The telegram waved in the hand of the brigade commander Hagiwara Akira was a battle report issued by the headquarters of the Yuncheng Sena Division just now, and it was actually the battle report issued by the headquarters of the First Army -- the latest battle report on the Taihang Mountains in the southeast of Shanxi Province surrounded on all sides:

The First Army's Shiamidi Brigade Kudo Wing and Nakano Brigade Kashiwazaki Wing of the First Yuan Division bravely broke into the hinterland of the Taihang Mountains a few days ago, swept Liaoxian, Wuxiang, Yushe, Qinxian, and Xiangyuan in turn, and severely damaged the base camp of the Eighth Route Army of the Chinese Army. However, due to the depth of the division, it failed to get the response of friendly forces, and on the way to the battle, it was ambushed by the main force of the Liu Division of the Eighth Route Army and the Xu Brigade of the Lin Division, and more than 2,000 imperial officers and soldiers were unfortunately broken.

More than 2,000 people were shattered! This figure instantly stunned the river and the island, and the two looked at each other for a long time.

"This is actually a belated battle report," the silence in the room was finally broken by the brigade commander, Major General: "This fierce battle happened more than ten days ago, and the battlefield was located in the valley of the Zhuozhang River in Changle Village, Wuxiang County. ”

"It's Liu Shi of the Eighth Route Army again!" The chief of staff of the riverside who came to his senses couldn't help but roar in a low voice: "And it's the Xiayuan Division again-in Shentouling, Changzhi County, in February, the first part of the Xiayuan Division was ambushed and severely damaged by the Liu Division of the Eighth Route Army, and more than 1,500 people were killed at that time!" The previous shame has not snowed, and I can't imagine that there is a new hatred! ”

Kojima Masao also shook his head bitterly: "In this way, in just over two months, wouldn't the total strength of more than one wing of the Xia Yuan Division be lost to the Liu Division of the Eighth Route Army?" Where is the face of the imperial army! ”

"General, since it was already a battle more than ten days ago, how is the battle situation in Taihang Mountain progressing now?" The chief of staff of the river walked over to the map as he spoke.

"Where is there any progress!" Hagiwara Akira sighed heavily: "After I received the telegram, I called Lieutenant General Sena, and he told me that although the headquarters of the First Army did not say it explicitly, this operation to encircle the Taihang Mountains in the southeast of Jin Province on all sides has essentially ended in failure. The troops sent by the Nakajima Division and the Yamaoka Division should be in the process of retreating to their respective defensive positions. ”

Hearing this, Masao Kojima moved in his heart and blurted out: "Then can the sweeping troops sent by our brigade also be withdrawn immediately?" ”

As the head of the secret service, Kojima hopes that the main force of the brigade, including the Saijo Wing, will return to Bunjo - a series of anti-Japanese incidents in the city, which cannot be suppressed and cracked by the strength of the secret service alone, and must receive a lot of support from the garrison.

Major General Hagiwara looked at Kojima Masao coldly, and replied in a light tone: "Lieutenant General Sena is ready to order an infantry brigade of the Kato Brigade to participate in the siege on all sides and withdraw from the periphery of Qinyuan County; As for the troops of our brigade attacking the Great Elm Mountain and Guanmen Mountain, he let us act on our own cameras. ”

Masao Kojima was glared at by the brigade commander's gaze, knowing that the other party was extremely dissatisfied because of his inability to control the anti-Japanese situation in Wencheng, and suddenly did not dare to continue to speak.

"After all, the Xia Yuan Division is an ad hoc division, and its combat power is embarrassing!" The chief of staff of the river still stayed on the military map on the wall, and used the command stick in his hand to compare the many counties and townships in the hinterland of the Taihang Mountains mentioned in the telegram, and finally poked hard in the valley of the Zhuozhang River near Wuxiang County—the map did not indicate the place name and exact location of Changle Village at all, showing the lack of intelligence and reconnaissance of the hinterland of the Taihang Mountains by the imperial army.

"In February this year, the Xiayuan Division entered Shanxi along the Handan (Dan) Chang (Zhi) Highway from Hebei to cooperate with the main force of our division to attack the Nantongpu Road; Later, the Linfen and Tomamidi brigades of the Commander's Department of the Second World War Zone of the China Army also participated, and it is said that General Tomamidi himself personally participated in the entrance ceremony at that time, which can be regarded as an infinite scenery. Hagiwara Akira was in a gloomy mood when he said this, the fourth floor of Tomamichi was the brigade commander at the level of a major general with him, and the latter's disastrous defeat in the hinterland of Taihang Mountain now gave him a feeling of sadness for the death of a rabbit and a fox.

"In addition to Liu Bocheng's division, the Eighth Route Army's participating troops this time also have the main force of the Lin Division Xu Brigade - isn't the Eighth Route Army now entrenched in Guanmen Mountain the detachment known as the Lin Division Xu Brigade?" The chief of staff by the river was talking to himself almost to himself.

"It was a small force sent by the Xu Brigade, which was used by the Communist Army to grab territory with Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Government." Masao Kojima cautiously opened his mouth again.

But this immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of Major General Hagiwara again, and he changed his tone to a rather stern tone: "This so-called Xu Brigade Guanmenshan Detachment is not just fighting for territory with Chiang Kai-shek, right?!" Their hands reached under my nose several times! Regardless of the attack and Pulu, there are many warrant officers of the divisional cavalry wing, Takamatsu, and they should still be imprisoned in the hands of the Xu Brigade detachment now-Captain Kojima, your people need to work harder! ”

This time, Masao Kojima became more and more embarrassed, and it was really like a thorn in his back. The brigade commander and Major General changed his title from "Kojima-kun" to "Kojima-chan", and the meaning of accountability could not be more obvious.

