HCB Chapter 522 I don't believe that with such a tight blockade in heaven and on earth, a rat like
Chapter 522 I don't believe that with such a tight blockade in heaven and on earth, a rat like
Taiyuan City, the headquarters of the 12th Army.
"Commander, General Sato has sent a large number of fighter planes to conduct reconnaissance around Taiyuan City in the past two days, but nothing has been found. We did find traces of enemy wheel tracks before, and we thought we could take this opportunity to find the enemy, but what we didn't expect was that these setbacks were deliberately made by the enemy, who pointed us in the wrong direction. After a careful dragnet search, the ground forces did not find anything." Chief of Staff Ippei Mitsui said somewhat frustrated.
Before Shinozuka Yoshio could speak, Ichiro Ikeda, the manager of the Japanese Specie Bank in Taiyuan, barged in without knocking and asked angrily, "Commander, please forgive my rudeness, but the 12th Army is really disappointing. In our bank vault, there is a royal reward, but it was also stolen by Li Yunlong, a bastard. If we can't get it back, neither you nor I can bear the responsibility."
"This time, my Zhengjing Bank lost 4000 million dollars. Such a huge loss is not something a small manager like me can bear. The bank headquarters has sent people here. By then, the pressure on the commander will probably be even greater. I am not threatening the commander. As the old Chinese saying goes, we are now on the same boat. If we can't get this money back, neither of us will end up well."
"And Chief of Staff Mitsui, your Mitsui family also has an unshirkable responsibility for this incident. As the chief of staff of the 12th Army, you are fully responsible for the houses around Taiyuan City, but you gave the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it, causing our Specie Bank to suffer huge losses. The shareholders of the bank have already quarreled, and your Mitsui family has decided to compromise and will give up some of the profits to atone for this incident."
"I hope Chief of Staff Mitsui will not just stand by and watch the joke. Even if you say that your Mitsui family has reached a settlement with several other families, this does not mean that the matter is over. The headquarters is already very angry about this matter. The most hateful thing is that the Chinese newspapers have publicized this matter. If the lost money cannot be recovered, the empire will become a laughing stock internationally."
"We have been winning military victories, but we have repeatedly encountered problems in public security. The headquarters has begun to seek a solution to this problem. If the situation cannot be controlled, there is a high possibility that a large-scale replacement of generals will be carried out before the battle."
Shinozuka Yoshio did not blame Ikeda Ichiro for his rudeness. He felt that he had reason to be angry. If there had not been a problem with the house in Taiyuan City, the loss of the Specie Bank would not have been so great. The Specie Bank had a great influence in the local area. If he could not handle this incident well, not only would he not be able to continue to serve as the commander, but he might even be sent to a military court.
But the mouse hunting operation had lasted for two and a half days, but there was no discovery. All the targets found were fake targets. This gave Shinozuka Yoshio a headache. It was really that Li Yunlong was too cunning and didn't leave him any chance. In addition, the troops mobilized from the front line had not arrived yet, which made him feel helpless.
"Ikeda, I am very sorry about the emptied vault of the Specie Bank. I do bear an unshirkable responsibility for this matter. I am now doing my best to make up for it."
"But some things are easier said than done. The rat-catching operation has not made any progress so far. I have already transferred one and a half divisions from the front line and even ordered the front-line troops to switch to defense and mobilize all the troops at hand to complete the encirclement of the armored regiment. But until now, the big rat Li Yunlong has not made any movement. The warning line I set up outside has not found anything suspicious. All we can do now is wait."
"The only good news at the moment is that the enemy's aviation units cannot pose a huge threat to us. In order to block the enemy's air transport lines and use the night to transport money back, I have ordered the 16th Flying Division to launch an air strike against the Zhaojiayu base, focusing on destroying the three important airports: Maoershan Airport, Xiaozhaozhuang Airport, and Xiaosongling Airport."
"However, the enemy had already prepared and diverted the transport planes in advance, so our air strikes did not achieve much results. They only blew up some facilities on the ground, which did not have any significant effect. The most hateful thing is that the enemy built a large number of roads in the base area, which can be directly used for fighter planes to take off and land. Our idea of destroying the enemy's airport to prevent the enemy's fighter planes from taking off and landing has failed."
