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Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

“…… Your Majesty, Feichen has no confidence, but the experience and experience of the successive failures of the Imperial Japanese Army against the An Jia Army tells us that if we do our best to confront it, the elite army of the Empire will be stuck in the quagmire of the East Indies and the Indochina Peninsula, and will no longer be able to fight in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

Therefore, the minister suggested that it was time to evacuate ...... from Malaya, Burma, and the East Indies. The situation is already dangerous, we can no longer hesitate, before coming to the palace, I have already called on His Excellency Nagano Shusui, the Minister of Military Orders, and he promised to assist us in our retreat with all his might! As long as we get rid of the threat of the Anjia Army, we can at least add 300,000 to 400,000 fresh troops to the Pacific islands, once again strengthen our military strength in the confrontation with Britain and the United States, and force the Americans to negotiate peace by force! ”

After Ishihara finished speaking, he bowed to the ground.

With a smile on his face, Emperor Hirohito motioned to the attendant behind him to step forward and help Ishihara Wan'er, and said emotionally: "Ishihara's family has worked hard for the country, and I am very relieved!" In the past few days, there have been many people who are desperately slandering the Ishihara Qing family in my ears, but I know that the state affairs are difficult, and now although the emperor's ** team is at a disadvantage in the battle with the Chinese people, there are frequent successes in other battlefields, and the hearts of the army and the people are still excited, which is the credit of the Qing family!

Speaking of this, Hirohito turned to Prince Chichibu: "Second brother, you can explain what you have done in Southeast Asia to the Ishihara family!" ”

Prince Chichibu glanced at Hirohito with some surprise, saw Hirohito's insistence, and then looked at Konoe Fumitaka, the Prime Minister smiled knowingly, and couldn't help but hold back the suspicion in his heart, and told the mission he had carried out in Southeast Asia during this time.

After the Japanese army launched the war in Southeast Asia, the Imperial Council of the headquarters presided over by Hirohito officially confirmed the "will of the emperor," that is, "the will of the nation." "The principles for the implementation of military administration in the occupied territories of South-East Asia shall be formulated as follows:

Acquire strategic goods, establish conditions that will enable the occupying forces to be self-sufficient, and restore law and order.

In layman's terms, "acquisition" means armed robbery, and "self-sufficiency" means forcing the local population to bear the burden of the Japanese occupation forces and "restoring law and order." "In fact, the horror of death is used to threaten and suppress the revolt.

Orders from Hirohito gave complete freedom of movement to the military authorities of each occupied area, and at an imperial liaison meeting last July, Naoki Hoshino, director of the opium monopoly in southern Burma, said: "We are not restricted in any way, we can take possession of these properties as we wish, and do whatever we want!" ”

After the Japanese occupied Southeast Asia and the East Indies, the trophies of war included copper coins, fuel oil, coal, iron, and food such as rice, dried fish, bacon, and salt.

In these areas, the Japanese army seized all kinds of real estate, from private houses, hotels, and apartments to granaries, office buildings, and fish farms, all "paid for" with useless military tickets. Subsequently, these properties were sold by the army to the chaebols for military money.

In the midst of this feast of plunder, Hirohito sent Prince Chichibu, who had been suffering from pneumonia and claimed to be recuperating, to Malaya and established the headquarters of Operation Golden Lily in Sin Chew, with a special task force, clerks, bookkeepers, and accountants. In addition to presiding over affairs in Sin Chau, Prince Chichibu also set up collection and transshipment centers in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, and set up a gold smelting center in Ipoh, where he re-smelted gold Buddhas, gold jewellery and ornaments plundered from the East Indies, Burma and Malaya.

Ishihara was secretly frightened when he heard this, many of which he knew, but more of them had been kept in the dark, and many of his previous doubts were suddenly cleared. While many thoughts flashed through his heart like lightning, a grateful look appeared on his face, which made Hirohito, who was observant, very satisfied.

Chichibu went on to explain his harvest in Southeast Asia.

Wealthy Burmese people have long been fond of donating stupas and gold Buddha statues to monasteries to prepare for their afterlife, and the richer the donations the greater the amount, and for thousands of years, most of these temples have stockpiled tons of gold, but all of this gold has been cast into Buddha statues without exception. The outer layers of these Buddha statues are skillfully covered with plaster, painted white, and the shape of the lips and cheeks is also traced, and only the temple abbot knows what is hidden in these plasters. After the Japanese army seized Burma from the British, they began to raid the stupas and Buddhist temples, and almost all the plaster Buddha statues were destroyed.

