1

In the middle of March 1943, although there was still a faint smell of gunpowder smoke in the air of pan-spring, the appearance of spring was presented in front of people, and the land of Jiangnan was intoxicated. The green leaves and branches of the willow trees are swaying in the spring breeze, the green grass on the embankment is fluctuating in the breeze like a river, and a buffalo in the distance is sometimes leisurely chewing on the fresh grass, sometimes stretching its neck and mooing. The waves crashed against the embankment, making a soft sound.

Standing on the embankment against the morning breeze by the river, Isamu Yokoyama and Chief of Staff Ichiro Shimashima did not speak, looking at the water of the Yangtze River pouring thousands of miles in front of them. Isamu Yokoyama looked to be in his fifties, medium-sized, lean and thin, and the proper military uniform was worn on his body without losing his military temperament, and looking through the thick spectacles, his eyes showed scheming and steady, but his face looked a little tired.

At the beginning of his tenure, he planned and launched the "Jiangbei Annihilation War", and achieved a great victory, which caused a lot of shock both in the front and in the rear, whether in the country or in his own homeland. As soon as he ended the "Jiangbei Annihilation War", he had not yet washed the dust off his military uniform, and before the gunpowder smoke in the air had dissipated, he began to brew the matter of the "Jiangnan Annihilation War". Today, he called the island not to see the scenery of the Yangtze River, but to ask for his opinions and ideas. As soon as the Battle of Jiangbei ended, he ordered the island to draw up an offensive plan for the Kuomintang 73rd Army and the 44th Army on the south bank of the Jingjiang River as soon as possible within one month, with the aim of opening up the Yangtze River route from Yichang to Wuhan, annihilating the living forces of the Kuomintang field army, and coercing the Kuomintang government in Chongqing to surrender, so as to reverse the situation of the Japanese Empire's war in China and end the war in China as soon as possible, so as to put the strategic focus on the Pacific War and the war against the Soviet Union in the north.

The reason why Isamu Yokoyama was eager to fight against the national army was because he did not participate in any decent battles when he was in the Kwantung Army. And this time the "Jiangbei Annihilation War" made him really prosperous, occupied a lot of strategic places, won the praise and affirmation of the top, and stabilized his position in the army. However, he knew that the occupation of Yueyang and Huarong did not mean that it was over, Sun Lianzhong's troops were in front of him, although it was a good time for a decisive battle, but he could not rashly confront Sun, his own strength and the enemy's strength were very different, and it was impossible to carry out a battle like Jiangbei again, so that it was impossible to send troops from above. He had to come up with a well-thought-out plan.

Isamu Yokoyama kept urging the island.

The island is also in a hurry. On the night of the day he received the order, he studied the feasibility of the battle with the staff officers in the war room, drew up a preliminary battle plan, and after repeated revisions around the combat sand table, the island handed over the plan to Isamu Yokoyama. Isamu Yokoyama looked at it carefully for a night, and at the same time thought about it for a night, and decided to submit a proposal to the base camp. The base camp didn't agree, he was very nerve-wracked, and he was haunted by it during this time, and it became a heart disease.

Although the plan was not approved for implementation, Yokoyama still felt a sense of fulfillment in his heart, after all, let Kamimine know that he was not idle to eat. However, he was not willing to stop there, and from time to time urged the General Staff Headquarters to revise the plan as soon as possible and then submit it to the base camp in Nanjing. He is a professional soldier, that is, to join the army, he must have the temperament of a soldier, the demeanor of a soldier, and the courage of a soldier, and he must complete the historical mission of a soldier's life, fighting for the country, fighting for the emperor, and also fighting for honor.

But there hasn't been time for him to take full care of it lately. The war in China has entered a phase of stalemate. In the city where he was stationed, he was often distracted by some large and small wars, and the gendarmerie was powerless, so they arrested a few anti-Japanese elements, showed them to the public, and killed them and hung them on the city tower, and still suffered more or less retaliation from some anti-Japanese organizations, such as the Kuomintang anti-traitor group, the Communist Party's political propaganda activities, and strikes, which made him very troubled. In particular, Li Xiannian's troops in the Henan-Hubei area were quite active, and the constant harassment of the New Fourth Army led by Commander Chen Yi in the rear of the enemy and the attack and destruction of the Imperial Allied Army by the Communist guerrillas in the city made him even more anxious.

