Holding Shizuko's body and carrying a sad heart, Li Zong took a special operations team to the Japanese garrison headquarters in Baoding.

Most of the Japanese troops in the headquarters knew Li Zong, and they knew that this Mr. Hojo was a friend of His Excellency Akiyama, and it was likely that he was the son-in-law of the Akiyama family, so no one dared to stop them.

Pushing open the door of Akiyama's office, Li Zong walked in alone.

Major General Akiyama was answering the phone, and the bad news was that the Shina army had occupied Mancheng County ten minutes earlier, and the defenders of a squadron had held out for less than twenty minutes before surrendering to the Shina people. According to the marching speed of the Chinese people, they can reach Baoding in a maximum of an hour!

However, at this time, Major General Akiyama could still take care of these, and he saw Shizuko Akiyama holding Li Zong at a glance, especially the sharp blade inserted in his chest.

Major General Akiyama rushed over like crazy, snatched Shizuko Akiyama over, and shouted, "Yaga, what's going on, what's going on?" ”

Li Zong said hoarsely: "Shizuko committed suicide!" Or I killed it! ”

"Suicide, for what, for what is it good to commit suicide?" Major General Akiyama asked angrily.

"Because Shizuko is worried about seeing the two of us fighting each other, she doesn't want to see her lover and her relatives turn against each other in front of her, and put each other to death!" Li Zong said bitterly.

"Why are we going to fight each other, what the hell is going on?"

"Because I'm Chinese and I'm a Chinese at the same time. Soldier! Li Zong said categorically.

"How is this possible?" Major General Akiyama was obviously stunned by this result, he would never have thought of it. Hojo, who was competing with the top echelons of the empire, turned out to be a Shina man, and he was also a Shina soldier.

"Nothing is impossible, not only am I a Chinese, everyone in Hojo Trading is Chinese, even my master is also Chinese." Li Zongdao.

"You killed Shizuko, right, she found out your secret, and you killed her?" Major General Akiyama said angrily.

"No, I love Shizuko, and Shizuko loves me too, how could I kill her. In fact, Shizuko had long since discovered that we were not Japanese. It's just that she chose to hide it. I didn't tell anyone that today Commander Chen launched a strategic general offensive against the Japanese army in North China, and now the army is about to reach Baoding, and we have been given the task of capturing the city gate at the height of the battle. Cooperate with the army into the city. Shizuko Zhilu said, the next thing is that you and I will meet each other. So she chose to commit suicide. Li Zongdao.

"Then what do you mean by being here? Are you here to kill me? "Major General Akiyama knows the value of Li Zong's force, and he can kill him, the commander of the Major General's brigade, at any time as long as he wants.

"No, Shizuko begged me for something when she was dying. I promised her! ”

"What's the matter?"

"Don't kill you!"

"You promised Shizuko?"

"Well, I agreed, but only if you surrender unconditionally!"

"This is impossible, as a soldier of the Japanese Empire and a warrior of the Yamato nation, I will only die on the battlefield, and I will never surrender to the Chinese people!" Major General Akiyama said angrily.

"No, you'll surrender. Shizuko has already told me about the Akiyama family, the honor of the family has long been trampled on by those damn guys, and the bloodline of the entire Akiyama family is only you and Shizuko, and now even Shizuko is dead, so you must live, live to continue the bloodline for the Akiyama family, and live to watch how those bastards who forced you away perish. In addition, you are an upright soldier, with your efforts, the Japanese army in Baoding can be said to be the most army-like army of all the Japanese troops invading China, there is no wanton massacre here, there is no endless burning and looting, which is why His Excellency Chen Feng has spared you many times, otherwise you would have died a long time ago, and you can still live until now! ”

"What's more, now there are only you old, weak, sick and disabled miscellaneous soldiers left in the city, there are only a few hundred real regular troops, and the rest are expatriates and the Imperial Army, how long do you think you can hold out? To tell you the truth, this time, His Excellency Chen Feng dispatched 120,000 elite infantry, all of which are mechanized troops, and no infantry division is weaker than your two C-class divisions. There are also 1,800 tanks and 1,500 artillery pieces in the battle, and if you don't think about yourself, you have to think about the expatriates in the city. Li Zongdao.

Major General Akiyama was silent for a while and then said: "I heard that General Chen Feng Chen seems to hate the Japanese, especially the Japanese soldiers, and the Japanese army that fought against him never seems to have prisoners of war, even if we surrender, it will be difficult to save our lives, isn't it?" ”

"Of course not, in fact, there are still a large number of Japanese prisoners of war in our defense area, not all Japanese prisoners of war bite and be executed, only those who have the most heinous crimes and have Chinese blood debts will be executed, as for those expatriates, as long as they do not participate in the battle, they will not be executed, as long as you surrender, I will guarantee your safety." Li Zongdao.

