bookrandom Chapter 801 Meteor?!
Chapter 801 Meteor?!
Nakamura Shunsuke’s expression turned cold: “Commander, I suggest you watch your words.
The key now is how to calm the anger of our General Takazaki, the House of Peers, and even His Majesty the Emperor.
I suggest that you conduct a thorough investigation into the truth of the matter and promise to severely punish those responsible. Before a definitive explanation is given, I suggest that the Shanghai Expeditionary Force temporarily suspend its offensive.
After all, human energy is limited, and we need to focus on one thing, right?"
"Even if my troops did not make any mistakes?" Matsui Iwane asked in disbelief.
"For the greater good of the Empire, sometimes personal and troop honor must be sacrificed," Nakamura Shunsuke said meaningfully. "Otherwise, the Navy's next move might be even more extreme. I heard they're already planning an accidental bombing of the Army's supply lines."
Matsui Iwane felt a chill.
He understood that this was not a threat, but an action the Navy might actually take.
In the Japanese military system, the army has always had more say and resources, and the navy is often at a disadvantage. The navy will not miss any opportunity to make trouble for the army!
After a long silence, he finally gave in: "I will... consider your suggestion. But please also ensure that something like this doesn't happen again."
Nakamura Shunsuke smiled with satisfaction. "Of course, we will do our best to mediate the conflict between the navy and the army. After all, we are all working for the glory of His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire."
When leaving the 101st Division's headquarters, Matsui Iwane felt unprecedentedly tired.
It's not physical fatigue, but mental frustration.
He, the commander of the Central China Front Army, actually had to bow to a lieutenant colonel, to the navy! Even though he knew that the other side had brutally murdered his own soldiers.
Back at headquarters, Iizawa Mamoru immediately came up to him and said, “Commander, the latest statistics are out.
In the naval bombardment, our army lost at least 2,300 men, with more than 4,000 wounded, and much equipment and positions were destroyed."
Matsui Iwane closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Report to the Tokyo headquarters, but... downplay the navy's responsibility and say that the losses were caused by the stubborn resistance of the Chinese army during the offensive."
Iizawa Mamoru looked at the commander in surprise: "But... there's no way the headquarters doesn't know the truth."
"Follow orders! The explanation isn't important; the important thing is to stop exaggerating!" Matsui Iwane interrupted him. "At the same time, prepare a personal letter for Commander Hasegawa Kiyoshi, expressing my gratitude for the Navy's support and my regret for the misunderstanding.
Also, get a few people from the Expeditionary Force Commander. I need to give an explanation to the Military Police..."
These words were almost squeezed out from between teeth.
Mamoru Iizawa understood the commander's difficulties and wanted to say something, but in the end he nodded silently and left.
Standing alone in front of the battle map, Matsui Iwane felt sad.
The contradictions within the imperial army were so deep that even when fierce fighting was in full swing on the front line, tragedies of fratricide would occur.
He looked out the window and saw the vague outlines of Japanese warships on the Huangpu River. The muzzles of those ships were pointed at both the Chinese army and, secretly, the Japanese army.
"If this goes on, how can we win the war even if we occupy Shanghai?" he muttered to himself, and for the first time he began to doubt the future of the war.
. . . . . . . . . .
Calm gradually returned to the front line.
At dusk, more than a dozen soldiers arrived to reinforce Li Weizhuo's company. They were a group of Sichuan troops whose organization had been broken up, so they could only join other teams nearby.
Suddenly, a familiar sound of a motorcycle engine came from the distance.
He immediately raised his binoculars alertly and saw a sidecar motorcycle bumping through the ruins and heading towards them.
"It's the messenger from the regiment headquarters!" the observation post confirmed.
The motorcycle stopped in front of the position and the messenger jumped off. His face was covered in dust but the eagerness in his eyes could not be concealed.
After saluting Li Weizhuo, he took out a letter of order from his breast pocket.
"Captain Li, urgent orders from division headquarters!" The messenger lowered his voice, "Please read immediately."
Li Weizhuo quickly opened the envelope and began to read in the afterglow of the setting sun.
The content of the order made his pupils shrink slightly. The entire army was ordered to begin a strategic shift tonight and retreat westward to the Suzhou-Fushan national defense line.
