Commander Matsui Iwane, 59-year-old Matsui Iwane was appointed as the commander of the Japanese Songhu Expeditionary Force. This would be his last chance to become famous in his life.
Therefore, he paid more attention to the situation of the Battle of Songhu than anyone else.
In particular, he and Sugiyama Genroku Prime Minister and others had sworn that as soon as he captured Songhu, he would definitely dispatch troops to Nanjing, the capital of the national army.
It is also because he is so ambitious that there is still pressure for him.
"Did you find out for me the origins of the Sichuan troops who were defending the Sihang Warehouse? And did they escape from the Sihang Warehouse?"
"Are the information about the Sichuan Army published in newspapers now true? In particular, is their commander named He Feiyang? Is he an officer of the 20th Army of the Sichuan Army? And the Sichuan Military Department, which has very elite weapons and equipment, is
Whose army? Which number?"
"Liu Xiang's Sichuan Army is all troops with inferior weapons and equipment, including the troops of the Sichuan Army's 20th Army. So I must know about those troops whose weapons and equipment are even better than those of our Imperial Army.
Where did it come from?”
"I don't want the Chinese Army to have such a powerful elite force, but you know nothing about it!"
"This time our imperial army suffered such heavy casualties, and lost so humiliatingly under the attention of foreigners all over the world, it is because of your poor intelligence that the results came out!"
Especially after experiencing the humiliating command battle at Sihang Warehouse, he immediately called Songhu's intelligence officer Matsumura Beidou in front of him, questioning and lecturing him.
"Hai!"
"The information we have investigated so far is almost the same as what was reported in the newspapers!"
"As for the escape method of these Chinese and Sichuan troops, we suspect that they may have escaped through the underground passage, and they also used the method of detonating the first floor and basement of the Sihang Warehouse on that day to hide their escape from others!"
"However, the weapons and equipment of those members of the China Army, which is more elite than our Imperial Army, have not yet been found out which China Army they belong to. We estimate that they are the elite ace troops hidden by the China Army, but the number is not high.
More! Not more than one German weapon master!"
"Otherwise, the Chinese army would have been deployed in the Battle of Songhu very early!"
"As for why they invested in the small Sihang Warehouse to fight, maybe it's because the China Army wants to rely on the foreigners to defeat us, win the foreigners' eyes and sympathy, and then fight against us!"
"Otherwise, we at the General Intelligence Bureau cannot figure out what other reasons could allow such an elite Chinese army to appear in the small Sihang Warehouse to fight!"
"Besides that, we haven't yet found out which country the weapons and equipment of these elite China troops are equipped with! Because their weapons and equipment are even more up-to-date than those of the foreign troops in the concession!
"
"So this is still an unsolved mystery so far!"
"We are already increasing our reconnaissance efforts and manpower!"
"Your Excellency Commander!"
Intelligence officer Matsumura Hokuto quickly nodded and bowed his head and replied.
Although Commander Matsui Iwane is not from their intelligence department, the intelligence agents working in Songhu now have to obey Matsui Iwane's orders.
Therefore, I dare not be disrespectful towards Matsui Iwane’s attitude.
After all, the other party is the commander of a group army, so it would be easy to kill him.
"Yeah! I know!"
"You should speed up the search for information about the elite troops of the China Army. We will never allow them to be like this next time, coming out of nowhere to kill us by surprise!"
"In addition, find out where they fled to as soon as possible. I need to know more about such an elite China Army in more detail. I don't want him to interfere with all our combat deployments!"
"They have already destroyed the Sihang Warehouse during the battle. We cannot let them continue to destroy it like this!"
"At least before I recapture Songhu, the capital of the Chinese Army, and Nanjing, the capital!"
"I don't want them to make any surprise attacks on our Imperial Army!"
After hearing this, Commander Matsui Iwane spoke in a very stern tone to intelligence officer Matsumura Hokuto.
"Hai!"
Intelligence officer Matsumura Hokuto nodded again and bowed.
Regarding the news about He Feiyang’s last battle at Sihang Warehouse,
The division commander at the front line, Lieutenant General Susumu Fujita, and the chief of staff, Colonel Toshio Toshio, also knew the outcome of the battle, and also read foreign newspapers and all the newspapers that reported on the follow-up of this incident.
"What do you think about this? Which army do you think the elite Chinese army that finally appeared in Sihang Warehouse is from?"
"Could it be the newly established elite elite unit of the China Army?"
"In the battle of Sihang Warehouse, we suffered casualties of a regiment. This was a fierce battle that had never happened since the war began. Moreover, we were fighting on the periphery of a small warehouse like Sihang Warehouse. The casualties were so huge.
It’s really incredible!”
After reading the newspaper, the division commander, Lieutenant General Susumu Fujita, was also in the headquarters and asked the chief of staff, Colonel Toshio.
"Sigh!"
"What I learned from the intelligence agency is that these elite China Army may be secret troops of the China Army, but the number is not very large!"
"And their covert work is very good!"
"Otherwise, our intelligence agencies would never have discovered more news and intelligence for so many days!"
"Furthermore, before the Battle of Songhu, our intelligence agency knew nothing about the existence of the China Army or such a force!"
"So my suggestion is to pay close attention to every move of this elite ace China Army that we don't understand yet, and finally be able to find out their location and hiding place as soon as possible!"
"Especially where do they get their new weapons and equipment from?"
"You have to know that if such sophisticated weapons and equipment are fully replaced by the China Army, it will be a disastrous result for our Imperial Army!"
"So it is necessary to prevent the China Army from obtaining more sophisticated weapons and equipment to replace its troops!"
In response to the inquiry from the division commander, Lieutenant General Susumu Fujita, the chief of staff, Colonel Toshio Toshio, also responded immediately.
"Hmm! My idea is similar to yours!"
"Let's do this! You immediately ask the Intelligence Department to dispatch more elite intelligence agents to investigate as quickly as possible where this elite China Army has fled to?"
"And their weapons and equipment suppliers, which foreign country are they from?"
"The China Army's military production technology and capabilities are so backward that it is impossible to develop such new weapons and equipment, so it must have been privately provided to them by some foreign country!"
"So once we find this foreign country and come out, we have to find a way to purchase from them!"
"Weapons that are more sophisticated than those of our imperial army must be researched and developed in a way that can be obtained!"
After listening to the opinions of Chief of Staff Toshio Colonel, the division commander Lieutenant General Susumu Fujita also agreed very much.
"That's right! How many days will it take for Commander Lieutenant General Yanagawa Heisuke's 10th Army to reach Jinshanwei where the China Army is holding fast and conduct a beach landing operation?"
"Although we have now defeated the main force of the China Army, if we want to further expand our occupied area, we still need more reinforcements!"
"Otherwise, we will always be in a stalemate combat situation!"
"As long as his 10th Army successfully lands, we might be able to outflank and annihilate all the elite troops of the China Army!"
"By that time, I'm afraid we will be able to equalize the entire country of China!"
"A tiger without teeth is easy to deal with!"
However, the division commander Lieutenant General Fujita Susumu suddenly changed the topic.
"It seems that there are still three or four days before we reach the waters around Jinshanwei!"
Chief of Staff Toshio Toshio thought for a moment and responded.