The incident of the exchange of fire in the shantytown of the railway station was not reported to the Hagiwara Brigade Headquarters by the head of the Bunjo Special Service at the first time, so the brigade commander, Major General Hagiwara Akira, did not know about it at first.

But there are enough things that give Hagiwara a headache right now!

More than two days after the main forces of the two infantry wings under the brigade were transferred out to attack Mt. Kanmon and Mt. Oelshu, the entire Saijo Wing and a part of the Otsuka Wing remained in the theater and could not move.

The reason for this dilemma is not in the brigade headquarters itself, but in an order from the commander of the Sena Division in Yuncheng.

After Lieutenant General Sena received the two messages sent by Akira Hagiwara, it took three hours for him to reply by calling. The reply telegram said that the results of the Hagiwara Brigade's attack on Guanmen Mountain and the Great Elm Mountain China Army, together with the Kato Brigade's dispatch of an infantry brigade to attack the Qinyuan County China Army, had been sent to the headquarters of the First Army in Taiyuan.

Seeing this telegram, Hagiwara Akira smiled wryly, he could imagine the annoyance and helplessness of Lieutenant General Kazuki Kiyoji - the First Army sent troops from the Four Masters Regiment to besiege the southeast of Jin and the Taihang Mountains from all sides, it was originally a reluctant battle plan, and how many troops could break through the defense line of the Shina Army and even capture it and annihilate it, the unknown component was too big.

Therefore, in his reply to the Hagiwara Brigade, the commander of the Sena Division clearly instructed that the attack on the garrison of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army and the Guanmenshan Detachment of the Xu Brigade of the Eighth Route Army could be suspended but not withdrawn; Including the infantry brigade sent by the Kato Brigade to attack the 84th Division of the Central Army in Qinyuan County, the same order must also be carried out. In a word, the Sena Division's participation in the "Nine-Way Siege" of the First Army is not over!

This time, it will be bitter for the brigade commander Akira Hagiwara. You must know that at this moment, the five field infantry brigades of the two wings under his command (the Saijo Wing had suffered serious losses in the southwest of Shanxi Province before, and the three brigades were temporarily compressed into two), most of them were pinned down to the front line of this attack on Guanmen Mountain and Da Yushu Mountain, in view of the fact that the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army of the China Army and the 391st Regiment of the Central Army have all shrunk into the deep mountains, if the main force of the brigade is still in that area, it will be a very embarrassing and uncomfortable situation.

But the military order was like a mountain, and the commander of the Hagiwara Brigade had no choice but to carry it out.

And what really worries Hagiwara is the trouble from the military blockade area of Little Elm Mountain. That night, near the Songjiagou comfort women's secret camp, a small group of armed forces of the Chinese army suddenly attacked them, and until now, this unsolved case has not been clarified.

The commander of the division, Lieutenant General Sena, thought twice and did not report the matter to the commander of the First Army, Kiyoji Kazuki - first, this "wind plan" to secretly forcibly recruit comfort women, according to the regulations, the Sena division was directly responsible to the North China Front Army Headquarters, and although the commander of the First Army knew about it, he was not specifically involved; Second, it is not yet known whether this incident near the Songjiagou secret camp is aimed at or even endangers the "Wind Plan", and Lieutenant General Sena asked Hagiwara Akira to quickly investigate and understand it, and then consider whether to report the problem to the higher authorities after making a conclusion as soon as possible.

This is where the brigade commander, Major General, has been anxious and worried for several days -- it is easy to find out, but it is really more difficult to draw conclusions about the real operational goals of this small group of troops than to ascend to the sky.

At present, the Nomura Infantry Brigade of the Otsuka Wing has recovered its forces and re-established its position in the county seat of Fengdian, focusing on monitoring the Great Elm Mountain Pass in the east of the county; An infantry brigade from the Saijo Wing, which was temporarily assigned to the Otsuka Wing, was always guarding a section of the Junfeng Highway north of Fengdian County, which was close to a mountain pass on the Great Elm Mountain, and it was from that pass that the 391st Regiment of the Central Army of the China Army escaped from the night battle a few days ago -- and all indications indicate that the culprit who attacked the military blockade area of the Little Elm Mountain that night came from the 391st Regiment of the Central Army, and the reason why the regiment later dispatched heavy troops to storm several mountain passes of the Little Elm Mountain was to meet the small forces that invaded the vicinity of Songjiagou.

What is terrible is that in view of the fact that the Xiangchuan Infantry Brigade of the Otsuka Wing, which was stationed in the military blockade area of Little Elm Mountain, later carried out a dragnet search of the entire Little Elm Mountain but found nothing, it may be confirmed that the small group of the Zhina Army that attacked the secret camp of Songjiagou had successfully escaped. This means that the relevant investigation requested by the division commander in the telegram is practically impossible to talk about!

And there is more to it than this - the Pingjing Advance Team of the Songjiagou Secret Camp also sent a small force to secretly infiltrate the villages in the lower reaches of the Qinglong River that night, trying to fish in troubled waters again and capture the women of China with the help of the local war and chaos; Unexpectedly, there was a major mistake this time, and the Hirai advance team was accidentally attacked by the stragglers of the Shina Army during the operation, causing a Shina woman who had already been captured to escape.

