Chapter 758
A Great Gift to Put Out the Fire for the Chairman! Sinking the Japanese Warship!
Luxi, Jinan, the front-line command headquarters.
Fang Ligong held the newly translated urgent red telegram in his hand, his steps unusually light.
Even his usually meticulous expression was somewhat distorted due to extreme excitement.
"Your Excellency! Don't assess the situation yet."
"Fantastic news! A big fish has been caught on the front lines in Haizhou!"
Fang Ligong strode to his desk, lightly patted the telegram onto the map, and said with a hint of vindictive satisfaction, "An urgent telegram from Commander Sun Weiru!"
"During the clearing operation on the outskirts of Haizhou, our assault troops pulled Sun Mingjiu out of the rat hole of those puppet troops!"
Chu Yunfei was reviewing intelligence regarding the naval firepower configuration in Jiaozhou Bay when he heard this and suddenly looked up, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "Sun Mingjiu, that 'younger generation' of the Northeast Army?"
"It is indeed this person!"
Fang Ligong took off his glasses, wiping them as he sighed, "How arrogant this guy was back then. He was known as the number one fierce general under the Young Marshal. During the February 2nd Incident, he even shot and killed General Wang Yizhe, a veteran of the Northeast Army, in the street, causing the Northeast Army to fall apart."
"Later, he defected to the Japanese and became the deputy commander-in-chief of the puppet army in Shandong, where he acted arrogantly and domineeringly. He never thought he would end up like this!"
"This is a big fish."
Chu Yunfei put down the red and blue pencils in his hand, a meaningful sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.
He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the bustling streets of Jinan.
“Brother Ligong, Sun Mingjiu’s life is nothing more than a bullet in our hands. At most, we’ll just have to hear the sound of a bullet at the public trial to vent the anger of the people.”
"But if we use him well..."
Chu Yunfei turned around, his eyes blazing: "This is a 'generous gift' we're giving to Chairman Chiang, and it's also the most important bargaining chip we'll be holding in our upcoming negotiations with Zhu Peiji."
Fang Ligong was a smart man, and he understood immediately: "Does Your Excellency mean to hand him over to Shancheng?"
"Yes."
Chu Yunfei walked to the map and pointed to Chongqing: "Think about how frightened the Chairman was back then?"
"Moreover, Sun Mingjiu is a ruthless fellow. Back then, he not only killed Wang Yizhe, but also killed the Chairman's nephew Chang Xiaojian when he detained him, as well as a group of his confidants in the executive office, his own family members, and government officials."
"If it were the two of us, would we be so magnanimous as to forgive this blood debt?"
Fang Ligong pondered for a moment, then shook his head seriously.
If we really let him go.
I simply cannot face my clansmen when I go back to my hometown.
"However, this guy later hid in the Japanese-occupied area and became a high-ranking official in the Wang Jingwei regime. The Japanese protected him, and Chiang Kai-shek was powerless to intervene."
"Now."
Chu Yunfei snorted coldly: "The person has fallen into our hands."
"To us, he is a traitor."
"For the Chairman, that was the hatred of killing a family member, a hatred etched into his very bones!"
"If we send this guy to the mountain city unharmed, do you think the Chairman would feel better?"
Fang Ligong's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly: "Your Excellency's insight is brilliant! This 'borrowing flowers to present to the Buddha' move is truly ingenious!"
“Zhu Peiji is here to negotiate with the Chairman’s anger. Let’s send this enemy over first. Once we give him this gift, the Chairman will have both face and substance. The resistance to our ‘fair sacrifice’ draft will naturally be reduced.”
"Not only that."
Chu Yunfei added, "Don't forget He Zhuguo of the 15th Army Group, and those old subordinates of the Northeast Army."
“Sun Mingjiu killed Wang Yizhe, who was the public enemy of the Northeast Army and the culprit who caused the disintegration of the Northeast Army.”
"He Zhuguo didn't fare well back then either. If we arrest him and hand him over to the law, it will be a way of giving He Zhuguo and his ilk an explanation. This kind of business of winning people's hearts is a sure-fire way to make money!"
After saying that, Chu Yunfei decisively ordered, "Brother Ligong, draft the telegram immediately!"
"Not only should it be sent to the mountain city, but also a commendation telegram should be issued in the name of the joint command to the 4th Army Group and the 89th Army."