In Operation Golden Lily, many golden Buddha statues were confiscated in Malaya, Burma, Ceylon, East India and other places, and almost all of them were concentrated in Malaya for smelting, and then gathered in Sin Chau, from which they were transported to the Lanyin Islands or sent back to China. There was also some gold, which was transported directly to Manila in plundered land, where it was divided and smelted.

After more than a year of looting, Operation Golden Lily was a great success.

In the bank vaults of British Malaya, Burma, the East Indies, and the American Philippines, the Einsatzgruppen found large quantities of gold that had not been transshipped in time, such as in the Philippine treasury, where the Einsatzgruppen directly belonged to the royal family harvested 51 tons of gold, 32 tons of silver, 140 tons of silver coins, and 27 million U.S. Treasury treasures, as well as countless bonds, treasury securities, and precious stones.

In all the occupied areas, with the exception of the Chinese community protected by the Hung Hing Society and the Heung Kong clique, and the indigenous families who were willing to join the Japanese army in the "Great East Asian Holy War", the rest of the civilians were ordered to leave everything behind, and were only allowed to bring two small suitcases to the ** point, and then they were taken to the shelter.

The Japanese Einsatzgruppen immediately took possession of these "ownerless" assets, from textile mills, steel mills, chemical factories to trading companies, and the employees of the Golden Lily ransacked these factories and houses in trucks, production lines, machine tools, mining equipment, instrumentation, pianos, paintings, kitchen supplies, flush toilets, sinks, clothing and food were registered, most civilian supplies were sent to warehouses, copper wires and lead pipes were removed from the walls, and recycled for military use. Jewelry, candle holders and frames were placed in empty oil drums and sent to sorting centers, where the gold and silverware were first melted and cast into pieces, and even hardwood floors and doors were pried open.

"Ishihara-kun, up to now, through Operation Golden Lily, the empire has obtained more than three thousand tons of gold reserves, as well as a large number of jewelry and jade worth billions of dollars, except for some of them shipped back to home and abroad, the rest have been buried in various places in the Lanyin Islands in a planned way, providing funds and impetus for the development of the empire at any time as needed!"

After Prince Chichibu finished speaking, he bowed to the emperor and closed his eyes and said no more.

"Thank you Your Majesty for your trust!"

Ishihara saluted again, and then asked, "Your Majesty, I wonder if these words from the Chichibu Palace are a metaphor for the fact that most of the wealth in Malaya, Burma, and the East Indies has been looted and can be given up at any time?" ”

Hirohito nodded solemnly: "Ishihara Qing family, in fact, I also know what you are afraid and worried about, judging from the past achievements, the imperial ** team does not have the strength to confront the An family army on land, we rely on the empire's powerful navy, concentrate on the operation of the two-ocean island chain, and even completely defeat the United States!" Last year, I personally ordered the construction of the Pacific Northwest Railroad in preparation for the next step of the military deployment! Judging from the current situation, it is time to give up on the Indochina Peninsula and the East Indies!

"I know that the Ishihara family is fiercely loyal, and last night I severely reprimanded the short-sighted Tojo and his followers, asking them to fully cooperate with your work! I give you a bottom line here, as long as you don't lose it, even if the North Branch and Shandong region are lost, I won't be too harsh.

I hope that Ishihara's family will continue to make persistent efforts and continue to surprise me! ”

"Ishihara, thank you, Your Majesty for your trust!"

Ishihara Wan'er pondered the matter of gold in his heart, but his face showed a look of gratitude, and said: "After the minister returns, he will convene the General Staff Headquarters and the Ministry of War to discuss the withdrawal of troops!" In addition, the divisions that had been destroyed in the battle against the Anjia army in the Indochina Peninsula and the subcontinent would be quickly restored so that they could be put into a new battlefield and the humiliation of the banner would be washed away with victory! ”

"Very good!"

Hirohito turned his head and instructed Prince Chichibu Palace: "Second brother, from the gold harvested by the Golden Lily Operation, take out a ton of gold bars and reward it to the Ishihara Qing family, he deserves this reward!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Prince Chichibu did not hesitate and bent down to promise.

Ishihara was dumbfounded, with a look of surprise and greed on his face, and Hirohito and Konoe Fumitaka looked at each other and nodded in satisfaction.

"Boom"

The sound of cannons shaking the mountain rang out one after another.

