At 9 o'clock in the morning, at TJ Higashijuko Airport, Kiyoji Kazuki, Hashimoto Gun, Shozo Kawabe, Takashi Kajima, Fumizaburo Kawagishi, Shigeyasu Suzuki, Yoshito Takagi, Seki Kameshiba, Shunzaburo McKura, and other garrison troops and Kwantung Army wings and officials were waiting on the side of the runway, and beside them was a military band in formal uniforms. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

A plane from the Kwantung Army headquarters slowly landed under the gaze of everyone, then circled the runway, and aimed the hatch at the red carpet prepared in advance. The cabin door opened from the inside, and a man dressed as a captain jumped down, pulled down the gangway, and stood respectfully to the side.

A few people came down from the plane, and Kiyoshi Kazuki and the others were no strangers to them, the first to come down were the two wing commanders of the 21st Brigade, named Hidehide Inaihara and Oba Shihei, respectively, and the brigade commander Toshiji Miura got off the plane behind them; After that were three men from the 9th Brigade; This is the main component of the 5th Division.

Then there was Chief of Staff Nishimura Riwin; He is the chief of staff of the division, but his rank is only a big sake, not even as good as the commanders of the two brigades! The last person to get off the plane was the guest of honor that Kiyoshi Kazuki and others were going to greet today, Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki from the Kwantung Army, commander of the Fifth Division.

Itagaki is one of the legendary figures in the RB Army, in 1931, with 10,000 troops, he challenged the Northeast Army of more than 200,000 head-on, and grabbed huge benefits for RB beyond imagination! For a time, the names of Itagaki and Ishihara Waner spread throughout the Toei Islands and became heroes in the hearts of countless people. By March 1937, he was the commander of the Army's Fifth Division.

Founded in 1888, the 5th Division of the Army is one of the oldest Class A combat units of the Japanese Army, in which it has participated in all major battles in the recent history of the RB from the day of its formation. There were 25 commanders before and after the division, and Itagaki was the 19th.

According to the plan of the War Department, the 5th Division had been ordered to start preparations for the operation of Taiyuan, but unexpectedly, the 29th Army fought a big victory on the periphery of TJ, starting from the battle at 5 o'clock in the afternoon on August 2 to the end of the battle at 10 o'clock in the afternoon (RB is a 12-hour system), a total of more than 4 squadrons, brigades, and wings of soldiers were killed and wounded, a total of more than 8,000 - this is already the establishment of a brigade!

After Prime Minister Konoe, who had just been in office for just two months, calmed down, he immediately did two things: first, halved, halved, halved, and halved the number of casualties, and in the end, the number of soldiers who 'sacrificed their lives for the country' that the people of RB saw in the newspapers was only 140, of which less than 40 were killed, and the rest were injured.

Another thing is to immediately stop the army's next move: before we understand the reason for the sudden increase in the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army, there must not be another soldier of the imperial kingdom sacrificed!

Since the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, the Japanese army has never suffered so many casualties in a single day of fighting, and figuring out the reasons for such heavy casualties has become a top concern for many people. In this case, Itagaki departed from Beiping, flew to TJ Itagaki and got off the plane, and walked towards his colleagues who were waiting on the side of the runway.

Kazuki Kiyoji took a few steps and gave a respectful military salute: "Senior, welcome to TJ." ”

Except for one Kawagishi Bunzaburo, these people present can be regarded as Itagaki's juniors, and he is half-public and half-private when he comes this time, so Kazuki Kiyoji adopts this informal title. "I'm here to introduce you......"

The two sides introduced each other, and they were no strangers to each other, especially the commander of the 39th Brigade, Yoshishi Takagi, and the commander of the 9th Brigade, Noboru Kunisaki, who were classmates. However, Takagi Yoshito's expression was very sad - since the 77 Incident, his 39th Brigade suffered the most heavy losses, and the two wings were completely wiped out, especially the 78th Wing, and the body of its wing leader has not been found until now! He, the brigade commander, now has no extra soldiers except for some civilian personnel in the command - he has simply become a bare-bones commander.

