69novels Chapter 291 Not firing the first shot?
Chapter 291 Not firing the first shot?
Fengtian, the Marshal's Mansion.
The thick morning fog had not yet dissipated, but the atmosphere inside the mansion was so heavy it was suffocating.
"Young Marshal! The special envoy of General Honda Shigeru, Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, has arrived again and is waiting in the side hall!"
"They were very firm in their stance, demanding a response from us by noon today!"
The chief of staff, looking anxious, strode into the study, his voice filled with panic.
Zhang Jialiang leaned back in a large leather chair, looking unusually haggard, his eyes bloodshot. The study was filled with the strong smell of tobacco, and the ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts.
"An answer? What do they want me to answer?!"
Zhang Jialiang suddenly raised his head, angrily stubbed out his cigarette, and roared hoarsely.
"That old fox, Honda Shigeru, is deploying two Class A divisions at the mouth of the Yalu River while trying to play these legal treaties with me!"
"He sent a telegram to the whole country saying that his entry into the Chinese Eastern Railway was to protect overseas Chinese, but this is blatantly an attempt to seize territory from my Fengtian clique!"
"If I agree, I will be a traitor in the eyes of the 30 million people of Northeast China!"
The chief of staff sighed, his face showing difficulty:
"But Young Marshal, if we don't agree, the Kwantung Army's iron hooves will cross the Yalu River."
"At that time, the troops left behind by our Fengtian Army will simply not be able to withstand the onslaught of the Japanese!"
Zhang Jialiang rubbed his temples in pain, the veins on his forehead bulging.
"Block? What are you going to use to block?!"
"The worst part is, that madman Chen Zijun also came to join the fun!"
Zhang Jialiang slammed his hand on the nautical chart table, pointed in the direction of Jinzhou, and cursed loudly.
"Look at this! Chen Zijun's independent motorized infantry division and the 2nd Armored Division are right here in Jinzhou, our vital vantage point. Hundreds of tanks and nearly 50,000 elite troops are watching us from the sidelines. Our Liaoxi Corridor has become a dagger to our throat!"
"Didn't you see the plaintext telegram he sent yesterday?!"
"Anyone who dares to betray their country for personal gain will have their corpse crushed by the tracks of Chen's army!"
"He's warning me! He's pushing me!"
"Beyond the Yalu River are two top-tier Japanese divisions, while along the Liao River lies Chen's army, heavily armed with German-trained main forces!"
"These two lunatics are putting me on the hot seat!"
Thinking of Chen Jiajun, Zhang Jialiang's body trembled slightly.
In that battle outside Ma'anshan, Chen Zijun used a barrage of artillery fire and unpredictable minefields to almost completely wipe out the Fengtian Army's most elite cavalry unit.
The horrific scenes of rivers of blood and corpses strewn across the fields are still a nightmare that Zhang Jialiang cannot escape.
Now, Chen Zijun has once again brought this terrifying military blackmail tactic to the area outside Shanhaiguan!
"Young Marshal, Chen Zijun is Chinese after all. He wouldn't really attack us, would he?"
The chief of staff asked somewhat hesitantly.
"Innocent!"
Zhang Jialiang sneered, his eyes filled with fear and bitterness.
"Chen Zijun is a thoroughly ruthless warlord! In his eyes, there are only national interests and his territory; he has absolutely no sense of kinship! In the battle outside Nanjing, at Ma'anshan, did he show even a shred of compassion?"
"If I dared to give way to the Japanese, he would absolutely not hesitate to order armored vehicles to set off from Jinzhou and raze my Fengtian city to the ground!"
"He's a tiger, the Japanese are wolves, and we, the Fengtian clique, are caught in the middle. A single misstep could mean utter annihilation!"
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Kwantung Army in Fengtian.
Beside the huge sand table, Lieutenant General Honda Shigeru, commander of the Kwantung Army, stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the strategic markers of Jinzhou with a gloomy expression.
"Your Excellency Commander, the news of the complete annihilation of the British Far East Fleet at Wusongkou has been confirmed."
Chief of Staff Colonel Itagaki reported in a deep voice from the side.
"The British's disastrous defeat at sea has greatly alarmed those cowards in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They have advised us to temporarily slow down our operations in the north to avoid overly provoking Chen Zijun."
"Baka!"
Honda Shigeru suddenly turned around, his face so dark it looked like it could drip water.
"The British failed because they foolishly sailed their fleet into a narrow river channel, giving Chen Zijun the opportunity for an underwater ambush!"
