Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Boom—boom—!
The sound of artillery fire continued to rang out.

Ximen Tang did not launch a direct attack, nor did he engage in positional warfare with the Kwantung Army.

Because of the large number of people, they are widely distributed.

If the tank corps were to launch a direct assault, it would be easy to completely scatter the Allied Forces of the East.

Although Ximen Tang's combat power is extremely strong.

but,

The number of people who launched the pursuit was only 60,000.

If we launch a rash attack, we could easily get bogged down in positional warfare.

If positional warfare is conducted in the field, Ximentang's casualty rate will increase sharply.

Therefore, Ximen Tang adopted a pursuit tactic, chasing after the Japanese Allied Forces and always maintaining a distance of more than 300 meters.

If they get too close, open fire immediately.

Then they stopped to rest and regroup, set up heavy machine gun and artillery positions, and waited for the Japanese Allied Forces to flee due to internal strife.

Next, after the Allied Forces of the East Asia Group had run a considerable distance, they pursued them again to a distance of about 300 meters and continued to fire.

The soldiers of the Allied Forces of the East were scattered in all directions by the sudden explosion.

Almost all the soldiers fled for their lives.

He was terrified of falling behind and being targeted and killed by Ximentang.

therefore,

Upon hearing the cannon fire from Ximentang, including the elite troops of the Kwantung Army, they turned tail and ran.

Because they were not carrying heavy weapons, they could run very fast.

After running for several kilometers, everyone was panting heavily. Once they realized they had left Ximentang behind, they began to relax.

but,

Less than five minutes after they stopped, the cannons from Ximentang rang out again, and they managed to keep up with the main force of the Kwantung Army.

As a result, the Allied Forces of the East once again fled in panic.

The two sides continued in this manner, one fleeing and the other pursuing, but without directly engaging in combat.

in fact,

This is also Simon's strategy.

Because the person in charge of covering the rear was Watanabe Fumikane of the Kwantung Army.

As the two sides pursued each other, the elite Kwantung Army troops under Kishibe Fumikan, who were covering the rear, quickly caught up with Oyama Iwao on the main road in the middle.

The distance between the two armies was not far to begin with.

The troops under Anbian Wenkuan's command fled for their lives, so their speed was naturally much faster than that of the army under Daishan Yan's command.

After the two armies joined forces, Ximentang's pursuing force naturally began to approach the main army at Dashan Rock.

When they learned that the pursuers were the most elite special operations brigade of Ximentang.

Da Shanyan realized that he had been tricked by Qian Wang Chen Jie!

"idiot--!"

Enraged, he drew his command sword from his waist, looked up at his back, and cursed loudly:
"Chen Jie, you despicable and shameless scoundrel, you have betrayed your promise! You shall die a horrible death!"

Oyama Iwao has always been cautious and prudent in his actions, and he likes to leave himself a way out.

Before delivering the supplies and silver dollars he had seized to Chen Jie, he had already made numerous arrangements.

To be honest, he never believed Chen Jie from beginning to end.

He never trusted anyone in this world.

That's just his personality; he always finds a way out for himself.

This time,
Although he didn't trust Chen Jie, he ultimately chose to do business with Chen Jie, hoping to reach a cooperation agreement.

The main reason is that, from any perspective, Chen Jie has no reason to violate the contract.

The Kwantung Army has already agreed to withdraw from the Hanzhong region.

They also did not want to cooperate with Prince Ning, Li Mu, and Prince Shu, Li Chuang, and began to retreat and relocate to the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.

Da Shan Yan thought that since Chen Jie had accepted the things he had given away, and had only given him two days to retreat, he was relieved.

How could I possibly go back on my word?
Such conditions were extremely unfair to the Kwantung Army.

Why did Ximen Tang want to exterminate them all?
Da Shan Yan never expected that Xi Men Tang would suddenly break the contract and launch a pursuit at this time.

"Baka! You bastard! You are the Qian Prince, how could you do such a thing?"

Thinking of this, Da Shanyan couldn't help but curse again.

He took the bribe and immediately flipped the table!

And the pretext they were using was because of the burning of Hankou Prefecture, and they wanted to arrest him.

Damn it—!
Da Shanyan thought to himself that he had spent 13 million silver dollars, 160,000 dan of grain, 10,000 warhorses, and 6,000 oxen.

How could he not be furious when he got such a result in the end?

If I had known this would happen, I should have burned all these things in Suizhou City and made the people of Suizhou City pay with their lives, so that Ximentang could atone for the sins of the people of Daqian!

But it's too late to think about all this now.

When the elite troops of the Kwantung Army caught up from behind, they were so frightened that they shouted loudly:
"Run! The cannons from Ximentang are coming!"

"Get out! Get out quickly!"

"Run! Run away—!"

With the sharp shouts, the entire main force of the Kwantung Army in the central route knew that Ximen Tang was coming after them.

run!
If you don't run now, when will you wait?
Should we stop and wait to be bombed?
Perhaps it was because the Allied Forces of the East were terrified of the artillery fire from Ximentang during this period.

