Chapter 69 The Foolish Adjutant

Chapter 69: The Stupid Adjutant

Listening to Noda’s account, Ichiro Hirata’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Could the local Eighth Route Army’s New Regiment actually wage positional warfare?

With just over a thousand men, they completely turned the tide of battle relying on positional warfare?

In Hirata’s prior estimation, if the local Eighth Route Army truly had four to five thousand men and won through sheer numbers, it wouldn’t be a major issue; they would simply deploy more troops.

However, the Eighth Route Army did not win through superior numbers, but through tactical mastery on the battlefield.

This was quite thought-provoking.

The Eighth Route Army’s New Regiment was adept at both guerrilla warfare and positional warfare. Now that they had captured all six artillery pieces, it was like adding wings to a tiger.

Still, their claim in the challenge letter that their troop strength was comparable to the 358th Regiment could not be ignored.

When fighting, the Eighth Route Army often kept reserves; perhaps the 386th Brigade had secretly dispatched reinforcements.

Since they won with just over a thousand men, there was no need to commit the reserves.

None of that mattered now. He would report the situation to his superiors in a more grave tone, urging them to dispatch more troops.

That bastard Li Yunlong had insulted his mother. He had to make Li Yunlong understand that the consequence of having a foul mouth was that the Imperial Army would annihilate him alongside his precious 386th Brigade!

"Captain, although our squadron lost this battle to some extent due to underestimating the enemy, the Eighth Route Army's New Regiment..." Squad Leader Noda started to say something.

Hirata waved his hand to interrupt: "Dismissed, go rest. I will explain the gravity of the situation to higher command and request heavy reinforcements from the surrounding areas as quickly as possible to launch another encirclement and suppression campaign against the arrogant New Regiment."

At this moment, losing one's temper or flying into a rage would accomplish nothing.

Hurry and apply for reinforcements, annihilating both the New Regiment and the 386th Brigade—that was what mattered most.

Although Jiang Deshui could not pick himself up from the ground for the moment, he could still speak, and he reminded Hirata, "Your Excellency, the New Regiment has acquired six artillery pieces. It is highly likely they will take advantage of our weakness to launch a direct assault on Heyuan County. I suggest we pull back our forces and strengthen the city's defense."

Despite wanting to execute Jiang Deshui for the loss of the six cannons, Hirata knew it was futile now that the artillery had fallen into the enemy's hands.

"Then what are you standing around for? Why haven't you rolled out to mobilize the troops?" Hirata glared at Jiang Deshui.

"Yes, yes, yes." Jiang Deshui nodded repeatedly, shouting to his two subordinates, "Hurry up and carry me over."

Those two puppet army officers immediately trotted over to Jiang Deshui, hoisting him up and fleeing the gates of the gendarmerie as if running for their lives.

Only when they were thoroughly far away from the gendarmerie and could no longer see its gates did the three of them finally heave a massive sigh of relief.

Their petty lives had managed to survive, after all.

"Sir, I'm sorry about just now. We didn't step up to take the beating for you," the two subordinates said to Jiang Deshui.

"Even if you had stepped up, it would have been a beating in vain," Jiang Deshui exhaled. "As long as we keep these petty lives, what does taking a beating matter? Hurry up and mobilize the troops to strengthen the city's defenses, lest the Eighth Route Army's New Regiment take advantage of our vulnerability to attack the city."

"Sir, during the encirclement of the New Regiment, the Peace Preservation Army's forces were already heavily drained. If we pull more troops now, won't all the outposts become empty shells?" a puppet regiment commander said. "If the Eighth Route Army takes this opportunity to uproot the outposts..."

Jiang Deshui interrupted him: "Are the outposts more important, or is the county town more important?"

The puppet regiment commander fell silent. Naturally, the county town was more important.

After resting for a moment, the two men carried Jiang Deshui away at a brisk pace.

"Captain, when we launch the second encirclement of the New Regiment, I want to go," Noda told Hirata after Jiang Deshui and the others had left.