"In order to deal with the Zhaojiayu base, I have ordered Dr. Newei to start the third release of plague weapons. The Kwantung Army has also agreed to strongly support us and will airlift a large number of plague weapons within three days. I have formulated the No Man's Land Operation. By releasing a large number of bacterial weapons, the Zhaojiayu base will become a no man's land."
"It's just that it will take more than one or two days to achieve immediate results. According to my estimate, it will take a month. We need to continue to deploy large quantities of weapons to keep the enemy busy. Only in this way can we achieve the desired effect."
"The encirclement operation of the armored regiment is now in full swing. I hope you can wait patiently, Ikeda. I will never let the enemy transport the money back to the base. In order to quickly eliminate the threat of Li Yunlong, I hope you can use the influence of the Bank of Japan to ensure that support from the mainland arrives as soon as possible."
"The 16th Flying Division suffered heavy losses last time and is in urgent need of a large number of fighter planes and flight trainees. I need Ikeda to help me replenish the lost fighter planes within ten days. Only then will I have the confidence to recover the lost money."
"There are fighter planes blocking the air, and three blockade lines set up by the army on the ground. I don't believe Li Yunlong's armored regiment can fly out. This time I will make sure he has no way to go up to the sky and no way to go down to the ground."
Ichiro Ikeda did not object. Although he was just a small manager, the Specie Bank was a behemoth. The Navy, the Army and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs all had to give him face. He agreed immediately.
"Commander, please rest assured that I will do everything I can to meet your needs. The impact of the bank vault being emptied this time is too bad. We must not let the culprit go. On behalf of the Bank of Japan, we will fully support the 12th Army's actions. As soon as the stolen money is recovered, this matter will be over."
Chief of Staff Ippei Mitsui was also secretly groaning in his heart. He had originally planned to come to the 12th Army to gain some experience, and he never expected to encounter such a bad thing. This time, the family paid a huge price to protect him, and it also affected the relationship between the family and the Specie Bank. At this time, he could not stand idly by and had to take a positive attitude to deal with the matter.
"Ikeda, you can fully believe in the strength of our 12th Army. If most of our elite troops had not been withdrawn for the southward operation, there would be no problem with the public security in Jin Province. I, Mitsui Ippei, did not fulfill my duties. I will do my best to make up for it and will definitely find a way to recover the lost money."
The conversation in the headquarters was soon spread out. After hearing the news, Mitsui Taro had an ugly expression on his face. He did not expect that his uncle had been forced into a corner. This time the gilding plan would be terminated halfway, which would have a huge impact on the future development of the Mitsui family.
In order to prepare for the trade of goods, Kojiro Hirata did not stay in Ping'an County for several days. After he returned to Ping'an County, he learned the news that Taiyuan City and Taiyuan Airport had been occupied, which shocked him greatly. He even suspected that he had heard it wrong. But after confirming it again and again, he knew that the information he received was not wrong, which made him feel scared.
In order to get rid of the goods in his hands as quickly as possible, he hurriedly booked a banquet at Tianxiang Restaurant and called over all the people involved in the business. According to the previous plan, they were going to trade with the 358th Regiment the day after tomorrow, but now that such a big thing has happened, he needs to listen to everyone's opinions and then consider whether to do this business.
Compared to the busy Kojiro Hirata, Li Yunlong was very idle. He held bird food in his hand and sprinkled it evenly on the ground. Then he returned to the car and fell into a deep sleep.
"College student, the bird food you made is really very reliable. I thought you were exaggerating before, but I didn't expect it to be true. Less than an hour has passed and there are already birds coming down to look for food."
"When the Japanese reconnaissance plane flies over the woods, these frightened birds will fly away from the woods, thus misleading the Japanese pilots' judgment. This is indeed a very useful method, which is safe, time-saving and labor-saving!" Zhao Gang gave a thumbs up and praised in a low voice.
Lin Zhenhua didn't expect that his luck would be so good today. He got 80 bags of bird food when he signed in, which was just enough to solve his urgent problem. Otherwise, the forest without birds would definitely attract the attention of the Japanese pilots. Once the Japanese called in bombers to bomb, the armored regiment would not be able to continue to grow.
"Old Zhao, the Japanese have been going crazy these past two days, patrolling around Taiyuan City around the clock. Our reconnaissance planes dare not even approach. We have no idea whether the Japanese have ambushed them. But I believe that Old Li's judgment will not be wrong. We can take this opportunity to rest for two days and recover our physical and mental strength!"