However, after hesitating for a moment, Imamura Shintaro Osaku said to Lieutenant General Iseki: "Your Excellency, do I think you will transport the grain away first?" According to my analysis and judgment, the main target of this batch of eight-way sneak attack on the Nanguan freight yard is this batch of grain. Otherwise, there are so many important targets around Changzhi, why did they only sneak attack the Nanguan Freight Yard? ”

"This year, the whole southeast of Shanxi is in the midst of drought. Although the drought in the southeast of Shanxi Province is not as severe as that in the areas south of the Yellow River. However, since the beginning of the year, the North China Front has launched a continuous sweep of the so-called base areas of the Eighth Road, which has also destroyed the resources on which the Eighth Route depends for its survival to a considerable extent. ”

"The Taihang Mountains themselves are located in the most barren mountainous areas in North China, and the grain output is far from being comparable to the Jizhong Plain in Hebei and the Shangdang Basin where the division is located. This year's drought and the sweep of the imperial army have created great difficulties for the survival of the Eighth Road in Taihang Mountain. ”

"And since the beginning of autumn, a large number of disaster victims in Henan have poured into the southeast of Shanxi Province to eat. Under the blockade policy adopted by the Imperial Army, most of these victims were driven to the so-called base areas of the Eighth Route by certain means, which further aggravated the problem of food shortage in the Eighth Route Base Area. ”

"Although the Taihang Mountains are close to the two major basin grain areas of Shangdang and Zezhou. But these two grain-producing areas were tightly controlled by the imperial army. This time, the Eighth Road sneak attack on the Nanguan freight yard spared the adjacent railway station, which is such a more important target. In terms of the consistent activity rules of the Eight Roads, they will definitely not be untargeted. ”

"I think they should have already obtained this batch of grain, and they concentrated on the intelligence of the Nanguan Freight Yard. It is not too difficult for them to obtain such information. I think the main purpose of their raid on the yard this time. They are anxious to get this batch of food to alleviate their urgent needs. ”

"The Imperial Army is not their incompetent government army in China, and the entire richest part of China is now under the control of the Imperial Army. Unless they do another so-called long march, they travel long distances to find other places to eat. Otherwise, this batch of grain will definitely become an important target for them. ”

"Division commander, no matter how strict the discipline of the Eighth Route is, they will be starved to death without food. They adopt the so-called supply system and do not pay their salaries, and they may be able to maintain the dispersal of their troops by their will and careful organization. But without food to eat, I don't think there is any way to keep them alive. ”

"There is a saying in China that the emperor can't send hungry soldiers. The common people have to rebel if they don't have enough to eat, not to mention that they are an army. If they forcibly collect grain and adopt the method of killing people to raise the army, then they will also completely lose the support of the people in the southeast of Jin. ”

"If this happens, it will be conducive to the Empire's control of North China. Doesn't Balu always say that the relationship between himself and the common people is that of fish and water? If they did forcibly collect grain, it would be of great benefit to the Empire's strategy in North China. But I don't think the eight roads are so stupid. ”

"They obviously know how to win the support of the common people better than the government of China, and they know better that without the support of the people of China, they are simply powerless to compete with the empire. So, I don't think Eight Roads will be so stupid. They should have other means to solve the food shortage. ”

"This attack on the Nanguan freight yard, I still think they are rushing for this batch of grain. Your Excellency, Division Commander, you must know that as long as this batch of grain can be obtained by them, it will be able to solve their current big problems. At least the problem of spring famine in the coming year can be easily solved. ”

Regarding Imamura Shintaro Osa's idea, Lieutenant General Iseki hesitated for a moment but shook his head: "The goal of this Eighth Route is not these grains, they are going to transfer the tiger away from the mountain." The division's troops that were sweeping in the Taihang Mountains were transferred back to relieve the pressure of their so-called anti-sweeping operations. ”

"This food is really important to them. But they don't have the ability to transport it away in the shortest possible time. If a lot of time is wasted on transportation, with the usual reflex ability of the Imperial Army, it is enough to quickly close them. If you don't have any confidence at all, you and I will be derelict as a senior officer in the Imperial Army. ”

"The commander of this eight-way army is very sober-minded, and he will not do such a stupid thing to send himself to our guns. He always makes what he has to do, and he knows what he needs more. If I'm not wrong, the sneak attack on the Nanguan Freight Yard should have been done by the opponent who had the most headache before the transfer of Tsuruta Numan Shaozo. ”

"Only he can do such a bold thing. And before this incident, it was not without precedent. They should have attacked the Changzhi Field Airfield under the condition that the division and regiment were hoarding heavy troops. Then it may not be necessary to dare to sneak attack a freight yard that is not too heavily guarded when the main forces of the division and regiment are outside to sweep their base areas. ”

"But you're not wrong about that. This batch of grain was transferred to the garrison of the Southern Hebei Empire, where it is very difficult to collect grain, and there must be no accidents. However, before the reinforcements rush back and can ensure the smooth operation of the railway, the vigilance of the freight yard will be strengthened for the time being. ”

As for Iseki Ya's final rejection of his suggestion, Imamura Shintaro hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Excellency the division commander, if we still follow the original deployment and all the imperial troops serve as guards, it will be difficult for us to ensure that we have enough troops to search for the Eighth Road. Do you think the garrison will take over the security task here? ”

