With a loud "boom", a Chinese tank was blown up, and the positions defended by the Japanese were finally lost.

Although the Chinese army won the victory, Self-Defense Guard member Yoichi Takahashi completed the most "brilliant" "spiritual sublimation" of 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 the eyes of the Japanese.

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", Lieutenant General Yokoyama Hikoroku of the Japanese Army raised his binoculars and stood there expressionlessly. An officer came to report that the Chinese army 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 Japanese Army's defensive positions, and then continued to dive and drop bombs at the defenders, bombing and strafing. In order to support the army, the cannons on the Japanese warships also began to fire fiercely, and the huge hull kept shaking in the sea, and Yokoyama Hikoroku saw the shells erect walls of fire in front of the enemy's attack, stopping the attack of the Chinese army.

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 were completely beyond the expectations of the Japanese commanders.

On 23 April, the main forces of the Chinese army arrived one after another, and the battle unfolded along the wide coastline from Jinzhou to Dalian, and the Chinese army's attack was extremely fierce for a time, and the vanguard of the Chinese army soon conquered Jinzhou, advancing rapidly to the depth of Dalian city for 20 kilometers. However, the Japanese 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 to its original position.

According to the information already obtained, the Beijing Government 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. In other words, the Beijing government was determined to fight a major war with Japan. Judging from the current battle situation, the Japanese army is in a disadvantageous position to be suppressed by the Chinese army, and the Japanese army's firepower and equipment cannot be deployed, and if the Chinese army arrives completely, the Japanese army on the Liaodong Peninsula will be trapped in a long and narrow coastal area, and it will be even more difficult and passive.

Vice Admiral Hyakutake Saburo, commander of the Third Fleet of the Imperial Japanese 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, 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. today, 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, except for some ships that will continue to operate in Ludagang. ”

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.

The contradictions between the Japanese army and navy have 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 generals of the army at that time were only a group of inconspicuous supporting characters in the navy. After entering the twenties of the twentieth century, the Japanese army began to rise, and the navy veterans were unceremoniously pushed aside by the army generals of the Shaozhuang 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 Japanese Army, without waiting for any instructions from the government, 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 Ludagang to strengthen the strength of this "No. 1 fortress in East Asia" and prevent a large-scale attack by the Chinese army.

Yokoyama did not initially take the Chinese army seriously, believing that the 120,000 Japanese troops already in Manchuria and Siberia were enough to deal with them, not to mention that Japan had already taken the lead and occupied various strategic points. But what he didn't expect was that after he led his army to Ludagang, before the defense was completed, the Chinese army began a large-scale attack.

The sheer number of the Chinese army and the fierceness of the offensive made the Japanese commanders feel caught off guard.

The commander of the 5th Wing of the 9th Infantry Division of the Japanese Army, Ario Okada, 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 in Japan, across the sea from the Korean Peninsula, where the world-famous Russo-Japanese Battle of Tsushima took place in 1905. At that time, Russia's powerful Baltic Fleet was ambushed by the Japanese Combined Fleet and was completely annihilated. The war and the achievements of the Imperial soldiers left a deep impression on the young Okada, who from an early age set his ambition to become a general, and like the great Admiral Nogi and Marshal Togo, he was revered and admired by all generations.

The years without war were the misfortunes of the soldiers.

Okada graduated from the Japanese 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 confusion, Okada was reluctantly promoted to the rank of army chief 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 Japan 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, 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 Japanese occupying the salient were met with fierce counterattacks by Chinese troops from the east, west, and north, and Chinese planes frequently bombed and strafed the Japanese positions, in an attempt to wipe out the 5th Wing while it was still gaining a foothold. According to reconnaissance planes in the air, at least two more divisions of Chinese troops are moving in the direction of Port Arthur.

Under the influence of the First World War, the Japanese government and the army realized the great role of tanks and armored vehicles in the war, and after learning that the Chinese army, which had always been despised by the Japanese, was equipped with a large number of tanks, Japan began to develop its own tanks and appropriately deploy them in the infantry wings, and these tanks quickly won the opportunity to show their skills.

Seeing that some of his subordinates were afraid of the large number of Chinese troops, Okada couldn't help but be a little annoyed, but he didn't have a seizure, but adopted another method to boost morale.

"Do any of you know what the great Admiral Nogi did before the Sino-Japanese 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.

