Itagaki Seishiro is not a simple person, he is one of the three major Chinese experts in the army, and Ishihara is a good friend, and the army is known as "Ishihara's wisdom, Itagaki courage" saying. In history, Itagaki waved the Fifth Division to occupy Shanxi, and now that he met Liu Yimin, Itagaki felt that he had fallen into the opponent's calculations everywhere.

To Itagaki's eyes, Shouichi Terauchi's telegram was like a steel needle pierced into his heart. What the commander said was that the whole army was shrinking back to Hebei, but in fact, it was already announcing the failure of Itagaki to advance into Shanxi, and undoubtedly announcing the end of his position in the military circles. How could Itagaki swallow this breath?

Itagaki is no stranger to the [***] team, with the tens of thousands of elites in his hands, even against all the Jin Sui Army and Wei Lihuang Department, he also has the confidence to win. What's more, these troops suffered heavy casualties after the Battle of Taiyuan?

It's just that Liu Yimin, who suddenly appeared, made Itagaki Seishiro unsure. In the past two days, Itagaki Seishiro has contacted Kenji Dohihara, and learned some information about Liu Yimin from Kenji Dohihara, knowing that this person is a member of the [***] army, rising in the Red Army's Long March, especially good at long-distance attacks, defeating the strong with the weak, and very strategic. Needless to say, he did the bombing of Shijiazhuang Airport, Baoding Airport, and Beiping Airport today, which provoked Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi to commit suicide by caesarean section. For this man, Itagaki really didn't know what he would do next.

However, Itagaki knew China better than Terauchi Shouichi and knew the difference in strength between the two countries. This gap cannot be bridged by Liu Yimin alone and his mentor. The problem is that the commander of the temple is so cautious that he ordered the retreat of the army before the two sides really decided the victory or defeat, and if this goes on for a long time, wouldn't it cast a shadow of fear on the hearts of the officers and men of the imperial army? Where is the power of Emperor Ben [***]?

The bombing of a few airfields made the commander of Terauchi frightened, and Itagaki looked down on him from the bottom of his heart, thinking that he was too cautious.

Now, Liu Yimin dares to seize Taiyuan and bomb the airport, how can Banyuan be a vegetarian? He is also full of strategy and knows what to do in order to return the color immediately.

Itagaki's first thought was to immediately move his army north to recapture Taiyuan, because at this time, Liu Yimin's main force should be contained by Reading Power Mixed into the Second Brigade and Reading Power Mixed into the Fifteenth Brigade, and Taiyuan should be relatively empty. But Itagaki thought about it carefully and found that this time Liu Yimin seized Taiyuan in three ways, all the way to occupy Niangzi Pass, all the way out of Gujiao and Hekou, attracting Reading Power to mix into the second brigade and the embankment detachment, and the main force forcibly broke the city. That is to say, it is not Liu Yimin's main force that fights with the 15th Brigade and the 2nd Brigade with Reading Force, and which direction his main force is used in the next step will be unlucky.

As for the firepower of Liu Yimin's department, Itagaki now has a thorough understanding, and it can definitely be called a strong firepower, just look at the firepower of their destruction of the 21st Brigade. What's more, now they not only got the heavy firepower of the 21st Brigade and the Field Artillery Wing of the Fifth Division, but also occupied Taiyuan, where there were a large number of weapons and ammunition reserves of the imperial army, as well as Yan Xishan's weapons and ammunition reserves. At this time, when he went to have a hard encounter with Liu Yiming, Itagaki felt that it was an adventure.

There is another reason that prompts Itagaki not to provoke Liu Yimin, that is, the troops of [***] are different from the troops of the Kuomintang Yan Xishan, they are monolithic, and if the attack on Taiyuan is not smooth, it will immediately attract the Eighth Route Army from all directions, and it is not afraid to fight regular battles Itagaki is not afraid, but these Eighth Route Army will fight here and fire two shots there, which is very annoying.

As a result, Banyuan once again set his sights on the Linfen and Yuncheng areas south of Huozhou, which are the granaries of Shanxi. Defeat the Central Army, Jin Sui Army, occupy the south of Jin, the southeast of Jin, and connect with the south of Hebei, you can go north at any time to recapture Taiyuan, and you can go south to Tongguan in Shaanxi and the western Henan region, this move will definitely make the Chinese [***] team panic. Stay in the south of Jinnan and southeast Jin to stabilize the position, and at any time with other troops of the First Army to attack Taiyuan.