"Yes!"
Fang Ligong excitedly replied, "I'll take care of it right away!"
……
On the other side, Nanjing.
Headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Army.
General Okamura Yasuji sat behind his desk, quietly listening to the sound of rain outside the window.
The cold, damp air seeped in through the cracks in the door, making the already oppressive command post even more eerie.
The dim yellow light of the desk lamp cast his long shadow on the wall, making him look like a lone wolf lurking in the shadows.
"How's the situation in Haizhou?"
Okamura Neiji's voice was utterly calm.
Chief of Staff Kawabe Masazo stood opposite him, head bowed, clutching the thin battle damage report in his hand, his throat seemingly blocked, unable to utter a word for a long time.
"Kawabe-kun?"
Okamura Neiji raised his eyelids, and his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, were devoid of any warmth.
"Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief"
He spoke with difficulty, his voice trembling: "Our operation can be said to have failed."
"The Chinese air force bombed day and night, and their heavy artillery blockaded the entire port."
"Naval transport ships dare not approach the pier at all; they can only use small boats to transfer them in the open sea."
"As of one hour ago."
Kawabe Masazo took a deep breath, as if gathering all his courage: "Only 3,200 officers and soldiers boarded the transport ship."
Three thousand people?
Okamura Neiji tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "Out of tens of thousands of people, only three thousand were evacuated?"
"and"
Kawabe Masazo's voice was even lower: "Of these three thousand people, more than half are seriously wounded and unable to walk, and some are logistics personnel who have lost their combat effectiveness."
"According to the military doctors' assessment, even if these wounded soldiers return to their homeland or are transferred to Manchuria, probably less than a third of them will be able to rejoin their units and continue serving."
A deathly silence fell over the office.
The only sound was the raindrops hitting the glass.
After a long while, Okamura Neiji slowly stood up and walked to the huge battle map.
He looked at the red dot in Haizhou, the place that carried the hopes of the so-called "Imperial Dunkirk," now a dead land.
"Kimi by the River".
With his back to the chief of staff, Okamura Yasuji asked in a hoarse voice, "How many ships are left?"
"The Navy reports that only three transport ships and two destroyers are still holding on, but due to the severe damage, they say this is their last chance to dock."
"Once daybreak, in order to avoid being sunk by the Chinese air force, the fleet will have to withdraw at full speed."
"So, cabin space is very limited, is that right?"
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Okamura Neiji turned around, his expression as cold as a granite block.
"Send the order to the Haizhou Command and to Captain Sato, the naval officer in charge of the transfer."
"Stop all transfers of seriously wounded patients."
Kawabe Masamichi suddenly looked up, his eyes wide with disbelief: "Your Excellency?! What did you say?!"
"I said, stop the wounded from boarding the ship!"
Okamura Neiji's voice suddenly rose, carrying a chilling ruthlessness: "The current cabin is more precious than anything else."
"Throw all those soldiers lying on stretchers, with broken arms and legs, who need several people to carry them, down there."
"Let those able-bodied non-commissioned officers who can still hold a gun, can still walk, and can go back to the battlefield after a month of rest get on board!"
"Even if we have to tie them to the deck, we must bring back as many useful people as possible!"
"Your Excellency Commander"
Kawabe Masazo trembled all over and stepped forward urgently to dissuade him: "Those wounded soldiers shed their blood for our country!"
"If we abandon them, morale at the front will collapse instantly! The soldiers will mutini!"
"Mutiny?"
Okamura Neiji sneered, his smile filled with the madness born of despair: "They're all going to sacrifice themselves for their brother's country, what reason do they have to mutiny?"
"Kawabe-kun, wake up!"
"We are waging a desperate national war against an incredibly powerful allied force."
"What the Manchurian defense line needs are fingers that can pull the trigger, and legs that can charge forward, not a bunch of burdens lying in bed groaning and wasting precious medicine!"
"If these more than a thousand seriously wounded soldiers were replaced by more than a thousand veterans, they would be the backbone of half a regiment, the seeds for the future decisive battle on home soil!"
"At this critical juncture of the nation's survival, so-called mercy is a crime against one's brother's country!"
Okamura Neiji stared intently at Kawabe Masazo and said, word by word, "This is an order."
"Leave them grenades and bayonets."
“Tell them that this is their last chance to be loyal to His Majesty the Heavenly Locust.”