With the smoke of artillery fire, the pure and simple officers and soldiers of Anjia were aroused to kill the enemy and serve the country. Every soldier who was prostrate on the starting position could feel that the hot heart in his chest was beating more sonorously and more rapidly than usual.

On the 2nd of this month, Bi Youmin's Fifth Army captured the city of Daze, officially cutting off the enemy's retreat route at Kyaukdang Mountain, and then spent two weeks to clear out the Japanese, Burmese and indigenous forces in the plain area between the Mu River and the Irrawaddy River, and opened up the railway artery leading to Mandalay, so that there was no hindrance to logistical supplies.

Since it has not rained for more than 20 consecutive days since late September, and through field reconnaissance, the water can only reach the waists of the officers and men, so the officers and men of the first wave of assault can completely use the swimming to rush across the Mu River, and it is not too late to lay pontoon bridges after occupying the enemy's position.

The preparation time for large-caliber artillery fire was so long, and the enemy's carefully constructed civil fortifications on the other side of the river collapsed one after another under the ravages of violent artillery fire.

The barbed wire fences were blown away, the trenches either collapsed or were filled with flying earth and rock, the laid mines could not resist the lure of artillery shells, and they exploded one after another, and the artillery fire was like a huge iron plow, ploughing over and over the predetermined offensive line, extending forward little by little.

"Ye Ye Ye Yi Yiyi"

The general-purpose machine gun began to make a sound of tearing cloth, and countless bullet marks rushed to the other side of the Mu River, suppressing the fire of the Japanese beachhead.

"An Jiajun, forward!"

Following the orders of the commanders at all levels, the officers and men of the 62nd Infantry Regiment of the 13th Motor Infantry Division, which had long been ready to go, jumped out of the trenches one after another and launched an armed swimming crossing to the shallows that had already been measured on the other side of the Mu River.

Every officer and soldier on the forward combat mission knew very well that this was the most dangerous position, so they desperately accelerated their advance, and the artillery units in the rear also did their best to suppress the firepower of the Japanese and Burmese troops with an extraordinary density.

However, the tenacity of the Japanese army is not blown, another history, the expeditionary force equipped with full American equipment attacked Tengchong County, nearly 50,000 people attacked the city, and with the fire assistance of the US bomber group, it took more than two months, sacrificing 18,000 people to take Tengchong County, which was only defended by 1,800 people, according to the Japanese army guarding Tengchong, in the street battle desperately killed 32 senior officers, including the supreme commander, and finally the Japanese army, including the comfort women, was captured only 53 people, This shows the strong will of the Japanese army to fight.

Therefore, in the fierce attack of the Anjia army like a torrent of embankments, the Japanese army's long-held artillery fire began to exert its might, and as the shells fell intensively, soldiers continued to fall on the way to attack, and a touch of red blood, and the splash of the enemy's bullets and shells on the water surface, slowly dissolved and disappeared.

The Japanese commander apparently understood that the best time to fight was the best time to fight, and at the same time caused the greatest loss to the enemy, desperately venting artillery fire, and organized troops to rush down the river to launch counterattacks several times, but under the blow of our army's powerful artillery and machine-gun fire, these counterattacks ended in failure.

At this time, a dense group of aircraft flew over from the eastern sky, and as the attack planes and bombers continued to vent the flames of revenge, the devil's artillery quickly dumbled fire.

In the case of the loss of air supremacy, artillery undoubtedly evolved into an embarrassing branch of the army, and many times the artillery that the Japanese infantry relied on so much became a disposable consumer product, which simply could not play the role of supporting the battle line as it should be.

As the devil artillery was dumb and the machine gun position began to be suppressed by the fighters of the Anjia Army, the officers and men of the 62nd Infantry Regiment paid a certain price to eliminate the Japanese troops who launched a-for-tat counterattack, and finally established a relatively stable beachhead on the other side of the river.

Along the passage opened by the artillery fire, wave after wave of officers and soldiers of Anjia quickly launched an attack on the enemy's position, and automatic rifles, submachine guns, rocket launchers, and general-purpose machine guns weaved powerful firepower, which was fierce and powerful, so that even devils with the same strong will to fight were shocked.

There is a saying that he is strong and he is strong, the breeze blows the hills, he is horizontal by him, and the bright moon shines on the river, which means that strength and weakness can be converted into each other. In the face of opponents who are inferior in training and tactics, the Japanese army can often burst out with a hundredfold combat effectiveness, but if nothing is superior, then the Japanese army is not hard-hearted, and will also feel fear and fear.