"I'll tell you that at the beginning of the war, Admiral Nogi was still farming at home in Choshu and growing rice" Okada Osa had been an instructor at the infantry school for many years, and it can be said that he knew 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, captains, squadron leaders, and me, Army Osa, all have to learn from General Nogi and Marshal Togo to be glorious imperial heroes." ”

"Yes," the subordinates replied in unison.

At this time, the wing commander still had a sentence hidden in his heart and did not say it, that is, he, who was 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.

A regiment of the Chinese army, under the cover of tanks, planes and artillery fire, tentatively attacked the positions defended by the 5th Wing, and to Okada's surprise, these Chinese troops were not the old kind of waste wood soldiers wearing gray cloth uniforms and straw sandals and hats, but all elite infantry armed with the terrible "light machine guns" and accompanied by more than 100 tanks

Seeing that the enemy quickly rushed to a distance of several hundred meters, Okada ordered the Japanese tanks and armored vehicles to launch a counterattack on the Chinese army from the front. 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 Chinese forces quickly adjusted their tactics, and more enemy troops 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 that 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."

But the brutality of the subsequent battles greatly shook the resolve of the Japanese commanders. The Chinese are not only superior in numbers, but also greatly ahead in equipment. The artillery fire of the Chinese army continued to increase, and the tenacious fighting spirit of the Chinese soldiers also unstoppably destroyed the Japanese positions. 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 able to continue the fighting

"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 Army, came from the other end of the phone.

"Yes, the 5th Wing will never live up to the trust of His Excellency the Commander," Okada Osa replied with a shock.

"Okada-kun, please remember that I will watch you from a position a few hundred meters behind you and wish you victory."

"It's the 5th Wing that is invincible"

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

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 sunset reflected brilliantly on the seashore, and all the officers and men of the 5th Wing of the Japanese Army were "broken". 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 giant* rose into the air, and darkness poured out of the ground like a tidal wave, and soon engulfed the whole earth 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 Japanese wing commander to die in the Chinese theater. In recognition of his heroic combat exploits, the Japanese military department decided to posthumously promote Ario Okada to the rank of major general and award him the "Golden Rooster Tripolar Medal." Okada "got his wish".

Tokyo, Imperial Square.

On the square, Japan's first "National War Spirit Mobilization Meeting" was held here.

The meeting was presided over by War Minister Kazunari Ugaki, and the well-loved Japanese Prime Minister Hara Kei, who was forced to "temporarily change his stance" due to the sudden turn of the situation, delivered a mobilization speech at the venue, and representatives of many Japanese nongovernmental organizations and associations and 100,000 people listened to the speech of "civilian Prime Minister" Hara Kei at the meeting venue and supported the government's war against China.

“…… The government of China has openly despised our holy empire, opposed Japan and Japan, killed our compatriots, persecuted our nationals, stirred up incidents in Vladivostok and Manchuria, and opened fire on our navy and army in Mukden, Liaoyang, and Luda, which has reached the level of unscrupulousness and brutality......"

“…… In Mukden, the Chinese army unreasonably arrested more than 300 family members of the cadres and employees of our Xqing Co., Ltd. and trading companies, and brutally killed all of them. In many cities in Chinese mainland, the military and police arbitrarily arrested Chinese nationals, and the government 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 is even more serious is that the Beijing government has secretly issued a war mobilization order to prepare for confrontation with the empire, which is a blatant insult to the sacred brilliance of my eternal Emperor His Majesty, and to the heroic prestige of our imperial army......

“…… We will punish the tyrannical Chinese army, punish the tyrannical Beijing government, and demand the blood debt from the dirty and barbaric Chinese people, the sacred imperial army is invincible, and the glory of our Japanese emperor will surely shine on the whole of Asia and the whole world."

“…… Long live the sacred, supreme, admired and infinitely wise His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress."

Prime Minister Hara's impassioned speech was transmitted through radio waves throughout the mountains and rivers of the Japanese archipelago, and into the homes of millions of ordinary people scattered in Japan's cities and villages. 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 **" of later China is comparable, but the difference is that Japan is exporting war to other countries, while Chinese are killing each other.

The "General Mobilization of the Spirit of the National War" is like a highly effective stimulant, turning the Japanese people, 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 of Japan responded to the crusade.

Japan's war machine is unstoppable.