These two incidents, both of which are related to the possibility of leaking the top secret of the "Wind Project", are like a sharp sword hanging over the head, making it difficult for people to sleep. Major General Hagiwara strictly ordered Masao Kojima, the head of the Bunjo secret service, to fully preside over the investigation, but after a few days, there was no progress.

Jingle bells! Suddenly, the phone on the desk of the brigade commander, Major General Major, rang rapidly, startling Hagiwara, who was deep in thought. The caller was the chief of staff of the railway station, Kawabe Daisa, and he reported another sudden situation in the receiver, which almost made the major general himself scold: a shootout had just broken out in the shantytown on the north side of the square in front of the railway station, and there were unidentified armed men exchanging fire with the patrols of the imperial army and members of the plainclothes squad of the secret service.

"What about Masao Kojima? What the hell is this guy doing? The commander of the Hagiwara Brigade almost roared into the microphone.

The chief of staff on the other end of the phone did not know the specific whereabouts of the head of the city's secret service at this time, and could only respond vaguely: The plainclothes team of the secret service is participating in the search.

The brigade commander, Major General, asked a few more questions about whether the important units in the area of the railway station had been attacked, and then he took the phone and ordered the staff officers around him to immediately use any means to find Masao Kojima and Osa to come to the brigade headquarters.

But soon after, the first to arrive at the brigade headquarters was the chief of staff who had just spoken by phone!

Hebian Dazuo was very worried, and as soon as they met, he confessed to the brigade commander Major General: At present, Wencheng is empty, and there is only an independent infantry brigade and a cavalry squadron stationed in the city; The underground anti-Japanese forces are becoming more and more rampant, directly threatening the safety of the railway station, the brigade and regiment depots, and the Tongpu railway line.

"General, I suggest that at least one infantry brigade be immediately transferred from the direction of Guanmen Mountain and Big Elm Mountain to defend Wencheng - it is important to participate in the combat operations of the First Army to encircle the southeast of Jin on all sides, but the task of our brigade to hold the important town of Tongpu Road is equally arduous, once it is lost, will Commander Xiangyue not hold our department accountable?!"

Looking at his subordinates, Hagiwara Akira, who was still in an anxious mood, reproached impatiently: "You didn't see the order to give me the brigade, and you want me to submit this request directly to Lieutenant General Sena or Lieutenant General Kazuki?" Or is it up to you to raise it directly with the two commanders? ”

But the chief of staff of the river did not flinch, but emphasized the importance of the defense of Wencheng, and related to the safety of Songjiagou in Xiaoyushu Mountain: "General, in order to participate in the siege plan of the First Army, we have almost thrown all the troops at hand, and now that there is no fighting on the front line, it is really a foolish act to put these troops there in vain." What's more, there is also turmoil in Wencheng now, we can't always look ahead and let the backyard catch fire, right? ”

Due to the new situation in the area of Wencheng Railway Station, the brigade commander, Major General, began to reconsider the opinion of the chief of staff. He no longer paid attention to the other party, and slowly paced to the sand table, staring intently at a few points on the sand table, his face sinking like water.

At present, three infantry brigades of the two wings under the jurisdiction of the brigade are all going to the front line from outside Wencheng.

Among them, the Nara Infantry Brigade of the Otsuka Wing was originally stationed in the barracks on the eastern outskirts of Wencheng, but now after conquering Xiping Village at the foot of Guanmen Mountain, it is occupied on the spot, and at the same time it is responsible for blocking the Guanmen Mountain Pass adjacent to Xiping Village to prevent the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army from returning from there. and was responsible for receiving the small unit that had infiltrated into Guanmen Mountain to search for the captured officers and soldiers of the cavalry wing of the division. It can be said that it is a heavy burden, and it is difficult to withdraw.

In contrast, the two infantry battalions of the Saijo Wing are now located on the Junfeng Highway and the village of Ewhapo on the lower reaches of the Qinglong River, the former against the 391st Regiment of the Central Army of the Shina Army, and the latter against the direction of the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army—if you really want to agree with the advice of the chief of staff on the riverside and transfer an infantry brigade back to the outside of Wencheng, then the two brigades of the Saijo Wing will be the alternatives.

"In my opinion, the Takagi Brigade under the personal command of Captain Saijo can completely withdraw from Ewhaura;" When the chief of staff of the river side said this, he had already followed up to Hagiwara Akira's side, standing side by side and facing the sand table: "The combat effectiveness of the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army is very low, so there is no need to consider the possibility that they have the courage to leave the defense area and attack the area around Ewhapo. ”

The commander of the Japanese brigade frowned, turned his face to his chief of staff, and asked in disbelief: "Could it be that the threat from the lower reaches of the Qinglong River only comes from the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army?" You won't deliberately forget that there is the main force of the Xu Brigade detachment of the Eighth Route Army in that direction, right? ”

Kawabe Osa's face couldn't help but be a little hot, and it was certainly not a blessing to be poked in the short spot by his own superior. However, in order to be able to realize his plan, he can only be cheeky and open-minded. He was about to open his mouth to continue lobbying the brigade commander, Major General, but unexpectedly, the head of the secret service, Masao Kojima, arrived in a hurry and brought the latest information about the crossfire incident in the shantytown in the square in front of the station.

This eventually prompted the brigade commander, Major General, to make up his mind.