Rise From Eight Hundred

April 24, 1940!

With the Second War Zone's announcement of the victory of the Zishan Campaign in southern Hebei, the Chinese and Japanese sides officially ended the mopping-up and anti-mopping-up campaign on the southern Hebei Plain, which actually deployed more than 100,000 troops.

However, the Chinese Second War Zone, as the victorious party, and the Japanese North China Front Army, as the defeated party, were vague about the losses of both sides in this battle, which would be named the "First Handan Campaign" in the future.

The Japanese North China Front Army is understandable. After all, as the party that was covered in dust, it was normal to cover up its losses. However, a stingy old man who liked to show off his achievements unexpectedly said "We won", which was really difficult to understand.

Perhaps only those who knew the inside story understood that this was a disguised suppression of the Tang Dao by the stingy old man. Even in the war report submitted to the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, the Second War Zone also referred to the Southern Hebei Office and the 921st Division of the 80th Army as the names, without mentioning the three words "Sixingtuan".

"Yoshi! The commander of the Second War Zone in China must have a grudge against the Four-Line Regiment and the Tang Sword. This is something that the front army can use. Let the intelligence department of the front army spend more effort on this aspect. The more detailed the better. This will have an immeasurable effect on the front army's dealing with the stubborn enemy of the Four-Line Regiment." Okamura Koji, who had just taken office as the commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, was keen to find important information from this seemingly unimportant intelligence.

"Kasahara-kun, this is one of the reasons why China cannot compete with the empire. Their internal friction is too serious. Even under such heavy pressure from the empire, this is one of the reasons why I strongly advocated the Kwantung Army to use troops against the three provinces in the northeast." Facing the front army's chief of staff, Major General Kasahara Yukio, Okamura Koji's sinister face rarely showed warmth.

This may be the best news Okamura Koji has received since he took office. The Tang Sword led a small infantry regiment and embarrassed the front army. What if he is promoted to brigade commander or division commander?

The reason why Okamura Koji was most concerned about Tang Dao and raised the plan to deal with the Four-Line Group to almost the same level as the Zhongtiao Mountain Defense Line at the beginning of his tenure was the lessons learned from the previous three commanders who resigned in disgrace.

If the resignation of General Indoor Shouyi was not too related to Tang Dao, then the disgraceful resignation of Shan Shanyuan and Duo Tianjun was inevitably related to the rise of Tang Dao and the Four-Line Group.

Okamura Koji naturally had to learn the lessons of the previous three commanders. As soon as he arrived in North China, he immediately ordered the Intelligence Department to personally review all the intelligence of the Four-Line Group and Tang Dao. No, he found a hint of unusual clues in the war report submitted by the Second War Zone!

Okamura Koji, who claimed to be knowledgeable and talented, must have never dabbled in philosophy. The famous German philosopher Hegel once said: The only lesson mankind has learned from history is that mankind has not learned any lessons from history.

But, would Okamura Koji, who was extremely cunning, show off to his chief of staff because of his little discovery?

Obviously, this is not consistent with the character of this person who is known as the "most sinister commander of the North China Front Army".

If it were someone else, facing the show-off of their immediate superior, they would basically give him a bunch of flattery and express their loyalty first.

However, Major General Yukio Kasahara, who was the Chief of Staff of the North China Front Army at the time, was not a simple person. As a descendant of the shogunate family, he was in the same class as Ishihara Kanji at the Army University. Because of his excellent grades, he and Ishihara Kanji and others became members of the "Saber Group" of that period. He was given a saber by Emperor Taisho and served as the Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army and the Commander of the 11th Army in the past.

To put it bluntly, Yukio Kasahara is the kind of person who has someone behind him and is still working hard. Such a person naturally has his own response plan when facing the self-praise of his superiors with a bit of tentative nature.

"I have always heard the commander-in-chief mention your wisdom when I was in the Imperial Guards Division. I have always regarded you as a role model. When you took office this time, you have seen through the internal struggles of the Chinese people. I admire you very much. The restoration of the former glory of the front army is just around the corner!" Kasahara Yukio flattered him respectfully and neither servilely nor arrogantly.

Okamura Koji's face was even warmer, but a trace of haze flashed in his eyes.

