At present, the 12th Army and the Jiaodong Group Army are in the stage of "peaceful coexistence", and the devil defenders on the other side of the river have been strengthening and thickening their fortifications for most of the year, but there has been no fighting.

Iwasa Hiiragi, the leader of the devil squadron of the 219th Wing of the 35th Division of the Japanese Army, was really idle today, and when he was idle for a while, he stood on top of a pillbox and picked up a telescope to look at the opposite bank. Originally, he just wanted to take a casual look, but he suddenly found that there were more than a dozen Chinese officers inspecting the front line on the wall of Putai County in the distance.

The Japanese 12th Army garrisoning Shandong originally had more than 60,000 troops under the 21st Division, the 32nd Division, the 114th Division, and the 5th, 6th, and 10th Brigades of Independent Mixed Brigades, but with the long-term attrition and repeated fierce battles with the Shandong Group Army, the total strength once dropped to more than 30,000 people.

The Japanese army in Shandong was under pressure and was once facing a state of complete collapse, and the Japanese base camp urgently transferred the 17th Division, the 35th Division, and the 59th Division to reinforce and assign them to the 12th Army.

Now, after more than half a year of rest and replenishment, the total strength of the Japanese 12th Army has reached more than 120,000, and the size of its garrison has more than doubled compared with the initial one. The 35th Division of the Japanese Army, which was responsible for garrisoning the defense line on the north bank of the Yellow River, was formed on the Japanese mainland on February 7, 1939, and had jurisdiction over the 219th, 220th, and 221st Infantry Wings and the 35th Field Artillery Wing.

The Japanese defense force on the other side of Potai County was the 219th Wing of the 35th Division, which was newly assigned to the 12th Army. Although he couldn't see the faces and ranks of Jiang Qiang and the others, from the officer uniform he was wearing, Yan Zuo Hiiragi knew intuitively that this group of people must be from a lot of background, and it was even difficult that Jiang Qiang came in person.

After a visual inspection, the distance of the opponent is about 10 kilometers, and the maximum effective range of the Taisho 14-year 105mm field cannon arranged in the pillbox is 15 kilometers, so as long as you aim at it, it is completely possible to do a big deal!

Thinking of this, Iwasa Hiiragi was suddenly excited, if he really killed Jiang Qiang by mistake, it would be a hero of the empire, so he hurriedly jumped off the top of the bunker. Ran to the squadron command post in three or two steps, picked up the phone and called the captain of the group.

Because the Shandong Group Army is too strong, the devils have suffered too many losses, and now it is not easy for the two sides to "coexist peacefully" through some kind of agreement, so the captain of the devil really does not dare to start the war easily. After receiving the call, the captain of the devil brigade did not dare to make his own decisions, so he hurriedly reported to the co-captain. In this way, the news was uploaded layer by layer, and it didn't take long for it to reach the commander of the Twelfth Army of the devil, Shouichi Terauchi. "Yaga, such a small thing actually came to me?"

After receiving the call, Terauchi Shouichi was very confused, and said in pieces: "Could it be that the army officers of the Great Japanese Empire have become a group of elementary school students?" Do you need to ask for advice on everything to make a decision? Kobayashi Asaburo, who was standing on the side, smiled bitterly and said: "Terauchi-kun, this can't be blamed on the front-line troops, because our enemy is too strong, and it is still a must-try, once the cannon is fired, it will definitely attract extremely fierce counterattack." ”

"Yaga! It was because of this that I felt extremely angry and humiliated, and the Imperial Japanese Army did not have the courage to show its sword to the enemy! Terauchi Shou naturally knew the reason, but he really couldn't stand this grievance. Because Terauchi Shouichi himself was a war radical, he had always been active and reckless, and was known as the "brave general", and he led the 19th Division 6,000 troops to provoke Wang Yizhe in the Zhang Gufeng incident.

Terauchi Shouyi led his subordinate Wang Yizhe to defend the Zhanggufeng Heights under intensive artillery fire, and the casualties were as high as 20%. The Japanese base camp then judged that Wang Yizhe had no intention of starting a war, and as a result, he concentrated 10 divisions and 300,000 people to capture Hankou. However, there was no forced landing on the Chinese government, and the force against Wang Yizhe was seriously weakened.

