Canteen System Assistance Notes

However, now probably no one has the mind to listen to and distinguish the so-called "guide party" from the noise and chaos.

The Eighth Route Army that was chasing them was not just the guerrillas from before, but the main force of the Jidong Thirteenth Division led by Gao Qiao!

Their equipment was expanded to include heavy machine guns and mortars, as well as an even greater number of rockets. The soldiers of the Jidong Military Region replaced the Japanese Type 2 7.5mm rocket launcher obtained from "special channels" with a high-explosive warhead, placed it on a bracket and fired it continuously, creating a Shansai version of a rocket cluster launcher. The rearguard soldiers were blown to pieces and cried for their parents, causing the battle line to collapse.

The flanking troops moving on the hills on both sides fired as they ran, desperately trying to gain flanking machine gun positions in order to cut down the rows of Japanese troops who were suppressed outside the city.

"Sir! Sir! Don't go into the city! Come with me!"

Chief of Staff Ando Twenty-three rushed forward with the last guards to buy time, and the adjutant with bandages rushed to Okamura's side and tried his best to escort Okamura to escape: because going north would lead to the difficult Panjiakou and Xifengkou, and going east would require crossing the Luan River, the few remaining defeated soldiers had to ride the last few horses and flee south towards Jingzhong Mountain for their lives.

The night was deep, and behind us there was the roar of gunfire and the shouting of people and the neighing of horses.

Okamura Yasuji, who once commanded a vast army across central and northern China, was now accompanied by only ten men, looking utterly miserable. To avoid detection, they dared not even light torches, relying instead on flashlights covered with cloth, and galloped along in the moonlight.

“Shhhh—!” Hudong!

With the wailing of the horse, another man fell to the ground. Even for those who had learned riding skills, riding a horse at night was difficult. In a place called "Xiaozeiyu" on Jingzhong Mountain, several people around Okamura fell and collapsed in a short time, and there were few left. But Okamura Neiji did not dare to stop, and simply drove his horse forward.

Okamura paid no attention to the fallen attendants and adjutants. He lowered his head, whipped his horse, and galloped away. However, his exhausted chariot finally gave way, stumbled, and threw him out.

Even though the trees had been cut down long ago and looked sparse, under the bright moon, the surrounding mountains and forests still seemed to overwhelm them like an iron wall; even though the killing and shouting behind them seemed distant due to the distance, in the night, the incessant sound of gunfire and the sounds of people chasing after them still lingered like a nightmare, as if wronged souls were demanding revenge or ghosts were seeking revenge.

"Come out! Come out! You cowards! Stop hiding! Come out!"

"I am General Okamura Yasuji, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army!"

Okamura Yasuji, who had lost his composure, screamed hysterically. He twisted on the ground like a maggot, and finally managed to stand up in the pain and dizziness all over his body. He staggered as if he was drunk, with one hand he pulled out the command knife that represented the highest command authority of the North China Army, and with the other hand he grabbed the FN pistol he bought, waving and slashing it towards the sky.

But the crackle of the pistols and the whirring of the samurai swords vanished like flies into the night sky. The nighttime mountain breeze rustled through the sparse trees, and the distant flames, like an inescapable punishment and revenge, drew closer, step by step, to him.

“Ah ...

The world was spinning around him, and he finally fell to the ground, gasping for breath like a bellows.

I wonder if this former "Three Crows," now a militarist vanguard and executioner, could sense the utter disgust and hatred that this ancient land and its people harbored towards this uninvited invader.

No... no, or there is no need to think about such questions at all.

With a whoosh, a supersonic bullet accurately hit his abdomen, knocking him to the ground. A few seconds later, another bullet flew in, tearing a large hole in the chest area of ​​the white shirt.

The Japanese general died instantly.

"Captain Guo! He's dead!"

"Look at that, he must be a high-ranking Japanese official!"

A soldier excitedly put down his telescope. With his excellent eyesight, he could indicate the target for the captain of the "artillery observation and teaching group" on the other side just by the moonlight.

"Even if we didn't capture Okamura Yasuji alive today, we've killed a lot of Japanese officers and lieutenants, so we've made a killing!"

"Okay, it's just a small group of Japanese officers fleeing. Don't be so crazy!"