"But this is the north! It's the Liaoxi Plain!"
"This is the domain of the army, the battlefield where our Great Japanese Empire's Kwantung Army is invincible!"
"Chen Zijun's armored divisions and fortress artillery are no match for the massed charge of the warriors of our Great Japanese Empire on the plains!"
Honda Shigeru slammed his fist on the edge of the sand table, gritting his teeth as he said:
"Zhang Jialiang, that coward, refuses to compromise with us because Chen Zijun is backing him up in Jinzhou!"
"As long as we crush Chen Zijun's henchmen in Jinzhou, Zhang Jialiang will kneel before us like a dog and beg for peace!"
The chief of staff had some concerns:
"However, Chen Zijun's attitude was extremely tough. If he chose to open fire, it would be a full-scale war between the Empire and the Chen family army."
Honda Shigeru sneered repeatedly, a sly glint in his eyes.
"Fire? Does the Chinese army have the courage to fire the first shot?!"
"All they do is protest and back down!"
"Pass on my order: the Kawamoto Mixed Brigade stationed in the direction of Yingkou and Gaizhou shall immediately advance along the coastline towards Jinzhou under the cover of my Kwantung Army naval vessels."
"Tell Kawamoto that their official mission is to 'enforce the treaty's provisions for railway patrols and protect the safety of our nationals.'"
"I will use the bayonets of the Imperial Warriors to hold the walls of Jinzhou and force Chen Zijun to retreat!"
"If he retreats, the Jinzhou defense line will be rendered useless; if he dares to open fire, then two Class A divisions of the Empire will immediately cross the Yalu River and, under the pretext of self-defense, completely occupy the Northeast!"
Honda Shigeru spread his arms wide and let out a wild laugh:
"Hahaha, this is what you call applying maximum pressure!"
"The Chinese have absolutely no room to refuse!"
Jinzhou City, the forward command post of Chen Family Army.
On the thick, blue-brick city wall, Chen Zijun, dressed in a sharp, dark general's overcoat, held binoculars and quietly gazed at the plains shrouded in a thin mist beyond the pass.
"Young Marshal, the Japanese have made a move."
Shen Li strode up the city wall, holding the newly translated telegram in his hand, his face somewhat grim.
"The Kawamoto Mixed Brigade, with approximately 6,000 men and equipped with some light armored vehicles and field artillery, has departed from Gaizhou and is approaching Jinzhou along the branch line of the Chinese Eastern Railway."
"They claimed it was a routine 'railway patrol' and demanded that we vacate a three-kilometer defense zone along the railway line to avoid any 'misunderstandings'."
Chen Zijun put down the binoculars, turned around, and a cold and contemptuous smile appeared on his lips.
"Road patrol? To avoid misunderstandings?"
"The Japanese have been playing this sausage-slicing trick for decades, and they never seem to get tired of it."
Shen Li asked with some concern:
"Young Marshal, Nanjing has issued three top-level telegrams in succession, demanding that we exercise restraint and absolutely not fire the first shot, otherwise we will be held accountable for disrupting peace."
"President Chiang even colluded with the British in private, preparing to accuse us in the League of Nations."
After hearing this, Chen Zijun couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
"That spineless Chiang Kai-shek spent his whole life hoping that foreigners would uphold justice for him, but in the end he lost everything he owned."
"Not firing the first shot? Fine, then this young marshal will grant their request today; we won't fire a single bullet first!"
Shen Li was taken aback, looking at Chen Zijun with some confusion:
"Not firing the first shot? What if the Japanese really push through our lines? Should we retreat?"
"Retreat? The word 'retreat' doesn't exist in this young marshal's dictionary."
Chen Zijun patted Shen Li on the shoulder and said calmly:
"Go, order the First Army's engineering battalion to bury all the newly delivered goods from the warehouse outside the pass tonight."
"The area is set at the Liaoxi Corridor, which is a necessary route between three and thirteen kilometers outside the pass, and is arranged in an S-shaped mixed layout."
"Remember, be quick, everything must be finished before dawn."
Shen Li was completely confused and asked in bewilderment:
"Newly arrived goods? Young Marshal, you mean...?"
Chen Zijun did not answer directly, but slowly closed his eyes.
In his mind, the golden system panel was flashing rapidly.
System funds: £14,953,200
Chen Zijun opened the system store and flipped to the defense zone blockade page for army equipment.
