Chapter 30: Human Life is Precious (Part 1)

  Lujiabian, train station.

  Lujiabian is located more than 50 miles east of Kunshan and is a small station.

  At midnight, over 100 members of the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Army's Special Warfare Brigade, led by Major General Watanabe, arrived at Lukouping by special express train. Accompanying them was Major General Sato from the Tokkouka.

  When the train arrived at the station, Takashi Okabe and Taro Nakagawa had been waiting for more than half an hour in the cold winter rain.

  Taka Hashi is the direct responsible person for the assassination of Aso Palace's Commander-in-Chief, and the responsibility of Nakagawa is not small either. Although there is no direct evidence yet to prove that the mastermind behind the assassination of Prince Kō is the remnant of the Baoshan Camp who escaped from the 36th United Army, everyone knows that the suspicion of the Baoshan Camp's remnants is the greatest!

  The train pulled into the station, but Tōru Watanabe and Satō did not get off; instead, they had Takahashi and Nakagawa brought aboard.

  Although both were major generals, Lieutenant General Ishiwara Kanji, the commander of the Kwantung Army, had explicitly appointed Watanabe to be the commanding officer for this hunting operation, and Sato, Takahashi, and Nakagawa all had to unconditionally obey Watanabe's orders!

  Car No. 1, Lieutenant Colonel Tōbē said to the bowed heads of Takahashi and Nakagawa: "Takahashi-san, Nakagawa-san, please be seated."

  Takaashi Tatara and Nakagawa Hiroshi took their seats, and Watanabe Taiza corrected his expression, solemnly saying: "This time for the encirclement hunt, our target is a cunning Shina fox. Frankly speaking, this Shina fox does not have the qualifications to be the prey of the Special Warfare Battalion. However, since Matsui has already given the order, you gentlemen and I must unconditionally obey!"

  "Hai!" Sato, Takahashi and Nakagawa stood up abruptly, standing at attention.

  Watanabe waved his hand, indicating that the three should sit down again, and said: "Regarding this raccoon dog, the Tokko Department has collected the most detailed information. Sato-san, you tell us."

  "Ah." Sato stood up suddenly, and solemnly said, "This Japanese fox's surname is Yue, first name Weihan, age unknown, native place unknown, family members unknown. Two years ago, he graduated from the Central Military Academy of Japan and then entered the First Brigade Second Regiment of the Central Military Academy's Instruction Corps as a captain."

  "After the outbreak of the Battle of Shanghai, Yue Weihan led his troops to follow the Central Military Academy's instructional general team into Shanghai to participate in the battle. At the Daxi Factory, they were defeated by the Imperial Army and he was captured and incorporated into the 3rd Battalion of the 583rd Regiment of the Japanese 98th Division."

  "The Battle of Baoshan, he acted as the commander of the camp, led the troops to repel the 68th Regiment of the 3rd Division's multiple attacks. The 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 68th Regiment was almost wiped out, and the battalion commander, Ichiro Hirano, was forced to commit seppuku. Later, he also led a surprise attack on the advance base of the 3rd Division, and the division commander, Teng Tian Ge, died on the spot."

  "After successfully raiding the 3rd Division's advance base, they also successfully created a fake appearance of their troops breaking through to the south in chaos. In fact, they led the remaining troops to hide in the city's underground tunnels for as long as seven days! They then took advantage of the intense battle between the Imperial Army and the Chinese army, suddenly launching a surprise attack from behind, heavily damaging the 3rd Division's 18th Regiment, with the regimental commander, Major General Ishizuka, being killed in action."

  "The battle of the Four Banks Warehouse was immediately followed, and the severity of its impact on the Imperial Army's reputation is something that I believe you are all aware of. At first, Yue Weihan declared that he would live or die with the Four Banks Warehouse, adopting a stance of fighting to the death. However, in reality, he secretly ordered his engineers to dig tunnels leading directly under the command center of the 36th Regiment. Then, thousands of kilograms of explosives were buried there. The commander of the 36th Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Suketsune Saburo, and his deputy, Major General Kitajima Kōsuke, were killed instantly."

  As he said this, Major General Sato's gaze suddenly turned to Major General Nakagawa.

  Nakagawa's face suddenly showed a look of shame, and then it was his turn to fight against Yue Weihan. Unfortunately, he was defeated by Yue Weihan. From the breakout at the four-line warehouse to this moment, they had been fighting for nearly ten days, but he hadn't even touched a single hair on Yue Weihan's body.