Standing on the embankment of the north of the river, facing the blowing river breeze, looking at the beautiful south bank on the other side of the river, separated by a river, Hengshan Yong can't wait to fly over, and firmly control the beautiful land in the south of the Yangtze River in his own hands. However, even if he had the heart to grow a pair of wings, it would be difficult to do so, the Kuomintang had too many troops, and he did not want to hit the stone with an egg, so he could only hope that the plan suitable for the operation against Jiangnan would be approved by the base camp as soon as possible.

A soldier is a soldier after all, and he must fulfill his mission. Yokoyama knew that it was not enough to simply use his only strength to fight against the Kuomintang field army troops on the south bank of the Jingjiang River, and the enemy's strength was several times stronger than his own. Since entering the territory of China, the imperial army has suffered heavy losses, and it will definitely not approve the proposal to send additional troops to the base camp. The troops invested by the Japanese army in Central China, North China, Burma, Singapore, and other theaters of operations could no longer allow themselves to ask for additional combat corps from the upper peak. Moreover, since the Battle of Wuhan, the entire war situation in China has entered a stalemate stage, and if such a campaign is to be carried out, it is impossible to achieve it without sufficient reasons and at the same time without sufficient troops. The "Jiangbei Annihilation Battle" was the first time since Isamu Yokoyama first took office that he used the tactics of killing chickens with knives and lions to bind rabbits to annihilate Wang Jinzai's 128th Division. After this battle, he did not want to wait for work, but wanted to take the opportunity to wipe out all the national troops on the opposite side of the Yangtze River in one go, in his own words, to fight to Chongqing and capture Chiang Kai-shek alive. This is what he wants to do the most, and he thinks it's a great thing. If he succeeds, he will be honored and rewarded by the emperor and become a hero of the Japanese Empire, the madman thought.

His furrowed brow began to furnish, and he said to the island, "Go back to headquarters." Wait a minute, let Nishijima come too. ”

"West Island?" The island wonders why it's called Upper West Island.

"Yes." Isamu Yokoyama finished speaking and walked towards the parked car.

2Nishijima's father was Isamu Yokoyama, who studied together at the Army Non-commissioned Officer School, and after being assigned jobs in each of them, they became a family. Once they meet to go to the beach to ride the waves, they meet a Russian woman, Nishijima's father is fascinated by her beauty, and the two hit it off at first sight and have a very speculative conversation. Later, Nishijima's father often began to date the girl alone, and Yokoyama once asked him to express his concerns, but he didn't listen. After a long time, the two of them were like glue. Later, the girl returned to China. After some investigation by relevant departments, it was learned that she was a spy specializing in spying on Japanese military intelligence. Naturally, Nishijima's father was arrested, but fortunately nothing happened to him, and Yokoyama managed to bail him out on bail. Although Nishijima's mother forgave him, Nishijima's father felt humiliated, inferior, and a kind of conscience that he could not forgive himself, so he committed suicide by caesarean section on a beach where he had been dating the girl. Unexpectedly, Nishijima's mother was a strong woman, and when she heard the bad news, she jumped into the sea and left Nishijima.

Isamu Yokoyama took him in Nishijima and grew up in Isamu Yokoyama's home, in order not to let Nishijima have a shadow in his heart, Isamu Yokoyama never told him the truth, afraid that he would not be able to bear the stimulation. But what Nishijima got from others was that the Chinese killed his parents. Since then, Nishijima has been full of hatred for Chinese and vows to avenge his parents. Later, when Nishijima grew up, he was sent to study at the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, where he cared more about him in life and guided him militarily. After graduation, Nishijima did not accept the retention of Isamu Yokoyama, saying that he had not yet received the baptism of war and could not enjoy such treatment, and that the duty of a soldier was to be on the battlefield full of man's blood and gunsmoke, not in a greenhouse. Moreover, he wants to avenge his parents. He went to the battlefield in Central China. When Isamu Yokoyama took over the position of commander of the 11th Army, he decided to ask for Nishijima by name.

3 The generals of the various divisions came one after another, and Yokoyama Yong beckoned them to sit down, and looked around at them with a stern expression: "Everyone, it's been a hard work. The Jiangbei Annihilation War has achieved a brilliant victory, and the base camp has decided to reward you. Then he said: "However, we cannot rest yet, and the war situation does not allow us to rest, we must obey the will of the Japanese emperor and complete the mission of the Japanese empire to establish the Greater East Asia Rong Region in China. The other day, the General Staff drew up a plan for an operation in the Jiangnan region, but it was not approved. What does it say, ah, I know, you know. This is called immaturity. He didn't say the word "incompetent" for fear of hurting his men.

