With a loud "boom", a Chinese tank was blown up, and the position he was defending was finally lost.

Although the squadron won the victory, self-defense member Yoichi Takahashi completed the most "brilliant" "spiritual sublimation" in his life -- the material life was unfortunately destroyed, but the spiritual life, that is, the soul, was immortalized as a result, and his name will be sent to the Yasukuni Shrine from this day on, where he will stand with the many invisible war souls, accept the worship of the living, and become an invisible "spiritual idol" in the eternal sense in his mind.

And Takahashi Yoichi did not know that from this day on, more and more "spiritual idols" like him would appear in the Yasukuni Shrine.

April 30, 1921, Ludagang.

On the bridge of the battleship "Fuso," Vice Admiral Yokoyama Hikoroku raised his binoculars and stood there with a blank face. An officer came to report that the squadron [***] was attacking again. Through the binoculars, Hikoroku Yokoyama could only see thick smoke billowing from the land, and columns of smoke from countless shells exploding seemed to cover the river village like a dark cloud. In the air, swarms of Chinese planes whizzed past the positions defended by the Japanese army, and then continued to dive and drop bombs at the defenders, bombing and strafing. In order to support the army, the cannons on the warship also began to fire fiercely, and the huge hull kept shaking in the seawater, and Yokoyama Hikoroku saw the shells erect walls of fire in front of the enemy's attack, stopping the attack of the [***] team.

Yokoyama put down the telescope in his hand with a heavy heart.

The Chinese's will to fight, the resoluteness of the attack, and the ferocity of the offensive have completely exceeded the expectations of Commander Ben.

On 23 April, the main force of the [***] squadron arrived one after another, and the battle unfolded along the broad coastline from Jinzhou to Dalian, and the attack of the [***] squadron was extremely fierce for a time, and the vanguard of the [***] squadron soon conquered Jinzhou and rapidly advanced 20 kilometers deep into the urban area of Dalian. However, the army soon organized a powerful counterattack, and fierce battles were fought in many places, and the Chinese army suffered many casualties due to unstable foothold, so it had to retreat back to its original position.

According to the information already learned, Yanjing Zhengaxe has urgently dispatched Wu Peifu's 10th Group Army, the elite of the European Expeditionary Force, into the Liaodong Peninsula, and two other group armies have also marched to Shanghai from Anhui, Hunan, Guangxi, and other places. That is to say, Yanjing Zhengaxe is determined to fight a big war with Yuben. Judging from the current battle situation, the Yue army is in a disadvantageous position to be suppressed by the Chinese army, and the Syrian army's firepower and equipment cannot be deployed; if all the Chinese troops arrive, the Yue army on the Liaodong Peninsula will be trapped in a narrow coastal strip and will be trapped in an even more difficult and passive situation.

Vice Admiral Hyakutake Saburo, commander of the Third Fleet of the Empire, who had not spoken beside him, also put down his binoculars and made a gesture of regret, reminding the vice admiral beside him: "Your Excellency, the Navy can only deeply understand the current battle situation and situation of the Army, in addition to providing strong artillery support...... This fleet has received an order from the Admiralty that starting at 7 p.m. tonight, with the exception of some ships that will continue to stay in Ludagang for operations, the battlefleet will sail to the waters of southern and northern China to carry out the glorious task of completely blockading China's coastline and destroying its sea targets. ”

Yokoyama's gaze stayed on Vice Admiral's face for a few seconds, and then nodded quietly: "Got it, Your Excellency, the Army is deeply grateful for the Navy's usual support and cooperation. ”

"This commander has decided to leave two battleships and four cruisers to support the brigade Dagang defenders in the operation, to ensure the safety of His Excellency the commander." Hyakutake Saburo announced with great vigour, "If the land battle is lost, the fleet will request additional ships and troops from the Admiralty to support it." ”

Yokoyama was a little annoyed by Vice Admiral Hyakutake's attitude, but he had a bad attack and could only sulk there.

