Anti-Japanese War: Li Yunlong dared to attack Taiyuan

After hearing what Tojo Hideki said, all the naval officers looked at him as if he were an idiot: "What were you doing when General Ohkaku was killed?"

"Isn't it because of your army's failure that the Empire has been humiliated?"

"How dare you hold a meeting here? If I were you, I would commit seppuku right now and use my death to wash away my sins. Then our navy wouldn't have caused so much trouble for the empire."

"That's right. Last time we proposed that our navy take over the First Army, but you didn't agree. As a result, the people you sent from the army were directly captured by the Eighth Route Army. I think it was Li Yunlong's troops, right?"

Seeing that a Vice Admiral dared to mock him, Tojo Hideki immediately flew into a rage and shouted, "Baka, the First Army is the Army's business. You Navy don't need to dictate to us. Mind your own business, you bastards!"

After hearing this, Kikawa Koshiro said with some disdain: "The Fox of China, the Thorn of the Empire, the Empire-Destroying Dragon, the General Killer, what nickname are you going to give Li Yunlong this time in the Army? The Empire Destroyer?"

The navy didn't care how ugly the army's faces were, and they continued to fight back. Such opportunities were rare, and the harsher they scolded, the more embarrassed the army would be, and the greater benefits they would gain for the navy when they fought for funds later.

It would be best if these army personnel left the meeting angrily now, so that the navy would have the final say in the meeting later.

More than ten minutes later, just when the army officials were about to lose their patience, the devil Tianhuang entered the meeting room accompanied by Konoe Fumo.

After taking a look at the jubilant navy and the dejected army, Tian Huang knew what had just happened here. He waved his hand, signaling Jinwei Wenmo to handle the matter, and he just needed to listen from the side.

"General Matsui's matter is not just about the army, it also concerns the reputation of the empire. I hope you can cooperate sincerely."

As soon as this was said, the Navy Minister immediately said, "Our Navy has no objection. As long as the Army is willing to open up their occupied areas to our Navy to station personnel and collect taxes, our Navy will definitely cooperate with the Army!"

"Baga, absolutely impossible. We don't need you navy idiots interfering in our army's affairs!"

"Hoo? Take a good look at yourselves in the mirror. In less than a year, no, more than half a year, your army has been slaughtered by those Chinese. How many Imperial generals have been killed? If this continues, you'll probably have to send your lieutenants to attend the Imperial Council meetings in the future!"

"idiot!"

Tojo Hideki could no longer bear it and was about to take action, but Konoe Fumo slapped the table.

"Baga, shut up, let me tell you about the plan!"

"Immediately send a telegram to the Fourth Division. No matter what method they use, block the road from Mount Wutai to Mount Taihang. No problem, right?"

When Konoe Fumo said this, he looked at some important officials from Osaka who were present. These people were the backers of the Osaka Division. After hearing this, they glanced at Tianhuang and finally nodded and said, "Ha Yi, we will definitely supervise them."

"In addition, the Kwantung Army will deploy three divisions to assist in entering the Wutai Mountain area and annihilating the Wutai Mountain base!"

"at the same time……"

Konoe Fumizuru spoke about the remedial plan in an orderly manner. The arrest of Matsui Ishizora had become an established fact and could not be changed. So what remained was to minimize the negative impact of this incident as much as possible.

The best way to eliminate the negative impact is to destroy the Eighth Route Army team that captured Matsui Ishigen.

"Sir, if you do this, the defenses of Taiyuan and other places will be left empty. If the Eighth Route Army..."

At this time, Tojo Hideki stood up and expressed his concerns.

But just as he finished speaking, Kikawa Koshiro immediately spoke up, "Don't worry, Tojo-kun. Leave this small matter to our navy. Our navy's 1st Mixed Brigade of the Marine Special Warfare Group has arrived in the Jingxing area and can take over your defense of Taiyuan. We all serve the Empire, and our navy is very generous. We will help you with this little favor."

