PFC Chapter 349: The first bombing of the empire’s homeland was most likely done by Li Yunlong’s troops!
Chapter 349: The first bombing of the empire’s homeland was most likely done by Li Yunlong’s troops!
Just as Li Yunlong and Lin Zhenhua were using a sled to return to the base, the county town of Ning County was in an uproar. After a detailed comparison of the photos, they found important clues. The matter was immediately reported to the Taiyuan Command. Mitsui Ippei immediately called Captain Kuroki over, and after repeated confirmation, he suspected the target was the Independent Regiment.
"General, this logo is very similar to the logo sprayed on the independent regiment's transport plane. This is a freshly developed photo of the film sent by Ichiro Matsui. It can prove that Kuroki did not lie. The descriptions of the two are very similar." Ippei Mitsui reported with a serious face.
Shinozuka Yoshio took the photos handed over by Mitsui Ippei, examined them carefully, and asked with an unpleasant look on his face: "Have you let Kuroki see these photos?"
Mitsui Ippei quickly replied: "I brought these photos to the general as soon as they were developed. I haven't asked Kuroki yet. But I think it's almost certain. In our entire Jin Province, only the independent regiment has airplanes. They are the most suspicious."
"I plan to ask my nephew Mitsui Taro to investigate this matter. If it is confirmed that it is the Independent Regiment, we must not conceal this matter and report it to the headquarters immediately. Request the headquarters to send reinforcements as soon as possible so that we can mobilize troops to launch an offensive against the base of the Independent Regiment."
Shinozuka Yoshio knew that what Mitsui Ippei said was the truth, and that the overall situation could not be ruined for a small independent regiment. After pondering for a moment, he said in a serious tone: "The investigation of this matter will be carried out in two lines, one open and one secret. On the surface, let your nephew Mitsui Taro and others investigate, and secretly I need to communicate with General Yingzuo. General Yingzuo went to Ping'an County a few days ago, and I'm not sure whether he has left now. We can just drag him into the water. Even if something goes wrong in the middle, someone can share some of the blame for us!"
"If the bombing of the mainland was really done by the Independent Regiment, we need to re-evaluate the true strength of the Independent Regiment. This means that there is a misjudgment in the intelligence we have obtained. It is very likely that we will not be able to take down the Independent Regiment even if we mobilize the strength of a brigade. We must be prepared for large-scale troop movements in advance. If we do not take action, it will be fine. Once we take action, we must act with lightning speed to completely destroy the Independent Regiment and avenge the deaths of the local people!"
Ippei Mitsui and Yoshio Shinozuka talked for half an hour, taking into account all possible events. The two exchanged opinions, issued two orders, and began to investigate the independent regiment.
Taro Mitsui, who was enjoying himself in Ping'an County, was shocked when he received the news from his uncle. He immediately went to the garrison battalion headquarters, gathered everyone together, and announced his uncle's order, which really stunned everyone present. The only one who felt fortunate was Kojiro Hirata. He didn't expect that he might have guessed it right by accident, and told his uncle, General Tada, about it, which meant that he would take the greatest credit and stay out of this matter.
Perhaps seeing what Hirata Kojiro was thinking, Mitsui Taro suppressed his inner anxiety and said with a heavy face, "This time, the Taiyuan Command has issued a mission to us. We have been given ten days to investigate the truth. Now you need to mobilize your intelligence personnel immediately to investigate the recent actions of the Independent Regiment."
"Hirata-kun, your guess last time was very likely correct. We need you to use your wisdom to help us find out the truth of this matter. I know you must have secretly informed General Tada about this matter, but I don't know if you have ever thought about another thing, that is, we previously did business with the Independent Regiment through the Zhangjiazhuang Market. This matter has been known to many people, and everyone just benefited from it and kept it to themselves."
"But the independent regiment actually dared to send bombers to bomb the mainland, and one of the bombs fell near the imperial palace. This matter has been exposed. If it really gets out of hand, no one here can escape. Don't even think about staying out of it, Hirata-kun. What we have to do now is to investigate the truth and remove ourselves from this matter. This is no longer a matter for one person, but for everyone here."
"I know everyone here has their own plans, but I still want to advise you that your backers will definitely not protect you at this time. On the contrary, they just want to sever ties with you. If we don't save ourselves, we will be used as scapegoats in the end. Even if we don't die, we will be skinned alive!"
After hearing Mitsui Taro's warning, everyone including Kojiro Hirata fell silent. They knew that Mitsui Taro did not lie about this matter, and that this matter could not be suppressed at all. They absolutely could not fight among themselves at this time, but must unite to save themselves.
