latelenovela #487 - The Rise of Great Powers: European War (Part 2)
#487 - The Rise of Great Powers: European War (Part 2)
The upper echelons of the puppet army began to consciously preserve their strength, and with this shift in power, they suddenly launched an attack yesterday. They looted the Japanese assets in the Lushun-Dalian(旅大) area, as well as some of the wealth they had brought from Xinjing(新京: Changchun) and Fengtian(奉天: Shenyang). They robbed all the ships in the port, including warships, and took half of the people with them, crossing the sea to surrender to the Nationalists.
As for those of them who remained, most were those who were reluctant to leave their homeland or were strong men forcibly conscripted last year. They themselves had no deep-seated hatred, and they had no psychological burden to surrender to the Eighth Route Army.
After listening to Bi Laonian's(毕老蔫: Bi Laonian, a person's name) introduction, the three had a good understanding of the situation in Lushun(旅顺: Lüshunkou District of Dalian).
Li Yunlong(李云龙: Li Yunlong, a person's name) asked, "So, all the Japanese have gone to Lushunkou(旅顺口: Lüshunkou District of Dalian), and Jinzhou(金州: Jinzhou District of Dalian) is now under your control. And the Japanese have no ships, and their retreat is cut off." Seeing Bi Laonian(毕老蔫: Bi Laonian, a person's name) nod, he said with a smile, "Hehe, we are trapping turtles in a jar!"
Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) said with a smile, "I have to say, Xing Shilian(邢士廉: Xing Shilian, a person's name) played this move beautifully! He directly tricked the Japanese. Without ships, the Japanese can't escape. The commander of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu), is a big fish! Bi Laonian(毕老蔫: Bi Laonian, a person's name), right? You go back now and tell your people to come out of the city to surrender. We will screen you! If there are really no problems and you are willing to work with us, we welcome you! If you are not willing, we will give you travel expenses and let you go home."
Bi Laonian(毕老蔫: Bi Laonian, a person's name) said excitedly, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir. I will go back now, and the brothers will come out to surrender immediately." Then he was taken away.
Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) said, "Lao Li(老李: Old Li, a respectful way to call Li Yunlong), Lao Kong(老孔: Old Kong, a respectful way to call Kong Jie), I'll leave these people to you. Our teaching brigade cannot take prisoners. Quickly resolve the Jinzhou(金州: Jinzhou District of Dalian) matter, and we will go to Lushunkou(旅顺口: Lüshunkou District of Dalian) to meet Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu), the commander of the Kwantung Army."
The Independent 11th Brigade and the Independent 25th Brigade sent a part of their troops to enter the city first to take over the material warehouses occupied by the puppet army. Before long, teams of puppet soldiers walked out of the city. They wore various uniforms and lined up in uneven queues. Under the guidance of the Eighth Route Army soldiers, they came to the designated location and dropped their weapons, keeping only their personal belongings.
Rifles, pistols, machine guns, artillery, ammunition, and knives were placed separately as required. These puppet soldiers were extremely obedient when they saw the thousands of tanks and armored vehicles outside the city. Then, following the instructions of the Eighth Route Army soldiers, they broke up their formations and reorganized into teams according to the designated number of people.
According to preliminary statistics, the total number of these surrendered puppet soldiers reached more than 53,000. Then a group of people tied up were brought out. These people were all Japanese officers and advisors in the army. When the troops mutinied, these people were detained, and some were directly killed.
When these Japanese devils were brought before them, most of them were calm, and some were fearful.
Of course, there is no shortage of those seeking death. There were a dozen or so Japanese devils who were emotionally agitated and loudly cursed: "前ら臆病なうらぎりもの裏切り者たちはこのし死につうずる通ずる!(You cowardly traitors will die!)" "天皇へいか陛下まん万歳だいにっぽく大日本だいに帝国まん万歳!(Long live the Emperor! Long live the Great Japanese Empire!)" And they were still struggling desperately.
Kong Jie(孔捷: Kong Jie, a person's name) looked at them and said, "What are these little Japanese devils muttering about? They seem very unconvinced!"
Li Yunlong(李云龙: Li Yunlong, a person's name) was still as fiery as ever: "Damn it, they've reached this point, and the little Japanese devils still dare to resist. Monk, bring me my knife, I'm going to chop them up."
Wei Dayong(魏大勇: Wei Dayong, a person's name), who was already the battalion commander of the guard battalion, said, "Brigade commander, that's not good, is it? Political Commissar told me before he left to keep an eye on you and not let you mess around."
Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) waved his hand and said to the soldiers escorting them, "I admire such tough guys. Come on, release them. Give each of them a bayonet, and I'll give them a fair chance to compete." The soldiers looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Seeing Li Yunlong(李云龙: Li Yunlong, a person's name) nod, they did as Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) said.
There were a total of 13 Japanese devils who were yelling. They were suddenly released from their bonds and each given a bayonet. They didn't know what to do. One of them shouted: "The warriors of the Empire will not yield. You Chi..." Before he could finish speaking.
"Whoosh!" A sound of air being torn apart, a black shadow flashed past. The long whip in Liu Yuan's(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) hand crossed the distance of 5 meters and struck his temple with a "啪" sound. His head exploded like a watermelon. The part of the Japanese devil above his cheeks was directly shattered, and red and white splattered out, covering the heads and faces of the nearby Japanese devils.
Everyone present did not react. Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) backhanded another whip, and the shadow of the whip whistled past and struck the back of another Japanese devil's neck. The huge force directly broke his neck, and his head was torn off. The group of Japanese devils suffered a great shock and screamed and scattered.
But Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) did not show mercy, "啪啪啪啪啪" another five whips in a row (True · Lightning Five Consecutive Whips). Under his great power, it was death if touched, and crippled if grazed.
Everyone watched as a Japanese devil was hit in the back with a whip and lay on the ground spitting out blood. It was also mixed with dark red internal organs, and it was clear that he would not survive.
Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) shook the whip in mid-air, making a "嗖啪!" sound as if the air was torn apart.
Then he pointed at the Japanese devils and said, "I know you can understand Chinese. Is there anyone who is not convinced now?"
The remaining seven Japanese devils seemed to react, and hurriedly threw away the bayonets in their hands and knelt on the ground, kowtowing. "哗!" The sound was very neat, and the Japanese devils who were still tied up also knelt down.
Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) threw the whip to Duan Peng(段鹏: Duan Peng, a person's name) behind him and said to Li Yunlong(李云龙: Li Yunlong, a person's name) and Kong Jie(孔捷: Kong Jie, a person's name), "Lao Li(老李: Old Li, a respectful way to call Li Yunlong), Lao Kong(老孔: Old Kong, a respectful way to call Kong Jie), did you see that? The little Japanese devils are all cheap bones. If they don't listen, just whip them. If there are still those who are not convinced, continue to whip them, and they will all be honest."
Kong Jie(孔捷: Kong Jie, a person's name) said, "Xiao Liu(小刘: Xiao Liu, a respectful way to call Liu Yuan), it's not good to whip them to death like this, is it? The higher-ups said to treat prisoners well."
Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) shrugged and said, "Is there? I didn't abuse the prisoners. These Japanese devils weren't captured by us, were they! I've already untied them and given them weapons. Then they are not prisoners of war. I'll just kill them all..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Japanese devils picked up the ropes on the ground, tied themselves up, and quickly said, "Sir, we surrender, we surrender." They didn't speak Japanese anymore, that big dacha(大碴子: corn) flavor, also with a bit of Jiaodong(胶东: Shandong peninsula) accent. Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) stayed in the Northeast for half a year, and he couldn't learn such a standard accent.
This scene not only shocked the Japanese prisoners, but also silenced the surrendered puppet soldiers. They kept hearing the sentence: "In the future, if there is anyone who does not obey, release him. Just stuff him with a weapon, a kitchen knife, a brick, a wooden stick, anything will do, and then kill him!" Oh my god! This is too cruel.
These were just small episodes. The advance troops had already controlled the main facilities and buildings in the city. With the armored troops of the teaching brigade as the vanguard, the formal entry ceremony began.
The endless stream of tanks and armored vehicles, and the infantry accompanied by fully armed soldiers on both sides, drove into Jinzhou(金州: Jinzhou District of Dalian) City. It heralded the true return of this land to the embrace of the motherland since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894. A large number of Chinese residents in the city ran to the streets to cheer and celebrate.
Some Japanese expatriates also ran to the streets to welcome them, waving small white flags in their hands. (It is estimated that they did not know what flag the Eighth Route Army used, so they had to use white flags instead. Anyway, they surrendered and made do with it.) The entire army passed through the city without stopping and went directly to Lushun(旅顺: Lüshunkou District of Dalian) Port on the other side.