At this point, the Japanese army did not dare to go north to fight against the powerful Wang Yizhe, and Terauchi Shouyi was appointed commander of the newly established 12th Army on November 9, and the army headquarters was stationed in Jinan to guard Shandong. Kobayashi Asaburo said very tactfully: "The temple is angry, the task of our Twelfth Army is to besiege the Shandong Group Army, and now it has only been stable for a few months, and this situation is best not to be easily broken before the base camp makes up its mind to encircle and annihilate it on a large scale." ”

As the chief of staff of the 12th Army, Kobayashi Asaburo was more pragmatic and had a better memory. This is not to say that Kobayashi Asaburo is greedy for life and afraid of death, but he knows that Jiang Qiang is a master who is never willing to suffer, and once he is angry, there is no bad luck without him!

For example, not long ago, the Ishii troops launched bacteriological warfare against Laiyang County, and as a result, instead of causing mentionable damage to the Shandong Group Army, they lost one aircraft carrier and two destroyers.

Therefore, Kobayashi Asaburo had already made up his mind, as long as Jiang Qiang did not take the initiative to attack, he would definitely not provoke Jiang Qiang. Terauchi Shouichi naturally knew what was going on, but he still asked reluctantly: "Xiaolin-kun, what if Jiang Qiang himself is really on the wall of Putai County?" Aren't we saying that we missed the opportunity? ”

Kobayashi Asaburo said: "If you can really annihilate this culprit in one fell swoop, it will naturally be a miracle, but the probability of this is too low!" Let's not talk about whether the other party is Jiang Qiang or not, but from such a distance, it is almost impossible to hit with one shot!

The base camp is formulating a big battle plan for the Shandong Group Army, and it is really not appropriate for us to act excessively and affect the strategy formulation of the base camp! "Yaga!" Terauchi Shouichi scolded very unwillingly, he really wanted to block the stud, but the last trace of reason told him that he would lose nine out of ten bets, and he would face unbearable pressure once he missed!

"Baga, why haven't you called back yet? They're all leaving! Iwasa Hiiragi made a phone call and went out, and then ordered several Taisho 14th 105mm field cannons to be adjusted to shoot Zhu Yuan, and it only took one order to blow up the group on the other side of the river.

Originally, they would soon be allowed to fire the cannon, but they didn't receive an order, and the group in the telescope had already begun to descend the city wall in turn, and Iwasa Hiiragi was as anxious as ants on a hot pot.

Jingle bell, and that's when the phone finally rang. Iwasa Hiiragi's heart tightened, and he hurriedly picked up the microphone, but the order from the microphone was not to fire immediately, but not to act without authorization, and those who violated the order were engaged in military law.

"Nani? Such a good opportunity was given up in vain? Could it be that the Japanese Empire was really afraid of the Jiaodong Army? "Iwasa Hiiragi's heart suddenly pulled out the cold, and the shadow area in his heart was infinitely enlarged!" Boss, the little devil was really scared by us, haha! "That's not it, those cannons have been aiming for a long time, and they don't dare to fire, this is not the style of little devils!"

"Hmph, I hope they fire a few shots, and we can use the topic to play and blow him up!" "So, with us always here, the devil is a paper tiger who bullies the soft and is afraid of the hard! "Actually, Iwasa Hiiragi's actions fell into the eyes of the sentries on the coastal defense line, and he reported the situation to his superiors at the beginning.

After Jiang Qiang got the information, he stopped his steps and continued to stand on the city wall as if nothing had happened, wondering if the Japanese devils finally had the courage to open fire. This is not Jiang Qiangtuo, but it is ten kilometers away, even if the devil fires, they have time to dodge, and they don't have to worry about being blown up at all.

On the other hand, if the Japanese devils really opened fire, Jiang Qiang could logically break the deadlock and take the initiative to provoke a war of self-defense and counterattack.

And the reason why Jiang Qiang wants such an effect is not only that he doesn't want to brush up his hatred value excessively now, but also wants to create a general impression of "a warlord with little ambition" and "a warlord in a corner of peace" for the Japanese army. "Don't worry, development time is more precious to us! As long as you seize the time to train your troops, you will definitely be useful in the future! ”

After waiting for more than ten minutes, he still didn't see any movement from the devil, Jiang Qiang knew that waiting any longer would be a result, so he swaggered down the city wall with a group.

