In Tokyo, at this time, the heart of the Japanese empire seemed to be a little anxious, not only from the government, but also from the people, at this time, everyone was thinking about the question of when Japan would perish.

In the streets of Tokyo, you can see Japanese people building fortifications everywhere, and now the Japanese are beginning to prepare for the defense of Tokyo, and in the eyes of anyone, after the fall of Shikoku, the next one must be Honshu.

In the Otto Inland Sea, thousands of fishing boats formed a multi-layered cordon, and they were responsible for guarding the Soto Inland Sea to prevent the squadron from landing on Honshu Island, although the squadron had not yet been able to occupy Shikoku Island, but after the Chinese side announced that they had completely occupied Kochi Prefecture and captured the well-equipped port, the soldiers in Tokyo understood.

At this time, it was already the last moment of the Japanese defense

The defeat in the South China Sea led to a rapid decline in the status of the navy, which was regarded as a "treasure to the empire" and a "close minister of the emperor," and at the army staff headquarters, when the army asked if the navy could send a group of troops to Shikoku to stop the Chinese army's attack. The Navy agreed without hesitation.

"The army from there"

In response to the words of the naval representatives, the Army's operational staff officer replied that it was Marshal Oyama's troops drawn from Korea, and that although the Chinese Navy had blocked the Tsushima Strait, as many as two brigades of Japanese troops with fishing boats and small ships had successfully penetrated the blockade line and arrived safely on Honshu Island after paying thousands of losses.

Two brigades, nearly 10,000 troops, and as many as 10,000 rifles shipped from Korea really pleased the Japanese high-level, and the successful infiltration greatly increased the defense strength of Honshu, but in the end, in the face of the danger of Shikoku Island, the Army General Staff Headquarters still decided to send 5,000 people to reinforce Shikoku, including 500 members of the Navy Special Marine Corps and 4,500 people of the Hashiki Brigade, which were originally planned to be used to defend Honshu Island, but at this time, Kota Gentaro could only send them to Shikoku.

"I must keep Kagawa"

Hashimoto is Kiyoshi, this mustache, Osa who studied in Germany, the commander of the Hashimoto Brigade, when leaving, Kodama Gentaro once said to him personally.

To defend Shikoku is to defend Japan, and if Shikoku falls, Japan will perish

In Tokyo, almost everyone in Japan has seen similar reports in the newspapers, and it seems that overnight, Shikokushima, Japan's most backward island, has become a key to the survival of Japan.

And before the troops set off, Hashimoto was Kiyoshi asked the "Mainichi Shimbun" reporter *** Nishimura to look at a map of Shikoku Island, pointed to a small dot and said:

"This is our new destination, Kagawa. I know you'll think it's a war without any suspense, and it's true that a lot of people think we can't hold there, and I don't dare say anything. Still, I dare say, it's a huge battle. ”

Hashimoto was soberly prophesive, knowing that Shikoku Island would be the focal point of China's attack on Honshu and the destruction of Japan.

"If you think of Shikoku, you'll have to give me your life. Both you and I could be sacrificed. ”

Looking at the young reporter, Hashimoto said seriously.

"I'm going"

Nishimura said solemnly.

"I'm not going to drag you down, I'm going to take up arms and go to the front if I need to"

So the two shook hands quietly, and neither said anything more. Because they know it's too late to say anything.

Two days later, on April 6, Hashimoto instructed the captains of each team to pay the soldiers three months' salary. They are about to go on "a very important mission, and many people may die." Let the soldiers send most of the money home, and eat and drink the rest of the money so that they can spend their last night here to the fullest. ”

Although, in his order, Hashimoto did not mention what that mission was, everyone in Hashimoto's brigade understood that they were going to Shikoku, they were going to Kagawa City, they were going to defend Japan at that time, they were going to ......

"This will determine the survival of Japan."

The sense of mission permeated the hearts of Japanese soldiers, perhaps, they did not have a large number of artillery and machine guns like the squadron, but they knew that they might be the last line of defense of Japan.