Several staff officers, including the island, bowed their heads. Isamu Yokoyama glanced at the island and asked, "Is Nishijima-kun here?" The island was about to speak, but only to hear a "report." A loud voice came from outside the door. Isamu Yokoyama nodded and motioned for the young and handsome Nishijima to sit down, and said to the island, "Chief of Staff, come on." ”

The island stood up from his seat and came to a military map: "You see, this theater is the garrison of the 73rd Army of the 6th Theater of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang, commanded by Sun Lianzhong, and their provisional 5th Division is stationed in Huarong, Anxiang is the 15th Division, Nanxian is the 77th Division, and here Chishan Island is guarded by a division of the 44th Army, which is ten times the strength of me, and there is also an artillery battalion stationed here. ”

At this time, a general stood up suddenly: "What's so scary about that, they are a bunch of cowards, as long as they give the order, I will be the vanguard." ”

The island listened to his interjection, swept his gaze over the faces of the others, cleared his throat and continued: "Yes, the Chinese army is nothing more than a rabble, not as well equipped as ours, and inferior to the weapons of our Great Imperial Army. However, if we attack Jiangnan, we will have to ask you to take the trouble to serve and contribute your allegiance to His Majesty the Emperor. General, what else do you have to say? ”

Isamu Yokoyama said, "I didn't say anything. Please bother, all of you, go back and think about it. ”

The officers stood en masse and left one after another.

Isamu Yokoyama stopped Nishijima. He regarded Nishijima as having come out, and looking at the young Nishijima in front of him, Yokoyama smiled and said, "Nishijima-kun, how is it, what do you think?" ”

"General, I shouldn't have come here for such an important meeting, students don't deserve it." Nishijima said with a humble face.

Yokoyama looked at him and said, "Your father is a good friend of mine, speaking of which, you and I are still alumni, what is this?" Here I have the final say, why can't I ask you to come, not to mention that I want to exercise you. Nishijima-kun. Do a good job, and the future is bright. ”

"Thank you, General." Nishijima said reverently with a salute.

"If you can attack the enemy in the Jiangnan area this time, how will you fight, let's talk about it." Isamu Yokoyama said to him lovingly.

Nishijima pondered for a while and asked: "General, I think that the enemy's strength is several times stronger than our army, and we cannot only attack by land, but also have the necessary water flanking attack. ”

"Waterways?" Isamu Yokoyama asked softly.

"Yes." He pointed to the sand table on the table and said: "You see, the topography here is characterized by hilly areas, some places are surrounded by water on three sides, only one side is inland, if we want to destroy the Kuomintang 73rd Army and win the victory and prevent them from escaping on the waterway, we must cut off their rear roads, form an encirclement posture on the water, and give full play to the advantages of our army's assault boats." ”

"You must know that the plan I proposed with the chief of staff last time was not approved, because the above will not send troops to us, the war situation in North China and Central China is complicated, the situation is unfavorable to us, and now we are facing more than 500,000 Chiang Kai-shek's troops, and the above will not let us make unnecessary sacrifices. I don't want to just stop there, because as a soldier of the Great Japanese Empire, it would be uncomfortable if there was no war. Jiangnan is known as the land of fish and rice. Small bridges, flowing water, people's houses, the four seasons are picturesque, which is incomparable to our island country. ”

"General, what's this, as long as we work together to eliminate the regular Kuomintang army, those Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army that have not formed a climate will be impossible to match with our Imperial Japanese Army, and at that time, it will be in our pocket to concentrate our forces to deal with these mud poles, won't China all be under our control?"

General Isamu Yokoyama looked at him for a few seconds, and then came to the window: "Nishijima-kun, I appreciate your ambition and courage, but you must know that what we actually want to do is not verbal, nor verbal military force, but to have military force in action to curb China's anti-Japanese war sentiment." ”

Before Nishijima could speak, he changed his words and asked Nishijima: "You have been in China for two years, right?" ”

"Yes." Nishijima straightened up.

"Sakurako is here, how is she?"

"Very well, thank you for your concern."

"When are you going to get married?"

"I don't want to do this until the war ends." Nishijima was a little baffled, and he didn't know why Isamu Yokoyama would ask such a question.