"Don't worry, our Marines are going to Taiyuan for one purpose only, and that is to bring back His Royal Highness Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko. Once you complete your mission, we will withdraw. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Tojo Hideki was immediately so angry that his face turned red. If the Marines were allowed to help the Army defend the city, the Army would never be able to raise its head in front of the Navy.

Even Tojo Hideki could imagine the scene of future meetings.

"Baga, can your navy afford so much? Our army needs funds too!"

"We can use the excess funds from our navy to train marines to defend your city!"

"Baga, you navy..."

"We Marines can help your Army..."

"idiot……"

"We, the Marines..."

Tojo Hideki would never agree to such a thing happening, otherwise he would be regarded as a disgrace by all the army generals and soldiers, and might even be shot in the back.

Chapter 300: The Japanese Deal with the Situation in Shanxi Province

Finally, the devil Tian Huang spoke and set the tone.

The 20th Division stationed in Taiyuan withdrew troops north to encircle the base in Wutai Mountain.

Destroy the troops that captured Matsui Ishige, and at the same time find Matsui Ishige, even if it is just his corpse.

The Japanese Marines entered Taiyuan and cooperated with the Japanese Army to defend Taiyuan.

Although the Japanese army officials strongly opposed it, the Japanese generals had already made the decision and had to accept this result.

In fact, the Japanese general Tian Huang was also very clear about the problems between the navy and the army.

The reason for making this decision is that the performance of the First Army in the past year was really unbearable for the Japanese. In less than a year, or even within half a year, two commanders were captured and one commander was seriously injured.

This is the greatest humiliation the Japanese have encountered since the Reform Movement.

If it weren't for the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the Japanese would have wanted to order the abolition of the First Army.

However, the current situation is not the time to abolish the First Army. We will discuss whether to abolish the First Army after resolving the issue of Matsui Ishige.

But now the Japanese are facing a very realistic problem: who should take over the position of commander-in-chief of the First Army.

Now, in the eyes of the Japanese generals, the commander of the First Army has become a high-risk job (Note 1)

Kazuo Shinozuka was captured and killed, Prince Asaka Naruhiko was seriously injured, and Matsui Ishizuru was captured before he took office.

These are the commanders of the First Army. In addition, more than a dozen generals died in Jin Province. It is a veritable cemetery for generals.

"Your Majesty, I think our navy can send Yamamoto Nanchengba to serve as the commander of the First Army."

Koshiro Kikawa once again stood up.

Before Tojo Hideki could stand up to object, the Japanese general Tianhuang had already rejected the proposal. He agreed to the Marines entering Taiyuan to assist the First Army in defending Taiyuan.

This is to warn the Japanese army. I am very dissatisfied with you now. If you can't perform well, I will strongly support the navy.

But the devil Tian Huang would never let a navy general serve as the commander of the army, as doing so would cause the navy's power to expand rapidly. He just wanted to put a pressure on the army, not to break the balance between the navy and the army.

"We need someone who is very familiar with the situation in Jin Province to serve as the commander of the First Army. Tojo-kun, do you have any suggestions?"

This was the first time that Guizi Tianhuang had asked Tojo Guizi since the beginning of this Imperial Conference.

Tojo Hideki stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I suggest that Tada Shun be appointed commander of the First Army."

"Tada Jun?"

"Ha Yi, General Tada is the commander of the North China Expeditionary Force. He is very familiar with the situation in Shanxi Province. His term is about to expire. General Gangcun will become the commander of the North China Expeditionary Force. General Tada originally planned to be transferred back to the mainland."

"However, I believe that since the situation in Shanxi Province deteriorated during General Tada's term, we should give General Tada a chance to prove himself and let him handle the situation in Shanxi Province well."

"At the same time, I suggest that at least two more divisions be mobilized to enter Shanxi Province."

After hearing this, Guizi Tianhuang frowned and said, "Mobilizing two divisions, where will they be drawn from?"

