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

From the time the incident occurred at 11:00 AM until now.

Eight hours have passed.

As a result, they couldn't even find a trace of the murderer.

Yoshijiro Umezu took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"Damn it."

He muttered a curse under his breath, not very loudly.

But everyone in the office could hear it clearly.

The adjutant lowered his head, not daring to respond.

Yoshijiro Umezu stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the night was as dark as ink, and nothing could be seen.

But his gaze remained fixed on the north.

He knew that the murderer was likely no longer in Taiyuan.

Eight hours is enough time for a person to walk a long distance.

If the killer was familiar with the terrain, if he had planned his escape route in advance.

Eight hours is enough time for him to leave Taiyuan.

Yoshijiro Umezu turned around and walked back to the table to sit down.

"Has the telegram to headquarters been sent?"

"It's been sent."

The adjutant nodded, his voice slightly hoarse.

"I sent it at 3 PM, and I haven't received a reply yet."

Yoshijiro Umezu remained silent.

There has been no response from headquarters yet.

This shows that the headquarters' attitude toward this matter is more complicated than he had anticipated.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

My fingers tapped lightly on the table, once, twice, three times.

The rhythmic tapping echoed in the quiet office.

The adjutant stood at the door, neither daring to move nor speak.

After a long while, Yoshijiro Umezu finally opened his eyes.

"Go."

He waved his hand.

"Hi!"

The adjutant stood at attention, saluted, turned, and strode out.

Only Yoshijiro Umezu remained in the office.

He picked up the two spent cartridge cases from the table, held them tightly in his hand, and squeezed them firmly.

Yoshijiro Umezu placed the spent cartridge on the table, stood up, and walked to the window.

He looked out the window and remained silent for a long time.

An hour later.

There was a knock on the commander's office door.

"Knock knock knock".

The knocking sounded particularly clear in the quiet night.

Yoshijiro Umezu turned around from the window.

He walked back to his desk, sat down, and straightened his military uniform.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open, and a Japanese communications officer walked in.

He held a telegram in his hand, his face bearing an indescribable expression.

There was nervousness, trepidation, and a touch of caution.

He walked to the desk, stood at attention, and saluted.

"Commander, a reply has arrived from headquarters."

Yoshijiro Umezu's pupils contracted slightly.

But his facial expression remained unchanged.

"Give it to me."

The communications officer handed over the telegram with both hands, then stepped back two paces, bowing his head and not daring to look at him.

Yoshijiro Umezu took the telegram and his gaze fell on the thin sheet of paper.

The telegram was short, containing only a few lines.

[The Imperial Headquarters is aware of the assassination attempt on Lieutenant General Kiyoshi Katsuki.]

Yoshijiro Umezu's eye twitched slightly.

It is known.

Those three words are said so lightly.

An Imperial Army lieutenant general, who had just stepped down from his post under your command and hadn't even left his garrison, was shot in the head.

You think you already know with just one sentence?

First, the First Army bears undeniable responsibility for this incident.

[Security lapses led to the assassination of a high-ranking Imperial general; this is a disgrace to the First Army.]

Yoshijiro Umezu clenched his teeth.

The First Army bears an unshirkable responsibility.

That's right, the responsibility truly lies with the first line of defense.

But whose responsibility is it specifically?

Was it Yoshijiro Umezu's responsibility?

On his very first day in office, Kiyoshi Katsuki was killed.

How can this be attributed to him?

But he did not refute it, nor did he dare to refute it.

Whatever headquarters says goes.

He could only listen and endure it.

Second, the First Army is ordered to spare no effort in pursuing the murderer, to find him alive or dead.

Yoshijiro Umezu's lips twitched slightly.

At all costs?

He's already sparing no expense.

More than 8,000 people sealed off the entire Taiyuan area, checked thousands of passersby, and searched an area of ​​dozens of miles around.

What else can he do?

Should we deploy all the forces of the First Army?

The fighting has stopped at the front lines?

Are we just going to abandon the occupied county town?

Third, this incident is classified as top secret and is strictly prohibited from being leaked.

[This must not negatively impact the morale of frontline troops, nor bolster the Chinese army's resolve to resist.]

Yoshijiro Umezu put down the telegram and leaned back in his chair.

His face was expressionless, but there was something indescribable in his eyes.

There was anger, resentment, and a hint of relief.

The communications staff officer stood in front of his desk, head bowed, barely daring to breathe.

After a long while, Yoshijiro Umezu finally spoke.

"That's all?"

His voice was calm, but he spoke a few minutes slower than usual.

"Hi!"

The communications officer nodded, his voice slightly hoarse.

"That's all the replies from headquarters."

Yoshijiro Umezu didn't say anything, he just waved his hand.

The communications officer breathed a sigh of relief, stood at attention, saluted, and strode out.

The door closed gently behind me, and the footsteps faded into the distance.

Yoshijiro Umezu was left alone in the office again.

He picked up the telegram again and read it once more.

Then he placed the telegram on the table, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

severe.

But it wasn't as severe as he had expected.

He had expected that headquarters would be furious, berate him for his incompetence, and even consider dismissing him.

After all, an Imperial Army lieutenant general was murdered on the day of the handover ceremony.

This would be a huge scandal in any country.

But the reaction at headquarters was much milder than he had expected.

He only said a few words, neither too harsh nor too mild, ordering him to hunt down the murderer and demanding that he keep the news under wraps.

Then there is no more.

Yoshijiro Umezu opened his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The people at headquarters aren't stupid either.

They knew they couldn't let this escalate.

If this gets out of hand, it won't benefit anyone.

It's not good for the First Army, not good for the General Staff, and even less good for the reputation of the Imperial Army.

Therefore, they chose to handle the matter discreetly.

Keep the news under wraps and prevent the outside world from knowing.

As for hunting down the murderer?

Yoshijiro Umezu's lips twitched.

The people at headquarters made it sound good, saying they would hunt down the killer at all costs.

But do they know how difficult this is?

A highly trained assassin, at a distance of over 600 meters, hits the target with a single shot.

Then they calmly retreated, disappearing without a trace.

Nine hours have passed, and there's still no sign of the killer.

Are these kinds of people so easy to catch?

All that he is doing now.

They sealed off the Taiyuan area, dispatched more than 8,000 people to search, and set up hundreds of checkpoints.

To be honest, it's all for show, for the headquarters.

It was made for the soldiers of the First Army.

He wanted them to see that he was working hard to catch the murderer.

He is sparing no effort; he is going all out.

As for whether they can be caught?

Who knows!

A bitter smile appeared on Yoshijiro Umezu's lips.

He knew perfectly well that the chances of catching him were extremely slim.

A killer capable of killing someone with a single shot from over 600 meters away.

An assassin who can escape Taiyuan within eight hours.

An assassin who managed to escape unscathed from the Imperial Army's heavy blockade.

This kind of person cannot be found by sending out thousands of people to search.