Chapter 23: Prelude to War (Part 2)

  Tian Jiafu steeled himself and led his trusted aides and Jiang Feng's men, the only authentic Chinese soldiers in this branch of the army, a total of eight or nine people, into the headquarters of the Ninth Division of the Puppet Manchukuo Army with large strides. The remaining dozens of "Japanese soldiers" intentionally or unintentionally blocked off several key transportation routes leading out of the headquarters of the Ninth Division of the Puppet Manchukuo Army. The Japanese had always been arrogant and overbearing, so the soldiers of the Puppet Manchukuo Army thought that something important was happening and that the Japanese were coming to pick a fight, and no one dared ask any questions.

  Tian Jiafu and others, as soon as they entered the gate of the Ninth Division of the Puppet Manchukuo Army, were led by a puppet army lieutenant to find the office of several Japanese advisors embedded in the Ninth Division headquarters.

  "Colonel, I am Captain Gangshan Chouyuan, staff officer of the 10th Division. I have been ordered to deliver a command from the division commander. Please sign for it."

  Tajima Tomi's Japanese, which carried the accent of his hometown in the 10th Division, was really useful. Originally, Yamada Heihachiro had some doubts about the identity of the person in front of him, but after hearing this heavily accented Japanese, he couldn't help but think to himself that he had been too suspicious.

  After gaining the initial trust of the consultant, the following play is easy to sing. Tian Jiafu and his party did not come here for tourism.

  A few minutes later, the four Japanese military officers were dealt with by Tian Jiafu and his men. Except for a captain who resisted too fiercely and was stabbed to death on the spot, the other three Japanese officers were tied up in their own office, and the guards at the door were also eliminated.

  Things went smoothly from then on, Tian Jiafu let a former Japanese soldier pretend to be Yamada Heihachiro and invite Liu Tiandong to the office of the Japanese advisors, saying there was something important to discuss.

  Invited Liu Tiandragon, the pseudo-division commander, still thought that there was a new combat order from the 10th Division Headquarters (he already knew that his division had been surrounded by a group of Japanese troops, and the leader had gone directly to find the advisor). He rushed over in a hurry, and as soon as he entered the house, he and his deputy were captured.

  At the same time, several dozen soldiers of the 100th Independent Brigade Special Action Troop (given the code name "Cheng Jiaji" by the traitors) who had received notification outside the gate also controlled the puppet Manchukuo Army's Ninth Division headquarters in a few minutes.

  The pseudo-military personnel in the department were unclear for a moment, and they did not dare to fire at the Japanese army in front of them. In less than ten minutes, most of these pseudo-troops had surrendered.

  Only the instructor battalion guards were still tough, and a squad of soldiers attempted to resist, which was just what these former military officers wanted. Most of them had not changed their attitude towards the Chinese, and they suffered another huge blow in spirit over the next two days. With deep hatred for the Chinese, these Japanese soldiers in the National Army vented their anger by severely beating the puppet army, killing a dozen or so devils on the spot. This greatly intimidated the other puppet troops. The weapons and combat methods of this group of "Japanese" left no doubt about the identity of these people among the officers and men of the Puppet Manchurian Army. They realized that this time the "Taikun" was real, it seemed like a big deal, and they didn't dare to act rashly anymore, fearing that their families outside the pass would be implicated.

  Under this idea, the officers of several divisions also actively requested to go outside to stabilize the troops, so as not to cause new "tragedies". In this way, they themselves can also come and go freely, and avoid being involved in Liu Tianlong's misfortune. (A Chinese soldier brought by Jiang Feng sneaked out and told them that the "Imperial Army" action was only to arrest those who disobeyed military orders and launched a surprise attack on Liu Tianlong, and had nothing to do with others. The temporary restriction of everyone's freedom was just for safety considerations, and of course, the "Imperial Army" would not let those who refused to obey the dispatch go unpunished.)

  "Liu Shizhang, please sign this telegram." said Jiang Feng, wearing a Japanese army lieutenant uniform, in a gentle tone to Liu Tiandong.

  As soon as he heard the Japanese lieutenant in front of him speaking to him in pure Chinese, Liu Tiandong, who was born into a bandit leader's family, knew that he had fallen into the hands of the Chinese army.