Command of the Kwantung Army. Under the pretext of congratulating the New Year, Ishihara Waner invited Pu Yi, Tan Yuling, Pu Jie, Sagahao, Kawashima Yoshiko, Zhang Jinghui, Zhang Yanqing, Zhu Shushen and other important officials of the Manchukuo imperial family, as well as foreign envoys and reporters stationed in Manchukuo, to the headquarters and held an extremely grand cocktail party.

Han culture is broad and profound, and has always influenced neighboring countries. As a neighboring country, Japan began to learn Han culture at an early age, introducing various traditional festivals and customs of China.

Especially since the end of the 7th century, Japan has fully adopted the Chinese calendar, and all Chinese festivals have been introduced. Of course, the Spring Festival is no exception, and during the Chinese New Year's Eve of the Chinese lunar calendar, the Japanese New Year's habits are similar to those of China.

During the Tokugawa shogunate in the mid-19th century, the Tokugawa shogunate, which held great power, implemented a "closed country policy" to foreign missionaries, merchants, and civilians from entering Japan, and did not allow foreign Japanese to return to Japan, and even banned the manufacture of ships suitable for ocean voyages.

However, in some economically developed areas, the germ of capitalism appeared, which impacted the feudal natural economy and fundamentally shook the foundation of the shogunate's rule. Later, after a series of wars, under the command of Emperor Meiji, the Japanese people overthrew the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and established a constitutional monarchy.

Subsequently, Emperor Meiji carried out a series of reform measures. One of these measures was the abolition of the Chinese New Year. However, in order to create an atmosphere of goodwill between China and Japan, and in order to give Pu Yi a sense of dignity and existence, the Kwantung Army Headquarters made a special case this year to follow the tradition of the Chinese Spring Festival to paste door couplets, window flowers, and lanterns.

At the same time, the banquet was also a combination of Chinese and Western, with both Western-style buffet and Chinese-style wine dishes, and this celebration scene was extremely grand. Under the storm, Ishihara changed the original trajectory of his fate and replaced him as the commander of the Japanese Kwantung Army and the plenipotentiary ambassador to Manchuria, becoming the actual controller of the puppet Manchuria.

After more than a year of painstaking operation, not only did a large number of coal liquefaction industries be built and put into operation, a large number of military enterprises were added, but also the Manchukuo Emperor Puyi, who was bent on reviving the Qing Empire, was subdued by his wrist. This manipulation made the "Sino-Japanese friendship" even more confusing, and made the puppet Manchurian Imperial Allied Army and the remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty have a lot more favorability towards the Japanese.

Objectively speaking, the economic, military, and public security of the entire three eastern provinces have been greatly improved. Among them, the most important thing is that the output of refined oil products has increased substantially, the industrial chain of artillery, tanks, aircraft and other heavy weapons is about to take shape, and Manchukuo has a new atmosphere of the "engine" of the Japanese Empire. Through this series of actions, Ishihara not only displayed his talents and ambitions, and firmly sat on the top spot, but also had the base camp and Emperor Hirohito extremely satisfied with him.

After going through a series of cutscenes and entering the free time, Ishihara Waner walked up to Pu Yi with a glass of wine and a smile on his face: "Your Majesty, thank you very much for your great contribution to Sino-Japanese friendship over the past year or so, and the Great Japanese Empire will never treat true friends badly!" Cheers to our better cooperation and win-win situation in the future! ”

Pu Yi touched his glass with a smile on his face and said, "I am very grateful to Commander Ishihara for taking care of me, Manchukuo can have today's weather, thanks to Commander Ishihara's unique vision!" ”

In the past year or so, Pu Yi has gradually regained his dignity and sense of existence, and the real power in his hands far exceeds that of the original puppet emperor, and he has a certain say in the employment and governance, so deep down he is still grateful to Ishihara Waner.

Although this Japanese is still the puppet "Emperor Taishang" of Manchuria and is still the actual controller, Pu Yi at least feels dignified, and it is much stronger than the previous one who was at the mercy of the Japanese and even the guards around him were completely controlled by the Japanese.

