11 o'clock at night.
Wang Zhitao hid in a shell crater, holding a telescope and gritting his teeth as he watched the scene on the Linfen city wall.
The Japanese seemed to be worried that the Eighth Route Army outside the city could not see clearly, so they used flares over and over again.
When the Japanese 78th and 79th regiments withdrew to Linfen City, the new 1st Division also pressed forward.
As Uchida Ginnosuke said, the artillery regiment of the New 1st Division no longer had many artillery shells. When they arrived, they were in a hurry to keep up with the pace of the armored brigade, so they brought two base artillery shells (30 rounds per base).
Now the artillery regiment only has about 10 rounds of shells left for each gun. Once they are finished firing, they have to wait for the next ones to be delivered.
Lao Wang was also a little confused. He thought to himself: What kind of song did the little devil come from? Do you want to fight with him in the street?
He also had an armored brigade on his side, with tanks accompanied by infantry, which were powerful weapons in street fighting. Didn't Ushijima Minajune know this?
When the 732nd Regiment reported the situation on the Linfen City Wall, Lao Wang once again refreshed his understanding of the Japanese and hurriedly ran from the command post to the front line to confirm the situation.
At this time, a burst of standard fluent Chinese came out through the loudspeaker in the city: "Listen to the Eighth Route Army outside the city. I heard that your troops under General Liu Yu are firing fiercely. We want to see if you dare to fire on the Chinese!" In addition, Ushijima Taijun has spoken, asking you to withdraw to the north of Han Xinling immediately, otherwise the imperial army will kill 100 Chinese every hour until all the people in Linfen City are killed!"
In the bomb crater in the distance, Lao Wang listened to the shouting and looked at the innocent people tied up in strings on the city wall. The veins in his hand holding the telescope were bulging.
At this time, I heard someone shouting from above: "Brothers from the Eighth Route Army, withdraw your troops. We are all Chinese. Can you bear to watch the people in Linfen being slaughtered?"
"I'll kill your mother!"
Upon hearing this sound, Lao Wang had quick eyes and quick hands, and he held down Jiang Fengchun who was about to rush forward.
Then Lao Wang took a deep breath and said: "Let the team retreat first and report the matter to the commander!"
. . . . . .
To the north, Lingshi.
A few minutes later, Liu Yu got the news.
He was drinking water and immediately smashed the enamel cup in his hand.
"You bitch, Immortal Banban!"
"Cut your brains off! Make a road!"
"..."
Liu Yu was so angry that he paced back and forth, swearing every step he took.
Originally, this battle was going smoothly, but seeing that the 20th Division had been pushed into a desperate situation, Ushijima Minune, that bastard, actually tried this trick.
This really hit Liu Yu's weakness!
Finally getting over his curse, Liu Yu stopped and roared an order: "Tell the special operations team to kill this little asshole Ushijima Minune!"
"Yes!" The female soldier from the Confidential Section took the order and left.
At this time, Political Commissar Wang of the Taiyue Military Region walked up to Liu Yu and said in a deep voice: "It is impossible for us to retreat, and it will take time for the special forces to assassinate. During this time, many people in the city will also die. I wonder if you want to As a trick, drag Ushijima Minoru away? For example, send someone to negotiate with him?"
"Okay! Old political commissar, I'll leave this to you!"
Liu Yu followed the good example and immediately ordered: "Order the New 1st Division to retreat 10 miles, and the New 2nd Division to continue advancing. After meeting with the New 1st Division, stand by where you are!"
As he said that, he looked at Political Commissar Wang again: "I'm going to the front."
Political Commissar Wang wanted to persuade him, but he couldn't say anything. Finally he had to say: "Go! Control your emotions and don't get carried away!"
"Um!"
Liu Yu responded, turned and left.
. . . . . .
Linfen, Zhang family courtyard, living room.
Ushijima was happily enjoying a late-night snack, a plate of beef with soy sauce and a plate of chopped roast goose.
Two Japanese soldiers stood behind him, and Uchida Ginnosuke was also sitting on the left side of the table.
However, Uchida Ginnosuke did not move his chopsticks and just drank in silence.
