Chapter 35: The Defense of Xinghe County and the Death of Sakai Tōji

  Xiaoli Village. Chahar dispatched troops temporary command post.

  "What was that? Say it again?" Toujou Enji shouted into the phone, looking incredulous.

  "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the Imperial Army's arsenal was raided by a small Chinese force. The Chinese used mortars to attack the oil depot, causing all of the Imperial Army's fuel and ammunition to explode, resulting in heavy casualties among the defenders. Additionally, Lieutenant General Sakai Koji suffered severe injuries and died 10 minutes ago despite rescue efforts."

  "Hachigaya, how is this possible? How many troops did the Chinese army send? And how was Sakai Koji killed by the Chinese?" Tōjō Hideki thundered.

  "Report to Commander-in-Chief, Sakai was not killed by the Chinese, but was hit in the head and chest by shrapnel from an exploding ammunition depot. He was sent to a field hospital where he died after emergency treatment failed. At the same time, almost all senior officers of the Independent Mixed First Brigade were also killed by stray bullets, and the brigade headquarters was flattened."

  "Hakka, which unit did this? This is the greatest shame of the Imperial Japanese Army. We must avenge this with the blood of that unit." Tōjō shouted.

  "I apologize, sir. According to the patrol soldiers outside the armory, tonight multiple logistics units from various troops came to the armory to replenish ammunition. They inspected all vehicles and personnel, but did not find any suspicious individuals. It is still unclear which troop was responsible."

  "Baka, meshitaki, zenbu meshitaki!" After scolding, Tōjō Hideki slammed the phone heavily on the desk.

  Tojo Hideki slumped heavily into his chair, the telegram about the destruction of two artillery battalions during the day had not yet been reported to General Headquarters, now the independent mixed first brigade group headquarters was destroyed, and the brigade commander Sakai Koji lieutenant general was killed in action. If these telegrams were reported to General Headquarters together, they would definitely make those old guys at General Headquarters doubt their own abilities.

  What's even more annoying to Tōjō Hideki is that he can't even tell who the enemy is now. Today, this army and that army can sneak attack the arsenal, defeat the independent mixed first brigade's brigade headquarters. Who knows when they'll be able to sneak into his own command center and cut off the head of this Imperial Army Lieutenant General.

  "Guards, receive Hei Pingyuan Rongyi!" said Tōjō Hideki slowly.

  Hi

  "Moshi moshi, this is Lieutenant Fujita of the Imperial Japanese Army's Chahar Expeditionary Force Headquarters. Please connect me with Major General Hata, the Prime Minister wants to speak with him..."

  "Your Excellency, the phone is connected, Major Pingyuan is right next to the phone!"

  Tōjō Hideki picked up the phone and said: "Hiranuma, this is Tōjō!"

  "Hello Minister Tōjō, I am Hirao Ryōichi, the person in charge of the North China Branch of the Special Higher Police of the Great Japanese Empire, paying my respects to you."

  "The Heiwa, the newly independent mixed First Brigade Headquarters was infiltrated and ambushed by a small Chinese unit, suffering heavy losses. The commander of the Independent Mixed First Brigade, Lieutenant General Sakai Tadatsugu, died for His Majesty the Emperor, but we didn't even find out who the enemy was, so we need your help from the Tokko."

  "Alright, Commander, rest assured that I will immediately dispatch personnel to assist in the investigation. Moreover, with such a victory, those Chinese troops will definitely publicize it without holding back, and when the time comes, we'll know which Chinese unit was responsible."

  "Hear ye, we must find and annihilate this impudent Chinese army, and offer the head of its commander as a sacrifice to the spirits of our heroic Japanese martyrs." Tōjō Hideki said solemnly.

  "Ah, Hai, but I must remind Your Excellency the Commander, there is a Chinese troop that you must pay special attention to. This Chinese army has very strong combat capabilities and cannot be underestimated by the Imperial Army."

  "Oh, which army is it that has earned such high praise from the Empire's intelligence elite?" Tōjō Hideki asked with some surprise.

  "This is a local army in Zhina, with only one regiment, stationed in Xinghe County, Suiyuan Province. This army has been formed for less than half a year, but it has purchased a large amount of military supplies from the Germans. Recently, a special operations team under my command encountered their transportation team and after a fierce battle, our entire army was defeated. The location of this army is within 50 kilometers of your position, so it's highly likely that they were responsible for this incident." said Hei Pingyuan.

  "Security team, Henghe! Wait a minute, Pingyuan Jun please wait!" Dongtiao Yingji furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before turning to ask the Chief of Staff, An'gong Zhengchen Lieutenant General who was standing beside him: "An'gong, what is the unit number of that branch of the Zhina army that launched a surprise attack on our artillery position this morning?"

  "Reporting to the commander, it is the Shinahoshin County Security Regiment." An Kōshin replied.

  "Heiwa, that unit has made its move. Just last night, the Chinese security regiment launched a surprise attack on Xinping Fortress, and an entire infantry platoon of the Imperial Army was annihilated. This morning, they launched another sneak attack on the artillery positions set up by the Imperial Army outside Tianzhen City, wiping out two artillery battalions and one infantry company, with both battalion commanders killed in action."