"General, I failed your heavy responsibility!" The head of the secret service stood up from his chair in horror and shook his head at Hagiwara.

There was silence again.

"Sit down," after a while, the brigade commander finally waved his hand at the other side who was in place like a telephone pole: "The situation we are facing is getting worse - from the perspective of the North China Front, if the Second Army cannot quickly turn the tide of the battle in Shandong after the defeat at Taierzhuang, the entire North China battlefield will be completely passive; As for the four-sided siege of Taihang Mountain launched by our First Army in Shanxi, you should also know the outcome. ”

At this time, the chief of staff of the river also walked back from the military map on the wall, and sat next to Masao Kojima, listening to Major General Hagiwara's analysis.

"Speaking of our division, Lieutenant General Sena led the main force of the division since it reached the foot of Nakajo Mountain, and it has never been able to launch a powerful offensive; Attempts to force the remnants of Wei Lihuang's Central Army across the Yellow River and drive them out of Shanxi have never been realized. Hagiwara Akira stopped and lit a cigarette, took two puffs irritably, and continued: "The front is so weak, and the counties along the Pu Road in the rear are also in a scorching chaotic battle!" Huoxian and Lingshi have been repeatedly attacked and disturbed, and there are constant riots in Wencheng City—not to mention the threat to the Songjiagou secret camp in Little Elm Mountain, which has already endangered the top secret ...... of the Wind Project."

The brigade commander, Major General, became more and more agitated the more he spoke, and as a result, he choked on the thick fog of cigarettes and coughed violently.

The two subordinates looked at their commander anxiously, and they couldn't help it.

Finally stopped coughing, Hagiwara Akira's fluctuating emotions also calmed down, and called someone outside to serve tea.

Seizing this opportunity, the chief of staff of the river side hurriedly put forward his own suggestion: Since the division commander, Lieutenant General, has already hinted, it is better to transfer back a part of the troops on the front line first, so as to consolidate the defense of Tongpu Road with Wencheng as the core, and strengthen the security of the military blockade area of Xiaoyushu Mountain.

In fact, the three people in the room all knew that the reason why the commander of the First Army, Kazuki Kiyoji, had not officially issued an order to end the battle in the Taihang Mountains on all sides so far was just to save some face. And the four master regiments that participated in the encirclement battle began to choose to quietly withdraw at this time, and they seemed to be tacitly acquiescing.

So, after the persuasion of two subordinates, Major General Hagiwara also found a step for himself: "In any case, the two wings of our brigade and regiment have attacked separately in this operation, and have driven the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army at the foot of Guanmen Mountain into the deep mountains, and at the same time closed the way out of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army of the Great Elm Mountain. With Commander Kazuki, it should be possible to explain the past. ”

When the river and the island heard this, they immediately nodded their heads and said yes. Indeed, compared with the fiasco of the two wings of the Yuan Division in the hinterland of Taihang Mountain, their own side still won an offensive victory after all.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became much more relaxed, and then, the three Japanese chiefs naturally agreed on the departure and stay of the front-line troops.

-- The Kameda Infantry Brigade of the Saijo Wing, which is currently occupying the Great Elm Pass on the Junfeng Highway, withdrew its troops on the same day and returned to the barracks on the western outskirts of Bunjo;

-- The Nara Infantry Brigade of the Otsuka Wing, which is currently occupying Xiping Village at the western foot of the Little Elm Mountain, handed over the defense area on the same day and withdrew its troops to return to the barracks in the eastern suburbs of Wencheng;

-- The Takagi Infantry Brigade of the Saijo Wing, which is currently occupying the village of Rihuapu in the lower reaches of the Qinglong River, moved to defend Xiping Village on the same day.

- Wing Captain Shigehei Saijo, who was injured, returned to Bunjo for treatment.

"Chief of Staff, after the Kameda Infantry Brigade of the Saijo Wing returns to the barracks in the western suburbs of Wencheng, we must immediately organize a small force to carry out armed patrols along the Tongpu Railway and Highway to the north from time to time - the public security situation along the Tongpu Road has deteriorated recently, and you must ensure the traffic order between Wencheng and Junling and even Taiyuan, which is the main transportation artery of our brigade and even the entire division, and there is absolutely no room for error!"

"Hey!"

"You go and deploy first, I have other things to discuss with the island chief."

Hagiwara Akira sent away his chief of staff, and looked at Masao Kojima who stayed behind with a stern expression: "Have the guests from Manchuria settled down?" How are they feeling after being frightened in the attack on Dong Po Lu? ”

"Report to the general, the group of Man Tie Yinghua is currently in a stable mood and is already preparing to work in the Songjiagou secret camp."

"Uh, what do you think about secrecy?" When he asked this, the look on the face of the Japanese brigade commander showed a little weirdness.

"Please rest assured, the general has fully explained to the people of Mantie Yinghua that the captain of the first team of the Hirai Temple has made it clear to the people of Mantie Yinghua that I will go to Songjiagou on a later date to make a reinforced declaration."

"That's not what I mean," Hagiwara narrowed his eyes dissatisfied, "These artists painted by Mantetsu are not part of the Imperial Army, how can you use military discipline to restrain and ensure that they strictly guard top secrets?" ”

Only then did the head of the secret service suddenly realize that his heartbeat couldn't help but speed up, he had already understood the meaning of the brigade commander's words, so he met the other party's gaze and replied slowly but firmly: "General, I have my own way to make the people of Mantie Yinghua keep this top secret forever...... It's just that the Manchurian side is afraid that it is not easy to explain. ”

Major General Hagiwara snorted and said softly: "Afterwards, I can ask Suzuki Takasan of the Front Army Headquarters to say hello to the Kwantung Army - it's just a group of artists who serve the empire and make movies, and in the face of the safety of the Wind Project, it is insignificant!" ”