"The goodwill between China and Japan and the joint creation of a Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere is a great thing that benefits both sides." Ishihara nodded with a smile, and then advocated temptation: "Your Majesty, with the successive victories of the Imperial Japanese Army, in the future, the entire East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and even the broader world space will be prostrate under our feet!" When the time comes, the emperor can completely restore the majesty of the Qing Empire and become a great emperor comparable to the Qin Emperor and Han Wu in Chinese history! ”

"Cheers!" Pu Yi's heart fluttered when he heard this, his hands began to tremble slightly, and he excitedly touched a glass with Ishihara Wan'er and then raised his head and poured half a glass of red wine into his stomach. "Cheers to Sino-Japanese goodwill!" Looking at Pu Yi's excited appearance, a mocking smile flashed in Ishihara's eyes, and then it was all gone.

Immediately afterwards, Ishihara was very personable and polite, walked around one by one, kept clinking glasses with people, and said a lot of nice things. This old devil seems to have turned into a long-sleeved courtesan who is good at dancing and loved by everyone, which makes the guests in the entire hall smile, and the atmosphere is too good. "Your Majesty, and all the distinguished guests, I am really too strong to drink, forgive me for retiring and resting first, everyone please continue to enjoy yourself!"

It was almost time to eat, drink and have fun, and Ishihara, who had drunk too much, took the initiative to say goodbye, and then staggered to the lounge in the inner courtyard. At this moment, Yoshiko Kawashima quietly pretended to be drunk, and followed Ishihara out of the hall. I just received a commendation from Emperor Hirohito this morning, and although there is not much of a reward, it looks like a very ordinary congratulatory telegram.

But the meaning behind it is not simple, and at least it can explain one thing: that the emperor is satisfied with his performance, and as long as he continues to maintain the momentum of development, his career will be bright. After receiving the commendation order signed by Emperor Hirohito, Ishihara only felt that his life had reached the peak, and his mood was much better and more refreshing. So tonight he was very excited, not only did he dance with long sleeves to make the banquet atmosphere very good, but he also opened his belly to eat and drink. As the strength of the wine increased, Ishihara could only stagger towards the lounge not far from the banquet hall, wanting to slow down the strength of the wine first!

As soon as she sat on the sofa and rested for a while, Yoshiko Kawashima walked into the lounge with a soup bowl and said with a smile on her face: "Commander Ishihara, you drank a little too much tonight, so you must be a little uncomfortable now, right?" This is the decanting soup I got in the kitchen, and you'll be better after drinking it! "Yo Xi, thank you Miss Yoshiko for your kindness, but I'm much better now, I don't need to drink decanting soup!"

Ishihara nodded and smiled, knowing that this Manchurian princess had come to offer her hospitality at this time, most likely because she had something to do with her, so she pointed with her hand and said, "Miss Fangzi, please take a seat, you are so beautiful tonight!" "Thank you, Commander Ishihara, for the compliment!"

Ishihara Waner was very wary and did not take the decanting soup, but Kawashima Yoshiko did not have the slightest surprise, originally sending the decanting soup was just a reason, and did not expect Ishihara Waner to trust himself unconditionally. Smiling at Ishihara, Yoshiko Kawashima sat down elegantly on the sofa opposite, and said with a smile: "Thank you Your Excellency Commander for taking care of our royal family for more than a year, so that we can have today's dignity and glory!"

The kindness of a drop of water should be reciprocated by a spring, and the kindness of His Excellency the Commander will be remembered in our hearts, and we will definitely repay it twice in the future. Ishihara waved his hand and smiled: "Miss Fangzi doesn't need to be too polite, we are real friends and partners, we have common interests and enemies, so we naturally want to help each other and benefit each other!" ”

"Your Excellency Commander is worthy of the genius of the Japanese Empire, and Manchukuo is really lucky to have a backer like you!" Yoshiko Kawashima first patted her ass for a while, and then said with a smile: "Congratulations to Your Excellency the Commander for receiving the commendation order from His Majesty the Emperor again, Your Excellency the Commander is only one step away from being promoted to general!" "Where! Where! How can it be so easy to be promoted to general, this matter has not been skimmed yet! ”

Ishihara waved his hand very modestly, but his heart had already blossomed, and it had always been his long-cherished wish and dream to be promoted to general, and now he finally saw a little hope! Just like the ecological chain of nature, the larger the predator, the higher the food chain level, the smaller the number, just like tigers and foxes, bears and hyenas, although there are overlapping places in the diet, but the status is not comparable.

