Spring in Changchun comes later than spring in Dalian. At this time, the land of Jiaodong is already full of purple and red, Dalian has also recovered from the spring breeze, and there are still some lawns on the lawn in the compound of the Changchun Kwantung Army Headquarters!

In the afternoon, the sun shone through the glass window into the large office of the commander of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Mijiro, and the face of General Umezu Mijiro was half bright and half dark, and it looked a little haloed.

The Eighth Route Army's movements were too sudden and fast, so fast that General Umezu Mijiro was inexplicably surprised! In the morning, he reported to the base camp that Liu Yimin's troops had attacked and occupied Jinzhou, Dalian, and Lushun railway stations, and asked for the transfer of fleets and flight groups to reinforce the Kwantung Army. Umezu Mijiro was thinking about how to eliminate the Eighth Route Army that landed on the Liaodong Peninsula, and the Shenyang Railway Station and the outskirts of Jinzhou were fighting. As soon as Umezu Mijiro scolded the commander of the Kwantung Defense Army, Yasui Fujiji, on the phone, the farewell message from Kobayashi, the commander of the garrison of the Lushun Fortress, reporting that the Lushun Fortress had fallen. This series of sudden events caused the staff officers in the Kwantung Army Headquarters to panic, and even General Umezu Mijiro, who was as calm as a mountain with heavy responsibilities, was briefly petrified.

In fact, Umezu Mijiro started when he received a report of the Eighth Route Army's attack on the Lushun Railway Station. He already thought that Liu Yimin was going to take advantage of the situation to capture the Liaodong Peninsula and Fengtian, and his telegram to the base camp made it very clear. It's just that Umezu Mijiro couldn't figure out why the Eighth Route Army was able to break through the Lushun Fortress so quickly and start at the Shenyang Railway Station at the same time. This is not logical, nor is it in line with the common sense of warfare, and it is like this to attack everywhere. The effect is like sprinkling pepper noodles, you may succeed in a short time, and after a long time, you will be broken by your opponents.

The only explanation is that Liu Yimin's forces went north, and the reason why he dared to attack and occupy the railway station so unscrupulously was that he relied on his main force to quickly arrive for reinforcements. This is the fundamental reason why Fort Arthur fell so quickly. Vice Admiral Kobayashi reported very clearly in his farewell telegram that when the main forces of the garrison and the marines were making every effort to capture the railway station, the main force of the Eighth Route Army arrived. Three strikes and five divisions by two wiped out the main force of the Arthur Fortress.

Lushun is like this, but what about Dalian? I'm afraid it's about to fall. Now look, Mukden is also in danger. If you don't do it, the bad news will come soon.

Yoshimoto asked to take a plane to Liaonan, Mukden, and Liaodong Peninsula to observe the battlefield situation. Umezu Mijiro was also eager to go. The problem is that there is something more important at this time than going to the battlefield to observe!

Although Umezu Mijiro could not figure out exactly how many troops Liu Yimin's forces had, where they were attacking, and to what extent, one thing was already clear to him, that is, the goal of the first phase of Liu Yimin's operation was to pass through the Liaodong Peninsula, Fengtian, and southern Liaoning. If this were not the case, Liu Yimin would not have been able to capture the fortress of Lushun and Jinzhou, both of which were the fulcrum of Manchuria's defense of the sea and the defense of North China. Liu Yimin fought like this, making it clear that he wanted to sever the Kwantung Army's ties with North China and the Japanese mainland, and his ambition was not small!

War is a strange game, like chess. The Chu River Han realm, whether red or black. As soon as you land, your opponent will be able to roughly determine what you are trying to do.

Admiral Umezu Mijiro couldn't figure it out another thing. The Japanese army's construction and management of Manchukuo was first-class, and it is said that the Eighth Route Army would have nothing to hide when it entered Manchukuo, and the intelligence should be very sensitive and accurate. But the current situation is that the Eighth Route Army has entered Shenyang City, and he has just received a report. What does this mean? It shows that Liu Yimin is very good at disguise, and his unaware movement and sudden launch are simply a copy of Liu Yimin's sneak attacks on Tianjin and Shanghai!

As soon as he thought of the evil consequences caused by Liu Yimin's sneak attack on Tianjin and Shanghai, Umezu Mijiro's heart was like a knife piercing, Dalian and Mukden were the industrial bases of Manchuria, and the factories and materials there fell into Liu Yimin's hands, and the Kwantung Army would soon become poor, and the equipment of the Eighth Route Army would have to go to a higher level!

Umezu Mijiro's face became more and more gloomy.