Shortly after dawn, 4,500 soldiers of the Takahashi Brigade boarded two 10,000-ton merchant ships, which had been requisitioned by the Army from the Japan Yusen Shipping Company. Under the sunlight of early spring, the cold deck of the "Jordan Maru" became a little hot.

The small village with a camera occasionally takes a photo or two as a memento of the war. He watched as the soldiers streamed into the spacious cabins, huddled in their hammocks. The fan blew a hot breeze, and the village returned to the deck. ,

Just as he was about to lift anchor and set off, a big black dog ran from the shore and got on the boat. It frantically searched for its master, Lieutenant Noda, an officer who had just graduated early from the land division.

"Come on, I was wrong,"

Noda said apologetically to the black dog. He had thrown it away the night before, and he knew that this time it was a mission of nine deaths, and whether or not he could hold Kagawa, at least one thing was certain, no matter whether he won or lost, many people would die.

The black dog sat on the deck, quietly looking at his master, and Noda was silent for a long time before looking at his dog and said.

"I don't want you to go to Shikoku to die."

For the future, Noda does not have a trace of confidence, confidence, for him, confidence was lost last year in the war with the Chinese, and now there is still any confidence there.

The merchant ships sailed in the direction of Kagawa in the Seto Inland Sea at a speed of six knots, and the soldiers were turning around on the deck, some were humming military songs, some were lying lazily, and some were doing gymnastics.

And at dinner, upon request, the soldiers were given sake, which was a "drink" to boost their mood. The soldiers boasted that they were not afraid of the Chinese at all, as long as they attacked at night. In order to encourage them, the officers kept telling them repeatedly that the Chinese soldiers were timid and cowardly, and compared to the Imperial Army, the squadron was completely ungood at night fighting, and even more inappropriate for night bayonet assaults. ”

The soldiers resting on the deck reminisced with relish about the past battles, how they easily defeated the Lucian army, and how he would defeat the squadron that invaded the Japanese mainland.

"After our artillery fire in Manchuria, there was not even a blade of grass left,"

Said a slightly older soldier.

"But where the Chinese have fired artillery, there is not a single inch of grass"

"That's because the Chinese are afraid of death, so they shoot a particularly dense number of shells"

A military officer said next to him that the troops transferred from North Korea are different from the newly built special divisions in China, and many of them have fought in China with the squadron.

"You just need to remember one thing, no matter how many cannons and machine guns the Chinese have, their blood is the same as yours, it is all red, and it will bleed when hit by bullets"

A cool breeze woke up *** Nishimura. At 8:25 a.m., the trumpet of departure sounded, and the eight remaining destroyers of the Japanese Navy sailed out in a southeasterly direction in two side-by-side formations at a speed of 10 knots. At the bottom of the ship's bilge, the sound of the machine was deafening and the heat was suffocating, and Nishino had to return to the deck. As soon as he got on deck, he was almost blown down by the sea breeze. Today is a cloudy day, and it is the best time to cross the strait.

The sea water hit the deck, and Nishino was helpless and returned to the cabin. He heard an officer say to a group of soldiers that they would arrive in Kagawa a few hours before midnight, and a military officer began to check the soldiers' life jackets.

"There is no need to worry about the planes of the Chinese, the weather is bad today, they simply cannot take off"

Nishimura said happily that he likes airplanes very much, and he also knows that planes can't take off under such conditions, maybe those planes that can only drop small bombs and strafe the ground with machine guns can't sink the 10,000-ton giant ship at all, but they can inform the squadron of their movements.

In that case, what will happen is not something that people can predict. During the day, the sailors constantly demanded that the army soldiers avenge the massacre of their comrades in the South China Sea by the Chinese navy, and the army soldiers promised to "wipe out the Qing slaves without a single remnant."

After dinner, the sailors drank beer and cider, smoked and ate sugar.

"At sea, we are responsible!"

A drunken sailor shouted, "You are in charge of the island." All right? Good luck for a long time"

After speaking, he shook hands with the soldiers around him one by one.