As a result, even when Ximentang was still a few hundred meters away, the central army under Dashanyan's command was so frightened that it fled in defeat.

Da Shanyan had no choice but to flee with the routed army.

When Oshima Yutaka and Yagyu Asahi's elite Kwantung Army troops on both flanks heard that Nishimondo's army was closing in and firing their cannons at the same time, they were also terrified and fled in disarray.

Ximen Tang has instilled psychological trauma in all the soldiers of the Kwantung Army.

Hundreds of thousands of troops fled in disarray, creating utter chaos.

Whether they were elite Kwantung Army soldiers or soldiers of the Daqian rebels, they were all afraid of falling behind and being wiped out by Ximentang's heavy machine guns or artillery.

therefore,

Everyone was scrambling to escape for their lives.

Some people run fast, some people run slow.

Some people are tall and incredibly strong, while others are short and have very small steps.

As a result, after they all gathered together and fled, the scene became increasingly chaotic.

Before Ximen Tang could catch up, the Kwantung Army was already in complete chaos.

Some soldiers were tripped and trampled to death.

Some of the Kwantung Army's elite troops, seeing that the Taigan rebel soldiers in front of them were running slowly, directly drew their Japanese samurai swords and slashed at them.

Ximen Tang never launched a strong attack, but instead maintained his distance, creating a sense of pressure for the Japanese Allied Forces.

Thus, the Allied Forces of the East stumbled and staggered all the way to Yingcheng, pursued by Ximen Tang.

Fortunately, Oyama Iwao had made prior plans and preparations, allowing Sakata Takeo and Takahashi Morimasa's army to meet him in Yingcheng.

After Oyama Iwao and Sakata Takeo's army joined forces.

His original army of 350,000 has dwindled to less than 200,000.

In fact, although Ximentang pursued the enemy all the way, the number of enemy soldiers killed by the bombs was very limited.

Apart from those trampled to death or killed by Kwantung Army soldiers, most of the Daqian rebels escaped. After joining forces with the army under Sakata Takeo and Takahashi Morimasa and entering Yingcheng, Ōyama Iwao finally let out a long sigh of relief.

but,

Ximentang was still stationed five kilometers outside Yingcheng, and the crisis was not over.

So Daisan quickly summoned his generals to discuss how to deal with the situation.

Takeo Sakata spoke first:
"General, I told you before, the people of Ximentang are unreliable!"

“We were all tricked by Chen Jie in this cooperation deal. He never even considered cooperating with us.”

"If we had retreated to Xiangyang this time and cooperated with Prince Ning, Li Mu, we certainly wouldn't be in such a passive position now."

"Furthermore, I suspect there is a traitor within our Kwantung Army. It seems that Simond knew our retreat route in advance."

Upon hearing this, Da Shanyan was taken aback.

idiot--!
He was inherently suspicious and never really trusted others.

Now he's being chased and fleeing in a sorry state by Ximentang, and he's feeling incredibly frustrated.

Hearing Sakata Takeo's words at this moment immediately aggravated his paranoia.

Kishibe Fumihiro, who was standing nearby, sensed something was off about Sakata Takeo's tone and noticed he was being looked at. He immediately flew into a rage and said:

"Sakata-kun, what do you mean? Do you suspect me of being a traitor?"

Sakata Takeo pursed his lips and said in a deep voice:
"I didn't say it outright. You're the one with a guilty conscience. Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence? Our army had just set off from Suizhou when Ximen Tang caught up with us!"

"And since you've just been released by Simon, I can't think of anyone else who would betray us."

The surroundings fell silent immediately, and the generals of the Kwantung Army remained silent.

Wow——!
Anbian Wenkuan suddenly stood up and roared furiously:
"Bastard! I, Anbian Wenkuan, have always acted with integrity since joining the army, and you actually suspect me of being a traitor?"

"I haven't even settled the score with you for what happened at the Han River pier last time, and you're already slandering me?"

"Sakata Takeo, if you don't give me an explanation today, I'm not done with you!"

Sakata Takeo was also enraged and shouted:

"Although Ximentang claimed not to kill prisoners, he sent all the prisoners to Shandong and Nanjing to atone for their sins."

"According to the Black Dragon Society's investigation, many Japanese people became miners in the coal mines of Shandong."

"You were captured by Ximen Tang, and everyone else was sent to Shandong. Why weren't you sent away?"

“In this round of negotiations, we did not ask for your release at all; it was Simon who released you on his own initiative.”

"Tell me yourself, what is the reason for all of this?"

“Kishibe Fumikan, you think you’ve covered your tracks perfectly and that no one knows anything about this, but don’t forget, there are fewer than thirty people in total who know our retreat route. If it wasn’t you who passed on the message, then who do you think it was?”

Anbian Wenkuan trembled with rage and shouted, "You're talking nonsense—!"

However, he didn't know how to refute it.