In the face of such fierce artillery fire, such a fierce opponent who is not afraid of death, and watching the tank and armored vehicle brigade of the An Jia Army crossing the river in the distance, anxiety and fear quickly spread in the hearts of every devil and Burmese officer and soldier.

At the same time, the small and medium-caliber mortars that accompanied the infantry attack also continued to move forward, using the projectiles fired with precision to intensively descend on the positions of the devils and the Burmese army.

The first to collapse was the Burmese army.

After all, it was the army that the Japanese army supported after the occupation of Burma, and the Japanese army was not friendly to the puppet army and Burmese civilians, although they fought desperately under strict military regulations and nationalist propaganda, but in the end they were not as brave and tenacious as the devils who were brainwashed by the spirit of bushido.

If the first person gives up his duty and runs to the rear, there will be a second and third person who will follow, and the desire for life is so strong, and the herd mentality is even stronger on the battlefield between life and death. Unfortunately, not everyone was able to live up to their expectations, some of the Burmese troops were killed by the fire of our attacking soldiers, and many more were killed by the devils around them and the machine guns of the warlords in the rear.

The same fear of death forced the fleeing Burmese army to turn back to their positions and raise their guns again.

The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and in this time is the occasion of life, the end of the first rat is to be eliminated. Due to the fact that the Burmese army was more numerous than the devils, this escape attracted a lot of firepower and attention from the devils, so that the first attack wave of our army successfully rushed into the Japanese trenches.

After the officers and soldiers of An Jia shot and killed the devil soldiers who tried to stab, the Burmese soldiers were relieved, threw away their weapons one after another, raised their hands and surrendered.

The battle continues.

Under the bright sun overhead, the officers and men of An Jia bravely moved forward and attacked the enemy position in front without hesitation. The wolf-like officers and soldiers did not give the devils and the Burmese army any chance, and shot at the stubborn devils and the Burmese soldiers who did not raise their hands or moved slowly.

A mist of blood, from time to time stained the trench red, moans of pain, fearful begs for mercy, incontinence and the stench of vomiting mixed together, like hell on earth.

As sappers blasted through trenches, tanks and armored vehicles rumbled forward, gradually catching up with the charging vanguards.

Tanks arranged in battle formations to launch a cluster attack bring far less visual impact than psychological pressure.

The roar of the diesel engine engine, the "zak" sound of the crawler crushing the ground, the billowing dust wrapped in black smoke, and the new shell reflecting the midday sun, slowly but surely rushed towards the Japanese troops guarding the position. This majestic and shocking picture made the devil who wanted to fight until the last moment feel his hands trembling and cold sweat.

When the tanks were the first to rush towards the Japanese positions, a wave of shells with a very fast rate of fire also descended on the Japanese positions, which was a masterpiece of self-propelled howitzers that accompanied the attacks of tanks and armored vehicles.

The tank accelerated in the rapid cover fire, and for a time the sound of thunderous exhaust resounded throughout the battlefield, and the tank stopped from time to time to turn the turret to destroy the exposed fire points, and one after another the remaining bunkers, bunkers, and pillboxes collapsed with the rotation of the tank's muzzle.

The Muhe defense line was finally defeated by the all-out attack of the mechanized troops of the Anjia Army, and the Japanese army was forced to retreat into the town of Yuwadi and continue to resist stubbornly.

Rocket artillery vehicles arrived in time to the west of the town of Yuwadi, and after several rounds of shelling, tanks and armored vehicles continued their attack. The officers and men of Anjia, who had already been extremely skilled in siege warfare and street fighting, quickly divided into strike groups one after another, and advanced under the cover of tanks and armored vehicles.

Tanks are almost a moving target in street battles where the opponent has effective counter-weapons, but when the opponent does not have effective anti-tank weapons, it is majestic. With the influx of more troops, the tide of battle in Yuwadi Town tilted in favor of the Anjia army.

As of 6 o'clock in the evening, the battle of the Mu River in northern Burma ended successfully, the Fifth Army successfully broke through the obstacles leading to the Jiling Temple and the Impal area, and the 2nd and 3rd Mountain Army Groups that entered the East Indian state of Assam had entered the city of Dimapur, which directly threatened the security of Kohima, as long as this railway running through the north and south of the Naga hills was completely opened, then with the victory of the East Indies, the eastern and western territories of South China will be connected through this railway, and its strategic significance is extremely significant!