incident gets out, the entire North China Expeditionary Force will become a laughing stock.

The devil's base camp.

It was already late at night in the Japanese base camp, but the lights in the army headquarters were still brightly lit, and people were constantly coming in and out. As the war went on, the situation in the Japanese country became more and more difficult, and the Japanese economy was getting worse and worse, and was about to reach the brink of collapse, but there was no hope of victory. This put more and more pressure on the Japanese army, and they were formulating a new combat plan.

When the North China Expeditionary Force's telegram was delivered to the Army Headquarters, the staff officer on duty saw the news and was stunned for a moment. Then he quickly rushed to the phone and dialed: "Connect me to General Hata Shunroku!"

Hata Shunroku was the Japanese Army Minister and had fallen asleep at this time. The phone call in the secretariat at home was particularly harsh at night. The secretary on duty immediately answered the phone. After hearing the content of the call, he immediately got up and prepared to wake up the sleeping Hata Shunroku.

However, just as they reached the door, Hata Shunroku opened it first: "What happened? Why are you calling me so late?"

"Report, the duty officer said something happened to the North China Expeditionary Force. The commander of the First Army, Kazuo Shinozuka, has been captured!"

"Nani?"

When Hata Junroku heard the news, he was stunned for a moment, then said, "Did you hear it right?"

"No, I checked several times!"

"Go to headquarters immediately!"

Soon, the three commanders of the Japanese army all received the call, climbed out of their beds and took a car to the army headquarters.

Everyone frowned worriedly.

"Has the Cabinet been informed?"

"not yet!"

Hata Junroku thought for a moment and said, "Don't inform the cabinet yet. I'll report to His Majesty Tianhuang. Don't let this matter leak out for the time being, otherwise we will become a disgrace to the navy!"

The Japanese army and navy did not get along with each other, and it could even be said that the two sides almost never had any contact with each other. Apart from the exchanges in the imperial court meetings, there was almost no communication or visits between the officers below. Even during battles, communication required the temporary establishment of a third-party contact in order to coordinate actions.

So when such a big scandal broke out in the army, the first thing that came to mind was to conceal it immediately and absolutely not let the navy know about it, otherwise it would become an excuse for the navy to attack the army.

In addition, there is another reason. Once this kind of thing is publicized, it will be detrimental to the stability of the Japanese domestic situation. After all, the Japanese domestic propaganda has always been that they are winning victory after victory and are invincible.

After quickly reading the telegram and understanding its content, Hata Shunroku met with the Chief of Staff and the Director of Education, thought about countermeasures, and finally determined a new candidate for the commander of the First Army. He then hurried to the palace where Tianhuang lived.

At this time in the palace, Tianhuang had already gone to bed. When he learned that it was Hata Junroku who wanted to meet Tianhuang, the devil Tianhuang got up very reluctantly and summoned Hata Junroku with sleepy eyes.

"Your Majesty, the North China Expeditionary Force has sent a telegram stating that the First Army Commander, Kazuo Shinozuka, has been captured by Li Yunlong of the Eighth Route Army Independent Column. His life or death is currently unknown!"

When the sleepy Zhaohe Tianhuang heard the news, he was still confused and waved his hand and said, "Anything else?"

Hata Shunroku didn't say anything, but continued to wait. Sure enough, when Showa Tianhuang realized what was happening, he stood up in surprise and asked, "What? Shinozuka Kazuo was captured by the Eighth Route Army?"

"Hayi!"

"When did this happen?"

"Just a while ago, the people who kidnapped Shinozuka Kazuo have already taken him away from Taiyuan City. We are ready to communicate with the enemy and find a way to get General Shinozuka Kazuo back!"

After hearing this, Showa Tianhuang paced back and forth and said, "Well, immediately find a way to contact someone in China. No matter what method you use, you must first get Shinozuka Kazuo back!"

After that, Showa Tianhuang said, "If the Chinese don't agree to the exchange, Shinozuka Kazuo must die. He absolutely cannot surrender to the Chinese!"

Showa Tianhuang was well aware of the importance of a Japanese army group commander. If he surrendered, the consequences would be disastrous. The information that Shinozuka Kazuo had was definitely not comparable to that of the major general who was captured before.

Thinking of this, Zhao He Tian Huang was suddenly stunned and said, "Why does this name Li Yunlong sound so familiar to me?"

"Your Majesty, a major general from the North China Expeditionary Force observation group was killed in action, and another major general was captured. The culprit was this Li Yunlong!"

After thinking for a while, Zhao He Tian Huang thought of the name Li Yunlong and nodded, saying, "I see. It seems that this Li Yunlong is a serious threat to the empire."

"Your Majesty, rest assured. Li Yunlong is merely a regimental commander of the Chinese Eighth Route Army. He's nothing to worry about. However, the most important issue right now is how to appease the First Army. The capture of Shinozuka Kazuo will undoubtedly impact the morale of the First Army and will also intensify the arrogance of the Chinese in Jin. Therefore, we must find a way to stabilize the situation!"

The reason why Hata Shunroku was so anxious was that he was worried about a chain reaction. This incident would probably spread quickly tomorrow, which would boost the morale of the Eighth Route Army in Jin and even the troops in other regions. If no one was in charge at this time, the situation in Jin would definitely deteriorate rapidly.

Someone must rush over immediately to minimize the impact of this incident.

"Do you have any suitable candidates?"

Hata Shunroku immediately nodded and said, "I've discussed this with the Chief of Staff and the Director of Education. The person most suitable for Jindi right now is His Royal Highness Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko. Only with his presence can the situation be stabilized!"

After hearing this, Guizi Tianhuang thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "I will send a telegram to my uncle right now and ask him to rush to Jin immediately."

Soon a military order was issued from the Japanese headquarters late at night, and Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko, who had already resigned from his military post, had to put on his armor and go into battle again.

Chapter 92 It’s not Li Yunlong who is fighting Taiyuan

Deep in the Taihang Mountains, the Eighth Route Army’s temporary headquarters.

"Still can't contact the independent column and independent regiment?"