The Japanese have not yet reached the point of desperation, and have not yet carried out a large-scale military expansion. There are more than 40,000 people in two divisions, and it will take a lot of effort for the Japanese to withdraw them.

"Kwantung Army!"

As soon as this was said, the Army Vice Minister stood up and objected, "No, it's already very risky for the Kwantung Army to withdraw three divisions to the Wutai Mountain area. If we withdraw two more divisions to Shanxi Province, then our enemies to the north will definitely take advantage of the opportunity to invade."

The reason why the Japanese Kwantung Army obeyed orders but not announcements was to guard against the Russian bear in the north. The Russian bear had about 700,000 troops in the Far East, which was a major threat to the Japanese.

As long as this reason is brought out, even if the headquarters wants to mobilize the Kwantung Army, it will give up and finally allow the Kwantung Army to become too powerful.

The Deputy Minister of the Army was actually the spokesperson for the Kwantung Army in the Japanese headquarters. Whenever the headquarters wanted to take action against the Kwantung Army, he would oppose it.

"Then expand it by two more divisions!"

Tojo Hideki spoke again, but was opposed by Kikawa Koshiro.

"No, this year's military budget is already insufficient, and we can't allocate any more funds to your army. If your army is short of manpower, our navy can still send the Marines!"

"Baga, His Majesty has already said..."

"Aside from recruiting two divisions, is there any other solution?"

Tojo Hideki thought for a moment and said, "The only troops that can be mobilized at the moment are the 116th Division."

Tojo Hideki thought for a long time and finally thought of the 116th Division, which was currently responsible for security missions in the Wuhan area.

"Then transfer the 116th Division to the First Army's combat sequence and transfer it to Jin Province!"

"Hayi!"

"Alright, it's settled. The situation in Jin Province must be stabilized. Jin Province has already been slowing down the pace of the imperial army. We must finish dealing with the affairs of Jin Province this year!"

"Hayi!"

Shanxi Province originally had two Type A divisions, one Type B division, and two mixed brigades of the Japanese army stationed there, totaling nearly 100,000 troops.

Apart from the Kwantung Army, this is the place with the largest number of troops stationed in the rear. The Japanese have always hoped to resolve the problem in Shanxi Province and then withdraw the three main divisions to the front line.

This is also the reason why the Japanese fought the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, but the Japanese did not expect that the situation in Shanxi Province would deteriorate to this extent.

Now one of the two Type A divisions has been destroyed, the 4th Division has been replaced, and the 116th Division has been transferred to Shanxi Province.

The Japanese in Shanxi Province consumed too many troops.

The Japanese army's subtext is that if the issues in Shanxi Province cannot be dealt with this year, then the army will have to make a choice, either mobilize a large number of troops to completely resolve the issues in Shanxi Province.

Or give up Shanxi Province.

That night, the frequency of the Japanese telegrams was unusually high, whether it was the headquarters, the Kwantung Army, the North China Expeditionary Army Headquarters, or the First Army.

The radio stations in these places are almost always working and telegraph exchanges are very frequent.

The abnormal frequency of the Japanese telegrams also made the National Army discover the abnormality, but because the Japanese had just changed the code book, the National Army intelligence department was unable to decipher the Japanese intelligence and could only watch helplessly.

As for the news that the Japanese general Matsui Ishige had been captured, Li Yunlong decided to announce it immediately so as not to give the Japanese time to make excuses.

So when the next day dawned.

A large number of leaflets appeared in any area in the country where our military intelligence personnel were active. At the same time, the news controlled by our army also spread the news of Matsui Ishige's capture throughout the country.

Whether in the occupied areas or the non-occupied areas, the people in the country received a piece of news after waking up.

Matsui Ishigeng, the former commander of the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Force, one of the culprits in Nanjing, and a Japanese army general, was captured alive by the Eighth Route Army's Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Independent Column near Datong.

Note 1: High-Risk Occupations is a masterpiece I wrote in 17.

Chapter 301 Shancheng is the last to know