"Okay, when the war is over, I'll wait to drink your wine." Isamu Yokoyama patted Nishijima on the shoulder and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this, I'll give you a day to write a plan, this is your chance to serve His Majesty the Emperor and make meritorious contributions, go back." ”

4The sun in the west slowly approached the river, and the water and sky were the same color. Despite the heavy daytime sun today, the roads are still wet after a heavy rain a few days ago. Nishijima sat in the car with a saber in his hand, his expression solemn, and from his closed eyes, he could tell that he was thinking about the general's words just now.

With a "crunch", the car suddenly stopped, and Nishijima opened his eyes to see that a board truck full of goods in front of him was across the road, a fat man pulled hard, but one wheel was stuck in a deep pit, and an old man was pushing hard behind. Seeing this, Nishijima was furious: "Yaga." He jumped out of the car and slashed at the old man, only to see the old man fall into the mud with a scream, and then rolled into a puddle under the embankment, and did not move. The blood stained the green grass on the embankment and the watery depression. The fat man seemed to be frightened, and sat on the ground for a long time without saying a word, looking at the old father under the embankment with a wooden expression.

"Yaga." Nishijima scolded hatefully. He wiped his saber on the cargo of the cart and inserted it neatly into the sheath, then ordered the soldiers to drag the fat man onto the cart. Nishijima returned to the motorcycle, and with a slight gesture of his hand forward, the car continued to move forward, quickly disappearing at the end of the embankment.

After locking the fat man in a house and coming out, at this time, the sun on the river has melted into the river, leaving only a layer of red clouds floating in the sky above the water, charming and intoxicating, such a scenery makes Nishijima seem to see the cherry blossoms of his hometown, and at the same time think of the beautiful cherry blossoms that make his heart and body ripple.

5Sakurako heard the sound of a motorcycle at the door, got up and came to the door to greet Nishijima.

Nishijima entered the door, didn't say much, took Sakurako in his arms, and hurriedly pressed his lips tightly to Sakurako's cherry mouth, enjoying Sakurako's ten thousand tenderness......

He said to Sakurako, who was fascinated and moved, "Sakurako, you've been here for a few days, I haven't been with you properly, let's go out for a walk, okay?" Go and see the beautiful Yangtze River. ”

When he came to the embankment, looking at the ships docked nearby and the white sails in the distance, he thought about it, and the general said that he was not worried and could not find a reason to increase his troops? Boat! Boat! Aren't boats on the river exactly what we need? He hugged Sakurako and said, "Let's go, let's go back, the river breeze here is too cold." ”

The sunset reflects the Yangtze River, sparkling, the evening breeze blows on the face, and the night in the south of the Yangtze River is coming soon.

Back at the station, Nishijima didn't have time to eat, so he walked straight to the study, and his thoughts suddenly opened up.

6Sakurako looked at Nishijima's desk book, and picked up a textbook and flipped through it. She came to China this time mainly because she was sent by the Japanese Empire to teach Japanese to Chinese children, and she has been teaching Japanese for some time, and there is no class tomorrow, so she does not need to prepare for class today. It is her wish to be a teacher, but she often does not expect to come to China to teach Chinese classes, she likes children, but she does not like Chinese characters, she does not speak Chinese like Shunzi. If it weren't for the war, she would have become Nishijima's wife and have their common children a long time ago, but Nishijima is a follower of militarism, he wants to fight on the battlefield, avenge his father, and make a name for himself, he said that if the war in China does not end, he will not get married and have children. Sakurako couldn't help but feel a little melancholy when she thought of this.

She casually flipped through the book, and fell asleep unconsciously, tired.

I don't know how long it took, Nishijima stretched his body, closed the paper scroll he was writing, stretched his waist and stood up, and opened the window in front of him. At this time, a ray of morning light illuminated his chest, and only then did he realize that it was already dawn. He came to the bedroom, Sakurako woke up early and was cleaning up the room, Nishijima looked at Sakurako's beautiful face, and found a line of tears on Sakurako's face, and a feeling of guilt arose spontaneously in his heart, and he couldn't help hugging Sakura, Sakurako was hugging at the moment when she was hugged, tears suddenly flowed, she thought about the arrival of this moment, how long she waited, and finally waited for her dear Nishijima-kun to hug

After breakfast with Sakurako, Nishijima got on a motorcycle and went to Isamu Yokoyama.