In the past few days, the commander of the North China Front, Terauchi Shouichi, has received good news, and the telegrams sent to the base camp are also full of joy.

On the morning of the 28th day of the first month, when the battle of Liu Gaozi began, General Terauchi Shouichi led a group of officers and officials of the puppet Republic of China Provisional Political Axe to inspect the festival market in Beiping. Seeing that the market was bleak and there was no trace of festive atmosphere, General Shouichi Terauchi was unhappy. directly shouted to Wang Kemin, chairman of the puppet Republic of China Provisional Political Axe, who was following behind him, and said: "Wang Jun, you should work hard to restore the market and create a festive atmosphere, so that the people of Beiping can feel the warmth of the Great Emperor and bathe in the holy grace of His Majesty the Emperor." ”

Wang Kemin, who is like a thin monkey, looked at the unangry and arrogant demeanor of General Shouichi Terauchi, and thought to himself that I have tried my best, and even a few little wives have contributed to you, and this market has not seen any improvement. But thinking about it, Wang Kemin, who was willing to be a lackey, still said on his knees: "Your Excellency, it is not that the market is sluggish, but that the common people of Peiping did the New Year's goods early, and a few days ago they bought all the pork, vegetables, fabrics, and firecrackers for the New Year, and now they must be frying oil goods, steaming white buns, and chopping dumpling stuffing at home, waiting for the 30th year of the Chinese New Year's Eve!" ”

Who is Shouichi in the temple, how can he not know that Wang Kemin is fooling him? However, this old devil is one of the culprits of the invasion of China, how can he really care about the life and death of the Chinese people, what he wants is to whitewash the false prosperity of the Japanese army's aggression, so as to make the international community more comfortable. Hearing Wang Kemin say this, General Terauchi Shouichi pretended to nod his head: "So that's the case, the Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival is really very grand, and they have done the New Year goods so early." This is all the kindness of His Majesty the Emperor! ”

If there is someone with a little conscience around, you will definitely be angry by the performance of these two demons! It's a pity that these two demons are still unconscious, and Wang Kemin then said: "Your Excellency, Commander, foreigners do not have the habit of celebrating the Spring Festival, so they do not have the problem of buying New Year's goods. If the commander doesn't believe the contemptible words, let's go to Dongjiaomin Lane to have a look. ”

Terauchi Shou nodded, got in the car and followed Wang Kemin to Dongjiaomin Lane. Looking at the place, the supply of the embassy district is indeed much richer than that of other places. Terauchi Shou was overjoyed, and directly asked the head of the secret service, Kita Seiichi, to gather reporters from all walks of life to take pictures and interview here. Terauchi Shouichi even went into battle in person, asking the reporters to take pictures from different angles, demanding that the position of the topic of the report must be prominent, the title must be eye-catching, and the theme of General Terauchi Shouichi, commander of the North China Front Army of the Imperial Army, must be prominent, and the theme of inspecting the supply of the market during the Beiping Festival must be highlighted.

At the end of the inspection, Shouyi in the temple was in a good mood, and at noon he took a group of devil officers and Han Jian, and set up a banquet to invite celebrities in the cultural circles of Beiping, like Zhou Zuoren and others, all of whom were among the banquets. Of course, Seiichi Kita, who was in charge of organizing the banquet, learned the lessons of the last banquet and strictly vetted the people he invited, trying to avoid unpleasant people who didn't know each other.

Shouichi Terauchi once again made a big statement at the banquet mountain, and he talked about goodwill in China, and traced the friendly relations between China and China far and wide. At the end, Shouichi in the temple used the story of Zhou Zuoren, an old man in the temple, to explain the truth that friendship and goodwill are like one. Finally, Terauchi Shouichi asked all cultural celebrities to give full play to their advantages and influence, mobilize the people to support the construction of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, eliminate Chiang Kai-shek's warlord rule as soon as possible, and establish a new order of cooperation and common prosperity, economic development, and people living and working in peace and contentment.

These cultural celebrities, who can come to the banquet of Shouichi in the temple, have long recognized their identity as Han Annihilation. Although some people are still shy to answer, they have long sold themselves to Yue Kou as a commodity in their hearts. At this time, these people were not thinking about how to resist the cultural aggression and cultural enslavement of Yukou, but about what price Terauchi Shouichi would offer.

Terauchi Shouyi picked up the wine glass, clinked glasses with each cultural celebrity, and asked a few words about the physical condition of the elderly in the family, which provoked these cultural Han soldiers to be grateful inexplicably, and they couldn't wait to hug Terauchi Shouichi and kiss a few mouthfuls. Fortunately, Terauchi Shouichi was always accompanied by vicious guards, and these cultural Han annihilators had to be discouraged.

After returning to the headquarters after the banquet, Terauchi Shouichi received a telegram from Lieutenant General Nishio Shouzo of the Second Army about the capture of Linqing by the 4th Brigade of the Yomili Mixed Brigade.

