"Your Excellency, General, I believe that it will be difficult for us to hold Qingdao by relying on naval strength alone without strengthening the army strength of the Jiaozhou Peninsula!" Sugiyama's voice fell, and this side Itagaki Seishiro ignored Yamashita Fengwen's stop and stood up.

"Oh? Itagaki-kun, tell me why do you think that the Imperial Army of the Great Emperor cannot hold Qingdao? With the empire's huge naval and air forces, plus tens of thousands of army warriors, can't it hold a small Qingdao? Sugiyama said in a cold tone and slightly reproachful.

Itagaki Seishiro was not afraid, and immediately said: "First of all, after the Battle of Xuzhou, all divisions and regiments on the front line have suffered heavy losses, and due to continuous battles, morale and soldiers' physical strength have declined significantly, and the reserves of weapons and ammunition are not sufficient. ”

"The most important thing is that the disparity in strength is too great, and the total strength of the imperial army on the Jiaozhou Peninsula is only 70,000 or 80,000, and there are still many wounded soldiers in the middle, and it is obviously a bit stretched to defend the Jiaodong Peninsula centered on Qingdao with these forces.

As for the Chinese people, Qiao Anbang's 11th Group Army plus Li Zongren's Fifth Theater Army, the total strength has exceeded more than 500,000 people, especially Qiao Anbang's 11th Group Army, which is even better equipped and has strong combat effectiveness. ”

"Even with the same strength, it is no longer enough to compete with the active weapons and equipment of the imperial army, not to mention that there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in the fifth war zone of China as its wings."

"Humph! Itagaki Seishiro, don't forget that you are an emperor [***] person, and the imperial army of this empire is invincible! Sugiyama stood up with some annoyance and scolded.

"Your Excellency General, the humble position is just a matter of facts, the fact of the defeat of the imperial army in the Battle of Xuzhou and the Battle of Huainan tells us that the imperial army must learn lessons and experience, otherwise we will not only not be able to conquer China, but may also be completely defeated by the people of China!"

"Yaga!" Sugiyama Yuan was annoyed and angry, and roared angrily: "Shut up, I don't think you are suitable for the position of commander of the Fifth Division anymore!" ”

"Hmph, if the empire doesn't carry out weapon innovation, then sooner or later it will fail! And it will be a fiasco with great consequences! Seishiro Itagaki said with angry eyes, and then turned around and strode away.

Sugiyama Moto, who was left with a difficult time to step down, roared with a pale face: "Yagayalu, I want to announce that Itagaki Seishiro will be immediately relieved of his post as the commander of the Fifth Division, and the chief of staff will immediately report to the base camp!" ”

"Your Excellency, General!" Yamashita Fengwen just wanted to persuade him, but Sugiyama Yuan waved his hand and said, "Immediately execute the order!" ”

Yamashita Fengwen had no choice but to bow his head: "Hai, do it immediately?" ”

…………………………………… In this way, Seishiro Itagaki, the commander of the most capable division of the North China Front, was relieved of his post as commander of the Fifth Division by the newly appointed commander of the Front Army, Sugiyama Moto, and was replaced by Lieutenant General Toshiyoshi Ando.

In fact, Itagaki Seishiro was dismissed not only because he disagreed with Sugiyama Moto's opinion in this meeting and contradicted his top boss, but mainly because Itagaki Seishiro lost the second battle of Xuzhou, which made the situation in North China suddenly take a sharp turn.

This is the biggest reason why Itagaki Seishiro will be dismissed, otherwise, with Itagaki Seishiro's outstanding record among the generals of the army, it would be impossible for Sugiyama Yuan to directly call the shots to remove his military power, because Itagaki Seishiro's Fifth Division is a unit directly under the North China Front, and it is a strategic force like the First Army and the Second Army.

It can be seen that the base camp was really dissatisfied with Itagaki Seishiro's performance in this battle.