Everyone expressed their support and promised that no matter how much it cost, they would get to the bottom of the matter. Mitsui Taro was very satisfied with everyone's replies. Everyone then lived in the garrison battalion headquarters and started to get busy, giving orders to their subordinates and starting a full-scale investigation of the independent regiment's base, not missing even the slightest detail.
Li Yunlong and Lin Zhenhua had no idea that the Japanese had already set their suspicion on the independent regiment and had mobilized all their strength to begin an investigation. They were using sleds to rush towards the base at a rapid speed. They had already gone halfway and estimated that they would be able to return to the base in another four or five days.
Li Yunlong took off his helmet, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and angrily cursed: "The damn Japanese have deployed so many checkpoints. If the temperature was not too low, the Japanese engines would not work and the checkpoints would lose their lighting. It would be really difficult for us to pass through the Japanese checkpoints at night."
"It's just that the next artillery tower we have to pass has a very bright searchlight at night. The monk and his men were almost discovered when they passed through yesterday, so they had to retreat. If I wasn't afraid of attracting the attention of the Japanese, I would use the machine gun in my hand to directly knock down the Japanese artillery tower and let the Japanese see how powerful we are!"
Lin Zhenhua took out the kettle, opened it and took a small sip. When he found that the water in the kettle had become warm, he immediately drank it in big gulps. Only then did he feel his dry throat felt better.
"Old Li, hurry up and drink some water. We still have a long way to go. The weather has been sunny and the temperature has risen in the past two days. The snow on the road has melted a lot. In another two days, the sled will be useless. We have to use the sled to travel further!"
"I have just arranged for the monks to disassemble the parachutes and put them on their bodies. It is not easy to be discovered when walking in the snow. Even if the Japanese shine their searchlights on us, there is no need to worry. After all, there is snow everywhere, and the Japanese will definitely not be able to tell it apart with their naked eyes. In the next two days, we have to keep moving and cannot stop to rest. We must return to the base as soon as possible."
"I don't know why I always feel a faint sense of crisis in my heart. I always feel that if we don't hurry up, we may not be able to return to the base!"
Li Yunlong did not have this intuition, but he also found something wrong. That is, the Japanese blockade of the base area was very tight. Once the snow melted, it would be very difficult for them to cross the Japanese blockade line. Just crossing the blockade ditch filled with water was a big problem, not to mention that they were carrying so many weapons, ammunition and supplies. The way back to the base was really difficult.
After an hour's rest, they replenished their food and hot water and set out on the journey back to the base. As the temperature gradually rose, the snow melted faster and faster, and it was impossible to use sleds to march after a day and a half. Fortunately, the base was only 20 to 30 miles away, and they could return to the base safely as long as they crossed a mountain. This made everyone relax a little, and they no longer had to travel day and night like before, which was too tiring.
In fact, Lin Zhenhua's feeling was correct. Yamamoto Ikki led the special forces team to patrol within 30 kilometers away from the independent regiment's base. He was also accompanied by his partner Hirata Kojiro, and the two of them cooperated very well.
"Hirata-kun, your guess is probably correct. I have already smelled the scent of prey. After losing more than 30 intelligence personnel, the investigation found that Li Yunlong and the college student were not in the base at all. This further confirms your previous guess."
"This heavy snow has a huge impact on the search team. I think Li Yunlong will definitely not stay in Ning County. He will definitely find a way to return to the base as soon as possible. Only in this way can he be safe."
Just when Yamamoto Ikki was about to continue complimenting Hirata Kojiro, the deputy captain Sasaki Saburo came to report that a large number of footprints had been found and he suspected that it was the independent regiment squad they had been searching for.
"Hirata-kun, go check it out right away. There was a special forces unit before the independent regiment, which was modeled after our special forces team, but we have already wiped them out. This is definitely not a trace left by them. It is very likely that it was left by Li Yunlong. Our pursuit over the past two days has finally paid off. My intuition tells me that the prey is just ahead. We must act faster, otherwise the prey will slip away from us again!"
Kojiro Hirata did not say anything. He had always believed in Yamamoto Ikki's battlefield intuition, which helped them avoid many death crises and made many important contributions.
Following Yamamoto Ikki to the footprints, they carefully examined them and confirmed that Yamamoto Ikki's guess was correct. The two immediately led the special forces team to start chasing, and a life-and-death chase officially began.
Li Yunlong and Lin Zhenhua felt that the base was in sight, so they relaxed their vigilance and found a cave to live in. They had a good rest tonight and would continue their journey tomorrow morning. It was this one night's stay that put them in a dangerous situation. Yamamoto Ikki led the special forces to continue tracking overnight, rapidly shortening the distance between the two sides. A sudden battle started without any signs!