Oshima Yuutake suddenly said:
"I believe that Kishibe-kun is not a traitor. He is loyal to the Eastern Empire and would never betray it!"

“I was with him the whole time before, so even if he wanted to send a message, he absolutely couldn’t do it.”

"Moreover, by the time he took charge of covering the rear, Ximen Tang had already caught up with them."

Kishibe Fumihiro's martial arts skills were not high, which was a consensus within the Kwantung Army.

It was virtually impossible for him to pass a message under Oshima Yuu's nose.

After hearing Oshima Yuutake's explanation, the others around him nodded slightly.

Sakata Takeo said in a deep voice:
"Whether someone is truly loyal or not, it's best not to jump to conclusions so quickly!"

After a moment of silence, Daishanyan spoke:
"Sakata-kun, tell everyone what you suspect. I also want to know who betrayed our Kwantung Army!"

Takeo Sakata took a deep breath, looked up, and said:
"When Major Morimasa Takahashi went to see Chen Jie of the Nishimondo Academy this time, he did not mention that Kishibe Fumihiro should come back. It was Chen Jie who took the initiative to ask him to come back, which is already suspicious."

“When we were in Suizhou, we held a meeting and decided that I was strongly opposed to doing business and cooperating with Ximentang, because I felt that the people of Ximentang were unreliable.”

"At the time, many people agreed with my suggestion, but only Kishibe Fumikan persuaded us to cooperate with Ximentang in a transaction."

"It was also his suggestion that we send all our supplies to Ximentang and withdraw from Suizhou, so that we would no longer have the means to blackmail Ximentang."

"The general was very hesitant at the time. If it weren't for Anbian Wenkuan, I believe you would not have made up your mind to cooperate with Ximentang."

"In addition, when we retreated, Anbian Wenkuan was responsible for covering the rear."

"But you can see if he resists?"

"As soon as Ximen Tang gets close, his entire army collapses and flees, which greatly affects our army and ultimately leads to a complete collapse!"

"The Kwantung Army's crushing defeat was entirely due to Kishibe Fumihiro. Do you think he was a traitor?"

finished,

Sakata Takeo fell silent, glaring fiercely at Kishibe Fumihiro.

"Baka! You're slandering me!"

Anbian Wenkuan was so angry that he was trembling all over, and his face turned pale.

but,

Everything that Takeo Sakata said was true, and he really couldn't defend himself.

Puff-!
Anbian Wenkuan knelt before the large rock, took a deep breath, and said:
"General, I have not betrayed the Kwantung Army, and I have not revealed any information to Simon Tang!"

"I swear to the God of Orochi, I have never done anything to betray the Kwantung Army. I hope the general will see the truth!"

Oshima Yutaka and Yagyu Asahito, along with other Kwantung Army generals, had relatively good relationships with Kishibe Fumikazu.

They all knelt down with a thud and said to the mountain rock:
"General, we all believe everything General Kishibe Fumikan said. He would never betray the Kwantung Army, nor would he betray us!"

When Sakata Takeo saw so many people kneeling down to plead for Kishibe Fumikazu, he took a deep breath, a sharp killing intent flashing in his eyes.

The surroundings became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The atmosphere was extremely oppressive, and everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Da Shanyan looked up at everyone, then looked at Wen Kuan on the shore.

His expression shifted between anger and uncertainty; for a moment, he was unsure whether to arrest Anbian Wenkuan and bring him to justice.

to be frank,
Fumikane Kishibe was the person Emperor Meiji placed by his side to supervise him.

He had always been very wary of Anbian Wenkuan.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to capture Kishibe Fumihiro would be extremely beneficial for him.

but,

Just as he was about to have Anbian Wenkuan arrested and imprisoned.

suddenly,
The guards outside rushed into the meeting hall, shouting:
"General, something terrible has happened! We are completely surrounded by Ximen Tang!"

Ximentang only had 60,000 troops, but he managed to surround the nearly 300,000 Kwantung Army stationed in Yingcheng from four directions.

Upon hearing this news, Daisan Iwa panicked completely!
damn it--

Why so fast?
Just as chaos reigned within the Kwantung Army.

Chen Jie was preparing to meet with Li Chuang, the King of Shu, who had come from Xiangyang.

After Chen Jie recovered Wuchang, Hanyang, and Hankou, he went north and recovered Xiaogan and Suizhou.

The Ximentang army swept through the land, invincible in all directions.

Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, happened to be in Xiangyang when he heard the news.

He immediately realized that this was the best opportunity to make a profit.

In cooperation with Simon, they encircled and annihilated the Kwantung Army.

Therefore, he immediately ordered his generals Zhuo Mingyi and Peng Lie to lead two armies from Xiangyang Prefecture to join forces with Ximentang in besieging Dashanyan.

Simultaneously,

King Li Zicheng of Shu personally led a large army, bypassing Suizhou and heading straight for Tianmen County, blocking Da Shanyan's route to retreat south. (End of Chapter)