In the evening, after learning the truth about the battle in Ping'an County, the members of the observation group left the headquarters of the 36th Division with a heavy heart. Major General Yamauchi Masafumi arranged for them to go to dinner first, and although everyone was hungry for almost a day, they had no taste at all.

I don't know what kind of meat it is, maybe the chef is not good, and some of it is not cooked thoroughly. Prince Takahito of Mikasa took a bite so hard that he almost didn't pull the big tooth down. He was already holding back the fire in his belly, and in a fit of anger, he threw the barbecue far away.

The dozens of soldiers in charge of the guards around were stunned for a moment, and suddenly rushed over like crazy. A small, agile soldier grabbed the piece of meat first, grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth, but was soon snatched by another strong soldier. The other soldiers also pounced one after another, and soon staged an all-force parade, until the head was broken and bleeding, and the screams were repeated.

"Yaga, you bastards, you have simply disgraced the face of the Imperial Army!" When Prince Chongren saw that the soldiers were like wild dogs snatching food, he could not help but be furious, and jumped over and whipped them with his horsewhip. Those soldiers all knew the identity of Prince Chongren of Lu Dao, but they didn't dare to resist, so they had to hug their heads and run away. However, the soldiers who grabbed the pieces of meat paid no attention to the whips that were whipped on their bodies, and only cared about tearing the pieces of meat that had not yet been cooked, and as soon as they grabbed them, they desperately stuffed them into their mouths, refusing to let go.

Prince Chongren trembled with anger and scolded angrily: "You, are you still worthy of being a samurai like this? ”

Lieutenant General Tsukada and the other members of the Observation Group also hurriedly put down the pieces of meat in their hands and hurried over. Tsukada asked with a grim face, "Say." What the hell is going on! ”

Those Japanese soldiers stared blankly one by one, and they all lowered their heads and did not gnaw. The scene suddenly became quiet, the river was rushing and the breeze was blowing, and only the soldiers with pieces of meat in their mouths were still munching on them, and the voices of Gezhi Gezhi were particularly harsh.

"Speak quickly!" Annoyed, Lieutenant General Tsukada pulled out his saber with a thud, rested it on the shoulder of a soldier, and shouted, "If you don't speak, you're dead!" ”

The soldier slowly turned around and stared at Tsukada. There was something in his eyes that he couldn't understand. This made him feel a palpitation, and he couldn't help but take the saber away a little. The soldier looked at the general's ribbon on Tsukada's chest, lowered his head again, and said, "Your Excellency the general." We haven't had enough to eat since we got here. It's been three days now! ”

"Nani?" Lieutenant General Tsukada asked with a shocked face, "Then what have you eaten in the past three days?" ”

"A soup of horse feed, dead mice, and leaves. There is also food saved by the 224th Wing. ”

The officers opened their mouths wide when they heard this, and they all exchanged their heads and whispered something.

"Yo Xi!" Lieutenant Tsukada inserts the saber back into the scabbard. He patted the soldier on the shoulder again and said, "Soldier, His Majesty the Emperor will remember your efforts." The Yamato nation will always remember your efforts for the development of the nation. ”

Prince Chongren took back his horsewhip in shame, and wanted to say something with an embarrassed face, when he suddenly saw the unfinished barbecue, and hurriedly beckoned: "Your Excellency, General, distribute this meat to the loyal and brave soldiers!" ”

Lieutenant General Tsukada nodded and said, "Yo Xi, that's exactly how it should be!" He quipped again: "But the chef's skills are not good, so let the soldiers cook it themselves before eating, otherwise it will cause diarrhea!" ”

Everyone worked together, and soon a large pile of dry firewood was collected, and it was piled up into a large pile. Just like a picnic dinner, everyone lights a bonfire, forks a piece of meat with a branch, and smells the aroma of barbecue with a wrinkled nose while singing "Kimi-no-yo".

From time to time, Lieutenant General Tsukada winked at Prince Takahito, suggesting that he should say a few words at this time in order to win the hearts of the front-line soldiers.

Prince Takahito coughed a few times, glanced at everyone with a smile, and said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have brought greetings from the country and the people of Japan to you. He also sighed: "I really didn't expect the conditions on the front line to be so difficult, and when I go back, I will definitely call on the people to donate money to improve the living conditions of the soldiers." ”

Lieutenant General Tsukada approving: "Yes, although our great Japanese samurai have extraordinary will, we can't let the soldiers go hungry and fight hard!" This is all to blame on the previous government, but now that Tojo Ritsusho is also the prime minister, and the government is running under the direction of the military department, the empire will turn a new page......"