Alas, at this time, it would be nice if the Kwantung Army could go south to support it!

The policy had been decided, and Itagaki asked the chief of staff, Nishimura Riwin Daisa, to invite Lieutenant General Kawagishi Fumizaburo, commander of the 20th Division, and Lieutenant General Shigehou Yamaoka, commander of the 10th and 9th Divisions, to explain their plan in detail, and then threatened: "Ladies and gentlemen, if we withdraw our troops and go back, the Chinese army will inevitably think that our army has been defeated and surround us from all sides, and it is difficult to say whether we can return to Hebei in the end." Even if we are ordered to go back safely, those guys in the military department will definitely think that we have lost the battle and hold us accountable. Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi has already apologized, you don't want to follow in their footsteps, do you? The only way to do this is to act quickly, completely crush the main force of the Jinnan army, and occupy Linfen and Yuncheng, so that our army can not only achieve brilliant results, but also go south to attack Henan and Shaanxi, fight on the Pinghan line, and calmly withdraw to Hebei. When the time is ripe, you can also go north to recapture Taiyuan and open up Tongpu Road and Zhengtai Road. What do you think? ”

Kawagishi Bunzaburo proposed, in this case, why not quickly go north and mix with the First Army and Reading to form the 15th Brigade to attack Niangzi Pass? In that way, it can directly open up the Zhengtai Road, and it can also threaten Taiyuan nearby, maybe the Zhina army will give up Taiyuan at any time under the threat of our army.

Itagaki Seishiro had no choice but to tell him what he knew about Liu Yimin, and then said: "If we go to Niangzi Pass now, there will be resistance from the Eighth Route Army everywhere along the way, and by the time we arrive at Niangzi Pass, I am afraid that the 15th Brigade of Reading Power has already been shattered, and Liu Yimin's main force is likely to be ambushed and waiting for us in a certain place!" We can't go into this trap. ”

Lieutenant General Yamagang Chonghou proposed that if we go south and fight fiercely with the main force of the Central [***] team, and all units of the Eighth Route Army surround us, won't our army fall into the enemy's encirclement again? When the time comes, we will have no logistical supplies and will soon be in trouble. Isn't it more risky?

Nishimura Riwen Daisa was inclined to carry out the orders of the commander of the temple, and the whole army quickly turned around, took a shortcut and advanced to Xingtai, and after joining up with the other units of the First Army, the next plan of action was determined.

What Itagaki fears most now is to join the First Army. Because his 21st Brigade, Cavalry Wing, and Field Artillery Wing were all shattered, one wing of the Ninth Brigade Regiment was organized into a Guoqi detachment to go south to support the Songhu battlefield, and the other wing had just been transferred back to Hebei to fight. According to the rules of the army, the 21st Brigade was no longer able to recover due to the capture of the battle flag. Obviously, the rendezvous with the First Army is the time when he leaves office, and maybe someone will force him to cut his stomach! There had to be a big victory to keep his position and his life.

I don't know what Itagaki said in the end, but anyway, Itagaki who was unwilling to cut his stomach reached an agreement with Kawagishi Fumizaburo and Yamaoka Shigetsu, who were eager to make meritorious contributions, and the whole army turned around, ignoring the orders of General Terauchi Toshiichi, the commander of the North China Front, turned around and headed south, and rushed to Linfen.

At 11 o'clock in the morning, Liu Yimin was woken up by Luo Ronghuan and Cai Zhong. Because there are several things that must be reported to him: First, the Battle of Songhu [***] was lost, and due to the increase of troops again, [***] took the initiative to withdraw from the battlefield. Second, after David's bombing of Shijiazhuang Airport, they bombed Baoding Airport and Beiping Airport, and all three airports were destroyed, and the results were extremely great. Lieutenant General Yoshitoshi Tokugawa, commander of the Provisional Air Corps of the North China Front, and Major General Toru Isa, commander of the 1st Flying Regiment, both committed suicide by seppuku. Third, Chiang Kai-shek's wife, Song Meiling, came to Taiyuan to offer condolences, and the special plane arrived soon and needed to go to the airport to pick up the plane immediately. Fourth, the General Headquarters reported that the 129th Division and the Reading Division reported that the 20th Division and the 109th Division of the Army were acting secretly, and that their vanguard units had suddenly disengaged from us and showed signs of retreating back to Huozhou.