"The area under the jurisdiction of the division is too large, and it is impossible for us to give up control of other control areas because of such a group of eight roads. The North China Front, in particular, also set detailed blockade tasks for our divisions. The lack of troops and the large control area have always been our Achilles' heel. ”

Hearing this suggestion of Imamura Shintaro Osa, and looking at the rubble in front of him, the Lieutenant General Iseki hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded: "Yes, the police and garrison will be transferred to take over the guard work." However, the Imperial soldiers also had to remain in a detachment. ”

"These people are unreliable, and they need someone with a whip to do their jobs honestly. There is a saying among the people of China that those who are not of our race will have different hearts. This sentence is also the same for the empire that is currently fighting on the battlefield of China. Those people are unreliable, and all their actions must be firmly in our hands. ”

"In addition, Imamura-kun, you have the gendarmerie special high-tech team cooperate with the plainclothes team to carry out a secret search in the area around Changzhi, especially the mountainous area within 30 kilometers. In cooperation with the large-scale public search carried out by the troops, this dirt eight roads were forced out. ”

"Tell the plainclothes captain of the branch that I will give him three days, and if he still can't find the location of this dirt road, he and his family will go down to the squadron leader to bury him. The Empire doesn't waste so much money every year feeding a bunch of waste that can't do anything. ”

Speaking of this, Lieutenant General Iguanyu paused for a moment and continued: "Imamura-kun, now I have some regrets about transferring Tsuruta Numan Shaozuo out of the 36th Division. Although this guy has failed several times, he is quite qualified as an intelligence staff officer. ”

"Within the division, he has a deep understanding of the tactics of the Eighth Route and can be called an expert in dealing with the so-called guerrilla warfare of the Eighth Route. It's just a pity that his previous failure directly led to the failure of the First Army's plan to eliminate the Eighth Route Headquarters, which caused extreme dissatisfaction among the army headquarters, and now he is transferred to the Pacific Theater. If he had been in the 36th Division, maybe we wouldn't have suffered such a big loss this time. ”

Lieutenant General Iseki's words fell, but Imamura Shintaro Osa did not answer him. As his proud student, he still knows what Tsuruta Nunan's ability is. Although Tsuruta Numan has never been able to completely eradicate it, this bold earth eight roads.

But Tsuruta Numanan was still quite outstanding in the position of the division's intelligence staff officer. At the very least, it can be said that he is the most outstanding staff officer of the 36th Division since its formation. However, the transfer of Tsuruta Numanan from the 36th Division was not just the meaning of the First Army Headquarters.

Although His Excellency the lieutenant general beside him avoided him, he didn't know what he was doing inside. Tsuruta Numanan was actually pushed out by the 36th Division as a scapegoat. The commander of the lieutenant general's division looks harmless to humans and animals, but in fact his hands are black.

If it weren't for the Lieutenant General Iseki in front of him, who pushed some things on Tsuruta Numa, he still had hope of staying in the 36th Division. Of course, these words, Shintaro Imamura naturally will not say them. And Imamura Shintaro knows better that his best answer to the words of the division commander is not to answer.

However, I heard that in the current Pacific theater, in the ongoing operation on Guadalcal Island, the Imperial Army and Navy have suffered great losses. The troops who participated in the Kuah Island operation suffered heavy losses, and the supply transportation was extremely difficult because of the blockade by the American army, which made him very worried about Tsuruta Nunan, who was transferred in that direction.

And for Lieutenant General Jingguan Cheng, there is no secret to keep in this Nanguan freight yard now. There was only that food left, and there was no need for the Empire's elite army to defend it. It is still a more appropriate choice to transfer the garrison to take over the warehouse. At the very least, the troops of the 36th Division can be freed up to find and completely destroy the dirt and eight roads.

After the order was given, when Lieutenant General Jing Guan's gaze once again fell on the burned warehouse with only broken walls left, there was not only a throbbing pain in his heart. Now that he has lost all the supplies in this freight yard, except for food, he has a feeling that he is going to have a heart attack.

Not to mention the loss of those precious medicines, how will the base camp hold the 36th Division responsible. It's the burned cotton yarn, as well as tung oil and bristles, and a lot of money in it. originally expected to make a big profit, but now it is all gone, and he may even go bankrupt.

From the July 7 Incident to the present, this war has been fought for more than five years. There are not a few high-ranking officers of the Japanese army that invaded China and made a fortune. At the beginning of the war, relying on force, he burned and looted Japanese officers on the battlefield in China, and obtained a lot of wealth by robbery.

As the war has entered a stalemate stage, the battle line has stabilized, and the number of large-scale offensive and defensive battles between the two sides has been greatly reduced. Both sides are engaged in large-scale smuggling activities in order to obtain strategic materials in each other's hands and destroy the economy in the areas controlled by the other side, but they are becoming more and more intense.

In addition to the involvement of the intelligence agencies of both sides, senior officers with a certain amount of power in their hands, especially those near the battle line, also participated. There are not a few officers in the Chinese army who are engaged in smuggling, and there are not a few Japanese officers who are doing the same thing.