On the right side of the table sat a middle-aged man in a long gown, and opposite him was a pretty beauty in a cheongsam who was pouring wine for the three of them.
Ushijima Minoru was eating soy sauce beef and drinking some wine, his eyes looking at the beautiful woman from time to time.
The middle-aged man in the long coat is Zhang Qichang, the governor of Linfen County and chairman of the maintenance committee appointed by the Japanese, and the beautiful woman in the cheongsam is Zhang Qichang's 9th concubine.
Seeing that the wine in Ushijima Minoru's wine glass was gone, Zhang Qichang suddenly picked up the wine pot himself, filled it for Ushijima, and said: "Ushijima Taijun has such a clever plan, I think the troops on Tubal Road outside the city will be withdrawn soon. .”
Ushijima was very considerate, picked up the wine glass, held it with both hands, and caught the wine poured by Zhang Qichang.
After filling it up, Ushijima smiled and said in fluent Chinese: "What Zhang Sang said just now is also shocking. You are worthy of being the best friend of the Imperial Army! Come on, I respect you!"
Many of the senior Japanese officials have learned Chinese, and basically the higher their status, the more fluent they are in Chinese.
At first, this phenomenon was due to the fact that the Qing Dynasty was still the dominant power in Asia at that time, and Chinese was the common language in Asia. If the top leaders of various countries did not know Chinese, they would be embarrassed to say hello when they went out.
Later, everyone knew that I, the Qing Dynasty, was pinned on the floor and beaten by the foreign powers. After the Meiji Restoration, the little devils discovered: Ouch, it looks like I can be the boss of Asia!
So they worked harder to learn Chinese and wanted to have a deeper understanding of Chinese culture so that they could rule China in the future!
"Yo yo yo, don't you dare!"
Zhang Qichang quickly picked up the wine glass, lowered the rim of the glass and touched it with Ushijima Minoru.
After the two of them took a sip, Zhang Qichang rolled his eyes, filled Ushijima Minoru's wine again, and said: "Your Excellency, General, I have a cruel request. My Zhang family's property in Linfen has been in decline. , I wonder if you can transfer me to Yuncheng after this battle? Firstly, I can always listen to your teachings nearby; secondly, I heard that the security in Yuncheng is not very good recently, I am not talented, and I am willing to help Your Majesty, please maintain law and order!”
Ushijima Minoru raised his eyebrows, and he immediately understood the meaning of Zhang Qichang's words.
This old boy was shouting on the city tower just now. It can be said that he offended the Eighth Route Army and the people of Linfen to death, so he wanted to run away.
"Well, it's not impossible." Ushijima Minoru nodded, then looked at Zhang Qichang's ninth wife across the table, and said confidently: "But..."
Zhang Qichang didn't understand anything, and he had already been mentally prepared.
This Ninth Concubine was originally the oiran he bought from the brothel at the beginning of last year, in order to deal with the Japanese, so as to avoid the trouble of the other wives in the family who were married to matchmakers.
He saw Zhang Qichang wink at Jiu Aunt Tai, and then Jiu Aunt Tai got up, twisted his slender waist and walked to Ushijima Minoru, put his hands around his neck, and hugged the old devil from behind.
"Taijun, will I serve you tonight?"
Ushijima felt the soft pressure coming from his back and nodded with a smile: "Yoshi, then follow me back to the headquarters."
With that said, he stood up and took Mrs. Jiu's hand, turned around and wanted to leave.
Uchida Ginnosuke also stood up.
"General Ushijima, General Uchida, why don't you two stay in a humble house for a night?" Zhang Qichang pretended to persuade him to stay.
"No, we still have things to deal with." Ushijima Minoru responded, turned around and left with Mrs. Kyujima in hand.
Zhang Qichang walked the two of them to the door, and then turned back to the house "reluctantly" until they got in the car.
In the car, Ushijima Minajune's hands roamed around the body of Mrs. Kyujima.
Uchida Ginnosuke was sitting in front. After the car started, he said in Japanese: "Sir, I still think your move is inappropriate! Now international public opinion is very unfavorable to the empire. We can massacre the Chinese people, but we cannot make it public! Moreover, you threaten your opponent with civilians to withdraw their troops, which is really unbecoming of a samurai!"
