You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

"The Distant Bridge?"

Lin Feng silently grumbled to himself:

It's so close, easy to get it.

A group of Japanese infantrymen lacking anti-tank weapons and heavy artillery support.

Even with the advantage of terrain, it's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot when faced with overwhelming armor.

"Relay my orders."

Lin Feng turned around and took out a pack of cigarettes:

"After taking down the railway bridge, the troops should not linger."

The armored units of the 1st Honor Brigade led the charge, followed by the infantry.

They sped directly along the Jiaoji Railway towards Weifang City.

"Surround Weifang City and kill it before the Japanese can react!"

Zhang Wenzhong quickly took out a lighter and lit Lin Feng's cigarette before standing at attention and saying, "Yes, sir!"

With Lin Feng's command.

The surging torrent of steel swept across the Wei River, carrying clouds of dust, and headed toward Weifang City, an important inland town on the Jiaodong Peninsula.

Meanwhile, the Japanese garrison in Weifang City was in a state of extreme panic.

Another battle to conquer the city is about to begin.

------

Tieshizi Hutong, Beiping.

This place was originally a gathering place for high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

No. 1 Tieshizi Hutong was originally the executive government of Duan Qirui of the Anhui clique, later became the Ministry of War building of the Republic of China, and now, after the fall of Beiping, it became the headquarters of the Japanese North China Area Army.

At this moment, General Terauchi Hisaichi, commander of the army group, sat at the head of the long table, his left eyelid twitching.

Beside him lay a telegram that had just been sent from his home base.

The telegram contained no pleasantries whatsoever; it was filled with extremely harsh rebukes.

The 5th Division was completely annihilated, and the lieutenant general division commander and the major general brigade commander were all captured.

The Jiaodong Peninsula, which had been painstakingly conquered, was completely lost in just half a month.

This series of crushing defeats has made Japan, especially its military, a laughingstock on the international stage.

According to the tradition of the Imperial Army, for such a major blunder, Terauchi Hisaichi should have been immediately dismissed from his post and sent back to the mainland to be court-martialed, even if he did not commit seppuku.

Strangely, despite the criticism from headquarters, he was not dismissed from his post.

The reason is simple: the entire North China region is now a powder keg that could explode at any moment.

Lin Feng's terrifying army, which consists of well-organized armored units and a sky full of aircraft, is entrenched in Jiaodong and could launch an attack to the west or north at any time.

None of the bigwigs at headquarters wanted to take over this mess.

Whoever comes here should take the blame.

So, the General Headquarters simply swallowed its pride and allowed Terauchi Hisaichi to remain in the position of commander to "atone for his crimes."

Gentlemen.

Terauchi Hisaichi stubbed out his cigar, breaking the deathly silence in the conference room:

"You are probably already aware of the reprimand from headquarters."

Now is not the time to assign blame.

Lin Feng's 33rd Army Corps has captured the Weihe Railway Bridge and is now advancing directly towards Weifang.

Let's discuss our next strategy.

As soon as he finished speaking, a young operations staff officer with the rank of colonel suddenly stood up.

"Commander, what is there to hesitate about?"

The colonel's staff officer braced his hands on the table and shouted loudly:

"The blood of the Fifth Division cannot be shed in vain."

I suggest that we immediately halt the military operation to march south to Pengcheng.

Lieutenant General Kenji Doihara's 14th Division, along with all available tank regiments, were deployed south of the Yellow River.

On the Jiaolai Plain, we will fight a fair and square battle with Lin Feng.

"Use the absolute main force of our Imperial Army to utterly crush this arrogant and ignorant Chinese warlord!"

"madness!"

Lieutenant General Naosaburo Okabe, Chief of Staff of the Army Group, interrupted the colonel's wild remarks without any politeness.

Naosaburo Okabe stood up, walked to the huge sand table, and pointed to the location of the Jiaolai Plain with his baton:

"A large-scale battle? What are we going to use to fight it?"

Do you think Lin Feng is still the same Chinese army that crumbles at the first touch?

Intelligence has confirmed that Lin Feng possesses a train-mounted cannon with a caliber exceeding 200 millimeters.

It has a super heavy tank that even the Type 92 infantry gun cannot penetrate.

There are also hundreds of dive bombers that can call for support at any time.

On plains, they lack air superiority and heavy firepower.

Are you sending the 14th Division there so they can repeat the mistakes of the 5th Division?!

The colonel's staff officer was reprimanded until his face turned red, but he still retorted unwillingly:

"Are we just going to stand by and watch Lin Feng occupy Jiaodong and threaten our flank?"

Where is the dignity of the Imperial Army?

Upon hearing this, Terauchi Hisaichi snorted angrily and slammed his hand on the table.

These young punks are absolutely lawless!

"Shut up! Who gave you permission to speak to your superior like that!"

The colonel had no choice but to sit down, fuming.

Therefore, Terauchi Hisaichi could not pursue the matter any further, after all, these young officers had even dared to behead Watanabe Jotaro, the Inspector General of Army Education, during the 226 Incident.

Although Terauchi Hisaichi was a general and a count, if he was really pushed to the limit, someone would kill him with a single blow, and there would be no reason for it.

Naosaburo Okabe then snorted coldly, drawing a long line on the sand table with his baton, stretching from Beiping all the way to Pengcheng in the south:

"Gentlemen, dignity cannot be eaten, much less used as a bullet."

Please do not forget the fundamental purpose of our campaign.

Our initial capture of Jiaodong was merely a prelude to the attack on Pengcheng.

The strategic objectives of the headquarters are very clear.

The Jinpu Railway was opened up, connecting the troops in North China and Central China.

After capturing Pengcheng, a key transportation hub, the army marched straight towards Jiangcheng, the wartime capital of the Chinese.

"Once we capture Jiangcheng, the Chinese government will completely collapse, and this war will end."

Naosaburo Okabe glanced around at the assembled generals, his tone becoming extremely serious:

"The empire's finances are on the verge of collapse."

We don't have the time or the extra resources to fight Lin Feng to the death on the Shandong Peninsula.

Lin Feng's troops were elite, but their numbers were insufficient.

He currently has a total of only a few hundred thousand people.

Jiaodong is just a flank; Pengcheng is the heart.

We only need to send a portion of our troops to defend the provincial capital and key locations, thus halting Lin Feng's expansion.

The main force must once again advance south along the Jinpu Railway and launch a general offensive against Pengcheng!

The meeting room was immediately divided into two factions.

One faction supports the younger, more experienced staff officers, clamoring to first eliminate Lin Feng and avenge their defeat.

The other faction supported the chief of staff, believing that the overall situation should be prioritized and the main attack should be on Pengcheng.

The two sides argued fiercely and couldn't reach an agreement.

Just then, Major General Kita Seiichi, the head of the special agency who had been sitting silently in the corner, suddenly let out a low laugh.

"Hehehe..."

The laughter sounded particularly jarring in the noisy conference room.

Everyone stopped arguing and turned to look at the head of the intelligence network in North China.

"Kita-kun, what are you laughing at?" Terauchi Hisaichi frowned.

Kita Seiichi stood up, straightened his military uniform, and slowly walked to the sand table.

"Your Excellency Commander, Your Excellency Chief of Staff."

Your discussion just now was limited to purely military aspects.

But you've overlooked the most important issue.

Kita Seiichi pointed at the small blue flag representing Lin Feng's forces, his eyes gleaming with what he thought was an all-knowing light:

"You have overlooked the inherent flaws of the Chinese people, and you have also overlooked the true nature of Lin Feng."

"Essence? What essence?" Naosaburo Okabe asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The essence of warlords."