And this metaphor is also very suitable to describe the Japanese army. If the Japanese general is the top beast in the forest, then a newly promoted mid-level officer can only be compared to a fox that can bite people.

This is mainly because in Japanese society, the power of the general is often very large, and the prime minister and the president of the Privy Council, who are the dreams of ordinary people all their lives, are only on the same level as the general. As the old saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility, and in order to prevent this right from being abused, the Japanese have taken great pains to select generals, setting lines, and if they want to become a young general, it is a thing that can only be successful in a dream.

In terms of the most basic qualifications, only by staying in the position of lieutenant general for five years can you be considered worthy of getting a ticket to the door. Even so, for most Japanese officers, the general was more like a carrot hanging in front of a donkey, which could not be seen and eaten, and on the other side of the general's position, there were two mountains of war exploits and important positions.

According to records, there are about 1,000 lieutenant generals recorded in Japanese history, but the promotion rate is only about 10 percent, and most of them have spent their lives in the position of lieutenant general.

After a long time in his heart, Ishihara suddenly felt slightly startled, looked at Yoshiko Kawashima with wide eyes and said, "Miss Yoshiko, how did you know?" I didn't announce this, did I? "Your Excellency, Commander, how can such a great good thing be hidden?"

Faced with Ishihara's questioning, Yoshiko Kawashima explained without panic: "To be honest, when I called my colleague to chat with him today, my colleague inadvertently revealed the news!" So please rest assured, commander, even if you lend me ten guts, I won't dare to spy on your news! ”

Ishihara's eyes closed slightly, then he opened his eyes and asked with a smile: "Is the teacher you said to be a fat and idle person?" Yoshiko Kawashima smiled and nodded, "That's right, my teacher is none other than Kenji Dohihara." I am able to have the ability and achievements I am today thanks to the wisdom of my teachers.

With the guidance and help of my teachers, I was able to make great contributions to the Japanese Empire. Although I don't have a direct teacher under my command now, I still have contact! In the Japanese military department, Kenji Dohihara is recognized as one of the "Four Great Huaxia Tong", and the other three are Seishiro Itagaki, Ninji Okamura, and Ryosuke Isoya. In order to display his talents, Kenji Tsuchihara spent many years traveling around China and had a thorough understanding of Chinese culture and national conditions.

One of his basic ideas is to "use the Chinese system" and "the Chinese people are not united, as long as we grasp this point, we can use the people with prestige among them to manage the Chinese people themselves on our behalf." Based on his understanding of Chinese civilization, Kenji Dohihara is well aware that thousands of years of feudal history have made the Chinese people rely heavily on the imperial family. When he learned that there was a "Huaxia Gege" in Japan that had been domesticated so that he could use it with confidence, he was very happy and immediately became very interested in Yoshiko Kawashima.

After Yoshiko Kawashima got acquainted with her, she was repeatedly entrusted with important tasks by him, and even when Yoshiko Kawashima was at a low point, Kenji Dohihara greatly valued her potential. Yoshiko Kawashima's greatest reward for admiring Kenji Tohihara was his outstanding performance in the establishment of "Manchukuo".

The establishment of "Manchukuo" was the common wish of the two, and in this process, Yoshiko Kawashima could be said to have "done her best and died". With the aura of "Gege", Yoshiko Kawashima is like a real "princess in distress", moving around, winning people's hearts and seeking assistance. These activities laid a solid foundation for Kenji Tsuchihara's success. In 1941, the leak of the "Kiriku Project", Yoshiko Kawashima was almost executed by Hideki Tojo, but it was thanks to the intercession of Kenji Dohihara and Seishiro Itagaki that she was spared. At this time, Tohi Enji and Itagaki Seishiro had already tried Jiang Qiang and sentenced him to death, and it was unknown whether the fate of this Qing Dynasty would change.