A native of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, Masatomi Yasuoka graduated from the 26th class of the Japanese Army University in November 1914. After graduation, he served as a staff member of the Military Affairs Bureau of the Provincial Army, the captain of the 51st Infantry Brigade, the staff officer of the 9th Division, the 29th Wing of the Army, the staff officer of the 16th Division, the commander of the 49th Wing of the Army, and the chief of staff of the 5th Division, and was promoted to major general in March 1935.

When the Japanese army launched a full-scale war of aggression against China, Masatomi Yasuoka was serving as the principal of the Army Tank School in Tokyo, and later the Ministry of War transferred him to the battle sequence of the Kwantung Army as the chief of staff of the Chahar Dispatch Corps.

After Sakai was killed, Hideki Tojo reported to the base camp that he wanted Masato Yasuoka to be the commander of the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade. The base camp had no objection to this, and immediately agreed to Hideki Tojo's request.

As soon as he took office, Yasuoka Masatomi went to the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade to check on his subordinates, but what made Yasuoka Masatomi angry was that the 1st Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade of the previously prestigious Shina Garrison Army was now only an empty shelf, with less than 4,000 of more than 8,000 soldiers left, and only two remnants of the five infantry brigades left, and the rest were all annihilated. In addition to the brigade commander being killed, even the only army commander of the independent mixed first brigade was also killed, four of the nine junior officers died, and the lieutenants and military officers were also killed, and the entire independent mixed first brigade was considered to be disabled, if the brigade flag was still there, otherwise this brigade would have been removed from the battle sequence of the Imperial Japanese Army.

What made Yasuoka even more unsettling was that the morale of the soldiers of the 1st Brigade was extremely low, and even he, an outsider, could feel the suffocating sadness and deep fear from the soldiers.

It was still the Great Japanese Imperial Army he knew, and it was still the once invincible Kwantung Army, which was just a remnant of a lost soul.

So as the new commander of this force, his first task is not how to avenge this force, but to reinvigorate these soldiers who have lost confidence.

It's a tough task, it's not a car tire, so if you run out of gas, find an inflator and fill it up in a few hits. No, an army that has lost its fighting spirit is a tiger that has lost its teeth and claws, and it seems to be powerful but is actually a soft-footed shrimp. Only victory, a hearty victory, can restore the fighting spirit of this army.

"General Yasuoka, we are not sure how many people this branch will have, but at least we can be sure that this force has a full infantry regiment, which is a regularized and trained unit. In addition, we also found out that this force had captured a large number of Chinese bandits, the number of which should be about 3,000, and the whereabouts of these bandits are still unknown, and it is likely that they were absorbed, so that this Chinese army should have at least about 6,000 people. The commander of the unit, Chen Feng, did not receive a systematic military education, studied only junior high school, and did not obtain a graduation certificate. The deputy commander's name is Li Wensheng, and he is about 30 years old, and the rest of the situation is not very clear. Hirahara Eiichi replied as he stood up.

"No wonder the imperial army will suffer a big loss this time, this branch of the army is not only well-armed and equipped, but also far beyond the expectations of the imperial army. According to the establishment of the security regiment of the Chinese people, a security regiment will not exceed 1,000 people at most, but this force has 5,000 more people, and it is understandable that the imperial army will be caught off guard by this force under the light of the enemy. Yasuoka said.

"Yo Xi, Yasuoka-kun has a point, but that's not why we lost this battle. If we lose, we lose, and if we lose, we will be ashamed, and if we are ashamed, we must wash away with the blood of the enemy. Lieutenant General Norihide Abe said loudly.

"Hay! The lowly agreed with His Excellency Abe that the disgrace must be washed away with the blood and heads of the enemy. Yasuoka said loudly.

"Generals, according to the latest information obtained by our special high-tech department, although Jiang Jiang, the leader of China, and Yan Xishan of Taiyuan attach great importance to this army, they have not given much material replenishment to this army, and have allocated more than 1,000 rifles and more than 100,000 silver dollars to this army, although the soldiers have also promised to give some supplements, but in fact there is still no movement, so this army can only be less than 6,000 so far." Hiraharashi said loudly.

"Oh, there is such a thing, in the battle of Tianzhen, our Japanese Imperial Army suffered heavy losses, and more than 12,000 soldiers were lost successively, of which 6,000 Imperial Army and more than 5,000 Imperial Allied Army were lost in the hands of Chen Feng's troops. Isn't there an old saying in Zhina, killing 10,000 enemies and losing 8,000, even if the losses of Chen Feng's troops were not so serious, but the battle of Tianzhen also lost at least three to five thousand people, so it was humbly judged that Chen Feng's troops would not exceed three thousand. Major General Seiichiro Yuhara said.

