Age of Conquest Reborn

The total suffering of Prince Zain, MacArthur, Stilwell and others was not as great as that of General Saburo Igan, the commander-in-chief of Japan's Southeast Asia Expeditionary Force, who was trapped in the isolated city of Rangoon. The source of all Ito's suffering lay in what he faced.

situation.

The Third Fleet, which had given high hopes, fell into the hands of that China devil. The reinforcements of the four first-class divisions had long since turned into a wisp of smoke on the Andaman Sea. A series of aerial events occurred around Yangon.

Fighting, sea and air battles, experiencing fervent hope to extreme despair, more than once, no one's nerves can withstand such torture.

Tang Qiuli surrounded Rangoon with nearly a million troops, but failed to attack. Ito's initial heroic spirit and determination to live and die with Rangoon have worn away a lot over time. The empire

The reinforcements to Yangon were sent again and again, and the hopes and disappointments were repeated. Ito's own feeling was like being baked in a furnace and then suddenly thrown into cold water.

Moreover, as time goes by, Ito still has a sense of guilt. If he had not wanted to defend Yangon, how could the empire have lost so many elite naval and air forces one after another. This is a strange psychological effect. Dark corners

Like a mold, it kept spreading in his thoughts, quietly eroding Ito's confidence.

This feeling is very terrifying. Millions of soldiers of the Japanese Army are around Yangon. Like a lingering cloud, it is not only eroding Ito's confidence, but also the morale of the more than 200,000 Japanese defenders. They are in panic all day long.

This is a common mentality among Japanese soldiers, and Ito felt even worse. He suddenly found that he had become a bait.

Attracting the empire to continuously send elite troops to rescue, Tang Qiuli, the Chinese devil, was like a cunning hunter, opening a huge net. Think about it, first the four elite first-class divisions of the imperial army and the navy

The Third Fleet, followed by Taiwan's Seventeenth Air Force, the First Fleet, and then the Seventh Air Force of His Majesty the Emperor's Air Guard. They all collapsed and returned in defeat with only half a breath left after being beaten.

Even if he knew that Tang Qiuli was using encirclement and reinforcement tactics and playing a game of cat and mouse, what could he do? Ito felt that he was the poor mouse, even though he refused from the bottom of his heart. But this was indeed the case, Yangon

After being besieged for only more than twenty days, Ito became so thin that he was skinny and skinny, and his already short body was like a piece of dead wood.

After convening a routine military meeting for city defense, the other generals dispersed with heavy thoughts. Ito was still sitting on the chair blankly, so exhausted that he didn't even want to move his fingers. It was a kind of psychological exhaustion. Staff

Major General Nagakawashima understood his boss's mood and did not leave. Instead, he sat with Ito in the lifeless conference room.

The atmosphere was oppressive and dull, and neither of them spoke for a while. After a while, Ito raised his head and said: "Kawashima-kun, the current situation is extremely unfavorable to us. All reinforcement operations in the Imperial Base Camp have failed. There is no hope.

Because I, Ito, lost so many elite troops of the empire. Kawashima-kun, do you know? I am a sinner of the empire."

When Ito said these words, he was a little hysterical and his eyes were somewhat scattered. Kawashima did not interrupt. He could understand the gaffe of the Commander-in-Chief. No matter who, under the pressure of millions of troops, Yangon, as the main battlefield,

, as silent as a pool of stagnant water, but the surrounding area is in full swing. All the pressure is concentrated in one body, without any mental disorder, it is already beyond ordinary people.

Kawashima also understood that the commander-in-chief needs to vent. In front of other generals, being calm and composed are all appearances. Only in front of himself, General Ito can reveal his true thoughts. He only needs to listen. In fact,

Kawashima didn't have any better solution, so he could only remain silent.

But Kawashima understood that if the Japanese Army had launched an attack on Yangon more than 20 days ago, then the Battle of Yangon would have definitely been a bloody battle with rivers of blood and corpses strewn across the fields. The Southeast Asia Expeditionary Force might have completely

The army was wiped out, but Tang Qiuli's army would also be covered with bruises. Now, Kawashima couldn't say. From his own observation, the fighting spirit and morale of the imperial soldiers had dropped to the lowest point.

Ito had vented enough and gradually calmed down, and said, "Kawashima-kun, regarding the current situation, do you have any better solutions?" As he said that, he looked at his chief of staff hopefully.

Kawashima was speechless, here we go again. When was the first time I suspected that my boss had a problem with his IQ? How can I hide it if I have a way? Besides, we are like grasshoppers on a rope, we are very energetic.

If you don't use it, what good will it do to you? In this case, Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, I don't know how many times I have asked this question.

Kawashima was silent for a while, and did not answer Ito's question, but said another thing, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, starting yesterday, the ** Division troops attacked our peripheral positions from two directions due west and north of Yangon,

The attack was carried out using the same old method, first destroying the outer trench with fierce artillery fire, and then using armored troops to cover the infantry assault."

