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

The feeling was like a very fine thorn stuck in the flesh, impossible to pull out or press down.

He thought no one would ever experience this feeling again.

Now, the thorn has finally been thrust elsewhere.

Hata Shunroku, Commander of the East China Expeditionary Army, Army General.

He was a full head taller than him in the Imperial Army.

This man was known for his strict military discipline and meticulous security, and he never made any mistakes.

But now, right under his nose, two officers have been killed.

Yoshijiro Umezu didn't laugh out loud, but the curve of his lips widened even more.

He recalled Hata Shunroku's face, which always carried a calm and composed demeanor, and how he would point fingers and reprimand his subordinates at various meetings.

That person is probably sitting in his office now, facing two things that are exactly the same as what he used to have.

A telegram from headquarters, a warning from headquarters.

There is also a murderer who can't be caught no matter what.

Yoshijiro Umezu exhaled softly, as if slowly releasing something that had been accumulating in his chest for a long time.

He turned around, walked back to his desk, sat down, and picked up the telegram again to read it once more.

This time, he was more composed.

He thought of something very interesting.

After Kiyoshi Kazuki died, although the people at headquarters did not openly question him, their distrust was written all over their faces.

At the beginning of his tenure, several of his submitted operational plans were rejected, with the number of revisions required being several times greater than before.

He knew that it wasn't a question about his tactical abilities, but a question about his stance.

That thorn was embedded deep in my bones.

But now, Hata Shunroku is also in trouble.

The headquarters can no longer keep an eye on just him.

The same thing happened in Hata Shunroku's defense zone, and it was even more serious than his situation.

This is no longer a matter of oversight in the defense zone; the core area of ​​the entire East China Expeditionary Army's command system has been directly penetrated.

The headquarters' anger towards Hata Shunroku will only be greater than towards him.

Yoshijiro Umezu gently placed the telegram on the table, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

He tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table, a few beats slower than usual.

At that moment, a word flashed through his mind.

"Thank goodness it wasn't me."

The word wasn't flattering, but it was indeed on his mind at that moment.

Thank goodness it's Shanghai, not Taiyuan.

Thankfully it was Hata Shunroku, not Umezu Yoshijiro.

He reopened his eyes, his gaze falling on the telegram, and remained silent for a moment.

That feeling of relief didn't last long.

He suddenly thought of something else.

That murderer was able to kill two generals at the main gate of the East China Expeditionary Army Headquarters in Shanghai and escape unscathed.

This indicates that his abilities are even higher than previously assessed.

If that killer could do it in Shanghai.

He can do the same in Taiyuan.

Yoshijiro Umezu's fingers stopped, and his gaze shifted from the telegram to the closed office door.

He called out to the outside.

"adjutant!"

Footsteps came quickly from the end of the corridor.

A middle-aged military officer in uniform jogged to the door and stood at attention.

"Your Excellency Commander."

Yoshijiro Umezu paused for two or three seconds, as if organizing his thoughts, before speaking.

"Go and arrange something for me first thing tomorrow morning."

"The security forces around the First Army Headquarters will be doubled starting tomorrow."

The adjutant paused for a moment, then quickly replied.

"Hi!"

Yoshijiro Umezu paused, then added.

"In addition, my routes and times for entering and leaving the headquarters will be adjusted starting tomorrow."

The adjutant quickly jotted down notes in his notebook, replying without looking up.

"Hi!"

After saying these points, Yoshijiro Umezu paused for a moment, then added another sentence.

"Keep this quiet and do not notify anyone outside of headquarters."

The adjutant looked up at him, then nodded.

"Understood."

"Go."

The adjutant saluted, turned around, and strode back to his office.

The footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor, disappearing around the corner at the end.

Yoshijiro Umezu walked back behind his desk and sat down.

He picked up the telegram and read it again, this time his gaze lingered on the words for even longer.

He thought of something.

After Kiyoshi Kazuki was assassinated, he pondered a question.

What if the killer's target wasn't Kiyoshi Kazuki, but him?

What if that bullet had hit Yoshijiro Umezu's temple instead of Kiyoshi Kazuki's?

He didn't have an answer then, and he doesn't have one now.

But today, he has a more specific fear.

Will the killer target Taiyuan next?

After the attack on the East China Expeditionary Army headquarters, the perpetrators have most likely left Shanghai.

So where will he go next?

The North China Area Army's jurisdiction is so large, why can't it be Taiyuan?

Why can't it be him, Yoshijiro Umezu?

He realized he would have to appear in public again.

He thought of Hata Shunroku's feelings at this moment, probably just like he had back then, anxious, angry, and at a loss.

Yoshijiro Umezu picked up the pen on the table and wrote a few lines on a blank sheet of paper.

The first line reads: Strengthen security around the headquarters.

The second line allows you to adjust your personal travel route and time.

The third line involves investigating the backgrounds of personnel within the command headquarters.

After writing those lines, he looked at them again and then put the paper back in the drawer.

He looked up and his gaze fell on the tightly closed window.

Outside the window, the night in Taiyuan was quiet and deep.

If that murderer could kill two generals in Shanghai, he could kill him in Taiyuan.

Hata Shunroku's misfortune brought him a sense of relief, not out of schadenfreude, but because he had finally proven something.

That wasn't because he was incompetent; it was because the entire Imperial Army couldn't defend against the same threat.

Yoshijiro Umezu leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Starting tomorrow, the security force around the headquarters will be doubled.

The sentry posts will be redeployed, and patrol routes will be replanned.

His routes and times for entering and leaving the headquarters will also be completely adjusted.

He did everything he could.

The rest depends on whether the murderer will actually come to Taiyuan.

……

the other side.

Zhou Tianyang and his group arrived in Suzhou.

They did not enter the city.

Ma Yong scouted ahead for a while and found an abandoned brick kiln to settle down.

The soldiers laid dry grass inside the cave and set up two hidden sentry posts outside the cave entrance.

They only rested after confirming that it was safe.

Zhou Tianyang did not enter the cave dwelling.

He sat on a half-buried stone slab outside the kiln entrance, gazing at the blurry outline of Suzhou in the distance.

He sat there for a long time.

Ma Yong walked over from the cave dwelling and sat down on the stone next to him.

I chatted with Zhou Tianyang for a while.

Then I went back to sleep.

After a while.

Zhou Tianyang stood up, turned around, and walked into the cave dwelling.

The cave dwelling was covered with dry straw, and the soldiers had already lay down.

Zhou Tianyang walked to the pile of dry hay near the kiln entrance and lay down.