Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

The speed at which the Japanese blockaded their territory was truly impressive.

After Yoshijiro Umezu issued the order for a blockade.

Within an hour, the entire Taiyuan area was sealed off.

The Japanese military forces in Taiyuan were all mobilized.

The Taiyuan Garrison Command mobilized its entire regiment of over 3,000 soldiers.

More than 2,000 troops directly under the First Army were also mobilized.

The airport military police, numbering over 500, were all dispatched except for the necessary guards.

Including the troops stationed at various strongholds, the total strength exceeded eight thousand men.

A dense, impenetrable net has been woven around Taiyuan.

All the gates of Taiyuan City were closed.

The city gate was filled with Japanese soldiers, holding their guns with the muzzles pointing outwards and their eyes wary.

Everyone leaving the city was searched, and everyone entering the city was questioned.

Anyone who cannot produce a certificate of good conduct will be detained.

Even if someone can produce a certificate of good conduct, their photo and the person themselves should be carefully verified.

If anything seemed suspicious, they would be pulled aside for questioning.

Checkpoints were also set up at various intersections outside the city.

The main roads, the side roads, the mountain paths, and even the narrow, winding trails that no one usually walks on are all guarded by Japanese soldiers.

Each checkpoint has at least one squad of soldiers, equipped with a light machine gun.

The Japanese soldiers on the checkpoint were extremely brutal to passersby.

"Stop right there! Show me your good citizen certificate!"

A farmer in his forties was stopped. He was carrying a load of firewood and wanted to sell it in the city.

He took out his civilian certificate from his pocket and handed it to the Japanese soldier.

The Japanese soldier looked at the photo, then at his face, then at the photo again, and then slammed the certificate of good citizenship in his face.

"Yours is highly suspicious! Take it away!"

Two Japanese soldiers rushed up, grabbed the farmer's arms on either side, and dragged him to the roadside.

The farmer struggled and shouted.

"Sir, I'm a law-abiding citizen! I'm a law-abiding citizen!"

His response was a rifle butt.

The Japanese soldier swung his rifle butt and smashed it into his back. He groaned and knelt on the ground.

"Baka! Behave yourself!"

At another checkpoint, a man who looked like a businessman was stopped.

He was wearing a long silk robe and a top hat, looking quite imposing.

Two assistants followed behind him, carrying loads of goods on shoulder poles.

"Certificate of Good Conduct!"

The merchant quickly took out his good citizen certificate and handed it over with both hands.

The Japanese soldier looked him over, then at his face, and waved his hand, indicating that he could leave.

Just as the merchant was about to leave, the Japanese soldiers called him back.

"Wait, what's in that load?"

"Sir, it's cloth, just some cheap cloth."

The Japanese soldiers walked to the carrying pole and used their bayonets to pry open the wrapping on top.

It was indeed fabric inside, colorful and not worth much.

But he didn't stop; he continued to rummage through the load with his bayonet.

The cloth was slashed in several places by bayonets. The merchant felt sorry for the cloth but dared not say anything.

Let's go!

The Japanese soldier waved his hand.

The merchant quickly told his assistants to pick up their loads and hurried away from the checkpoint.

He walked quite a distance before muttering a curse under his breath.

"Those Japanese devils, they're fucking bastards."

This is true not only in Luca, but also in other usually bustling towns.

Yangqu Town is located north of Taiyuan, about 20 miles from Guangshe Airport.

The town is small, with about a hundred households and a main street lined with various shops on both sides.

The Japanese also set up a checkpoint here, right at the entrance to the town.

All passersby and vendors were checked.

The townspeople were also searched house by house.

The Japanese soldiers kicked open the courtyard gate, rushed into the house, ransacked the place, and made a complete mess of it.

"What are you doing?"

An old man stood in front of his house, preventing the Japanese soldiers from entering.

He was met with a resounding slap.

The Japanese soldier slapped him across the face, and the old man staggered a few steps, almost falling over.

His son rushed out of the house to help his father, but was also knocked to the ground by a rifle butt.

"Baka!"

"Obstructing the Imperial Army in the performance of its duties? You're dead!"

The Japanese soldier raised his gun and pointed it at the young man's head.

The old man rushed over and stood in front of his son, begging for mercy repeatedly.

"Sir, spare me, spare me! He's just a child, he doesn't know any better."

The Japanese soldier snorted, put away his gun, and continued searching the house.

As for the Japanese side's official statement...

There is a spy who stole a top-secret document from the Imperial Army and is now on the run in this area.

That's why the Imperial Army had to block the roads, search pedestrians, and arrest the spy.

Whether the common people believe it or not is not important.

As long as they obey obediently, do not resist, and do not cause trouble, that's fine.

……

Yoshijiro Umezu had already arrived at Kosha Airport.

Kiyoshi Kazuki's body has been carried into the terminal and placed in an office.

Several military doctors covered his body with white sheets and were conducting a simple examination.

There wasn't much to examine. He was shot in the temple, the bullet piercing his brain, and he died instantly with no chance of recovery.

The body of Colonel Harada, the adjutant, was also brought in and placed on another bed.

He had a bloody hole in his chest; the bullet entered from the front and exited from the back, killing him instantly.

Yoshijiro Umezu stood at the office door, looking at the two corpses covered with white sheets, his face expressionless.

But his eyes were complex, filled with anger, worry, and a hint of inexplicable apprehension.

He turned around, strode out of the terminal, stood on the steps, and glanced at the mountains surrounding the airport.

To the north lies a continuous range of hills, densely vegetated and crisscrossed by ravines.

The killer fired the shot from that direction and also fled from that direction.

The sunlight shone on his face, somewhat dazzling.

But his eyes were colder than the sunlight.

One thought kept running through my mind.

A thought that sent chills down his spine.

What if that bullet had been aimed at him instead of Kiyoshi Kazuki?

What if the murderer wasn't after Kiyoshi Kazuki, but after Yoshijiro Umezu?

What if that bullet had entered Yoshijiro Umezu's temple and exited from the other side?

Would he still be standing here now?

will not.

He would lie in that office like Kiyoshi Kazuki, covered with a white sheet.

Everything about him, his ambition, his aspirations, his future.

Everything vanished with that bullet.

Yoshijiro Umezu's Adam's apple bobbed.

He turned around, walked back to the terminal, crossed the corridor, and pushed open the door to that office.

Beneath the white sheet, Kiyoshi Kazuki's body still lay there, motionless.

Yoshijiro Umezu stood by the bed, looking down at the corpse, and remained silent for a long time.

Then he turned around and strode out.

He walked to the restroom at the end of the corridor and washed his face with cold water.

Then I looked up and saw my face in the mirror.

He had a square face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a neatly trimmed mustache above his lips.

There are bloodshot eyes.

That wasn't fatigue, that was fear.

He was Yoshijiro Umezu, a lieutenant general in the Imperial Army and commander of the First Army.

He is afraid.

fear death.

I fear that one day he too will be shot in the head.