Before the Great Continent Fort, no one realized that the Japanese soldiers were no match for the Cadets. In terms of the student army, even Ouyang Yun didn't expect that his soldiers would fall one-sidedly when fighting with devils with bayonets. On the Japanese side, even Koizumi, who had a thorough knowledge of the history of the various units of the Japanese army, did not expect such a thing to happen.

The cadets of the first battalion and one company of the 502nd Regiment were the most discouraged, and only two people fled back. When Arima Masafumi found out that Kanji Kataoka and the others were not opponents of the academy at all, he immediately ordered an indiscriminate artillery bombardment, which was already indifferent to life.

The cannon roared, and when it landed, the soldiers of the two warring sides who were still fighting to the death just now were all drowned out by the smoke and flames from the explosion.

When the cannonballs rained down, Kataoka Kaneshiro was sweating profusely holding a machete inserted in his abdomen and wanted to pull it out, while Fang Yun was holding a gun and shooting, in front of him, the three devils who rushed towards him trembled all over, and their bodies were like funnels with blood.

After the confrontation between China and Japan on this day, this battle was the most bloody and tragic, after that, although the Japanese army launched several attacks, but they were all superficial, after the devil pulled back the corpses of his colleagues who died in the battle, the area around the Dazhou Fort actually fell into a strange silence temporarily.

It was about seven o'clock in the evening, and in the conference room of the Kaga, Yamamoto Isoroku, Koizumi Toshiichiro, Tsukahara 243, Arima Masafumi, several captains of the main battleships, and two division commanders of the Marine Corps, nearly ten devils sat around a table to discuss the battle in the morning.

The first to speak was naturally Yamamoto Isoroku, who said with a calm face: "I think you all saw the battle in the morning. It's really chilling, the Imperial Army, which is known as the second strongest in the world, actually lost to the people of China in the best stab. I really can't understand whether it's because the Cadet Army is too strong, or if our soldiers have degenerated? Aikawa-kun, can you give me a reasonable explanation? ”

Originally, the landing operation was under the command of Onizuka Shofuro, but with the heavy casualties of his brigade, it was no longer possible to do anything, and Yamamoto Isoroku directly assigned his superior, Lieutenant General Aikawa Kakuta, as the front-line commander. This morning's landing battle was commanded by him.

Aikawa Kakuda stood up, bowed his head and said ashamedly, "Your Excellency, I'm sorry to disappoint you. If necessary, I will personally lead the landing tomorrow. ”

Since successive errors in judgment and tactics, Koizumi has become much more humble. He had made up his mind not to listen to it, but after listening to Aikawa's words, he still couldn't help it, he glanced at Yamamoto and said, "Your Excellency, I have something to say." ”

"Please."

"I don't think it's the commander's problem. I beg your pardon for being rude, but I suddenly found that our Marines are really at a terrible level. If I had known that they were so useless, I would have objected to this operation. ”

Koizumi's words are tantamount to slapping Aikawa and another division commander Shigeru Sawada in the face. The faces of the two people instantly became ugly, Aikawa, as a member of the navy, knew Koizumi's status in Yamamoto's heart, so it was difficult to refute, and Sawada Shigeru, who was temporarily seconded, did not have these scruples. He immediately stared at Koizumi with color and sharp eyes, and said, "Your Excellency has a big breath. But excuse me, do you know about land warfare? And how much do you know about the Cadet Army? The Imperial Army's training system has existed for hundreds of years, and it is precisely because of this that we have been able to achieve devastating victories in the Chinese mainland. There is an old saying among the people of China that you don't have a backache when you sit and talk, Your Excellency, I think it refers to people like you......"

Sawada directly attacked Koizumi, and Yamamoto couldn't stand it. Sawada was only temporarily seconded to the Combined Fleet, and he didn't scold him as directly as he did with his subordinates, but it was okay to criticize it tactfully, and he said, "Okay, Sawada-kun, let's say a few words." I'm convening you today to solve the problem, not just to hear you complain to each other. We have only been in Hainan for three days, but the Marine Corps has already lost more than one wing -- we only have four wings of land in total, so why don't you think about how to make full use of the remaining three wings to accomplish the purpose of the operation? ”

Sawada stood up and bowed to Yamamoto in respect, and then said, "Your Excellency, what happened this morning is enough to prove that the Wanning area is the key prevention area for the Shina people. As you said, our landing force has already suffered too much damage, and I think it is time to implement the second line of operations. This time, let me, sir, command the landing operation. Although Koizumi-kun's words are very infuriating, they are also true - the combat effectiveness of the Marines is indeed too poor. I think maybe our Osaka Division can save some face for the Marine Corps. ”

Sawada's tone was quite impassioned when he said the last sentence, but what embarrassed him was that when he said this, the faces of everyone in the conference room became strange.