"Let them detonate their grenades when the Chinese charge up, and die a final, glorious death!"
"His Majesty the Emperor and the Ministry of the Army will certainly treat their families well." Looking at the commander with the distorted face in front of him, Kawabe Masazo felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
He knew that once this order was given, Okamura Yasuji would no longer be a soldier, but a complete devil.
"Hai..."
He Bianzheng lowered his head dejectedly, accepted the order, and left.
……
A night is incredibly short.
Dawn at the Haizhou front.
The sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn, but the smoke from the battle at Haizhou Port had stained the daytime a strange, dark red.
After a full day of artillery preparation, this once prosperous port city is now a scorched wasteland.
Sun Xinpu stood in front of the observation hole in the command post, watching the second hand on his watch tick.
"Time's up."
"The final assault begins!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!"
As three red signal flares soared into the sky, the heavy artillery group, which had been silent for a moment, roared once more.
"Kill them all!!!"
The assault troops of the 38th Army and the 5th Army Group of the North China Army, which had been lying in wait at the attack launch site, launched a simultaneous assault on the Japanese army's last defensive perimeter—the core area of the dock—from three directions, like a flood breaking through a dam.
The Sherman tank rolled over the ruins, its massive cannons spitting fire as it smashed the remaining Japanese machine gun emplacements one by one.
Behind the torrent of infantry, Han Deqin and his officers from the 89th Army stood on the high ground, watching this scene in disbelief.
It lacked the kind of back-and-forth struggle and the horrific tragedy of lives being lost that they were familiar with.
This was a one-sided massacre.
The Japanese army's so-called "last line of defense" was as fragile as paper in the face of overwhelming firepower.
Even more frightening was that the Japanese army's will to resist seemed to collapse overnight.
When the charging Nationalist soldiers rushed ashore, they witnessed a scene of hell.
Hundreds of seriously wounded Japanese soldiers were abandoned on the pier and in warehouses, wailing in despair as they watched the Japanese warships gradually sail away in the distance.
Most of the wounded soldiers whom Okamura Yasuji had placed high hopes on and who were left to die for their cause did not even have the strength to pull the pin on a grenade.
"Is this a sign of being abandoned?"
A Nationalist army company commander, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but spit out, "These beasts, they're so ruthless to their own people."
"Don't just stand there, clean up the remaining enemies, consider it good intentions from the brothers!"
Just then, several loud noises suddenly came from the sea.
"Look! That's our plane!"
In the sky, a mixed air force formation that had been waiting for a long time roared in. More than a dozen B-25 bombers, escorted by P-40 fighters, relentlessly pursued the Japanese warships that were desperately trying to escape.
"bomb!"
Heavy aerial bombs rained down.
"Boom—!"
A Minekaze-class destroyer responsible for bringing up the rear was directly hit in its ammunition magazine. The massive explosion instantly broke the ship in two, and the towering fireball even illuminated the entire bay.
The Japanese sailors on the ship were thrown into the air like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
Immediately afterwards, the other two light cruisers that were trying to escape were also surrounded by water jets from the near misses, with flames raging on their decks and thick smoke billowing out, and their speed was noticeably reduced.
"Good fight!"
The Nationalist soldiers on the shore erupted in deafening cheers.
As Han Deqin watched the Japanese destroyer sinking rapidly and saw the Rising Sun flags floating on the sea, he felt that his decades-long military career had been completely overturned today.
"You won already?"
Han Deqin turned to look at Sun Weiru beside him, his tone tinged with awe: "Even warships were sunk?"
Sun Weiru smiled faintly and patted the dust off her hands.
"Brother Chu Zhen, this is called land-air armored coordinated tactics."
"Chief Advisor Chu once said that Haizhou is the graveyard we've prepared for the Japanese devils."
"It is also a testing ground for some of our troops to conduct joint land and air operations."
"As for the Japanese devils..."
"Whether it's the army or the navy, once they come, they're not leaving!"
Amidst sporadic gunfire and explosions.
The Battle of Haizhou has officially come to an end.
Of the more than 18,000 Japanese troops gathered in Haizhou, apart from the 1,000 or so who evacuated and some who were sunk in the sea by bombs, the vast majority of the remaining 15,000 or so became corpses.
That night.
Forward command post.
"Your Excellency, it's confirmed!"
