Chapter 2379: quid pro quo

Chapter 2379 Exchange Conditions

In the evening, Yamada Otsuzo held an emergency military meeting in his temporary headquarters. The topic of the meeting was whether to continue fighting or to follow Tianhuang's edict and lay down their weapons and surrender to the Soviet army.

After Chief of Staff Qin Yanzaburo introduced the topics of this meeting, the generals sitting around the conference table were all silent. They knew better than anyone else what the situation in Northeast China was now, and whether their troops were in In terms of equipment, troops, and soldiers' military skills, they are far inferior to the Soviet army that is in full swing. Therefore, choosing to surrender may be the most ideal state for them. They even deceived themselves in their hearts: "It's not that we can't defeat them, it's that Tianhuang issued an edict of surrender. As Tianhuang's ministers, we can only obey his edict unconditionally."

The generals wanted to surrender, but the staff officers sitting against the wall did not think so. As soon as Qin Yansanlang finished speaking, a lieutenant general stood up, holding the handle of the command knife, and said sternly: "Chief of Staff, I disagree with your statement. Although the Russian offensive is fierce, our Kwantung Army There are millions of people. If we fight to the death, we may not have no chance of winning."

One stone stirred up a thousand waves. The Lieutenant Colonel's words were immediately echoed by other staff officers. They stood up one after another and shouted: "We will continue to fight the Russians. We would rather be broken into pieces than give up." Arms surrender.”

 “Your Excellency, you have brought shame to our island nation.”

There was even an officer who pulled out his command knife, clasped his hands and waved it, "If you want to surrender, we will organize a force ourselves and continue to fight the Russians."

“Asshole, do you think I don’t want to fight?” Faced with the clamor of his staff, the ferocious-looking Qin Yansanlang suddenly shouted: “Do you think I really want to order the troops to lay down their weapons and surrender to the Russians?”

Hearing Qin Yansanlang's shout, the headquarters suddenly became quiet. Everyone's eyes were focused on him, quietly waiting for what he would say next.

Seeing that the staff stopped talking, Qin Yansanlang continued: "What do you know? A bunch of **** who don't even have long hair. They only know how to fight and kill all day long. They don't even think about how we compare with the Russians." , whether it is equipment, troops or soldiers' tactical skills, they are not on the same level. If the fighting continues, the Kwantung Army will be completely annihilated by them by the end of August at the latest."

If Qin Yansanlang had said such words a week earlier, he would have definitely attracted countless people's refutation. However, the war that has taken place now has made everyone understand that he is not alarmist, but stating the facts: "In addition to obeying God, our soldiers There is no other way of loyalty than His Majesty Huang’s orders. Those who advocate resistance to the end, please chop off my head before you go!"

Qin Yansanlang's words calmed these hot-headed staff officers. The staff officer who had drawn his command sword softened his hand, and the saber fell to the ground with a clang. He quickly bent down to pick up the saber, returned it to its sheath, bowed to Qin Yansanlang, and then sat down quietly.

After the room regained calm, Yamada Otsuzo said: "I fully understand your mood, but since the edict has been issued, the army can only follow Tianhuang's order. I decided to adopt the chief of staff's opinion and obey the edict. Order The troops laid down their arms and surrendered to the Russians.”

 Hearing what Yamada Otsuzo said, several staff officers began to get excited again, as if they were ready to express their opinions. Seeing this, Qin Yansanlang quickly spoke again: "Since everyone is a staff officer of the headquarters, then the battle report submitted by the 44th Army must be very clear about the battle situation of the 63rd Division, right?"

The staff officers who were about to express their opinions couldn't help but shut their mouths when they heard Qin Yansanlang mentioned the 63rd Division. When the 63rd Division retreated some time ago, it continuously blew up infrastructure along the way and destroyed water sources. As a result, the 6th Guards Tank Army had to slow down its advance due to lack of fuel and water. Yesterday, the 5th Guards Tank Corps and the 130th Infantry Division finally caught up with the 63rd Division and started fighting with it.

Although the 63rd Division lacked anti-tank artillery weapons and no decent permanent fortifications, they built field fortifications in the grass about half a man deep, which seriously interfered with the Soviet army's field of vision. At the same time, they also buried a large number of The mines caused the Soviet army to pay a heavy price in the process of advancing.