He had an argument with Ushijima Minoru just now, but he didn't win.
Ushijima Minoru sneered and said: "The old school has no brains and only knows how to act recklessly, but you juniors think too much! The reputation of the Imperial Army has never been written by those reporters, but we have shot it with one bullet. Come out! As for the warrior demeanor, if we don’t use this method, we won’t be able to survive for three days. Will you still be obsessed with your reputation by then?”
Seeing that Uchida Ginnosuke had something to say, Ushijima Minoru said directly: "Okay, Uchida-kun, after this battle, I will take the initiative to apply for retirement from active service and bear the responsibility for damaging the reputation of the Imperial Army! The top priority is to lead the 20th Division out of trouble. In such a critical situation, we should no longer have differences!"
Uchida Ginnosuke opened his mouth, but finally said nothing more.
. . . . . .
In the Zhang Family Courtyard, after Zhang Qichang sent away the two Japs with a smile, he asked someone to lock the door tightly as soon as he entered the house, and his expression dropped.
Today, the Japanese forced him to go to the city tower to speak out. Once this happened, it can be said that his old Zhang family will definitely be written into the county history.
As a landlord class family with a century-old heritage, they still care about reputation.
Zhang Qichang walked into his bedroom and saw a beautiful middle-aged woman coming up to him. It was his first wife, Mrs. Wang.
"Master, are the Japanese gone?"
"Well, let's go." Zhang Qichang rubbed his forehead and sat down.
At this time, Mrs. Wang was heard sobbing softly: "Being a traitor already has a bad reputation. Now that you have done this again, are you really not afraid of retribution?"
Zhang Qichang was upset when he heard this, and said angrily: "How about I repay you, the Wang family? Your third uncle is the Daoyin of Jining Province named by the Japanese, and he is a bigger traitor than me!"
The Zhang and Wang families were both large families in Linfen, and they often intermarried. Zhang Qichang's wife was the niece of the traitor Wang Shouguo.
Wang was stunned for a moment when she heard this and was speechless. She could only lower her head and walk to the bed, sit down and sob silently.
After a long time, Zhang Qichang's depression dissipated a lot, and he walked to the bed, took his wife's hand, and said: "In today's world, if you can survive and save this family, it will be good! Who cares about reputation? If not For the sake of our son, I will not go up to that tower today."
Wang wiped her tears and rested her head on her husband's shoulder.
At this time, suddenly a piece of paper flew over from nowhere, fell into Zhang Qichang's arms, and then just fell onto the hem of the long coat between his legs.
The couple were startled at first. Zhang Qichang picked up the paper ball and walked to the window and door in a few steps. He looked around but saw no one.
Walking to the candlelight, he opened the paper and a pebble fell out. When he looked at the content, his eyes widened.
I saw the paper written on it: President Zhang, you have done so many unjust things. No wonder the young master is so frail and sick. The 10-year-old boy has developed tuberculosis. If he continues like this, he may not live to be 20 years old. We plan to take him to the best hospital in China for medical treatment. I believe you have heard about where the best hospital in China is. I want to see your son. Hang three lanterns at the door of your room at dawn tomorrow. Our people will look for you then. "
Zhang Qichang was stunned for a moment.
When Mrs. Wang saw the note, she fainted.
Zhang Qichang got married at the age of eighteen, and did not have a son with his first wife until he was over thirty. Otherwise, he would not have so many concubines and work hard.
Now that he is forty years old, he feels increasingly powerless at night and has almost given up the thought of having another baby.
Just like what the note said, his old Zhang family may have bullied the people too much in recent decades and got retribution. In his generation, he only gave birth to a single seedling, and it was still a sick seedling. Normally, he had a lot of babies. That was Not a bit of wind would blow him.
But even then, he still got tuberculosis.
"The best hospital...Yangquan?" Zhang Qichang murmured.
"son!"
Zhang Qichang supported his wife, put her on the bed, and hurriedly left the room and ran to his son's bedroom.
As soon as I entered the room, I saw the bed was empty.
He got closer and reached out to touch the quilt, it was already cold.
Zhang Qichang collapsed on the ground, and then beat his head in frustration.