If it weren't for his chief of staff reminding him, he almost forgot that this man, who would definitely be promoted to lieutenant general in the army soon, was the commander of the Imperial Guards Division when he was the commander of the regiment.

The subtext of this person was also a reminder to him: I will fully cooperate with the commander-in-chief, but don't treat me as a soft persimmon, because the great god behind me is His Royal Highness the Prince.

Just now, he was still proud of the internal fighting among the Chinese. The new commander of the Japanese North China Front Army found that the guys under his command were not good birds either. He wanted to use the momentum of "being ordered in times of crisis" to suppress them, but it would take more than a few days. His head was a little painful.

Compared with the excitement of the undercurrent of power change in the Japanese North China Front Army, the top leaders of the Chinese mountain city were calm, as if they did not see the internal fighting in the Second War Zone that was almost about to be announced on paper.

Even the promotion order was in accordance with the intention of a certain commander of the Second War Zone.

The commander of the 683rd Brigade was promoted from major general to lieutenant general, and several deputy brigade-level cadres of the 683rd Brigade were promoted from army colonels to major generals. However, the military funds of the three infantry divisions of the 80th Army were withheld.

After receiving the promotion order, Brigadier Cheng threw it into a ball with disdain and threw it into the boiling water stove: "Since the beginning of winter last year, the military salary has not been paid until now. What kind of major general and lieutenant general? I don't care about his empty promises." !”

Since November last year, the entire 80th Group Army has not received a penny of military expenditure. Everyone in the 80th Group Army has already felt the vigilance and dissatisfaction of Shancheng. The 80th Group Army is willing to use the 683 brigade to show off its muscles in this Zishan battle. In fact, I also want to show that person that it is okay not to pay military expenditures, but don't play with fire. The 80th Army has the courage and strength to face all major enemies.

In this context, no matter how high the position given by the Ministry of Military Affairs is, it is just a blank check, as Brigadier Cheng said.

In the Jinan Administrative Office, he was promoted to the rank of prince and lieutenant general. To put it bluntly, the military rank was still the army major general but he received the salary of a lieutenant general. The deputy director Tang Dao received the rank of major general. The military salary was a bit more, but the military rank remained unchanged.

As for the Four Elements Regiment, which was the main force in the Battle of Zishan, there was almost no mention in the promotion order. All officers above the captain level were given a one-level increase in military pay.

There is no mention of medals or the like at all.

"The bloody theater headquarters and the military and administrative department, I killed so many Japanese in this battle, and more than a thousand of the brothers in the regiment died in the battle. How do you think these bastards didn't see it?" Lei Xiong had a hot temper, and returned in front of Tang Dao, who was stationed there, almost smashed the wooden coffee table with his slap.

Tang Dao, who was lazily lying on the lounge chair and basking in the sun, smiled slightly and handed over a cup of tea: "Brother, calm down, what did I think it was! It's just a small reward! No money, pension and reward for us The regiment distributes them by itself, but we don’t give medals. Why, we can’t do it ourselves?”

"This is not a matter of money. The brothers in our regiment died for the country. Why can these bastards turn a blind eye to this? Aren't they afraid that the soldiers will be disappointed?" Lei Xiong's face became even more angry.

"Brother, you just said it. The brothers of our regiment sacrificed for the country. They were serving the country and the people. Why do we need to be recognized by those people? They say history is written by the victors. So I can tell you clearly, brother, Even if they drive away the little devil one day, they don't deserve to be called winners." Tang Dao stood up, looked towards the distant mountains, and said with an indifferent expression.

"Only we, the Chinese people, have that qualification!"

"The future will be the future, but now, I still have a sigh of relief in my heart." Lei Xiong sat down depressedly.

"Haha! Brother, didn't you see anything from the abnormal behavior of these big shots?" Tang Dao smiled and handed over a cigarette.

"Looking at something, I think they are just a nest of snakes and rats. There is no such thing as a good bird. If we go back to ancient times, I will take a hundred thousand cavalry to the capital to ask the emperor for an explanation!" Lei Xiong took the cigarette and still said Angry at the unfair treatment of the whole group.

"Haha, I didn't expect your brother to have so many rebellions. You killed a hundred thousand cavalry. Fortunately, you are not a border general, otherwise the big shots in the Military and Political Department would not be scared to death by you!" Tang Dao I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hehe! Isn't that what everyone does on stage?" Lei Xiong's old face turned red when Tang Dao laughed.

