Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

Terauchi Hisaichi was born into a noble family in the Choshu Domain. His father, Terauchi Masatake, was not only a Field Marshal but also a former Prime Minister, Governor-General of Korea, and a hereditary Earl. It is no exaggeration to say that he had seen all sorts of big events. Yet, he was brought to his knees by a telegram. It can only be said that the contents brought back by Chief of Staff Major General Okabe Naosaburo were too explosive.

Major General Naosaburo Okamoto remained silent, needing to give Admiral Terauchi enough time to process the situation.

After a long while, the lord's facial expression returned to normal, and he coldly asked:

"What exactly happened? A total of 36 fighter jets, they can do whatever they want in the skies over North China."

Don't tell me the US is involved in the war. There aren't any US airfields within 3,000 kilometers of North China. Do you think they could fly over from thousands of miles away?

Major General Okamoto also found it too bizarre. Aircraft have limited range. Japan controlled the air and sea over China. Third-country aircraft carriers couldn't even get close to China's coastal waters, let alone fly to North China to participate in the war.

Major General Okamoto straightened his back and said:

"Commander, this is a farewell telegram sent back by Colonel Shintaro Hirano, the commander of the team, before his death. He can't mistake the strange twin-fuselage design of the dozens of Lightning fighters."

The attack occurred over Zaozhuang, and Imperial warriors witnessed the engagement, confirming Hirano's statement that it was indeed a twin-fuselage fighter.

The temple staff took a deep breath:

"Oh my, it seems that China has secrets we don't know. It's impossible for a third country to directly participate in the war. There's only one possibility: the Chinese have obtained a batch of Lightning fighter jets in a third country. It's possible that someone is causing trouble for the Empire."

We must utilize all our intelligence networks to locate the airfield. Even with external fuel tanks, the combat radius of the P-38 Lightning fighter jet wouldn't exceed 2000 kilometers. We must search within that range and find them!

After a moment of silence, Naosaburo Okabe said:

"Commander, the Imperial Army's bombing target this time is Yixian. If we do it again, we should be able to lure them out."

"Yosh, this plan is brilliant. The strength of the Chinese is currently unknown, and the Imperial Army has limited fighter jets that cannot withstand too much attrition. Let's use a dozen or so bombers as bait!"

"Deploy another 100 bombers to lay in wait. We must lure out the prey and eliminate it. You will personally oversee this operation; the Chinese must not detect this."

General Terauchi quickly devised a solution that would solve the problem once and for all, and Okabe Naosaburo praised it highly:

"Commander, you're truly brilliant. China is too vast; finding them in a short time is extremely difficult. Using a dozen or so planes as bait to lure them into a trap—the Chinese are doomed this time!"

The senior general of the temple also came up with a plan on the spur of the moment, and he was quite pleased with it, so he said boastfully:

"Okabe-kun, when fighting against the Chinese, you sometimes need to use your brain more and study their Art of War and Thirty-Six Stratagems. You will definitely gain something from it!"

"There's no time to lose, let's get to it. Without destroying the Chinese's secret air force, the situation on the Pengcheng battlefield will be very unpredictable."

Naosaburo Okabe slung his ancestral sword over his shoulder and strode away. Hisashi Terauchi's smile gradually froze, and he let out a cold snort.

"Bald Eagle, I hope you won't be so foolish, or the Empire will make you pay a heavy price!"

In Linyi City, the shadow of war once again loomed over the city. At the headquarters of the Third Army Corps, General Pang Bingxun said in a deep voice:

"According to reliable intelligence, the Itagaki Division has been receiving reinforcements of troops and supplies from the Qingdao direction and its strength has been restored; they have formed the Kunisaki Detachment based on the 9th Infantry Brigade, plus a part of the Sakamoto Detachment, equipped with a large number of heavy artillery, tanks and aircraft, and are attempting to counterattack Linyi City."

With a total force of nearly 20,000, they're clearly up to no good!

General Zhang Jinzhen's face turned grim after hearing this, but he still spoke with righteous indignation:

"Bring it on! We'll meet force with force, and if we brothers could defeat them together last time, we can do it again!"

