Courtyard House: Home Alone

"Go and relay the order." The deputy chief of staff released his hand, straightened his uniform collar, and his voice regained its mechanical calm. "All units, consolidate your defensive lines. Tell the 47th and 110th Divisions to abandon the outer strongholds and concentrate their main forces on Stone City."

Send the newly arrived 3rd Division to Baoding to prevent the "Ghost" from attacking Shicheng. The cavalry brigade stationed in Mongolia...have them withdraw to Zhangjiakou to guard the gateway to Chahar.

"The resistance forces in Beiping..."

"Let them go."

The deputy chief of staff waved his hand, as if shooing away a fly, "Protecting Tianjin and Shijiazhuang is a hundred times more important than starving Beiping to death. As long as we still have the railway lines, North China will still be ours."

"If these tens of thousands of people were to be thrown into the hole in Beiping..." He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood the unspoken meaning.

The communications officers busied themselves, the telegraph machines clicking incessantly. The deputy chief of staff sat back down in his chair, took out a pack of Sakura brand cigarettes from his drawer, pulled one out but hesitated to light it.

At this moment, Lin Yifan had just met up with Shi Tou. Looking at Shi Tou, whose face was covered in gunpowder, he asked, "Brother Shi Tou, how did the operation go? What are the casualties?"

Stone wiped his face with his sleeve, leaving two streaks of black ash on his cheekbones, revealing the wheat-colored skin underneath.

He grinned, his missing front tooth escaping through his gums: "Smooth sailing! Too smooth! You didn't see it, young master, the moment the 40th gun fired, the Japanese pillbox collapsed halfway down like paper!"

He pulled open his cotton-padded overcoat, revealing a captured Japanese woolen lining underneath, and two Nambu pistols were still clipped to his belt: "Casualties? Only three brothers twisted their ankles, and one fell into a ditch and broke his head while running too fast. The Japanese didn't even catch a glimpse of us; they were too busy retreating into their bunkers."

Sun Dazhu squeezed through the crowd from behind, still clutching the officer's sword in his hand, the gold thread on the tassel fluttering wildly in the morning breeze: "Brother Shitou, this is for you! From that old devil Sato!"

Stone took the knife, flicked the hilt with his thumb, and a cold glint flashed. He squinted, examining the inscription on the blade, then suddenly spat on the scabbard and wiped it roughly with his sleeve: "Major General? This is it? It didn't even touch a hair on my head. It dares to call itself Major General?"

A burst of laughter erupted around them. Lin Yifan laughed too: "Alright, let the brothers go back to the city. Brother Stone, see which restaurant is better, let the brothers have a good drink."

Don't forget to bring food and meat. After you've eaten, find a place for the brothers to relax, and we'll continue tonight.

Stone slung the knife over his shoulder, the tassel tickling the back of his neck: "Alright! Just you wait and see, even though most restaurants are out of stock, Donglaishun's hot pot and Bianyifang's roast duck are still available. We'll buy them all today!"

He turned and waved behind him, "Brothers, get in the car! Let's go! Let's go for a drink!"

A group of people scrambled onto the truck and drove towards the city.

At this moment, in the island nation's royal palace, the fool was urgently summoning his ministers for a royal meeting to discuss the situation in North China and the selection of the commander of the dispatched army.

He handed the telegram from Tianjin to his attendant: "Let them take a look first, and then discuss the situation in North China and who is suitable to succeed Matsui."

The attendant bowed and accepted the telegram, then quickly walked to the ministers seated on either side of the long table. The telegram was passed from hand to hand, and with each person it passed, their expressions grew more serious.

Army Minister Terauchi Hisaichi was the first to read the telegram. He slammed it on the table, his white beard trembling with rage: "Damn it! That damned 'Ghost' has already killed five commanders of our North China Expeditionary Army. Nearly 130,000 other officers and soldiers have also been lost at the hands of the 'Ghost'! This is a humiliating disgrace to the Empire!"

Foreign Minister Hirota Koki adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his voice somber: "What's more troublesome is the international repercussions. With so many concessions in Tianjin, the news has probably already spread to Shanghai, London, and New York."

He turned to the fool and bowed deeply. "Your Majesty, the situation in Beiping is completely out of control. The 'Ghost' has the ability to wipe out three of our divisions in one go. This should have attracted the attention of the military long ago."

That place is a huge pit. How many Imperial Army soldiers' lives would it take to fill that pit? Five divisions? Or ten divisions?

Most importantly, according to the telegram, "Ghost" has captured a considerable amount of biological and chemical weapons from us and has already used these munitions on our Imperial Army.

The special cigarettes they seized were enough to wipe out at least twenty of our divisions. Therefore, we must be extremely cautious in using special cigarettes in China.

I believe we must change our strategy toward North China and the "specter," otherwise it will seriously affect our Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere plan.

Navy Minister Mitsumasa Yonai cleared his throat, his fingers tapping slowly on the table: "Hirota-kun is right, but abandon North China? Have you all considered how many resources we've invested in North China? The coal of Manchuria, the cotton of Hebei, the iron ore of Shandong—are we just going to hand them all over?"

"It's not giving up, it's contraction."

Terauchi Hisaichi corrected him, his gray eyebrows furrowing, "Concentrate our forces along the Tianjin, Qingdao, and Shijiazhuang line, relying on ports and railways to form a solid defense system. Once the situation in Europe becomes clearer, we will then mobilize a large force from the sea—"

"Europe?"

Mitsumasa Yonai sneered, "Hitler has already annexed Austria, while British Prime Minister Chamberlain is still fantasizing about peace."

When war breaks out in Europe, our opportunities lie in Southeast Asia, in the oil of the Dutch East Indies, and in the rubber of British Malaya! Is it worth turning North China into a bottomless pit for a 'specter'?

Quiet murmurs arose on both sides of the long table. The fool sat upright on his throne, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally settling on the silent Chief of Staff, Prince Kan'in Kotohito: "Uncle, what is your opinion?"

Prince Zai Ren slowly opened his eyes, his aged face resembling a dried-up wooden sculpture. He extended a withered finger and drew a circle on the table: "Your Majesty, this old minister has only one question—is this 'ghost' a human or a ghost?"

"Of course..." Terauchi Hisaichi was about to speak when Prince Kazuhito raised his hand to stop him.

"If he is human, then he has human weaknesses. He gets tired, hungry, negligent, and has things he cares about."

Prince Zai Ren's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping, "But if he is a ghost..." He paused, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes, "then we cannot deal with him using human methods."

The fool leaned forward slightly: "What does Imperial Uncle mean?"

"This old minister suggests," Prince Zai Ren glanced at the ministers on both sides of the conference table, "that we proceed in two steps. First, send someone to Beiping to talk to the 'Ghosts' or their agents."

Judging from the current situation, the "ghost" only cares about Beiping (Beijing), so we should use Beiping as a point of contact with them, because Beiping's symbolic significance outweighs its practical significance. Therefore, we don't need to fight the "ghost" to the death in Beiping.

The second step is to activate the "Chrysanthemum Agency." Our agents in Beiping have been operating for twelve years, and among them are bankers, police officers, actors, and more. We must find the "ghost." Only by finding him can we devise a way to deal with them.