[German-made S-type anti-personnel bounding mine (BouncingBetty): 0.5 pounds/mine]
German-made anti-tank tracked pressure mine: £2 each
[System Description: When triggered, the S-shaped bounding mine will be propelled to waist height (approximately 1 meter) by the propellant at its base before exploding, releasing 3,600 steel balls or shrapnel, causing lethal damage to infantry over a wide area.]
"Get me 200,000 S-shaped bounding mines and 50,000 anti-tank mines!"
Chen Zijun coldly issued the order in his mind.
"In addition, we will supply 50,000 sets of infrared magnetic composite fuses and tripwires!"
[System Notification: £253 has been spent. Landmine supplies have been delivered to Logistics Support Warehouse No. 200 at Shanhaiguan. Please check them promptly.]
[System Funds Balance: £14,700,000]
As the numbers on the panel dwindled, Chen Zijun felt no pity whatsoever; instead, he experienced an intense, bloodthirsty pleasure.
These are a total of 250,000 Death toys made from WWII-era black technology!
In the defensive battles on the German front, these bouncing mines, known to the Allies as "Bouncing Bettys," were the ultimate nightmare for all infantry.
Today, he intends to completely transform the Liaoxi Corridor outside Jinzhou into a barren, absolute death zone!
"Young Marshal, you mean to use minefields to stop them?!"
Shen Li finally realized what was happening, and a look of horror flashed in his eyes.
"Yes, weren't they supposed to be 'patrolling the road'?"
Chen Zijun opened his eyes, his gaze filled with icy killing intent.
"Tell the brothers that we will not fire the first shot, but if they are blind and step on a landmine, then they cannot blame us."
"Furthermore, send a clear-text telegram to Fengtian stating that our army is conducting live-fire exercises outside Jinzhou, and designate a 10-kilometer radius outside the pass as a danger zone, prohibiting anyone from trespassing, or they will bear the consequences!"
"I'll show Zhang Jialiang that if he doesn't listen to me, Chen Zijun, this land in the Liaoxi Corridor will become his grave!"
"Yes! Young Marshal is wise!"
Shen Li was overjoyed and loudly agreed. He then turned and rushed down the city wall to make arrangements.
As night fell, the wilderness outside Jinzhou was deathly silent.
Under the cover of night, tens of thousands of Chen family army engineering troops silently spread out across the Liaoxi Corridor, carrying crates of military green wooden boxes that smelled of machine oil.
In Luoyang, shovels rise and fall, sending mud flying.
Cylindrical black iron mines were carefully buried in the soft black soil, with ropes crisscrossing among the weeds, while anti-tank mines were disguised under the gravel roadbed on both sides of the railway.
For an entire night, this ten-kilometer-long and several-kilometer-wide plain passage was transformed into a giant infernal furnace.
At dawn, thick fog once again enveloped the Liaoxi Plain.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
A series of crisp, heavy thuds of leather boots gradually became clearer in the mist.
The vanguard of the Kawamoto Mixed Brigade, armed with Type 38 rifles fitted with gleaming bayonets, advanced recklessly through the thick fog.
Leading the way was a Japanese infantry squad, their expressions arrogant, completely disregarding the Jinzhou city wall that was faintly visible in the distance.
"Sergeant, we have spotted red warning lines and wooden signs set up by the Chen family army ahead."
A Japanese soldier stopped and pointed at a wooden sign in front of him, shouting.
The wooden sign was clearly written in both Chinese and Japanese:
"Military exercise restricted area, trespassers will be killed!"
The Japanese sergeant stepped forward, glanced contemptuously at the wooden sign, sneered, drew his sword from his waist, and cleaved the sign in two with a single, swift stroke.
"Baka!"
The sergeant's voice was full of disdain and arrogance.
"The Chinese military intimidation is nothing but a coward's struggle!"
"The warriors of the Great Japanese Empire are not threatened!"
"Order the troops to continue advancing!"
"Cross the warning line!"
At his command, dozens of Japanese soldiers, bayonets at the ready, brazenly crossed the red warning line and stepped onto the soft soil.
The sergeant walked at the front, a proud smile on his face.
Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation on the sole of his right boot, as if he had stepped on a hard metal buckle.
"Click..."
A crisp, abrupt, and extremely jarring sound of a mechanical spring being released suddenly rang out in the silent wilderness.
The sergeant's smile froze on his face instantly.
Before he could react, a black iron can, filled with gunpowder gas, suddenly shot out of the soil beneath his feet and into the air.
That's waist height.
Death opened its eyes at that moment.