"Not necessarily, on the one hand, because this branch is very different from other branches, and they are far more cunning than the other branches we know. Secondly, this unit has just been appointed as the guard unit of Xinghe, Fengzhen, Shangdu, Jining and other places, and the original garrison troops of these counties have all been assigned to the command of the independent 222nd Division. Therefore, the number of Chen Feng's subordinates should only be more than before, not less than before the Battle of Tianzhen. Hiraharashi said loudly.

"Yo Xi, Pingyuan-kun, do you know anything about the guards of those few county towns?" Hideki Tojo.

"Yes, Your Excellency, although the task of our special high-tech department is to collect information about the officers at the division level or above the rank of major general, since the appearance of this unit led by Chen Feng, we have realized the strength of the Chinese people, so the local troops of China in several nearby districts and counties have also been included in the target of reconnaissance. There are only more than 800 people in the Shangdu County Security Regiment, and the weapons and equipment are extremely rudimentary, and the combat effectiveness is not comparable to that of an infantry squadron of the imperial army, so there is no cause for concern. The Fengzhen Security Regiment has three complete infantry battalions, numbering about 1,500 people, although the weapons and equipment are simple, but the combat effectiveness of the troops is quite good, according to reliable information, the commander of this security regiment used to be a regiment commander of the Northwest Army of China. There are about 1,000 people in the Jining Security Regiment, and the weapons and equipment are slightly better than the other two security regiments, but their commander is not a qualified soldier, he runs a local tobacco house and brothel, and he also sells big cigarettes in private, and there are many opium smokers in the army, so this army is not much of a threat to the imperial army. Eiichi Hihara replied.

"Yo Xi, we have almost touched the enemy's situation, think about it, what a great shame it is for the elite of our dignified Kwantung Army to lose to such a branch army, so we must draw up a battle plan as soon as possible and completely wipe out this branch of the army."

Then Tojo Hideki continued: "According to the latest order of the base camp, there is no need for our corps to restore combat capability within ten days, and then take Tianzhen at the end of September, and conquer Datong, an important town in northern Shanxi, at the beginning of October. What do you think you should do? ”

"Your Excellency, Commander, I believe that if you want to achieve the ultimate strategic goal, you must take Tianzhen, once Tianzhen is conquered, Yanggao Datong has no danger to defend at all, and it is as easy as a finger. However, Tianzhen is not only garrisoned by the 61st Army, but also has this hateful security regiment on the flank, so that our army cannot concentrate on dealing with the defenders of Tianzhen. Therefore, if you want to conquer Tianzhen, you must first destroy Chen Feng's department, so it is suggested that our army should first launch an attack on Chen Feng's department in late September, conquer Xinghe, and then go south to flank the enemy in Tianzhen. Norihide Abe said loudly.

"I Chahar sent more than 30,000 troops, plus the 7 cavalry divisions of the Imperial Army, with a total strength of more than 50,000 people. The other way is to attack from Huailai, and attack Tianzhen County again, with the containment of the North Route Army, Chen Feng's department must not be able to divide troops to save the defenders of Tianzhen, as long as we have a breakthrough along the way, we can draw troops to support the other army, and our army will win this battle. Major General Seiichiro Yuhara said loudly.

"Yo Xi, that's a good suggestion, so let's do it. In 7 days is the Soul Sacrifice Day, in order to pay tribute to those heroic souls who sacrificed their lives for the empire, and in order to comfort the souls of those who died unjustly, I Chahar sent a corps to launch an attack on the people of China on this day, and listened to my orders: the 15th Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade, the Second Field Artillery Brigade, the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the Imperial Cavalry Army to form the Northern Route Army, Major General Seiichiro Yuhara is the supreme commander of the Northern Route Army, and from now on he will go to Wanquan County, waiting for the ammunition replenishment of the North China Front, and then enter Chaigou Fort before the 22nd, On the 23rd, the soul festival day before the arrival in the territory of Xinghe. The 2nd Brigade of the Independent Mixed Army, the Dike Detachment, the Daquan Detachment, the 4th Field Artillery Brigade, and the 5th, 6th, and 8th Divisions of the Imperial Cavalry Army formed the Southern Route Army, with Lieutenant General Norihide Abe as the supreme commander. The 1st Independent Mixed Brigade suffered heavy losses and basically lost its combat effectiveness, so it stayed in Huailai, on the one hand, waiting for replenishment, and on the other hand, guarding the logistics base for the northern and southern route armies. Hideki Tojo ordered loudly.

After speaking, Hideki Tojo did not pause at all, and continued: "This operation is codenamed Soul Festival Day Operation, and it is up to you whether you can be ashamed of it, please!" ”

"Hay!"

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Long live the Great Japanese Empire!"