After reading the telegram, General Terauchi Shouichi thought that Major General Kawamura Dong had really occupied Linqing, and after thinking and judging the map repeatedly, he felt that the resistance forces in Jizhong were about to be wiped out, and then he could concentrate on the troops in Jizhong to press south Hebei, and completely purify this area, so that the entire North China Plain would truly become the base and granary of the imperial army. When the time comes, the troops that have cleared and suppressed central and southern Hebei will be transferred to Shanxi, and in cooperation with the troops of the First Army, the Eighth Route Army, the Jinsui Army, and the Central Army in Shanxi will be completely wiped out, and the entire North China will be under the control of the imperial army.

As for Shandong, General Terauchi Shouichi is even more confident, and the Second Army and the troops under its command are even stronger than the First Army, and there is no longer a political axe army in the territory. As soon as Fan Zhuxian died, the resistance forces in the northwest of Shandong and Shandong would inevitably collapse. As long as the 4th Brigade and the 21st Division meet in Linqing and immediately turn to concentrate on clearing out the local resistance forces, a new public order should be established soon.

The only variable in this is the disappeared instructor Liu Yimin.

For the instructor, General Terauchi Shouichi felt much deeper than Major General Kawamura Dong, Lieutenant General Washizu Songpei, Kazuki Kiyoji, Nishio Shouzo and others, and it hurt like a pinprick in his heart when he thought about it. This devil-like guy was so ruthless and ruthless that no one could figure out where he and his troops were hiding, and when they would stick a knife in the imperial army. And this knife must be deep into the vital point, drenched in blood. Thinking about the 21st Brigade and the Chahar Army, and thinking about the people who were executed by Liu Yimin in the north of Tianjin, General Terauchi Shouichi was eager to immediately seize Liu Yimin and tear him to pieces.

Hate to hate, General Shouichi Terauchi knows that this Liu Yimin is extremely cunning, and it is not easy to catch him. But we have to figure out where Liu Yimin and his mentor are!

Shouichi Terauchi stood in front of the map and once again thought about the question that had been bothering him for many days: "Where did Liu Yimin and his mentor go?" ”

There is definitely no such thing in Jizhong, if Liu Yimin's instructor is in Jizhong, I am afraid that there will be an intelligence report of a certain unit of the imperial army long ago. Shanxi must not have it, because Liu Yimin's troops got so many supplies in Tianjin, no matter how good he is at camouflage, it is impossible not to leave clues. It is possible in the direction of Shandong, especially in the border area between Shandong and Hebei, which has always been a vacuum area, the imperial army has not fully controlled the forces, and the Kuomintang regime and the political axe army have also withdrawn.

After this idea came up, the more Shouichi Terauchi pondered it, the more interesting it became. Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo, chief of staff, and Major General Seiichi Kita, head of the secret service, were called, and the three of them followed the train of thought of General Terauchi Shouichi and discussed for a long time.

Terauchi Shouichi asked Major General Seiichi Kita to immediately collect intelligence on the southern Hebei region, and asked Lieutenant General Naosaburo Okabe to immediately order all units to report the situation of the battle with the squadron to see if there was any news of the instructor. In particular, the garrison units on Deshi Road, Cangshi Road, Jinpu Road, and Pinghan Road must report in detail on the recent combat situation. As for the 21st Division, which would attack Linqing, and the 4th Brigade that was mixed with Reading Power, Terauchi Shouichi strictly ordered him to try to capture the prisoners, and asked what kind of Chinese troops were fighting against the imperial army in Linqing.

It took some time for Major General Kita Seiichi to receive information, but the reports of the various combat units soon came up, and the Shanxi direction, the Jinpu line direction, the Pinghan Road direction, the Deshi Road, and the Cangshi Road all reported that no instructor troops had been found. However, the troops of the 21st Division who stayed in Dexian County reported that they had been attacked and harassed by a Chinese cavalry fighting against the sharpshooters in Changbai Mountain. After reporting to the division commander, Lieutenant General Washizu Songping, the troops could not hold out by relying on the fortifications, and waited for the division commander to rush back to exterminate this small Chinese cavalry force.

After reading the report of the remaining troops of the 21st Division, Terauchi Shouichi and Okabe Naosaburo knew more clearly in their hearts, what Changbai Mountain anti-spear team, not to mention that there is no such team, even if there is, it is also a civilian armed force, it is not uncommon to have one or two sharpshooters, who can shrink the well-trained and world-famous Imperial Army for their accurate shooting in the fortifications and dare not show their heads, except for specially trained snipers, who has this ability?