The soldiers listened blankly, their eyes fixed on the soon-to-be-cooked pieces of meat, and they turned a deaf ear to those words, as if they had nothing to do with them.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Prince Chongren was so embarrassed that he thought for a while and asked, "Gentlemen, uh, I don't know what I can do for you?" If I can do it, I'll help. ”

The soldiers were stunned, and there was a look of disbelief on their faces. In Japan, there is a strict hierarchy, and the bigwigs pay little attention to these grassroots soldiers. This was the result of the democratization movement during the Taisho Emperor's reign, and in the past, they were not even qualified to speak to a shogun, let alone an imperial family.

After hesitating for a while, a young soldier finally asked, "Your Highness, I, can I ask you for one thing?" ”

Prince Chongren showed a kind smile and said kindly, "Of course! Soldier, what's your name? ”

Flattered, the soldier replied, "Report to Your Highness, my name is Soku Takasuke." ”

Prince Chongren smiled and said, "Yo Xi, Soku-kun, if you have anything to say, just say it!" If I can't do it, isn't there still His Excellency the General? ”

Lieutenant General Tsukada nodded with a smile and said, "Don't worry, Soku." I always try to meet the soldiers' requests, just like in Nanjing. ”

Soku was overjoyed, and hurriedly bowed to the two of them seven or eight times, and then said in a trembling voice, "Can I let my sister Sakurako go home?" ”

Prince Chongren asked with interest, "Oh? Soku-kun, is your sister a nurse in a field hospital? Angel in white, this is a respectable profession! ”

Soku Takaosuke showed a sad look on his face, and said excitedly, "Sakurako, she." She was conscripted as a comfort woman. He added: "I didn't know anything about it before, and I thought she was studying in school, but I didn't expect to see her in the comfort station in Shijiazhuang." Your Highness, please let her go back to continue her studies, Sakurako is still a middle school student! ”

Prince Chongren's face changed slightly, and he turned to Lieutenant General Tsukada and said, "Your Excellency, what the hell is going on?" Students are the future of the empire, and comfort women can let Koreans and people in China do it, so why should women of the Yamato nation be allowed to do this kind of profession? ”

Lieutenant General Tsukada said embarrassedly: "This may be the negligence of the military and political departments. Of course. It is not excluded that Miss Sakurako is trying to appease the loyal soldiers. And those who voluntarily sign up. ”

Prince Chongren said slightly angrily: "No matter what, I must take care of this matter!" Then he said to Suoku Gaosuke: "Suoku-kun, when I go back to Shijiazhuang, I will send someone to find your sister Sakurako, and then send her back to study!" ”

Soku was overjoyed. Hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Prince Chongren. Other soldiers also began to stir up. It seems that there is also something to ask Prince Takahito for help.

Tsukada Tsukasa and the others' faces changed drastically. Just as they were about to stop, a group of soldiers suddenly hurried in, wearing helmets with the words "Xian" on their heads. There is also an armband with the word "Duty" on his arm.

"Yaga! You bastards, who made you light the fire here? The gendarmes flew with sticks in their hands, shouted and beat the soldiers, and picked up buckets of water to try to extinguish the fires.

Prince Chongren was furious and hurriedly shouted, "Bastard, what do you want to do? ”

The gendarmes probably didn't expect that there was a prince here, so they couldn't help but stand on the spot, and hurriedly said: "See Your Highness!" ”

Prince Chongren angrily scolded, "What are you doing here? Aren't soldiers even allowed to have a barbecue? ”

The commander of the gendarmerie detachment hurriedly explained: "Your Highness, this area is within the range of the shelling of the Chinese army, and it is strictly forbidden to use open flames at night. Once the fire is discovered by the Shina people, it is likely to attract shelling! ”

"Nani?" The officers were in a commotion, shouting, "Hell, why didn't you say it earlier!" ”

"Quick, hurry up and escort His Highness and His Excellency the General away!"

"What are you still doing in a daze, quickly extinguish the fire, do you want to be torn to pieces by the gunfire of the Chinese people?"