Captain Guo, who had fought at the 72 bends of the Baixing Ancient Road, the mountains of southern Shaanxi, and Wucui Village in the Jizhong base area, had shed the naiveté of his days as a militiaman or a communicator and had acquired a bit of the maturity of a veteran since he was selected by the Jizhong base area to support Jidong.

He put away the Winchester M70 custom rifle with a Warner Swasey six-fold sight that he had obtained because he was called "General Zhu's shooter", turned around and gave orders to several observers and shooters on the other side.

"It just so happened that we encountered a small target this time, which the artillery didn't have time to react to, so we let you have some fun.

"The purpose of being an artillery observer is not to fire! Keep observing, conserve ammunition, and don't fire unless the Japs are gathered in groups!"

Chapter 821: Spy Shadow (21) Behind Every Success

(Update)

Peking was the core of the Japanese Army's control over North China. When the Japanese military leaders abandoned this place, the doomsday clock of the Japanese army in North China began to move irreversibly towards midnight.

However, in this situation, someone had to stay here to clean up the mess, to "cover the rear" for the Japanese army, and to complete some "aftermath and finishing" work, doing things that invaders should do and that would bring them historical infamy.

Unfortunately, this man's name is Shotaro Ozaki. He is an ordinary and ordinary intelligence colonel.

Shotaro Ozaki sat in the office of the Director of the Peking Police Headquarters.

This was the control center for the third communications network in and around Peking, in addition to the railway system and the civilian telephone/telegraph network. However, due to "Imperial Army orders and the necessity of the holy war," it was gloriously requisitioned by the North China Special High Section and the Intelligence Section—don't be unconvinced!

After controlling all the loyal senior officials and declaring martial law throughout the city, Lord Ozaki has been busy here, working tirelessly for the sake of the Empire, staying up all night -

Now, he was looking at the three orders in front of him.

The first order, placed at the top, was clearly the freshest. It came from the Japanese Imperial Headquarters. With Okamura Yasuji unable to communicate and Iimura Joi just reported dead, the headquarters, in a very procedural manner, instructed the commanders left behind in Peiping to relay the report to His Excellency Okamura Yasuji, who was "directing the operation at Sanzu River," as soon as possible, after completing the rearguard and finishing work.

At the same time, the Telegraph Office also received a copy of the telegram sent by the headquarters to the Seventh Army of the North China Army, ordering that in the current "critical situation", the Zhao Corps (14th Division of the Kwantung Army) would take over the battlefield command of the Seventh Army and continue to implement "the previous combat plan and make timely adjustments."

They have to be able to move in... Colonel Ozaki thought and stuffed the telegram to the bottom.

The second order was drafted by myself the day before yesterday. The Communications Office completed the announcement yesterday, stamped it with the "Done" stamp, and sent it back with the replies from various departments attached. This was a troop mobilization order. The issuing unit was naturally the North China Army Headquarters, which is no longer in Peking and even its death is unknown. However, at the time of issuance, it still existed in the legal and command chain. As for why this order was able to pass smoothly and no one doubted it, there must be a reason.

Shotaro Ozaki was the person personally appointed by His Excellency General Okamura Yasuji to be in charge of the rearguard affairs before the secret retreat. He had full authority to handle all matters in Peking!

Moreover, all these orders were sent via the telephone network and messengers!

Although the radio call sign of the North China Army Command was not used at all, the order's seal, serial number, and counter-signature were neatly arranged and complete, and the command theoretically remained in Tieshishi Hutong to command the overall situation...so, this kind of order should naturally be passed unimpeded.

Colonel Ozaki's order was also very simple: he ordered the remnants of the 106th Division responsible for the defense of Peiping and a large number of "volunteers" attached to it to set off immediately, gather troops from positions such as Changping, Fangshan, Daxing, and Nankou, and head to Miyun, Gaoling, and Gubeikou to do a good job in "defending the Gucheng Railway, clearing out the communist troops wandering around the railway and causing damage, and fully welcoming and cooperating with the reinforcements of the Kwantung Army."

Well, basically they transferred the troops from several core passes in the west and south of Peking.

Ozaki glanced at the description in the report: "The other party expressed their sincere gratitude and pledged to complete the mission with all their heart and soul." He remembered that the 106th Division's commander, General Michimasa Sako, had sent a gift to "His Excellency Okamura Yasuji" before leaving the previous night, expressing his gratitude for his transfer to a safer location...