General Umezu Yoshijiro was the commander of the Japanese army in the Japanese-Soviet War, and he was not afraid of so many planes, tanks, and warships of the Soviet Far East Red Army, and still drove the Soviet Far East Red Army to the west side of the Trans-Khingan Mountains, forcing the Soviet Union to sign the "Japan-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Neutrality" with Japan, and surrendering the Far East and Mongolia to Japan. Of course, the treaty said that it was given to Manchukuo, but who in Manchukuo had the final say? That's Admiral Umezu Mijiro's decision. The war between Japan and the Soviet Union ended for so long, and the puppet Manchukuo nominally recovered the Far East and restored its sovereignty over Mongolia, but General Umezu Mijiro did not let the puppet Manchukuo send a soldier and an official to the Far East and Mongolia. On the contrary, the Kwantung Army in the Far East and Mongolia, with the Japanese as the main body, absorbed local Mongols and Koreans, and began to build local power. Umezu Mijiro's intention was very clear, those places were laid down by the Japanese army, and in time, it was likely that they would be directly incorporated into the territory of Japan, and there was no need for Manchukuo to intervene and save future trouble.

In the face of Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadachi, the chief of staff, who was eager to take a plane to observe the battlefield, the commander of the Kwantung Army, who was as cunning as a fox and as ruthless as a wolf, General Umezu Mijiro, spoke: "Yoshimoto-kun, the Lushun fortress has been lost, and Dalian must not be protected. I can't imagine that the situation in the Kanto region has deteriorated to such an extent in a single day. I can conclude that Liu Yimin is going to capture Fengtian, and at this moment, his main force must be rushing to Fengtian City. Yours, go and call Lieutenant General Yasui Toji, commander of the Kwantung Defense Army, and tell him that the order to concentrate the troops on the Liaoyang line should be revoked and that all the forces he can muster will be mobilized immediately to destroy the vanguard of the Eighth Route Army that attacked and occupied the Fengtian Railway Station. Defend Mukden and wait for support. Ordered Jinzhou's troops to stand by and wait for reinforcements. Order the defenders of Gongzhuling to quickly build a position to prevent a sneak attack by the Eighth Route Army. Then send a telegram to the base camp to report that the Lushun fortress had fallen and the Shenyang railway station was occupied by the Eighth Route Army. To state the opinion of the Kwantung Army, that is, Liu Yimin's forces had secretly fled Shandong and driven to Manchuria. The base camp is requested to order the 1st, 7th, and 9th Divisions in Shandong to quickly transport Qingdao to prepare to cooperate with the Fifth Fleet to recapture the Liaodong Peninsula. Please ask the base camp to order the North China Front Army to immediately organize no less than four divisions and regiments to attack the front line of Shanhaiguan, recapture Shanhaiguan, and block the land access for Liu Yimin's troops to rush back to North China. Command the Twentieth Army. Quickly mobilize and move south to the Tongliao area to ensure smooth communication with the DPRK army. The Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Armies were ordered to leave enough troops to monitor the movements of the Soviet army, and the main force was quickly assembled in Changchun. Prepare to encircle Liu Yimin's department. Changchun carried out emergency mobilization, armed the soldiers in the township, and defended Changchun. The units of the Kwantung Army stationed in Changchun and the Manchurian Defense Army immediately deployed to the south. ”

What a Umezu Mijiro, he wants to wipe out Liu Yimin's troops in Liaoning in one fell swoop, ruthless!

The Kwantung Army had a very strong staff team. As long as Umezu Mijiro is determined, the staff officers will quickly draw up a battle plan.

Time, time, what Umezu Mijiro needs most now is time. He was worried that if he didn't wait for the end of his army movement, Liu Yimin would capture Fengtian and kill Changchun.

Chief of Staff Sadachi Yoshimoto went to deliver the order. Umezu Mijiro stopped him again and pondered for a moment. said: "Now only the aviation can save Mukden." It's a pity that the Fifth Flying Group can't come back in a short time, so it can only borrow the Third Flying Group of the North China Front again. Yoshimoto-kun sent a telegram to General Okamura Ninji, asking him to order the Third Flying Group to dispatch all the fighters that could be dispatched to Jinzhou and Mukden to search and bomb the Eighth Route Army. ”

Yoshimoto Sadachi was about to raise his feet and leave again, but Umezu Mijiro called him again and explained: "Yoshimoto-kun, please call and transfer the plane, and the two of us will go to Fengtian, Jinzhou, and Kanto Prefecture together to have a look and see how Liu Yimin arranged the troops!" ”

The Second Flying Group of the Kwantung Army was attacked by the Eighth Route Army's aircraft group yesterday morning, and the planes were completely lost. Although the commander of the 2nd Flight Group, Lieutenant General Teramoto Kumaichi, was saved by order from Admiral Umezu Mijiro at the time of the disembowelment, and some of the pilots of the 2nd Flight Group also survived, it was in vain to have no fighters. General Umezu Mijiro and the base camp ordered the Kwantung Army Flying Group to immediately replenish the Second Flight Group with fighter planes, and the Japanese airfields also stocked aircraft components, but that would take time, and it could not be completed in a day or two.