It is said that the contradiction between the army and the navy has a long history. From the beginning of the last century until the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, the navy has always been the flag and pride of the empire, and the army generals at that time were only a group of inconspicuous supporting roles in the eyes of the navy. After entering the twenties of the twentieth century, the army began to rise, and the navy veterans were unceremoniously pushed aside by the army generals of the Young Zhuang faction, so the open and secret struggle and power struggle between the army and navy never stopped.

"Your Excellency, the army has enough combat power to defeat and destroy the enemy, please carry out the mission of the navy, and don't worry too much about the affairs of the army." Yokoyama replied coldly, and then ordered his chief of staff without looking back: "Inform the personnel of the headquarters to land immediately, and all personnel of the army will follow the headquarters except for the communication liaison officer left on the warship." ”

After the Vladivostok Incident, the General Staff Headquarters of the Army, without waiting for any instructions from the political axe, took it upon itself to order an increase in troops in the name of Emperor Taisho, and Yokoyama Hikoroku was ordered to lead a division of troops under the escort of the navy to urgently reinforce the brigade Dagang to strengthen the strength of this "No. 1 fortress in East Asia" and prevent a large-scale attack by the [***] squadron.

Yokoyama did not take the squadron in his eyes at first, in his opinion, the 120,000 troops already in Manchuria and Siberia were enough to deal with them, not to mention that the company had already seized the lead and occupied various strategic points. But what he didn't expect was that after he led his army to Ludagang, before he completed the defense, the squadron began a large-scale attack.

The number of the squadron and the fierceness of the offensive made the commanders of the army feel unprepared.

Captain Ario Okada, commander of the 5th Wing of the 9th Infantry Division, poked his head out of the armored vehicle and commanded the battle while observing the battle situation.

Okada Osa is a native of Saga Prefecture in Kitakyushu, which is located on the eastern shore of the Tsushima Strait and across the sea from the Korean Peninsula, where the world-famous Battle of Tsushima took place in 1905. At that time, Russia's powerful Baltic Fleet was ambushed by the Combined Fleet. The achievements of the war and the emperor [***] left a deep impression on the young Okada, who from an early age set his ambition to become a general, and to be respected and admired by all generations like the great Shogun Nogi and Marshal Togo.

The years without war were the misfortunes of the soldiers.

Okada graduated from the Army Non-commissioned Officer School in his early years, and later entered the Tokyo Imperial Army University for further study, until he was already in the age of no doubt, Okada was reluctantly promoted to the rank of army adjutant and transferred from the infantry school to the 9th Division as a wing commander.

Dazuo is only one step away from the general. But if there had been no war, it would have been possible for the hapless Okada to stay in this middle rank until retirement. And now, fortunately, the war between China and Yuben has broken out again.

After the "Vladivostok Incident", the 9th Division was ordered to urgently reinforce the brigade from the mainland, and the 5th Wing, as the vanguard of the division, took on the glorious task of sweeping the enemy's outlying strongholds. On the night of 22 April, 2,000 officers and men of the 5th Wing advanced in tanks and armored vehicles, and with more than a dozen tanks and armored vehicles, they opened the road and attacked along the road. The defense of the Chinese defenders can be said to be extremely weak, and under the lightning attack of the Japanese army, most of the defenders were annihilated, and a few remnants of the enemy fled inland.

The achievements of the 5th Wing were commended by the division commander.

On 23 April, the Chinese army, which had occupied the salient, was fiercely counterattacked by the Central [***] squadron from the east, west, and north, and Chinese planes frequently bombed and strafed the positions of the Syrian army, in an attempt to destroy the 5th Wing while it was still unstable. According to reconnaissance planes in the air, at least two more divisions of squadrons are moving in the direction of Lushunkou.

Under the influence of the First World War, the people of insight in the army realized the great role of tanks and armored vehicles in the war, and after learning that the Chinese [***] team, which had always been despised by Yue himself, was equipped with a large number of tanks, he began to develop his own tanks and appropriately deploy them in the infantry wing, and these tanks quickly won the opportunity to show their skills.