They probably have to thank me... He made a few comments on the report and threw it into the wicker basket.

As for the third order, it came from His Excellency General Okamura Yasuji and was a handwritten secret letter.

"Not only was I given full authority to handle the aftermath, but I was also ordered to set fires to the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, and other places, and to organize the transportation of cultural relics and treasures... to assist the 'special forces' in transporting materials and documents, and to ensure a smooth evacuation..."

Humph, what 'special forces'? They're just the 1855th Chemical and Biological Warfare Unit in Northern China, and a branch of a certain unit in Manchuria. Ozaki scoffed.

He picked up the secret letter again, then opened his notebook, comparing the things on it with the tasks that had been split up earlier, and then circled some of them to indicate completion.

"Don't worry, Okamura-kun, everything will go smoothly and successfully." He pressed the call bell and called his adjutant in.

"Mr. L, please find Captain Maeda. When you see him, please say, 'Mr. Z, Mr. A wants to see you.'"

After hearing his superior suddenly call him by a different name, the adjutant's eyes flashed, and then he bowed solemnly and left the office.

call……

One of his successors, Shirai, was off to work, so Ozaki Shotaro, his "superior," could slack off for a while. He leaned back in a recliner in the office of the puppet police chief in Peiping, grabbed a nearby banknote, lit it with his lighter, and watched it burn out.

Finally, he very "luxuriously" lit a filter cigarette with the banknote, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly and tiredly.

Why not collect North China Army notes instead of real estate donations?... In a few days, these will become waste paper, right?

Ozaki sighed in his heart and couldn't help but start thinking about work.

Working in the enemy camp is lonely and difficult, especially for a deep-sea spy like him who is in a "top" position. The pressure he bears is even greater: after all, no one wants the entire intelligence network to suffer heavy losses because of his own mistakes.

Therefore, with this cautious mentality, Shotaro Ozaki only successfully developed two downlines in two years of work. Together with the three comrades inherited from Shirai, he had only five "downlines" at his disposal, and there was very little room for him to maneuver.

During his two years of work, he only organized a "special agent training team" with four teams and about two hundred people, which was a "private army" force, to advance his reconnaissance, cover, performance appraisal and intelligence delivery work in major cities.

However, in addition to this, due to a series of coincidences and the influence of time and place, Shotaro Ozaki also took control of many armed forces in the city of Peiping.

The puppet "Special Police" responsible for maintaining public order in Peking faced increasing pressure to defend the city after the withdrawal of Japanese troops, while their rations and weapons were dwindling. Therefore, the Intelligence Section, which had access to resources and offered timely assistance, was granted actual command of the 9th Battalion, one of the 12 Special Police Battalions, and was given the right to recruit personnel. He easily recruited approximately a thousand elite Imperial Army soldiers from the Pingxi and Pingbei regions to participate in the daily maintenance of public order in Peking, relieving pressure on the Imperial Army and sharing tasks.

Because the spy agencies across North China were responsible for maintaining local black market transactions and the resale of supplies, each had an implicit rule of organizing a "special forces squad." Shotaro Ozaki dispatched another of his subordinates to Panggezhuang, south of Peking, and within a few months, he assembled a highly skilled "special forces squad" of over 900 members.

They were very loyal. Not only did they help Ozaki maintain the order of black market transactions, they also helped the North China Command complete the purchase of special supplies many times, and received praise and support from the command.

"The headquarters and the General Police Department have already taken control... The Special Agent Training Team will have to control the railway communication station and telephone office in Peking...

"The special forces will... let them be responsible for the arson and destruction work ordered by 'Okamura-sama', and for the transportation of artifacts, documents, and treasures. Yes, they're very skilled at transporting supplies and goods, so there's no problem...

"The 'Special Force's' route of action has been sent to the organization. They will arrange the personnel. I don't need to worry about it..."

Ozaki's cigarette had burned out, but he was still lying in the chair, his eyes closed, thinking about the problem.

For over a month, he had been running back and forth, exhausting himself with worry over this massive, multi-faceted "incident." Even though that "unspoken" existence had orchestrated comprehensive cooperation from several prefectural committees and the Urban Construction Department, the weight of such a heavy task, one misstep potentially costing a fortune, was too great for anyone to handle with composure.