After Liu Yimin listened, he didn't speak, and asked Huang Wenhu to bring water, wash his face, and then ask Luo Ronghuan, did Song Meiling come to condolence [***], Vice Chairman Zhou and Commander-in-Chief Zhu?

Luo Ronghuan said that the report was made, and the chairman called back with eight words: "Warm reception, neither humble nor arrogant." Commander-in-Chief Zhu and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Peng called back: "Warm reception, try to get funds and equipment." ”

Liu Yimin asked: "What did Vice Chairman Zhou say?" ”

Luo Ronghuan said: "Vice Chairman Zhou did not call back, he has now returned to Xi'an, with the chairman, and the chairman's call back should be the result of their discussions." ”

Liu Yimin thought for a while and said, "Didn't Comrade Ren Ying go to the front line with the field hospital?" Where is it now? Let her come back and take charge of receiving Madame Chiang. We are all men, it is inconvenient, and Mrs. Jiang is in charge of life and living during her time in Taiyuan. Zhang Haitao personally led a battalion and was responsible for the safety of Madame Chiang. The political commissar is fully responsible for the reception of Madame Chiang, and it is best to send her away in the afternoon. Director Cai told Feng Dafei that all the planes should be hidden, especially Mrs. Jiang's landline, which must be well concealed, and must not be discovered by the army, and our plane cannot be discovered by Mrs. Jiang. ”

Cai Zhong immediately said: "Ren Ying is a nurse, where have you ever seen such a big person?" It is not appropriate to put her in charge of reception. ”

Liu Yimin glanced at Cai Zhong and said, "Comrade Ren Ying is not only your wife and my sister-in-law, she is also a member of the [***] Army and a cadre of the Eighth Route Army. Now that Comrade Tang Xingying and Comrade Lin Yueqin are staying in Xi'an, there is no more suitable candidate for the whole division than Comrade Ren Ying. That's it. ”

When Cai Zhong saw Liu Yimin say this, he acquiesced. Liu Yimin thought for a while and said, "After Mrs. Jiang comes, she will definitely go to the hospital to visit the wounded." Tell the comrades of the guard regiment and the field hospital that no one is allowed to say Ni Hua's name, so as not to make Madame Chiang suspicious. Especially the wounded comrades, because of Ni Hua's high level of medical skills, everyone will involuntarily think of her. It is important to remember not to expose her. In addition, for the time being, the effect of the bombing of the military airfield will not be announced to the public, so that Mrs. Chiang cannot let us know that we have retired US military flight instructors here. Mrs. Jiang is a heroine among women, her demeanor and temperament are the first-class in China, and her English is better than Chinese. If those six American heroes had met her, maybe we wouldn't have been able to keep them. ”

Luo Ronghuan was suspicious, and said with a smile: "What the division commander said is too evil, right?" Is she more beautiful than Ni Hua? ”

Liu Yimin said: "Where will she have Ni Hua beautiful? However, she is the first lady, and her cultivation is not comparable to others. In addition, she has an American education, so it is especially easy to communicate with Americans. David's people are easy to admire her. ”

As he spoke, Liu Yimin slipped away: "Ni Hua is about to graduate." I haven't seen this girl for a few years, and I don't know if she's fat or thin. ”

When this was said, several people stopped talking. Liu Yimin immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing, his face flushed slightly, and he said: "Political commissar, you go to pick up Mrs. Jiang, I want to think about what this old devil wants to do, and I also want to understand the progress of Chief of Staff Zeng and Liu Jianjian." In addition, let Hu Di bring the selected women, and I will personally reward David and the others, and they have done a great job this time. ”

Luo Ronghuan said: "We went to the airport together, and David and they were there. You can reward David first, and then greet Madame Chiang. As for Zeng Zhongsheng and Liu Jianjian, the troops are in motion, you can rest assured, with their capabilities, coupled with our super firepower and combat power, it should be no problem to destroy it as a mixed brigade. Otherwise, you won't stay in Taiyuan and not go to the front. I wonder why you don't seem to want to see Madame Chiang. ”

Liu Yimin smiled: "Which of you wants to see her?" ”

Cai Zhong said: "There is a little difference between our reluctance to meet and your reluctance to meet. We are reluctant to see her because of our past hatred, and you may have other factors involved, because she is Ni Hua's own cousin. ”

Liu Yimin immediately wanted to make Cai Zhong angry, Luo Ronghuan saw that he wanted to change his face, and pulled him into the car.