Seeing that some of his subordinates were afraid of the large number of middle [***] teams, Okada Osa couldn't help but be a little annoyed, but he didn't have a seizure, but used other methods to boost morale.

"Do any of you know what the great Admiral Nogi did before the war?" The Wing Captain asked his men questions with blazing eyes.

"Probably an infantry officer, right?" Someone answered with less certainty.

"What about Togo? What rank is Marshal Heihachiro Togo? The Wing Captain asked again.

No one answered.

"Tell you! At the beginning of the war, Admiral Nogi was still farming at his home in Choshu and growing rice! "Okada Osa has been an instructor in the infantry school for many years, and it can be said that he knows the history of the empire well," Marshal Togo was just a small captain at that time, and the military rank was Nakasa, but after the war was fought, they all became generals and became world-famous imperial heroes! You nameless officers, group leaders, squadron leaders, and me, the army commander, all have to learn from General Nogi and Marshal Togo! Be a glorious hero of the Empire! ”

"Yes!" The subordinates replied in unison.

At this time, the wing captain still had a sentence hidden in his heart and did not say it, that is, he, who is already over the age of confusion, must strive to become a respected imperial general in this war to defeat China!

Soon, a fierce battle began.

Under the cover of tanks, planes and artillery fire, a regiment of the squadron tentatively attacked the positions defended by the 5th Wing, and to Okada's surprise, these squadrons were not the kind of waste wood soldiers wearing gray cloth uniforms and straw sandals and hats as before, but elite infantry all armed with the terrible "light machine guns"! And with their onslaught, there were more than a hundred tanks!

Seeing that the enemy quickly rushed to a distance of several hundred meters, Okada Osa ordered the tanks and armored vehicles of the army to launch a counterattack from the front to the central [***] team. The two armies met like two powerful vortices or heavy thunderclouds colliding together. In an instant, an earth-shattering roar and fighting erupted. The tanks and infantry of the two armies swept across the land like a torrent of steel, and everywhere there were guns spitting tongues of fire, and the infantry either jumped to follow, or hid behind the vehicles to shoot. In just a few dozen minutes, hundreds of corpses were left on the ground, and dozens of tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed. The blocked squadron quickly adjusted its tactics, and more enemies with submachine guns surrounded the 5th Wing like dark clouds.

"The enemy in front of you has reached a division, do you need reinforcements?" The division commander called to inquire.

"Report! The 5th Wing is confident that it will defeat the enemy! Okada replied hoarsely.

"Very good, the division supports you with artillery fire, please be sure not to underestimate the enemy."

However, the brutality of the subsequent battles greatly shook the determination of the commander. The Chinese are not only superior in numbers, but also greatly ahead in equipment. The artillery fire of the Chinese [***] team continued to increase, and the tenacious fighting spirit of the Chinese soldiers also unstoppably destroyed the positions of the Chinese army. Two days passed, and only a few hundred officers and men of the 5th Wing were able to pick up guns and fight. Most of the tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed, and only two were left to continue the fight!

"The main force of the division is fighting fiercely with the enemy, please be sure to hold your position, reinforcements are about to arrive!" On the third day, the voice of Lieutenant General Yokoyama Hikoroku, commander of the Imperial Dispatch Force, came from the other end of the phone.

"Yes! The 5th Wing will never fail to live up to the trust of His Excellency the Commander! Okada was shocked and replied.

"Okada-kun! Remember! I will watch you from a position a few hundred meters behind you! And I wish you all victory! ”

"Yes! The 5th Wing is invincible! ”

A stream of heat rushed through the Wing Captain's heart. "The 5th Wing is invincible!" This is not only an oath, but also a miracle, and it is not even the great Admiral Nogi who fought with the superior strength of one division of the enemy alone with one wing of infantry.

The future imperial generals were confident in creating miracles.

But the inexorable facts shattered Okada's confidence.