The Japanese soldiers around Noda all began to clamor as well:
"Captain, we must go to wash away our shame."
"Captain, we must exact this revenge with our own hands."
"Captain, we cannot swallow this humiliation. Even if others take revenge for us, we cannot accept it. We want to wipe out the disgrace ourselves!"
...

"If I didn't have to hold down the county town, I would personally lead you to wash away this disgrace," Hirata said. "I approve your request. Get some rest first; I am going to call higher command right now."

"Captain, let us go with you," Noda said.

Hirata calling his superiors would undoubtedly earn him a severe tongue-lashing, and they wanted to share the burden.

"No need, go ahead," Hirata still dismissed Noda and the others.

Adjusting his mindset, Hirata took a few deep breaths, mentally preparing himself to be scolded by his superiors before walking toward his office.

Stepping into the room and just as he picked up the telephone receiver, his adjutant rushed in with an invitation card: "Lieutenant Colonel, which people should be invited to your birthday banquet..."

"Baka!!!!!!"

Hirata roared instantly like a dog whose tail had been stepped on, directly kicking off his shoe and hurling it fiercely at the adjutant's face.

The campaign to encircle the New Regiment had failed, leaving only a few dozen survivors out of over three thousand men, and his mother had been insulted by Li Yunlong's filthy mouth. Hirata had painstakingly managed to extinguish his fiery rage.

Now, he had steeled himself to endure a reprimand from his superiors and was about to make the call.

At this critical juncture, this oblivious adjutant had the audacity to bring up the birthday banquet. It felt like a massive slap across Hirata's face, violently tearing away the fig leaf he had just managed to pull back over his dignity.

The adjutant was completely dumbfounded by Hirata's leonine roar.

He had been busy attending to the arrangements for the birthday banquet and knew nothing of what had just transpired in the gendarmerie.

Though he had noticed upon his return that the guards wore rather strange expressions and some were even whispering among themselves, he hadn't paid it any mind, unaware they were secretly discussing the failure of the annihilation campaign.

He had simply thought of coming in quickly to confirm the guest list for the birthday banquet with Hirata.

The guests for a celebration banquet differed from those of a birthday banquet.

Since the two banquets were to be held together, the guest lists naturally had to be combined.

Yet now, the moment he brought it up, before he could even finish his sentence, Hirata had blown his top?!

What was wrong? Weren't things fine just a moment ago?

"Lieutenant Colonel, has something happened?" the adjutant asked timidly.

"Fujimura Noichi and Jiang Deshui's encirclement operation failed! Out of over three thousand men, only a few dozen returned! Do you still think we should hold this celebration and birthday banquet?" Hirata gnashed his teeth at the adjutant, his face burning with shame and anger.

What? The encirclement operation led by Fujimura Noichi and Jiang Deshui had failed?

Only a few dozen returned out of over three thousand men?!

Hearing this, the adjutant froze on the spot.

How could this be possible? How on earth could the Eighth Route Army's New Regiment be so formidable?

With only a few dozen survivors out of thousands, this was practically total annihilation.

Unable to process this earth-shattering news for a moment, and seeing Hirata's furious and mortified expression, the adjutant suddenly realized how utterly foolish his actions had been.

"Lieutenant Colonel, I am sorry." With that, the adjutant prudently backed out of the room.

Once the adjutant left, Hirata picked up the telephone receiver once more, but his emotions refused to settle.

That idiot of an adjutant had completely disrupted his breathing.

There was nothing Hirata could do; unstable breathing or not, it had to be done.

Jiang Deshui's warning was correct. Having obtained six artillery pieces, the New Regiment might launch a direct assault on the county seat at any moment.

Even with contracted defensive lines, the town's preparations were insufficient.

He had to urgently request reinforcements from his superiors right away and mobilize heavy troops to aid them at top speed!

"Baka! Hirata, you piece of trash!!!" As soon as Hirata connected the call to his superior, before he could even finish explaining the situation, the voice roaring from the other end of the line nearly shattered his eardrums...