Kunizaki Noboru knew the other party's thoughts, and patted him on the shoulder regretfully: "Hey, Takagi, cheer up, the loyal and brave warriors of the Imperial Kingdom died for His Majesty the Emperor and for the great revival of the Imperial Kingdom." I don't think they would want to see their commander look sad every day! ”

After chatting a few words at the airport, everyone drove back to the headquarters of the former garrison army in Haiguang Temple, and Kiyoshi Kazuki and Kawagishi Bunzaburo accompanied him to rest for a while, and everyone gathered in the war room, respectively, by Kazushima Taka, Maikura Shunzaburo, Morita Toru, Ichiki Kiyonao, Kazuki Kiyoji and others introduced the progress of the war from the 77 Incident to August 2 and the 29th Army.

Itagaki already knew a little about the battle report in advance, but listening to his subordinates make face-to-face reports allowed him to get more details," ...... You mean, the 29th Army took the initiative to attack? ”

"Yes." Xuan Dao Gao nodded, "As soon as the troops entered the position, and before they even organized an effective defensive front, the Chinese army took the initiative to launch a counterattack. ”

"Well, please continue."

After Xuan Dao Gao finished speaking as quickly as possible, Itagaki pondered for a long time, and suddenly broke his teeth and smiled, "Understood, what a group of lucky guys?" ”

"Senpai?" Kiyoji Kazuki and Hashimoto were stunned for a moment, what does this mean? Lucky guy, who is it referring to? "Senpai?"

"Ah, go on, please go on, who's going to state it?"

Everyone stated it, and even found a military cao who had survived the battle in Xicheng Village, and asked him in detail, Itagaki wrapped his arms around and nodded to Kiyoji Kazuki, who understood that the inquiry was over. After sending other unnecessary people away, there was only one cadre at the rank of wing leader or above left in the war room, and Itagaki spoke steadily. "The so-called luck refers to the gentlemen of the garrison army."

As soon as he opened his mouth, he explained the problem that everyone in Japan couldn't figure out: "In the battle on the morning of August 2, the Chinese army deliberately adopted a very clumsy method, preferring to let the main force of the 29th Army not use, but now that I think about it, this is to annihilate the main force of the imperial army's attack, and the front of the army is directed at the city of TJ. Hey, if they really let them realize such a strategic intention, if the Imperial Army wants to take TJ back, I'm afraid that hundreds of warriors will have to sacrifice blood! Fortunately, fortunately! ”

This question Kazuki Kiyoji and Kawagishi Bunzaburo also thought about it, but it was just a flash of thought, after all, in their habitual cognition, the 29th Army ended up in a hurry to escape from Beiping, and it was already a blessing to be able to save their lives, how could they still have such courage to dare to challenge such an impossible task? Now listening to what the commander of the Itagaki Division said, this is not his own worry?

"Senior, why?" Xuandao Gaoyi was unconvinced, and asked: "The Chinese army has always been weak, especially the 29th Army stationed in the Pingjin area, the garrison army is no stranger to them, and they also have a deep understanding of their combat strength, and they don't think they will have such courage." ”

Itagaki was not annoyed by the other party's rude words, and said patiently: "It really takes a little courage. However, it is not impossible, if the Chinese army really recklessly entered the city, even if it only stayed for an hour, and drove the imperial army out, the bad impact caused by it would also be appalling. ”

Kiyoji Kazuki asked, "Then, why didn't you continue?" According to the calculations of our General Staff Headquarters, the combat strength of the Chinese army has not suffered much loss, so why did it stop the plan at such a once-in-a-lifetime moment? ”

"Well, that's not for us to know. So I said, fortunately, fortunately. He paused for a moment and asked again, "Do you know who the commander of the 29th Army is?" ”

Hashimoto said: "It is Tong Linge, the former deputy commander of the 29th Army, and the chief of staff is Zhang Yueting. In addition, there were also some commanders of various divisions and brigades of the 29th Army who had gathered from all over Pingjin to Jingwai, such as Li Wentian, Zhao Dengyu, He Jifeng, and so on. In my opinion, this battle plan will definitely not come from these few people. Originally, in the 29th Army, the most strategically minded Zhang Zizhong of the 38th Division was none other than him, but at the time of the incident, he was in Beiping, which can be ruled out. ”

