Chapter 397: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 407 You're Here to Watch Us Get Beaten, Aren't You?

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

About five hours ago, at the North China Area Army Headquarters in Beiping.

Inside the spacious office, General Sugimoto Moto sat upright, looking at the two Hans State officers before him.

One of them was William, commander of the Hans State Military Observation Group stationed at the North China Area Army.

The general beside William made General Sugimoto's eyes narrow, and his body instinctively straightened a little.

"General Sugimoto, please allow me to formally introduce you: this is General Heinz, who secretly arrived from Berlin."

General Sugimoto was very puzzled, and also felt that Hans State seemed to attach great importance to him, feeling deeply honored in his heart.

Since February this year, Hans State had begun dispatching military observation groups to the North China Area Army.

The dozen or so people in the observation group had only increased in number over the past two months.

Now another Hans State general had secretly arrived.

"General Heinz's arrival in North China makes the Emperor Chuo Army feel very honored!"

General Sugimoto exchanged pleasantries while his mind raced, considering the other party's intentions.

The North China Battlefield had recently had no noteworthy battle results, and had even suffered losses in many areas.

But even so, this Hans State military observation group still refused to leave.

Looking at General Heinz, General Sugimoto finally reached a conclusion that made even himself feel elated.

"It must be the unique bushido spirit of the Japanese Army that has infected our friendly nation!"

"This courage to charge in desperate straits has attracted Hans State generals to come and learn!"

In the depths of his heart, General Sugimoto had even begun to fantasize about what Hans State armies would look like wearing samurai robes.

But the true reason was heartbreaking: these Hans State observers were not here to see how mighty the Japanese Army was.

To be precise, they were here specifically to see how the Japanese Army gets beaten.

Just one month ago, Hans State completely annexed all of Czechoslovakia.

The entire process was bloodless, without firing a single shot or bullet, exactly as Lv Muzhi had prophesied.

But Hans State's appetite was not satisfied; relying on their powerful military, they now had their eyes on Poland's territory.

Hans State prepared to launch a lightning assault on Poland's territory, and for this battle, General Heinz had already rehearsed it many times in his mind.

But to be absolutely sure, General Heinz decided to personally observe the actual combat process of the Youth Army's armored forces.

The reason was simple: the 38T tanks and Type 3 tanks equipped by the Youth Army were almost identical in model to those equipped by Hans State's armored forces.

To ensure the lightning strike on Poland was absolutely foolproof, General Heinz decided to come to Xia Guo land in person to observe the actual combat performance of these equipments.

The vast plains of North China, Lv Muzhi's armored cluster, the Japanese Army with low mechanization, the Youth Army almost fully German-equipped......

There was no more suitable observation target in the entire world, one that could correspond to the battlefield, army, and enemy types General Heinz needed to study.

But as relations between Hans State and the Japanese Army grew increasingly close, their contact with the Xia Guo Government naturally grew increasingly distant.

This also caused the Hans State observation group to be unable to directly enter Xia Guo forces to observe the Youth Army's combat operations.

Since they could not go to the Xia Guo camp for on-site inspection, staying in the Japanese camp and watching up close how Lv Muzhi's tank clusters crushed the Japanese Army was also an excellent observation method.

These valuable actual combat data would directly determine the plan details of the future lightning strike on Poland.

"General Heinz, this is Jiaozuo that I mentioned."

William spread out an intelligence briefing, pointing to the marked locations where Chu Yunfei's unit frequently conducted military exercises.

"Lv Muzhi's assistant Chu Yunfei has been conducting continuous exercises there for two months."

General Heinz took the briefing and looked through it page by page carefully.

General Sugimoto asked: "How is it, will Chu Yunfei attack Jiaozuo? Can our defensive line hold Jiaozuo?"

General Heinz did not answer, and William simply answered directly.

"Rest assured, General Sugimoto, just as I said before."

"The North China Area Army is prospering day by day, and your defensive line is impregnable."

Actually, this William had a deep friendship with Lv Muzhi, was familiar with Xia Guo, and the German equipment Lv Muzhi purchased came through William.

It was precisely because William was familiar with Xia Guo's national conditions that he was appointed commander of the military observation group.

Through Chu Yunfei's frequent movements, combined with his years of understanding of Lv Muzhi, William concluded: Lv Muzhi was definitely going to make a real move at Jiaozuo.

However, he did not reveal his judgment to General Sugimoto of the Japanese Army, but instead kept misleading General Sugimoto.

All along, William had been telling General Sugimoto: Lv Muzhi would definitely not attack Jiaozuo, his true purpose was elsewhere.

He also made various guarantees and reasoning to General Sugimoto to support his own judgment, misleading General Sugimoto.