Ito rolled his eyelids. As the supreme commander, he knew all these situations, but he just didn't understand what Kawashima's intention was in saying this at this time. Kawashima ignored Ito's reaction and continued.

: "After more than six hours of fierce fighting, up to now, the ** Division troops have all occupied our army's positions in the outer trench. In just six hours of fighting, our Imperial Army troops have lost nearly three divisions.

troops."

Ito was shocked. He did not know the casualties of the troops. This is usually controlled by the chief of staff. Kawashima continued: "What is strange is that the ** Division troops suddenly stopped after occupying the outer trenches and our military positions outside the city.

Commander-in-Chief, based on your understanding of the combat effectiveness and weapons and equipment of Tang Qiuli's troops, is that China devil incapable of continuing the attack?"

Ito shook his head without hesitation. Before the siege of Yangon, there was no Battle of Libao Grand Canyon and Mandalay. He believed and was confident that he had the ability to contain the attack of the ** Division troops. But now, he doesn't.

His confidence was even less confident. To put it simply, as long as Tang Qiuli ordered his troops to shell the Yangon city section by section with all their artillery, he and his more than 200,000 soldiers would be drowned in the volcanic eruption of artillery fire.

This is what Ito didn't understand before. Now he understands that the reason why Tang Qiuli didn't do that was because he used himself as a bait. In other words, the Chinese devil hasn't had enough of himself. Kawashima's words are obviously not

So simple, what did he want to say, "Kawashima-kun, according to your judgment? What is the purpose of that Chinese devil?" Ito asked.

Kawashima took a deep breath and said as if he had made a lot of determination: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, based on my humble judgment, Tang Qiuli does not want to carry out a devastating blow to our Imperial Army in Yangon. It is very likely that

Maybe, he just forced us to give up Yangon." Seeing Ito's eyebrows raised, Kawashima quickly added, "Of course, this is just a humble opinion."

Ito's eyebrows stood up for a while, and the sharp energy he had exerted was gone. He was very shocked. Kawashima's judgment gave him another way to analyze the Yangon battle situation.

If you think about it carefully and analyze everything that happened since the siege of Yangon, what Kawashima said is really logical.

However, Ito still couldn't bear to hear Kawashima's words. A proud general of the Japanese Empire, with more than 200,000 warriors who could be recruited by the empire, survived to this day because his opponent was merciless. If this were left in the past, it would be the same

Just like digging up the ancestral graves of the Ito family, Kawashima was able to walk out of this room in one piece because of his ancestor's merit.

But the situation was stronger than the people. Although Ito was absolutely unwilling to accept it, he had to admit that Kawashima's words made sense. He put on an expression of humility and accepted teachings, and then said: "Since there is such a judgment, Kawashima-kun, I think

You want to know where your basis is? Now, there are just the two of us, you can say it boldly without any worries!"

In fact, when the words slipped out of his mouth, Kawashima regretted it a little. He knew Ito's character too well. He was a very arrogant person. Once he was provoked by himself and went berserk, the consequences would be serious. If he didn't do it well, he would

His head will be used by the Commander-in-Chief as a prop to boost the morale and morale of the army, and to kill as a warning to others. General Ito, who is on the verge of collapse, is not incapable of doing such a thing.

Seeing Ito continue to ask himself, he couldn't take back half of what he said. It was a matter of life and death, so he might as well just make it clear. Kawashima walked a few steps to a large military map around Yangon and said, "Wow!

"Once, open the curtain.

Pointing to the map, he said: "Commander-in-Chief, you see, Tang Qiuli's troops are concentrated in the north and west directions of Yangon, with the sea to the south. You don't have to consider it, but why does this China devil only leave the eastern area without gathering?"

With a little military strength, does it mean that he doesn’t have the strength? Absolutely not. Look again, Bago is the only passage to the Malay Peninsula, why is it still in our hands?"

Ito listened with rapt attention, and was obviously attracted by Kawashima's words. Kawashima continued: "Is it because the ** Division is incapable of capturing Bago? No, there is also the ** Division's Ma Chaoyang Corps and Chen Bing Bangkok.

Go north, you can capture it

If we go south to Bago, we can occupy the entire Malay Peninsula. The four divisions we have there are no match for Ma Chaoyang's regiment of more than 100,000 troops. But why doesn't Tang Qiuli capture the Malay Peninsula and completely cut off our only

What’s the way out?”

When Kawashima said this, he gasped for air and tried his best to calm down his excited mood. He felt relieved that he could speak out. Damn it, I have been holding it in my heart for a long time. It felt so good to say what was in my heart.

As for how the Commander will deal with himself, that is a matter for the future.

Ito was dumbfounded. He and Kawashima came to the same conclusion. The reason why Tang Qiuli, the Chinese devil, did this was to let himself and the more than 200,000 imperial troops in Yangon escape. Ito was surprised by his bold guess.

I was so scared!

(To be continued)