Chapter 398: Assassination Operation

Within Japan, the victory in the Midway naval battle was given great emphasis.

The key is that this victory made the Tokyo citizens, who had just suffered an air raid, boil over again.

But there is also a department that is extremely nervous: Japan's intelligence agency. The Battle of Yichang, which the Japanese Army calls the 'Jianghan Campaign', has all the data laid out before them.

The losses were extremely heavy: the 13th Division was completely annihilated, and the 39th Division only had a few surrounding detachments that withdrew.

As for the Chinese side, Chongqing reported a loss of just over five thousand. In contrast, the Japanese Army lost more than forty thousand in this Jianghan Campaign, which is rare since the Sino-Japanese War.

Of course, the Japanese Army does not believe that China's losses are only that small.

The newly appointed commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, Gangcun Ningci, set out from Huabei and immediately informed Tu Fei Yuan Xianer in the Northeast.

Tu Fei Yuan Xianer immediately employed his espionage expertise; he is also the head of the Japanese Army's intelligence agencies, overseeing several bureaus such as 'Mei', 'Lan', 'Zhu', and 'Ju'.

"Tu Fei," he turned, his gaze like a blade, "All the evidence points to the same unit, the Independent Regiment recalled from Myanmar?"

Tu Fei Yuan Xianer stood upright, his eyes under the cap glinting: "Sir! Commander. I have mobilized the four major intelligence bureaus 'Mei', 'Lan', 'Zhu', 'Ju', intercepting multiple radio confirmations from battlefields such as Yichang and Jingzhou. The core of this battle is indeed the Independent Regiment led by Jiang Anguo. Its equipment, tactics, and firepower far exceed the standards of the Chinese Central Army."

He paused, lowering his voice: "More suspicious is that the unit possesses large bombers similar to those of the United States, and successfully bombed Tokyo. This is not Chinese power; it must have been covertly supplied by the English and the United States."

The B29 bomber did not achieve its first successful flight until September 1942, and it is only June now, so this bomber is still in the factory.

"This unit suddenly appeared in Changde before the war began, and it also provided air support to the Chinese Third War Zone, while supplying large amounts of material to both the Chinese Third War Zone and the th War Zone."

It must be said that Japan's intelligence department is ubiquitous; the key is that you cannot tell whether these people are Japanese or Huaxian, because they speak the Huaxian language.

The most crucial issue remains the abundance of traitors, making it easy for the Japanese to obtain intelligence.

Gangcun Ningci furrowed his brows and paced back and forth inside the room.

Suddenly, he stopped: "But the Southern Army Senior Officer Terauchi Hisaichi, a senior officer, sent a telegram three days ago stating that the Independent Regiment is still stationed in Myanmar Taunggyi, with no signs of movement."

"Nani?!" Tu Fei Yuan Xianer's pupils dilated in disbelief, "This is impossible! My men in Jingzhou personally saw the Chinese commanders, namely Xu Guozhang, Hu Lian, and Jiang Anguo; it is Jiang Anguo who decided the course of this battle!"

"Are you sure he is only a colonel?" Gangcun Ningci asked again.

Tu Fei Yuan Xianer nodded, "Yes, Commander, but this man was promoted to Major General a few days ago, and his Independent Regiment was also upgraded to the st Division."

"Intelligence shows that this man is also a relative of the Chongqing commander, also a native of Fenghua, fought with extraordinary bravery in Myanmar, and his troops are equipped with German weapons and United States aircraft."

Gangcun Ningci once again stood before the map, watching the territory that the Imperial Empire had barely captured being seized again by the Chinese forces.

"Tu Fei, China is too vast, too vast for us to swallow!" Gangcun Ningci and Tu Fei Yuan Xianer are both radicals; since 1931, eleven years have passed, and this war will not end because of this Jianghan Campaign.

"Indeed! Huaxia is too big!" Tu Fei Yuan Xianer said.

"Tu Fei, you must investigate thoroughly whether the Chinese army's bombers were supplied by the United States," Gangcun Ningci said.

Strategic bombers are beyond even the Japanese, mainly limited by national strength; without a war, Japan's ground-attack aircraft, regardless of payload or range, have no chance of even taking a seat before a B29.

Gangcun Ningci knows very well that another domestic bombing poses a huge threat to the Emperor and the subjects of the Great Japan Empire, and this threat seems to have shifted from the United States to Huaxia.

Moreover, first it was the Central China airfield, now the South China airfield; the Empire has lost more than half of its aircraft in Huaxia.

Gangcun Ningci had to pull fighter aircraft from the Northeast; he worried whether this Chinese unit might attack Wuhan.

"Sir, Commander," Tu Fei Yuan Xianer even felt there might be a spy inside, wondering how the Chinese army could bomb the airfield again and again.

From now on, air superiority no longer belongs to the Japanese Army.

And the Imperial Japanese Navy's naval aviation is now busy fighting the American forces over the Pacific Ocean, leaving no capacity to support the Huaxia battlefield.

Because the Japanese high command knows clearly that their true enemy is the United States, not China.

If the United States wins, the headquarters—i. e., Japan's four islands—will be occupied by the American forces.

What puzzled Gangcun Ningci was, "Tu Fei, how did the Independent Regiment end up inside Huaxia? Did it abandon Taunggyi?"

Gangcun Ningci does not think Terauchi Hisaichi would deceive him; after all, the Southern Army's Special Service Office could not use a false telegram to mislead a superior.

Tu Fei Yuan Xianer could not answer Gangcun Ningci's question, because the Southern Army's intelligence department does not report to him but directly to headquarters, and he knows little about intelligence concerning Myanmar.

Such a suddenly appearing unit actually defeated a Class A Division of the Great Japan Empire and an elite division.

"Tu Fei," Gangcun Ningci finally showed a hint of ruthlessness, "Headquarters ordered: Nei Shan Yingtailang, Zuozuomu Daoyi. They must die!"

"Nei Shan Yingtailang, Zuozuomu Daoyi, have betrayed the Great Japan Empire's cultivation of them, yet they did not kill themselves at the last moment. Send people into Chongqing to deal with them," Gangcun Ningci said, his hand like a knife placed on his throat.

Tu Fei Yuan Xianer bowed his head, a fierce glint in his eyes: "Sir! As Imperial division commanders, they were defeated and captured, yet they did not die honorably, instead they survived in Chongqing for all to see. This is a humiliation the Imperial Army has not seen in a hundred years!"

Gangcun Ningci knows the two men's situation all too well; the whole world knows, especially in Chongqing, they want everyone to understand that they captured two Japanese division commanders, in a highly publicized manner.

Since being taken to Chongqing, Nei Shan and Zuozuomu have become "living specimens" under the lenses of Allied journalists.

Reuters, the Associated Press, TASS… journalists from various countries swarmed in, even detouring through India aboard C-47s over the Hump, just to capture the historic footage of Japanese senior officers bowing in confession.

The photos ran across newspapers worldwide, with striking headlines: "Imperial Army Myth Shattered" and "Imperial Twin Generals Become Prisoners".

For Japan, these two living men are more terrifying than dying in battle; they are walking pillars of disgrace.

"The Chinese clearly want to keep them as political leverage," Gangcun said coldly, "Since they will not act, we will 'clean the gate' ourselves."

Tu Fei Yuan Xianer nodded repeatedly. This mission concerns not only the honor of the Great Japan Empire's Imperial Army, but also a battle for the dignity of the intelligence agencies.