Ozaki Shotaro's closed mind surged like a whirlpool, trying to make the best plan based on the information he had:

"As for the 9th Battalion... after receiving the order to enter the city, at least they secured Guang'anmen and Fuchengmen... Kuso, there are still too few of them, only a thousand or so, and Beiping is so huge...

"If they have another two or three thousand people, we can directly hand over the martial law in the city to them..."

“Ding Dong!”

I don't know how long it was before the office doorbell rang, and then the door was knocked rhythmically six times.

"Come in." Ozaki Shotaro had an idea and immediately straightened his posture and sat back at his desk.

The office door was opened by "Captain Maeda," or perhaps "Mr. Z," who had joined the Chinese Communist Party while working at the Manchurian Railway. Unexpectedly, four people walked in—not just one, but Captain Maeda of the 9th Battalion. The other three were all dressed in pseudo-special police uniforms, and all were Chinese.

The adjutant code-named "Mr. L" gestured at the door and went out - this meant that all irrelevant people around had been cleared out and they could talk without worry.

"Everyone..."

Ozaki Shotaro started the conversation, and the other four looked at each other and started talking one after another.

"Our mission is..." Captain Maeda spoke first. "Control." "Contain." "Protect."

"I see, I see." Ozaki Shotaro breathed a sigh of relief, walked out from behind his desk, and extended his hand to shake everyone's. "Comrades, nice to meet you."

He invited everyone to sit down and spoke quickly and accurately, "We don't have much time, so let's briefly introduce each other. I know the situation of the 9th Squadron. My people are generally in... these places."

"Okay. The 2nd Battalion of the Peking Puppet Special Police Force, no problem at all."

Wu Bicheng, a special commissioner of the Jin-Cha-Ji Urban Construction Department and a "senior enemy spy" from the Peking Special High Section, introduced, "That traitorous Chairman Jiang was forced to work by us, and he was very obedient."

"The basic situation regarding the 5th Battalion of the Peking Puppet Special Police Force has been communicated to all branches. The officers in charge of united front work have already been keeping an eye on those who are unable to be united."

Huang Hao, the director of the Jizhong Office in Beiping and a Christian elder at Xinjiekou Church, who was in charge of liaising with the Jizhong Sub-district's Pingnan Seven-Character Working Committee, said solemnly, "Now, could Mr. A issue us some 'special passes'? This will make the transfer much easier."

"...That's it, then. I'll report to my superiors when I get back, and we'll proceed according to the scheduled time."

Lou Ping, the adjutant of the 9th Battalion of the Peking puppet special police force and secretary of the Peking Urban Working Committee, nodded. "Everything is now ready, only the east wind is missing," he said. "When the time comes, not only will the Pingxi, Pingbei, Pingnan, Jizhong, Jidong, and Bohai bases cooperate with us, but the main forces currently engaged in a decisive battle with the Japanese will also support our actions... Comrades, Peking is a precious asset of the Chinese people. We must return it to the Chinese people as intact as possible."

"We have no choice but to do so," Ozaki Shotaro said firmly.

Chapter 822: North China Hydrangea Gland, Inertia Reduction (Part 1)

When things developed to this point, after Iimura Mamoru died, Okamura Yasuji abandoned his command and fled, and then also died, the Battle of North China was actually over.

As for why the fighting continues, it is probably because a battle or a war is also affected by Newton's first law and has inherent inertia.

Without external forces, things tend to maintain their existing state of motion. Whether it's fearlessly charging forward and exploding, futilely firing projectiles at impenetrable armor, or knowing there's no escape yet still fleeing under enemy fire...those at their wit's end always hope to continue the war before their own destruction. After all, it offers a temporary reprieve from the despair of reality.

But just as the three "no" conditions in an ideal experiment don't exist in reality, the car will stop, the ball will stop, and the means of escaping the end through fighting can only deceive people temporarily, but not forever. As the battle continued, the "end moment" belonging to the Japanese army in North China finally arrived.

Starting from March 22, the first army to face destruction was the Seventh Army fighting on the Pinghan Line.

Because Iimura Joi and nearly all of the Seventh Army's command had been killed by the air force on their way back from Okamura's headquarters, the entire Seventh Army's frontline troops were stranded on the battlefield. Without receiving any orders, they could only follow the "decisive battle order" previously issued by Okamura Yasuji and deploy their thin formation towards the Eighth Route Army that had taken advantage of the opportunity.