  "It's my fault for being remiss in my duties. I didn't take those troops seriously enough before." said Hirayama Kōichi with a sense of self-reproach.

  "It's not your fault, General Hei. The Imperial Army was too careless. As the Japanese army marched south, they swept aside all opposition. Under the Empire's attack, the Chinese military units fled in disarray, and even the group armies only dared to hide in key cities, struggling to survive. Who would have thought that a local unit of just a few thousand men would dare to launch a surprise attack on the Imperial Army?" said Tōjō Hideki.

  "As for this Zhina security team, we don't know much about it, but not too little either. Since the last time our special action squad was completely annihilated, I have sent people to infiltrate Xinghe County for secret reconnaissance and obtained a large amount of valuable information." said Heiwa no Ichiro.

  "Yohei, Lord Hiraplains is indeed the elite of the Great Japanese Empire's espionage. Then please trouble Lord Hiraplains to immediately send the information about this Chinese army by telegram."

  "Hi!"

  Soon, some information about the Xinghe County Security Regiment was sent to Tōjō Hideki's desk.

  "Xinghe County Security Regiment, a local security force in Suiyuan Province, China, was organized as an infantry regiment with a full strength of 2,885 men. The commander is Chen Feng, aged 23, who is not a professional military man and has no systematic military education background..."

  After reading the relevant materials collected by Toko Koka, Tojo Hideki was furious. The elite of the great Japanese Empire Army was defeated by a completely peasant army, which is simply a great shame.

  For a high-ranking officer like Tōjō Hideki, losing a battle is not shameful. It's natural for an army to lose sometimes, and no one dares to claim they are invincible in every battle, nor is there any army that has never lost a war.

  However, it depends on who they lost to. If they lost to the elite Central Army of the Chiang Kai-shek government, Tōjō Hideki could barely accept it. But if they were defeated by local warlords like Yan Xishan, Liu Xiang or He Jian, Tōjō Hideki would absolutely not be able to accept it.

  However, the Kwantung Army, which is now touted as the most elite of the Great Japanese Empire, was defeated by a local force in China that couldn't even be considered a regular army. Tojo Hideki had only one feeling - that of vomiting blood.

  "Order: The Honda detachment must capture Xinghe within three days, annihilate the Xinghe County Security Regiment and capture Chen Feng, the highest commander of the Security Regiment alive." Enraged to the extreme, Tōjō Hideki issued an order that he would regret for the rest of his life, which also doomed the last hope of survival for the Japanese Honda detachment.

  Just as Tōjō Hideki was furious to the point of vomiting blood, Chen Feng received a prompt from the Intelligent Spirit: "Defeated Japanese Army Major General Sakai Kōji, host obtained system reward once lottery chance, do you want to draw immediately?"

  "Save data, talk later!"

  "Saving data... Data saved successfully..."

  Chen Feng was overjoyed, Sakai Koji had been shot and killed, damn it, this was the first Japanese general to be shot and killed since the war began, a lieutenant general in the Japanese army.

  Look at Xinpingbao in the distance, Chen Feng whipped his horse's buttocks and shouted: "Brothers, add some strength, when we arrive at Xinpingbao, the commander will give you a bonus meal."

  A team of knights behind Chen Feng cheered, having followed him for so long, they all knew what the additional meal he mentioned was - a big meat feast, although they couldn't drink large bowls of wine, but the large chunks of stewed meat and white buns were enough to satisfy them.

  After arriving at Xinpingbao, Chen Feng immediately turned the original first battalion's headquarters into his own forward command post, with maps hung up and radios set up.

  After tidying up the command center, Chen Feng took a look at the time and it was almost 5 o'clock in the morning.

  "Signalman, send a telegram to the headquarters of the Seventh Army Group immediately. The message is as follows..."

  Yanmen Pass, the headquarters of the Seventh Army Group was brightly lit, Fu Zuoyi and the vast majority of the generals in the entire army group had not slept all night.

  "Brother Xinwu, do you think this telegram from the 61st Army is credible?" Fu Zuoyi said with a furrowed brow.

  "Returning to the seat, there is still a certain degree of credibility. The explosion sound must be real, and this point should not be in doubt. However, whether it was the Japanese military's arsenal that exploded is yet to be verified, and this explosion came suddenly. As far as I know, the Japanese military has always defended its arsenals very strictly. For a heavy armed group like Chahar, their arsenal should at least have an infantry battalion or even an infantry brigade for defense. The possibility of being ambushed is not great. Moreover, we do not have an army with the strength to ambush the Japanese military's arsenal under their noses. Therefore, I worry that this is a conspiracy by the little devils." said Ye Qijie, Deputy Commander of the 35th Army.

  "What plot? What plot?" Fu Zuoyi asked again.

  "After the little devil's artillery was knocked out by Chen Feng, that mixed-up kid, the artillery of the Chahar Expeditionary Force only had those light howitzers equipped with frontline field troops. The defenders of the Tianzhen front line were defending their positions, and it would not be easy for the Japanese army to take Tianzhen in a short period of time. Therefore, the little devil might have been trying to lure the defenders into launching a counterattack, so as to annihilate the 61st Army in the field battle, which is why they came up with this move."

  "Hmm, it's also possible!" Fu Zuoyi thought for a moment and said.