  "From then on, it's all speculation." Commander Sato paused for a moment before continuing, "After breaking out of the warehouse, Yue Weihan successfully created an illusion and shook off Nakagawa's pursuit. He then discovered Prince Katsuragi's temporary command center near Kunshan during his northward advance, and took advantage of the prince's forward deployment to launch a successful ambush!"

  After hearing this, not only did Takashi Koyuki and Hiroshi Nakagawa change color, but even Shigeichi Watanabe's face was somewhat uncomfortable.

  Watanabe Taishō originally didn't take Yue Weihan, this Vietnamese fox, seriously at all. But he never expected that this Vietnamese fox would have such great abilities, and in less than three months, the Imperial Japanese Army had already lost two lieutenant generals and two majors at his hands!

  This man's threat to the Imperial Army is far beyond what Lieutenant General Watanabe had imagined!

  Watanabe Colonel suddenly stood up, solemnly said: "It seems I have to take back what I just said, this group of Chinese foxes indeed has the qualifications to become our special forces' prey!" After that, Watanabe Colonel turned to Takahashi Colonel and asked: "Takahashi, please tell me where are these Chinese foxes now?"

  Takaashi walked up to the map and said confidently, "They should still be around here somewhere."

  "Yang Village?" Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe's eyes flashed with a sharp glint, his voice stern as he said, "It's less than twenty kilometers from Rokka Station. The Special Warfare Battalion will depart immediately. If everything goes smoothly, the battle can be ended before dawn."

  Nakagawa Taiza said: "Watanabe-kun, I'd like to remind you that our opponents are extremely skilled at concealment and night battles."

  "I believe this, I will never underestimate these troops," said Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe. "However, they are just ordinary infantrymen and can't possibly be a match for the special forces unit, so please rest assured about that, Nakagawa."

  Takahashi Daisuke said disbelievingly: "Watanabe-san, do you think the opponent will stay in Yangcun forever?"

  "This Takahashi doesn't need to worry at all." Sato, the major general beside him, suddenly said, "The Tokko department has already dispatched a large number of special agents who are fluent in Chinese. Soon, within a hundred miles around Rokka, our eyes and ears will be everywhere. The Shina people won't be able to escape our tracking unless they go into hiding."

  "What's going on? Are all the special high-ranking officials mobilizing?"

  Takahashi and Nakagawa looked at each other with a stern expression, but this was also understandable. The assassination of Prince Kotohito was an absolute heavy blow to the Imperial Japanese Army. To make up for the bad influence of this incident, it would not be excessive to dispatch a larger lineup and more elite agents to participate in the encirclement operation.

  "Gentlemen, wait for good news." Lieutenant General Watanabe suddenly stood up and immediately walked away with big strides.

  In less than a moment, more than 100 fully armed Japanese special troops equipped with automatic weapons poured out of the station and disappeared into the vast rainy night outside.

  …………

  Yangcun, indeed Baoshan Camp is resting here.

  Yue Weihan was unaware that the threat of death was approaching him and all the officers and soldiers of Baoshan Camp step by step. At this time, he was more concerned about another big thing. Although Chōshō-ji Yūen had been shot dead, to truly prevent the Nanjing Massacre from happening, killing only one Chōshō-ji Yūen was far from enough. It was also necessary to create momentum in international public opinion.

  To create public opinion, it must be done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of a country.

  Yue Weihan immediately called Liu Xin over and asked: "Liu Xin, is your radio still usable?"

  "Of course." Liu Xing blinked her beautiful big eyes and said, "However, aren't you afraid of exposing your target, Ying Zu?"

  "Lives are at stake, can't bother with so much now. Besides, this isn't the Shanghai suburbs, those little devils' signal intercepting cars won't necessarily appear here!" Yue Weihan said coldly, "Set up the radio immediately, I must contact the division headquarters right away!"

  "Yes!" Liu Xin immediately stood up, puffed out her chest and saluted Yue Weihan with a military salute. She then instructed the two new recruits from the communications unit to set up the radio transmitter. In just a few minutes, the transmitter was set up.

  The radio had just been turned on and before Liu Xin could send out a signal, an incoming transmission came in.

  Liu Xin hastily put down his earplug and turned to Yue Weihan: "Camp seat, war zone commander's signal!"