Lushun(旅顺: Lüshunkou District of Dalian) Port Area is located in the south of Baiyu Mountain(白玉山: White Jade Mountain) in the center of Lushunkou(旅顺口: Lüshunkou District of Dalian) District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province today. It is located in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, and is an important gateway to Beijing and Tianjin. It shares the throat of the Bohai Strait with the Miaodao Islands and Dengzhou Cape in Shandong across the sea. It constitutes a natural barrier for Beijing and Liaoning, and its terrain is dangerous, and it has always been a military port. It is surrounded by mountains, and the port has a narrow waterway connecting it to the open sea to the east of Golden Mountain and west of Tiger Tail Peninsula. The port has good concealment and wind protection, deep water, and complete equipment. It can provide ships with oil and water. This port is a natural ice-free port in the north.
During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, it was occupied by Japanese pirates, and then the Tsarist Russia, Germany, France, and other powers feigned interference, and the Japanese pirates were forced to return it. It was then forcibly "leased" by Tsarist Russia for as long as seven years. In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War, Tsarist Russia was defeated, and Japanese pirates invaded Lushun(旅顺: Lüshunkou District of Dalian) again for forty years. Around the "July 7th Incident" of the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, the Japanese army transported tens of thousands of troops from Lushun(旅顺: Lüshunkou District of Dalian) with a large number of ships, which led to the later fall of vast areas of North China and caused great humiliation to China. Today, Lushun(旅顺: Lüshunkou District of Dalian) Port welcomes the Eighth Route Army.
Along the port area of Lushunkou(旅顺口: Lüshunkou District of Dalian), all coastal defense facilities, including Nanshan Fortress. It was looted by the puppet army. For their own safe withdrawal, they concentrated all the shells and blew them up. Those light and heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft guns were also dismantled and taken away. At present, the soldiers brought by Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu), plus the local garrison, have nearly 10,000 people. However, the ammunition is seriously insufficient, and the combat effectiveness is worrying, so he did not even dare to provoke those puppet troops who were preparing to surrender. For two consecutive days, even basic food supplies have become a problem. A considerable number of soldiers have secretly abandoned their weapons and changed into civilian clothes to mix into the Japanese residential area. Such a large-scale defection was unimaginable in the previous Japanese army.
Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu) sat desolately in the office, staring straight at the map of China on the wall. He couldn't understand why? Why is this happening? In just seven years, the Empire's power will be driven out of this land. The efforts of the Kwantung Army here for decades will be buried in their own hands. He is sorry for the Emperor, and also sorry for those ancestors!
"Dong dong dong" There was a knock on the door. Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu) raised his head and said, "Please come in!" The door was pushed open, and a major general walked in. He was Hyuga Shinotaro(日向筱太郎: Hyuga Shinotaro, a person's name), the former commander of the military police in the Xinjing(新京: Changchun) area. He walked to Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu) and said, "Commander, the Eighth Route Army's armored forces have arrived in Jinzhou(金州: Jinzhou District of Dalian). Those rebel troops have surrendered to them and are expected to reach Lushunkou(旅顺口: Lüshunkou District of Dalian) soon. What should we do? Please give instructions."
Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu) sighed deeply: "Alas! Hyuga(日向: Hyuga, a person's name), we lost this battle completely. When the war started more than two months ago, the Kwantung Army still had the 1st Division, 8th Division, 9th Division, 10th Division, 11th Division, 12th Division, 14th Division, 23rd Division, 24th Division, 25th Division, 27th Division, 28th Division, 29th Division, 57th Division, and 71st Division, a total of 15 main divisions, as well as some local garrison teams, with a total of nearly 800,000 people. At the same time, there were about 180,000 puppet Manchurian National Defense Forces and railway police teams to assist. Now, except for the 90,000 people who have withdrawn into North Korea and Shanhaiguan(山海关: Shanhaiguan District of Qinhuangdao), only a few thousand people in our hands are still resisting. I am a sinner of the Empire! I personally buried the great Kwantung Army."
Hyuga Shinotaro(日向筱太郎: Hyuga Shinotaro, a person's name) : "Commander, you don't have to be frustrated. This is not your responsibility, it is the negligence of the North China Front Army. It was they who failed to timely control the development of the Eighth Route Army, allowing the Eighth Route Army to develop and grow to such an extent under their noses."
Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu) said lightly: "As for whose responsibility it is, it doesn't matter now. Hyuga(日向: Hyuga, a person's name), when the Eighth Route Army arrives, you should lead the soldiers to surrender! Continuing to resist is meaningless. We have too many expatriates in Manchuria. Don't burn the military flag! There is no need to continue to anger them. Only by minimizing the enemy's hostility as much as possible will the other party not treat our people harshly."
Hyuga Shinotaro(日向筱太郎: Hyuga Shinotaro, a person's name) was silent for a while and asked: "Then, what about you?" Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu) shook his head and said: "I am different from you. As an imperial general, I can only die but not surrender. The orders I have issued since taking office have been stained with too much Chinese blood. Only when I die will they be relieved. If I surrender to the enemy, the blow to the morale of the Empire will be even deeper."