An army soldier gave a sailor half a pack of unsightly cigarettes and said,

"If we live to meet again, let's smoke and celebrate."

The other two exchanged their cut nails.

"If I die, give it to my son," the soldier said.

"The boy was only two years old."

"This is my mother's name and address",

Said the sailor.

In the future, what the future will look like, everyone does not dare to think about it, they do not even dare to think about the present, but everyone knows what will happen once the four countries are completely occupied by the Chinese. ,

Eight small destroyers of escort slammed violently, moving at full speed in the darkness. Their tracks were like endless fireworks, and finally in the middle of the night, the fleet approached Kagawa City, and in order to prevent the port of Kagawa from being used by the Chinese after the fall of Kagawa, the pier was blasted before the squadron approached Kagawa, and the ships were sunk at the same time.

The destruction of the port made it impossible for the reinforcements of Kagawa to disembark at the port, so they had to use motorboats and sampans to go ashore, and the motorboats and sampans were lowered to the surface, and the soldiers silently got into the dinghy, and then the motorboats pulled the dinghy or rowed by the soldiers towards Uomidai Beach in the west of Kagawa City.

When Nishimura got into the dinghy, he didn't hear anything but the sound of soft footsteps on board. His skiff ran aground on the beach, and he clumsily climbed out of the side of the boat, and then the tide pushed him ashore, and the chatter of the people and the rattle of the waves could be heard around him.

He staggered onto the beach. He looked at his watch, and at ten o'clock, at the foot of the hill where Uomiya was located, on the long shore, the soldiers were constantly jumping into the beach, and then began to line up.

"What a beautiful starry night"

One of the soldiers beside him said to the night sky in the distance.

"yes"

Nishimura nodded, but the soldier let out a sigh.

"This may be the last time I'll ever see a star"

Without saying a word, Nishimura walked in the direction of Kagawa City, knowing that in the next few days, this place might decide the fate of Japan.

Suddenly a voice stopped him;

"What unit are you from?"

He caught a glimpse of a dark shadow, which turned out to be Japanese soldiers in various costumes, a member of the National Advance Team, who had all kinds of cold weapons in their hands, only a pitiful few old-fashioned rifles.

Many people in Honshu accuse the people of Shikoku of being too ***, but looking at these people, *** Nishimura knows that it is impossible for them to repel the squadron just by relying on this kind of national standing team.

"I'm glad to meet you,"

One of the soldiers, who was only sixteen or seventeen, said.

"It's good that you're here, now we have 10,000 people here, but we only have a thousand rifles, and a lot of weapons from the shogunate era."

Then he pointed to the southwest.

"But Chinese, they have all kinds of weapons, as well as heavy artillery, the Zecun detachment ambushed a squadron in Osan a few days ago, there may be only one squadron, the people in the Kezawa Village squadron are all dead, none of them survived, Chinese guns, can be ......"

The boy gestured with his voice.

"Dada...... It's okay to get it right in a row, do you bring us weapons? ”

In the face of the boy's words, *** Nishimura said helplessly.

"I'm not a soldier, maybe I brought it."

Did you bring it? Of course, the troops must bring weapons when they come to fight, but they certainly do not equip the national stand up with weapons, and now they do not even have weapons for the newly built divisions, let alone them.

Standing on the beach, Kiyoshi saluted and said goodbye in the direction of Tokyo, perhaps the last time he saluted Tokyo, and then he ordered his troops to enter the city, and it was time to prepare for battle

And the *** Nishimura, who followed the troops into Yumidai, stopped, and the soldiers who went up the mountain sat on the ground, trying to sleep in the trees, but *** Nishimura couldn't sleep, and he always vaguely felt that the battle seemed to have begun, and there was a constant sound of artillery in the distance.

"Is it thunder?"

Nishimura thought so in his heart, he looked in the direction of Kagawa City, at this time Kagawa was completely shrouded in night, without a trace of light, and looking at Kagawa who was in the dark, *** spoke after a moment of silence.

