Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 137 Forcing Yamamoto to His Death
Wang Gensheng, seeing Shinotsuka Yoshio's inner turmoil, did not disturb him. Instead, he addressed Duan Peng, who had just emerged from the siege of the county government office:

"Duan Peng, you now take the second assault team and take down the remaining city gates of Taiyuan County. After that, go to the armory in the city and empty it! Once it's empty, you can take the horses and retreat!"

That's right. Now that Wang Gensheng has taken over Taiyuan, he naturally can't let go of the armory in Taiyuan City.

Unlike Heyuan County, Taiyuan City is a large city. Furthermore, Yoshio Shinotsuka lives in the county government office in Taiyuan City, so the armory cannot be stored directly in the county government office warehouse like it was in Heyuan County.

Moreover, Yoshio Shinotsuka was also afraid of dying, fearing that the armory might explode and take him away.

Therefore, the armory in Taiyuan City was placed in a warehouse outside the county government office.

Wang Gensheng had previously investigated and found that there was a considerable amount of weaponry in Taiyuan City, estimated to be at least a hundred tons.

This is vastly different from the ten tons of ammunition that Wang Gensheng obtained when he captured Heyuan County.

However, considering that Taihara Castle was the headquarters of Yoshio Shinotsuka's First Army and also housed a regiment of tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers, it was only natural that it would have a stockpile of hundreds of tons of ammunition.

The reason why Duan Peng and the others had to retreat first was because there was no other way. After all, distributing 100 tons of ammunition among more than 800 warhorses would mean that each warhorse would have to carry more than 100 kilograms of weight.

Therefore, under such heavy loads, warhorses could no longer carry people, otherwise the excessive weight would crush them.

Once you lead your warhorse forward, you will naturally lose your speed advantage. So if you don't retreat first, it will be too late to retreat when the Japanese troops in Taiyuan City come to reinforce Taiyuan City.

As for whether Duan Peng could capture a few city gates, Wang Gensheng naturally hadn't considered that. Right now, there were only a few dozen Japanese soldiers at each city gate of Taiyuan City. If he couldn't even take that, then Duan Peng, who was wearing full armor, would be too useless.

After arranging the subsequent evacuation plan, Wang Gensheng looked at Yoshio Shinotsuka and said:
"I wonder if Your Excellency has made up your mind. If Your Excellency does not agree, then I think some of the criminal laws of the country will help Your Excellency make a decision!" Wang Gensheng said to Liu the translator.
"Tell him about some of the ancient punishments in our Huaguo, such as slow slicing and branding!"

Yoshio Shinotsuka agreed. Faced with torture, Zhu Ziming couldn't withstand it, and neither could Yoshio Shinotsuka. Anyone who could feel pain was basically unable to resist such torture.

So when Yoshio Shinotsuka sent the telegram to Ichiki Yamamoto, instructing him to release the prisoners and then commit seppuku, Ichiki was stunned.

He never expected that the First Army's headquarters, Taihara Castle, would be ambushed by the Eighth Route Army's special forces, and even Yoshio Shinotsuka became a prisoner.

Therefore, this decapitation operation targeting the Eighth Route Army's Independent Regiment not only failed but also resulted in the loss of the headquarters of their own First Army.

Of course, Yamamoto Ichiki knew in his heart that he couldn't stop Li Yunlong's attack with just one woman.

Since the establishment of the Yamamoto Special Forces, Yoshio Shinotsuka's appreciation and cultivation of Ichiki Yamamoto has been unparalleled. Therefore, for the sake of Yoshio Shinotsuka's life, Ichiki Yamamoto ultimately decided to release Hsiu-Chin Yang.

Moreover, if his decapitation strike hadn't failed and he hadn't been surrounded by the Independent Regiment, then Yoshio Shinotsuka wouldn't have sent almost all the soldiers in Taihara Castle to reinforce him. If he hadn't sent reinforcements, then the Eighth Route Army's special forces wouldn't have had a chance to take advantage of him. So all of this was Yamamoto Ichiki's fault.

Ordinary people can apologize or make amends for their mistakes by bowing and paying compensation, but soldiers can only make amends with their lives if they make mistakes on the battlefield.

So just as Li Yunlong pulled out his infantry gun, preparing to blast open the gates of Ping'an County, the gates actually opened. Yamamoto Ichiki, along with Yang Xiuqin and a translator, walked out of the county gates.

This scene immediately left everyone in the Independent Regiment, including Li Yunlong, completely bewildered.

Yamamoto Ichiki, seemingly oblivious to the thousands of gun barrels aimed at him by the Independent Regiment, walked straight up to Li Yunlong and said:
"Lord Li Yunlong, you are quite remarkable. You managed to escape even with an undercover agent present and on your wedding night! Now I am keeping my promise and releasing your wife! I hope you will also keep your promise and spare the life of Shinotsuka Mikoto!"

After saying this, Yamamoto Ichiki drew his katana and committed seppuku by cutting his own abdomen.

Because of the translator, Li Yunlong naturally understood Yamamoto Ichiki's words, but understanding them only made him more confused. What did it mean to keep a promise and spare Shinotsuka Mikoto's life?

However, the battlefield situation did not allow Li Yunlong much time to think, because after Yamamoto Ichiki committed suicide, the remaining hundred or so Japanese soldiers in the county town actually rushed out of the city gate and launched a suicide charge.

The result was obvious: he was shot to death!

This situation naturally stunned Li Yunlong, but despite being somewhat stunned, it did not prevent him from issuing the order to clean up the battlefield.

Of course, since the Independent Regiment did not have a radio, Wang Gensheng naturally did not know whether Yamamoto Ichiki had fulfilled the agreement. However, regardless of whether the agreement was fulfilled or not, Wang Gensheng would not kill Shinotsuka Yoshio.

Wang Gensheng understood that the living Yoshio Shinotsuka was more valuable than the dead Yoshio Shinotsuka.

After all, once the propaganda is out there, they'll say, "Look, even the Japanese army has surrendered, why haven't you surrendered yet!"
Wang Gensheng, far away in Taiyuan, had no idea that Yamamoto Ichiki would choose to commit seppuku as an apology.

However, it is not difficult to guess what Yamamoto Ichiki was thinking. After all, after agreeing to release Yang Xiuqin, Yamamoto Ichiki knew that he had no more bargaining chips.

Given the current situation, it's impossible for him to remain as an independent regiment for long. So rather than being shot to death, it's better for him to commit seppuku. This way, Yoshio Shinotsuka can have a better life, and it will make Li Yunlong and the others feel better and make the people there keep their promise and let Yoshio Shinotsuka go.

Li Yunlong simply couldn't understand Yamamoto Ichiki's little schemes.

After eliminating Yamamoto Ichiki's men, all the weapons and ammunition in Ping'an County naturally fell into Li Yunlong's hands.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Li Yunlong, like Wang Gensheng, did not allow the Independent Regiment to settle in Ping'an County. Instead, he took his weapons and equipment and disappeared into the mountains and rivers.

Of course, when Li Yunlong left Ping'an County, Wang Gensheng also left Taiyuan with more than 100 tons of ammunition.

However, Wang Gensheng did not return to his post in Majia Village, but instead took the more than 100 tons of weapons and ammunition directly to Shibu.

He didn't seek rewards, only to avoid mistakes, after all, Wang Gensheng had previously refused Shi Bu's orders twice.

If Wang Gensheng were to be punished according to Li Yunlong's standards, he would have to become the director of the clothing factory.

(End of this chapter)