You are ordered to support the War of Resistance against Japan; China enters Level 1 combat readines

"Yoshi!"

Okamura finally smiled.

He walked around the room twice, his pace much faster than usual.

A moment later, he turned around and called out towards the door, "Someone come here!"

An advisor pushed open the door and came in.

"Send a telegram to headquarters, saying that the North China Front Army is preparing to launch a new offensive to recapture Jinan and sweep through southeastern Shanxi."

"Send another telegram to the First Army: the 33rd and 41st Divisions shall complete their assembly within three days and advance toward Quancheng."

"Order the 21st Division directly under the army to advance north along the Zhongtiao Mountains, and the 35th Division to advance west along the Zhengtai Railway!"

"Four divisions, encircling from three directions, their target is Jinan!"

This time, Okamura has really gone all out!

He paused, then added, "Tell the division and regimental commanders that this battle is not about fighting the Eighth Route Army, but about picking up the spoils of war."

"Whoever gets there first gets to take the Eighth Route Army's tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery."

The staff officer paused for a moment, then stood at attention: "Yes, sir!"

When the news spread, the entire North China Front Army was mobilized.

The 33rd Division was the first to receive the order.

The telegram arrived before dawn, and the code reader flipped through the codebook with a flashlight.

Division Commander Nobuo Tanaka got out of bed, put on his military overcoat, stood in front of the map, read the telegram three times, and then smiled.

When he laughs, the flesh on his face squeezes to the sides, making his eyes appear as slits, but those slits gleam with a sharp light.

He grabbed the military cap from the table and strode out the door.

"gather!"

The duty officer blew his whistle.

A sharp sound pierced the night sky, and lights simultaneously illuminated several military camps inside and outside the town.

The soldiers were dragged out of their sleep. Some were cursing, some were groping for their clothes in the dark, and some kicked over a washbasin with a loud crash.

But soon the cursing stopped, leaving only the sound of hurried footsteps and whispered commands.

Torches were lit on the parade ground, illuminating rows of soldiers who had just been dragged out of bed.

Some of them hadn't buttoned their clothes up yet, some were putting on their shoes barefoot, and some were rubbing their eyes with blank expressions.

The regimental commander stood at the front of the column, holding a telegram in his hand. The torchlight illuminated half of his face, while the other half remained hidden in shadow.

He was silent for a few seconds before speaking.

"Military orders—Assemble immediately and attack Quancheng!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried far on the night wind.

The playground fell silent instantly.

It was so quiet it didn't feel like thousands of people were standing there; even the crackling of the torches sounded jarring.

The Japanese soldiers froze on the spot; some had their mouths agape, some gripped their gun straps tightly, and some instinctively took a half-step back.

Jinan, the City of Springs!

These two words were like a bucket of cold water poured into a hot oil pan, causing a buzzing sound across the playground.

The 33rd Division suffered a setback in southeastern Shanxi, not a major one, but it was still humiliating.

The Battle for He County!

They assembled an army of 100,000, but before they could even see a trace of He County, they were driven back in disgrace.

If the 33rd Division hadn't run away quickly, they probably would have been wiped out.

Of course, even so, the entire artillery regiment of the division remained in He County.

When the Japanese heard that they were going to attack Quancheng, they shuddered again.

If they couldn't even take He County, can they manage Quancheng?

An old soldier, squatting at the back of the line, heard the words "Spring City" and dropped his water bottle on the ground with a loud crash that pierced the quiet parade ground.

He hurriedly picked it up, his hands still trembling. The young man next to him glanced at him, said nothing, but his own Adam's apple bobbed.

"Spring City..."

Someone muttered something under their breath, as if afraid of being overheard.

"The 37th Division is gone..."

These words were like a pebble thrown into water, causing ripples to spread outwards in concentric circles.

Several veterans began whispering amongst themselves, their voices muffled and indistinct, but their faces all looked grim.

The 37th Division, consisting of four infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, and one cavalry battalion, was at full strength and strength, and it was gone just like that.

Lieutenant General Anda Twenty-Three committed seppuku, and the regimental commanders followed suit. The rest either died or were captured, and even the division's flag was taken by the Eighth Route Army.

What does that mean?

That was a humiliation that the Imperial Army had never experienced since its founding in the Meiji era.

The Japanese regimental commander stood at the front, looking at the tense faces, clenched fists, and backward-stepping feet in the ranks, and suddenly raised his voice.

"What are you afraid of?"

No one answered in the queue. The torch crackled again.

"The military has deployed its biological warfare unit!"

The regimental commander's voice echoed in the night wind: "Plague and cholera have been spread throughout southeastern Shanxi! Outbreaks have occurred simultaneously in more than a dozen places, including Zhicheng, Quancheng, and Hexian! On the Eighth Route Army's side, people are already running fevers, vomiting blood, and waiting to die."

"What?!"

A commotion broke out in the queue.

Some people looked up, some leaned forward, and some loosened their clenched fists.

The corps commander continued, "Their tanks are gone, no one drives them; their artillery shells are gone. Those lumps of iron that caused us so much suffering are now just a pile of scrap metal!"

"We're not going there to fight, we're going to scavenge! Whoever gets to Jinan first gets all those tanks."

He paused, then held up the telegram, the firelight illuminating the densely packed words on the paper: "Headquarters has said that units that have captured Eighth Route Army tanks will be given priority for re-equipping."

"Whoever brings those tanks back will have the strongest division in North China."

The playground erupted in chaos.

"real?"

Someone shouted, and their voice changed tone.

"Did all the Eighth Route Army soldiers really get the plague?"

"Plague! That's the plague! If you get it, you're doomed!"

"And their tanks..."

"A tank is just scrap metal if no one drives it, isn't it?"

The sounds grew louder and more chaotic.

The veterans stood up from the ground, the new recruits pushed forward, and even the veteran who had dropped his water bottle joined in, his eyes shining brightly.

The thousands of people who were frozen in place just moments ago are now churning and bubbling like boiling water.

Damn it, since we've got the plague, what's there to be afraid of?

How much mistreatment did the Imperial Army suffer at the hands of the Eighth Route Army in the past period of time?

That feeling was stuck in my chest, lingering for so many days, I couldn't exhale it, I couldn't swallow it down.

Every time I hear the roar of the Eighth Route Army tanks, my legs go weak.

Every time I think about those impenetrable iron lumps, I can't sleep soundly at night.

it's good now.

The Eighth Route Army is going to die!

A sergeant jumped onto an ammunition box, pumping his fist and shouting, "We'll avenge the 37th Division!"

"Black card in the sky! Cut it off!"

"Cut the board!"

"Cut the board!"

People in the queue started shouting, one, two, ten, until they formed a continuous line.

The sound echoed in the night wind, bounced off the distant mountain wall, and then returned with a buzzing sound.

……

The situation was even more lively at the 21st Division stationed in the Zhongtiao Mountains.

This division is a unit directly under the army, with the best equipment and the most arrogant people.

Most importantly, unlike the 33rd, 36th, and 37th Divisions of the First Army, they had not suffered losses at the hands of the Eighth Route Army.