"Brother Jinzhen, it's not that I'm trying to boost the enemy's morale while diminishing our own, but after the two previous bloody battles, both of our units have suffered nearly half their casualties, and we haven't received any reinforcements. Li Xianzhou's 92nd Army, which was originally scheduled to reinforce us, was blocked by the main force of the Japanese army, and it's estimated that we won't be able to arrive in time."

Without the 107th Division flanking us, the Itagaki Division can launch a full-scale attack on Linyi. Even if we manage to get a dozen artillery pieces and supplies from Commander Zhao, it won't close the huge gap between us.

Commander Pang's words were true. The Japanese forces had greatly increased, and the soldiers of the 40th and 59th Armies were exhausted and their numbers severely reduced. Winning would be difficult, but Zhang Jinzhen was not one to back down easily. He straightened his back and said with a firm gaze:

"Commander Pang, fight to the death! As long as we're alive, we'll hold the position! If the Japanese want Linyi City, they'll pay with their lives!"

"Brother Jinzhen has such courage, I, Pang, cannot be outdone. I will let you join forces with your brothers once again and fight the Itagaki Division for three hundred rounds, so that the Japanese devils and our fellow countrymen can see the blood and guts of us Northwest men."

The two men clasped hands tightly. The previous grudges had long since vanished during their joint battles. Now, their friendship, forged in the crucible of war, was nothing compared to the hatred between their nations and families.

In Yixian County, at the outskirts of the isolated battalion's position, the Japanese attack was once again repelled, leaving behind dozens of corpses; this was the third time.

Three strikes and you're out. After two attempts, Major Kawasaki has lost his patience and is going all out again.

Before the infantry attack, the artillery bombarded the position. The 12 75mm howitzers of the field artillery battalion bombarded the isolated battalion's position fiercely. Shells rained down, almost plowing up the position. The isolated battalion's position remained quiet throughout.

Major Kawasaki even had the illusion that all the defenders had been killed by the bombs, but he knew that this was impossible. No matter how well the artillery was prepared, in the end, it would still be up to the infantry to take over the position.

Thinking of this, he let out a cold shout:

"Warriors, the time has come to establish immortal achievements for the Empire! Charge forward and slaughter all the Chinese!"

The company commander brandished his saber and roared:

"Thrust, thud!"

The Japanese soldiers shouted in unison:

"Itaiya!"

Hundreds of Japanese soldiers charged toward the defending troops' positions, yelling as they charged. Behind them, several Type 92 heavy machine guns on high ground sprayed bullets, which kicked up clouds of dust as they hit the defending troops' positions.

In the field command post of the isolated battalion, Battalion Commander Shangguan observed coldly, his gaze sharp as a knife, and decisively gave the order:

"Twelve rapid-fire rounds—fire!"

The artillery company couldn't wait any longer. After receiving the order from the battalion headquarters via signal flags, the six cannons fired almost simultaneously, hurling volleys of shells into the Japanese infantry positions, exploding large areas with each shot.

Major Kawasaki frowned deeply. He hadn't expected the garrison to have hidden so many cannons—a total of six. It seemed that it wasn't just the Kawasaki Battalion that had been reinforced.

Neither the charging Japanese soldiers nor Major Kawasaki were intimidated; this was a necessary price to pay in an offensive.

After twelve rounds of shells were finally fired, the Kawasaki Battalion endured the longest and most painful minute, suffering over a hundred casualties and disrupting its disciplined formation.

Major Kawasaki's heart was bleeding. They hadn't even reached the edge of the defenders' positions yet, and their casualties were already close to 20%. Who could afford to fight such a war of attrition?

"Tap tap tap..."

"Tap tap tap!"

Dozens of tongues of fire, of varying lengths, suddenly erupted from the defending troops' positions. A hail of bullets swept across the ground, causing men and horses to fall, screams echoing everywhere. Witnessing his warriors fall like leaves in the wind, Major Kawasaki finally couldn't help but roar in anger:

"Damn it! These Chinese have no martial ethics—open fire and kill them all!"