"You've been lurking in the security zone for so long, and you've mobilized millions of yen at every turn, so you must have a good status on the Chinese side, can you tell me your true identity?"

Li Zong thought for a while and said: "I am the deputy commander of the special operations base of the Eighth Theater of the National Government and the colonel of the National Revolutionary Army!" ”

Then Li Zong said: "Your Excellency Akiyama, you don't know that General Chen, he is a real strong man, he has his own principles in doing things, if you let those expatriate self-defense forces participate in the battle today, then after the defeat, all these people will be executed, and even if they will not be executed, they will be sent to the mines and forests for high-intensity labor until death." As for the fate of those women and children, I will not say anything, you can imagine! There are now more than 11,000 Japanese expatriates in Baoding, and their lives and deaths are in your hands. ”

"Report!" At this time, the voice of Captain Sato suddenly came from outside.

Major General Akiyama looked at Li Zong and asked, "Can I let him in?" ”

"Yes, at least this is your place so far!" Li Zong said.

"Come in!"

"Report to Your Excellency the Commander, the front army is in an emergency." Captain Sato said loudly when he came in.

"What did the Front Command say?"

"General Binshan ordered us to hold on to Baoding, no matter what, for more than a day, and then reinforcements will arrive!" Captain Sato said.

"Zhilu Dao, you go out!"

"Hay!"

After Captain Sato came out, Li Zong said disdainfully: "That old thing in Binshanyuan was really knocked unconscious, and he still wants to hold out for a day with this little force in Baoding, and it would be good to be able to hold on for an hour, it's just a fool's dream!" ”

Seeing that Major General Akiyama seemed to be a little eager to try, Li Zong said again: "Your Excellency Akiyama, you don't plan to resist stubbornly, I advise you to dispel this idea as soon as possible, I met Shizuko, knew each other, fell in love, although I failed to become husband and wife in the end, but in my heart he is my Li Zong's wife, and you are Shizuko's only relative, I don't want you to be executed as an evil invader, so I tell you some secrets, this Baoding City has ceased to be under your control half a year ago, The vast majority of the large and small gangs and trading houses in the city are our people, and they are all really strictly trained soldiers, as long as we are willing to take Baoding at any time, just like the last time, so you are not only having internal worries now, but also serious external troubles, so surrender is your only choice! ”

"Your Excellency Akiyama, think about it, you still have half an hour now, there is only so much I can do, I have already sent someone to take over the radio, if you are still obsessed, then we will meet on the battlefield, as for Shizuko, she is my Li Zong's wife, now and in the future, I will bury her in the ancestral grave of our Li family." After speaking, Li Zong carried Shizuko's body out of the Baoding Garrison Headquarters.

Major General Akiyama didn't care much about how Li Zong decided, as a promise to Shizuko, he did everything he could, and now it depends on Major General Akiyama's last choice.

However, Li Zong believed that Akiyama was a smart man and that he would make the right choice. After spending a long time with the Akiyama siblings, Li Zong also knows the people of the siblings and knows the history of their family. It can be said that Akiyama is different from ordinary Japanese soldiers, he is not an out-and-out militarist, and he is not a diehard loyalist of the Japanese emperor.

Due to the oppression of the emperor and several major families in the country, as the only heir of the largest political family in Shikoku, Yuichi Akiyama did not become the patriarch of the family, but was forced to leave the country, and all the rights of the family were usurped by a collateral elder.

In addition, Akiyama has been exposed to Chinese culture since he was a child, so he is not a soldier who only knows how to kill, he has the spirit of honesty, perseverance, simplicity, courage, etiquette, honesty, loyalty and other spirits advocated by ancient Japanese samurai, and also has various virtues such as benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith advocated by Chinese Confucian culture, it can be said that he is not the kind of war machine that the Japanese emperor wants, which is why Li Zong is willing to help him.

Besides, with the lives and deaths of more than 10,000 Japanese expatriates at stake, Major General Akiyama will definitely make the most correct choice in the end, Li Zong believes.

At a quarter past 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Yamashita Nakasa, chief of staff of the Akiyama Brigade, came to the Hojo Chamber of Commerce to deliver a message for Major General Akiyama, saying that the defenders of Baoding were willing to surrender, but hoped that Chen Feng could personally guarantee the safety of all soldiers and expatriates.

After Li Zong sent Major General Akiyama's request to the former enemy headquarters in Wei County, Chen Feng quickly responded and agreed to Major General Akiyama's request.

At 4:40, a motorized infantry battalion of the guard division officially took over Baoding, and Yamashita Daisa, instead of Major General Akiyama, handed over the command knife symbolizing power to Li Zong, and more than 12,000 Japanese puppet troops and Japanese expatriates in Baoding formally surrendered to Chen Feng's department, and at the same time, Major General Akiyama shot himself in his office. (To be continued......)