At that time, after such battle reports came back, the staff of the headquarters were still cheering, so the 63rd Division successfully delayed the Soviet army's advance. Unexpectedly, the good times did not last long. The Soviet army did not know what they did today. They directly used fire-breathing tanks and Pyro soldiers to set fire to the weeds in front of the position. Because the 63rd Division was in the downwind, faced with the overwhelming fire, although the division commander decisively issued the order to retreat, no matter how fast people ran, they could not burn as fast as the fire. Nearly four thousand people died. In the fire, after the Soviet army waited for the fire to extinguish, they took the opportunity to launch a new attack and advanced more than fifty kilometers in one fell swoop.

Faced with such a Soviet commander who did not follow the routine, the staff of the Kwantung Army also had a headache. If they continued to let the troops set up defenses in the overgrown areas, the Soviet army would be able to clear this road without any blood with just a few fires. resistance on.

Seeing that the staff were silent, Yamada Otozo turned his attention to Qin Yanzaburo: "Qin Yanjun, can you serve as my commander's military envoy and go to Jalikovo to negotiate with the Russians?"

Qin Yansanlang responded solemnly and said with a serious expression: "In accordance with your military order, I will go to Jalikovo tonight to negotiate with the Russians. However, after this matter is over, please allow me to commit suicide by committing seppuku to wash away my shame!" "

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Yamada Otozo stared at Kiyosaburo for a long time, and then said: "I don't agree."

“Your Majesty Commander, do you think the empire still has a chance to turn defeat into victory?”

"No, judging from the current situation, we have no chance of winning." Yamada Otsuzo said: "I asked you to negotiate with the Russians mainly for the sake of our soldiers. I hope the Russians can give them what they deserve." The treatment of prisoners of war will allow more people to return to their hometowns alive."

Yamada Otsuzo's words made Qin Yanzaburo's eyes filled with tears. He nodded vigorously: "Your Excellency, Commander, I will definitely fulfill my mission."

After the meeting, the officers who participated in the meeting left, but Yamada Otsuzo called Qin Yanzaburo to his office and said seriously: "Qin Yanjun, I think the Russians may not give you a good look when you go to negotiate this time. You have to be mentally prepared.”

Qin Yansanlang said with a wry smile: "Your Excellency, Commander, to the Russians, we are just defeated people and are not looked upon by them at all. But I understand that my mission is to get the best treatment for our officers and soldiers. , to ensure that more people can return to their hometown alive in the future."

“In order for the Russians to agree to our request, we must give them something sweet.”

"A taste of sweetness?" Qin Yansanlang asked puzzledly: "Your Excellency, Commander, I don't understand what you mean."

 “We gave him a gift.”

“What gift?” “Emperor Kant!”

"Emperor Kant?" Qin Yansanlang couldn't help but be startled after hearing this. "How to give it to them? Did you send someone to send Emperor Kant directly to the Russian defense area, and then tell them that this is a gift from us."

"No, no, no, of course we can't do this." But Yamada Otsuzo waved his hands and said: "If we really send people to arrest Emperor Kant directly and send him to the Russians, let alone whether the Russians will accept it. , even if he is willing to accept it, I am afraid that Emperor Kant will not submit."

 “Then what should we do?”

"Emperor Kant and his ministers have arrived in Linjiang now. We will notify him tomorrow and let him take a plane back to Fengtian." Yamada Otsuzo said: "Then we will notify the Russians to send a plane to land at the airport in Fengtian, and they will Capture Emperor Kant directly.”

Hearing what Yamada Otsuzo said, Qin Yanzaburo's eyes widened in surprise. He never dreamed that Yamada Otsuzo would actually use Emperor Kant as a bargaining chip to negotiate terms with the Russians. He pondered for a moment, and then asked: "Your Majesty Commander, how can we persuade Emperor Kant to return to Fengtian? You know, he has long been frightened and worried that the place where he lives will be bombed at any time. If we let him If he returns to Fengtian, he will definitely not do it."

Yamada Otsuzo did not let Qin Yanzaburo take forced measures, but said with a smile: "Qin Yanjun, you can tell Emperor Kande that we plan to send him to Tokyo. Because Linjiang is a small place, A large plane that can fly to Tokyo cannot land there, so he has to take a plane back to Fengtian before he can take a large plane parked there to go to Tokyo."

