si-mexico Chapter 708: Using Chinese to Rule Chinese
Chapter 708: Using Chinese to Rule Chinese
"My dear Chief of Staff, did you see that? Those damn lights are finally gone. This is a victory for our Imperial Army. The people in the 29th Army are still the same as before."
Commander Yamamoto returned to his desk happily. When he chose this office, he liked to cross his legs on the desk and look at the scenery outside the window. However, because of Zhao Tiezhu's searchlight, Commander Yamamoto had not opened the window once in the past few months.
When I saw those searchlights, I felt very humiliated. I have been stationed here for decades, but I was bullied by some newcomers. I had no way to fight back. It was so frustrating.
Originally, I thought that by getting reinforcements from the Kwantung Army, I could destroy Li Shaoyi. Unexpectedly, I didn't even see Li Shaoyi being destroyed. Instead, the Kwantung Army also lost several divisions.
Later, they formed an alliance with Luosha, and the North China Garrison Army was secretly happy. They felt that with the alliance of two military powers, Li Shaoyi would not be able to survive, right?
But he survived and lived a very strong life.
The most desperate at that time were not the Kwantung Army on the battlefield, but the garrison troops stationed in North China. They could not see any hope and did not know what the people of the 72nd Army were going to do tomorrow. Anyway, these people had a program every day. When the program ended, either we had to pay compensation or leave behind several corpses. Such things tortured them every day.
Now that such a thing finally didn't happen, the two senior officials of the garrison placed a few side dishes in their office and prepared to drink their bland sake.
"Your Excellency, the Commander is right. When I sent Colonel Kakuta to negotiate, the men of the 29th Army were timid and submissive. Although they seemed reluctant to agree, they ultimately signed the new agreement. They lack the backbone of the 72nd Army, let alone its strength."
Chief of Staff Nakamura picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp.
For more than half a year, they were almost suffocated by the pressure. Even if they drank, they just drank alone. Today they can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"That being said, you still have to be careful. You need to develop a comprehensive plan and achieve new results every week or month. If absolutely necessary, we must reinvigorate our military and engage in a military confrontation with them, and we must also regain our previous privileges."
Commander Yamamoto said a little carried away that when Zhao Tiezhu was here, whenever there was a conflict between the two sides, he would order his men to keep quiet and never let the people of the 72nd Army get hold of anything, otherwise we would either lose money or die.
But now that the 29th Army has taken over, they don’t have so many concerns.
It's not like they haven't dealt with the 29th Army before. After the Northwest Army arrived in North China, they also had a lot of trouble acclimatizing. Moreover, they had to guard against the Central Army in the south from time to time. Under such circumstances, they didn't dare to offend the Japanese.
"Your Excellency, Commander, is correct. However, according to the intelligence I've received, the police stations across the country are still staffed by members of the 72nd Army. During their retreat, they underwent a large-scale rotation. Furthermore, there are still many weapons and equipment we haven't yet discovered. Take the Tianjin Police Headquarters, for example; they still have them in their possession."
After hearing what Chief of Staff Nakamura said, Commander Yamamoto's originally happy face froze in embarrassment.
Let’s not talk about the police stations in other counties. Let’s take the Tianjin Police Station as an example. There are a total of 3,455 police officers on the payroll. Although not all of them are from the 72nd Army, at least 1,500 of them are active-duty soldiers of the 72nd Army who have taken off their uniforms.
Others may not know the combat effectiveness of the 72nd Army, but the North China Garrison Army knows it very well. That conclusion was reached at the cost of thousands of lives.
"Then you can test them first to see if they will care about the 29th Army. If they do, then we will slow down our pace. If they don't, then the world will be ours."
When saying these words, Commander Yamamoto felt very ashamed.
He is obviously Japan's most elite army, but he has to consider other people's feelings when doing things. If this news were to get back to his country, he would be too embarrassed to live like a human being.
"Commander, those traitors who originally defected to us are actually useful now. They've been in the concession for a long time, so we should let them out to explore. They understand the Chinese best. We shouldn't formulate an operational plan for them, but only set operational goals for them. Letting them corrupt the 29th Army will be much faster than us taking direct action."
Chief of Staff Nakamura thought of the group of traitors in the Zizhulin Concession.
When the 72nd Army retreated, these people jumped higher than anyone else, and even wanted to take back all 22 counties in eastern Hebei.
"Yoshi, you're right. How could I have forgotten about them? When it comes to dealing with the Dragon people, their own people have always been the most capable."
Commander Yamamoto slapped his head vigorously. He really had overlooked this matter. In the past, these territories were only able to enter because of the advice of those traitors. Now that the 72nd Army, the biggest obstacle, is gone, he should release these traitors and let them do their work properly.
"Then we wish them success."
Chief of Staff Nakamura also raised the wine glass in his hand. Those people have not been idle these days. They have sent a lot of valuable things to the chief of staff's home. Otherwise, who would have the time to talk to you?
"We must also strengthen our military strength. The Beijing-Fengtian Railway..."
When talking about this railway, Commander Yamamoto felt like he was stabbed in the heart. He had managed it for twenty or thirty years, and suddenly it was taken away by Li Shaoyi. Although the original investment was recovered long ago, the railway line is like a blood vessel, penetrating deep into the land of Longguo. When we retreat, it also means that our influence in the local area is declining.
"For now, forget about this railway line. The 72nd Army has specialized troops guarding it, and there are three security groups along the route. Furthermore, it involves Western countries, so we can't turn against them right now."
Chief of Staff Nakamura was still rational. The reason the railway was handed over was because Western countries used raw materials and technology to put pressure on us. At that time, they also understood that the Western countries wanted to use Li Shaoyi to fight against Russia. But now that the war has basically stopped and the 72nd Army has retreated, it is still not the time for us to speak up...