With his military rank, he would have been a school captain in ancient times. Not to mention him as the deputy commander, even Tang Dao could only command tens of thousands of people.

"Okay, brother, don't be angry. It's not that we really offended anyone this time, and it's not that the big shots are really short-sighted. It's purely a political balance." Tang Dao sighed.

"What should I say?" Lei Xiong lit his cigarette and looked at Tang Dao.

For Tang Dao, a young man who was several years younger than him, the reason why Lei Xiong chose to follow Tang Dao was because he was impressed by his fighting spirit at first. Later, he gradually discovered that Tang Dao's tactics and strategic vision were all important. These were the only ones he had ever seen in his life, and his ability to cooperate vertically and horizontally with various friendly forces was even more astonishing.

Any troops that Tang Dao regards as friendly forces have never lost control on the battlefield, which is why the Four Elements Regiment has the reputation of being undefeated.

As Lei Xiong is the second person in the Four Elements Group, his own family knows his own affairs. No matter how elite the Four Elements Group is, it is limited by the number of personnel, only a few thousand people, and the Japanese are just talking about the division group when they come. Haunted, if there were no friendly forces fighting side by side, the Four Lines Regiment would have been destroyed countless times.

Unexpectedly, Tang Dao is not only awesome on the battlefield, but he can even figure out the thoughts of those untouchable big shots, which is even more incredible.

"Think about it! If the victory of the Battle of Zishan is placed on my Four Lines Regiment again, what will I, the commander of the regiment, do?"

"Promotion! With your military exploits, you should have been promoted to major general and commander of a brigade at least a year ago!" Lei Xiong said matter-of-factly.

"Yes! Promoting to major general and brigade commander is easy to say, but difficult to do! Let me ask you, now that I am the brigade commander, will the four-line regiment I built have to be expanded into an infantry brigade?"

"What's so difficult about that? Our Four Elements Regiment is itself a special force, we just need to change the name."

"Hey, if you and the commander of the second theater have no dealings with each other at all, and were even life-and-death enemies before, they will never become friends in the future. Do you want to add another infantry division to his command that can be expanded to an infantry division at any time? A strong team?”

"Then I'm not crazy, unless I can find a way to transfer it away and expand the department." Lei Xiong shook his head like a rattle.

"So! As long as I, Tang Dao, become the brigade commander, my Four-Line Regiment would have been out of North China long ago! Do you think that commander was really upset by my telegram? He just took advantage of the situation to suppress my military achievements and keep us on the battlefield in North China. To put it bluntly, no matter how disobedient the mastiffs raised by herdsmen are, as long as they can drive away the wolves, there will be no less meat and bones.

And the commander, under the pressure of the war in the south, was unwilling to have problems in the northern defense line, and could only appease the commander with practical actions. The Four-Line Regiment will not move for the time being.

So, you can see that from the theater command to the military and political department, they all pretended not to see the merits of my Four-Line Regiment as if they were blind."

"Wow, for their benefit, my brothers in the regiment died in vain in the end, without a single word of praise! These sons of bitches playing politics." Lei Xiong suddenly realized, but became even more angry.

The bigwigs sacrificed the interests of all the officers and soldiers of the Four-Line Regiment for their own personal interests. It was as simple as drinking boiled water. Who wouldn't be angry?

"Haha, don't worry. Since the commander still wants our Four-Line Regiment to help him, he can deny the credit on the surface, but if he doesn't even show any appreciation in private, then he has been the King of Jin Province for so many years in vain.

Where in the world is there a good thing to want the horse to run and not eat grass?" Tang Dao sneered.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The heavily guarded residence of the commander of the Second War Zone!

"Tang Dao is so patient? The Jin Province Order of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs has been issued for two days. Why didn't he send me a telegram to complain? Even if he pretended to report to test my strength, it would be fine! You can't let me send a telegram myself!" The stingy old man rubbed his scalp and paced back and forth in the courtyard in a depressed mood.

"Brother, don't you know that Captain Tang has a bad temper? In order to keep him, you suppressed his great achievements in the whole regiment. He didn't rush to use the relationship reported by the reporter of Tantai to write a record of the Zishan Battle. It was already very respectful. You still expect him to call in person, then he is not the brave general who can remain calm in the face of tens of thousands of Japanese troops." The middle-aged woman smiled when she saw the stingy old man's entanglement, but she was also frank.