Fang Ligong's voice was filled with excitement: "Based on the comparison of reconnaissance photos by the Air Force and the confessions of Japanese naval personnel captured on the Haizhou front, the 'Minekaze-class' destroyer that was previously targeted by the B-25 bomber group has completely capsized and sunk in the waters off Haizhou Bay!"
"The other two damaged light cruisers, with their propulsion systems damaged, were like two wild dogs with broken legs, fleeing eastward, trailing black smoke."
"This is the first time that our North China Nationalist Army has sunk a major Japanese destroyer in a near-shore operation!"
"This is even more satisfying than annihilating an entire regiment of theirs!"
Chu Yunfei took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the blue ocean on the map.
Once upon a time, this sea was the Japanese's backyard, a thoroughfare they could come and go as they pleased.
The Chinese army could only watch helplessly as the enemy was bombarded by naval guns, unable to even lift their heads.
But today, the shipwreck in Haizhou Bay proves one thing: although the Japanese still control the sea, we also have the ability to sink them.
What is the extent of our fighter jet losses?
"In the past month, we have lost only 15 fighter jets and one bomber, with 12 pilots killed, mostly bomber crew members."
"Um"
Chu Yunfei said in a deep voice, "The Battle of Haizhou, whether it was sinking warships or annihilating these more than 10,000 remaining enemies, completely shattered Okamura Yasuji's attempt to preserve his strength and retreat to Manchuria."
"He wanted to play 'Dunkirk,' but we successfully turned the tables on him."
"Jingzhong!"
"To!"
Li Jingzhong strode forward and opened the notebook.
Chu Yunfei waved his hand and said, "Immediately send a telegram to the Chongqing Command! Report the victory to the Chairman!"
The telegram is as follows:
"This morning, the troops launched a general offensive on the outskirts of Haizhou. Through coordinated operations by the army, navy, and air force, the enemy was completely annihilated in just three hours."
"What is especially worthy of celebration is that our air force heroes bravely launched an attack and sank one Japanese destroyer and severely damaged two cruisers in Haizhou Bay! The remaining Japanese troops were cut off from their retreat and were completely annihilated!"
"This victory marks the end of the war in northern Jiangsu and lays the foundation for the liberation of the entire Shandong province!"
"Furthermore, please have the headquarters of the First, Second, and Fifth War Zones, as well as all army groups at the front, immediately report this victory to boost military morale and reassure the people!"
"Yes!"
As radio waves flew in all directions, the entire North China region seemed to boil over.
At this moment, Chu Yunfei's gaze did not linger for long.
He turned to the northeast corner of the map.
That place is Qingdao, which is currently the only area in North China where large-scale fighting is still taking place.
"Are Li Yannian and He Zhuguo still negotiating in Qingdao?" Chu Yunfei asked.
Fang Ligong nodded: "Yes, since the last setback, Li Yannian has learned his lesson and no longer charges blindly. Instead, he is cooperating with heavy artillery and engineers to take out the outer strongholds."
"Although the Japanese still had naval gun support, as the Japanese fleet on the Haizhou side collapsed, the Japanese warships off the coast of Qingdao became more cautious and dared not easily approach the shore to provide fire support."
Fang Ligong deduced: "In addition, our current air force units can turn north to provide support. Optimistically speaking, Qingdao will definitely fall in less than three days."
As for the capital region...
Fang Ligong pointed to the northernmost defensive line on the map: "After the initial few days of attack, the Japanese army seems to have realized that they could not break through Liu Maoen's defensive line at all. Now they have switched to a full defensive line and have even begun to blow up bridges and railways, showing that they are determined to defend the capital region to the death."
Fang Ligong paused for a moment, then added with a smile, "Your Excellency, I suspect that Okamura Neiji is probably scared!"
Chu Yunfei sneered: "He's afraid that after we resolve the Shandong war, our main force will march north and encircle him like dumplings."
"However, we're not that ambitious right now. Let him tremble in fear in Beiping for a few days. Once we've finished this phase of preparation, we'll consider how to quickly head north."
"Yes!"
Chu Yunfei straightened his collar and glanced at his wristwatch: "It's almost time."
“Let’s go, Brother Ligong.”
"Our Director Zhu, who carries the Chairman's 'imperial sword' and is full of resentment, should have arrived by now."
"We need to go and give him a welcome dinner to help him calm his nerves." (End of Chapter)