sbdcsierra Chapter 32 Claiming Military Merit
Chapter 32 Claiming Military Merit
The headquarters of the Jin-Sui Army in Taiyuan City.
"Commander Yan, we received an urgent telegram from headquarters ordering us to locate a unit that ambushed a Japanese transport convoy in the Xikou direction as a reward," Staff Officer Chu reported.
"What? A Japanese transport convoy was ambushed? How come we didn't know?" Commander Yan asked in surprise.
"The information was provided by an intelligence agent headquartered within the Japanese ranks. Currently, the Japanese intelligence agency is searching for a unit that is ambushing a transport convoy near Xikou," Staff Officer Chu explained.
"Was it one of our troops, or the Central Army? Those bastards in the Central Army don't seem like the type to launch an attack. Could it be the Eighth Route Army? After all, they have experience ambushing the Japanese in the Pingxingguan area," Commander Yan pondered.
“Commander Yan, it’s not the Eighth Route Army. I asked the deputy commander of the Eighth Route Army before I came, but he replied that it wasn’t their unit and asked which of our units it was.” Staff Officer Chu asked curiously.
"Most of our troops are fighting the Japanese along the defense lines around Xikou and Niangziguan, so it couldn't have been the frontline troops. Send a telegram to the reserve units in the rear to inquire which unit did it," Commander Yan ordered.
"Yes, Commander Yan, I'll take care of it right away." Staff Officer Chu replied and hurriedly dealt with the matter.
.......
In the headquarters of a reserve brigade in the rear, a communications soldier is reporting to the chief of staff a message sent by the theater command.
"Reporting to the Chief of Staff, the theater command is asking if we have recently attacked any Japanese transport convoys near Xikou."
"Telegram to the theater command: This is not an operation my brigade was involved in," Chief of Staff Wang replied directly. He was inwardly grumbling, "Which unit is so audacious as to act without authorization from higher command?"
"Wait." Just as the communications officer was about to return, Brigade Commander Zhang called him back.
"Don't send this reply yet. Wait for orders later," Brigade Commander Zhang said hurriedly.
"Yes, Captain." The communications officer replied and then left the room.
"Brigadier General?" Chief of Staff Wang asked with a puzzled look.
"I received a report from the troops below that a battle had taken place on the edge of our jurisdiction. When our brigade went to investigate, we engaged in firefight with a Japanese unit. The enemy seemed to have no interest in us and withdrew after the initial contact. We did not suffer any major losses."
"Commander, is that so?" Chief of Staff Wang asked curiously.
“I just received the news and haven’t had a chance to tell you yet. So I’m thinking of using this to make some plans.”
"Commander, what are we planning?" Chief of Staff Wang asked thoughtfully, as if he had thought of something.
"Yes, our brigade has a group of people who are receiving salaries without working and who are reselling weapons and equipment. The higher-ups are coming to inspect this time, and I was just wondering how to deal with it. This is exactly what I needed, like a pillow delivered to someone who was sleepy. It's perfect timing."
"Brigadier General, we're deceiving our superiors. If we're found out, we'll be facing a military court." Chief of Staff Wang was also shocked by the brigadier general's outrageous actions.
"How can you call it deception? We were just exaggerating the results of the battle with the Japanese. Besides, we'd lose our heads for embezzling salaries and reselling weapons," Brigade Commander Zhang said slowly.
Upon hearing this, Chief of Staff Zhang did not respond.
"More importantly, the Eighth Route Army ambushed the Japanese transport convoy in the Pingxingguan area last time and won a great victory. But we were defeated one after another under the Japanese attack. We were even inferior to the peasants in our eyes. As far as I know, this made the principal lose face."
"Now that the theater command has asked us about the situation, it seems that the command is also unclear about the specifics. At this time, we can take advantage of the situation and take over the matter. This way, the higher-ups will look good, and we can also take the opportunity to settle this part of the score. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"Don't worry, the higher-ups will only care about the results, not the process." After Brigade Commander Zhang's barrage of words, Chief of Staff Wang tacitly agreed to do so, since part of the money from reselling arms and receiving salaries without working ended up in his own pocket.
"Our reconnaissance battalion soldiers took photos of the battlefield. The pictures are real and absolutely authentic," Brigade Commander Zhang said confidently.
"But Commander, what if the original owner of this matter exposes us?" Chief of Staff Zhang asked with some concern.
"Haha, you can rest assured about that. Since the ambush team hasn't reported it yet, I guess they're deliberately hiding. I think it's 100% the Eighth Route Army's doing. Although they're not well-equipped, they're good at fighting."
"We've suffered countless ambushes from them before, and this time the Japanese were definitely ambushed by them too. And they're deliberately not saying anything; I think they're worried about his old man, after all, he's been very wary of them lately," Brigade Commander Zhang analyzed. At this point, anyone who could rise to the rank of brigade commander was a shrewd individual, especially Brigade Commander Zhang, who was adept at maneuvering and knew the situation perfectly well.
But to his surprise, the truth was completely different from what he had imagined. In those days, no one could have imagined that a local militia could be as powerful as the Japanese.
"Commander, you are wise." Staff Officer Wang understood everything that Brigade Commander Zhang had said.
"Commander, how should we report back to the theater command?"
"For example, the commander of one of the reinforced regiments under our brigade acted without authorization, launching two consecutive attacks on the Japanese transport convoy near Wangjia Village. This dealt a significant blow to the Japanese transport convoy, but the entire regiment suffered heavy casualties, with nearly two-thirds of its personnel killed or wounded. Since the commander acted without consulting the brigade headquarters, I have already issued a disciplinary action against him. However, because the commander was seriously wounded during the battle, the relevant disciplinary action will be carried out after his recovery."
"Send this telegram to headquarters tomorrow," Brigade Commander Zhang added as a final remark.
"Commander, you are truly brilliant. This plan is ingenious. It just so happens that one of our regimental commanders is seriously injured, so we can use him as an example," Chief of Staff Wang said with admiration.
"Go to their regiment now and transfer their men to other regiments. Fill the vacancies in the other regiments first, and then you can unify the story that they were killed in battle against the Japanese."
"Commander, leave this to me. I guarantee there won't be any mistakes." Chief of Staff Wang is a seasoned veteran; I can handle this matter with ease.
The next morning, the theater command received a telegram from the brigade.
"That Brigade Commander Zhang of the 68th Brigade is something else. His subordinate made such a great contribution, and he still wants to punish him. I'm afraid he doesn't want to be overshadowed by the regimental commander. Humph, that's the kind of mentality the Central Army has." Commander Yan said with a displeased expression.
“Yes, as the old saying goes, ‘A general in the field may disobey orders.’ It is understandable that he may act without authorization after discovering enemy activity. Giving him a punishment is a bit excessive,” said Staff Officer Chu.
"Since they're one of ours, let's praise them lavishly, set a good example, and make the old man happy too." Commander Yan also looked delighted.
"Okay, I'll send a telegram back to Commander Zhang right now. Heroes deserve the treatment of heroes."
With the Nationalist government's propaganda machine in operation, newspapers across the country published articles praising the heroic regimental commander of the Nationalist Army for his bloody ambush of the Japanese supply convoy, which provided strong support to the Xikou defense line. The newspapers also included pictures of the battlefield ravaged by war, as well as a photograph of the seriously wounded heroic regimental commander.
This further fueled the public's anti-Japanese sentiment.
At this point, no one doubted the truth of the matter, except for the militia led by Tang Weiguo, the instigator of the incident.