Sitting in the car where he was seized, Liu Yimin's face was still not good. Cai Zhong said with a smile: "Okay, don't keep your face stiff, Mrs. Jiang came to condole, which means that we fought well, otherwise she would not have risked her life so far to comfort our Eighth Route Army." ”

Liu Yimin sighed and didn't squeak.

When he arrived at the airport, David was still waiting, seeing Liu Yimin's leaders coming, and a group of women in kimonos were pulled in the car behind, David cheered, and hugged Liu Yimin and put him down after a few strokes in the air.

Liu Yimin knew that David was inexplicably surprised after the big victory, otherwise he wouldn't have let them get close.

After a few people went crazy, they looked at Liu Yimin with blank eyes.

Liu Yimin solemnly hugged everyone again, and finally, standing among them, said: "Good, you have made great contributions to the cause of resistance of the Chinese people, and you are not only the heroes of the Chinese people, but also the heroes of the United States of America. I believe that in the future, you will not only receive the medal of the Chinese political axe, but also the medal from Mr. President of the United States of America. ”

In order to let Luo Ronghuan and the others understand the communication between themselves and David, Liu Yimin specially spoke Chinese, and then asked the translator to translate it to David and them.

After the translation, David and the others immediately came up to hug Liu Yimin, Liu Yimin immediately stopped them, and then said: "In order to encourage the heroes to make new and great contributions, I have decided to double your rewards, 2,000 US dollars per person, four girls, and double the living allowance in the base area at the same time." The $2,000 has been deposited into your account today, and your family will be able to receive the money soon. ”

Now, as soon as he listened to the translation, several retired instructors of the US army took advantage of it and threw Liu Yimin up again.

After enough trouble, Liu Yimin confessed again: "These girls, you have time to enjoy it slowly." Now you must not be too indulgent, because the planes of the army may come to bomb them soon, and you should take the trainees on the plane as soon as possible, and strive to take them on a mission and use fighter planes to shoot down the bombers of the army. Have a good rest today, and tomorrow morning, you must set off on a new mission, that is, to go to Tianjin and blow up the military airfield in Tianjin! What do you think? No problem, right? ”

Several of them stood up and saluted, and said yes, sir, in English!

Liu Yimin waved his hand and asked David to take those women away.

Feng Dafei asked for instructions, he wanted to go with the team tomorrow. Liu Yimin told him directly: "Your task is not to fight in the blue sky, but to build our air force." Without my approval, you are forbidden to take to the skies to fight. Hurry up and familiarize the cadets with the planes so that they can go to the front with Davy. ”

Listening to Liu Yimin's words, Feng Dafei's face was full of disappointment.

Luo Ronghuan comforted: "With such a brilliant record in the first battle, if the chairman knows about it, I don't know how happy they will be." Don't be satisfied! ”

Feng Dafei said regretfully: "It's a pity that it was all fought by US pilots, not us." It would be great if it was the results of our students! ”

Liu Yimin, who was on the side, heard it and said: "Be a good student first, and then you can be a teacher in the future." What's the hurry, I can produce one or two thousand planes a year, are you still afraid that there will be no war? When our air force training is completed in the future, we can go to Yuben and blow up their palace! ”

Feng Dafei was happy at this time.

While a few people were talking, Song Meiling's special plane finally landed.

After the hatch opened, Song Meiling appeared at the door and beckoned. Liu Yimin, Luo Ronghuan, Cai Zhong, and Feng Dafei stepped forward, and when Song Meiling stepped off the plane, Liu Yimin saluted and reported, and said, "Welcome to Taiyuan." It was so far away and so dangerous, and we were all very touched by the fact that my wife came to the front line to offer condolences. ”

Song Meiling glanced at Liu Yimin and smiled: "The soldiers are fighting the front line with the invaders, what is it for me to come here?" I am very happy to have this opportunity to visit our legendary hero on behalf of the chairman. ”

After Liu Yimin introduced Luo Ronghuan and Cai Zhong to Song Meiling, Song Meiling also introduced the entourage to Liu Yimin, and then drove to Hunyuan Hotel.