Itagaki pondered for a while, recalling in his mind the information about the 29th Army - RB people are known for their meticulous work, and the Japanese army also adheres to this good tradition in intelligence work, which is very solid and meticulous, and the senior generals of the Chinese Army, personnel at all levels above the regiment level, the Japanese side has archives, and there is a special person responsible for analyzing and submitting reports, from the family background of the officer to his hobbies, as well as the habits of using soldiers, he must be as complete as possible - the purpose of this is first of all to win over, The second is to provide one's own commanders with targeted strategies on the battlefield.

After a long memory, Itagaki shook his head: "No." Tong Linge's training is acceptable, but it is not possible to lead troops; Zhang Yueting is not worth mentioning because of his success; The rest of the princes, such as Zhao Dengyu and Li Wentian, are not a problem - there must be others! ”

Xuan Dao Gao suddenly asked, "Senior, what if your 5th Division is in the same position?" What do you think will happen? ”

Itagaki didn't have time to speak, and Kunizaki Dengha said, "Of course, the main force of the Chinese army will be annihilated!" ”

"Hey, don't look down on people, you'll suffer a big loss!" Itagaki reprimanded him and said: "The princes of the garrison army were caught off guard by the people of Zhina, even if they changed the troops under them, under the circumstances at that time, I am afraid that they would only end up with the annihilation of the whole army!" ”

“…………”

He suddenly smiled mischievously and waved his hand: "Hey, I'm just talking nonsense, such a thing will never happen." ”

There was a lot of laughter in the war room!

Maikura, Xuandao and others looked at Itagaki with reverence in their eyes: This is a nation that admires the strong, and only a senior in the army like Itagaki can say such heroic words, right?

After lunch and a short rest, Kiyoji Kazuki, Kawagishi Bunzaburo and others accompanied Itagaki to the front line of the battle by car; The stone bridge that was blown up by the Chinese army in Liangwangzhuang was being urgently repaired, and Hashimoto's opinion was to go back from Jinghai again, but it was rejected by Itagaki, "Get off here, just go to the place where the warriors sacrificed." ”

The crowd couldn't resist him, so they had to accompany him to get out of the car, cross the river from the pontoon bridge, and come to the front line of Liangwangzhuang, which was still full of devastation; After several days, the ditch was already full of water, and Itagaki stood by the ditch, folded his hands, bowed his head slightly, and paid silent tribute to his dead compatriots.

After a moment of silence, Itagaki looked back, and the doubts in his heart became more and more intense, the place chosen by Hua Jun was really bad. From the point of view of the terrain, the Japanese army is in an extremely unfavorable situation, the rear road is basically cut off, and there is a fierce offensive of the Chinese army in front, which will inevitably arouse the determination of the soldiers to break the cauldron and sink the boat. How did they do it?

He called Xuandao Gao, and the two walked side by side, and he gave Itagaki a detailed introduction; "According to the opinion below, there is nothing surprising about the tactics of the Chinese army, and after the initial panic, the soldiers quickly calmed down, but ...... I don't know why, but I still suffered unprecedented losses. Is...... I'm very sorry! In the end, Xuan Dao finally held back her tears, knelt on the muddy road, and whimpered and cried.

Itagaki also felt very uncomfortable, but a more noteworthy question left him no time to cry: if there was really a reason behind the Chinese army's impressive results, things would be in trouble! And for this reason, it is luck!

Luck is something you can't see or touch, but no one can deny its existence, not even Itagaki! In that year, with 10,400 troops, he challenged the 179,500-strong Northeast Army, which had a total of 17 times his total, and in a year or so, he seized and controlled more than a million square kilometers of land (three times larger than the RB mainland).

But he only dared to think about such a thing in his heart, and he couldn't reveal it to others, so he deliberately turned his head to see that the car that was detouring from the direction of Jinghai had arrived, and the group got into the car and went straight to Duliu Town.