  As soon as Liu Tiandong took over Jiang Feng's electrified hand, he understood everything.

  He indeed fell into the hands of the Chinese army.

  This is a telegram in the name of Liu Tianlong announcing that the Ninth Division of the Puppet Manchukuo Army has defected and surrendered to the National Government.

  "This won't work, even if I sign the order below, it can't be mobilized, all troops are in the hands of Japanese advisors at various levels." Liu Tiandong said to Jiang Feng as he put the telegram on his desk.

  "Commander Liu, it doesn't matter whether you sign or not. This telegram has already been broadcast in plain code by your division's radio station. In less than twenty minutes, the whole country from north to south will know about Commander Liu's heroic deed. Moreover, in the eyes of your subordinates, you are now being held captive by the Japanese. Once this telegram is sent out, people below will think that you have escaped. The Japanese advisor will also think so. At that time, if the National Army launches a surprise attack on your division again, what kind of situation do you think it will be?" As for Liu Tianlong's uncooperative attitude, Jiang Feng should not say that Cheng Jiaqi had expected this strategy early on.

  Looking at Jiang Feng's sincere smile, Liu Tiandong, the former Northeast bandit leader, was stunned for half a day before suddenly asking: "Which unit are you from?"

  "One hundred independent brigades, I am the cavalry regiment commander Long Jiangfeng. Just this morning, a cavalry battalion under Commander Liu's command devoured half of my company! Your cavalry really has good teeth!"

  Jiang Feng was heartbroken about losing half a company of his own cavalry regiment!

  At this time, a soldier from the special action team rushed in to report to Tian Jiafu that the telegram of the Ninth Division of the Puppet Manchukuo Army declaring its surrender to the National Government had been issued.

  The soldier didn't speak Chinese, but Japanese, which surprised Liu Tianlong. Logically, these people shouldn't be speaking Japanese in front of a prisoner like him. Moreover, the accent was so pure and authentic, could it be that there were really Japanese people serving in the Chinese army?

  "Liu Sang, is it that only Chinese people are allowed to die for Japan, but there can't be Japanese people who serve China? Our team, except for Jiang's group, are all Japanese people willing to fight for China and serve a Chinese general." Tian Jiafu saw the expression on Liu Tiandong's face and naturally guessed what this pseudo-Manchurian army lieutenant general was thinking.

  At this point, Liu Tiandong was truly speechless. In his mind, the Japanese were powerful. Even the Russian old guys acquiesced in the fact that the Japanese army occupied the three northeastern provinces, and the result of the League of Nations' investigation was also that "Manchukuo" was a "happy" country. A group of Japanese people fought for China's fate, and the stimulation it produced in his mind was really too great.

  After a long while, Liu Tiandragon let out a deep sigh and picked up the telegram from the table, signing his name on it.

  "Liu Shizhang, I believe you won't regret the choice you're making now. This will be the most glorious moment of your life. Don't worry, I'll definitely send you to a safe place immediately."

  "I have one last question to ask, and I implore General Jiang to answer it, so as to dispel the doubts in my mind?" Liu Tianlong, who had studied for a few days in middle school, was still able to come up with a few articulate sentences.

  "Please ask, Master Liu." Since the other party had already agreed to cooperate, Jiang Feng was willing to answer one question from Liu Tianlong.

  "Who came up with the idea of using Japanese prisoners of war for the Chinese army?" These Japanese people who worked for the Chinese army were all from a military background, and Liu Tianlong could still see that.

  "It is our one hundredth trip since independence." Jiang Feng proudly replied.

  "This idea is a bit...?" Liu Tiandong, although he was from a military background, still had some scholarly air about him. He found this unorthodox tactic, which went against Confucian teachings, to be somewhat unacceptable at first.

  "Liu Shizhang, our brigade commander asked us a question 'What to do if one is bitten by a dog?' Comrade Commander Cheng gave the correct answer: bend down and bite back with your teeth. Our Commander Cheng also said another sentence: never put yourself in a more sympathetic position than the enemy."

  After hearing Jiang Feng's words, Liu Tianlong was left with nothing but a gaping mouth.

  On May 7, 1938, at 4 pm, the commander of the Ninth Division of the puppet "Manchukuo", Liu Tianlong, went missing after leading a mutiny on the Xu North battlefield.