After being resettled in the hotel, Song Meiling freshened up a little, and awarded Liu Yimin the Blue Sky and White Medal, and handed over the 500,000 yuan awarded to the instructor to Liu Yimin, and then asked Liu Yimin to report on the process of annihilating the 21st Brigade of the Fifth Division and the First Brigade of Reading Power and recovering Taiyuan.

Liu Yimin gave a detailed account of the battle, and then took out the military flags of the 21st Brigade, the Chahar Dispatch Corps, the 1st Brigade of the Reading Mixed Brigade, and each wing, as well as the sabers of Major General Toshiji Miura, Major General Yukio Kasahara, and Major General Hoji Sakai for Song Meiling to watch.

Song Meiling was amazed while watching, and pulled Liu Yimin to let the reporter take pictures.

Liu Yimin knew in his heart that this Mrs. Jiang was not easy to deal with, and he didn't know if there were any other tricks that he hadn't used, but he had to deal with it with a smiling face.

After seeing these trophies, Song Meiling asked if she could take these military flags and swords back to Nanjing, and asked the chairman of the committee and Chairman Lin Sen to appreciate them, and also publicize the achievements of the Chinese people's resistance to the international community, and use physical evidence to prove that the bandits are strong and middle-class.

Liu Yimin originally wanted to reward the sabers of these major generals to Li Lingfeng, Wang Tongsheng, and Wang Laohu, but seeing that Song Meiling wanted it, it was reasonable to think about it, so he agreed without hesitation. He also took out some adjutant knives, saying that he asked his wife to take them back and award them to those soldiers who had made meritorious contributions to the war.

As for those broken military flags of the army, Liu Yimin originally wanted to stay and hand them over to the headquarters, and handed them over to the military museum in the future, but when he saw that Song Meiling wanted them, he gave them to her. I thought to myself, give it to you first, and in the future, if you destroy the devils, you have to agree to build a peaceful country, otherwise I will defeat you and even return your military flags.

How did Song Meiling know that Liu Yimin's heart was turning this year, a flower smiled on her face, and happily pulled Liu Yimin, asking the reporters to change their angles and keep taking pictures.

Finally finished taking the photos, and the instructor set up a banquet to entertain Song Meiling and his party.

During the meal, Song Meiling asked Liu Yimin to sit beside her, served him dishes diligently, and talked about the battle of Songhu from time to time. Speaking of the tragic battle, he also took out a handkerchief to wipe his tears.

Liu Yimin thought that Song Meiling was not an ordinary woman, she had made great contributions to the nation and the country in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and she was no longer perfunctory, and her words were full of true feelings.

Liu Yimin felt that there was always a pair of eyes glancing at him, and when he looked up, it turned out to be a young girl, who seemed to be a female college student, very beautiful, it should be a rare kind of extreme beauty, and it looked very quiet. After thinking about it for a while, I remembered that when I was at the airport just now, Song Meiling had already introduced her daughter-in-law and secretary, named Chen Yaoguang.

Thinking about it, Liu Yimin stopped paying attention to it, chatting and eating with Song Meiling.

After eating, Song Meiling really offered to go to comfort the wounded.

Liu Yimin was anxious to go back to study and judge the movements of the Itagaki Seishiro group, so he told Song Meiling the truth, and proposed that Political Commissar Luo, Director Cai, and Comrade Ren Ying accompany his wife to visit the wounded, and that Comrade Ren Ying be responsible for taking care of his wife's daily life while his wife was in Taiyuan. Because of the military emergency, he could not accompany his wife.

As soon as Song Meiling heard that the military situation was urgent, she immediately asked him to hurry to go, and told him to report to the Second War Zone as soon as possible as soon as the situation was clarified, and if necessary, he could directly report to the chairman of the committee.

Liu Yimin euphemistically proposed that the front line was dangerous, and asked his wife to shorten the trip and return as soon as possible.

Song Meiling smiled and said, "I'm not afraid of what are you afraid of?" I don't believe that the heroic units that wiped out the main force of the 5th Division will not be able to protect me. ”

Liu Yimin had no choice but to resign, and asked Political Commissar Luo to accompany Song Meiling to the field hospital and return to the division headquarters to handle military affairs.

(To be continued)