The order detailed the retreat sequence, with the right wing army going first and the left wing army providing cover.
Artillery and heavy equipment are evacuated first, and infantry units are the rearguard.
Their 88th Division belonged to the left wing army and was responsible for the cover mission in the final stage.
"Transfer to the start time?" Li Weizhuo asked calmly.
"Tonight at 9:00 PM, three red flares will be fired as a signal." The messenger replied, "The commander has ordered that your mission is to hold this position until 3:00 AM tomorrow morning, and then retreat along the designated route.
The division's engineer battalion will mark the route and establish pickets along the way."
The messenger took out another map, which detailed the retreat route, assembly points and possible enemy interception positions.
Li Weizhuo noticed that the route deliberately avoided main roads and chose to pass through villages and trails to reduce the probability of being discovered by Japanese aerial reconnaissance.
"How many of you brothers can evacuate?" Li Weizhuo's voice was almost inaudible.
The messenger was silent for a moment, then said sadly, "The division commander said that we should retreat as much as we can, as it's better than being completely wiped out.
Although the bombardment by those bastards in the navy caused heavy losses, it also accidentally forced the Japanese to suspend their attack, giving us this opportunity."
Li Weizhou nodded and took a deep breath. "Replying to the commander, our unit will resolutely carry out orders and complete the cover mission at all costs."
. . . . . . . . . .
In the suburbs of Shanghai, on the beachhead near Jinshanwei, two companies of Chinese defenders, about 300 people, were lying on the position, nervously observing the movements on the sea.
A large number of Japanese ships were rising and falling on the sea, and dense landing craft had been launched.
The telegram requesting help has been sent, but no one knows when the reinforcements will arrive.
The soldiers were all extremely nervous. Some were as pale as paper, and some were shaking uncontrollably while holding their guns.
"Company commander, look quickly." At this time, a soldier suddenly pointed to the sky.
A strange, sharp, never-before-heard whistling sound tore through the dull air!
It was not the sound of flying shells, nor the roar of airplane engines, but a higher-pitched, more sustained sound with a texture like some kind of metal tearing, as if the sky itself had been forcibly cut open by something with a huge wound.
"what sound?!"
"Heaven! Look at the sky!"
All the soldiers raised their heads almost at the same time.
Dozens... no, dozens of blazing white tails, like angry silver dragons, appeared out of thin air from the sky behind them.
At a terrifying speed beyond their knowledge of any aircraft, it dragged a long, straight or slightly curved column of smoke, emitted a heart-shaking scream, streaked across the sky, and swooped down towards the Japanese fleet on the sea!
That scene was completely beyond my comprehension.
"Meteor?!" someone exclaimed subconsciously, but was immediately denied.
How could there be shooting stars in broad daylight? Moreover, shooting stars fall downwards, while these terrifying white lights pass overhead.
"Is...is it our plane?" Another voice was full of hope, but then disappeared.
There were no planes, no shadow of any planes, only the lights of death that were growing brighter and faster.
The officers were equally shocked, but they managed to remain calm, their hands trembling slightly as they held up the binoculars.
Through the lenses, they clearly saw those "things" with tail flames plunging into the Japanese fleet with astonishing precision.
Immediately afterwards, on the distant sea, huge orange-red fireballs suddenly rose into the sky!
The violent explosion sounded dully even from a long distance, and the ground beneath one's feet could be felt to vibrate faintly.
A brilliant and cruel spark suddenly exploded in the middle of a huge transport ship, thick smoke billowed into the sky, and the hull began to tilt and break at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Another smaller ship was hit directly and instantly turned into a burning wreckage, slowly sinking into the waves.
The Japanese landing formation on the sea was instantly plunged into chaos and fire.
The defenders in the trenches stared in amazement at this sudden and completely incomprehensible change.
"Gods...are they the heavenly soldiers and generals coming down to help us?" The most superstitious veteran widened his eyes and almost knelt down.
This scene was too mysterious and did not resemble any weapon that could exist in the human world.
They didn't know that these "silver dragons" came from the quiet mixed woods behind them, nor did they know that a man named Makarov was admiring his "masterpiece" with a crazy smile.