Even if the 14th Division of the Kwantung Army, which arrived shortly after, was given temporary command, the decisive battle had already begun, whether voluntarily or not. How could the troops be withdrawn so easily?

In other words, if we retreat hastily at this time, it will mean an even more complete defeat!

All strategies and tactics had been abandoned, and the battle had become a simple offensive. The Eighth Route Army and the Japanese army deployed on the almost flat battlefield, launching offensives against each other without the help of fortifications or trenches.

The "Hail" rockets with the reputation of "Li Desheng's Hail" and the 107mm mountain rockets nicknamed "Sudden Rain" played a grand movement of fire preparation together. The flaming projectiles almost lit up the sky; the 155mm, 122mm and 75mm artillery, under the reconnaissance of the artillery observation group, artillery observation reconnaissance aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles, used their own geodetic data as the basis, and coordinated with the semi-automatic artillery command system, projected destruction towards any Japanese target exposed within the range; various types of "Gran" rockets gathered together

The "Te" and "Stuart" formed a diagonal formation and launched an attack on the various Japanese tanks in the distance. With their magnificent offensive, they smashed the Type 97 modified tanks and Type 1 artillery vehicles that could threaten them.

The commanders on the front line would often smile knowingly when they saw the signal icon representing the "Automated Command and Communication System Mobile Communication Node" light up in the corner of the digital radio screen, and then they would become more confident and join the soldiers in launching the final judgment against the Japanese army whose artillery, firepower and armored forces had been suppressed.

Ultimately, in less than a week, Qingyuan in Hebei Province, representing the last leg of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei defense perimeter, changed hands. Aside from a small number of small Japanese units that successfully transitioned away, leaving behind their allies, the newly established Seventh Army of the North China Army, which replaced the Kwantung Army's previously designated new unit, was officially annihilated.

Further north on the battlefield, the 4th Division and the 64th Division (formerly the 15th Independent Mixed Division), which were responsible for guarding the Zhangyuan direction, were not as lucky as their allies when they faced destruction.

Compared to the execution-like despair of "seeing him build a tall building, and seeing it collapse", their experience is more like a "jumpscare" where a ghost face suddenly pops out in the darkness, making people scream without any preparation and punch the computer screen in front of them - except that the LCD screen in front of them turns into an armored steel plate that cannot be penetrated by human power in the next moment, and punching it will do nothing but break their own hands.

After all, when the fighting was raging in Shandong Province and northern Henan and southern Hebei, the Japanese troops here had no idea that the Communist army in front of them had any intention of preparing to attack.

They seemed to have mobilized all their forces to the south, and even reduced their forces in the north. They began to deepen trenches, dig blockades, and pretend to hold their ground. At the same time, they stopped the "battlefield trade" license under the banner of the "Red Cross Rescue Organization."

This even made some officers and soldiers of the Fourth Division, who had been enjoying a good time reselling northern goods, arms, oil and medicines, feel regretful. They all expressed their regrets about why the good fellows of the Communist Army did not understand the principle that "the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish" and kept trading, as if they had forgotten the fierce battle with the Eighth Route Army during the Shandong Campaign a year ago.

Only then did Division Commander Kaiyuan Liu sense something was amiss with the Eighth Route Army. He ordered his staff to alert the neighboring 64th Division to prepare, dispatched additional forward reconnaissance posts from his own troops, and personally patrolled the camp every night before bed, shouting "Increase alert, stay awake" to everyone he saw before returning to his room.

But just as the 4th Division was stepping up its preparations and keeping a close eye on the situation on the southern front, and the 64th Division had just begun to inventory and organize its equipment and weapons, the North China Field Army troops led by the "Two Yangs" combination of Yang Nengjun and Yang Chengwu drove the "indestructible" Valentine tanks in their faces.

At the same time, the 4th and 64th Divisions found that they could not contact the North China Army Headquarters!

The usual radio call signs disappeared, and the usual replies ceased to appear. The Kwantung Army's 14th Division, originally intended as a mobile backup force, was also transferred to the decisive battle in the south. The 4th Division, inquiring via telegram from the 7th Army's remaining staff, learned that the commander, Lieutenant General Iimura, had been killed and that the Communist army had already reached Qingyuan!