ps: Today's three watches are completed! Give it a thumbs up! Now I'm running naked, begging book friends to click and like, so that Xiaoyu can show his face on the praise list! Thank you! Thank you for the tips of the book friends for extreme deep-sea diving, the eagle of the People's Liberation Army, and the extremely boring beggars! Thank you for the monthly ticket of the book friend Dawning Emperor and the cannon bombardment mosquito!

"Lord Shan Shan, this is today's battle report! The Shina had landed in Fukuoka and defeated the defenders of Fukuoka, and Lieutenant General Ueda Arisawa led more than 20,000 remnants of his army to retreat to Asakura! War Minister Katsura Taro respectfully handed the war report he received to Japanese Prime Minister Aritomo Yamaguchi!

"What's going on? In just one day, I lost Fukuoka. Once the Shina people had gained a foothold in Fukuoka, they were able to send a steady stream of troops to land on the island of Kyushu. At that time, the fall of Kyushu Island will be in sight! Youpeng said with a dark face. Obviously, the Japanese army's appearance disappointed him. Originally, he also hoped that the Japanese army would be able to inflict heavy casualties on the squadron, so that the squadron had to choose to retreat. But now, Fukuoka has fallen in just one day, which makes him very angry.

"Lord Yama, Fukuoka is on the seashore, and the people of Shina can get support from the navy. The power of naval guns is far beyond what flesh and blood can resist. General Nozu Michikan is already preparing to gather his troops in Asakura and have a long battle with the Shina people. I believe that the final victory must belong to the Great Japanese Empire! War Minister Katsura Taro said.

"Can you be sure that the battle of Asakura will be won?" Youpeng in Shan County obviously didn't believe it.

"Lord Shan Shan, the army that the people of China have landed on is currently determined to be the Second Army. China has six infantry divisions. Plus the troops directly under the army group. It's only about 160,000 people. The Imperial Army had 400,000 troops on the island of Kyushu, including the elite of the empire such as the Fifth Division. After getting rid of the protection of the naval guns, the emperor ** team will definitely be able to defeat the people of China easily! War Minister Katsura Taro said unashamedly.

"Well, send a telegram to Admiral Michikani Nozu and tell him that His Majesty the Emperor is waiting for news of his victory!" Shan County Youpeng said.

"Yes, Lord Yamasan!" Katsura Taro nodded.

However, General Michikani Nozu asked the War Office to send reinforcements. Katsura Taro did not agree. Now that the squadron has landed on Kyushu Island, it is obviously a little unlikely that the Japanese army wants to keep Kyushu Island. No matter how many reinforcements are sent, as long as the Chinese navy cuts off the Guanmen Strait, Zhoufang Beach, and the Seto Inland Sea, these Japanese troops will become turtles in the urn. Katsura Taro is not stupid, and when the Japanese Army has become an important guarantee for their survival, he certainly will not throw these troops away in vain.

Katsura Taro ordered the Japanese army in southern Honshu to step up their defenses, and at the same time dispatched two elite divisions to garrison in the southern area of Honshu to prevent the squadron from crossing the Kanmon Strait to attack the southern area of Honshu after the fall of Kyushu.

October 22nd. The Second Army of the Chinese Army, departing from Fukuoka. Marching into the hinterland of the island of Kyushu. The 1st and 2nd Brigades of the Marine Corps remained in Fukuoka and guarded the place. Now Fukuoka has become an important material base for the squadron to fight on Kyushu Island.

The 14th and 21st Divisions of the Second Army, two armies that had indulged well all night in Fukuoka, were the vanguard of the group. The commander of the group army, Major General Xie Dingkun, told them directly that after the next city was conquered, they could still do what they did in Fukuoka. This directly stimulates the fighting spirit of the soldiers. If nothing else, the gold and silver looted in Fukuoka alone were worth 10 million Chinese dollars, and according to the regulations, 10 percent was given to the soldiers as a reward, which also meant that each soldier could receive several Chinese dollars. This is already a month's allowance for an ordinary soldier. Moreover, this is only the first Japanese city, and when the entire island of Kyushu is occupied, and even the whole of Japan is occupied, the wealth that will be harvested is absolutely amazing. When the time comes, every soldier will make a lot of profit.

The squadron set out from Fukuoka and captured Ono City, Kasuga City, Dazaifu City, and Chikushino City all the way, burning and looting along the way. However, most of the Japanese, after learning that the squadron had landed, had already fled to the mountains. Even after robbing the four cities, they did not catch any oil and water, which made the soldiers very dissatisfied. At this time, the news that the Japanese army was assembled in Asakura and prepared to fight a meeting with the Second Army was also known to the reconnaissance troops. As a result, the soldiers of the Second Army accelerated their speed and marched towards Asakura.