Hyuga Shinotaro(日向筱太郎: Hyuga Shinotaro, a person's name) said again: "Commander, is there anything else I can do for you?" Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu) raised the saber in his hand: "Hyuga(日向: Hyuga, a person's name), please close the door later and let me stay quietly for a while. This is my command knife, which was once given by His Majesty the Emperor. Please hand it over to the Eighth Route Army commander. Then bring him here, please."
Hyuga Shinotaro(日向筱太郎: Hyuga Shinotaro, a person's name) silently took the saber and bowed deeply. Then he turned and left, closing the door tightly as he left.
Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu) took another rib difference from the shelf and returned to the map to wipe it carefully. Suddenly he smiled sadly: "Hehe, what Yoshikawa(吉川: Yoshikawa, a person's name) and Master Funakoshi(船越师傅: Funakoshi sensei) said back then was right! The sleeping beast of China was finally awakened by us..."
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When Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) and the others arrived, the Japanese army was already lined up outside the city. All the weapons were neatly placed in front of the queue. The Japanese army of less than 6,000 people was unusually silent. They looked at the steel torrent in front of them with fear in their eyes. The tall Northeast Tiger tanks were more than twice as big as their little beans.
At the front of the team was a Japanese general, followed by four officers holding trays and waving white flags. Liu Yuan's(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name) DKFZ247 armored command vehicle slowly drove to the front of them. The car stopped steadily, and Duan Peng(段鹏: Duan Peng, a person's name) and Wei Dayong(魏大勇: Wei Dayong, a person's name) jumped out first, followed by Li Yunlong(李云龙: Li Yunlong, a person's name) and Kong Jie(孔捷: Kong Jie, a person's name). As for Liu Yuan(刘远: Liu Yuan, a person's name), he jumped directly from the roof of the car.
Hyuga Shinotaro(日向筱太郎: Hyuga Shinotaro, a person's name) in front stepped forward and bowed deeply, saying: "Your Excellency, I am Major General Hyuga Shinotaro(日向筱太郎: Hyuga Shinotaro, a person's name) of the Imperial Army. On behalf of Commander Umezu Yoshijiro(梅津美治郎: Yoshijiro Umezu) of the Kwantung Army, I surrender to your army here, and I hope that your army can treat our prisoners of war in accordance with international conventions. This is the command knife of Commander, which was bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor of our country." Saying that, he picked up the gorgeous samurai sword from the tray in the hands of another officer. The knife was inlaid with gold and jade, and a row of gems was inlaid on the handle, shining in the sun. Hyuga Shinotaro(日向筱太郎: Hyuga Shinotaro, a person's name) held the saber in both hands and presented it to the people.
Liu Yuan reached out, took the military knife, and with a 'shua' sound, drew it out. He looked at it against the sunlight and said, "This knife is not bad. I'll send it to the chief later! I reckon I can exchange it for a lot of good stuff from Chiang Kai-shek!" Then he asked Hyuga, "Where is your commander? Why didn't he come?"
Hyuga Shotaro replied, "The Commander is currently in his office. He hopes to preserve his last dignity. We hope you can understand and trouble you to go there later."
Seppuku? It's a Japanese tradition. Liu Yuan expressed his understanding. Then, Li Yunlong and Kong Jie ordered the soldiers behind them to begin accepting the Japanese surrender. Afterward, the group, along with the guard battalion, arrived at the former headquarters of the Kwantung Army. Under the guidance of Hyuga Shotaro, they reached the commander's office on the 3rd floor.
Hyuga Shotaro stepped aside at the door and said, "Your Excellency, Commander Umezu is inside." Liu Yuan smelled the scent of blood from outside the door, guessing that the old devil had already committed suicide.
He nodded silently and pushed open the door. He saw Umezu Yoshijiro kneeling directly in front of the door, his head lowered. His abdomen had been cut open, and his left hand was still tightly gripping the hilt of the knife. On the large map behind him, the two characters for "Peace" were written in blood. He must have dipped his hand in his own blood to write them before his death. It seemed that in the last moment of his life, he was repenting for his crimes and even struck a kneeling pose. However, Liu Yuan sneered at his performance, but since the man was already dead, he couldn't bring himself to desecrate the corpse to vent his anger.
With the surrender of the Japanese army and the death of Commander Umezu Yoshijiro, the Kwantung Army, established in 1919 and known as the "Flower of the Japanese Army," formally ceased to exist as a strategic unit.