Fluttering, a dozen buckets of water were poured down, and the fire was suddenly pounced, only emitting the choking smell of smoke and scattered firewood ashes. The soldiers stared blankly at the "aquatic and hot" barbecue, and suddenly pounced on them with a strange scream, and started a new round of competition......

……

Early the next morning, Lieutenant General Tsukada hurriedly led the delegation away, and did not even eat breakfast, and each of them only ate some cheese brought from Japan. For this ghost place, everyone doesn't want to stay for a day.

"Your Excellency, General!" Riding on his horse, Prince Chongren said in frustration: "Is the battle in Ping'an County really going to fail? ”

Lieutenant General Tsukada comforted: "It can't be said to be a failure, it's just that it didn't achieve the expected goal." ”

The Maori adjutant also said playfully: "Your Excellency the General is right. In fact, we also dealt a heavy blow to the Chinese people, and I heard that more than 1,000 Chinese villages were destroyed in Jizhong alone. Their losses are much greater than ours. ”

Prince Chongren nodded, his face slightly improving.

"Huh!" One of the cavalrymen sniffed vigorously with his nose and wondered: "There seems to be a strange smell in the air, do you smell it?" ”

"Sodos, it smells like rubber is baked!"

"Not good, get ready to fight!"

……

The cavalrymen hurriedly took their pistols in their hands and loaded them. Even Prince Takahito and Lieutenant General Tsukada pulled out their pistols. They split into several parts and cautiously pushed forward.

"Oh my God, look!"

What appeared in everyone's field of vision were more than 100 cars, to be precise, the wreckage of more than 100 cars. It may have been that the battle had just ended, and the cars were burning like torches.

"Your Highness, don't get too close, these cars may explode!"

Rumble! As soon as the words fell, a car exploded, probably with a lot of fuel on it, and it turned half of the body into the air. The horses were so frightened that they stood up.

The Maori adjutant sniffed and whispered to Lieutenant General Tsukada: "Your Excellency, I seem to smell the smell of bread being baked, and these carts are probably loaded with grain!" ”

Lieutenant General Tsukada's face turned pale, nodded slightly, and whispered: "Don't make it public, secretly send the news to Yamashita Fengwen." This is most likely the military rations they have prepared. ”

"Hello!"

Bang, bang, bang! Suddenly a burst of gunfire rang out on both sides of the road. And the fight was extremely accurate, and several cavalrymen fell off their horses. The Maori adjutant was startled and hurriedly shouted: "Enemy attack, quickly dismount and organize defense!" ”

Lieutenant General Tsukada said categorically: "You can't dismount, otherwise the enemy will fight more and more." Hurry up and rush out of the field next to you, and you will be safe when you arrive in Yuanshi County. ”

The cavalrymen drew their whips and whipped desperately. There was a sudden commotion in the fields on both sides, and from time to time there were bursts of shouting, which made Tsukada attack them feel frightened. As the gunshots rang out, the soldiers behind the palace continued to fall from their horses.

"The devil wants to escape. Chase! ”

"Don't let the devil run away!"

"A war horse was captured. Take a big credit once! ”

……

Many of these officers could understand Chinese, and they were so frightened that they were so frightened that they wished that their grandmother had a few more legs. But in the end, cavalry is cavalry, and it is extremely fast. The infantry on both sides let them run away before they could close the siege. Not much longer. A large group of infantry in gray uniforms poured out. Huan happily led away a dozen ownerless war horses. This was a good Oriental war horse, and the warriors went back satisfied, and did not continue to chase after them. It wasn't until later that I realized that a bunch of big fish had been released. Let everyone regret all their intestines.

The frightened and undecided observation group finally fled to the county seat of Yuanshi. The 14th Division did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly sent an infantry brigade to escort them to Shijiazhuang. It was only after seeing the black and badly damaged city walls of Shijiazhuang (the traces left by Zheng Huzi and the Eighth Route Army several attacks) that everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I didn't expect the situation in North China to deteriorate to such an extent!" Prince Takahito muttered, remembering the poor Sakurako, and sent someone to look for it.

It didn't take long for his men to return, and they brought the owner of the comfort station with them.

"What did you bring him for, what about the girl named Sakurako?"

"Your Highness, Director Jichen said that the girl named Suku Sakurako is dead."