In the evening of that day, the blood-red fall was brilliantly reflected on the seashore, and all the officers and men of the 5th Wing of the army were "shattered". Standing on the last armored car, Okada Daisa personally pulled his machine gun and fired at the enemy. A shell fired by a Chinese tank hit the armored car impartially, and with a loud "boom", the people in the car were blown away. Okada only felt a flash of red light in front of him, and his body suddenly became light and fluttering, as if he was supported by a strong buoyant, and flew into the air happily with his arms open like a bird. A scorching wave rose into the air, and darkness poured out of the ground like a tidal wave, soon engulfing the whole land and sky......

At the headquarters, Yokoyama witnessed the heroic scene of the officers and men of the 5th Wing bravely "shattering jade", and he was moved but also secretly frightened. He pondered for a long time before dictating a telegram to the Chief of Staff, which read as follows:

"Tokyo General Staff Headquarters: The enemy army is several times larger than mine, the officers and men of our empire have fought valiantly and achieved great results, and they are currently consolidating their defensive positions, and we request immediate reinforcements of three or four divisions, otherwise our army will be in a predicament where the attack is weak and there is no way to retreat......"

Okada was the first commander of the Chinese Army to die in battle. In order to commend the heroic combat exploits of the Great Zuo, the military headquarters decided to posthumously promote Ario Okada to the rank of Major General and awarded him the "Golden Rooster Third-Class Medal." Okada "got his wish".

Tokyo, Imperial Square.

On the square, the first "General Mobilization Meeting for the Spirit of the National War" was held here.

The meeting was presided over by War Minister Kazunari Ugaki, and the widely loved Prime Minister Hara Kei, who had been forced to "temporarily change his position" due to the sudden turn of the situation, delivered a mobilization speech at the venue, and representatives of many civil organizations and associations and 100,000 people listened to the speech of "civilian Prime Minister" Hara Kei in support of the political axe to wage war against China.

“…… The political axe of China openly despises our holy empire, and on the contrary, it kills our compatriots, persecutes our nationals, stirs up incidents in Vladivostok and Manchuria, and shoots and fires at our navy and army in Mukden, Liaoyang, and Luda, which have reached the level of unscrupulousness and brutality......"

“…… In Mukden, the Chinese army unreasonably arrested more than 300 family members of cadres and employees of our Yueqing Co., Ltd. and trading companies, and brutally murdered all of them. In many cities in Chinese mainland, the military and police arbitrarily arrested Chinese nationals, and the political axe instigated lawless thugs to smash our trading companies and rob our overseas Chinese property. In Vladivostok, the Chinese army dared to openly shoot and kill three of our Imperial Army officers......"

"What's even more serious is that Yanjing Zheng Axe actually secretly issued a war mobilization order to prepare for confrontation with the Empire, which is a blatant insult to the divine brilliance of my eternal Emperor His Majesty, and an insult to the divine courage and prestige of our Imperial Army......"

“…… We will punish the tyrannical Chinese army! Punish the violent Yanjing political axe! Repay the blood debt from the filthy and savage Shina people! The Holy Emperor [***] team is invincible! I say that the glory of this Emperor will surely shine on the whole of Asia and the whole world! ”

“…… Long live His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress, who are sacred, supreme, admired by all people, and infinitely wise! Hooray!! ”

Prime Minister Hara's impassioned speech was transmitted through radio waves throughout the mountains and rivers of the Amoto Islands and into the homes of millions of ordinary people scattered throughout the cities and villages of Honhon. With tears of emotion, people listened to the voices coming from the capital of Tokyo, where His Majesty the Holy Emperor lives. People can't express their inner emotions in words, so they can only express their loyalty and patriotism with actions: joining the army and participating in wars, working overtime, volunteering, encouraging relatives, etc. In this situation, only the unprecedented "cultural revolution" in later China is comparable, but the difference is that the original is exporting war to other countries, while the Chinese are killing each other.

The "general mobilization of the spirit of the national war" is like a highly effective stimulant, turning the people of Yueben, who advocate "armed movement" and are loyal to the monarch and patriotism, into a group of war maniacs, large and small. In just a few weeks, the whole country responded to the crusade.

The war machine of Ben is unstoppable.

(To be continued)