After Seishiro Itagaki was dismissed, he did not return to Qingdao, but was given a free ticket to return to China.

At the same time, Sugiyama Gen also ordered the agents to start looking for opportunities to provoke the relationship between the Tiger Army and Yucheng, in a vain attempt to provoke Qiao's army and Yucheng to meet each other.

……………………………… Pheasant and Jihu Benjun Longshan Arsenal.

After burying his father, Qiao Anbang quickly began to prepare for the next battle of Qingdao, through the news from the front, the army has been on the Jiaodong Peninsula to increase troops, especially the navy of the army, a small Jiaozhou Bay actually gathered three fleets of the combined fleet of the navy.

The situation has developed to this point, and Qiao Anbang knows that the battle to capture Qingdao cannot be delayed any longer, and must be carried out as soon as possible, and the sooner the better, otherwise the longer the time drags on, the stronger the defensive strength of the Yue army will be.

On this visit to the Yongsan Arsenal, I first came to inspect the assembly lines of various factories and, by the way, to encourage the workers of the Arsenal who are working hard all night to produce weapons and ammunition for the front-line soldiers.

After inspecting the assembly lines of various factories, Qiao Anbang couldn't help but stop when he passed by the office of his second brother Qiao An's family that was originally set up in the factory.

Pushing the door and walking in, the furnishings in the office were all the same, but the second brother who had been smiling and greeting him was no longer there, and things were wrong, which made Qiao Anbang feel very lonely and lonely in his heart.

Thinking of all the past, the bits and pieces of the brothers, fathers and sons getting along day and night, Qiao Anbang only felt a sour nose: "Second brother, my father is gone, I hope that in heaven you can take care of our father and me on behalf of my eldest brother, the battle of Qingdao is about to begin, you and our father's spirit in the sky must bless our army to win and win this battle!" ”

"The main seat, Deputy Li is calling!" Suddenly, Yali's voice sounded outside the door.

"Oh, got it!" Qiao Anbang cleaned up his mood, looked at the furnishings in the office with nostalgia, and immediately turned to leave.

"What's wrong?" When he came to the door, Yali was already waiting outside the door, and Qiao Anbang asked head-on.

"Deputy Li called and said that the reinforcements of the army are increasing continuously, and the defense of the defenders of Jiaoxian County is improving, and Deputy Li asks the general seat to return to the front line as soon as possible to preside over the military, and launch an offensive as soon as possible, late is not good!" Yali replied.

"Hmm!" Qiao Anbang nodded as he walked, "Brother Heling is the same as I thought!" In this way, you go and arrange it immediately, we will immediately set off for the front line in Jiaoxian, and I will personally go to the front line to command this battle of Qingdao! ”

"Yes!" Yali hurriedly stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Do you want to take a flying machine or a car by land?" ”

"Time is pressing, take the aircraft, and the special operations battalion will deliver it in batches!" Joan Bang said.

"Oh, understood!" Yali nodded, and followed Qiao Anbang towards the outside of the arsenal.

The Jiaodong Peninsula in .......................................... month is scorching, the temperature is as high as 30 degrees Celsius, and the earth seems to be shrouded in a furnace, scorching and sultry.

On the frontline position of the Tiger Ben Army on the front line of Jiaoxian County, the soldiers of the Tiger Ben Army, who had been confronting the Yue Army for nearly half a month, were lying or sitting in the trenches with their guns, and some even took off their military uniforms and jackets and put them on their heads to shield them from the radiation of the Lieyue.

The only thing that is the same is that all officers and men have a white cloth wrapped around their arms, not only the front-line troops, but also more than 100,000 officers and men of the divisions of the 11th Group Army.

This originated from the spontaneous organization of the senior generals of the Tiger Ben Army to wear filial piety for Qiao Siyuan's three armies to show respect.

"Be spiritual, get up, give Lao Tzu a goddamn spiritual point!" Suddenly, there was a rough urging and scolding sound from the trenches.