"Nani?" Prince Takahito was surprised and asked, "How could she die just as a comfort woman?" ”

The director hurriedly bowed deeply and replied, "Report to His Royal Highness the Prince, Sakurako accidentally became pregnant, and then had a miscarriage and died of heavy hemorrhage." As he spoke, he respectfully handed over a small paper bag and explained, "This is her file, please look at it Your Highness." ”

When Prince Takahito opened it, he saw that Sakurako's date of birth, school, and time of application were written on it, and the reason for the application was to spread anti-war rhetoric.

"What to do? Your Highness! ”

Prince Chongren said, "Make a copy of this file and bring it to the soldier!" After thinking for a while, he said, "Send them another 100 yen for a bereavement pension!" ”

"Hello!"

……

Shen County, Temporary Headquarters of the Second World War Zone. Chief of Staff Zhou rushed in and reported: "General Seat, I just got the news that the Japanese troops on the outskirts of Ping'an County have begun to evacuate. ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled and said: "Inform Hu Yixuan, don't let the devil withdraw too easily, even if you want to leave, you have to cut off a few pieces of meat." I guess there's not enough food! ”

Political Commissar Cheng said with a smile: "Most likely, just now the 386th Brigade also sent a report on the battle situation, saying that it annihilated a Japanese grain transport team on the Shinan Highway, blew up more than 100 cars, and annihilated more than 800 enemies!" ”

Zheng Weiguo hurriedly asked, "Where is the grain?" Is there a pull back? ”

Political Commissar Cheng shook his head and said: "Too much food is unlucky, and I am afraid that the Japanese reinforcements will arrive, so I will burn it all!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said regretfully: "Alas, it's a pity, it's a pity! The order was passed down that in the future, the troops must find a way to transport the grain back to the base area. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou was puzzled: "General seat, we are not short of food now!" It is the autumn harvest now, and there is grain. ”

Political Commissar Cheng also smiled: "Yes, the commander of the grain matter should not worry about it." Since the spring of the 39th year of the war, when the base areas launched a large-scale production campaign at the suggestion of the commander, more than 100 farms and pastures have been set up. For example, the grain of northern Shaanxi can not only supply northern Shaanxi, Shanxi and Suiyuan, but also sell a batch to Guanzhong every year! ”

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and said: "The current grain is enough, what about next year?" Lao Cheng, wait a minute, you can help me draft a telegram to Yan'an, asking them to save enough food for two years, and don't use it at will. ”

Political Commissar Cheng hesitated for a moment, and said hesitantly: "But? ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "But what? ”

Political Commissar Cheng explained: "The Soviet-German war is now at a critical juncture, and the situation in the Soviet Union is very bad. Some comrades heard that the Soviet big brother was in dire need of military rations, so they asked for a donation to them. ”

"What?" Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly said: "Even if the Soviet Union has helped us, it can't be given in vain!" We are short of food ourselves! ”

Director Cai Wenzhi nodded again and again and said, "Yes, they also collected money for our arms." In my opinion, if they really need food, we can exchange it for arms! ”

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand again and said categorically: "It's not this year to change, at least wait until we get through next year." ”

"Next year?" Everyone looked at each other and asked curiously.

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said: "Well, according to the research of our meteorological experts, there will be a major drought in North China tomorrow, and there will definitely be a large area of farmland failure at that time." ”

When everyone heard this, their faces couldn't help but change greatly. In China, a country that has been agrarian for thousands of years, the social damage caused by natural disasters is terrifying. The flood was followed by a great drought, and after the great drought, a series of disasters were enough to destroy the entire social foundation, causing a tragedy of thousands of miles of red land and changing children to eat.

As he was talking, Zhang Zhanyuan, the director of intelligence, suddenly hurried over, and said excitedly: "General seat, staff seat, deputy commander Cheng, we have found a major piece of information!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "What is it?" ”

Director Zhang handed over a stack of photographs and explained: "Our scouts have found a very suspicious cavalry unit. Although the number is not large, there are many officers inside, and the leader is still a lieutenant general. ”

Everyone was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Where did you see that?" ”

"On the way to Ping'an County."

"Ping'an County? It's a mountainous area, what are the cavalry going to do there? Zheng Weiguo opened the photo suspiciously and looked at it, and a young Japanese captain who looked like Zhang Shaoshuai flashed in front of him.

"This unit is indeed quirky, and it will be assembled immediately through the Special Operations Brigade!"

"Yes!" (To be continued......)

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