"This is a good idea. Emperor Kant is in a state of chaos right now. If he hears that he can go to Tokyo, he will definitely rush back to Fengtian." How to make Emperor Kant return to Fengtian? He has thought of a good way, but how to let Su The army cleverly captured Emperor Kant, which was another technical job. Qin Yansaburo once again asked tentatively: "There are anti-aircraft troops deployed at Fengtian Airport. If the Russian planes arrive and they open fire, wouldn't that make the situation worse? ?”

"I will order the air defense forces at the airport to evacuate before tomorrow morning." Yamada Otsuzo said: "At the same time, I will warn the remaining security forces that no one is allowed to shoot at the Russians. Once you see the Russians rushing over, Lay down your arms and surrender immediately."

Seeing that Yamada Otsuzo had considered all the things that should be considered, Qin Yanzaburo nodded and said: "I understand, Commander, I will convey your thoughts to the Russian supreme commander."

"The top commander of the Russians in the Far East is Vasilevsky, right?" Yamada Otsuzo sneered: "Before the war broke out, we deployed so many spies in Khabarovsk, but we didn't get any valuable information. Intelligence, as a result, our army was caught off guard by the Russians."

"This is a dereliction of duty by our intelligence department," Qin Yanzaburang said in hindsight: "Many of the spies sent to Khabarovsk, which is what the Russians call Khabarovsk, lost contact soon after entering the city, but But they did not raise the necessary vigilance. If the spy's disappearance had been investigated at that time, the Russian troop deployment might have been discovered long ago."

"Hey, let's not bring up the past." Yamada Otsuzo said with a depressed expression: "I really didn't expect that one wrong move and the whole game would be lost. Qin Yanjun, be sure to get in touch with the Russians before setting off, lest you The plane you were traveling in was shot down by them. If something happens to you, hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers of the Kwantung Army will suffer a more tragic fate."

After Qin Yansanlang ordered people to get in touch with the Soviet army's radio station, he then took a plane to Jalikovo and met with Marshal Vasilevsky, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Far East Army stationed there.

Then when Qin Yansanlang arrived, he did not see Vasilevsky, only an officer who looked very young, but judging from the opponent's epaulettes, he was also a marshal. After Qin Yansanlang revealed his identity, he asked respectfully: "Your Excellency, Marshal, I don't know how to call you?"

“I am Marshal Chernyakhovsky, deputy commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Front,” the young marshal replied, “Marshal Vasilevsky has gone to the front to inspect the troops, and I will negotiate with you on my behalf with full authority.”

Knowing that the person in front of him was not Vasilevsky, Qin Yansanlang couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but since the other party could fully represent Vasilevsky, he still took out the memorandum he had prepared in advance and handed it to Chelsea with both hands. Niachovsky: "Your Majesty Marshal, this is the memorandum we have prepared. Please take a look at it!"

Chernyakhovsky took the memo from Qin Yansanlang's hand, handed it to the translator beside him, and said, "Translate it to me."

“Your Excellency, Marshal,” Qin Yansanlang said hurriedly: “Our memorandum is written in Russian. You can understand it even without a translator.”

"Do you have a memorandum of the original text?" Unexpectedly, Chernyakhovsky said: "I know the Russian language proficiency of your islanders, and you often fail to convey the meaning of your words. If you don't let my translator read it to me, There may be some deviations in your original text. If any unnecessary misunderstandings occur because of this, I think you don’t want this to happen."

Qin Yanzaburo raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, took out the Japanese memo from his briefcase, and handed it to Chernyakhovsky again: "Marshal Your Excellency, this is our original memorandum, please read it. "

Chernyakhovsky took the new memo, opened it and flipped through it. He found that it was indeed in Japanese that he could not understand. He handed it to the translator again and told him: "Give me the contents of the memo." Read it again and I want to hear what they actually said.”

The translator agreed, took the memo from Chernyakhovsky's hand, opened it, and began to interpret word for word, accurately relaying the contents of the memo to Chernyakhovsky.

 Although the translation was very fast, it still took him more than half an hour to read the entire memo.

After listening to this, Chernyakhovsky sneered and asked: "Chief of Staff Qin Yansanlang, your idea is really weird. Since you didn't follow your Tianhuang's order to lay down your weapons and surrender to our army, what's the point? Are you qualified to require our army to cease fire against you on all fronts?"

 (End of this chapter)