The soldiers in the trenches hurriedly stood up when they heard this, and turned their eyes to the comer.

I saw a captain officer striding over with his head held high, this person was none other than Zhao Quan, a famous tiger general of the 1st Huben Division and the commander of the 1st Infantry Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Regiment.

Zhao Quan took two guards, while scolding his subordinates to get up and clean up the army, he announced: "Listen to Lao Tzu, the general seat will come to the front to inspect in a while, give Lao Tzu a spiritual point, if anyone loses face in front of the general seat and smears us in a row, Lao Tzu will never spare him!" Do you understand everything? ”

"Understood!" As soon as they heard that the commander-in-chief, Qiao Anbang, was coming, the group of big-headed soldiers became energetic and excited.

Walking in the forward fortifications &&&&&&&&&&&&, Qiao Anbang looked at the soldiers with white cloths wrapped in white cloth on his arms with some surprise, and turned his head to ask Li Pinxian, Li Yifeng and others who were accompanying him: "Brother Heling, what is going on with Yifeng?" ”

"Don't you know, Old Man Qiao passed away, the whole army is deeply sorry and sad, after a few of us have discussed and decided, my Eleventh Group Army will wear filial piety for Old Man Qiao's whole army, and I will never take off this filial piety cloth if I don't take Qingdao!" Li Pinxian explained.

"Oh!" Qiao Anbang was very moved, and said: "How can my father He De be so loved by the soldiers, Anbang is grateful!" ”

"You will see what you say, Old Man Qiao is not your father alone, he is also the father of all the soldiers of our Tiger Army, I still say that, if you speak now, our army will immediately turn around and avenge the old man!" Li Jupeng, commander of the third division of Huben, opened his mouth to speak.

"Ju Peng, I understand the intentions of the brothers, but the matter of avenging my father, I will not mention it for the time being, I still say the same thing, at the moment, our main opponent is still himself, national hatred is greater than personal grievances! If you don't invade Tokyo, it's hard to comfort your father's soul in the sky! Joan Bang said.

"The general seat is right, now that the nation is in crisis, we should put aside our personal grievances for the time being, focus on national affairs, and focus on national interests. Li Pinxian nodded in agreement.

After inspecting the forward positions, Qiao Anbang took the division commanders back to his temporary former enemy headquarters.

After entering the headquarters, there were already orderly soldiers who prepared tea and seats for everyone, and even attendant staff officers hung up the combat map.

After sitting down around the conference table, Qiao Anbang looked around the table with both hands and said earnestly to everyone: "Colleagues, brothers, I am very concerned about you and the soldiers who stick to the front line. ”

"In these more than ten days, I have experienced the most painful time of my life. To tell the truth, my father's death hit me very hard, if it weren't for the fact that the mountains and rivers had not been restored, Qiao really wanted to live in seclusion in the mountains and forests and live a few years of quiet and inaction. However, when he thought that the hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the front line were still facing each other over the Koukou, and that the oath we had made when the Tiger Ben Army was built had not yet been fulfilled, Anbang could not sleep well. ”

"A few words said by my father before his death shocked Anbang deeply, the boy was promoted to the world, and he should mention the immortal deeds of the three-foot Qingfeng, and his reputation will be remembered through the ages, and he will always be remembered and sacrificed by future generations in vain! Now, I and all of you here are born in troubled times, which is not only our misfortune, but also our great luck, because of this troubled times, we can have the opportunity and more ability to change the current situation of our country and our nation, and to create a peaceful, happy, bright and prosperous country for our future generations, so that they can be proud of having our ancestors and proud of being a Chinese! ”

"And if our Chinese nation wants to rise, we must first destroy the book that always wants to destroy our race and destroy my country, and the battle of extermination begins with the current Battle of Qingdao, and I am confident that sooner or later one day we can enter the city of Tokyo side by side as a victor! At that time, we will drink with you and at the foot of Mt. Fuji! ”

(To be continued)