The Second Flying Group cannot be counted on for the time being, but the Kwantung Army still has aviation, that is, the Flight Training Regiment of Baichengzi. This training regiment is to train grassroots officers of the Japanese air force, and the flight school in Gongzhuling is a supporting facility. Under normal circumstances, after graduating from flight school, the Japanese army's aviation units will go to the battlefield to undergo actual combat training, and the top fighters in the middle will be transferred to the flight training regiment to intensify training. This model has been tested and is very feasible. It's just that most of the planes of the Baichengzi Teaching Regiment are training planes, otherwise they would have been put into air combat yesterday! In addition, there is a flying squadron at the airport in Changchun, which is the special plane formation of Umezu Mijiro.

After Yoshimoto saluted, "Hai" went out, and Umezu Mijiro calmed down and sorted out his thoughts. Only then did I realize that since yesterday's air attack on the Second Flight Group by the Eighth Route Army, my judgment was outrageously wrong. When he began to receive air attacks on the Second Flying Group of the Eighth Route Army, Umezu Mijiro's first thought was that the Eighth Route Army did so in order to cooperate with the Soviet army's actions, just as the planes of the Eighth Route Army sneaked into Nagasaki, Sasebo, Yawata and Liu Yimin during the Japanese-Soviet War to attack and occupy Shanghai, so he ordered the troops stationed in the Far East and Mongolia to urgently mobilize to strictly prevent a sudden attack by the Soviet army. If it had been clearly judged from the beginning that the air raid of the Eighth Route Army's aircraft group was to clear the way for a large army to advance into Manchuria, the Third Flying Group of the North China Front Army could have been dispatched early and flew to the ground in Kwantung Prefecture early in the morning, which would have dealt a heavy blow to the Eighth Route Army on a rapid march.

Umezu Mijiro regrets it, almost hit his head against the wall!

Before Yoshimoto had yet to report the order and convey the situation, the telegram of the Dalian defenders urgently asking for help flew like snowflakes. It turned out that after the main force of the 22nd Brigade arrived in Jinzhou along the Jinfu Line by train, it transferred to the South Manchurian Railway and went south, leaving a battalion in Dalian to assist Xu Qiu, the commander of the 64th Regiment who occupied the Dalian station, to garrison, and then went straight to Lushun. Xu Qiu, who had received some reinforcements, fought more and more tenaciously, the Japanese army did not move, and saw that the trains on the South Manchurian Railway were running non-stop, and the main force of the Eighth Route Army and the Eighth Column was about to arrive.

The imminent fall of Dalian was expected by Umezu Mijiro, but he had no reinforcements to send, and the main force of the Kwantung Army was thousands of miles away from Dalian, where could he catch it!

After hesitating for a while, Umezu Mijiro ordered the Dalian defenders to immediately mobilize the soldiers and students in the township, and wait for reinforcements, and fight to the last man.

Umezu Yoshijiro could have chosen to have the Dalian defenders blow up important factories and loot the ships in Dalian Bay to retreat. However, Umezu Yoshijiro was confident that Dalian would be recaptured, and was reluctant to blow up the precious factory to avoid difficulties in rebuilding in the future.

This is the difference between Umezu Mijiro and Liu Yimin. If Liu Yimin encounters such a situation, he will not hesitate to order the troops to retreat immediately and preserve the vital forces. Umezu Mijiro is a Showa warlord who values the factory more than the lives of the soldiers, and he doesn't care if there are more people who die.

If Umezu Mijiro knew that after Japan's surrender in history, each Japanese expatriate could only take a small amount of belongings and go back to Japan, I don't know if he would feel sorry for those factories in Dalian at this time.

Sadachi Yoshimoto finally came in to report that the order had been communicated to the troops, that the deputy chief of staff and the chief of staff of operations were working on the battle plan, and that a telegram had been sent to the base camp and to General Okamura Ninji.

Umezu Mijiro didn't wait any longer, got up and left the office, and went downstairs to get a ride to the airport. He should hurry up and go around Mukden, Jinzhou, and Kwantung Prefecture to observe the enemy's situation from the air, and then come back to refine the battle plan.

General Umezu Yoshijiro was the Emperor of Manchukuo, and with the prestige of the great victory in the Japanese-Soviet War, his prestige in the Kwantung Army was skyrocketing. His car had been parked under the steps of the main entrance of the Kwantung Army Headquarters building, waiting for him at any time.

When Umezu Mijiro and Chief of Staff Yoshimoto Sadachi hurriedly walked out of the Kwantung Army Headquarters office building, the guards at the door all stood up and saluted.

At this moment, there was a soft sound of "poof" in the ears of the chief of staff, Yoshimoto Sadachi, and when he turned his head, he saw a stream of bloody arrows spurting out of the chest of His Excellency the Commander, and his body fell backwards.

Yoshimoto's eyes turned red, and he hurriedly threw himself at Umezu Mijiro, wanting to reach out to support the body of His Excellency the Commander, but he didn't forget to shout "Catch the assassin!" ”