Because William was here to watch the Japanese North China Area Army get beaten, and wanted to personally see the actual combat performance of those tanks in Chu Yunfei's hands.

If the Japanese made full preparations, he probably wouldn't be able to observe anything.

General Heinz before him would also have made the trip for nothing.

Two months ago, during the pursuit battle on the Longhai Railway Line, Liao Yaoxiang and others chased the Japanese Army over a hundred kilometers from Lanfeng, and William missed it.

William and Heinz simply could not miss the Jiaozuo lightning battle before them.

General Heinz said in his native language: "William, we must go to Xinxiang as soon as possible to find an opportunity to observe this war up close."

William, through translation, said to General Sugimoto: "General Heinz wants to go to Xinxiang to observe the 21st Division there; I heard their division commander Kizawa Tadamin is a war hero?"

General Sugimoto was overjoyed; it seemed Hans State was indeed interested in their own bushido spirit.

The heroic story of Kizawa Tadamin crossing the Yellow River on a single log actually interested even foreigners; it seemed this propaganda had not been in vain!

"No problem! Lieutenant General Kizawa Tadamin is in Xinxiang, and he will launch a world-shocking offensive against the Youth Army!"

William was very interested and asked, "Launch an offensive? The 21st Division and the Youth Army are separated by the Yellow River—how do you attack?"

General Sugiyama Moto very much wanted to reveal his plan to blow up the southern bank levee of the Yellow River, just to see the surprised expression of this general from Hans State.

But upon thinking of William's close relationship with Lv Muzhi, General Sugiyama Moto still closed his mouth and casually brushed it off.

Once the Kwantung Army's Type 24 Howitzers are transported by railway, we will be certain to blast open the levee and turn Zhengzhou into a vast expanse of water!

The Hans State Military Observation Group arrived at the 21st Division's garrison in Xinxiang by vehicle.

Lieutenant General Kizawa Tadamin stood at the train station, craning his neck to look toward the railway direction.

He had thought what arrived was that heaven-destroying, earth-obliterating Type 24 Howitzer squadron.

As it turned out, the train brought over ten-odd Hans people in crisp uniforms with arrogant expressions.

Lieutenant General Kizawa Tadamin had no fondness for these Hans people, merely greeting them out of courtesy.

The staff officer hurriedly whispered, "Division Commander, be more enthusiastic; these are senior observers from Hans State."

"They came specially to visit you, this Nationalist War Hero, to ask for details on how to cross the Yellow River."

Upon hearing these words, Lieutenant General Kizawa Tadamin's complexion eased slightly; he straightened his waist, preparing to receive praise.

However, after Heinz got out of the car, he didn't even give him a glance.

"General Kizawa, I am not interested in your river-crossing details; that is the engineers' job."

The translator translated Heinz's words word for word.

Heinz walked into the command headquarters while asking coldly.

"I want to know exactly how many combat vehicles Lv Muzhi's armored forces in Zhengzhou actually have?"

"Also, during the great retreat from Lanfeng, your forces served as a blocking force—exactly how long did you hold out at Lanfeng?"

The smile Lieutenant General Kizawa Tadamin had originally worn on his face disappeared, and he felt very uncomfortable.

"That... that was a strategic transfer, General Heinz; you may not understand the local terrain."

Heinz stopped in his tracks, his blue eyes full of contempt.

"No, I have seen the map and already understand the terrain very well, and I also understand war very well."

"To be honest, the failure of that battle was entirely caused by your cowardice and incompetent command."

"In Hans State, someone like you should be brought before a military tribunal, not appear on the front page of newspapers."

The translator was stunned and ultimately did not translate that sentence.

"Your Excellency, General Heinz greatly admires you..."

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The reason Heinz was so irritable was, first, a soldier's contempt for cowards, and second, that the Military Observation Group had been stationed in North China for so long without yet seeing Lv Muzhi launch a counteroffensive.

He needed to see Lv Muzhi's armored forces in combat with his own eyes; only by swallowing the reassurance pill himself could he maintain his confidence in blitzkrieg.

William chatted on and off with Lieutenant General Kizawa Tadamin, easing the atmosphere.

At this moment, a communications staff officer came over.

"Report! Division Commander! Something has happened at Jiaozuo!"

"Chu Yunfei's exercise suddenly turned into a real attack; he has deployed nearly a hundred tanks!"

"Lieutenant General Kuwaki Shigemasa sent an urgent telegram requesting our immediate support!"

Upon hearing this, Heinz not only showed no tension, but glanced at his watch quite excitedly.

"The main show has begun; this is the actual combat we want to see. Prepare the vehicles and radios—forward observation!"

Lieutenant General Kizawa Tadamin was dumbfounded; this Military Observation Group seemed to exist solely to watch him get beaten!