As soon as he thought of snipers, General Terauchi Shouichi thought of the weapons and equipment in the Qinhuangdao arsenal, where there were newly produced sniper rifles, all of which fell into the hands of Liu Yimin. The guy who called the Changbai Mountain Sharpgun Team could fight and was good at shooting, and the imperial army was afraid that they must have shot at a long distance, so that the imperial soldiers could not hit the enemy when they saw the sound of the gun. Shouichi Terauchi immediately asked Lieutenant General Naosaburo Okabe to inquire with the 21st Division defending the Dexian troops what kind of weapons the enemy used and how many meters the firing distance was.

Okabe Naosaburo listened to the specific order of General Terauchi Shouichi, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly sent a report, asking the troops of the 21st Division stationed in Dexian County to immediately report what weapon the Changbai Mountain Sharpshooter Team used and how many meters the firing distance was.

The troops of the 21st Division stationed in Dexian County were hit by Wang Tongsheng's sniper brigade and did not dare to go out, so how could they know the type of weapon used by the other side. As for the firing distance, now that the sniper brigade has been withdrawn, the devils are not so afraid, and they have made field measurements, and it turns out that the firing distance of this Changbai Mountain sharpgun team is generally about 400 meters to 600 meters.

After receiving the report, Terauchi Shouyi knew everything in his heart, this Changbai Mountain Sharpshooter Team was the elite of Liu Yimin's instructor, and the weapon used must be the sniper rifle in the Tanggu arsenal. In this way, the position of Liu Yimin's tutor can be roughly determined, and it must be in southern Hebei.

Terauchi Shou couldn't sit still anymore, he wanted to figure out what Liu Yimin was going to do next in southern Hebei, whether to attack the Pinghan line or the Jinpu line, would he directly break through the Deshi line and kill Jizhong?

As soon as he picked up the telegram from Nishio Shouzo, Terauchi Shouichi felt that the call was unknown, whether it was to capture Linqing or attack Linqing, and what was the number of the troops stationed in Linqing? Why didn't you run away before the Imperial Army laid siege? If you don't run away, why did you let the imperial army attack the city smoothly? Since the Fourth Brigade of Reading Power Mixed has already entered the city and is clearing out the remnants of the enemy, why did all the troops report the situation just now, but the Fourth Brigade of Reading Power Mixed Brigade did not report the situation?

Shouichi Terauchi wrote out all his questions and asked Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo to send a report directly to the Fourth Brigade of the Reading Power Mix, and asked Major General Kawamura Dong to call back in person. At the same time, he asked Okabe Naosaburo to send a report to Lieutenant General Washizu Songpei, commander of the 21st Division, asking him to call back in person, where the main force of the 21st Division had been, and how far it was from Linqing.

At 5:30 p.m., a reply from Major General Kawamura Dong of the Fourth Brigade of the Fourth Brigade arrived, reporting that the encirclement and suppression battle in Linqing had not yet ended, and that he had led the brigade headquarters to Linqing and was directing the troops to fight in the enemy's streets. The defenders looked at the banner of Fan Zhuxian's First Route People's Army, the Tenth Detachment, the Sixteenth Detachment, and the Linqing County Brigade. However, the First Route People's Army and the 16th Detachment fought with the Fourth Brigade of Reading Power in the Liaocheng Rush Battle, and they all retreated without a fight, I don't know why they have become so tenacious now, fighting to the death according to the houses in the city, and the combat skills are extremely high, and the well-trained Imperial Army is not an opponent in a single confrontation. As for the tenth detachment, according to intelligence, it belongs to the troops controlled by [***], and the tenacity of the will to fight can be imagined.

Major General Kawamura Dong said in a telegram that the enemy occupied favorable fortifications, the imperial army was beaten everywhere, and the effect of poison gas was not great. Although no prisoners were captured, and the true name of the enemy could not be determined, one thing can be concluded that this was a well-trained regular army, wearing steel helmets. It is suspected that his true identity is the main force of the legendary Liu Yimin's tutor. At present, the troops are unable to advance or retreat, and they have fallen into a dilemma. I implore the commander to urge the 21st Division to quickly reinforce and completely encircle and annihilate the Linqing defenders.

After reading the telegram, Terauchi Shou's hands and feet were cold, knowing that the Fourth Brigade of Reading Power must have been taught by Liu Yimin without knowing it. It's not that people can't hold Linqing City, and the reason why they let out the reading force and mixed into the fourth brigade to enter the city is probably because they want to avoid the attack of the air force. In the evening, I am afraid that the 4th Mixed Brigade of Reading Force will be completely wiped out.

Terauchi Shou repeatedly did not hesitate, and urged Okabe Naosaburo to give an order, ordering the aviation to dispatch more planes to cover the withdrawal of the Fourth Brigade of the Reading Force Mixed Brigade from Linqing and return to Liaocheng. The main force of the 21st Division was ordered to withdraw to Dexian County and stand by no matter where it was. Order the defenders of the Pinghan Line, Jinpu Line, Deshi Road, and Cangshi Road to be vigilant, defend to the death, and beware of the sneak attack of Liu Yimin's tutor.

(To be continued)