"Even if I did something unkind for the war situation in North China, was it true that he disobeyed orders before the war? After the war, was it rude to send me a telegram with only a few words to report victory? I am the commander of the war zone after all. He, the commander of the regiment directly under the war zone, doesn't take me, his immediate superior, seriously!" The stingy old man raised his eyebrows and tried to make up for himself.

Seeing that her eldest brother had already started to play the game of being angry out of shame, the middle-aged woman who knew his temperament well smiled and said nothing, and stopped trying to comfort him.

Some people cannot be persuaded, the more you persuade them, the more excited they become. The stingy old man belongs to this category.

But the middle-aged woman also knows that it is one thing for her brother to be narrow-minded, but how can a man who can become a local tyrant do such a stupid thing as cutting off his own wings just because he is unhappy? His ability to self-regulate emotions exceeds that of 99% of people.

"Forget it, adults don't remember the mistakes of villains, who let this kid fight the Japanese!" The stingy old man saw that his sister didn't give him a way out, so he could only stomp his feet and give himself a way out.

"Order the Quartermaster Department to prepare 10,000 taels of gold, 150,000 yuan in cash, 500,000 rounds of various bullets, 20,000 rounds of artillery shells, 3,000 rifles, and 100 light machine guns. The Four-Line Regiment probably doesn't care about these old men and these rags now.

In addition, use the headquarters seal to issue 20 blank passes to the Four-Line Regiment, so that those merchant groups in southeastern Shanxi don't come to treat people to food and drinks as soon as they have time. This is wartime, and as a soldier, how can you waste your time on drinking and chopsticks?" The stingy old man gave his conditions with a painful look on his face.

"This" the middle-aged woman was surprised.

"Send it to the Four-Line Regiment!" The stingy old man stomped his feet fiercely, turned around and walked into the small study room angrily.

These are all his money. I don't know when I can save them up to get them back. The stingy old man may be so distressed that he can't sleep tonight.

However, he obviously misunderstood what his cousin meant. Before the middle-aged woman finished saying "so much", the stingy old man took the initiative to lower his status and sent four supply companies to deliver these rewards to the Sixing Regiment.

This humble attitude made Lei, who was cursing the son of a bitch before, embarrassed to scold him again.

The total reward of more than 500,000 cash, evenly distributed to the entire army of the Sixing Regiment, which now has more than 10,000 soldiers, can also give 50 dollars to each person.

Although the Sixing Regiment is not short of money now, no one would complain about too much money, right?

The 500,000 bullets of various calibers and those guns are not used by the Sixing Regiment, but they can be used as gifts! Moreover, the militias in southern Hebei also need live-fire training, which can just make up for the shortage of ammunition storage in the military factory.

Moreover, the pass with the seal of the war zone command was a big favor. In order to pass through the war zone smoothly, the major merchant groups in Dakouzidong Town showed their magical powers. For example, Boss Qian even sent money to the stingy old man's personal secretary, Sister Wu. Although the key personnel of the war zone command issued the pass for the sake of Tang Tuanzuo, the money was not less.

If these 20 passes were converted into money, they would be worth 10,000 yuan. It would be a small matter to reduce many troubles. The meaning behind them was to reduce many shackles on the development of merchant group trade. It was also a warning to all the guys who took bribes that the merchant group that followed Tang Dao would be protected by me.

It is true that the clever ones have no hair on their heads. The stingy old man has come up with a full set of tricks to make up for Tang Dao and the Four-line Regiment.

"Our regiment suffered huge losses in the Battle of Zishan. In addition to leaving a part to guard Zishan to protect the Ji'nan Office, the main force will return to the station to rest. I hope Commander Yan will agree!" Tang Dao called the theater headquarters on the afternoon of the day after receiving the condolence gift.

"Approved!" The stingy old man replied with a smile.

The undercurrent caused by the suppression of military exploits between the commander of the Second Theater and his top general was quelled. It's a pity that the intelligence department of the North China side of Japan is still working hard to collect intelligence in the hope of finding some flaws.

They only have a little understanding of Chinese culture, and they are destined to do useless work under the various brain-teasers of the Chinese people!