On October 23, when the Second Army arrived in Asakura, the Japanese army had already concentrated nearly 200,000 men in Asakura. It's just that most of them are garbage troops. Except for the troops who retreated from Fukuoka, most of them were well equipped, and many of the other troops still used old-fashioned muskets, and many even used bamboo guns and knives.

The fact that the Japanese army had gathered so many troops did not make the Second Army feel frightened, but even more excited. If we can annihilate these Japanese troops in one battle, then we will not have much problem occupying the entire island of Kyushu. To this end, Major General Xie Dingkun, commander of the Second Group Army, made a careful plan.

The Second Army did not attack immediately after arriving at Asakura. The cavalry brigade of the Second Army bypassed Asakura, captured the Talord Maru behind Asakura, and cut off the retreat of the Japanese army from behind. Then, the 25th and 57th Divisions of the Second Army surrounded Asakura from the south. The 46th and 56th Divisions surrounded Asakura from the north. The 14th and 21st Divisions were tasked with the main attack.

On October 24, the attack on Asakura began, and the Second Army, with a total of more than 500 artillery pieces of 105 mm caliber, launched a fierce artillery bombardment of the Japanese army. The shelling lasted for an hour, and almost the entire Asakura was reduced to a sea of fire. The 200,000 Japanese troops suffered heavy casualties in the shelling. In particular, some newly formed divisions and regiments collapsed during the shelling. These Japanese soldiers, who had just joined the army, threw away their bamboo spears or spears and other things, and desperately fled to the east. It's just that the eastern part of Asakura has been occupied by the cavalry brigade of the Second Army. After discovering these routs, the Chinese cavalry brandished the sabers in their hands and lightly harvested the lives of these Japanese soldiers. Many Japanese soldiers chose to surrender, but the Chinese cavalry ignored them, and every time the saber in their hands was slashed, a head would rise to the sky.

At the same time, after the shelling, the 14th and 21st Divisions of the Second Army also launched an attack on Asakura. The resistance of the Japanese army was very fragile, and after the squadron launched an attack, the light ones were routed. Subsequently, the soldiers of the Second Army invaded the city of Asakura and began to further clear the Japanese army.

The commander of the Japanese army, Lieutenant General Ueda Arisawa, tried to organize the army to counterattack several times, but the Japanese army had already been frightened, and there were routs everywhere, and it was impossible to organize a strong counterattack. In the end, as a last resort, Lieutenant General Ueda Arisawa had no choice but to lead his immediate troops, and the remaining few thousand troops of the 15th Division of the Japanese Army attempted to break through. It's just that the current Chaocang has been surrounded like an iron bucket, and he has no way to escape.

The battle lasted until the evening, and the entire Asakura was already in ruins during the battle. Most of the 200,000 troops of the Japanese army were annihilated, and the remaining 100,000 or so also surrendered. All the recalcitrant heat of resistance was eliminated, which made the Japanese army, who wanted to live, have to lay down their dignity and raise their hands to surrender. Lieutenant General Ueda Arisawa, the commander of the 15th Division of the Japanese Army, was killed in the process of breaking through, becoming the first division commander of the Japanese Army to die in this war.

After taking Asakura and annihilating the main force of the Japanese army, the Second Army began to disperse. At present, there are less than 200,000 Japanese troops left on Kyushu Island, and most of them are still poorly equipped garbage troops, so they are vulnerable to attack. Only the 5th Division of the Japanese Army stationed in Kitakyushu, as well as two other rifle-armed divisions and a heavy artillery brigade, were still relatively combat-effective. The 2nd Group mobilized the 14th and 21st Divisions north to attack Kitakyushu, and naval warships were to block the Kanmon Strait and provide artillery support to the army.

The Japanese army, with the exception of Kitakyushu, was simply vulnerable, and several other divisions of the Second Army defeated them lightly and captured these Japanese cities. After that, each city left a certain number of troops. The task of these forces was, on the one hand, to maintain the rule of the occupied territories, and on the other hand, to collect the wealth of the Japanese people. A large amount of gold, silver and jewelry were looted and all transported to the sea and shipped back to China. During this period, many Japanese were also killed. Some of them were attacking Chinese soldiers, while others were trying to protect their property. Of course, in this process, it will inevitably be accompanied by some rape and other incidents. In war, the fate of women is often the most tragic. In this case, because of the order from above, the military judges of the various units also turned a blind eye, and no one regarded these Japanese as human beings.

With the help of the Navy, the Second Army advanced very quickly, especially when attacking coastal cities, with the help of naval guns. The power of the navy's naval guns was much greater than that of the army's own artillery, and the Japanese cities were bombarded into ruins, and the resistance of the Japanese army was also very vulnerable under the bombardment of naval guns.

On October 28, the 14th and 21st Divisions of the Second Army, with the help of the navy, conquered Kitakyushu, killing more than 30,000 Japanese and taking the remaining 30,000 prisoners. The fall of Kitakyushu marked the fall of the entire island of Kyushu into the control of the squadron. (To be continued.) )