The atmosphere became a little delicate for a while, and finally, as the supreme commander of the Combined Fleet, Yamamoto Isoroku took out the stomach and courage that a commander should have, he stared at Sawada and asked, "Sawada-kun, are you sure?" ”

Sawada thought for a moment and said firmly, "Of course." Your Excellency, I know that there are some unpleasant rumors about our Osaka Division in China, but I want to say that those are all misunderstandings of our division, perhaps, our combat strength and equipment are not the best in the empire, but our Osaka Division's desire for victory and honor is definitely no worse than that of any other division. ”

Among the old and young devils attending the meeting, Arima Zhengwen had the most upright temper, and he suddenly sneered: "The heart that longs for victory and honor? I guess it's wealth—"

"Shut up!" Before he finished his sarcastic words, he was stopped by Yamamoto fiercely. Yamamoto turned to Sawada and said kindly, "Sawada-kun, then please." After I go back, please explain to the officers that the victory of the Hainan Raiders depends on the performance of the Osaka Division. ”

"No problem, Your Excellency, please relax."

At around ten o'clock, after the end of this meeting, Sawada and the others were sent away, and Yamamoto, Koizumi, Arima, and Tsukahara returned to the conference room, and the other three looked at Yamamoto, and then Arima asked, "Your Excellency, have you really decided?" ”

Yamamoto smiled bitterly: "Do I have any other way?" ”

Koizumi considered the wording and said cautiously: "It seems that the Osaka Division has another name called the Merchant Division, Your Excellency, if you can't learn that the army has defenses in the southwest, with the combat power of the Osaka Division, I'm just afraid——"

Yamamoto interrupted him with a wave of his hand, he glanced at the three of them and said, "Our navy and army have always been at odds, and you know this. In this situation, how much support do you expect from the Army? To be honest, we should be grateful that they were able to lend us the Osaka Division. It is true that the combat strength of the Osaka Division is not good, but this is in the case of encountering a strong enemy, if their opponent is only the local armed forces of the Shina people or even some savages, I believe that they can still fully reflect the might of the Imperial Army. I'm going to reconnoiter again and again, just to find the most suitable landing ground for them. In any case, we cannot afford to lose this battle. If our navy wants to reform and move from the era of battleships to the era of aircraft carriers, we need the support of the base camp, and even if we have enough enthusiasm to serve the country, we will not be able to do anything without financial support. Well, listen to me, for the next few days, we will continue to confuse the eyes of the Shina people, so the sacrifice will continue. In addition, the reconnaissance work should be more detailed......"

It was nearly midnight before the meeting of Yamamoto and the other four people dispersed, and after sending Arima and Tsukahara away, Yamamoto chatted with Koizumi alone for a while, and the topic they talked about was about Koizumi's formation of naval special forces.

Yamamoto originally thought that the development of a land special combat team as a navy was suspected of reversing priorities, but the battle that took place at the Ozu battery this morning made him realize the importance of having an invincible Marine Corps - "The occupation of China ultimately needs to be embodied by ground forces, so having a strong Marine Corps is a must." Koizumi, although you are personally more interested in the Navy, I think that it would be better to put you in charge of the training and command of the Marine Corps. Koizumi, I'll hand over this piece to you in the future. ”

Finally, he said to Koizumi.

Koizumi gladly accepted the order. He also felt that instead of always talking on paper, it was better to personally train an elite army with the modern training methods he mastered, and only in this way could he help Yamamoto and let him firmly control the navy.

Just when Yamamoto convened a meeting of the senior officials of the Combined Fleet on the Kaga, Ouyang Yun, Chen Shichang and others were also studying the battle that took place at the Dazu Fort in the morning.

"It's a one-sided battle, it seems that the strength of the Japanese Navy's marines is not very good," Chen Shichang said on the side.

Ouyang Yun didn't expect this to be the case, his already a little nervous state of mind couldn't help but relax a little more. He said: "It is too early to draw conclusions, the little devil has suffered two big losses in a row near Dazhou Island and Dazhou Fort, so it is possible to have reservations. Yamamoto Fifty-six, this old devil is not such a good old devil. ”

Purely from the perspective of a soldier, Ouyang Yun has a lot of respect for Yamamoto Fifty-Six. Before the crossing, because of the relationship between China and the United States, he had a lot of YY in his heart how to hit the United States. It's exciting to think about it, to be able to sneak attack a key U.S. military port and hit it hard, this kind of thing, it seems that only Yamamoto has done it.

In his usual communication with Chen Shichang, he has inadvertently revealed this many times. Therefore, because it is not the first time he has heard such words, Chen Shichang is already surprised. He said with a smile: "No matter how good the old devil Yamamoto is, it should be an indisputable fact that their marines are a weakness. Commander-in-chief, Commander Shan's defensive strategy is very targeted. ”

"Well, Lao Shan didn't disappoint me."

"Commander-in-chief, next, will the little devil really choose Qiong Nannan as the main direction of attack?"

"Wait, there should be an answer in three days at most."