"Today, this is the place where the survival of the whole of Japan will be decided"

sighed in his heart, he didn't know how long Kagawa could keep, but he knew that now, it was time to decide the fate of Japan.

Suddenly, at this moment, his thoughts were interrupted by a rapid sound of cannons, and he looked in the direction from which the cannons came, only to see a continuous burst of flames rising near the southwest of Kagawa City.

"The Chinese have arrived"

At the foot of the mountain, his right elbow rested on the body of the submachine gun, following behind the battalion commander, Wei Ze looked at his comrades-in-arms, there was no trace of nervousness in those dark faces, and he did not even reveal any emotion, only the perseverance of a soldier.

"Alright, brothers"

After walking back and forth in front of the brothers twice, Zhao Gang stood there and watched the brothers in the battalion, marching hundreds of kilometers in the mountains of Shikoku, killing 16 and seriously wounding 23, with a cumulative attrition of 57 people, which is almost equal to 7 attrition, which is okay

"Now, as long as we lay down this mountain",

Zhao Gang pointed to a hill in the distance, that is the remnant of the Shikoku Mountains, it is the last obstacle to Kagawa, as long as you lay down there, you can attack Kagawa, as long as you take Kagawa, even if the Guards occupy half of Shikoku, maybe not a month, they can completely occupy Shikoku Island.

"We can attack Kagawa City, and I don't need to repeat the importance of Kagawa, but now I only have one thing to tell you."

Looking directly at the brothers in front of him, Zhao Gang's expression was solemn.

"At this time, the future of the Chinese Empire is in the hands of you and me, and my generation is in this era, and we should be loyal to the monarch and serve the country, and bravely kill the enemy, I hope you will live up to the great expectations of the empire."

Bowing his head heavily, Zhao Gang bowed deeply to the brothers in front of him.

At the same time, the officers and men holding guns and standing upright made an uproar, stretched out their arms to the right with rifles and machine guns in their right hands, and bowed in return. There is no rhetoric of arrogance, there is only the taciturn and commitment peculiar to the military.

At this moment, the sound of artillery sounded, and the soldiers with steel helmets on their heads silently carried their weapons and began to assemble towards the place of march, no one made any sound, only the sound of military boots stepping on the ground, at this time the mountain blocking in front of them was completely shrouded in artillery flames, field artillery, mountain artillery, and mortars all fired shells towards this hill, and the sky was reflected red by the raging fire caused by the explosion of the shells.

Holding the telescope in his hand, Zhao Gang knelt on the ground with one foot, holding a saber in his left hand, staring intently at the enemy position in the distance, just looking at the enemy defensive position that was reflected in the artillery flames, Zhao Gang couldn't help but muttered in his heart.

"I've Met a Tough Enemy"

The staggered trenches are faintly visible on the mountain, and the trenches are not the "canals" dug by the Japanese troops that they encountered before, but the zigzag trenches, which are obviously an elite, at least their officers are very experienced, this kind of zigzag trenches were created by the Guards in the northeast, and I didn't expect to encounter them here.

"After the second round of fire strikes begins, the whole battalion will assault as planned, Sergeant Danger, you follow me"

When giving the order, Zhao Gang's voice was not loud, but he still had a habitual smile on his face.

"What's the matter, I'm afraid we're going to gnaw hard bones today"

"The mouth is good, no matter how hard it is, you can gnaw it"

Wei Ze responded calmly, and at this time, beside him, the light machine gun shooter mounted the machine gun on the stone, hunched over, his cheek tightly pressed against the cold butt.

At this moment, the second round of shelling began, Zhao Gang pulled out the Western-style saber, and the "squeak" knife made a slight sound when it came out of the sheath, and the trumpeter hurriedly put the trumpet to his lips, and his eyes stared at the commander without blinking, at this time Zhao Gang put the saber on his shoulder, and at the moment when the second round of shelling began, his arm was raised forward and upward, pointing at the night sky at a forty-five degree angle.

The trumpets sounded at the same time, and in an instant, the whistle sounded.

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