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

the other side.

Nine o'clock in the evening.

Headquarters of the Japanese East China Expeditionary Army in Shanghai.

The light in Hata Shunroku's office was still on.

He sat behind his desk, with a field investigation report in front of him that he had read countless times.

He has been holding this position for a long time.

Nearly six hours have passed since the incident occurred this afternoon.

During those six hours, he handled countless matters, issued countless orders, and met with countless people who came from various departments to report.

But no matter how calm he appeared on the surface, the fire in his heart never went out.

It's just being suppressed, suppressed very deeply, suppressed very tightly, and could surge up at any moment.

There was a knock on the office door.

The pace was slightly more steady than during the day, but it still carried a sense of careful restraint.

The person who knocked on the door clearly knew the state of the person sitting behind the desk at that moment.

"Come in."

Hata Shunroku did not look up, and his voice revealed no emotion.

The door was pushed open, and Colonel Terada strode in, holding a telegram in his hand.

He walked to the desk and stood at attention.

"Your Excellency Commander."

Hata Shunroku still didn't look up.

"What is it?"

Colonel Terada took a deep breath.

Then he handed over the telegram with both hands, trying to keep his voice steady.

"A encrypted telegram has been sent from headquarters; the decoding has just been completed."

Hata Shunroku paused for a moment.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze falling on the document.

He didn't reach out to take it immediately, but first glanced at Colonel Terada.

Colonel Terada's eyes held a tension born of extreme restraint.

Hata Shunroku reached out and took the telegram, then lowered his head and began to read it.

The office fell silent.

The telegram was short, consisting of three paragraphs.

The first paragraph states that headquarters has received a detailed report of the incident.

Hata Shunroku's gaze lingered on the first paragraph for a moment, then he continued reading.

The wording in the second paragraph becomes noticeably harsher.

The gist is that headquarters expressed serious concern about the incident.

An army lieutenant general and an army major general were sniped at the entrance of the expeditionary force headquarters.

This is a disgrace to the Imperial Army.

General Headquarters demanded that the East China Expeditionary Army take full responsibility for the incident.

They were given a deadline to find out the truth and apprehend the murderer.

Hata Shunroku clenched his teeth slightly.

But the expression on his face didn't change much.

His gaze continued downwards, landing on the third paragraph.

The third paragraph is shorter than the first two.

But it is heavier than the previous two sections combined.

"The General Headquarters expects the East China Expeditionary Army to provide a result as soon as possible."

"If this matter is not handled properly, the General Headquarters will have to reconsider the overall personnel arrangements of the East China Expeditionary Army Headquarters."

Hata Shunroku's pupils contracted slightly.

He stared at that last line of text for a long time.

After a while, Colonel Terada couldn't help but raise his head, then quickly lower it again.

The office was extremely quiet.

It was so quiet that you could hear the footsteps of the sentries changing guard in the distance outside the window.

Then Hata Shunroku slowly placed the telegram on the table.

He didn't speak immediately, but put down the pencil in his hand first.

Then he leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and remained silent for about ten seconds.

Colonel Terada stood there, not daring to breathe.

When Hata Shunroku opened his eyes again...

His gaze had completely changed.

"Reconsider the overall personnel arrangements..."

He repeated the sentence in a low voice, as if he were talking to himself.

Then he suddenly laughed, a short laugh with a chilling irony.

"it is good."

He stood up, placed his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and stared at the telegram.

"They want to replace me."

His voice was still not loud, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

It carried a sense of suppressed anger that still emanated from its edges.

"They want to replace me because a sniper killed two generals at the entrance of the headquarters."

He suddenly sat up straight, turned around and walked to the window.

He had his back to Colonel Terada, with his hands behind his back.

"They're right."

His voice was a few decibels lower than before, as if something was pressing down on it.

"A lieutenant general and a major general were killed in my area of ​​responsibility, right in front of my headquarters."

"The killer hasn't even been caught yet."

"If I were in charge, I would also think it's time to change the leadership."

He turned around, his gaze falling on Colonel Terada, his expression returning to its usual calm.

But the anger simmering beneath that calm was more intense than ever before.

"Terada."

"exist!"

"Go and call Kenzo Sato here."

"Now."

"Hi!"

Colonel Terada stood at attention, saluted, turned, and strode out of the office.

His footsteps faded quickly down the corridor, carrying a rhythm more hurried than usual.

Hata Shunroku did not sit back down in his chair.

He stood there, his hands resting on the edge of the desk, his gaze fixed on the telegram.

His gaze was chillingly cold.

He recalled his more than 30 years of military service.

He rose from a second lieutenant to where he is today.

He fought many battles, commanded many campaigns, and handled countless complex situations.

He thought he had seen enough storms and that nothing could truly shake him anymore.

But at that moment he realized he was wrong.

The things that can truly shake him.

It wasn't that the front lines suffered a defeat, nor that the troops suffered heavy losses.

Rather, it was the signal hidden in those few lines of text at headquarters.

Reconsider personnel arrangements.

To put it more bluntly, this means...

Your position as Hata Shunroku is in jeopardy.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, suppressing his anger.

About ten minutes later.

A series of hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Kenzo Sato pushed open the door and walked in.

He looked completely different from how he did in the afternoon.

His face was pale, and there were more beads of sweat on his forehead than in the afternoon.

I even tripped over the threshold when I entered, and staggered half a step before I could regain my balance.

He walked quickly to the desk and stood at attention.

"Your Excellency Commander."

Hata Shunroku did not speak.

He simply looked at Kenzo Sato, his gaze calmly resting on his face.

That calmness instantly soaked Kenzo Sato's back with cold sweat.

He could even feel the back of his shirt gradually pressing against his skin.

Hata Shunroku slowly picked up the telegram on the table.

He stood up, walked around the desk, and stood in front of Kenzo Sato.

He didn't speak.

He stood there, holding the telegram in his hand, less than two steps away from Kenzo Sato.

Kenzo Sato's breathing became extremely shallow, and his chest barely rose and fell.

Then Hata Shunroku raised his hand.

He threw the telegram directly at Kenzo Sato's face.

Then it landed on the ground, on the floor between the two of them.

Kenzo Sato was frozen in place, too afraid to move an inch.

He didn't look down at the telegram.

They simply stood there in the most standard standing at attention posture, their eyes looking straight ahead.